Luke 2:1-7. THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST In this chapter as in the last there is a prevailing triplicity of arrangement. In the first section we have—α. The Nativity, 1–7. β. The Angelic Announcement, 8–14. γ. The Visit of the Shepherds, 15–20.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΞΗ͂ΛΘΕΝ ΔΌΓΜΑ ΠΑΡᾺ ΚΑΊΣΑΡΟΣ ΑΥ̓ΓΟΎΣΤΟΥ�. The verb ἘΞΗ͂ΛΘΕΝ is a Hebraism in this sense, Daniel 9:2-3. ‘That there should be an enrolment of the habitable world.’ The verb ἀπογράφεσθαι is here probably passive (Vulg[56] _ut describeretur_), though we have the aorist middle ἀπογράψασθαι ‘to enroll hi... [ Continue Reading ]
2. It is said ‘that in any case Herod, being a _rex socius_ (for Judaea was not annexed to the Province of Syria till the death of Archelaus, A.D. 6), would have been exempt from such a registration.’ The answer is that (α) the Clitae were obliged to furnish such a census though they were under an i... [ Continue Reading ]
ἝΚΑΣΤΟΣ ΕἸΣ ΤῊΝ ἙΑΥΤΟΥ͂ ΠΌΛΙΝ. This method of enrolment was a concession to Jewish prejudices. The Roman method was to enrol each person at his own place of residence. Incidentally this unexplained notice proves that St Luke is dealing with an historical enrolment.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΠῸ … ἘΚ. The prepositions are here used with classical accuracy. ἀπὸ means ‘direction from’ (_ab_); ἐκ means ‘from within’ (_ex_). ΠΌΛΙΝ ΔΑΥΕΊΔ. 1 Samuel 17:12, “David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-Judah whose name was Jesse.” ἭΤΙΣ. In Hellenistic Greek many relative pronouns (prope... [ Continue Reading ]
ΓΥΝΑΙΚῚ is omitted by אBCDL, and various Fathers; as also by La[46] Ti[47] &c. [46] La. Lachmann. [47] Ti. Tischendorf. 5. ἈΠΟΓΡΆΨΑΣΘΑΙ, ‘to enrol himself.’ ΣῪΝ ΜΑΡΙΆΜ. If these words be taken with ἀπογράψασθαι they would imply either that the presence of women was obligatory, as Ulpian says (_De... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΠΛΉΣΘΗΣΑΝ ΑἹ ἩΜΈΡΑΙ. There is a reasonable certainty that our Lord was born B.C. 4 of our era, and it is _probable_ that He was born (according to the unanimous tradition of the Christian Church) in winter. There is nothing to guide us as to the actual _day_ of His birth. It was unknown to the anci... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ἜΤΕΚΕΝ. See note on Luke 1:9. The belief in a painless birth, _clauso utero_, and similar miracles, which are found in some Fathers, are apocryphal fictions which derive no countenance from the Gospels. See Luke 2:23. ΠΡΩΤΌΤΟΚΟΝ. The word has no decisive bearing on the controversy as to the ‘br... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΟΙΜΈΝΕΣ. Shepherds at this time were a despised class, so that in this instance first πτωχοὶ εὐαγγελίζονται. Luke 7:22 (Meyer). Why these were the first to whom was revealed the birth of Him who was called the Lamb of God we are not told. The sheep used for the daily sacrifice were pastured in the... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ANGELS TO THE SHEPHERDS... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑΊ. The phrase ἰδοὺ often introduces some strange or memorable event; but is here omitted by אBL and some versions. ἘΠΈΣΤΗ. A common word in St Luke, who uses it eighteen times, Luke 24:4; Acts 12:7, &c. It may mean _stood by them_. ΔΌΞΑ ΚΥΡΊΟΥ. The Shechinah, or cloud of brightness which symbolis... