OET interlinear LUKE 1:5

1:5a

In the time of Herod king of Judea: The Greek word that the BSB translates as time is literally “days” (as in the RSV). The phrase the time of Herod refers to the time when Herod ruled Judea. Some other ways to translate this are:

In the reign of Herod king of Judea (REB)

When Herod was king of Judea (CEV)

During the time when Herod was king of Judea (GNT)

Herod: The name Herod here refers to Herod the Great.Herod the Great was the father of the Herod who was king when Jesus was crucified. Luke mentioned Herod here in order to indicate the time period during which the events of this chapter happened. It was common in Bible times to indicate when events happened by telling the name of the king who was ruling at the time.

Judea: Judea was the name of a region or province that King Herod ruled. In some languages, it may helpful to indicate this. For example:

the region/land of Judea

1:5b

there was a priest named Zechariah: Zechariah is the main person in this first section of Luke. Introduce him in a natural way in your language.

Luke implied here that Zechariah lived in Judea, where Herod was king. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

a priest named Zechariah lived there

priest: In this context the word priest refers specifically to a priest for the people of Israel. An Israelite priest was a man who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. He also performed other rituals for them. All Israelite priests, including Zechariah, were descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses.

Some ways to translate priest are:

• Use a descriptive term that focuses on the function of a priest. For example:

  sacrificer

  man/person who offers sacrifices to God

  one who represents people to God

• Use a local word for priest. This option may be acceptable if the duties of a local priest are similar to those of an Israelite/Jewish priest. You may need to indicate that the word refers to a Jewish priest. For example:

  Jewish people’s priest

  sacrificer for the Jewish people

If possible, you should choose a term that can be used in both Old Testament and New Testament contexts. Remember that in the book of Hebrews believers are called priests and Christ is called our high priest.

See priest in the Glossary.

Zechariah: A few English versions spell Zechariah as “Zecharias” (NASB, KJV). In English, either spelling is acceptable. You may want to check the spelling of this name in the national language version.

1:5c

the priestly division of Abijah: The phrase priestly division refers here to a group of priests who performed duties during a certain time period. Some other ways to translate this are:

priestly group (CEV)

class of priests

section of the priesthood (JBP)

The group of priests that Zechariah belonged to was named after the priest Abijah, who had died long before Zechariah was born.It would be incorrect to say in a translation that Zechariah was a “descendant” of Abijah. Here is why: The Abijah division was one of twenty-four divisions of priests. This is described in 1 Chronicles 24. Only four of these divisions returned from exile, and the Abijah division was not one of them. However, the four remaining divisions were then divided into twenty-four divisions and given the same names as the original twenty-four divisions to reflect the original system. There were twenty-four groups of priests in Zechariah’s time. Each group worked in the temple for one week at a time, and they did this twice in a year.

The priests served in the temple in the city of Jerusalem. Many priests, including Zechariah, did not live in Jerusalem. During their time of service, they left their families, traveled to Jerusalem, and stayed there for the week.

1:5d

and whose wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron: The word and indicates here that just like Zechariah, Elizabeth, too, was one of Aaron’s descendants. Before this the text has not explicitly stated that Zechariah was a descendant of Aaron, so you may need to make this explicit here. For example:

…Elizabeth was, like him, a descendant of Aaron (JBP)

a daughter of Aaron: The Greek phrase that the BSB has translated as a daughter of Aaron is literally “of the daughters of Aaron.” This is a figurative way to say that she was among Aaron’s female descendants. Use a natural term in your language. You may be able to use the same term for both Zechariah and Elizabeth. For example:

his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron (NIV)

Aaron: Aaron was the brother of Moses and was the first high priest of Israel. All the Jewish priests were descended from him. So Elizabeth, like Zechariah, was from a family of priests. In some languages it may be necessary to make this clear by saying:

Aaron the ancestor of the priestly clan