Text -- Zechariah 12:5-14 (NET)

12:5 Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a means of strength to us through their God, the Lord who rules over all.’ 12:6 On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like an igniter among sticks and a burning torch among sheaves, and they will burn up all the surrounding nations right and left. Then the people of Jerusalem will settle once more in their place, the city of Jerusalem. 12:7 The Lord also will deliver the homes of Judah first, so that the splendor of the kingship of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not exceed that of Judah. 12:8 On that day the Lord himself will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like mighty David, and the dynasty of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. 12:9 So on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” 12:10 “I will pour out on the kingship of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn. 12:11 On that day the lamentation in Jerusalem will be as great as the lamentation at Hadad-Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12:12 The land will mourn, clan by clan– the clan of the royal household of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the clan of the family of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; 12:13 the clan of the descendants of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; and the clan of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves– 12:14 all the clans that remain, each separately with their wives.”

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Zec 12:5

Though but few, and poor, yet they shall be my strength. Not in their own power, but in the power of the Almighty Lord of all.

Wesley: Zec 12:6

A hearth on which fire is thoroughly kindled.

Wesley: Zec 12:6

Not built as Nineveh, Babylon, or Rome, in some place near old cities, but in the very same place where old Jerusalem stood.

Wesley: Zec 12:7

The unfenced places, the open country, the cottages, or tents.

Wesley: Zec 12:7

First the weaker are saved, next the stronger.

Wesley: Zec 12:7

That the illustrious house of David, and the glorious citizens of Jerusalem may not boast of their power, policy and courage.

Wesley: Zec 12:8

A mighty man of valour.

Wesley: Zec 12:8

Those of the royal line shall be for prudence, and prowess in the conduct of the armies of Israel, most excellent; exprest here in an hyperbole.

Wesley: Zec 12:8

Nay, like the angel of the Lord, like Christ who is captain of our salvation.

Wesley: Zec 12:9

I will purposely and effectually do it.

Wesley: Zec 12:10

This was fulfilled on Christ's exaltation, when he sent the Comforter to his disciples, it is daily performed to the children of God, and will be continually, 'till we are brought to be with Christ for ever.

Wesley: Zec 12:10

The whole family of Christ, his house who was the seed of David, and who is called David, Eze 37:24.

Wesley: Zec 12:10

Which is fountain of all graces in us.

Wesley: Zec 12:10

Every one of us by our sins pierced him, and many of the Jews literally.

Wesley: Zec 12:10

They shall literally lament the crucifying of the Lord Jesus.

Wesley: Zec 12:10

True repentance will bitterly lament the sins which brought sorrows and shame upon our Lord.

Wesley: Zec 12:11

When the Jews shall mourn for their sins, and for that great sin, crucifying the Lord of glory.

Wesley: Zec 12:11

A mourning exprest by the greatest the Jews ever were acquainted with, and which for its greatness grew into a proverb. The mourning for Josiah slain at Hadadrimmon, a town in the valley of Megiddo.

Wesley: Zec 12:12

The royal family in both branches of it, Solomon's and Nathan's.

Wesley: Zec 12:13

The sacerdotal tribe were the most bitter persecutors of Christ, they hired the traitor, they sought witness; the high priest, (head of that family) condemned him to die, for all which they shall one day reckon with God, and therefore above other tribes they are particularly named as chief mourners for their cruelty to Christ.

JFB: Zec 12:5

When they see the foe divinely smitten with "madness."

JFB: Zec 12:5

Here distinguished as the country and the metropolis. Judah recognizes her "strength" to be "Jerusalem and its inhabitants" as the instrument, and "Jehovah of hosts their God" (dwelling especially there) as the author of all power (Joe 3:16). My strength is the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who have the Lord their God as their help. The repulse of the foe by the metropolis shall assure the Jews of the country that the same divine aid shall save them.

JFB: Zec 12:6

On "governors of Judah," see on Zec 9:7.

JFB: Zec 12:6

Or pan.

JFB: Zec 12:6

Though small, it shall consume the many foes around. One prophet supplements the other. Thus Isa. 29:1-24; Joel 3:1-21; Zec. 12:1-14:21, describe more Antichrist's army than himself. Daniel represents him as a horn growing out of the fourth beast or fourth kingdom; St. John, as a separate beast having an individual existence. Daniel dwells on his worldly conquests as a king; St. John, more on his spiritual tyranny, whence he adds a second beast, the false prophet coming in a semblance of spirituality. What is briefly described by one is more fully prophesied by the other [ROOS].

JFB: Zec 12:7

Judah is to be "first saved," because of her meek acknowledgment of dependence on Jerusalem, subordinate to Jehovah's aid.

JFB: Zec 12:7

Shifting and insecure, as contrasted with the solid fortifications of Judah. But God chooses the weak to confound the mighty, that all human glorying may be set aside.

JFB: Zec 12:8

Jerusalem, however, also shall be specially strengthened against the foe.

JFB: Zec 12:8

To the Jew, the highest type of strength and glory on earth (2Sa 17:8; 2Sa 18:3; Joe 3:10).

JFB: Zec 12:8

The divine angel that went "before them" through the desert, the highest type of strength and glory in heaven (Exo 23:20; Exo 32:34). "The house of David" is the "prince," and his family sprung from David (Eze 45:7, Eze 45:9). David's house was then in a comparatively weak state.

JFB: Zec 12:9

I will set Myself with determined earnestness to destroy (Hag 2:22).

JFB: Zec 12:10

Future conversion of the Jews is to flow from an extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Jer 31:9, Jer 31:31-34; Eze 39:29).

JFB: Zec 12:10

"spirit" is here not the spirit produced, but THE HOLY SPIRIT producing a "gracious" disposition, and inclination for "supplications." CALVIN explains "spirit of grace" as the grace of God itself (whereby He "pours" out His bowels of mercy), "conjoined with the sense of it in man's heart." The "spirit of supplications" is the mercury whose rise or fall is an unerring test of the state of the Church [MOORE]. In Hebrew, "grace" and "supplications" are kindred terms; translate, therefore, "gracious supplications." The plural implies suppliant prayers "without ceasing." Herein not merely external help against the foe, as before, but internal grace is promised subsequently.

JFB: Zec 12:10

With profoundly earnest regard, as the Messiah whom they so long denied.

JFB: Zec 12:10

Implying Messiah's humanity: as "I will pour . . . spirit" implies His divinity.

JFB: Zec 12:10

True repentance arises from the sight by faith of the crucified Saviour. It is the tear that drops from the eye of faith looking on Him. Terror only produces remorse. The true penitent weeps over his sins in love to Him who in love has suffered for them.

JFB: Zec 12:10

The change of person is due to Jehovah-Messiah speaking in His own person first, then the prophet speaking of Him. The Jews, to avoid the conclusion that He whom they have "pierced" is Jehovah-Messiah, who says, "I will pour out . . . spirit," altered "me" into "him," and represent the "pierced" one to be Messiah Ben (son of) Joseph, who was to suffer in the battle with Cog, before Messiah Ben David should come to reign. But Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic oppose this; and the ancient Jews interpreted it of Messiah. Psa 22:16 also refers to His being "pierced." So Joh 19:37; Rev 1:7. The actual piercing of His side was the culminating point of all their insulting treatment of Him. The act of the Roman soldier who pierced Him was their act (Mat 27:25), and is so accounted here in Zechariah. The Hebrew word is always used of a literal piercing (so Zec 13:3); not of a metaphorical piercing, "insulted," as MAURER and other Rationalists (from the Septuagint) represent.

JFB: Zec 12:10

(Jer 6:26; Amo 8:10). A proverbial phrase peculiarly forcible among the Jews, who felt childlessness as a curse and dishonor. Applied with peculiar propriety to mourning for Messiah, "the first-born among many brethren" (Rom 8:29).

