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Person

Iddo

Man living at the time of Exile and Return

Iddo, the grandfather of the prophet Zechariah, was a priest and prophet in post-exilic Judah.

🗺 Places mentioned alongside Iddo on the map →

Iddo was the grandfather of the prophet Zechariah, who prophesied in Judah after the Babylonian exile (Zec.1.1,7). Iddo is described as a priest and prophet who, along with Haggai, encouraged the people to resume the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem (Ezr.5.1; 6.14). His prophetic ministry played a significant role in motivating the Jewish community to complete the temple reconstruction during the reign of the Persian king Darius.

Family

Children
Berechiah

Connections

Part of: Persian era: Esther and the return

Zechariah: son of Berechiah, or of Iddo?

FamilyDebated

Zechariah 1:1 calls the prophet son of Berechiah, son of Iddo; Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 say "Zechariah the son of Iddo". The usual explanation is that Iddo was the more prominent grandfather and "son" means descendant; another view is that Berechiah is a scribal insertion.

ZechariahA prophetIddoReturned priest
Where the text shows it: Zech 1:1 — Son of Berechiah, son of IddoEzra 5:1 — "Zechariah the son of Iddo"Neh 12:16 — Zechariah of the house of Iddo, priest
Ways people read this (3)
  • Grandson view: Berechiah may have died young, so Iddo is named in Ezra as family head.
  • Corruption view: Berechiah entered Zech 1:1 under the influence of Isa 8:2.
  • Matthew 23:35 also mentions a Zechariah son of Berechiah, feeding a separate discussion about whom Jesus means.

Sources: Zech 1:1 · Ezra 5:1 · Neh 12:16

More background: search Wikipedia ↗

Where Iddo appears

4 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H5714

Ezra2
Zechariah2

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.