What Does Luke 14:1 Mean?
And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the rulers of the separated ones to eat bread on the Sabbath day, that they watched him.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.THE KEY
The Greek for “watched” grows from “keep,” so the gaze at this table holds someone under close attention.
THE MEANING
You can sit at a table with bread and still be under close examination. A gaze can hold you in view while measuring what you do; its purpose changes the meaning of the room. Attention shows its character by what it seeks.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Sharing a table does not by itself mean the eyes on you are welcoming.
THE ROOT
παρατηρέω
paratēreō
GROWS FROM
τηρέω
τηρέω (tēreō) means to keep or guard.
Παρατηρέω (paratēreō, watch closely) combines παρά (para, beside or closely) with τηρέω (tēreō, keep or guard). English “watched” can sound like neutral looking, while this word carries close observation; related forms of the root can also describe preserving sayings, so attention can hold either care or scrutiny.
ALSO GROWS
tēreō: Keep, guard, observe.
τηρέω
This is the base verb beneath the close watching here: attention keeps its object in view.
diatēreō: Keep continually, preserve.
διατηρέω
Luke 2:51 uses this related form for Mary keeping the sayings in her heart, showing attention that preserves rather than scrutinizes.
THE PATTERN
A gaze reveals its character by what it seeks.
But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have pushed him away. The LORD does not see as the human sees. The human sees what is outside, but the LORD sees the heart.Do not judge by what the eye sees, but judge the judgment of alignment.And they kept watch beside him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath day, so that they might speak against him.THE THREAD
If you love me, guard my instructions.John’s “keep” is τηρήσετε (tērēsete, you will keep), a form of τηρέω (tēreō, keep or guard), the same root within Luke’s παρατηρέω (paratēreō, watch closely). The root links close attention to both love-shaped keeping and the scrutiny at the table, while the surrounding words reveal that their purposes differ.
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