Luke 1:7

1:7 But they did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren, ¹  and they were both very old. ² 

Luke 2:36

The Testimony of Anna

2:36 There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, ³  having been married to her husband for seven years until his death.

Luke 4:2

4:2 where for forty days he endured temptations ⁴  from the devil. He ⁵  ate nothing ⁶  during those days, and when they were completed, ⁷  he was famished.

Luke 6:12

Choosing the Twelve Apostles

6:12 Now ⁸  it was during this time that Jesus ⁹  went out to the mountain ¹⁰  to pray, and he spent all night ¹¹  in prayer to God. ¹² 

Luke 9:36

9:36 After ¹³  the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. So ¹⁴  they kept silent and told no one ¹⁵  at that time ¹⁶  anything of what they had seen.

Luke 21:23

21:23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! For there will be great distress ¹⁷  on the earth and wrath against this people.

Luke 23:7

23:7 When ¹⁸  he learned that he was from Herod’s jurisdiction, ¹⁹  he sent him over to Herod, ²⁰  who also happened to be in Jerusalem ²¹  at that time.

[1:7]  ¹ sn Elizabeth was barren. Both Zechariah and Elizabeth are regarded by Luke as righteous in the sight of God, following all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly (v. 6). With this language, reminiscent of various passages in the OT, Luke is probably drawing implicit comparisons to the age and barrenness of such famous OT personalities as Abraham and Sarah (see, e.g., Gen 18:9-15), the mother of Samson (Judg 13:2-5), and Hannah, the mother of Samuel (1 Sam 1:1-20). And, as it was in the case of these OT saints, so it is with Elizabeth: After much anguish and seeking the Lord, she too is going to have a son in her barrenness. In that day it was a great reproach to be childless, for children were a sign of God’s blessing (cf. Gen 1:28; Lev 20:20-21; Pss 127 and 128; Jer 22:30). As the dawn of salvation draws near, however, God will change this elderly couple’s grief into great joy and grant them the one desire time had rendered impossible.

[1:7]  ² tn Grk “were both advanced in days” (an idiom for old age).

[2:36]  ³ tn Her age is emphasized by the Greek phrase here, “she was very old in her many days.”

[4:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “in the desert, for forty days being tempted.” The participle πειραζόμενος (peirazomeno") has been translated as an adverbial clause in English to avoid a run-on sentence with a second “and.” Here the present participle suggests a period of forty days of testing. Three samples of the end of the testing are given in the following verses.

[4:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:2]  ⁷ sn The reference to Jesus eating nothing could well be an idiom meaning that he ate only what the desert provided; see Exod 34:28. A desert fast simply meant eating only what one could obtain in the desert. The parallel in Matt 4:2 speaks only of Jesus fasting.

[4:2]  ⁸ tn The Greek word here is συντελεσθείσων (suntelesqeiswn) from the verb συντελέω (suntelew).

[6:12]  ⁷ tn Grk “Now it happened that in.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[6:12]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:12]  ⁹ tn Or “to a mountain” (εἰς τὸ ὅρος, eis to Joro").

[6:12]  ¹⁰ sn This is the only time all night prayer is mentioned in the NT.

[6:12]  ¹¹ tn This is an objective genitive, so prayer “to God.”

[9:36]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:36]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding summary of the account.

[9:36]  ¹¹ sn Although the disciples told no one at the time, later they did recount this. The commentary on this scene is 2 Pet 1:17-18.

[9:36]  ¹² tn Grk “in those days.”

[21:23]  ¹¹ sn Great distress means that this is a period of great judgment.

[23:7]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[23:7]  ¹⁴ sn Learning that Jesus was from Galilee and therefore part of Herod’s jurisdiction, Pilate decided to rid himself of the problem by sending him to Herod.

[23:7]  ¹⁵ sn Herod was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. See the note on Herod in 3:1.

[23:7]  ¹⁶ sn Herod would probably have come to Jerusalem for the feast, although his father was only half Jewish (Josephus, Ant. 14.15.2 [14.403]). Josephus does mention Herod’s presence in Jerusalem during a feast (Ant. 18.5.3 [18.122]).