Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor and Zacharias Rhetor on the Jews
Zacharias Rhetor - alternatively Zacharias of Mytilene - is the name of a late fifth-early sixth century Christian bishop and historian. He is known to have been a fairly prolific writer and to have composed several major works: the most important of which was his multi-volume 'Ecclesiastical History'. None of these have survived intact: however, we do have a later summary of his work in what is called Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor, and it is from this contraction of the original work we can gauge Zacharias' views on the subject of the jews.
I will assume that Zacharias and Pseudo-Zacharias' views on the subject of jews are both expressed in the contraction of the original as had Pseudo-Zacharias disagreed then we would expect the role of the jews to be removed or softened. While it is similarly unlikely that Pseudo-Zacharias simply added his views on the jews to Zacharias' original text given that Zacharias was and is considered to have been a fairly eminent author and opponent of Nestorian Christianity. Thus, it would be odd for a later compiler to misrepresent his object's views on the subject unless we can find substantial evidence to the contrary, of which I am not aware.
Zacharias makes mention of the jews in several places in his work, but none more so than in the eighth book of his 'Ecclesiastical History' or as it is often styled his chronicle. (1) However, we should note that in his second book Zacharias calls the jews 'wranglers' (2) and does so in the context of arguing that the jews are skilled in the art of deception and contrivance in so far as they seek to do harm to Christians and insult Jesus by throwing doubt on his divinity. He goes on to quote Saint Paul's first letter to the Romans to illustrate that while the jews assemble arguments (which are later stated to be 'blasphemous') (3) as 'weak as a spider's web' (which is an unfortunate analogy in hindsight) but yet refuse to recognize let alone heed Christian truth. (4)
While in his seventh book a jewish convert (5) is found lying before a Church Synod and having falsely condemned the theological errors of others: he went to the monastery of Dalmatus and promptly seized control of it and led it into theological error himself. This caused a severe rupture in the local geopolitical situation that involved the local monarch having to put down a rising of jewish-inspired religious fanatics. (6) We are also told that no Christian ever wants a jewish bishop because to have such would eventually lead them into error and accordingly into the waiting arms of the devil. (7)
This then makes sense of why Zacharias promptly labels the jews - again using Biblical quotation to back up his argument - as the 'cursed people'. (8) In other words, the people who have been driven out by God and now do the bidding of the evil anti-force in Christian cosmogony: the devil.
In the eighth book of his chronicle Zacharias muddies the waters considerably by using the term 'jew' as being interchangeable with being a Nestorian Christian. The narrative itself is somewhat difficult to follow and has to do with physical and political battles between Orthodox and Nestorian Christians in the city of Nagrin in Syria. However, we can extract Zacharias' thoughts on the actual jews - as opposed to Nestorian Christians - by simply shedding the ones obviously directed towards Nestorians exclusively and noting the others.
We are firstly told that jews seek to slay whoever does not reject Jesus (9) and that one of their principle methods for avoiding this bloody outcome is to target influential personages - in this case the queen of Nagrin - and offer them the retention of all their wealth and power if they but reject Jesus (i.e., change the state religion of their domain). (10) Any who do not do this are to be slain immediately, but the jews will use any lie to achieve their object (which Zacharias enjoins be answered by martyrdom and rejection of all those whose faith fails them). (11)
Further we are told that jews (possibly the 'jewish [medical] doctors' that Zacharias later mentions) (12) give poisonous (or simply bad) food to Christians in order to hurt them, (13) which Zacharias recommends answering by seizing the leaders of the jews and holding them ransom for the good conduct of their people throughout Christian lands. (14) This is also to be used expressly to prevent the Christians in lands where the jews hold significant amounts of influence being persecuted by them as this according to Zacharias was a common occurrence at the time. (15)
Indeed, Zacharias tells us that God showed his great displeasure at one jewish convert to Christianity's new found lack of faith that (rather amusingly) during an earthquake around Antioch he fell into a boiling cauldron of aromatic wax and died (one presumes fairly horribly). Zacharias seems to believe that was a fitting punishment for the jewish convert’s perfidious activities in corrupting Christendom with his presence. (16)
Zacharias' last comment on the jews is very simply to warn his reader that one must 'fear the jews' and regard them as one's most dangerous enemy for all time. (17)
Thus, we can see in spite of the confusing use of the term 'jew' to describe both Nestorian Christians and actual jews we can gauge that both Zacharias' and Pseudo-Zacharias' opinions on the jews were hardly complimentary. To them they were incorrigible sophists, cheats, liars, slanders, murders, thieves and most of all: agents of the devil.
References
(1) For convenience I have used F. Hamilton and E. Brooks' translation (1899, 'The Syriac Chronicle known as that of Zachariah of Mitylene', 1st Edition, Methuen: London) as it is widely available and has only recently been superseded by a partial re-translation.
(2) Pseud-Zach. 2:5
(3) Ibid.
(4) Ibid.
(5) This could also possibly read as referring to a Nestorian, but I would argue that it refers to a convert due to the phraseology.
(6) Pseud-Zach. 7:8
(7) Ibid.
(8) Ibid.
(9) Ibid. 8:3
(10) Ibid.
(11) Ibid.
(12) Ibid. 9:1
(13) Ibid. 8:3
(14) Ibid.
(15) Ibid. 9:23
(16) Ibid: 8:1; 4; 6
(17) Ibid. 9:23