Luke

1:57-80

The mission of Messiah, 1:5-9:50

1. Prophecies about the coming messiah, 1:5-2:40

iv] The Prophecy of Zechariah

Elizabeth gives birth to her first child, and there is great celebration in the village. On the eighth day, friends and family gather for the circumcision and naming of the child. The relatives presume that he will be named Zechariah after his father, but Elizabeth announces that he will take the name John. Zechariah calls for a writing tablet and confirms the name, at which point he began to speak. A sense of awe and expectation touches those present and spreads throughout the hill country of Judea, and people begin to wonder what this child will grow up to be.

Zechariah, overcome by the Spirit, utters a thanksgiving to God for the coming salvation of Israel and the part his son will play in that coming day. His words are in the form of a psalm / hymn / spiritual poem, and are later given the name the Song of Zachariah, The Benedictus.

John is no ordinary child, for the "hand of the Lord is with him." In him, God's covenant promises to Abraham and his children come to fruition, the day of salvation dawns, for he will prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.

i] Context: See 1:5-25. The Prophecy of Zechariah is the fourth of six episodes covering the dawn of the messianic age, 1:5-2:40.

ii] Structure: The birth of John the Baptist:

iii] Interpretation:

iv] Source: The Song of Zechariah.

He who prepared the way, v57-80: i] John's joyous birth, v57-58. With the support of Mary, Elizabeth seems to have remained in confinement from the conception of the child, but now the friends, neighbours and family hear the joyous news. Elizabeth had magnified the Lord and now the Lord magnifies her.

de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative.

th/ ..... Elisabet dat. "for Elizabeth" - for elizabeth, [the time was fulfilled]. The dative is adverbial, reference / respect, emphatic by position; "With respect to = for Elizabeth, the time had come to give birth."

tou tekein (tektw) aor. inf. "to have her baby" - [for her] to bear a child, give birth [and she bore a son]. The genitive article + inf. is epexegetic here, rather than adverbial, final, so specifying what period of time is in mind; "the time that she give / for her to give birth." The accusative subject of the infinitive is "her".

oJti "that" - [and the neighbours and the kin of her heard] that. Introducing a object clause / dependant statement of perception expressing what the family and neighbours heard.

met (meta) + gen. "-" [the lord enlarged, magnified, exalted the mercy of him] with [her]. When used after eleoV, "mercy", the sense is "toward"; "Her neighbours and kindred shared her joy when they learned what great compassion the Lord had displayed toward her", Cassirer. The sense being that "the Lord dealt with her in a very merciful way", TH

auth/ dat. pro. "[they shared her joy]" - [and they were rejoicing with] her. Dative of direct object after the sun prefix verb "to rejoice with." This imperfect verb is possibly ingressive, "began to rejoice", NET.

ii] The circumcision of John, v59-66. The circumcision of a child took place seven days, plus the day of the birth, after the birth, ie., on the eighth day. From the Old Testament, we get the impression that a mother names her child, and that this takes place at birth. It is very unlikely that Luke would get something like this wrong, so either he is recording a local custom, or that the naming at circumcision serves to officially confirm the name.

kai egeneto "-" - and it came about [on the eighth day]. Transitional + a temporal en; see 1:8

peritemein (peritemnw) aor. inf. "to circumcise" - [they came] to circumcise [the child]. The infinitive is adverbial, final, expressing purpose, "in order to circumcise ..."

ekaloun (kalew) imperf. "they were going to" - [and] they were calling [it = him]. The imperfect may be conative, expressing attempted action; "they were trying to name him Zechariah." Possibly also ingressive, identifying the beginning of an action; "they began to name him ..." Of course, an imperfect is often used to indicate the provision of background information, or the setting for an action. Here, the primary action is what Elizabeth and Zechariah do within the context of family, friends and neighbours deciding for them what the baby should be named.

epi + dat. "-" - upon [the name of the father of him, zechariah]. Spatial; on the basis of - idiomatic use of the preposition with the dative tw/ onomati, "by the name"; he was named after the name of his father. "Zechariah" stands in apposition to auto, "it = him", the child (neuter); "they called him ...... Zechariah."

