Luke 2 - Introduction
CHAPTER 2. THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS.... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 2. THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις : the days of Herod (Luke 1:5), and of the events related in the previous chapter: the birth of John, etc. δόγμα (δοκέω) = δεδογμένον, an opinion as of philosophers; here a decree, as in Acts 17:7. ἀπογράφεσθαι (here and in Hebrews 12:23): the decree concerned enrolment or r... [ Continue Reading ]
_Joseph and Mary go up to Bethlehem_. In these verses Luke makes a historical statement, which one might have been inclined to regard as an illustration of the ἀκρίβεια (Luke 1:1), at which he aimed, as well as of his desire, in the spirit of Pauline universalism, to connect the birth of Jesus with... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse looks like a parenthetical explanation, and is actually bracketed in W.H [21] One could almost wish it had been omitted, or that there were reason to believe, as has been suggested by several writers, that it is a gloss that has found its way into the text, and that Lk. is not responsible... [ Continue Reading ]
πάντες : not all throughout the world, but all in Palestine the execution of the decree there being what the evangelist is interested in. εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν πόλιν (or ἑαυτοῦ π., W.H [22]). Does this mean to the city of his people, or to the city of his abode? If the former, what a stir in Palestine, or i... [ Continue Reading ]
Joseph and Mary and Nazareth are here referred to, as if they had not been mentioned before (Luke 1:26-27), implying that Lk. is here using an independent document (Holtz., H. C.). ἀπὸ τ. Γ αλ., ἐκ πόλ.: used with classical accuracy: ἀπὸ = direction from, ἐκ from within (C. G. T.). ἐξ οἴκου καὶ πατρ... [ Continue Reading ]
_The birth_. ἐπλήσθησαν αἱ ἡ., as in Luke 1:57. In this case, as in that of John, the natural course was run. ἐσπαργάνωσεν (here and Luke 2:12), ἀνέκλινεν : the narrative runs as if Mary did these things herself, whence the patristic inference of painless birth. φάτνῃ, in a manger (in a stall, Groti... [ Continue Reading ]
ποιμένες, shepherds, without article; no connection between them and the birthplace. ἀγραυλοῦντες (ἀγρός, αὐλή, here only), bivouacking, passing the night in the open air; implying naturally a mild time of the year between March and November. In winter the flocks were in fold.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The shepherds and the angels_.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπέστη, used elsewhere by Lk. in reference to angelic appearances, eighteen times in his writings in all = stood beside; one more than their number, suddenly. περιέλαμψεν : here and in Acts 26:13, only, in N. T. = shone around. ἐφοβήθησαν, they feared greatly; yet they were not utterly unprepared, t... [ Continue Reading ]
εὐαγγελίζομαι, etc., I bring good news in the form of a great joy (_cf._ Luke 1:19). παντὶ τῷ λαῷ, not merely to you, but to the whole people (of Israel, _vide_ Luke 1:68).... [ Continue Reading ]
σωτήρ : a word occurring (with σωτηρία) often in Lk. and in St. Paul, not often elsewhere in N. T. Κύριος : also often in Lk.'s Gospel, where the other evangelists use Jesus. The angel uses the dialect of the apostolic age.... [ Continue Reading ]
σημεῖον, the sign just that which might, but for forewarning, have been a stumbling block; the Saviour and Lord lying in a crib, in a cattle stall, or cave! So Hahn, but Godet and Schanz take “sign” merely in the sense of means of identification.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The angels' song_. If we regard the announcement of the angel to the shepherds (Luke 2:10-12) as a song, then we may view the _gloria in excelsis_ as a refrain sung by a celestial choir (πλῆθος στρατιᾶς οὐρανίου, Luke 2:13). With the reading εὐδοκίας, the refrain is in two lines: 1. “Glory to God... [ Continue Reading ]
_The shepherds go to Bethlehem_. διέλθωμεν δή, come! let us go. The force of δή, a highly emotional particle (the second time we have met with it, _vide_ at Matthew 13:23), can hardly be expressed in English. The rendering in A. V [24] (and R. V [25]), “Let us _now_ go,” based on the assumption that... [ Continue Reading ]
σπεύσαντες, hasting; movement answering to mood revealed by δή. τήν τε Μαριὰμ, etc., mother, father, child, recognised in this order, all united together in one group by τε. The position of the babe, in the manger, noted as corresponding to the angelic announcement; hence in Luke 2:17 the statement... [ Continue Reading ]
The shepherds of course told what they had seen in Bethlehem, and how they had been led to go there, and these verses state the effect produced by their story. All _wondered_, but Mary _thought_ on all the wonderful things that had happened to herself and to the shepherds; keeping them well in mind... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπλήσθησαν, as in Luke 1:57; Luke 2:6, and again in Luke 2:22; in the first two places the reference is to the course of nature, in the second two to the course prescribed by the law. τοῦ περιτεμεῖν, the genitive not so much of purpose (Meyer, J. Weiss), but of more exact definition (Schanz; _vide_... [ Continue Reading ]
