Zacharias
Family: Jewish · Role: leader · First appears: Book IV, Chapter 4
As a zealot leader in Book IV, Chapter 4, Zacharias, the son of Phalek, was named alongside Eleazar (son of Simon), with both deriving their families from the priests. Zacharias and Eleazar (son of Simon) summoned the Idumeans for immediate military assistance; that night, the zealots cut through the temple gate bars, opened the gate facing the Idumeans, and enabled them to enter Jerusalem and release imprisoned zealots. Zacharias and Eleazar (son of Simon) had heard threats directed at all the leaders and especially at themselves, including those associated with John.
In Chapter 5, Zacharias, identified as the son of Baruch, was accused of planning to betray the polity to the Romans and of sending to Vespasian for that purpose. Although seventy judges acquitted him, two zealots attacked and killed him in the middle of the temple.
Relationship record
Life events
- Eleazar and Zacharias summoned the Idumeans for immediate military assistance.(Book IV, Chapter 4)
- With: Eleazar (son of Simon) Ananias (first messenger) Ananias (second messenger)
- “However, it was resolved to call in the Idumeans; so they wrote a short letter to this effect:”
- Ananus’s guards slept during the storm, allowing the zealots to cut through the temple gate bars.(Book IV, Chapter 4 · 📍 Jerusalem)
- With: Ananus Eleazar (son of Simon)
- “as the night was far gone, and the storm very terrible, Ananus gave the guards in the cloisters leave to go to sleep; while it came into the heads of the zealots to make use of the saws belonging to the temple, and to cut the bars of the gates to pieces.”
- The zealots opened the gate opposite the Idumeans, enabling them to enter Jerusalem.(Book IV, Chapter 4 · 📍 Jerusalem)
- With: Eleazar (son of Simon) Simon son of Cathlas John (unresolved ch069) Jacob Phineas
- “So they secretly went out of the temple to the wall of the city, and made use of their saws, and opened that gate which was over against the Idumeans.”
- The Idumeans entered the city and moved first to release the imprisoned zealots.(Book IV, Chapter 4 · 📍 Jerusalem)
- With: Eleazar (son of Simon) Simon son of Cathlas John (unresolved ch069) Jacob Phineas
- “but as they first of all made haste to get the zealots out of custody”
- Zacharias was acquitted by seventy judges but slain by the zealots.(Book IV, Chapter 5 · 📍 temple)
- “So two of the boldest of them fell upon Zacharias in the middle of the temple, and slew him;”
Book IV, Chapter 4
- parent: Phalek (Parent-to-child relation.) “and Zacharias, the son of Phalek; both of whom derived their families from the priests.”
- with Eleazar (son of Simon) (They are identified as co-leaders of the zealots.) “These leaders were Eleazar, the son of Simon, who seemed the most plausible man of them all, both in considering what was fit to be done, and in the execution of what he had determined upon, and Zacharias, the son of Phalek”
- with John (unresolved ch069) (John threatened Zacharias.) “These leaders were Eleazar, the son of Simon, who seemed the most plausible man of them all, both in considering what was fit to be done, and in the execution of what he had determined upon, and Zacharias, the son of Phalek; both of whom derived their families from the priests. Now when these two men had heard, not only the common threatenings which belonged to them all, but those peculiarly leveled against themselves;”
Book IV, Chapter 5
- parent: Baruch (Baruch is identified as Zacharias's father.) “Zacharias 9 the son of Baruch, one of the most eminent of the citizens, slain”
- with Vespasian (Zacharias was accused of sending to Vespasian; the charge was unsupported.) “Before these was Zacharias accused of a design to betray their polity to the Romans, and having traitorously sent to Vespasian for that purpose.”
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Extracted from the original text of The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem. Made with Rho MD.