Luke 13:16

Luke 13:16, in plain English

Jesus calls her a 'daughter of Abraham' -- giving her full dignity and belonging -- and says Satan has kept her bound for eighteen long years. Shouldn't the Sabbath, of all days, be the day she's set free?

Why it's here

The Sabbath was created to celebrate freedom -- God resting after creation, Israel freed from Egypt. What better day to set someone free from eighteen years of bondage?

Who's speaking

Jesus restores this woman's dignity with a title of honor and redefines the Sabbath as a day of liberation, not restriction.

Where it sits in the story

Jesus gives this woman something beyond physical healing -- He gives her identity. She's not just a sick woman; she's a daughter of Abraham. And the Sabbath is her freedom day.

The scholarly reading

Jesus identifies the woman as a thygatera Abraam (daughter of Abraham), affirming her full covenant status. Satan (ho Satanas) had bound (edēsen) her for eighteen years. The rhetorical question demands affirmation: should she not (ouk edei) be freed on the Sabbath, the day of rest and liberation?

Language and setting

Calling her 'daughter of Abraham' is remarkable -- the masculine 'son of Abraham' was common but the feminine form is rare, asserting her full dignity and covenant membership. The Sabbath, rooted in Exodus liberation, is the perfect day for release from bondage.

Voice

Jesus elevates the woman's dignity, identifies the spiritual source of her bondage, and argues the Sabbath is the most appropriate day for liberation.

Significance

Jesus reframes the entire debate. This isn't about work rules -- it's about liberation. The Sabbath celebrates freedom from slavery, making it the perfect day to free a daughter of Abraham from Satan's chains.

14But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”

15“You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water?

16Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”

17When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing.

18Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?

Read all of Luke 13 — A bent-over woman is healed on the Sabbath, a mustard seed grows into a tree, and Jesus weeps over Jerusalem's refusal to come home.