Luke 1:39

Mary and Elizabeth

1:39 In those days ¹  Mary got up and went hurriedly into the hill country, to a town of Judah, ² 

Luke 2:1

The Census and the Birth of Jesus

2:1 Now ³  in those days a decree ⁴  went out from Caesar ⁵  Augustus ⁶  to register ⁷  all the empire ⁸  for taxes.

Luke 5:35

5:35 But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them, ⁹  at that time ¹⁰  they will fast.”

Luke 9:51

Rejection in Samaria

9:51 Now when ¹¹  the days drew near ¹²  for him to be taken up, ¹³  Jesus ¹⁴  set out resolutely ¹⁵  to go to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ 

Luke 17:28

17:28 Likewise, just as it was ¹⁷  in the days of Lot, people ¹⁸  were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;

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¹ sn The expression In those days is another general time reference, though the sense of the context is that the visit came shortly after Mary miraculously conceived and shortly after the announcement about Jesus.

² sn The author does not say exactly where Elizabeth stayed. The location is given generally as a town of Judah. Judah is about a three day trip south of Nazareth.

³ tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁴ sn This decree was a formal decree from the Roman Senate.

⁵ tn Or “from the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

⁶ sn Caesar Augustus refers to Octavian, who was Caesar from 27 b.c. to a.d. 14. He was known for his administrative prowess.

⁷ tn Grk “that all the empire should be registered for taxes.” The passive infinitive ἀπογράφεσθαι (apografesqai) has been rendered as an active in the translation to improve the English style. The verb is regarded as a technical term for official registration in tax lists (BDAG 108 s.v. ἀπογράφω a).

sn This census (a decree…to register all the empire) is one of the more disputed historical remarks in Luke. Josephus (Ant. 18.1.1 [18.1-2]) only mentions a census in a.d. 6, too late for this setting. Such a census would have been a massive undertaking; it could have started under one ruler and emerged under another, to whose name it became attached. This is one possibility to explain the data. Another is that Quirinius, who became governor in Syria for the later census, may have been merely an administrator for this census. See also Luke 2:2.

⁸ tn Grk “the whole (inhabited) world,” but this was a way to refer to the Roman empire (L&N 1.83).

⁹ sn The statement when the bridegroom is taken from them is a veiled allusion by Jesus to his death, which he did not make explicit until the incident at Caesarea Philippi in 9:18ff.

¹⁰ tn Grk “then in those days.”

¹¹ tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

¹² tn Grk “the days were being fulfilled.” There is literary design here. This starts what has been called in the Gospel of Luke the “Jerusalem Journey.” It is not a straight-line trip, but a journey to meet his fate (Luke 13:31-35).

¹³ sn Taken up is a reference to Jesus’ upcoming return to heaven by crucifixion and resurrection (compare Luke 9:31). This term was used in the LXX of Elijah’s departure in 2 Kgs 2:9.

¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ tn Grk “he set his face,” a Semitic idiom that speaks of a firm, unshakable resolve to do something (Gen 31:21; Isa 50:7).

¹⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁷ tn Or “as it happened.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “they.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general.