Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 1:58
And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
Verse 58. And her neighbours and her cousins – rejoiced with her.] Because sterility was a reproach; and they now rejoiced with their relative, from whom that reproach was now rolled away. To rejoice with those whom God has favoured, and to congratulate them on the advantages which he has granted to them, is a duty which humanity, charity, and religion call upon us to fulfil.
1. It is a duty of humanity, which should be punctually performed. We are all members of each other, and should rejoice in the welfare of the whole. He who rejoices in his neighbour’s prosperity increases his neighbour’s happiness, and gets an addition to his own.
2. It is a duty which charity or brotherly love requires us to perform with sincerity. In the polite world, there is no duty better fulfilled in word than this is; but sincerity is utterly banished, and the giver and receiver are both convinced that compliments and good wishes mean-nothing. He who does not endeavour to take a sincere part in his neighbour’s prosperity will soon feel ample punishment in the spirit of jealousy and envy.
3. It is a duty of religion, which should be fulfilled with piety. These neighbours and relatives saw that God had magnified his mercy towards Elisabeth, and they acknowledged his hand in the work. God is the dispenser of all good-he distributes his favours in mercy, judgment, and justice. Let us honour him in his gifts; and honour those, for his sake, who are objects of his favour. The society of believers are but one body; the talents, c., of every individual are profitable to the whole community at least none ate deprived of a share in the general welfare, but those who, through jealousy or envy, refuse to rejoice with him towards whom God hath magnified his mercy.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And her neighbours, and her cousins,…. That lived in Hebron, and the parts adjacent, whether of the house of Aaron, or of the tribe of Judah; to both which she was related, and who dwelt near her, the priests in the city of Hebron, and the children of Judah in the places about it:
heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her; or “had magnified his mercy with her”; see Ge 19:19 in removing her barrenness, and so taking away her reproach from among men; in giving her strength to conceive, and bring forth a son, that was to be so great, as the prophet of the Highest; and more than a prophet, and greater than any born of women:
and they rejoiced with her: as the angel had foretold they should, Lu 1:14 The Persic version reads, “with him, Zacharias”; having rendered the other clause thus, though wrongly, “hearing that God had poured out his mercy on the house of Zacharias”; see Ro 12:15.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Had magnified (). Aorist active indicative. Same verb as in verse 46.
Rejoiced with her ( ). Imperfect tense and pictures the continual joy of the neighbours, accented also by – (cf. Php 2:18) in its mutual aspect.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Had shewed great mercy upon her [ ] . Lit., magnified his mercy with her. So Wyc. A Hebrew expression. See 1Sa 12:24, Sept.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And her neighbours and her cousins heard,” (kai ekousan hoi perioikoi kai hoi sungeneis autes) “And her relatives or kinsfolk and neighbors heard.”
2) “How the Lord had shewed great mercy on her;” (hoti emegalumen kurios to eleos autou met’ autes) “That the Lord had magnified his mercy with her,” or upon her, removing sterility, Luk 1:25, that popular fallacy, associated with sin only, Exo 20:5; Joh 9:1-3.
3) “And they rejoiced with her.” (kai sunechairon aute) “And they rejoiced in harmony with her,” or in company and colleague with her, in harmony with the Divine will and word of God, to “rejoice with them that rejoice,” Rom 12:15; Php_3:1; Php_4:4.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
58. And her neighbors and relatives heard It may admit of doubt, whether the wonderful kindness of God was estimated by those persons from the simple fact of her being blessed with a child, or whether they had previously heard that an angel appeared to Zacharias, and promised to him a son. This was certainly no ordinary divine favor, that, out of the course of nature, a barren woman at a very advanced age had brought forth a child. It is possible that, on this ground alone, they magnified the divine goodness. On the eighth day, from a sense of duty or from courtesy, as is customary on such occasions, some people assemble; but God takes occasion from it to make them witnesses and spectators of his power and glory. There can be no doubt but the extraordinary birth brought a greater crowd. They had reckoned it a prodigy to see an old and barren woman suddenly become pregnant; and now that the child is born, their astonishment is renewed and increased. We infer from the words of Luke that, though they circumcised their children at home, they were not wont to do so without collecting a numerous assembly: and with good reason, for it was a common sacrament of the church, and it was not proper to administer it in a secret or private manner.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(58) Her neighbours and her cousins.Better, her kindred, as including a wider range of relations than that which comes within our definition of cousinship. The words imply that they had heard something of the vision in the Temple, and of what had been foretold of the future greatness of the child then born.
