Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 1:18-19 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found wit…
Deuteronomy 22:22-27 If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Luke 2:1-7
The fulness of time was now come, when God would send forth his Son, made of a woman, and made under the law; and it was foretold that he should be born at Bethlehem. Now here we have an account of the time, place, and manner of it.
I. The time when our Lord Jesus was born. Several things may be gathered out of these verses which intimate to us that it was the proper time.
1. He was born at the time when the fourth monarchy was in its height, just when it was become, more than any of the three before it, a universal monarchy. He was born in the days of Augustus Caesar, when the Roman empire extended itself further than ever before or since, including Parthia one way, and Britain another way;…
espoused wife--now, without doubt, taken home to him, as related in Mat 1:18; Mat 25:6.
Adam Clarke on Luke 2:5
With Mary his espoused wife - There was no necessity for Mary to have gone to Bethlehem, as Joseph's presence could have answered the end proposed in the census as well without Mary as with her; but God so ordered it, that the prophecy of Micah should be thus fulfilled, and that Jesus should be born in the city of David; Mic 5:2.
John Gill on Luke 2:5
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,.... Whom also he had married, though he had not known her in a carnal way; she came along with him to be taxed and enrolled also, because she was of the same family of David, and belonged to the same city:
being great with child; very near her time, and yet, though in such circumstances, was obliged by this edict, to come to Bethlehem; and the providence in it was, that she might give birth there, and so the prophecy in Micah 5:2 have its accomplishment: this was an instance, and an example, of obedience to civil magistrates.
John Calvin on Luke 2:1-7
Luke 2:1-7
Luke 2:1-7
1. Now it happened in those days, an edict came out from Augustus Caesar, that the whole world should be registered. [116] 2. This first registration [117] was made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. 3. And all went to make the return, [118] each in his own city. 4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, into the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage of David,) 5. To make the return with Mary [119] his betrothed wife, who was pregnant. 6. And it happened while they were there, the days of bringing forth were fulfilled. [120] 7. And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped h…
The Church Fathers
(non occ.) It is said that she was espoused, to imply that nothing more than espousals preceded the conception; for it was not by man's seed that the Holy Virgin conceived.
The sacred Evangelist says that Mary was betrothed to Joseph, to show that the conception had taken place upon her betrothal solely, and that the birth of the Emanuel was miraculous, and not in accordance with the laws of nature. For the holy Virgin did not bear from the immission of man's seed. And what was the reason of this? Christ, Who is the first-fruits of all, the second Adam according to the Scriptures, was born of the Spirit, that he might transmit the grace (of the spiritual birth) to us also: for we too were intended, no longer to bear the name of sons of men, but of God rather, having obtained the new birth of the Spirit in Christ first, that he might be "foremost among all," as the most wise Paul declares. And the occasion of the census most opportunely caused the holy Virgin to go to Bethlehem, that we might see another |9 prophecy fulfilled. For it is written, as we have already mentioned, "And thou Bethlehem, house of Ephratah, art very small to be among the thousands of Judah: from thee shall come forth for Me to be Ruler in Israel!" But in answer to those who argue that, if He were brought forth in the flesh, the Virgin was corrupted: and if she were not corrupted, that He was brought forth only in appearance, we say; the prophet declares, "the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in and gone out, and the gate remaineth closed." If, moreover, the Word was made flesh without sexual intercourse, being conceived altogether without seed, then was He born without injury to her virginity.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Crucifixion — A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the…
Husband — I.e., the “house-band,” connecting and keeping together the whole family. A man when betrothed was esteemed from that time a husband (Matt. 1:16, 20; Luke 2:5). A recently married man was exempt from…
Humility Of Christ, The · Exhibited in his: Birth — Exhibited in his: Birth
Jesus, The Christ · .Birth of (at Bethlehem) — .Birth of (at Bethlehem)
Mary · 1. The mother of Jesus — 1. The mother of Jesus
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
