Abijah

Abijah was the head of the eighth priestly division established by King David, who organized the priests into twenty-four courses for orderly temple service (1 Chronicles 24:10). This division became significant in the New Testament because Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, belonged to it (Luke 1:5). While serving in the temple during his division's rotation, Zechariah received the angelic announcement of his son's birth. The Abijah priestly course thus stands at the junction of the Old and New Testaments, connecting the institutional priesthood of Israel with the dawn of the messianic age.