Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

June 24 is the feast day of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, a tradition celebrated throughout Christendom. Take note that most feast days are about the death/falling asleep of a saint, but John the Baptist, along with the Theotokos, are two saints that also have nativity feast days. John actually has quite a few other feast days in the Orthodox tradition. They also include:

January 7 – Synaxis of St. John the Forerunner

February 24 – First and Second finding of the head of St John the Baptist

May 25 – Third finding of the head of St John the Baptist

August 29 – Beheading of St John the Baptist

September 23 – Conception of St John the Baptist (and his parents are commemorated on this day as well).

I do find the finding of the head feast days to be…..interesting. There is also a shared feast day on October 12 that involves the relic of the right hand of John.

With this post, I would like to post stories relating to his birth from different religious sources. We’ll start first with the Christian narrative from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1.

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

That section was about the conception and leading up to the birth of John. Here is the birth narrative:

The Birth of John the Baptist
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy
And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
    and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
     that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
    whereby the sunrise shall visit us[h] from on high
o give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Now I want to go to the Quran and see about the birth of John there. In the Surah Maryam, we find:

˹The angels announced,˺ “O Zachariah! Indeed, We give you the good news of ˹the birth of˺ a son, whose name will be John—a name We have not given to anyone before.”
He wondered, “My Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren, and I have become extremely old?”
An angel replied, “So will it be! Your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me, just as I created you before, when you were nothing!’”
Zachariah said, “My Lord! Grant me a sign.” He responded, “Your sign is that you will not ˹be able to˺ speak to people for three nights, despite being healthy.”
So he came out to his people from the sanctuary, signaling to them to glorify ˹Allah˺ morning and evening.
˹It was later said,˺ “O John! Hold firmly to the Scriptures.” And We granted him wisdom while ˹he was still˺ a child,
as well as purity and compassion from Us. And he was God-fearing,
and kind to his parents. He was neither arrogant nor disobedient.
Peace be upon him the day he was born, and the day of his death, and the day he will be raised back to life!

And finally we go to a Mandaean origin of John the Baptist. I am going to use G. R. S. Meade’s translation, from his book “Gnostic John the Baptizer”, regarding Mandaean scripture. Here it is in full:

