Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 7:12
Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
12. came nigh to the gate ] All ordinary Jewish funerals are extramural. Nain is approached by a narrow rocky path, and it must have been at this spot that the two processions met. They were perhaps going to bury the dead youth in one of the rock-hewn sepulchres which are still visible on the hill side.
the only son of his mother ] See on Luk 8:42, Luk 9:38.
much people of the city ] Compare the public sympathy for the family of Bethany (Joh 11:19); and on the bitterness of mourning for an only child, see Jer 6:26; Zec 12:10; Amo 8:10.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The gate of the city – Cities were surrounded by walls, to defend them from their enemies. They were entered through gates placed at convenient distances from each other. In most cities it was not allowed to bury the dead within the walls; hence, they were carried to some convenient burial-place in the vicinity of the city.
A dead man carried out – A funeral procession. Anciently no Jews were buried within the walls of the city, except the kings and distinguished persons, 1Sa 28:3; 2Ki 21:18. The custom of burying within cities, and especially within the walls of churches or in their vicinity, had its origin among Christians very early; yet perhaps few customs are more deleterious to health than burials within large cities, especially within the walls of frequented buildings. The effluvia from dead bodies is excessively unwholesome. Burial-places should be in situations of retirement, far from the tread of the happy and busy world, where all the feelings may be still and calm, and where there can be no injury to health from the mouldering bodies of the dead.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. Carried out] The Jews always buried their dead without the city, except those of the family of David. No burying places should be tolerated within cities or towns; much less in or about churches and chapels. This custom is excessively injurious to the inhabitants; and especially to those who frequent public worship in such chapels and churches. God, decency, and health forbid this shocking abomination.
On the impropriety of burying in towns, churches, and chapels, take the following testimonies: Extra urbem soliti sunt alii mortuos sepelire: Nos Christiani, eos non in urbes solum, sed et in TEMPLA recepimus, quo fit ut multi faetore nimis, fere exanimentur. SCHOETTGEN. “Others were accustomed to bury their dead without the city. We Christians not only bury them within our cities, but receive them even into our churches! Hence many nearly lose their lives through the noxious effluvia.” “Both the Jews and other people had their burying places without the city: – Et certe ita postulat ratio publicae sanitatis, quae multum laedi solet aura sepulchrorum: – and this the health of the public requires, which is greatly injured by the effluvia from graves.” – Rosenmuller. From long observation I can attest that churches and chapels situated in grave-yards, and those especially within whose walls the dead are interred, are perfectly unwholesome; and many, by attending such places, are shortening their passage to the house appointed for the living. What increases the iniquity of this abominable and deadly work is, that the burying grounds attached to many churches and chapels are made a source of private gain. The whole of this preposterous conduct is as indecorous and unhealthy as it is profane. Every man should know that the gas which is disengaged from putrid flesh, and particularly from a human body, is not only unfriendly to, but destructive of, animal life. Superstition first introduced a practice which self-interest and covetousness continue to maintain.
For a general improvement of all the circumstances of this miracle, see the end of the chapter.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
12. carried out“wasbeing carried out.” Dead bodies, being ceremonially unclean,were not allowed to be buried within the cities (though the kings ofDavid’s house were buried m the city of David), and the funeral wasusually on the same day as the death.
only son, &c.affectingparticulars, told with delightful simplicity.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city,…. Of Naim:
behold: there was a dead man carried out; of the city; for they, used not to bury in cities, but in places without, and at some distance: the burying places of the Jews were not near, their cities r; and they had different ways of carrying them out to be buried, according to their different ages: a child under a month old was carried out in the bosom of a person; if a full month old, in a little coffin, which they carried in their arms; one of a twelve month old was carried in a little coffin on the shoulder; and one of three years old on a bier or bed, s and so upwards; and in this manner was this corpse carried out: who was
the only son of his mother; hence the sorrow and mourning were the greater; see Zec 12:10
and she was a widow; and if she had been supported by her son, her loss was very considerable; and having neither husband, nor son, to do for her, her case was very affecting:
and much people of the city was with her; according to the age of persons was the company that attended them to the grave: if it was an infant, not a month old, it was buried by one woman, and two men, but not by one man, and two women; if a month old, by men and women; and whoever was carried out on a bier or bed, many mourned for him; and whoever was known to many, many accompanied him t; and which was the case this dead man: he seems to have been well known and respected by the company that attended him to his grave; of these some were bearers, and these had their deputies, and these again theirs; for as they carried their dead a great way, they were obliged often to change their bearers; and of the company, some went before the bier, and others went after it u: besides, what served to increase company at a funeral was, that it was looked upon as an act of kindness and mercy to follow a corpse to the grave w; to which may be added, and what must always tend to increase the number at such a time, that, according to the Jewish canons x
“it was forbidden to do any work at the time a dead man was buried, even one of the common people.”
