Zechariah 7:1
in Zechariah 7In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
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.
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;
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This verse in Zechariah 7
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In the fourth year of Darius - Two years after the series of visions, shown to him, and two years before the completion of the temple. Chisleu being December, it was the end of 518 b.c.
This site's exposition
the fourth year of king Darius
on Zechariah 7:1-3
The date sets the question two full years after the night visions of chapters 1 through 6, in the fourth year of Darius, when men from Bethel send Sherezer and Regemmelech to ask the priests and prophets whether the fast of the fifth month should continue. That fast marked Jerusalem's burning in the summer of 586 BC, and with the temple's rebuilding now underway the question is whether the old grief still fits the changed hour. Keil and Pusey read the very asking as significant, since the delegation puts the matter to both priest and prophet, law and living word, and the answer that follows addresses the heart behind the ritual rather than the ritual itself.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 7, verses 1 onwards) In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Casleu. And they sent to the house of God Sarasar and Rogommelech, along with the men who were with him, to seek the face of the Lord and to speak to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, saying: Should I weep in the fifth month and separate myself as I have done for many years?
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The answer to this question, which is given in this and the next chapter; and this answer was given not all at once, but by piece-meal, and, it should seem, at several times, for here are four distinct discourses which have all of them reference to this case, each of them prefaced with "the word of the Lord came,"
), in the ninth month of the fourth year of Darius, with the date of that ( ch. i. 1 ), in the eighth month of the second year of Darius; not that Zechariah was idle all that while (it is expressly said that he and Haggai continued prophesying till the temple was finished in the sixth year of Darius;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And it came to pass, in the fourth year of King Darius,.... Near two years after the foundation of the temple was laid, Hag 2:10 and near two years before it was finished, Ezr 6:15 when the work was going forward, and there was a great deal of reason to believe it would be completed: that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu: which answers to part of our October, and part of November.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Darius--two years after the previous prophecies (Zec 1:1, &c.). Chisleu--meaning "torpidity," the state in which nature is in November, answering to this month.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The fourth year of Ring Darius - Two years after they began to rebuild the temple, see Zec 1:1, A.M. 3486. The ninth month, even in Chisleu - This answers to a part of our November and December. The names of the month appear only under and after the captivity.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְהִי֙ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בִּשְׁנַ֣ת | bishnat | in year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| אַרְבַּ֔ע | ʾarba' | four | H702 → | 318 times |
| לְדָרְיָ֖וֶשׁ | ledareyavesh | of Darius | H1867 → | 10 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הָיָ֨ה | hayah | it came | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| דְבַר־ | devar- | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| זְכַרְיָ֗ה | zekharyah | Zechariah | H2148 → | 43 times |
| בְּאַרְבָּעָ֛ה | bearbaah | on [day] four | H702 → | 318 times |
| לַחֹ֥דֶשׁ | lachodesh | of the month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| הַתְּשִׁעִ֖י | hateshii | <the> ninth | H8671 → | |
| בְּכִסְלֵֽו׃ | bekhislev | in Kislev | H3691 → |
וַֽיְהִי֙and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בִּשְׁנַ֣תin year
bishnatH8141 →877 times
אַרְבַּ֔עfour
ʾarba'H702 →318 times
לְדָרְיָ֖וֶשׁof Darius
ledareyaveshH1867 →10 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
הָיָ֨הit came
hayahH1961 →3559 times
דְבַר־[the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
זְכַרְיָ֗הZechariah
zekharyahH2148 →43 times
בְּאַרְבָּעָ֛הon [day] four
bearbaahH702 →318 times
לַחֹ֥דֶשׁof the month
lachodeshH2320 →284 times
הַתְּשִׁעִ֖י<the> ninth
hateshiiH8671 →
בְּכִסְלֵֽו׃in Kislev
bekhislevH3691 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nehemiah 1:1These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,
it leads to
- Nehemiah 10:1
Now these were the ones who sealed the document: Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah, and also Zedekiah,
- Esther 1:2
In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.
- Daniel 8:2
And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.
- Ezra 7:7
So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.
- Nehemiah 10:1
Through
Haggai 2:10On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying,
it leads to
- Haggai 1:1
In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Haggai 2:20
For the second time that day, the twenty-fourth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to Haggai, saying,
- Haggai 1:1
Through
Zechariah 1:1In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying:
it leads to
- Nehemiah 12:4
Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,
- Matthew 23:35
And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and…
- Nehemiah 12:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zechariah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.