What Does Matthew 9:24 Mean?
He said, Withdraw, for the girl has not died but sleeps. And they laughed down at him.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.THE KEY
Before Jesus speaks of awakening, he tells the crowd to make room and sends their laughter out of the room.
THE MEANING
The verse meets you where a verdict has hardened: the girl looks dead, Jesus names her as sleeping, and the crowd laughs. His command clears the space around her, so their scorn does not get the final word over what can happen next.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that what looks finished is beyond awakening.
THE ROOT
καθεύδει
katheudei
GROWS FROM
καθευδ-
katheud-
The Greek verb means to sleep or be asleep.
“sleeps” in this verse is katheudei. Jesus names the girl’s condition with a word for sleep, placing the possibility of awakening inside the sentence. The same verb family can speak of people who are asleep, making the image larger than a passing comparison.
ALSO GROWS
katheudō: To sleep or be asleep.
καθεύδω
This is the verb’s dictionary form and names the state Jesus sees.
katheudōn: Sleeping; one who is asleep.
καθεύδων
This participle uses the same root to describe a person in the state of sleep.
ἀναχωρεῖτε
anachōreite
GROWS FROM
χωρε-
chōre-
The verb family carries the sense of space or room: making room, having room, or withdrawing; ἀνα- adds the sense of moving back or away.
The command translated “Give place” tells the crowd to withdraw and clear the room. The root also carries the sense of making room to receive, so the verse joins physical space with openness to what the crowd cannot yet accept.
ALSO GROWS
anachōreō: Withdraw or depart.
ἀναχωρέω
This is the verb behind Jesus’ command to the crowd.
chōreō: Make room, have room, or receive.
χωρέω
It shows how the same root can describe room being made for a person or a saying.
chōrousin: They receive or make room for.
χωροῦσιν
This form appears in Matthew 19:11, where people are said to receive a saying.
κατεγέλων
kategelōn
GROWS FROM
γελ-
gel-
The root carries the sense of laughing; the compound καταγελάω directs that laughter at someone, giving it the force of ridicule.
“laughed down at him” in this verse is kategelōn. The scorn is carried by laughter itself, aimed at Jesus. The root keeps the sound of laughter visible while the compound shows its direction: this is laughter at someone, not shared amusement.
ALSO GROWS
gelaō: Laugh.
γελάω
The base verb shows the action contained in the compound.
gelōs: Laughter.
γέλως
The related noun names the sound and act that become ridicule in the verse.
katagelaō: Laugh at or ridicule.
καταγελάω
This compound gives the laughter its target and scornful force.
THE PATTERN
Scripture names death as sleep when awakening and life remain in view.
He said these things, and after this he said to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go, so that I may wake him from sleep.For if we trust that Jesus died and rose, so also God will lead those who have slept through Jesus along with him.But now the Anointed One has been awakened from the dead, and has become the first portion of those who have lain down to sleep.THE THREAD
But he said to them, Not all make room for this word, but only those to whom it is given.Matthew 9:24 uses ἀναχωρέω (anachōreō, withdraw or make room) to clear the crowd from the room. Matthew 19:11 uses the related χωρέω (chōreō, make room or receive): the same root moves from making physical room to receiving a saying.
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