472
ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ Il.
6. ᾿Εγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖ, ἐπλήσθησαν at ἡμέραι τοῦ τεκεῖν αὐτήν. Je καὶ ἔτεκε τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον, καὶ ἐσπαργάνωσεν αὗτόν, καὶ ἀνέκλινεν αὐτὸν ἐν rh! φάτνῃ " διότι οὐκ ἦν αὐτοῖς τόπος ἐν τῷ καταλύµατι.
8. Καὶ ποιμένες ἦσαν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ ἀγραυλοῦντες καὶ φυλάσσοντες φυλακὰς τῆς νυκτὸς ἐπὶ τὴν ποίµνην αὐτῶν. 9g. καὶ ἰδού,” ἄγγελος Κυρίου ἐπέστη αὐτοῖς, καὶ δόξα Κυρίου περιέλαµψεν αὐτούς" καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν φόβον µέγαν. 10 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ ἄγγελος, “Mi φοβεῖσθε' ἰδοὺ γάρ, εὐαγγελίζομαι ὑμῖν χαρὰν μεγάλην, ἥτις ἔσται παντὶ τῷ Aad: 11. ὅτι ἐτέχθη ὑμῖν σήµερον
σωτήρ, ὃς ἐστι Χριστὸς Κύριος, ἐν moder Δαβίδ.
12. καὶ τοῦτο
ὑμῖν τὸ δ onpetov: εὑρήσετε βρέφος ἐσπαργανωμένον, κείµενον ἐν
τῇ” φάτνη.” 1 Omit 7m ΝΑΒΡΙ Ξ,
13. Καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἐγένετο σὺν τῷ ἀγγέλω πλῆθος
2 NBLE omit ιδον.
Στο is omitted in B= 130 (W.H. relegate to margin).
4 For κειµενον ev τη φατνη WD 68 read simply ev φατνη (Tisch.). Most MSS. omit τη before gar.
have και κειµενον (W.H.).
her going with her husband: her con- dition, the intention to settle there as their real home, she an heiress, etc.— tyxv@ (here only in N. T.), preparing for what follows.
With reference to the foregoing state- ment, it is generally agreed that a census of some kind must have taken place. Meyer and Weiss, following Schleier- macher and Olshausen, think that the event was something internal to Judaea, and concerned the revision of - family genealogical registers, and that Lk. was misled into transforming this petty transaction into an affair of world- historical significance. This is not satis- factory. It would be much more satis- factory if it could be shown that Lk.’s historic framing of the birth of Jesus is strictly accurate. But most satisfactory of all is it to know that such a demon- stration, however desirable, is not vital
to faith.
Vv. 6, 7. The birth.—éwhijctycayv αἱ ἡ., asin i.57. In this case, as in that of John, the natural course was run.— ἐσπαργάνωσεν (here and ver. 12), ἀνέκ- λινεν: the narrative runs as if Mary did these things herself, whence the patristic inference of painless birth.—arvp, in a manger (in a stall, Grotius, εί al.).— καταλύµατι, in the inn, not probably a acavSoxetov (x. 34), with a host, but simply a khan, an enclosure with open recesses. The meaning may be, not that there was absolutely no room for Joseph and Mary there, but that the
BLE 1, 33 al.
place was too crowded fora birth, and that therefore they retired to a stall or cave, where there was room for the mother, and a crib for the babe (vide ch. xxii. 11).
Vv. 8-13. The shepherds and the angels.—Ver. 8. Ἠποιμένες, shepherds, without article ; no connection between them and the birthplace.—daypavdotvres (ἀγρός, αὐλή, here only), bivouacking, passing the night in the open air ; imply- ing naturally a mild time of the year between March and November. In winter the flocks were in fold.—Ver. 9. ἐπέστη, used elsewhere by Lk, in re- ference to angelic appearances, eighteen times in his writings in all = stood beside ; one more than their number, suddenly.—wepiéAapwev: here and in Acts xxvi. 13, only, in N. T. = shone around.—égoByOnoav, they feared greatly; yet they were not utterly un- prepared, their thoughts had been of a Divine gracious visitation—waiting for the consolation of Israel ; subjective and objective corresponding.— Ver. to. εὐαγγελίζομαι, etc., I bring good news in the form of a great joy (cf. i. 19).— παντὶ τῷ Lag, not merely to you, but to the whole people (of Israel, vide i. 68).— Ver. I1.—owtyp: 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.—Ver. 12. σημεῖον, the