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Commentary on Zechariah 1
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COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH 1 n the eighth month of the second year of the reign of Darius, a word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, in these terms (Zec 1.1). In the second year of the kingship of Darius, king of the Persians, in the eighth month of the second year of the ruler’s reign, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, declaring that an awful wrath had come upon the ancestors of those who were under accusation; God was angry with those under censure . The one to whom the word of God came is referred to as Zechariah, a Hebrew name that in Greek means “reminder of God”; after all, how could it be that the one with God’s .l.l. would not prove to be a reminder of God? Berechiah, Zechariah ’s father, .l.l. Iddo.1 It was a tradition, which has come down to us, to mention the prophets’ parents in the case where they also were servants of God. Now, the fact that the prophet in question and his parents were from the priestly tribe emerges in particular from the Gospel according to Luke also: the father of John the Baptist was called Zechariah, and his father Barachiah.2 As a general 28 1. Not surprisingly, the bottom of the first page of the manuscript found at Tura is defective. After correctly tracing the etymology of the Heb. name (though unfamiliar with the language, unlike Jerome, who similarly renders it memoria Domini), Didymus repeats the textual statement of Zechariah’s family details without detecting and pursuing the discrepancy involved: whereas the Heb. text of Zec 1.1, 7 declares Zechariah to be “son of Berechiah, son of Iddo” (as though father and grandfather), in Ezr 5.1 and 6.14 he is called only “son of Iddo.” Didymus does not bother to specify the location of the prophet at the time, later assuming he is still in Babylon (in comment on 4.4–9), which is not the view of the Antiochenes or of modern commentators. 2. These details come to us from Lk 1.5 (as Didymus notes), but also from Mt 23.35 (“Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar”), the latter reference apparently in error, as the prophet is not known to have been slain—unlike Zechariah son of Jehoiada in 2 Chr 24.20–22, or the Zechariah mentioned by Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 4.5.4. practice, you see, later family members take the name of their forbears, especially when they are holy. In the introduction to the prophetic writings, mention is made of the ancestors of those called by God to prophesy and the time of their prophecy . Mention is made of their family for reasons also of veracity, in case confusion should occur as a result of names that sound alike or are incorrect.3 The word of God comes to people when they have a share in it, just as virtue and knowledge come to a man who is zealous and knowledgeable.4 On the other hand, what the word of God communicates and declares to the one under the influence of the prophetic word will become clear from what follows. The text goes on, The Lord Almighty says this: The wrath of the Lord against your ancestors was extreme (vv.3, 2). Extreme wrath is directed at people guilty of extreme sins and acts of impiety. Since God as judge repays all “according to their works,”5 you see, and according to the behavior of the one transgressing the divine laws, not everyone is threatened with the same punishment : it is commensurate with the sins and befits them. On the other hand, the threat is redolent of great kindness: had God in vengeful fashion punished those liable to suffer this fate, far from giving prior warning he would have inflicted the penalty without hesitation. The recipient of the divine word is ordered to urge the captives to repentance in these words: The Lord almighty says this, Turn back to me (v.3), keeping my commandments and acknowledging my truth; this in fact is the way you will find me turning back to you. Though subject to no change or alteration,6 you see, ever the same and invariable, I give the impression of turnCOMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH 1 29 3. Theodoret is indebted for this same observation to...