We are not told how Elizabeth came by the name "John", but Zechariah is also aware of it. Luke doesn't explain the Semitic meaning of the name for his Gentile readers, so obviously he doesn't intend us to draw something from it.

apokriqeisa (apokrinomai) aor. pas. part. "spoke up" - [and] having answered [the mother of him said]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to say"; "his mother answered and said." "His mother intervened. 'No,' she said; 'he shall be called John'", Rieu.

alla "-" - [no] but [he will be called]. Strong adversative standing in a counterpoint construction; "he will not be called Zechariah, but he will be called John." The future tense of the verb "to call" is imperatival here.

IwannhV nom. "John" - john. The nominative "John" serves as a subject complement; see 1:32.

Luke implies that the gathered throng was already referring to the child as Zecchariah, so Elizabeth sets them right.

proV + acc. "to [her]" - [and they said] toward [her]. Luke will often use the preposition proV + the acc., instead of a dative of indirect object, after a verb of speech, as here; "they said to her."

oJti "-" - that. Introducing a dependent statement of direct speech.

ek + gen. "among" - [there is no one] from [the relatives of you]. Here the preposition is used instead of a partitive genitive, as NIV.

tw/ onomati (a atoV) dat. [that] name - [who is called] in = by [this] name. Instrumental dative; "by this name", ESV.

At present, I'm in my 80's and people constantly shout at me on the assumption that I'm deaf, so presumably those present make a similar assumption with Zechariah; he can't speak so presumably he can't hear!

de "then" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a change in subject from the family and friends to Zechariah.

tw/ patri (hr roV) dat. "to [his] father" - [and they were signalling] to the father [of him]. Dative of indirect object.

to "-" - the. The article serves as a nominalizer turning the indefinite question "whatever he may wish it to be called" into a substantive, accusative direct object of the verb "to signal."

ti a]n + opt. "to find out what" - whatever [he may wish]. This construction is probably best classified as introducing an indefinite question. Although somewhat over-classified, both Cully, Thompson, and Wallace 484 classify it as the apodosis of an incomplete 4th. class conditional clause, ie., the protasis is assumed; "if he were able to speak then what might he wish him to be called?"

kaleisqai (kalew) pres. pas. inf. "to name [the child]" - [it = him (neuter to agree with the Gk. "child")] to be called. The infinitive is complementary, completing the verb "to wish, will."

Zechariah uses a writing tablet, probably a wax coated board, to communicate that John "is his name." Note the use of the present tense to settle the matter, as against Elizabeth's use of the future tense; Zechariah's answer is emphatic. Luke uses a key word to describe the reaction of those present; they were "amazed, marvelled, astonished, wondered". Luke gives spiritual significance to their reaction for the benefit of the reader - another pin aligns for the dawning of the long-promised messianic age, the coming of the kingdom of God.

aithsaV (aitew) aor. part. "he asked" - [and] having asked [for a tablet]. The participle is probably adverbial, best treated as temporal, "Then he asked for a writing tablet", Williams, or even "so then ...." Most translators treat it as attendant on the verb "to write"; "he asked for a writing tablet and wrote down 'his name is John'", Moffatt.

legwn (legw) pres. part. "-" - [he wrote] saying [john is name of him, and all were amazed]. Most translators treat this participle as attendant circumstance, redundant / pleonastic, and so don't translate the participle. Interestingly, Cully and company take the view that an attendant circumstance participle should express a separate but related action to the main verb, not the same action. This view is evident in Cully's classification of this participle as adverbial, modal, expressing manner.

Gabriel told Zechariah that he would not be able to speak acri, "until the day these things happen". The promised birth is fulfilled, but all the rest awaits fulfilment, none-the-less, Zechariah's faith is renewed and so "his tongue is loosed."

anew/cqh aor. pas. "was opened" - [but/and immediatly] was opened [the mouth of him and the tongue of him]. The first object of the verb applies, but the second, "tongue", doesn't; you can't "open" a tongue. This flawed grammar goes by the name Zeugma. The problem is overcome by the addition of a second verb; "his mouth was opened, and his tongue was loosed."

elalei (lalew) imperf. "he began to speak" - [and] he was speaking. The imperfect is often treated here as inceptive, emphasising the beginning of the action, as NIV.

eulogwn (eulogew) pres. part. "praising" - praising [god]. The participle is usually treated as adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of his loosed tongue; "He spoke out praising God", Moffatt. It may also be treated as attendant circumstance, "he spoke out and praised God."

