Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 1:42
And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb.
42. with a loud voice ] For ‘ phon,’ voice, B has the stronger word ‘ kraug,’ cry.
Blessed art thou among women ] i. e. preeminently blessed, as “fairest among women,” Son 1:8. Similar expressions are used of Ruth (Rth 3:10), and, on a far lower level of meaning, of Jael (Jdg 5:24), and of Judith. “All the women of Israel blessed her,” Jdg 15:12. In the latter instances the blessing is pronounced by women, but here the word means ‘blessed by God.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Blessed art thou among women – She here repeated nearly the words of the angel to Mary, esteeming it to be the highest honor among mothers to be the mother of the Messiah. See the notes at Luk 1:28.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 42. Blessed art thou among women] Repeating the words of the angel, Lu 1:28, of which she had probably been informed by the holy virgin, in the present interview.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Elisabeth useth the same words to Mary which the angel had used for her, Luk 1:28; that is, thou art an exceedingly happy woman, not only renowned, but one whom God hath greatly favoured and exceedingly blessed and made happy.
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Though the same word be used, yet it is not to be understood of the same degree of blessing. Christ was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows, and blessed in another sense and after another manner, than any creature can be said to be blessed, for the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in him bodily.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
42-44. What beautifulsuperiority to envy have we here! High as was the distinctionconferred upon herself, Elisabeth loses sight of it altogether, inpresence of one more honored still; upon whom, with her unborn Babe,in an ecstasy of inspiration, she pronounces a benediction, feelingit to be a wonder unaccountable that “the mother of her Lordshould come to her.” “Turn this as we will, we shallnever be able to see the propriety of calling an unborn child “Lord,”but by supposing Elisabeth, like the prophets of old, enlightened toperceive the Messiah’s Divine nature” [OLSHAUSEN].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And she spake out with a loud voice,…. So as that all in the house might hear; she spake with great vehemency of soul, and strength of affection, being under a very powerful impression of the Spirit of God: and said,
blessed art thou among women; the same words that the angel had said to her before, Lu 1:28
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb: this is a reason why she is called blessed, because her child was blessed; being in union with a divine person, who is God over all, blessed for ever; and who has all spiritual blessings in him, and is that seed, in which all nations of the earth were to be blessed; and so is both blessed in himself, and the source of all blessedness to others. The Jews say h, that the six measures of barley, Boaz gave to Ruth, Ru 3:15 signified, that six righteous men should spring from her, and among, them the Messiah; who should be blessed with six blessings, and they are these; the spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and of might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord; see
Isa 11:2.
h Targum & R. Sol. Jarchi in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
With a loud cry ( ). A moment of ecstatic excitement.
Blessed art thou (). Perfect passive participle. A Hebraistic equivalent for the superlative.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
She spake out with a loud voice [ ] . For fwnh, voice, read kraugh, cry : inarticulate, though fwnh may also be used of inarticulate utterance. Rev., rightly, She lifted up her voice with a loud cry; thus rendering in the verb the force of ajna, up, besides picturing the fact more naturally. Elizabeth’s sudden and violent emotion at the appearance of Mary, and the movement of the child, prompted an exclamation which was followed by words (eipen, said). The verb ajnafwnew occurs only here in the New Testament. It was a medical term for a certain exercise of the voice.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And she spake out,” (kai anephonesen) “And she called out,” with elation, with an excited burst of joy, but not one word about herself or her own condition.
2) “With a loud voice,” (krauge megale) “With a great cry,” an expanded release of inner joy and gladness, in a mega-phone-like-voice. It was a contrast to the low and sad tone or pitch in which Orientals normally speak.
3) “And said,” (kai eipen) “And said,” very clearly to Mary.
4) “Blessed art thou among women,” (eulogemene su en gunaiksin) “Blessed are you among women,” or you are the most blessed woman among all women, now about to bear the Son of God, the promised redeemer, Gen 3:15. Not above, but among, all women.
5) “And blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” (kai eulogemenos ho karpos tes koilias sou) “And let be continuously blessed the fruit of your womb,” which shall come to be born, as surely as that one of my womb. This blessed benediction of Elizabeth, the aged expectant mother of John the Baptist, upon Mary, the expectant mother of our Lord, was a sustained Holy Spirit dominated or controlled testimony of faith in God and faith in the testimony of His informing angel Gabriel, now known to both Elizabeth the aged and Mary the young expectant virgin mother; It is much as the Aaronic benediction, Num 6:23-27.
THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN
The beautiful Gate of the Jewish Temple opened into the “Court of the Women”, so named from the fact that they were not allowed any nearer approach towards the Holy Place. And as we open the gate of the third Gospel we enter the Court of the Women; for more than any other Evangelist, St. Luke records their loving and varied ministries. But ever first and foremost among the women of the Gospels, we must place the Virgin Mother, whose character and position in the Gospel story we are to consider.
