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. A chapterbychapter study of the old testament book of zechariah. The book of zechariah, attributed to the hebrew prophet zechariah, is included in the twelve minor prophets in the hebrew bible. His name, common to more than 29 old testament men, means the lord remembers. Haggai found probably a good audience among the older generation. The book of zechariah new international commentary on the. This book is second only to isaiah in the breadth of the prophets writings about messiah.
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. Zechariah gives the rest of the story, and shows how god is interested in lives, not only buildings. Daniel was born in the land of israel but wrote his apocalypse outside of it. The book of zechariah center point bible institute. Abel then would be a man out of the first and zechariah a man out of the last book of the old testament. The book of zechariah is an extraordinary and clearly inspired book of the bible. Zechariah s prophetic ministry took place in the postexilic period, the time of the jewish restoration from babylonian captivity. The book of zechariah contains descriptions of visions concerning the rebuilding of jerusalem and the temple, the gathering of scattered israel, and the triumph of israel over its enemies. Book of dasher book of righteousness, which are specifically mentioned in the bible. Conclusion literature few books of the old testament are as difficult of interpretation as the book of zechariah. Finally, it seemed that the lord had placed a specific book in my mind as the next. 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. Pdf the book of zechariah 2018 edition gary everett. Pdf the prophetic book of zechariah is often neglected when studying the mission of god and his church.
The book culminates in prophecies of the saviors mortal ministry and final return in glory. The book of zechariah, because of its great variation in style, content, and language, is widely believed to be a composite work. Not much is known about zechariahs life other than what may be inferred from the book. The hebrew word zechariah or zachariah means god remembers. The reason for this supposition is probably that in the hebrew bible the chronicles are placed at the very end. This is supported by zechariahs interest in the temple and. In time the initial settlement expanded to a fullfledged mission earthwith a. It gives us some unique insight into the very workings of the mind of god, beginning even with the name of the book itself. This is a wonderful aid to anyone teaching on this difficult book. This booklet is a free educational service, provided by the global church of god in the united kingdom, in collaboration with the church of the eternal god in the united states of america and the church of god, a christian fellowship in canada. The universal tradition of both jews and christians endorses the prophet zechariah as author. Zechariah, book of international standard bible encyclopedia. Zechariah was contemporary with haggai, but his book is in direct contrast to haggais.
I give permission for this booklet to be copied and. Bodas commentary stands out, though, in one key respect, namely that it is devoted to the entire book rather than to zechariah. The visions resemble those in the books of daniel and. 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. 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. Zechariah assumed his position as one of the chiefs. 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. This is another wonderful book by david baron who wrote books in the last part of 18001914. The visions resemble those in the books of daniel and revelation.
In that respect, its possible to think of the book of zechariah as a kind of miniature book of isaiah. Bible class notes on zechariah the church of christ in. May 01, 2001 this is another wonderful book by david baron who wrote books in the last part of 18001914. This booklet contains 65 pages of notes on the old testament book of zechariah. Outline of genesis with questions for each section. Jerome called it the most obscure book of the hebrew bible, an opinion often cited and widely shared by subsequent readers. Chapter five of genesis begins with the statement this is the book of the toledoth. But unfortunately we came to the end of that book and now we need to move on to something else. The prophet identifies himself as zechariah yahweh. Earlier prophets had promised a glorious restoration of the nation e. Brief commentary on the book of zechariah the book of zechariah is called the apocalypse of the old testament. Conclusion literature few books of the old testament are as difficult of interpretation as the.
The lord who rules over all says, turn to me, says the lord who rules over all, and i will turn to you. General in this vision, zechariah saw a sevenbranched candlestick. This book has the characteristics of an apoca lypse. However, the reality for those who returned fell far short of these expectations. Grandson of the priest iddo, zechariah prophesied to the people of judah after they returned from their seventy years of exile in babylon zechariah 1. The first part of his book consistsof eight visions chapters 6. This dates the book to the second year of darius the king i. Book of zechariah overview insight for living ministries. Zechariah s grandfather returned from babylon, his young grandson in tow, with the first group of israelites allowed back. In at least two instances, the existence of olden booksearlier texts known to the biblical narratorcan be inferred. Book of zechariah the complete guide this is a wikipedia book, a collection of wikipedia articles that can be easily saved, imported by an external electronic rendering service, and ordered as. 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. Hubbard, a historic and landmark series, one which is synonymous with. The prophet zechariah wrote chapters 18 approximately 520518 b.
