What Does Revelation 13:7 Mean?
And it is given to him to fight with the set-apart ones and to overcome them, and authority is given to him over every kindred, and tongue, and nation.
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
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.THE KEY
The beast receives both the violence it wields and the worldwide reach of its authority.
THE MEANING
You see the beast receive permission to make war on the set-apart ones and overcome them, with authority across every kindred, tongue, and nation. That reach is vast; the repeated “was given” presents it as received authority rather than something the beast originates.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie this undoes is that any force that overwhelms you owns its authority by itself.
THE ROOT
ἐδόθη
edothē
GROWS FROM
δίδωμι (didōmi), from δο-/δω- (do-/dō-)
To give, grant, or hand over; to place something in another’s hands.
The Greek repeats ἐδόθη (edothē, “was given”) before both the act of making war and dominion over peoples. The same verbal seed forms words for a gift and a handover, portraying the beast’s reach as transferred rather than native possession.
ALSO GROWS
dosis: Giving; a gift
δόσις
This noun makes the act of giving visible as a transfer, like the authority granted in this verse.
paradidōmi: Hand over; deliver up
παραδίδωμι
This compound uses the same give-verb and shows how its seed can describe something being placed in another’s hands.
ἐξουσία
exousia
GROWS FROM
ἔξεστι
exesti
Permission or possibility: it is permitted or possible. The related noun names authority, right, or jurisdiction.
Here power carries a sense of authority or jurisdiction alongside force: exousia names a right to act. The repeated grant-language presents that authority as received, even while the violence remains real.
ALSO GROWS
exousia: Authority; right; jurisdiction
ἐξουσία
This is the noun used for the beast’s reach, giving the verse’s power the shade of assigned authority.
exousiazō: Exercise authority; have dominion
ἐξουσιάζω
This related verb names authority in action, matching the rule exercised across peoples.
THE PATTERN
Dominion is portrayed as granted before it is exercised, even when its reach becomes worldwide.
I saw, and that same horn drew near in battle against the set-apart ones, and prevailed against them.Look, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the strength of the enemy, and nothing will by any means injure you.And I see, and look, a white horse, and the one seated upon it holds a bow, and a crown is given to him, and he goes out conquering and to conquer.THE THREAD
And Jesus came near and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in the heavens and upon the earth.Matthew uses the same Greek give-verb δίδωμι (didōmi, give) and authority noun ἐξουσία (exousia, authority). The speaker’s name is Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ, Yeshua, deliverance), and here universal authority is given to deliverance itself; Revelation’s beast receives authority to wage war, exposing radically different uses of authority.
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