And her neighbours, and her cousins
That lived in Hebron, and the parts adjacent, whether of the house of Aaron, or of the tribe of Judah; to both which she was related, and who dwelt near her, the priests in the city of Hebron, and the children of Judah in the places about it:
heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her;
or "had magnified his mercy with her"; see ( Genesis 19:19 ) in removing her barrenness, and so taking away her reproach from among men; in giving her strength to conceive, and bring forth a son, that was to be so great, as the prophet of the Highest; and more than a prophet, and greater than any born of women:
and they rejoiced with her:
as the angel had foretold they should, ( Luke 1:14 ) The Persic version reads, "with him, Zacharias"; having rendered the other clause thus, though wrongly, "hearing that God had poured out his mercy on the house of Zacharias"; see ( Romans 12:15 ) .