There is some debate as to whether the Zechariah of 2 Chronicles 24 is the same as the Zechariah of the book of Zechariah.
- Father
- Jehoiada or Barachias
Citations
- 20) 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 also forsaken you.
- 21) 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.
- 22) Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The Lord look upon it, and require it.
- Regarding Zacharias, who was killed in the temple, it was said that a pool of his blood remained in the temple, and that when Nebuchadnezer arrived, he found a pool of boiling or bubbling blood, and he had to work hard at killing enough of the priests and their relations to avenge Zacharias before the pool of blood would finally be at ease.
- When he reached the Sanctuary, he saw the blood of Zechariah the priest boiling. It had not calmed since he was killed in the Temple (see II Chronicles 24:20–22). Nebuzaradan said to the priests there: What is this? They said to him: It is the blood of offerings that was spilled. Nebuzaradan said to them: Bring animals and I will test to determine if the blood of the animals is similar to the blood that is boiling. He slaughtered the animals and their blood was not similar to the boiling blood. Nebuzaradan said to the priests: Reveal the source of that blood to me, and if not I will comb your flesh with an iron comb.
- The priests said to Nebuzaradan: This blood is the blood of a priest and a prophet who prophesied for the Jewish people with regard to the destruction of Jerusalem and whom they killed. He said to the priests: I will pacify the blood so the boiling will stop. He brought the Sages and killed them over the blood and its boiling did not cease. He brought schoolchildren and killed them over the blood and its boiling did not cease. He brought young priests and killed them over the blood and its boiling did not cease. He continued killing until he killed 940,000 people over the blood, and its boiling did not cease.
- Nebuzaradan approached the blood and said: Zechariah, Zechariah, the worthy among them I killed on your behalf. Is it satisfactory for you that I kill them all? Immediately the boiling ceased. Nebuzaradan contemplated repentance. He said: If they, who caused only one person to perish, gained atonement only after all this killing, then with regard to that man, referring to himself, what will be required for him to gain atonement? He deserted his army and dispatched a last will to his house and converted.
- 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.
Notes
The killing mentioned in 2 Chronicles 24:20-22 may not be the same Zechariah as referenced by Jesus in Matthew 23:35, which is almost certainly alluding to this legend of the boiling unsettled blood which we have preserved in the Talmud. It is worth noting in connection with this that Zechariah's name means "Jehovah remembers". The story of Zechariah's blood conveys the idea of a sin that is difficult to impossible to expiate and mirrors similar apocryphal legends about Abel's blood.
Cross-References