ZECHARIAH (Hebrew: Ξεφανιάθι, "Jahweh protects") — One of the "Minor Prophets," not to be confused with the series of that name, who exercised his ministry in the time of Josiah (c. 638–609 BC), probably even before the reform (622), since he laments the existence of idolatrous practices (Zeph. 1:4–6, 12). He was thus contemporary with Jeremiah ("called" to prophecy in the 13th year of Josiah, c. 627–26) and, with him, inaugurated the new life of prophecy, which for half a century—from the time of Manasseh—had been lacking.
The memory of King Manasseh (c. 689–641), Ashurbanipal of Assyria (c. 669–626), Amon, father of Josiah (641–639), and the events alluded to therein, the vocation of Jeremiah, the reform of Josiah (to which may be added the fall of Assyria, 612–609), is sufficient to characterize the historical backdrop. It was an era of great political and spiritual renewal; Assyrian hegemony prevailed, even culturally (abstract cults of Mesopotamian origin were widespread, Zeph. 1:3–5; foreign fashions, ibid. 1:8; impiety, ibid. 3:3–4). The forces of Yahwistic nationalism engaged in the salutary work of reform, with the unanimous—though alas, fleeting—consent of government, priesthood, and prophecy.
The arrangement of the book of Zechariah follows the common pattern of most prophetic writings: first the negative aspects, then the positive ones; that is, it adheres to a literary schema. One cannot therefore deduce that the activity of the prophet Zechariah ceased while the promising start of the Josianic reform gave grounds for hope; moreover, the writings we possess do not require distribution over a long span of time. The final optimistic vision serves as the corrective to the grim portrayal of reality, dictated by hope in God and tied to a messianic sense.
In the first part, which occupies nearly the whole book (Zeph. 1:2–3:3–8), one senses a realistic touch and an expression of a soul eminently endowed with the "prophetic spirit." The book begins by announcing a "judgment upon Judah" (ibid. 1:2–3, 2–3) as a "day of Yahweh," one of the darkest ever proclaimed by prophets of any age ("a day of wrath and distress, of tumult and uproar," ibid. 1:15; from which the opening of the *Dies irae* is inspired): the motif of an enemy invasion emerges, perhaps reflecting the persistent fear of the Assyrian colossus. A brief account follows of the "judgment upon the nations" (ibid. 2:4–15), which involves both near and distant peoples: Philistines, Canaanites, Moabites, Ammonites, and even the Assyrians themselves; finally, a particular judgment upon Jerusalem (ibid. 3:1–8), whose corruption is highlighted. The messianic conclusion (ibid. 3:9–20) joyfully announces the purification and universalization of religion and moral conduct (ibid. 3:9–13) and the salvation of Zion (ibid. 3:14–20).
Three other Old Testament figures bear the name Zechariah: a Levite ancestor of the musician Heman (1 Chron. 6:21 [Vulg. 36]); a high priest before whom Jeremiah was denounced as a false prophet (Jer. 21:1; 29:25; 29:37:3), who was later deported and killed after the fall of Jerusalem (ibid. 52:24ff.; 2 Kings 25:18ff.); and a citizen of Jerusalem (Zech. 6:10, 14).