Discovery BoxLuke 1:10-13
Context1:10 Now 1 the whole crowd 2 of people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. 3 1:11 An 4 angel of the Lord, 5 standing on the right side of the altar of incense, appeared 6 to him. 1:12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, 7 was seized with fear. 8 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, 9 and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you 10 will name him John. 11
Luke 1:19
Context1:19 The 12 angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands 13 in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring 14 you this good news.
Luke 1:26-38
Context1:26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, 15 the angel Gabriel 16 was sent by 17 God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, 18 1:27 to a virgin engaged 19 to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, 20 and the virgin’s name was Mary. 1:28 The 21 angel 22 came 23 to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, 24 the Lord is with you!” 25 1:29 But 26 she was greatly troubled 27 by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. 28 1:30 So 29 the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, 30 Mary, for you have found favor 31 with God! 1:31 Listen: 32 You will become pregnant 33 and give birth to 34 a son, and you will name him 35 Jesus. 36 1:32 He 37 will be great, 38 and will be called the Son of the Most High, 39 and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father 40 David. 1:33 He 41 will reign over the house of Jacob 42 forever, and his kingdom will never end.” 1:34 Mary 43 said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with 44 a man?” 1:35 The angel replied, 45 “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow 46 you. Therefore the child 47 to be born 48 will be holy; 49 he will be called the Son of God.
1:36 “And look, 50 your relative 51 Elizabeth has also become pregnant with 52 a son in her old age – although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month! 53 1:37 For nothing 54 will be impossible with God.” 1:38 So 55 Mary said, “Yes, 56 I am a servant 57 of the Lord; let this happen to me 58 according to your word.” 59 Then 60 the angel departed from her.
[1:10] 1 tn Grk “And,” but “now” better represents the somewhat parenthetical nature of this statement in the flow of the narrative.
[1:10] 2 tn Grk “all the multitude.” While “assembly” is sometimes used here to translate πλῆθος (plhqo"), that term usually implies in English a specific or particular group of people. However, this was simply a large group gathered outside, which was not unusual, especially for the afternoon offering.
[1:10] 3 tn The “hour of the incense offering” is another way to refer to the time of sacrifice.
[1:11] 4 tn Grk “And an angel.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.
[1:11] 5 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.
[1:11] 6 sn This term is often used to describe a supernatural appearance (24:34; Acts 2:3; 7:2, 30, 35; 9:17; 13:31; 16:9; 26:16).
[1:12] 7 tn The words “the angel” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
[1:12] 8 tn Or “and he was afraid”; Grk “fear fell upon him.” Fear is common when supernatural agents appear (1:29-30, 65; 2:9; 5:8-10; 9:34; 24:38; Exod 15:16; Judg 6:22-23; 13:6, 22; 2 Sam 6:9).
[1:13] 9 tn The passive means that the prayer was heard by God.
[1:13] 10 tn Grk “a son, and you”; καί (kai) has not been translated. Instead a semicolon is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[1:13] 11 tn Grk “you will call his name John.” The future tense here functions like a command (see ExSyn 569-70). This same construction occurs in v. 31.
[1:19] 12 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[1:19] 13 tn Grk “the one who is standing before God.”
[1:19] 14 tn Grk “to announce these things of good news to you.”
[1:26] 15 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.
[1:26] 16 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.
[1:26] 17 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.
[1:26] 18 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.
[1:27] 19 tn Or “promised in marriage.”
[1:27] 20 tn Grk “Joseph, of the house of David.”
[1:28] 21 tn Grk “And coming to her.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[1:28] 22 tn Grk “And coming to her, he said”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:28] 23 tn Grk “coming to her, he said.” The participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[1:28] 24 tn The address, “favored one” (a perfect participle, Grk “Oh one who is favored”) points to Mary as the recipient of God’s grace, not a bestower of it. She is a model saint in this passage, one who willingly receives God’s benefits. The Vulgate rendering “full of grace” suggests something more of Mary as a bestower of grace, but does not make sense here contextually.
[1:28] 25 tc Most
[1:29] 26 tc Most
[1:29] 27 sn On the phrase greatly troubled see 1:12. Mary’s reaction was like Zechariah’s response.
