Posted on by wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Reliability of the Bible.

Question:

Quick question for you regarding Matthew 23:35, Is this a copyist error? Is this referring to Zechariah son of Jehoiada?

Answer:

It is possible that this is a copyist’s error, substituting Berekiah for Jehoiada. I cannot rule that out. More likely, though, there was an actual Zechariah, son of Berekiah who was killed, but whose murder is not recorded in the Bible. The Jews killed many people unrighteously over the years. A good candidate is Zechariah, son of Berekiah who was the author of the book Zechariah (Zechariah 1:1,7). It just so happens he has the right name, but the Bible does not record how he died. But, given his intense denouncement of the sinful behavior of the Jewish leaders, it would not be a shock to anyone to learn that he was murdered by the Jewish leaders.

John Oakes

You May Also Like:

  1. How did the Philistines get 30,000 chariots in 1 Sam 13:5? Is there any evidence that this is a copyist error?
  2. Are messianic prophecies taken out of context by Christians? What about a claimed mistranslation of Psalms 22:16? What about Matthew 27:9-10 and Jeremiah vs. Zechariah?
  3. How do you respond to claims that Matthew (2:25) takes Hosea 11:1 out of context? What about Matthew 2:18 (weeping in Ramah)?
  4. Why does Mark disagree with Matthew and Luke about Mary Magdalene being the first to the tomb of Jesus?

Comments are closed.