Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 10:31
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
31. by chance ] Rather, by coincidence, i.e. at the same time. The word ‘chance’ ( ) does not occur in Scripture. The nearest approach to it is the participle in 1Co 15:37 (if be omitted in Luk 10:30). Chance, to the sacred writers, as to the most thoughtful of the Greeks, is ‘the daughter of Forethought;’ is “God’s unseen Providence, by men nicknamed Chance” (Fuller). “Many good opportunities work under things which seem fortuitous.” Bengel.
a certain priest ] His official duties at Jerusalem were over, and he was on his way back to his home in the priestly city of Jericho. Perhaps the uselessness of his external service is implied. In superstitious attention to the letter, he was wholly blind to the spirit, Deu 22:1-4 . See 1Jn 3:17. He was selfishly afraid of risk, trouble, and ceremonial defilement, and, since no one was there to know of his conduct, he was thus led to neglect the traditional kindness of Jews towards their own countrymen (Tac. Hist. v. 5, Juv. xiv. 103, 104), as well as the positive rules of the Law (Deu 22:4) and the Prophets (Isa 58:7).
that way ] Rather, on that road. It is emphatically mentioned, because there was another road to Jericho which was safe and therefore more frequently used.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
By chance – Accidentally, or as it happened. It means that he did not do it with a design to aid the man that was wounded.
A certain priest – It is said that not less than 12,000 priests and Levites dwelt at Jericho; and as their business was at Jerusalem, of course there would be many of them constantly traveling on that road.
When he saw him – He saw him lie, but came not near him.
Passed by on the other side – On the farther side of the way. Did not turn out of his course even to come and see him.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 31. And by chance] properly means the coincidence of time and circumstance. At the time in which the poor Jew was half dead, through the wounds which he had received, a priest came where he was. So the priest’s coming while the man was in that state is the coincidence marked out by the original words.
Verses 31. – 32. Priest and Levite are mentioned here, partly because they were the most frequent travellers on this road, and partly to show that these were the persons who, from the nature of their office, were most obliged to perform works of mercy; and from whom a person in distress had a right to expect immediate succour and comfort; and their inhuman conduct here was a flat breach of the law, De 22:1-4.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
31, 32. came down a . . . priest . .. and a LeviteJericho, the second city of Judea, was a city ofthe priests and Levites, and thousands of them lived there. The twohere mentioned are supposed, apparently, to be returning from templeduties, but they had not learnt what that meaneth, ‘I will havemercy and not sacrifice’ [TRENCH].
saw himIt was notinadvertently that he acted.
came and lookedafurther aggravation.
passed byalthough thelaw expressly required the opposite treatment even of the beastnot only of their brethren, but of their enemy (Deu 22:4;Exo 23:4; Exo 23:5;compare Isa 58:7).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way,…. Who had been at Jerusalem, to take his turn in the courses, and was now returning to Jericho, where the stationary men were, to which he belonged: for it is said t, that
“the former prophets appointed twenty and four courses; and for every course there was a station at Jerusalem, of priests, and of Levites, and of Israelites; and when the time of the course came to go up, the priests and Levites went up to Jerusalem. The Rabbins teach, that there were twenty four courses in the land of Israel, and there were twelve at Jericho.”
And which is elsewhere u related thus;
“the former prophets appointed four and twenty courses, and for every course there was a station at Jerusalem, of priests, of Levites, and of Israelites; the tradition is, that four and twenty thousand were the station from Jerusalem, and half a station from Jericho; though Jericho was able to furnish out a perfect station itself; but for the sake of dividing the glory to Jerusalem, it produced but half a station.”
So that it is no wonder to hear of priests and Levites passing to and fro in this road. Nor was this a chance matter with respect to God, by whose providence all things are ordered, directed, and governed; nor any wonderful thing with respect to men, which fell out in an uncommon way, beyond expectation; the phrase only signifies, that so it came to pass:
and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side: when he saw him naked, and in such a bloody condition, he might take him for one really dead, and therefore crossed the way on purpose, lest he should any ways touch him, and be defiled by him, and so break the law, and incur the penalty of it, mentioned in Nu 19:16 or to shun so horrible a sight; or rather, through hardness of heart, and want of compassion.
t T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 27. 1. u T. Hieros. Pesachim, fol. 30. 3. & Taanith, fol. 67. 4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
By chance ( ). Here only in the N.T., meaning rather, “by way of coincidence.” It is a rare word elsewhere and in late writers like Hippocrates. It is from the verb , though is more common.
Was going down (). Imperfect active as in verse 30. Passed by on the other side (). Second aorist active indicative of , a late double compound here (verses Luke 10:31; Luke 10:32) only in the N.T., but in the papyri and late writers. It is the ingressive aorist (), came alongside (), and then he stepped over to the opposite side () of the road to avoid ceremonial contamination with a stranger. A vivid and powerful picture of the vice of Jewish ceremonial cleanliness at the cost of moral principle and duty. The Levite in verse 32 behaved precisely as the priest had done and for the same reason.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
By chance [ ] . Only here in New Testament. The word means, literally, a coincidence. By coincidence of circumstances. There came down. Imperfect, was going down, as Rev.
