The Fallible Study Bible

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Luke11:33–36

The Lamp of the Body

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Luke 11:33–36 — The Lamp of the Body. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

33

No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Oudeis hapsas lychnon tithēsin eis kryptēn oude hypo ton modion all’ epi tēn lychnian hina hoi eisporeuomenoi blepōsin to phengos

Word by word20 · parsed
ΟὐδεὶςOudeisNo oneG3762
√ οὐδείς — not even one (man, woman or thing), iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
oudeis: no one Emphatic opening negative: the saying appeals to universal common sense, a proverb (Poole: “a kind of proverbial speech”).
ἅψαςhapsaslightsG681
√ ἅπτω — properly, to fasten to, iVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
haptō: to fasten to, kindle Aorist participle: the lighting is presupposed and complete; the question is only where the lit lamp is put. The same verb with lychnos recurs at Luke 15:8, where a woman lights a lamp to search.
λύχνονlychnona lampG3088
√ λύχνος — a portable lamp or other illuminator (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
lychnos: portable lamp A small clay oil lamp, not a torch or the sun. Luke makes this one word the hinge of the unit: the lamp of v. 33 becomes “the lamp of the body” in v. 34 and the shining lamp of v. 36 (Cambridge notes “the word is the same”).
τίθησινtithēsin[and] puts itG5087
√ τίθημι — to place (in the widest application, literally and figurativelyVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
tithēmi: to place Present tense, gnomic: what anyone always does.
εἰςeisinG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
κρύπτηνkryptēna cellarG2926
√ κρύπτη — a hidden place, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
kryptē: crypt, cellar NT hapax. A space whose whole purpose is concealment; the absurdity of lighting a lamp only to bury it is the point.
οὐδὲoude[or]G3761
√ οὐδέ — not however, iConjunction
ὑπὸhypounderG5259
√ ὑπό — under, iPreposition
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
μόδιονmodiona basketG3426
√ μόδιος — a modius, iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
modios: measure (Latin modius) A household grain measure; one of only 3 NT verses (with Matt 5:15; Mark 4:21), all this same saying.
ἀλλ’all’InsteadG235
√ ἀλλά — properly, other things, iConjunction
Strong adversative: not hidden, but displayed.
ἐπὶepi[he sets it] onG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
λυχνίανlychniana standG3087
√ λυχνία — a lamp-stand (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
lychnia: lampstand The fixed stand that lifts the lamp; the word later names the churches as lampstands in Revelation 1:20. Here the article (“the stand”) again points to the one in the house.
ἵναhinasoG2443
√ ἵνα — compare G3588 (ὁ))Conjunction
Purpose clause: the lamp exists for the sake of those who come in.
οἱhoithoseG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
εἰσπορευόμενοιeisporeuomenoiwho enterG1531
√ εἰσπορεύομαι — to enter (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Plural
eisporeuomai: to enter Present participle: the ongoing arrivals. Ellicott reads them as “the seekers and inquirers who are drawn to look in.”
βλέπωσινblepōsincan seeG991
√ βλέπω — to look at (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Subjunctive Active3rd Person Plural
blepō: to see Present subjunctive: so that they may keep seeing. Seeing, the subject of vv. 34 to 36, is introduced here as the lamp's aim.
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
φέγγοςphengoslightG5338
√ φέγγος — brilliancyNounAccusative Neuter Singular
phengos: radiance The outflowing beam, not light as abstract element. Its use here prepares for the radiance (astrapē) of v. 36.
34

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is full of darkness.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

sou ho ophthalmos estin Ho lychnos tou sōmatos hotan sou ho ophthalmos ē haplous sou holon to sōma kai estin phōteinon de epan ē ponēros kai sou to sōma skoteinon