Again, with the reader in mind, Luke draws out the response to these events, not only by the neighbours, but throughout the hill country of Judea, v65-66. Although the birth of a child to an aged couple is not unheard of, this birth comes with eschatological import - angels with divine announcements of a dawning new age. One can only be overtaken by foboV, "fear", fear in the Old Testament sense of "awe, respectful wonder." As is typically the case for those confronted by a divine manifestation, a theophany, a sign, ....., most respond with amazement; they ask, "What will this child turn out to be?" Others see beyond the wonder and respond in faith; they confess "the hand of the Lord is with him", ie., "he will be a mighty instrument of the Lord", Danker, cf., Isa.41:20. Luke is certainly underlining the last statement, in fact, it may be an editorial comment by Luke and is often treated that way by translators, eg., NIV, NRSV, REB, NAB, Cassirer, .....

touV perioikountaV (perioikew) pres. part. "[all = everyone] the neighbours" - [and fear became upon all] the ones living nearby [them]. This construction can be treated in two ways. If we take the adjective "all" as a substantive, "everyone", then the participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "everyone"; "fear came upon everyone who lived nearby them." If we take the adjective "all" as an attributive adjective modifying the participle, then the participle serves as a substantive; "fear came upon all those living nearby them." The meaning is the same either way.

en + dat. "throughout" - [and] in. Local, expressing space, "in / through the whole of the hill country."

thV IoudaiaV (a) "of Judea" - [whole hilly country] of judea [all were discussing these things]. The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / locative; "hill country located in Judea."

dielaleito (dialalew) imperf. pas. "were talking" - [all] were discussing [these things]. The imperfect may intend to indicate imperfective / durative action, ie., ongoing discussion, although the action is a step away from the aorist egeneto, "fear came on all the neighbours."

oiJ akousanteV (akouw) aor. part. "[everyone] who heard" - [all = everyone] having listened [put, kept, retained all this in the heart of them]. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting the nominal adjective "everyone"; as in v65. The people heard the news and located it in their heart, ie., they thought about it carefully. Having thought about it, they responded "saying ........"

legonteV (legw) pres. part. "asking" - saying. The NIV, as with many translations, treats the participle as adverbial, expressing the manner of the action of the main verb "to put", but it may also be treated as an attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to put"; "and all who heard it were deeply impressed and said", REB.

kai gar "for" - [what therefore will this child be] and for [the hand of the lord was with him]. More reason that cause; with kai indicating a further rationale provided for the events surrounding the birth of John. The use of the imperfect verb to-be h\n may well indicate that the rationale is provided by Luke, so Nolland, Stein, Bock, Marshall, ...., but Luke may intend us to understand that some of those who wondered about the events of John's birth did more than wonder; see notes above.

iii] The song of Zechariah, v67-79. Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, praises God for the dawning of the long-promised day of redemption / salvation for his people Israel, a day of light for those in darkness. God does this by raising up of a mighty saviour, for whom John will prepare the way.

oJ pathr (hr roV) "[His] father" - [and zechariah] the father [of him]. Nominative in apposition to "Zechariah".

pneumatoV (a atoV) gen. "with the [Holy] Spirit" - [was filled] of [holy] spirit. Usually, after a verb "to fill", the genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / of content; "filled full of the Holy Spirit." As already noted, such a filling is usually related to speaking, so "filled with the inspiring power of the Holy Spirit", Williams. So, Zechariah's words serve as an inspired commentary of the events surrounding the birth of John.

legwn (legw) aor. part. "-" - [and prophesied] saying. Attendant circumstance participle, redundant, as NIV, expressing action accompanying the verb "to prophesy." See v63 for the classification of adverbial, manner.

The hymn / spiritual song begins with a single sentence of blessing / praise to God running through to v75:

Blessed be the Lord ....

because he visited us .....

and because he raised up a horn of salvation ........

to do mercy ......

and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath which he swore ....

tou Israhl gen. "[the God] of Israel" - [blessed be the lord, the god] of israel. The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / subordination; "the God over Israel." "God" stands in apposition to "Lord".

oJti "because" - because [he visited and made = performed redemption]. Introducing a causal clause explaining why God is "blessed", "because" God has visited his people (come to help them), and redeemed them (bought back a slave people, a people enslaved to sin = "set them free", REB, "set at liberty", Cassirer = saved).

tw/ law/ (oV) dat. "them" - to the people [of him]. Dative of interest, advantage; "wrought redemption for his people."

