(36) And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth
month with her, who was called barren.
(37) For with God nothing shall be impossible.
(38) And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel
departed from her‖.
―(26) And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel (Gavri-El) was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named
Nazareth, (27) To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the
virgin's name was Mary‖. This is one of the most valuable clues given of Y‘shua‘s foretold timing of his
birth. It is said that Gabriel visited in the sixth month. Please note, not according to the Christian‘s Gregorian
calendar, but six months from Elisheva‘s conception! Six months from Sivan takes us to Kislev; that is, when
Y‘shua was conceived in Miriam‘s womb, meaning late in December. For that we will look at the calendar
and the chronological events of Yochanan (John) and Y‘shua‘s dates of birth under the section, ―The
Visitations‖.
The meaning of the name Miriam (Mary) is obscure. The name was given, not because of its meaning, but
because of the person it recalled: ―Miriam‖, Moses‘ sister. A Jewish tradition says that Miriam means
―bitterness‖ since the Miriam of the book of Exodus was born at the time the Egyptians began to persecute
the children of Israel.
At the time of Gabriel‘s visit to Miriam, we read that she was a ―virgin‖ espoused to a man whose name was
Yoseph (Joseph). This was sealed by the use of a wedding contract (ketubah). Under Jewish law, a young
man was considered ready for marriage at age 18 (some say 13), and a girl at age 12 and a day. The
espousal or engagement was considered so binding that it was practically equivalent to marriage. An
engagement could be broken only by means of a bill of divorcement (get).
―(28) And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women. (29) And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her
mind what manner of salutation this should be. (30) And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou
hast found favour with God. (31) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and
shalt call his name JESUS. (32) 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: (33) And he shall reign over the house of
Jacob (Israel) for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end‖. King David had been promised the throne
rights, or rulership, to Israel‘s kingdom forever. This promise assured David that members of his family would
be kings of Israel. After Israel had been without a king for over 500 years, Miriam was told that YHWH would
fulfill His promise to David through her.
We know that Y‘shua did fulfill the first Tanach (Old Covenant) requirement for kingship in that He was a
member of the house of David (apart from Jechonias who was cursed.) The problem is that He is not the
only one, and that there were a good number of Jews living at this time who were descendants of David
(apart from Jechonias who was cursed). And on that grounds alone any one of them had the right to claim
David‘s throne. Now we have the second element: that of Divine appointment. It is to this particular One that
is given the Divine appointment: ―and the Lord shall give unto Him the throne of His father David‖.
Gabriel informs Miriam that she is to give birth to a Son and she is to call His name ―Y‘shua‖. It should be
remembered that when Gabriel was speaking to Miriam he was not speaking in English or Greek, but
Hebrew. As said earlier, in Hebrew the name Jesus is pronounced ―Y‘shua‖, which has for its root meaning
―to save‖.
Gabriel then points out several things concerning the Son of Miriam, which can be summarised in five points.
First, the Incarnation would be in man. YHWH is going to become man in the person of Y‘shua.
Secondly, as to his name, it was Y‘shua (Salvation).
Thirdly, as to His essential nature, He is to be great.
Fourthly, He would be the Son of YHWH by virtue of His unique relationship to YHWH the Father.
Fifthly, He would fulfil the Davidic covenant. YHWH promised David four eternal things: an eternal house, an
eternal throne, an eternal kingdom, and an eternal descendant. All four areas are demonstrated in this
passage.
―(34) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?‖ Miriam also raises a
question; but unlike Zacharias, her question does not arise out of unbelief, but is merely a question of how.
―(35) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of
the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be