Lukas 1:4-5
Konteks1:4 so that you may know for certain 1 the things you were taught. 2
1:5 During the reign 3 of Herod 4 king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to 5 the priestly division of Abijah, 6 and he had a wife named Elizabeth, 7 who was a descendant of Aaron. 8
[1:4] 1 tn Or “know the truth about”; or “know the certainty of.” The issue of the context is psychological confidence; Luke’s work is trying to encourage Theophilus. So in English this is better translated as “know for certain” than “know certainty” or “know the truth,” which sounds too cognitive. “Certain” assumes the truth of the report. On this term, see Acts 2:36; 21:34; 22:30; and 25:26. The meaning “have assurance concerning” is also possible here.
[1:4] 2 tn Or “you heard about.” This term can refer merely to a report of information (Acts 21:24) or to instruction (Acts 18:25). The scope of Luke’s Gospel as a whole, which calls for perseverance in the faith and which assumes much knowledge of the OT, suggests Theophilus had received some instruction and was probably a believer.
[1:5] 3 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] 4 sn Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37
[1:5] 5 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] 6 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] 7 tn Grk “and her name was Elizabeth.”
[1:5] 8 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.