Luke 2:43

And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
fulfilled	τελειωσάντων teleiōsantōn	G5048	to complete · verb — aorist active participle, genitive plural masculine
days	ἡμέρας hēmeras	G2250	day · noun — accusative plural feminine
as	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
they	αὐτοὺς autous	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative plural masculine
returned	ὑποστρέφειν hupostrephein	G5290	to turn under (behind) · verb — present active infinitive
child	παῖς pais	G3816	a boy (as often beaten with impunity) · noun — nominative singular masculine
Jesus	Ἰησοῦς Iēsous	G2424	Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
behind	ὑπέμεινεν hupemeinen	G5278	to stay under (behind) · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
Jerusalem	Ἰερουσαλήμ, Ierousalēm	G2419	Hierusalem (i.e. Jerushalem) · noun — dative singular feminine, a place
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
Joseph	Ἰωσὴφ Iōsēph	G2501	Joseph · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
his	αὐτοῦ. autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
mother	μήτηρ mētēr	G3384	a "mother" (literally or figuratively · noun — nominative singular feminine
knew	ἔγνωσαν egnōsan	G1097	to "know" (absolutely) in a great variety of applicatio… · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative

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

Exodus 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened brea…
2 Chronicles 25:17 Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see on…
2 Chronicles 30:21-23 And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 2:41–end

We have here the only passage of story recorded concerning our blessed Saviour, from his infancy to the day of his showing to Israel at twenty-nine years old, and therefore we are concerned to make much of this, for it is in vain to wish we had more. Here is, I. Christ's going up with his parents to Jerusalem, at the feast of the passover, Luk 2:41, Luk 2:42. 1. It was their constant practice to attend there, according to the law, though it was a long journey, and they were poor, and perhaps not well able, without straitening themselves, to bear the expenses of it. Note, Public ordinances must be frequented, and we must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 2:43

as they returned--If the duties of life must give place to worship, worship, in its turn, must give place to them. Jerusalem is good, but Nazareth is good, too; let him who neglects the one, on pretext of attending to the other, ponder this scene. tarried behind . . . Joseph and his mother knew not--Accustomed to the discretion and obedience of the lad [OLSHAUSEN], they might be thrown off their guard.

Adam Clarke on Luke 2:43

Had fulfilled the days - Eight days in the whole: one was the passover, and the other seven, the days of unleavened bread. See on Mat 26:2 (note).

John Gill on Luke 2:43

And when they had fulfilled the days,.... The seven days of the fear of unleavened bread, for so many days that feast was observed; and though it was not absolutely necessary, and obligatory upon them to stay all that time at Jerusalem, yet Mary and Joseph seem so to have done, as did the more religious and devout persons: as they returned; at the time when they were going from Jerusalem home again: the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; being desirous of hearing the discourses of the doctors about the sense of the Scriptures, the meaning of the laws, and the traditions of the elders, and of conversing with them: and Joseph, and his mother, knew not of it; of his intention to tarry…

The Church Fathers

But when he was twelve years old, he remained behind in Jerusalem. His parents, not knowing this, seek him anxiously and do not find him.
— Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 18

But as when the Jews plotted against Him He escaped from the midst of them, and was not seen; so now it seems that the Child Jesus remained, and His parents knew not where He was. As it follows, And not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking for him. (John 10:29.)
— Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Metaphrastes vel Geometer.) The feast having been celebrated, while the rest returned, Jesus secretly tarried behind. As it follows, And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and his parents knew not of it. It is said, When the days were accomplished, because the feast lasted seven days. But the reason of His tarrying behind in secret was, that His parents might not be a hindrance to His carrying on the discussion with the lawyers; or perhaps to avoid appearing to despise his parents by not obeying their commands. He remains therefore secretly, that he might neither be kept away nor be disobedient.
— Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

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

Crucifixion — A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the…
Mary — Hebrew Miriam. (1.) The wife of Joseph, the mother of Jesus, called the “Virgin Mary,” though never so designated in Scripture (Matt. 2:11; Acts 1:14). Little is known of her personal history. Her…
Jesus, The Christ · General references — General references
Passover · Jesus in the temple courtyard at the time of — Jesus in the temple courtyard at the time of

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 2:43

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 2:41–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 2:43

Adam Clarke on Luke 2:43

John Gill on Luke 2:43

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Luke 2:43

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 2:41–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 2:43

Adam Clarke on Luke 2:43

John Gill on Luke 2:43

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Luke 2:40-47

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Luke 2:42