JFB: Zec 12:11

As in Zec 12:10 the bitterness of their mourning is illustrated by a private case of mourning, so in this verse by a public one, the greatest recorded in Jewish history, that for the violent death in battle with Pharaoh-necho of the good King Josiah, whose reign had been the only gleam of brightness for the period from Hezekiah to the downfall of the state; lamentations were written by Jeremiah for the occasion (2Ki 23:29-30; 2Ch 35:22-27).

JFB: Zec 12:11

A place or city in the great plain of Esdraelon, the battlefield of many a conflict, near Megiddo; called so from the Syrian idol Rimmon. Hadad also was the name of the sun, a chief god of the Syrians [MACROBIUS, Saturnalia, 1.23]. A universal and an individual mourning at once.

JFB: Zec 12:12-14

Representing the highest and lowest of the royal order. Nathan, not the prophet, but a younger son of David (2Sa 5:14; Luk 3:31).

JFB: Zec 12:12-14

Retirement and seclusion are needful for deep personal religion.

JFB: Zec 12:12-14

Jewish females worship separately from the males (Exo 15:1, Exo 15:20).

JFB: Zec 12:13

The highest and lowest of the priestly order (Num 3:18, Num 3:21). Their example and that of the royal order would of course influence the rest.

JFB: Zec 12:14

After the fiery ordeal, in which two-thirds fall (Zec 13:8-9).

Clarke: Zec 12:5

The governors of Judah - This supposes a union between the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

Clarke: Zec 12:6

Jerusalem shall be inhabited again - This seems to refer to the future conversion of the Jews, and their "return to their own land."

Clarke: Zec 12:7

The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first - This, I suppose, refers to the same thing. The Gospel of Christ shall go from the least to the greatest. Eminent men are not the first that are called; the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And this is done in the wise providence of God, that the "glory of the house of David,"etc., that secular influence may appear to have no hand in the matter; and that God does not send his Gospel to a great man, because he is such.

Clarke: Zec 12:8

He that is feeble among them - shall be as David - Here is a marked difference between Judaism and Christianity. So clear, full, and efficient shall be the salvation of believers under the Gospel that the feeblest among them shall be as strong, as full of courage, and as successful as David when he went against Goliath. The least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than John the Baptist

Clarke: Zec 12:8

And the house of David - as the angel of the Lord - The family the Church of the true David, the Lord Jesus, shall be as the angel of the Lord; shall stand in the Divine presence like Gabriel; for Christ hath said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."So "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed from glory into glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord."Thus the house of David, the true Christians, shall here walk with, after, and before God.

Clarke: Zec 12:9

I will seek to destroy all the nations - When this time shall arrive, all nations that "will not receive the faith of our Lord Jesus"shall be destroyed, when the longsuffering of God shall no longer wait upon them. This seems to belong to a period yet very remote.

Clarke: Zec 12:10

I will pour upon the house of David - This is the way in which the Jews themselves shall be brought into the Christian Church

1.    "They shall have the spirit of grace,"God will show them that he yet bears favor to them

2.    They shall be excited to fervent and continual prayer for the restoration of the Divine favor

3.    Christ shall be preached unto them; and they shall look upon and believe in him whom they pierced, whom they crucified at Jerusalem

4.    This shall produce deep and sincere repentance; they shall mourn, and be in bitterness of soul, to think that they had crucified the Lord of life and glory, and so long continued to contradict and blaspheme, since that time.

Clarke: Zec 12:11

A great mourning - A universal repentance

Clarke: Zec 12:11

As the mourning of Hadadrimmon - They shall mourn as deeply for the crucified Christ as their forefathers did for the death of Josiah, who was slain at Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. See 2Ch 35:24, 2Ch 35:25.

Clarke: Zec 12:12

Every family apart - The meaning of the word apart, which recurs here so often, may be this: Their sorrow shall be so deep and distressing, that every one will endeavor to avoid another, and vent his grief and distress of soul in private. And even husbands and wives shall separate from each other in this general mourning, as they were obliged to do by law in certain circumstances. See 1Co 7:5 (note), and the note there.

Calvin: Zec 12:5

He still continues the same subject — that however small and feeble the flock of God would be, it would yet have sufficient strength; for the Lord would stand on the side of those who fled to him. Though then Jerusalem was not as yet filled with citizens, and though there was but one city, yet Zechariah testifies that its strength would be invincible; but he speaks of the chiefs of Judah comparatively. Formerly, we know, it had a great number of men, and great armies were raised from that one tribe and the half tribe of Benjamin. Though then there were formerly many provinces, though the country was full of populous towns, yet almost Jerusalem alone had then begun to be inhabited: but the Prophet says here, that though the whole Church was gathered within the narrow bounds of one city, it would yet have sufficient strength to resist all the attacks of enemies.

Say then shall the chiefs of Judah; that is, though formerly the governors or commanders of thousands had forces in their several towns, yet now all would look to one city; for the land was nearly forsaken and without inhabitants; at the same time they were to entertain hope, for their strength was to be in the Lord. Some insert a conjunction, “Strength will be to me and to the citizens of Jerusalem;” but they pervert the meaning; for the Prophet meant to say in one sentence what I have stated — that the eyes of all would be directed to one city only, and that yet there would be sufficient ground for hope and confidence, for they would become strong, not in themselves, but in their God.

There is a change of number, when he says, a strength to me, for he had spoken of chiefs; it ought then to have been לנו , lanu, to us. But he now introduces each of them as speaking, as though he had said, “No one of the chiefs shall look to his own land, but, on the contrary, direct his eyes to the holy city, and be content with the defense of a few men.” Hence he says, In Jehovah of hosts, their God; for he means that God would be then the protector of that people whom he had for a time forsaken. And he calls him again the Jehovah of hosts, in order to set forth his invincible power, lest the minds of the godly should fail through fear, on seeing themselves far unequal to their enemies. ¹⁵⁶ It follows —

Calvin: Zec 12:6

He adds another metaphor for the sake of a further confirmation; for he says, that the chiefs of Judah would be like a melting pot: some render it a hearth, but improperly and without meaning. He afterwards compares them to a flaming torch, and heathen nations to wood and stubble or chaff. The Spirit speaks thus also in other places; and the reason is to be noticed; for when the ungodly assail the Church of God, all things seem to threaten its ruin; but God declares that they shall be like chaff or wood. “The house of Israel,” says Isaiah, “shall be a flaming fire, and shall consume all the wood of the forest:” so also in this place, “There shall be indeed a great host of enemies, assembled against Israel; but the Lord will consume them, for he will be like fire in the midst of his people, and his people also shall be through the secret power of the Spirit like a burning pot or a torch, which shall consume the chaff, in which there is nothing substantial.”

But the Prophet shows again that the deliverance of the Church is ever wonderful: and hence foolishly do they act who rely on human and earthly instrumentality, and wilfully bind God to their own ways; for whenever God promises to be their deliverer, their inquiry is, “But how can this be? whence will come this aid to us? how will the hand of the Lord be stretched forth to us? whence will he gather his army?” Inasmuch then as we are wont thus anxiously to inquire, and thus drive away from us the aid of God, let this truth, taught by the Prophet, be borne in mind, — that though enemies in great numbers may come upon us, they shall yet be like a heap of wood, and we like fire; for though we have no strength, yet the Lord by his hidden favor will cause that our enemies shall even, by coming nigh us, be consumed.

To the same purpose is the next similitude, — that they would be a torch in handfuls of chaff; for here also the singular number is used for the plural. Then follows an explanation, Consume shall they on the right hand, and on the left, all nations around. Zechariah seems here to ascribe an insatiable cruelty, and a revengeful passion to the faithful, who yet are to be influenced by a meek spirit, so that they may imitate their heavenly Father. But here he speaks not of their disposition and feeling, but only shows, that all the ungodly shall be frustrated in their expectation of success, and not only so, but that they shall also be destroyed. The more furiously then they assail the Church, the more sudden shall be their destruction; for though the faithful may wish to spare them, yet God, the righteous judge, will not spare them. In short, the work of God himself, as in other places, is ascribed to the Church.

In the last place he declares, that Jerusalem shall stand in its own place, where it was. There is here a sort of repetition; and it was made, because enemies thought, as we have already stated, that they could destroy Jerusalem so as wholly to obliterate it: but the Prophet on the other hand says, that it would be established in its own place, because God had chosen it as the place where he purposed to be worshipped, and he had chosen it, as it is often said by Moses, to commemorate his own name. In a word, he intimates, that the Church would be perpetually established: though all mortals conspired for its ruin and assailed it on every side, yet the sanctuary of God, as he had promised, would continue there still, even to the advent of Christ; for then, we know, Jerusalem was to be wholly destroyed, together with the temple, as an end was to come on all these things, and the world was to be renewed.

Calvin: Zec 12:7

The Prophet teaches us again, — that there is no need of helps when God stretches forth his hand to preserve his people; for he is alone abundantly sufficient. And the design of the verse is to show, that the Jews were to learn to acquiesce in God alone, though they might find themselves destitute of every earthly assistance; for when God purposes to save, he needs no help, as we have said; nor does he borrow any, as he by himself is fully sufficient.

But by the word, Tabernacles, the Prophet means, as I think, sheds, such as afforded but partial protection. It is indeed true that tents are called סחות , sachut, in Hebrew; but the same is often meant by the אעלים , aelim, tents, which afforded a temporary accommodation; for they were not strongly built, as it is evident from many passages. I allow that all houses without any difference are sometimes called tabernacles, אהלים , aelim; but the word properly signifies a tent, built as a temporary convenience; for it is said that the fathers dwelt in tents, when they had no fixed habitation.

Let us now see why the Prophet speaks of tents. He may have alluded to their dwelling in the wilderness; but as this may seem too remote, I consider that he simply refers to the tents in which the Jews dwelt when they had entered the land, after their deliverance from Egypt; for they must have been wonderfully protected by the hand of God, inasmuch as they had provoked all their neighbors and kindled the hatred of all against themselves. There were indeed some fortified cities; but for the most part they lived in villages, and the greatest part of the people were no doubt satisfied with their tents or sheds. Hence as the Israelites then had no defense, the Prophet now reminds them, that they were then protected by God alone, in order that they might believe that they should in future be safe and secure, as God would defend them to the end. There is then here an implied comparison between tents and fortified cities; and the Prophet bids them to consider what their fathers had formerly experienced, for God faithfully defended them, even when they were unprotected and exposed to the attacks of their enemies.

He says first, Jehovah will save the tents, etc.; as though he had said, “Know that your fathers were formerly defended by the hand of God, when they did not, as to the greater part of them, dwell in cities, but lived scattered in villages: since God then had been the preserver of his people many ages before a king was made, believe that he will be the same to you hereafter.” But we must yet remember what we said yesterday, — that the Jews who had returned to their country had a promise of God’s help, in order that the Israelites, who were retained by their own sloth in Babylon, might know that they were justly suffering punishment for their ingratitude, because they had not given glory to God, as they ought to have done, by committing themselves to his protection, and thus relying on his defense, so as not to seek other helps from the world: he will then save them, he says, as at the beginning; for as, the particle of similitude, is to be understood here. ¹⁵⁷

He then adds, And hence boast shall not the honor of the house of David and the honor of the citizen of Jerusalem over Judah. This latter clause is added, I think, by way of explanation; and this is evident from the subject itself for God declares, that he would be the protector of the helpless, so that they would be no less victorious than if they possessed many armed soldiers, and were furnished with money and other necessaries to carry on war. For by comparing here the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem with Judah, he has no doubt a regard to this, — that though there was no kingdom and no fortified cities, there would yet be sufficient protection in him alone, so that he could by himself defend the people, though unarmed, and having no swords, nor power, nor any other requisite means. Boast then shall not the house of David: and this seems to have been mentioned designedly, for while they trusted in their own wealth and power, they did not rest on God as they ought to have done.

As then the Jews had been elated with vain pride, while the dignity of the kingdom remained, and while they possessed wealth and warlike instruments, God here reproves this false confidence; for the Jews had thus obscured his gratuitous favor. For however great might have been the treasures collected by David and Solomon, and however formidable they might have been to their enemies and the neighboring nations, they ought yet to have relied on the protection of God alone. Since then earthly helps had inflated their minds, God now reproves their vain conceit, and shows that the condition of the people would be no less happy, when no king sat on the throne, and no aids enlisted for the protection of the people; and therefore he declares, that though exposed to all evils, they should yet be safe and secure, for God would defend them. This is the reason why the Prophet says, that the royal posterity would not glory against Judah, though dwelling in tents, nor the citizens of Jerusalem, who were then as it were the courtiers: for as the royal seat was at Jerusalem, a sort of vain boasting was made by all the citizens. As then all of them despised the inhabitants of the country, when the condition of the city was illustrious, the Prophet says, the posterity of David and Jerusalem shall not hereafter glory against the people of Judah, scattered in the open fields. It then follows —

Calvin: Zec 12:8

He goes on with the same subject; and he says that God would be like a shield to protect the Jews. For though the verb יגן , igen, is used here, yet as it is derived from מגן , megen, which means a shield, that metaphor is to be understood here, — even that the Jews, though without power and without warlike instruments, would yet be safe under the protection of God, for he being their shield would be sufficient. And God is here indirectly opposed to all kinds of fortresses which men too anxiously seek, and on which they vainly depend. The Prophet then no doubt claims here for God a power, which in opposition to the whole world, and when no other help appears, would be found sufficient to subdue all enemies and to save his people. Jehovah then shall be, he says, a shield ¹⁵⁸

But there seems to be here something inconsistent; for he had said before that the Jews would be safe wherever they lived, though they did not dwell at Jerusalem; but now he confines this promise to the citizens of Jerusalem. The answer to this is plain: We observed yesterday, that the piety of those was commended who had preferred to undergo many and grievous trials in returning home, and then to expose themselves to many dangers, rather than to continue in exile, as in that case they wholly separated themselves from the temple. Now since this was the object of the Prophet, it is no wonder that he one while names the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and that at another time he includes generally all the Jews. And by saying in the last verse, that the citizens of Jerusalem were not to glory against the country people, scattered in the villages, he intended, in adopting this way of speaking, to humble the citizens of Jerusalem, but not to exclude them from the promise made to all: as God then was to be the defender of all, the Prophet returns again to Jerusalem. For as God had chosen there his sanctuary, it is not to be wondered that the place was precious in his sight. But it was yet necessary to take away all pride from the Jews, that they might not, as it has been said, trust in earthly aids and supports. This is the meaning, when he says, the protection of God shall be on the inhabitants of Jerusalem

He now adds — The feeble ¹⁵⁹ among them shall be like David. Some give a refined explanation — that as David, who was not trained up for war, and was by no means strong, being, almost a boy, yet slew the proud giant Goliath, so the feeble among the Jews, as they think, will, by God’s power, be made victorious over their enemies. But this seems forced. The Prophet, then, I have no doubt, connects the whole together, and considers David as a king; for when David slew Goliath, he was yet a boy, remarkable for no velour. After he attained the kingdom, he became more eminent, we know, in every way, than all the kings of the earth. It is then this eminence which the Prophet has in view, when he says that the least and the most despised among them would be like David; as though he had said — “They shall all be endued with royal and heroic velour, not only the common people, but even those who seemed to be like women, and who possessed nothing that was manly; they would yet excel as David in heroic velour.”

