ἐξαπέστειλε κενού. 54. ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ, µνησ- θῆναι ἐλέους, 55. καθὼς ἐλάλησε πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν, τῷ ᾽Αβραὰμ καὶ τῷ σπέρµατι αὐτοῦ eis τὸν aidva.” 56. Ἔμεινε δὲ Μαριὰμ, σὺν αὐτῇ ὡσεὶ λ µῆνας tpets> καὶ ὑπέστρεψεν eis τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς.
5]. TH δὲ Ελισάβετ ἐπλήσθη ὃ χρόνος τοῦ τεκεῖν αὐτήν, καὶ ἐγέννησεν υἱόν: 58. καὶ ἤκουσαν ot περίοικοι καὶ οἱ συγγενεῖς αὐτῆς, ὅτι ἐμεγάλυνε Κύριος τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ pet αὐτῆς, καὶ συνέ- χαιρον αὐτῃ. 59. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ ὀγδόῃ ἡμέρᾳ,” ἦλθον περιτεμεῖν τὸ παιδίον" καὶ ἐκάλουν αὐτὸ ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ 6ο. καὶ ἀποκριθεσα ἡ µήτηρ αὐτοῦ εἶπεν, ““Οὐχί, 61. Καὶ εἶπον πρὸς αὐτήν, “΄Ὅτι
Ζαχαρίαν. ἀλλὰ κληθήσεται Ἰωάννης,”
ὐὸ ΄ 3 3 ~ fg ΘΑ λ le A Pe fi sa οὖδείς ἐστιν ἐν τῇ συγγενείᾳ ὃ σου, ὃς καλεῖται τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῷ.
62. ᾿Ενένευον δὲ τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ, τὸ τί ἂν θέλοι καλεῖσθαι αὐτόν."
467
λως in BLE 1. Σεκ της σνγγενειας in ΝΑΒΟΙ ΔΞ33.
1ατρε view this strophe exactly describes the constant tendency of Christ’s in- duence in the world: to turn things apside down, reverse judgments, and alter positions. The last strophe (vv. 54, 55) sets forth the birth about to happen as a deed of divine grace to [srael— Ver. 54. ἀντελάβετο: laid hold of with a view to help, as in Isaiah xli. 4, 9, Acts xx. 35, 1 Tim. vi. 2. Cf. ἐπιλαμβάνεται, Heb. ii. 16.---μνησθῆναι ἐλέους, καθὼς ἐλάλησεν: what is about to happen is presented as fulfilling a pro- mise made to the Fathers long, long ago, but not forgotten by God, to whom {000 years, so far as remembering and being interested in promises are con- cerned, are as one day.—r@ ᾽Αβραὰμ καὶ ft. o α. The construction is a little joubtful, and has been differently under- stood. It is perhaps simplest to take AB., etc., as the dative of advantage = to remember mercy for the benefit of Abraham and his seed. The passage is an echo of Micah vii. 20.
Ver. 56. Mary returns to her home,— ἔμεινε: the time of Mary’s sojourn with her kinswoman is given as ‘‘ about three months”. This would bring her departure near to the time of Elizabeth’s confinement. Did she remain till the event was over? That is left doubtful.
Vv. 57-66. Birth of ¥ohn.—Ver. 57. ἐπλήσθη, was fulfilled, the time for giving birth arrived in due course of nature.—Ver. 58. περίοικοι (περί, οἶκος), dwellers around, neighbours, here only in
4
Στη ηµερα τη oySon in NMBCDLE 33. * avro in NBD 33 (Tisch., W.H.).
Ν. Τ., severai timesin Sept. Named first because nearest; some of the relatives would be farther away and would arrive later. This gathering of neighbours and kinsfolk (συγγενεῖς) presents a “ gracious tableau of Israelite life,” Godet.—per’ αὐτῆς: a Hebraism = πρὸς αὐτήν.--- συνέχαιρον α., they congratulated her: congratulabantur εἰ, Vulg.; or, better, they rejoiced with her (ver. 14).—Ver. 59. ἠλθον, on the eighth, the legal day, they came, to circumcise the child; {.ε., those who were concerned in the function —the person who performed the opera- tion, and the relatives of the family.— ἐκάλουν may be the imperfect of τε- peated action = they took for granted by repeated expressions that the name was to be Zechariah, or the conative imper- fect indicating a wish which was frus- trated.— Ver. 6ο. Ἰωάννης, ohn; pre- sumably the mother had learned this from the father, by writing on a tablet as on the present occasion. The older commentators (Meyer also) supposed a Divine revelation.—Ver. 61. συγγε- velas, kinsmanship. In Lk. only in Ν. T. Cf. Acts vii. 3, 14.—Ver. 62. ἐνένενον (here only in N. T.): they made signs, which seems to imply that Zechariah is supposed to be deaf as well as dumb. Various suggestions have been made to evade this conclusion ; é.g., that men are very apt to treat a dumb person as if he were also deaf (Bengel, De Wette, Godet); that they communicated by signs instead of by