Nativity of Saint John the Baptist seen in the emphasis Luke gives to the announcement of his birth and the event itself, both set in prominent parallel to the same occurrences in the life of Jesus. The sole biblical account of the birth of John the Baptist comes from the Gospel of Luke. John's parents, Zechariah or "Zachary" — a Jewish priest — and Elizabeth, were without children and both were beyond the age of child-bearing. During Zechariah's rotation to serve in the Temple in Jerusalem, he was chosen by lot to offer incense at the Golden Altar in the Holy Place. The Archangel Gabriel appeared
Heli (biblical figure) Heli (biblical figure) Heli (, "Hēlì") is a Biblical individual mentioned in the Gospel of Luke as an ancestor of Jesus. In Luke's account of the genealogy of Jesus from David via David's son Nathan, Heli is listed before Joseph, husband of Mary and after Matthat. Heli is not mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus from David via David's son Solomon in the Gospel of Matthew, the only other canonical gospel to include a genealogy; that genealogy instead identifies "Jacob" as Joseph's putative father. Since Joseph cannot be both "begotten of Jacob", descended from Solomon (according to Matthew 1), and