Zachery

Zachery is a subtle spelling variant of Zachary (traditionally spelled with an “a” rather than an “e”). Zachary actually developed as a colloquial form of the Biblical name Zacharias (Greek) from the Hebrew Zechariah meaning “God has remembered”. The name Zechariah makes an appearance in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) as one of God’s twelve Minor Prophets. The book of Zechariah (which comes after Haggai and before Malachi) is the second to last book of the Old Testament. In it, Zechariah admonishes the Children of Israel to rebuild the Temple (after returning from exile), to repent for their prior bad behavior and to renew their worship of God. The prophet assures the returning Jewish people of God’s comfort and care, and of the continuation of His covenant. Furthermore, Zechariah’s messianic message in the book’s passage (i.e., that the Lord will come in the form of a liberator) also resonates with Christians. Aside from Zechariah’s Old Testament reference, there is also a different Zechariah who figures prominently into the New Testament – his story is told with the most detail in the Gospel According to Luke (1:5-80). Quite simply, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth became the proud parents of a bouncing baby boy named John (the Baptist). According to Luke, God looked quite favorably upon Zechariah and Elizabeth as “they were both righteous before God…but they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.” (Luke 1:6). So God sends His angel Gabriel with a message for Zechariah: Elizabeth will have a son and “you shall call his name John.” Understandably, given the advanced age of Elizabeth, who was well past childbearing years, Zechariah expressed doubt over what Gabriel was saying. As punishment for his disbelief, God struck Zechariah mute. Sure enough, Elizabeth became pregnant and gave birth to John, after which Zechariah’s voice was restored (any relevant remarks he may have made are lost to history). As the Baby Daddy of the highly venerated John the Baptist, we’re definitely not surprised that Saint Zechariah spread as a name of choice among the Christians (especially the Puritans after the Reformation). There are several forms of this name in circulation including the more idiomatic Zachary/Zachery.