Text -- Luke 7:11-17 (NET)

Raising a Widow’s Son

7:11 Soon afterward Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 7:12 As he approached the town gate, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother (who was a widow), and a large crowd from the town was with her. 7:13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 7:14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and those who carried it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 7:15 So the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. 7:16 Fear seized them all, and they began to glorify God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and “God has come to help his people!” 7:17 This report about Jesus circulated throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 7:11

¹ tn Grk “And it happened that soon.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

² tc Several variants to ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ (egeneto en tw) are found before the adverb ἑξῆς (Jexh"), all of them clarifying by the use of the feminine article that the next day is meant (τῇ [th] in D; ἐγένετο τῇ in W; ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ in א* C K 565 892 1424 pm). But these readings are decidedly secondary, for they are more specific than Luke usually is, and involve an unparalleled construction (viz., article + ἡμέρα [Jhmera] + ἑξῆς; elsewhere, when Luke uses this adverb, the noun it modifies is either implied or after the adverb [cf. Luke 9:37; Acts 21:1; 25:17; 27:18)]. The reading adopted for the translation is a more general time indicator; the article τῷ modifies an implied χρόνῳ (cronw), with the general sense of “soon afterward.”

³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn The term πόλις (polis) can refer to a small town, which is what Nain was. It was about six miles southeast of Nazareth.

NET Notes: Luk 7:12

¹ tn Grk “behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

² tn That is, carried out for burial. This was a funeral procession.

³ tn Grk “and she.” The clause introduced by καί (kai) has been translated as a relative clause for the sake of English style.

⁴ sn The description of the woman as a widow would mean that she was now socially alone and without protection in 1st century Jewish culture.

⁵ tn Or “city.”

NET Notes: Luk 7:13

¹ tn Grk “And seeing her, the Lord.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally.

² sn He had compassion. It is unusual for Luke to note such emotion by Jesus, though the other Synoptics tend to mention it (Matt 14:14; Mark 6:34; Matt 15:32; Mark 8:2).

³ tn The verb κλαίω (klaiw) denotes the loud wailing or lamenting typical of 1st century Jewish mourning.

NET Notes: Luk 7:14

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² tn Grk “coming up, he touched.” The participle προσελθών (proselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

³ sn The act of having touched the bier would have rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean, but it did not matter to him, since he was expressing his personal concern (Num 19:11, 16).

⁴ sn Although sometimes translated “coffin,” the bier was actually a stretcher or wooden plank on which the corpse was transported to the place of burial. See L&N 6.109.

⁵ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

NET Notes: Luk 7:15

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of Jesus’ command.

² tn Or “the deceased.”

³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn In the context, the verb δίδωμι (didwmi) has been translated “gave back” rather than simply “gave.”

NET Notes: Luk 7:16

¹ tn Or “Awe.” Grk “fear,” but the context and the following remark show that it is mixed with wonder; see L&N 53.59. This is a reaction to God’s work; see Luke 5:9.

² tn This imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

³ sn That Jesus was a great prophet was a natural conclusion for the crowd to make, given the healing; but Jesus is more than this. See Luke 9:8, 19-20.

⁴ tn Grk “arisen.”

⁵ tn Grk “visited,” but this conveys a different impression to a modern reader. L&N 85.11 renders the verb, “to be present, with the implication of concern – ‘to be present to help, to be on hand to aid.’ … ‘God has come to help his people’ Lk 7:16.” The language recalls Luke 1:68, 78.

NET Notes: Luk 7:17

¹ tn Grk “And this.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² sn See Luke 4:14 for a similar report.

³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Grk “went out.”

⁵ tn Grk “through the whole of.”