Luke 1:5
New International Version
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.

New Living Translation
When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron.

English Standard Version
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Berean Standard Bible
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and whose wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron.

Berean Literal Bible
There was in the days of Herod king of Judea a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.

King James Bible
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

New King James Version
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

New American Standard Bible
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

NASB 1995
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

NASB 1977
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Legacy Standard Bible
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah, and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Amplified Bible
In the days of Herod [the Great], king of Judea, there was a certain priest whose name was Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron [the first high priest of Israel], and her name was Elizabeth.

Christian Standard Bible
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

American Standard Version
There was in the days of Herod, king of Jud�a, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
In the days of Herodus, The King of Judea, there was a certain Priest whose name was Zechariah from the Ministry of the house of Abia and his wife was named Elizabeth who was of the daughters of Aaron.

Contemporary English Version
When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest by the name of Zechariah from the priestly group of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth was from the family of Aaron.

Douay-Rheims Bible
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.

English Revised Version
There was in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the division of priests named after Abijah. Zechariah's wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron.

Good News Translation
During the time when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife's name was Elizabeth; she also belonged to a priestly family.

International Standard Version
During the reign of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Literal Standard Version
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the division of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth;

Majority Standard Bible
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and whose wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron.

New American Bible
In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

NET Bible
During the reign of Herod king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and he had a wife named Elizabeth, who was a descendant of Aaron.

New Revised Standard Version
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

New Heart English Bible
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Webster's Bible Translation
There was in the days of Herod the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Weymouth New Testament
There was in the time of Herod, the king of Judaea, a priest of the name of Zechariah, belonging to the class of Abijah. He had a wife who was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

World English Bible
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Young's Literal Translation
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elisabeth;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Gabriel Foretells John's Birth
4so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. 5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and whose wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron. 6Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.…

Cross References
1 Chronicles 24:10
the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,

Matthew 2:1
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.

Luke 1:24
After these days, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. She declared,


Treasury of Scripture

THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Herod.

Matthew 2:1
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

of the course.

1 Chronicles 24:10,19
The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, …

Nehemiah 12:4,17
Iddo, Ginnetho, Abijah, …

Abijah.

Jump to Previous
Aaron Abia Abijah Abi'jah Belonged Belonging Class Course Daughters Descendant Division Elisabeth Elizabeth Family Herod Judaea Judea Order Priest Priestly Time Wife Zacharias Zechariah Zechari'ah
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Aaron Abia Abijah Abi'jah Belonged Belonging Class Course Daughters Descendant Division Elisabeth Elizabeth Family Herod Judaea Judea Order Priest Priestly Time Wife Zacharias Zechariah Zechari'ah
Luke 1
1. The preface of Luke to his whole gospel.
5. The conception of John the Baptist;
26. and of Jesus.
39. The prophecy of Elisabeth and of Mary, concerning Jesus.
57. The nativity and circumcision of John.
67. The prophecy of Zachariah, both of Jesus,
76. and of John.














(5) There was in the days of Herod.--The writer begins, as he had promised, with the first facts in the divine order of events. The two chapters that follow have every appearance of having been based originally on an independent document, and that probably a Hebrew one. On its probable sources, see Introduction. On Herod and this period of his reign, see Notes on Matthew 2:1.

Zacharias.--The name (= "he who remembers Jehovah," or, perhaps, "he whom Jehovah remembers,") had been borne by many in the history of Israel, among others by the son of Jehoiada (2Chronicles 24:20), and by the prophet of the return from the Babylonian Captivity.

Of the course of Abia.--The Greek word so translated implies a system of rotation, each "set" or "course" of the priests serving from Sabbath to Sabbath. That named after Abia, or Abijah, appears in 1Chronicles 24:10 as the eighth of the twenty-four courses into which the houses of Eleazar and Ithamar were divided by David. On the first return from the Captivity only four of these courses are mentioned as having come back to Jerusalem (Ezra 2:36-39), and the name Abijah is not one of them. It appears, however, in later lists (Nehemiah 10:7; Nehemiah 12:4; Nehemiah 12:17), and the four-and-twenty sets were probably soon re-organised. . . .

