Zechariah 13:4

Hebrew Bible

2 And also on that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will remove the names of the idols from the land and they will never again be remembered. Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 Then, if anyone prophesies in spite of this, his father and mother to whom he was born will say to him, ‘You cannot live, for you lie in the name of the Lord.’ Then his father and mother to whom he was born will run him through with a sword when he prophesies. 4 “Therefore, on that day each prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies and will no longer wear the hairy garment of a prophet to deceive the people. 5 Instead he will say, ‘I am no prophet; indeed, I am a farmer, for a man has made me his indentured servant since my youth.’ 6 Then someone will ask him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’ and he will answer, ‘Some that I received in the house of my friends.’

Matthew 3:4

New Testament

2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 For he is the one about whom the prophet Isaiah had spoken: “The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’” 4 Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. 5 Then people from Jerusalem, as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 6 and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

 Notes and References

"... John's ministry looks like the ministry of the eschatological Elijah from Malachi 3:1 and 4:5–6. John did no miracles unlike the Elijah of 1 Kings and 2 Kings. Instead, John's ministry was about calling Israel back to repentance and preparing God's people for God's arrival (compare Matt 3:2, 4–9 with Malachi 3:1 and 4:5–6). John the Baptist also dresses in the prophetic garb that Elijah was particularly remembered for wearing (2 Kings 1:8; Zecharaiah 13:4). The description of John the Baptist’s dress in Matthew 3:4 strongly resembles the description of Elijah’s dress in the LXX version of 2 Kings 1:8 ... Matthew was not telling us about John the Baptist’s dress sense to give fashion advice. He was doing it because it identifies John the Baptist with Elijah. John the Baptist also chooses the wilderness around the Jordan as the place of his ministry, which was also near the place that Elijah was believed to have ascended to heaven in 2 Kings 2:1–11. Finally to make the connection between John the Baptist and Elijah certain, John is explicitly called Elijah from Malachi 3:1 and 4:5–6 in Matthew 11:10, 14; 17:13 ..."

Geddis, Aaron William The Concept of the Return of Elijah in Matthew 11:2-24 and its Christological implications (p. 124) University of Otago, 2020

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