Martyrdom of the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah

by Damien F. Mackey ‘And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar’. Matthew 23:35 Could he be the same as Zechariah son of Jehoiada? Since Zechariah, son of the high priest Jehoiada, was a holy prophet murdered in the Temple court in Jerusalem at the command of king Joash of Judah, who is the same as Uzziah: Early prophet Zechariah may forge a link with Joash, Uzziah of Judah (DOC) Early prophet Zechariah may forge a link with Joash, Uzziah of Judah | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu then he is a prime candidate for the holy man to whom Jesus Christ will refer in Matthew 23:35 and Luke 11:51 (who, however, omits any reference to “Berechiah”). It is hard to shake off the idea that Jesus must be referring to this Zechariah whom “they plotted against … and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD’s Temple” (2 Chronicles 24:21). In this article, I shall be testing the validity of four possible candidates for the martyred “Zechariah son of Berechiah”, based on a few key points such as: era; name and patronymic; location of death by martyrdom As to era, Zechariah, son of the high priest Jehoiada, might seem somewhat too early to qualify. Jesus is giving a vast sweep of persecuted prophets, from the very beginning, Abel, until, one might presume, his own approximate time. Since the death of this first Zechariah, there were other martyrdoms as we are going to find. As to his name, Zechariah is, of course, a perfect fit. But his patronymic, Jehoiada, is not – differing, as it does, from Berechiah. Name difference, though, does not necessarily rule out identification. As to location of death by martyrdom, Zechariah, son of the high priest Jehoiada, might superficially appear to be, again, a perfect fit. However, on a closer inspection, while he was slain in the Temple courtyard, the Zechariah referred to by Jesus perished ‘between the Temple and the altar’. This is quite a serious difference. Conclusion Zechariah, son of the high priest Jehoiada, fits our criteria perfectly only as to his name, Zechariah, which is indeed a perfect fit. Could he be the same as Zechariah son of Jeberechiah? “The LORD said to me, ‘Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’. So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah as reliable witnesses for me”. Isaiah 8:1-2 Could Jesus have been referring to the Zechariah son of Jeberechiah, one of Isaiah the prophet’s reliable witnesses (as named in Isaiah 8:2)? Let us again apply out test: era; name and patronymic; and location of death by martyrdom. As to era, Zechariah, son of Jeberechiah may still perhaps be, like Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, somewhat too early to qualify. As to his name, Zechariah is, of course, a perfect fit. And even his patronymic, Jeberechiah, is close to perfect, the name being related to Berechiah: Jeberechiah | The amazing name Jeberechiah: meaning and etymology (abarim-publications.com) As to location of death by martyrdom, this is quite irrelevant at this early stage, for we are not told that anyone of this exact description, “Zechariah son of Jeberechiah”, was ever martyred. Conclusion The names, Zechariah and Jeberechiah, are close to being a perfect fit. But, at this early stage, we have no evidence that this particular Zechariah experienced martyrdom. Could he be the same as the martyr Uriah (Urijah)? Whilst the later era is the most promising so far, the names, Uriah and Shemaiah, do not fit at all. Nor are we told that Uriah was martyred in the Temple. Surely, I had begun to think, Jesus was referring to the Martyrdom of Isaiah. This was significantly later in time than was the martyrdom of Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada. And it was later even still in my revised scheme, that collapses the era of king Hezekiah of Judah into the era of king Josiah of Judah, with my identification of the martyred Uriah, at the hands of king Jehoiakim, being the same incident as the famous martyrdom of Isaiah at the time of king Manasseh (= Jehoiakim). See e.g. my article: God can raise up prophets at will - even from a shepherd of Simeon (DOC) God can raise up prophets at will - even from a shepherd of Simeon | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu Let us once again apply our test: era; name and patronymic; and location of death by martyrdom. As to era, Uriah (Urijah), son of Shemaiah, is, as already noted, more promisingly later than was Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada (and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah). As to his name, Uriah is not a name related to Zechariah (though it could perhaps be construed as an abbreviation of the name). Moreover, his patronymic, Shemaiah, does not relate at all to Berechiah. I was still optimistic, however, considering that I have identified multiple names for Isaiah and his father: (i) Father of Isaiah was: Micaiah = Micah = Micah (of Judith) = Amos = Eliezer = Merari (Beeri) = Amittai = Zephaniah (ii) Isaiah was: Isaiah = Hosea = Uzziah (of Judith) = Jonah = Nahum = Asaiah = Uriah (Urijah) Surely, I had anticipated, the names Zechariah and Berechiah - or, at least, variants, thereof - will be findable amongst this vast litany of names of, respectively, Isaiah and his father. But where are they? As to location of death by martyrdom, it was definitely in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 26:20-23): Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, the king was determined to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt. King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Akbor to Egypt, along with some other men. They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people. However, this incident could have occurred in a public place in Jerusalem, or in the palace. At least there is nothing in the prophet Jeremiah’s account of it to suggest that it had occurred in the Temple itself. Conclusion Whilst