Translation commentary on Luke 20:27 – 20:28

Exegesis:

proselthontes de tines tōn Saddoukaiōn ‘some of the Sadducees came (to him).’

Saddoukaios ‘Sadducee,’ i.e. a member of the religious group called Sadducees.

hoi antilegontes anastasin mē einai ‘who deny that there is a resurrection,’ qualifying the entire group of Sadducees, not the few of them who came to Jesus. For antilegō cf. on 2.34; here it is construed with mē and infinitive to indicate that which is denied. anastasis (cf. on 2.34) refers here and in vv. 33, 35, 36 to the eschatological resurrection.

(V. 28a) epērōtēsan ‘(they) asked.’ As in v. 21f the actual question is preceded by two statements, i.e. of the principle involved (v. 28b), and of the case (vv. 29-32).

Translation:

Sadducees, or, ‘Sadducee men,’ ‘members of the (priestly) party/group of the Sadducees,’ ‘Jews called Sadducees.’ In transliteration the c may become s or k; the latter is preferable where possible.

That there is no resurrection, or ‘that the dead do not rise, or, come to life again,’ etc., cf. on 14.14.

(V. 28a) They asked him a question, saying, or “they set him a problem” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), or simply, ‘they said to him,’ cf. on “they asked him” in v. 21. In the latter case v. 33 may have to be introduced by, ‘then they asked him.’

Translation commentary on Luke 20:28b

Exegesis:

didaskale ‘teacher,’ cf. on 3.12.

Mōusēs egrapsen hēmin ‘Moses wrote for us,’ i.e. in Deut. 25.5-10, cf. on 5.14.

ean tinos adelphos apothanē echōn gunaika ‘if a man’s brother dies having a wife.’ echōn gunaika means ‘having a wife at the time of his death,’ hence ‘leaving a wife.’

sperma ‘offspring,’ cf. on 1.55.

kai houtos ateknos ē ‘and (if) this one (i.e. the brother) is childless,’ still modified by ean. ateknos also v. 29.

Translation:

Moses wrote for us, or ‘M. ordered us in the law, or, in Scripture,’ “M. wrote this law for us” (Good News Translation, similarly Balinese), ‘the law of Moses (see on 2.22f) tells us.’ Us, preferably inclusive.

If a man’s brother dies … the man must … The components of the sentence may have to be distributed differently, e.g. ‘if an older brother dies … the/his younger brother must…,’ ‘if a man has a brother who (or, and that brother) dies…, he (or, that man) must…’ (cf. Bible de Jérusalem); or one may have to introduce first some of the persons concerned, e.g. “if there are brothers, and one dies…, then the next should…” (New English Bible), ‘if there is a married couple, and the husband (lit. the male-one-of-it) dies … then the brother of the deceased must…’ (Balinese).

… brother dies, having (or leaving) a wife but no children, or, .’.. brother dies, who is married but has/leaves no children,’ .’.. married brother dies childless.’

Take the wife, or, ‘marry the deceased’s wife, or the widow,’ or, ‘take his sister-in-law as his wife’ (Thai). For ‘marry’ see on 14.20 and references. Where comparable customs are known a specific term for a levirate marriage may be available, e.g. in Javanese, where a verbal derivation of ‘pillow’ is used (probably referring to the pillow on which the first husband laid his head), or in Batak Toba, ‘to act-as-substitute-with-reference-to the wife.’ Elsewhere the custom described may be actually shocking, e.g. in Zarma, where marrying one’s brother’s wife is strictly forbidden. In such a case an explanatory note will be required.

And raise up children for his brother. Descriptive renderings used are, “and carry on his brother’s family” (New English Bible), ‘in order to continue his older brother’s family line’ (Thai), “so they can have children for the dead man” (Good News Translation), ‘in order that thus his older brother’s offspring may not be lost’ (Tzeltal), ‘that he may make flowers alive for his older brother’ (Uab Meto), ‘the children of that woman will be called the children of her dead husband’ (Tae’ 1933).

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 20:28

20:28a

“Teacher,” they said: The Berean Standard Bible places the words they said after the word Teacher. In Greek, the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they said occurs at the beginning of 20:28a. Place the words they said where it is natural in your language.

If you begin 20:28a with they said you may want to use a word or phrase to show the connection between 20:28a and 20:27b. For example:

⌊So⌋ they said to him
-or-

⌊With this in mind⌋, they said to him

For help in translating Teacher, see the note on 20:21a.

Moses wrote for us: This phrase introduces a specific law that God gave the Jews. Moses wrote this law for them in Deuteronomy 25:5–10. The word us here includes Jesus, because he also was a Jew.

In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit that what Moses wrote was a law. It may also be necessary to clarify that the phrase for us refers to the Jews in general. It does not refer only to the Sadducees of Jesus’ time. One way to clarify these things is:

Our(incl) law that Moses wrote says
-or-
Moses wrote this law for us Jews:

In some languages it may be more natural to refer to this particular law as a custom. For example:

Moses wrote that we Jews should follow this custom

Moses: Moses was one of the greatest leaders of the Jews. He lived long before Jesus was born. He wrote God’s laws for the Jews. That is why the first five books of the Old Testament are often called “the Law of Moses.”

20:28b

if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children: This clause describes the situation that Moses gave instructions about in Deuteronomy 25:5–10. It is a situation that might happen. A married man might die without having any children. Moses wrote a law that would apply to the wife and the man’s brother in this situation.

Languages have different ways to begin a description like this. Another way to do this in English is:

He told us what a man should do when his married brother dies without having any children.

In some languages it may be more natural to begin by talking about the brother who died. For example:

If a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man’s brother must marry the widow

Use a natural way in your language to begin describing this situation.

a man’s brother: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as brother could refer to an older or younger brother. The verses in Deuteronomy do not indicate whether one brother was older or younger than the other. However, if you must be specific, you can specify that the older brother died. It is more likely that an older brother would marry and die before his younger brother.

20:28c

the man is to marry his brother’s widow: This clause tells what a man must do in the situation described in 20:28b. It is the Jewish law and custom for that situation.

the man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the man refers to the surviving brother. Refer to him in the way that is most natural in your language.

widow: A widow is a woman whose husband has died. If she remarries, she is no longer a widow. However, she would still be considered the widow of her deceased husband.

20:28d

raise up offspring for him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as offspring is literally “seed.” Here it refers to a son and that son’s descendants. When the brother and the widow had their first son, that son would inherit the dead brother’s name and land. Through this son, the dead brother would then have descendants and his family could continue.

You may want to make explicit in your translation that only the first child would be considered the child of the dead brother. For example:

Their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
…his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will be the brother’s heir. (New Living Translation (1996))

Consider if it would be helpful to have a footnote briefly explaining this custom. For example:

In ancient Israel there was a custom that if a man married and then died childless, one of his brothers should marry his widow. The first son that the widow bore in her new marriage would legally be the son of her first husband. He would be the heir of the first husband’s name and property. See Deuteronomy 25:5–10.

for him: In this context the phrase for him means “in his brother’s name” or “to keep alive his brother’s family line.” Other ways to translate the phrase for him are:

who will carry on the brother’s name (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
who will be considered the dead man’s child
-or-
who will be his brother’s heir

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