-Exp. Bib.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
42. Blessed art thou She seems to put Mary and Christ on an equal footing, which would have been highly improper. But I cheerfully agree with those who think that the second clause assigns the reason; for and often signifies because. Accordingly, Elisabeth affirms, that her cousin was blessed on account of the blessedness of her child. To carry Christ in her womb was not Mary’s first blessedness, but was greatly inferior to the distinction of being born again by the Spirit of God to a new life. Yet she is justly called blessed, on whom God bestowed the remarkable honor of bringing into the world his own Son, through whom she had been spiritually renewed. And at this day, the blessedness brought to us by Christ cannot be the subject of our praise, without reminding us, at the same time, of the distinguished honor which God was pleased to bestow on Mary, in making her the mother of his Only Begotten Son.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(42) Blessed art thou among women.The language, like that of most of the utterances in these chapters, is taken from the poetry of the older Scriptures, but there is a singular contrast between its application there to the murderess Jael (Jdg. 5:24), and here to the mother of the Lord.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“Blessed are you among women,
And blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And whence is this to me,
That the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears,
The babe leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she who believed,
For there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord.”
Note Elisabeth’s emphasis. It is on ‘the Lord’, just as Mary’s response will be. These two women were not exalting each other. Both were exalting the Lord. And both were humbled by what was happening to them.
‘“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.’ Mary was truly blessed above all women, because she had been chosen to mother God’s Messiah. Women in those days saw their function as being that of a child producer and a good mother. It was what they saw themselves as mainly living for, the supreme purpose of their lives. And to mother the Messiah was to be the greatest privilege of all. Thus Mary was blessed by being given this great privilege. Note, however, that what is meant by such a ‘blessing’ is described. The reason that she is blessed is ‘because there will be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to her’. They will ‘come to their true end’. This was not because of anything that she was in herself. Mary is not being exalted here. When a woman called out to Jesus that Mary was especially blessed because she was His mother He rejected the idea and said that rather blessed were those who heard the word of God and kept it (Luk 11:27-28). That is, those who hear God’s word and keep it are more blessed than Mary was in bearing Him. What a contrast with the views of some today.
Elisabeth then immediately turns to what she knows is more important than the mother, the fruit of her womb. Here is the idea of the fuller, undefined, blessing. Here is the One Who is to be exalted.
‘And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’ Elisabeth’s humility shines out here. Who is she, she asks, that the mother of the Messiah should seek her out? Her period of quiet meditation has well prepared her for this moment. ‘My Lord’ here possibly has in mind Psa 110:1. There the coming Messiah is ‘my Lord’ (compare Luk 20:41-44). Here then is her recognition that the babe who is to be born of Mary is already her Lord.
And the reason why she knows this so spontaneously is because the babe in her own womb had leaped so convincingly within her at the sound of Mary’s voice. It had ‘leaped for joy’. Thus did she know that all would be well, and that Mary would have a child safely Who would be truly blessed. And rather than being jealous, she was humbled by the wonder of it. Note the continual emphasis on ‘joy’ (also in Luk 1:14; Luk 1:47).
Mary’s Response.
Mary’s response was to be full of devotion and gratitude to God, and we are probably to see it as spoken under inspiration from the Spirit (but see below). The silence about that may be because the Holy Spirit was to come on her for a special purpose, the conception of Jesus, so that Luke did not want it to be thought that that was happening already. It echoes the ideas in the song of Hannah (1Sa 2:1-11), although not too slavishly, and reflects Old Testament thought continuously (e.g. see parts of Psa 111:9; Psa 103:17; Psa 89:10; Psa 107:9; Psa 98:3). As we consider it we need to remember that Mary would be steeped in Old Testament thoughts and phraseology.
Often would she have sung Old Testament songs, and many Scriptures would be in her memory. She would think in Old Testament language. She may well even have composed some of these words previously as a psalm of praise for her own use. This would then be another explanation as to why it is not said to be the result of the work of the Holy Spirit. (Psalm writing was evidenced at Qumran although with a different emphasis from this). So its contents may not be totally new to her, which would explain why she could remember it so well.