Priest. The Talmudists said that there were almost as many priests at Jericho as at Jerusalem.
Passed by on the other side [] . The verb occurs only here and ver. 32.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And by chance there came down a certain priest that way:” (kata sugkurian de hiereus tis katebainen en te hodo ekeine) “Then by coincidence (or providence) a certain priest was going down in the same way,” perhaps a priest from Jericho, on his way home from the temple in Jerusalem. For Jericho was a priestly city, with 12,000 priests, said to have lived there in the days of Christ.
2) “And when he saw him,” (kai edon auton) “And upon seeing him,” in his bruised, wounded, bleeding condition he showed no mercy, supposing himself to be more righteous than the wounded unclean Samaritan, Joh 4:9; Act 10:28.
3) “He passed by on the other side.” (antiparethen) “He passed by opposite him,” right over against him, 1Jn 3:17, on the other side of the road, deliberately unwilling to lend any hand of help or compassion, to his fellow countrymen, Mat 5:7. Though the duty of showing compassion was mandated in their own law, Exo 23:4-5; Deu 22:1-4.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(31) By chance. . . .The passage is the only one in the New Testament in which the phrase occurs. Our Lord seems to use it as with a touch of what we have elsewhere termed irony. It seemed so casual, as such opportunities always do to men who neglect them, and yet it was, in the purpose of God, the test-moment of each mans character and life.
There came down.Better, as before, there was going down.
A certain priest.Jericho was at this time a priestly city, and so the journey of the priest from Jerusalem, as if returning from his week of sacerdotal offices there, has a touch of vivid naturalness. He, too, like the questioner, had been doing his duty to God, according to his measure of that duty.
Passed by on the other side.The priest shrank, it might be, (1) from the trouble and peril of meddling with a man whom robbers had just attacked, and (2) from the fear of incurring a ceremonial defilement by coming into contact with what might possibly be a corpse before he reached it. He accordingly passed by on the other side, not of the road only, but of the ravine through which the road passed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
31. By chance By a concurrence or coincidence of the two things.
A certain priest Very naturally; for Jericho was by law a sacerdotal city; that is, a city for the residence of the priests who, in their turn, went up to Jerusalem to perform their office at the Temple. No less than twelve thousand priests here lived, one or more of whom were daily seen walking this route.
On the other side He availed himself of the broad road to sheer away from the victim.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And by chance a certain priest was going down that way, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.”
As we see above this verse is central to the chiasmus indicating its central importance. It is thus to be seen as of prime significance in the passage. In the first place it was an example of total lack of compassion and of pure self-interest. The priest saw the half-dead man lying there (note the deliberate connection with the idea of death) and passed by on the other side. And this a priest who served in the house of the Lord, who taught the Law, and who was called on by the Law to love his neighbour as himself including ‘strangers’. But Jesus probably intended us to see more than that. And that is that one reason that the priest passed by on the other side was because he was going up to the Temple to worship, and he thus did not want to be rendered unclean by tending one who was on the way to becoming a dead carcase. He saw his religious purity as more important to him than the man’s need and persuaded himself that he was justified in leaving the man lying there because of the importance of his ritual duties. For it was clear to him that if the man was not already dead, he soon would be. And if he were to touch him he would then be unable to minister in the Temple. This is why he passed by ‘on the other side’. Ritual was to him more important than compassion and a human life.
And again there is in this the lesson that the whole priesthood of Israel had failed Israel, and that that was why Israel was like the victim of robbers. Their concentration on ritual had overridden their ideas of compassion and mercy. Indeed they themselves had become servants in a den of robbers. When it came to the need of Israel, they thus passed by ‘on the other side’.
‘By chance.’ The expression shows that Jesus had no problem with speaking of ‘chance’, that is of random uncontrolled happenings.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 10:31. And by chance . Dr. Gill says, this word may as well be derived from the word and the Lord, as from , to happen; and so we may render the words, by divine Providence. The propriety of the circumstance of thepriest and Levite coming that way, will become more evident, if we consider that a very numerous body of priests and Levites dwelt at this time in Jericho. The word ‘, which we render in this and the following verse, passed by on the other side, might with more propriety be rendered simply in both places, passed by.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Ver. 31. And by chance ] Indeed by the providence of God overruling the matter, as it doth in things that to us are merely casual and contingent.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
31. ] Many priests journeyed this way, for Jericho was a priestly city; this man is perhaps represented as having been up to Jerusalem in the order of his course, and returning ( ).
The Law and Prophets enjoined the act of mercy which this priest refused (see Exo 23:4-5 ; Deu 22:1-4 ; Isa 58:7 ); not, it is true, literally , and therefore he neglected it.
