Luke 1:26
in Luke 1In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
KJV
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
⋯
This verse in Luke 1
Commentary
24 notes on this verseA city of Galilee - As Joseph and Mary were both of the family of David, the patrimonial estate of which lay in Bethlehem, it seems as if the family residence should have been in that city, and not in Nazareth; for we find that, even after the return from the captivity, the several families went to reside in those cities to which they originally belonged. See Neh 11:3. But it is probable that the holy family removed to Galilee for fear of exciting the jealousy of Herod, who had usurped that throne to which they had an indisputable right.
This site's exposition
the angel Gabriel was sent from God
on Luke 1:26-28
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth ties Mary's annunciation to Elisabeth's pregnancy by an exact clock, the same messenger sent twice within half a year. Nazareth carries no mention in the Old Testament and no reputation worth having, so much that John 1:46 later asks can any good thing come out of Nazareth, and the bench reads the obscurity as characteristic of how God works, the greatest event in history breaking into an unremarkable town. Mary is espoused, legally bound to Joseph though not yet living with him, of the house of David, carrying the royal line the angel is about to invoke. Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: the Greek names grace received, not merit possessed, the same grace-word Paul will use of every believer in Ephesians 1:6, and the commentators caution against reading more into the greeting than the grammar carries.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Scripture has rightly mentioned that she was espoused, as well as a virgin, a virgin, that she might appear free from all connection with man; espoused, that she might not be branded with the disgrace of sullied virginity, whose swelling womb seemed to bear evident marks of her corruption. But the Lord had rather that men should cast a doubt upon His birth than upon His mother's purity. He knew how tender is a virgin's modesty, and how easily assailed the reputation of her chastity, nor did He think the credit of His birth was to be built up by His mother's wrongs. It follows therefore, that the holy Mary's virginity was of as untainted purity as it was also of unblemished reputation. Nor ought there, by an erroneous opinion, to be left the shadow of an excuse to living virgins, that the mother of our Lord even seemed to be evil spoken of. But what could be imputed to the Jews, or to Herod, if they should seem to have persecuted an adulterous offspring? And how could He Himself say, I came not to abolish the law, but to fulfil it, (Matt. 5:18.) if He should seem to have had his beginning from a violation of the law, for the issue of an unmarried person is condemned by the law? (Deut. 23:17.) Not to add that also greater credit is given to the words of Mary, and the cause of falsehood removed? For it might seem that unmarried becoming pregnant, she had wished to shade her guilt by a lie; but an espoused person has no reason for lying, since to women child-birth is the reward of wedlock, the grace of the marriage bed. Again, the virginity of Mary was meant to baffle the prince of the world, who, when he perceived her espoused to a man, could cast no suspicion on her offspring. But still more has it baffled the princes of the world, for the malice of devils soon detects even hidden things, while they who are occupied in worldly vanities, can not know the things of God. […]
[Daniel 8:16-17] "And I heard the voice of a man in the midst of the Ulai, and he cried out and said: 'Gabriel, make this vision intelligible (Vulgate: make this man to understand the vision).' And he came and stood near to where I was standing." The Jews claim that this man who directed Gabriel to explain the vision to Daniel was Michael. Quite appropriately it was Gabriel, who has been put in charge of battles, to whom this duty was assigned, inasmuch as the vision had to do with battles and contests between kings and even between kingdoms themselves.
A commentator
Hippolytus of RomeHippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book VI · Written before 235.
proposed
But concerning the creation of this (Jesus), he expresses himself thus: That powers emanating from the second tetrad fashioned Jesus, who appeared on earth, and that the angel Gabriel filled the place of the Logos, and the Holy Spirit that of Zoe, and the "Power of the Highest" that of Anthropos, and the Virgin that of Ecclesia. And so it was, in Marcus' system, that the man (who appeared) in accordance with the dispensation was born through Mary. And when He came to the water, (he says) that He descended like a dove upon him who had ascended above and filled the twelfth number. And in Him resides the seed of these, that is, such as are sown along with Him, and that descend with (Him), and ascend with (Him). And that this power which descended upon Him, he says, is the seed of the Pleroma, which contains in itself both the Father and the Son, and the unnameable power of Sige, which is recognised through these and all the Aeons. And that this (seed) is the spirit which is in Him and spoke in Him through the mouth of the Son, the confession of Himself as Son of man, and of His being one who would manifest the Father; (and that) when this spirit came down upon Jesus, He was united with Him. The Saviour, who was of the dispensation, he says, destroyed death, whereas He made known (as) the Father Christ (Jesus). He says that Jesus, therefore, is the name of the man of the dispensation, and that it has been set forth for the assimilation and formation of Anthropos, who was about to descend upon Him; and that when He had received Him unto Himself, He retained possession of Him. And (he says) that He was Anthropos, (that) He (was) Logos, (that) He (was) Pater, and Arrhetus, and Sige, and Aletheia, and Ecclesia, and Zoe.
Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman," who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin." But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman.
(in Esai. 6.) The heavenly spirits visit us, not as it seems fit to them, but as the occasion conduces to our advantage, for they are ever looking upon the glory and fulness of the Divine Wisdom; hence it follows, The angel Gabriel was sent.
17 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers2 voices
(sup. Mat. Hom. 4.) The angel announces the birth to the virgin not after the conception, lest she should be thereby too much troubled, but before the conception he addresses her, not in a dream, but standing by her in visible shape. For as great indeed were the tidings she receives, she needed before the issue of the event an extraordinary visible manifestation.
Clearly enough is the nativity announced by Gabriel. But what has he to do with the Creator's angel? The conception in the virgin's womb is also set plainly before us.
The Medieval Church10 voices
In the sixth month, etc. The author treated above of the conception of the precursor, which was in the fecundation of a barren woman: in this part he treats of the conception of the Savior, which was in the fecundation of the Virgin. Now this …
(Hom. 34, in Evan.) To the virgin Mary was sent, not any one of the angels, but the archangel Gabriel; for upon this service it was meet that the highest angel should come, as being the bearer of the highest of all tidings. He is therefore marked by a particular name, to signify what was his effectual part in the work. For Gabriel is interpreted, "the strength of God." By the strength of God then was He to be announced Who was coming as the God of strength, and mighty in battle, to put down the powers of the air.
Gabriel, who is called the strength of God, is also sent to Mary. For he came to announce him who deigned to appear humble to conquer the powers of the air. Of whom it is said through the Psalmist: "Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted up, eternal gates, and the King of glory shall enter. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." And again: "The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory." Therefore, he who was the Lord of hosts and mighty in battle, coming to wage war against the powers of the air, was to be announced through the strength of God. It should also be known that the word "angel" is a name of office, not of nature. For those holy spirits of the heavenly homeland are indeed always spirits, but they cannot always be called angels, since they are angels only when something is announced through them. Moreover, those who announce lesser things are called angels, while those who announce the greatest things are called archangels. This is why not just any angel, but the archangel Gabriel, was sent to the Virgin Mary. For it was fitting that the highest angel should come for this ministry, since he was announcing the highest of all things.
(Hieron. vol. xi. 92. De Assumpt.) And rightly an angel is sent to the virgin, because the virgin state is ever akin to that of angels. Surely in the flesh to live beyond the flesh is not a life on earth but in heaven.
In the sixth month, counting from the time of the conception of John.
And yet Elisabeth conceives John, because the more inward parts of the Law abound with sacraments of Christ. She conceals her conception five months, because Moses in five books set forth the mysteries of Christ; or because the dispensation of Christ is represented by the words or deeds of the saints, in the five ages of the world. Because either the Incarnation of Christ was to be in the sixth age of the world, or because it was to serve to the fulfilling of the law, rightly in the sixth month of John's conception was an angel sent to Mary, to tell her that a Saviour should be born. Hence it is said, And in the sixth month, &c. We must understand the sixth month to be March, on the twenty-fifth day of which our Lord is reported to have been conceived, and to have suffered, as also to have been born on the twenty-fifth day of December. But if either the one day we believe to be the vernal equinox, or the other the winter solstice, it happens that with the increase of light He was conceived or born Who lighteneth every man that cometh into the world. But if any one shall prove, that before the time of our Lord's nativity or conception, light began either to increase, or supersede the darkness, we then say, that it was because John, before the appearance of His coming, began to preach the kingdom of heaven. (in Homil. de fest Annunt.) It was a fit beginning for man's restoration, that an angel should be sent down from God to consecrate a virgin by a divine birth, for the first cause of man's perdition was the Devil sending a serpent to deceive a woman by the spirit of pride. (in Homil. de Annunt. sup.) Which last applies not only to Joseph, but also to Mary, for the Law commanded that every one should take a wife out of his own tribe or family. […]
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. Therefore, angels are called by private names so that it may be understood by the names even in their activities what they are capable of. For neither …
Now Gabriel means "strength of God." Rightly he shone forth with such a name, since by his testimony he bore witness to the coming birth of God in the flesh. The prophet said this in the psalm, "The Lord strong and powerful, the Lord powerful …
The first cause of human perdition occurred when a serpent was sent by the devil to a woman who was to be deceived by the spirit of pride. Moreover, the devil himself came in the serpent, who, once he had deceived our first parents, stripped …
(interlin.) But the place is also added whither he is sent, as it follows, To a city, Nazareth. For it was told that He would come a Nazarite, (i. e. the holy of the holy.)
