Luke 7:12

7:12 As he approached the town gate, a man ¹  who had died was being carried out, ²  the only son of his mother (who ³  was a widow ⁴ ), and a large crowd from the town ⁵  was with her.

Luke 11:31

11:31 The queen of the South ⁶  will rise up at the judgment ⁷  with the people ⁸  of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now, ⁹  something greater ¹⁰  than Solomon is here!

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.”

⁶ sn On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1-3 and 2 Chr 9:1-12, as well as Josephus, Ant. 8.6.5-6 (8.165-175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.

⁷ sn For the imagery of judgment, see Luke 10:13-15 and 11:19. The warnings are coming consistently now.

⁸ tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as is the case here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1, 2). The same term, translated the same way, occurs in v. 32.

⁹ tn Grk “behold.”

¹⁰ sn The message of Jesus was something greater than what Solomon offered. On Jesus and wisdom, see Luke 7:35; 10:21-22; 1 Cor 1:24, 30.