Key Themes Chapter 1:
Eyewitnesses, Servants of the Word/Torah, Truth, Righteous, Prayer, Angelic
visitations, Faith, Joy, gladness, Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh, Barren, Virgin, Son
of God, repentance, prepare, faith, praise to G-d, Supernatural Births,
John/Yochanan’s Birth and mission,
Messiah Yeshua’s birth and mission, Salvation
Author – Luke the physician and historian
The Book of Luke (Click here
for more back round information)
Questions to ponder:
1. What was the mission of Yochanan
the Emerser? What would
be his mission and importance?
2. Why was Zacharias punished?
Do you face similar temptations of unbelief?
3. Why should he have believed?
Why should we believe?
4. Are we walking in the Zacharias
type of faith or the Mary/Miriam type of faith?
5. How many prophetic verses in the Tanack are fulfilled in this chapter?
6. Are we willing to be vessels used
by g-d as these people of g-d were?
7. What does Mary’s/Miriam’s song
reveal about G-d’s character and
the way he works among men?
8. What can we learn about Mary’s character by her song?
9. What does Zacharias prophecy
reveal?
1 Inasmuch
as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among
us,
2 just as they were handed down to us by those
who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,
3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus[1];
4
so that you may know the exact truth about the things
you have been taught.
Here Luke states his purpose
for writing this Gospel or Good New and who his sources were.
1.
To compile an account of
things that were accomplished among them
2.
His source is from
eyewitnesses and servants of the Word-Yeshua
3.
So Theophilus would know
the whole truth of what had happened and cause his faith to grow and trust in
Yeshua Ha Mashiach/Jesus The Messiah
5 In
the days of Herod, king of Judea[2],
there was a priest named Zacharias[3],
of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was Elizabeth.
6
They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly
in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.[4]
They walked in obedience to the
Torah and were righteous in G-d’s eyes.
It is not saying they were without sin, but that they walked a life that
was pleasing to G-d, and they walked in obedience to the Torah.
7
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was
barren, and they were both advanced in years.
Having
no children or being barren[5]
was considered a shame and even though they walked righteously, Elizabeth had
no children. Why? Because all along G-d had in mind that they
would bring forth a prophet, the forerunner of Messiah Yeshua – John/Yohanon
the Emerser. His birth would be a
miracle also because Elizabeth was advanced in years and probably considered beyond
being able to have a child.
Sometimes
we may think that G-d has forgotten us, but all along He had a special plan for
us and it will unfold if we are patient and continue to walk in His Torah and
live by faith, His purposes will be revealed in His time.
8 Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division,
9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot[6] to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.
11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.
12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do
not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your
wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.
14 “You will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 “For he will be great in the sight of
the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with
the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.
16 “And he will turn many of the sons of
Israel back to the Lord their God.
17 “It
is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of
Elijah, to turn the hearts of the
fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the
righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
·
The forerunner of Messiah
·
His name will be
John/Yochanan
·
He would bring them joy and
gladness at his birth
·
He will be great in the
sight of Adonai
·
He will drink no wine or
liquor
·
He will be filled with the
Ruach HaKodesh in his mothers womb
·
He would walk in the spirit
and power of the Elijah – The power of a prophet
·
Turn Israel back to G-d
·
Prepare them to receive
Messiah
·
Calling Israel to repentance
·
His birth was also a
miraculous birth, because Elizabeth was old and barren
·
Supernatural Birth
18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How
will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is
advanced in years.”
19 The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
20
“And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak
until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe
my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.
21
But when he came out, he was unable to speak to
them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept
making signs to them, and remained mute.
Zacharias begins to look at his
own ability instead of G-ds ability and questions the angel. The angel announces he is “Gabriel”[7]
. Because of Zacharias lack of faith in
the Words brought from the very mouth of G-d who would become mute so no more words
of doubt and unbelief could escape his lips, and so that G-ds words would be
fulfilled in their proper time.
Our words can tie G-ds hands if
we speak contrary to His Word. He
watches over His Word to perform it, and if we are not speaking His Word in
faith or trusting in His Word, but speaking doubt and unbelief we stop G-d’s
will from being performed in our life.
