Luke 1:28 — The Angel's Greeting to Mary

Luke 1:28 records the angel Gabriel's first words to Mary. The greeting has two parts: an address that identifies Mary as the recipient of divine favor, and a declarative statement that the Lord is present with her. The English rendering 'Hail' functions as a salutation rather than a wish for well-being; the clause 'thou that art highly favored' is a description of who Mary is in relation to God, not a wish for what she should become. Favor here is something Mary has already received, setting up the rest of the angelic message that follows in vv. 30-37.

The second half, 'the Lord is with thee,' is a theologically loaded statement. In the Old Testament, this kind of phrase is used of particular individuals whom God accompanies for the sake of his purpose — for example, the statement to Gideon in Judges 6:12 that 'the Lord is with thee.' Applied to Mary, it points to the fact that the coming conception of Jesus will be the result of God's own presence and initiative, a theme that v. 35 will make explicit with the Spirit's overshadowing.

The verse is also structurally important in Luke's narrative. Luke 1:5-25 prepared the way with the account of Zacharias and Elisabeth; v. 26-27 introduced the new recipient; v. 28 delivers the angelic greeting; v. 29 records Mary's troubled reaction. The greeting therefore marks the hinge of the Annunciation scene, opening the section in which Mary learns of her role and responds in vv. 34, 38.

The chapter opens with Luke's stated purpose: to give Theophilus certainty about the events fulfilled among them (vv. 1-4). Before reaching Mary, Luke places the story of Zacharias, an priest of the course of Abijah, whose wife Elisabeth was barren (vv. 5-7). The angel Gabriel appears to Zacharias in the temple and announces the birth of John, and Zecharias is struck mute for his doubt (vv. 8-23). Elisabeth conceives and hides herself, and in the sixth month Gabriel is sent to Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to Joseph, of the house of David, named Mary (vv. 24-27). The greeting of v. 28 falls at the exact midpoint of the chapter, the point at which the angelic annunciation moves from the old covenant priestly couple to the young virgin from Galilee who will bear the Messiah.

Within Luke 1, the language of v. 28 is echoed and expanded. Mary's response in the Magnificat declares that 'he that is mighty hath done to me great things' (v. 49) and that 'all generations shall call me blessed' (v. 48), echoing the angel's identification of her as 'highly favored.' Elisabeth, when Mary visits, will further confirm the blessedness of Mary among women and the fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord (vv. 42-45). The chapter thus sets the pattern of angelic announcement, human questioning or trembling, and confirmatory response, a pattern that will recur in Luke's infancy narrative.