Maarten J.J. Menken, «The Old Testament Quotation in Matthew 27,9-10: Textual Form and Context», Vol. 83 (2002) 305-328

The source of the fulfilment quotation in Matt 27,9-10 must be Zech 11,13, but the biblical text is distorted to a degree that is unparalleled in the other fulfilment quotations, and Matthew ascribes the quotation to Jeremiah. Another difficulty is that the quotation seems to have influenced the context to a much larger extent than in the case of the other fulfilment quotations. A careful analysis of the text shows that the peculiar textual form can be explained in a relatively simple way. The influence of the quotation on Matt 27,3-8 is limited, and is best ascribed to Matthew’s redaction. After all, this fulfilment quotation appears to be less exceptional than it is sometimes supposed to be.

        Insofar as the source of the quotation is detectable at all, it must be Zech 11,13. The verse reads in the Hebrew text (a literal translation follows):

yl) hwhy rm)yw 
rcwyh-l) whkyl#$h
Mhyl(m ytrqy r#$) rqyh rd)
 Pskh My#$l#$ hxq)w
 rcwyh-l) hwhy tyb wt) Kyl#$)w

And the Lord said to me:
Throw it to the potter,
the splendid price by which I was priced by them.
And I took the thirty silver pieces,
and I threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.

        One textual problem has to be discussed. The OT Peshitta twice translates rcwyh-l) by byt gz’, "to the treasury". These words are used elsewhere in the Syriac translation to render the Hebrew rcw)(h) tyb or rcw), "treasury" (2 Kgs 12,19; Jer 38,11; Dan 1,2; Neh 10,39). So the Peshitta either presupposes a Hebrew text with rcw) instead of rcwy, or interprets rcwy as rcw)⁵. On both accounts, it represents a lectio facilior: in the temple, the presence of a treasury is more likely than the presence of a potter. The reading rcwy is clearly the original one⁶.

        According to J. Ziegler’s edition, the LXX offers the following translation (again, I add a literal translation):

kai_ ei]pe ku/rioj pro/j me
ka/qej au)tou_j ei)j to_ xwneuth/rion,
Kai_ ske/yomai ei) do/kimo/n e)sti o$n tro/pon e)dokima/sqhn u(pe_r
        au)tw=n.
kai_ e!labon tou_j tria/konta a)rgurou=j
kai_ e)ne/balon au)tou_j ei)j to_n oi]kon kuri/ou ei)j to_ xwneuth/rion.

And the Lord said to me:
Put them into the furnace,
and I will look if it is good, in the manner in which I was tested for them.
And I took the thirty silver pieces,
and I threw them into the house of the Lord, into the furnace.