Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 1:27
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name [was] Mary.
27. espoused ] Rather, betrothed. The betrothal, which is in the East a ceremony of the deepest importance, usually took place a year before the marriage.
Joseph, of the house of David ] We are nowhere told that Mary was of the house of David, for both the genealogies of the Gospels are genealogies of Joseph. See Excursus II. The fact that it seems always to be assumed that Mary also was of the lineage of David (Luk 1:32), makes it probable that the genealogy of Mary is involved in that of Joseph, and that they were first cousins.
Mary ] The same name as Miriam and Marah, Exo 15:20; Rth 1:20. Her early residence at Nazareth, before the birth of Christ at Bethlehem, is narrated by St Luke alone. It does not however follow that St Matthew was unaware of it (Mat 13:55-56). After the narrative of the Nativity she is very rarely mentioned. The Ave Maria of the Roman Catholics did not assume its present form till the 16th century.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
To a virgin espoused … – See the notes at Mat 1:18-19. Compare the notes at Isa 7:14.
House of David – Family of David, or descendants of David.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. To a virgin espoused, c.] See Clarke on Mt 1:18 Mt 1:23. The reflections of pious father Quesnel on this subject are worthy of serious regard. At length the moment is come which is to give a son to a virgin, a saviour to the world, a pattern to mankind, a sacrifice to sinners, a temple to the Divinity, and a new principle to the new world. This angel is sent from God, not to the palaces of the great, but to a poor maid, the wife of a carpenter. The Son of God comes to humble the proud, and to honour poverty, weakness, and contempt. He chooses an obscure place for the mystery which is most glorious to his humanity, its union with the Divinity, and for that which is most degrading (his sufferings and death) he will choose the greatest city! How far are men from such a conduct as this!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
To a virgin,…. A pure virgin, that never knew man;
[See comments on Lu 1:34] and yet
espoused to a man whose name was Joseph; but they were not come together, nor had he taken her for his wife, and home to his house, nor had they cohabited:
of the house of David; which, according to the grammatical construction of the words, may be connected either with the virgin, or with Joseph, to whom she was espoused; and is true of both; for they both were of the house and lineage of David: and this shows what a low condition David’s family was in, that the persons that were the nearest allied to it were a carpenter, and a poor virgin; and both residing in so despicable a place as Nazareth in Galilee:
and the virgin’s name was Mary; a name frequent among the Jews, and the same with Miriam; of which name was the sister of Moses and Aaron.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Betrothed (). Perfect passive participle. Betrothal usually lasted a year and unfaithfulness on the part of the bride was punished with death (De 23:24f.).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “To a virgin espoused to a man,” (pros parthenon emnesteumenen andri) “To a virgin betrothed, engaged, or espoused to a man,” as predicted Isa 7:14; Mat 1:18, to a virgin, young woman who had never lain with a man, who had become engaged to be married, but who “knew not a man,” in carnal relations, Luk 1:34.
2) “Whose name was Joseph,” (ho onoma loseph) “Whose name was (existed as) Joseph,” whose name means “he will add.” He was a carpenter of Nazareth, Mat 1:16; Mat 1:18-25; Mat 2:13-15; Mat 13:55; Luk 2:4-5; Luk 2:16; Luk 2:33.
3) “Of the house of David;” (eks oikou David) “Out of or who was descending from the house (lineage) or family line of David,” Mat 1:16-17; Psa 89:35-36. He was still alive when Jesus was twelve years of age, Luk 2:41-51, and believed to be dead before Jesus began His ministry.
4) “And the virgin’s name was Mary.” (kai to onoma tes parthenou mariam) “And the name of the virgin was Mary,” that virgin foretold Isa 7:14; Mat 1:18; Mat 1:23. The name Mary was equivalent to Miriam in the Old Testament and means, “rebellion.” Mary also was descended from David, Luk 1:32.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(27) To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph.Of the parentage of Mary the canonical Gospels tell us nothing, and the legends of the apocryphal have no claim to credit. That her mothers name was Anna, that she surpassed the maidens of her own age in wisdom, that she went as a child into the Temple, that she had many who sought her hand, and that they agreed to decide their claims by laying their rods before the Holy Place and seeing which budded, and that Joseph thus became the accepted suitorthis may be worth mentioning, as having left its impress on Christian art, but it has no claim to the character even of tradition. The scanty notices in the Gospels are (1) that she was a cousin, or more generally a kinswoman, of Elizabeth, and may, therefore, have been, by her parentage, wholly or in part of the daughters of Aaron. (2) That she had a sister who, according to a somewhat doubtful construction of an ambiguous sentence, may also have borne the name of Mary or Mariam (the Miriam of the Old Testament), and been afterwards the wife of Cleophas, or, more correctly, Clopas (Joh. 19:25). The absence of any mention of her parents suggests the thought that she was an orphan, and the whole narrative of the Nativity presupposes poverty. Assuming the Magnificat to have been not merely the sudden inspiration of the moment, but, in some sense, the utterance of the cherished thoughts of years, we may think of her as feeding upon the psalms and hymns and prophecies of the Sacred Books, and knowing, as she did, that the man to whom she was betrothed was of the house of David, this may well have drawn her expectations of redemption into the line of looking for the Christ, who was to be the son of David. Of Joseph, we know that he was, possibly by a twofold lineage (but see Note on Luk. 3:23), the heir of that house, and must have known himself to be so. He was but a carpenter in a Galilean village, probably older than his betrothed, possibly a widower with sons and daughters, possibly the guardian of nephews and nieces who had been left orphans, but the documents which contained his genealogy must have been precious heirlooms, and the hopes that God would raise up the tabernacle of David that had fallen, to which one of those sons or nephews afterwards gave utterance (Act. 15:16), could never have been utterly extinguished.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. To a virgin See note on Mat 1:23.
