According to Luke 19:1-48
Footnotes
Study Notes
Zacchaeus: From a Hebrew name, possibly from a root word meaning “clean; pure.” As a chief tax collector, it seems that Zacchaeus was over other tax collectors in and around Jericho. The district around this city was fertile and productive, yielding considerable tax revenue. Zacchaeus was rich, and his own words (Lu 19:8) indicate that he used questionable practices to accumulate at least part of his wealth.
extorted: Or “extorted by false accusation.”—See study note on Lu 3:14.
four times over: Zacchaeus could likely calculate from his tax records just how much he had received from various Jews, and he vowed to make a fourfold restitution. That is even more than God’s Law required. In such cases of repentance and admission of guilt, the Law ordered that the defrauder pay back the full amount and “add to it a fifth [that is, 20 percent] of its value,” but Zacchaeus said that he would repay four times the amount. As fruitage of his repentance, he thus showed not only love for the poor but also justice toward oppressed ones.—Le 6:2-5; Nu 5:7.
illustration: Or “parable.”—See study note on Mt 13:3.
to secure kingly power: Or “to secure a kingdom.” The Greek word ba·si·leiʹa, most often rendered “kingdom,” has a broad meaning and often refers to a royal government as well as to the territory and peoples under the rule of a king. (See study notes on Mt 3:2; 25:34.) It may also signify kingship, the royal office or position of the king, with its accompanying dignity, power, and authority. In the Roman Empire, it was not uncommon for a person of noble birth to travel to Rome in quest of kingly power. Jesus’ parable may well have reminded his listeners of Archelaus, a son of Herod the Great. Before Herod the Great died, he designated Archelaus as heir to rulership over Judea and other areas. However, to secure the rulership, Archelaus first made the long journey to Rome in order to get the approval of Caesar Augustus.
minas: A Greek mina was not a coin but a unit of weight of some 340 g (10.9 oz t) and, according to ancient Greek writers, was reckoned to have a monetary value equal to 100 drachmas. Since the drachma was worth nearly as much as a denarius, a mina was a considerable sum. (See Glossary, “Denarius.”) A Greek mina was different from the Hebrew mina.—See Glossary, “Mina,” and App. B14.
the kingly power: Or “the kingdom.”—See study note on Lu 19:12.
money: See study note on Mt 25:18.
money: See study note on Mt 25:18.
bank: In the parable of the minas in Luke’s Gospel, as well as in the illustration about the talents in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus referred to a bank and to bankers who give interest on money deposited with them. (Mt 25:14-30; Lu 19:12-27) The Greek word traʹpe·za, here rendered “bank,” literally means “table.” (Mt 15:27) When associated with financial operations, such as the money changers, this word refers to a table or a counter for displaying coins. (Mt 21:12; Mr 11:15; Joh 2:15) During the first century C.E., moneylenders, or bankers, were prominent in Israel and surrounding nations.
interest: The Law forbade the Israelites to charge interest on loans to needy fellow Jews. (Ex 22:25) But interest was specifically allowed on loans to foreigners, likely for business ventures. (De 23:20) It seems that in Jesus’ day, it was common to receive interest on funds deposited with moneylenders.
—: The em dash helps the reader to see that there is a change of speaker, since this is not specifically indicated in the text. In verse 26, the master of the slaves is speaking.
Bethphage: See study note on Mt 21:1.
Bethany: See study note on Mt 21:17.
a colt: See study notes on Mt 21:2; Mr 11:2.
Jehovah’s: In this quote from Ps 118:26, the divine name, represented by four Hebrew consonants (transliterated YHWH), occurs in the original Hebrew text.—See App. C.
the stones would cry out: As the context shows, Jesus was speaking about the particular declaration his disciples were making and to which the Pharisees objected. (Lu 19:37-39) The disciples were using the words recorded at Ps 118:26. That prophetic psalm was certain to be fulfilled on this occasion, for Jehovah’s words do not return to him “without results.” (Isa 55:11) If the disciples had been forced to be silent at this time, the literal stones would have cried out in order to fulfill this prophecy.
wept: The Greek word for “wept” often refers to weeping audibly.
