Ulangan 33:17

33:17 May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor,

and may his horns be those of a wild ox;

with them may he gore all peoples,

all the far reaches of the earth.

They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, ¹ 

and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

Lukas 1:69

1:69 For ²  he has raised up ³  a horn of salvation ⁴  for us in the house of his servant David, ⁵ 

[33:17]  ¹ sn Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph who became founders of the two tribes into which Joseph’s descendants were split (Gen 48:19-20). Jacob’s blessing granted favored status to Ephraim; this is probably why Ephraim is viewed here as more numerous than Manasseh.

[1:69]  ² tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.

[1:69]  ³ sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.

[1:69]  ⁴ sn The horn of salvation is a figure that refers to the power of Messiah and his ability to protect, as the horn refers to what an animal uses to attack and defend (Ps 75:4-5, 10; 148:14; 2 Sam 22:3). Thus the meaning of the figure is “a powerful savior.”

[1:69]  ⁵ sn In the house of his servant David is a reference to Messiah’s Davidic descent. Zechariah is more interested in Jesus than his own son John at this point.