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Zechariah

ZECHARIAH, son of Jeberechiah, one of the two "faithful witnesses" to *Isaiah's prophecy when he wrote on a sheet "to maher-shalal-ḥash-baz" and named his newborn son Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz ("Plunder hastens, booty speeds"), as a sign that "before the boy knows how to call 'Father' and 'Mother' the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria shall be carried off before the king of Assyria" (Isa. 8:2–4). There is no other unequivocal reference to Zechariah but, since the father of the prophet *Zechariah had the same name (Berechiah) as the father of this Zechariah, and since several scholars attribute the last six chapters of the Book of Zechariah to an earlier, First Temple prophet, there is a theory that the Isaiah witness is that mysterious prophet. It has also been suggested (by Z. Jawitz) that this is the same Zechariah who instructed Uzziah king of Judah "in the fear of God" (II Chron. 26:5). It is more likely that he is to be identified with Zechariah the father-in-law of King Ahaz (II Kings 18:2; II Chron. 29:1).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Z. Jawitz, Toledot Yisrael, 2 (1897), 28.


Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.