An Exegetical Analysis of Luke 23:43: The Grammatical and Textual Placement of σημερον
This exegetical study of An Exegetical Analysis of Luke 23:43: The Grammatical and Textual Placement of σημερον is based on a b-greek discussion from December 21st, 1999. The initial inquiry examines Jesus’ characteristic use of the solemn affirmation “Truly I say to you” (αμην λεγω σοι or αμην λεγω υμιν). In several synoptic parallels and Johannine passages (e.g., Matthew 26:34, Mark 14:30, John 5:25), this phrase is consistently followed by the conjunction οτι before a subsequent statement, often containing a specific temporal indicator. However, a significant deviation is observed in Luke 23:43, where the connective οτι is conspicuously absent.
The primary exegetical issue under investigation is the grammatical relationship and semantic scope of the temporal adverb σημερον (today) within Luke 23:43. The absence of οτι creates an ambiguity as to whether σημερον modifies the preceding verb λεγω (I say) or the subsequent verb εση (you will be). This grammatical uncertainty leads to two distinct interpretations, each carrying significant theological implications for understanding the timing of the penitent criminal’s entry into Paradise. The debate extends to textual criticism concerning punctuation in early manuscripts and the rhetorical emphasis conveyed by word order.
και ειπεν αυτω αμην σοι λεγω σημερον μετ εμου εση εν τω παραδεισω (Nestle 1904)
Key differences with SBLGNT (2010):
- The SBLGNT (2010) text of Luke 23:43, like Nestle 1904, reads και ειπεν αυτω Αμην σοι λεγω, σημερον μετ’ εμου εσῃ εν τῳ παραδεισῳ.
- The primary difference lies in the modern critical editions’ punctuation. Both Nestle 1904 (as typically presented) and SBLGNT (2010) place a comma before σημερον, reflecting the interpretation that “today” refers to the time of entry into Paradise.
- The central debate highlighted in the b-greek discussion revolves around the *justification* for this punctuation, questioning whether it accurately reflects the original text or an interpretive choice, given the lack of punctuation in the earliest manuscripts.
Textual criticism (NA28), lexical notes (BDAG):
The textual critical discussion centers predominantly on the interpretation of early manuscript evidence, particularly Codex Vaticanus (B). Some scholars have observed a “lower point” (hypostigme) after σημερον in B, potentially indicating a short pause or comma placed after “today.” This punctuation, if original, would support the reading “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.” However, other textual critics, examining facsimiles, have countered this, suggesting the mark is merely a “blot” of “unknown origin” and noting the absence of characteristic extra spacing that would typically accompany a deliberate comma. The debate underscores the inherent difficulty in reconstructing original punctuation from ancient uncial manuscripts, where such marks were either entirely absent or added by later hands. Furthermore, the 5th-century Curetonian Syriac version provides a significant external witness, rendering the verse in a manner that explicitly places the comma *after* “today,” suggesting an early interpretive tradition supporting this reading.
Lexically, the phrase αμην λεγω σοι is a characteristic Hebrew idiom (lit. “amen I say to you”) serving as a solemn introductory formula, emphasizing the truthfulness and authority of the speaker’s subsequent statement. BDAG defines αμην as “truly, verily,” and when combined with λεγω σοι, it forms a strong assertion. The adverb σημερον (today) functions as a temporal indicator. Its position is crucial: if modifying λεγω, it specifies the *day of the declaration*; if modifying εση, it specifies the *day of fulfillment*. The prepositional phrases μετ’ εμου (with me) and εν τῳ παραδεισῳ (in Paradise) serve as adverbial complements to the verb of being εσῃ (you will be), indicating association and location, respectively. The unusual fronting of μετ’ εμου before εσῃ may convey a heightened emphasis on the personal companionship with Jesus as more significant than the mere location of Paradise.
Translation Variants
The grammatical ambiguity concerning the placement of σημερον results in two primary interpretive and translational approaches, each with distinct rhetorical and theological implications:
-
Traditional Reading: “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
This reading places the comma before σημερον, causing the adverb to modify the future verb εσῃ (you will be). Grammatically, σημερον functions here as an adverb of time directly specifying the immediacy of the promise: the penitent criminal’s entry into Paradise will occur on the very day of Jesus’ crucifixion. Rhetorically, this construction emphasizes the swiftness and certainty of Jesus’ salvific promise, offering immediate comfort and assurance. It portrays Jesus as bestowing a present reality of blessed communion. This aligns with the punctuation found in most modern critical editions (e.g., NA28, SBLGNT).
