Tag Archives: Luke 3:27

Introduction: A Lineage Without Verbs

In Luke 3:23–38, the evangelist presents the genealogy of Jesus in reverse, going from Jesus all the way back to Adam. Each generation is presented in a minimalist formula:

τοῦ [Name] — “of [Name]”

Our focus here is on this segment: τοῦ Ἰωανάν, τοῦ Ῥησά, τοῦ Ζοροβάβελ, τοῦ Σαλαθιήλ, τοῦ Νηρί

All five names are in the genitive singular masculine and preceded by the article τοῦ. The grammar functions anaphorically and patronymically—meaning each τοῦ + name refers to the father of the previous individual in the list.

τοῦ Ἰωανάν, τοῦ Ῥησά, τοῦ Ζοροβάβελ, τοῦ Σαλαθιήλ, τοῦ Νηρί

Luke 3:27 is part of the Lukan genealogy of Jesus.… Learn Koine Greek