It then follows — And the whole house of David shall be as angels; that is, the royal posterity shall be remarkable for angelic velour. And it was necessary to add this, that the faithful might not think that the house of David, from which salvation was to be expected, would be reduced to nothing. For whatever had been promised to them might have vanished, were not that promise to stand firm, on which was founded the salvation of the whole people —

“Thy house shall remain for ever.” (Psa 89:37.)

Now as Zechariah seemed to have cast down and wholly overthrown the royal house, it might have occurred to the minds of the faithful, “whence then shall arise our salvation? for it is certain that without Christ we are wholly lost.” Now Christ was not to come forth, except from the house of David. The Prophet then does here opportunely declare, that the royal house would be most eminent, as though all the men belonging to it were angels. He puts down the word אלהים , aleim, which also means God; but he adds in the same sentence — As the angel of Jehovah before their face ¹⁶⁰ The Prophet compares here, no doubt, the posterity of David to the angel, who had been the leader of the people and the minister of redemption. That angel we conclude was Christ; for though God then appointed many angels to his people, yet Christ, as it is well known, was their prince and head. The Prophet then bids the Jews here to look for the perpetual aid of God, since in the royal house were not only angels, but even the very leader of the fathers, who had exercised the ineffable power of God in redeeming the people.

We now then perceive the design of the Prophet: The import of the whole is, that God would so undertake the defense and protection of his people, as to be of himself sufficient, without any other aid; and also that the minister of salvation would be in the royal house itself; for as formerly, when their fathers were led out of Egypt, God had exercised his power through an angel, so now he had set over them a Mediator. And in accordance with this meaning he adds, לפניהם , lepeniem, “before their face.” He bids the faithful to attend to the royal house, which was then deprived of all dignity, so that it had no power to help. Nothing indeed was then seen in the posterity of David but what was degrading, and even contemptible; and yet the Prophet bids them to expect salvation from that house, which was so brought down as to possess nothing worthy of being noticed.

We may now ask, when was this prophecy fulfilled? Zechariah does indeed predict great things; but in reviewing all histories, nothing of a corresponding character is to be found. It must nevertheless be observed, that this blessed and happy state ass promised to the Jews, because from them Christ was to arise, and also because Jerusalem was to be the mother of all Churches; for from thence the law was to go forth, and from thence God had determined to send forth the royal scepter, that the son of David might rule over the whole world. Since the case was so, we may now easily understand how the condition of that miserable people would become happier and more glorious than under the rich and flourishing kingdom of David; for Christ would at length come, in whom complete happiness was to be found.

We may now also add this — that though few of the Jews embraced the favor of Christ, and the rest fell away, and thus gave place to the Gentiles, yet however small was the portion of the faithful, still the Prophet does not speak here hyperbolically, for the thing itself is what ought to be regarded; and that the Jews did not enjoy this blessed state, was owing to their own ingratitude; but this detracts nothing from the felicity described here by Zechariah. Let us proceed -

Calvin: Zec 12:9

The Prophet repeats again, that though ungodly and wicked men assailed the Church in great number on every side, God would yet be its defender. By saying, I will seek to destroy, etc., he means that God would he fully bent ( intentum ) to destroy, as men are wont to be anxious when they earnestly pursue an object. Lest then the faithful should think that they should perish through the disdain, or the neglect, or the forgetfulness of God, he says, that he would be their anxious defender. I will seek then, that is, I will be most earnestly solicitous, to destroy all the nations

This promise no doubt extends far wider than to the Jews; for he prophesies here concerning the kingdom of Christ: for if we consider the state of the people during the whole of the intervening period, from their return to the coming of Christ, the Prophet will certainly appear to have given here a hope of something far greater than what had taken place. But he had a regard especially to Christ. Here then is promised a perpetual defense to the Church; and hence also proceeds confidence as to salvation, for God carefully watches over us, that he may effectually oppose all our enemies.

I only briefly touch on these things, which require long and minute consideration: but it is enough for me to show briefly the meaning of the Prophet, provided this be done clearly, so that each may then apply what is said to his own improvement. We may in the meantime learn also from the words of the Prophet, that the Church is ever to be disquieted in this world, for not only one enemy will cause trouble to it, but even many nations shall rise up against it. It follows —

Calvin: Zec 12:10

At the beginning of this verse the Prophet intimates, that though the Jews were then miserable and would be so in future, yet God would be merciful to them: and thus he exhorts them to patience, that they might not faint through a long-continued weariness. For it was not enough to promise to them what we have noticed respecting God’s aid, except Zechariah had added, that God would at length be merciful and gracious to them after they had endured so many evils, that the world would regard them as almost consumed.

As to the effusion of the spirit, the expression at the first view seems hard to be understood; for what is it to pour forth the spirit of grace? He ought rather to have said thus, “I will pour my grace upon you.” But what he means is, that God would be merciful, for his spirit would be moved to deliver the Jews; for he compares the spirit of God here to the mind of man, and we know that Scripture often uses language of this kind. The phrase then, I will pour forth the spirit of grace, may be thus suitably expressed — “I will pour forth my bowels of mercy,” or, “I will open my whole heart to show mercy to this people,” or, “My Spirit shall be like the spirit of man, which is wont to move him to give help to the miserable.”

We now then understand the sense in which God may be fitly said to pour forth the spirit of grace. It may yet be taken in a more refined manner, as meaning that God would not only show mercy to his people, but also make them sensible of his mercy; and this view I am inclined to take, especially on account of what follows, the spirit of commiserations, or, of lamentations, for the word, תחנונים , tachnunim, commonly means lamentations in Hebrew. Some render it “prayers,” but improperly, for they express not the force of the word. It is always put in the plural number, at least with this termination: and there is but one place where we can render it commiserations, that is, in Jer 31:9 —

“In commiserations will I restore them.”

But even there it may be rendered lamentations consistently with the whole verse; for the Prophet says, “They shall weep,” and afterwards adds, “In lamentations will I restore them.” The greater part indeed of interpreters render it here, prayers; but the Hebrews prefer to translate it commiserations, and for this reason, because they consider that the spirit of grace is nothing else but simply grace itself. The spirit of grace is indeed grace itself united with faith: for God often hears the miserable, extends his hand to them, and brings them a most effectual deliverance, while they still continue blind and remain unconcerned. It is then far better that the spirit of grace should be poured forth on us, than grace itself: for except the spirit of God penetrate into our hearts and instils into us a feeling need of grace, it will not only be useless, but even injurious; for God at length will take vengeance on our ingratitude when he sees his grace perishing through our indifference. What then the Prophet, in my opinion, means is, that God will at length be so propitious to the Jews as to pour forth on them the spirit of grace, and then the spirit of lamentations, in order to obtain grace.

They who render the word prayers, do not, as I have already said, convey the full import of the term. But we may also take commiserations in a passive sense and consistently with its common meaning: I will pour forth the spirit of grace, that they themselves may perceive my grace; and then, the spirit of commiserations, that having deplored their evils, they may understand that they have been delivered by a power from above. Hence Zechariah promises here more than before; for he speaks not here of God’s external aid, by which they were to be defended, but of inward grace, by which God would pour hidden joy into their hearts, that they might know and find by a sure experience that he was propitious to them.

But if the word תחנונום , tachnunim, be rendered commiserations, the meaning would be, as I have already stated, that the Jews, through the dictation and the suggestions of the Holy Spirit, would find God merciful to them; but if we render it lamentations, then the Prophet must be viewed as saying something more — that the Jews, previously so hardened in their evils, as not to flee to God for help, would become at length suppliants, because the Spirit would inwardly so touch their hearts as to lead them to deplore their state before God, and thus to express their complaints to Him: ¹⁶¹ and this view is more fully confirmed by what follows.

