Tracing the month of Zechariah's announcement from Scripture

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Chrysostom is explaining how to determine the month of Elizabeth's sixth month of pregnancy by working back from the timing of Zechariah's angelic announcement in the Holy of Holies.

How then will we know which month was the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy? If we learn which month it was when she began to conceive. And how will we know which month it was when she conceived? If we learn at what season Zechariah, her husband, received the good news. And how will this itself become known to us? From the divine Scriptures. As the holy Gospel says, the angel brought the good news to Zechariah while he was inside the Holy of Holies, and spoke to him about the birth of John. If therefore it is shown clearly from the Scriptures that the high priest entered the Holy of Holies only once, and alone, and when, and in which month of the year this single entry takes place, the season in which he received the good news will be evident. And once that is clear, the beginning of Elizabeth's pregnancy will also be known to all. Now that he entered once a year, Paul made clear, and Moses also makes this same thing plain, speaking this way: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron your brother, and let him not enter at every hour into the inner holy place beyond the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, and he will not die" (Leviticus 16:2). And again: "And no person shall be in the tent of testimony when he enters to make atonement in the holy place, until he comes out; and he shall make atonement for himself, and for his house, and for all the assembly of the sons of Israel; and he shall make atonement on the altar that is before the Lord" (Leviticus 16:17). That he did not enter the Holy of Holies continually, and that while he was inside no one was permitted to touch him but had to stand outside by the veil, is clear from these passages. But hold on to these things with precision. For what remains is to show which season it was when he entered the Holy of Holies, and that he did this once a year, alone. How then is this clear? From this same book. For it speaks in this way: "In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls, and you shall do no work on that day, neither the native nor the proselyte who dwells among you. For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you from all your sins; before the Lord you shall be cleansed. It shall be a Sabbath of Sabbaths, a rest for you, and you shall humble your souls; it shall be an everlasting ordinance for you. And the priest whom they anoint and whom they consecrate to serve as priest in his father's place shall make atonement; and he shall put on his holy garment, and he shall make atonement for the holy of holies, and for the tent of testimony, and he shall make atonement on the altar, and he shall make atonement for the sins of the priests, and for all the assembly he shall make atonement. And this shall be an everlasting ordinance for you, to make atonement for the sons of Israel from all their sins. Once a year it shall be done, just as the Lord commanded Moses" (Leviticus 16:29-34). He is speaking here about the Feast of Tabernacles.

