Luke 2:37

2:37 She had lived as a widow since then for eighty-four years. ¹  She never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. ² 

Luke 19:8

19:8 But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give ³  to the poor, and if ⁴  I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!”

Luke 16:6

16:6 The man ⁵  replied, ‘A hundred measures ⁶  of olive oil.’ The manager ⁷  said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ ⁸ 

Luke 3:1

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, ⁹  when Pontius Pilate ¹⁰  was governor of Judea, and Herod ¹¹  was tetrarch ¹²  of Galilee, and his brother Philip ¹³  was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ¹⁴  was tetrarch of Abilene,

[2:37]  ¹ tn Grk “living with her husband for seven years from her virginity and she was a widow for eighty four years.” The chronology of the eighty-four years is unclear, since the final phrase could mean “she was widowed until the age of eighty-four” (so BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.α). However, the more natural way to take the syntax is as a reference to the length of her widowhood, the subject of the clause, in which case Anna was about 105 years old (so D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:251-52; I. H. Marshall, Luke, [NIGTC], 123-24).

[2:37]  ² sn The statements about Anna worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day make her extreme piety clear.

[19:8]  ³ sn Zacchaeus was a penitent man who resolved on the spot to act differently in the face of Jesus’ acceptance of him. In resolving to give half his possessions to the poor, Zacchaeus was not defending himself against the crowd’s charges and claiming to be righteous. Rather as a result of this meeting with Jesus, he was a changed individual. So Jesus could speak of salvation coming that day (v. 9) and of the lost being saved (v. 10).

[19:8]  ⁴ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text. It virtually confesses fraud.

[16:6]  ⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the first debtor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:6]  ⁶ sn A measure (sometimes translated “bath”) was just over 8 gallons (about 30 liters). This is a large debt – about 875 gallons (3000 liters) of olive oil, worth 1000 denarii, over three year’s pay for a daily worker.

[16:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[16:6]  ⁸ sn The bill was halved (sit down quickly, and write fifty). What was the steward doing? This is debated. 1) Did he simply lower the price? 2) Did he remove interest from the debt? 3) Did he remove his own commission? It is hard to be sure. Either of the latter two options is more likely. The goal was clear: The manager would be seen in a favorable light for bringing a deflationary trend to prices.

[3:1]  ⁷ tn Or “Emperor Tiberius” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[3:1]  ⁸ sn The rule of Pontius Pilate is also described by Josephus, J. W. 2.9.2-4 (2.169-177) and Ant. 18.3.1 (18.55-59).

[3:1]  ⁹ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. He ruled from 4 b.c.-a.d. 39, sharing the rule of his father’s realm with his two brothers. One brother, Archelaus (Matt 2:22) was banished in a.d. 6 and died in a.d. 18; the other brother, Herod Philip (mentioned next) died in a.d. 34.

[3:1]  ¹⁰ sn A tetrarch was a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, who ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod tetrarch of Galilee is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage.

[3:1]  ¹¹ sn Philip refers to Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great and brother of Herod Antipas. Philip ruled as tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis from 4 b.c.-a.d. 34.

[3:1]  ¹² sn Nothing else is known about Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.