Our prayer needs to be “Adonai, please put your arm around my shoulders
and your hand over my MOUTH!”
Here is the key of faith,
knowing that G-ds Words, His promises, will be fulfilled in His time, not our
time.
23 When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.
24 After these days Elizabeth his
wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months,
saying,
25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.”
26 Now
in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to
a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s
name was Mary. (or Miriam in Hebrew)
28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
31 “And behold, you will conceive in
your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.(Yeshua)
32 “He will be great and will be called
the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His
father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
·
His name will be “Yeshua”
–Savior
·
He will be GREAT
·
He will be called the SON OF
THE MOST HIGH
·
He will be given the Throne
of David
·
He will reign over the house
of Jacob forever
·
His Kingdom will have no end
·
Click Here To See
Prophecies fulfilled by Yeshua
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
34 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
What is the
difference between Zacharias question ““How will I know this for certain?
For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”
And Mary’s question “How can this be, since I am a
virgin?”
Zacharias questioned the truthfulness
of G-d’s messenger, while Mary simply asked because she was a virgin and not
married how will this miracle come to pass?
One question was asked because of doubt and unbelief, the other question
was not one that was lacking in faith, but a simple question on how will this come about?
36 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.
37 “For nothing will be impossible
with God.”
38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
We must also remember that
NOTHING will be impossible WITH G-d and our answer should be the same as
Mary/Miriam “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord/Adonai; may it be done to me
according to your word”
We need to realize what a great
step of faith this was for Mary/Miriam.
To be found pregnant without being married could mean death by
stoning. She was engaged to Joseph at the
time which was just as legally binding as marriage, but not consummated. To be found pregnant would mean that she
committed adultery. She totally placed her life, her safety and her future in
G-ds hands without question; she simply obeyed the voice of Adonai and
submitted to His will for her life.
Can we say the same? Are we
prepared similarly to ask Adonai to fulfill His Word/Torah in our life?
39 Now
at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of
Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When
Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth
was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Even in his mother’s womb, John leaped for joy because he was in the
presence of the soon to be born Messiah-and Elizabeth began to speak under the
anointing of the Ruach HaKodesh the following words.
42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
44 “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.
45
“And blessed is she who believed that
there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
Blessed is the one who believes that what G-d has
spoken would come to pass no matter what it looks like in the natural, G-d
always makes a way where there seems to be no way.
46 And
Mary said:
“My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 “And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
51 “He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
53 “He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.”
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
57 Now
the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.
58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child[9], and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father.
60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.”
61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.”
62 And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.
63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all astonished.
64
And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed,
and he began to speak in praise of God.
Once John was named, according to
G-d’s instructions, Zacharias was allowed to speak, and his first words were
words of blessing/B’rakhah to G-d
65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea.
66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
Zacharias’ Prophecy
67 And
his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied,
saying:
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us[10]
In the house of David His servant—
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—
71 Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 To show mercy toward our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the
hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 To
shine upon those who sit in darkness and
the shadow of death,[11]
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.[12]
[1] Most
excellent Theophilus (kratiste Qeofile). The
name means god-lover or god-beloved. He may have been a believer already. He was
probably a Gentile. Ramsay holds that "most excellent" was a title
like "Your Excellency" and shows that he held office, perhaps a
Knight. So of Felix (Act_23:26) and
Festus (Act_26:25). The adjective does
not occur in the dedication in Act_1:1. – Robertson’s Word Pictures
[2] Yeshua was born
between 8 and 4 b.c.e. The reason
he was born “b.c.” (“Before
Christ”) is that Dionysius Exiguus, the sixth-century monk who set up the
modern calendar, made a mistake in determining the date which was not corrected
till later. Instead of the terms “a.d.”
(“Anno Domini,” “in the year of [the] Lord” Yeshua) and “b.c.” the Jewish community customarily
denotes these periods by “c.e.”
(“Common Era”) and “b.c.e.”
(“Before the Common Era”), to avoid relating dates explicitly to the Messiah.
In Beit-Lechem. See v. 6&N.
