Luke 1:26

Birth Announcement of Jesus the Messiah

1:26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, ¹  the angel Gabriel ²  was sent by ³  God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, ⁴ 

Daniel 8:16

8:16 Then I heard a human voice coming from between the banks of the Ulai. It called out, “Gabriel, ⁵  enable this person to understand the vision.”

Daniel 9:21-23

9:21 yes, while I was still praying, ⁶  the man Gabriel, whom I had seen previously ⁷  in a vision, was approaching me in my state of extreme weariness, ⁸  around the time of the evening offering. 9:22 He spoke with me, instructing me as follows: ⁹  “Daniel, I have now come to impart understanding to you. 9:23 At the beginning of your requests a message went out, and I have come to convey it to you, for you are of great value in God’s sight. ¹⁰  Therefore consider the message and understand the vision: ¹¹ 

Matthew 18:10

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

18:10 “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Hebrews 4:14

Jesus Our Compassionate High Priest

4:14 Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.

¹ tn Grk “in the sixth month.” The phrase “of Elizabeth’s pregnancy” was supplied in the translation to clarify the exact time meant by this reference. That Elizabeth’s pregnancy is meant is clear from vv. 24-25.

² sn Gabriel is the same angel mentioned previously in v. 19. He is traditionally identified as an angel who brings revelation (see Dan 8:15-16; 9:21). Gabriel and Michael are the only two good angels named in the Bible.

³ tn Or “from.” The account suggests God’s planned direction in these events, so “by” is better than “from,” as six months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God acts again.

⁴ sn Nazareth was a town in the region of Galilee, located north of Samaria and Judea. Galilee extended from about 45 to 85 miles north of Jerusalem and was about 30 miles in width. Nazareth was a very small village and was located about 15 miles west of the southern edge of the Sea of Galilee.

⁵ sn The only angels whose names are given in the OT are Gabriel (Dan 8:16; 9:21; cf. Luke 1:19, 26) and Michael (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; cf. Jude 9; Rev 12:7). The name Gabriel means in Hebrew “man of God,” and Michael means “who is like God?”

⁶ tn Heb “speaking in prayer.”

⁷ tn Heb “in the beginning.”

⁸ tn The Hebrew expression בִּיעָף מֻעָף (mu’af bi’af) is very difficult. The issue is whether the verb derives from עוּף (’uf, “to fly”) or from יָעַף (ya’af, “to be weary”). Many ancient versions and modern commentators take the first of these possibilities and understand the reference to be to the swift flight of the angel Gabriel in his coming to Daniel. The words more likely refer to the extreme weariness, not of the angel, but of Daniel. Cf. 7:28; 8:27; 10:8-9, 16-17; also NASB.

⁹ tn Heb “he instructed and spoke with me.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.

¹⁰ tn Or “a precious treasure”; KJV “greatly beloved”; NASB, NIV “highly esteemed.”

¹¹ tn This sentence is perhaps a compound hendiadys (“give serious consideration to the revelatory vision”).