The Meaning of Luke 6:6 Explained

Luke 6:6

KJV: And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.

YLT: And it came to pass also, on another sabbath, that he goeth into the synagogue, and teacheth, and there was there a man, and his right hand was withered,

Darby: And it came to pass on another sabbath also that he entered into the synagogue and taught; and there was a man there, and his right hand was withered.

ASV: And it came to pass on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man there, and his right hand was withered.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  it came to pass  also  on  another  sabbath,  that he  entered  into  the synagogue  and  taught:  and  there  was  a man  whose  right  hand  was  withered. 

What does Luke 6:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 6:1-11 - The Right Use Of The Sabbath
It was a brave and bold step for Jesus to set Himself against the ritualistic proscriptions of the ruling religious party of His age. How many who had hoped that He would redeem Israel, must have been hurt by what seemed to be ruthless iconoclasm. But there was no hope of the holy thoughts of God ever emerging from the mass of hide-bound rules and regulations with which the Pharisees had covered them, unless the frost of literalism was broken up with a strong hand. Christ was not destroying religion, but freeing it from the formalist. Reality, reality! Be true and real!
The grave question today is, whether, in our revolt from Puritan strictness in observing Sunday, we have not gone to the other extreme. The Church of God will have to stand for God's day, not only for God's sake, but for the sake of the masses, who are menaced by a seven-days' working week. The Sabbath was made for man; he needs it. If God made it for him, let God's children preserve it. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 6

1  Jesus reproves the Pharisees;
12  chooses apostles;
17  heals the diseased;
20  preaches to his disciples before the people: the beattitudes;
27  Love your Enemy
37  Do not Judge
43  A Tree and Its Fruit
46  The House on the Rock

Greek Commentary for Luke 6:6

On another sabbath [εν ετερωι σαββατωι]
This was a second See Matt. and Mark for details. Only Luke notes that it was on a sabbath. Was this because Luke as a physician had to meet this problem in his own practise? [source]
Right hand [η δεχια]
This alone in Luke, the physician‘s eye for particulars. [source]
His right hand [ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ ἡ δεξιὰ]
A very precise mode of statement. Lit., his hand the right one. Luke only specifies which hand was withered. This accuracy is professional. Ancient medical writers always state whether the right or the left member is affected. [source]
Withered []
See on Mark 3:1. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 6:6

Mark 3:1 Had his hand withered [εχηραμμενην εχων την χειρα]
He had his (the in the Greek, common idiom with article as possessive) hand (right hand, Luke 6:6) in a withered state, perfect passive participle (adjective χηραν — xēran in Matthew and Luke), showing that it was not congenital, but the result of injury by accident or disease. Bengel: Non ex utero, sed morbo aut vulnere. [source]
Luke 6:1 On a sabbath [εν σαββατωι]
This is the second sabbath on which Jesus is noted by Luke. The first was Luke 4:31-41. There was another in John 5:1-47. There is Western and Syrian (Byzantine) evidence for a very curious reading here which calls this sabbath “secondfirst” It is undoubtedly spurious, though Westcott and Hort print it in the margin. A possible explanation is that a scribe wrote “first” (πρωτωι — prōtōi) on the margin because of the sabbath miracle in Luke 6:6-11. Then another scribe recalled Luke 4:31 where a sabbath is mentioned and wrote “second” (δευτερωι — deuterōi) also on the margin. Finally a third scribe combined the two in the word δευτεροπρωτωι — deuteroprōtōi that is not found elsewhere. If it were genuine, we should not know what it means. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 6:6 mean?

It came to pass then on another Sabbath entered He into the synagogue and taught there was a man there the hand of him right was withered
Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ἑτέρῳ σαββάτῳ εἰσελθεῖν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν καὶ διδάσκειν ἦν ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ δεξιὰ ἦν ξηρά

Ἐγένετο  It  came  to  pass 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
ἑτέρῳ  another 
Parse: Adjective, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: ἀλλοιόω 
Sense: the other, another, other.
σαββάτῳ  Sabbath 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: σάββατον  
Sense: the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work.
εἰσελθεῖν  entered 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: εἰσέρχομαι  
Sense: to go out or come in: to enter.
εἰς  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: εἰς  
Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among.
συναγωγὴν  synagogue 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: συναγωγή  
Sense: a bringing together, gathering (as of fruits), a contracting.
διδάσκειν  taught 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: διδάσκω  
Sense: to teach.
ἦν  there  was 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ἄνθρωπος  a  man 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἄνθρωπος  
Sense: a human being, whether male or female.
χεὶρ  hand 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: χείρ  
Sense: by the help or agency of any one, by means of any one.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
δεξιὰ  right 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: δεξιός  
Sense: the right, the right hand.
ξηρά  withered 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ξηρός  
Sense: dry.