God is also praised because, through the birth of John, he inaugurates the messianic age, the coming day when he raises up the long-promised Davidic messiah. Zechariah draws on the imagery of Psalm 132:17, "I will make a horn sprout for David's line", to describe the coming messiah as a powerful redeemer ("horn" being an image of power).

swthriaV (a) gen. "of salvation" - [and because he raised up a horn] of salvation. We may classify the genitive is adjectival, idiomatic, limiting "horn"; "a horn which realises salvation." Given that "horn" is a metaphor for "power" and the phrase is messianic, the sense is "he has raised up (brought into being) a powerful saviour for us"; "a strong deliverer", REB.

hJmin dat. pro. "for us" - to us. Dative of interest, advantage.

en + dat. "in" - in [house of david servant of him]. Local, space, metaphorical - the horn is found within the family of David, ie., the messiah comes from / is a descendant of David, cf., 2Sam.7:26; "A mighty saviour from the family of David his servant", CEV.

Stein suggests that this parenthetical comment may come from Luke himself. His point is that this messianic fulfilment aligns with Old Testament prophetic testimony.

kaqwV "as" - just as [he spoke]. Comparative. What God is doing may be compared with / aligns with / is in keeping with what God said he would do through his prophets.

dia + gen. "through" - through [the mouth of the holy prophets of him]. Instrumental, expressing agency, "through the intermediacy of", means, "words of."

ap (apo) + gen. "from" - from [the age]. Temporal use of the preposition in an idiomatic expression for "long ago."

The powerful Davidic messiah will overcome Israel's enemies; he will save his people. As an Old Testament Jew, Zechariah views salvation in nationalistic terms. Luke knows well enough from the kerygma, the apostolic gospel tradition, that this salvation is both spiritual and eschatological; as Jesus puts it, "my kingdom is not of this world."

ex (ek) + gen. "from [our enemies]" - [salvation] from [our enemies and from]. Expressing separation; "away from."

twn misountwn (misew) gen. pres. part. "of [all] who hate" - [the hand] of [all, every = everyone] hating [us]. The participle is adjectival, attributive (see v65), limiting the nominal adjective "everyone", the genitive being adjectival, possessive; "to save us from our enemies and everyone who hates us", CEV.

This salvation is consequent on the covenant agreement made with Abraham and his descendants, an agreement promising divine blessings, "mercy" (a land, a people and a blessing to the world). And when the Creator God makes an agreement with someone he keeps it, even if the other parties to the agreement fail to keep their side of it. So, despite Israel's many failings, the day of salvation is dawning because when God says it, he does it, v72-73.

poihsai (poiew) aor. inf. "to show" - to do, work [mercy]. For this infinitive, and for "to remember", we are best to follow Fitzmyer who argues that they are epexegetic, "an appositive to the noun 'salvation'"; "Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant", NRSV. Marshall suggests purpose or result; Bock opts for result

meta + gen. "to" - with [the fathers of us]. When this preposition is used with "doing mercy" it takes the spatial sense of "toward", so "to carry out his merciful design toward our fathers", Knox, as NIV. The sense of "with", expressing association, still lies behind this translation; "to deal mercifully with our fathers", Moffatt.

diaqhkhV (h) gen. "[holy] covenant" - [and to remember holy] covenant, agreement. Genitive of direct object after the verb "to remember."

autou gen. pro. "his" - of him. The genitive is adjectival, possessive, of a derivative status, or idiomatic, limiting "agreement", "the agreement which he made with them"; "Extending his mercy to our forefathers, and pointing to the holy covenant he made (with them)", Rieu. The covenant / agreement is "holy" because its source is divine.

hJmwn gen. pro. "our [father]" - [the oath which he swore toward abraham, the father] of us. The genitive is adjectival, relational. "Father" stands in apposition to "Abraham".

The nub of the covenant / agreement / "oath" given to the forefathers is explained in v74-75. The intent of the covenant agreement is not salvation in itself, but salvation to participation with the divine. The grammar is somewhat complex and prompts numerous translations: "God swore an oath ......., namely to grant to us, having been delivered from the hand of our enemies, to serve him fearlessly, in holiness and righteous, all the days of our life."

tou dounai "-" - the to give, grant [to us]. The genitive articular infinitive is epexegetic, specifying / explaining the content of "the oath" / covenant / agreement / promise, namely, to set God's people free for divine service. The dative pronoun hJmin, "to us", is a dative of indirect object. "That he may grant to us ......."