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕΥ̓ΑΓΓΕΛΊΖΟΜΑΙ. See on Luke 1:19. ΧΑΡᾺΝ ΜΕΓΆΛΗΝ. See Isaiah 52:7; Isaiah 61:1; Romans 5:11; 1 Peter 1:8. The contrast of the condition of despair and sorrow into which the heathen world had sunk and the joy of Christians even in the deepest adversity—as when we find “_joy_” to be the key-note of th... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΤΈΧΘΗ. A form not found in classical Attic. ΣΩΤΉΡ. It is a curious fact that ‘Saviour’ and ‘Salvation,’ so common in St Luke and St Paul (in whose writings they occur forty-four times), are comparatively rare in the rest of the New Testament. ‘Saviour’ only occurs in John 4:42; 1 John 4:14; and si... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸ ΣΗΜΕΙ͂ΟΝ, ‘_the_ sign.’ Comp. Isaiah 7:14. ΒΡΈΦΟΣ, ‘_a_ babe.’ ἘΣΠΑΡΓΑΝΩΜΈΝΟΝ. The participle is here regarded as an adjective, and is followed by κείμενον.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΛΗ͂ΘΟΣ ΣΤΡΑΤΙΑ͂Σ ΟΥ̓ΡΑΝΊΟΝ. The Sabaoth, or _Tseba hashamayîm_. 1 Kings 22:19; Psalms 103:21; Matthew 26:53; Romans 9:29; James 5:4. “Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him,” Daniel 7:10; Revelation 5:11-12. The word is also used of the stars as objects of heathen worship, Acts 7:42.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕΥ̓ΔΟΚΊΑΣ. This is the reading of אABD. The Gothic, Vulgate, Itala, and most Fathers. Beza, Mill, Bengel La[48] Ti[49] W. H[50] &c. The εὐδοκία may have come from the other nominatives δόξα, εἰρήνη. [48] La. Lachmann. [49] Ti. Tischendorf. [50] W. H. Westcott and Hort. 14. ἘΝ ὙΨΊΣΤΟΙΣ. i.e., in hi... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ἘΓΈΝΕΤΟ.… In Hellenistic Greek ἐγένετο sometimes becomes little more than a particle of transition in coordinated sentences. See Luke 1:59. ΔΙΈΛΘΩΜΕΝ ΔΉ. ‘Come now! let us go.’... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΝΕΥ͂ΡΑΝ ‘discovered after search.’ These forms of the 2nd aorist in αν are due to false analogy. They have been restored by modern editors from the best MSS., but it is perhaps impossible to decide how far they may have been due to the copyists. This verb is only found again in Acts 21:4 in the N.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΓΝΏΡΙΣΑΝ. Thus the shepherds were the first Christian preachers. The reading διεγν. may have sprung from the previous δὲ by _homoeoteleuton_.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΆΝΤΑ ΤᾺ ῬΉΜΑΤΑ ΤΑΥ͂ΤΑ ‘all these things’ or ‘words.’ ΣΥΝΕΤΉΡΕΙ. The imperfect follows the aorist as in Luke 1:64 (where see note). The verb is used in Daniel 7:28; Mark 6:20. ΣΥΝΒΆΛΛΟΥΣΑ. Literally, “_casting together_,” i.e. comparing and considering; like our ‘casting in mind.’ Comp. Genesis 37... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΟΞΆΖΟΝΤΕΣ ΚΑῚ ΑἸΝΟΥ͂ΝΤΕΣ. _Glorifying_ God for the greatness of the event, and _praising_ Him for its mercy (Godet).... [ Continue Reading ]
21. THE CIRCUMCISION 21. ΤΟΥ͂ ΠΕΡΙΤΕΜΕΙ͂Ν ΑΥ̓ΤΌΝ. The genitive of the purpose. The old way of explaining it was to understand ἕνεκα or χάριν, but it is neither an ellipse nor an Hebraism, but a classic idiom resulting from the original force of the genitive, see Winer p. 408. This construction is sp... [ Continue Reading ]
ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν. אAB and most editors. It is probably by a mere error that D reads αὐτοῦ. 22. ΤΟΙ͂ ΚΑΘΑΡΙΣΜΟΥ͂ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν, ‘their purification.’ The reading αὐτῆς, ‘her,’ of the Received Text is almost unsupported. All the Uncials read αὐτῶν, ‘their,’ except D, which probably by an oversight read αὐτοῦ, ‘His.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑΘῺΣ ΓΈΓΡΑΠΤΑΙ ἘΝ ΝΌΜΩΙ ΚΥΡΊΟΥ. The term γέγραπται implies the _permanence_ of the Law (Luther, _stehet geschrieben_). The tribe of Levi were sanctified to the Lord in lieu of the firstborn, and originally all the firstborn in excess of the number of the Levites had to be redeemed with five shekels... [ Continue Reading ]
ΖΕΥ͂ΓΟΣ ΤΡΥΓΌΝΩΝ Ἢ ΔΎΟ ΝΕΟΣΣΟΎΣ. Leviticus 12:8. The offering appointed was a yearling lamb for a burnt-offering, and a young pigeon or turtledove for a sin-offering, which were to be brought to the door of the tabernacle and with which “the priest shall make an atonement for her and she shall be cl... [ Continue Reading ]
ἌΝΘΡΩΠΟΣ … ὯΙ ὌΝΟΜΑ ΣΥΜΕΏΝ. This cannot be Rabban Shimeon the son of Hillel (whom the Talmud is on this account supposed to pass over almost unnoticed), because he would hardly have been spoken of so slightly as ἄνθρωπος, ‘a person.’ The Apocryphal Gospels call him “the great teacher” (_James_ xxvi.... [ Continue Reading ]
SIMEON AND THE NUNC DIMITTIS... [ Continue Reading ]
ἮΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ι ΚΕΧΡΗΜΑΤΙΣΜΈΝΟΝ. For the use of this word to imply a divine communication see Acts 10:22; Matthew 2:12. χρηματισμὸς an _oracle_ Romans 11:4. Christian legend says that he had stumbled at Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive,” and had received a divine intimation that he should no... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ ΤΩ͂Ι ΠΝΕΎΜΑΤΙ. ‘In the (Holy) Spirit.’ ἘΝ ΤΩ͂Ι ΕἸΣΑΓΑΓΕΙ͂Ν … ΤῸ ΠΑΙΔΊΟΝ. The Arabic Gospel of the Infancy (vi.) says that he saw Him shining like a pillar of light in His mother’s arms, which is probably derived from Luke 2:32.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΑΥ̓ΤΌΣ. The word is emphatic. He took the child into his own arms. ΕἸΣ ΤᾺΣ�. Hence he is sometimes called _Theodokos_, ‘the receiver of God,’ as Ignatius is sometimes called _Theophoros_, ‘borne of God,’ from the fancy that he was one of the children whom Christ took in His arms (see on Luke 9:47).... [ Continue Reading ]
ΝΥ͂Ν�, ΔΈΣΠΟΤΑ. ‘Now art Thou setting free Thy slave, O Master, according to Thy word, in peace.’ Νῦν ‘now, at last!’ The present tense is the so-called _praesens futurascens_ where an action still future is spoken of in the present _because it is unalterably determined_, and the result is already i... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸ ΣΩΤΉΡΙΟΝ. This seems to have a wider meaning than τὴν σωτηρίαν.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸΣ� ‘for revelation to.’ A memorable prophecy, considering that even the Apostles found it hard to grasp the full admission of the Gentiles, clearly as it had been indicated in older prophecy, e.g. in Psalms 98:2-3, “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God,” Isaiah 52:10. “I wi... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΠΑΤῊΡ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂ ΚΑῚ Ἡ ΜΉΤΗΡ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂. So אBDL, Vulg[51] and various Fathers. It may have been altered from dogmatic prejudices into Ἰωσὴφ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ. [51] Vulg. Vulgate. 