Herod the Great (c. 73–4 b.c.e.) founded the Herodian dynasty (see Lk 3:1N), which ruled the Land of Israel and its surroundings from 37 b.c.e. until the war with Rome in 66–70 c.e. Herod himself was a man of great physical energy and ambition. His career comes to the notice of historians in 47 b.c.e. in Syria and the Galil; a combination of military successes, political machinations and bribery of Roman superiors enabled him to replace the last of the Hasmonean rulers, Antigonus, when the latter died in 37 b.c.e. (possibly in consequence of one of Herod’s bribes).[2]
[3] Cohen, priest (see Mt 2:4N). The cohanim were partitioned into 24
divisions, the names of which appear at 1 Chronicles 24:7–18; the Aviyah division
was the eighth. Each served for a week at a time; thus the members of a
division did Temple duty twice a year. All divisions were present for Sukkot (see Yn 7:2N, 7:37N,
8:12N).
His wife was a descendent of Aharon. A cohen must marry a woman from a family of cohanim. Elisheva was not only from a priestly family but descended from Moses’ brother, the first cohen gadol. [3]
[4] Mitzvot. See Mt 5:19N. Adonai. See Mt 1:20.
Contrary to some Christian theologians, the New Testament teaches that the Torah of Moses offers righteousness. To be considered righteous before God, Z’kharyah and Elisheva had to love God and fellowman, trust God and believe his word. As evidence of this love and trust they observed all the rules of behavior God had revealed, including those which demanded repentance and a blood sacrifice as a sin offering when they fell short of full obedience. For more, see Ro 9:30–10:10&NN. [4] Jewish NT Commentary
[5] Elisheva was barren; and they were both well along in years. Barrenness was often considered a sign of God’s displeasure and judgment (as can be inferred from Elisheva’s reaction at v. 25). The stage is set for another in the series of miraculous births of important men that began with the births of Isaac to 100-year-old Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah (Genesis 18:1–5, 21:1–7), Samson to Manoah and his wife (Judges 13) and Samuel to Elkanah and Hannah (1 Samuel 1:1–2:10). After the birth of Yochanan to Elisheva (v. 57) the series culminates and concludes with the birth of Yeshua the Messiah to the virgin Miryam (2:7). [5]Jewish NT Commentary
[6] his lot
was to burn incense, when he went into the temple of the Lord; where
was the altar of incense, and which was burnt upon it morning and evening; see Exo_30:1, and was typical of the continual
intercession of Jesus Christ; and this part of service was assigned him by lot.
The priests used to cast lots, what part they should take in the service of the
temple, in the order of the course, to which they belonged (e),
"There
were four lots there, and this was the first lot (i.e. to cleanse the altar);
the second lot was, who should slay (the sacrifice,) who should sprinkle (the
blood), who should remove the ashes from the innermost altar, who should
cleanse the candlestick, who should bring the members (or parts of the
sacrifice) to the ascent of the altar----the third lot was, ye new ones, to the
incense come, woyphw, and "cast
lots"; and the fourth, ye new ones, with the old ones, who shall bring up
the parts from the ascent of the altar to the altar.
And this
was not only the case on the day of atonement, to which these rules belong; but
every day in the daily service and sacrifice, when the same rules were
observed, as appears from the rubric of the daily sacrifice: (f)
"the
president said unto them (the priests), come and cast lots who shall slay, who
shall sprinkle, who shall remove the ashes from the innermost altar, who shall
remove the ashes from the candlestick, who shall bring up the parts to the
ascent of the altar, &c.
Again, (g),
"he
says to them, O ye new ones, to the incense come, and cast lots; and they cast
lots, and he is worthy, whom he accounts worthy--and he that is accounted
worthy of the incense, takes a vessel, and the vessel is like to a large golden
bushel, that holds three kabs, and a bowl in the middle of it, full and heaped
up with incense, with a cover, and a sort of a linen cloth put over it.
And it
is afterwards said (h),
"he
that is worthy of the incense, takes the bowl out of the vessel, and gives it to
his friend, or he that is near to him; and if it is scattered from it, in the
midst of it, he puts it into his fist; and they teach him, "saying",
take care that thou dost not begin before thy face, that thou art not burnt:
when he begins, he spreads it and goes out; and he that burns incense, may not
do it, until the president says, burn incense.
