Zechariah is a very common name in the Old Testament (OT). There are 25–30 men named Zechariah. The name means ‘Yah Remembers’. In Mt.23:31-38, Jesus connected Jewish leaders of His day to the murderers of God’s prophets of old. He said they will kill His prophets and servants. Jesus referred to a Zechariah among those prophets. Which Zechariah (Zech) was Jesus referring to specifically?
Mt.23:31-38 is the passage in question. Jesus accused the scribes & Pharisees. “You’re the descendants of those which killed the prophets. You brood of vipers. I am sending you prophets; some of them you will kill and crucify. That upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on the earth [or Land]; from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariáh [Zacharías in Greek], the son of Berechiáh [Barachías in Greek], who you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. O Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets.” Also Lk.11:46-51 is a parallel passage. “Woe to you lawyers. That the blood of all the prophets may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who was killed between the altar and the house of God.”
It seems that Jesus’ words were no idiom. The Jewish nation put to death God’s prophets, innocent victims. For example 2Ki.24:3-4, wicked King Manasséh of Judah shed much innocent blood.
Why would Jesus link those Jewish leaders to Abel? The first recorded murder in the Bible is well-known. Ge.4:8-10 “Cain rose up and killed Abel his brother. The Lord said to Cain, ‘The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.” Jerusalem Targum Ge.4:10 paraphrase reads, “The voice of the bloods [plural] of the multitude of the righteous that shall spring from Abel thy brother”. Targum Ónkelos “The voice of the blood of the seed that shall rise from thy brother.” The scribes & Pharisees didn’t kill Abel. But Jewish traditional belief held that innocent bloods (which defiled the land, Nu.35:33) collectively continued to beseech God for justice against their murderers (Abot. R Nathan, c. 31). Also He.11:4 & 12:24, “The sprinkling of [Jesus’] blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel”. (Mercy is better than vengeance.) So Jesus too traditionally connected them to Abel.
Four criteria are apparent in the accusation or implication of guilt made by Jesus in Mt.23:
1 Jesus said Zech is the son of Berechiah/Barachias. This common name meant ‘Blessed of Yah’.
2 Jesus indicated Zech was the last one slain. Jesus could mean last by order of: the Greek OT (Malachi is the end book), or the Jewish/Tanakh OT (2Chr is now the end book), or the latest murder before Jesus spoke Mt.23, or Jesus prophesied of a final slaying before the temple destruction in 70 AD.
3 The Zech Jesus had in mind is killed between the sanctuary and altar (of burnt offering). That holy area was located in the inner court/court of the priests (2Ki.21:5, 2Ch.4:9), where only priests (and assisting Levites) were permitted. So it’s very unlikely Zech was a layman; most likely he was a priest.
4 There’s strong indication that the Zech Jesus meant was a prophet. Four identifying criteria.
Also we’ll reference secondary texts…Biblical/religious and historical accounts, which corroborate or may serve as confirmation to Matthew’s (and Luke’s) New Testament account.
Of the many men named Zechariah/Zacharias in scripture (and Jewish history), only four seem feasible possibilities or candidates for the Zech/(Zach) Jesus had in mind in Mt.23:35.
The four are: #1 Zech the son of Barúch. #2 Zech the son of Jehoiadá. #3 Zech the father of John the Baptizer. #4 Zech the son of Berechiah or Iddó. Let’s examine the likelihood of these four, one-by-one.
#1 Zech the son of Baruch. Josephus wrote of this Zech in Wars of the Jews 4:5:4. “Zealots and Iduméans intended to have Zacharias the son of Baruch, one of the most eminent citizens, slain. Hatred of wickedness was in him. He was a rich man, who had great power to destroy them. He turned his speech to his accusers and went over all their transgressions and made heavy lamentation. Two of the boldest Zealots fell upon Zacharias in the middle of the temple and slew him.”
This #1 Zech/Zach is the son of a Baruch (not Barachias). He was a prominent citizen, not a priest. Josephus recorded this man’s final testimony, which may have been viewed in part as prophetic. This account is a historical witness. If Jesus was prophesying (Mt.23:35) of the last one to be slain, perhaps this eminent citizen was the last of note before Jerusalem was destroyed? In 68 AD he was slain by Jewish Zealots in the middle of the temple, not between the sanctuary and altar (off-limits to laymen). But Jesus probably was referring to a past event. #1 Zech seems the least likely of the four candidates.
#2 Zech the son of Jehoiada. His death is recorded in 2Ch.24:17-22. “The officials of Judah bowed to the king. They served idols. The Spirit of God came on Zechariah (LXX Azarías), son of Jehoiada the priest; he stood above the people and said, ‘God has said, ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has forsaken you.’ So they conspired against him; and at the command of the king [Joásh] stoned him to death in the court of the house of the Lord. As he died he said, ‘May the Lord look upon it and require it.” He was a priest, stoned circa (ca) 800 BC.
