Iddo

Iddo is a name borne by several distinct men in the Hebrew scriptures: a Solomonic provincial officer's father, a Levite of the line of Gershom, a tribal ruler under David, a seer-prophet whose writings chronicled the early divided monarchy, the grandfather of the post-exilic prophet Zechariah, a returning priest, and the chief of the temple-servant community at Casiphia in the days of Ezra. The notices are scattered and brief, and most appear in the genealogies and source-citations of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zechariah.

Father of a Solomonic Officer

In the roster of Solomon's twelve provincial officers, one Iddo is named only as the father of an administrator stationed in Mahanaim: "Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim" (1Ki 4:14).

A Levite of the Line of Gershom

Among the descendants of Gershom in the Levitical genealogy of 1 Chronicles, an Iddo appears between Joah and Zerah: "Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son" (1Ch 6:21).

Ruler of Half-Manasseh under David

In David's catalog of tribal officers, Iddo the son of Zechariah is set over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead: "of the half-[tribe] of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner" (1Ch 27:21). The bracketed [tribe] is a UPDV insertion supplying the elided noun.

Iddo the Seer and Prophet

The Chronicler cites the writings of Iddo three times as a source for the acts of three successive kings. For Solomon: "Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?" (2Ch 9:29). For Rehoboam: "Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, after the manner of genealogies?" (2Ch 12:15). And for Abijah: "And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo" (2Ch 13:22).

The notices give Iddo three different titles — "the seer" (2Ch 9:29; 2Ch 12:15) and "the prophet" (2Ch 13:22) — and three different genres of source: visions concerning Jeroboam, histories arranged "after the manner of genealogies," and a "commentary." His attention spans the reigns of Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijah, with Jeroboam as a recurring subject.

Grandfather of the Prophet Zechariah

The post-exilic prophet Zechariah is identified by his lineage, with Iddo named as his grandfather. Ezra reports the joint ministry of Haggai and Zechariah at the rebuilding of the temple: "Now the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem; in the name of the God of Israel [they prophesied] to them" (Ezr 5:1). The same pairing reappears as the elders complete the work: "And the elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo" (Ezr 6:14).

The book of Zechariah itself opens by tracing the prophet's descent through two generations: "In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying," (Zec 1:1). The lineage is repeated three months later at a fresh dating formula: "On the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying," (Zec 1:7).

A Returning Priest

In the list of priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua, Iddo is named in a brief sequence: "Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah," (Ne 12:4). A generation later, in the days of the high priest Joiakim, the heads of the priestly houses are tabulated, and Zechariah is identified as the head of Iddo's house: "of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;" (Ne 12:16). The two notices together connect the priestly Iddo to a Zechariah of the next generation, a connection Nehemiah's list makes by the same father-son formula used elsewhere of the prophet.

Chief at Casiphia

When Ezra discovered no Levites in the company assembled at the river Ahava, he sent leading men to a man named Iddo, the chief of the community at the place Casiphia, to request ministers for the house of God: "And I sent them forth to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; and I put words in their mouth to say to Iddo, [and] his brothers those given [to temple service], at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God" (Ezr 8:17). The bracketed expansions [and] and [to temple service] are UPDV insertions clarifying the syntax and identifying the "given ones" as Nethinim — those set apart for service at the temple.