The
account Maimonides gives (i) of this
matter, is as follows,
"all
the services that they do every day, they do, oyypb, by
lot; and how do they do it? All the priests of the houses of the fathers, of
the day, go into the paved chamber, after the pillar of the morning has
ascended, and clothe themselves with the priestly garments; and the president
who is over the lots is with them, and they stand in a circle; and the
president takes a mitre from off the head of one of them, and goes round with
it, and the man from whom he begins to number, and they cast lots, as has been
explained----how do they cast lots? they stand in a circle, and agree upon a
number, eighty, a hundred, or a thousand, or whatsoever number they may agree
upon; and the president says to them, put out your fingers, and they put out
their fingers, one, or two; and if one puts out three, they number him three;
and they do not put out the thumb in the sanctuary, because of deceivers; for
the thumb is short, and easy to be put out, and to bend; and he that puts out
the thumb, they do not number for him: and the president begins to number from
the man that is known, whose mitre he took off first, and he numbers by their
fingers, and returns in the round, until he has perfected the number they
agreed upon; and the man that completes the number with his finger, he is he
that goes out by the first lot to service: and why does he number the number they
agree upon, by their fingers that they put out, and does not number them by the
men themselves? Because it is forbidden to number Israel, but by means of
another thing; as it is said, 1Sa_15:4
"And numbered them in Telaim". There were four lots they cast every
day in the morning; the first lot; was, who should cleanse the altar: they cast
lots, and he was worthy that was accounted worthy to cleanse it; and he sets
the row in order, and brings up the two pieces of wood to the altar, and he
brings in the censer full of fire, from the outer altar, to the golden altar,
to burn incense upon it: and the second lot, thirteen were worthy of it,
according to the order of their standing; how? the president says to them, put
out your fingers, and he numbers in the way that has been explained; and he
that goes out by the first lot, is he that slays the daily sacrifice of the
morning; and the second that stands by his side, is he that receives the blood
of the daily sacrifice, and sprinkles it; and the third that is next to the
second, receives the ashes from the innermost altar, which is the altar of
incense; and the fourth, that is by his side, cleanses the candlestick, and
trims the lamps; and the fifth brings up the head of the daily sacrifice, and
its leg to the ascent of the altar: and the sixth brings up the two shoulders;
and the seventh brings up the extreme part of the backbone, and the other leg;
and the eighth brings up the breast and the gullet; and the ninth brings up the
two sides; and the tenth brings up the inwards; and the eleventh brings up the
fine flour, and the drink offerings; and the twelfth brings up the things that
were fried; and the thirteenth brings up the wine of the drink offerings: the
third lot, the president says to them, "even" to all the men of the
house of the father of that day, whoever has never burnt incense, let him come
and "cast lots"; and they gather together to the president, and cast
lots; and he that goes out by the lot first, he is he that is worthy to burn
incense; the fourth lot, they all gather together, and cast lots to know who
shall bring up the parts from the ascent of the altar, to the altar; they cast
lots, and he is worthy who is accounted worthy: the daily evening sacrifice,
they do not cast another lot for it; but every priest that is worthy of any
service of the services of the morning, is worthy of the evening, except that
of the incense; for they cast another lot for that in the evening; and every
one may come, who has never burnt incense of the men of that house of the
fathers, and cast lots for it; but if they have all of them burnt incense
already, they all of them cast lots, in the morning, at the third lot; and he
that is worthy of it in the morning, burns incense in the evening.
Hence it
appears, that the burning of incense, as other parts of the priest's service,
was by lot; and that they were new priests, or such who had never burnt
incense, that cast lots for it: for it is a tradition (k), that no man ever burnt incense twice; the
reason assigned for it is, because it makes a man rich; and therefore that
every one might partake of the blessing in their turns, new ones were called
unto it: whether Zacharias had ever burnt incense before, and whether he now
did it in the morning or evening, is not certain,
(d) Misn. Yoma, c. 2. sect. 1, 2. (e) Ib. sect. 2, 3, 4. (f) Misn. Tamid. c. 3. sect. 1. (g) Ib. c. 5. sect. 2. 4. (h) Misn. Tamid. c. 6. sect. 3. (i) Hilchot Tamidin, c. 4. sect. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7. Vid. T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 25. 1. & Gloss in fol. 22. 1. & Maimon.