There is no thought of self-exaltation in her words. She does not even mention the favour that has been granted to her, unless we see it in ‘has given help’. The theological concepts of the angel have gone over her head, to be remembered later. (An inventor of a song to fit the occasion would have made sure that they were included). All her thoughts are on God. It will only be later that what the angel has said to her will gain new meaning. It brings out that she was not a theologian, and did not think in those terms. Her immature teen-age thought would be on the fact that God was now about to deliver her people, and that He was bringing her into it by producing through her the Messiah. The ramifications would come later (a sign of the genuineness of the song). It can be divided up as follows:
a And Mary said.
b My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour (Luk 1:46-47).
c For he has looked on the low estate of his handmaiden, for behold, from henceforth all generations will call me blessed (Luk 1:48).
d For he who is mighty has done to me great things, and holy is his name (Luk 1:49).
e And his mercy is unto generations and generations, on those who fear him (Luk 1:50).
e He has showed strength with his arm, He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart (Luk 1:51).
d He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted those of low degree (Luk 1:52).
c The hungry he has filled with good things; and the rich he has sent empty away (Luk 1:53).
b He has given help to Israel his servant, that he might remember mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, toward Abraham and his seed for ever (Luk 1:54-55).
a And Mary stayed with her about three months, and returned to her house (Luk 1:56).
In ‘a’ Mary speaks, and in the parallel Mary remains for three months. In ‘b’ Mary rejoices in her Lord and Saviour, and in the parallel describes His saving work. In ‘c’ she acknowledges God’s goodness to her in her low estate and in the parallel God satisfies the needs of those of low estate. In ‘d’ He acts mightily on her behalf and in the parallel He acts mightily on behalf of His own. And central to it all is the revealing of His mercy to those who fear Him so that in the parallel He has dealt with their enemies, who were too proud to fear Him. This will be especially relevant to John and Jesus who will constantly face up to the proud ones of the earth, who in their pride will be scattered before them.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 1:42. Blessed art thou among women, It is remarkable, that this is the salutation wherewith Gabriel had addressed Mary. The words, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, probably allude to the child’s being the promised Seed, in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed, and who for that reason was blessed himself: see Psa 72:17.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Luk 1:42 f. ] She cried out (only occurring here in the N. T.; comp. 1Ch 15:28 ; 1Ch 16:5 ; 2Ch 5:12 ; Polyb. iii. 33. 4; frequent in Plutarch), expressing the outburst of the being filled by the Spirit.
. . ] Designation of the embryo , that Mary bears in her womb. For the expression, comp. Gen 30:2 ; Lam 2:20 .
. . .] sc. . After the first outburst now follows a certain reflection , a humble pondering, from what cause ( , comp. on Mar 12:37 ) she was deemed worthy of this great happiness: , Euthymius Zigabenus.
. . .] not equivalent to . . . ., but telic: that the mother of my Lord (the Messiah, comp. Psa 110:1 ) should come to me , this is the , in reference to which she asks . Comp. on Joh 6:29 ; Joh 17:3 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Ver. 42. Blessed art thou among women ] So is Jael, the wife of Heber, said to be, Jdg 5:24 . Who yet perhaps was hardly so good a woman as Deborah, that called her so. But it was no small confirmation to the blessed Virgin, to hear the same words from Elisabeth that she heard before from the angel.
And blessed is the fruit, &c. ] Or, because blessed is the fruit of thy womb, therefore blessed art thou, &c. Yet more blessed (as Austin saith) in receiving the faith than in conceiving the flesh of Christ. She conceived Christ when she yielded her assent to the angel, and said, Be it as thou hast said, let it even be so. We also conceive Christ in our hearts when we assent to the promises of pardon, of salvation by Christ: hoping perfectly for the grace that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 1Pe 1:13 . It is with us all, as it was with that captive woman, Deu 21:1-14 . If she consented to marry, she saved her life by it.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
42. ] . has a double meaning: that of blessed , from above blessed among women, i.e. beyond other women; and praised , from below i.e. called blessed by women. The former is the best rendering here: and then . will be the Hebrew superlative, as in Jer 29:15 (49:15) and Son 1:8 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 1:42 . : here only in N. T. The verb, with the following words, , point to an unrestrained utterance under the influence of irrepressible feeling, thoroughly true to feminine nature: “blessed thou among women (a Hebrew superlative), and blessed the fruit of thy womb,” poetic parallelism again, answering to the exalted state of feeling. The reference to the Holy Spirit (in Luk 1:41 ) implies that Elizabeth spoke by prophetic inspiration.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
spake out = cried out. Greek. anaphoneo. Occurs only here. A medical word. See Col 4:14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
42.] . has a double meaning: that of blessed,-from above-blessed among women, i.e. beyond other women; and praised,-from below-i.e. called blessed by women. The former is the best rendering here: and then . will be the Hebrew superlative, as in Jer 29:15 (49:15) and Son 1:8.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Luk 1:42. ) So Act 16:28. Others read [13] . And so Mat 27:46; LXX., Gen 27:38; 1Sa 28:12; Isa 36:13; Isa 11:13, etc. Also 3Ma 5:48 (51); Hist. of Sus. four times; Hist. of the Drag. Luk 1:40 (41). But is employed in a very different sense; for instance, of the sounds heard in public worship, as it was duly ordered by David.- , and said) It was not until after these words which, coming from the Holy Spirit, followed immediately after the salutation of Mary, that Mary reported to Elisabeth what the angel had announced to her.-, Blessed) These words, which in the angels salutation were last in order, stand first in the salutation of Elisabeth.- , and blessed) This was not added in Luk 1:28.- , the fruit) Mary therefore was truly the mother of Jesus.
