Luke 1:29

Luk 1:29-30. When she saw him she was troubled — Διεταραχθη, disturbed or perplexed; at his saying — A salutation so unusual from a being of a superior order (for such his form, which was more than human, bespoke him to be) put Mary into a great perturbation of spirit; and no wonder; for if Zacharias, a venerable and aged minister of God, and one accustomed to have intercourse with heaven, was amazed at the appearance of an angel, how much more might a young virgin be so, her sex peculiarly subjecting her to the passion of fear. And she cast in her mind — Δειλογιζετο, she reasoned with herself; what manner of salutation this should be — What should be its intention, and from what original it could come. It is not improbable but she suspected that it might possibly proceed from the artifice of some evil spirit, to inspire her with sentiments of vanity and pride. And the angel — Speaking with a gentle and smooth accent, in order to remove her doubts, and inspire her with confidence and courage; said, Fear not, Mary — Thus preparing her for the reception of his message; for all passions, but particularly that of fear, disquiets the heart, and makes it unfit to receive messages from God. For thou hast found favour with God — And I have no other design but to assure thee of it. Observe, reader, those that have found favour with God ought not to give way to disquieting, distrustful fears. Does God favour thee? then fear not, though the world frown upon thee. Is he for thee? then it signifies little who is against thee.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 1:29. Διεταράχθη, she was troubled) Her being troubled arose from the apparition itself (ἡ δὲ ἰδοῦσα, when she saw him). Therefore she does not seem to have been previously accustomed to apparitions. [All things, in the case of the blessed Virgin, both what was foretold to herself, and what ensued subsequently, befel her without her expecting them. But if her conception, as the tradition of several members of the Roman Church represents, had been immaculate, she could have hardly accounted herself, however superlatively modest, in such an ordinary position (so entirely undistinguished from ordinary men and women).—V. g.]—ποταπὸδ εἴη, of what kind may be) The formulæ themselves, which had been addressed to her, hail, and, the Lord with thee, were ordinary salutations; but from the peculiar and extraordinary titles which the angel added, Mary understood that the formulæ, especially as being conjoined with these titles, were employed with an extraordinary [distinguishing] and new force. In fact, in all the recorded apparitions of angels, there is no other instance occurs of such a salutation. Mary not only wondered, but also cast in her mind, of what kind might be, what was the meaning, and what the drift of this salutation.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 1:29 . διεταράχθη : assuming that ιδοῦσα (T.R.) is no part of the true text, Godet thinks that Mary saw nothing, and that it was only the word of the angel that disturbed her. It is certainly the latter that is specified as the cause of trouble. The salutation troubled her because she felt that it meant something important, the precise nature of which ( ποταπὸς ) did not appear. And yet on the principle that in supernatural experiences the subjective and the objective correspond, she must have had a guess.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Moved at the strangeness of the matter.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 29. She was troubled at his saying] The glorious appearance of the heavenly messenger filled her with amazement; and she was puzzled to find out the purport of his speech.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(29) she was troubled at his saying.—The same word is used as had been used of Zacharias. With Mary, as with him, the first feeling was one of natural terror. Who was the strange visitor, and what did the strange greeting mean?

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

29. And when she saw him, she was troubled] Rather, But she was greatly troubled.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when she saw him,.... The Persic version renders it, "when Mary saw the angel"; which expresses the true sense of the words, The Vulgate Latin reads, "when she heard"; i.e. the salutation:

she was troubled at his saying; at his speaking to her; she was surprised at the sight of him, and more at what he said to her,

and cast in her mind, or thought and reasoned within herself,

what manner of salutation this should be; for it was not usual with the Jews for a man to use any salutation to a woman; with them it was not lawful to be done in any shape or form; not by a messenger, nor even by her own husband (u); so that Mary might well be thrown into a concern what should be the meaning of this; and especially, that she should be addressed in such language, and saluted as a peculiar favourite of God, and blessed among women,

(u) T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 70. 1, 2. Maimon. Hilch. Issure Biah, c. 21.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

Ver. 29. She was troubled at his saying] Affect not the vain praises of men, saith one. The blessed Virgin was troubled when truly praised by an angel. They shall be praised by angels in heaven who have eschewed the praises of men on earth.

