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.

Mazmur 89:25

89:25 I will place his hand over the sea,

his right hand over the rivers. ² 

Lukas 1:69

1:69 For ³  he has raised up ⁴  a horn of salvation ⁵  for us in the house of his servant David, ⁶ 

[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.

[89:25]  ² tn Some identify “the sea” as the Mediterranean and “the rivers” as the Euphrates and its tributaries. However, it is more likely that “the sea” and “the rivers” are symbols for hostile powers that oppose God and the king (see v. 9, as well as Ps 93:3-4).

[1:69]  ³ tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.

[1:69]  ⁴ sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.

[1:69]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.