02_Feník Lapko_498-524_498-524 10/12/15 10:15 Pagina 507 507 ANNUNCIATIONS TO MARY IN LUKE 1–2 507 enly chorus (2,14 evpi. gh/j eivrh,nh evn avnqrw,poij euvdoki,aj) an- nouncing the soteriological effect of the birth for a group profiled as a;nqrwpoi euvdoki,aj. Learning that peace is the first gift deriving from the savior’s birth, the shepherds in turn become the conduit for dissemination of the message just received as they visit and pro- claim it at the birth scene. Besides mentioning their decision to journey to Bethlehem (2,15 die,lqwmen dh. e[wj Bhqle,em; 2,16 h=lqan speu,santej), their dis- covery of Mary, Joseph, and the infant at the manger (2,16 avneu/ran; 2,17 ivdo,ntej), and their return from Bethlehem (2,20 u`pe,streyan), the evangelist makes them into personae who an- nounce to Mary and others the things proclaimed to them. Annun- ciation by the shepherds occupies the center of this segment. That the shepherds function, first of all, as the recipients of the angelic communication — the segment 2,8-14 does not leave any doubt on the matter — finds ratification in the author’s terminological choices in the opening (2,15) and in the closing (2,20), as well as in the middle (2,17) of the second segment of the passage. No less than three times does the text point up the act of speaking to the shepherds. In 2,15b Luke shows them discussing among them- selves: they decide to set out for Bethlehem to see the thing an- nounced to them by the Lord (o] o` ku,rioj evgnw,risen h`mi/n). The use in their direct speech of the verb gnwri,zw with the Lord as the subject coupled with the dative h`mi/n shows the shepherds’ keen awareness of the annunciation made to them. This motif serves as a cross-stitch, binding the opening and the closing of the segment 2,15-20, for in the last verse Luke summarizes that, upon their re- turn, the shepherds praise God for all the things they have heard and seen kaqw.j evlalh,qh pro.j auvtou,j. This sentence, a caption- like summary of 2,9-14, takes up the theme of annunciation: they were the ones spoken to by the Lord. Both the beginning (2,15) and the end (2,20) of their journey are marked by the evangelist’s no- tation of the (angelic) words addressed to them. The theme is also firmly placed in the middle section of the pericope (2,17) that de- scribes the proclamation of the shepherds at the crib. The passive participle tou/ lalhqe,ntoj modifying the noun r`h/ma is followed by the indirect dative auvtoi/j referring to the shepherds, and as such it confirms the presence of the annunciation aspect: the shepherds inform their audience of the words spoken to them about the child. Still, a series of the three verbs of speaking (2,15 gnwri,zw; 2,17