After the analogies of the lost sheep and lost coin, Jesus begins a new analogy.
Luke 15:11 A certain man had two sons:
Luke 15:11 There was a man who had two sons.
A man, a someone, has two sons.
There is no "certain" in this verse as show in the KJV, but the word translated as "certain" is left out of the NIV entirely. The verb form of "had" is a slightly different tense than is translated. "Had" implies that he no longer does. The correct translation is "has." Jesus told this story as though the man and his sons were still alive.
Having children can be more than a blessing,
A certain(WF) man had two sons:
- WF -- Wrong Form - This is not an adjective but an pronoun.
[There was(IP)] a man (MWsomebody) who(IW) had two sons.
- IP - Inserted Phrase-- The "There was" doesn't exist in the source.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "a somebody" after "a" is not shown in the English translation.
- IW - Inserted Word-- The "word" doesn't exist in the source.
A - There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a noun doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.
certain - (WF) The word translated as "a certain" means primarily "anything" or "anyone", but can be used to mean someone of note as we would say "a someone". It appears after the noun, not before it. This is not an adjective but an pronoun.
man, - The Greek word for "man" means "man”, "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men”, "people” and "peoples”. Here it is singular.
had -- The word translated as "had" means to "have”, "possess", "bear”, "to indulge in”, "keep close”, "hold in”, "to have due to one” or "keep" and many specific uses.
two -- The "two" is the numeral, "two”, which, like numbers in English, plays a lot of roles. Often, it acts as an adjective, but without a noun to modify, so it takes on the role of a noun. The Greek word is "duo," which of course means "a pair of singers" or "couple" like a married couple.
sons: -- The word translated as "son" is the Greek word for "son”, "scion”, "heir” or "descendant”. Like most male words, it can be used in the plural as a generic term for both sexes when they are descendants of someone. It can refer to all offspring in later generations, just like "father" refers to all previous generations. More about it in this article.
There was -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as this phrase in the Greek source.
a- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a noun doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.
missing "a somebody" -- (MW) The untranslated word"a somebody" means primarily "anything" or "anyone”, but can be used to mean someone of note as we would say "a someone". It appears after the noun, not before it.
man, - The Greek word for "man" means "man”, "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men”, "people” and "peoples”. Here it is singular.
who -- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source.
had -- The word translated as "had" means to "have”, "possess”, "bear”, "to indulge in”, "keep close”, "hold in”, "to have due to one”, or "keep" and many specific uses.
two -- The "two" is the numeral, "two", which, like numbers in English, plays a lot of roles. Often, it acts as an adjective, but without a noun to modify, so it takes on the role of a noun. The Greek word is "duo", which of course means "a pair of singers" or "couple" like a married couple.
sons: -- The word translated as "son" is the Greek word for "son”, "scion”, "heir” or "descendant”. Like most male words, it can be used in the plural as a generic term for both sexes when they are descendants of someone. It can refer to all offspring in later generations, just like "father" refers to all previous generations. More about it in this article.
Ἄνθρωπός [209 verses](noun sg masc nom) "Man" 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. Used as a form of address, it is a bit contemptuous, "sir”.
τις [252 verses](pron sg masc nom) "What" is tis, which can mean "someone”, "something”, "any one”, "everyone”, "they [indefinite]”, "many a one", "whoever”, "anyone”, "anything”, "some sort”, "some sort of”, "each", "any”, "the individual”, "such” and so on. In a question, it can mean "who”, "why” or "what”. Plural, "who are" is τίνες ἐόντες. It has specific meanings with certain prepositions, διὰ τί; for what reason? ἐκ τίνος; from what cause? ἐς τί; "to what point?" to "what end? τί ὅτι "why it is that,"
εῖχεν [181 verses](verb 3rd sg imperf ind act) "Had" is echo, which means "to have”, "to hold", "to possess”, "to keep”, "to have charge of”, "to have due to one”, "to maintain”, "to indulge in”, "to hold fast”, "to hold in”, "to bear”, "to carry”, "to keep close”, "to keep safe” and "to have means to do”. In aorist, it can mean "acquire” or "get”. The main sense when it has an object is "to have" or "to hold". In reference to habits or states, it means "indulge in”, With a gen. object, "to keep back" or "withhold" a thing. When its object is an infinitive verb, it means "to have the means or power”, or "to be able" not "it must" as in English. This verb isn't used to form past tenses as the helper verb does in English.Nor does it have the sense of "must" when used with infinitives.
δύο [36 verses](numeral) "Two" is duo, which means the number "two”, "a couple” and "a pair”. -- The Greek word for "two" means "two" or a "couple”.
υἱούς.[158 verses] (noun pl masc acc) "Sons" is huios, which means a "son” and more generally to refer to any descendant, of any generation. It can refer to male sons or descendants of both sexes, but not purely female descendants. It can and often does refer to adults who are not "children”. When it refers to "sons" specifically, it should be translated that way, but when it can be applied to both sexes, the less familiar "descendant" is better than "children”, especially since this word can refer to adults. It is often a reference to the role of "heir”. but Jesus uses another word that specifically means "heir”. Jesus also used it metaphorically to describe those who follow a way of thought or set of beliefs that descend from an individual.
Though the story in Matthew 21:28 seems in translation to begin in the same way, it is completely different.