(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

LUKE 2:23KJV
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Luke 2:23 (KJV)

What does Luke 2:23 mean?

Luke 2:23 explains why Jesus’ parents brought him to Jerusalem as a baby. Luke connects their action with a command in the law of the Lord: a family’s firstborn son was to be recognized as belonging to the Lord in a special way.

The phrase “openeth the womb” pictures the first child to come from his mother’s body. Luke places the command in parentheses after mentioning the family’s visit to Jerusalem in verse 22. He treats the written law as the reason behind their action.

The Greek behind Luke 2:23

  • “openeth” — διανοίγω (dianoigō): This word carries the sense of opening fully. Here it forms part of a picture of the first birth from a mother’s womb.
  • “holy” — ἅγιος (hagios): This word can mean set apart or belonging to what is sacred. In this verse, the child is set apart to the Lord.

Why Luke 2:23 matters

  • The command concerns the mother’s firstborn male, not every son born into a family. “Every male that openeth the womb” identifies the child by his place in birth.
  • Luke presents the family’s action as rooted in an older written command. The words “as it is written” point back to the law given to Israel, including Exodus 13:2.
  • The next verse connects the visit with an offering. Luke 2:24 mentions two birds, a provision in the law for a family unable to afford a lamb (Leviticus 12:8).

Where else these words appear

“womb” Greek G3388 · used in 2 verses

  • Romans 4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:

“male” Greek G730 · used in 7 verses

  • Matthew 19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
  • Romans 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
  • Revelation 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

“openeth” Greek G1272 · used in 8 verses

  • Mark 7:34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
  • Luke 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
  • Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

“called” Greek G2564 · used in 138 verses

  • Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
  • Luke 8:2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
  • Romans 9:26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.