Zechariah 1:1

Introduction

1:1 In the eighth month of Darius’ ¹  second year, ²  the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, ³  son of Berechiah son of Iddo, as follows:

Zechariah 2:4

2:4 and said to him, “Hurry, speak to this young man ⁴  as follows: ‘Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls ⁵  because of the multitude of people and animals there.

Zechariah 3:2

3:2 The Lord ⁶  said to Satan, “May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, ⁷  rebuke you! Isn’t this man like a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

Zechariah 3:10

3:10 In that day,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘everyone will invite his friend to fellowship under his vine and under his fig tree.’” ⁸ 

Zechariah 6:8

6:8 Then he cried out to me, “Look! The ones going to the northland have brought me ⁹  peace about the northland.” ¹⁰ 

Zechariah 7:1

The Hypocrisy of False Fasting

7:1 In King Darius’ fourth year, on the fourth day of Kislev, the ninth month, ¹¹  the word of the Lord came to Zechariah.

Zechariah 8:3

8:3 The Lord says, ‘I have returned to Zion and will live within Jerusalem. ¹²  Now Jerusalem will be called “truthful city,” “mountain of the Lord who rules over all,” “holy mountain.”’

Zechariah 8:13

8:13 And it will come about that just as you (both Judah and Israel) were a curse to the nations, so I will save you and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid! Instead, be strong!’

Zechariah 8:15

8:15 so, to the contrary, I have planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and Judah – do not fear!

Zechariah 14:17

14:17 But if any of the nations anywhere on earth refuse to go up to Jerusalem ¹³  to worship the King, the Lord who rules over all, they will get no rain.

¹ sn Darius is Darius Hystaspes, king of Persia from 522-486 b.c.

² 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).

³ 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).

⁴ sn That is, to Zechariah.

⁵ tn Heb “Jerusalem will dwell as open regions (פְּרָזוֹת, pÿrazot)”; cf. NAB “in open country”; CEV “won’t have any boundaries.” The population will be so large as to spill beyond the ancient and normal enclosures. The people need not fear, however, for the Lord will be an invisible but strong wall (v. 5).

⁷ sn The juxtaposition of the messenger of the Lord in v. 1 and the Lord in v. 2 shows that here, at least, they are one and the same. See Zech 1:11, 12 where they are distinguished from each other.

⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁰ tn Heb “under the vine and under the fig tree,” with the Hebrew article used twice as a possessive pronoun (cf. NASB “his”). Some English translations render this as second person rather than third (NRSV “your vine”; cf. also NAB, NCV, TEV).

¹³ tn Heb “my spirit.” The subject appears to be the Lord who exclaims here that the horsemen have accomplished their task of bringing peace.

¹⁴ sn The immediate referent of peace about the northland is to the peace brought by Persia’s conquest of Babylonia, a peace that allowed the restoration of the Jewish people (cf. 2 Chr 36:22-23; Isa 44:28; 45:1-2). However, there is also an eschatological dimension, referring to a time when there will be perfect and universal peace.

¹⁶ sn The fourth day of Kislev, the ninth month would be December 7, 518 b.c., 22 months after the previous eight visions.

¹⁹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²² sn The reference to any…who refuse to go up to Jerusalem makes clear the fact that the nations are by no means “converted” to the Lord but are under his compulsory domination.