1 Kings 11:36

11:36 I will leave ¹  his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me ²  in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home. ³ 

1 Kings 11:2

11:2 They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them! ⁴  If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.” ⁵  But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them. ⁶ 

1 Kings 21:7

21:7 His wife Jezebel said to him, “You are the king of Israel! ⁷  Get up, eat some food, and have a good time. ⁸  I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.”

Psalms 132:17

132:17 There I will make David strong; ⁹ 

I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue. ¹⁰ 

Luke 1:69-79

1:69 For ¹¹  he has raised up ¹²  a horn of salvation ¹³  for us in the house of his servant David, ¹⁴ 

1:70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, ¹⁵ 

1:71 that we should be saved ¹⁶  from our enemies, ¹⁷ 

and from the hand of all who hate us.

1:72 He has done this ¹⁸  to show mercy ¹⁹  to our ancestors, ²⁰ 

and to remember his holy covenant ²¹  –

1:73 the oath ²²  that he swore to our ancestor ²³  Abraham.

This oath grants ²⁴ 

1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our ²⁵  enemies,

may serve him without fear, ²⁶ 

1:75 in holiness and righteousness ²⁷  before him for as long as we live. ²⁸ 

1:76 And you, child, ²⁹  will be called the prophet ³⁰  of the Most High. ³¹ 

For you will go before ³²  the Lord to prepare his ways, ³³ 

1:77 to give his people knowledge of salvation ³⁴  through the forgiveness ³⁵  of their sins.

1:78 Because of ³⁶  our God’s tender mercy ³⁷ 

the dawn ³⁸  will break ³⁹  upon us from on high

1:79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, ⁴⁰ 

to guide our feet into the way ⁴¹  of peace.”

Luke 2:32

2:32 a light, ⁴² 

for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory ⁴³  to your people Israel.”

John 8:12

Jesus as the Light of the World

8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, ⁴⁴  “I am the light of the world. ⁴⁵  The one who follows me will never ⁴⁶  walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Revelation 22:16

22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star!” ⁴⁷ 

[11:36]  ¹ tn Heb “give.”

[11:36]  ² tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty. Because this imagery is unfamiliar to the modern reader, the translation “so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me” has been used.

[11:36]  ³ tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there.”

[11:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “you must not go into them, and they must not go into you.”

[11:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “Surely they will bend your heart after their gods.” The words “if you do” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “Solomon clung to them for love.” The pronominal suffix, translated “them,” is masculine here, even though it appears the foreign women are in view. Perhaps this is due to attraction to the masculine forms used of the nations earlier in the verse.

[21:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “You, now, you are exercising kingship over Israel.”

[21:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “so your heart [i.e., disposition] might be well.”

[132:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “there I will cause a horn to sprout for David.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Pss 18:2; 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that used its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36.

[132:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I have arranged a lamp for my anointed one.” Here the “lamp” is a metaphor for the Davidic dynasty (see 1 Kgs 11:36).

[1:69]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.

[1:69]  ¹² sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.

[1:69]  ¹³ sn The horn of salvation is a figure that refers to the power of Messiah and his ability to protect, as the horn refers to what an animal uses to attack and defend (Ps 75:4-5, 10; 148:14; 2 Sam 22:3). Thus the meaning of the figure is “a powerful savior.”

[1:69]  ¹⁴ sn In the house of his servant David is a reference to Messiah’s Davidic descent. Zechariah is more interested in Jesus than his own son John at this point.

[1:70]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “from the ages,” “from eternity.”

[1:71]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “from long ago, salvation.”

[1:71]  ¹⁷ sn The theme of being saved from our enemies is like the release Jesus preached in Luke 4:18-19. Luke’s narrative shows that one of the enemies in view is Satan and his cohorts, with the grip they have on humanity.

[1:72]  ¹⁸ tn The words “He has done this” (referring to the raising up of the horn of salvation from David’s house) are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to allow a new sentence to be started in the translation. The Greek sentence is lengthy and complex at this point, while contemporary English uses much shorter sentences.

[1:72]  ¹⁹ sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

[1:72]  ²⁰ tn Or “our forefathers”; Grk “our fathers.” This begins with the promise to Abraham (vv. 55, 73), and thus refers to many generations of ancestors.

[1:72]  ²¹ sn The promises of God can be summarized as being found in the one promise (the oath that he swore) to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3).

[1:73]  ²² tn This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.

[1:73]  ²³ tn Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”

[1:73]  ²⁴ tn Again for reasons of English style, the infinitival clause “to grant us” has been translated “This oath grants” and made the beginning of a new sentence in the translation.

[1:74]  ²⁵ tc Many important early mss (א B L W [0130] Ë^1,13 565 892 pc) lack “our,” while most (A C D [K] Θ Ψ 0177 33 Ï pc) supply it. Although the addition is most likely not authentic, “our” has been included in the translation due to English stylistic requirements.

