ἐπέβλεψεν. ‘He looked upon’.

τὴν ταπείνωσιν. So Hagar (Genesis 16:11) and Hannah (1 Samuel 1:11; cf. Psalms 138:6; Psalms 102:17). The word may be rendered ‘humiliation’, Acts 8:33; Isaiah 1:9-10. ‘Humility’ is ταπεινότης. The reader will notice in this hymn more than one anticipation of the Beatitudes.

μακαριοῦσίν με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί. “Blessed is the womb that bare Thee,” Luke 11:27. “Leah said, The daughters will call me blessed,” Genesis 30:13; Psalms 72:17. We cannot but wonder at the faith of the despised and persecuted Virgin of Nazareth, whose inspired anticipations have been so amply fulfilled.

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Old Testament