to superabound (in quantity or quality) · verb — present active infinitive
of
ἐκek
G1537
literal or figurative · preposition
the things which
ὑπάρχονταhypárchonta
G5224
things extant or in hand
he
αὐτοῦautou
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
possesseth
ὑπάρχονταhypárchonta
G5224
things extant or in hand
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
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor fo…
Psalms 119:36-37 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
Proverbs 15:16 Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Proverbs 16:16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!
Matthew 6:25-26 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put…
Ecclesiastes 5:10-16 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
Luke 16:14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Luke 12:13-21
We have in these verses,
I. The application that was made to Christ, very unseasonably, by one of his hearers, desiring him to interpose between him and his brother in a matter that concerned the estate of the family (Luk 12:13): "Master, speak to my brother; speak as a prophet, speak as a king, speak with authority; he is one that will have regard to what thou sayest; speak to him, that he divide the inheritance with me." Now, 1. Some think that his brother did him wrong, and that he appealed to Christ to right him, because he knew the law was costly. His brother was such a one as the Jews called Ben-hamesen - a son of violence, that took not only his own part of the estate, but his brother…
unto them--the multitude around Him (Luk 12:1).
of covetousness--The best copies have "all," that is, "every kind of covetousness"; because as this was one of the more plausible forms of it, so He would strike at once at the root of the evil.
a man's life, &c.--a singularly weighty maxim, and not less so because its meaning and its truth are equally evident.
Adam Clarke on Luke 12:15
Beware of covetousness - Or rather, Beware of all inordinate desires. I add πασης, all, on the authority of ABDKLM-Q, twenty-three others, both the Syriac, all the Persic, all the Arabic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, all the Itala, and several of the primitive fathers.
Inordinate desires. Πλεονεξιας, from πλειον, more, and εχειν, to have; the desire to have more and more, let a person possess whatever he may. Such a disposition of mind is never satisfied; for, as soon as one object is gained, the heart goes out after another.
Consisteth not in the abundance - That is, dependeth not on the abundance. It is not superfluities that support man's life, but necessaries. What is necessary,…
And he said unto them,.... Either to the two brethren, or to his disciples, as the Syriac and Persic versions read, or to the whole company:
take heed, and beware of covetousness; of all covetousness, as read the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, and some copies; that is, of all sorts of covetousness, and every degree of it, which of all vices is to be avoided and guarded against, being the root of all evil; and as the Persic version renders it, is worse than all evil, and leads into it:
for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth; of flocks and beasts, as the Persic version renders it: a man's natural life cannot be prolonged by a…
The Church Fathers
He takes occasion from this foolish petitioner to fortify both the multitudes and His disciples alike by precept and example against the plague of covetousness. Whence it follows, He said to them, Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; and he says, of all, because some things seem to be honestly done, but the internal judge decides with what intention they are done.
Or he says, of all covetousness, that is, great and little. For covetousness is unprofitable, as the Lord says, Ye shall build houses of hewn stone, and shall not dwell in them. (Amos 5:11, Isa. 5:10.) And elsewhere, Yea ten acres of vineyards shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. But also in another way it is unprofitable, as he shows, adding, For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance, &c.
And he said to them: "Take heed and beware of all covetousness, for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Just as earlier the Lord had spoken much against blasphemers and hypocrites, so here, on the occasion of this foolish petition, he strives to fortify both the crowds and his disciples against the pestilence of greed, by means of precepts and examples. And it is noteworthy that he did not say, "Beware of covetousness," but added, "of all," because some things seem to be done by men simply, but the internal judge, who sees with what intention they are done, judges. For who would consider it a crime to divide an inheritance with a brother or store the fruits grown in one's own field in granaries? But he himself is the witness and judge, as it is written.
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
Closet — As used in the New Testament, signifies properly a storehouse (Luke 12: 24), and hence a place of privacy and retirement (Matt. 6:6; Luke 12:3).
Life, Natural · The enjoyment of, consists not in abundance of possessions — The enjoyment of, consists not in abundance of possessions
Rich, The · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Riches · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Watchfulness · 36:18-21; — 36:18-21;
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).
Luke 12:13-21
Luke 12:13-21
13. And one out of the multitude said to him, Master, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me. 14. And he said to him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? 15. And he said to them, Take heed and beware of covetousness; for the life of any man does not consist in the abundance of those things which he possesseth. [261] 16. And he spoke a parable to them, saying, The field of a certain rich man yielded an abundant produce. 17. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do? for I have no place in which I can collect my fruits. 18. And he said, I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and will build larger ones, and there I will collect a…
