John Gill Commentary Luke 1:18

"And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years." — Luke 1:18 (ASV)

And Zacharias said unto the angel, whereby shall I know
this ?
&c.] Notwithstanding such an appearance of an angel to him, which in those times was not so usual, and this in the holy place; and the things themselves which were told him, and these as the return of prayer; yet he distrusted, and wanted a sign, whereby he might know the truth of them, as the Jews were generally desirous of, and as the father of them was; who expressed himself in much such language, on a certain occasion, as this his son did; see (Genesis 15:8) .

For I am an old man ;
at least sixty years of age; for with the Jews, sixty years were reckoned, (hnqzl) , "for old age" ^F23 ; and a man of these years, was accounted an old man:

and the Jewish Rabbins observe ^F24 , that the word for old age in (Job 30:2) is by "gematry, sixty"; that is, the letters of the word, numerically make so much.

The Mahometan writers, as before observed on (Luke 1:7) make him to be ninety nine years of age: he was not discharged from service; the Levites were at fifty, but not the priests; blemishes, as the Jewish writers say ^F25 , made them unfit for service, but years did not:

and even the law concerning the Levites, they say ^F26 , only respected the time they carried the sanctuary from place to place, and not future generations; and that they are disqualified neither by blemishes, nor by years, only by voice, for singing of the song; but then they might be among the porters; so that they were not on that account laid aside from all service:

and my wife well stricken in years .
The Mahometan writers, as before, say, she was "eighty nine"; a like objection Abraham made, though he afterwards got over it, and was strong in faith, giving glory to God, believing in his power and faithfulness; see (Genesis 17:17) .

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FOOTNOTES:

• F23: Misn. Abot, c. 5. sect. 21. & Maimon. in ib.
• F24: R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 24. 2.
• F25: T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 24. 1.
• F26: Maimon. Hilch. Cele Hamikdash, c. 3. sect. 8.