a priest’s daughter was considered to be a double and special distinction. Of an excellent woman it was often said: “She deserves to be married to a priest.” In this way John was, in the fullest sense of the word, of honoured, priestly origin. The name of his father, Zacharias, means: “The Lord remembers (viz. His covenant)”; and his mother’s name, Elisabeth, means: “My God is an oath (i.e. my God is the absolutely Faithful One)”. These names, therefore, given to them in the providential ruling of