Zechariah (Man living at the time of the New Testament)

Zechariah was an extremely common name in the Old Testament and New, and two of its most significant bearers are gathered here. The prophet Zechariah, active after the exile alongside Haggai, encouraged the rebuilding of the temple through a series of vivid symbolic visions and looked forward to a coming king who would enter Jerusalem humble and riding on a donkey, a prophecy the Gospels connect directly to Jesus's entry into Jerusalem. A different Zechariah, a priest married to Elizabeth, was struck mute after doubting the angel Gabriel's announcement that his elderly wife would bear a son, John the Baptist, and only regained his speech after confirming in writing that the child's name would be John as instructed.