Luke 1:21

1:21 Now ¹  the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder ²  why he was delayed in the holy place. ³ 

Luke 1:63

1:63 He ⁴  asked for a writing tablet ⁵  and wrote, ⁶  “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ⁷ 

Luke 2:33

2:33 So ⁸  the child’s ⁹  father ¹⁰  and mother were amazed ¹¹  at what was said about him.

Luke 20:26

20:26 Thus ¹²  they were unable in the presence of the people to trap ¹³  him with his own words. ¹⁴  And stunned ¹⁵  by his answer, they fell silent.

Luke 24:41

24:41 And while they still could not believe it ¹⁶  (because of their joy) and were amazed, ¹⁷  he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ¹⁸ 

¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

² tn The imperfect verb ἐθαύμαζον (eqaumazon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

³ tn Or “temple.” See the note on the phrase “the holy place” in v. 9.

⁴ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁵ sn The writing tablet requested by Zechariah would have been a wax tablet.

⁶ tn Grk “and wrote, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant is English and has not been translated.

⁷ sn The response, they were all amazed, expresses a mixture of surprise and reflection in this setting where they were so certain of what the child’s name would be.

⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

⁸ tn Grk “his”; the referent (the child) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tc Most mss ([A] Θ [Ψ] ˹³ 33 Ï it) read “Joseph,” but in favor of the reading ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ (Jo pathr autou, “his father”) is both external (א B D L W 1 700 1241 pc sa) and internal evidence. Internally, the fact that Mary is not named at this point and that “Joseph” is an obviously motivated reading, intended to prevent confusion over the virgin conception of Christ, argues strongly for ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ as the authentic reading here. See also the tc note on “parents” in 2:43.

¹⁰ tn The term refers to the amazement at what was happening as in other places in Luke 1–2 (1:63; 2:18). The participle is plural, while the finite verb used in the periphrastic construction is singular, perhaps to show a unity in the parents’ response (BDF §135.1.d: Luke 8:19).

¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “thus” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ unexpected answer.

¹¹ tn On this term, see BDAG 374 s.v. ἐπιλαμβάνομαι 3.

¹² tn Grk “to trap him in a saying.”

¹³ tn Or “amazed.”

¹³ sn They still could not believe it. Is this a continued statement of unbelief? Or is it a rhetorical expression of their amazement? They are being moved to faith, so a rhetorical force is more likely here.

¹⁴ sn Amazement is the common response to unusual activity: 1:63; 2:18; 4:22; 7:9; 8:25; 9:43; 11:14; 20:26.

¹⁵ sn Do you have anything here to eat? Eating would remove the idea that a phantom was present. Angelic spirits refused a meal in Jdt 13:16 and Tob 12:19, but accepted it in Gen 18:8; 19:3 and Tob 6:6.