ZACCXJR
1056
ZACHARIAS
to collect the imposts levied on the Jews by the Ro- mans, and who in the execution of that trust employed suballorns (the ordinary riXuiuai), who were accounta- ble to him, as he in turn was accountable to his superi- or, whether he resided at Home, as was more commonly the case, or in the province itself. See Publican. The ollice must have been a lucrative one in such a region, and it is not strange that Zacchaius is mentioned by the evangelist as a ricii man (oi'toc Uv nXovcnoc)- Joscphus states (Ant.xvA,'!) that the palm-groves of Jericho and its gardens of balsam were given as a source of revenue by Antony to Cleopatra, anti, on account of their value, were afterwards redeemed by Herod the Great for his own benefit. The sj'caraore-tree is no longer found in that neighborhood (Robinson, Bibl. Res. i, 559) ; but no one should be surprised at this, since "even the solitary relic of the palm-forest, seen as late as 1838" — which existed near Jericho, has now disap- peared (Stanley, Sinai and Pal. p. 307). The eager- ness of Zacch;eus to behold Jesus indicates a deeper interest than that of mere curiosity. He must have had some knowledge, by report at least, of the teach- ings of Christ, as well as of his wonder-working power, and could thus have i)een awakened to some just relig- ious feeling, which would make him the more anxious to see the announcer of the good tidings, so important to men as sinners. The readiness of Christ to take up his abode with him, and his declaration that "salva- tion"' had that day come to the house of his entertain- er, prove sufficiently that " He who knows what is in man" perceived in him a religious susceptibility which fitted him to be the recipient of spiritual blessings. Reflection upon his conduct on the part of Zacchseus himself appears to have revealed to him deficiencies which disturbed his conscience, and he was ready, on being instructed more fully in regard to the way of life, to engage to "restore fourfold" for the illegal ex- actions of which he would not venture to deny (et rii'fif," " i'TVKO(pavTt]aa) that he might have been guilty. At all events, he had not lived in such a man- ner as to overcome the prejudice which the Jews en- tertained against individuals of his class, and their cen- sure fell on him as well as on Christ when they de- clared that the latter had not scorned to avail himself of the hospitality of " a man that was a sinner." The Saviour spent the night probably {/.ininii, ver. .5, and KaraXvaai, ver. 7, are the terms used) in the house of Zacchanis, and the next day pursued his journey to Jerusalem, He was in the caravan from Galilee, which was going up thither to keep the Passover. The en- tire scene is well illustrated by Oosterzee (Lange, Bibel- werl\ iii, 285).
We read in the Rabbinic writings also of a Zacchre- us who lived at Jericho at this same period, well known on his own account, and especially as tlie father of the celebrated rabbi Jochanan ben - Zachai ( see Sepp, Leben Jesii, iii, 166). This person may have been re- lated to the Zacchajus named in the sacred narrative. The family of the Zacchtei was an ancient one, as well as very numerous. They are mentioned in the books of Ezra (ii, 9) and Nehemiah (vii, 14) as among those who returned from the Babylonian captivity under Zerubbabel, when their number amounted to seven hundred and sixty.— Smith. For the modern traditions respecting Zaccha;us's house, see Robinson {Bibl. Res. ii, 543 ). According to ecclesiastical tradition, Zacchajus eventually became bishop of Cajsarea in Palestine (Const. Nat. Apost. vii, 46; comp. Clement, Recoc/n. iii, 65 sq.). See SUncmbcrg, Zacchans llliisirnhis, in the Symbol. Duisb. ; Kresse, I)e Sycamoro Zacchcei ( Lips. 1694); Crossman, Hist, of Zaccheeus ( Lond. 1854); and the literature referred to bj' Darling, Cyclop. Biblioy. col. 1031, 1032. See Jesus Chuist,
Zac'cur (Heb. Zakkur', "I^IST, mindful; Sept. Zo/c- Xoi'p V. r, ZaKovp or ZaK;^Wjo), the name of several He- brews.
1. A Simeonite, son of Hamuel and father of the Shimei whose posterity became nimierous (1 Chron. iv, 20, A. V. " Zacchur"). B.C. considerably ante 1012.
2. The fiither of Shimea, which latter was the Reu- benite " sjjy" sent out to explore Canaan the second time (Numb, xiii, 4). B.C. ante 1618.
3. A Levite, third named of the four " sons of INIerari by Jaaziah" (1 Chron. xxiv, 27). B.C. 1043.
4. First named of the four sons of Asaph as Levitical musicians in the arrangement of David (1 Chron. xxv, 2, 10; Neh. xii,35). B.C. 1043.
5. Son of Imri and builder of part of the wall of Je- rusalem under Nehemiah (Neh. iii, 2). B.C. 44(;.
6. Son of Mattaniah and father of the Hanan whom Nehemiah appointed to distribute the treasures (Neh. xiii, 13). B.C. ante 410.
7. A Levite who signed the sacred covenant with Nehemiah (Neh. x, 12). B.C. 410.
Zachaiia, Gotthilf Traugott, a German theolo- gian, was born at Tauchardt, in Thuringia, in 1729, and studied at Kiinigsberg and Halle, being the pupil, asso- ciate, and amanuensis in the latter place of the learn- ed Baumgarten. He was called in 1760 to the newly founded University of Blitzow, in 1765 to Giittingen, and in 1775 to Kiel, where he died two j'ears afterwards. His reputation as a scholar rests principally upon the Bihlische Theolof/ie, oder Untersuchung des Gnmdes der vornehmsten bihlischen Lehren ( 1771-75, 4 pts., 3 sec- tions, will} Suppl. by Volborth [1786]). The work oc- cupied the snpranaturalistic ground held by Baumgar- ten, professing a belief in revelation and miracles, but applying the historico-critical method of interpretation to the proofs deduced from Scripture, and either elimi- nating them altogether or depriving them of any con- siderable force. The end of the divine economy of redemption is represented as being the blessedness which Christ will bestow, which consists in the fruits of his atonement. The necessitj' for an atonement is, however, said to conflict with the idea of the free- dom of the divine will. A progressive econoni)- of grace is spoken of, but is shown in its outward mani- festations in the mere enumeration of histdrical events oidy. It is said to have been God's first design to es- tablish faith in the true God, and to reveal nothing re- specting Christ until the truth respecting God should have been sufficiently impressed on the minds of men. The work evidentlj' does not deserve the encomiums bestowed on it by Nitzsch, Schenkel, etc. Zachariii published, besides, paraphrastic expositions of the epis- tles to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Hebrews, etc., which were fa- vorably received and repeatedl\' published. See Thiess, Gelehrtengesch. der Universitdt Kiel, pt. ii : Diiring, Die qelehrten Theoloyen Deutschlands, pt. iv; Schenkel, in 'stud. II. Krit. {Aufjabe der Bibl. TheoL), 1852, No. 1; Herzog, Real-Encykloj). s. v.