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Journey of a Passage

2 Chronicles 24:20–22 and Matthew 23:35

Zechariah, from Abel to Zacharias

Chronicles tells of Zechariah son of Jehoiada stoned in the temple court. Jesus speaks of "Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar" (Matthew 23:35). Luke 11:51 has no patronymic. Which Zechariah is meant is debated.

Read 2 Chronicles 24:20–22 and Matthew 23:35 in every edition

Same letters, different readings: the consonants agree, but ancient readers vocalized or interpreted them differently

The family tree

Each row is a language or text tradition. Witnesses in the same row may share ancestry, revise one another, or have an uncertain relationship; the line under each box says which. A solid arrow appears only where direct copying or a documented revised edition is established. Order by date never implies copying. Scroll sideways on a phone.

✓ contains it · ✕ does not · ❝ quotes part of it · ⓘ reports on manuscripts · ▢ pages lost · – no copy survives

  • Same line, through lost copies
  • Translation
  • Related (shared ancestry)
Hebrew
  1. Original ChroniclesComposed c. 4th century BC (debated)
  2. Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from Original Chronicles
Greek
  1. Septuagint, 2 Paraleipomena (library text: Giguet's French)Translated c. 2nd century BCTranslated from a Hebrew text of Chronicles
  2. Matthew 23:351st century ADRelated witness to the Zechariah tradition
  3. Luke 11:511st century ADRelated witness to the Zechariah tradition
Latin
    English
    1. King James Bible1611Translated from printed Masoretic Hebrew

    Every witness, in order

    1. Composed c. 4th century BC (debated)

      Original Chronicles

      – No copy survives

      No original survives.

    2. Translated c. 2nd century BC

      Septuagint, 2 Paraleipomena (library text: Giguet's French)

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from a Hebrew text of Chronicles

      How the site knows this: Known here only through a translation.

      Zacharie, fils de Joad, le prêtre

      One Greek text (Vaticanus type) via Giguet's French; not checked against a critical Greek edition.

    3. 1st century AD

      Matthew 23:35

      ❝ Quotes or alludes to part of itRelated witness to the Zechariah tradition

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: the Greek New Testament editions in the library (Textus Receptus, Byzantine Textform, Statistical Restoration).

      Ζαχαρίου υἱοῦ Βαραχίου, ὃν ἐφονεύσατε μεταξὺ τοῦ ναοῦ καὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου

      Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar

      Codex Sinaiticus is reported to lack "son of Barachias."

    4. 1st century AD

      Luke 11:51

      ❝ Quotes or alludes to part of itRelated witness to the Zechariah tradition

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: the King James Version in the library (English).

      From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple

      KJV.

    5. AD 1008

      Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)

      ✓ Contains this passageDescends, through lost copies, from Original Chronicles

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.

      זְכַרְיָה בֶּן־יְהוֹיָדָע הַכֹּהֵן

      Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest

    6. 1611

      King James Bible

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from printed Masoretic Hebrew

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).

      Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest

    What changed, and why

    Views: Jesus means Zechariah son of Jehoiada, the last martyr of the Hebrew Bible if Chronicles closes it (Abel is the first); "son of Barachias" came from confusion with the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 1:1); or Jesus refers to a different Zechariah, including a later one killed in the temple (Josephus, War 4.334–344, Zechariah son of Baris, AD 68). The texts agree on their own wording.

    What the evidence shows

    Sources

    Related lessons

    • Joash, the Temple Chest and the Death of Zechariah →Joash does right all the days of Jehoiada. He restores the temple with a chest at the gate for Moses' tax; the people give gladly. After Jehoiada dies at 130 and is buried among the kings, the princes lead Joash into idolatry. Zechariah son of Jehoiada rebukes them and is stoned in the temple court at the king's command: "The LORD look upon it, and require it." Aram invades; Joash is wounded and murdered in his bed.
    • Difficult Kings, Repentance and Violence →Chronicles reports massacres, executions, a death penalty for refusing the covenant, a murdered prophet, and burned children. It also tells of kings who humble themselves and are restored, captives freed by northern Israelites, and a Passover where grace overrides ritual. This lesson gathers both, without softening either.