Abstract
In Lk. 10.17-20 Jesus' first statement to the returning missionaries has traditionally been translated, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven' (10.18). A wide variety of interpretations have been offered, concerning when and how Jesus saw or will see Satan fall: before creation, at the temptations, during the disciples' mission, at the crucifixion, etc. The article proposes that the imperfect έθεΏρουν be translated not 'I saw' but 'they [sc. 'the demons' in 10.17] saw', and hence that Jesus' response to the disciples is an explanation of their successful exorcisms: the demons became subject to the disciples because they had seen their leader, Satan, dethroned.
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