Ezra 5:1

Tattenai Appeals to Darius

5:1 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son ¹  of Iddo ²  prophesied concerning the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem ³  in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

Zechariah 1:1

Introduction

1:1 In the eighth month of Darius’ ⁴  second year, ⁵  the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, ⁶  son of Berechiah son of Iddo, as follows:

¹ tn Aram “son.” According to Zech 1:1 he was actually the grandson of Iddo.

² tn Aram “and Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo the prophet.”

³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴ sn Darius is Darius Hystaspes, king of Persia from 522-486 b.c.

⁵ 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).

⁶ 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).