Unlike much of the preceding material (17:20–37), the two parables that make up this section are found only in Luke: the Parable of the Widow and the Judge (vv. 1–8), and the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (vv. 9–14). The two parables are linked by the theme of prayer (see vv. 1, 7, 10) and so make up a unit. The Parable of the Widow and the Judge, however, also relates closely to the preceding section (cf. 18:8b with 17:22, 26, 30), so much so that some commentators take 17:20–18:8 as a unified section. Nevertheless, it is probably best to understand the Parable of the Widow and the Judge as more closely related to the parable that follows (although it is quite possible that Luke has intended 18:1–8 to be a transition from one section to the next).

18:1–8 Verse 1 is not pa…