(1) Zechariah 11:10-13 contains no reference either to a "field" or its purchase. In fact, the word "field" (shadah) occurs only in chapter 10, verse 1, which in no way relates to our subject at all.
(2) Regarding the "thirty pieces of silver," the passage in Zechariah speaks of them with approval, while in Matthew they are not so spoken of. "A goodly price" (`eder hayekar) signifies "sufficiency," and the verb yakar carries the meaning of being "precious." The text does not indicate that the amount was paltry or that the offer of it was in any sense an insult. However, this latter sense is conveyed in Matthew 27:9-10.
(3) The givers were "the poor of the flock," and this enhanced its value, very much as in the case described in Mark 12:43-44.
(4) The waiting of "the poor of the flock" was not characterized by hostility but friendliness. The Hebrew word shamar occurs more than 450 times in the Old Testament, of which only about 14 express hostility.
(5) Concerning the disposal of the silver, the sense of the verb cast must be determined by the context in which it is used, not by the verb itself. In Zechariah 11, the context shows it to be in a good sense, as in Exodus 15:25, 1 Kings 19:19, 2 Kings 2:21, and others.
(6) The "potter" is a fashioner; his work was not necessarily confined to fashioning "clay," but his work extended also to metals. For confirmation of this, compare Genesis 2:7-8; Psalm 33:15; Isaiah 43:1, 6, 10, 21; and others. The verb yazar occurs in the Old Testament about 62 times, and in about 45 of these it has nothing whatever to do with a "potter." Moreover, a "potter" in connection with the temple or its service is unknown in fact or to Scripture. Furthermore, silver would be useless to a potter, but necessary to a fashioner of metallic things or for payment to such artisans. One might as well cast clay to a silversmith as silver to a potter.
(7) The Septuagint, and also its revision by Symmachus, reads in verse 13, "cast them, i.e., the 30 pieces of silver) into the furnace" (Greek: eis to choneuterion). This shows that before the Gospel of Matthew was written, yotzer was interpreted as referring not to a "potter" but to a fashioner of metals.
[8] Note that the persons mentioned in the two passages are different. In Matthew we have "they took," "they gave," "the price of him"; in Zechariah one reads "I took," "I cast," "I was valued." In addition, Matthew names three parties as being concerned in the transaction; Zechariah speaks of only one.
(9) In Matthew the money was given "for the field"; in Zechariah it was cast "unto the fashioner."
(10) Matthew not only quotes Jeremiah's spoken words but names him as the speaker. This is parallel to Matthew 2:17-18, where the figure of speech known as "metonymy of cause" is employed, referring to a prophecy of Jeremiah that was spoken as well as written.
On the basis of all the foregoing, I suggest that the passage in Matthew 27:9-10 cannot have any reference to Zechariah 11:10-13. But the following considerations must also be kept in mind:
(1) It is not inconceivable that Matthew quoted Jeremiah's
spoken words (of which he had knowledge either from some historical source or by direct revelation from the Holy Spirit through the process referred to as "inspiration" in 2 Timothy 3:16) and interjected other words by way of parenthetical explanation. These are not to be confused with the quoted words. They may be considered to have been combined thus:
Then was fulfilled that which was
spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: `And they took the thirty pieces of silver [the price of him who was priced, whom they of the sons of Israel did price], and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.'"
Thus Matthew quotes that which was
spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, and combines with the actual quotation a parenthetical reference to the price at which the prophet Zechariah had been priced.
(2) Had the sum of money been twenty pieces of silver instead of thirty, a similar remark might have been interjected thus:
Then was fulfilled that which was
spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: "And they took the twenty pieces of silver [the price of him whom his brethren sold into Egypt], and they gave them for the potter's field," etc.
(3) Or had the reference been to the compensation for an injury done to another man's servant, as in Exodus 21:32, a similar parenthetical remark might have been introduced thus:
Then was fulfilled that which was
spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: "And they took the thirty pieces of silver [the price given in Israel to the master whose servant had been injured by an ox], and they gave them for the potter's field," etc.
From:
http://www.infidels.org/library/magazin ... ffi96.html