Luke 20:42

20:42-43 Jesus quotes Ps 110:1, which indicates that the Messiah is David’s Lord.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 20:42. Ἐν βίβλῳ ψαλμῶν, in the book of the Psalms) Therefore at that time already, and long before, the Psalms were read in a collected form, constituting one complete body or work.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 20:42 . ἐν βίβλῳ ψ ., in the book of Psalms, in place of ἐν τῷ πνεύματι τ . ἁγ . (in the Holy Spirit, Mk.), which one might have expected Lk. to retain if he found it in his source. But he probably names the place in O.T. whence the quotation is taken for the information of his readers. That what was written in the Psalms, was spoken by the Holy Spirit, was axiomatic for him. ὑποπόδιον , as in the Psalms, for ὑποκάτω in Mt. and Mk. according to the approved readings. Lk. seems to have turned the passage up (Holtzmann, H. C.).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42. in the book of Psalms] Psa_110:1. The Jews universally regarded it as a Messianic Psalm, and in Luk_20:3 the LXX. renders, “From the womb, before the morning star, did I beget thee.”

The Lord said to my Lord] In the Hebrew it is “Jehovah said to my Lord (Adonai).”

Sit thou on my right hand] Comp. Mat_26:64.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And David himself saith in the Book of Psalms, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand. The Hebrew runs thus: "Jehovah said to my Lord (Adonai)." The Eternal is represented as speaking to Davids Lord, who is also David"s Son. (this appears clearer in St. Matthew"s account, Mat_22:41-46) The Eternal addresses this Person as One raised to sit by him, that is, as a Participator in his all-power, and yet this one is also David"s Son! The scribes are asked to explain this mystery; alone this can be done by referring to the golden chain of Hebrew Messianic prophecy; no scribe in the days of our Lord would do this. Such passages as Isa_9:6, 7 Mic_5:2; and Mal_3:1, give a complete and exhaustive answer to the question of Jesus.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psalm cx, 1.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Lord Adonai. (See Scofield "Psa 110:1").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42. ἐν βίβλῳ ψαλμῶν. Psa 110:1. The Jews regarded it as a Messianic Psalm, and in Luk 20:3 the LXX[352] renders, “From the womb, before the morning star, did I beget thee.”

[352] LXX. Septuagint.

ὁ κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου. In the Hebrew it is “Jehovah said to my Lord” (Adonai).

ἐκ δεξιῶν μου. Comp. Mat 26:64.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42.] On ἐν βίβλῳ ψαλμ., Wordsw. says, “added here as conveying information necessary to Gentile readers.” This might be well, did the words occur in the Evangelist’s narrative: but surely not, when they are in a discourse of our Lord. If His words were so loosely reported as this, where is any dependence on the accuracy of the Evangelists?

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42. αὐτὸς γάρ. is the reading of א B L R I 33, l, Aegyptt., and may be safely preferred to καὶ αὐτός (A D P, Syrr. Vulg. Goth.). Q has καὶ αὐτὸς γάρ.

ἐν βίβλῳ ψαλμῶν. See on 3:4. Mt. has πνεύματι and Mk. τῷ πν. τῷ ἁγίῳ for βίβλῳ ψαλμ͂ν. The quotation is verbatim the same in all three, excepting that Mt. and Mk. have ὑποκάτω for the ὑποπόδιον of LXX. and Lk. All three omit the ὁ before Κύριος. In the Hebrew we have different words for Lord: “Jehovah saith to Adonai.” Psa 110. was always believed to be Messianic, and to have been written by David. That it is Messianic is a matter of spiritual interpretation; and, as Jesus here gives this doctrine the sanction of His authority, no loyal Christian will consider that he is free to question it. The authorship of the Psalm is a question of Criticism; and nothing in the method of Christ’s teaching, or in the contents of Scripture generally, warrants us in believing that He here frees us from the duty of investigating a problem which is capable of being solved by our own industry and acuteness. We have no right to expect that Scripture will save us from the discipline of patient research by supplying us with infallible answers to questions of history, chronology, geology, and the like.

The last word has not yet been spoken as to the authorship of Psa 110.; but it is a mistake to maintain that Jesus has decided the question. There is nothing antecedently incredible in the hypothesis that in such matters, as in other details of human information, He condescended not to know more than His contemporaries, and that He therefore believed what He had been taught the school and in the synagogue (see footnote, p. 124). Nor ought we summarily to dismiss the suggestion that, although He knew that the Psalm was not written by David, He yet abstained from challenging beliefs respecting matters of fact, because the premature and violent correction of such beliefs would have been more harmful to His work than their undisturbed continuance would be. In this, as in many things, the correction of erroneous opinion might well be left to time. But this suggestion is less satisfactory than the other hypothesis. It should be noticed that, while Jesus affirms both the inspiration (Mt. Mk.) and the Messianic character (Mt. Mk. Lk.) of Ps. 110., yet the argumentative question with which He concludes need not be understood as asserting that David is the author of it, although it seems to imply this. It may mean no more than that the scribes have not fairly faced whale their own principles involve. Here is a problem, with which they ought to be quite familiar, and of which they ought to be able to give a solution. It is their position, and not His, that is open to criticism. The question, “Why callest thou Me good?” appears to serve a similar purpose. It seems to imply that Christ is not to be called good in the sense that God is called good (Mar 10:18). But it need mean no more than that the young man who addressed Jesus as “Good Master” ought to reflect as to the significance of such language before making use of it. 1

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.