Question
Who was the person who was killed in the Temple?
Answer
He was a priest and prophet named Zechariah ben Yehoyada. He was stoned by the people, with the encouragement of the king, because of his unpopular prophecy. In 2 Chron.24:20-22 it says that he was stoned in the Temple courtyard. In the Palestinian Talmud (Taanis 4:8) one of the Rabbis asks whether he was killed in the Women’s Court or the Men’s Court, and was told that it was in the Priests’ Court, which is a zone on the side of the altar away from the Temple. (Incidentally, in Luke 11:51 it says that he was killed between the altar and the Temple.)