Jedaiah

Biblical Account

Jedaiah appears only in Zechariah 6:9–15. The text introduces him as one of "them of the captivity… which are come from Babylon" and records that he, together with Heldai and Tobijah, was staying in the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah (Zechariah 6:10). Nothing is recorded about his family, occupation, or the rest of his life.

The LORD commands Zechariah to take silver and gold from these men, make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest. He then has Zechariah proclaim that the man whose name is "The BRANCH" will build the temple of the LORD, sit and rule upon his throne, and be a priest (Zechariah 6:11–13). The crowns are to be kept in the temple of the LORD "for a memorial" to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah (Zechariah 6:14).

The visions in the earlier part of Zechariah are dated to the second year of King Darius (Zechariah 1:7). This event is likewise understood to have taken place while the community that had returned from the Babylonian exile was engaged in the rebuilding of the temple. Scholars differ slightly in calculating the exact date.

Significance Within Scripture

Jedaiah is understood to have been one of those through whom the Jewish community remaining in Babylon sent silver and gold to Jerusalem, or one who brought that silver and gold with him when he joined the community of the return from exile. The statement that the crowns were placed in the temple as a "memorial" indicates that his devotion was remembered in connection with the temple. It also connects with the promise of verse 15: "And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD."

The New Testament does not mention Jedaiah.

Interpretations and Debates

• The number of crowns: The Hebrew text uses the plural "crowns." Interpreters therefore differ over whether there were several crowns or a single crown composed of multiple tiers.
• Who was crowned: The text names Joshua the high priest. Some critical scholars conjecture that the original recipient was Zerubbabel, the Davidic governor. Scholars who accept the text as it stands, by contrast, regard the crowning of a priest as itself a symbolic act.
• The meaning of "the Branch": Christian tradition reads "the Branch," who holds the offices of both king and priest, as a messianic prophecy. The passage is commonly linked with the priesthood of Christ and the kingship of Christ. The Aramaic translation of Jewish tradition (the Targum) is also reported to render this "Branch" as the Messiah.
• Variant names: Heldai and Josiah in verse 10 appear as Helem and Hen in verse 14. These are generally understood to be alternative names for the same individuals.
• Others with the same name: The name Jedaiah occurs several times in Scripture, including the ancestor of the second of the twenty-four priestly courses (1 Chronicles 24:7), a family of returning priests (Ezra 2:36), a man of the tribe of Simeon (1 Chronicles 4:37), and the son of Harumaph who repaired part of the wall (Nehemiah 3:10). The text does not state whether the Jedaiah of Zechariah was connected with the priestly family among them.

In the Korean Church

Sermons or Sunday school lessons devoted specifically to Jedaiah are rare. He is usually mentioned only in passing in sermons on the "Branch" passage of Zechariah 6 or on devotion during the period of the temple's rebuilding.