-
Alternative Reading: “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”
This reading places the comma after σημερον, causing the adverb to modify the preceding verb λεγω (I say). Grammatically, σημερον specifies the time of Jesus’ solemn declaration, emphasizing that *on this very day* of suffering and death, Jesus is uttering a profound truth. The fulfillment of the promise (“you will be with me in Paradise”) is still presented as a future certainty, but its immediacy is not necessarily tied to “today.” Rhetorically, this emphasizes the solemnity and authority of the statement given the momentous occasion, without committing to an immediate post-mortem entry into Paradise. This interpretation often finds support in theological understandings of the intermediate state (e.g., Jesus’ descent into Hades/Sheol rather than immediate entry into a celestial Paradise on the day of death), aligning with some early patristic interpretations and the Curetonian Syriac.
The word order of μετ’ εμου εσῃ εν τῳ παραδεισῳ also warrants attention. The prepositional phrase μετ’ εμου (with me) precedes the verb εσῃ (you will be), while εν τῳ παραδεισῳ (in Paradise) follows it. This fronting of μετ’ εμου rhetorically emphasizes the personal companionship with Jesus as the primary blessing, potentially conveying greater prominence than the location itself. Being *with Jesus* is thus foregrounded as the core of the promised experience, regardless of whether it is an immediate or future spatial reality.
Conclusions and Translation Suggestions
The exegetical analysis of Luke 23:43 reveals a nuanced grammatical and textual debate surrounding the placement of σημερον. While modern critical editions generally favor the placement of the comma before σημερον, implying immediate entry into Paradise, a historical and grammatical case can be made for interpreting “today” as modifying Jesus’ declaration. The absence of οτι and the presence of early textual and interpretive traditions supporting the alternative reading underscore the complexity.
Given these considerations, the following translation suggestions aim to reflect the various interpretive possibilities while maintaining fidelity to the Greek text:
- “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
This translation reflects the majority textual and interpretive tradition, emphasizing the immediate fulfillment of Jesus’ promise on the day of his crucifixion. - “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”
This alternative translation emphasizes the solemnity and timing of Jesus’ declaration on that specific day, without necessarily implying immediate entry into Paradise. - “Truly I say to you, you will be with me today in Paradise.”
This variant, while slightly altering the precise word order for English idiom, attempts to capture the emphasis on personal companionship (“with me”) and the immediate temporal aspect (“today”) more clearly, acknowledging the rhetorical force of the Greek word order without definitively binding “today” solely to the utterance or the entry.
George Gunn wrote: />/ /> Dubious theological considerations re: the identity of “paradise” aside, I/ /> believe it’s important to consider the use of the phrase AMHN LEGW SOI in/ /> the Gospels. The prhase occurs 9 times in the sayings of Jesus (Mt 5:26;/ /> 26:34; Mk 14:30; Lk 23:43; Jn 3:3,5,11; 13:38; 21:18). Since it occurs only/ /> once in Lk, one can only draw conclusions from the other occurrences/ /> assuming the gospel writers accurately quote Jesus. I make that assumption/ /> though others may not. Of the other 8 occurrences, none, in my opinion, use/ /> any kind of adverbial qualifier for LEGW. Three of the occurrences use a/ /> hOTI clause immediately following the prhase, thus ruling out the/ /> possibility of there being an adverbial qualifier. Of the references lacking/ /> hOTI, only one might be considered parallel in structure (i.e. including a/ /> possible adverbial qualifier), viz. Jn 21:18; there, I hardly think anyone/ /> would consider the temporal clause hOTE HS NEWTEROS “when you were young” as/ /> modifying LEGW rather than EZONNUES and PERIEPATEIS. In conclusion, on/ /> linguistic evidence, I favor taking SHMERON in Lk 23:43 with the following/ /> George Gunn/
I am not sure I fully understand the implications of rejecting a translation based upon the premise that a particular construction must be found in other texts to be valid grammar. This whole business of statistics in linquistics puzzles me, and if anyone has and references on this subject I would be very interested. From what little background I do have in statistics as applied to another science, I know that the sample size available for study significantly affects the accuracy of the premise. Because of this I opened up my search for similar constructions in meaning.
