King James Bible Dictionary

Jehovah is renowned or remembered.

1. A prophet of Judah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets. Like Ezekiel, he was of priestly extraction. He describes himself (1:1) as "the son of Berechiah." In Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 he is called "the son of Iddo," who was properly his grandfather. His prophetical career began in the second year of Darius (B.C. 520), about sixteen years after the return of the first company from exile. He was contemporary with Haggai (Ezra 5:1).

His book consists of two distinct parts, (1) chapters 1 to 8, inclusive, and (2) 9 to the end. It begins with a preface (1:1-6), which recalls the nation's past history, for the purpose of presenting a solemn warning to the present generation. Then follows a series of eight visions (1:7-6:8), succeeding one another in one night, which may be regarded as a symbolical history of Israel, intended to furnish consolation to the returned exiles and stir up hope in their minds. The symbolical action, the crowning of Joshua (6:9-15), describes how the kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of God's Christ.

Chapters 7 and 8, delivered two years later, are an answer to the question whether the days of mourning for the destruction of the city should be any longer kept, and an encouraging address to the people, assuring them of God's presence and blessing.

The second part of the book (ch. 9-14) bears no date. It is probable that a considerable interval separates it from the first part. It consists of two burdens.

The first burden (ch. 9-11) gives an outline of the course of God's providential dealings with his people down to the time of the Advent.

The second burden (ch. 12-14) points out the glories that await Israel in "the latter day", the final conflict and triumph of God's kingdom.

2. The son or grandson of Jehoiada, the high priest in the times of Ahaziah and Joash. After the death of Jehoiada he boldly condemned both the king and the people for their rebellion against God (2 Chronicles 24:20), which so stirred up their resentment against him that at the king's commandment they stoned him with stones, and he died "in the court of the house of the Lord" (24:21). Christ alludes to this deed of murder in Matthew 23:35, Luke 11:51. (See ZACHARIAS.)

3. A prophet, who had "understanding in the seeing of God," in the time of Uzziah, who was much indebted to him for his wise counsel (2 Chronicles 26:5).

Besides these, there is a large number of persons mentioned in Scripture bearing this name of whom nothing is known.

4. One of the chiefs of the tribe of Reuben (1 Chronicles 5:7).

5. One of the porters of the tabernacle (1 Chronicles 9:21).

6. 1 Chronicles 9:37.

7. A Levite who assisted at the bringing up of the ark from the house of Obededom (1 Chronicles 15:20-24).

8. A Kohathite Levite (1 Chronicles 24:25).

9. A Merarite Levite (1 Chronicles 27:21).

10. The father of Iddo (1 Chronicles 27:21).

11. One who assisted in teaching the law to the people in the time of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 17:7).

12. A Levite of the sons of Asaph (2 Chronicles 20:14).

13. One of Jehoshaphat's sons (2 Chronicles 21:2).

14. The father of Abijah, who was the mother of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:1).

15. One of the sons of Asaph (2 Chronicles 29:13).

16. One of the "rulers of the house of God" (2 Chronicles 35:8).

17. A chief of the people in the time of Ezra, who consulted him about the return from captivity (Ezra 8:16); probably the same as mentioned in Nehemiah 8:4,

18. Nehemiah 11:12.

19. Nehemiah 12:16.

20. Nehemiah 12:35, 41.

21. Isaiah 8:2.

same as Zachariah

1. A Reubenite
1 Chronicles 5:7

2. Three Levites in the days of David
1 Chronicles 9:21; 1 Chronicles 15:18; 1 Chronicles 15:20; 1 Chronicles 15:24; 1 Chronicles 16:5; 1 Chronicles 26:2; 1 Chronicles 26:14

3. A Benjamite

General references
1 Chronicles 9:37

Called Zacher
1 Chronicles 8:31

4. Two Kohathites
1 Chronicles 24:25; 2 Chronicles 34:12

5. A Merarite porter in the temple
1 Chronicles 26:11

6. Father of Iddo
1 Chronicles 27:21

7. A prince sent by Jehoshaphat along with priests and Levites to teach in the cities
2 Chronicles 17:7

8. A Levite, and father of Jahaziel
2 Chronicles 20:14

9. Son of Jehoshaphat
2 Chronicles 21:2

10. High priest, and son or grandson of Jehoiada, put to death for prophesying against Jerusalem
2 Chronicles 24:20-22; 2 Chronicles 24:25; Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51

