Biblical Context: Prophet

There was also a prophetess, Anna, Phanuel’s daughter, from the tribe of Asher. She was well along in days and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow until the age of 84. She never left the Temple, serving night and day with fasting and prayer.

— The Story of Jesus 3.3 

[adapted from Lk 1:36-37]

On the way, [Jesus] was praying alone and asked his disciples with him, “Who do people say I am? Who is the Son of Man?” “Some say John the Baptizer, others Elijah,” they answered. “Others still that Jeremiah or one of the ancient prophets has risen.”

– The Story of Jesus 17.1

[Adapted from Mk 8:27-28; Lk 9:18-19]

A prophet is God’s mouthpiece and, accordingly, a prophecy is a message relayed from God. Although the Greek term prophitis translates to “foreteller,” which is where the English term comes from, the equivalent Hebrew word (nabiy) translates to “spokesman.” The understanding of a prophet in first century Judea wasn’t necessarily someone who could predict the future, but someone who simply acted as God’s messenger. In fact, the majority of prophecies in the Bible didn’t foretell future events but rather instructed, warned, encouraged, or corrected the people they were intended for. Such messages were received by prophets in all sorts of ways (through angels, in dreams, by seeing visions), just as prophets in the Bible came from all walks of life (shepherds, farmers, princes, kings, priests, women), and they could be called to lifelong or temporary service. Yet however they spoke, the Bible states that prophets carried the authority of God himself as they spoke his words, not their own. A prophet speaking apart from God was considered a great sin and was harshly denounced. When a prophet did foretell future events, the Bible records that his words should be used to verify or falsify his status as a prophet. Unfortunately, the role of being a prophet was not particularly pleasant in ancient times – many of the prophets in the Bible faced abuse when their messages were not well-received.

I’ll raise up a prophet like [Moses] from among his brothers. I’ll put my words in his mouth and he’ll tell them all that I command him.  

– Deuteronomy 18:18 

“Woe, you scribes and Pharisees! You’re hypocrites! You build up the prophets’ tombs and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had been there in our fathers’ days, we wouldn’t have joined them in the blood of the prophets.’ But your fathers killed them! So you’re witnesses against yourselves, that you’re sons of those who murdered the prophets. You approve your fathers’ actions, because they killed them and you build their tombs! So fill up the measure of your fathers. You snakes, you spawn of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell? This is why the wisdom of God also said, ‘Look, I’ll send them prophets and apostles.’ Some they’ll kill, some they’ll whip in their synagogues, and some they’ll drive out from city to city, so that all the righteous blood of the prophets poured out on the earth since the foundation of the world will be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, Berechiah’s son, who was murdered between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I tell you truly, all of this will come and be charged against this generation.”

– The Story of Jesus 17.1

[Adapted from Mk 8:27-28; Lk 9:18-19]

After being banished from Eden, the first man and woman – Adam and Eve – had two sons. Their older son, Cain, was a farmer, while their younger son, Abel, was a shepherd. Genesis records that Cain, whose offerings to God were inferior, murdered his brother Abel in a jealous rage. Then after God confronted him about the murder, he became cursed and ran away to the east.

Zechariah, on the other hand, was the name of dozens of men in the Old Testament. But most notably, Zechariah, Berechiah’s son, was the author of the Old Testament book that bears his name. He was a priest and prophet to Judah during the Babylonian exile. He encouraged the returning Hebrew exiles to continue rebuilding the Temple. He also predicted the Messiah’s coming, who would purify and deliver Israel.

However, Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son, who lived much earlier (before Judah’s fall to Babylon), seems to be the one referred to by Jesus as the man who “was murdered between the altar and the Temple.” His brief story is recorded in 2 Chronicles 24:20-21. Zechariah’s father Jehoiada helped save Prince Joash’s life as a boy, and then established him as king over Judah. However, later in life, Jehoiada’s son Zechariah condemned the people for their sin, so they approached King Joash to complain about Zechariah. Forgetting Jehoiada’s kindness to him, the king ordered his son to be killed, and Zechariah was subsequently stoned within the Temple compound.

Thus the Old Testament account of the martyr Zechariah suggests his identity is Zechariah of Jehoiada. However, Matthew specifically records the martyr as Zechariah of Berechiah, who lived hundreds of years later and wrote the book of Zechariah. Whether Matthew (or someone after him) made a clerical error, or whether the later Zechariah was a descendant of the earlier, is unknown. However, despite the historical discrepancy, Jesus’ citation of all the martyrs from Abel, the first to be killed for his righteousness, to Zechariah, the last recorded martyr in the Old Testament, incorporated the entirety of Hebrew history. Coincidentally, it’s analogous to saying, “all the prophets from A to Z.”

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