Jeremy (Matthew 27:9-10)

There are two explanations as to why Saint Matthew (under inspiration of the Holy Spirit) chose to attribute a prophecy quotation seemingly from Zechariah to Jeremiah. (Zech. 11:12-13)

One: you must note Matthew said this was “SPOKEN” by Jeremiah; not ‘written’. Because you will not find this quotation in the Book of Jeremiah or the Lamentations of Jeremiah. One numerous occasions the prophets of the Old Testament would quote each other. Such as Jeremiah and Micah (Jer. 26:18; Mic. 3:12). And Isaiah and Micah (Is. 2:2-4; Mic. 4:2-4). So Jeremiah could have spoken something by oral tradition, and then later Zechariah recorded it. The same thing happened with the apostle Paul and the Lord Jesus in Acts 20:35. You won’t find Jesus’ words of Acts 20:35 recorded anywhere in the Gospels, yet Paul said He said it. That is the same thing is going on here in Matthew 27:9.

The second option is that according to the Bible commentator Matthew Henry there was an ancient Jewish tradition that the prophet Zechariah was something like a reincarnation of the prophet Jeremiah; due to their similarities. This was the kind of thing going on with the prophet Elijah and John the Baptist (Mal. 4:5-6; Luke 1:17; Mal. 3:1; Luke 7:27). The disciples said the same thing about Jesus Christ: that he was one of “the old prophets” (Luke 9:19).

Either way, there is a very plausible solution to Matthew’s writing. The Bible is not wrong; it does not have errors in it. And the supposed ‘errors’ can all be answered by careful and believing Bible study. In Jesus Christ’s holy name, Amen.