11. A prophet in the reign of Uzziah
2 Chronicles 26:5

12. A ruler of the temple
2 Chronicles 35:8

13. The prophet;

Son of Berechiah
Zech 2:4

Prophesied in the reign of Darius
Ezra 4:24; Ezra 5:1; Ezra 6:14; Zech 1:1; Zech 1:7; Zech 7:1

Probably the priest mentioned in Nehemiah 12:16
Nehemiah 12:16

14. Two chiefs who returned with Ezra
Ezra 8:3; Ezra 8:11; Ezra 8:16

15. Name of various Jews after the captivity
Ezra 10:26; Nehemiah 8:4; Nehemiah 11:4-5; Nehemiah 11:12; Nehemiah 12:16

16. A priest and temple musician
Nehemiah 12:35; Nehemiah 12:41

17. Perhaps identical with 11, above
Isaiah 8:2

18. A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah
2 Chronicles 29:13

19. See Zachariah
Zachariah

1. The eleventh in order of the twelve minor prophets. He is called in his prophecy the son of Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo, whereas in the book of Ezra, (Ezra 5:1; 6:14) he is said to have been the son of Iddo. It is natural to suppose as the prophet himself mentions his father's name, whereas the book of Ezra mentions only Iddo, that Berechiah had died early, and that there was now no intervening link between the grandfather and the grandson. Zechariah, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel before him, was priest as well as prophet. He seems to have entered upon his office while yet young, (Zechariah 2:4) and must have been born in Babylon whence he returned with the first caravan of exiles under Zerubbabel and Jeshua. It was in the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, that he first publicly discharged his office. In this he acted in concert with Haggai. Both prophets had the same great object before them; both directed all their energies to the building of the second temple. To their influence we find the rebuilding of the temple in a great measure ascribed. If the later Jewish accounts may be trusted, Zechariah, as well as Haggai, was a member of the Great Synagogue. The genuine writings of Zechariah help us but little in our estimate of his character. Some faint traces, however, we may observe in them, of his education in Babylon. He leans avowedly on the authority of the older prophets, and copies their expressions. Jeremiah especially seems to have been his favorite; and hence the Jewish saying that "the spirit of Jeremiah dwelt in Zechariah." But in what may be called the peculiarities of his prophecy, he approaches more nearly to Ezekiel and Daniel. Like them he delights in visions; like them he uses symbols and allegories rather than the bold figures and metaphors which lend so much force and beauty to the writings of the earlier prophets. Generally speaking, Zechariah's style is pure, and remarkably free from Chaldaisms.
2. Son of Meshelemiah or Shelemiah a Korhite, and keeper of the north gate of the tabernacle of the congregation, (1 Chronicles 9:21) (B.C. 1043.)
3. One of the sons of Jehiel. (1 Chronicles 9:37)
4. A Levite of the second order in the temple band as arranged by David, appointed to play "with psalteries on Alamoth." (1 Chronicles 15:18,20) (B.C. 1043.)
5. One of the princes of Judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 17:7) (B.C. 910.)
6. Son of the high priest Jehoiada, in the reign of Joash king of Judah (2 Chronicles 24:20) and therefore the king's cousin. After the death of Jehoiada, Zechariah probably succeeded to his office, and in attempting to check the reaction in favor of idolatry which immediately followed he fell a victim to a conspiracy formed against him by the king, and was stoned in the court of the temple. He is probably the same as the "Zacharias son of Barachias" who was slain between the temple and the altar. (Matthew 23:35) [ZACHARIAS, No. 2] (B.C. 838.)
7. A Kohathite Levite in the reign of Josiah. (2 Chronicles 34:12) (B.C. 628.)
8. The leader of the sons of Pharosh who returned with Ezra. (Ezra 8:3) (B.C. 450.)
9. Son of Behai. (Ezra 8:11)
10. One of the chiefs of the people whom Ezra summoned in council at the river Ahava. (Ezra 8:16) He stood at Ezra's left hand when he expounded the law to the people. (Nehemiah 8:4) (B.C. 459.)
11. One of the family of Elam who had married a foreign wife after the captivity. (Ezra 10:26) (B.C.458.)
12. Ancestor of Athaiah or Uthai. (Nehemiah 11:4)
13. A Shilonite, descendant of Perez. (Nehemiah 11:5)
14. A priest, son of Pashur. (Nehemiah 11:12)
15. The representative of the priestly family of Iddo in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua. (Nehemiah 12:16) (B.C. 536.) possibly the same as Zechariah the prophet, the son of Iddo.
16. One of the priests, son of Jonathan, who blew with the trumpets at the dedication of the city wall by Ezra and Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 12:36,41) (B.C. 446.)
17. A chief of the Reubenites at the time of the captivity by Tiglath-pileser. (1 Chronicles 5:7) (B.C. 740.)
18. One of the priests who accompanied the ark from the house of Obed-edom. (1 Chronicles 15:24) (B.C. 1043.)
19. Son of Isshiah or Jesiah, a Kohathite Levite descended from Uzziel. (1 Chronicles 24:25) (B.C. 1043.)
20. Fourth son of Hosah of the children of Merari. (1 Chronicles 26:11)
21. A Manassite. (1 Chronicles 27:21,22)
22. The father of Jahaziel. (2 Chronicles 20:14)
23. One of the sons of Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 21:2)
24. A prophet in the reign of Uzziah who appears to have acted as the king's counsellor, but of whom nothing is known. (2 Chronicles 26:5) (B.C. 807.)
25. The father of Abijah or Abi, Hezekiah's mother. (2 Chronicles 29:1)
26. One of the family of Asaph in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 29:13) (B.C. 727.)
27. One of the rulers of the temple in the reign of Josiah. (2 Chronicles 35:8) (B.C. 628.)
28. The son of Jeberechiah, who was taken by the prophet Isaiah as one of the "faithful witnesses to record," when he wrote concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. (Isaiah 8:2) (B.C. 723.) He may have been the Levite of the same name who in the reign of Hezekiah assisted in the purification of the temple. (2 Chronicles 29:13) Another conjecture is that he is the same as Zechariah the father of Abijah, the queen of Ahaz.

