Reference: Zacharias
American
1. A person mentioned in Mt 23:35; Lu 11:51, and most probably designating the son of the high-priest Jehoida, or Barachias, who was stoned to death by order of king Joash for publicly rebuking the king, his court and the people for their growing corruption, 2Ch 24:20-22. Some suppose the prophet Zechariah to be intended; but history gives no account of his death. Others refer it to a Zacharias the son of Baruch, who was put to death just before the destruction of Jerusalem; but it seems unnatural and unnecessary to suppose that Christ here spoke prophetically.
2. A priest belonging to the eighth course or class, called that of Abia, 1Ch 24, the husband of Elisabeth, and father of John the Baptist. His residence, when not on duty, was in the hill-country south of Jerusalem. He is known to us by his pious and blameless life; his vision of Gabriel in the temple, promising him a son in his old age; his hesitancy in believing, for which he was visited by a temporary dumbness; his miraculous restoration at the circumcision of his son; and his noble and prophetic song of praise, Lu 1:5-25,57-59.
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The Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God, 'Why do you disobey the commandments of Yahweh, so that you can't prosper? Because you have forsaken Yahweh, he has also forsaken you.'" They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of Yahweh. read more. Thus Joash the king didn't remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. When he died, he said, "May Yahweh look at it, and repay it."
that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. read more. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. Now it happened, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Don't be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord." Zacharias said to the angel, "How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years." The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things will happen, because you didn't believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time." The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute. It happened, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house. After these days Elizabeth, his wife, conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, "Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men."
Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she brought forth a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her, and they rejoiced with her. read more. It happened on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of the father.
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.' Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
Easton
(1.) A priest of the course of Abia, the eighth of the twenty-four courses into which the priests had been originally divided by David (1Ch 23:1-19). Only four of these courses or "families" of the priests returned from the Exile (Ezr 2:36-39); but they were then re-distributed under the old designations. The priests served at the temple twice each year, and only for a week each time. Zacharias's time had come for this service. During this period his home would be one of the chambers set apart for the priests on the sides of the temple ground. The offering of incense was one of the most solemn parts of the daily worship of the temple, and lots were drawn each day to determine who should have this great honour, an honour which no priest could enjoy more than once during his lifetime.
While Zacharias ministered at the golden altar of incense in the holy place, it was announced to him by the angel Gabriel that his wife Elisabeth, who was also of a priestly family, now stricken in years, would give birth to a son who was to be called John, and that he would be the forerunner of the long-expected Messiah (Lu 1:12-17). As a punishment for his refusing to believe this message, he was struck dumb and "not able to speak until the day that these things should be performed" (Lu 1:20). Nine months passed away, and Elisabeth's child was born, and when in answer to their inquiry Zacharias wrote on a "writing tablet," "His name is John," his mouth was opened, and he praised God (60-79). The child (John the Baptist), thus "born out of due time," "waxed strong in spirit" (1:80).
(2.) The "son of Barachias," mentioned as having been slain between the temple and the altar (Mt 23:35; Lu 11:51). "Barachias" here may be another name for Jehoiada, as some think. (See Zechariah.)
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Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel. He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. read more. The Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand. David said, "Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of Yahweh; six thousand were officers and judges; four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Yahweh with the instruments which I made, for giving praise." David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei. The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers' [houses] of Ladan. The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah didn't have many sons; therefore they became a fathers' house in one reckoning. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, forever, to burn incense before Yahweh, to minister to him, and to bless in his name, forever. But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. The sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy-three. The children of Immer, one thousand fifty-two. read more. The children of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred forty-seven. The children of Harim, one thousand seventeen.
that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.
Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Don't be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. read more. You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord."
Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things will happen, because you didn't believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.' Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
Fausets
1. Father of John the Baptist. (Lu 1:5). (See JOHN THE BAPTIST.) Of the course of Abia or Abijah, eighth of the 24 (1Ch 24:10); walking with Elizabeth his wife "in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." His lot was to burn incense, the embodiment of prayer (from whence also during the burning of incense the whole people prayed: Re 8:3-4; Ps 141:2), and esteemed so honourable an office that the same person (say the rabbis) was not allowed to discharge it twice. His unbelief ("whereby shall I know this, seeing I am old?" etc.) at the angel' s announcement of John's birth was retributively punished by dumbness (contrast Ps 116:10; 2Co 4:13), a warning to Israel whose representative he was of the consequences of unbelief if the nation should reject the gospel just coming; just as Mary on the contrary was an example of the blessedness which would flow if they believed (Lu 1:45,38).
Faith (dictating the name for his son given by the angel: Lu 1:13,63-64) opened his mouth, as faith shall cause Israel in the last days to confess her Lord, and the veil on her heart shall be taken away (2Co 3:15-16). Then followed his song of thanksgiving under the Holy Spirit, as Israel shall sing when turned to the Lord according to "the oath which He sware to our father Abraham," etc. (Lu 1:68-80; Isa 12:1-3; Zec 12:10,) "The horn of salvation in the house of David" contrasts beautifully with "the little horn" or antichrist destroying Israel before Messiah shall appear for Israel's help (Da 7:8; 8:9-14,11; 12:1-3).
