Luke 1:63

63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, "¹His name is John." And they were all astonished.

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 And they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name."

62 And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, "His name is John." And they were all astonished.

64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.

65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea.

Cross References

• 1. Luke 1:13, 60