r T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 80. 2. Gloss. s T. Moed Katon, fol. 24. 1, 2. & Kiddashin, fol. 80. 2. Massech. Semachot, c. 3. sect. 2, 3. Maimon. Hilch. Ebel, c. 12. sect. 10, 11. t Ut in locis supra citatis. u Vid Misn. Beracot, c. 3. sect. 1. w Maimon. in Misn. Peah, c. 1. sect. 1. x Piske Tosaphot Megilla, art. 106. T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 27. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Behold ( ). The introduces the apodosis of the temporal sentence and has to be left out in translations. It is a common idiom in Luke, .
There was carried out (). Imperfect passive indicative. Common verb in late Greek for carrying out a body for burial, though here only in the N.T. (). Rock tombs outside of the village exist there today.
One that was dead (). Perfect active participle of , to die.
The only son of his mother ( ). Only begotten son to his mother (dative case). The compound adjective ( and ) is common in the old Greek and occurs in the N.T. about Jesus (John 3:16; John 3:18). The “death of a widow’s only son was the greatest misfortune conceivable” (Easton).
And she was a widow ( ). This word gives the finishing touch to the pathos of the situation. The word is from , bereft. The mourning of a widow for an only son is the extremity of grief (Plummer).
Much people ( ). Considerable crowd as often with this adjective . Some were hired mourners, but the size of the crowd showed the real sympathy of the town for her.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Carried out. The tombs were outside of the city.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city,” (hos de engisen to pute tes poleos) “Then as he came near to the gate of the city,” of Nain, near to the city entrance, not necessarily a walled city.
2) “Behold, there was a dead man carried out,” (kai idou eksekomizeto tehnekos) “And behold one who had died was being carried out of and away from the city,” Eze 43:7; Eze 43:9, for burial, to be buried, outside and away from the populace of the city, for sanitary purposes, to avoid ceremonial defilement according to Jewish law and custom, Jer 2:7; Jer 16:18; For Jews were usually buried the same day of their death.
3) “The only son of his mother,” (monogenes huios te metri autou) “Who was an only born heir (son) to his mother,” who was now left as a lone family member. Jews, Greeks, and Romans alike buried their dead outside the city. David’s case alone is an exception, 2Ki 21:18.
4) “And she was a widow:” (kai aute en chera) “And she was (existed, lived as) a widow,” a woman whose husband had deceased, with no earthly protector or supporter.
5) “And much people of the city was with her.” (kai ochlos tes poleos hikanos en sun aute) “And a large crowd of the city was closely with her,” showing respect, affections, weeping, and extending condolence, according to Jewish custom, as they came out from Jerusalem to console Martha and Mary, Joh 11:19; Joh 11:31; Joh 11:33.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12. The only son of his mother. The reason which induced Christ to restore the young man to life was, that he saw the widow bereft of her only son, and had compassion on her: for he did not withhold his favor till some one requested it, as he did on other occasions; but anticipated the prayers of all, and restored the son to his mother, by whom nothing of this sort was expected. We have here a striking emblem of his freely bestowed compassion in raising us from death to life. By touching the coffin he intended perhaps to show, that he would by no means shrink from death and the grave, in order to obtain life for us. He not only deigns to touch us with his hand, in order to quicken us when we are dead, but, in order that he might raise us to heaven, himself descends into the grave.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) The only son of his mother, and she was a widow.The two facts are obviously stated as enhancing the bitterness of the mothers sorrow. The one prop of her life, the hope of her widowhood, had been taken from her. The burial, as was the invariable practice in the East, took place outside the city.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘Now when he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, there was carried out one that was dead, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and many people of the city was with her.’
