Luke 4:25

4:25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, ¹  when the sky ²  was shut up three and a half years, and ³  there was a great famine over all the land.

Luke 7:16

7:16 Fear ⁴  seized them all, and they began to glorify ⁵  God, saying, “A great prophet ⁶  has appeared ⁷  among us!” and “God has come to help ⁸  his people!”

[4:25]  ¹ sn Elijah’s days. Jesus, by discussing Elijah and Elisha, pictures one of the lowest periods in Israel’s history. These examples, along with v. 24, also show that Jesus is making prophetic claims as well as messianic ones. See 1 Kgs 17-18.

[4:25]  ² tn Or “the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. Since the context here refers to a drought (which produced the famine), “sky” is preferable.

[4:25]  ³ tn Grk “as.” The particle ὡς can also function temporally (see BDAG 1105-6 s.v. 8).

[7:16]  ⁴ 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.

[7:16]  ⁵ tn This imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[7:16]  ⁶ 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.

[7:16]  ⁷ tn Grk “arisen.”

[7:16]  ⁸ 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.