Luke 1:8

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
pass	Ἐγένετο Egeneto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
while	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
he	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
priest’s office	ἱερατεύειν hi'erateuein	G2407	to be a priest · verb — present active infinitive
before	ἔναντι enanti	G1725	in front (i.e. figuratively · preposition
God	θεοῦ, theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
order	τάξει taxei	G5010	regular arrangement · noun — dative singular feminine
his	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
course	ἐφημερίας ephēmerias	G2183	diurnality · noun — genitive singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Chronicles 24:19 These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the LORD, according to their manner, under Aaron their father, a…
2 Chronicles 8:14 And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges,…
2 Chronicles 31:2 And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and L…
Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughter…
Exodus 29:1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and t…
Exodus 29:9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpet…
Ezra 6:18 And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is writt…
Exodus 28:1 And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the pri…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 1:5-25

The two preceding evangelists had agreed to begin the gospel with the baptism of John and his ministry, which commenced about six months before our Saviour's public ministry (and now, things being near a crisis, six months was a deal of time, which before was but a little), and therefore this evangelist, designing to give a more particular account than had been given of our Saviour's conception and birth, determines to do so of John Baptist, who in both was his harbinger and forerunner, the morning-star to the Sun of righteousness. The evangelist determines thus, not only because it is commonly reckoned a satisfaction and entertainment to know something of the original extraction and early d…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 1:7

So with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Elkanah and Hannah, Manoah and his wife.

Adam Clarke on Luke 1:8

Before God - In the temple, where God used to manifest his presence, though long before this time he had forsaken it; yet, on this important occasion, the angel of his presence had visited it.

John Gill on Luke 1:8

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office,.... To which he was called and ordained, even to offer gifts and sacrifices for men; whilst he was in the way of his duty, when oftentimes God appears to, and in favour of his people; whilst he was performing it, before God; in the temple, where was the symbol of the divine presence, before the altar of the Lord; and as having the fear of God before his eyes; considering himself as in the sight of God, and doing his work faithfully and sincerely: in the order of his course; taking his turn in the order of the course of Abia, to which he belonged; See Gill on Luke 1:5.

John Calvin on Luke 1:5-13

Luke 1:5-13 Luke 1:5-13 5. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7. And they had no child, because Elisabeth was barren, and they were now both at an advanced age. 8. And it happened, while he was discharging the priest's office in the order of his course before God, 9. According to the custom of the priest's office, it fell to him by lot to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10. And the whole multitude of the people were…

The Church Fathers

The priest was offering sacrifice on behalf of the people. The people were expecting the Christ. John was the one who would announce the Christ.
— Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 291.3

The Lord appointed by the hand of Moses one High Priest, at whose death another was to succeed in due order. This was observed until the time of David, who by the command of the Lord increased the number of the Priests; and so at this time Zacharias is said to have been performing his Priest's office in the order of his course, as it follows: But it came to pass, when Zacharias was performing the Priest's office in the order of his course before God, according to the custom of the Priesthood, his lot was, &c.
— Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood. Indeed, through Moses the Lord appointed one high priest, who, after his death, commanded one to succeed in turn, and this was observed until the times of David, from whom it was decreed that there should be several (as we have said), nevertheless by the Lord's action, who, ministering in turns, during the time of their division, each would dedicate themselves to chastity, and would not touch their household at all. Thus now Zechariah is declared to have served in the priesthood in the order of his division.
— Bede, On the Gospel of Luke

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Hail! — A salutation expressive of a wish for the welfare of the person addressed; the translation of the Greek Chaire, “Rejoice” (Luke 1:8). Used in mockery in Matt. 27:29.
John the Baptist — The “forerunner of our Lord.” We have but fragmentary and imperfect accounts of him in the Gospels. He was of priestly descent. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the course of Abia (1 Chr.…
Barrenness · .El — .El
Elisabeth (Elizabeth) · The wife of Zacharias and the mother of — The wife of Zacharias and the mother of
Zacharias (Zechariah) · 2. The father of — 2. The father of

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 1:5-25

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 1:7

Adam Clarke on Luke 1:8

John Gill on Luke 1:8

John Calvin on Luke 1:5-13

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 1:5-25

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 1:7

Adam Clarke on Luke 1:8

John Gill on Luke 1:8

John Calvin on Luke 1:5-13

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Luke 1:8-9