Person New Testament
Zechariah, father of John
Also known as Zacharias
Zechariah was a priest of the division of Abijah serving in the temple when Gabriel told him his elderly wife Elizabeth would bear a son named John. Because he doubted, he was silent until the child was named. His speech returned in a prophecy about the dawn from on high visiting God's people.
Why it matters. Zechariah's song ties John's birth to God's covenant with Abraham and to the coming of the Lord, and gives the reader the key to John's role as the one who prepares the way.
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
Connections
Zechariah, father of John participates in The birth of John the Baptist
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceZechariah confirms the name in writing, regains his speech, and prophesies.
Evidence:
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Spouse
- Elizabeth
- Children
- John the Baptist
Appears in Scripture
Named in 9 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.