Abstract
The “presentation” of the infant Jesus in the temple is a well-known image. But what is happening in Luke 2:22-24? The article explains that in contemporary literature such a presentation is not known. It does not belong to the purification of the mother, nor is it part of the ceremonies of circumcision or of the redemption of the firstborn son. A semantic analysis of paristanai, used in Luke 2:22, gives new theological insight in the meaning of the passage. Luke does not confuse different ceremonies, but shows how Jesus is placed in the service of the Lord, at the same time fulfilling the words he is quoting from Exodus 13.