33. Ὁ ΠΑΤῊΡ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂. This is the undoubted reading, אBDL, &c. ΠΕΡῚ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂. ‘About Him.’... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΕΙ͂ΤΑΙ. Compare Philippians 1:17. Literally, “_lies_.” The metaphor is taken from a stone which may either become ‘a stone of stumbling’ and ‘a rock of offence’ (Isaiah 8:14; Romans 9:32-33; 1 Corinthians 1:23), or ‘a precious corner-stone’ (1 Peter 2:7-8; Acts 4:11; 1 Corinthians 3:11). ΕἸΣ ΠΤΩ͂ΣΙ... [ Continue Reading ]
ῬΟΜΦΑΊΑ. Probably a broad Thracian lance (_framea_). The word only occurs elsewhere in the New Testament in Revelation 1:16, &c., but it is used in the LXX[65], as in Zechariah 13:7, “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd.” Almost from the very birth of Christ the sword began to pierce the soul of the... [ Continue Reading ]
ἌΝΝΑ. The same name as Hannah (1 Samuel 1:20), from the root _Chânan_, ‘he was gracious.’ ΠΡΟΦΗ͂ΤΙΣ. The predicate in apposition usually has the article, as in Ἰωάννην τὸν βαπτιστήν, Ἄγριππα ὁ βασιλεύς. But it is sometimes omitted where there is no desire to distinguish a person from others, as in... [ Continue Reading ]
ANNA THE PROPHETESS. THE RETURN TO NAZARETH... [ Continue Reading ]
ἝΩΣ. אABL, Copt. Sah[52] &c. [52] Sah. Sahidic Version. 37. ΟΥ̓Κ�. She was present (that is) at all the stated hours of prayer; unless we suppose that her position as a prophetess had secured her the right of living in one of the Temple chambers, and perhaps of doing some work for it like trimming... [ Continue Reading ]
ἹΕΡΟΥΣΑΛΉΜ אB. ἐν Ἱερ. AD. 38. ΚΑῚ ΑΥ̓ΤΗ͂Ι ΤΗ͂Ι ὭΡΑΙ ἘΠΙΣΤΑ͂ΣΑ. _And at that very hour_ (not ‘instant’ as in A. V[66]) _she, suddenly coming in_. [66] A. V. Authorised Version. ἈΝΘΩΜΟΛΟΓΕΙ͂ΤΟ, _began in turn to give thanks_. The ἀντὶ might seem to point to a sort of antiphony between Anna and Sim... [ Continue Reading ]
39. Between this verse and the last come the events narrated by St Matthew only—namely the Visit of the Magi; the Flight into Egypt; and the Massacre of the Innocents. It is difficult to believe that either of the Evangelists had seen the narrative of the other, because the primâ facie inference fro... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΚΡΑΤΑΙΟΥ͂ΤΟ. The ἐν πνεύματι of our Received Text is omitted in אBDL. ΠΛΗΡΟΎΜΕΝΟΝ. ‘Being or _becoming_ filled.’ The growth of our Lord is here described as a natural human growth. The nature of the ‘Hypostatic Union’ of His Divine and Human nature—what is called the _Perichoresis_ or _Communicatio... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΓΟΝΕΙ͂Σ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂. The great Rabbi Hillel had _recommended_ women to attend the Passover. It was not enjoined by the Law, but the Jews admired it as a pious practice. (_Mechilta_, f. 17. 2 in Schöttgen.) Doubtless _one_ of the reasons why Marcion exscinded these Chapter s in his mutilated St Luke w... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PASSOVER VISIT TO THE TEMPLE... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΤΩ͂Ν ΔΏΔΕΚΑ. No single word breaks the silence of the Gospels respecting the childhood of Jesus from the return to Nazareth till this time. We infer indeed from scattered hints in Scripture that He “_began to do_” His work before He “_began to teach_,” and being “tempted in all points like as we ar... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΓΝΩΣΑΝ ΟἹ ΓΟΝΕΙ͂Σ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂. So אBDL, Jerome, Gr[53] La[54] Ti[55] [53] Gr. Griesbach. [54] La. Lachmann. [55] Ti. Tischendorf. 43. ΤΕΛΕΙΩΣΆΝΤΩΝ ΤᾺΣ ἩΜΈΡΑΣ. Seven days. Exodus 12:15. ἸΗΣΟΥ͂Σ Ὁ ΠΑΙ͂Σ. _The boy Jesus_, or _Jesus, now a boy_. There is an obvious contrast with the παιδίον of Luke 2:40... [ Continue Reading ]
