The Meaning of Zechariah 7:1 Explained

Zechariah 7:1

KJV: And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;

YLT: And it cometh to pass, in the fourth year of Darius the king hath a word of Jehovah been unto Zechariah, in the fourth of the ninth month, in Chisleu.

Darby: And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chislev,

ASV: And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chislev.

Discover Zechariah 7:1

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Zechariah 7:1?

MEANING: What does Zechariah 7:1 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Zechariah 7:1 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Zechariah 7:1?

What is the context of Zechariah 7:1?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, [that] the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [even] in Chisleu;

What does Zechariah 7:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

A prophetic message came to Zechariah from the Lord in518 B.C. The fourth day of the ninth month would have been in early December. Chislev is the Babylonian name of the month. This message, which comprises the following four messages in chapters7,8 , came to the prophet almost two years after he received the eight night visions (cf. Zechariah 1:7) and about halfway through the period of temple reconstruction (520-515 B.C.).

Context Summary

Zechariah 7:1-14 - The Penalty Of Injustice And Cruelty

During their captivity the Jews observed four feasts. That of the 10th month recalled the first enclosure of Jerusalem by the enemies' lines; of the 4th the capture of the city; of the 5th the destruction by fire of the Temple; of the 7th the murder of Gedaliah. The national life was depressed by this constant memory of disaster. It seemed incongruous to act thus, when the Holy City was rising from the dust. Surely the lamentations which were befitting in Babylon, were out of place now. A deputation was therefore sent to inquire the views of the leaders. Zechariah gave four separate answers to the request. In Zechariah 7:4-7 he suggests that as these fasts had been set up by themselves, they were at liberty to discontinue them, and the main question was whether they were pondering the teachings and warnings of the older prophets. In Zechariah 7:8-14 he implored them not to yield to the obtuseness and disobedience of their fathers, in order that no second catastrophe should cast them back to the disasters they had suffered. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 7

¹ The captives enquire concerning the set fasts
⁴ Zechariah reproves the hypocrisy of their fasting
⁸ Sin the cause of their captivity

What do the individual words in Zechariah 7:1 mean?

And it came to pass in the year four of Darius King [that] came the word of Yahweh to Zechariah on the four [day] of month the ninth Chislev

וַֽיְהִי֙ בִּשְׁנַ֣ת אַרְבַּ֔ע לְדָרְיָ֖וֶשׁ הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ הָיָ֨ה דְבַר־ יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־ זְכַרְיָ֗ה בְּאַרְבָּעָ֛ה לַחֹ֥דֶשׁ הַתְּשִׁעִ֖י בְּכִסְלֵֽו

וַֽיְהִי֙	And it came to pass
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: אֶהְיֶה Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בִּשְׁנַ֣ת	in the year
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct Root: שָׁנָה Sense: year.
אַרְבַּ֔ע	four
Parse: Number, feminine singular Root: אַרְבַּע Sense: four.
לְדָרְיָ֖וֶשׁ	of Darius
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: דָּרְיָוֶשׁ Sense: Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, king of the Chaldeans, who succeeded to the Babylonian kingdom on the death of Belshazzar; probably the same as “Astyages” the last king of the Medes (538 BC).
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ	King
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: מֶלֶךְ Sense: king.
הָיָ֨ה	[that] came
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular Root: אֶהְיֶה Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
דְבַר־	the word
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: דָּבָר Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָ֜ה	of Yahweh
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יהוה Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
זְכַרְיָ֗ה	Zechariah
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: זְכַרְיָה Sense: th in order of the minor prophets; a priest, son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo, who, along with Haggai, directed the rebuilding of the temple in the days of Zerubbabel.
בְּאַרְבָּעָ֛ה	on the four [day]
Parse: Preposition-b, Number, masculine singular Root: אַרְבַּע Sense: four.
לַחֹ֥דֶשׁ	of month
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: חֹדֶשׁ Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.
הַתְּשִׁעִ֖י	the ninth
Parse: Article, Number, ordinal masculine singular Root: תְּשִׁיעִי Sense: ninth (as ordinal number).
בְּכִסְלֵֽו	Chislev
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular Root: כִּסְלֵו Sense: the 9th month of the calendar corresponding to Nov–Dec.

What are the major concepts related to Zechariah 7:1?

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Similar Scriptures for Zechariah 7:1

		Nehemiah 1:1 [5]
		Zechariah 1:1 [3]
		Haggai 2:20 [2]
		Haggai 2:10 [2]
		Ezra 6:14-15 [2]