Prophet Prophet Zechariah (Seer of the Sickle)

CRITICAL ON IDENTIFICATION: this card refers to the Prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah (the "Sickle-seer") — one of the TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS. He should not be confused with two other biblical Zechariahs: Zechariah, father of John the Baptist (killed in the Temple, feast September 5), or Zechariah son of Jehoiada, stoned in the Temple court by order of King Joash (2 Chronicles 24:20-22) and referenced by Christ in Matthew 23:35 — confusion between the latter and the Sickle-seer arises because both share the patronymic "son of Berechiah," a point long discussed by the Church Fathers. This card is about the Minor Prophet specifically.

CRITICAL ON THE DATE: the date has been corrected — the previous record "February 5/18" is unsupported by any source; the correct date, independently confirmed by three sources, is February 8/21.

Zechariah, of the tribe of Levi, son of Berechiah, grandson of Iddo, headed one of the priestly clans (Nehemiah 12:16). His prophetic ministry began in the second year of the Persian king Darius I (520 BC), about sixteen years after the return from the Babylonian exile, and he labored alongside the prophet Haggai, urging Prince Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak to complete the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

Gifted with prophetic vision from his youth, he received his epithet from a vision of a flying scroll shaped "like a threatening sickle" (Zechariah 5:1-2), symbolizing divine judgment upon sin. His 14-chapter book is considered the most messianic and apocalyptic of the Minor Prophets, foretelling the Messiah's entry into Jerusalem on a young donkey (9:9), His betrayal for thirty pieces of silver used to buy the potter's field (11:12-13), the piercing of His side (12:10), the scattering of the apostles from Gethsemane (13:7), and the darkening of the sun at the Crucifixion (14:6-7). He died at an advanced age and was buried near Jerusalem beside Haggai.