& Bartenora in Misn. Yoma, c. 2. sect. 1. (k)
T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 26. 1. John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
[7] And the
angel answering, said unto him, I am Gabriel,.... The name of an
angel well known to Zacharias from Daniel's prophecies, Dan_8:16 and is the first time we read of the
name of an angel: the Jews say (a),
the names of angels came out of Babylon, by the means of the Israelites; and it
was there that Daniel became acquainted with this name of Gabriel, and also of
Michael. Frequent mention is made of Gabriel in the Jewish writings (b): were there a particular angel appointed
over conception, as the Jews say (c)
there is, one would be ready to think it should be Gabriel, since he was sent
to declare the conception and birth both of John the Baptist, and of our Lord
Jesus Christ: the name of that angel the Jews indeed say (d) is Lilah; but yet the Cabalistic doctors (e) affirm, that that angel is under Gabriel.
In what language this angel spoke to Zacharias, and afterwards to Mary, may be
a needless inquiry; but since the Syriac language was generally spoken, and
understood by the Jews at this time, it is highly reasonable that he spoke to
them in that. The Jews have a notion, that none of the ministering angels
understand the Syriac language, excepting Gabriel; and he, they say, understood
seventy languages (f). Now the angel,
by making mention of his name, puts Zacharias in mind of the prophecy of Daniel
concerning the coming of the Messiah, which he had from him; and whereas his
name signified, "a man of God", or "the power", or
"strength of God", or "God is my strength", he suggests
unto him, that he ought not to have distrusted his Words, since with God all
things are possible: he adds,
that
stand in the presence of God; beholding his face, hearkening
to his voice, and ministering to him, and so had this affair immediately from
him: and therefore he had no reason to doubt of the accomplishment of it.
Gabriel, according to the Jews, is one of the four angels that surround the throne
of God: their names are Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel (g),
"Michael
they place at his right hand, and Uriel at his left hand, and Gabriel, wynplm, before him, (in his presence, as he here says of
himself,) over against the kingdom of Judah, and Moses and Aaron, who were in
the east (of the camp of Israel); and why is his name called Gabriel? of Judah
it is written, 1Ch_5:2 "for
Judah", rbg, "prevailed above his
brethren"; and of Moses it is written, Lev_1:1
"and God called unto Moses"; and it is written, Isa_9:6 "and shall call his name Wonderful,
Counselor, rwbg la the mighty God, lo!
Gabriel".
And am
sent to speak unto thee, and to show unto thee these glad tidings:
wherefore, on account of his name, his office, and his mission, especially the
subject of it being welcome news, good tidings, what he said ought to have
obtained credit with him. Gabriel was one of the ministering spirits sent to
minister to them that were heirs of salvation; his messages were messages of
mercy, grace and love; he was not a minister of the wrath and vengeance of God,
but of his favour. Agreeably to this the Jews say of him, that his name Gabriel
is, by "gematry", or numerically, the same with Mxr "merciful" (h):
he is called, in the Talmud (i), tynwqop xwr "the decisive spirit", and is said to
have three names, Piskon, Itmon, and Sigron. He is called Piskon, because he
decides, or determines judgment against them that are above; and Itmon, because
he stops up the sins of the Israelites; and Sigron, because when he shuts (the
gates of judgment) there is none can open again. Hence also they say, that he
is the angel that is appointed over water which quenches fire. The Targumist on
Job_25:2 paraphrases the words thus:
"Michael
on the right hand, who is over fire; and Gabriel on the left hand, who is over
water; and the holy creatures mingle fire and water, and by his dominion and
fear, make peace in his heaven of heavens.
