Luke 1:26-38
“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.”
King James Version
Gabriel's announcement to Mary gathers the promises into one: a virgin conceives (Isa. 7:14), the child is called Son of the Highest, and God gives Him 'the throne of his father David' to reign forever (2 Sam. 7) — spoken before His birth as predictive prophecy.
Fulfillment References
Isaiah 7:14 2 Samuel 7:13-14 Matthew 1:18-25 Luke 2:7
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalLuke 1:35 names the Holy Ghost as the Father of the child — no second person required: Emmanuel is the God who was 'revealed but still above us' in the Old Testament, now come down and submitted to our finite condition. God with us.
JewishJudaism does not accept a virginal conception; Isaiah 7:14's almah is read as a young woman of Ahaz's day.
CatholicThe Annunciation is the moment of the Incarnation; Mary's fiat opens the fulfillment of the Davidic and Immanuel prophecies.
ProtestantGabriel's words bind Isaiah 7:14 and 2 Samuel 7 into a single messianic fulfillment in Jesus.
OrthodoxCelebrated as the feast of the Annunciation: the eternal Word takes flesh of the Theotokos, fulfilling the prophets.
DispensationalThe unconditional promise of David's literal throne to Jesus (vv.32-33) awaits its earthly realization in the millennium.
AcademicLuke's infancy narrative presents Jesus as Davidic Messiah by design; the throne saying (1:32-33) is among the clearest NT claims of dynastic fulfillment.
Scholarship & Sources
Darrell Bock (Luke, BECNT) and Raymond Brown (The Birth of the Messiah) treat Luke 1:32-33 as a composite of 2 Samuel 7:9-16 motifs; N. J. Wilson (Apostolic Pentecostal Theology) develops Luke 1:35's identification of the Holy Ghost as the Father of the child.
Open the full interactive entry →Cross-references, Hebrew/Greek, Dead Sea Scrolls notes, study tools and multi-tradition analysis in the interactive explorer.
Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.