Luke 9:46-48

"And there arose a through-word among them, which of them was the greatest.  But when Jesus perceived the through-word of their heart, he took a little girl, and set her by his side, and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this little girl in my name receiveth me:"  Of the various compound words in Greek, those having to do with LOGOS, Greek for "word" or message or saying or thought, etc, are very interesting.  Here, the Etymological New Testament very literally has a "through-word" arising among Jesus' learners.  Typically translated "dispute" or "argument" in this passage, it uses "through" as an intensifier.  They were having a very intense discussion!  But, Jesus also perceived that this intensity was heartfelt.  Often, intense discussions are among life' greatest joys, but if they are purely self-seeking, they are among the worst of afflictions. In this case, the argument was not so positive. They were trying to adjudicate who was the greatest!  The solution: Jesus set a little girl among them as an illustration.  The ENT allows the English reader to see the breadth of the semantic range of the Greek word in this passage, which includes both male and female children.  Because English is more male-centric than is Koine Greek, most of our English translations sound more gender specific than the original text actually intends.  One way to overcome this is to help the English reader feel the range of possibilities more explicitly...as in this passage!  One way to "receive" Jesus: receive a little girl, a little child, and so receive him.