Luke 1:26
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
It's easy to breeze past the setting, but Nazareth was considered insignificant, even contemptible, by many at the time. This choice of location for the angel's visit dramatically highlights God's pattern of choosing the humble and overlooked to reveal His greatest purposes.
Following the announcement to Zechariah and Elizabeth about their impending child, God sends the angel Gabriel again, this time six months later. Gabriel is dispatched to an ordinary, seemingly insignificant town in Galilee called Nazareth, to visit a young woman named Mary. This sets the stage for the most extraordinary announcement of all: the conception and birth of the Son of God.
Understand the original words
angelos · Greek Noun
A heavenly messenger, a spiritual being created by God to serve as a mediator, minister, and herald of His divine will and purposes to humanity.
The annunciation in Nazareth, a humble Galilean town, highlights God's pattern of working in obscure places and through unexpected people, contrasting with the political centers of power and the more prominent events surrounding John the Baptist's birth.
c. 20 BC - 1 BC
Herod the Great Rules Judea
Herod the Great, a client king of Rome, ruled Judea with a mix of building projects and brutal suppression. His paranoia about rivals to his throne may have influenced where Joseph and Mary, who had Davidic lineage, chose to live.
c. 6 BC
Conception of John the Baptist
The angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah in the temple, foretelling the birth of John the Baptist. This event precedes the annunciation to Mary by about six months.
c. 5 BC— this verse
Conception of Jesus Christ
The angel Gabriel visits Mary in Nazareth, announcing that she will conceive the Son of God by the Holy Spirit. This marks the pivotal moment of the Incarnation.
c. 5 BC - 4 BC
Death of Herod the Great
Herod's death led to a period of instability and fragmentation of his kingdom. This political upheaval might have contributed to Joseph and Mary's continued residence in Nazareth, away from the heart of Judean politics.
This Old Testament prophecy directly foretells the virgin birth, which is the central event Gabriel announces to Mary in Nazareth.
Daniel 9:24-27Daniel's prophecy about the 'seventy weeks' leading to an anointed one provides a divine timeline and context for Gabriel's mission to bring about the Messiah.
Matthew 2:22-23This passage explains why Jesus, despite being from Bethlehem by prophecy, ended up living in Nazareth, echoing the unexpected beginnings described in Luke 1:26.
John 1:45-46The skeptical reaction to Jesus coming from Nazareth ('Can anything good come out of Nazareth?') highlights the humble and unassuming setting chosen for the Annunciation, as established in Luke 1:26.
barnesLuke 1:26: "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,"
In the sixth month - The sixth month after Elizabeth's conception. A city of Galilee named Nazareth - See the notes at Matthew 2:22-23.
bensonLuke 1:26: "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,"
Luke 1:26-27 . In the sixth month — Namely, after Elisabeth had conceived; the angel Gabriel — The same angel who had been the messenger of such good news to Zacharias; was sent from God unto a city of Galilee — A country which lay “in the most northern part of Palestine, and was bounded on the north by Lebanon and Syria, on the west by Phœnicia, on the south by Samaria, and on the ea…
It's easy to breeze past the setting, but Nazareth was considered insignificant, even contemptible, by many at the time. This choice of location for the angel's visit dramatically highlights God's pattern of choosing the humble and overlooked to reveal His greatest purposes.
Following the announcement to Zechariah and Elizabeth about their impending child, God sends the angel Gabriel again, this time six months later. Gabriel is dispatched to an ordinary, seemingly insignificant town in Galilee called Nazareth, to visit a young woman named Mary. This sets the stage for the most extraordinary announcement of all: the conception and birth of the Son of God.
Following the announcement to Zechariah and Elizabeth about their impending child, God sends the angel Gabriel again, this time six months later. Gabriel is dispatched to an ordinary, seemingly insignificant town in Galilee called Nazareth, to visit a young woman named Mary. This sets the stage for the most extraordinary announcement of all: the conception and birth of the Son of God.
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about Luke 1:26 is available in the Sola app.
c. 5 BC
Betrothal of Mary and Joseph
Mary is betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter from the line of David. This betrothal custom meant they were legally bound but had not yet consummated their marriage.
"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth," — It's easy to breeze past the setting, but Nazareth was considered insignificant, even contemptible, by many at the time. This choice of location for the angel's visit dramatically highlights God's pa…
