Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray;

KJV: 

Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

LISTENERS HEARD: 

Men, two, go up into the temple to pray for themselves one a distinguished and the other a tax collector.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

A simple verse with no real surprises except for the nature of the prayer and the Pharisee. It is a good example of how Jesus doesn't use the "dual" verb form. 

The Greek word for "two" means "two" or a "couple."

The Greek word for "man" means "man," "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men," "people," and "peoples." 

"Went up" is a verb that means "to go up," "to mount," and "to turn up." The form is not the past tense, but the tense of something happening at a specific point in time. The form is plural. Ancient Greek has a dual verb form which can be used for two subjects, but Jesus does not use it.

The word translated as "into" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure.

"The temple" from a noun that means "consecrated." It is used to describe a "holy place" and it related to the word used for "priest." However, it also means "sacrifice" or "victim."

The Greek word translated as "pray" means "to offer prayers of vows" either "to worship" or "to ask for a thing." The form is an infinitive in the "middle voice." This means that the action is performed by, to, or for the person who does it, so "pray for themselves" or "pray by themselves." This is an important element of the story, but it is also the way Jesus almost always uses this word.

The Greek word translated as "one " means "one" (as opposed to other numbers), "single," and "one and the same."As in English, it can be used as a pronoun, meaning a single person. It is in the form of a subject. There is no "the" before it.

"Pharisees" is an example of where we use the Greek word as the name of the religious sect, instead of translating it. In Greek, the word means the "distinguished," "separated," or "the judgmental," but it is a Hebrew word meaning "distinguished" or "elite." , and the other a publican.

The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."

The word translated as "the other" means "one of two," "other," or "different." It is an adjective used as a noun.

The Greek term translated as "publican" means "farmer" and "tax collector." by Jesus's time, tax collectors were not tax-farmers, that is, private individuals who bought the right to collect taxes. Tax collectors worked directly for Rome, but the term "farmer" stuck from an earlier era when they were tax-farmers. Historically, these tax-collectors or rent collectors were notoriously corrupt, especially as tax farmers. They were made into government employees to reform them.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

Ἄνθρωποι (noun pl masc nom) "Men" is anthropos, which is "man," and, in plural, "mankind." It also means "humanity" and that which is human and opposed to that which is animal or inanimate.

δύο (numeral) "Two" is duo, which means the number "two," "a couple," and "a pair."

ἀνέβησαν  (3rd pl aor ind act) "Went up" is from anabainô, which means "to go up," "to mount," and "to turn up." It is the word used for mounting a horse, going aboard a ship, or ascending to heaven. For plants, it is used specifically to describe when plants grow on sticks or other plants, entwining them, or "mounting" them.

εἰς (prep) "Into" is eis, which means "into (of place)," "up to (of time)," "until (of time)," "as much as (of measure or limit)," "as far as (of measure or limit)," "towards (to express relation)," "in regard to (to express relation)," "of an end or limit," and "for (of purpose or object)."

τὸ ἱερὸν (noun sg neut gen ) "The temple" is from hieron, means which means "filled with or manifesting divine power," "holy," "consecrated," "under divine protection," "holy place," "sacred principle," and "supernatural." It also means "victim" or "sacrifice." It is related to the word used for "priest." Both come from the word hieros, which means "super-human," "mighty," "divine," "wonderful" and "holy."

προσεύξασθαι, ( verb aor inf mid ) "To pray" is proseuchomai, which means "to offer prayers or vows," "to worship," and "to pray for a thing. It is the combination of two Greek word, pros, meaning "towards" or "by reason of," and euchomai, meaning "to pray to God." -- 

εἷς (noun sg masc nom) "One" is heis, which means "one" (as opposed to other numbers), "single," and "one and the same." This adjective is irregular, having a number of forms depending on gender and case: heis, henos, heni, hen, hena, mia, mias, miai, mian; hen, henos, hen. 

Φαρισαῖος (noun sg masc nom) "a Pharisee" is Pharisaios, which means "the separated," "the separate ones," " separatist" and refers to the religious sect. The word comes from the Hebrew, pharash, which means "to distinguish." So the sense is also "the distinguished" or "the elite."

καὶ (conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even," "also," and "just."

ἕτερος ( adj sg masc nom ) "The other" is heteros, which means "one or the other of two," "the second," "the secondary," "the minor," "other things [of like kind]," "another," "different," "other than," "different from," "other than should be," and "in another or a different way." As an adverb, it means "in one or the other way," "differently," "otherwise than should be," "badly," and "wrongly."

τελώνης. (noun sg masc nom) "Publicans" is from telones, which means "farmer," and "collector of toll, custom, and taxes."

Front Page Date: 

Oct 13 2018