Luke 16:29

29 But Abraham said, ‘They have ¹Moses and the Prophets; ²let them hear them. ’

Luke 16:29 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 16:29

Abraham said unto him.
&c.] In reply to this his request:

they have Moses and the prophets;
that is, their writings; which shows this man, and his five brethren, to be Jews; for to them were the oracles of God committed; and these had the writings of Moses and the prophets read to them every sabbath day; and is true, whether the contemporaries and immediate successors of the Pharisees are meant, or the ten tribes: and also shows, that one view of the parable, is to establish the authority of these writings; see ( Luke 16:16 Luke 16:17 ) and that it is a peculiar privilege to have them; and that they ought to be attended to and regarded;

let them hear them;
for they testified concerning Christ, and concerning the sins of the Jews, and the calamities, both temporal and eternal, that should come upon them; and which, testimony was sufficient to leave them without excuse: and indeed, the word of God, read, explained, and heard, is the ordinary means of conversion, or of bringing men to faith and repentance.

Luke 16:29 In-Context

27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—

28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment. ’

29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. ’

30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. ’

31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. ’”

Cross References

• 1. 16:29 ver. 31; ch. 24:27; Acts 26:22; 28:23
• 2. 16:29 [John 5:45-47]