“The form is uncommon: Polybius has and – .” Bleek.
, he did not even go up to him to examine him, but passed by on the opposite side of the road.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 10:31 . ( , from ), rare, late Greek = (Hesychius, , ), by chance; the probabilities against succour being at hand just when sorely wanted; still more improbable that three possibilities of succour should meet just there and then. But the supposition, duly apologised for, is allowable, as the story must go on. : Schanz infers from . that Jericho was not a sacerdotal city, as, since Lightfoot, has been usually taken for granted. But the phrase has its full meaning independently of this inference, vide above. , variously rendered either = passed by simply, or = passed the opposite way (going up), Grotius; or passed with the wounded man in full view, staring him in the face, a sight fit to awaken compassion in any one (Hahn); or passed by on the other side of the road.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
by = according to. Greek kata. App-104. chance = coincidence. Occurs only here in N.T.
there came down = was going down; his duties being over. Jericho was a priestly city,
priest. Who might become defiled. passed by on the other side. One word in Greek. antiparerchomai. Occurs only here and Luk 10:32 in N.T.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
31.] Many priests journeyed this way, for Jericho was a priestly city; this man is perhaps represented as having been up to Jerusalem in the order of his course, and returning ().
The Law and Prophets enjoined the act of mercy which this priest refused (see Exo 23:4-5; Deu 22:1-4; Isa 58:7); not, it is true, literally,-and therefore he neglected it.
The form is uncommon: Polybius has and -. Bleek.
, he did not even go up to him to examine him, but passed by on the opposite side of the road.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Luk 10:31. , by a contingency [chance]) Many good opportunities lie hid under those things which may seem to be matters of chance. Scripture describes nothing at random, as if a matter of chance: in this passage it is a suitable Syncategorema [accessory proposition added to the principal one] in relation to the parable; and it is opposed to that which is inevitable.-, a priest) There was many a journey of Priests and Levites wont to be taken on that road to the city and the temple.-, way) Even on the way-side, in inns, Luk 10:34, in the middle of the intercourse of social life, piety and mutual love can be exercised or omitted: Exo 23:4-5.-, he passed by on the other side) without showing any compassion, being in haste to go to Jerusalem.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
by: Rth 2:3, *marg. 2Sa 1:6, Ecc 9:11
priest: Jer 5:31, Hos 5:1, Hos 6:9, Mal 1:10
he passed: Job 6:14-21, Psa 38:10, Psa 38:11, Psa 69:20, Psa 142:4, Pro 21:13, Pro 24:11, Pro 24:12, Jam 2:13-16, 1Jo 3:16-18
Reciprocal: Deu 22:1 – hide thyself 1Sa 6:9 – a chance Mar 11:13 – haply
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2
All priests were Le-vites, but not all Levites were priests (Exo 29:9; Exo 40:12-16; Num 4:1-4), which is the reason for using the terms priest and Levite separately. But they were both Jews and considered themselves as being followers of the law which this inquirer also professed to follow.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
[When he saw him, he passed by on the other side.] And why, I pray, priest and Levite, do ye thus pass by a man in such a miserable condition? Was he not an Israelite? It is true, ye had learned out of your own schools not to succour a Gentile, no, nor a keeper of sheep, though he was an Israelite: now was this wounded man such a one? or did ye think ye should have contracted some pollution by touching one half dead? The word passed by on the other side; seems to hint as if they passed by him, keeping their distance from him: let them tell the reason themselves. For my part, I would impute it wholly to the mere want of charity.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Luk 10:31. By chance. In the language of common life. As a fact, most opportunities of doing good come as it were by chance, though providentially ordered of God.
A certain priest was going, etc. The naturalness of the parable is remarkable. Jericho was a priestly city, and the priests would go to and from Jerusalem to perform their duties in the order of their courses. The case is more pointed, if this one is regarded as coming from priestly duty in the house of God.
He passed by on the other side. Did not even stop to examine the mans condition. In the priests case, pride seems prominent. In thus acting he disobeyed the spirit, though not the letter of the Mosaic law (Exo 23:4-5; Deu 22:1-4; Isa 58:7).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 31
By chance. It is a morbid conscientiousness which scruples to use such expressions as accidentally and by chance in common conversation. They have a distinct and very proper meaning, and one which does not at all conflict with the idea of the constant and universal control of the overruling providence of God.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Jesus described the priest as happening to take the journey that brought him into contact with the unfortunate victim. This fact in no way excused the priest’s failure to show love, but it may suggest that from the priest’s viewpoint his discovery was accidental. Jesus simply recorded the priest’s unloving act without complicating the story with his motivation. For whatever reason, and the reason is unimportant, the priest failed to act in love even though common courtesy demanded that he stop and render aid. However a priest, of all people, should have shown compassion. He served in a "helping occupation," and he had frequent contact with the Scriptures and their demands. Moreover this priest had recently been in Jerusalem, the center of worship and spiritual influence.