Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The King and the Kingdom: A Study of the Four Gospels
The time occupied in the delivery of the angel's message so far exceeded that during which it was customary for the priest to remain within the sanctuary, that the worshippers outside had begun to wonder at the delay. 'and the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marvelled while he tarried in the temple.' When he appeared, their wonder was not lessened; for being unable to speak he could only attempt by gestures to give them some explanation, from which they inferred that something extraordinary had appeared to him. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple and he continued making signs unto them, and remained dumb.' Alford explains that the strict meaning of the word used in the original includes deafness, and it is obvious from verse (32 that Zacharias was both deaf and dumb. When the week during which his course was on duty (alford) had ended, the priest returned home. 'and it came to pass when the days of his ministration were fulfilled, he departed unto his own house.' Subsequently the angel's prediction was verified. 'and after these days Elisabeth his wife conceived. So unexpected an event appeared to her miraculous, a special divine interposition in her favour. For five months together she sought retirement. 'and she hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord done. Unto me in the days wherein he looked upon me, to take away my reproach among men.' The evangelist now proceeds to relate another supernatural manifestation. The particulars had evidently been collected with care. The event happened six months after the former one. The place was Nazareth, in Galilee. The person interested was a woman named Mary, unmarried, but betrothed to a man named Joseph, a. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.