(a) T. Hicros. Rosh Hashana, fol. 56. 4. (b) Targum Jon. in Exod. xxiv. 10. Targum in
Esth. iv. 12. & in Psal. cxxxvii. 8. T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 19. 2. Shemot
Rabba, fol. 91. 2. Sithre Toro in Zohar in Gen. fol. 65. 3. & 66. 2. (c) Targum in Job. iii. 3. (d) T. Bab. Nidda, fol. 16. 2. (e) Lex. Cabbal. p. 230. (f) T. Bab. Sota, fol. 33. 1. & Tosephot in
Sabbat, fol. 12. 2. (g) Bernidbar
Rabba, sect. 2. fol. 179. 1. (h) Lex.
Cabbal. p. 230. (i) T. Bab. Sanhedrin,
fol. 44. 2. John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
[8] These verses are known in the western world as the Magnificat, from the section’s first word in the Vulgate, Jerome’s translation of the Bible into Latin around 400 c.e. They resemble Hannah’s song of praise to God at the dedication of her son Samuel (1 Samuel 2:1–10). Many lines are quoted exactly or approximately from the Tanakh; compare vv. 46 (Psalm 34:2), 47 (Psalm 35:9), 48 (1 Samuel 1:11), 49 (Psalm 111:9), 50 (Psalm 103:17), 51 (Psalm 89:11(10)), 52 (Job 12:19, 5:11), 53 (1 Samuel 2:5, Psalm 107:9), 54 (Psalm 98:3), 55 (Genesis 17:7, 19; Micah 7:20). [8] Jewish NT Commentary
[9] On the eighth day, they
came to give the child his b<rit-milah. Circumcision is the sole
condition for a Jew’s being under the covenant God made with Abraham (Genesis
17:10–14). It is to be done on the eighth day of a boy’s life (Genesis 17:12,
Leviticus 12:3).
They were about to name him Z’kharyah after his father. Anyone acquainted with
Jewish religious practice knows that a Jewish boy is named at his b<rit-milah. But whence do we know of
this custom? In a series of lectures over Israel Army Radio Professor David
Flusser said:
“From early Christian
literature we can learn about Jewish customs not recorded in early Jewish
sources. Take an example: the Jewish custom of giving a boy his name during his
circumcision ceremony is not known in our Talmudic literature, but in one of
the Gospels (Luke 1:59–64) we are told that John the Baptist’s father gave him
his name during this ceremony.” (Jewish Sources in Early Christianity,
MOD Books, P.O.B. 7103, Tel Aviv 61070, Israel, 1989, p. 10, condensed)
Among Ashkenazic Jews today it is not customary to name a child after a living relative, but this is not always the case with Sephardics, and it was apparently not so in Israel two thousand years ago. [9] Jewish NT. Commentary
[10] A horn -
Signifies honour, plenty, and strength. A horn of salvation - That is, a
glorious and mighty Saviour. John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes
[11] Those who are in
darkness … living in the shadow of death. Because in rabbinic literature
the citation of a line of Scripture frequently implies reference to the entire
passage of which it is a part (see Mt 2:6N), it is appropriate to point out
that Isaiah 8:31–9:1(9:1–2), quoted more fully at Mt 4:15–16, leads into one of
the Tanakh’s most important Messianic passages, Isaiah
9:5–6(6–7):
5 “For
unto us a child is born,
Unto us a son is given,
And the government shall be upon his shoulder,
And his name shall be called
Pele Yo>etz El Gibbor Avi Ad Sar Shalom;
6 “So
that the government may grow
And peace be unbounded
Upon the throne of David
And upon his kingdom,
To establish it
And uphold it
In justice
And righteousness
From now
Until eternity.
“The zeal of Adonai of Hosts will do this.”
Verse 5 explains that the “great light” of Isaiah 9:1 (see also Isaiah 58:8, 60:1–2) is a person, the child born to us, the son given us (see Mt 1:23&N), on whose shoulder the government shall be, and whose character and properties are defined by his Hebrew name, which means “Wonder Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.”.[11] Jewish NT Commentary
[12]The New American Standard
Bible, 1995 Update, (La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation) 1996.
[i] “ Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible,ã Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation, Used by permission”