Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
Centurion's servant (ekatontarxou tinov doulov). Slave of a certain centurion (Latin word centurio, commander of a century or hundred). Mark 15:39, Mark 15:44 has the Latin word in Greek letters, kenturiwn. The centurion commanded a company which varied from fifty to a hundred. Each cohort had six centuries. Each legion had ten cohorts or bands (Acts 10:1). The centurions mentioned in the N.T. all seem to be fine men as Polybius states that the best men in the army had this position. See also Luke 23:47. The Greek has two forms of the word, both from ekaton, hundred, and arxw, to rule, and they appear to be used interchangeably. So we have ekatontarxov; here, the form is -arxov, and ekatontarxhv, the form is -arxhv in verse Luke 7:6. The manuscripts differ about it in almost every instance. The -arxov form is accepted by Westcott and Hort only in the nominative save the genitive singular here in Luke 7:2 and the accusative singular in Acts 22:25. See like variation between them in Matthew 8:5, Matthew 8:8 (-arxov) and Matthew 8:13 (arxh). So also -arxon (Acts 22:25) and -arxhv (Acts 22:26).
Dear to him (autw entimov). Held in honour, prized, precious, dear (Luke 14:8; I Peter 2:4; Philippians 2:29), common Greek word. Even though a slave he was dear to him.
Was sick (kakwv exwn). Having it bad. Common idiom. See already Matthew 4:24; Matthew 8:16; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31, etc. Matthew 8:6 notes that the slave was a paralytic.
And at the point of death (hmellen teleutain). Imperfect active of mellw (note double augment h) which is used either with the present infinitive as here, the aorist (Revelation 3:16), or even the future because of the future idea in mellw (Acts 11:28; Acts 24:15). He was about to die.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing Luke 7:2:
Matthew 8:6
Luke 7:1
Luke 7:2
Luke 7:7
Acts 10:1
Acts 21:32
Philippians 2:29
1 Peter 2:4
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