Six months before his appearance in Nazareth to the All-holy Virgin Mary,
the great archangel of God, Gabriel appeared to Zacharias the high priest in the
Temple at Jerusalem. Before he announced the miraculous conception to the unwed
virgin [Mary], the archangel announced the miraculous conception to the
childless old woman [Elizabeth]. Zacharias did not immediately believe the
words of the herald of God and this is why his tongue was tied with dumbness and
remained as such until eight days after the birth of John. On that day, the
relatives of Zacharias and Elizabeth gathered for the young child's circumcision
and for the sake of giving him a name. When they asked the father what name he
wishes to give to his son and being dumb, he wrote on a tablet: "John."
At that moment his tongue became loosed and he began to speak.
The home of
Zacharias was on the heights between Bethlehem and Hebron. The news of the
appearance of the angel of God to Zacharias was spread throughout all of Israel,
as well as of his dumbness and the loosening of his tongue at thee moment when
he wrote the name "John."
The news concerning this even reached
Herod. Therefore, when Herod sent soldiers to slay the children throughout
Bethlehem, he directed men to the hilly dwelling place of the family of
Zacharias to kill John also. However, Elizabeth promptly hid the child.
Enraged, at this King Herod sent his executioners to Zacharias in the Temple to
slay him (for it happened that it was Zacharias' turn again to serve in the
Temple of Jerusalem). Zacharias was slain between the court and the temple and
his blood coagulated and petrified on the stone pavers and remained a perpetual
witness against Herod.
Elizabeth hid with the child in a cave where she died
soon after. The young child John remained in the wilderness alone under the
care of God and God's angels.
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