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Bible Encyclopedias
Zechariah (2)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
( זכריה ,
The only brief notice of Zechariah personal to himself is that he gave his support to the worship of the calves, since Jeroboam I established the religion of the state. He hardly had time, however, to identify himself with this or any institution before he was publicly assassinated by Shallum, the son of Jabesh (he "smote him before the people"). The prophet Hosea was then alive, and there is probably allusion to this crime when, addressing Ephraim, he says: "Where is thy king, that he may save thee in all thy cities?... I have given thee a king in mine anger, and have taken him away in my wrath" (Hosea 13:10 , Hosea 13:11; compare Hosea 1:4 ).
There has long been difficulty with the chronology of this period. Archbishop Ussher assumed an interregnum of 11 years between the death of Jeroboam 2 and Zechariah's accession. This is accepted as probable by a recent writer, who sees "at least 10 years of incessant conflict between rival claimants to the throne on Jeroboam's death" (see article "Zechariah" in
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Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Zechariah (2)'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​isb/​z/zechariah-2.html. 1915.