Luke 1:22

22 And [when he]^[a] came out he was not able to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them, and remained unable to speak.

Luke 1:22 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 1:22

And when he came out, he could not speak unto them
Or deliver the benediction they were waiting for:

and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple:
which he made them to understand, by the gestures he used: for he beckoned unto them; nodding his head, or by some motions of his hands the Ethiopic version adds, "with his hand": or of his lips; for the signs of a dumb man are distinguished into (hzymr) , and (huypq) ^F17; the one is a sign which is expressed by the head and hands; and the other is a sign expressed by the lips: hence that rule, ^F18

``a dumb man beckons, and is beckoned to; and Ben Bethira says, he moves his lips, and lips are moved to him:''

and remained speechless; to the time the angel fixed.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 Bartenora in Misa. Gittin, c. 5. sect. 7.
F18 Misn. ib.

Luke 1:22 In-Context

20 And behold, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day these [things] take place, {because} you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."

21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and began to wonder [when] he was delayed in the temple.

22 And [when he] came out he was not able to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them, and remained unable to speak.

23 And it happened that when the days of his service came to an end, he went away to his home.

24 Now after these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion [for] five months, saying,

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("came out") which is understood as temporal