[13] C is the only good authority for . ABD Origen expressly, 4,149ab, read . The very strangeness of the use of the latter word is an argument for it not having come from transcribers: was evidently a marginal explanation. Bengels own principle, Prferatur ardua lectioni procliviori, supports .-ED. and TRANSL.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Blessed art: Luk 1:28, Luk 1:48, Jdg 5:24
blessed is: Luk 19:38, Gen 22:18, Psa 21:6, Psa 45:2, Psa 72:17-19, Act 2:26-28, Rom 9:5, Heb 12:2
Reciprocal: Gen 30:2 – withheld Pro 31:26 – openeth Luk 11:27 – Blessed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2
The entrance of the Spirit into Elizabeth inspired her so that the words she spoke from here through verse 45 are those of inspiration. The blessing pronounced on Mary was emphasized by the one upon the fruit of thy womb.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Luk 1:42. Blessed art thou among women. Blessed by God, beyond other women, rather than blessed by other women, although the latter followed as a consequence (chap. Luk 11:27).
Blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Elisabeth had heard nothing of Marys situation, so far as we know, but speaks of it by inspiration.
Luk 1:43, Whence is this to me? Utterance of humility.
The mother of my Lord, i.e., the Messiah. This recognition was through inspiration. The designation mother of God, which came into general use in the fifth century, is not found in the Bible.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
2. The salutation of Elizabeth: Luk 1:42-45.And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44. For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
The course of Elizabeth’s thought is this: first of all, Mary and the Son of Mary (Luk 1:42); next, Elizabeth herself and her son (Luk 1:43-44); lastly, Mary and her happiness. The characteristic of all true action of the Holy Spirit is the annihilation of the proper individuality of the person who is the instrument of it, and the elevation of his personal feelings to the height of the divine word. This is precisely the character of Elizabeth’s salutation; we shall find it the same in the song of Zacharias. Thus the truth of this word, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost, is justified by this very fact. The reading of some Alexandrians, , would indicate a cry, instead of a simple breaking forth into speech. The reading of three other Alex. would have the same meaning. They both savour of exaggeration. In any case, both could not be admitted together. We may translate, Blessed art thou, or Blessed be thou. The former translation is best; for exclamation is more in place here than a wish.
The superlative form, blessed among, is not unknown to classical Greek.
The expression, the fruit of thy womb, appears to imply that the fact of the incarnation was already accomplished; so also does the expression, the mother of my Lord (Luk 1:43). , in order that (Luk 1:43), may keep its ordinary meaning: What have I done in order that this blessing might come to me? This is used from the standpoint of the divine intention.
From Mary and her Son, her thought glances to herself and her own child. In calling Mary the mother of my Lord, she declares herself the servant of the Messiah, and consequently of His mother also.
Everything of a sublime character springs from a deeper source than the understanding. The leaping of John, a prelude of the work of his life, belongs to the unfathomable depths of instinctive life. Elizabeth sees in it a sign of the truth of the presentiment she felt as soon as she saw Mary.
At Luk 1:45 she reverts to Mary. The expression blessed is doubtless inspired by the contemplation of the calm happiness that irradiates the figure of the young mother. cannot be taken here in the sense of because; for the word , she that believed, in order that it may have its full force, must not govern anything. Blessed is she that, at the critical moment, could exercise faith (the aorist)! De Wette, Bleek, Meyer, think that the proposition which follows should depend on : she who believed that the things…would have their accomplishment. The two former, because would be necessary in place of ; the third, because all that had been promised to Mary was already accomplished. But Elizabeth’s thought loses itself in a kind of meditation, and her words, ceasing to be an apostrophe to Mary, become a hymn of faith. This accounts for the use of a pronoun of the third person. As to Meyer, he forgets that the accomplishment is only just begun, and is far from being completed. The glorification of the Messiah and of Israel still remains to be accomplished. denotes this complete accomplishment. But how could Elizabeth speak of the kind of things which had been promised to Mary? What had passed between the angel and Zacharias had enlightened her respecting the similar things that must have taken place between heaven and Mary.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
1:42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and {p} blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb.
(p) Christ is blessed with respect to his humanity.