Luke 1:32

“He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,”
Luke 1:32 · direct translation from the Greek

Study it in the app

Gabriel tells Mary her son will receive David's throne and reign foreverThe Kingdom of God

With the Greek beneath

Heοὗτοςwill beἔσταιgreatμέγαςandκαὶwill be calledκληθήσεταιSonυἱὸςof the Most High,Ὑψίστουandκαὶthe LordκύριοςGodὁ θεὸςwill giveδώσειhimαὐτῷthe throneτὸν θρόνονof his fatherτοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦDavid,Δαυὶδ

Allusion · 2 Samuel 7:8-16

Go to 2 Samuel 7:8-16

Both texts speak of the throne of David and of a kingdom forever: in 2 Samuel 7, the promise to David through Nathan; in Luke 1, the announcement to Mary.

They share words that are rare in the original, without a quotation.

θρόνονthrononG2362כִּסֵּאkiseH3678“throne”
βασιλείαςbasileiasG932מַמְלַכְתּmamlajtH4467“kingdom”
ΔαυὶδDauidG1138דָוִדdavidH1732“David”

Luke 1:32, word by word

will beἔσταιestai

To be: says who or what something is.

Where else “estai” appears

greatμέγαςmegas

greater

Of greater importance or rank than the rest.

Where else “megas” appears

will be calledκληθήσεταιklēthēsetai

call

To give someone a name.

Where else “klēthēsetai” appears

Sonυἱὸςhuios

Son

Jesus, the Son of God.

Where else “huios” appears

of the Most HighὙψίστουHypsistou

highest

Most High. "In the highest" means in heaven, where God is.

Where else “Hypsistou” appears

the Lordκύριοςkyrios

Lord

The Lord: God, whose name is YHWH; also Jesus.

Where else “kyrios” appears

Godθεὸςtheos

God

The Creator and Lord of all, the one God of Israel.

Where else “theos” appears

will giveδώσειdōsei

give

To hand something to another freely, as a gift.

Where else “dōsei” appears

the throneθρόνονthronon

throne

Throne: the seat of a king or a judge; hence royal power.

Where else “thronon” appears

of his fatherπατρὸςpatros

forefather

An ancestor: Abraham as the founder of the family.

Where else “patros” appears

DavidΔαυὶδDauid

David

David, the king of Israel from whose line God promised a king forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16).

Where else “Dauid” appears

The context

31And look, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus.

32 · This verse (above)

33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Read all of Luke 1

To study Luke 1 in a group

1. What it says
What does the angel Gabriel tell Mary about the son she will have, and how does she answer at the end? (vv. 30-38)
2. What it means
Why do you think Zechariah was left unable to speak while Mary was not, when both asked the angel a question? (vv. 18-20, 34-38)
3. How I live it
Which promise of God is hard for you to believe today, and what small step could you take in trust, like Mary?

How to use it