Why did Zechariah's wife Elizabeth not have children before the birth of John?

Answer 1

A:In Luke's Gospel, Elizabeth was barren, and for this reason had had no children. She was now stricken with age and could no longer even expect to have children when Zechariah was told she would bear a child who would be called John. Uta Ranke-Heinemann (Putting Away Childish Things) believes that Elizabeth and Zechariah were literary creations by the gospel author and, on this view, we do not know who John's parents were.