Luke 11:51 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Luke 11:51
From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
Abel · noun — genitive singular masculine, a proper name
unto
ἕωςhe'ōs
G2193
a conjunction · preposition
the blood
αἵματοςaimatos
G129
blood · noun — genitive singular neuter
of Zacharias
ΖαχαρίουZachariou
G2197
Zacharias (i.e. Zechariah) · noun — genitive singular masculine, a proper name
which perished
ἀπολομένουapolomenou
G622
to destroy fully (reflexively · verb — second aorist middle participle, genitive singular masculine
between
μεταξὺmetaxu
G3342
betwixt (of place or person) · preposition
the altar
θυσιαστηρίουthusiastēriou
G2379
a place of sacrifice · noun — genitive singular neuter
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
the temple
οἴκου.oikou
G3624
a dwelling (more or less extensive · noun — genitive singular masculine
verily
ναὶnai
G3483
yes · particle
I say
λέγωlegō
G3004
properly · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
unto you
ὑμῖνhymîn
G5213
to (with or by) you
It shall be required
ἐκζητηθήσεταιekzētēthēsetai
G1567
to search out · verb — future passive indicative, 3rd person singular
of
ἀπὸapo
G575
"off · preposition
this
ταύτης.¶tautēs
G3778
the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — genitive singular feminine
generation
γενεᾶςgeneas
G1074
a generation · noun — genitive singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Chronicles 24:20-22 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God,…
Matthew 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Bara…
Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of h…
Genesis 4:8-11 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and sle…
Zechariah 1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the proph…
1 John 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s…
Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Jeremiah 7:28 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Luke 11:37–end
Christ here says many of those things to a Pharisee and his guests, in a private conversation at table, which he afterwards said in a public discourse in the temple (Mt. 23); for what he said in public and private was of a piece. He would not say that in a corner which he durst not repeat and stand to in the great congregation; nor would he give those reproofs to any sort of sinners in general which he durst not apply to them in particular as he met with them; for he was, and is, the faithful Witness. Here is,
I. Christ's going to dine with a Pharisee that very civilly invited him to his house (Luk 11:37); As he spoke, even while he was speaking, a certain Pharisee interrupted him with a req…
blood of Zacharias--Probably the allusion is not to any recent murder, but to Ch2 24:20-22, as the last recorded and most suitable case for illustration. And as Zacharias' last words were, "The Lord require it," so they are warned that "of that generation it should be required."
Adam Clarke on Luke 11:51
From the blood of Abel - See this subject explained at large on Mat 23:34 (note).
Required - Εκζητηθησεται may be translated either by the word visited or revenged, and the latter word evidently conveys the meaning of our Lord. They are here represented as having this blood among them; and it is intimated that God will come by and by to require it, and to inquire how it was shed, and to punish those who shed it.
John Gill on Luke 11:51
From the blood of Abel,.... "Righteous Abel", as in Matthew 23:35 and so read the Arabic version here, and two manuscripts in the Bodleian library, and three of Stephens's copies; the Persic version renders it, "innocent Abel": he is mentioned because he was the first man that was slain, and he was slain because of his righteousness.
Unto the blood of Zacharias; in the Cambridge copy of Beza's, it is added, "the son of Barachias", as in Matthew 23:35 and so the Arabic version, "the son of Barasciah"; who he was; see Gill on Matthew 23:35.
which perished between the altar and the temple; or "the house", that is, the holy place: and the Ethiopic version renders it, "the holy house"; here he…
The Church Fathers
(Geometer.) But others give another reason for the destruction of Zacharias. For at the murder of the children the blessed John was to be slain with the rest of the same age, but Elisabeth, snatching up her son from the midst of the slaughter, sought the desert. And so when Herod's soldiers could not find Elisabeth and the child, they turn their wrath against Zacharias, killing him as he was ministering in the temple.
Why He begins from the blood of Abel, who was the first martyr, we need not wonder; but why, to the blood of Zacharias, is a question, since many were slain after him even up to our Lord's birth, and soon after His birth the Innocents, unless perhaps it was because Abel was a shepherd, Zacharias a Priest. And the one was killed in the field, the other in the court of the temple, martyrs of each class, that is, under their names are shadowed both laymen, and those engaged in the office of the altar.
From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple. Why from the blood of Abel, who suffered the first martyrdom, is not surprising, but why up to the blood of Zechariah is queried, since many after him, until the birth of Christ, and immediately after His birth, the innocent children in Bethlehem were killed by this generation, unless perhaps because Abel was a shepherd of sheep, Zechariah a priest, and one was killed in the field, the other in the temple courtyard, He wished to indicate the martyrs of both ranks, of the laity and of those dedicated to the service of the altar, under the name of both.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Chronicles, Books of — The two books were originally one. They bore the title in the Massoretic Hebrew Dibre hayyamim, i.e., “Acts of the Days.” This title was rendered by Jerome in his Latin version “Chronicon,” and hence…
Zacharias — (1.) A priest of the course of Abia, the eighth of the twenty-four courses into which the priests had been originally divided by David (1 Chr. 23:1-19). Only four of these courses or “families” of…
Zechariah — Jehovah is renowned or remembered. (1.) A prophet of Judah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets. Like Ezekiel, he was of priestly extraction. He describes himself (1:1) as “the son of…
Abel · .References to the — .References to the
Hypocrisy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Judgment · ACCORDING TO OPPORTUNITY AND WORKS — ACCORDING TO OPPORTUNITY AND WORKS
Lawyer · Jesus’ remarks against — Jesus’ remarks against
Martyrdom · Of saints, shall be avenged — Of saints, shall be avenged
Pharisees · .By Jesus — .By Jesus
Responsibility · ACCORDING TO PRIVILEGE — ACCORDING TO PRIVILEGE
Satire · Of Jesus against hypocrites — Of Jesus against hypocrites
Luke 11:47-51
Matthew 23:29-39
Luke 11:47-51
29. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the sepulchers of the prophets and embellish the monuments of the righteous, 30. And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their associates in the blood of the prophets. 31. Thus you testify against yourselves, that you are the children of those who killed the prophets. 32. Do you also fill up the measure of your fathers. 33. Serpents, offspring of vipers, how shall you escape the judgment of hell? 34. Therefore, lo, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes, and some of them you will slay and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in yo…
from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah: Abel’s murder by his brother Cain was the first murder recorded in the Old Testament (Gen 4:8). The stoning of Zechariah, son of Jehoiada (2 Chr 24:20-22) was the last, since Chronicles is the last book in the Hebrew Bible.
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
