Luke 2:4-6

2:4 So 1  Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth 2  in Galilee to Judea, to the city 3  of David called Bethlehem, 4  because he was of the house 5  and family line 6  of David. 2:5 He went 7  to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, 8  and who was expecting a child. 2:6 While 9  they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 10 

1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

2 sn On Nazareth see Luke 1:26.

map For location see Map1-D3; Map2-C2; Map3-D5; Map4-C1; Map5-G3.

3 tn Or “town.” The translation “city” is used here because of its collocation with “of David,” suggesting its importance, though not its size.

4 sn The journey from Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem was a journey of about 90 mi (150 km). Bethlehem was a small village located about 7 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem.

map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

5 sn Luke’s use of the term “house” probably alludes to the original promise made to David outlined in the Nathan oracle of 2 Sam 7:12-16, especially in light of earlier connections between Jesus and David made in Luke 1:32. Further, the mention of Bethlehem reminds one of the promise of Mic 5:2, namely, that a great king would emerge from Bethlehem to rule over God’s people.

6 tn Or “family,” “lineage.”

7 tn The words “He went” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to begin a new sentence in the translation. The Greek sentence is longer and more complex than normal contemporary English usage.

8 tn Traditionally, “Mary, his betrothed.” Although often rendered in contemporary English as “Mary, who was engaged to him,” this may give the modern reader a wrong impression, since Jewish marriages in this period were typically arranged marriages. The term ἐμνηστευμένῃ (emnhsteumenh) may suggest that the marriage is not yet consummated, not necessarily that they are not currently married. Some mss read “the betrothed to him wife”; others, simply “his wife.” These readings, though probably not original, may give the right sense.

9 tn Grk “And it happened that while.” 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. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

10 tn The words “her child” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify what was being delivered. The wording here is like Luke 1:57. Grk “the days for her to give birth were fulfilled.”