Greek

Πόθεν οὖν εἰσόμεθα, ποῖος ἦν ὁ ἕκτος μὴν τῆς κυήσεως τῆς Ἐλισάβετ; Ἂν μάθωμεν ποῖος ἦν ὁ μὴν, καθ' ὃν ἤρξατο συλλαμβάνειν. Πόθεν δὲ εἰσόμεθα ποῖος ἦν ὁ μὴν, καθ' ὃν συνέλαβεν; Ἂν μάθωμεν κατὰ ποῖον καιρὸν εὐηγγελίσθη Ζαχαρίας ὁ ταύτης ἀνήρ. Αὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο πόθεν ἡμῖν ἔσται γνώριμον; Ἀπὸ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν· καθὼς τὸ ἅγιον Εὐαγγέλιον λέγει, ὅτι εἰς τὰ Ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων ἔνδον ὄντα τὸν Ζαχαρίαν ὁ ἄγγελος εὐηγγελίσατο, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ περὶ τοῦ τοκετοῦ Ἰωάννου. Ἂν τοίνυν ἀποδειχθῇ σαφῶς ἀπὸ τῶν Γραφῶν, ὅτι καὶ ἅπαξ εἰσήρχετο εἰς τὰ Ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς, καὶ μόνος, καὶ πότε, καὶ ποίῳ μηνὶ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ τὸ ἅπαξ τοῦτο εἰσέρχεται, εὔδηλος ἔσται ὁ καιρὸς, καθ' ὃν εὐηγγελίσθη· τούτου δὲ γενομένου δήλου, καὶ ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς συλλήψεως ἔσται τοῖς πᾶσι γνώριμος. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἅπαξ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ εἰσήρχετο, καὶ ὁ Παῦλος ἐδήλωσε, καὶ ὁ Μωϋσῆς δὲ τοῦτο αὐτὸ δῆλον ποιεῖ, οὕτω λέγων· Καὶ ἐλάλησε Κύριος πρὸς Μωϋσῆν λέγων· Λάλησον πρὸς Ἀαρὼν τὸν ἀδελφόν σου, καὶ μὴ εἰσπορευέσθω πᾶσαν ὥραν εἰς τὸ ἅγιον τὸ ἐσώτερον τοῦ καταπετάσματος εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου, ὅ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῆς κιβωτοῦ τοῦ μαρτυρίου, καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται. Καὶ πάλιν· Καὶ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἔσται ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ τοῦ μαρτυρίου, εἰσπορευομένου αὐτοῦ ἐξιλάσασθαι εἰς τὰ ἅγια, ἕως ἂν ἐξέλθῃ, καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάσης τῆς συναγωγῆς τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ· καὶ ἐξιλάσεται ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τὸ ἔναντι Κυρίου. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν οὐ διὰ παντὸς εἰσῄει εἰς τὰ Ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων, οὔτε ἔνδον ὄντος αὐτοῦ ἅψασθαι θέμις ἦν τινα, ἀλλ' ἔξω παρὰ τὸ καταπέτασμα ἑστάναι, δῆλον ἀπὸ τούτων. Ἀλλὰ κατέχετε δὴ ταῦτα μετὰ ἀκριβείας. Ὑπόλοιπον γάρ ἐστι δεῖξαι, ποῖος ἦν ὁ καιρὸς, καθ' ὃν εἰσῄει εἰς τὰ Ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων, καὶ ὅτι ἅπαξ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ μόνος τοῦτο ἔπραττε. Πόθεν οὖν τοῦτο δῆλον; Ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ βιβλίου τούτου. Οὕτω γάρ πώς φησιν· Ἐν τῷ μηνὶ τῷ ἑβδόμῳ, δεκάτῃ τοῦ μηνὸς, ταπεινώσετε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν, καὶ πᾶν ἔργον οὐ ποιήσετε ἐν αὐτῇ, ὁ αὐτόχθων, καὶ ὁ προσήλυτος ὁ προσκείμενος ἐν ὑμῖν. Ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ ὑμῶν, καθαρίσαι ὑμᾶς περὶ πασῶν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν· ἐναντίον Κυρίου καθαρισθήσεσθε. Σάββατα σαββάτων, ἀνάπαυσις αὕτη ἔσται ὑμῖν, καὶ ταπεινώσετε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν· νόμιμον αἰώνιον ἔσται ὑμῖν. Καὶ ἐξιλάσεται ὁ ἱερεὺς, ὃν ἂν χρίσωσιν αὐτὸν, καὶ ὃν ἂν τελειώσωσι τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ ἱερατεύειν μετὰ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐνδύσεται τὴν στολὴν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἁγίαν, καὶ ἐξιλάσεται τὸ ἅγιον τοῦ ἁγίου, καὶ τὴν σκηνὴν τοῦ μαρτυρίου, καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον ἐξιλάσεται, καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν τῶν ἱερέων, καὶ περὶ πάσης τῆς συναγωγῆς ἐξιλάσεται. Καὶ ἔσται τοῦτο ὑμῖν νόμιμον αἰώνιον, ἐξιλάσκεσθαι περὶ τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ ἀπὸ πασῶν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν. Ἅπαξ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ποιηθήσεται, καθάπερ συνέταξε Κύριος τῷ Μωϋσῇ. Περὶ τῆς Σκηνοπηγίας ἐνταῦθα διαλέγεται.

About this text

Chrysostom defends Antioch's new December feast of Christ's birth and prepares his hearers to receive Communion worthily.

John Chrysostom (c. 349–407) preached this homily to the congregation in Antioch on the feast of Christ's Nativity. The feast had only recently been introduced at Antioch, and a large crowd had gathered. Chrysostom defends the December date of the celebration and prepares the people for worthy reception of Communion.

Chrysostom argues that the feast is rightly celebrated in the present month. He reasons from the rapid spread of the feast, from the Gospel census under Augustus, and from the timing of Zechariah's service in the Holy of Holies that Christ was conceived when Elizabeth was in her sixth month and born nine months later. He then answers pagan and Manichaean mockery of the Incarnation by showing that God is not defiled by dwelling in pure flesh, any more than the sun is defiled when its rays touch filth. Finally, he exhorts the congregation to approach the Eucharist with fear, purity, and orderly reverence.

A reader will meet Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zechariah, John the Baptist, the angel Gabriel, Augustus, Quirinius, Herod, Paul, Moses, Aaron, Gamaliel, Nathanael, Philip, and Nicodemus. Chrysostom quotes Paul, Moses, the Evangelist, and Gabriel, and he paraphrases objections from pagan and Manichaean opponents and from an unnamed interlocutor.

No published English used as wording.

Printed text used

Translated from Migne PG text (Aegean University Digital Patrology, via (Greek)
Also checked Migne PG 49, archive.org scan patrologiae_cursus_completus_gr_vol_049 (Greek machine-read text) (Greek · check (same print; machine-read text compared word by word))

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