The first two
chapters of Luke’s Gospel, whose striking homogeneity within the overall scheme
of his two volumes has been convincingly defended by P. S. Minear, (P. S.
Minear, ‘Luke’s Use of the Birth Stories’, in Studies in Luke-Acts, pp.
111-30) are peopled by a number of Jewish men and women who are characterized
by their exemplary devotion to Yahweh and to his law. First of all, there are
Zechariah and Elisabeth who ‘were both righteous [δικαιοι] before God, walking blameless in all the commandments [εντολαι] and ordinances [δικαιωματα] of the Lord’ (1.6) The word εντολαι is regularly
used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word mitzvot, to denote the
individual requirements of the Mosaic law, while δικαιωματα usually refers to statutes in the wider sense, including cultic and
social obligations. (14) The combination of εντολαι and δικαιωματα is in agreement with Septuagintal usage
(cf. Ex. 15.26; Dt 4.40; 6.17; 10.13; 27.10). Accordingly, the adjective GK in
Lk 1.6, the meaning of which is made clear in the rest of the verse, denotes
complete conformity to the will of God, especially as it is expressed in his
law. (Philip Francis Esler, Community and Gospel in Luke-Acts: The Social
and Political Motivations of Lucan Theology [Society for New Testament
Studies Monograph Series 57; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987], 111-12)
