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BY
THOMAS J. WHITLEY
24 MAY 2011
LUKE 1:67-79 TRANSLATION
1:67 And his father Zechariah was filled1 with the Holy Spirit2 and prophesied,3 saying,4
1:68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,5 for he has visited 6 and made 7 redemption8 for
his people.9
1:69 And he has raised up 10 a horn11 of salvation12 for us 13 in the house of David 14, his
servant15
1:70 Just as he spoke16 by the mouth17 of his holy prophets from old,
pneu,matoj a`gi,ou. Both are genitive neuter singular. “With” comes because it is a verbal genitive
2
tou/ VIsrah,l. Article shows the case of the noun. See Wallace’s description of the article as a
5
1:72 To do19 compassion20 with our fathers and to remember21 his holy covenant,
1:73 The oath22 which23 he swore24 to Abraham, our father. To grant25 to us,
1:74 that fearlessly, having been rescued26 from27 the hand of enemies,28 to serve 29
him
misou,ntwn from mise,w, hate, detest, abhor. Present active participle genitive masculine plural.
18
tou/ dou/nai from di,dwmi, give. Aorist active infinitive. With no governing verb it is difficult to
25
determine whether this genitive articular infinitive is a purpose infinitive or an epexegetical infinitive.
Fitzmeyer, 1:385, opts for epexegetical.
r`usqe,ntaj from r`u,omai, rescue, deliver. Aorist passive participle accusative masculine plural.
26
Temporal participle.
27 evk with genitive ceiro.j merits “from.” Genitive of separation.
28 evcqrw/n. Genitive masculine plural. Genitive of possession, i.e. the evcqrw/n possess the ceiro.j.
latreu,ein from latreu,w, serve (in a religious sense). Present active infinitive, direct object of dou/
29
1:77 To give38 knowledge of salvation to his people in39 forgiveness of their sins.
1:78 on account of40 the merciful compassion of our God, whereby 41 the dawn42 of
heaven43 will visit44 us.
1:79 to shine45 to those46 who sit47 in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide48 our
feet in the way of peace.49
Marshall, 93.
39 evn. With dative avfe,sei “in.”
40 dia.. With accusative spla,gcna “because” or “on account of.”
41 evn oi-j. Literally “in which.”
42 avnatolh.. Nominative feminine singular.
43 evx u[youj. Genitive neuter singular.
44 evpiske,yetai from evpiske,ptomai, visit
45 evpifa/nai from evpifai,nw, appear, shine. Aorist active infinitive. Purpose infinitive.
tou/ kateuqu/nai from kateuqu,nw, lead, direct, guide. Aorist active infinitive. Genitive articular
48
epexegetical infinitive.
49 eivrh,nhj. Genitive feminine singular. Attributive genitive.
LITERARY ANALYSIS
! The first statements to be made about the Benedictus relate to its composition,
for while matters of composition may not matter from a narratival perspective, they do
matter from a historical-critical perspective and do aid in potentially ascertaining how the
passage may have been understood before either it was in its present form or before it
was in its present context. There seems to be little doubt that 1:68-75 represent a
whole. François Bovon,50 John Nolland,51 and R. Alan Culpepper52 all see verses 68-75
as separate from the rest of the canticle. Bovon specifically notes, “it must be taken into
invitation to praise, the reason for thanksgiving, and a conclusion; the broader style as
! If verses 68-75, then, are viewed as complete in themselves, then that leaves
1:67, 76-79 as additions to the song. The addition of verse 67 is logical. It applies a
speaker to the blessing and does so in a Lukan manner. That is, 1:67 does not merely
say, “And Zechariah said,” instead the author notes that Zechariah was “filled with the
Holy spirit” and that his words were prophecy. Throughout Luke, when a character has a
positive relationship with the Holy Spirit, either being filled with the Holy Spirit or the
50 François Bovon, Luke 1: A Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 1:1-9:50 Hermeneia, ed. James
Crouch, trans. Helmut Koester (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2002), 68.
51 John Nolland, Luke 1-9:20 WBC 35A (Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1989), 83.
! We are then left with 1:76-79. Bovon calls this section the salutation.54 Nolland
thinks that these verses “could also stand alone as a hymn anticipating the visitation of
God which John was to herald.”55 Nolland further states that “it is most likely that vv.