Word by word30 · parsed
σουsouYourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ὀφθαλμόςophthalmoseyeG3788
√ ὀφθαλμός — the eye (literally or figuratively)NounNominative Masculine Singular
ophthalmos: eye Singular, “thine eye”: the inner faculty of perception. Cambridge identifies it as the “inward eye” of conscience, citing Ephesians 1:17 to 18 (the eyes of the heart enlightened).
ἐστινestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ὉHotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
λύχνοςlychnoslampG3088
√ λύχνος — a portable lamp or other illuminator (literally or figuratively)NounNominative Masculine Singular
lychnos: lamp The predicate turns the v. 33 picture inward: the eye is not the light's source but its lamp, the organ through which light reaches the body. Proverbs 20:27 (“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD”) is the nearest OT form of the same image.
τοῦtouof yourG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Singular
σώματόςsōmatosbodyG4983
√ σῶμα — the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figurativelyNounGenitive Neuter Singular
sōma: body The whole person as a unit. The saying moves from organ (eye) to totality (body), so that perception decides the condition of the whole self.
ὅτανhotanWhenG3752
√ ὅταν — whenever (implying hypothesis or more or less uncertainty)Conjunction
hotan: whenever Indefinite temporal particle with subjunctive: a general condition, true in any case.
σουsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ὀφθαλμόςophthalmoseyesG3788
√ ὀφθαλμός — the eye (literally or figuratively)NounNominative Masculine Singular
ᾖēareG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
ἁπλοῦςhaplousgoodG573
√ ἁπλοῦς — properly, folded together, iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
haplous: single, undivided In the NT only here and the parallel Matt 6:22. The idea is integrity: an eye not split between two objects. Matthew sets the saying beside “no one can serve two masters” (Matt 6:24); Luke sets it after the demand for a sign (vv. 29 to 32), so here singleness means an undivided readiness to receive the light already given.
σουsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
ὅλονholonwholeG3650
√ ὅλος — "whole" or "all", iAdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
holos: whole No part excepted; v. 36 will repeat holon twice.
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
σῶμάsōmabodyG4983
√ σῶμα — the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figurativelyNounNominative Neuter Singular
καὶkaialsoG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐστινestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
φωτεινόνphōteinonfull of lightG5460
√ φωτεινός — lustrous, iAdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
phōteinos: luminous Rare (4 NT verses), including the “bright cloud” of the transfiguration (Matt 17:5). The body does not merely contain light; it becomes luminous.
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἐπὰνepanwhenG1875
√ ἐπάν — a particle of indefinite contemporaneousnessConjunction
epan: whenever A rare variant of hotan (3 NT verses); stylistic, with no extra weight.
ᾖēthey areG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
πονηρὸςponērosbadG4190
√ πονηρός — hurtful, iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
ponēros: evil Moral, not only optical. Where Matthew uses the same pair, the context is greed; in Luke's context the “evil eye” is the generation that demands a sign (v. 29, “this generation is an evil generation,” the same adjective).
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
σουsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
σῶμάsōmabodyG4983
√ σῶμα — the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figurativelyNounNominative Neuter Singular
σκοτεινόνskoteinon[is] full of darknessG4652
√ σκοτεινός — opaque, iAdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
skoteinos: dark, opaque Rare (3 NT verses: here, v. 36, Matt 6:23). The darkness is the body's own state once its single entrance for light is corrupted.
35

Be careful, then, that the light within you is not darkness.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

skopei oun to phōs to en soi estin mē skotos

Word by word10 · parsed
σκόπειskopeiBe carefulG4648
√ σκοπέω — to take aim at (spy), iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
skopeō: to take aim at, scrutinize Present imperative, singular: a continuing duty laid on each hearer. Paul uses the same verb for self-watch (Gal 6:1, watching oneself). Ellicott draws the consequence: a man testing his inward light needs “a Light by which to judge their light.”
οὖνounthenG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
oun: therefore Draws the command from v. 34.
τὸto[that] theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
φῶςphōslightG5457
√ φῶς — compare G5316 (φαίνω), G5346 (φημί))NounNominative Neuter Singular
phōs: light The ordinary noun for light, here “the light in you”: whatever a person takes to be their guiding knowledge. Cambridge names the danger with Isaiah 5:20 (“put darkness for light, and light for darkness”).
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
ἐνenwithinG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
en soi: in you Locates the danger inside the hearer, not in the lack of signs outside.
σοὶsoiyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
ἐστίνestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
eimi: is Indicative after mē: the feared reality, not a mere possibility.
μὴmēnotG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
σκότοςskotosdarknessG4655
√ σκότος — shadiness, iNounNominative Neuter Singular
skotos: darkness The light inverted. Jesus' warning reaches its sharpest point: the very faculty that should judge can itself be the darkness, so that the person cannot detect it by that faculty alone.
36

So if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

oun ei sou to sōma holon phōteinon mē ti meros echon skoteinon estai holon phōteinon hōs hotan ho lychnos tē astrapē phōtizē se

