Luke 13:1

A Call to Repent

13:1 Now there were some present on that occasion who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

Luke 13:21

13:21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”


tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

sn This is an event that otherwise is unattested, though several events similar to it are noted in Josephus (J. W. 2.9.2-4 [2.169-177]; Ant. 13.13.5 [13.372-73], 18.3.1-2 [18.55-62]; 18.4.1 [18.85-87]). It would have caused a major furor.

tn Grk “hid in.”

sn This measure was a saton, the Greek name for the Hebrew term “seah.” Three of these was a very large quantity of flour, since a saton is a little over 16 lbs (7 kg) of dry measure (or 13.13 liters). So this was over 47 lbs (21 kg) of flour total, enough to feed over a hundred people.

tn Grk “it was all leavened.”

sn The parable of the yeast and the dough teaches that the kingdom of God will start small but eventually grow to permeate everything. Jesus’ point was not to be deceived by its seemingly small start, the same point made in the parable of the mustard seed, which preceded this one.