This #2 Zech was the son of Jehoiada, not Berechiah. Perhaps Jehoiada was Zech’s famous long-lived grandfather (not father) who died at age 130 (2Ch.24:15), or Jehoiada had two names? That’s conjecture. Yet many scholars think this #2 Zech is the one Jesus had in mind. In support of him as Jesus’ Zech is the Pulpit Commentary. “When he died, it is added, he said, ‘The Lord look upon it, and require it.’ This makes his case correspond to that of Abel, the voice of whose blood cried to God from the ground.” Also Meyer’s NT notes from Jerome’s Commentary on Matthew. “In the Gospel of the Hebrews the wrong name (Berechiah) was carefully avoided, and the correct one, viz. Jehoiada, inserted instead.” Jerome (400 AD) disputed the father name associated by Jesus in Mt.23:35 (ca 30 AD).
Since 2Ch is the final book in the present order of the Tanakh (Jewish OT), he’s the last Zech slain in today’s Tanakh (but dying in 800 BC, not the last chronologically). However, there’s evidence that Chronicles wasn’t always the last book in the Tanakh. For example, in both the Aléppo and Leningrad Codex (the oldest complete Masoretic text of scripture, 1000 AD), Chronicles begins the section of the Hebrew scriptures called the Writings/Ketúvim. ref Encyclopedia Judaica. Furthermore, Chronicles wasn’t the last book in Josephus’ 1st century AD order of books. Against Apion 1:8 “The remaining four books contain hymns to God and precepts for conduct.” The last four were Psal, Prov, Eccl, SSol.
Even in the present order of the Tanakh, the last slain chronologically is governor Gedaliáh, in the 580s BC (Je.41:1-2). That’s more than 200 years later than this Zech #2, son of Jehoiada. (Zec.8:19 the fast of the 7th month honored Gedaliah.) Although scripture doesn’t call the son of Jehoiada (Zech #2) a prophet, he did speak the inspired judgment of God in 2Ch.24:20. But a prophet slain 200 years later, ca 605 BC, is Uriáh (Je.26:20-24 below). The #2 Zech was killed by the Jewish people or officials in the “court of the house of the Lord”. Possibly that occurred in the great court of the first temple (Solomon’s) where the people were allowed (ref Je.26:2, 2Ch.4:9), not in the restricted inner court. But Jesus said the Zech of Mt.23:35 was killed near the sanctuary and altar…in the priests’ inner court!
2Ch.24 is OT witness to the murder of a Zechariah/Azarias. Yet if this #2 Zech is who Jesus had in mind in Mt.23:35, He could have said “son of Jehoiada” instead of “son of Berechiah”…but He didn’t! This Zech #2 fits two or possibly three of the criteria. He was a priest, and he prophesied by the Spirit of God. He being the last slain according to a 1st century AD Tanakh order of books may be a stretch.
#3 Zech/Zach the father of John the Baptizer. Lk.1:5 “In the days of Herod, there was a certain priest named Zacharias.” This Zach/Zech was a priest. v.13 “Zacharias, your wife Elizabeth will bear a son who you will name John.” He’s the father of John the Baptizer (and is Jesus’ kin via Mary’s family). v.67 “Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and he prophesied.” v.68-79 reflects Zach’s prophecy.
The Protevangélion of James (an Infancy gospel, so-called) says Herod’s men murdered him in the temple courtyard. Prot Jas.16:14-25 “Zacharias replied to them, ‘I am a martyr for God, and if he [Herod] shed my blood, the Lord will receive my soul. Besides, know that you shed innocent blood.’ Zacharias was murdered about daybreak in the entrance of the temple and altar, and about the partition. The priests went into the temple. One of them saw congealed blood next to the altar of the Lord.” It seems the soldiers of King Herod trespassed by entering the court of the priests.
Orthodox Church in America “The Holy Prophet Zachariah and the Righteous Elizabeth were the parents of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John. They were descended from the lineage of Aaron: St Zachariah, son of Barach. In these tragic days St Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the Temple. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from him the whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered this holy prophet, having stabbed him between the temple and the altar (MT.23:35).” And Orthodox Wiki “The holy prophet Zachariah, a priest in the Jerusalem Temple, was the son of Baruch, from the lineage of Aaron.”
The early theologian Origén (185–254 AD) thought Jesus had in mind this Zech #3. So did Orthodox patriarch Peter I of Alexandria (300 AD). Also Bishop Serápion The Life of John the Baptist “O pious Zacharias! In the time when the soldiers of Herod came….they killed him inside the Temple, the priests shrouded his body and placed it near that of his father Barechiah in a hidden cemetery, from fear of the wicked [king]. Titus, the Emperor of the Romans, came and destroyed Jerusalem and killed the Jewish priests for the blood of Zacharias, as the Lord ordered him.” (from A. Mingana Woodbrooke Studies: Christian Documents in Syriac, Arabic, and Garshuni, vol 1, Cambridge 1927, pp. 138-287. Woodbrooke dates Serapion’s text to 385–395 AD, probably composed in Greek.)
