Luke 1:1-45

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 1:26

(26) And in the sixth month.—The time is obviously reckoned from the commencement of the period specified in Luke 1:24.A city of Galilee, named Nazareth.—The town so named (now en-Nazirah) was situated in a valley among the hills that rise to a height of about 500 feet on the north of the Plain of Esdraelon. The valley itself is richly cultivated. The grassy slopes of the hills are clothed in spring-time with flowers. On one side there is a steep ridge that forms something like a precipice... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 1:27

(27) To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph.—Of the parentage of Mary the canonical Gospels tell us nothing, and the legends of the apocryphal have no claim to credit. That her mother’s name was Anna, that she surpassed the maidens of her own age in wisdom, that she went as a child into the Temple, that she had many who sought her hand, and that they agreed to decide their claims by laying their rods before the Holy Place and seeing which budded, and that Joseph thus became the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 1:28

(28) Highly favoured.—The verb is the same as that which is translated, “hath made us accepted “in Ephesians 1:6; and, on the whole, this, which is expressed in one of the marginal readings, seems the truest. The plena gratiâ of the Vulgate has no warrant in the meaning of the word.The Lord is with thee.—Better, the Lord be with thee, as the more usual formula of salutation, as in Ruth 2:4.Blessed art thou among women.—The words are omitted in many of the best MSS. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 1:29

(29) she was troubled at his saying.—The same word is used as had been used of Zacharias. With Mary, as with him, the first feeling was one of natural terror. Who was the strange visitor, and what did the strange greeting mean? read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 1:30

(30) Thou hast found favour with God.—The noun is the same as that elsewhere translated “grace,” but the latter word, though fit enough in itself, has become so associated with the technicalities of theology that it is better, in this place, to retain “favour.” read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 1:31

(31) Behold, thou shalt conceive.—St. Luke does not refer to the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, but it is clear from Mary’s answer that she understood the words of the angel in the sense which St. Matthew gives to those of the prophet. What perplexed her was the reference to the conception and the birth in a prediction which made no mention of her approaching marriage. The absence of the reference is at least worth noticing, as showing that men were not necessarily led by their interpretation of the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 1:32

(32) Shall be called the Son of the Highest.—It is noticeable that this name applied to our Lord by the angel, appears afterwards as uttered by the demoniacs (Mark 5:7). On the history of the name, see Note on Mark 5:7.The throne of his father David.—The words seem at first to suggest the thought that the Virgin was of the house of David, and that the title to the throne was thus derived through her. This may have been so (see Note on Luke 3:23-38), and the intermarriage which had taken place... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 1:33

(33) He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever.—Here, again, the apparent promise is that of a kingdom restored to Israel such as the disciples expected even after the Resurrection (Acts 1:6). It needed to be interpreted by events before men could see that it was fulfilled in the history of Christendom as the true Israel of God (Romans 9:6; Galatians 6:16).Of his kingdom there shall be no end.—The words of St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, seem at first to point to a limit of time when... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 1:34

(34) How shall this be?—The question of the Virgin is not altogether of the same nature as that of Zacharias in Luke 1:18. He asks by what sign he shall know that the words were true which told him of a son in his old age. Mary is told of a far greater marvel, for her question shows that she understood the angel to speak of the birth as antecedent to her marriage, and she, accepting the words in faith, does not demand a sign, but reverently seeks to know the manner of their accomplishment. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 1:35

(35) The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.—See Note on Luke 1:15. Here, however, the context would suggest to one familiar with the sacred writings, another aspect of the Spirit’s work, as quickening the dead chaos into life (Genesis 1:2), as being the source of life to all creation (Psalms 104:30).The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.—The divine name is used in obvious harmony with “the Son of the Highest” in Luke 1:32.Therefore also . . . shall be called the Son of God.—The words... read more

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