They shall look to me, he says, whom they have pierced. We then see here that not only an external grace or favor was promised to the Jews, but an internal light of faith, the author of which is the Spirit; for he it is who illuminates our minds to see the goodness of God, and it is he also who turns our hearts: and for this reason he adds, They shall look to me ¹⁶² For God, as I have already reminded you, deals very bountifully with the unbelieving, but they are blind; and hence he pours forth his grace without any benefit, as though he rained on flint or on and rocks. However bountifully then God may bestow his grace on the unbelieving, they yet render his favor useless, for they are like stones.

Now, as Zechariah declares that the Jews would at length look to God, it follows, that the spirit of repentance and the light of faith are promised to them, so that they may know God as the author of their salvation, and feel so assured that they are already saved, as in future to devote themselves entirely to him: they shall then look to me whom they have pierced. Here also the Prophet indirectly reproves the Jews for their great obstinacy, for God had restored them, and they had been as untameable as wild beasts; for this piercing is to be taken metaphorically for continual provocation, as though he had said, that the Jews in their perverseness were prepared as it were for war, that they goaded and pierced God by their wickedness or by the weapons of their rebellion. As then they had been such, he says now, that such a change would be wrought by God that they would become quite different, for they would learn to look to him whom they had previously pierced. We cannot finish today.

Calvin: Zec 12:11

The Prophet says nearly the same thing to the end of the chapter; but as the event was worthy of being commemorated, he embellishes it with many figurative terms. He then says, that the lamentation for the death of Christ would be like that after the death of Josiah; for they who would have Hadadrimmon to be a man’s name, have no reason for what they hold, and indulge themselves in mere conjecture. It is indeed agreed almost by all that Hadadrimmon was either a town connected with the plain of Megiddon, or a country near Jezreel. But as to what it was, it is a matter of no great consequence. I indeed believe that Hadadrimmon was a neighboring town, or a part of that country in which was situated the plain of Megiddon. ¹⁶⁵

We may now observe, that this comparison which the Prophet institutes is very apposite; for when Josiah was slain by the King of Egypt, it is said in 2Ch 35:25, that an yearly lamentation was appointed. The Jews then were wont every year to lament the death of Josiah; for from that time it was evident that God was so displeased with the people, that they had no longer any hope of deliverance; nay, Jeremiah in his mournful song had special reference to Josiah, as it appears from sacred history. And, among other things, he says, that Christ our Lord, in whose life lived our life, was slain for our sins. Jeremiah then acknowledges that it was a special proof of God’s vengeance, that that pious king was taken away, and that the Jews were thus as it were forsaken, and became afterwards like a dead body, inasmuch as they only breathed in the life of Josiah: and at the same time he reminds us, that the kingdom, which God had intended to be the type and image of the kingdom of Christ, had as it were ceased to exist; for the successor of Josiah was deprived of all royal honor, and at length not only the whole dignity, but also the safety of the people, were trampled under foot. Hence, most fitly does the Prophet apply this lamentation to the death of Christ; as though he had said, — That the Jews lamented yearly the death of Josiah, because it was an evidence of the dreadful vengeance of God that they were deprived of that pious ruler; and that now there would be a similar lamentation, when they perceived that their light of salvation was extinguished, because they had crucified the Son of God, unless they humbly acknowledged their great wickedness, and obtained pardon.

We now then see the true meaning of the Prophet, when he says, that the lamentation in Jerusalem would be like that in Megiddon.

Were any to object and say, that the death of Christ was not accompanied with tears and mourning; I answer, — that the penitence of believers only is here described; for we know that a few only of the whole people were converted to God: but it is not to be wondered that the Prophet speaks generally of the whole nation, though he referred only to the elect of God and a small remnant; for God regarded those few who repented as the whole race of Abraham. Some mention the women of whom Luke speaks; but this seems too confined and strained: and we find also that that lamentation was forbidden by Christ,

“Weep,” he says, “for yourselves and for your children,
not for me.” (Luk 23:28.)

Since then Christ shows that that weeping was vain and useless, we may surely say that what is here said by Zechariah was not then fulfilled. And we must bear in mind what I have said before, — that by lamentation and sorrow is described that repentance with which the Jews were favored, not indeed all, but such as had been ordained to salvation by the gratuitous adoption of God. It follows —

Calvin: Zec 12:12

Zechariah seems to have used more words than necessary to complete his subject; for he appears to be diffuse on a plain matter: but we ought to attend to its vast importance; for it seemed incredible, that any of that nation would repent, since they had almost all been given up to a reprobate mind. For who could have thought that there was any place for the favor of God, inasmuch as all, as far as they could, even from the least to the greatest, attempted to involve Christ in darkness? When therefore the Sun of Righteousness was as it were extinguished by the Jews, it seemed probable that they were a nation repudiated by God. But the Prophet here shows, that God would be mindful of his covenant, so that he would turn to himself some of all the families.

Lament, he says, shall the land. This indeed we know did not take place as to the body of the people, but God, to whom a small flock is precious, denominates here as the whole land the faithful, who had felt how grievously they had sinned, and were so pricked in their hearts as though they had pierced the Son of God. (Act 2:37.) And though the Jews had destroyed themselves, yet through special and wonderful favor, three thousand were converted at one sermon by Peter; and then many in Greece, Asia Minor, and in the East, repented, and many Churches arose everywhere, as though God had created a new people. If these things be rightly viewed by us, we shall not think it unreasonable that Zechariah promises repentance to the whole land.

What he said before of Jerusalem ought not to be so taken as though he confined what he said to one city, but under this name he includes the whole nation, dispersed through distant parts of the world.

He says now, that this lamentations would be in every family apart. By which word he means, that it would not be a feigned or pretended ceremony, as when one begins to weep and draws tears from the eyes of others. The Prophet then testifies that it would be real sorrow, for one would not imitate another, but every one, impelled by his own feeling, would really grieve and lament. This then is the reason why he says that families would lament apart. Indeed the faithful ought to stimulate others by their example and encourage them to repent, but in a congregation hardly one in ten prays in earnest for pardon and really laments on account of his sins. Since therefore men are thus born to hypocrisy, and are confirmed in it by the whole practice of their the, it is no wonder that the Prophet, in order to set forth real sorrow, represents here every family by itself; as though he had said, “The family of David shall know that it had sinned, and the family of Levi, though it may not observe such an example, shall yet inwardly acknowledge its guilt.” We now see why Zechariah repeats the word apart so often.

By saying, that the women wept apart, he means no doubt the same thing with what we find in the second chapter of Joel (Joe 2:1)

“Go forth let the bridegroom from his chamber,
and the bride from her recess.”

Men in grief, we know, withdraw from all pleasures and all joy. As then men usually separate themselves from their wives during the appointed time of public grief or mourning, the Prophet makes the women to be by themselves: he intimates at the same time that the women would not wait until the men showed then an example of mourning, but that they would of themselves, and through a feeling of their own, be inclined to lament.

But we must bear in mind what I lately said, — that the grief which the Jews felt for the death of Christ is not what is described, but rather that by which they were touched when God opened their eyes to repent for their own perverseness; for the death of Christ, we allow, is a cause of joy to us rather than of sorrow, but the joy arising from Christ’s death cannot shine in us until our guilt really wounds us through God’s appearing to us as a threatening judge. From this sorrow there arises the desire to repent and the true fear of God. Hence it is, that God himself will give us joy, for he will not have us, as Paul says, to be swallowed up with sorrow; he lays us prostrate, that he may again raise us up.

