It is more obvious however to think of the prophet zechariah for primarily the problem with his fathers name disappears and secondly zechariah the prophet lived at the end of the old testaments period. The prophets zechariah and haggai wrote about the year 520 bc during the restoration of jerusalem and judah. The second principle is to identify the literary units. This is supported by zechariahs interest in the temple and. Zechariah zechariah is the longest of the minor prophets. Jerome called it the most obscure book of the hebrew bible, an opinion often cited and widely shared by subsequent readers. Commentary on zechariah the fathers of the church, volume. But unfortunately we came to the end of that book and now we need to move on to something else. The difficulties of the book have spawned many opinions about the date and authorship of various portions as well as the interpretation of the individual.
The book of zechariah can be divided into three different types of messages. In this way it is much like the book of revelation or daniel which also have significant visions. Each commentary will thus present a sequential, systematic treatment of an entire book of the bible, passage by passage. Run, tell that young man, jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it that zechariah was still a young man when he received gods.
Not much is known about zechariahs life other than what may be inferred from the book. The scriptures of the old and new testament are rolls, in which god has written the great things of his law and gospel. Before the temple completed, and then wrote chapters 914 approximately 480 b. The use of the original hebrew in the interpretation of the book of zechariah is outstanding and adds a depth to the discussion which is not routinely found in many commentaries. The book of zechariah was likely written in two primary segments, between 520 and 470 b. His name, common to more than 29 ot men, means the lord remembers. Pdf the book of zechariah 2018 edition gary everett. They definitely knew each other and prophesied to the same people at the same period of time. The book also bears evidence that even prophecy could be corrupted. The book of zechariah offers a threefold thematic scheme that supports the central claim of the pentateuch, the claim found in deuteronomy 6.
Zechariah emphasized that god has used his prophets to teach, warn and correct his people. M ark b oda s new 800pagelong commentary on zechariah, one of the most fascinating and confusing books in the hebrew bible, offers a substantial contribution to the already existing wealth of secondary literature devoted to this biblical book. Zechariah was an existing prophet of the day with haggai and. Zechariah excellent timelinechart on the rulers and prophets in the time of zechariah see page 42. There are general messages of encouragement from the lord to his people, similar to what we saw in the book of haggai. And as i prayed, a few different possibilities were in my mind. Brief commentary on the book of zechariah the book of zechariah is called the apocalypse of the old testament. It is a postexilic book, meaning it was written after post the return from captivity exile in babylon. Bodas commentary stands out, though, in one key respect, namely that it is devoted to the entire book rather than to zechariah. Zechariah 3 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary provides notes on all 66 books of the bible, and contain more than 7,000 pages of material. Zechariah 1 bible commentary matthew henry concise. Yet their prophecies are just about as different as any two could be. 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 double spaced with wide margins see pages 40 of pdf.
Book of zechariah overview insight for living ministries. Book of zechariah encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. Only chapters 18 contain the prophecies of zechariah. Zechariah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Interpreters have no right to isolate one aspect of truth by excluding others. Zechariah gave us more of the story, and showed how god is interested in lives of his people, not only buildings. In addition, the word biblical commentary inserts sections entitled. So, for the last year and a few weeks, weve grown accustomed to turning our attention to the book of job. Pdf the book of zechariah 2018 edition gary everett, mdiv. Study the bible online using commentary on zechariah and more. In zechariah we learn that only the messiahchrist, the angel of the lord, the branch and the stone zech 3, and the priest upon his throne zech 6 can save his people. The visions resemble those in the books of daniel and revelation. I would recommend this commentary for a serious study of the book of zechariah. A disciple of origen, whose work on zechariah reached only to chapter five and is no longer extant, didymuss commentary on this apocalyptic book illustrates the typically allegorical approach to the biblical text that we associate with alexandria.
