Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Luke: Chapter 1].
ancient Greek, but in the LXX and this one example in Luke. It is
on the Rosetta Stone and the early inscriptions so that the word
was simply applied by the LXX translators from current usage.
1:9 {His lot was} (\elache\). Literally, {he obtained the lot}.
Second aorist active indicative of \lagchan•\, to obtain by lot,
a very old verb from Homer on. It is used either with the
genitive as here, or the accusative as in Ac 1:17; 2Pe 1:1.
Papyri show examples with the accusative. It was only once in a
lifetime that a priest obtained the lot of going (\eiselth•n\,
here nominative aorist active participle agreeing with the
subject of \elache\) into the sanctuary (\ton naon\, not \to
hieron\, the outer courts) and burning incense on the golden
altar. "It was the great moment of Zacharias's life, and his
heart was no doubt alert for the supernatural" (Ragg). The
fortunate lot was "a white stone" to which Re 2:17 may refer.
{Burn incense} (\tou thumiasai\). Here only in the N.T. Occurs on
inscriptions. Hobart finds it used by medical writers for
fumigating herbs. "Ascending the steps to the Holy Place, the
priests spread the coals on the golden altar, and arranged the
incense, and the chief operating priest was then left alone
within the Holy Place to await the signal of the president to
burn the incense. It was probably at this time that the angel
appeared to Zacharias" (Vincent).
1:10 {Were praying without} (\•n proseuchomenon ex•\).
Periphrastic imperfect indicative picturing the posture of the
people while the clouds of incense rose on the inside of the
sanctuary.
1:11 {Appeared} (\•phth•\). First aorist passive indicative. It
is the form used by Paul of the resurrection appearances of Jesus
(1Co 15:5-8). There is no use in trying to explain away the
reality of the angel. We must choose between admitting an
objective appearance and a myth (Plummer).
1:13 {Is heard} (\eis•kousth•\). First aorist passive indicative.
A sort of timeless aorist, "was heard" when made, and so "is
heard" now. Probably the prayer was for a son in spite of the
great age of Elisabeth, though the Messianic redemption is
possible also. {John} (\I•an•n\). The word means that God is
gracious. The mention of the name should have helped Zacharias to
believe. The message of the angel (verses 13-17) takes on a
metrical form when turned into Hebrew (Ragg) and it is a prose
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