12. Son of High Priest Jehoiada. After Jehoiada’s death, King Jehoash turned away from true worship, listening to wrong counsel rather than to Jehovah’s prophets. Zechariah, Jehoash’s cousin (2Ch 22:11), sternly warned the people about this, but instead of repenting, they stoned him in the temple courtyard. Zechariah’s dying words were: “Let Jehovah see to it and ask it back.” This prophetic request was granted, for not only did Syria do great damage to Judah but also Jehoash was killed by two of his servants “because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest.” The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate say that Jehoash was killed to avenge the blood of the “son” of Jehoiada. The Masoretic text and the Syriac Peshitta, however, read “sons,” possibly using the plural number to denote the excellence and worth of Jehoiada’s son Zechariah the prophet-priest.​—2Ch 24:17-22, 25.

Zechariah the son of Jehoiada is most likely the one whom Jesus had in mind when prophesying that “the blood of all the prophets spilled from the founding of the world” will be required “from this generation [the Jews of the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry], from the blood of Abel down to the blood of Zechariah, who was slain between the altar and the house.” (Lu 11:50, 51) The places mentioned as the site of the slaying correspond. In the first century C.E., Chronicles was the last book in the canon of the Hebrew Scriptures. So Jesus’ phrase, “from Abel . . . to Zechariah,” was similar to our expression, “from Genesis to Revelation.” In the parallel account at Matthew 23:35, Zechariah is called the son of Barachiah, possibly another name for Jehoiada, unless, by chance, it indicates a generation between Jehoiada and Zechariah or is the name of an earlier ancestor.​—See BARACHIAH.

Though this Zechariah’s father’s name was Berechiah, Jesus’ reference to “Zechariah son of Barachiah” (Mt 23:35; note the difference in spelling) more likely refers to a high priest who lived at an earlier time.​—See No. 12.