Word by word23 · parsed
οὖνounSoG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
oun: therefore Draws the conclusion of the whole saying.
εἰeiifG1487
√ εἰ — if, whether, that, etcConjunction
ei: if Simple condition, assumed for argument.
σουsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
τὸto[whole]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
σῶμάsōmabodyG4983
√ σῶμα — the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figurativelyNounNominative Neuter Singular
ὅλονholon[is] fullG3650
√ ὅλος — "whole" or "all", iAdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
holos: whole First of two holon: the body entirely lit.
φωτεινόνphōteinonof lightG5460
√ φωτεινός — lustrous, iAdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
phōteinos: luminous The rare adjective (4 NT verses) of v. 34 returns twice in this verse.
μὴmē[with] noG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
τιtiG5100
√ τὶς — some or any person or objectInterrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
μέροςmerospart [of it]G3313
√ μέρος — a division or share (literally or figuratively, in a wide application)NounAccusative Neuter Singular
meros: part “Not having any part dark”: the negation is total. The demand is integrity of the whole person, matching the “single” eye of v. 34.
ἔχονechonvvvG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Neuter Singular
σκοτεινόνskoteinonin darknessG4652
√ σκοτεινός — opaque, iAdjectiveAccusative Neuter Singular
skoteinos: dark Third and last NT use of this rare word (with v. 34 and Matt 6:23).
ἔσταιestai[you] will beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
eimi: will be Future: radiance is the promised end of a body kept undarkened.
ὅλονholonvvvG3650
√ ὅλος — "whole" or "all", iAdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
holos: whole The second holon, here predicate: “wholly luminous.” JFB singles out this verse as “peculiarly vivid,” since it has no exact parallel in Matthew.
φωτεινὸνphōteinonradiantG5460
√ φωτεινός — lustrous, iAdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
ὡςhōsasG5613
√ ὡς — which how, iAdverb
ὅτανhotanthoughG3752
√ ὅταν — whenever (implying hypothesis or more or less uncertainty)Conjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
λύχνοςlychnosa lampG3088
√ λύχνος — a portable lamp or other illuminator (literally or figuratively)NounNominative Masculine Singular
lychnos: lamp The lamp of v. 33 returns, now shining on the hearer: the unit closes where it began.
τῇtēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
ἀστραπῇastrapēwere shiningG796
√ ἀστραπή — lightningNounDative Feminine Singular
astrapē: lightning, flash A strong word for a small clay lamp: the flash of its flame. Luke's cognate verb exastraptō describes Jesus' garments “flashing like lightning” at the transfiguration (Luke 9:29), the link Godet (quoted by Pulpit) draws.
φωτίζῃphōtizē. . .G5461
√ φωτίζω — to shed rays, iVerbPresent Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
phōtizō: to enlighten Present subjunctive after hōs hotan: “as whenever the lamp lights you.” The light comes upon the hearer; it is received before it shines out.
σεseon youG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Singular
se: you Singular, closing the saying on the individual hearer.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The lamp is lit to be seen — Luke 11:33

The saying opens with a proverb (Poole calls it “a kind of proverbial speech”): no one lights a λύχνος only to bury it in a κρύπτη, a crypt, or put it under the household measure. It belongs on the λυχνία so that those who keep coming in may see its φέγγος, its radiance. The voices differ on what the lamp is. Gill reads it as “the free, open, and clear ministry of Christ”; Pulpit as the coming sign of the resurrection, which “will be” no “obscure or secret thing”; Geneva and Benson as the gospel light given so that we may in turn give light. Cambridge marks the turn that Luke makes: here “the light is here used for inward enlightenment, not to be seen afar.” ⚙ In Luke's setting (vv. 29 to 32, the demand for a sign) the proverb answers the crowd: the light is not hidden. If they do not see it, the fault lies elsewhere.

ii. The eye decides the whole body — Luke 11:34

Now the lamp is the eye: ὁ λύχνος τοῦ σώματος. Cambridge insists the word be kept the same as v. 33. Two rare adjectives frame the outcome: ἁπλοῦς, the single, undivided eye, and πονηρός, the evil eye. Poole draws the analogy cleanly: “What the eye is to the body, that the soul, the mind and affections, are to the whole man.” Gill makes the opening of the inner eye the Spirit's work; Cambridge calls it the “inward eye” of conscience that becomes “carnal” and so cannot see what is spiritually discerned. Pulpit applies it to the sign: “still it, too, was possible to miss seeing it.” ⚙ Luke has just called this generation ponēra (v. 29); the evil eye of v. 34 is that same evil, now located in perception.

