Ben C Smith

While I was translating Luke 1.59-66 a couple of weeks ago I came upon a little anomaly that has been bugging me ever since. Luke 1.20 has the angel Gabriel saying to Zechariah (also known as Zacharias):

And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day in which these things happen, on account that you did not have faith in my words, which will be fulfilled in their season.

Because of his sudden muteness, Zechariah can only communicate with others by gesturing, as in Luke 1.22:

But when he went out he could not speak to them, and they knew that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he was motioning [διανευων] to them, and he remained mute.

So far so good. But now read Luke 1.62, speaking of the friends and relatives visiting at the birth of John:

But they motioned [ενενευον] to his father as to what he wished him to be called.

My question is why these people are motioning to Zechariah if he is only mute. Is he also deaf for some reason?

Ben.