ISB ~ Matthew 23 v35

Abel to … Zechariah:Some see this as a reference to the first (Gen 4:8) and last (2 Chron 24:20-22) murders in the OT. This is based on the Palestinian arrangement of the OT, where Genesis is the first book and 2 Chronicles is the last. This is difficult to maintain, because the Zechariah in 2 Chron 24:20 is the “son of Jehoiada”, not the son of Barachiah. Zechariah the “son of Barachiah” is rather the OT prophet (Zech 1:1) whose death is nowhere recorded in the Bible. Jesus may instead be drawing from ancient tradition, just as Isaiah’s martyrdom is never mentioned in the OT but alluded to in Heb 11:37 as the prophet “sawn in two”. In fact, later rabbinic tradition maintains that Zechariah the son of Barachiah was killed in the Temple (e.g., Targum on Lamentations 2, 20). In any case, the cup of iniquity filled throughout history begins to overflow with the Pharisees’ intent to murder Jesus (12:14). By rejecting God’s Messiah, Jesus’ generation calls down divine judgment stored up from the ages.