Luke 1:9
in Luke 1he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
KJV
According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
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This verse in Luke 1
Commentary
14 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was. - The Jewish writers inform us that it was customary for the priests to divide their daily task by “lot.” To burn incense - Incense is an aromatic or white rosin procured from trees, chiefly in Arabia. It is obtained by making incisions in the tree, and the gum flows out.
This site's exposition
One day while Zechariah’s division
on Luke 1:8-10
Priests drew the honor of burning incense by lot from among thousands and only once in a lifetime. So this ordinary morning became the great day of Zechariah’s life.
This site's exposition
he was chosen by lot
The priests divided their daily duties by lot, as Barnes and Clarke report from Jewish writers. Henry cites the Jewish saying that no priest burned incense twice in all his days. The lot gave Zechariah the high point of his ministry.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
John ChrysostomON THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE NATURE OF GOD 2.9-10 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
This man Zechariah came into the Holy of Holies, to the innermost sanctuary, upon which he alone of all men had the right to look. Consider how he was equal in importance to all the people. When he offered prayers for the whole people, when he was making the Master propitious to his servants, he was serving as a mediator between God and men.
Zacharias seems here to be designated High Priest, because into the second tabernacle went the High Priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and the sins of the people. (Heb. 9:7.)
The Medieval Church3 voices
Therefore, Zacharias enters the temple because it is the duty of priests to enter the sanctuary of God and to understand the deep mysteries of the heavens. The multitude prays outside, because they cannot penetrate the secrets and mysteries, they must humbly attend to the …
It was not by a new lot that he was chosen when the incense was to be burnt, but by the old lot, whereby according to the order of his Priesthood he succeeded in the course of Abia. It follows, And all the multitude of the people, &c. Incense was ordered to be carried into the Holy of Holies by the High Priest, the whole people waiting without the temple. It was to be on the tenth day of the seventh month, and this day was to be called the day of expiation or propitiation, the mystery of which day the Apostle explaining to the Hebrews, points to Jesus as the true High Priest, who in His own blood has entered the secret places of heaven that he might reconcile the Father unto us, and intercede for the sins of those who still wait praying before the doors.
He also indicates it as due according to the requirement of custom, when he says: According to the custom of the priesthood, his lot was to offer incense. For this custom, that the priest should enter not by usurpation but by lot or election, is …
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), not in the most holy place, into which the high priest entered. The Jews say that one and the same priest burned not incense twice in all his days (there were such a multitude of them), at least never more than one week. It is very probable that this was upon the sabbath day, because there was a multitude of people attending (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Zechariah the prophet was the last of the Old Testament that was conversant with angels, and Zacharias the priest the first in the New Testament. How Zacharias was employed in the service of God (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
According to the custom of the priest's office,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The first event recorded in Luke's Gospel, is the sudden appearance of an angel to a Jewish priest named Zachariah. The angel announces to him that a son is about to be born to him, by a miraculous interposition — and that this son is to be the forerunner of the long-promised Messiah. The word of God had plainly foretold that when Messiah came — someone would go before him to prepare his way. (Malachi 3:1.) The wisdom of God provided that when this forerunner appeared, he would be born in the family of a priest.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The first event recorded in Luke's Gospel, is the sudden appearance of an angel to a Jewish priest named Zachariah. The angel announces to him that a son is about to be born to him, by a miraculous interposition — and that this son is to be the forerunner of the long-promised Messiah. The word of God had plainly foretold that when Messiah came — someone would go before him to prepare his way. (Malachi 3:1.) The wisdom of God provided that when this forerunner appeared, he would be born in the family of a priest. We can form very little idea, at this period of the world, of the immense importance of this angel's announcement. To the mind of a pious Jew, it must have been glad tidings of great joy. It was the first communication from God to Israel since the days of Malachi. It broke the long silence of four hundred years. It told the believing Israelite that the prophetic weeks of Daniel were at length fulfilled, (Daniel 9:25) — that God's choicest promise was at length going to be accomplished — and that "the seed" was about to appear in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. (Genesis 22:18.) We must place ourselves in imagination, in the position of Zachariah — in order to give the verses before us their due weight. Let us mark, for one thing, in this passage — the noble testimony which is borne to the character of Zachariah and Elizabeth. We are told that they were "both righteous before God," and that "they walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." It matters little whether we interpret this "righteousness" as that which is imputed to all believers for their justification — or that which is wrought inwardly in believers by the operation of the Holy Spirit, for their sanctification . The two sorts of righteousness are never disjoined.
His lot was, etc. - We are informed in the Talmud, that it was the custom of the priests to divide the different functions of the sacerdotal office among themselves by lot: and, in this case, the decision of the lot was, that Zacharias should at that time burn the incense before the Lord, in the holy place.
The words behind it
14 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| κατὰ | kata | according to | G2596 → | 468 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἔθος | ethos | custom | G1485 → | 12 times |
| τῆς | tes | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἱερατείας | hi'erateias | priesthood | G2405 → | |
| ἔλαχεν | elachen | the lot picked [him as] | G2975 → | |
| τοῦ | tou | the [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θυμιᾶσαι | thumiasai | to burn incense | G2370 → | |
| εἰσελθὼν | eiselthon | entering | G1525 → | 194 times |
| εἰς | eis | into | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ναὸν | naon | temple | G3485 → | 45 times |
| τοῦ | tou | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κυρίου· | kuriou | Lord; | G2962 → | 711 times |
κατὰaccording to
kataG2596 →468 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
ἔθοςcustom
ethosG1485 →12 times
τῆςof the
tesG3588 →19766 times
ἱερατείαςpriesthood
hi'erateiasG2405 →
ἔλαχενthe lot picked [him as]
elachenG2975 →
τοῦthe [one]
touG3588 →19766 times
θυμιᾶσαιto burn incense
thumiasaiG2370 →
εἰσελθὼνentering
eiselthonG1525 →194 times
εἰςinto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
ναὸνtemple
naonG3485 →45 times
τοῦof the
touG3588 →19766 times
κυρίου·Lord;
kuriouG2962 →711 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 2:28And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I…
it leads to
- Exodus 28:1
“Next, have your brother Aaron brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to serve Me as priests.
- Leviticus 8:7–8
He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him. He tied the woven band of the ephod around him and fastened…
- Numbers 18:19
All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the…
- Exodus 28:1
Through
1 Chronicles 23:13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister before Him, and to pronounce…
it leads to
- Exodus 6:20
And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.
- Deuteronomy 21:5
And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every…
- Exodus 6:20
Through
2 Chronicles 29:11Now, my sons, do not be negligent, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, to minister before Him, and to burn incense.”
it leads to
- Numbers 8:6–14
“Take the Levites from among the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.
- Deuteronomy 10:8
At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in…
- Numbers 8:6–14
Through
Numbers 16:40just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the…
it leads to
- Numbers 3:10
So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”
- Numbers 3:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies24
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About Luke
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 1; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, ON THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE NATURE OF GOD 2.9-10; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.