Lived: Approximately 50 BC – 1 AD
Zechariah was an elderly Jewish priest living in the hill country of Judea—about 80 miles south of modern-day Jerusalem in Israel. He belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, one of 24 groups that took turns serving at the Temple. During his lifetime, Julius Caesar was consolidating power in Rome, and Cleopatra was ruling Egypt. The famous Library of Alexandria was still standing, considered the greatest collection of knowledge in the ancient world.
Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were known for their integrity—Luke describes them as “righteous” and “blameless” (Luke 1:6). But they carried private grief: decades of unanswered prayers for a child. When Zechariah was chosen by lot to burn incense in the Temple’s Holy Place—a once-in-a-lifetime honor for most priests—everything changed. An angel appeared with news that his prayers had been heard. His son John would become the prophet who prepared Israel for Jesus.
Zechariah’s story is one of the Bible’s most honest portraits of doubt meeting divine promise.