Calvin: Zec 12:13

Now, why he names the house of Levi, and the house of Shimei, or of Simeon, and the house of David, and the house of Nathan, rather than the other tribes, is uncertain: yet it seems to me probable that by the family of David he means the whole tribe of Judah, and the same by the family of Nathan. As to the tribe of Levi it excelled in honor on account of the priesthood, but no honor belonged to Simeon. Why then are Issachar and Reuben the first-born, and the other tribes omitted here? It might indeed have been, that there were then remaining more from the tribes of Simeon and Levi than from the tribe of Zebulon or of Issachar or of Reuben; but this is uncertain, and I am not disposed to make much of mere conjectures. But I am inclined to think that the family of David and the tribe of Levi are here mentioned not for the sake of honor but of reproach, because the royal family and the priests were those who crucified Christ, and pierced God in the person of his only-begotten Son. Jerome conjectures, that the family of Nathan is named, because he was a celebrated Prophet and eminent above others, and that the Prophets are designated by him. He says that many teachers arose from the tribe of Simeon; but I know not where he got his information, for he adduces no proofs. ¹⁶⁶

But I am satisfied with the simple view already given, — that the Prophet by mentioning certain families meant to include the whole people, and that he does not omit the royal family nor the priests, because they were especially those who crucified Christ: and we know that Christ descended from Nathan, though Jerome thought the Prophet to be intended here rather than Nathan, one of Christ’s progenitors: but these things are of small moment.

Calvin: Zec 12:14

He says in the last place, that this lamentation would be common to all the remaining families. Though few had returned, except those from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, and from the tribe of Levi, yet Zechariah, as I think, means here by the remaining families, the elect who had been miraculously delivered from the common ruin; for blindness had so prevailed, that the rejection of the whole people on the part of God was evident. Under this designation then I consider the remnants of grace, as Paul says, to be included; as though the Prophet had said, that he had spoken of sorrow, not with regard to the whole nation indiscriminately, but to that part which was a remnant according to the gratuitous election of God. Now follows —

Defender: Zec 12:9

"In that day" generally is synonymous with "the day of the Lord." Certainly in this context, it points forward to the great end-time invasion of Israel by the multi-national armies of the Beast (Isa 63:1-6; Isa 3:2, Isa 3:9-12; Mic 5:5-15; Mat 24:15-21; Rev 12:13-15; Rev 13:7; Rev 16:13-16; Rev 19:19)."

Defender: Zec 12:10

This is the great day when Christ returns in glory, and Israel will finally recognize Him as Messiah, seeing the spear wound yet in His side (Joh 19:37; Rev 1:7) and the nail prints in His hands (Zec 13:6). By His "spirit of grace and of supplications" God will open their eyes and hearts, and "all Israel shall be saved" (Rom 11:26)."

Defender: Zec 12:11

When their national age-long sin is finally recognized and confessed, there will indeed be "great mourning," but also great joy (Zep 3:14-20).

Defender: Zec 12:11

Hadadrimmon was a town in the valley of Megiddo (same as Armageddon). The last of the godly kings of Israel and Judah, good King Josiah, was slain by the Egyptian army at Megiddo (2Ch 35:20-25), and there was great mourning. There may also be a possible suggestion of great mourning at Armageddon over the multitudes slain there when Christ returns (Rev 14:14-20)."

TSK: Zec 12:5

the governors : Zec 12:6; Jdg 5:9; Isa 1:10,Isa 1:23, Isa 1:26, Isa 29:10, Isa 32:1, Isa 60:17; Jer 30:21, Jer 33:26; Eze 45:8, Eze 45:9

The inhabitants : etc. or, There is strength to me, and to the inhabitants, etc. Zec 10:6, Zec 10:12; Psa 18:32, Psa 18:39, Psa 20:6, Psa 20:7, Psa 46:1, Psa 68:34, Psa 68:35, Psa 118:10-14, Psa 144:1; Isa 28:6, Isa 41:10-16; Joe 3:16; 2Co 12:9, 2Co 12:10

TSK: Zec 12:6

like an hearth : Isa 10:16, Isa 10:17; Oba 1:18; Rev 20:9

they : Zec 9:15; Psa 149:6-9; Isa 41:15, Isa 41:16; Dan 2:34, Dan 2:35, Dan 2:44, Dan 2:45; Mic 4:13, Mic 5:5-8; Rev 19:19, Rev 19:20

on the right : Isa 9:20, Isa 54:3; 2Co 6:7

Jerusalem shall : Zec 1:16, Zec 2:4, Zec 2:12, Zec 8:3-5, Zec 14:10,Zec 14:11; Neh. 11:1-36; Jer 30:18, Jer 31:38-40; Eze 48:30-35

TSK: Zec 12:7

save : Zec 4:6, Zec 11:11; Isa 2:11-17, Isa 23:9; Jer 9:23, Jer 9:24; Mat 11:25, Mat 11:26; Luk 1:51-53; Luk 10:21; Joh 7:47-49; Rom 3:27; 1Co 1:26-31; 2Co 4:7-12; Jam 2:5; Jam 4:6

do : Job 19:5; Psa 35:26, Psa 38:16, Psa 55:12

TSK: Zec 12:8

defend : Zec 2:5, Zec 9:8, Zec 9:15, Zec 9:16; Joe 3:16, Joe 3:17

he : Isa 30:26; Jer 30:19-22; Eze 34:23, Eze 34:24; Joe 3:10; Mic 5:8, Mic 7:16; Heb 11:34

feeble : or, abject, Heb. fallen, Isa 49:7, Isa 53:3; Jer 27:10; Mic 7:8

the house : Psa 2:6, Psa 2:7, Psa 45:6, Psa 45:7, Psa 110:1, Psa 110:2; Isa 7:13, Isa 7:14, Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7; Jer 23:5, Jer 23:6, Jer 33:15, Jer 33:16; Eze 37:24-26; Hos 1:7, Hos 3:5; Mic 5:2-4; Mat 1:23; Joh 17:21-23; Rom 1:3, Rom 1:4, Rom 9:5; 1Ti 3:16; Rev 22:13, Rev 22:16

as the : Zec 3:1, Zec 3:2; Gen 22:15-17, Gen 48:15, Gen 48:16; Exo 23:20,Exo 23:21; Jos 5:13, Jos 5:14; 2Sa 14:17-20; Isa 63:9; Hos 12:3; Mal 3:1; Act 7:30-35

TSK: Zec 12:9

I will : Zec 12:2; Isa 54:17; Hag 2:22

TSK: Zec 12:10

I will pour : Pro 1:23; Isa 32:15, Isa 44:3, Isa 44:4, Isa 59:19-21; Eze 39:29; Joe 2:28, Joe 2:29; Act 2:17, Act 2:33, Act 10:45, Act 11:15; Tit 3:5, Tit 3:6

the house : Zec 12:7

the spirit : Psa 51:12

of supplications : Jer 31:9, Jer 50:4; Rom 8:15, Rom 8:26; Eph 6:18; Jud 1:20

they shall look : That this relates to the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, and to his being pierced by the soldier’ s spear, we have the authority of the inspired apostle John for affirming; and this application agrees with the opinion of some of the ancient Jews, who interpret it of Messiah the son of David, as Moses Hadarson, on Gen. 28, though Jarchi and Abarbanel refer it to the death of Messiah the son of Joseph, whom they say was to be the suffering Messiah, while the former is to be the triumphant Messiah. Psa 22:16, Psa 22:17; Joh 1:29, Joh 19:34-37; Heb 12:2; Rev 1:7

they shall mourn : Jer 6:26; Amo 8:10; Mat 24:30, Mat 26:75; Act 2:37; 2Co 7:9-11

