Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
Was cumbered (periespato). Imperfect passive of perispaw, an old verb with vivid metaphor, to draw around. One has sometimes seen women whose faces are literally drawn round with anxiety, with a permanent twist, distracted in mind and in looks.
She came up to him (epistasa). Second aorist active participle of efisthmi, an old verb to place upon, but in the N.T. only in the middle voice or the intransitive tenses of the active (perfect and second aorist as here). It is the ingressive aorist here and really means. stepping up to or bursting in or upon Jesus. It is an explosive act as is the speech of Martha.
Dost thou not care (ou melei soi). This was a reproach to Jesus for monopolizing Mary to Martha's hurt.
Did leave me (me kateleipen). Imperfect active, she kept on leaving me.
Bid her (eipon auth). Late form instead of eipe, second aorist active imperative, common in the papyri. Martha feels that Jesus is the key to Mary's help.
That she help me (ina moi sunantilabhtai). Sub-final use of ina with second aorist middle subjunctive of sunantilambanomai, a double compound verb (sun, with, anti, at her end of the line, and lambanomai, middle voice of lambanw, to take hold), a late compound appearing in the LXX, Diodorus and Josephus. Deissmann (Light from the Ancient East, p. 87) finds it in many widely scattered inscriptions "throughout the whole extent of the Hellenistic world of the Mediterranean." It appears only twice in the N.T. (here and Romans 8:26). It is a beautiful word, to take hold oneself (middle voice) at his end of the task (anti) together with (sun) one.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing Luke 10:40:
Luke 2:38
Luke 7:37
Luke 23:27
John 11:5
John 11:20
John 12:2
Acts 18:17
Romans 8:26
1 Corinthians 7:35
1 Corinthians 12:5
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