Please forgive me if I have misunderstood the syntax, because I freely admit to being a rank novice in Greek. Therefore I looked for a construction in Greek which fit the criterion of ‘I [Tell | say ] today’ where today is not refering to the physical 24 hour time frame, but in the context of emphasizing that ‘you better believe what I am about to say’ , because the alternative of ‘This is the day I am telling you this’ would appear to add no real information.
Therefore I submit the following construction to this group for criticism.
De 30:18 ANAGGELLW SOI SHMERON OTI APWLEIA APOLEISQE KAI OU MH POLUHMEROI GENHSQE EPI THJ GHJ HJ KURIOJ O QEOJ SOU DIDWSIN SOI EIJ HN UMEIJ DIABAINETE TON IORDANHN EKEI KLHRONOMHSAI AUTHN (lxx)
I realize that the hOTI clause removes all doubt as to how to interpret SHMERON, but I do not know enough Greek (yet) to determine if this disqualifies my example as a parallel construction to Luke 23:43.
Sincerely, -lars
/>>The adverb may qualify either LEGW or ESHi. This is the extent of what CAN/ be. But in trying to resolve the ambiguity, we have to go beyond what CAN be and ask what was LIKELY to have been Jesus’ meaning. What we are dealing with in the phrase AMHN LEGW SOI is a kind of introductory formula Jesus used on many occaisions.<< I agree that AMHN LEGW SOI was a pattern of speech Jesus used. Please believe me when I say that I completely understand your point. I simply maintain that that the limited number of examples of AMHN LEGW SOI cited by writers does not necessarily IMPLY that Jesus would not have used "here," "there," "in the dark," "in the light," or any other kind of adverb whenever he wanted to. I think it too weak to form a doctrinal assessment of what Jesus even LIKELY intended without the benefit of context. In fact, at Luke 4:25, Luke varies the expression and says "ep alhtheias de legw humin," or, "I say to you in truth." Here, "ep alhtheias adverbially modifies "legw humin." As a result, it seems reasonable to conclude that the expression AMHN LEGW SOI is not to be taken as an inviolable grammatical mantra. I would say it was simply Jesus' way of saying "What I am about to say to you is absolutely true [and by implication], Listen to it." And that is as far as we can reasonably go with it grammatically speaking. />>For SHMERON to be taken as a modifier of LEGW there would have to be some/ compelling reason from the context requiring that to be more likely than its modifying ESHi. Perhaps this is where a theological discussion of the meaning of paradeisos comes in. BAGD says of this word, “In our lit. not of any formal garden or park, but only paradise …. a place of blessedness above the earth….” 2Co 12:4 refers to it as a place to which one (Paul?) was caught up (hARPAZW) in rapturous vision of the unspeakable glories of God. << True. However, I believe that Bible Translator L. Reinhardt's point was that the evildoer would not have understood it in this light. It was and is not my intent to promote a discussion of the distinction between "heaven", "paradeisos" and the "hades" to which Jesus went that very day (Acts 2:27). But "hades" is an interesting word study. Sincerely, Wes
George Gunn wrote: />/ /> Dubious theological considerations re: the identity of “paradise” aside, I/ /> believe it’s important to consider the use of the phrase AMHN LEGW SOI in/ /> the Gospels. The prhase occurs 9 times in the sayings of Jesus (Mt 5:26;/ /> 26:34; Mk 14:30; Lk 23:43; Jn 3:3,5,11; 13:38; 21:18). Since it occurs only/ /> once in Lk, one can only draw conclusions from the other occurrences/ /> assuming the gospel writers accurately quote Jesus. I make that assumption/ /> though others may not. Of the other 8 occurrences, none, in my opinion, use/ /> any kind of adverbial qualifier for LEGW. Three of the occurrences use a/ /> hOTI clause immediately following the prhase, thus ruling out the/ /> possibility of there being an adverbial qualifier. Of the references lacking/ /> hOTI, only one might be considered parallel in structure (i.e. including a/ /> possible adverbial qualifier), viz. Jn 21:18; there, I hardly think anyone/ /> would consider the temporal clause hOTE HS NEWTEROS “when you were young” as/ /> modifying LEGW rather than EZONNUES and PERIEPATEIS. In conclusion, on/ /> linguistic evidence, I favor taking SHMERON in Lk 23:43 with the following/ /> George Gunn/
I am not sure I fully understand the implications of rejecting a translation based upon the premise that a particular construction must be found in other texts to be valid grammar. This whole business of statistics in linquistics puzzles me, and if anyone has and references on this subject I would be very interested. From what little background I do have in statistics as applied to another science, I know that the sample size available for study significantly affects the accuracy of the premise. Because of this I opened up my search for similar constructions in meaning.
