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Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; and Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Mathan; and Mathan begat Jacob.

And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.*

SECT. III. AN ANGEL APPEARS TO ZACHARIAS. THE CONCEPTION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. B.C. 6.†

There was in the days of Herod‡ the king of Judea a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia ;§ and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron,

*This genealogy shows the fulfilment of the prophecy that our Lord should be descended from Abraham and David. There is another given in St. Luke's Gospel, which, like this of St. Matthew, brings down the succession, not to the Blessed Virgin, but to St. Joseph, who was publicly recognised as her husband. But it is traced through a different line of King David's posterity.

The ordinary chronology is out by four years, and therefore the birth of our Lord must be antedated at B.C. 4.

This was the first Herod, surnamed the Great. He was an Idumean or Edomite by descent, and was a proselyte to the Jewish religion. He had been made king of Judea by the Romans, with whom Antipater his father was in alliance. He was a man of great ability, but ambitious, unscrupulous, and cruel.

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Herod Agrippa II.

Herodias.

Bernice. Drusilla, married to Felix.

§ King David divided the descendants of Aaron into twentyfour families, and appointed them to exercise their priestly functions by courses. The course of Abia or Abijah was the eighth, See 1 Paralipomenon xxiv.

and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord without blame. And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.

And it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the order of his course Jerusalem. before God, according to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord. And all the multitude of the people were praying without, at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an Angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

And when Zachary saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the Angel said to him, Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John: and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children,* and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people.

And Zachary said to the Angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. And the Angel answering, said to him, I am Gabriel, who stand before God; and am sent to speak to thee, and to bring thee these good tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be able to speak until the day wherein these things shall come to pass, because thou hast not * Malachi iv. 6.

believed my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time.

And the people were waiting for Zachary; and they wondered that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they understood that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he made signs to them, and remained dumb. And it came to pass, that after the days of his office were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

And after those days, Elizabeth his wife conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he hath looked to take away my reproach among men.

SECT. IV. THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE ANGEL GABRIEL TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN. B.C. 5.

Nazareth.

And in the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel* was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the Angel came in, and said to her, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

And when she heard it she was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the Angel said to her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the

* The same angel who had been sent to Daniel (chap. ix. 21) to predict the time of the Messiah's coming.

house of Jacob for ever. shall be no end.

And of his kingdom there

And Mary said to the Angel, How shall this be done, forasmuch as I know not man? And the Angel answered and said to her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: therefore also the Holy One which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: for nothing shall be impossible with God. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the Angel departed from her.

SECT. V. THE BLESSED VIRGIN GOES TO VISIT ST. ELIZABETH. SHE UTTERS THE MAGNIFICAT.

Judea.

And Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.

And she cried out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, for those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me

blessed. For he that is mighty hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generation, to them that fear him. He hath showed might in his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath helped Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy, as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed for ever.

And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own home.

SECT. VI. JOHN THE BAPTIST IS BORN. THE HYMN OF
ZACHARY. B.C. 5. 4

Judea.

Now Elizabeth's full time of being delivered was come, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had showed his great mercy towards her, and they rejoiced with her.

And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him by his father's name, Zachary. And his mother answered and said, Not so, but he shall be called John. And they said to her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And demanding a writing-table, he wrote, saying, John is his name. And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spake, blessing God. And fear came upon all their neighbours; and all these things were noised abroad over all the hill country of Judea. And all they that had heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What an one, think ye, shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.

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