The prophet zechariah is just one of over thirty men named zechariah in the old testament. The book of the twelve prophets was originally on one parchment roll because of the brevity of the text, and together formed one book of the 24 books of hebrew scripture. The book of zechariah, attributed to the hebrew prophet zechariah, is included in the twelve minor prophets in the hebrew bible. The universal tradition of both jews and christians endorses the prophet zechariah as author. The book of zechariah is an extraordinary inspired book which contains unique insights into the workings and the mind of god.
The name zechariah appears dozens of times in the bible. Haggai focuses explicitly on the present temple work, while zechariah deals with the larger picture of israels history and future. Haggai is very literal, directly addressing the economic decline and the tangible solution building the temple. Zechariahs hebrew name, zekaryah, means yahweh remembers, or yahweh has remembered. The book of zechariah was likely written in two primary segments, between 520 and 470 b. Teaching young children the message of hope in the book of. The book of the twelve prophets was originally on one. The nelson study bible includes the following observation. Warnings of the last days from god christian short film the days of noah have come duration.
Up to this point, zechariah started his book with a message from the lord commanding the. Zechariah is the longest book of the minor prophets. Zechariah was a prophet of judah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets. Zechariah emphasized that god has used his prophets to teach, warn and correct his people. The prophet zechariah not only brought a message of hope for the people of his day, but for all of mankind down through the ages right up to our present time. Because of his family lineage, zechariah was a priest in addition to a prophet. Zechariah was a person in the hebrew bible and traditionally considered the author of the book of zechariah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets.
The book of zechariah is a book of the bible old testament and jewish tanakh attributed to the prophet zechariah. Book of zechariah, also spelled zacharias, the 11th of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, collected in the jewish canon in one book, the twelve. The book is predominantly apocalyptic and eschatological and through his prophesies he manages to put a real awareness and eagerness into the hearts of the people with his messages of messianic hope. Zechariah the hebrew prophet, zechariah the priest and the father of st. The message included details about the new jerusalem and a warning to remain faithful. In this book, zechariahs visions foster hope in the future promise of the messianic kingdom and challenge israel after the exile to remain faithful to.
Zechariah s prophetic ministry took place in the postexilic period, the time of the jewish restoration from babylonian captivity. Not much is known about zechariah s life other than what may be inferred from the book. The prophecies in the book of zechariah cover about two years time, but it appears that zechariah continued to have a ministry among the people until the temple was rebuilt, even though no prophecies were recorded from that time period ezra 5. Zechariah 1 niv a call to return to the lord in the bible gateway. The prophet zechariah said that these events would happen. The zechariah we are referring to in this gallery is the hebrew prophet who began writing his prophesies the book of zechariah. Before the temple completed, and then wrote chapters 914 approximately 480 b. Overview of the book of zechariah reformed answers to. The book of zechariah, although a prophetic work of singular importance in developing an understanding of biblical eschatology and the role of the promised messianic king, is one of the most overlooked and least studied of the old testament books. He prophesied to the jews who had returned from exile around 520 bc when the persian empire was ruling the world. The ultimate hope for us all was predicted by zechariah this book has more predictions of christ than any of the other minor prophets. He is truly the minor prophet with the major message.
A contemporary of haggai the prophet, zerubbabel, and joshua, the high. His name means yahweh has remembered, which might also be a good summary of the prophetic work that bears his name. The hebrew word zechariah or zachariah means god remembers. Zechariah was a levite who was born in babylon neh 12. This summary of the book of zechariah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of zechariah. Zechariah is a commonly used name in the old testament and means the lord remembers, a meaning that contributes to the hope of the messiahs first and second coming prophesied in zechariahs book. It has been speculated that his grandfather iddo was the head of a priestly family who returned with zerubbabel, and that zechariah may himself have been a priest as well as a prophet. Their influence on zerubbabel, governor of judah, and joshua the high priest was observable.
It is the most difficult of any of the ot books to interpret homer hailey. Zechariah, like haggai and malachi, was a prophet of the persian period. And as i prayed, a few different possibilities were in my mind. There are two notable figures in the bible called zechariah also spelled zacharias or zachariah. He then is likely to have been killed by his own compatriots see 3. Myrtle trees are evergreen shrubs with small leaves and they give off a pleasant aroma.
