"When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the merciful LORD had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her.
When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, 'Not so; he shall be called John.' They said to her, 'But no one in your family has that name!' and they made signs to his father for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, 'His name is John;' and they were very surprised. Immediately, Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of GOD.
A holy fear came on all in the neighborhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it, pondered in their minds, and wondered, 'What will this child be?' For they understood that the hand of the LORD was with him.
As the child grew up, he was seen to be strong in the Spirit; and he lived in the desert, until the day when he appeared openly in Israel." - Luke 1:57-66. 80
(What was circumcision. [See Genesis 17].
The child lived in the desert, that is, the desert of Judea by the Dead Sea, where some large communities of which the well-known Qumran community had settled. These communities, called the Essenes, devoted themselves to prayer and meditation on Scripture. And took part in the education of the children.)
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