Please forgive me if I have misunderstood the syntax, because I freely admit to being a rank novice in Greek. Therefore I looked for a construction in Greek which fit the criterion of ‘I [Tell | say ] today’ where today is not refering to the physical 24 hour time frame, but in the context of emphasizing that ‘you better believe what I am about to say’ , because the alternative of ‘This is the day I am telling you this’ would appear to add no real information.
Therefore I submit the following construction to this group for criticism.
De 30:18 ANAGGELLW SOI SHMERON OTI APWLEIA APOLEISQE KAI OU MH POLUHMEROI GENHSQE EPI THJ GHJ HJ KURIOJ O QEOJ SOU DIDWSIN SOI EIJ HN UMEIJ DIABAINETE TON IORDANHN EKEI KLHRONOMHSAI AUTHN (lxx)
I realize that the hOTI clause removes all doubt as to how to interpret SHMERON, but I do not know enough Greek (yet) to determine if this disqualifies my example as a parallel construction to Luke 23:43.
Sincerely, -lars
/>>The adverb may qualify either LEGW or ESHi. This is the extent of what CAN/ be. But in trying to resolve the ambiguity, we have to go beyond what CAN be and ask what was LIKELY to have been Jesus’ meaning. What we are dealing with in the phrase AMHN LEGW SOI is a kind of introductory formula Jesus used on many occaisions.<< I agree that AMHN LEGW SOI was a pattern of speech Jesus used. Please believe me when I say that I completely understand your point. I simply maintain that that the limited number of examples of AMHN LEGW SOI cited by writers does not necessarily IMPLY that Jesus would not have used "here," "there," "in the dark," "in the light," or any other kind of adverb whenever he wanted to. I think it too weak to form a doctrinal assessment of what Jesus even LIKELY intended without the benefit of context. In fact, at Luke 4:25, Luke varies the expression and says "ep alhtheias de legw humin," or, "I say to you in truth." Here, "ep alhtheias adverbially modifies "legw humin." As a result, it seems reasonable to conclude that the expression AMHN LEGW SOI is not to be taken as an inviolable grammatical mantra. I would say it was simply Jesus' way of saying "What I am about to say to you is absolutely true [and by implication], Listen to it." And that is as far as we can reasonably go with it grammatically speaking. />>For SHMERON to be taken as a modifier of LEGW there would have to be some/ compelling reason from the context requiring that to be more likely than its modifying ESHi. Perhaps this is where a theological discussion of the meaning of paradeisos comes in. BAGD says of this word, “In our lit. not of any formal garden or park, but only paradise …. a place of blessedness above the earth….” 2Co 12:4 refers to it as a place to which one (Paul?) was caught up (hARPAZW) in rapturous vision of the unspeakable glories of God. << True. However, I believe that Bible Translator L. Reinhardt's point was that the evildoer would not have understood it in this light. It was and is not my intent to promote a discussion of the distinction between "heaven", "paradeisos" and the "hades" to which Jesus went that very day (Acts 2:27). But "hades" is an interesting word study. Sincerely, Wes
Randal W Deese go read the whole discussion on the Greek in the words of Jesus: Today you will be with me in Paradise and come back if you have any question http://probible.net/luke-2343/
Randal W Deese go read the whole discussion on the Greek in the words of Jesus: Today you will be with me in Paradise and come back if you have any question http://probible.net/luke-2343/
What did JESUS mean with the words
Today you will be with me in Paradise in Luke 23:43?
What did JESUS mean with the words
Today you will be with me in Paradise in Luke 23:43?