Which Zecharias?

[grov]

In reading today's Saint's, I came across reference to the death of Zecharias, father of the Forerunner. The account has him put to death "between the altar and the Temple", at the command of Herod because he refused to disclose the location of the infant John (the Baptist) and because of the uproar amongst the temple priests since he had insisted that Mary the Theotokos stand with the virgins when Jesus was presented at the temple.

I had always assumed that the Zecharias mentioned in Mt. 23:35 was the minor prophet of the Old Testament (son of Berechias), but Zecharias the father of John also had a father named Berechias, according to Lives of the Saints.

The reason this is interesting to me is that as a Protestant, I was always taught that one reason to reject the apocryphal books was because Jesus in effect dismissed that time period when he defined the prophets as spanning from Abel to Zechariah. There are plenty of ways to dispute that reasoning, but it would be especially easy to dismiss if in fact Jesus was referring to His "uncle".

Does anyone know how/where the Old Testament prophet Zechariah died (from some source not derived from an assumed connection to Mt. 23:35)?

Thanks,
George

 

[ClementofRome]

Traditional scholarship places the OT prophet Zechariah in the late 500's BC (520ish). The name Zechariah is the name of over 20 other OT figures.

As for the grandfather of the Forerunner, If my father had named me Berechias, I would surely have named my son Zecharias.

 

[eoe]

The Zacharias that you are referring to is indeed the father of John the Baptist.

Zacharias the Prophet & Righteous Elizabeth, parents of St. John the Baptist

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September 5
Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
In the vesture of a priest, according to the Law of God, thou didst offer unto Him well-pleasing whole-burnt offerings, as it befitted a priest, O wise Zacharias. Thou wast a shining light, a seer of mysteries, bearing in thyself clearly the signs of grace; and in God's temple, O wise Prophet of Christ God, thou wast slain with the sword. Hence, with the Forerunner, make entreaty that our souls find salvation.
Kontakion in the Third Tone
On this day the Prophet and ven'rable priest of the Most High, even Zacharias, who begat the Forerunner, hath now mixed for us the draught of virtue and set the table of his sacred mem'ry nourishing all the faithful; for this cause do we extol him as a most godly initiate of grace divine.
Reading:
According to the opinion of many Fathers of the Church, based on an ancient tradition, this is the Zacharias whom, as our Lord said, the Jews slew between the temple and the altar (Matt. 23:35), first, because even after the Virgin Mary gave birth, he continued to refer to her as virgin and number her among the virgins; second, because Zacharias' son John was not found during the slaughter of the Innocents, since the elderly Elizabeth had taken him and carefully hid him while he was yet an infant, in an unnamed place somewhere in the desert, where, according to the Evangelist, "the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel" (Luke 1:80). When the child was not found, his father was slain by Herod's command.



the Other Zacharias is here:
Zechariah the Prophet

February 8
Apolytikion in the Second Tone
As we celebrate the memory of Thy Prophet Zachariah, O Lord, through him we beseech Thee to save our souls.
Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
As a brightly-shining lamp that was illumined with the Spirit's fiery beams, O Zachariah most renowned, thou didst prefigure with clarity the Savior's great and untold condescension toward us.
Reading:
The Prophet Zachariah was the son of Barachias, and a contemporary of the Prophet Aggeus (Dec. 16). In the days of the Babylonian captivity, he prophesied, as it says, in the book of Ezra, "to the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem" (Ezra 5: 1); he aided Zerubbabel in the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. In the book of Ezra he is called "Zachariah the son of Addo (or Iddo)" but in his own prophetic book he is called more fully "Zachariah, the son of Barachias, the son of Addo the Prophet" (Zach. 1:1). When the captives returned from Babylon, he came to dwell in Jerusalem in his old age. His book of prophecy is divided into fourteen chapters and has the eleventh place among the books of the minor Prophets; his name means "Yah is renowned." Sozomen reports that under the Emperor Honorius, Zachariah's holy relics were found in Eleutheropolis of Palestine. The Prophet appeared in a dream to a certain Calemerus, telling him where he would find his tomb. His body was found to be incorrupt (Eccl. Hist., Book IX, 17).

 

[grov]

Thank you Clement and Eoe - this is just what I was looking for and couldn't find.

I'm continually surprised at how many issues are resolved by our hymnography.

George