1:67–79 In singing the Benedictus (vv. 68–79) Zechariah utters at last a blessing which he had been expected to pronounce some nine months earlier (see commentary on vv. 21–22). Virtually every line of this song is derived from the OT (see notes below). The main thrust of the song is summarized in v. 68: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people” (RSV). The key word in this verse is the verb “to visit” (NIV: has come). In the LXX this word often occurs in reference to “God’s gracious visitation of his people” (Fitzmyer, p. 383). The following examples should make this idea clear: With reference to God’s intention to deliver Israel from Egypt, Exod. 4:31 states in part: “they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their…