Zechariah 1 is the first chapter of the

Book of Zechariah The Book of Zechariah, attributed to the Hebrew prophet Zechariah, is included in the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Historical context Zechariah's prophecies took place during the reign of Darius the Great and were contemporary ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Zechariah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. As the first of the total 14 chapters in the book, this chapter is a part of a section (so-called "First Zechariah") consisting of Zechariah 1- 8. It records an introduction and the first two of eight visions received by the prophet.

Text

The original text was written in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. This chapter is divided into 21 verses in English Bibles. Hebrew Bible uses different " verse numbering" (see below).

Verse numbering

There are some differences in verse numbering of this chapter in English Bibles and Hebrew texts: This article generally follows the common numbering in Christian English Bible versions, with notes to the numbering in Hebrew Bible versions.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

, which includes the Codex Cairensis (from year 895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), and

Codex Leningradensis The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...

(1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

, including: 4Q80 (4QXII^e; 75–50 BCE) with extant verses 4–6, 8–10, 13–15, and Mur88 (MurXII; from

Wadi Murabba'at Wadi Murabba'at, also known as Nahal Darga, is a ravine cut by a seasonal stream which runs from the Judean desert east of Bethlehem past the Herodium down to the Dead Sea 18 km south of Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank. It was here in caves ...

; from early 2nd century CE) with extant verses 1–4. There is also a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

known as the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

(with a different verse numbering), made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century),

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(S; BHK:

\mathfrak

^S; 4th century),

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century) and

Codex Marchalianus Codex Marchalianus designated by siglum Q is a 6th-century Greek manuscript copy of the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh or Old Testament) known as the Septuagint. The text was written on vellum in uncial letters. Palaeographically it ...

(Q;

\mathfrak

^Q; 6th century). Some fragments containing parts of this chapter (a revision of the Septuagint) were found among the

, i.e., Naḥal Ḥever 8Ḥev1 (8ḤevXII^gr); late 1st century BCE) with extant verses 1–4, 12–14, 19–21 (verses 2:2–4 in Masoretic verse numbering)

Time

This chapter contains two "date formulas", in verses 1 and 7, which place the recorded events in the year of 520-519 BCE, "in the second year of Darius" (son of Hystaspes), the king of Persia. Accordingly, Zechariah was a contemporary of the prophet

Haggai Haggai (; he, חַגַּי – ''Ḥaggay''; Koine Greek: Ἀγγαῖος; la, Aggaeus) was a Hebrew prophet during the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the author of ...

, confirming the records in Ezra 5:1 and Ezra 6:14. *Verse 1: "in the eighth month" corresponds to mid October–mid November 520 BCE. *Verse 7: "the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month" corresponds to a date between mid-January and mid-February 519 BCE.

Preface (1:1–6)

Verses 1–6 serve as an "Introduction" to the subsequent visions and prophecies received by Zechariah with a call for the people to repentance. This section together with chapters 7 and 8 form an editorial frame of the book.

Verse 1

:''In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius,'' ::''came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet,'' :::''saying,'' * "In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius": corresponds to mid October-mid November 520 BCE. Two months before, "in the sixth month"^{( Haggai 1:1)} Haggai, conjointly with Zechariah, exhorted Zerubbabel and the people to resume the intermitted building of the temple, despite the partial discouragement of the Persian Government, and "in the seventh month" Haggai conveyed the magnificent promise about 'the later glory of the temple'.). However, Haggai also warned them, that the conversion was not complete, and Zechariah "in the eighth month", as well as Haggai "in the ninth month",), urges a “thorough and inward repentance,” as the condition of receiving God's promises. * "The eighth month": it was called ''Bul'' before the Captivity, and afterward '' Marchesvan''; corresponds to parts of October and November, usually a time of rain in the area. * "Darius": Darius son of Hystaspes, and the third Persian monarch:; not to be confused with Darius the Mede. * "Zechariah": The name means "one whom Jehovah remembers": a common name, four others of the same name occurring in the Old Testament. Like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, he was a priest as well as a prophet, which adapts him for the sacerdotal character of some of his prophecies. He is called "the son of Berechiah the son of Iddo"; but simply "the son of Iddo" in and . Probably his father died when he was young; and hence, as sometimes occurs in Jewish genealogies, he is called "the son of Iddo," his grandfather. Iddo was one of the priests who returned to Zerubbabel and Joshua from Babylon.) He was murdered on a

Day of Atonement Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's o ...

in the Second Temple in Jerusalem, because of his admonishment, according to the ''Targum Lamentations'' 2:20. This was mentioned by

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

as recorded in : "...shedding the blood of the prophets... from the blood of the righteous

Abel Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd ...

to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar". There is another Zechariah son of the priest Jehoiada that was murdered as recorded in , but this Zechariah is from the 9th century, during the First Temple period, before the exile to Babylon, and he was killed by officials of Judah who wanted to worship pagan deities, not by priests. *"The son of Iddo the prophet": the word "prophet", as Kimchi observes, belongs to Zechariah; not but that his grandfather Iddo might be a prophet too; and the same writer takes notice, that in the Midrash mention is made of Iddo the prophet; and so there is an Iddo that is called the seer and the prophet in .

