Matt 27:9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced,
Matt 27:10 “and gave them for the potter’s field, as the LORD directed me.”
Here, Matthew seems to mistakenly attribute the story of the purchase of the potters’ field to Jeremiah rather than Zechariah. How is it possible that Matthew made such a glaring mistake? In dealing with apparent contradictions, it's been my experience that there's always plauseable explanations to be found, even if it's impossible to know the definitive answer. So, let's examine Matthew 27:9–10.
Upon careful inspection, Matthew 27:9 quotes Zechariah 11:12-13:
Zec 11:12 Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
Zec 11:3 And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter. (NKJV)
However, Matthew 27:10 alludes to Jeremiah 32:6-9:
Jer 32:6 And Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 32:7 ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’
Jer 32:8 “Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
Jer 32:9 “So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver.
Zechariah mentions thirty pieces of silver and a potter, but nothing about buying a field. Jeremiah, on the other hand, visits a potter's house (Jer 18), buys a potter's jar and smashes it in the Valley of Slaughter (Jer 19), and then buys a field from his cousin Hanamel for seventeen shekels of silver (Jer 32) (makes you wonder if Hanamel was a potter). Zechariah's prophecy and Jeremiah's actions both foreshadowed the death of Judas. So, Matthew 27:9–10 seems to be an amalgamation of Zechariah and Jeremiah. For reasons that are not clear, Matthew attributed it solely to Jeremiah, perhaps because Jeremiah preceded Zechariah.
On a side note, the Old Syric translation of Matthew 27:9 (circa 5th century) doesn't mention Jeremiah or Zechariah but simply says, "Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet, who said, And I took the thirty (pieces) of silver, the price of him who was precious, whom the sons of Isroel bargained for." Make of that what you will.
There is something called "citation formula" (sometimes quotation formula) or "ascription." It's basically a literary device where a writer may attribute a quote or idea to someone else. For example, in Stephen's speech in Acts 7, he appears to blend or summarize several Old Testament passages. In Acts 7:42–43, Stephen attributes a statement about Israel's idolatry to the book of Amos. However, the wording closely resembles a passage from the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 66:17). I believe this is what Matthew was doing. He was quoting Zacheriah, but doing it within the larger context of Jeremiah. The Apologetics Team website gives an excellent explanation. Excerpts:
What then is the solution? It would appear that, while quoting primarily from Zechariah, Matthew was pointing the reader to a key passage (or theme) in Jeremiah as well, one that tied in with the point he wanted to make. Thus, to draw this to the reader’s attention, he made reference to Jeremiah, since the reference to Zechariah would be obvious...
It would seem then, in light of all the potential texts in Jeremiah, that Matthew was most likely pointing to Jeremiah 19:1–13, where the prophet is commanded by the Lord to “buy a clay jar from a potter” (yotser) and to take it, in the presence of the elders and the priests, “to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate,” proclaiming a word of solemn judgment on Jerusalem: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle” (19:1–3). Jeremiah was then to smash the potter’s jar and say: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired” (Jer. 19:11). —Matthew 27:9–10 prophecy from Zechariah or Jeremiah?