TSK: Zec 12:11

as : 2Ki 23:29; 2Ch 35:24

TSK: Zec 12:12

the land : Jer 3:21, Jer 4:28, Jer 31:18; Mat 24:30; Rev 1:7

every family apart : Heb. families, families, Exo 12:30

the family of the house of David apart : Jer 13:18; Jon 3:5, Jon 3:6

and their : Zec 7:3; Joe 2:16; 1Co 7:5

Nathan : 2Sa 5:14, 2Sa 7:2-4, 2Sa 12:1; Luk 3:31

TSK: Zec 12:13

Levi : Exo 6:16-26; Num. 3:1-4:49; Mal 2:4-9

Shimei : or, Simeon, as LXX, 2Sa 16:5; 1Ki 1:8; 1Ch 3:19, 1Ch 4:27, 1Ch 23:7, 1Ch 23:10; 2Ch 29:14

TSK: Zec 12:14

and : Pro 9:12

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Zec 12:5

And the princes of Judah - He pictures the onemindedness of the Church. No one shall assume anything to himself; each shall exalt the strength which the other was to him; but all, "in the Lord. The princes of Judah"shall say "in their heart,"not outwardly or politically, but in inward conviction, "strength to me"(all speak as one) "are the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord of hosts their God."The highest in human estimation acknowledge that their strength is in those who are of no account in this world; as, in fact the hearts of the poor are evermore the strength of the Church; but that, "in the Lord of hosts;"in Him, in whose hands are the powers of heaven and earth, over against the petty turmoil on earth. God had chosen Jerusalem Zec 1:17; Zec 2:12; Zec 3:2; therefore she was invincible. "That most glorious prince of Judah, Paul, said, ‘ I can do all things in Christ who instrengtheneth me. ‘ "

Barnes: Zec 12:6

I will make the governors of Judah like a hearth - or "cauldron"of fire large, broad, deep, and full of fire, among the wood which is prepared for burning, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf The fire could not kindle the wood or the sheaf, of itself, unless applied to it. All is of the agency of God: "I will make."

Ribera: "He foretells the increase of the Church, which by such persecutions shall not be diminished, but shall be marvelously increased. The preachers of the Church shall raise up all the peoples round about, shall destroy all unbelief, and shall kindle the hearts of hearers with the fire of the divine word.""On the right hand and on the left."Ribera: "He indicates the strength and success of the preachers, whom no one can resist nor hinder,"as our Lord says, "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist"Luk 21:15.

And Jerusalem shall again - Rather, "yet, be inhabited.""Yet"is a sort of burden in Zechariah’ s prophecies . Osorius: "They at once burned up by the flame all the defilement of vices, and kindled the minds of people with the torch of divine love; at once consumed the enemy and cast a heavenly fire into the human heart: ‘ yet;’ in despite of all appearances, of all which is against her. ‘ She shall yet dwell in her own place in Jerusalem;’ for, however the waves of this world chafe and lash themselves into foam against her, they break themselves, not her; as soon as they have reached their utmost height, they fall back; if they toss themselves, and, for a moment, hide her light, they fall down at all sides, and the ray shines out, steady as before; for she is ‘ founded on a rock,’ against which ‘ the gates of hell’ should not ‘ prevail’ Mat 16:18.

Barnes: Zec 12:7

The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first - Still it is, ‘ the Lord shall save.’ We have, on the one side, the ‘ siege,’ the gathering of all the peoples of the earth ‘ against Jerusalem, the horse and his rider.’ On the other, no human strength; not, as before, in the prophecy of the Maccabees, the bow, the arrow, and the sword, though in the hand of God Zec 9:13. It is thrice, ‘ I will make’ Zec 9:2-3,; ‘ I will smite’ (Zec 9:4 bis); and now, ‘ The Lord shall save.’ By ‘ the tents,’ he probably indicates their defenselessness. God would ‘ save’ them first; that ‘ the glory of the house of David - ‘ be not great against’ or ‘ over Judah,’ may not overshadow it; but all may be as one; for all is the free gift of God, the mere grace of God, that ‘ he that glorieth may glory in the Lord’ Jer 9:24; 1Co 1:31; 2Co 10:17, and both "may own that, in both, the victory is the Lord’ s"(Jerome).

Lap.: "In Christ Jesus is neither Jew nor Greek; neither bond nor free, neither rich nor poor"Gal 3:28; "but all are one,"namely a new creation; yea in Christendom the poor are the highest, both because Christ "preached to the poor"Luk 4:18, and pronounced the "poor blessed"Luk 6:20, and He made the Apostles, being poor, nobles in His kingdom, through whom He converted kings and princes, as is written, "ye see your calling, brethren, that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the would to confound the things which fire mighty ..."1Co 1:26; and, "Hath not God called the poor in this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which God has promised to them that love Him?"Jam 2:5. The rich and noble have greater hindrances to humility and Christian virtues, than the poor. For honors puff up, wealth and delights weaken the mind; wherefore they need greater grace of Christ to burst their bonds than the poor. Wherefore, for the greater grace shown them, they are bound to give greater thanks unto Christ."

Barnes: Zec 12:8

In that day the Lord shall defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble, rather, he theft stumbleth among them, shall be as David - The result of the care and the defense of God is here wholly spiritual, "the strengthening of such as do stand, and the raising up of such as fall."It is not simply one feeble, but one "stumbling"and ready to fall, who becomes as David, the great instance of one who fell, yet was raised. Daniel says of a like trial-time, "And some of those of understanding shall stumble, to try them and to purge and to make them white, to the time of the end"Dan 11:35. Ribera: "Such care will God have of protecting the sons of the Church, when it shall be infested with persecutions, that he who shall have fallen through human infirmity, either deceived by heretics or overcome by fear of tortures, shall arise the more fervent and cautious, and with many tears shall make amends for his sins to God, as did David. "He who stumbled shall be as David,"because the sinner returneth’ to repentance. This is not said of all times, nor of all (for many have stumbled, who never rose) but chiefly of the first times of the Church and of people of great sanctity, such as were many then."

And the house of David shall be as God - They who stumbled became really like David; but he, though mighty and a great saint of God, though he once fell, was man. How then could the house of David be really like God? Only fully in Him, who, "being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God"Phi 2:6; who said, "He who hath seen Me, hath seen My Father also"Joh 14:9; "I and the Father are one"Joh 10:30. And this the prophet brings out by adding, "as the Angel of the Lord before them,"that is, that one Angel of the Lord, in whom His very Presence and His Name was; who went before them, to guide them (see "Daniel the prophet"pp. 519-523). Else, having said, "like God,"it had been to lessen what he had just said, to add, "like the Angel of the Lord."Our Lord prayed for those who are truly His, "As Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee, that they may be one in Us; that they may be one as We are one, I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfect in one"Joh 17:21-23; and Paul saith, "Christ is formed in us"Gal 4:19; "Christ dwelleth in our hearts by faith"Eph 3:17; "Christ liveth in me"Gal 2:20; "Christ is in you"Rom 8:10; "Christ is our life"Col 3:4; "Christ is all and in all"Col 3:11; "we grow into Him which is the Head, even Christ"Eph 4:15; "we are in Christ"Rom 16:7; 2Co 5:17; Gal 1:22; and Peter, we are "partakers of the divine nature"2Pe 1:4; and John, "As He is, so are we in this world"1Jo 4:17. Then in a degree the glory of Christ passeth over to those who dwell in Him, and in whom He dwells by the Spirit, as Paul says; "Ye received me, as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus"Gal 4:14.

Barnes: Zec 12:9

In that day, I will seek to destroy - Woe indeed to those, whom Almighty God shall "‘ seek’ to destroy!"Man may seek earnestly to do, what at last he cannot do. Still it is an earnest seeking. And whether it is used of human seeking which fails, or which succeeds 1Sa 14:4; 1Sa 23:10; Ecc 12:10, inchoate or permitted 1Ki 11:22; Zec 6:7, it is always used of seeking to do, what it is a person’ s set purpose to do if he can. Here it is spoken of Almighty God . Ribera: "He saith not, ‘ I will destroy’ but ‘ I will seek to destroy,’ that is, it shall ever be My care to destroy all the enemies of the Church, that they may in no way prevail against it: this I will do alway to the end of the world."