But when He drew near to that town He saw a funeral procession coming towards Him. Burials took place outside towns, and burial sites have been discovered near Nain. Jesus no doubt saw many funeral processions for in those days life was uncertain. The thing, however that distinguished this one was a particular weeping woman, for she was a widow, and her only main mainstay was now dead. Life held little for her in the future. She was fairly well known for almost the whole of the town were taking part. Taking part in such an even was seen by Jews as a meritorious act. And there was also probably a great sense of sympathy with her. For a widow to lose her only son was a huge tragedy. Perhaps Jesus knew the woman. She did not live far away from the town where He had grown up. Or perhaps He knew her because of Who He was.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 7:12. There was a dead man carried out, It was customary for the Jews to bury out of the city, as appears from Mat 27:60. This custom was likewise observed by other nations. The Jews might have introduced it to prevent their being polluted by touching the biers or dead bodies of their countrymen; but both they and the heathens might have had a further reason for this institution, namely, the preservation of their health; it being notorious that the effluvia which proceed from dead bodies are very pernicious, and often cause pestilential disorders. Hence it has been matter of wonder, why modern Christians should not only have their burial-grounds contiguous to their churches, but even bury in their churches; a custom most certainly prejudicial to health, and introduced, as is most likely, by superstition and pride. But see this subject completely handled in a judicious pamphlet, intitled, “Seasonable Considerations on the indecent and dangerous Custom of burying in ChurchesandChurchyards.” Some particular circumstances of distress are mentioned in the case before us: the young man to be buried, was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and consequently had no prospect of more children: hence the sympathy which she received from her relations and acquaintance was singular. A crowd of people muchgreater than was usual on such occasions, in testimony of their concern for her, attended her; while she performed the last duty to her beloved son. This circumstance the evangelist takes notice of to shew, that though there had been no persons presentat the miracle but those who attended the funeral, it was illustrious on account of the number of the witnesses.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
Ver. 12. There was a dead man ] Though a young man. Our decrepit age both expects death and solicits it, but vigorous youth looks strangely upon that grim sergeant of God. Senibus mors in ianuis, adolescentibus in insidiis, ( Bern.) Death seizeth on old men, and lays wait for the youngest.
Carried out ] sc. Out of the city, for without the gates were the burying places of old, for fear of annoyance by ill air. Hence harlots were called moechae bustuariae, sluts of the tombs, because they were thrust out of the city to play their pranks, where the dead were buried, as being dead while they lived. (Turneb. Advarsar. )
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
12. . ] The Jews ordinarily buried outside the gates of their cities. The kings however of the house of David were buried in the city of David; and it was a denunciation on Jehoiakim that he should be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. Jer 22:19 . “One entrance alone Nain could have had; that which opens on the rough hill side in its downward slope to the plain. It must have been in this steep descent,” &c. Stanley, ut supra. The usage of with a dative is classical: cf. Herod. vii. 221, : sch. Agam. 872, .
. ] Some few cursive mss. read this in the dative (omg. ), (see also the readg. of [65] ): but even in this case it is more agreeable to Luke’s usage to take it as a nominative. See ch. Luk 2:25 ; Luk 2:36 , and accentuate, as there, .
[65] The CODEX CANTABRIGIENSIS, or BEZ, so called because it was presented by Beza in 1581 to the University Library at Cambridge; where it is now exposed to view in a glass case. He procured it in 1562, from the monastery of St. Irenus at Lyons. It is on parchment, and contains the Gospels and Acts, with a Latin version. Its lacun, which are many, will be perceived by the inner marginal letters in this edition. It once contained the Catholic Epistles: 3Jn 1:11-14 in Latin is all that now remains. It was edited with very accurate imitative types, at the expense of the University of Cambridge, by Dr. Kipling, in 1793. A new edition carefully revised and more generally accessible was published by Mr. Scrivener in 1864, and has been collated for this Edition. In the introduction some ten or twelve correctors are distinguished, whose readings are found in the notes at the end of the volume. The text of the Codex Bez is a very peculiar one, deviating more from the received readings and from the principal manuscript authorities than any other. It appears to have been written in France, and by a Latin transcriber ignorant of Greek, from many curious mistakes which occur in the text, and version attached. It is closely and singularly allied to the ancient Latin versions, so much so that some critics have supposed it to have been altered from the Latin: and certainly many of the phnomena of the MS. seem to bear out the idea. Where D differs in unimportant points from the other Greek MSS., the difference appears to be traceable to the influence of Latin forms and constructions. It has been observed, that in such cases it frequently agrees with the Latin codex e (see the list further on). Its peculiarities are so great, that in many passages, while the sense remains for the most part unaltered, hardly three words together are the same as in the commonly received text. And that these variations often arise from capricious alteration, is evident from the way in which the Gospels, in parallel passages, have been more than commonly interpolated from one another in this MS. The concurrence with the ancient Latin versions seems to point to a very early state of the text; and it is impossible to set aside the value of D as an index to its history; but in critical weight it ranks the lowest of the leading MSS. Its age has been very variously given: the general opinion now is that it was written in the latter end of the fifth or the sixth century .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 7:12 . , and lo! The introduces the apodosis, but is really superfluous; very Hebrew (Godet). , was being carried out (here only in N. T.); used in the classics (Act 5:6 ). Loesner cites examples of the use of this verb in the same sense, from Philo. , : these words supply the pathos of the situation, depict the woe of the widowed mother, and by implication emphasise the benevolence of the miracle, always a matter of interest for Lk.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
the gate. All funerals were outside.
behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6. To call attention to the two great crowds meeting.
a dead man. Greek ho nekros. App-139.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
12. .] The Jews ordinarily buried outside the gates of their cities. The kings however of the house of David were buried in the city of David; and it was a denunciation on Jehoiakim that he should be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. Jer 22:19. One entrance alone Nain could have had; that which opens on the rough hill side in its downward slope to the plain. It must have been in this steep descent, &c. Stanley, ut supra. The usage of with a dative is classical: cf. Herod. vii. 221, : sch. Agam. 872, .
. ] Some few cursive mss. read this in the dative (omg. ), (see also the readg. of [65]): but even in this case it is more agreeable to Lukes usage to take it as a nominative. See ch. Luk 2:25; Luk 2:36, and accentuate, as there, .
[65] The CODEX CANTABRIGIENSIS, or BEZ,-so called because it was presented by Beza in 1581 to the University Library at Cambridge; where it is now exposed to view in a glass case. He procured it in 1562, from the monastery of St. Irenus at Lyons. It is on parchment, and contains the Gospels and Acts, with a Latin version. Its lacun, which are many, will be perceived by the inner marginal letters in this edition. It once contained the Catholic Epistles: 3Jn 1:11-14 in Latin is all that now remains. It was edited with very accurate imitative types, at the expense of the University of Cambridge, by Dr. Kipling, in 1793. A new edition carefully revised and more generally accessible was published by Mr. Scrivener in 1864, and has been collated for this Edition. In the introduction some ten or twelve correctors are distinguished, whose readings are found in the notes at the end of the volume. The text of the Codex Bez is a very peculiar one, deviating more from the received readings and from the principal manuscript authorities than any other. It appears to have been written in France, and by a Latin transcriber ignorant of Greek, from many curious mistakes which occur in the text, and version attached. It is closely and singularly allied to the ancient Latin versions, so much so that some critics have supposed it to have been altered from the Latin: and certainly many of the phnomena of the MS. seem to bear out the idea. Where D differs in unimportant points from the other Greek MSS., the difference appears to be traceable to the influence of Latin forms and constructions. It has been observed, that in such cases it frequently agrees with the Latin codex e (see the list further on). Its peculiarities are so great, that in many passages, while the sense remains for the most part unaltered, hardly three words together are the same as in the commonly received text. And that these variations often arise from capricious alteration, is evident from the way in which the Gospels, in parallel passages, have been more than commonly interpolated from one another in this MS. The concurrence with the ancient Latin versions seems to point to a very early state of the text; and it is impossible to set aside the value of D as an index to its history;-but in critical weight it ranks the lowest of the leading MSS. Its age has been very variously given: the general opinion now is that it was written in the latter end of the fifth or the sixth century.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Luk 7:12. , was being carried forth) It is right that the dead should be carried forth for burial to places somewhat removed from the abodes of the living.- , with her) Funeral rites and services were designed rather for the sake of the mourners than for the sake of the dead bodies.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
the only: Luk 8:42, Gen 22:2, Gen 22:12, 2Sa 14:7, 1Ki 17:9, 1Ki 17:12, 1Ki 17:18, 1Ki 17:23, 2Ki 4:16, 2Ki 4:20, Zec 12:10
a widow: Job 29:13, Act 9:39, Act 9:41, 1Ti 5:4, 1Ti 5:5, Jam 1:27
and much: Luk 8:52, Joh 11:19
Reciprocal: Gen 44:20 – he alone Lev 10:4 – carry Jdg 11:34 – neither Rth 1:5 – and the woman Psa 88:10 – shall Ecc 7:4 – heart Isa 47:9 – these two Jer 6:26 – make thee Amo 8:10 – as the Mar 1:41 – moved Mar 5:23 – besought Luk 9:38 – look 1Ti 5:3 – widows Heb 11:35 – Women
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
LIFE FROM THE DEAD
There was a dead man carried out.
Luk 7:12
Let us fix our thoughts on some of the salient details and teachings of this instructive narrative.
