Luke 1:63

63 Zechariah asked for a tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.

Luke 1:63 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 1:63

And he asked for a writing table
That is, he made signs for one, for as yet he could not speak. The Persic version renders it "ink", and the Ethiopic, a book, and the Vulgate Latin, a notebook. The word signifies "a little table", such as they used to write not only "upon", but "in"; and was sometimes of brass ^F20, sometimes of wood, and sometimes of wax ^F21, on which they wrote with a style or pen;

and wrote, saying, his name is John:
not that he must be, or shall be, so called; but this is his name, and no other; being what the angel had given him before his conception, and Zacharias now confirms:

and they marvelled all;
they were astonished, not so much at the new name brought into the family, as at the agreement between Elisabeth and Zacharias in this point, when the latter was both deaf and dumb; they knowing nothing, as yet, of the angel's message to him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Haryocration. Lex. p. 244.
F21 Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 2. c. 30.

Luke 1:63 In-Context

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who bears this name.”

62 So they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted to name the child.

63 Zechariah asked for a tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.

64 Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak, praising God.

65 All their neighbors were filled with awe, and people throughout the hill country of Judea were talking about these events.