Luke 1:31 Meaning and Explanation
“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.”
King James Version (KJV)
This study note uses an AI-assisted editorial workflow with source, duplication, and quality checks. See how verse explanations are prepared.
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Names in Scripture often arrive after a birth, given by parents who mark something they have seen. Here the order reverses. Heaven hands down a name while the mother is still standing in her house in Nazareth, unmarried and not yet with child. That small detail carries a large claim about who was directing this birth and what the child was sent to accomplish.
Gabriel announces the conception and birth of a son to Mary and supplies His name in advance. The child is real and physical, and His name is settled by heaven before He is conceived.
The Context of Luke 1:31
The words belong to Gabriel, speaking in Nazareth to Mary, a virgin espoused to Joseph of David's line. Verse 30 has just quieted her fear and named the favour she has found with God; verse 31 begins the substance of the message. Verses 32 and 33 continue it, describing the child as great, called the Son of the Highest, given David's throne, reigning over the house of Jacob without end. Mary's question in verse 34 about how this can be, since she knows not a man, shows that she heard the announcement as speaking of an immediate conception.
What Does Luke 1:31 Mean?
'Behold' works like a hand raised for attention, marking what follows as worth stopping for. Three future verbs then line up: conceive, bring forth, call. 'In thy womb' keeps the promise physically located in Mary's own body, with nothing vague or figurative about it. 'Bring forth a son' names a full human birth, the same phrase used of Elisabeth in this chapter. Then the instruction about naming: 'shalt call his name JESUS.' Naming a child was ordinarily a parent's privilege, exercised at circumcision as the chapter later shows with John. Gabriel places the name into Mary's hands already decided, so her act of naming becomes obedience to something announced.
Within the chapter this sentence answers a pattern Luke has already set. Zacharias was told his wife would bear a son and that the child's name would be John, and Elisabeth insisted on that name against family custom. Mary receives the same structure, and the parallel invites comparison of the two children. Wider Scripture supplies the background for a promised birth announced beforehand. Isaac, Samson, and the child named in Isaiah 7:14 were each announced before conception, and each announcement carried a purpose attached to the birth. Luke's account joins that line while raising it further, since the son announced here is given a throne without end.
The name itself carries the point. 'Jesus' is the Greek form of a familiar Hebrew name built on the confession that the LORD saves. Matthew's account of the same events records an angel explaining the name in exactly those terms to Joseph. So the child's identity and His work were joined before He drew breath. Luke will keep returning to this: the aged Simeon takes the infant and speaks of seeing God's salvation, and Zacharias in this chapter blesses God for raising up a horn of salvation. Mary is asked to speak that name over her son daily, saying salvation aloud in an ordinary house long before anyone understood what it would cost.
Luke 1:31 in the Original Language
Iesous (Ἰησοῦς), 'JESUS' -- the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, carrying the sense that the LORD saves. Matthew's account ties this same name to the saving work the child came to do, which is why the angel supplies it in advance.
Bible Verses Related to Luke 1:31
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
- Matthew 1:21
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
- Isaiah 7:14
“But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”
- Luke 1:13
“And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
- Luke 2:21
Where Luke 1:31 Echoes in Scripture
Isaiah 7:14 stands behind this announcement, with its sign of a virgin conceiving and bearing a son who is called Immanuel. Matthew 1:23 cites that verse directly for the birth of Jesus. Luke never quotes Isaiah here, though the shape of Gabriel's words follows the prophecy closely: conception, a son, and a name given in advance. Two names sit side by side as a result, one declaring that God saves and one declaring that God is with us.
How to Apply Luke 1:31 Today
A settled name is a steady thing to hold. When prayer feels shapeless, we can start where Gabriel started, with the name given from heaven and what it means. Saying 'Jesus' with attention is itself a small confession that God saves. The verse also honors ordinary bodily life. God's largest work in history began with a pregnancy, a birth, and a mother caring for an infant. Whoever among us is worn down by feeding, nursing, cleaning, and waiting can take the announcement seriously: heaven has treated such work as the setting for salvation, and it is not beneath God's notice.
Reflection & Prayer
When we say the name of Jesus in prayer, how much of its meaning are we actually thinking? A prayer: Lord God, You chose Your Son's name before He was conceived and put it on a young woman's lips. Teach us to say it with understanding, to trust the salvation it announces, and to welcome Your work in the plain places where we live. Amen.