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Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 2:24

(24) A pair of turtle doves.—The law of Leviticus 12:8 allowed these to be substituted for the normal sacrifice of a lamb as a burnt-offering, and a pigeon or dove as a sin-offering, when the mother was “not able” to offer the former. We may see, therefore, in this fact, another indication of the poverty of Joseph and his espoused wife. The offering had, like all other sacrifices, to be made in the Temple. It seems all but certain that this visit to Jerusalem must have preceded the visit of the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 2:25

(25) Whose name was Simeon.—Some writers have identified the man thus described with a very memorable Simeon in the annals of the Jewish scribes, the son of Hillel, and the father of Gamaliel. He became president of the Sanhedrin, A.D. 13. Singularly enough, the Mishna, the great collection of expositions of the Law by the leading Rabbis, passes over his name altogether, and this suggests the thought that it may have done so because he was under a cloud, as believing in the prophet of Nazareth.... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 2:26

(26) It was revealed unto him.—The Greek word is the same as that rendered “warned” in Matthew 2:12. It implies a divine oracular communication, but rests on a different idea from the “unveiling,” which lies at the root of the word “reveal.” The message in this case came clearly as an answer to prayers and yearnings.The Lord’s Christ.—The word retains all the fulness of its meaning—the Messiah, the Anointed of Jehovah. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 2:27

(27) He came by the Spirit.—Better, as in Revelation 1:10, in the Spirit—i.e., in a spiritual state in which the power of the Divine Spirit was the pervading element.The parents.—Here, as in Luke 2:33; Luke 2:48, St. Luke does not shrink from reproducing what was obviously the familiar phraseology of the household of Nazareth. In common life it is almost obvious that no other phraseology was possible.To do for him after the custom of the law.—In common practice, the child would have been... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 2:29

(29) Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.—It is not expedient to alter the translation, but we have to remember that the central idea is that of the manumission of a slave. The word for Lord is not the usual Kyrios, but Despotes—a word but seldom used of God, and then almost always of the relation of a master and the slave who is such by inheritance or purchase (Acts 4:24; 2 Peter 2:1; Jude Luke 2:4; Revelation 6:10, are the only other instances of its use). Simeon speaks as a slave... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 2:30

(30) Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.—The Greek word is not the usual feminine noun expressing the abstract idea of salvation, but the neuter of the adjective—that which brings or works out salvation. Its use here is probably determined by its appearance in the LXX. version of Isaiah 52:10, as quoted in Luke 3:6. He saw in that infant child the means of deliverance for the world. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 2:31

(31) Before the face of all people.—Literally, of all peoples. The word expresses the universality of the salvation which the next verse contemplates in its application to the two great divisions of the human family. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 2:32

(32) To lighten the Gentiles.—Literally, for a revelation to the Gentiles. The idea is strictly that of the withdrawal of the “veil spread over all nations” of Isaiah 25:7.The glory of thy people Israel.—Here, again, the language is the natural utterance of the hope of the time, not the after-thought of later years. The Christ whom Israel had rejected was hardly “the glory of the people” when St. Luke wrote his Gospel. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 2:33

(33) And Joseph and his mother.—The better MSS. give, His father and his mother. The present reading has apparently been substituted for this through feelings of reverence, but it has quite sufficient authority in Luke 2:27; Luke 2:48. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 2:34

(34) This child is set for the fall and rising again.—The words start from the thought of Isaiah 8:14-15. The Christ is seen by Simeon as the stone on which some fall and are bruised (Luke 20:18), while others plant their feet upon it and rise to a higher life. Primarily the clause speaks of the contrast between the two classes; but there is nothing to exclude the thought that some may first fall, and then, though sorely “bruised,” may rise again. (Comp. Romans 11:11.)For a sign which shall be... read more

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