76-79 were composed for their present setting.”56 The question that follows, then, is for
what setting exactly was 1:76-79 composed? Were they composed with a broader
setting in mind, understanding Jesus as the climax and main referent or were they
composed with just an immediate setting in mind, understanding the verses to relate to
It is clear that Luke-Acts is not about John the Baptist; he is but a minor character in the
broader narrative. For Luke, John the Baptist is the precursor to Jesus, he simply prepares his
way. The Benedictus potentially alludes to some of this, though only if read within the context of
the entire Luke-Acts narrative. When Zechariahʼs song is read on its own, however, it appears
that Richard Dillon was correct when he declared that a follower of John “composed this canticle
as the climax of Johnʼs nativity.” 57 When read as a stand-alone song of praise, the Benedictus
unmistakably celebrates John, his work, and possibly even his perceived messiahship.
The lack of reference to Jesus and the specific references to John make this point
57Richard J. Dillon, “The Benedictus in Micro- and Macrocontext” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly
68 (2006): 470.
difficult to combat. Bovon supports this reading, saying that “it is a hymn and also a
While I maintain that this canticle was originally composed by a follower of John
to celebrate John, there are two obvious questions that remain unanswered, why does
Luke use it and how does he appropriate it? Richard Dillon answers that question this
way:
There is evidence that Luke preserves in these cases an idea he does not fully
accept; and when this happens, as we know from elsewhere, he usually “edits
the refractory idea around” to his own perspective. After he repeats that John
“preached a baptism of repentance unto the forgiveness of sins,” he eliminates
Mark's report of the actual baptizing of crowds of people by John and of the
confession of sins by the baptized, all of which is reduced to the generalizing
summary in Luke 3:7: John spoke “to the crowds that had come out to be
baptized by him.” In fact, Luke systematically pushes John's baptizing into the
background, even excluding him from the scene of Jesus' baptism (3:19-22; cf.
Mark 1:9-11).59
So, Dillon surmises that Luke chose to use the thanksgiving song and to simply modify
the material around it. Thus, the light imagery in 1:78-79 is picked up on in chapter two
when the glory of the Lord shines around the shepherds (2:9). When interpreting the
light imagery in 1:78-79, Luke Timothy Johnson asserts that “the reference for Luke
would obviously be to the birth of Jesus.”60 This does appear to be true for Luke and
appears to be another example of Luke preserving a pericope that he does not fully
Verses 68-75
the canticle. Johnson likens this section to “the Jewish blessing prayer, the berakah.”61
Johnson further describes a berakah, “an initial statement of praise is followed by the
possible, though, to get a bit more specific. The opening, “Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel,” is technically a benediction.63 The reasons for praise are then introduced by the
o[ti-clause in 1:68b. The first reason given to bless God is that God “has visited and
made redemption for his people” (1:68b). Vinson remarks that evpeske,yato, “visit,” is a
rare word,64 though I found no other commentator take this position. Instead, the more
common position is that evpeske,yato was a word with which Luke would have been fairly
familiar, as it is used in the Hebrew Bible quite a few times.65 Moreover, Luke uses the
term five times between Luke and Acts.66 Bovon notes that “the expression (as verb or
63Bovon, Luke, 72. 1QM 14.4-5, an Essene song, begins in a similar fashion: “Blessed be the
God of Israel / who keeps mercy toward His Covenant, / and the appointed times of salvation / with the
people He has delivered.”
65 See Gen 50:24-25; Exod 3:16; 4:31; 13:19; 30:12; Isa 23:17; Pss 80:14; 106:4; Ruth 1:6.
66 Luke 1:78; 7:16; 19:44; Acts 7:23; 15:14.
9
substantive) is attested in absolute usage in the Judaism of that time, as here, and
! The next reason for praising God comes at 1:69, “he has raised up a horn or
salvation for us in the house of David, his servant.” I. Howard Marshall sees this as “the
means of redemption,” going on to say that “God has brought onto the stage of
history . . . a ʻhorn of salvationʼ, i.e. ʻa mighty Saviourʼ.”68 The leap to “a mighty Saviour”
may seem a bit premature, but the connection is supported by the Hebrew Bible and
other interpreters as well. Nolland notes that ke,raj, horn, is “an OT metaphor for
ʻrefugeʼ and ʻstrength.ʼ”70 Additionally, Bovon supports this reading. “The horn is a
symbol of power (Deut 33:17), especially of military might. God himself or his servant,
the king or Messiah, can be compared with this image.”71 The horn, though, in its
current context, being raised “in the house of David” (1:69), is more than a symbol of
power, it also appears to be a messianic allusion. Johnson remarks that this coupling
makes the allusion “clearly also messianic.”72 Bovon states the messianic allusion this
67 Bovon, Luke, 72. Bovon lists other attestations as Wis 3:7; Ps. Sol. 3:11; 10:4; 11:6; 15:12.
way, “here the Davidic tradition is revised for the present time, and Luke interprets it in
! The next major subsection in 1:68-75 is 1:71-73a. These verses form a strophe,
which “could be understood either as an apposition to the work of God indicated in vv.
