the Second Week after Easter
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Contemporary English Version
Luke 1:5
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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.
There was in the dayes of Herode the king of Iudea, a certaine Priest, named Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
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.
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.
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.
During the time Herod ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to Abijah's group. Zechariah's wife, Elizabeth, came from the family of Aaron.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In the days of Herod, King of Y'hudah, there was a cohen named Z'kharyah who belonged to the Aviyah division. His wife was a descendant of Aharon, and her name was Elisheva.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
During the time when Herod ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah. He belonged to Abijah's group. His wife came from the family of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth.
In the time of Herod King of Iudea, there was a certaine Priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabet.
There was in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, a priest whose name was Zacharias, of the order of ministry of the house of Abijah; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
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.
It happened that in the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest, Zechariah by name, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
In the days of Herod the king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias, of the daily course of Abijah. And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
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.
In the days of Herod, king of Judaea, there was a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the order of Abijah; and he had a wife of the family of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Yehudah, a certain Kohen named Zekharyah, of the priestly division of Aviyah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aharon, and her name was Elisheva.
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.1 Chronicles 24:10,19; Nehemiah 12:4,17, 19; Matthew 2:1;">[xr]
THERE was in the days of Herodes, king of the Jihudoyee, a certain priest whose name was Zakaria, of the service of the house of Abia, and his wife (was) of the daughters of Aharun; her name was Elishaba.
In the days of Herod the king of Judaea, there was a certain priest, whose name was Zachariah, of the ministration of the house of Abijah; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
There was in the dayes of Herode the kyng of Iurie, a certaine priest, named Zacharias, of the course of Abia, & his wyfe was of the daughters of Aaron, & her name was Elizabeth.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In the daies of Eroude, kyng of Judee, ther was a prest, Sakarie bi name, of the sorte of Abia, and his wijf was of the douytris of Aaron, and hir name was Elizabeth.
There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When Herod was king of the country of Judea, there was a Jewish religious leader named Zacharias. He worked for Abijah. His wife was of the family group of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth.
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.
It came to pass, in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, that there was a certain priest, by name Zachariah, of the daily course of Abia; and that he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and, her name, was Elizabeth.
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.
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechari'ah, of the division of Abi'jah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
There was in the dayes of Herode kynge of Iurie a certayne prest named Zacharias of ye course of Abia. And his wyfe was of ye doughters of Aaron: And her name was Elizabeth.
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;
In the tyme of Herode kynge of Iewry, there was a prest named Zachary of the course of Abia: and his wife of the doughters of Aaron, & hir name Elizabeth.
In the time of Herod, the king of Judea, there was a certain priest, named Zacharias, of the family of Abia, whose wife; nam'd Elizabeth, was of the race of Aaron:
During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old.
When that old rascal Herod was king of Judea, there was a preacher named Zechariah. He belonged to a group called Abijah. He had a wife named Elizabeth and her ancestors come from the line of Aaron.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Herod: Matthew 2:1
of the course: 1 Chronicles 24:10, 1 Chronicles 24:19, Nehemiah 12:4, Nehemiah 12:17, Abijah
Reciprocal: Exodus 6:23 - Elisheba 2 Chronicles 8:14 - the courses 2 Chronicles 31:2 - the courses Luke 1:8 - in 1 Timothy 3:11 - their Titus 1:6 - the husband
Cross-References
and named it "Sky." Evening came and then morning—that was the second day.
Evening came and then morning—that was the third day.
Evening came and then morning—that was the fourth day.
Evening came and then morning—that was the fifth day.
God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came and then morning—that was the sixth day.
As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat; winter and summer, day and night.
Each day informs the following day; each night announces to the next.
You rule the day and the night, and you put the moon and the sun in place.
and you made the darkness, so the animals in the forest could come out at night.
I create light and darkness, happiness and sorrow. I, the Lord , do all of this.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea,.... This was Herod, the son of Antipater, sometimes called Herod the Great, and is rightly here said to be the king of Judea; for, by deputation from the Roman emperor, he had the government of all Judea, which upon his death was divided among his sons. The phrase, "in the days of", is an eastern way, of speaking; see Genesis 14:1; and intends the time of his reign; in which there was
a certain priest named Zacharias: a name famous among the Jews, for an high priest, who was slain by them the court of the temple,
2 Chronicles 24:20, and for one of the later prophets, Zechariah 1:1, who were of this name. This man, the father of John the Baptist, was not an high priest, as this character of him, and the work afterwards ascribed to him, show; though he has been thought to be so by some; and John himself is so called by the Jews n: he was
of the course of Abia. The Ethiopic version reads, "in the days of Abia": and it has been the opinion of some, that Zacharias and Abia were two priests, who performed their ministry in succession, one after another; one ministered one time, and another at another time; but such betray their ignorance both of Scripture, and of Jewish affairs. In David's time, there was a division of the sons of Aaron into "twenty four" orders, or courses; and this of Abia was one, and the "eighth" of them; see 1 Chronicles 24:1. The account the Jews o give of this matter, and in which they are not agreed, is this;
"says Rab Chama bar Guria, says Rab, Moses ordered for the Israelites eight courses, four from Eleazar, and four from Ithamar; Samuel came and made them "sixteen"; David came and made them twenty four.--It is a tradition, that Moses ordered for the Israelites sixteen courses, eight from Eleazar, and eight from Ithamar; and when the children of Eleazar increased above the children of Ithamar, they divided them, and appointed them twenty four.''
