Luke 2:46

And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
pass	ἐγένετο egeneto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
after	μετὰ meta	G3326	properly · preposition
three	τρεῖς treis	G5140	"three" · adjective — accusative plural feminine
days	ἡμέρας hēmeras	G2250	day · noun — accusative plural feminine
found	εὗρον heuron	G2147	to find (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
temple	ἱερῷ hi'erō	G2411	a sacred place · noun — dative singular neuter
sitting	καθεζόμενον kathezomenon	G2516	to sit down · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, accusative singular masculine
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
midst	μέσῳ mesō	G3319	middle (as an adjective or (neuter) noun) · adjective — dative singular neuter
doctors	διδασκάλων didaskalōn	G1320	an instructor (genitive case or specially) · noun — genitive plural masculine
both	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
hearing	ἀκούοντα akouonta	G191	to hear (in various senses) · verb — present active participle, accusative singular masculine
them	αὐτῶν autōn	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
asking	ἐπερωτῶντα eperōtōnta	G1905	to ask for · verb — present active participle, accusative singular masculine
them	αὐτούς. autous	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative plural masculine
questions	ἐπερωτάω eperōtáō	G1905	to ask for

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

Isaiah 49:1-2 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made…
Luke 5:17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out o…
Isaiah 50:4 The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth mor…
Acts 5:34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and command…
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of th…
Matthew 27:63-64 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
1 Kings 12:5 And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
1 Kings 12:12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.

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 2:46

hearing . . . asking--The method of question and answer was the customary form of rabbinical teaching; teacher and learner becoming by turns questioner and answerer, as may be seen from their extant works. This would give full scope for all that "astonished them in His understanding and answers." Not that He assumed the office of teaching--"His hour" for that "was not yet come," and His equipment for that was not complete; for He had yet to "increase in wisdom" as well as "stature" (Luk 2:52). In fact, the beauty of Christ's example lies very much in His never at one stage of His life anticipating the duties of another. All would be in the style and manner of a learner, "opening His mouth an…

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Adam Clarke on Luke 2:46

Sitting in the midst of the doctors - The rabbins, who were explaining the law and the ceremonies of the Jewish religion to their disciples. Asking them questions - Not as a scholar asks his teacher, to be informed; but as a teacher, who proposes questions to his scholars in order to take an occasion to instruct them. In the time of Josephus, the Jewish teachers were either very ignorant or very humble: for he tells us that, "when he was about fourteen years of age, the chief priests, and the principal men of the city, were constantly coming to him to be more accurately instructed in matters relative to the law." See his Life, sect. ii. If this were true, it is no wonder to find them now lis…

The Church Fathers

To show that He was a man, He humbly listened to the masters; but to prove that He was God, He divinely answered those who spake.
— Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Metaphrastes vel Geometer.) He asks questions with reason, He listens with wisdom, and answers with more wisdom, so as to cause astonishment. As it follows, And they who saw it were astonished.
— Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

After three days He is found in the temple, that it might be for a sign, that after three days of victorious suffering, He who was believed to be dead should rise again, and manifest Himself to our faith, seated in heaven with divine glory.
— Ambrose of Milan ((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…
Doctor — (Luke 2:46; 5:17; Acts 5:34), a teacher. The Jewish doctors taught and disputed in synagogues, or wherever they could find an audience. Their disciples were allowed to propose to them questions. They…
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…
Children · Jesus — Jesus
Doctor · A teacher, or master — A teacher, or master
Jesus, The Christ · General references — General references
Law Of Moses, The · Public instruction given to youth in — Public instruction given to youth in
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 2:46

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 2:41–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 2:46

Adam Clarke on Luke 2:46

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Luke 2:46

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 2:41–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 2:46

Adam Clarke on Luke 2:46

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Luke 2:46

John Calvin on Luke 2:40-47

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Luke 2:46