The Meaning of Luke 1:27 Explained

Luke 1:27

KJV: To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

YLT: to a virgin, betrothed to a man, whose name is Joseph, of the house of David, and the name of the virgin is Mary.

Darby: to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

ASV: to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

To  a virgin  espoused  to a man  whose  name  was Joseph,  of  the house  of David;  and  the virgin's  name  [was] Mary. 

What does Luke 1:27 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 1:26-38 - The Promised Messiah
The narrative is artlessly simple and natural and is its own complete vindication. No human genius could have invented it. Compare it, for instance, with all the ornate and fantastic pictures of the Annunciation by the great masters! That little children and wise men alike appreciate this story bespeaks its humanness and its divineness.
It is to the humble and childlike maiden that the supreme honor of womanhood is given. The choice was one of pure grace. The Creator-Spirit Himself wrought this divine miracle. The appearance of our Savior among mankind was the direct and immediate act of Deity, so far as His body was concerned, but as to His spirit, it was the voluntary emptying on His own part, of which Paul speaks, Philippians 2:7. "The word became flesh." It was not a transient assumption of the appearance of humanity, but a real fusion of the divine and the human in that holy thing which was to be born. Here was the beginning of a new humanity, to be reproduced in all that believe, till the earth is filled with the "sons of God," Romans 8:14. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 1

1  The preface of Luke to his whole gospel
5  The conception of John the Baptist;
26  and of Jesus
39  The prophecy of Elisabeth and of Mary, concerning Jesus
57  The nativity and circumcision of John
67  The prophecy of Zachariah, both of Jesus,
76  and of John

Greek Commentary for Luke 1:27

Betrothed [εμνηστευμενην]
Perfect passive participle. Betrothal usually lasted a year and unfaithfulness on the part of the bride was punished with death (Deuteronomy 23:24.). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 1:27

Luke 1:33 Shall be no end [ουκ εσται τελος]
Luke reports the perpetuity of this Davidic kingdom over the house of Jacob with no Pauline interpretation of the spiritual Israel though that was the true meaning as Luke knew. Joseph was of the house of David (Luke 1:27) and Mary also apparently (Luke 2:5). [source]
Luke 2:5 To enrol himself with Mary [απογραπσασται συν Μαριαμ]
Direct middle. “With Mary” is naturally taken with the infinitive as here. If so, that means that Mary‘s family register was in Bethlehem also and that she also belonged to the house of David. It is possible to connect “with Mary” far back with “went up” The Syriac Sinaitic expressly says that both Joseph and Mary were of the house and city of David. Betrothed Same verb as in Luke 1:27, but here it really means “married” or “espoused” as Matthew 1:24. shows. Otherwise she could not have travelled with Joseph. [source]
Romans 1:3 According to the flesh [κατα σαρκα]
His real humanity alongside of his real deity. For the descent from David see Matthew 1:1, Matthew 1:6, Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:27; John 7:42; Acts 13:23, etc. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 1:27 mean?

to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name [was] Joseph of [the] house of David and the name of the virgin [was] Mary
πρὸς παρθένον ἐμνηστευμένην ἀνδρὶ ὄνομα Ἰωσὴφ ἐξ οἴκου Δαυὶδ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς παρθένου Μαριάμ

παρθένον  a  virgin 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: παρθένος  
Sense: a virgin.
ἐμνηστευμένην  betrothed 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Middle or Passive, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: μνηστεύω  
Sense: to woo her and ask her in marriage.
ἀνδρὶ  to  a  man 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀνήρ  
Sense: with reference to sex.
  whose 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
ὄνομα  name  [was] 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: ὄνομα  
Sense: name: univ.
Ἰωσὴφ  Joseph 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰωσήφ 
Sense: the patriarch, the eleventh son of Jacob.
οἴκου  [the]  house 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: οἶκος  
Sense: a house.
Δαυὶδ  of  David 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Δαβίδ 
Sense: second king of Israel, and ancestor of Jesus Christ.
ὄνομα  name 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: ὄνομα  
Sense: name: univ.
τῆς  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
παρθένου  virgin 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: παρθένος  
Sense: a virgin.
Μαριάμ  [was]  Mary 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: Μαρία 
Sense: Mary the mother of Jesus.