The book of zechariah is narrative history, prophetic and apocalyptic in genre. Brown, the gospel according to john ixii in the anchor bible, 29. Watch our overview video on the book of zechariah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. An angel restores the high priest joshua in zechariah 3. The book of zechariah contains the clearest and the largest number of messianic about the messiah passages among the minor prophets. Chapters 18 and 914 of zechariah are considered by most scholars today to be two separate prophetic books. Zechariah had primary and secondary purposes in delivering his prophecy. A comparison of both passages shows that zechariah does not write anything of buying a field while matthew wants to explain precisely the purchase of the potters field. The dates mentioned in the book confirm that he was a contemporary of haggai zechariah 1. Zechariah commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole.
Summary of the book of zechariah the story of the bible. The visions of zechariah chapters 18 and the prophecies of the lord chapters 914. The ultimate hope for us all was predicted by zechariah this book has more predictions of christ than any of the other minor prophets. But unfortunately we came to the end of that book and now we need to move on to something else. Zechariah pictures christ in both his first coming zechariah 9. Therefore, the book of zechariah is also about the prayer movement in jerusalem. In this book, zechariah s visions foster hope in the future promise of.
He is mentioned as well, along with haggai, in ezra 5. Book of zechariah overview insight for living ministries. The prophets zechariah and haggai wrote about the year 520 bc during the restoration of jerusalem and judah. Zechariah emphasized that god has used his prophets to teach, warn, and correct his people. Apr 30, 2016 then we read down in verse 16, of iddo, zechariah. Zechariah s prophetic ministry took place in the postexilic period, the time of the jewish restoration from babylonian captivity. The book also bears evidence that even prophecy could be corrupted.
The book itself tells us only that his grandfather was iddo, a priest who returned with zerubbabel from babylon. Zechariah s prophecies took place during the reign of darius the great, and were contemporary with haggai in a post exilic world after the fall of jerusalem in 5876 bc. And as i prayed, a few different possibilities were in my mind. The book of zechariah is an extraordinary and clearly inspired book of the bible. The nations attack jerusalem, god intervenes and blesses jerusalem miraculously, god announces curses for jerusalems enemies, and the peoples of the world go up to jerusalem to worship. In the first four verses, we find joshua, the highpriest dressed in filthy clothes. This summary of the book of zechariah provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of zechariah. Zechariah begins his book with a strong call for israel to repent 1. Zechariah remembered of jehovah was the second postexile prophet and a contemporary of haggai.
Zechariah 8 bible commentary matthew henry concise. In this book, zechariahs visions foster hope in the future promise of. The book of zechariah introduction to the book of zechariah in the bible. What are the meanings of the various visions in the book of. This is supported by zechariah s interest in the temple and the priesthood, and. It stands as gods remarkable witness to the folly of despising small beginnings. Both haggai and zechariah encouraged the returned exiles from babylon to rebuild the jerusalem temple, particularly their leaders joshua the high priest and prince zerubbabel, the governor of judah and the. The prophecy of zechariah is noted for its rich use of visions, pictures, and symbols. Study the bible online using commentary on zechariah and more. The bible book of zechariah predicts the work of christ for. It emphasizes that god is at work on a future cosmic upheaval involving much conflict and stern divine judgement, following the nations final attack against jerusalem. The word of the lord is against the land of hadrak and will come to rest on damascus for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of israel are on the lord and on hamath too, which borders on it, and on tyre and sidon, though they are very skillful.
Read zechariah commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. Were going to be studying the fifth vision given to zechariah. The book of zechariah, because of its great variation in style, content, and language, is widely believed to be a composite work. In that respect, its possible to think of the book of zechariah as a kind of miniature book of isaiah. Zechariah gave us more of the story, and showed how god is interested in lives of his people, not only buildings. We know that he was a contemporary of the prophet haggai. We have very little personal information about zechariah. The second part chs 914 differs from the first in both style and subject matter. Therefore be faithful and honest in all your dealings. The universal tradition of both jews and christians endorses the prophet zechariah as author. In the first group of visions zechariah 16, the messiah stands forth as the branch zechariah 3. This chapter, like much of this book, is full of typology.
The holy bible book 44 acts kjv dramatized audio duration. Zechariah commentary matthew henry commentary on the. The book of zechariah consists of fourteen chapters. Not much is known about zechariah s life other than what may be inferred from the book. Others have presented lists of stylistic and thematic similarities between the two sections. The hebrew word zechariah or zachariah means god remembers. Teaching young children the message of hope in the book of. Zechariah, book of definition and meaning bible dictionary. The book of zechariah is recognized as the most messianic, the most truly apocalyptic, and the most eschatological of all the writings of the ot isbe, 1956 referenced by dr. Zechariah deals with israels complaint that they have experienced gods chastisement for their sin, but the surrounding nations have gone unpunished. The prophet identifies himself as zechariah yahweh remembers, the son of berechiah yahweh blesses, the son of iddo the appointed time. After the start of the book in verse 1, zechariah began his book with a short. Jan 02, 2020 zechariah begins his book with a strong call for israel to repent 1. So, lets turn our attention to the 4th chapter of that book zechariah chapter 4.