the later era is the most promising one so far, the names, Uriah and Shemaiah - even given all of my multiple alter ego names for Isaiah and his father - do not fit at all. Nor are we told that Uriah was martyred in the Temple. There was a prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah “In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo …”. Zechariah 1:1 Let us apply our usual test to this later prophet Zechariah, to determine how well he may fit the martyred “Zechariah son of Berechiah” referred to by Jesus Christ. As to era, Zechariah son of Berechiah, being considerably later than our previous latest one, Uriah, at the time of king Jehoiakim of Judah, would qualify very well indeed considering that, as I think, Jesus was giving a vast sweep of persecuted prophets, from the very beginning, Abel, until, one might presume, his own approximate time. As to name, Zechariah is, of course, a perfect fit. But so also, this time, is his patronymic, Berechiah. Namewise, at least, it is not difficult to imagine the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah being Jesus Christ’s Zechariah son of Berechiah. As to location of death by martyrdom, there does not appear to be any scriptural evidence that the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah was, under this specific name, actually martyred. Nor does there appear to be any solid extra-biblical tradition that Zechariah son of Berechiah had undergone martyrdom. Conclusions so far The first two martyrs considered in this series, Zechariah son of Jehoiada, and Uriah son of Shemaiah, are – I would estimate – (and apart from other considerations) too early in time to qualify for the Zechariah son of Berechiah to whom Jesus Christ had referred in Matthew 23:35. Jesus there is giving a vast sweep of persecution history, from the very beginning, to, one would imagine, his own approximate time. The so-called Minor Prophet, Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo is a far better prospect for Jesus’s prophet, having an identical name and patronymic, and being notably later than the other two. But, as pointed out above, there is no evidence whatsoever of his martyrdom specifically under the name of Zechariah son of Berechiah. This is obviously quite a substantial problem. A new consideration However, there may be a way out of this dilemma, but only in the context of a substantially reduced chronology such as mine, according to which the Maccabean age was far closer in time (than is customarily thought) both to the prophet Daniel and the Birth of Jesus Christ. On this, see e.g. my article: Jesus Christ himself is the ‘stone’ of Daniel 2 (4) Jesus Christ himself is the 'stone' of Daniel 2 | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu The aged Maccabean martyr, Eleazer, now could then fit Jesus’s description as to chronology - closeness to his own time - and place of martyrdom, in the Temple. 2 Maccabees 6:18-31: The Martyrdom of Eleazar Eleazar, one of the scribes in high position, a man now advanced in age and of noble presence, was being forced to open his mouth to eat swine’s flesh. But he, welcoming death with honour rather than life with pollution, went up to the rack of his own accord, spitting out the flesh, as all ought to go who have the courage to refuse things that it is not right to taste, even for the natural love of life. Those who were in charge of that unlawful sacrifice took the man aside because of their long acquaintance with him, and privately urged him to bring meat of his own providing, proper for him to use, and to pretend that he was eating the flesh of the sacrificial meal that had been commanded by the king, so that by doing this he might be saved from death, and be treated kindly on account of his old friendship with them. But making a high resolve, worthy of his years and the dignity of his old age and the grey hairs that he had reached with distinction and his excellent life even from childhood, and moreover according to the holy God-given law, he declared himself quickly, telling them to send him to Hades. ‘Such pretence is not worthy of our time of life,’ he said, ‘for many of the young might suppose that Eleazar in his ninetieth year had gone over to an alien religion, and through my pretence, for the sake of living a brief moment longer, they would be led astray because of me, while I defile and disgrace my old age. Even if for the present I would avoid the punishment of mortals, yet whether I live or die I will not escape the hands of the Almighty. Therefore, by bravely giving up my life now, I will show myself worthy of my old age and leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws.’ When he had said this, he went at once to the rack. Those who a little before had acted towards him with goodwill now changed to ill will, because the words he had uttered were in their opinion sheer madness. When he was about to die under the blows, he groaned aloud and said: ‘It is clear to the Lord in his holy knowledge that, though I might have been saved from death, I am enduring terrible sufferings in my body under this beating, but in my soul I am glad to suffer these things because I fear him.’ So in this way he died, leaving in his death an example of nobility and a memorial of courage, not only to the young but to the great body of his nation. Conclusion The 90-year old Eleazer would be my favoured candidate for Jesus’s Zechariah son of Berechiah, as to era; he being later than all of the others considered above, and thereby allowing for an historical sweep by Jesus: namely, Jerusalem (Eden) from Abel right down to his own era. name and patronymic; Here I would have to posit as second name for my candidate, as the name Eleazer does not appear to be related to Zechariah. Also, we are not given a patronymic in this case. location of death by martyrdom This is where I think that we really score, with Eleazer having been slain in Jerusalem, in the Temple, in the place of sacrifice, just like Zechariah son of Berechiah was.