King James Bible
"And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years."
Luke introduces Zechariah and Elizabeth's childlessness, specifically attributing it to Elizabeth's inability to conceive. In ancient Jewish culture, barrenness was often seen as divine disfavor, making this detail both a personal tragedy and social stigma that heightens the miraculous nature of what follows. The couple's advanced age compounds their situation, moving it from difficult to humanly impossible. This echoes the Old Testament pattern of God granting children to elderly, barren couples (Abraham/Sarah, Isaac/Rebekah), signaling that John's birth will be a divine intervention marking a new redemptive act.