Zechariah and Elizabeth

Biblical Account

The couple appears in chapter 1 of the Gospel of Luke. When Herod ruled Judea, Zechariah was a priest of the division of Abijah, one of the groups of priests who took turns serving in the temple. His wife, Elizabeth, was a descendant of Aaron. Scripture describes both as righteous before God and blameless. It also records that Elizabeth was barren and that they were still childless in their old age (Luke 1:5–7).

Zechariah was chosen by lot to burn incense in the Temple in Jerusalem, and while he was doing so, the angel Gabriel appeared to him. The angel told him that his prayer had been heard and that his wife would bear a son, whom he was to name John (Luke 1:13). Zechariah asked how he could know this, since he and his wife were old. Because he did not believe the angel's words, he was unable to speak until they were fulfilled (Luke 1:18–20). Afterward Elizabeth conceived and hid herself for five months.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, her relative Mary came to visit her. Mary had just received the Annunciation, the angel's announcement that she would conceive Jesus. When Mary arrived, the child in Elizabeth's womb leaped. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and blessed Mary, saying, "Blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1:41–42). When the child was circumcised on the eighth day, the relatives wanted to name him after his father. Elizabeth said he was to be called John, and Zechariah wrote on a writing tablet, "His name is John." At once his mouth was opened, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit and sang a song of prophecy (Luke 1:59–79). Luke 3:2 refers to John the Baptist as "John the son of Zacharias."

Significance Within Scripture

Luke opens his Gospel with this couple's story, which links the priestly tradition of the Old Testament with the coming of the Messiah. The story of an elderly, childless couple receiving a promised son is often compared with the accounts of Abraham and Sarah and of Hannah. The angel declared that John would go before the Lord "in the spirit and power of Elias" (Luke 1:17), that is, of Elijah. These words recall the prophecy of Malachi 4:5–6.

Interpretation and Issues

• Zechariah's silence: Mary asked a similar question but was not punished, and interpreters differ on why Zechariah alone lost his speech. A common explanation is that Zechariah demanded proof, whereas Mary asked how the promise would come about. Luke 1:62 says that people made signs to him, and on this basis some interpreters hold that he was made deaf as well.
• The Song of Zechariah: The song in Luke 1:68–79 is called the Benedictus, after its first word in Latin. The Catholic Church and the Anglican tradition sing it regularly at morning prayer.
• Elizabeth's blessing: Elizabeth's words to Mary form part of the Catholic Hail Mary. Protestants read the passage as Scripture but do not use it as a prayer.
• Traditions outside the biblical text: The second-century apocryphal Protoevangelium of James says that Zechariah was killed in the temple for refusing to reveal where his son was. Another tradition identifies the couple's home, "a city of Juda" in "the hill country" (Luke 1:39), as Ein Karem near Jerusalem. Neither tradition appears in the biblical text. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church commemorate both Zechariah and Elizabeth as saints.