Verse 5 - chapter Luke 2:52. - THE GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY. The critical reader of the Gospel in the original Greek is here startled by the abrupt change in the style of writing. The first four verses, which constitute the introduction, are written in pure classical language; the sentences are balanced, almost with a rhythmical accuracy. They are the words evidently of a highly cultured mind, well versed in Greek thought. But in the fifth verse, where the history of the eventful period really begins, all is changed. The narrative flows on clearly with a certain picturesqueness of imagery; the style is simple, easy, vivid; but at once the reader is sensible that he has passed out of the region of Greek and Western thought. The language is evidently a close translation from some Hebrew original; the imagery is exclusively Jewish, and the thoughts belong to the story of the chosen people. It is clear that this section of St. Luke's writing, which ends, however, with chapter 2, is not derived from apostolic tradition, but is the result of his own investigation into the origin of the faith of Christ, gathered probably from the lips of the virgin mother herself, or from one of the holy women belonging to her kinsfolk who had been with her from the beginning of the wondrous events. St. Luke reproduced, as faithfully as he could in a strange tongue, the revelations - some perhaps written, some no doubt oral, communicated to him, we reverently believe, by the blessed mother of Jesus herself. The story of these two chapters is what St. Luke evidently alludes to when, in his short preface (verse 3), he writes of his "perfect understanding in all things from the very first (ἄνωθεν)." Verse 5-25. - The vision of Zacharias in the temple. Verse 5. - There was in the days of Herod, the King of Judaea. The Herod here alluded to was the one surnamed "the Great." The event here related took place towards the end of his reign. His dominions, besides Judaea, included Samaria, Galilee, and a large district of Peraea. This prince played a conspicuous part in the politics of his day. He was no Hebrew by birth, but an Idumaean, and he owed his position entirely to the favor of Rome, whose vassal he really was during his whole reign. The Roman senate had, on the recommendation of Antony and Octavius, granted to this prince the title of "King of Judaea." It was a strange, sad state of things. The land of promise was ruled over by an Idumaean adventurer, a creature of the great Italian Republic; the holy and beautiful house on Mount Zion was in the custody of an Edomite usurper; the high priest of the Mighty One of Jacob was raised up or deposed as the officials of Rome thought good. Truly the scepter had departed from Judah. A certain priest named Zacharias; usually spelt among the Hebrews, Zechariah; it means "Remembered of Jehovah," and was a favorite name among the chosen people. Of the course of Abia. Ἐφημερία (course) signified originally "a daily service." It was subsequently used for a group of priests who exercised their priestly functions in the temple for a week, and then gave place to another group. From Eleazar and Ithamar, the two surviving sons of the first high priest Aaron, had descended twenty-four families. Among these King David distributed by lot the various tabernacle (subsequently temple) services, each family group, or course, officiating for eight days - from sabbath to sabbath. From the Babylonish exile, of these twenty-four families only four returned. With the idea of reproducing as nearly as possible the old state of things, these four were subdivided into twenty-four, the twenty-four bearing the original family names, and this succession of courses continued in force until the fall of Jerusalem and the burning of the temple, A.D. 70. According to Josephus, Zacharias was especially distinguished by belonging to the first of the twenty-four courses, or families. Of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth; identical with Elisheba, "One whose oath is to God." Both the husband and wife traced their lineage back to the first high priest - a coveted distinction in Israel.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
In
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

the
ταῖς (tais)
Article - Dative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

time
ἡμέραις (hēmerais)
Noun - Dative Feminine Plural
Strong's 2250: A day, the period from sunrise to sunset.

of Herod
Ἡρῴδου (Hērōdou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2264: Compound of heros and eidos; heroic; Herod, the name of four Jewish kings.

king
βασιλέως (basileōs)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 935: A king, ruler, but in some passages clearly to be translated: emperor. Probably from basis; a sovereign.

of Judea,
Ἰουδαίας (Ioudaias)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 2449: Judea, a Roman province, capital Jerusalem. Feminine of Ioudaios; the Judaean land, a region of Palestine.

there was
Ἐγένετο (Egeneto)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.

a
τις (tis)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5100: Any one, some one, a certain one or thing. An enclitic indefinite pronoun; some or any person or object.

priest
ἱερεύς (hiereus)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2409: A priest, one who offers sacrifice to a god (in Jewish and pagan religions; of Christians only met.). From hieros; a priest.

named
ὀνόματι (onomati)
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3686: Name, character, fame, reputation. From a presumed derivative of the base of ginosko; a 'name'.

Zechariah,
Ζαχαρίας (Zacharias)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2197: Of Hebrew origin; Zacharias, the name of two Israelites.

who belonged to
ἐξ (ex)
Preposition
Strong's 1537: From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.

[the] priestly division
ἐφημερίας (ephēmerias)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 2183: From ephemeros; diurnality, i.e. the quotidian rotation or class of the Jewish priests' service at the Temple, as distributed by families.

of Abijah,
Ἀβιά (Abia)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 7: Of Hebrew origin; Abijah, the name of two Israelites.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

[whose]
αὐτῷ (autō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

wife
γυνὴ (gynē)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1135: A woman, wife, my lady. Probably from the base of ginomai; a woman; specially, a wife.

Elizabeth
Ἐλισάβετ (Elisabet)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1665: Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptizer. Of Hebrew origin; Elisabet, an Israelitess.

[was]
ἐκ (ek)
Preposition
Strong's 1537: From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.

a
τῶν (tōn)
Article - Genitive Feminine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

daughter
θυγατέρων (thygaterōn)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural
Strong's 2364: Apparently a primary word; a female child, or descendant.

of Aaron.
Ἀαρών (Aarōn)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2: Aaron, son of Amram and Jochebed, brother of Moses. Of Hebrew origin; Aaron, the brother of Moses.


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