Lukas 1:5

Birth Announcement of John the Baptist

1:5 During the reign ¹  of Herod ²  king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to ³  the priestly division of Abijah, ⁴  and he had a wife named Elizabeth, ⁵  who was a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ 

Lukas 16:23

16:23 And in hell, ⁷  as he was in torment, ⁸  he looked up ⁹  and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. ¹⁰ 

Lukas 20:6

20:6 But if we say, ‘From people,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

Lukas 23:5

23:5 But they persisted ¹¹  in saying, “He incites ¹²  the people by teaching throughout all Judea. It started in Galilee and ended up here!” ¹³ 

[1:5]  ¹ tn Grk “It happened that in the days.” 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.

[1:5]  ² sn Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[1:5]  ³ tn Grk “of”; but the meaning of the preposition ἐκ (ek) is more accurately expressed in contemporary English by the relative clause “who belonged to.”

[1:5]  ⁴ sn There were twenty-four divisions of priesthood and the priestly division of Abijah was eighth on the list according to 1 Chr 24:10.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “and her name was Elizabeth.”

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “a wife of the daughters of Aaron.”

[1:5]  sn It was not unusual for a priest to have a wife from a priestly family (a descendant of Aaron); this was regarded as a special blessing.

[16:23]  ⁷ sn The Greek term Hades stands for the Hebrew concept of Sheol. It is what is called hell today. This is where the dead were gathered (Ps 16:10; 86:13). In the NT Hades has an additional negative force of awaiting judgment (Rev 20:13).

[16:23]  ⁸ sn Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.

[16:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[16:23]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “in his bosom,” the same phrase used in 16:22. This idiom refers to heaven and/or participation in the eschatological banquet. An appropriate modern equivalent is “at Abraham’s side.”

[23:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “were adamant.” For “persisted in saying,” see L&N 68.71.

[23:5]  ¹² sn He incites the people. The Jewish leadership claimed that Jesus was a political threat and had to be stopped. By reiterating this charge of stirring up rebellion, they pressured Pilate to act, or be accused of overlooking political threats to Rome.

[23:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “beginning from Galilee until here.”