Luke 11:5

5 And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend and shall go to him in the middle of the night and say, "`Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;

Luke 11:5 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 11:5

And he said unto them, which of you shall have a friend,
&c.] A neighbour, or acquaintance:

and shall go unto him at midnight;
which may seem a very unseasonable time, and which nothing but real distress, not knowing what otherwise to do, would put a man upon:

and say unto him, friend, lend me three loaves:
it was usual of the Jews to borrow bread of one another, and certain rules are laid down, when, and on what condition, this is to be done; as for instance, on a sabbath day ^F11,

``a man may ask of his friend vessels of wine, and vessels of oil, only he must not say, lend me: and so a woman, (twrkk htrybxm) , "bread of her friend".''

Again ^F12,

``so said Hillell, let not a woman lend (htrbxl rkk) "bread to her friend", till she has fixed the price; lest wheat should be dearer, and they should be found coming into the practice of usury.''

For what was lent, could not be demanded again under thirty days ^F13.

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 Misn. Sabbat, c. 23. sect. 1.
F12 Misn. Bava Metzia. c. 5. sect. 9.
F13 T. Bab. Maccot, fol. 3. 2. Jarchi in T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 148. 1. Bartenona in Misn. Sabbat, c. 23. sect. 1.

Luke 11:5 In-Context

3 give us day after day our bread for the day;

4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive every one who fails in his duty to us; and bring us not into temptation.'"

5 And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend and shall go to him in the middle of the night and say, "`Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;

6 for a friend of mine has just come to my house from a distance, and I have nothing for him to eat'?

7 "And he from indoors shall answer, "`Do not pester me. The door is now barred, and I am here in bed with my children. I cannot get up and give you bread.'