iii. When the light itself is darkness — Luke 11:35

The sharpest line of the unit: σκόπει … μὴ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἐν σοὶ σκότος ἐστίν, “look, lest the light in you is darkness.” The indicative carries the fear that it already is. Ellicott hears a call to self-scrutiny and draws the consequence that one needs “a Light by which to judge their light,” found in “the recorded words and acts of the Son of Man.” Henry: “if our leading principles be wrong, our judgment and practice must become more so.” Cambridge reaches for Isaiah 5:20, those who “put darkness for light.” Gill reads it as a warning of judicial blindness upon those who despise the light they have.

iv. Wholly luminous — Luke 11:36

The saying ends with a doubled ὅλον and a lamp that lights the hearer “by its flash” (τῇ ἀστραπῇ). Ellicott defends the apparent truism: “there is no higher word possible.” JFB calls the verse “peculiarly vivid,” and it has no exact parallel in Matthew. Godet, quoted by Pulpit, sees in it “glory as the result of holiness” and goes on to compare the transfiguration. Gill, more cautiously, adds that “the light and knowledge of evangelical things is not perfect in any.” ⚙ The unit closes where it began: the lamp of v. 33 now shines on the one whose eye is single.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ Read within Luke 11, these four verses answer the demand for a sign (v. 16, v. 29). Jesus does not deny that a sign will be given (the sign of Jonah); he moves the problem from the sign to the seer. Light has been lit and set on the stand. Whether a hearer is full of light or darkness depends on the eye, and the eye can be so corrupted that what a person calls light is darkness (v. 35). That is why Scripture, not the inner light, must be the standard: the inner faculty cannot certify itself. The promise of v. 36 is not self-generated brightness; the lamp “enlightens you” from outside. This reading is offered to be tested against the text, especially against Matthew's different setting of the same words (Matt 5:15; 6:22 to 23).

The light you judge by can itself be darkness; so the lamp must come from outside you.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The single eye in the Sermon on the Mount verbal / quotation: confirmed

Luke 11:34 to 35 shares its words with Matthew 6:22 to 23: λύχνος, σῶμα, ὅλος, and the rare σκοτεινός. This is the same saying in two settings. Matthew places it among sayings on treasure and two masters (greed); Luke places it after the demand for a sign (unbelief). Ellicott judges it more likely “a portion of our Lord’s previous teaching repeated by Him in almost identical terms” than a displaced fragment; Barnes and JFB simply refer readers to Matthew.

Matthew 6:22 · Matthew 6:23

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G4652 skoteinos (in 3 vv), G3088 lychnos (in 14 vv), G3650 holos (in 97 vv), G4983 soma (in 120 vv); synoptic parallel of the same saying

The lamp under the measure: one saying, three Gospels verbal / quotation: confirmed

Luke 11:33 repeats the lamp proverb found at Matthew 5:15, Mark 4:21, and Luke's own 8:16. The rare μόδιος occurs only in these settings, and εἰσπορευόμενοι (“those who enter”) is shared with Luke 8:16 alone. Cambridge: “The comparison is the same … but the application in the next verse is different.” In Matthew the disciples are the light; in Mark and Luke 8 it follows the parable of the sower; here it leads into the eye saying.

Matthew 5:15 · Mark 4:21 · Luke 8:16

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G3426 modios (in 3 vv) with Matthew 5:15 and Mark 4:21; G3087 lychnia (in 11 vv) with all three; G1531 eisporeuomai (in 18 vv) with Luke 8:16

Luminous: the bright cloud structural / thematic: confirmed

The adjective φωτεινός, used of the whole body in vv. 34 and 36, occurs in only four NT verses; one is the “bright cloud” that overshadows the disciples at the transfiguration (Matt 17:5). Godet, quoted by Pulpit at v. 36, connects the radiant body of this saying with the transfiguration. ⚙ The shared word is rare and real, but the contexts are different; this is a motif link, not a quotation.

Matthew 17:5

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G5460 photeinos (in 4 vv); thematic link of radiance, no quotation claim

A woman lights a lamp structural / thematic: confirmed

The pairing of ἅπτω (“to light”) and λύχνος returns in Luke 15:8, where a woman lights a lamp to search for what was lost. ⚙ In 11:33 the lamp is lit to be seen; in 15:8 it is lit to seek. Both lamps serve someone beyond the one who holds them.