_Circumcision and presentation in the temple_.... [ Continue Reading ]
κατὰ τὸν νόμον Μ. The law relating to women after confinement is contained in Leviticus 12 ἀνήγαγον : at the close of these forty days of purification His parents took Jesus up to Jerusalem from Bethlehem. The Greek form of the name for Jerusalem, Ἰερο σόλυμα, occurs here and in a few other places i... [ Continue Reading ]
γέγραπται : the reference is to Exodus 13:2, and the statement implies that every first-born male child, as belonging to God, must be ransomed (Exodus 34:19; Numbers 18:15-16).... [ Continue Reading ]
τοῦ δοῦναι : parallel to παραστῆσαι, indicating another of the purposes connected with the visit to Jerusalem. The mother went to offer her gift of thanksgiving after the days of purification were ended. τὸ εἰρημένον, in Leviticus 12, where alternative offerings are specified: a lamb, and a turtle d... [ Continue Reading ]
_Simeon_. Συμεών, introduced as a stranger (ἄνθρωπος ἦν). The legendary spirit which loves definite particulars about celebrities of Scripture has tried to fill up the blank. The father of Gamaliel the son of Hillel, one of the seventy translators of the Hebrew Bible, are among the suggestions. A br... [ Continue Reading ]
ἦν κεχρηματισμένον, it had been revealed (for the verb _vide_ Matthew 2:12), how long before not indicated. μὴ ἰδεῖν : we have here an instance of the aorist infinitive referring to what is future in relation to the principal verb. In such a case the aorist is really timeless, as it can be in depend... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι : observe the frequent reference to the Spirit in connection with Simeon, _vide_ Luke 2:25-26. εἰθισμένον (ἐθίζω), here only in N. T.: according to the _established custom_ of the law.... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ, as in Luke 2:21, before ἐκλήθη, introducing the apodosis “then” in A. V [27] and R. V [28] αὐτὸς, not necessarily emphatic (Keil, Farrar), _vide_ Luke 1:22. [27] Authorised Version. [28] Revised Version.... [ Continue Reading ]
νῦν, now, at last, of a hope long cherished by one who is full of years, and content to die. ἀπολύεις, Thou releasest me, present for the future, death near, and welcome. δοῦλον, δέσποτα : slave, master; terms appropriate at all times to express the relation between God and men, yet savouring of leg... [ Continue Reading ]
_Nunc dimittis_.... [ Continue Reading ]
gives the reason for this tranquil attitude towards death. τὸ σωτήριον = τὴν σωτηρίαν, often in Sept [29] [29] Septuagint.... [ Continue Reading ]
πάντων τῶν λαῶν : all peoples concerned in the salvation, at least as spectators.... [ Continue Reading ]
φῶς εἰς ἀ. ἐ.: the Gentiles are to be more than spectators, even sharers in the salvation, which is represented under the twofold aspect of a light and a glory. φῶς and δόξαν may be taken in apposition with ὃ as objects of ἡτοίμασας : salvation prepared or provided in the form of a light for the Gen... [ Continue Reading ]
ἦν : the construction is peculiar, the verb singular, and the participle, forming with it a periphrastic imperfect, plural = was the father, and was the mother, together wondering. _Vide_ Winer, § 58, p. 651. The writer thinks of the two parents first as isolated and then as united in their wonder.... [ Continue Reading ]
εὐλόγησεν : “the less is blessed of the better”. Age, however humble, may bless youth. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. κεῖται, is appointed εἰς πτῶσιν, etc.: generally, this child will influence His time in a decided manner, and to opposite effects, and with painful consequences to Himself; a forecast not ne... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ σοῦ, singles out the mother for a special share in the sorrow connected with the tragic career of one destined to be much spoken against (ἀντιλεγόμενον); this inevitable because of a mother's intense love. Mary's sorrow is compared vividly to a sword (ῥομφαία here and in Revelation 1:16, and in... [ Continue Reading ]
ἦν : either there was _there_, aderat (Meyer, Godet, Weizsäcker), or there _was_, there _lived_ (De Wette, J. Weiss, Schanz, Hahn). Ἅννα = חַנָּה, 1 Samuel 1:20 (Ἄννα in Sept [31]) = grace. Of this woman some particulars are given, _e.g._, her father and her tribe, which makes the absence of such de... [ Continue Reading ]
_Anna._ Another aged saint of the O. T. type comes on the stage speaking thankful prophetic words concerning the Holy Child.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἕως : either a widow for eighty-four years (Godet), or, as most think, a widow till the eighty-fourth year of her life. The former rendering would make her very old: married, say, at sixteen, seven years a wife, eighty-four years a widow = 107; not impossible, and borne out by the πολλαῖς after ἡμέρ... [ Continue Reading ]
