With this message we begin the life-study of Zechariah.
Zechariah was the grandson of Iddo and the son of Berechiah (Zech. 1:1). In Hebrew the name Iddo means "at an appointed time"; the name Berechiah means "Jehovah will bless"; and the name Zechariah means "Jehovah will remember." Hence, the total significance of these three names is that at an appointed time Jehovah will bless and Jehovah will remember.
Zechariah was born of a priestly family in captivity (Neh. 12:1, 4, 12, 16). He was first a priest, and then he became a prophet. He returned to Judah with Zerubbabel at the time of the prophet Haggai (about 520 B.C.). Zechariah and Haggai encouraged the building of the temple of God under the hands of Zerubbabel and Joshua. Joshua was the high priest, representing the priesthood, and Zerubbabel, a descendant of the royal family, was the governor of Judah, representing the kingship. Thus, the kingship went forth with the priesthood and built the temple of God. Even today in the building up of the church as the Body of Christ, we need both the priesthood and the kingship.
The time of Zechariah's ministry was from the second year of Darius Hystapsis (different from both the Darius in Daniel 9:1 and 11:1 and the one in Nehemiah 12:22). The year was about 520 B.C. The place of Zechariah's ministry was Judah (Zech. 7:3-4).