Luke 1:5 (KJV)

Passage

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Nearby Context

Luke 1:3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

Luke 1:4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Luke 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

Luke 1:7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "days", "herod", "king", "judaea", "certain", "priest", "named", and "zacharias". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "days" and "herod", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "That thou mightest know the certainty of..." into verse 6's "And they were both righteous before God...", so "days" and "herod" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "days" and "herod" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.