Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ZECHARIAH

(Heb. zĕḵaryâ, zĕḵaryāhû;
Gk. Zacharías) (also ZECHER)

The name means “Yahweh remembers,” evidently a plea for God to remember his covenant with Israel and extend divine aid, which probably explains its popularity during the exilic and postexilic periods.

1. A king of the northern kingdom (746 b.c.), the son of Jeroboam II (2 Kgs. 14:29; 15:8-12). Zechariah reigned only six months before he was assassinated by Shallum. With Zechariah’s death the dynasty of Jehu came to an end, a fulfillment of the prophecy that this dynasty would rule for four generations (2 Kgs. 10:30; 15:12).

2. The father of Abi (Abijah), the mother of King Hezekiah (2 Kgs. 18:2 = 2 Chr. 29:1). Probably, the same person as 28 below.

3. The head of a family of Reubenites (1 Chr. 5:7).

4. A wise and prominent levitical gatekeeper during the reign of David (1 Chr. 9:21-22; 26:2, 14).

5. A Benjamite of Gibeon (1 Chr. 9:37). His brother Ner was the father of Kish, the father of King Saul (1 Chr. 9:36, 39). At 1 Chr. 8:31 he is called Zecher, an abbreviation of the name without the theophoric ending.

6. A levitical musician who played the harp as the ark was brought into Jerusalem during the reign of David (1 Chr. 15:18, 20; 16:5).

7. One of the priestly trumpeters who led the procession as the ark was brought into Jerusalem (1 Chr. 15:24).

8. A Levite and son of Isshiah, a contemporary of David (1 Chr. 24:25).

9. A levitical gatekeeper at the time of David; son of Hosah the Merarite (1 Chr. 26:11).

10. The father of Iddo, one of David’s officers who ruled over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead (1 Chr. 27:21).

11. An official of King Jehoshaphat assigned to teach the book of the law in the cities of Judah (2 Chr. 17:7-9).

12. A Levite and father of Jahaziel (2 Chr. 20:14), who prophesied that Jehoshaphat would be victorious over the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites (vv. 15-17).

13. A son of Jehoshaphat slain by his brother Jehoram (2 Chr. 21:2, 4).

14. A son of Jehoiada the priest. Zechariah publicly denounced Joash for his sin and was subsequently stoned to death by order of the king (2 Chr. 24:20-22). The murder was particularly heinous in light of the place where it occurred — the temple courtyard — and the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown to Joash. Because of this repulsive deed some of Joash’s officials put the king to death (2 Chr. 24:25). Jesus alluded to Zechariah’s martyrdom when condemning the hypocritical religious leaders of his day (Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51).

15. An instructor of Uzziah (2 Chr. 26:5). Zechariah taught Uzziah “the fear of God,” evidently an allusion to the Hebrew Scriptures (cf. Ps. 19:9[MT 10]). He has been variously identified as the Zechariah of Isa. 8:2 (28), the son of Jehoiada (14), or some other individual.

16. A levitical descendant of Asaph who participated in the purification of the temple during Hezekiah’s religious reforms (2 Chr. 29:13).

17. A levitical descendant of Kohath who supervised the repairs of the temple during the reign of Josiah (2 Chr. 34:12).

18. One of three high-ranking priests who liberally contributed animals for Passover offerings during Josiah’s reign (2 Chr. 35:8 = 1 Esdr. 1:8).

19. Head of the family of Parosh who with 150 kinsmen returned from Babylonia to Jerusalem with Ezra in the mid-5th century (Ezra 8:3).

20. Head of the family of Bebai who with 28 relatives returned to Jerusalem with Ezra (Ezra 8:11).

21. A leader of the Jewish exiles, sent to obtain ministers at Casiphia (Ezra 8:16); possibly the same as 19 or 20.

22. A 5th-century Judean who had married a foreign wife (Ezra 10:26).

23. A leader who stood on the platform with Ezra during the public reading of the law (Neh. 8:4); likely the same as 21.

24. An Judahite descendant of Perez, an inhabitant of Jerusalem in the Persian period (Neh. 11:4).

25. An ancestor of the Judahite Maaseiah, a resident of Jerusalem in the Persian period (Neh. 11:5).

26. An ancestor of Adaiah the priest, a postexilic inhabitant of Jerusalem (Neh. 11:12).

27. A priestly trumpeter who participated in Nehemiah’s dedication of the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 12:35, 41).

28. One of two prominent and trusted leaders in Jerusalem whom Isaiah called to be witnesses to the prophecy of the Assyrian destruction of Samaria and Damascus (Isa. 8:1-4). The son of Jeberechiah, he was probably the same Zechariah as the father of Abi mentioned in 2 Kgs. 18:2 = 2 Chr. 29:1.

29. The late 6th-century prophet to whom the book of Zechariah is attributed (Zech. 1:1, 7; 7:1, 8; Neh. 12:16; Ezra 5:1; 6:14). Zechariah was also a priest and a contemporary of the prophet Haggai.

30. The father of Joseph, a Jewish general during the Maccabean War (1 Macc. 5:18, 56).

31. A representative of Josiah at the Passover festival (1 Esdr. 1:15); an alternate name for Heman (cf. 2 Chr. 35:15).

32. The father of John the Baptist, a member of the priestly division of Abijah (Luke 1:5-25, 57-80). The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in the temple and informed him that his wife Elizabeth would bear an extraordinary child. Because of his unbelief, Zechariah was unable to speak until after the child was born. On the day the child was named, Zechariah’s voice returned. He then uttered a beautiful prophecy concerning Israel’s messianic hope, commonly known as the Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79).

Stephen R. Miller

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ZECHARIAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)