or good, in any of the events of the wandering or the conquest. The statement of Josephus is probably
in the main correct, that it reached on the one side to the Lake of Gennesareth and on the other to
Carmel and the Mediterranean. On the south it was bounded by Issachar, who lay in the great plain
or valley of the Kishon; on the north it had Naphtali and Asher. Thus remote from the centre of
government, Zebulun remains throughout the history with one exception, in the obscurity which
envelops the whole of the northern tribes. That exception, however, is a remarkable one. The conduct
of the tribe during the struggle with Sisera, when they fought with desperate valor side by side with
their brethren of Naphtali, was such as to draw down the special praise of Deborah, who singles
them out from cell the other tribes. (Judges 5:18)
Zebulunites, The
the members of the tribe of Zebulun. (Numbers 26:27) only.
Zechariah
The eleventh in order of the twelve minor prophets. He is called in his prophecy the son of
Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo, whereas in the book of Ezra, (Ezra 5:1; 6:14) he is said to
•
have been the son of Iddo. It is natural to suppose as the prophet himself mentions his father’s
name, whereas the book of Ezra mentions only Iddo, that Berechiah had died early, and that there
was now no intervening link between the grandfather and the grandson. Zechariah, like Jeremiah
and Ezekiel before him, was priest as well as prophet. He seems to have entered upon his office
while yet young, (Zechariah 2:4) and must have been born in Babylon whence he returned with
the first caravan of exiles under Zerubbabel and Jeshua. It was in the eighth month, in the second
year of Darius, that he first publicly discharged his office. In this he acted in concert with Haggai.
Both prophets had the same great object before them; both directed all their energies to the building
of the second temple. To their influence we find the rebuilding of the temple in a great measure
ascribed. If the later Jewish accounts may be trusted, Zechariah, as well as Haggai, was a member
of the Great Synagogue. The genuine writings of Zechariah help us but little in our estimate of
his character. Some faint traces, however, we may observe in them, of his education in Babylon.
He leans avowedly on the authority of the older prophets, and copies their expressions. Jeremiah
especially seems to have been his favorite; and hence the Jewish saying that “the spirit of Jeremiah
dwelt in Zechariah.” But in what may be called the peculiarities of his prophecy, he approaches
more nearly to Ezekiel and Daniel. Like them he delights in visions; like them he uses symbols
and allegories rather than the bold figures and metaphors which lend so much force and beauty
to the writings of the earlier prophets. Generally speaking, Zechariah’s style is pure, and remarkably
free from Chaldaisms.
•Son of Meshelemiah or Shelemiah a Korhite, and keeper of the north gate of the tabernacle of the
congregation, (1 Chronicles 9:21) (B.C. 1043.)
•One of the sons of Jehiel. (1 Chronicles 9:37)
•A Levite of the second order in the temple band as arranged by David, appointed to play “with
psalteries on Alamoth.” (1 Chronicles 15:18,20) (B.C. 1043.)
•One of the princes of Judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 17:7) (B.C. 910.)
•Son of the high priest Jehoiada, in the reign of Joash king of Judah (2 Chronicles 24:20) and
therefore the king’s cousin. After the death of Jehoiada, Zechariah probably succeeded to his
office, and in attempting to check the reaction in favor of idolatry which immediately followed
he fell a victim to a conspiracy formed against him by the king, and was stoned in the court of the