Luke 2:10

εὐαγγελίζομαι euangelizomai G2097

Range of meaning

To bring or announce good news. In ordinary Greek it was used for news of a military victory, the birth of an heir, a ruler coming to the throne, or any welcome public report. The related noun euangelion could also mean the reward paid to the messenger who brought good news. In Israel's Scriptures (Greek translation) it is the verb of the herald who announces God's victory and reign.

Against the English

'Bring good news' (BSB, ESV, NIV) and 'bring good tidings' (KJV) are accurate. What English loses is that this is a single verb with 'joy' as its direct object: literally 'I good-news to you a great joy'. Also lost is the public, official feel of the word, which belonged to heralds and proclamations rather than to private conversation.

How it drifted

Because 'gospel' (euangelion) later became the name of a Christian message, and then of a literary genre, modern readers often hear 'good news' as a church term for a plan of personal salvation. In Luke 2 the word has not yet become a technical term. It is the herald's word for announcing a public event: a birth that changes the situation of a whole nation.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek Old Testament: 2 Sam 18:19–31 (runners bringing battle news to David); Isa 40:9 ('you who bring good news to Zion… Behold your God'); Isa 52:7 ('the feet of him who brings good news… who says to Zion, Your God reigns'); Isa 61:1 (quoted by Jesus in Luke 4:18); Ps 96(95):2 ('announce his salvation from day to day'). Roman world: the Priene calendar inscription (c. 9 BC) honours Augustus as a 'savior' and says that the birthday of 'the god' was the beginning of the good tidings (euangelia, plural; the word is partly restored) for the world. Josephus uses euangelia for the news of Vespasian becoming emperor (Jewish War 4.618, 4.656).

What it does in this verse

The angel is acting as a royal herald. In v. 11 he announces the birth of a 'Savior… Christ the Lord' in 'the city of David', which is a birth announcement for a king. To Jewish ears the verb echoes Isaiah's messenger announcing that God is coming to rescue Zion. Luke has just named Caesar Augustus (2:1), so the vocabulary also overlaps with the way Augustus's own birth was celebrated. Scholars debate how deliberate that overlap is (see debates).

λαός laos G2992

Range of meaning

A people or populace. In Greek literature it can mean a crowd, the common people, or a nation. In the Greek Old Testament it overwhelmingly renders Hebrew 'am and refers to Israel as 'the people' of God. The plural ethnē ('nations') is normally used for other peoples, the Gentiles.

Against the English

BSB, ESV, NASB, NIV and WEB say 'all the people'. KJV ('to all people') and NLT ('to all people') drop the article, which makes the phrase sound like 'everyone in the world'.

How it drifted

The KJV wording 'which shall be to all people' became one of the best-known lines of Christmas (recited in carol services and famously in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'). It is now commonly heard as a statement that the news is for humanity in general. The Greek, singular and with the article, says 'the whole people'.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Luke 1:68 God 'has visited and redeemed his people'. In 1:77 the people receive 'knowledge of salvation'. Luke 2:31–32 is decisive. Simeon distinguishes 'all the peoples' (plural, pantōn tōn laōn), the 'nations/Gentiles' (ethnōn), and 'your people Israel' (laou sou Israēl). Later, Acts 15:14 deliberately stretches the word: God takes 'from the Gentiles a people (laos) for his name'.

What it does in this verse

The angel's first announcement is that Israel's long-awaited joy has arrived. The Davidic Messiah promised to Israel has been born. Luke's story does widen the scope: Simeon at once speaks of light for the Gentiles (2:32), and Acts carries the message to the nations. The widening is real, but it comes in stages, and this verse is the first stage. Reading 'all people' here as 'all humanity' merges the steps that Luke keeps distinct.

χαρά chara G5479

Range of meaning

Joy or gladness. Also the cause of joy, and in biblical usage the joyful response of people to God's saving action, especially the celebration of a rescue or a fulfilled promise.

Against the English

'Joy' is accurate. The difference lies in construction: KJV/BSB/ESV 'good news of great joy' makes joy describe the news. NIV and NLT ('news that will cause/bring great joy') make joy the result of the news. In Greek, the joy is itself the thing being announced.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke uses joy as a frame for his whole Gospel. 1:14: 'you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.' 1:44: John leaps 'for joy'. 15:7, 10: joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. 24:52: the disciples return to Jerusalem 'with great joy' (meta charas megalēs). In the Prophets, joy is the mark of God's restoration (e.g. Isa 9:3; 35:10; 61:3).

