The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (83 page)

1:31 Jesus:
A Hebrew name meaning "Yahweh saves" (CCC 430).
See note on Mt 1:21
. 
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1:32-33
Jesus is the awaited Messiah from David's dynastic line (2 Sam 7:12-16; Ps 89:26-29; 132:11; Is 9:6-7). Following Jewish custom, Joseph's legal fatherhood was equivalent to natural fatherhood in matters of inheritance. Joseph thus confers the privileges of a Davidic descendant upon Jesus (1:27), whereas God the Father anoints him as king (Mk 16:19) (CCC 437). 
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1:33 the house of Jacob:
i.e., the kingdom of Israel. • Since the eighth century
B.C.
, the northern tribes of Israel had been scattered among the Gentiles (2 Kings 17:2123), and since the sixth century
B.C.
, many from the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin had likewise lived in exile throughout the ancient world (2 Kings 25:8-11). The prophets lamented this tribal disintegration of God's people but announced a future reunion of Jacob's descendants under the Davidic Messiah (Is 11:12; Ezek 37:15-24; Hos 1:10-11; Amos 9:9-12). Jesus, says Gabriel, is this anointed Davidic ruler who will re-gather the tribes of Israel, together with all nations, into his glorious kingdom (Mt 28:18-20; Acts 15:15-18; Rom 11:2527) (CCC 709-10).
See note on Lk 4:43
. 
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1:34 How can this be:
Or, better, "How will this be . . . ?" Mary is not questioning God's ability to give her a son, but she is inquiring as to how such a plan will unfold.
I have no husband:
The Greek text literally reads "I do not know man", which refers to Mary's
virginal
status rather than her
marital
status. Her concern is not that she is unmarried but that she is a virgin at present and that she intends to remain one in the future. The announcement of a miraculous conception (1:31) thus causes Mary to wonder aloud how God will bless her with a son and yet preserve her virginal purity. Her words are inexplicable otherwise. For nothing about the angel's announcement should have perplexed Mary—whose betrothal to Joseph was already a legally binding marriage—unless she intended to forego ordinary sexual relations even as a married woman.
See note on Mt 1:18
. • According to certain Church Fathers, such as St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Augustine, Mary had previously taken a vow of lifelong virginity. See notes on Mt 1:25 and 12:46. 
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1:35 overshadow you:
The conception of Jesus kilkJ within the womb of Mary will be entirely supernatural, i.e., the result of God's creative work within her (Mt 1:1825; CCC 497, 723). • The expression used by the angel is the same used in the Greek version of Ex 40:35 to describe how Yahweh "overshadowed" the Tabernacle, making it his dwelling place in Israel. • Gabriel mentions the
Holy Spirit,
the
Most High,
and the
Son of God,
offering Mary a glimpse of the Trinity. 
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1:37 nothing will be impossible:
Gabriel's reassurance casts its light over the entirety of Lk 1. He insists that God can surmount every obstacle to motherhood, including the infertility of Elizabeth and the virginity of Mary (CCC 269, 273). • The statement carries overtones of the OT, especially Gen 18:14 and Jer 32:17. 
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1:38 let it be to me:
Mary freely and actively embraces God's invitation to bear the Messiah. The Greek expression denotes more than mere passive acceptance, indicating that she
wishes
or
desires
to fulfill God's will in her life. Unlike Zechariah, she welcomes the angel's words uninhibited by doubt (CCC 148, 494, 2617).
See note on Lk 1:18
. 
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1:41 leaped in her womb:
Elizabeth's experience parallels that of Rebekah in Gen 25. • Both Luke and the Greek OT use the same verb (Gk.
skirtao
) to describe children leaping or stirring in the womb. As Rebekah's experience signaled the preeminence of Jacob over his older brother Esau (Gen 25:2223), so the similar experience of Elizabeth was a sign that Jesus would be greater than his older cousin John (3:16; Jn 3:2730). 
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1:42 Blessed are you:
Elizabeth blesses Mary with words once spoken to Jael and Judith in the OT (Judg 5:24-27; Jud 13:18). • These women were blessed for their heroic faith and courage in warding off enemy armies hostile to Israel. Victory was assured when both Jael and Judith assassinated the opposing military commanders with a mortal blow to the head. Mary will follow in their footsteps, yet in her case both the enemy destroyed and the victory won will be greater, for she will bear the Savior who crushes the head of sin, death, and the devil underfoot (Gen 3:15; 1 Jn 3:8) (CCC 64, 489). 
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1:43 mother of my Lord:
This title reveals the twin mysteries of Jesus' divinity and Mary's divine maternity (CCC 449, 495). Note that every occurrence of the word
Lord
in the immediate (1:45) and surrounding context refers to God (1:28, 32, 38, 46, 58, 68). • Mary's divine motherhood was the first Marian dogma expounded by the Church. The Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431) defined her unique relationship to Christ and honored her with the title "Mother of God" (Gk.
Theotokos
). This was reaffirmed in 1964 at Vatican II (
Lumen Gentium,
53). 
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1:46-55
The
Magnificat
(Latin for "magnifies") is a hymn of praise and a recital of God's covenant faithfulness. Mary extols humility (1:48) and rejoices in God's blessings on the lowly (1:47, 52-53). The song also introduces the theme of God's "mercy" (1:50, 54), which flows into the following episode (1:58, 72, 78) (CCC 2097, 2619). •The
Magnificat
is imbued with themes and imagery from the OT. It closely resembles the Song of Hannah in 1 Sam 2:1-10, while other passages illumine the background (Ps 89:10, 13; 98:3; 111:9; Sir 33:12; Hab 3:18). 
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