Had shewed great mercy upon her.Literally, had magnified His mercy. The verb is the same as that which opens the Magnificat, and may well be looked upon as a kind of echo of it. The phrase is essentially a Hebrew one. (Comp. 1Sa. 12:24.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And her neighbours and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her, and they rejoiced with her.’
We need not assume that they had just heard. This is a catch all phrase. They had all heard in one way or another that the one whom they had all thought barren had become pregnant and now they came to rejoice with her at his birth. Such events were never private. All wanted to join in the celebrations.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Zacharias Prophesies by The Holy Spirit Concerning the Coming of the Messiah, and His Own Son’s Part in Preparing the Way for the Messiah. (1:58-80).
We are not told when the following prophecy took place. It may have been immediately when his tongue was loosed and he blessed God (Luk 1:64). Or it may have been much later. But meanwhile all the people were asking themselves questions about John and wondering about what he was going to turn out to be. Judaea was a very religious country, where everything was seen in the light of their religion, and thus this question would be asked from a religious point of view. Their thought was that he was going to be someone special for God.
We may analyse this passage as follows:
a And all who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then shall this child be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him (Luk 1:66).
b And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and wrought redemption for his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of his servant David” (Luk 1:67-69).
c As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old, ‘Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us’ (Luk 1:70-71).
d To show mercy towards, our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he spoke to Abraham our father, to grant to us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days (Luk 1:70-75).
c Yes and you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the remission of their sins (Luk 1:76-77).
b Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day-spring from on high will visit us, to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luk 1:78-79).
a And the child grew, and waxed strong in the Spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing to Israel (Luk 1:80).
In ‘a’ we have the question as to what the child John will become, and the promise that the Lord will be with him, and in the parallel we learn what he is becoming, because the Spirit is at work in him. In ‘b’ we have the assurance that God has visited His people, raising up the one by Whose power they will be delivered, and in the parallel the Day-spring from on high has visited them, raised up in order to deliver. In ‘c’ the prophets spoke promising salvation, and in the parallel John is the prophet who will give the knowledge of salvation. And in ‘d’ we have the focus placed on the fulfilment of God’s covenant with Abraham which would result in deliverance and righteous living, (which is the whole point of the incarnation).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
Ver. 58. The Lord had showed great mercy ] And the greater, because in her old age. Births, with those that are much older, are with greater danger; so is the new birth in old sinners.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Luk 1:58 . ( , ), dwellers around, neighbours, here only in N. T., several times in Sept [11] Named first because nearest; some of the relatives would be farther away and would arrive later. This gathering of neighbours and kinsfolk ( ) presents a “gracious tableau of Israelite life,” Godet. : a Hebraism = . ., they congratulated her: congratulabantur ei , Vulg [12] ; or, better, they rejoiced with her (Luk 1:14 ).
[11] Septuagint.
[12] Vulgate (Jerome’s revision of old Latin version).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
shewed great mercy = magnified His mercy. A Hebraism. Compare Gen 19:19. 2Sa 22:51, Septuagint.
upon = with. Greek meta. App-104. Not the same word as in verses: Luk 1:12, Luk 1:35.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Luk 1:58. , had showed great mercy upon her [dealt in great mercy with her]) So , to perform mercy upon our father [to deal in mercy with our fathers]: ch. Luk 10:37, note.[16]
[16] Hellenistic construction, as in LXX. 2Sa 9:1, etc.-ED. and TRANSL.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
her neighbours: Luk 1:25, Rth 4:14-17, Psa 113:9
they: Luk 1:14, Gen 21:6, Isa 66:9, Isa 66:10, Rom 12:15, 1Co 12:26
Reciprocal: Exo 13:19 – God Rth 4:17 – the women Psa 86:13 – great Pro 23:25 – and she Ecc 3:4 – a time to laugh Joh 16:21 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
Shewed great mercy refers to the former condition of barrenness that had been overcome. Rejoiced with her is an example of Rom 12:15.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Luk 1:58. Kindred. The plural of the word used in Luk 1:36 to indicate the relationship between Mary and Elisabeth.
That the Lord, etc. Not how; according to the hopes of Jewish matrons the birth of a son was the preeminent token of Gods mercy, and this remarkable case fully justified the expression here used, magnified his mercy toward her.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 58
Cousins; relatives.