2 Chronicles 24:20-22

24:20 God’s Spirit energized ¹  Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why are you violating the commands of the Lord? You will not be prosperous! Because you have rejected the Lord, he has rejected you!’” 24:21 They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 24:22 King Joash disregarded ²  the loyalty his father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’s ³  son. As Zechariah ⁴  was dying, he said, “May the Lord take notice and seek vengeance!” ⁵ 

Zechariah 1:1

Introduction

1:1 In the eighth month of Darius’ ⁶  second year, ⁷  the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, ⁸  son of Berechiah son of Iddo, as follows:

Matthew 23:35

23:35 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, ⁹  whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

¹ tn Heb “clothed.”

² tn Heb “did not remember.”

³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Zechariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “and seek [ – ].” The direct object of “seek” is omitted in the Hebrew text but implied; “vengeance” is supplied for clarification.

⁶ sn Darius is Darius Hystaspes, king of Persia from 522-486 b.c.

⁷ sn The eighth month of Darius’ second year was late October – late November, 520 b.c., by the modern (Julian) calendar. This is two months later than the date of Haggai’s first message to the same community (cf. Hag 1:1).

⁸ sn Both Ezra (5:1; 6:14) and Nehemiah (12:16) speak of Zechariah as a son of Iddo only. A probable explanation is that Zechariah’s actual father Berechiah had died and the prophet was raised by his grandfather Iddo. The “Zechariah son of Barachiah” of whom Jesus spoke (Matt 23:35; Luke 11:51) was probably the martyred prophet by that name who may have been a grandson of the priest Jehoiada (2 Chr 24:20-22).

⁹ sn Spelling of this name (Βαραχίου, Baraciou) varies among the English versions: “Barachiah” (RSV, NRSV); “Berechiah” (NASB); “Berachiah” (NIV).