Lukas 1:5

Birth Announcement of John the Baptist

1:5 During the reign ¹  of Herod ²  king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to ³  the priestly division of Abijah, ⁴  and he had a wife named Elizabeth, ⁵  who was a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ 

Lukas 2:39

2:39 So ⁷  when Joseph and Mary ⁸  had performed ⁹  everything according to the law of the Lord, ¹⁰  they returned to Galilee, to their own town ¹¹  of Nazareth. ¹² 

[1:5]  ¹ tn Grk “It happened that in the days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:5]  ² sn Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[1:5]  ³ tn Grk “of”; but the meaning of the preposition ἐκ (ek) is more accurately expressed in contemporary English by the relative clause “who belonged to.”

[1:5]  ⁴ sn There were twenty-four divisions of priesthood and the priestly division of Abijah was eighth on the list according to 1 Chr 24:10.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “and her name was Elizabeth.”

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “a wife of the daughters of Aaron.”

[1:5]  sn It was not unusual for a priest to have a wife from a priestly family (a descendant of Aaron); this was regarded as a special blessing.

[2:39]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the topic.

[2:39]  ⁸ tn Grk “when they”; the referents (Joseph and Mary) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:39]  ⁹ tn Or “completed.”

[2:39]  ¹⁰ sn On the phrase the law of the Lord see Luke 2:22-23.

[2:39]  ¹¹ tn Or “city.”

[2:39]  ¹² map For location see Map1 D3; Map2 C2; Map3 D5; Map4 C1; Map5 G3.