In the Name of Great Life may hallowed Light be glorifed.
A CHILD was planted out of the height, a mystery revealed in Jerusalem. The priestsasaw dreams; chill seized on their children, chill seized on Jerusalem.
Early in the morning he went to the temple. He opened his mouth in blasphemy and his lips of lying. He opened his mouth in blasphemy and spake to all of the priests:
"In my vision of the night I beheld, [I beheld] in my vision. When I lay there, I slept not and rested not, and sleep came not to me by night. I slept not and rested not, [and I beheld] that a star appeared and stood over Enishbai. Fire burned in Old Father (Aba Saba) Zakhria;  three heaven-lights appeared. The sun sank and the lights rose. Fire lit up the house of the people (synagogue), smoke rose over the temple. A quaking quaked in the Throne-chariot, so that Earth removed from her seat. A star flew down into Judæa, a star flew down into Jerusalem. The sun appeared by night, and the moon rose by day."
When the priests heard this, they cast dust on their head. Yaqif the priest weeps and Beni-Amin's tears flow. Shilai and Shalbai cast dust on their heads. Elizar [the chief priest] opened his mouth and spake unto all of the priests: "Yaqif interprets dreams, but as yet he has no understanding of these. Beni-Amin interprets dreams; is he not a man who discloses your secrets?  ab-Yomin gives us no revelation, though you deem he can give information on all that is and [that] is not.
Earth groans out of season and is sent a-whirl through the heaven-spheres. Earth opens her mouth and speaks to Elizar: "Go to Lilyukh, that he may interpret the dreams you have seen," Thereon Elizar opened his mouth and spake unto all of the priests: "Who goes to Lilyukh, that he may interpret the dreams you have seen?" Then wrote they a letter and put it in the hand of  ab-Yomin.  ab-Yomin took the letter and betook himself to Lilyukh, Lilyukh lay on his bed; sleep had not yet flown from him. A quaking came into his heart, shivered his heart and brought it down from its stay,  ab-Yomin drew near to Lilyukh,  ab-Yomin stepped up to Lilyukh, shook him out of his sleep and spake to him: "The priests saw dreams, . . . [the above paragraph is repeated verbally down to] . . .and the moon rose by day."
When Lilyukh heard this, he cast dust on his head. Naked, Lilyukh rose from his bed and fetched the dream-book. He opens it and reads in it and looks for what stands there written. He opens it and reads therein and interprets the dreams in silence without reading
aloud. He writes them in a letter and expounds them on a leaf. In it he says to them: "Woe unto you, all of you priests, for Enishbai shall bear a child. Woe unto you, ye rabbis, for a child shall be born in Jerusalem. Woe unto you, ye teachers and pupils, for Enishbai shall bear a child, woe unto you, Mistress Torah (the Law), for Yohana shall be born in Jerusalem."
Lilyukh writes unto them in the letter and says to them: "The star, that came and stood over Enishbai: A child will be planted out of the height from above; he comes and will be given unto Enishbai. The fire, that burned in Old Father Zakhria: Yohana will be born in Jerusalem."
ab-Yomin took the letter and in haste made off to Jerusalem. He came and found all the priests sitting in sorrow. He took the letter and laid it in the hand of Elizar. He opens it and reads it and finds in it wondrous discourses. He opens it and reads it and sees what stands therein written. He reads it in silence and gives them no decision about it.
Elizar then took it and laid it in the hand of Old Father Zakhria. He opens it and reads it and sees what stands therein written. He reads it in silence and gives no decision about it. Elizar now opened his mouth and spake to Old Father Zakhria: "Old Father, get thee gone from Judæa, lest thou stir up strife in Jerusalem." Old Father then raised his right hand and smote on the head Elizar: "Elizar, thou great house, thou head of all the priests! If thou in thy inner [part] knewest thy mother, thou wouldst not dare come into our synagogue. If thou in thy inner [part] knewest, thou wouldst not dare read the Torah.
For thy mother was a wanton. A wanton was she, who did not match with the house of her husband's father. As thy father had not the hundred gold staters for writing her the bill of divorcement, he abandoned her straightway and enquired not for her. Is there a day when I come and look forth, and see not Misha bar Amra? Yea, is there a day when I come without praying in your synagogue, that you should be false and dishonest and say a word which you have ne'er heard about me? Where is there a dead man who becomes living again, that Enishbai should bear a child? Where is there a blind man who becomes seeing, where is there a lame man for whom his feet [walk again], and where is there a mute who learns [to read in] a book, that Enishbai should bear a child? It is two and twenty years to-day that I have seen no wife. Nay, neither through me nor through you will Enishbai bear a child."
Then all of the priests arose and said to Old Father Zakhria, [they said] in reproach: "Be at rest and keep thy seat, Old Father, and let the calm of the Good rest upon thee.
Old Father, if there were no dreams in Judæa, then would all that Misha has said, be lying. Rather shall thy word and our word be made good, and the dreams we have seen. Yohana will receive Jordan and be called prophet in Jerusalem."
Thereon Old Father removed himself from their midst, and Elizar followed him. Then were seen three lights (lit. lamps) which companied with him. They (the priests) ran up, caught Old Father by the hem of his robe and said to him: "Old Father, what is 't that goes before thee, and what is 't that follows thee?" Then answered he them: "O Elizar, thou great house, thou head of all of the priests, I know not whom the lights guard which go before me. I know not with whom the fire goes which follows me. [But] neither through me nor through you will Enishbai bear a child."
Then all the priests rose and said to Old Father Zakhria, [they said] in reproach: "Old Father Zakhria, be at peace, firm and decided, for the child will be planted from out of the most high height and be given to thee in thy old age. Yohana will be born, Yohana will receive Jordan and be called prophet in Jerusalem. We will be baptized with his baptizing and with his pure sign [will we] be signed. We will take his bread and drink his drink and with him ascend to Light's region."
All the priests arose and said to Old Father Zakhria, [they said] in reproach: "Old Father! We will enlighten thee as to thy race and thy fathers, from whom thou hast come forth. . . . [there follows a list of prophets and sages, beginning with Moses, which I omit, as it requires a lengthy commentary for which space here does not serve,—ending with] ... ab-Yomin and the school-teachers have come forth from thy race. The blessed princes, who are thy forbears, Old Father, all of them have taken no wife and begotten no sons.
Yet in their old age each of them had a son. They had sons, and they were prophets in Jerusalem. If now out of thee as well a prophet comes forth, thou dost then revive this race again. Yea, Yohana will be born and will be called prophet in Jerusalem."
Then Elizar opened his mouth and said to Old Father: "Old Father! If Yohana receives Jordan, then will I be his servant, be baptized with his baptizing and signed with his pure sign. We will take his bread and drink his drink and with him ascend to Light's region."
Then Old Father opened his mouth and said unto all of the priests: "If the child comes out of the most high height, what then will you do in Jerusalem?"
They have taken the child out of the basin of Jordan and laid him in the womb of Enishbai.
Life is victorious and victorious is the Man who has come hither.

Icons are of 16th century Russian orthodox origin, Islamic John picture from the 16th century.

bP