[1:29] 28 tn Grk “to wonder what kind of greeting this might be.” Luke often uses the optative this way to reveal a figure’s thinking (3:15; 8:9; 18:36; 22:23).
[1:30] 29 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Gabriel’s statement is a response to Mary’s perplexity over the greeting.
[1:30] 30 sn Do not be afraid. See 1:13 for a similar statement to Zechariah.
[1:31] 32 tn Grk “And behold.”
[1:31] 33 tn Grk “you will conceive in your womb.”
[1:31] 35 tn Grk “you will call his name.”
[1:31] 36 tn See v. 13 for a similar construction.
[1:32] 38 sn Compare the description of Jesus as great here with 1:15, “great before the Lord.” Jesus is greater than John, since he is Messiah compared to a prophet. Great is stated absolutely without qualification to make the point.
[1:32] 39 sn The expression Most High is a way to refer to God without naming him. Such avoiding of direct reference to God was common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.
[1:33] 41 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. A new sentence is begun here in the translation because of the length of the sentence in Greek.
[1:33] 42 tn Or “over Israel.”
[1:34] 43 tn Grk “And Mary.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[1:34] 44 tn Grk “have not known.” The expression in the Greek text is a euphemism for sexual relations. Mary seems to have sensed that the declaration had an element of immediacy to it that excluded Joseph. Many modern translations render this phrase “since I am a virgin,” but the Greek word for virgin is not used in the text, and the euphemistic expression is really more explicit, referring specifically to sexual relations.
[1:35] 45 tn Grk “And the angel said to her.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The pronoun αὐτῇ (auth, “to her”) has not been included in the translation since it is redundant in contemporary English.
[1:35] 46 sn The phrase will overshadow is a reference to God’s glorious presence at work (Exod 40:34-35; Ps 91:4).
[1:35] 47 tn Or “the one born holy will be called the Son of God.” The wording of this phrase depends on whether the adjective is a predicate adjective, as in the text, or is an adjective modifying the participle serving as the subject. The absence of an article with the adjective speaks for a predicate position. Other less appealing options supply a verb for “holy”; thus “the one who is born will be holy”; or argue that both “holy” and “Son of God” are predicates, so “The one who is born will be called holy, the Son of God.”
[1:35] 48 tc A few
[1:35] 49 tn Or “Therefore the holy child to be born will be called the Son of God.” There are two ways to understand the Greek phrase τὸ γεννώμενον ἅγιον (to gennwmenon {agion) here. First, τὸ γεννώμενον could be considered a substantival participle with ἅγιον as an adjective in the second predicate position, thus making a complete sentence; this interpretation is reflected in the translation above. Second, τὸ ἅγιον could be considered a substantival adjective with γεννώμενον acting as an adjectival participle, thus making the phrase the subject of the verb κληθήσεται (klhqhsetai); this interpretation is reflected in the alternative reading. Treating the participle γεννώμενον as adjectival is a bit unnatural for the very reason that it forces one to understand ἅγιον as substantival; this introduces a new idea in the text with ἅγιον when an already new topic is being introduced with γεννώμενον. Semantically this would overload the new subject introduced at this point. For this reason the first interpretation is preferred.
[1:36] 51 tn Some translations render the word συγγενίς (sungeni") as “cousin” (so Phillips) but the term is not necessarily this specific.
[1:36] 52 tn Or “has conceived.”
[1:36] 53 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.
[1:37] 54 tn In Greek, the phrase πᾶν ῥῆμα (pan rJhma, “nothing”) has an emphatic position, giving it emphasis as the lesson in the entire discussion. The remark is a call for faith.
[1:38] 55 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[1:38] 57 tn Traditionally, “handmaid”; Grk “slave woman.” Though δούλη (doulh) is normally translated “woman servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free woman serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times… in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v. δοῦλος). The most accurate translation is “bondservant,” sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος (doulos), in that it often indicates one who sells himself or herself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
[1:38] 58 tn Grk “let this be to me.”
[1:38] 59 sn The remark according to your word is a sign of Mary’s total submission to God’s will, a response that makes her exemplary.
[1:38] 60 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
