Zechariah #38

Zechariah, a contemporary of Haggai, encourages the same struggling returned community through a series of vivid night visions. The book also unfolds some of the Old Testament’s richest messianic imagery: a humble king on a donkey, a struck shepherd, and a pierced figure who is mourned.

Read Zechariah in the King James Version →

Author and Date

The book is attributed to Zechariah, son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo (Zechariah 1:1). His early oracles are dated to the second and fourth years of Darius, c. 520-518 BC. Chapters 9-14 are undated. Tradition holds that the whole book comes from Zechariah, while many scholars propose that those chapters come from a different author or a later time; the question is disputed.

Background and Audience

The audience was the small community of Judeans who had returned from Babylonian exile, discouraged by hardship and a modest Temple. Zechariah, working alongside Haggai (Ezra 5:1), urges them to turn to the LORD and finish the Temple, assuring them that God’s purposes for Jerusalem are not finished.

Outline

• Zechariah 1:1-6: A call to return to the LORD
• Zechariah 1:7-6:8: Eight night visions, including the cleansing of Joshua the high priest and the lampstand
• Zechariah 6:9-15: The symbolic crowning of Joshua and the promise of the Branch
• Zechariah 7-8: A question about fasting, a call for justice and mercy, and promises of Jerusalem’s restoration
• Zechariah 9-11: The first oracle: the humble king, the LORD’s flock, and the rejected shepherd
• Zechariah 12-14: The second oracle: Jerusalem delivered, the pierced one mourned, and the LORD as king over all the earth

Key Themes

• God’s return to his people: The LORD promises to dwell in Jerusalem again.
• The Spirit’s power: The work will succeed by God’s Spirit rather than human strength.
• The coming king and shepherd: A humble ruler brings peace, while a shepherd is struck.
• Cleansing and universal worship: Sin is removed, and the nations will one day serve the LORD.

Key Verses

• Zechariah 1:3 — the invitation to turn to the LORD, who promises to turn to his people
• Zechariah 4:6 — the word to Zerubbabel that the work depends on God’s Spirit, not might or power
• Zechariah 9:9 — a just, lowly king rides on a donkey; the Gospels connect this with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem
• Zechariah 12:10 — the people look on one they pierced and mourn; John 19:37 cites it
• Zechariah 13:7 — the striking of the shepherd, quoted by Jesus in Matthew 26:31
• Zechariah 14:9 — the LORD becomes king over all the earth

How It Fits the Bible

Zechariah follows Haggai and precedes Malachi, and is read alongside Ezra. It is quoted in the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, the scattering of his disciples, and his death, and its imagery echoes in Revelation.