Would have called (εκαλουν). Conative imperfect, tried to call.

On the eighth day. This was the day on which it was required to circumcise children (Genesis 21:4).

And they called …

They came to circumcise the child.—The day of circumcision, as the admission of the child into God’s covenant with his pe…

St. John Chrysostom: The rite of circumcision was first given to Abraham as a sign of distinction, so that the lineage of the …

These verses give the impression that no one in the neighborhood knew of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. On one level, the “joy” is over Elizabeth’s emergen…

And they called him Zacharias, by the name of his father. We know that names were originally given to men, either from some occurrence, or…

And it came to pass that on the eighth day
The precise time fixed in the normal restitution of the ordinance of circumcision, …

In these verses, we have an account of the birth of John the Baptist and the great joy among all the relatives of the family. He was to be called J…