Lukas 5:19

5:19 But ¹  since they found ²  no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof ³  and let him down on the stretcher ⁴  through the roof tiles ⁵  right ⁶  in front of Jesus. ⁷ 

Lukas 12:3

12:3 So then ⁸  whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered ⁹  in private rooms ¹⁰  will be proclaimed from the housetops. ¹¹ 

Lukas 17:31

17:31 On that day, anyone who is on the roof, ¹²  with his goods in the house, must not come down ¹³  to take them away, and likewise the person in the field must not turn back.

[5:19]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast implied in the context: They wanted to bring the man to Jesus, but found no way.

[5:19]  ² tn Grk “But finding.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeuronte") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[5:19]  ³ sn A house in 1st century Palestine would have had a flat roof with stairs or a ladder going up. This access was often from the outside of the house.

[5:19]  ⁴ tn This word, κλινίδιον (klinidion), is a different Greek word than the one used in the previous verse (κλίνη, klinh). In this context both may be translated “stretcher” (see L&N 6.106 and 6.107).

[5:19]  ⁵ tn There is a translational problem at this point in the text. The term Luke uses is κέραμος (keramo"). It can in certain contexts mean “clay,” but usually this is in reference to pottery (see BDAG 540 s.v. 1). The most natural definition in this instance is “roof tile” (used in the translation above). However, tiles were generally not found in Galilee. Recent archaeological research has suggested that this house, which would have probably been typical for the area, could not have supported “a second story, nor could the original roof have been masonry; no doubt it was made from beams and branches of trees covered with a mixture of earth and straw” (J. F. Strange and H. Shanks, “Has the House Where Jesus Stayed in Capernaum Been Found?” BAR 8, no. 6 [Nov/Dec 1982]: 34). Luke may simply have spoken of building materials that would be familiar to his readers.

[5:19]  ⁶ tn Grk “in the midst.”

[5:19]  ⁷ sn The phrase right in front of Jesus trailing as it does at the end of the verse is slightly emphatic, adding a little note of drama: What would Jesus do?

[12:3]  ⁸ tn Or “because.” Understanding this verse as a result of v. 2 is a slightly better reading of the context. Knowing what is coming should impact our behavior now.

[12:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “spoken in the ear,” an idiom. The contemporary expression is “whispered.”

[12:3]  ¹⁰ sn The term translated private rooms refers to the inner room of a house, normally without any windows opening outside, the most private location possible (BDAG 988 s.v. ταμεῖον 2).

[12:3]  ¹¹ tn The expression “proclaimed from the housetops” is an idiom for proclaiming something publicly (L&N 7.51). Roofs of many first century Jewish houses in Judea and Galilee were flat and had access either from outside or from within the house. Something shouted from atop a house would be heard by everyone in the street below.

[17:31]  ¹² sn Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.

[17:31]  ¹³ sn The swiftness and devastation of the judgment will require a swift escape. There is no time to come down from one’s roof and pick up anything from inside one’s home.