Scholars note that while Matthew attributes this prophecy to Jeremiah, the direct quote is from Zechariah 11. The most common explanations are that Matthew combined themes from both Jeremiah (buying a field) and Zechariah (30 silver pieces), citing the more prominent prophet; or that the prophetic books were sometimes referred to by the first book in the collection, which was Jeremiah. This is not seen as an error, but as a complex use of the Old Testament.