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Luke 07 General Notes
Structure and formatting
Some translations indent quotations from the Old Testament. The ULB does this with the quoted material in 7:27.
There are times in the narrative of this chapter where there is an abrupt change in topic. The translator should not feel the need to smooth these rough transitions.
Special concepts in this chapter
Centurion
This situation would have been very unusual in ancient Israel. It would not have been common for a Roman soldier to go to an Israelite for anything. They would have been insignificant to the Romans and they would not have sought healing from a Jew. It would also have been unusual for a wealthy man to be so concerned for his slave. It is a great display of faith. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/faith)
John's Baptism
The baptism John performed was different than the baptism that the church practices. John's baptism was meant to signal that those receiving had repented of their sin. This is why the Pharisees did not participate in John's baptism. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/repent and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/sin).
"Sinners"
Luke refers to a group of people as "sinners." The Jewish leaders considered these people to be hopelessly ignorant of the Law of Moses, and so called them "sinners." In reality, the leaders were sinful. This situation can be taken as irony. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-irony)
"Feet"
Feet were considered to be very dirty in the Ancient Near East. It would have been a very humble act for this woman to wash Jesus' feet and was a way to show honor to Jesus.
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
Son of Man
Jesus refers to himself as the "Son of Man" in this passage. Some languages may not allow a person to refer to himself in the third person. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/sonofman)