Luke 1:5
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
Luke 1:6
And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
Luke 1:7
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
barren
Genesis 11:30
Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Genesis 25:21
And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Genesis 29:31
When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
1 Samuel 1:5
To Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb.
Judges 13:2
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.
advanced in years
Genesis 18:11
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.
2 Kings 4:14
"Well, she has no son, and her husband is old."
Luke 1:8
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,
Luke 1:9
according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
Luke 1:10
And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
Luke 1:11
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Luke 1:12
And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
Zechariah was troubled
Judges 13:22-23
And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God." But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these."
Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son
Judges 13:3
And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son."
Luke 1:14
And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
Luke 1:15
for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
not drink wine or strong drink
1 Samuel 1:11
And she vowed a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head."
Judges 13:4-5
Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb....
On Nazirites
"Nazir" is Hebrew (נָזִיר) for "separate" or "set apart." It comes from the Hebrew root "nazar" (נָזַר) which means "to hold aloof" or "separate oneself."
Numbers 6:2-8, 13-18, 21
Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins. "All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the LORD, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long. "All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body. Not even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean, because his separation to God is on his head. All the days of his separation he is holy to the LORD.
And this is the law for the Nazirite, when the time of his separation has been completed: he shall be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and he shall bring his gift to the LORD, one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering, and a basket of unleavened bread, loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and their grain offering and their drink offerings. And the priest shall bring them before the LORD and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering, and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offering to the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering. And the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire that is under the sacrifice of the peace offering.
This is the law of the Nazirite. But if he vows an offering to the LORD above his Nazirite vow, as he can afford, in exact accordance with the vow that he takes, then he shall do in addition to the law of the Nazirite
Compare also:
Genesis 49:26
The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.
Deuteronomy 33:16
...May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers.
Luke 1:16
And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,
he will turn...the children...to the Lord
Judges 13:5
...and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.
Luke 1:17
and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."
the spirit and power of Elijah
Malachi 4:5-6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.
Luke 1:18
And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."
How shall I know this?
Genesis 18:12-14
So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son."
2 Kings 4:16
And he said, "At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son." And she said, "No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant."
Luke 1:19
And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
Gabriel
The English here is a transliteration of the Greek, itself a transliteration of the Hebrew (גַּבְרִיאֵל). It means "man of God."
Daniel 8:15-17
When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, "Gabriel, make this man understand the vision." So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, "Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end."
Daniel 9:20-23
While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, "O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision...."
Luke 1:20
And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."
you will be silent and unable to speak
Judges 13:11-13
And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to this woman?" And he said, "I am." And Manoah said, "Now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?" And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful...."
Luke 1:21
And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.
Luke 1:22
And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.
Luke 1:23
And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
Luke 1:24
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,
Luke 1:25
"Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."
to take away my reproach
Genesis 30:22-24
Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son and said, "God has taken away my reproach." And she called his name Joseph, saying, "May the LORD add to me another son!"