References (8)
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 ; . 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.]
But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and both were old.
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 , which in turn is a short form of . 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’.]
After a while his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she remained in seclusion (hidden). She said to herself:
Look, your relative Elizabeth [perhaps a cousin] is expecting a child despite her advanced age. She who has been called the childless one is now six months pregnant.
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.]
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child kicked in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit [The prophecy of is being fulfilled].
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.
