was best in Israelite religion at that time. Leany suggests also that “Symeon by his age and piety is the very personification of ancient Israel, the servant of God.”65 The song of Simeon (vv. 29–32) is called the Nunc Dimittis—again after the first words in Latin. It is the last of five songs that occur in the first two chapters of this Gospel. Their presence shows that Luke was by nature a poet. Simeon addresses God as Lord (v. 29). This is not the common word for Lord, kyrios, but the rare word