Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Luke 3:23 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 23. 23And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Luke 3:23 begins Luke's genealogy with Jesus as Joseph's presumed son and an approximate age.
A genealogy that will not match Matthew's, and still reaches God
This verse is one part of that explanation in Luke 3:23–3:38. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Luke 3:23–3:38
Read Luke 3:23 with 3:23–3:38. In isolation, this contribution—begins Luke's genealogy with Jesus as Joseph's presumed son and an approximate age—can be detached from its speaker, audience, scene or teaching sequence, and outcome. The complete unit establishes: A genealogy begins with Jesus as about thirty and as Joseph's presumed son, moves through David by Nathan and Abraham, then extends through Adam to God.
Follow the Context
- Identify the actors, setting, and initiating speech or action in Luke 3:23–3:38.
- A genealogy begins with Jesus as about thirty and as Joseph's presumed son, moves through David by Nathan and Abraham, then extends through Adam to God.
- Hold this material interpretive limit in view: Luke's genealogy differs substantially from Matthew's names, order, placement, and Davidic branch. Paternal, levirate, legal, maternal, symbolic, and source explanations remain debated; the text does not identify Mary's line.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
This verse does not detach its specific contribution—begins Luke's genealogy with Jesus as Joseph's presumed son and an approximate age—from the complete unit or override the unit's explicit boundary: The genealogy does not prove racial hierarchy, biological purity, Mary's ancestry, or a harmonization presented as certain.
What Remains True
Luke 3:23 begins Luke's genealogy with Jesus as Joseph's presumed son and an approximate age. Read inside Luke 3:23–3:38, this contribution supports the unit's proportionate truth: A genealogy begins with Jesus as about thirty and as Joseph's presumed son, moves through David by Nathan and Abraham, then extends through Adam to God. Its use remains accountable to affected people and the unit's explicit boundary.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Luke 3:23–3:38 — Jesus' Genealogy Runs through Israel to Adam and GodSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Luke's genealogy differs substantially from Matthew's names, order, placement, and Davidic branch. Paternal, levirate, legal, maternal, symbolic, and source explanations remain debated; the text does not identify Mary's line.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Luke 3:23–3:38, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 3:23–3:38
Open the Luke Greek text file ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Luke
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 3:23–3:38
Open source ↗