The prophets zechariah and haggai wrote about the year 520 bc during the restoration of jerusalem and judah. The book of zechariah was likely written in two primary segments, between 520 and 470 b. Haggai, zechariah, and malachi, all were prophets who lived just after the babylonian captivity. Zechariahs hebrew name, zekaryah, means yahweh remem. Before the temple completed, and then wrote chapters 914 approximately 480 b. In this way it is much like the book of revelation or daniel which also have significant visions. The lord who rules over all says, turn to me, says the. This book has the characteristics of an apocalypse. 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. My interest began with this phenomenon in my doctoral dissertation on neh 9, but it was zech 914 that seemed to have the most potential for. Zechariah is also one of the most devotional of the prophetic books, dwelling more completely on the person and work of christ than any other of the prophetic writings. The future redemption and restoration of gods people through the messiah should motivate his people to serve him in. 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. The books of ezra and nehemiah are also key literary sources on the restoration.
Zechariah emphasized that god has used his prophets to teach, warn, and correct his people. The book of zechariah offers a threefold thematic scheme that supports the central claim of the pentateuch, the claim found in deuteronomy 6. He was given a burning in his heart, by god, to move the jewish people from their comfortableness to hard work. Therefore, the book of zechariah is also about the prayer movement in jerusalem. The book also bears evidence that even prophecy could be corrupted. But zechariah has a higher concentration of messianic prophecies. An angel restores the high priest joshua in zechariah 3. The justification for this bifurcation is generally argued along several lines. 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 second part chs 914 differs from the first in both style and subject matter. Only chapters 18 contain the prophecies of zechariah.
Pdf perspectives on mission in the book of zechariah. Timeline for the book of genesis, a handout which gives an overview of the book of genesis in chronological order pdf. Study notes on the holy scriptures using a themebased approach to identify literary structures by gary h. 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 first part of the book, chapters one through eight, contain eight symbolic visions of zechariah.
The book of zechariah is set initially in 520 bce, some twenty years after the first jews returned from exile in babylon to the region of judah yehud. The general consensus of critical scholarship holds that the book of zechariah is not one book but two. The last oracle of haggai to gods people is dated the ninth month of the second year of darius i. And as i prayed, a few different possibilities were in my mind.
Zechariah pictures christ in both his first coming zechariah 9. So, for the last year and a few weeks, weve grown accustomed to turning our attention to the book of job. They definitely knew each other and prophesied to the same people at the same period of time. Zechariah, the son of berechiah, the son of iddo the prophet zechariah was among the priests and levites that came with zerubbabel at the time of cyrus decree nehemiah 12.
The first principle is to note the historical setting in which a biblical book was written and the particular historical occasion for its authorship. The prophecy of zechariah is noted for its rich use of visions, pictures, and symbols. Boda and published by eerdmans is one of the well written modern commentaries on this book of the bible. The book of zechariah is narrative history, prophetic and apocalyptic in genre. Book of zechariah the complete guide this is a wikipedia book, a collection of wikipedia articles that can be easily saved, imported by an external electronic rendering service, and ordered as a printed book. Introduction some 445,000 years ago, astronauts from another planet came to earth in search of gold. Zechariah zechariah is the longest of the minor prophets. The prophet identifies himself as zechariah yahweh remembers, the son of berechiah yahweh blesses, the son of iddo the appointed time. Pdf the book of zechariah 2018 edition gary everett, mdiv. Zechariah was an existing prophet of the day with haggai and. 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 was born outside of the land but wrote his within the land. His grandfather iddo was one of the chiefs of the priests 12. The book of zechariah is the most messianic, the most truly apocalyptic and eschatological of all the writings of the old testament.
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. 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. Zechariah emphasized that god has used his prophets to teach, warn and correct his people. The book of zechariah is the most recent volume of the new international commentary on the old testament, edited by robert l. Exploring zechariah, volume 1 society of biblical literature. Several charts and maps are included in this free bible class book color cover. The development of zechariah and its role within the twelve x this first volume focuses on the composition of zechariah. And there is a bowl on top of the candlestick, with seven pipes to each of the seven lamps. Brief commentary on the book of zechariah harbor bible. They are literally ages apart even though they were given to the same people at the same time. Yet their prophecies are just about as different as any two could be. This book is about zechariah who was a prophet during the rebuilding of the second temple. Except for the apocalyptic sections the eight night visions, its basic language and style are simple and direct. The visions within the book can be divided into two sections.
Splashing down in one of earths seas, they waded ashore and established eridu, home in the faraway. It is a postexilic book, meaning it was written after post the return from captivity exile in babylon. Some writers have also depreciated the unity of the prophecy by pointing out that chs. The book of zechariah consists of fourteen chapters. Because the bible we are studying never changes, davids books are just as or more relevant today as when he wrote them. Zechariah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary.
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