This is supported by zechariah s interest in the temple and the priesthood, and. Zechariah is the most messianic, the most truly apocalyptic and eschatological, of all the writings of the ot robinson. His name, common to more than 29 old testament men, means the lord remembers. During that era, many jews were returning from the babylonian captivity to rebuild jerusalem and the temple, which had been destroyed by the babylonians. What is the historical background of the book of zechariah. No other prophet with the exception of isaiah spoke more about the messiah than zechariah. This name is related to the message of the prophet. Zechariah prophet and priest haggai and zechariah were the two lone prophets of israel in the days when darius of persia released the captive jews to return to jerusalem. Book of zechariah overview insight for living ministries. Zechariah questions and answers mary janes drops of. The dates mentioned in the book confirm that he was a contemporary of haggai zechariah 1. John the baptist, and zechariah the king of israel are three entirely different figures in the bible. Chapters 18 contain a series of visions of the future of gods people.
The book of zechariah challenges gods people to remain. One was an old testament prophet who foretold in the days of haggai and who composed the book of zechariah ezra 5. An old testament prophet who prophesied around 520 b. Best commentaries and books on zechariah logos bible. Zechariah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Zechariah is the eleventh of the twelve prophets in the book of the twelve in hebrew scripture. Zechariah encouraged the leaders of jerusalem and called the jewish people to rebuild the templeand he looked forward to the ultimate fulfillment of yahwehs promise to restore and save. There is zechariah the minor prophet, zechariah the son of jehoiada, who was stoned to death at the command of king joash 2 chronicles 24.
In the book of zechariah, the prophet zechariah encourages the people to rebuild the temple of god and also foretells of the coming messiah. The style is fantastic and contains many obscure allusions. So, for the last year and a few weeks, weve grown accustomed to turning our attention to the book of job. The zechariah son of barachiah of whom jesus spoke matt 23. To encourage belief in zechariah s predictions not only of trials, but also of the great blessings for jerusalem when the kingdom of god comes in its fullness. This was about 16 years after the return of the first group of jews from babylonia with zerubbabel nehemiah 12.
Additionally, zechariah reveals more about the coming messiah than all the other minor prophets combined. The book of zechariah is narrative history, prophetic and apocalyptic in genre. Only chapters 18 contain the prophecies of zechariah. In greek the book is titled zacarias, a transliteration from the hebrew name ii. Zechariah probably wrote the undated part of his book chap. Lets turn our attention to the 7 th chapter of the book of the old testament prophet zechariah zechariah 7 begins a new section in this book. Zechariah in the bible scripture quotes and summary. Zechariah 7 commentary verses 17 explaining the book.
God remembers his people and will not forget their work for him, if they follow him faithfully. Published on aug 1, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of zechariah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Zechariah, a young man, especially when compared to his contemporary haggai, came alongside the older prophet to deliver messages from the lord to the. Zechariah predicted more about the messiah than any other prophet. Though the book contains 14 chapters, only the first eight are oracles of the prophet.
The book is noted for its prophecies of christs mortal ministry and his second coming zech. He was the son of berekiah and the grandson of iddo the priest zech 1. Each of these prophets encouraged the jews to continue the work of god and rebuild the temple of jerusalem. Book of zechariah, the 11th of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, collected in the jewish canon in one book, the twelve. It is a postexilic book, meaning it was written after post the return from captivity exile in babylon. The book of zechariah is a book of the hebrew bible and christian old testament attributed to the prophet zechariah, who prophesied after the babylonian exile during the rebuilding of the temple of jerusalem the eleventh of the 12 books of the minor prophets, the book of zechariah contains several powerful visions, including one in which people from all nations come to attend the temple of.
The prophet zechariah wrote chapters 18 approximately 520518 b. He was the son of berechiah, who was the son of iddo see zechariah 1. As is the case with objections to the single authorship of the book of isaiah, for example, comments questioning the same regarding the book of zechariah are to be rejected as well. But unfortunately we came to the end of that book and now we need to move on to something else. With this additional short summary of the book of zechariah you can discover the people, places and stories detailed in this holy scripture. Zechariah s grandfather returned from babylon, his young grandson in tow, with the first group of israelites allowed back, in 538 bc under the decree of cyrus, king of persia. This book is second only to isaiah in the breadth of the prophets writings about messiah. Zechariah s ministry took place during the reign of darius the great zechariah 1. The book of zechariah begins with a challenge for gods people to turn back to him, unlike their ancestors who rebelled, disobeyed and were exiled. Zechariah, the prophet zechariah was a prophet from 520 bc to 518 bc in jerusalem, about 2500 years ago. Eight dream visions god spoke to his people through dream visions with bizarre images. Zechariah is a commonly used name in the old testament and means the lord remembers, a meaning that contributes to the hope of the messiahs first and second coming prophesied in zechariah s book. Like the prophet haggai, zechariah appears in 520 bc as a prophet to the jewish exiles who returned to.