68-69, or as the purpose of the divine will.”74 These verses appear to make up what has
been spoken “by the mouth of his holy prophets from old” (1:70). The promises include
salvation (“salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us,” 1:71),
doing compassion (“to do compassion with our fathers,” 1:72a), and remembering the
covenant (“to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to Abraham, our
father,” 1:72b-73a). God will remain faithful, not forgetting the covenant.
! Following the recounting of these promises is vv. 73b-75, which have God
granting “to us that fearlessly, having been rescued from the hand of enemies, to serve
him in holiness and righteousness before him, all of our days.” Nolland calls these
verses “the best commentary” on v. 79, which speaks of the “way of peace.” While, as
Bovon says, “a normal deliverance does not take place without fear,” here “the hand of
God is so active that the people are delivered from their enemies without fear.” 75 There
is a purpose, though, in the deliverance, “to serve him in holiness and righteousness
before him, all of our days” (1:74b-75). This is the natural by-product of experiencing
deliverance by God.
Verses 76-79
This section was likely a later addition to the original song of praise, and as such
is quite different from the rest of the passage. For starters, there is an abrupt shift from
third person to second person, so that the child, John the Baptist, is being addressed
directly. Unlike Maryʼs son, who will be called the son of the Most High (1:32), John the
Baptist will be called a prophet of the Most High (1:76). John is the forerunner, the one
who “will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways” (1:76). This role “was interpreted
by the Baptistʼs community in reference to God himself (evnw,pion kuri,ou, ʻbefore the
Lordʼ); the Christian community applied it to the Messiah Jesus.”76 Luke aided in
sense, and emphasizing less the baptizing role of John, as is prominent in Mark, and
As the one who is preparing the way for the Lord, John is “to give knowledge of
salvation to his people in forgiveness of their sins” (1:77). This “knowledge of salvation,”
forgiveness, and emerges from a living relationship with God as the fruit of the
sins” (1:77). Speaking again to the pre-Christian, and pre-Lukan, nature of the
Benedictus, Nolland notes that “only in the mention of ʻforgiveness of sinsʼ (v 77) is
there something that might look distinctly like a Christian development. But since it is
John who here brings the forgiveness of sins, not even this is to be accounted as a later
Christian development.”80
It is now in the passage that the “dawn of heaven” visits. This phrase will be
examined in more detail in the following section, so for now it will suffice to say that this
phrase likely harbors a messianic allusion. The visiting of this “dawn of heaven” has as
its purpose “to shine to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our
feet in the way of peace” (1:79). All of 1:79 is built on the light imagery introduced in
1:78b. Divine light is shining on “those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.”
While, the first thought may be that this is a reference to unbelievers, we must note the
first person plural pronoun h`mw/n. It is our feet that are being guided by the light. Thus, it
is most likely that we are a part of the group depicted as “those who sit in darkness and
DAWN OF HEAVEN
another thing, though, to speak of the source of that light. Luke 1:78 asserts that “the
dawn of heaven,” avnatolh evx u[youj, is the source of that light. In context the passage
states that “the dawn of heaven will visit to shine to those who sit in darkness and the
shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace” (1:78b-79). This phrase, avnatolh
evx u[youj, has been translated numerous ways. The RSV renders it “when the day shall
dawn upon us from on high,” while the NRSV changes it slightly to say, “the dawn from
on high will break upon us.” Both the ESV and the NRS translate avnatolh as “sunrise.”
Liddell-Scott defines it as “rising above the horizon, of any heavenly body, e.g. the
sun.”81 Technically, then, the phrase could be translated, “rising from on high.” This
translation, though, does not bring out that avnatolh is a noun and should be translated as
such. Thus, Bovonʼs options of “the one arising” or “the dawn” are more appropriate.82
The manifestation of godʼs mercy according to the Song is the coming of the
Messiah. This way of understanding “the dawn from on high” recognizes a
complex interplay of scriptural metaphors. “Dawn” might simply represent the
coming of salvation, using the metaphor of light/star (e.g., Isa 60:1; Mal 4:2). . . .
