Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Luke 15:12

τὸ ἐπιβάλλον μέρος τῆς οὐσίας. This would be one third (Deuteronomy 21:17). The granting of this portion corresponds to the natural gifts and blessings which God bestows on all alike, together with the light of conscience, and the rich elements of natural religion. Here we have the history of a sinful soul. Its sin (12, 13); its misery (14–16); its penitence (17–20); its forgiveness (20–24).

διεῖλεν αὐτοῖς τὸν βίον. See Luke 6:35. “The Lord is good to all,” Psalms 145:9. “God is no respecter of persons,” Acts 10:34. “He maketh His sun to rise on the evil, and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust,” Matthew 5:45. But the boon, though granted in merciful accordance with a divine plan, was in reality a bane; it is equivalent to παραδιδόναι ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις (Romans 1:24-28), though that too is often a mercifully-intended punishment.

“God answers sharp and sudden on some prayers;
And flings the thing we have asked for in our face,
A gauntlet—with a gift in it.”

E. B. BROWNING.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Luke 15:12

Old Testament

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