House of David Lineage or family of David. It is disputed among critics whether this is spoken of Joseph or of Mary.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Luk 1:27. To a virgin espoused, &c. I should render the verse thus: to a virgin of the house of David, betrothed to a man, whose name was Joseph; and the virgin’s name was Mary. The original will bear this translation: and what makes for this interpretation is, that this and the preceding verse refer wholly to the virgin; who is described by the place of her residence, Nazareth; by her relation to Joseph, being espoused to him; by her lineage and descent, of the house of David; and by her name, Mary. See Whitby and others.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
Ver. 27. Espoused to a man ] 1. The better to free her from suspicion of fornication. 2. That she might have one to provide for her when she was with child. 3. That the mystery of God manifested in the flesh might come to light by little and little, Sensim sine sensu.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
27. ] refers to Joseph in this place, who (see Mat 1 ) was of the direct lineage of David. That Mary was so , is no where expressed in the Gospels, but seems to be implied in Luk 1:32 , and has been the general belief of Christians. The Son of David was to be the fruit of his body ( Psa 132:11 ); which He would not be, unless His virgin mother was of the house of David. See notes on the genealogy in ch. 3. (Still we must remember the absolute oneness in the marriage relation, which might occasion that Mary herself should be reckoned as being in very deed that which her husband was. Perhaps this has been hardly enough taken into account. Edn. 5, 1862.)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 1:27 . .: Mary, Joseph, or both? Impossible to be sure, though the repetition of in next clause (instead of ) favours the reference to Joseph.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
To. Greek. pros. App-104.
virgin. This settles the meaning of the Hebrew `almah in Isa 7:14. There is no question about the Greek parthenos.
espoused = betrothed. A year before marriage. See Mat 1:18.
man = husband. Greek. aner. App-123.
Mary = the Hebrew Miriam. Exo 15:20. See App-100.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
27.] refers to Joseph in this place, who (see Matthew 1) was of the direct lineage of David. That Mary was so, is no where expressed in the Gospels, but seems to be implied in Luk 1:32, and has been the general belief of Christians. The Son of David was to be the fruit of his body (Psa 132:11); which He would not be, unless His virgin mother was of the house of David. See notes on the genealogy in ch. 3. (Still we must remember the absolute oneness in the marriage relation, which might occasion that Mary herself should be reckoned as being in very deed that which her husband was. Perhaps this has been hardly enough taken into account. Edn. 5, 1862.)
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Luk 1:27. , to a virgin) Mat 1:23.-, [espoused] betrothed) by the divine ruling of Providence. It would not have been befitting that Mary should have been only betrothed after the annunciation of the angel, and not sooner.-, to a man) who was designed to act as guardian both of the virgin and of her offspring.- , of the house of David) Construe with Joseph; comp. ch. Luk 2:4. This is, however, not to the exclusion of Mary.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Luk 2:4, Luk 2:5, Gen 3:15, Isa 7:14, Jer 31:22, Mat 1:18, Mat 1:21, Mat 1:23
Reciprocal: Gen 30:23 – General Mat 1:16 – Joseph Mat 13:55 – is not this Luk 1:31 – thou Luk 1:35 – The Holy Ghost Luk 4:16 – to
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7
A virgin is a person who has not had any relations with the opposite sex. The connection must show in each case whether the virgin is a male or female. Since this one was espoused (engaged) to a man we know it means a female. House is from OIKOS and Thayer defines it at this place, “stock, race, descendants of one,” which denotes that Joseph was a descendant of David.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Luk 1:27. Comp. Mat 1:18.
Of the house of David. These words refer to Joseph alone, in this instance; but that Mary was also of the house of David, seems to be implied in Luk 1:32, and has been the general belief of Christians. Comp, the genealogy in chap. 3.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 27
Espoused; betrothed.
Luke 1:29. That is, what this salutation should mean.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the {y} house of David; and the virgin’s name [was] Mary.
(y) The same can be said of Mary, otherwise Christ would not have been of the stock of David, nor his son.