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Priest Mentioned in the Bible by name
Zacharias/Zechariah (John the Baptists father)

Zacharias was a righteous Jewish priest from the lineage of Aaron. He and his wife Elizabeth were elderly and childless. While Zacharias was performing duties in the Temple of Jerusalem, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and announced that Elizabeth would bear a son named John, who would prepare the way for the Messiah.

Time-period: ❼ Jesus - (0-100 e.Kr.)
Age: -
Alt. names/spellings: Zacharias
Relationships: Elisabeth (marriage)
children (1): John the Baptist



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Usage in the Bible


Zacharias G2197
Ζαχαρίας (Zacharias)
11 times in NT
Total    11 times

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Family tree

The family tree displays Zacharias/Zechariahs parents, children and grandchildren.

    • Zacharias/Zechariah

      Elisabeth

      order of birth not available
      Elisabeth

The symbols used are:

  • Man

    wife

  • Woman
  • Is part of the ancestry of Christ
  • Ruler/leader
  • multiple people




References (9)

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Only key verses (9)
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Luke 1:5
  Interlinear
During the reign of King Herod in Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah. His wife was of the line of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth.
[King David divided the priests into 24 divisions, of which the family of Abijah was one, see 1 Chron. 24:10; Neh. 12:17. In Jesus’ day there were nearly 20,000 priests serving in the temple. Each department performed temple duties for a week, five times during the year. Three of these times were during the great feasts when all the priests served together.]
Luke 1:12
  Interlinear
Zechariah was greatly troubled at this sight, and fear fell upon him.
Luke 1:13
  Interlinear
But the angel said:

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
for your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you will name him John.
[The name John comes from the Hebrew Jochanan, which in turn is a short form of Jehochanan. The name is composed of the name of God (Hebr. ­Jahveh) and the word for mercy (Hebr. chanan). The meaning is ’God has mercy’ or ’the Lord is gracious’.]
Luke 1:18
  Interlinear
Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am old, and my wife is old.”
Luke 1:21
  Interlinear
The people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he was lingering in the temple. [The people had stopped praying and started worrying about what had happened. According to the Talmud (a Jewish book summarizing and commenting on the Old Testament), the priest was only supposed to be in the Holy Place for a short time.]
Luke 1:40
  Interlinear
Mary went into Zechariah’s house and greeted (blessed) Elizabeth. [A greeting in those days was not just a few words and a gesture, but was a ceremony in which the younger reverently greeted the older.]
Luke 1:59
  Interlinear
On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the baby; they wanted to call him Zechariah after his father.
Luke 1:67
  Interlinear
Now his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, he prophesied and said:
[Earlier the child and his wife Elizabeth had been filled with the Spirit, see verse 15 and 41. It is not unlikely that Zechariah sings out the following verses. Verses 68-75 are one long sentence in Greek.]
Luke 3:2
  Interlinear
and Annas and Caiaphas were high priests [in the temple in Jerusalem].
[After a detailed account of Roman rule, the religious leadership of ­Jerusalem is now described. Annas was high priest 6-15 AD. He was deposed by the Romans and his son-in-law ­Caiaphas was given the position in 18-36 A.D. Although ­Caiaphas held the title, Annas continued to serve as unofficial high priest among ­the Jews, see Joh. 18:13–24.]

Then the word of God came to Zechariah's son John [the Baptist] in the desert.