81H. G. Liddell and R. Scott, Greek-English Lexicon: With a Revised Supplement, (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1996), 123.
Schlier in TDNT supports this reading, “avnatolh evx u[youj might be equated with . . .
numerous Hebrew Bible/LXX passages. In LXX Jeremiah 23:5, Zechariah 3:8, and 6:12
avnatolh is used for xm;c,ä (sprout, shoot, growth). It is on the basis of these passages that
avnatolh “became a name for the Messiah in the Synagogue.”85 Schlier also notes that
Philo understands the term as a “star shining from heaven” (Conf. 14). It is not that
avnatolh, on its own, is enough to consider this phrase a messianic allusion, instead it is
its juxtaposition with evx u[youj (“from on high” or “from heaven”). Evx u[youj alludes to God
as u,`yistoj (“the highest”), but, as Bovon points out, “is not simply equivalent with him. In
contrast to a visitor ʻfrom earth,ʼ it describes the “divine” Messiah (cf. 1:32, 35).”86
! It is from this that Bovon is able to state unequivocally that “No one doubts that
avnatolh (“the one arising,” “the dawn”) is a messianic metaphor . . . . evx u[youj (“from on
high”) gives it the necessary precision; the son of David ʻsproutsʼ not like others, from
the earth, but out of heaven.”87 While there is evidence of avnatolh being used as a name
for the messiah in synagogues,88 that reading is not necessary here. That is, instead of
reading this as a title, it can be read as symbolizing the appearing of the messiah.
83 Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1997), 119.
Evx u[youj, then, denotes the messiahʼs origin. Bovon then proceeds to identify the
messiah while remarking on the tension of a “rising” coming from heaven. “For Luke,
even this tension is pregnant with content: Jesus will arise in the midst of humanity,
Bovon, it appears, has a short memory, for he has apparently forgotten that he
earlier said of the Benedictus that “it is a hymn and also a prophecy sung in regard to
Johnʼs birth by his disciples.”90 How then, can this be a hymn and prophecy celebrating
Johnʼs birth that yet references Jesus as the messiah? The simple answer is that John
is called the “prophet of the Most High” at 1:76 and John is to “go on before the Lord to
prepare his ways” (1:76); he is not called the “son of the Most High” as Jesus was
earlier. It is true that there is a distinction between the titles and roles given to Jesus and
John in the larger nativity pericope. If, in spite of this, one reads the Benedictus, as it
may have been in a previous form, as commemorating John the Baptistʼs birth, and not
Jesusʼ, then it is not unreasonable to assert that the visiting of “the dawn of heaven”
was a messianic reference to John. If, as has been previously said, Luke “preserves . . .
an idea he does not fully accept” and then simply “ʻedits the refractory idea aroundʼ to
his own perspective,”91 it is very possible that the phrase avnatolh evx u[youj was originally
composed by a follower of John who understood John the Baptist to be the messiah.92
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, Raymond E. “The Annunciation to Zechariah, the Birth of the Baptist and the
! Benedictus (Luke 1:5-25, 57-80).” Worship 62/6 (1988): 482-496.
Culpepper, R. Alan. Luke. The New Interpreterʼs Bible 9. Nashville: Abingdon Press,
! 1995.
Green, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke. The New International Commentary on the New
! Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997.
Johnson, Luke Timothy. The Gospel of Luke. Sacra Pagina Series 3, edited by
! Daniel J. Harrington. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991.
Kittel, Gerhard, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds. Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. 10 vols. Grand Rapids, MI:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964-1976.
Marshall, I. Howard. The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text. The !New
! International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
! Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978.
McNicol, Allan J. “Rebuilding the House of David: The Function of the Benedictus
! in Luke-Acts.” Restoration Quarterly 40/1 (1998): 25-38.
Nolland, John. Luke 1-9:20. Word Biblical Commentary 35A. Dallas, TX: Word
! Books, 1989.
18
OʼDay, Gail R. “The Praise of New Beginnings: The Infancy Hymns in Luke.”
! Journal for Preachers 14/1 (Advent 1990): 3-18.
Vinson, Richard B. Luke. Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary. Macon, GA: Smyth
! & Helwys Publishing, Incorporated, 2008.