Luke 15:8

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G681 hapto (in 5 vv), G3088 lychnos (in 14 vv); same image within Luke, no quotation

The city that needs no lamp structural / thematic: confirmed

Revelation ends the NT story of the λύχνος: the city needs neither sun nor moon, because God's glory lights it and the Lamb is its lamp (21:23); and there is no need of a lamp, because the Lord God gives them light (22:5). ⚙ The borrowed radiance of Luke 11:36, “as when a lamp lights you,” finds its end where the light source is God himself.

Revelation 21:23 · Revelation 22:5

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G3088 lychnos (in 14 vv), G5457 phos (in 60 vv); motif of lamp and light, no quotation

The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD structural / thematic: confirmed

Cambridge at v. 36 writes, “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord,” the wording of Proverbs 20:27 (KJV), and cites Psalm 18:28, “God will light my candle,” and Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lantern unto my feet.” ⚙ The OT already pictures the inner person as a lamp that God himself must light and Scripture must guide, the very structure of Luke 11:34 to 36. These are Hebrew texts and cannot share Strong's numbers with Luke's Greek.

Proverbs 20:27 · Psalm 18:28 · Psalm 119:105

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek and Hebrew): no shared Strong's lexeme possible; shared lamp imagery for the inner person, cited by Cambridge; not a quotation

Calling darkness light structural / thematic: confirmed

Cambridge reads v. 35 through Isaiah 5:20 to 21: those who “put darkness for light, and light for darkness” and are “wise in their own eyes.” ⚙ Isaiah describes the same inversion Jesus warns against, the inner light that has become darkness. The link is conceptual and supplied by Cambridge; Luke does not cite Isaiah.

Isaiah 5:20 · Isaiah 5:21

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek and Hebrew): no shared Strong's lexeme possible; shared motif of light inverted to darkness, cited by Cambridge; no quotation

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The lamp set on the stand ancient/widely-held

⚙ The lamp that no one hides is, in Luke's setting, the light already present among the crowd: Jesus himself, greater than Solomon and Jonah (vv. 31 to 32). Gill reads v. 33 as “the free, open, and clear ministry of Christ,” and Ellicott points the hearer to “the Light that lighteth every man.” John names this light directly (John 1:9; 8:12), with the verb phōtizō that closes v. 36. This is the widely-held Christian reading of the lamp sayings.

John 1:9 · John 8:12 · Luke 11:31 · Luke 11:32

The sign of Jonah, not hidden novel

Pulpit reads vv. 33 to 36 as a continued answer to the demand for a sign: the sign of Jonah (v. 29), which Henry and Pulpit take as the resurrection, will be no secret thing, yet a diseased eye can still miss it. ⚙ The resurrection reading of the sign of Jonah is widely held (it rests on Matthew 12:40); the specific application of the lamp proverb to the resurrection is Pulpit's, a minority reading.

Luke 11:29 · Luke 11:30 · Matthew 12:40

Glory as the result of holiness novel

Godet, quoted by Pulpit, sees in v. 36 the radiance that was “realized in himself on the occasion of his transfiguration” and is promised to all believers. Luke's own transfiguration account uses the cognate verb exastraptō: his clothing flashing (Luke 9:29), a cognate of the ἀστραπή of v. 36. Paul speaks of believers being transformed into his image as they behold the Lord's glory (2 Cor 3:18). ⚙ The transfiguration connection is attractive but is Godet's, not the text's explicit claim; it is offered here as one reading.

Luke 9:29 · Matthew 17:2 · 2 Corinthians 3:18

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text. Gill notes at v. 34 that “The 35th and 36th verses are not in Beza's most ancient copy” (Codex Bezae, D). The BSB translates them, following the main manuscript tradition. ⚙ Some early witnesses are reported to lack “or under the basket” in v. 33; this tool has not verified that report against a critical apparatus, and the BSB includes the phrase. Translation. The final clause of v. 36 is compressed; the interlinear glosses for echon, the second holon, and phōtizē are placeholders, so the literal rendering above follows the Greek order and parse, not those glosses. Sources. Henry, Barnes, and JFB give one comment for the whole passage; Barnes only refers readers to Matthew and is therefore not quoted. Ellicott's note at v. 35 prints “Luke 6:23” where Matthew 6:23 is meant. The transfiguration reading of v. 36 is Godet's, transmitted by Pulpit. Rare-word counts are the Verifier's. Thread candidates on epan (Matt 2:8; Luke 11:22) and phengos (Matt 24:29; Mark 13:24) share only a function word or a passing image and were not developed.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)