Luke 1:62-63

1:62 So ¹  they made signs to the baby’s ²  father, ³  inquiring what he wanted to name his son. ⁴  1:63 He ⁵  asked for a writing tablet ⁶  and wrote, ⁷  “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ⁸ 

[1:62]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action described.

[1:62]  ² tn Grk “his”; the referent (the baby) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:62]  ³ sn The crowd was sure there had been a mistake, so they appealed to the child’s father. But custom was not to be followed here, since God had spoken. The fact they needed to signal him (made signs) shows that he was deaf as well as unable to speak.

[1:62]  ⁴ tn Grk “what he might wish to call him.”

[1:63]  ⁵ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:63]  ⁶ sn The writing tablet requested by Zechariah would have been a wax tablet.

[1:63]  ⁷ tn Grk “and wrote, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant is English and has not been translated.

[1:63]  ⁸ sn The response, they were all amazed, expresses a mixture of surprise and reflection in this setting where they were so certain of what the child’s name would be.