The slaying of Zach/Zech #3 may have been the last of note before Jesus spoke His words recorded in Mt.23? However, the death of the prophet John the Baptist in Mt.14:10 precedes Mt.23, yet probably occurred later than the death of his father Zacharias. So the murder of John was perhaps last of note.
This #3 Zech fits most all the criteria. He’s a prophet, a priest slain between the temple and altar, and is a son of Barechiah. That is, if traditional accounts of his place of death and father’s name are correct.
#4 Zech the son of Berechiah (and the grandson of Iddo). Ne.12:1, 4, 7, 16 “These are the priests and Levites who returned with Zerubabbél…Iddo…these were the heads of the priests and their relatives; of Iddo, Zechariah.” As we’ll see below, he’s actually the grandson of Iddo, a chief priest. Iddo may have been a more notable figure than his son Berechiah, or Berechiah could have died young. Zech #4 returned from Babylon in the 530s BC. In 520–518 BC he wrote the first part of the Bible book that bears his name. Seventy years after the 586 BC destruction of the first temple and captivity, the second temple was completed in 516 BC. (see the topic “Temple of Zerubbabel”.) Ezr.6:14-16 “Zechariah the son of Iddo.” He’s the last Zech (died 480s BC?) in the Greek OT order (became the LXX/Septúagint), which is also the order of books in most of our Bibles today (e.g. KJV). And Matthew often quoted the Greek OT.
Zec.1:1 KJV & LXX “The word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo [Addo].” The same is in v.7. Zech #4 says he’s the son of Berechiah, and the grandson of Iddo. This Zech is also the next-to-last OT prophet-writer (chronologically too). Malachi is the last.
Targum on Lamentations is an Aramaic rendering/commentary dating from the early centuries AD. TgLam.2:19 “Arise, O Congregation of Israel dwelling in exile. Pour out like water the crookedness of your heart and turn in repentance. And pray in the synagogue before the face of the Lord.” TgLam2:20 “Is it right to kill priest and prophet, as when you killed Zechariah son of Iddo, the High Priest and faithful prophet in the Temple of the Lord on the Day of Atonement because he admonished you not to do evil before the Lord?” TgLam.2:22 “You will declare freedom to your people, Israel, by the hand of King Messiah just as you did by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” TgLam.1:19 “Jerusalem said, when she was delivered to Nebuchadnézzar, ‘I called to my friends, the sons of the nations, with whom I had made treaties to come to my aid. But they deceived me and turned to destroy me.’ (These are the Romans who entered with Titus and the wicked Vespasian against Jerusalem.)” TgLam.4:22 “And after this your iniquity will be finished, O Congregation of Zion, and you will be freed by the hands of the King Messiah …, and the Lord will no longer exile you. And at that time I will punish your iniquities, wicked Rome, built in Italy and filled with Edomites.” This TgLam asserts that Jews killed Zech #4, (grand) son of Iddo (and writer of the book of Zechariah), in the temple.
Also Tátian’s Diatéssaron gospel harmony (170 AD). “That there may come on you all the blood of the righteous that has been poured on the ground from the blood of Abel the pure to the blood of Zachariah the son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.” And Irenáeus refs Mt.23:35 in Against Heresies, Book 5:14:1 (180 AD). “All righteous blood shall be required which is shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias, who you slew between the temple and the altar.” So Mt.23:35 “son of Berechiah/Barachias” isn’t a later copyist error.
This #4 Zech fits all four criteria at face value…he’s the son of Berechiah, the last slain in the Greek OT, a priest, a prophet. Although there’s no OT verse noting the death of Zech #4, there are traditional accounts of it. For that matter…there’s no OT verse about Michael disputing with the devil in regards to Moses’ body either (Jude 9). Nor are there any verses in the OT (Ex.7:11 or elsewhere) which cite Jannes & Jambres in Egypt (2Ti.3:8). Yet Christians accept those persons as fact. TgLam.2:20 saying Zech the descendant of Iddo was killed is significant, and thereby may further identify Jesus’ Zech.
There’s another Jewish tradition, which says the prophet Zechariah “died peacefully at a great age” (Lives of the Prophets 15:6). Yet George Klein’s Zechariah “The Old Testament doesn’t record anything about the martyrdom of Zechariah the prophet, but rabbinic literature from the early Christian period suggests that ‘Zechariah son of Berechiah’ was murdered.” And scholar Gleason L Archer in Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, “We can only conclude that the later Zechariah died in much the same way the earlier one (the son of Jehoiada) did, as a victim of popular resentment against his rebuke of their sins”.