The account, as given by Maimonides p, is as follows:
"Moses, our master, divided the priests into eight courses, four from Eleazar, and four from Ithamar, and so they were until Samuel the prophet; and in the days of Samuel, he and David, the king, divided them into twenty four courses; and over every course one head was appointed, and they went up to Jerusalem to the service of the course every week; and from sabbath to sabbath they changed; one course went out, and another came in, till they finished, and returned again.''
Now of these there were but four courses returned from the Babylonish captivity, as appears from Ezra 2:36 and with this the Jewish accounts agree q.
"The Rabbins teach, that four courses came up from the captivity, Jedaiah, Harim, Pashur, and Immer; the prophets that were among them stood up, and divided them, and appointed four and twenty lots, and put them into a box: Jedaiah came and took his lot, and the lot of his companions, six; Harim came and took his lot, and the lot of his companions, six; and so Pashur and Immer: and so the prophets that were among them taught, that if Jehoiarib, the first course, came up from captivity, he should not drive away Jedaiah out of his place; but Jedaiah should be the principal, and Jehoiarib an appendix to him.''
Now, though the course of Abia did not return from captivity, yet its order and name were retained as the rest of the courses, being divided between these four by whom they were supplied; and therefore Zacharias is not said to be of the posterity of Abia, but of his course. To these courses there were added as many stations; and what they were, and their use, may be learnt from what follows r.
"The former prophets offered four and twenty courses; and to every course there was a station at Jerusalem; consisting of priests, Levites, and Israelites: and when the time came for the course to go up, the priests and Levites went up to Jerusalem, but the Israelites, which were in that course, gathered themselves to their cities, and read in the history of the creation; and the men of the station fasted four days in the week, from the second day, to the fifth.''
The sense of which, according to their commentators s, is, that these stations were substituted in the room of, and represented all Israel; and their business was to give themselves up to divine worship, prayer, and sacrifices; and such of them as were near Jerusalem, when the time of their course came, assisted at the sacrifices; and such as were afar off, betook themselves to the synagogues in their cities, and there fasted, prayed, and read. And so another of their authors t says,
"there were twenty and four courses of the priests, and so twenty and four courses of the Levites; and every week the course of the priests and Levites goes to Jerusalem; and the twenty and four stationary men, half of them go thither, and half are left in their houses, and pray over the offerings:''
for they had their stationary cities, where these men dwelt u. Jericho was one: they say w,
"Jericho was able to produce a complete station itself; but because of dividing the glory to Jerusalem, it furnished out but half an one:''
hence you need not wonder to hear of a priest and Levite on the road to Jericho from Jerusalem, as in Luke 10:31 for they say, in the same place, that twenty four thousand, a station consisted of at Jerusalem, and there was half a station at Jericho: as for the heads of the courses of the houses of their fathers,
"there were in a course five, six, seven, eight, nine of them; a course which had five (heads) in it, three offered three days, and two offered four days; a course in which were six, five offered five days, and one offered two days: a course in which were seven, every one offered on his day; a course in which were eight, six offered six days, and two offered one day; a course in which were nine, live offered five days, and four offered two days: and there were some that fixed themselves for ever; and a course that was (or began) on a sabbath day, was always on a sabbath; and that which was at the going out of the sabbath, was always at the going out of the sabbath: and there were some of them that offered at every course: and there were some that cast lots at every course x.''
But to say no more of these courses and stations, I conclude with what Maimonides y says of them:
"it is not possible, that a man's offering should be offered up, and he not stand by it; but the offerings of the congregation are the offerings of all Israel; and it is not possible that all Israel should stand, in the court at the time of sacrifice: wherefore the former prophets ordered, that they should chose out of Israel men that were fit, and feared to sin, that they may be the messengers of all Israel to stand by the offerings, and these are called the men of the station; and they divided them into twenty and four stations, according to the number of the courses of the priests and Levites; and at every station one of them was appointed over them all, and he called the head of the station; and every week the men of the station of that week gather together; and such of them as are in Jerusalem, or near to it, go into the temple, with the course of the priests and Levites of that week; and they who are in that station, that are at a distance, when their station comes, they gather together to the synagogue, which is in their place.''
