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celebratoryTopic: MyWords::RE::God'sWords
Parallels Between Abraham and Luke's Presentation of Christ-Event
The more I read Luke's Gospel alongside the Septuagint rendering of Genesis, the more parallels I see---intentional ones, I'm quite certain---between Luke's presentation of Jesus and the Abraham epic in Genesis.
To wit ...
> Opens with a couple old, obedient---yet childless (Gn11:28-30)
> At a holy place, with altar, YHWH promises the impossible, a child (Gn12:6-7; 13:14-18). The man doubts (Gn15:2-3).
> An exact parallel may be found between Lk1:32 and Gn14:19, 22, where the odd phrase "Most High" appears as a circumlocution for the Divine in Luke and as a description of God in Genesis.
> YHWH reaches to those presently outside his covenant (Gn16:10-15).
> God establishes covenant in blood both individually (Gn17; cf. Last Supper) and through "blood trail" (Gn15; cf. cross).
> Gn18:14 parallels Lk1:37 (but also cf. Jer32:17).
... there are others, but it seems that there is in Luke's Gospel a conscious desire to parallel the Abraham epic, suggesting that Luke understands Jesus to be renewing and fulfilling the covenant that God made with Abraham.
1:26-28: Galilee was not a respectable region; Nazareth was a small town, with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. Jewish betrothal included two steps, the payment of bride-price (Dt22:23; cf. Jewish tradition in Mishnah Kethubim 4:4-5). Gavri-El shows up again ... one wonders, how many virgins did Gabri-El visit that night, waiting for one who would say, "Yes." Typically, betrothal began when a girl was 13, with the wedding when she was 14. "Lord is with you" echoes Septuagint of Jdg6:12, with "Fear not" paralleling Jdg6:17. "Son of David," of course, indicates eligibility to rule Israel. Since Mary was pre-married, she had no social status; yet, God's representative greets her as "favored one." Verse 28: "Joy to you, graced one" = "Rejoice, you are about to receive a gift." "Blessed" = God has knelt before you.
1:29-33: "Conceive in womb" is an odd phrasing that is paralleled three times in Corpus Hippocratorum, lending limited creedence to the thought that Luke was a physician. "Y'hoshuah," "Yah saves." He is ruler of Israel---but Israel is bigger than anyone imagined, and his rule runs deeper than any human kingdom.
1:34-38: "Know," of course, implies intimate love. "Holy Spirit will arrive, and Power of the Highest will overshadow": "Overshadow" hints at Shekhinah (cf. Ex40:35). An interesting text from Jewish tradition: "At that time, pains and birth-pangs will come upon the woman in childbirth, the Shekhinah. ... When her womb opens, she will bear two Messiahs, ... and the Serpent will pass from the world" (Ra'Aya Mechemna 3:67-68). Nothing is impossible for God---God has lost none of his power. "The Lord's slave-girl": Wow! What a phrase! She knows that this will ruin her life; yet, she says, "Let it be."
1:39-45: "Filled with Holy Spirit"=Equipped for a specific, God-chosen task; in this case, to encourage Mary. "Blessed is she who trusted."
1:46-56: "Slave" in v.48 echoes v.38. Verse 50 echoes Psalm 103:17.Verse 46, literally, "My life makes God bigger!" Verse 48: She sees beyond her immediate circumstances; future generations will bless her. Verses 51-52: He has scattered those who thought they were powerful and lifted up the ones who knew they weren't. The promise to Abraham of offspring filling the earth continues---it is being fulfilled in ways that Mary probably doesn't even imagine yet.
