Who said that, Jeremiah or Zechariah? (The Matthew 27:9 quote of Zechariah 11:12-13)

A famous problem regarding the death of Judas is where Matthew 27: 9 says: “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was priced, whom they priced away from the children of Israel; and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.” But these words are not to be found in Jeremiah. Instead they occur in Zechariah 11:12, 13. Thus is created one of the best-known problems of the New Testament text.

Widely varying explanations have been advanced:

1. That Matthew originally wrote “Zechariah” and that the ascription of this quotation to Jeremiah is a scribal error. This is a prime example of “if the facts don’t fit the theory, so much the worse for the facts;” for out of the mass of manuscripts only two or three (and they of little repute) read “Zechariah”.
2. Simple lapse of memory on Matthew’s part. This, of course, involves the deplorable assumption either that the Holy Spirit had no part in the composition of the gospels, or — almost, if not quite as bad — that the Holy Spirit’s guidance of Matthew did not cover mere accuracy as to facts. It also involves another assumption, vetoed by all the rest of this gospel, that Matthew was, extraordinarily careless in the assembling of his material.
3. Another explanation puts emphasis on the word “spoken.” The suggestion is that Matthew knew that, although the passage about the thirty pieces of silver was included in a written prophecy of Zechariah, it was originally spoken by Jeremiah. The double difficulty here is the complete lack of supporting evidence and the fact that Zechariah 11: 12,13 appears to “belong” to the prophecy where it is found. Also, the same phrase comes in verse 35 with reference to a prophecy which was certainly written.
4. A different approach suggests that Matthew 27: 9,10 is really a combination of Zechariah 11 with allusion to Jeremiah’s purchase of a field for money (Jer.32 :7-10), and that Jeremiah’s name is appended to the quotation because the key word “field” comes in Jeremiah 32 and not in Zechariah 11. But it has to be noted that Jeremiah’s field was in Anathoth, and cost him seventeen shekels of silver, not thirty.
5. Discussing this problem, Sir Isaac Newton decided that Matthew knew what he was about and that therefore Zechariah 11 was written by Jeremiah. This conclusion is most likely to be the correct one. A fair amount of evidence exists for believing that Zechariah 9-14 is by a different author from ch.1-8, For instance, more than thirty similarities of language and idea can be traced between i§ Jeremiah’s prophecies and the second half of what is known today as “Zechariah”, Also, in Zechariah 9-14 there are passages which are extremely difficult to associate with the time of the return from Babylon, but which become much more intelligible when read against the background of the evil days in which Jeremiah lived. So perhaps there is something to be said for the correctness of Matthew’s record after all.

Taken from Harry Whittaker, Studies in the Gospels, page 745.