Then he goes on to give an account, as before, how often they fast in that week, how many prayers they say, and what they read.
And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron. It is a saying of R. Jochanan z;
"he that would be rich, let him join himself to the seed of Aaron; so it is, that the law and the priesthood make rich.--R. Idi bar Abin married a priestess, and from him proceeded that were made doctors, R. Shesheth, the son of R. Idi, and R. Joshua, the son of R. Idi.''
This is not so much said in commendation of Zacharias, that he took a wife of the same tribe, and of the priestly line: for it was lawful for the tribe of Levi to take a wife of any other, because it did not make any alteration in the inheritances of tribes; and it a rule with the Jews a, that priests, Levites, and Israelites, might marry with one another; as Mary, who was of the tribe of Judah, was akin to Elizabeth: but to point the original of John, and show of what extraction he was, his father and mother being both of the family of Aaron.
And her name was Elizabeth; the same name with ×××ש××¢. "Elisheba", the wife of Aaron, Exodus 6:23, and whom the Septuagint interpreters there call, as here, Elisabeth: and this being the name of Aaron's wife, it is very probable it might be a common name among the daughters of Aaron, in succeeding generations.
n Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 25. 2. o T Bab. Taanith, fol. 27. 1. p Hilch. Cele Hamikdash, c. 4. sect. 3. q T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 27. 1, 2. Eracin, fol. 12. 9. & 13. 1. T. Hieros. Taanioth, fol. 68. 1. r Misn. Taanith, c. 4. sect. 2. 3. s Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. t Piske Toseph. Moed Katon, art. 62. u Misn, Biccurim, c. 3. sect. 2. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. w T. Hieros. Taaniot, fol. 67. 4. x Ib fol. 68. 1. y Hilch. Cele Hamikdash, c. 6. sect. 1, 2. z T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 49. 1. a Misn. Kiddushin, c. 4. sect. 1.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
In the days of Herod - See the notes at Matthew 2:1.
Of the course of Abia - When the priests became so numerous that they could not at once minister at the altar, David divided them into 24 classes or courses, each one of which officiated for a week, 1 Chronicles 24:0. The class or course (shift) of Abia was the âeighthâ in order, 1 Chronicles 24:10. Compare 2 Chronicles 8:14. The word âcourseâ means the same as âclass,â or order. The Greek-based word âAbiaâ is the same as the Hebrew-based word âAbijah.â
His wife was of the daughters of Aaron - A descendant of Aaron, the first high priest of the Jews; so that âJohn the Baptistâ was descended, on the fatherâs and the motherâs side, from priests. Our Saviour was not on either side. John would have been legally entitled to a place among the priests; our Saviour, being of the tribe of Judah, would not.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Luke 1:5. In the days of Herod, the king — This was Herod, surnamed the Great, the son of Antipater, an Idumean by birth, who had professed himself a proselyte to the Jewish religion, but regarded no religion, farther than it promoted his secular interests and ambition. Thus, for the first time, the throne of Judah was filled by a person not of Jewish extraction, who had been forced upon the people by the Roman government. Hence it appears plain that the prophecy of Jacob, Genesis 49:10, was now fulfilled; for the sceptre had departed from Judah: and now was the time, according to another prophecy, to look for the governor from Bethlehem, who should rule and feed the people of Israel: Micah 5:1-2. See a large account of the family of the Herods, in Clarke's note on "Matthew 2:1". This was before Christ six years.
The course of Abiah — When the sacerdotal families grew very numerous, so that all could not officiate together at the tabernacle, David divided them into twenty-four classes, that they might minister by turns, 1 Chronicles 24:1, c., each family serving a whole week, 2 Kings 11:7; 2 Chronicles 23:8. Abiah was the eighth in the order in which they had been originally established: 1 Chronicles 24:10. These dates and persons are particularly mentioned as a full confirmation of the truth of the facts themselves; because any person, at the time this Gospel was written, might have satisfied himself by applying to the family of John the Baptist, the family of our Lord, or the surrounding neighbours. What a full proof of the Gospel history! It was published immediately after the time in which these facts took place; and among the very people, thousands of whom had been eye-witnesses of them; and among those, too, whose essential interest it was to have discredited them if they could; and yet, in all that age, in which only they could have been contradicted with advantage, no man ever arose to call them in question! What an absolute proof was this that the thing was impossible; and that the truth of the Gospel history was acknowledged by all who paid any attention to the evidences it produced!
Of the daughters of Aaron — That is, she was of one of the sacerdotal families. This shows that John was most nobly descended: his father was a priest and his mother the daughter of a priest; and thus, both by father and mother, he descended from the family of Amram, of whom came Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, the most illustrious characters in the whole Jewish history.
