An 1869 German woodcut illustration of teachers and their students gathered in the courtyard of a mosque (possibly al-Azhar) in Cairo. \u00a0 \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The outer court of the temple was a place where various teachers would discuss the Law with their \u201cstudents,\u201d much as still happens in some of the larger mosques of the Middle East today. \u00a0Jesus himself will teach in the temple years later, during his own public ministry.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Luke 2:48, Mary rebukes Jesus somewhat: \u00a0\u201cSon, why have you treated us so? \u00a0Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.\u201d \u00a0And his reply, in Luke 2:49, is something of a gentle and implicit rebuke to her<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cHow is it that you sought me? \u00a0Did you not know that I must be in my Father\u2019s house?\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The contrast is obvious between her suggestion that Joseph is Jesus\u2019 father and his statement that the God of the Temple is his Father.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Note, though, the way Luke 2:49 is rendered above, in the second edition of the Revised Standard Version: \u00a0\u201cDid you not know that I must be in my Father\u2019s house?\u201d \u00a0This is quite different from the King James Version, which reads \u201cWist\u00a0ye not that I must be about my\u00a0Father\u2019s\u00a0business?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Greek is slightly ambiguous: \u00a0\u201c\u03bf\u1f50\u03ba \u1f94\u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f45\u03c4\u03b9 \u1f10\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2 \u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b4\u03b5\u1fd6 \u03b5\u1f36\u03bd\u03b1\u03af \u03bc\u03b5;\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In his\u00a0BYU New Testament Commentary volume on Luke, S. Kent Brown explains that\u00a0\u201cThe expression is more abbreviated and less precise in the Greek text than it is in the King James rendition, presenting some ambiguity about the exact meaning of Jesus\u2019 comment. \u00a0Literally, we can translate it, \u2018in the things of my Father,\u2019 conveying the idea that Jesus has now engaged himself in his Father\u2019s affairs. \u00a0Another possibility is \u2018in my Father\u2019s house,\u2019 pointing to where he has been spending the last three days.\u201d \u00a0(166)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hence, Professor Brown\u2019s own rendition\u00a0has \u201cDid you not know that I must be in the things of my Father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 1545 Luther Bible also reflects the vagueness of the Greek rather well: \u00a0\u201cWisset ihr nicht, da\u00df ich sein mu\u00df in dem, das meines Vaters ist?\u201d \u00a0(Roughly, \u201cDo ye not know that I must be in that which is my Father\u2019s?\u201d)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it seems to me that a consensus is building about Luke 2:49 that tends to agree with the Revised Standard Version rather than the King James Version. \u00a0Here are some alternative modern translations:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t you know I had to be in my Father\u2019s house?\u201d \u00a0(New International Version)<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father\u2019s house?\u201d \u00a0(Common English Bible)<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you not know that I must be in my Father\u2019s house?\u201d \u00a0(J.B. Phillips)<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you not know that I must be in my Father\u2019s house?\u201d \u00a0(Thomas Wayment, of BYU)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, the comment in Luke 2:51 that \u201chis mother kept all these things in her heart\u201d again reveals Luke\u2019s interest in Mary\u2019s point of view and suggests that, whether via an interview with her or with somebody who had known her, he had gained special access to it.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Luke 2:41-52 \u00a0 If the roads were dry and not too terribly congested with other travelers, it was probably a five-day walk from Nazareth southward to Jerusalem. \u00a0And, of course, the return walk would have taken five days, as well. \u00a0So, altogether, the journey down and back would have required a week and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3229,1369,2974,3037,2625,3007,641],"class_list":["post-69835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-boyhood","tag-jesus","tag-luke","tag-mary","tag-new-testament","tag-new-testament-commentary","tag-temple"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>