And Zachariah said unto the angel, How shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well advanced in years.
All Commentaries on Luke 1:18 Go To Luke 1
Theophilus of Antioch
AD 184
Because the word in the Greek may also signify deaf, he well says, Because you believe not, you shall be deaf, and shall not be able to speak. For most reasonably he suffered these two things; as disobedient, he incurs the penalty of deafness; as an objector, of silence.
But Zacharias beckoned to the people, who perhaps inquired the cause of his silence, which, as hewas not able to speak, he signified to them by nodding. Hence it follows, And he beckoned to the m, and remained speechless.
