Luke 7:39

Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Now	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
when	ἰδὼν idōn	G1492	used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
Pharisee	Φαρισαῖος Pharisaios	G5330	a separatist · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
which	ὁ ho	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
bidden	καλέσας kalesas	G2564	to "call" (properly · verb — aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
saw	εἴδω eídō	G1492	used only in certain past tenses
spake	λέγων· legōn	G3004	properly · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
within	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
himself	ἑαυτῷ he'autō	G1438	him- (her- · reflexive pronoun
saying	εἶπεν eipen	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
man	οὗτος houtos	G3778	the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
if	εἰ ei	G1487	if · conditional particle
were	ἦν ēn	G2258	I (thou
prophet	προφήτης, prophētēs	G4396	a foreteller ("prophet") · noun — nominative singular masculine
known	ἐγίνωσκεν eginōsken	G1097	to "know" (absolutely) in a great variety of applicatio… · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
who	τίς tis	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — nominative singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
manner	ποταπὴ potapē	G4217	interrogatively · interrogative pronoun — nominative singular feminine
woman	γυνὴ gunē	G1135	a woman · noun — nominative singular feminine
that	ἥτις hētis	G3748	which some · relative pronoun — nominative singular feminine
toucheth	ἅπτομαι háptomai	G680	properly
him	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
for	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
sinner	ἁμαρτωλός hamartōlos	G268	sinful · adjective — nominative 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

Luke 7:16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his peop…
Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
Isaiah 65:5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
2 Kings 5:20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that…
Matthew 9:12-13 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Luke 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you…

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 7:36–end

When and where this passage of story happened does not appear; this evangelist does not observe order of time in his narrative so much as the other evangelists do; but it comes in here, upon occasion of Christ's being reproached as a friend to publicans and sinners, to show that it was only for their good, and to bring them to repentance, that he conversed with them; and that those whom he admitted hear him were reformed, or in a hopeful way to be so. Who this woman was that here testified so great an affection to Christ does not appear; it is commonly said to be Mary Magdalene, but I find no ground in scripture for it: she is described (Luk 8:2 and Mar 16:9) to be one out of whom Christ had…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 7:39

the Pharisee--who had formed no definite opinion of our Lord, and invited Him apparently to obtain materials for a judgment. spake within himself, &c.--"Ha! I have Him now; He plainly knows nothing of the person He allows to touch Him; and so, He can be no prophet." Not so fast, Simon; thou hast not seen through thy Guest yet, but He hath seen through thee.

Adam Clarke on Luke 7:38

Stood at his feet behind him - In taking their meals, the eastern people reclined on one side; the loins and knees being bent to make the more room, the feet of each person were turned outwards behind him. This is the meaning of standing Behind at his Feet. Began to wash his feet with tears - Ηρξατο βρεχειν - τοις δακρυσι, She began to water his feet - to let a shower of tears fall on them. As the Jews wore nothing like our shoes, (theirs being a mere sole, bound about the foot and ancle with thongs), their feet being so much exposed had frequent need of washing, and this they ordinarily did before taking their meals. Kissed his feet - With affectionate tenderness, κατεφιλει, or kissed them…

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John Gill on Luke 7:39

Now when the Pharisee, which had bidden him, saw it,.... Simon, who had invited Christ to eat with him, when he saw what was done by the woman, how she stood at his feet, and washed them with her tears, and wiped them with her hairs, and then kissed and anointed them: he spoke within himself; not openly and publicly, being in good manners, though not in real respect to Christ, unwilling to affront his guest; but turned these things over in his mind, and reasoned upon them within himself: saying, this man, if he were a prophet; as he was said, and believed to be by many, but questioned by this Pharisee: would have known who and what manner of woman this is, that toucheth him; he took it fo…

The Church Fathers

In a mystical sense, the Pharisee sees this and envies it, because when the Jewish people observe the Gentiles preaching God, they waste away in their own malice.
— Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 33

(in Hom. 33. in Evang.) Now in a mystical sense the Pharisee, presuming upon his pretended righteousness, is the Jewish people; the woman who was a sinner, but who came and wept at our Lord's feet, represents the conversion of the Gentiles.
— Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

She will not think that she has been forgiven little and so love little, and, ignorant of the justice of God and seeking to establish her own, not submit to the justice of God. Simon was ensnared in this vice, and the woman, to whom many sins were forgiven because she loved much, surpassed him. She will more safely and more truly consider that all the sins that God preserved her from committing should be accounted as though they are forgiven.
— Augustine of Hippo, On Holy Virginity 41

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

Eating — The ancient Hebrews would not eat with the Egyptians (Gen. 43:32). In the time of our Lord they would not eat with Samaritans (John 4:9), and were astonished that he ate with publicans and sinners…
Magdalene — A surname derived from Magdala, the place of her nativity, given to one of the Marys of the Gospels to distinguish her from the other Marys (Matt. 27:56, 61; 28:1, etc.). A mistaken notion has…
Mary Magdalene — Different explanations have been given of this name; but the most natural is that she came from the town of Magdala. She appears before us for the first time in (Luke 8:2) among the women who…
Meals — Are at the present day “eaten from a round table little higher than a stool, guests sitting cross-legged on mats or small carpets in a circle, and dipping their fingers into one large dish heaped…
Pharisees — Separatists (Heb. persahin, from parash, “to separate”). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt…
Anointing · Was applied to: The feet — Was applied to: The feet
Bigotry · .Of keeping company with sinners — .Of keeping company with sinners
Jews, The · Distinction of castes among, noticed — Distinction of castes among, noticed
Pharisees, The · Christ: Condemned by, for associating with sinners — Christ: Condemned by, for associating with sinners
Self-Righteousness · 2:4; — 2:4;
Simon · .Jesus dines with — .Jesus dines with

Luke 7:39

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 7:36–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 7:39

Adam Clarke on Luke 7:38

John Gill on Luke 7:39

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Luke 7:39

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 7:36–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 7:39

Adam Clarke on Luke 7:38

John Gill on Luke 7:39

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Luke 7:36–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Luke 7:38