Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)

Zechariah as depicted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Zechariah^[a] was a person in the Hebrew Bible and traditionally considered the author of the Book of Zechariah, the eleventh of the Twelve Minor Prophets.

Prophet[]

Zechariah as depicted by James Tissot

The Book of Zechariah introduces him as the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo (Zechariah 1:1). The Book of Ezra names Zechariah as the son of Iddo (Ezra 5:1 and Ezra 6:14), but it is likely that Berechiah was Zechariah's father, and Iddo was his grandfather.^[1]

His prophetical career probably began in the second year of Darius the Great, king of the Achaemenid Empire (520 BC). His greatest concern appears to have been with the building of the Second Temple.^[1]

Possible allusion by Jesus[]

He was probably not the "Zechariah" mentioned by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke (11:51)^[2] and the Gospel of Matthew, "from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar" (23:35). Jesus' words are interpreted as: from the first victim of a murder (Abel), to the last martyr (Zechariah), by which Zechariah ben Jehoiada was more likely meant, as representing the last of the martyrs recorded in the Masoretic Text.^[2] However, some scholars still identify him with the later prophet Zechariah, rather than the priest Zechariah of the 9th century BCE, as the Gospel of Matthew records his name as "Zechariah son of Berechiah", and the prophet Zechariah is indeed listed as the son of Berechiah (Zech. 1:1).^{[citation needed]}

Bahá'í Faith[]

Bahá'í teachers have made comparisons between the prophecies of Zechariah and the Súriy-i-Haykal in the Summons of the Lord of Hosts, a collection of the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh.^[3]^{[importance?]}

Liturgical commemoration[]

On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, his feast day is February 8. He is commemorated in the calendar of saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on the Tuesday after the fifth Sunday of Pentecost^[4] and, with the other Minor Prophets, on July 31. The Roman Catholic Church honors him with a feast day assigned to September 6.

Notes[]

^ (/zɛkəˈraɪ.ə/; Hebrew: זְכַרְיָה‎‎, Modern: Zekharya, Tiberian: Zəḵaryāh, "YHWH has remembered"; Arabic: زكريّا‎ Zakariya' or Zakkariya; Greek: Ζαχαρίας Zakharias; Latin: Zacharias)

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Hirsch, Emil G. (1906). "Zechariah". In Cyrus Adler; et al. (eds.). Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Co.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Pao, David W.; Schnabel, Eckhard J. (2007). G. K. Beale; D. A. Carson (eds.). Luke 11:49-51. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Baker Academic. ISBN 9781441210524. Retrieved 8 August 2021. most identify this figure with the Zechariah of 2 Chron. 24:20–25, who was killed in the temple court
^ Cynthia C. Shawamreh (December 1998). "Comparison of the Suriy-i-Haykal and the Prophecies of Zechariah". Wilmette Institute.
^ Domar: the calendrical and liturgical cycle of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, Armenian Orthodox Theological Research Institute, 2003

Sources[]

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons. Missing or empty |title= (help)

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In Islamic tradition	Amos Seth Shem Eli Ahijah Shemaiah Iddo Haggai Hanani Jehu Melchizedek Micaiah Nahum Eliezer Zechariah ben Jehoiada Uriah Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah Berechiah Joel Obadiah Micah Habakkuk Zephaniah Malachi Hanzalah Khaled bin Sinan
In Quranic exegesis	Abel Saduq, Masduq, and Shalum Hosea Zechariah, son of Berechiah
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