Luk 3:22 | NETfull | STEP | and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight.”

Luke 3:22

22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. ^{▼▼ This phrase is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descends like one in some type of bodily representation.} And a voice came from heaven, “You are my one dear Son; ^{▼▼ Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agapētos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).} in you I take great delight.” ^{▼▼ Instead of “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight,” one Greek ms and several Latin mss and church fathers (D it Ju [Cl] Meth Hil Aug) quote Ps 2:7 outright with “You are my Son; today I have fathered you.” But the weight of the ms testimony is against this reading.} ^{▼▼ Or “with you I am well pleased.”} ^{▼▼ The allusions in the remarks of the text recall Ps 2:7a; Isa 42:1 and either Isa 41:8 or, less likely, Gen 22:12, 16. God is marking out Jesus as his chosen one (the meaning of “[in you I take] great delight”), but it may well be that this was a private experience that only Jesus and John saw and heard (cf. John 1:32–33).}