An Exegetical Analysis of Luke 12:20: The Implied Agency of ἀπαιτοῦσιν
Exegetical commentary on Luke 12:20 frequently references its intertextual relationship with Wisdom of Solomon 15:8, as highlighted by scholarly consensus, including analyses found in the NA28 textual apparatus and the Kittel Theological Dictionary (TDNT) entry for ἀπαιτέω. The Wisdom of Solomon passage (σοφια σαλομονος 15:8) employs a significant passive construction: “τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπαιτηθείς χρέος” (when the soul, which was lent him, is demanded back; A New English Translation of the Septuagint, 2007, p. 710). This passive formulation unequivocally attributes the demanding agent to a divine authority. Consequently, the use of the third-person plural active verb ἀπαιτοῦσιν (“they demand”) in Luke 12:20, despite its grammatical form, is often interpreted as a theological circumlocution for divine agency, a common linguistic feature in biblical Greek often referred to as the “divine passive” or an indefinite plural signifying God.
ὁ δὲ θεὸς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἄφρων, ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ τὴν ψυχήν σου ἀπαιτοῦσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ· ἃ δὲ ἡτοίμασας, τίνι ἔσται;
(Nestle 1904)
Key differences with SBLGNT (2010):
- The SBLGNT includes the direct object pronoun σε (you) after ἀπαιτοῦσιν, thus reading ἀπαιτοῦσίν σε ἀπὸ σοῦ, whereas the Nestle (1904) edition, similar to NA28, omits this pronoun, rendering it ἀπαιτοῦσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ.
Textual and Lexical Analysis
The central point of discussion revolves around the identification of the agent implied by the indefinite plural ἀπαιτοῦσιν in Luke 12:20. The intertextual link to Wisdom of Solomon 15:8, where the passive voice (“is demanded back”) explicitly points to divine agency, strongly suggests that the ‘they’ in Luke refers to God. This grammatical construction is a common Semitism or ‘divine passive’ in New Testament Greek, used to avoid direct attribution of an action to God. Furthermore, the textual variant concerning the presence or absence of the direct object pronoun σε (you) in Luke 12:20 influences the precise grammatical relationship between the verb and the rich man.
The textual apparatus of NA28 for Luke 12:20 indicates a significant variant regarding the inclusion or omission of the pronoun σε after ἀπαιτοῦσιν. While some important early manuscripts (e.g., P75, B, L) omit σε, other substantial witnesses (e.g., א, A, D, W, Θ, f1, f13, Byz) include it. The omission, preferred by NA28 and Nestle (1904), makes the “you” of the soul implicitly the object from whom it is taken, allowing ἀπὸ σοῦ to stand on its own, meaning ‘from you’ (ablative of source). The inclusion of σε, as found in SBLGNT (2010), explicitly makes ‘you’ (the rich man) the direct object of the demanding, while ἀπὸ σοῦ specifies the source. Regardless of this variant, the understanding of ἀπαιτοῦσιν as an indefinite plural or ‘divine passive’ remains consistent across critical editions.
KITTEL’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT) entry for ἀπαιτέω (Vol. 1, p. 308) supports the interpretation of a divine agent, noting that the term often carries a connotation of a righteous claim or demand by a superior authority, frequently God, especially in contexts of life and death. BDAG defines ἀπαιτέω as ‘to ask back, demand back,’ and for Luke 12:20, it specifically lists ‘God demands your soul’ as the interpretation for the indefinite plural.
Translation Variants
The nuanced understanding of the subject of ἀπαιτοῦσιν and the textual variant of σε can lead to distinct translation choices. If ‘they’ is interpreted literally as anonymous human agents or fate, translations might render it as “they demand your life from you.” However, given the strong exegetical and textual critical evidence for a ‘divine passive’ or indefinite plural referring to God, a more theologically informed translation would be “God demands your life from you” or “your life is demanded back from you (by God).” The presence of σε (as in SBLGNT) would emphasize ‘you’ as the direct object: “they demand you (i.e., your soul) from yourself/from you.” Without σε (as in Nestle 1904, NA28), the meaning tends towards “they demand back your soul from you.” The difference in nuance is subtle but significant: with σε, the focus is more on the person being demanded; without σε, the focus is on the soul being demanded back from the person.
Conclusions and Translation Suggestions
In conclusion, the exegetical analysis of Luke 12:20 strongly establishes an intertextual relationship with Wisdom of Solomon 15:8. This connection, along with linguistic and theological considerations, supports the interpretation of the indefinite third-person plural ἀπαιτοῦσιν as a ‘divine passive,’ signifying that God is the ultimate agent demanding the rich man’s soul. The textual variant regarding the presence or absence of the direct object pronoun σε, while affecting the grammatical precision, does not alter the fundamental identification of divine agency. The critical editions’ preference for omitting σε, alongside the contextual and intertextual evidence, points to an understanding where the soul is demanded from the rich man. For translation, it is imperative to convey this divine agency rather than an ambiguous ‘they.’ Therefore, the following translation suggestions are offered:
- Emphasizing God as the implied subject (passive construction): “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded back from you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'” This option implicitly attributes the action to God through a passive construction, consistent with the Wisdom of Solomon parallel, maintaining the stylistic circumlocution.
- Explicitly stating God as the subject (active construction): “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night God will demand your soul from you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'” This option makes the divine agent explicit, clarifying the theological implication for modern readers.
- Retaining the indefinite plural with explanatory note: “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night they are demanding your soul from you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'” This option maintains a more literal translation of the indefinite plural verb, requiring the reader to understand “they” as a circumlocution for God, as commonly used in biblical Greek to signify divine agency.