If Jesus had meant ‘heaven’ he could have said ‘heaven’.Įven if, for arguments sake, paraiso somehow meant ‘heaven,’ Jesus could not be with the man there, since had not been resurrected and ascended yet.ģ) Did the resurrection start on that day? Obviously the Paradise-like garden in Genesis was long-gone by 33 CE, and there was no paraiso in 33 CE. Indeed, paradise (Greek: paraiso) is the same word that was used to describe the Paradise of Delights in the land of Edem (Garden of Eden) in the Greek Septuagint (the popular ‘Bible’ of Jesus’ day). It means a garden or park, a place that is here on earth. Jesus chose to use the word paradise, a word that does not mean heaven. He was dead.Ģ) What is ‘paradise?’ And did it exist on that day? So Jesus himself says that he was not in his Kingdom on the day he died. In John 20:17, after he was resurrected, Jesus said: ‘I haven’t ascended to the Father yet’. Jesus was not resurrected until two days later, and did not ascend into heaven until 40 days later. Let’s look at other verses to answer this question: was it possible for the man to be resurrected to paradise under the Kingdom, back then in 33 CE? However, Jesus is talking about things talked about elsewhere in the Bible: So how can we know where to put the comma? There are no parallel accounts, only Luke records this. The correct translation, therefore, can have serious implications. They feel that Jesus was confirming that the criminal was rewarded with a resurrection to heaven on that very day. Therefore this is a proof-text for those who believe that good people immediately go to heaven when they die. The difference is important since some understand ‘paradise’ to mean heaven. The same ambiguity is present in the Ancient Greek. In the second way, Jesus is just telling him about it today, but the paradise could be some future time. In the first way, Jesus is saying that the man will be in paradise later today. Now, was Jesus saying (as most Bibles put it), ‘ I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise’, or was he saying (as many believe), ‘‘ I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise’?ĭo you see the difference? If we move the comma, what Jesus was saying changes. ‘Amen, soi ego semeron met emou ese en to paradeiso’Īmen, to/you I/say today with me you will be in the paradise Then Jesus replied (literally, from a Greek source text): One of the criminals that was hung next to Jesus asked Jesus to remember him when he got into his Kingdom. However, sometimes a single comma can change the meaning of a text. Readers had to insert pauses and stops themselves by understanding the context.
#Edem paradise greece full
Ancient Greek (and Aramaic) did not use commas, or full stops, or any punctuation. Luke 23:43 poses an interesting problem to translators. The 2001 Translation Translator NotesNote Luke 23:43 – today in paradise?