The T.R. has yet another αυτη here (the third), before αὐτῇ, which really seems wanted as nominative to the verb following, but which one can imagine scribes omitting to relieve the heaviness and monotony of the style. ἀνθωμολογεῖτο (here only in N. T.): perhaps no stress should be laid on the prepo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Return to Nazareth_. πόλιν ἑαυτῶν, their own city, certainly suggesting that Nazareth, not Bethlehem, had been the true home of Joseph and Mary.... [ Continue Reading ]
ηὔξανε καὶ ἐκραταιοῦτο, grew, and waxed strong, both in reference to the physical nature. πνεύματι in T.R. is borrowed from Luke 1:80; a healthy, vigorous child, an important thing to note in reference to Jesus. πληρούμενον : present participle, not = _plenus_, Vulg [35], full, but in course of bein... [ Continue Reading ]
κατʼ ἔτος : law-observing people, piously observant of the annual feasts, especially that of the passover.... [ Continue Reading ]
_When twelve years old_. Lk. here relates one solitary, significant incident from the early years of Jesus, as if to say: from this, learn all. The one story shows the wish to collect anecdotes of those silent years. There would have been more had the evangelist had more to tell. The paucity of info... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐτῶν δώδεκα : this mention of the age of Jesus is meant to suggest, though it is not directly stated, that this year He went up to Jerusalem with His parents; ἀναβαινόντων includes Him. At twelve a Jewish boy became a son of the law, with the responsibility of a man, putting on the phylacteries whic... [ Continue Reading ]
τελειωσάντων τ. ἡ. This naturally means that they stayed all the time of the feast, seven days. This was not absolutely incumbent; some went home after the first two days, but such people as Joseph and Mary would do their duty thoroughly. ὑπέμεινεν, tarried behind, not so much intentionally (Hahn) a... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν τῇ συνοδίᾳ, in the company journeying together (σύν, ὁδός, here only in N. T.), a journeying together, then those who so journey. A company would be made up of people from the same neighbourhood, well acquainted with one another. ἡμέρας ὁδὸν, a day's journey. It is quite conceivable how they shou... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀναζητοῦντες : the present participle, expressing the purpose of the journey back to Jerusalem, where (not on the road) the search took place (_cf._ Acts 11:25). The ἀνά here (as in ἀνεζήτουν, Luke 2:44) implies careful, anxious search.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἡμέρας τρεῖς, three days, measured from the time they had last seen Him, not implying three days' search in Jerusalem. The place where they had lodged and the temple would be among the first places visited in the search. ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ : probably in a chamber in the temple court used for teaching and ki... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐξίσταντο, were amazed, not at His position among the _doctors_, or at His asking questions, but at the intelligence (συνέσει) shown in His answers to the questions of the teachers; something of the rare insight and felicity which astonished all in after years appearing in these boyish replies.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἰδόντες refers to the parents. This astonishment points to some contrast between a previous quiet, reserved manner of Jesus and His present bearing; sudden flashing out of the inner life. ἡ μήτηρ : the _mother_ spoke, naturally; a _woman_, and the mother's heart more keenly touched. This apart from... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μον, in the things of my Father (“about my Father's business,” A. V [36]); _therefore_ in the place or _house_ of my Father (R. V [37]); the former may be the verbal translation, but the latter is the real meaning Jesus wished to suggest. In this latter rendering patristic and mod... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐ συνῆκαν, they did not understand; no wonder! Even we do not yet fully understand.... [ Continue Reading ]
κατέβη, He went down with them, gentle, affectionate, habitually obedient (ὑποτασσόμενος), yet tar away in thought, and solitary. διετήρει : she did not forget, though she did not understand.... [ Continue Reading ]
προέκοπτε, steadily grew, used intransitively in later Greek. ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ και ἡλικίᾳ, in wisdom and (also _as_, the one the measure of the other) in stature, both growths alike real. Real in body, apparent in the mind: growth in _manifestation_ of the wisdom within, complete from the first such is t... [ Continue Reading ]