Luke 1:4

ἐπιγνῷς. ‘Mayest fully know.’ See the use of the word in Matthew 11:27; 1 Corinthians 13:12; 2 Corinthians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 6:9.

περὶ ὧν κατηχήθης λόγων. ‘Of those accounts in which thou wast orally instructed.’ Galatians 6:6. From the word κατηχεῖν ‘to teach orally’ comes our ‘catechise,’ &c. Oral instruction (κατήχησις) flourished especially at Alexandria, which was famous for its catechetical school. This may possibly have favoured the notion that Theophilus was an Alexandrian. The word occurs also in a general sense in Acts 18:25; Acts 21:21; Acts 21:24; Romans 2:18; 1 Corinthians 14:19; but here St Luke seems to mean that it was desirable for Theophilus to have an accurate, permanent, consecutive, written narrative of truths which, as a catechumen, he had learnt, orally and fragmentarily.

τὴν�. The position of this weighty substantive at the end of the sentence adds greatly to its emphasis.

4. In the narrative itself we notice: α. A clearness of detail which marks veritable history (see the minute circumstances in Luke 1:5; Luke 1:39; Luke 1:63; Luke 2:36-37, &c.). β. A prevalence of numerical elements (sevens and threes), which shews that St Luke is here basing his record on an Aramaic document. Thus the whole Gospel of the Childhood falls into three large and seven smaller divisions. I. 1. The announcement of the birth of the Forerunner, Luke 1:5-25. 2. The announcement of the birth of Jesus, Luke 1:26-38. 3. The visit of Mary to Elizabeth, Luke 1:39-56. II. 1. The birth of John, Luke 1:57-80. 2. The birth of Jesus, Luke 2:1 to Luke 20:3. The Presentation in the Temple and Circumcision, Luke 2:21-40. III. The first visit of Jesus to the Temple—which completes the cycle by a seventh narrative, Luke 2:41-52. We shall see further that even the subordinate sections often fall into subsections of three. See Godet I. 84. Thus the first section is divided into α, the test of faith, Luke 1:5-7; β the promise, Luke 1:8-22; γ the fulfilment, Luke 1:23-25.

Ἡρώδου βασιλέως. Towards the close of the reign of Herod the Great. The true sceptre had departed from Judah. Herod was a mere Idumaean usurper imposed on the nation by the Romans. “Regnum ab Antonio Herodi datum, victor Augustus auxit.” Tac. Hist. Luke 1:9.

τῆς Ἰουδαίας. Besides Judaea, Samaria, and Galilee, his kingdom included the most important regions of Peraea (Jos. Antt. XV. 5, §§ 6, 7; B. J. I. 20, §§ 3, 4).

Ζαχαρίας. The common Jewish name Zachariah (2 Kings 14:29; Ezra 8:3; Ezra 8:11; Zechariah 1:1; 1Ma 5:18, &c.) means ‘remembered by Jehovah.’ The Jews highly valued the distinction of priestly birth (Jos. Vit. I.). The notion that Zacharias was a High Priest and that his vision occurred on the great Day of Atonement is refuted by the single word ἔλαχε, “his lot was,” Luke 1:9.

ἐξ ἐφημερίας. The word ἐφημερία means first ‘a daily ministry’ (Heb. mishmereth) and then a class of the priesthood which exercised its functions for a week. It is used by the LXX[26] (as well as διαίρεσις) to render the Hebrew machaloketh. Josephus (Vit. I.) uses the less accurate term ἐφημερίς, and also πατρία (Antt. VII. 14. 7). Aaron had four sons, but the two elder, Nadab and Abihu, were struck dead for using strange fire in the sanctuary (Leviticus 10). From the two remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, had sprung in the days of David twenty-four families, sixteen from the descendants of Eleazar, and eight from those of Ithamar. To these David distributes by lot the order of their service from week to week, each for eight days inclusively from Sabbath to Sabbath (1 Chronicles 24:1-19; 2 Chronicles 31:2). After the Babylonish exile only four of the twenty-four courses returned—a striking indication of the truth of the Jewish saying that those who returned from the exile were but like the chaff in comparison of the wheat. The four families of which the representatives returned were those of Jedaiah, Immer, Pashur, and Harim (Ezra 2:36-39). But the Jews concealed the heavy loss by subdividing these four families into twenty-four courses, to which they gave the original names, and this is alluded to in Nehemiah 13:30 (“I … appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business”). This arrangement continued till the fall of Jerusalem A.D. 70, at which time, on the ninth of the month Ab (Aug. 5), we are told that the course in waiting was that of Jehoiarib (Jos. Bell. Jud. VI. 5; Taanith, IV. 6; Derenbourg, Palest. p. 291). Reckoning back from this we find that the course of Abijah went out of office on Oct. 9, B.C. 6, A. U. C. 748 (but see Lewin, Fasti Sacri, p. 191). The reckoning of the date, either backwards from the Fall of Jerusalem, or forwards from the Reformation of Judas Maccabaeus (1Ma 4:38), necessarily involves elements of uncertainty. See Wieseler, Synopsis, 141–145. The reader should bear in mind that our received era for the Birth of Christ (A. U. C. 753) was only fixed by the Abbot Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, and is probably four years wrong.

[26] LXX. Septuagint.

Ἀβιά. 1 Chronicles 24:10, “the eighth [lot came forth] to Abijah.” This was not one of the four families which had returned, but the name was soon revived (Nehemiah 12:4). Josephus tells us that he himself enjoyed the high distinction of belonging by birth to the first of the twenty-four courses (Vit. I.).

καὶ γυνὴ αὐτῷ. ‘His wife was.’ See the critical note. This phrase like ἐγένετο (ויהי), and ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις is Hebraic. The construction throughout is rather paratactical (sentences joined by καὶ) than syntactical (subordinate clauses).

Ἐλισάβετ. The same name as Elisheba (‘one whose oath is by God,’ comp. Jehoshebah, 2 Kings 11:2), the wife of Aaron, Exodus 6:23; mentioned by name according to Ibn Ezra as ‘the mother of the priesthood.’ John’s descent was priestly on both sides, as that of Jesus was royal.