1:24 After some time 2 his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, 3 and for five months she kept herself in seclusion. 4 She said, 5 1:25 “This is what 6 the Lord has done for me at the time 7 when he has been gracious to me, 8 to take away my disgrace 9 among people.” 10
1:36 “And look, 11 your relative 12 Elizabeth has also become pregnant with 13 a son in her old age – although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month! 14
1 tn Heb “at this appointed time, at the time [when it is] reviving.” For a discussion of the second phrase see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 57.
2 tn Grk “After these days.” The phrase refers to a general, unspecified period of time that passes before fulfillment comes.
3 tn Or “Elizabeth conceived.”
4 sn The text does not state why Elizabeth withdrew into seclusion, nor is the reason entirely clear.
5 tn Grk “she kept herself in seclusion, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
6 tn Grk “Thus.”
7 tn Grk “in the days.”
8 tn Grk “has looked on me” (an idiom for taking favorable notice of someone).
9 sn Barrenness was often seen as a reproach or disgrace (Lev 20:20-21; Jer 22:30), but now at her late age (the exact age is never given in Luke’s account), God had miraculously removed it (see also Luke 1:7).
10 tn Grk “among men”; but the context clearly indicates a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") here.
11 tn Grk “behold.”
12 tn Some translations render the word συγγενίς (sungeni") as “cousin” (so Phillips) but the term is not necessarily this specific.
13 tn Or “has conceived.”
14 tn Grk “and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren.” Yet another note on Elizabeth’s loss of reproach also becomes a sign of the truth of the angel’s declaration.
15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 sn God gave…the covenant. Note how the covenant of promise came before Abraham’s entry into the land and before the building of the temple.
18 tn Grk “circumcised him on the eighth day,” but many modern readers will not understand that this procedure was done on the eighth day after birth. The temporal clause “when he was eight days old” conveys this idea more clearly. See Gen 17:11-12.
19 tn The words “became the father of” are not in the Greek text due to an ellipsis, but must be supplied for the English translation. The ellipsis picks up the verb from the previous clause describing how Abraham fathered Isaac.
20 sn The twelve patriarchs refers to the twelve sons of Jacob, the famous ancestors of the Jewish race (see Gen 35:23-26).
21 tn Paul’s use of the Greek article here and before the phrase “free woman” presumes that both these characters are well known to the recipients of his letter. This verse is given as an example of the category called “well-known (‘celebrity’ or ‘familiar’) article” by ExSyn 225.
22 tn Grk “past the time of maturity.”
23 tn Grk “power to deposit seed.” Though it is not as likely, some construe this phrase to mean “power to conceive seed,” making the whole verse about Sarah: “by faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and too old, she received ability to conceive, because she regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy.”