Bible Strands
Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The angel addresses Zechariah in the temple, immediately after Zechariah has been startled and gripped with fear (1:12). The moment is the interruption of a routine incense service by a divine announcement.
The words — μὴ φοβοῦ (mē phobou) is the fixed angelic formula: "do not fear," pairing the prohibitive negative with the aorist imperative of phobeō. It recurs as the standard opening of angelic speech throughout Luke-Acts (2:10; 5:5; Acts 10:17).
The thread — The pattern of a barren woman's prayer answered by a son runs from Hannah and Samuel (1 Samuel 2:21) through the psalmist's note that God "settles the barren woman" (Psalm 113:9) to the angel's words to Cornelius, "your prayer has been heard" (Acts 10:31). Each instance pairs human petition with divine fulfillment.
Why it lands — The angel does not ask Zechariah to name the child; the name is assigned before the child exists. The verse places the reader in the position of receiving a name they did not choose and being expected to accept it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 2:21 So the LORD attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
- Acts 10:31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God.
- Psalms 113:9 He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother to her children. Hallelujah!
- Genesis 25:21 Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
- Psalms 127:3 Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
- Luke 2:21 When the eight days before His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He was conceived.
- Genesis 18:14 Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
- Psalms 118:21 I will give You thanks, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation.
- Daniel 10:12 “Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
- Genesis 17:10 This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised.