ANNUNCIATION ə nun’ sĭ ā’ shən (Lat. annuntiatio, an announcing). Three people received an annunciation in the gospels: Zechariah (Luke 1:13), Joseph (Matt 1:20), and Mary (Luke 1:26-38). The term usually refers to the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus. Added details, undoubtedly legendary, of the Annunciation are related in the apocryphal 2nd cent. Book of James, or Protevangelium (chs. 10, 11). The words, “Blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28 Vul.; KJV) are omitted in recent VSS, since the words are not found in codices Aleph and B. They are undoubtedly an interpolation from v. 42. The Feast of the Annunciation is celebated on March 25 on the basis of December 25 for the Nativity. In the well-known prayer, Ave Maria, Gabriel’s salutation forms the scriptural section of the prayer.

Bibliography E. F. Harrison, Baker’s Dictionary of Theology (1960), 44.