The book of Zechariah is one of the more obscure books of the Bible. In this commentary on the life of the prophet Zechariah, Leslie J. Hoppe, OFM, explores the Bible through a feminist lens to help contemporary readers appreciate the work of the sixth century prophet and the editors who collected his words and developed his thought regarding the future of the Jewish people. Hoppe further examines the prophet who spoke to people who were recovering from the total collapse of the religious, political, and social institutions that gave meaning to their communal and individual lives. This commentary also offers insight into Zechariah’s belief that the reconstruction of the Jerusalem temple and the reconstitution of its priesthood would open the way for the renewal of Jewish life through a communal life based on ancestral religious traditions.

Leslie J. Hoppe is the emeritus professor of biblical studies at Catholic Theological Union (Chicago). He is the general editor of The Bible Today and was the general editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly. He has served as the president of the Chicago Society of Biblical Research and the Catholic Biblical Association of America. Fr. Hoppe has been a Franciscan friar since 1962 and a Roman Catholic priest since 1971.