Luke 4:25-26 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 4:25-27

But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian . In support of these assertions, Jesus proceeds to quote two well known incidents in the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Luke 4:25

Of a truth - Truly, and therefore worthy of your credit. He calls attention to two cases where “acknowledged” prophets had so little honor in their own nation that they bestowed their favors on foreigners. So, says he, such is the want of faith in my own country, that I shall work no miracles here, but shall give the evidence of my divine mission to others.In Israel - In the land of Israel, or Judea. It was therefore the more remarkable, since there were so many in his own country whom he might... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Luke 4:26

Save unto Sarepta - Sarepta was a town between Tyre and Sidon, near the Mediterranean Sea. It was not a “Jewish” city, but a Sidonian, and therefore a “Gentile” town. The word “save” in this verse does not express the meaning of the original. It would seem to imply that the city was Jewish. The meaning of the verse is this: “He was sent to none of the widows in Israel. He was not sent except to Sarepta, to a woman that was a “Sidonian.” Dr. Thomson (“The Land and the Book,” vol. i. p. 232-236)... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Luke 4:25-27

Luke 4:25-27. Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, &c. “By putting them thus in mind of Elijah’s miracle in behalf of the widow of Sarepta, a heathen inhabitant of a heathen city, in a time of famine, while many widows of Israel were suffered to starve; and of Elisha’s miracle on Naaman the Syrian leper, while many lepers in Israel remained uncleansed, he showed them both the sin and punishment of their ancestors, and left it to themselves to make the application.” When the... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Luke 4:16-30

26. The synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-30)Soon after returning to Galilee, Jesus visited his home town of Nazareth. Being a genuine God-fearing Israelite, he went on the Sabbath to join with other Jews in worshipping God at the synagogue. In keeping with the synagogue custom of standing to read and sitting to preach, Jesus stood and read Isaiah 61:1-2, then sat down and explained how the passage applied to him. He was the Messiah who brought God’s salvation to a world oppressed by sin (Luke... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Luke 4:25

of a truth = in (as in Luke 4:11 ) truth. Elias = Elijah. See 1 Kings 17:1 , 1 Kings 17:8 , 1Ki 17:9 ; 1 Kings 18:1 .James 5:17 . the heaven. Singular with Art. See note on Matthew 6:9 , Matthew 6:10 . Revelation 11:12 , Revelation 11:13 ; Revelation 13:6 . three years and six months. An ominous period. Compare Daniel 12:7 . Revelation 11:2 , Revelation 11:3 ; Revelation 13:5 ; and App-89 . and six months . Not "a Jewish tradition", but a well-known fact. See notes on 1 Kings 17:1 and Luke... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Luke 4:26

But = And. save = but. Used, not in the sense of limitation, but of exclusion, as in Galatians 1:2 , Galatians 1:16 . Supply the Ellipsis ( App-6 ) = "[but he was sent] to Sarepta". unto . Greek. eis. App-104 . Sarepta. Hebrew. Zarephath (1 Kings Luke 17:9 ), now Surafend, in ruins. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Luke 4:25

But of a truth I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.The Old Testament record of this event (1Kings 17,1 Kings 18) should be read in connection with this, as it clears up the questions some of the scholars have regarding the "three years and six... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Luke 4:23-27

Luke 4:23-27. And he said unto them, &c.— When our Lord came to Galilee, with a view to exercise his ministry, he did not go to Nazareth: on the contrary, he passed by it, and went straight to Cana, which lay not far from Sidon. See John 2:1. This exasperated the Nazarenes. Besides, he had not performed any miracle in their town; far less had he done any like that which they heard he had performed in Capernaum, where he cured the nobleman's sonwithout stirring from Cana. It seems they... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Luke 4:25

25-27. But I tell you, c.—falling back for support on the well-known examples of Elijah and Elisha (Eliseus), whose miraculous power, passing by those who were near, expended itself on those at a distance, yea on heathens, "the two great prophets who stand at the commencement of prophetic antiquity, and whose miracles strikingly prefigured those of our Lord. As He intended like them to feed the poor and cleanse the lepers, He points to these miracles of mercy, and not to the fire from heaven... read more