The book of Zechariah, in its existing form, consists of three principal parts, vis. chs. 1-8; chs. 9-11; chs. 12-14.

1. The first of these divisions is allowed by the critics to be the genuine work of Zechariah the son of Iddo. It consists, first, of a short introduction or preface in which the prophet announces his commission; then of a series of visions, descriptive of all those hopes and anticipations of which the building of the temple was the pledge and sure foundation and finally of a discourse, delivered two years later, in reply to questions respecting the observance of certain established fasts.
2. The remainder of the book consists of two sections of about equal length, chs. 9-11 and 12-14, each of which has an inscription. (1) In the first section he threatens Damascus and the seacoast of Palestine with misfortune, but declares that Jerusalem shall be protected. (2) The second section is entitled "The burden of the word of Jehovah for Isr'l." But Isr'l is here used of the nation at large, not of Isr'l as distinct from Judah. Indeed the prophecy which follows concerns Judah and Jerusalem, in this the prophet beholds the near approach of troublous times, when Jerusalem should be hard pressed by enemies. But in that day Jehovah shall come to save them an all the nations which gather themselves against Jerusalem shall be destroyed. Many modern critics maintain that the later chapters, from the ninth to the fourteenth, were written by some other prophet, who lived before the exile. The prophecy closes with a grand and stirring picture. All nations are gathered together against Jerusalem, and seem already sure of their prey. Half of their cruel work has been accomplished, when Jehovah himself appears on behalf of his people. He goes forth to war against the adversaries of his people. He establishes his kingdom over all the earth. All nations that are still left shall come up to Jerusalem, as the great centre of religious worship, and the city; from that day forward shall be a holy city. Such is, briefly, an outline of the second portion of that book which is commonly known as the Prophecy of Zechariah. Integrity . -Mede was the first to call this in question. The probability that the later chapters, from the ninth to the fourteenth, were by some other prophet seems first to have been suggested to him by the citation in St. Matthew. He rests his opinion partly on the authority of St. Matthew and partly-on the contents of the later chapters, which he considers require a date earlier than the exile. Archbishop Newcombe went further. He insisted on the great dissimilarity of style as well as subject between the earlier and later chapters and he was the first who advocated the theory that the last six chapters of Zechariah are the work of two distinct prophets.