Later text
Luke 1:78BSB
because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
Intertextuality Pair
Luke 1:78 → Zechariah 6:12
Allusion
Earlier text
And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: 'Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the LORD.
Significance
Zechariah's Benedictus describes the Messiah as the "Dawn" (anatolē) who will "visit us from on high" (Luke 1:78), employing the Greek word anatolē, which the LXX uses to translate the Hebrew ṣemaḥ ("Branch" or "Sprout") in Zechariah 6:12 and Jeremiah 23:5. In Zechariah 6:12, the divine oracle concerning Joshua the High Priest reads: "Here is a man whose name is the Branch (ṣemaḥ; LXX anatolē), and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the LORD." By using anatolē rather than simply "dawn" (hēlios anatelōn), Zechariah the priest-prophet likely alludes to this messianic Branch oracle, casting Jesus as the fulfillment of the priestly-royal figure who would arise to rebuild God's true sanctuary. The dual resonance of anatolē — both the rising of the sun and the budding of a branch — makes the Benedictus a richly compressed messianic announcement.
- Found via
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
- Reference Type
- Allusion
- Connection Method(s)
- Promise-Fulfillment — Zech 6:12 is direct prophecy by word (the man named the Branch), and Luke 1:78's ἀνατολή announces the verbal promise discharged; as TT 132 classifies it, the relation is promissory (promise → accomplishment), not type-antitype.
Related Anchor-Text Networks
Linked Mentions 2