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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comAdam Clarke Commentary - Luke 1:15 - 1:15
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He shall be great in the sight of the Lord - That is, before Jesus Christ, whose forerunner he shall be; or he shall be a truly great person, for so this form of speech may imply.
Neither wine nor strong drink - Σικερα, i.e. all fermented liquors which have the property of intoxicating, or producing drunkenness. The original word σικερα, sikera, comes from the Hebrew, שכר shakar, to inebriate. “Any inebriating liquor,” says St. Jerome, (Epis. ad Nepot).” is called sicera, whether made of corn, apples, honey, dates, or any other fruits.” One of the four prohibited liquors among the East Indian Moslimans is called sikkir. “Sikkir is made by steeping fresh dates in water till they take effect in sweetening it: this liquor is abominable and unlawful.” Hedaya, vol. iv. p. 158. Probably this is the very liquor referred to in the text. In the Institutes of Menu it is said, “Inebriating liquor may be considered as of three principal sorts: that extracted from dregs of sugar, that extracted from bruised rice, and that extracted from the flowers of the madhuca: as one, so are all; they shall not be tasted by the chief of the twice-born.” Chap. xi. Inst. 95. Twice-born is used by the Brahmins in the same sense as being born again is used by Christians. It signifies a spiritual regeneration. From this word comes our English term cyder, or sider, a beverage made of the fermented juice of apples. See the note on Lev 10:9.
Shall be filled with the Holy Ghost - Shall be Divinely designated to this particular office, and qualified for it, from his mother’s womb - from the instant of his birth. One MS., two versions, and four of the primitive fathers read εν τῃ κοιλιᾳ, In the womb of his mother - intimating that even before he should be born into the world the Holy Spirit should be communicated to him. Did not this take place on the salutation of the Virgin Mary? - and is not this what is intended, Luk 1:44? To be filled with the Holy Ghost, implies having the soul influenced in all its powers, with the illuminating, strengthening, and sanctifying energy of the Spirit.