What manner of salutation] Cuius esset (saith one interpreter) voluit enim probate spiritum. Qualis et quanta, saith another; Id est, quam honorifica et magnifica, ac proinde supra sortem suam posita. What an honourable salutation it was, and more than she could acknowledge.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Troubled at his saying - Disturbed or perplexed at what he said. It was so unexpected, so sudden, so extraordinary, and was so high an honor, that she was filled with anxious thoughts, and did not know what to make of it.

Cast in her mind - Thought, or revolved in her mind.

What manner of salutation - What this salutation could mean.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

When she had heard. In the Greek text, when she had seen; as if she also saw the angel, as St. Ambrose observed. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

It seemeth that she did not only hear a voice, and saw an ordinary appearance, but the appearance of the angel was attended with some manifestation of the glory of God, which affected her, and made her wonder what the meaning of this should be, that God should send an angel to her, and with such a kind of salutation.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. Saw him—The phrase, when she saw him, being absent from many manuscripts, is of doubtful authenticity, but the angel’s visibility seems to be implied.

Troubled at his saying—There is a meek composure in the words of Mary, quite in contrast with the hasty language of Zacharias. She utters no bold word demanding test or proof; and she closes with complete submission to her trial and to her destiny of honour.

Cast in her mind— Conjectured, debated in her mind.

What manner—What the nature.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

She was troubled; more accurately, she was greatly troubled. Different to Zacharias, who evidently doubted in the mission of the angel, and who required some sign before he could believe, Mary simply wondered at the strangeness of what was about to happen. Her terror at the sudden appearance of the angel, who probably appeared to her as a young man clad in garments of a strange dazzling whiteness, is most natural.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

29. The ἰδοῦσα of Rec[6] is omitted by אBDLX.

[6] Rec. The Textus Receptus.

29. ἡ δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ διεταράχθη. ‘But she was greatly troubled at the saying.’

ποταπός. ‘Of what kind.’ The salutation was to her not only astonishing, but enigmatical.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

29. Here also ἰδοῦσα (A), for whteh some Latin texts have cum audisset, is an interpolation borrowed perhaps from ver. 12. It is not stated that Mary saw Gabriel. The pronominal use of the article (ἡ δέ) is rare in N.T. (Act 1:6 ; Mat 2:5, Mat 2:9). It is confined to phrases with μέν and δέ, and mostly to nom. masc. and fem.

διεταράχθη. Here only in N.T. It is stronger than ἐταράχθη in ver. 12. Neither Zacharias nor Mary are accustomed to visions or voices: they are troubled by them. There is no evidence of hysterical excitement or hallucination in either case. The διελογίζετο “reckoned up different reasons,” is in itself against this. The verb is confined to the Synoptic Gospels (5:21, 22; Mar 2:6, Mar 2:8) : Joh 11:50 the true reading is λογίζεσθε.

ποταπός In N.T. this adj. never has the local signification, “from what country or nation?” cujas? (Aesch. Cho. 575; Soph. O.C. 1160). It is synonymous with ποῖος, a use which is found in Demosthenes ; and it always implies astonishment, with or without admiration (7:39; Mat 8:27 ; Mar 13:1; 2Pe 3:11; 1Jn 3:1). In LXX it does not occur. The original form is ποδαπός, and may come from ποῦ ἀπό; but -δαπος is perhaps a mere termination.

εἴη. It is only in Lk. in N.T. that we find the opt. in indirect questions. In him it is freq. both without ἄν (3:15, 8:9, 22:9, 22:23; Act 17:11, Act 21:33, Act 25:20) and with ἄν (6:11; Act 5:24, Act 10:17). In Act 8:31 we have opt. with ἄν in a direct question. Simcox, Lang. of N. T. p. 112; Win. 41:4, 100, p. 374

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.