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. And so, of course, the book that im referring to and which well be studying for a little while is the old testament book of zechariah. This theme of repentance is developed more fully through the subsequent eight visions. The book of zechariah was likely written in two primary segments, between 520 and 470 b. The books of ezra and nehemiah are also key literary sources on the restoration. Here is an excerpt from the hcsb study note on zechariah 14. So, for the last year and a few weeks, weve grown accustomed to turning our attention to the book of job. 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. And i will pour upon the house of david, and upon the inhabitants of jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications. The people are encouraged to build the temple by a promise of gods blessing, zechariah 8. 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. Zechariah emphasized that god has used his prophets to teach, warn and correct his people. Only chapters 18 contain the prophecies of zechariah.
Zechariah 18, concerned mainly with the rebuilding of the temple, and zechariah 914, dealing with future events, notably the coming of messiah and the glory of his reign. The first part of the book, chapters one through eight, contain eight symbolic visions of zechariah. Well cover only the first 7 verses of this chapter today, but lets go ahead and read the whole chapter for. Aug 01, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of zechariah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. His name, common to more than 29 old testament men, means the lord remembers.
What are the meanings of the various visions in the book. The prophets name is mentioned elsewhere in the book 7. It would also explain his emphasis on temple and priestly matters in the book. Zechariah verse by verse teaching in the book of zechariah. Zechariah 9 judgment on israels enemies a bible gateway. The introduction to the book attributes the work to zechariah son of berechiah son of iddo the prophet zech. The book of zechariah kjv read by alexander scourby duration. In general, these visions speak of gods plans for israel and especially for jerusalem and the temple. But unfortunately we came to the end of that book and now we need to move on to something else and as i prayed, a few different possibilities were in my mind. He is not to be confused with the zechariah mentioned in matthew 23. 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.
Meaning yahweh remembers, zechariahs name was appropriate to the purpose of his prophecies. Zechariah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The book of zechariah the prophet has a strong focus on the ideal future world, which promises a day of glory for zion. Sep 15, 2014 the ultimate hope for us all was predicted by zechariah this book has more predictions of christ than any of the other minor prophets. Matthew pooles english annotations on the holy bible. It is a postexilic book, meaning it was written after post the return from captivity exile in babylon. The primary purpose was to encourage the people to continue to rebuild the temple. Joy and enlargement of the church promised, zechariah 8. The book of zechariah, attributed to the hebrew prophet zechariah, is included in the twelve minor prophets in the hebrew bible. The entire book has for its background, chapters 18, the persian era. Well cover only the first 7 verses of this chapter today, but lets go ahead and read the whole chapter for context.
To request a free hard copy of this booklet, please write to. The book of zechariah lacks unity in its contents, style, and vocabulary 4 chisholm writes, arguments of this type are often subjective. With that little bit of background, lets now consider zechariah, chapter 3. The prophet zechariah wrote chapters 18 approximately 520518 b. This feast is mentioned ten times in the bible, and three of those appear in the book of zechariah. It is generally assumed that the prophet zechariah is identical with the man of the same name mentioned in nehemiah 12. This book is second only to isaiah in the breadth of the prophets writings about messiah. In this way it is much like the book of revelation or daniel which also have significant visions. Before the temple completed, and then wrote chapters 914 approximately 480 b. Finally, it seemed that the lord had placed a specific book in my mind as the next subject of our study. In that respect, its possible to think of the book of zechariah as a kind of miniature book of isaiah which has most number of messianic passages.
Again, or and, heb as the word of reproof in the former. Zechariah was written to comfort and encourage the returned remnant to repent of their evil ways, to return to the lord and to rebuild the temple. The fountain for the remission of sins, the conviction of the false prophets. The notes explain words with a star by them the first time that we use the word. Book of zechariah simple english wikipedia, the free. We can look at how the lord related to zechariah and zerubbabel, and see how he will relate to the leaders of jerusalem and those deeply involved in building houses of prayer at the end of the age. The book of zechariah is a book of the bible found in the old testament and the jewish tanakh thought to be written by the prophet zechariah. Zechariah begins his book zechariah 1 with a reminder that the captivity had been a result of disobedience. Jun 02, 2012 the book of zechariah kjv read by alexander scourby duration.
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