Elizabeth

Elizabeth in the Bible

LUKE 1 COMMENTARY ◄
Luke 1:18-22 Angel Gabriel

Luke 1:23-27 Elizabeth

LUKE 1:23-25 23 And it came to pass, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house. 24 Now after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 “The Lord has done this for me in the days when He looked to take away my disgrace among people.”

What type of husband returned to Elizabeth?
Quiet, romantic.

Why did Elizabeth hide herself for five months?
Even today, some women who aren't confident in their ability to carry a baby to full term (e.g., those who have miscarried in the past), initially keep quiet about their pregnancy. Despite what Zacharias likely communicated to her in writing, Elizabeth, having been socially disgraced for being barren for so long, initially may have feared scorn, even accusations of having lied about being pregnant, if she lost her baby, until she accepted that her pregnancy was from the Lord.

Is it true that the Lord made Elizabeth pregnant with John the Baptist “to take away [her] disgrace among people” (Luke 1:25)?
That was a reason for her being chosen as the vessel, but the forerunner of the Messiah was going to be born even if she had never been born.

LUKE 1:26 26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

What is meant by “the sixth month” (Luke 1:26)?
The month after Elizabeth had hidden her pregnancy for “five months” (Luke 1:24).

Where were “Galilee” and the city of “Nazareth,” where the angel Gabriel had been sent?
The region of Galilee is the northern one-third of Israel (see Judea) and includes the Sea of Galilee. Nazareth, now the largest city in Galilee, lies about halfway between the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.

What is meant by Mary being “betrothed to Joseph” and Joseph being “of the house of David”?
See Mary betrothed to Joseph and the Genealogy of Jesus.