LGV Luke
It has been a long time since I have been working on finishing the LGV apart from making occasional edits. Life gets in the way and other things sometimes must take priority. However, I am trying to get the momentum back. Over the last few days I have been working on finishing Luke. I completed chapters 9-12 and will be making this a priority. https://www.4windsfellowships.net/LGV/LGV_Luke.pdf
Keep checking back as I will be updating Luke periodically as I progress. I will place the date of the latest update at the top of Luke’s Gospel. If you see any errors, please post them in the discussion forum. TIMOTHEOS FORUM, Exegesis of Specific Passages
Update 8/11/25 I have now completed through chapter 16.
Update 8/15/25 I have completed through chapter 19.
Update 8/18/25 Chapter 20 is complete. Only 4 more chapters to go!
Update 8/19/25 Chapter 21 is finished.
Update 8/22/25 I finally finished translating Luke.
9 thoughts on “LGV Luke”
Tim
Is it absolutely certain that Luke was a Gentile? Many of the writers of the NT had Gentile names. He seemed to have access to many of the people who knew Jesus personally, and early in His life. He may have been the author of Hebrews (according to a few bible scholars) If he was his understanding of the OT was on par with the most religious of the Jews of his time.
Thanks for all you do. I really can’t wait for the finished translation.
https://www.foi.org/2022/09/16/was-luke-really-a-gentile/
Ken,
I don’t think anyone can say for sure whether Luke was a Gentile. His name is Greek as was also Timothy’s name (who had a Greek father). His writing is very polished Greek, implying it was his first language, and/or he was highly educated in the Greek language. The Jewish writers tended to use clumsy and imperfect Greek grammar and use terminology which betrays ‘Hebraic’ ways of thinking and writing, such as habitually using the present tense in historical narrative (very common in Jewish writing and the OT, and in the other Gospels). Luke, Acts, and Hebrews are all of a very high-quality Greek style, probably indicating that Luke was also the writer of Hebrews (as several ECFs claimed), as also he was Paul’s companion, and the theology of Hebrews is very much Pauline and parallels Galatians.
His in-depth knowledge of the OT (LXX) could be that he was a proselyte and was raised in the synagogue. But there are also other ways he could have been familiar with the OT. Timothy was raised by a Jewish mother and grandmother, and he also knew the OT Scriptures from his youth, but his father was a Greek, and he remained uncircumcised until he joined Paul’s team (meaning he could not have attended the synagogue previously). Nailing down someone’s ancestry with scant circumstantial evidence is going to leave a lot to be desired. For me, his ancestry is of no real importance, but rather his skill in Greek and his attention to detail.
IMO, the argument from Rom.3:2 that “the oracles of God” were committed to the Jews seems very strained and perhaps agenda-driven. It ignores the fact that Paul was speaking of the Old Testament Scriptures in that passage (just as he was in 2 Tim. 3:15), and he used the aorist indicative verb, “were entrusted,” with the plural “oracles of God.” The aorist indicative refers to a past completed action. But if Paul was including NT books and ongoing revelation through the Apostles, he would have used the present participle (are entrusted). Certainly, Paul’s books are “oracles of God” (1 Cor. 14:37) and many of his books were written to Gentile churches. Yet, to “entrust” God’s oracles to someone means to deliver them to that group to be preserved, relayed, taught, and obeyed. It does not speak of authorship. Even the words of the “Messenger of Yahweh” are recorded in the OT, yet He was certainly not part of Israel at the time.
Tim
Thanks Tim.
Ken,
I changed the footnote at the beginning of Luke so that it does not state that Luke was a Gentile but rather points to his skill in the Greek language and his Greek name. I do think he was Greek, and that Paul chose him as part of his team because he could relate to his Gentile audience and they could relate to him. I think he chose Timothy for the same reason. But this is of course speculation.
Tim
I have followed your teaching for years. This is a small example of why I do. Your loyalty to truth and your ability to make changes are why I can trust your translation work. Thanks again.
🙂
Thank you so very much for this Tim. The LGV has been a tremendous help in my study.
Thanks, Michael. I began this endeavor in 2008, 17 years ago! A great deal of what I have taught over the years I learned by working my way through the Greek NT and trying to translate it as literally and accurately as I possibly can. I consider the LGV to be my most valuable contribution to God’s people, the culmination of my life’s work. I am 70 years old now, and Jesus’ return is getting very close, so I need to ‘Git-er-done.’ The “last generation” is already here.
Thanks Tim and your wife and family for all that you have done for us all. I am truly blessed to have come across your work by God incidence and as they say in the movies “the rest is history”. It has matured me so much in my understanding of God and his word and what he set out to do through out all the centuries with his Son Jesus for all mankind.