ἮΛΘΟΝ ἩΜΈΡΑΣ ὉΔΌΝ. Probably to _Beeroth_, six miles north of Jerusalem. In the numerous and rejoicing caravans of kinsmen and fellow-countrymen relations are often separated without feeling any anxiety. ἈΝΕΖΉΤΟΥΝ, ‘continued looking for him.’ The word implies _anxious_ and _careful_ search.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜῊ ΕὙΡΌΝΤΕΣ. The μὴ is causal. ‘_Since_ they did not find Him,’ they returned. ἈΝΑΖΗΤΟΥ͂ΝΤΕΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΌΝ, ‘diligently searching for Him.’... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜΕΤᾺ ἩΜΈΡΑΣ ΤΡΕΙ͂Σ. This, in the Jewish idiom, probably means ‘on the third day.’ One day was occupied by the journey to Beeroth; on the second, they sought Him in the caravans and at Jerusalem; the next day they found Him in the Temple. The unsettled state of the country would add to their alarm.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΞΊΣΤΑΝΤΟ. Similar instances are narrated of Rabbi Eliezer Ben Azariah; of Rabbi Ashi, the compiler of the Babylonian Talmud; and (by himself) of Josephus (_Vit._ 2). See Excursus VII.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΞΕΠΛΆΓΗΣΑΝ. The “_people of the land_,” such as were the simple peasants of Galilee, held their great teachers in the deepest awe, and hitherto the silent, sweet, obedient childhood of Jesus had not prepared them for such a scene. ΤΈΚΝΟΝ, ΤΊ ἘΠΟΊΗΣΑΣ ἩΜΙ͂Ν ΟὝΤΩΣ; ‘My child, why didst thou treat us... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ ΤΟΙ͂Σ ΤΟΥ͂ ΠΑΤΡΌΣ ΜΟΥ, ‘in my Father’s house.’ The Syriac, Origen, Epiphanius, Theodoret, Theophylact, and Euthymius agree in this rendering. The Vulg[68] (like the Arabic and Aethiopic) leaves the meaning vague _in his quae Patris mei sunt_, and Wyclif follows the Vulgate “_in those things that... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓ ΣΥΝΗ͂ΚΑΝ. Words which might stand as the epitome of much of His ministry, Luke 9:45; Luke 18:34; Mark 9:32; John 10:6; John 1:10-11. The meaning however is not that they had any doubt as to what the grammatical construction of His words implied; but only as to their bearing and appropriateness t... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜΕΤ' ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν. We may infer from the subsequent omission of Joseph’s name, and from the traditional belief about his age, that he died shortly after this event, as the Apocryphal Gospels assert. ΕἸΣ ΝΑΖΑΡΈΘ. In many respects there was a divine fitness in this spot for the human growth of Jesus—“as a... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΡΟΈΚΟΠΤΕΝ, ‘advanced.’ (Galatians 1:14; 2 Timothy 2:16, &c.) The word is derived from pioneers _cutting down_ trees in the path of an advancing army. Comp. 1 Samuel 2:26, and the description of an ideal youth in Proverbs 3:3-4. ΣΟΦΊΑΙ. In spite of the attempts, from the days of Athanasius downward... [ Continue Reading ]