“Zechariah 11:12-13 – And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.”
It turns out that this was a divine drama. It was Yahweh that was valued by them at this price. This price was synonymous with the price of a slave (Ex. 21:32; cf. Gen. 37:28). Later, Jesus is betrayed by Judas for the price (Mt. 26:15; 27:3-10).
In Zechariah 11, Yahweh was betrayed for 30 shekels of silver (“that magnificent price at which I was valued by them”). Zechariah described that the money was thrown in “the House of the Lord.” Judas threw it in the temple sanctuary (Mt. 27:5). The result of the people betraying Yahweh was just as horrific for the people in Zechariah’s time. The people are handed over to the Foolish (Evil) Shepherd (Zech. 11:15-17). Zechariah wrote that the potter was the one who ultimately received the money (11:6-8).