Luke 2:22-40
The presentationof the child
2:22When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
2:23(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”),
2:24and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
2:25Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.
2:26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
2:27Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the law,
2:28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
2:29″Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word,
2:30for my eyes have seen your salvation,
2:31which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
2:32a light for revelation to the gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
2:33And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.
2:34Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed
2:35so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed–and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.”
2:36There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
2:37then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day.
2:38At that moment she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
2:39When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
2:40The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.
[22]Καὶ ὅτε ἐπλήσθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸν νόμον Μωϋσέως, ἀνήγαγον αὐτὸν εἰς ῾Ιεροσόλυμα παραστῆσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ,
[23]καθὼς γέγραπται ἐν νόμῳ Κυρίου ὅτι πᾶν ἄρσεν διανοῖγον μήτραν ἅγιον τῷ Κυρίῳ κληθήσεται,
[24]καὶ τοῦ δοῦναι θυσίαν κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον ἐν νόμῳ Κυρίου, ζεῦγος τρυγόνων ἢ δύο νεοσσοὺς περιστερῶν.
[25]Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἦν ἄνθρωπος ἐν ῾Ιεροσολύμοις ᾧ ὄνομα Συμεών, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος δίκαιος καὶ εὐλαβής, προσδεχόμενος παράκλησιν τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ, καὶ Πνεῦμα ἦν ῞Αγιον ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν·
[26]καὶ ἦν αὐτῷ κεχρηματισμένον ὑπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ ῾Αγίου μὴ ἰδεῖν θάνατον πρὶν ἢ ἴδῃ τὸν Χριστὸν Κυρίου.
[27]καὶ ἦλθεν ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι εἰς τὸ ἱερόν· καὶ ἐν τῷ εἰσαγαγεῖν τοὺς γονεῖς τὸ παιδίον ᾿Ιησοῦν τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτοὺς κατὰ τὸ εἰθισμένον τοῦ νόμου περὶ αὐτοῦ,
[28]καὶ αὐτὸς ἐδέξατο αὐτὸν εἰς τὰς ἀγκάλας αὐτοῦ καὶ εὐλόγησε τὸν Θεὸν καὶ εἶπε·
[29] νῦν ἀπολύεις τὸν δοῦλόν σου, δέσποτα,
κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου ἐν εἰρήνῃ,
[30] ὅτι εἶδον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου τὸ σωτήριόν σου,
[31] ὃ ἡτοίμασας κατὰ πρόσωπον πάντων τῶν λαῶν,
[32] φῶς εἰς ἀποκάλυψιν ἐθνῶν
καὶ δόξαν λαοῦ σου ᾿Ισραήλ.
[33]καὶ ἦν ᾿Ιωσὴφ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ θαυμάζοντες ἐπὶ τοῖς λαλουμένοις περὶ αὐτοῦ.
[34]καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτοὺς Συμεὼν καὶ εἶπε πρὸς Μαριὰμ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ· ἰδοὺ οὗτος κεῖται εἰς πτῶσιν καὶ ἀνάστασιν πολλῶν ἐν τῷ ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ εἰς σημεῖον ἀντιλεγόμενον.
[35]καὶ σοῦ δὲ αὐτῆς τὴν ψυχὴν διελεύσεται ῥομφαία, ὅπως ἂν ἀποκαλυφθῶσιν ἐκ πολλῶν καρδιῶν διαλογισμοί.
[36]Καὶ ἦν ῎Αννα προφῆτις, θυγάτηρ Φανουήλ, ἐκ φυλῆς ᾿Ασήρ· αὕτη προβεβηκυῖα ἐν ἡμέραις πολλαῖς, ζήσασα ἔτη μετὰ ἀνδρὸς ἑπτὰ ἀπὸ τῆς παρθενίας αὐτῆς,
[37]καὶ αὐτὴ χήρα ὡς ἐτῶν ὀγδοήκοντα τεσσάρων, ἣ οὐκ ἀφίστατο ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ νηστείαις καὶ δεήσεσι λατρεύουσα νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν·
[38]καὶ αὕτη αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐπιστᾶσα ἀνθωμολογεῖτο τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ ἐλάλει περὶ αὐτοῦ πᾶσι τοῖς προσδεχομένοις λύτρωσιν ἐν ῾Ιερουσαλήμ.
[39]Καὶ ὡς ἐτέλεσαν ἅπαντα τὰ κατὰ τὸν νόμον Κυρίου, ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἑαυτῶν Ναζαρέτ.
[40]Τὸ δὲ παιδίον ηὔξανε καὶ ἐκραταιοῦτο πνεύματι πληρούμενον σοφίας, καὶ χάρις Θεοῦ ἦν ἐπ᾿ αὐτό.
Comments
Νόμος, ‘Law’, occurs five times. The noun is found 195 times in various senses in the NT, of which 95 instances are attested in St Paul (EDNT s.v. 1).
[22] καθαρισμοῦ: καθαρισμός (< καθαρίζω), ‘purification’, the LXX equivalent of the cl. Gk καθαρμός, e.g. Ex 29.36 (see Muraoka s.v. καθαρισμός, 1).
[23] ἐν νόμῳ: the article can be omitted in prepositional phrases esp. when they have a formulaic quality (Blass-Debrunner-Funk, par. 255, p. 133). It can also be omitted, as here, before an abstract noun: ‘according to (Mosaic) Law’ (ibid., par. 258.2, p. 135). Cf. the occurrence of ‘Law’ in vv. 22 (κατὰ τὸν νόμον Μωϋσέως), 24 (ἐν νόμῳ Κυρίου), 27 (τοῦ νόμου), and 39 (κατὰ τὸν νόμον Κυρίου).
[25] εὐλαβής: in the LXX sense, ‘devout’ (Muraoka s.v.2).
παράκλησιν: in the LXX sense, ‘comfort, consolation’, e.g., Na 3.7 (Muraoka s.v. 1).
[26] ἦν αὐτῷ κεχρηματισμένον: 3rd pers. sg., plupf., pass., χρηματίζομαι; the active form χρηματίζω is a koine vb that refers to pagan oracles, hence ‘of an oracle, give a response to those who consult it’ (LSJ I.4); but the pass. occurs most freq. in NT, and means ‘receive a divine warning or revelation’.
[34] εἰς σημεῖον ἀντιλεγόμενον: ἀντιλέγω, lit., ‘I contradict’ (contra + dico), a classical Greek vb par excellence that reflects the tendency esp. of Greek thinkers to debate pros and cons. The pass. vc, as here, in cl. Gk means ‘be disputed, questioned’ (LSJ s.v.ἀντιλέγω, 2). ἀντιλέγω in cl. Gk is pretty much has the same meaning as in LXX where it means ‘challenge the authority of, object to’, e.g., Is. 22.22 (Muraoka s.v. 1).
[40] ηὔξανε: αὐξάνω, intr. sense, ‘grow in quantity or size’ is first attested in Aristotle, and prob. is a koine meaning (LSJ s.v. III). Jesus grew physically and πνεύματι, ‘in spirit’ (intellectually, spiritually); πληρούμενον σοφίας: ‘being filled with wisdom’; the circumstantial part. πληρούμενον is in the present tense: Jesus grew ‘in spirit’ in step with his developing wisdom. This was an ongoing process (hence the present tense of the part.), not a one-off occurrence,
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 