Meaning of the Name Zacchaeus
From the Hebrew and Aramaic name Zakkai, usually explained as 'pure' or 'righteous'. It is related to the root z-k-k / z-k-y, 'pure, clean, innocent', and appears in Ezra and Nehemiah as the name of a family. The etymology is generally accepted, and the fact that a tax collector, hardly considered honest, bore a name meaning 'pure' adds a quiet irony to his story.
Origin
The name Zacchaeus is of Hebrew/Aramaic (via Greek) origin.
Who is Zacchaeus in the Bible?
Zacchaeus is a wealthy chief tax collector living in Jericho. Being short, he climbs a sycamore-fig tree to see Jesus, and Jesus calls him by name and becomes his guest. After this encounter he resolves to give half of his possessions to the poor and to repay fourfold anything he has taken unjustly.
The story of Zacchaeus in the Bible
The story of Zacchaeus is told only in Luke's Gospel. As Jesus passes through Jericho, Zacchaeus, a wealthy chief tax collector, wants to see who he is. But he is short, and the crowd blocks his view. So he runs ahead and climbs a sycamore-fig tree along the road Jesus will take. When Jesus reaches the spot, he looks up, calls Zacchaeus by name, tells him to come down at once, and says he must stay at his house that day. Zacchaeus comes down joyfully and welcomes Jesus into his home. The crowd grumbles: tax collectors, who gathered money for Rome, were often seen as dishonest, so Jesus' choice to be a sinner's guest causes offense. Zacchaeus stands and announces his own decision: he will give half of his possessions to the poor, and if he has cheated anyone of anything, he will pay it back fourfold. Jesus declares that salvation has come to this house that day and that Zacchaeus too is a son of Abraham, adding that the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. The tree a short man climbed out of curiosity becomes the start of a changed life.
Is Zacchaeus mentioned in the Quran?
The name Zacchaeus does not appear in the Quran. In the Bible, Zacchaeus is the tax collector of Jericho in Luke's Gospel whose life changes after he meets Jesus.
Verses where Zacchaeus appears
- Luke 19:2 —
There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
- Luke 19:8 —
Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
- Luke 19:10 —
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”