LUKE 24:32 (PART 1) -- BASIC CONSIDERATIONS

 

Luke 24:32 (Part 1) – Basic Considerations

As an example of how much information can be derived by looking in detail into just one simple verse of Scripture, consider this statement in Luke's Gospel in which two followers of Jesus from Emmaus talk to one another as they are returning to to Jerusalem to inform the Apostles that they have seen the risen Christ. Below is the first of a three-part discussion of this verse.

Translations

Since most of us are not fluent in Greek, we are dependent on versions in our mother tongue. So the first thing we should do before delving deeper into this particular verse is to look at several renderings in our native language. Since mine is English (at least the American version of it), here are how some translations and paraphrases render the key phrase in v. 32:

        NEB: feel our hearts on fire

        Living Bible: our hearts felt strangely warm

        TEV: like a fire burning in us

        The Message: didn't we feel on fire

        NIV, NRSV: hearts burning within us

        JBPhillips: hearts glowing

        KJV, RSV did not our hearts burn within us

        JB: did not we feel our hearts on fire

        NASB: were not our hearts burning within us

        AB: were not our hearts on fire

As you can see from the above, there is virtually no disagreement between any of these versions concerning what the two followers said.

Text

However, a NT translation is only as good as the original Greek text from which it is derived. Now unfortunately there is no master document in Luke's own hand to use as a guide. Therefore the next best thing is to compare all the numerous copies of Luke's Gospel made over the years. In doing so, where the manuscripts differ in their wording, preference should generally be given to the earliest sources rather than just looking for a majority opinion, as the translators of the King James Version preferred to do.

So to determine whether there are any significant disagreements between copies of the original text, there are fortunately at least two available resources available to today's reader. The first is to purchase a good modern study Bible. It should contain textual notes in the margin or as footnotes at the bottom of each page to show where there are alternative readings found in some manuscripts (generally called “authorities” or abbreviated as mss.).

Turning to our specific verse in question, the New Oxford Annotated NRSV Bible contains the footnote “some mss omit 'within us'” In this case, you can see that whether that particular phrase was originally present or not in the original really makes no difference to the meaning of the verse.

A second type of resource can be purchased if you want to go into more detail, namely, a textual commentary. I will quote from two of the most popular of these for the New Testament:

Metzger explains that the RSV Translation “Committee was reluctant to omit the words ['within us'] entirely, in view of the possibility that copyists may have deleted them as superfluous in the context. It was thought best, therefore, to retain them in the text, but enclosed within square brackets indicating doubt that they have a right to stand there.”

Comfort: “The two earliest mss and the Syriac version omit 'within us'. A variant reading is...by way of scribal expansion.”

Vocabulary

Authors over the years have demonstrated that they tend to prefer the same words and phrases in their writings. Thus, if one sees a notable departure from the norm in a text, one might suspect that a later editor has tampered with it in order to make a point of his own. In the case of Luke 24:32, the key vocabulary includes “hearts,” “burn,” and “within us.” An analytical concordance of the Bible will show which original Greek words appear in this verse and where those words are utilized elsewhere. Thus, we find that Luke's Gospel uses “burn” (kaiomai) in 12:32 and 24:32. This word does not appear in either Matthew or Mark, and only once in John's Gospel. But it is also found once in Hebrews, a letter widely believed to have been written by Luke.

The plural “hearts” (kardia) can be found only once in Matthew, three times in Mark, and no less that thirteen times in Luke's Gospel. Again, we can find it once in Hebrews also. As for “within” (en), the statistics are Matthew (3), Mark (1), Luke (8).

Moving on to other vocabulary found in Luke 24:32, we come to “in the way” (odo), “opened up” (dianiogo), and “scriptures” (graphas), the last one in the specific context of explaining. “In the way” can also be found in Luke 9:57; 12:58; and 19:36. “Opened up” appears in Luke 2:23; 24:31, 32, 45 and Acts 16:14; 17:3 versus only one appearance in Mark's Gospel and none in Matthew or John.

As for “scriptures,” that word does appear in a number of places in the NT, especially in the context of being fulfilled. However, only Luke uses it in the more general sense of preaching from, expounding, opening up, and explaining. These sort of occasions are presented seven times in his writings – Luke 24:27,32,45; and Acts 8:32,35; 17:11; and 18:28.

There is one additional phrase of note in Luke 24:32 which reads, “(in) the same hour.” There are two different ways to express that idea in Greek, neither of which is utilized by Mark or John, and only once by Matthew:

        en ekeine te hora: Luke 7:21; Acts 16:33

        (en)aute te hora: Luke 10:21; 12:12; 20:19; 24:32; 24:33; Acts 16:18; 22:13

Thus, the inevitable conclusion is that in no way is the vocabulary of Luke 24:32 foreign to Luke. There are other deductions which can be made from these observations, but they will be mentioned elsewhere.

Word Meanings

This brings us to another aspect of the vocabulary in the passage, namely, whether these words in their present context are to be understood in a literal or figurative sense. Despite the claims of many fundamentalists that they always go with the literal meaning in biblical passages (unlike religious liberals who wish to rob Scripture of its true implications), when pressed they back down and re-define “literal” as “the most normal meaning” (which on occasion just happens to be figurative). So ignoring that quibbling minority opinion, common sense dictates that the two anonymous believers in the passage are not at all speaking about a bad case of heartburn after the dinner with Jesus. And even “heartburn” has nothing at all to do with the heart or heat.

Then what are the two really saying? Since they may be utilizing a figure of speech common in their own culture which is not the same as the meaning in our present one, we might be well advised to consider what Bible scholars might have to say regarding the subject.

Context

The immediate context of this verse is crystal-clear. The two men from Emmaus are quickly retracing their steps back to Jerusalem so that they can tell the Apostles the good news of their encounter with the resurrected Jesus.

Then there is the context within the four Gospel accounts which is generally most helpful in shedding light on difficult passages found there. To see if there are any such parallel mentions of the events in Luke 24:32 found in the other three Gospels, one could just leaf through those narratives to see whether or not they exist. But in this case, you would fail to find any. The conclusion is that Luke had some unique sources either not available to the other three or that he had a particular reason in mind for including this event. By the way, looking for such parallels is a much easier task if you happen to have close at hand a Harmony of the Gospels, a resource readily available in several different editions. All parallel passages are located in side-by-side columns so that you can readily compare them with one another.

Fortunately, in the case of Luke 24:32, there is an additional resource to fall back on, namely, the recounting of the same events in the second part of Luke's two-part history. But I will save that discussion for the second post in this series.