Luke 1:5

In the days. [The Announcement to Zacharias, Luke 1:5-25. See The Nativity; a Suggestive Chronology of Christ’s Birth.] Dating by regnal years is very common in Greek literature. Examples for each year of the 1st Christian century still survive. Taking up the thread of his narrative, Luke leaves the literary Koine style of vs. 1—4, with its elegant idiom, and turns to a style Hebraistic in form and reminiscent of such OT narratives as those of the birth of Samuel. In fact chs. 1:5 to 2:52 are perhaps the most Hebraistic of all Luke’s writings. They nevertheless bear the characteristic marks of Luke as an author. The fact that the series of narratives here recorded was of so personal a nature that Mary “kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (ch. 2:19), along with the fact that the other gospel writers have little to say about these events, suggests the possibility that the information here recorded may not have been generally known among Christian believers in the early years of the apostolic church.

Inasmuch as Luke refers to many oral and written sources of information (see on vs. 1-3), some suggest that he may have learned of the events of the infancy of Jesus from Mary herself. It appears that the narrative is presented from the viewpoint of Mary, as Matthew presents Jesus’ birth narrative from the viewpoint of Joseph (Matt. 1).

The nativity section (chs. 1:5 to 2:52) consists of seven parts: (1) The announcement of the birth of John the Baptist (ch. 1:5-25), (2) the announcement of the birth of Jesus (vs. 26-38), (3) the visit of Mary to Elisabeth (vs. 39-56), (4) the birth of John the Baptist (vs. 57-80), (5) the birth of Jesus (ch. 2:1-20), (6) the circumcision and presentation of Jesus (vs. 20-38), (7) the boyhood of Jesus (vs. 39-52).

Herod. See pp. 39-42; The Hasmonaeans and the Herods, and Palestine Under the Herodians. The days of Herod were days of cruelty and oppression for the Jewish people, even though the king was a professed convert to the Jewish religion. His dissolute character stands forth in striking contrast with the character of Zacharias, and was more or less typical of the age in which he lived.

Judea. Writing, as he evidently did, primarily for non-Palestinian readers, it seems that Luke often uses the name Judea as a general term for the whole of Palestine (Luke 6:17; 7:17; Acts 10:37).

Zacharias. From the Heb. Zekaryah, “Jehovah remembers,” or “Jehovah has remembered.” This name was borne by the son of Jehoiada (2 Chron. 24:20), by the prophet Zechariah, and by many others.

The course of Abia. David divided the priesthood into 24 courses (1 Chron. 24:1-18; 2 Chron. 8:14), of which the course of Abijah (or Abia) was the eighth (1 Chron. 24:10). Sixteen of the courses were made up of descendants of Eleazar, and eight, of descendants of Ithamar, both sons of Aaron. Only four of the courses were represented by the priests who returned from Babylon after the Captivity, and Abijah was not among these (see on Ezra 2:36). But those who did return were nevertheless divided into 21 or 22 courses (expanded to 24 in NT times), and were assigned the names of the original courses (see on Neh. 12:1). According to Josephus, each course of priests was expected to serve for a week, from Sabbath to Sabbath (, Antiquities vii. 14. 7 [365, 366]), semiannually. At the Feast of Tabernacles all 24 courses were expected to be present. Attempts to determine the time of year at which the course of Abijah came up for service, based on the course serving at the time the Romans destroyed the Temple in A.D. 70, are apparently of little or no value as far as the dating of Luke’s narrative is concerned.

Elisabeth. From the Heb. ‘Elisheba’, meaning “my God has sworn,” or “my God is abundance,” the name of the wife of Aaron (Ex. 6:23).