Vision of horses (1:7–17)

The Vision of Zechariah - Google Art Project

This section records the first of Zechariah's eight night visions, which are his primary and most distinctive feature, with a high literary form and a standardized format, structured in a concentric pattern. In the first vision, the earth is peaceful and expectant, patrolled by the four horsemen (the first of numerous symbols from Zechariah to be reused in the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

). The 'seventy years of the Lord's withholding mercy are fulfilled, the people are returned and the temple is to be rebuilt.

Verse 7

: ''Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius,'' :: ''came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet,'' ::: ''saying,'' * "the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month... in the second year of Darius": Corresponds to mid-January to mid-February 519 BCE, exactly five months after the building of the temple was resumed, and two months after Haggai's last prophecy. * "the month Sebat": The

Hebrew month The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. I ...

Shevat Shevat (Hebrew: שְׁבָט, Standard ''Šəvaṭ'', Tiberian ''Šeḇāṭ''; from Akkadian ''Šabātu'') is the fifth month of the civil year starting in Tishre (or Tishri) and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew cale ...

" (called here by its Chaldean name) answered to parts of January and February. It was three months since Zechariah had been called to the prophetical office, and two months after Haggai delivered his final prophecies, so now Zechariah carries on the revelation. The term is Chaldee, meaning a "shoot," namely, the month when trees begin to "shoot" or "bud". Called ''Sabat'' in the Septuagint version, and in the Apocrypha.

Verse 12

: ''Then the Angel of the Lord answered and said, "O Lord of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?"''

Vision of the horns and craftsmen (1:18–21)

The second vision contains the symbolism of the 'powerful nations that have terrorized the chosen people' and the 'counterforces ("blacksmiths" or "craftsmen") raised by

YHWH The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

Verse 20

:''Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.''^{Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' MEV

In physics, an electronvolt (symbol eV, also written electron-volt and electron volt) is the measure of an amount of kinetic energy gained by a single electron accelerating from rest through an electric potential difference of one volt in vacu ...
, NASB, NIV Niv may refer to:
* Niv, a personal name; for people with the name, see
* Niv Art Movies, a film production company of India
* Niv Art Centre, in New Delhi, India

NIV may refer to:
* The New International Version, a translation of the Bible into ...
, NKJV

The New King James Version (NKJV) is an English translation of the Bible. The complete NKJV Bible was published in 1982 by Thomas Nelson, now HarperCollins. The NKJV is described by Thomas Nelson as being "scrupulously faithful to the origin ...
): from Hebrew , '; KJV: "carpenters"; NET Bible: "blacksmiths"; a generic term which can mean "metalworker, smith, armorer".

Verse 21

:''And I said, "What are these coming to do?"''
:''And he said, "These are the horns that scattered Judah after which no one could raise his head; and these four craftsmen have come to terrify and throw down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it."''^{Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' previous verse. As the horns are perhaps made of strong metal (representing oppressive nations with strong military), they can only be cut off by "craftsmen" or "blacksmiths", who represent 'deliverers whom the Lord raises up, such as kings like Cyrus of Persia'.

See also

*Related Bible

The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
parts: Ezra 5, Ezra 6, Jeremiah 25

Jeremiah 25 is the twenty-fifth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Chapter ...
, Jeremiah 29, Daniel 9 09 may refer to:

* 2009, the year, or any year ending with 09, which may be written as '09
* September, the ninth month
* 9 (number)
* Ariège (department) (postal code), a French department
* Auckland

Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki M ...
, Haggai 1

The Book of Haggai (; he, ספר חגי, Sefer Ḥaggay) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and is the third-to-last of the Twelve Minor Prophets. It is a short book, consisting of only two chapters. The historical setting dates around 52 ...
, Haggai 2

The Book of Haggai (; he, ספר חגי, Sefer Ḥaggay) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and is the third-to-last of the Twelve Minor Prophets. It is a short book, consisting of only two chapters. The historical setting dates around 52 ...
, Zechariah 2, Zechariah 3

Zechariah 3 is the third of the total 14 chapters in the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.Zechariah 4, Zechariah 5, Zechariah 6, Matthew 23

Matthew 23 is the twenty-third chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible, and consists almost entirely of the accusations of Jesus against the Pharisees. The chapter is also known as the Woes of the Pha ...
, Revelation 6

Revelation 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, but the precise identity of the author remains a point o ...

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

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Further reading

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External links

Jewish

Zechariah 1 Hebrew with Parallel EnglishZechariah 1 Hebrew with Rashi's Commentary

Christian

Zechariah 1 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate

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