Topic
Zacharias
8 passages cited, from 2 classic reference works.
These works date from 1884–1897 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Matthew 23:35Easton · Smith
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
- 1 Chronicles 23:1–19Easton
So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. ¶ And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their…
- 2 Chronicles 24:20Smith
And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath…
- 2 Chronicles 24:21Smith
And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.
- Ezra 2:36–39Easton
¶ The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three. The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven. The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
- Luke 1:5Smith
¶ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
- Luke 1:12–17Easton
And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and…
- Luke 11:51Easton
From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 6 references
(1.) A priest of the course of Abia, the eighth of the twenty-four courses into which the priests had been originally divided by David (1 Chr. 23:1-19). Only four of these courses or “families” of the priests returned from the Exile (Ezra 2:36-39); but they were then re-distributed under the old designations. The priests served at the temple twice each year, and only for a week each time. Zacharias’s time had come for this service. During this period his home would be one of the chambers set apart for the priests on the sides of the temple ground. The offering of incense was one of the most solemn parts of the daily worship of the temple, and lots were drawn each day to determine who should have this great honour, an honour which no priest could enjoy more than once during his lifetime.
While Zacharias ministered at the golden altar of incense in the holy place, it was announced to him by the angel Gabriel that his wife Elisabeth, who was also of a priestly family, now stricken in years, would give birth to a son who was to be called John, and that he would be the forerunner of the long-expected Messiah (Luke 1:12-17). As a punishment for his refusing to believe this message, he was struck dumb and “not able to speak until the day that these things should be performed” (20). Nine months passed away, and Elisabeth’s child was born, and when in answer to their inquiry Zacharias wrote on a “writing tablet,” “His name is John,” his mouth was opened, and he praised God (60-79). The child (John the Baptist), thus “born out of due time,” “waxed strong in spirit” (1:80).
(2.) The “son of Barachias,” mentioned as having been slain between the temple and the altar (Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51). “Barachias” here may be another name for Jehoiada, as some think. (See ZECHARIAH.)
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 4 references
- Father of John the Baptist. (Luke 1:5) etc. He was a priest of the course of Abia. the eighth of the twenty-four courses who ministered at the temple in turn. He probably lived at Hebron. His wife’s name was Elisabeth. John was born to them in their old age, and the promise of this son was communicated to Zacharias by an angel while he was offering incense and praying in the temple.
- Son of Barachias, who, our Lord says, was slain by the Jews between the altar and the temple. (Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:61) There has been much dispute who this Zacharias was. Many of the Greek fathers have maintained that the father of John the Baptist is the person to whom our Lord alludes but there can be little or no doubt that the allusion is to Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, (2 Chronicles 24:20,21) and he may have been called "the son" of Barachias from his grandfather. (B.C. 838.) He is mentioned as being the martyr last recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures (as Abel was the first) -d Chronicles being the last book in their canon.
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.