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And in the sixth month,....
The interview between Mary the mother of Jesus and Elisabeth the mother of John, when they were both with child of those pregnant births, and the prophecies they both uttered upon that occasion,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
We have, in these verses, the announcement of the most marvelous event that ever happened in this world — the incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a passage which we should always read with mingled wonder, love and praise. We should notice, in the first place — the lowly and unassuming manner in which the Savior of mankind came among us. The angel who announced His coming, was sent to an obscure town of Galilee, named Nazareth. The woman who was honored to be our Lord's mother, was evidently in a humble position of life.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
We have, in these verses, the announcement of the most marvelous event that ever happened in this world — the incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a passage which we should always read with mingled wonder, love and praise. We should notice, in the first place — the lowly and unassuming manner in which the Savior of mankind came among us. The angel who announced His coming, was sent to an obscure town of Galilee, named Nazareth. The woman who was honored to be our Lord's mother, was evidently in a humble position of life. Both in her station and her dwelling-place, there was an utter absence of what the world calls "greatness." We need not hesitate to conclude, that there was a wise providence in all this arrangement. The Almighty counsel, which orders all things in Heaven and earth — could just as easily have appointed Jerusalem to be the place of Mary's residence, as Nazareth — or could as easily have chosen the daughter of some rich scribe to be our Lord's mother, as a poor woman. But it seemed good that it should not be so. The first coming of Messiah, was to be a coming in poverty and humiliation. That humiliation was to begin even from the time of His conception and birth. Let us beware of despising poverty in others, and of being ashamed of it, if God lays it upon ourselves. The condition of life which Jesus voluntarily chose, ought always to be regarded with holy reverence. The common tendency of the day to bow down before rich men, and make an idol of money — ought to be carefully resisted and discouraged. The example of our Lord is a sufficient answer to a thousand groveling maxims about wealth, which pass current among men. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich — yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9.)
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In the sixth month - The sixth month after Elizabeth’s conception. A city of Galilee named Nazareth - See the notes at Mat 2:22-23.
The words behind it
20 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ἐν | en | In | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| δὲ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| τῷ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μηνὶ | meni | month | G3376 → | 18 times |
| τῷ | to | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἕκτῳ | hekto | sixth | G1623 → | 14 times |
| ἀπεστάλη | apestale | was sent | G649 → | 132 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἄγγελος | angelos | angel | G32 → | 175 times |
| Γαβριὴλ | gabriel | Gabriel | G1043 → | |
| ἀπὸ | apo | by | G575 → | 640 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θεοῦ | theou | God | G2316 → | 1312 times |
| εἰς | eis | to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| πόλιν | polin | a city | G4172 → | 163 times |
| τῆς | tes | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Γαλιλαίας | galilaias | of Galilee | G1056 → | 61 times |
| ᾗ | he | whose | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ὄνομα | onoma | name [was] | G3686 → | 227 times |
| Ναζαρὲθ | nazareth | Nazareth | G3478 → | 12 times |
ἘνIn
enG1722 →2738 times
δὲnow
deG1161 →2765 times
τῷthe
toG3588 →19766 times
μηνὶmonth
meniG3376 →18 times
τῷ<the>
toG3588 →19766 times
ἕκτῳsixth
hektoG1623 →14 times
ἀπεστάληwas sent
apestaleG649 →132 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
ἄγγελοςangel
angelosG32 →175 times
ΓαβριὴλGabriel
gabrielG1043 →
ἀπὸby
apoG575 →640 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
θεοῦGod
theouG2316 →1312 times
εἰςto
eisG1519 →1755 times
πόλινa city
polinG4172 →163 times
τῆς<the>
tesG3588 →19766 times
Γαλιλαίαςof Galilee
galilaiasG1056 →61 times
ᾗwhose
heG3739 →1405 times
ὄνομαname [was]
onomaG3686 →227 times
ΝαζαρὲθNazareth
nazarethG3478 →12 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 2:23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
it leads to
- Judges 13:5
For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will…
- John 1:45–46
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
- Judges 13:5
Through
Luke 2:4So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David.
it leads to
- Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days…
- John 7:42
Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
- 1 Samuel 16:1
Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending…
- Micah 5:2
Through
Luke 1:19“I am Gabriel,” replied the angel. “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
it leads to
- Matthew 18:10
See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
- Daniel 8:16
And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”
- Daniel 9:21–23
while I was still praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
- Matthew 18:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies18
On this verse
About Luke
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 22 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Basil of Caesarea, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 1.3; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1; Glossa Ordinaria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Gregory the Dialogist, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 34; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book VI; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER EIGHT; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Tertullian, On the Veiling of Virgins; Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Luke.