fortification of pointed stakes: Or “palisade.” The Greek word khaʹrax occurs only here in the Christian Greek Scriptures. It has been defined as a “pointed stick or post used to fence in an area; stake” and also as a “military installation involving the use of stakes; palisade.” Jesus’ words came true in the year 70 C.E. when the Romans, commanded by Titus, erected a siege wall, or palisade, around Jerusalem. Titus’ objective was threefold—to prevent the Jews from fleeing, to encourage their surrender, and to starve the inhabitants into submission. To provide materials for the construction of this fortification around Jerusalem, Roman troops stripped the countryside of trees.
they will not leave a stone upon a stone: See study note on Mt 24:2.
the time of your being inspected: Or “the appointed time of your inspection.” The Greek word e·pi·sko·peʹ (inspection; visitation) is related to the words e·piʹsko·pos (overseer) and e·pi·sko·peʹo (watch over; watch carefully) and can have a positive or a negative connotation. For unfaithful Jews, who did not discern this time of inspection in connection with Jesus’ earthly ministry, it would result in adverse judgment by God. However, those who did discern this time of inspection and took advantage of it to repent and show faith in God would have God’s approval. The same Greek word is used in the Septuagint at Isa 10:3 and Jer 10:15 to render a Hebrew expression for “day of reckoning (punishment).”
temple: See study note on Mt 21:12.
throw out those who were selling: On Nisan 10, 33 C.E., Jesus cleanses the temple a second time. This occasion is described in the Gospels of Matthew (21:12-17), Mark (11:15-18), and Luke. The first cleansing took place in connection with the Passover of 30 C.E. and is described at Joh 2:13-17.
cave of robbers: See study note on Mt 21:13.
Media
The sycamore tree, or fig-mulberry tree (Ficus sycomorus), is mentioned once in the Christian Greek Scriptures, in the account of Jesus’ visit to Jericho in the spring of 33 C.E. (Lu 19:1-10) This tree belongs to the same family as the common fig tree and the mulberry tree, but it differs from the North American sycamore. The tree’s fruit is like that of the common fig tree. The tree grows to a height of 10 to 15 m (33 to 50 ft), is strong, and may live for several hundred years. Sycamore trees grew in the Jordan Valley, and the Hebrew Scriptures also show that they were abundant in the Shephelah between the coastal plains and the Judean hills. (1Ki 10:27; 2Ch 1:15; 9:27) The tree is an evergreen, and its thick, wide-spreading foliage provides good shade. For that reason, the tree was frequently planted along roadsides. The tree has a short, stout trunk with lower limbs that branch out close to the ground, so it would have been easy for a short-statured man like Zacchaeus to climb it.
This short video follows a path approaching Jerusalem from the east, from the village of modern-day et-Tur—thought to correspond to the Biblical Bethphage—to one of the higher points on the Mount of Olives. Bethany lies east of Bethphage on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. When in Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples customarily spent the night at Bethany, today marked by the town of el-ʽAzariyeh (El ʽEizariya), an Arabic name meaning “The Place of Lazarus.” Jesus undoubtedly stayed at the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. (Mt 21:17; Mr 11:11; Lu 21:37; Joh 11:1) When traveling from their home to Jerusalem, Jesus may have followed a route similar to the one shown in the video. On Nisan 9, 33 C.E., when Jesus rode the colt of a donkey over the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, he may well have done so from Bethphage, following the road to Jerusalem.
1. Road from Bethany to Bethphage
2. Bethphage
3. Mount of Olives
4. Kidron Valley
5. Temple Mount
The donkey is a hard-hoofed animal of the horse family, distinguished from the horse by its smaller size, shorter mane, longer ears, and shorter tail-hair, with only the end half of the tail having a brush. Although the donkey’s stupidity and stubbornness are proverbial, its intelligence is actually considered to be superior to that of the horse, and it is usually a patient creature. Both men and women, even prominent Israelites, rode donkeys. (Jos 15:18; Jg 5:10; 10:3, 4; 12:14; 1Sa 25:42) Solomon, the son of David, rode to his anointing on his father’s she-mule, a hybrid offspring of a male donkey. (1Ki 1:33-40) It was therefore most appropriate that Jesus, the one greater than Solomon, fulfill the prophecy of Zec 9:9 by riding, not on a horse, but on a young donkey.
These stones, found on the southern part of the Western Wall, are believed to have been part of the structures on the first-century temple mount. They have been left here as a grim reminder of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by the Romans.