Bible Strands
Luke 1:63
Zechariah asked for a tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Zechariah responds to his family’s silent inquiries (Luke 1:62) by requesting a writing surface and recording the child’s name before his own speech is restored (Luke 1:64).
The words — αἰτήσας (aitēsas) means “having asked for” and πινακίδιον (pinakidion) means “a writing tablet,” highlighting the deliberate physical act of recording the name.
The thread — This written confirmation echoes Isaiah 30:8’s command to inscribe a message on a tablet for future witness, while directly fulfilling the angel’s announcement (Luke 1:13) and overriding Elizabeth’s earlier claim (Luke 1:60).
Why it lands — It requires the reader to acknowledge that God’s designated name stands as a fixed, documented reality that precedes and triggers divine action, demanding immediate recognition rather than debate.
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
And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 30:8 Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the days to come, a witness forever and ever.
- Luke 1:60 But his mother replied, “No! He shall be called John.”
- 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.
- Jeremiah 17:1 “The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus, engraved with a diamond point on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.
- Habakkuk 2:2 Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.
- Proverbs 3:3 Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.