rJusqentaV (rJuomai) acc. aor. pas. part. "to rescue" - having been delivered [from the hand of enemies]. As Williams notes, a dative would be expected, but an accusative is used in agreement with the assumed subject of the infinitive. Adjectival, attributive, certainly works well, "to grant to us who have been delivered from the hand of our enemies", but given the accusative, Luke may intend an adverbial use, possibly temporal, so Cully, "the oath he swore ....... namely, to grant / that he may grant to us, now set free from the hand of our enemies, to serve him ......".

latreuein (latreuw) pres. inf. "to serve" - to serve. It is unusual for an infinitive to follow an infinitive, but it can do so after didwmi, as here; "to grant to us ........ to serve him", cf., 8:10. The infinitive introduces an object clause / dependent statement of cause, expressing what is granted to us, namely, to serve / that we may serve God without fear now that we are freed from our enemies (realised eschatology). Note that some translations opt for the word "worship", but this verb is a service word, and is not used to express adoration, obeisance.

autw/ dat. pro. "him" - him. Dative of direct object after the verb "to give service to."

afobwV adv. "without fear" - fearlessly. Modal adverb. "That, having rescued us from the power of our enemies, he might enable us to serve him with nothing to fear."

en + dat. "in" - in [holiness and righteousness before him all the days of us]. Adverbial use of the preposition, modal, expressing the manner of the service offered to God. Given the use of both words together, an ethical sense is intended, rather than theological, so "purity" and "uprightness" is probably in mind. Williams suggests that the words reflect duty to God and duty to mankind, so "piety and uprightness", Cassirer. Yet, the combination of words is probably simply making the point that the essence of divine service is responsiveness to God's will; a desire to conform to God's person and word, as best we can.

taiV hgJmeraiV (a) dat. "[all our] days" - [all] the days [of us]. The dative is adverbial, temporal, of time.

In the hymn, Zechariah now addresses John, "my child", and gives him the title "the prophet of the Most High". In Levi 8:15, this is a messianic title, but we have already been introduced to "the horn", so although John comes with apocalyptic credentials, they are not messianic. He comes preparing the way for "the horn of salvation" (the reader is expected to take "Lord" to mean Jesus, not Yhwh), terminology drawn from Mal.3:1 and Isa.40:3, and in line with the role already defined for John in v15-17, cf., Mark 1:2-3. How John will prepare the way is explained in the next verse.

de "and" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the poem.

profhthV (hV ou) "a prophet" - [you and = also will be called] a prophet. This nominative noun serves as the complement of the subject "you"; See 1:32 for subject complement. Note the move to the future tense.

uJyistou gen. adj. "of the Most High" - of the highest one. The superlative adjective serves as a substantive, the genitive being adjectival, possessive, "a prophet belonging to the Highest One", even idiomatic / verbal, objective, "in service to the Most High God."

gar "for" - because [you will go before the lord]. Introducing a causal clause explaining why John will be called a prophet.

eJtoimasai (eJtoimazw) aor. inf. "to prepare" - to prepare [the ways]. The infinitive is adverbial, final, expressing the purpose of John's going before the Lord.

autou gen. pro. "for him" - of him. The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic, "to prepare the way for him to travel", or simply possessive, "his ways", ESV, etc. The image is a road-building one, particularly when drawing on Isaiah 40:3, "make straight his paths." Both the Syrians and Babylonians were into road-building, creating straight roads for speedy travel.

John prepares the way via proclamation, information concerning salvation achieved by means of the forgiveness of sins. Note the shift from the national salvation of Israel to a spiritual salvation reliant on divine forgiveness.

tou dounai (didwmi) aor. inf. "to give" - the to give. As in v74, this genitive articular infinitive is epexegetic, specifying how John prepares the way for the Lord, ie., it modifies the infinitival phrase "to prepare the way of him."

tw/ law/ (oV) dat. "people" - to the people [of him]. Dative of indirect object.

swthriaV (a) gen. "of salvation" - [knowledge] of salvation. The genitive is adjectival, verbal, objective; "the knowledge about salvation." "You will tell people that they can be saved when their sins are forgiven", CEV.

en + dat. "through" - in = by [forgiveness of sins of them]. The preposition is instrumental, expressing the means by which salvation is achieved; "by the forgiveness of sins", NRSV. The genitive "of sins" is adjectival, verbal, objective

Salvation through the forgiveness of sins is prompted by divine mercy / grace, and is facilitated en, "in = in the circumstances within" oi|V, "which", mercy / grace, the anatolh, "light-filled branch", the messiah, will visit us from uJyouV, "high", from the height of the heavenly realm / God's dwelling place.

dia + acc. "because of" - because of, on account of [the affectionate mercies of god of us]. Causal; providing the reason why salvation through the forgiveness of sins is possible, namely, because of God's grace facilitated in the visit of the messiah.

en by [which] - in [which]. Local, attendant / context, "in connection with / in the context of" the mercy / grace of God realised in the visit of the light-filled branch.

anatolh (h)" the rising sun" - light, sun / branch [will visit us]. Nominative subject of the verb "to visit." Usually accepted as a messianic title, although there is no agreement as to what it is, cf., Jer.23:5, "branch". Danker joins the two base meanings of the word to give us "the light-filled branch", a descriptive title as good as any.

ex (ek) + gen. "from" - from [heaven]. Expressing source / origin.

The light-filled branch will shine upon a humanity lost in darkness and facing inevitable annihilation, and in doing so, will provide a pathway to peace. The hymn continues to draw on OT imagery, of God's people lost in the darkness of sin and in need of messianic redemption, Psalm 106:10, 118:105, Isa.9:2, 42:7. There is no peace when our sin cries out against us, Isa.59:12-15

epifanai (epifainw) aor. inf. "to shine" - to shine upon, to appear to. The infinitive is adverbial, possibly final, "will come ..... in order to shine upon", although better consecutive, expressing result, "will come .... and as a result shine upon ...."

toiV .... kaqhmenoiV (kaqhmai) pres. mid. part. "those living" - the ones sitting. The participle serves as a substantive, dative of direct object after the epi prefix verb "to shine upon."

en + dat. "in" - in [darkness and]. Local, expressing space, "those in the darkness."

qanatou (oV) gen. "of death" - [shadow] of death. The genitive is adjectival, possessive, "death's shadow", further depicting the state of darkness within which humanity lives. The term is idiomatic, expressing "imminent danger", Cully.

tou kateuqunai (kateuqunw) aor. inf. "to guide" - to direct, keep straight [the feet of us]. Again, it is likely that this genitive articular infinitive is epexegetic, specifying / explaining the infinitival phrase "to shine on those living in darkness ........." The shining of the light-filled branch entails directing those on the pathway that leads to peace.

eirhnhV (h) "[the path] of peace" - [into way] of peace. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, idiomatic, "the road that leads to peace", Barclay. "Peace" is a constant prophetic theme related to the realisation of the covenant / agreement between God and Abraham and his descendants. The full realisation of the covenant, soon to find fruition in the prophetic ministry of John, and the redemptive ministry of greater one, the light-filled branch, facilitates peace - harmony with one's neighbour and an eternal loving relationship with God. Such peace transcends the national peace of Israel, so important to an Old Testament saint, but rarely experienced.

iv] John's wilderness preparation, v80. Like Samson, John spent his early years in the wilderness, growing strong, but unlike Samson, he grows "strong in spirit", ie., he develops powerful inner resources that will serve him well as the one who prepares the way for the coming of the Lord.

John's desert life as a bushman may have given him an opportunity to interact with the Essenes of Qumran living beside the Dead Sea. John's parents were aged and so by his late teens they may well have died. There is no indicating that John took up his father's priestly status, so he may have found a place at Qumran. John's baptismal rite and his negative view of the religious authorities, may indicate an association, but in the end, it is all very speculative.

de "and" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative, here to a concluding point.

pneumati (a atoV) dat. "in spirit" - [the child was growing and becoming strong] in spirit. The dative is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of his "becoming strong", "spiritually strong", HCSB, although both Culy and Thompson classify it as a dative of reference, "becoming strong with reference to the spirit. " The imperfect verbs serve to indicate the provision of background information - the subsequent events. Note that some translators think that the Holy Spirit is in mind, so Plummer, Williams, Goodspeed, Moffatt, but rejected by modern commentators.

anadeixewV (iV ewV) gen. "[until] he appeared" - [and he was in the deserts until the day] of showing forth, revealing, manifestation [of him toward israel]. Possibly with the technical sense of "commissioning, installation", TH. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, idiomatic / temporal, limiting "day", "the day when he appeared to Israel."

Luke Introduction

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Exegetical Commentaries

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