I. Jesus Christ was there.So far as we know it was His only visit to Nain. He knew what had happened and what He would do. All is designed and arranged beforehand. There is no chance. All is ordered as then, now, and always, here and everywhere, according to the same good will and unerring wisdom.
II. Then note the sympathy.This word compassion is one of the keynotes of the record of the Saviours life. Again and again it is told of Him. The sight of any kind of suffering or of trouble at once aroused the feeling. The widowed mother speaks no word. She offers no petition. Perhaps she has never so much as heard of the Prophet of Nazareth. But there is a silent eloquence in her tears that speaks to the soul of the Man Christ Jesus. A true compassion is always anxious without solicitation to soothe and to relieve. It may be that only a word can be spoken. But the simple word, coming from an honest and good heart, is apt to go to the heart. But the Lord Jesus in softly saying Weep not, is here engaged in part of the work He came to fulfil. The promised Messiah was to bind up the brokenhearted.
III. Then came the word of majesty and mightArise!There is a rising up of the prostrate form. There must have been at first a bewildered look of blank astonishment. Then there is heard the well-known voice of the living man. The words are audible to the bearers of the bier, and to the amazed mother. The crowd presses on and gathers round in reverent awe.
IV. The reunion.Think of the inexpressible joy of that first renewed embrace between mother and son. He who had originally given him gives him back to her once again. He Himself had the blessed experience of a mothers love, and was to know when the hour was come what it was for an only son to part from a beloved mother and she a widow, and that upon a cross. May we not venture to see in this tender act a dim forecast of that time of happy reunions when the dear ones, now for a time lost to one another, shall be given back to one another.
Rev. Canon Austen.
Illustration
Observe carefully a difference between the wording of the Old and of the Revised Version. It is not without significance. The former reads, there was a dead man carried out, the latter, there was carried out one that was dead. Notice the distinction, not a dead man, but one dead. Strictly speaking, a dead man is a contradiction in terms. A man cannot in a true and perfect and absolute sense die. A man has body, soul, and spirit. His body may and does die. But not his soul, still less his spirit. Therefore only part of the man dies, not the man himself, in all that is implied in manhood. The New Version uses the indeterminate indefinite word one. What does it indicate? Not a mass of matter, not a neuter object, but a being that had life apart from all else and a something that happened to a part of that being, a something which we call death. This is a significant difference. It points to a condition which we do not altogether understand, and which it is therefore hard to describe with accuracy. The truth is our present resources fail us when we try to set death before us. We are face to face with a mystery which partly baffles us. So our thoughts and our words become confused.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
2
The death of this young man was especially saddening by the circumstance that he was the only support of his widowed mother; this explains why much people was with her and thus showing their sympathy for her.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
[There was a dead man carried out.] Amongst the Talmudists, a dead corpse going out; is commonly a phrase which is first understood of carrying the corpse out of the court-gate.
“At what time do they take their beds lower? From the time that the person deceased is carried out of the court-gate of his own house.”
Secondly, It is taken also for carrying the corpse out of the city: for the burying-places were not near the city.
“The infant dying before it be thirty days old, is carried out in the bosom; and is buried by one woman and two men.”
“An infant of thirty days old is carried out in a little coffin. R. Judah saith, Not in a coffin that is carried on men’s shoulders, but in their arms.”
A child of three years old is carried out in a bed; and so onward from that age.
[Much people was with her.] R. Simeon Ben Eliezer saith, for the dead that is carried out on his bed there are many mourners; but if he be not carried out on his bed [but in a coffin], there are not many mourners.
If the deceased person be known to many, then many accompany him.
There were ordinarily at such funerals those that carried the bier, and some to take their turns, and some also to take their turns again. For as the Gloss hath it, every one desired that office.
There were also those that stood in order about the mourners to comfort them.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Luk 7:12. There was carried out. Graves were commonly outside the towns.
The only son of his mother, etc. The circumstances were peculiarly adapted to call forth compassion. He might have learned these circumstances from some of the crowd, much people accompanying the widow, but He doubtless knew them of Himself. Such knowledge befits One who wrought such a miracle. Indeed the meeting was not accidental but providential, and foreknown by our Lord Himself. There is no reason why He should have gone so far from Capernaum, and rapidly, as it would seem, unless it were to meet this funeral procession.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Friends were carrying the corpse out of the city gate to bury it outside the town, as was customary. The fact that the widow now had no surviving husband or son meant that she was in desperate circumstances economically as well as emotionally (cf. 1Ki 17:10). She would probably become destitute without someone to provide for her needs. The large retinue of mourners was common though it suggests that she had friends.