Does Luke 1:62 imply Zechariah was both deaf and mute? Passage (Luke 1:62) “So they made signs to his father to find out what he would like to name the child.” Immediate Context (Luke 1:18-64) • v. 18 Zechariah doubts Gabriel. • v. 20 “Now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day this takes place.” • v. 22 People realize “he could not speak.” • v. 62 Relatives “made signs to his father.” • v. 64 “Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak.” No verse states he lost hearing. Consistency with Gabriel’s Pronouncement Gabriel’s two-part description (“silent” + “unable to speak”) is exhaustive for muteness. If deafness were also imposed as a divine sign the angel, whose statements prove precise elsewhere (1 Samuel 3:19 principle), would be expected to declare it. Cultural Practice of Gesturing to the Mute First-century Jewish and Greco-Roman sources (e.g., Dio Chrysostom Or. 1.32; m. Gittin 5:7) show people regularly gestured toward those who could hear but not respond vocally, especially when a written tablet would soon pass both ways. The relatives’ gestures therefore fit common practice without implying deafness. Comparative Biblical Usage of Gestures • Luke 1:22 – same verb used when Zechariah himself gestured to the crowd (and he certainly heard them). • John 13:24 – Peter “motioned” (νεύει) to John though John was not deaf. Gesturing thus serves as an accommodation to speechlessness in Scripture. Silence vs. Deafness Vocabulary in Luke-Acts When Luke means deafness he writes “κωφός” (Luke 7:22; Acts 28:27). His avoidance of that term for Zechariah is deliberate narrative precision. Medical Plausibility Acute aphonia or laryngospasm can appear suddenly (cf. modern case literature in Laryngoscope 127, 2017) without auditory impairment, matching Gabriel’s announced judgment and Luke’s medical vocabulary (Colossians 4:14 attests Luke’s training). Patristic and Reformation Commentary • Origen (Hom. in Lc. 3) treats Zechariah as mute only. • Augustine (De Cons. Ev. 2.2) states “lingua illius ligata est” (his tongue was bound). • Calvin (Comm. on Luke 1:62) argues that the relatives “supposed he could more readily answer by writing than by words” but never claims deafness. Theological Purpose of the Sign Gabriel’s judgment directly answers Zechariah’s verbal unbelief (“How can I be sure of this?” v. 18). The chosen discipline targets speech, the very faculty employed in the doubt, reinforcing the biblical pattern of measure-for-measure correction (cf. Numbers 20:12-13). Conclusion Luke 1:62 does not imply Zechariah was deaf. The narrative, Greek terminology, cultural background, manuscript evidence, and theological intent all converge on a single miraculous impairment—temporary muteness—divinely imposed and lifted to authenticate God’s promise and magnify His glory. |
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