Luke 3:23
Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.) Luke 3:23 appears in the Greek New Testament. The text above is from the Tischendorf 8th edition. Each word links to its Strong’s number and a concise gloss. Click any word for its full Thayer’s Greek Lexicon entry.Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
- 1 hapax legomenon — only here in the Greek New Testament
- 1 first appearance in the Greek New Testament
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Compare translations 3
The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.
Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.
Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.
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World English Bible Public Domain
Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
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King James Version Public Domain
And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
And Jesus himself was beginning about 30 years old, being the son (as it was assumed) of Joseph, of Heli,
unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).
Show all 19 translations
Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.
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World English Bible Public Domain
Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
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Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
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Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
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King James Version Public Domain
And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
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American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
And Jesus himself, when he began `to teach', was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the `son' of Heli,
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Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
And Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
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Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
And Iesus himselfe began to bee about thirtie yeere of age, being as men supposed the sonne of Ioseph, which was the sonne of Eli,
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Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
And Jesus himself was beginning about the age of thirty years; being (as it was supposed) the son of Joseph, who was of Heli, who was of Mathat,
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Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, son of Joseph,
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Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
And Jesus Himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, Son of Joseph,
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Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
When Jesus began his ministry, he was about thirty years of age. He was the son (as it was assumed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
And Jesus himself was beginning about 30 years old, being the son (as it was assumed) of Joseph, of Heli,
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Darby Bible Public Domain
And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years old; being as was supposed son of Joseph; of Eli,
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World Messianic Bible Public Domain
Yeshua himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Eli,
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Webster's Bible Public Domain
And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, who was the son of Heli,
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Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
Jesus was around thirty when he began his public ministry. People presumed he was the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Heli,
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Bible in Basic English Public Domain
And Jesus at this time was about thirty years old, being the son (as it seemed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
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Text-Critical English NT CC BY 4.0
Jesus was about thirty years of age when he began his ministry, being the son (so it was thought) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
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Tyndale New Testament (1534) Public Domain
And Iesus him silfe was about thirty yere of age when he begane beinge as men supposed the sonne of Ioseph. which Ioseph was the sonne of Heli:
Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).
Word by word
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- Appears 1× in the Greek New Testament
- First appears here
- Part of Speech
- Noun · Proper, indeclinable
Full Thayer's Definition
- Καὶ kaí G2532 “and” Conjunction
- αὐτὸς autós G846 “he” Personal pronoun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- ἦν eimí G1510 “to be” Verb, Imperfect, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
- Ἰησοῦς Iēsoûs G2424 “Jesus” Noun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- ἀρχόμενος árchomai G756 “to lead” Verb, Present, Middle, Participle, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- ὡσεὶ hōseí G5616 “as it were” Adverb
- ἐτῶν étos G2094 “year” Noun, Genitive, Plural, Neuter
- τριάκοντα triákonta G5144 “thirty” Adjective, Numeral (indeclinable)
- ὢν eimí G1510 “to be” Verb, Present, Active, Participle, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- υἱός huiós G5207 “son” Noun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- ὡς hōs G5613 “as” Adverb
- ἐνομίζετο nomízō G3543 “to hold custom” Verb, Imperfect, Passive, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
- Ἰωσὴφ Iōsḗph G2501 “Joseph” Noun, Proper, indeclinable
- τοῦ ho G3588 “the” Article, Genitive, Singular, Masculine
- Ἡλεὶ Hēlí G2242 “Heli” Noun, Proper, indeclinable
About this verse
These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →
- 15
- words
- 14
- distinct lemmas
- Gospels
- section
Notable vocabulary
1 hapax legomenon — a word that appears only here in the entire Greek New Testament:
- Ἡλεὶ Heli G2242
First appearance in Scripture
This word makes its first canonical appearance in the Greek New Testament here:
- Ἡλεὶ Heli G2242
Shared distinctive vocabulary
τριάκοντα thirty G5144 occurs in 11 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:
Repetition
A word recurs within this verse:
- ἦν to be G1510 ×2
Cross-references
17Topical passages linked to Luke 3:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.
- Numbers 4:3 from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.
- Matthew 13:55 Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
- Luke 4:22 All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?"
- John 6:42 They said, "Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, 'I have come down out of heaven?'"
- Genesis 41:46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
- Matthew 1:16 Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
- Matthew 4:17 From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
- Mark 6:3 Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" They were offended at him.
- Acts 1:1 The first book I wrote, Theophilus, concerned all that Jesus began both to do and to teach,
- Numbers 4:35 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 4:39 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting,
- Numbers 4:43 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting,
- Numbers 4:47 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered in to do the work of service, and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting,
- Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
- Matthew 1:6 Jesse became the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.
- Luke 3:23–27 Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
- Luke 3:31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).
Lesson kit
Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.
Luke, in the Gospels, opens this verse with 15 words (14 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is Hēlí (“Heli”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.
Discussion questions
- What does “Heli” (Hēlí) contribute to the verse as a whole?
- 1 word here appears nowhere else in the Greek New Testament. Why might the author reach for such rare wording?
- This is the first place “Heli” appears in Scripture (first appears here). What does its debut here establish?
- How does Matthew 13:8, which shares the word «thirty», read alongside this verse?
- What does the repetition of “to be” (2× in this one verse) do in this verse?
- The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
- Compare how Jamieson, Fausset & Brown and The Biblical Illustrator read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?
Things to notice
- 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in the Greek New Testament.
- 1 word makes its first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
- These translations choose different wording for 11 words in this verse.
- “to be” occurs 2× in this single verse.
- 14 distinct Greek lemmas span 15 words in this verse.
Commentary
Notes on Luke 3:23 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.
Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Biblical Illustrator
Joseph S. Exell
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Joseph Benson's Commentary
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale Open Resources
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Bengel's Gnomon
Johann Albrecht Bengel
Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Meyer's Critical & Exegetical Commentary
Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer
Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Expositor's Greek Testament
ed. W. Robertson Nicoll
The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
International Critical Commentary
International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Godet's Commentaries
Frédéric Louis Godet
Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Geneva Bible translators
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne
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.
John Gill's Exposition
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Trapp's Complete Commentary
John Trapp
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
Daniel D. Whedon
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Scofield Reference Notes
C. I. Scofield
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Kretzmann's Popular Commentary
Paul E. Kretzmann
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament
William Burkitt
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
McGarvey & Pendleton's Commentaries
J. W. McGarvey
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The People's New Testament
B. W. Johnson
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes
Door43 World Missions Community
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges
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.
Alford’s Greek Testament
Henry Alford
Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament
Marvin R. Vincent
Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.