In the book of Zechariah, it may be unclear whether the prophet, writing in 1st person, means himself or Someone future. e.g. Zec.12:10 “The inhabitants of Jerusalem…will look upon me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him.” Gordon Churchyard Commentary “The dead man may be a prophet. Or it may mean the Lord.” Zec.13:6 “What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then I will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” Cambridge Bible note “As given him by his parents, from whose righteous indignation he had escaped wounded, when they went about to kill him (Zec.13:3).” Pulpit Commentary “It seems most probable the answer is intentionally false and misleading; as if he had said, ‘The wounds were not made as you suppose, but are the result of what happened to me in my friends’ house.” In His beloved house/nation.
Did Zech #4 the prophet-priest know that he himself would be slain, and therefore his prophecy have a dual fulfillment? Then perhaps his book reflects both himself and Jesus condemned as a false prophet.
Also consider Isaiah’s prophecy. Is.8:1-2 “The Lord said, ‘I will take to Myself faithful [Strongs g4103 LXX, Greek] witnesses [martyr g3144 LXX] for testimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of JeBerekiáh.” The LXX reads, “Zacharias, son of Barachias”. Is.8:2 doesn’t read “son of Jehoiada”. Gill Exposition “Read Berekiah (ref Babylonian Talmud Maccot 24.2).” Is.8:2 names two faithful witnesses, Uriah and Zechariah. Benson Commentary “Persons of unquestionable reputation.” Two victims. cf. Re.2:13 “Antipas, My faithful [g4103] witness [martyr g3144] who was killed among you.”
First, Uriah the priest. There was a priest named Uriah in 2Ki.16:10-16, living around 720 BC. But he wasn’t faithful to God. Geneva Bible Is.8:2 footnote “Uriah was a flattering hypocrite, 2Ki.16:11.” JFB Commentary Is.8:2 “Uriah, an accomplice of Aház in idolatry (2Ki.16:10).” Barnes Notes “In 2Ki.16:10, he was a man of infamous character…corrupting the true religion.” (also cf. 2Ch.28:21-25.) This Uriah was unfaithful to God, dubiously having the integrity to fulfill Is.8:2.
But there’s another Uriah, the prophet found in Je.26:20-24. “Who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiáh from Kiriáth-jearím; he prophesied against this city [Jerusalem] and this Land words similar to all those of Jeremiah. King Jehoiakím slew him.” This Uriah was a true prophet, killed ca 605 BC. Gill Exposition Is.8:2 “The Jewish commentators Járchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Abarbinél would have Uriah the prophet meant, who prophesied in the time of Jehoiakim and was slain by him, Je.26:20-23.” This Uriah was the son of Shemaiah. There was Shemaiah the Levite who served King Josiah in the first temple, 2Ch.35:9. Mark Leuchter The Prophets and the Levites in Josiah’s Covenant Ceremony “Uriah of Je.26 presents a priestly Levite image…Uriah and Jeremiah addressed their own priestly kin.” So the prophet Uriah in Je.26:20-23 is a priest, as the Uriah in Is.8:2 is a priest. And he became a victim, due to his prophetic witness in the name of the Lord.
The second named in Is.8:2 is Zechariah the son of JeBerechiah (Barachias, LXX). From Difficult Sayings “The Targum on Isaiah inserts the assertion that this was the as yet unborn prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah.” Rabbi Ákiva “Uriah was [in the time of] the First Temple, and Zechariah was [in the time of] the Second Temple! The Torah makes Zechariah’s prophecy dependent upon Uriah’s prophecy.” Isaiah linked the (martyrs) prophets-priests Uriah and Zechariah. Davar Akher writes, “Ecclesiastes Rabba (3:16), for example, speaks of both Zechariah and Uriah being murdered in such a fashion and the connection of the two names together is indicative of the fact that we are speaking of the Zechariah who served as a witness for Isaiah. This would mean that, along with the Rabbinic sources, Matthew’s gospel is equating Isaiah’s witness with the prophet named Zechariah – despite the fact that they lived hundreds of years apart.” These sources are saying that Isaiah prophesied in Is.8:2 of the Zech #4 who would write the book of Zechariah 200 years later.
Conclusion: Based on the four criteria, the most likely Zechariah son of Berechiah who Jesus had in mind in Mt.23:35 is either…Zech #4 the prophet-priest who wrote the book of Zechariah, or Zech/Zach #3 the father of John the Baptizer. And Zech #2 the son of Jehoiada is (possibly a close) third.
Also, it’s not inconceivable that Jesus used the very common name/character Zechariah as a composite representation in Mt.23:35, melded to exemplify the murders historically done by the Jewish nation to some of God’s prophets.
Bible Topic Exposition 