Outline of the book of zechariah zechariah zechariah was a prophet of a priestly lineage who had returned to jerusalem with zerubbabel that the temple of jehovah may be built cf. Words in boxes are from the bible, except for words in brackets. Daniel was born in the land of israel but wrote his apocalypse outside of it. The universal tradition of both jews and christians endorses the prophet zechariah as author. The book of zechariah, attributed to the hebrew prophet zechariah, is included in the twelve minor prophets in the hebrew bible.
The visions within the book can be divided into two sections. 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. The book of zechariah consists of fourteen chapters. The book of zechariah emerged from the immediate postexilic period, and is therefore a valuable source of information about a phase of jewish history which is deficient in extrabiblical documentation. In contrast to most of the minor prophets, both haggai and zecha. This commentary has been through advanced checking. Zechariah the prophet was probably born in babylon during the 70year babylonian captivity. Zechariah commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Commentary on zechariah the fathers of the church, volume 111 book description. See a chart detailing the chronology of the work of haggai and zechariah pdf. In that respect, its possible to think of the book of zechariah as a kind of miniature book of isaiah. 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. Abel then would be a man out of the first and zechariah a man out of the last book of the old testament. The books of ezra and nehemiah are also key literary sources on the restoration.
This book is second only to isaiah in the breadth of the prophets writings about messiah. This 17 part expository study of zechariah was preached at flagstaff christian fellowship in 2003. Zechariah commentary matthew henry commentary on the. A chapterbychapter study of the old testament book of zechariah. Bible commentary to zechariah by john schultz bible commentaries.
Offers brief introductions to the following issues. Finally, it seemed that the lord had placed a specific book in my mind as the next. Some writers have also depreciated the unity of the prophecy by pointing out that chs. The prophecy of zechariah is noted for its rich use of visions, pictures, and symbols. This zechariah has of old been connected with 2 chronicles 24. The book of zechariah center point bible institute. But most of the book comes in the form of prophetic. Zechariah ben jehoiada was the last martyr in the last book of the hebrew. Zechariah was born outside of the land but wrote his within the land.
The historical situation underlying the book of zechariah is identical with that which gave rise to the oracles of haggai. The prophet zechariah wrote chapters 18 approximately 520518 b. The reason for this supposition is probably that in the hebrew bible the chronicles are placed at the very end. Zechariah began prophesying during the months of octobernovember in the second year of the reign of emperor darius 520 b. An easyenglish bible version and commentary 2800 word vocabulary on the book of zechariah. 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. Zechariah pictures christ in both his first coming zechariah 9. The book of zechariah is narrative history, prophetic and apocalyptic in genre. His name, common to more than 29 old testament men, means the lord remembers. They are literally ages apart even though they were given to the same people at the same time.
This book has the characteristics of an apocalypse. Title the universal tradition of both jews and christians endorses the prophet zechariah as author. The development of zechariah and its role within the twelve x this first volume focuses on the composition of zechariah. David baron commentary on zechariah visions and prophecies of zechariah. But zechariah has a higher concentration of messianic prophecies. Zechariah was contemporary with haggai, but his book is in direct contrast to haggais. Written in 520 bc to the jews returning from the babylonian exile, zechariah encourages and exhorts gods people by laying out before them the future of israel. In chart form the contents of the books looks like this. May 01, 2001 this is an excellent and well written commentary. Exploring zechariah, volume 1 society of biblical literature.
The lord who rules over all says, turn to me, says the lord who rules over all, and i will turn to you. Zech 9 in researching and writing a commentary and having no idea what to do. The second part chs 914 differs from the first in both style and subject matter. Run, tell that young man, jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it that zechariah was still. Bodas twovolume set on zechariah showcases a series of studies tracing the impact of earlier hebrew bible traditions on various passages and sections of the book of zechariah, including 1. Zechariah 5 bible commentary matthew henry concise. You can find the best commentary on zechariah for you using the tools on the right side. The book of zechariah contains the clearest and the largest number of messianic about the messiah passages among the minor prophets. Nor should zechariah the prophet be confused with any of the 28 other men in the old testament who bore this name. Zechariah s prophetic ministry took place in the postexilic period, the time of the jewish restoration from babylonian captivity. 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.