What it does in this verse

'Great joy' (charan megalēn) deliberately answers 'great fear' (phobon megan) in the previous verse. The terror caused by God's glory is replaced by joy at God's act. The phrase also opens a thread that ends at 24:52 with the same words, 'great joy'.

φοβέομαι phobeomai G5399

Range of meaning

To be afraid or frightened. Also to stand in awe of, or to revere (especially God).

Against the English

'Fear not' and 'Do not be afraid' are both accurate. A present-tense command with 'not', as here, often (though not always) means 'stop doing what you are doing'. That fits, because the shepherds are already terrified.

Used elsewhere in the period

'Do not fear' is the standard reassurance spoken when God or his messenger appears: Gen 15:1; Judg 6:23; Dan 10:12, 19; Luke 1:13 (to Zechariah), 1:30 (to Mary), 5:10 (to Peter).

What it does in this verse

The fear in v. 9 is the right response of human beings when God's glory shows up. The angel does not scold them for it. He tells them why they no longer need to be afraid: the presence of God has come to announce rescue, not judgment.

ἄγγελος angelos G0032

Range of meaning

A messenger, human or heavenly. In Jewish and Christian texts, especially a messenger sent from God's heavenly court.

Against the English

'Angel' is the established English form of the word. YLT's 'messenger' keeps the job description visible: this being is defined by the message he carries.

How it drifted

Popular imagery (greeting cards, nativity plays, the cherubs of Renaissance and Victorian art) makes angels gentle, decorative or childlike. Luke's 'angel of the Lord' arrives with God's own radiant glory, and the shepherds are terrified.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament 'angel of the Lord' (angelos kyriou) renders Hebrew mal'akh YHWH (e.g. Gen 16:7; Judg 6:11–22). In Luke the messenger Gabriel 'stands in the presence of God' (1:19).

What it does in this verse

The speaker is an envoy from God's court, so his announcement carries the authority of the God who sent him. That is why his first words have to be 'Do not be afraid'.

Does 'all the people' mean Israel alone, or does it already point to all humanity?

• It means Israel, the nation as God's people. Luke widens the scope later and on purpose.

  Luke's regular use of singular laos with the article for Israel (1:68, 1:77, 7:16, 24:19). Simeon's explicit distinction in 2:31–32 between 'all the peoples', 'the Gentiles' and 'your people Israel'. The Greek Old Testament usage. This is the view of most major commentaries (e.g. Marshall, Fitzmyer, Bock, Green).

• It means Israel first, but Luke expects readers to hear a hint of wider reach.

  Luke-Acts as a whole moves from Israel to the nations. Simeon widens the scope almost at once (2:32). Acts 15:14 deliberately applies laos to a people taken 'from the Gentiles'. The Roman-style 'savior/good news' language would also resonate with Gentile readers.

Is Luke deliberately contrasting this announcement with Roman imperial 'good news' about Augustus?

• Yes. Luke sets up a deliberate counter-proclamation.

  The chapter opens with Augustus's decree (2:1). The cluster of words shared with imperial propaganda: euangelia, sōtēr ('savior'), birth, peace (v. 14). The Priene inscription shows these words were used together for Augustus's birthday. Scholars such as Richard Horsley, John Dominic Crossan and N. T. Wright take this view.

• The overlap is real, but Luke's main source and point is Israel's Scriptures, not anti-imperial polemic.

  Every key word already occurs in the Greek Old Testament, especially Isaiah. Luke shows no direct dependence on any imperial inscription. Elsewhere Luke-Acts often presents Roman officials neutrally or favourably. Many commentators allow the echo but give it a secondary role.

Were shepherds a despised class, making this announcement a reversal of social status?

• Yes. Shepherds were seen as unreliable and ritually or socially marginal.

  Rabbinic lists of suspect trades (e.g. m. Qiddushin 4:14 in some readings; b. Sanhedrin 25b, which disqualifies herdsmen as witnesses). This fits Luke's theme of God lifting up the lowly (1:52).

• The evidence is too late to prove that view. Luke's emphasis is humility and David, not disgrace.

  The rabbinic texts date from the 2nd to 5th centuries AD and are mixed; other Jewish texts honour shepherds (Moses, David, God as shepherd in Ps 23). Bethlehem's Davidic shepherd associations fit the 'city of David' setting. Shepherds were ordinary, low-status working men, and Luke's theme of God choosing the lowly holds either way.