[1:74]  ²⁶ tn This phrase in Greek is actually thrown forward to the front of the verse to give it emphasis.

[1:75]  ²⁷ sn The phrases that we…might serve him…in holiness and righteousness from Luke 1:74-75 well summarize a basic goal for a believer in the eyes of Luke. Salvation frees us up to serve God without fear through a life full of ethical integrity.

[1:75]  ²⁸ tn Grk “all our days.”

[1:76]  ²⁹ sn Now Zechariah describes his son John (you, child) through v. 77.

[1:76]  ³⁰ tn Or “a prophet”; but since Greek nouns can be definite without the article, and since in context this is a reference to the eschatological forerunner of the Messiah (cf. John 1:17), the concept is better conveyed to the English reader by the use of the definite article “the.”

[1:76]  ³¹ sn In other words, John is a prophet of God; see 1:32 and 7:22-23, 28.

[1:76]  ³² tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A C D L Θ Ψ 0130 Ë^1,13 33 Ï sy), have πρὸ προσώπου κυρίου (pro proswpou kuriou, “before the face of the Lord”), but the translation follows the reading ἐνώπιον κυρίου (enwpion kuriou, “before the Lord”), which has earlier and better ms support (Ì⁴ א B W 0177 pc) and is thus more likely to be authentic.

[1:76]  ³³ tn This term is often translated in the singular, looking specifically to the forerunner role, but the plural suggests the many elements in that salvation.

[1:77]  ³⁴ sn John’s role, to give his people knowledge of salvation, is similar to that of Jesus (Luke 3:1-14; 5:31-32).

[1:77]  ³⁵ sn Forgiveness is another major Lukan theme (Luke 4:18; 24:47; Acts 10:37).

[1:78]  ³⁶ tn For reasons of style, a new sentence has been started in the translation at this point. God’s mercy is ultimately seen in the deliverance John points to, so v. 78a is placed with the reference to Jesus as the light of dawning day.

[1:78]  ³⁷ sn God’s loyal love (steadfast love) is again the topic, reflected in the phrase tender mercy; see Luke 1:72.

[1:78]  ³⁸ sn The Greek term translated dawn (ἀνατολή, anatolh) can be a reference to the morning star or to the sun. The Messiah is pictured as a saving light that shows the way. The Greek term was also used to translate the Hebrew word for “branch” or “sprout,” so some see a double entendre here with messianic overtones (see Isa 11:1-10; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12).

[1:78]  ³⁹ tn Grk “shall visit us.”

[1:79]  ⁴⁰ sn On the phrases who sit in darkness…and…death see Isa 9:1-2; 42:7; 49:9-10.

[1:79]  ⁴¹ tn Or “the path.”

[2:32]  ⁴² tn The syntax of this verse is disputed. Most read “light” and “glory” in parallelism, so Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles and is glory to the people for Israel. Others see “light” (1:78-79) as a summary, while “revelation” and “glory” are parallel, so Jesus is light for all, but is revelation for the Gentiles and glory for Israel. Both readings make good sense and either could be correct, but Luke 1:78-79 and Acts 26:22-23 slightly favor this second option.

[2:32]  ⁴³ sn In other words, Jesus is a special cause for praise and honor (“glory”) for the nation.

[8:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “Then again Jesus spoke to them saying.”

[8:12]  ⁴⁵ sn The theory proposed by F. J. A. Hort (The New Testament in the Original Greek, vol. 2, Introduction; Appendix, 87-88), that the backdrop of 8:12 is the lighting of the candelabra in the court of women, may offer a plausible setting to the proclamation by Jesus that he is the light of the world. The last time that Jesus spoke in the narrative (assuming 7:53-8:11 is not part of the original text, as the textual evidence suggests) is in 7:38, where he was speaking to a crowd of pilgrims in the temple area. This is where he is found in the present verse, and he may be addressing the crowd again. Jesus’ remark has to be seen in view of both the prologue (John 1:4, 5) and the end of the discourse with Nicodemus (John 3:19-21). The coming of Jesus into the world provokes judgment: A choosing up of sides becomes necessary. The one who comes to the light, that is, who follows Jesus, will not walk in the darkness. The one who refuses to come, will walk in the darkness. In this contrast, there are only two alternatives. So it is with a person’s decision about Jesus. Furthermore, this serves as in implicit indictment of Jesus’ opponents, who still walk in the darkness, because they refuse to come to him. This sets up the contrast in chap. 9 between the man born blind, who receives both physical and spiritual sight, and the Pharisees (John 9:13, 15, 16) who have physical sight but remain in spiritual darkness.

[8:12]  ⁴⁶ tn The double negative οὐ μή (ou mh) is emphatic in 1st century Hellenistic Greek.

[22:16]  ⁴⁷ tn On this expression BDAG 892 s.v. πρωϊνός states, “early, belonging to the morning ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ πρ. the morning star, Venus Rv 2:28; 22:16.”