When his period of service in the Temple was over, Zechariah went back home.
These guards were assisted by their relatives, who lived in the villages and who had to take turns at guard duty for seven days at a time.
When he came out, he could not speak to them, and so they knew that he had seen a vision in the Temple. Unable to say a word, he made signs to them with his hands.
Some time later his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and did not leave the house for five months.