Meaning of the Name Luke
The Greek name Loukas is usually taken as a shortened form of the Latin Lucanus (from the region of Lucania); some interpretations link it with the root for 'light' (lux). Its precise derivation is debated.
Origin
The name Luke is of Greek origin.
Who is Luke in the Bible?
Luke is Paul's traveling companion; the letter to the Colossians calls him 'the beloved physician'. Tradition attributes to him the third Gospel and Acts, the two books together forming the New Testament's most extensive narrative.
The story of Luke in the Bible
Luke is a quiet figure in the New Testament, yet his influence is enormous. One of the few lines that mention him is in Colossians, where Paul sends his greetings and calls him the beloved physician. He traveled with Paul; in parts of Acts the narrative suddenly shifts into 'we,' letting the reader sense that the writer himself was aboard on those journeys. He stayed when staying was hardest: near the end of his life, Paul told Timothy that only Luke remained with him. Tradition attributes the third Gospel and its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles, to him, together the widest connected narrative in the New Testament. The opening of Luke's Gospel describes his method in his own words: he investigated everything carefully from the beginning and set down an orderly account based on eyewitness testimony, so that his reader could be certain of what he had been taught. A physician's precision became the lasting record of the story running from the life of Jesus to the birth of the church.
Is Luke mentioned in the Quran?
The name Luke does not appear in the Quran; in the Bible he is Paul's companion, the beloved physician, and tradition attributes the third Gospel and the book of Acts to him.
Verses where Luke appears
- Colossians 4:14 —
Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you.
- 2 Timothy 4:11 —
Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.
- Luke 1:1-4 —
Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us,…