We all grew up with the Sunday song, "Zaccheus was a whee littleman, a whee little man was he..." But the text doesn't say clearly that he was actually shorter than Jesus. In fact, the text is a bit ambiguous.
Here is the Greek:καὶ ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν τὸν Ἰησοῦν τίς ἐστιν, καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄχλου, ὅτι τῇ ἡλικίᾳ μικρὸς ἦν. (Luke 19:3).
1. "And He was seeking to see Jesus; who he is, and was unable because of the crowd/from the crowd (ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄχλου), because he was of a small stature."
2. KJV:"And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature."
3. NASB: "Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature."
Can you really determine from this verse, who was smaller in stature? Was it Jesus or was it Zaccheus?
Remember, Zaccheus climbing a tree doesn't prove conclusively that he was smaller than Jesus. It could mean that Jesus was smaller in status and because of the crowd that surrounded him, Zaccheus was unable to see him, so he had to climb a tree to get a better view. And neither does it mean that Zaccheus was taller than everyone else and therefore could see over them and therefore didn't need to climb a tree.
Who Was Actually Shorter?
Discussion in 'Bible Versions & Translations' started by TCGreek, Jul 17, 2007.
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I agree , he wasn't a "whee little man" as in yippee . He was , rather a wee little man . He was short ( "of stature" the KJV adds superflously ) . I suspect that Jesus was of average height . Therefore the Z-man was shorter . ( Isn't this too controversial ?)
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I don't think it is too controversial, if we are interested in translation issues. This is not to challenge the divinity of Christ, "For in him the whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily." -
Scarlett O. ModeratorModerator
It's been a long time since I've looked at phrases and clauses, but don't phrases and clauses modify/refer to the subject or object closest to it?
Example: Marian called her sister on the phone because she is sad. Well, who is sad? Marian or her sister? If we follow that rule, it would have to be the sister, because "sister" is closest to the phrase, "she is sad."
Example: Marian called her sister on the phone and she did that because of sadness. In this case, it would be Marian who is sad and needs cheering up because "she" (Marian) is closest to the phrase.
I might be way off base, but I think it's Zaccheus that is small in stature for that very reason.
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TC-G , I forgot to add smiley-faces . No , this is not a controversial subject . It's certainly not a C vs. N-C issue . ( Someone would have to be highly imaginative to do that ! ) .
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Personally, I do not know that it matters one whit. Especially since the two shortest individuals, who were certainly far shorter than either Jesus or Zacchaeus, and even "James, the Less" (which term BTW, speaks to his physical stature), spoken of in Scripture are "Knee-high-miah" and the shortest, "Bildad the Shoeheight" :D
And besides that, it was because of the media there, that Zacchaeus could not see Jesus. In fact, I'll quote that.
Ed -
I like those clever lines.:thumbs: -
We don't know how deep the crowd was...the placement of the road in proportion to any incline or decline surrounding it...site lines / angles,...other factors. Zach could have been 6'3" for all we know, or he could have been a "little person" (formerly called midget or dwarf).
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No , WB , Zack was definitely short .
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Yep , but it's a short account . Your 6'3" estimate is way off .
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I was obviously joking about having his medical records . ( You took me seriously ? ) But I tend to take the Bible 's word for it when the English translations call him "short" or use other synonyms . Short is the opposite of tall -- case closed .
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"Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature."
How do we know "he was small in stature" was not referring to Jesus and not Zach? -
Didn't Luke 2:52 say specifically that Jesus advanced in stature?
It seems pretty clear from context that it's Zaccheus who was short. It's an oti clause so it is somwhat ambiguous. But I think that Luke would have made Jesus the subject of the oti clause (instead of just using a pronoun) if that were the intended inference, especially since there is another clause in between the oti clause and the reference to Jesus. -
What Charles said . (It sounded good anyway .)
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1. I would have to agree with you that the hoti clause is the clincher.
2. The hoti clause serves as the grounds for the previous clause καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄχλου.
3. I know someone would be able to crack the code from the original language. Yes, and given that this is a narrative genre one would expect the pronoun to make a clear reference to Jesus. -
If Jesus had been shorter than average(or taller) it woulda been noted somewhere in Scripture, I believe. Remember, Isaiah said in so many words that there'd be nothing unusual about His appearance.
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Just a note to Ed,
Remember that Peter was so small he slept on his watch.:laugh: