The Book of Zechariah introduces him as the son of
Berechiah, the son of Iddo. The
Book of Nehemiah identifies him as a
Levitical priest. but it is likely that Berechiah was Zechariah's father and Iddo his grandfather, a common use of "son" in biblical texts. but is the Iddo mentioned in
Nehemiah 12:4,16, a priest who returned from the
Exile with
Zerubbabel and
Joshua.
Zechariah's name means "
Yah remembers". Zechariah's prophetical career probably began in the second year of
Darius the Great, king of the
Achaemenid Empire (520 BCE). He features in chapters 1–8 of the book of Zechariah but he does not appear in the remaining chapters of the book (chapters 9–14). ==Liturgical commemoration==