Question 1

What does "Remember" mean in the King James Bible?

Accepted Answer

In the KJV, "Remember" means "recall." The active intervention. 'God remembered His covenant' did not mean God had forgotten and then recalled it. It meant God acted on behalf of His people because of the covenant. 'Do this in remembrance of me' was not 'think about me while you eat' but 'let this meal make my sacrifice present and active among you now.'

Question 2

Why did the word "Remember" disappear from modern English?

Accepted Answer

Hebrew zakar ('to remember/act on behalf of/bring into present reality') reduced to 'recall information from memory.' Biblical remembering was not mental retrieval but active intervention. The word was at peak usage around 1611 and declined by still used but cognitivized (~1800).

Question 3

What modern word replaced "Remember"?

Accepted Answer

"Remember" was replaced by: "recall" (though this mental function; zakar meant to bring the past into the present and act on it); "think about" (though this passive cognition; remembering in hebrew was an action that changed the present); "commemorate" (though this ceremonial; zakar was god stepping into the present because of a past covenant).

What Does “Remember” Mean in the Bible?

What Was Lost

Unlock all 57+ study tools

Related KJV Words