1:1 the eighth month, in the second year of Darius. October-November of 520 b.c. Compare the dates in Hag. 1:1, 15 to see how the two prophets ministered during the same time. Zechariah began his ministry two months after the returnees from Babylon began to rebuild the temple.

Zechariah, the son of Berechiah. See Introduction: Author; Date and Occasion. His name means ‘‘the Lord remembers.”