1These were the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. 3David, with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their ordering in their service. 4There were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and they were divided like this: of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen, heads of fathers’ houses; and of the sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers’ houses, eight. 5Thus they were divided impartially by drawing lots; for there were princes of the sanctuary and princes of God, both of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar. 6Shemaiah the son of Nethanel the scribe, who was of the Levites, wrote them in the presence of the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites; one fathers’ house being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.
7Now the first lot came out to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, 8the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, 9the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, 10the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, 11the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, 12the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, 13the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, 14the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, 15the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, 16the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel, 17the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, 18the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. 19This was their ordering in their service, to come into Yahweh’s house according to the ordinance given to them by Aaron their father, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
20Of the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. 21Of Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah the chief. 22Of the Izharites, Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. 23The sons of Hebron: Jeriah, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 24The sons of Uzziel: Micah; of the sons of Micah, Shamir. 25The brother of Micah: Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. 26The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The son of Jaaziah: Beno. 27The sons of Merari by Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. 28Of Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons. 29Of Kish, the son of Kish: Jerahmeel. 30The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites after their fathers’ houses. 31These likewise cast lots even as their brothers the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites, the fathers’ households of the chief even as those of his younger brother.
(Friday, March 14, 3 B.C.)
“In the days of Herod, king of Judea…”
The reign referenced is Herod’s final years before his death in 1 B.C., situating the nativity within the closing phase of his deteriorating rule. From the outset, Luke roots redemption in datable civil history rather than symbolic time.
Luke anchors sacred history within civil history. The reign of Herod situates the coming of the Messiah not in mythic time but in the final years before Herod died in 1 B.C., consistent with the 1 B.C. date established through chronological reconstruction. The kingdom is outwardly stable yet inwardly decaying. Political tension fills the land. Into this setting God begins to move.
“There was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah.”
Zechariah belongs to one of the twenty-four priestly divisions established in the time of David. According to 1 Chronicles 24, David organized the sons of Aaron into twenty-four rotating courses so that Temple worship would never cease. Each division served one week at a time, twice annually, in addition to major feast periods when all divisions assisted. His service is not symbolic but scheduled, rooted in temple order. This structure makes it possible to identify Zechariah’s service week in March 3 B.C., forming the foundation for the nativity timeline. Redemption begins not with spectacle but with faithfulness within ordinary covenant structure.
“And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.”
Both husband and wife descend from Aaron. John the Baptist will therefore be priestly by blood. Luke quietly prepares us to see that the forerunner of the Messiah stands fully within Israel’s priestly inheritance — a prophet arising from the line entrusted with Temple mediation.