Luke 6:44 Fun

The Unrecorded Question Theory (UQT)

There is a mystery in Biblical translation. For some reason, all versions eliminate a Greek word that primarily means “because,” disguising it as “for” or eliminating it entirely of the NIV.

I have a theory. I call it the Unrecorded Questions Theory (UQT). It maintains that only Jesus's part of these discussions was recorded and preserved. The questions asked were not preserved, but those questions can be deduced from the previous Jesus verse that raised the question and the answer to it in the following verses. This explains why many long sections of Jesus's words seem to change topics suddenly. They are much easier to understand if we assume a connective question. A possible reason “because” is so often left out or changed is because these words make the missing questions more obvious.

A good example of this are two verses I worked on this morning. Luke 6:43 and Luke 6:44:

NIV: No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
NIV: Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers.

Doesn’t the statement about thorns and briars seem disconnected? It seems even stranger if we add in the missing words.

Listeners Heard: 
Because a good tree is not producing rotten fruit nor again a rotten tree producing good fruit.
Because every tree is recognized from its own fruit.
Because they do not collect figs from thorn bushes, nor do they pick grapes from brambles.  

Three “because” statements in a row, edited out or changed to the less suggestive “for.” I can easily imagine each sentence raising a question, can’t you.

“Rotten fruit might be found beneath every good tree, can’t they?”

When Jesus extends his idea to identifying a good or rotten tree, the question becomes, “I consider thorny bushes rotten trees., but don’t some have fruit?”

To which Jesus responds with the seemingly disconnected idea of figs and grapes, the two most common fruits in Judea.

Imagining such questions makes Jesus’s verses a lot more fun and a lot more sensible.

How many similar verses are there? More than eighty, perhaps many more.