Possible Allusion By Jesus
Most modern Christian commentators identify this Zechariah with the one whose murder Jesus alluded to in Matthew 23:35 and Luke 11:50-51. Zechariah is then understood as representing as the last of the martyrs recorded in the Masoretic Text (since the Hebrew sequence of books ends with 2 Chronicles). D. C. Allison notes that Luke 11:49-51 echoes 2 Chron 24:17-25 by referring to the sending of the prophets, the blood of Zechariah and the temple precinct.
The Gospel of Matthew records his name as "Zechariah son of Berechiah". This identification can be reconciled if Jehoiada was Zechariah's grandfather, and Berechiah his father. However, Zechariah the prophet is listed as the son of Berechiah (Zech. 1:1) and some therefore make this identification. The book of Zechariah is commonly dated to c. 520-518 BC, several hundred years after the reign of Jehoash of Judah, and in this interpretation Zechariah is chronologically the last of the martyrs.
Other identifications of the person Jesus was referring to include the tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which considers "Zechariah son of Berechiah" as Zechariah the father of John the Baptist, and his slaying is understood as taking place during the slaughter of the Innocents by Herod.
Read more about this topic: Zechariah Ben Jehoiada
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