2. Son of Barachias (Mt 23:35). The same as the sire of Jehoiada; Joash ungratefully forgetting that he owed his throne to Jehoiada slew Zacharias for his faithful reproof: "Why transgress ye the commandments of Jehovah, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken Jehovah, He hath also forsaken you." By Joash's command they stoned Zacharias "in the court of the house of Jehovah!" And to it the tradition may be due which assigns the tomb in the valley of Jehoshaphat to Zacharias. Contrast Jehoiada's reverent care not to slay Athaliah in the temple precincts (2Ch 23:14; 24:20-22,25). Joash slew other "sons" of Jehoiada besides Zacharias.
The Lord look upon it and requite it was the martyr's dying sentence, which Jesus refers to as about to be executed on Israel; "that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar," i.e. in the interior court of the priests, in which was the altar of burnt offerings. As Zacharias' prayer for vengeance is the judicial side of God's word by His prophets (Re 6:9-11; Lu 18:7), so Stephen's prayer is the gospel loving side of it (Ac 7:60). Though Urijah was slain subsequently to Zacharias (Jer 26:23), yet Zacharias is the last as the canon was arranged, Chronicles standing in it last; Christ names Zacharias as the last and Abel as the first martyr in the Scripture canon. Barachias may have been a second name of Jehoiada, meaning "the blessed," because he preserved David's house in the person of Joash from the murderous Athaliah, slew her, and restored the rightful king. However, as "son of Barachias" does not occur in Lu 11:51, perhaps the words in Matthew were a marginal gloss, confusing this Zacharias with Zechariah the prophet, son of Berechiah.
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Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, "Bring her out between the ranks; and whoever follows her, let him be slain with the sword." For the priest said, "Don't kill her in the Yahweh's house."
The Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God, 'Why do you disobey the commandments of Yahweh, so that you can't prosper? Because you have forsaken Yahweh, he has also forsaken you.'" They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of Yahweh. read more. Thus Joash the king didn't remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. When he died, he said, "May Yahweh look at it, and repay it."
When they were departed for him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed, and he died; and they buried him in the city of David, but they didn't bury him in the tombs of the kings.
Let my prayer be set before you like incense; the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice.
In that day you will say, "I will give thanks to you, Yahweh; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, Yahweh, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation." read more. Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.
and they fetched forth Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.
I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Out of one of them came forth a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious [land]. It grew great, even to the army of the sky; and some of the army and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled on them. read more. Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the army; and it took away from him the continual [burnt offering], and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the army; and it took away from him the continual [burnt offering], and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. The army was given over [to it] together with the continual [burnt offering] through disobedience; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did [its pleasure] and prospered. read more. Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, How long shall be the vision [concerning] the continual [burnt offering], and the disobedience that makes desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the army to be trodden under foot? He said to me, To two thousand and three hundred evenings [and] mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
"At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. read more. Those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and those who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.
I will pour on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look to me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves for his firstborn.
that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
But the angel said to him, "Don't be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
Mary said, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word." The angel departed from her.
Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!"
He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." They all marveled. His mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God.
"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and worked redemption for his people; and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David read more. (as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old), salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; to show mercy towards our fathers, to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he spoke to Abraham, our father, to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dawn from on high will visit us, to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace." The child was growing, and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.' Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
Won't God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them?
He kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, don't hold this sin against them!" When he had said this, he fell asleep.
But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
For I testify about him, that he has great zeal for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis.
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had. They cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" read more. A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course.
Another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer. Much incense was given to him, that he should add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand.
Morish
Zachari'as
1. Son of Barachias, who was slain between the temple and the altar. Mt 23:35; Lu 11:51. This probably refers to Zecharias the son of Jehoiada, who was thus slain by order of the king. '/2-Chronicles/24/20/type/web'>2Ch 24:20-22; 'son' in one of the places may signify 'grandson.' As the Book of Chronicles closes the Hebrew Bible, this assassination of a righteous man may well be deemed the last as that of Abel was the first.
2. Priest of the course of Abia, and father of John the Baptist. Because of his unbelief he was dumb until the child was born. When his son was circumcised, his voice was restored, and being full of the Holy Ghost he praised God and prophesied. His friends proposed the same name for his son; but he objected, and the babe was named John, as directed by the angel. Luke 1.
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The Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God, 'Why do you disobey the commandments of Yahweh, so that you can't prosper? Because you have forsaken Yahweh, he has also forsaken you.'" They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of Yahweh. read more. Thus Joash the king didn't remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. When he died, he said, "May Yahweh look at it, and repay it."
that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.' Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
Smith
Zachari'as
(Greek form of Zechariah).
1. Father of John the Baptist.
Lu 1:5
etc. He was a priest of the course of Abia. the eighth of the twenty-four courses who ministered at the temple in turn. He probably lived at Hebron. His wife's name was Elisabeth. John was born to them in their old age, and the promise of this son was communicated to Zacharias by an angel while he was offering incense and praying in the temple.
2. Son of Barachias, who, our Lord says, was slain by the Jews between the altar and the temple.
Mt 23:35; Lu 11:54
There has been much dispute who this Zacharias was. Many of the Greek fathers have maintained that the father of John the Baptist is the person to whom our Lord alludes but there can be little or no doubt that the allusion is to Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada,
and he may have been called "the son" of Barachias from his grandfather. (B.C. 838.) He is mentioned as being the martyr last recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures (as Abel was the first) -d Chronicles being the last book in their canon.
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The Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God, 'Why do you disobey the commandments of Yahweh, so that you can't prosper? Because you have forsaken Yahweh, he has also forsaken you.'" They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of Yahweh.
that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
lying in wait for him, and seeking to catch him in something he might say, that they might accuse him.