Barnes: Zec 12:10

And I will pour - As He promised by Joel, "I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh"(Joe 2:28. See vol. i. pp. 193, 194), largely, abundantly, "upon the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,"all, highest and lowest, from first to last, the "Spirit of grace and supplication,"that is, the "Holy Spirit"which conveyeth "grace,"as "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding"Isa 11:2 is "the Spirit"infusing "wisdom and understanding,"and the "Spirit of counsel and might"is that same Spirit, imparting the gift "of counsel"to see what is to be done and "of might"to do it, and the Spirit "of the knowledge and of the fear of the Lord"is that same "Spirit,"infusing loving acquaintance with God, with awe at His infinite Majesty. So "the Spirit of grace and supplication,"is that same Spirit, infusing grace and bringing into a state of favor with God, and a "Spirit of supplication"is that Spirit, calling out of the inmost soul the cry for a yet larger measure of the grace already given. Paul speaks of "the love of God poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us"Rom 5:5; and of "insulting the Spirit of grace", rudely repulsing the Spirit, who giveth grace. Osorius: "When God Himself says, ‘ I will pour out,’ He sets forth the greatness of His bountifulness whereby He bestoweth all things."

And they shall look - with trustful hope and longing. Cyril: "When they had nailed the Divine Shrine to the Wood, they who had crucified Him, stood around, impiously mocking. But when He had laid down His life for us, "the centurion and they that were with him, watching Jesus, seeing the earthquake and those things which were done, feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God"Mat 27:54. As it ever is with sin, compunction did not come till the sin was over: till then, it was overlaid; else the sin could not be done. At the first conversion, the three thousand "were pricked ‘ in the heart.’ "when told that He "whom they had taken and with wicked hands had crucified and slain, is Lord and Christ"Act 2:23, Act 2:36. This awoke the first penitence of him who became Paul. "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?"This has been the center of Christian devotion ever since, the security against passion, the impulse to self-denial, the parent of zeal for souls, the incentive to love; this has struck the rock, that it gushed forth in tears of penitence: this is the strength and vigor of hatred of sin, to look to Him whom our sins pierced, "who"Paul says, "loved me and gave Himself for me."Osorius: "We all lifted Him up upon the Cross; we transfixed with the nails His hands and feet; we pierced His Side with the spear. For if man had not sinned, the Son of God would have endured no torment."

And they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for an only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for a first-born - We feel most sensibly the sorrows of this life, passing as they are; and of these, the loss of an only son is a proverbial sorrow. "O daughter of My people, gird thee with sackcloth and wallow thyself in ashes,"God says; "make thee the mourning of an only son, Most bitter lamentation"Jer 6:26. "I will make it as the mourning of an only son"Amo 8:10. The dead man carried out, "the only son of his mother and she was a widow,"is recorded as having touched the heart of Jesus. Alb.: "And our Lord, to the letter, was the Only-Begotten of His Father and His mother."He was "the first-begotten of every creature"Col 1:15, and "we saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth"Joh 1:14. This mourning for Him whom our sins pierced and nailed to the tree, is continued, week by week, by the pious, on the day of the week, when He suffered for us, or in the perpetual memorial of His Precious Death in the Holy Eucharist, and especially in Passion-Tide. God sends forth anew "the Spirit of grace and supplication,"and the faithful mourn, because of their share in His Death. The prophecy had a rich and copious fulfillment in that first conversion in the first Pentecost; a larger fulfillment awaits it in the end, when, after the destruction of antichrist, "all Israel shall"be converted and "be saved."Rom 11:26.

There is yet a more awful fulfillment; when "He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they which pierced Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him"Rev 1:7. But meanwhile it is fulfilled in every solid conversion of Jew pagan or careless Christian, as well as in the devotion of the pious. Zechariah has concentrated in few words the tenderest devotion of the Gospel, "They shall look on Me whom they pierced."Lap.: "Zechariah teaches that among the various feelings which we can elicit from the meditation on the Passion of Christ, as admiration, love, gratitude, compunction, fear, penitence, imitation, patience, joy, hope, the feeling of compassion stands eminent, and that it is this, which we especially owe to Christ suffering for us. For who would not in his inmost self grieve with Christ, innocent and holy, yea the Only Begotten Son of God, when he sees Him nailed to the Cross and enduring so lovingly for him sufferings so manifold and so great? Who would not groan out commiseration, and melt into tears? Truly says Bonaventure in his ‘ goad of divine love:’ ‘ What can be more fruitful, what sweeter than, with the whole heart, to suffer with that most bitter suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ? ‘ "

Barnes: Zec 12:11

As the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon - This was the greatest sorrow, which had fallen on Judah. Josiah was the last hope of its declining kingdom. His sons probably showed already their unlikeness to their father, whereby they precipitated their country’ s fall. in Josiah’ s death the last gleam of the sunset of Judah faded into night. Of him it is recorded, that "his pious acts, according to what was written in the law of the Lord,"were written in his country’ s history 2Ch 35:26, 2Ch 35:7; for him the prophet "Jeremiah wrote a dirge"2Ch 35:25; "all"the minstrels of his country "spake of him in their dirges"2Ch 35:25. The dirges were "made an ordinance"which survived the captivity; "to this day"2Ch 35:25, it is said at the close of the Chronicles. Among the gathering sorrows of Israel, this lament over Josiah was written in the national collection of "dirges"2Ch 35:25. "Hadadrimmon,"as being compounded of the name of two Syrian idols, is, in its name, a witness how Syrian idolatry penetrated into the kingdom, when it was detached from the worship of God. It was (Jerome) "a city near Jezreel, now called Maximinianopolis in the plain of Megiddon, in which the righteous king Josiah was wounded by Pharaoh Necho."This "was 17 miles from Caesarea, 10 from Esdraelon."Its name still survives in a small village, south of Megiddon , and so, on the way back to Jerusalem.

Barnes: Zec 12:12-14

This sorrow should be universal but also individual, the whole land, and that, family by family; the royal family in the direct line of its kings, and in a branch from Nathan, a son of David and whole brother of Solomon 1Ch 3:5, which was continued on in private life yet was still to be an ancestral line of Jesus Luk 3:31 : in like way the main priestly family from Levi, and a subordinate line from a grandson of Levi, "the family of Shimei"Num 3:23; and all the remaining families, each with their separate sorrow, each according to Joel’ s call, "let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber and the bride out of her closet"Joe 2:16, each denying himself the tenderest solaces of life.

Dionysius: "The ungrateful and ungodly, daily, as far as in them lies, crucify Christ, as Paul says, "crucifying to themselves the Son of God afresh and putting Him to an open shame"Heb 6:6. And on these Christ, out of His boundless pity, poureth forth a spirit of grace and supplication, so that, touched with compunction, with grieving and tearful feeling, they look on Christ, suffering with His suffering, and bewailing their own impurities."

Osorius: "The likeness is in the sorrow, not in its degree. Josiah had restored religion, removed a dire superstition, bound up relaxed morals by healthful discipline, recalled to its former condition the sinking state. In their extremest needs light shone on them, when there came his unlooked-for death, Therewith the whole state seemed lost. So in the Death of Christ, they who loved Him, saw His divine works, placed their whole hope of salvation in His goodness, suddenly saw the stay of their life extinct, themselves deprived of that most sweet contact, all hope for the future cut off: But the grief in the death of Christ was the more bitter, as He awoke a greater longing for Himself, and had brought a firmer hope of salvation."

Poole: Zec 12:5

The governors of Judah the counsellors and rulers at home, and the leaders and captains abroad, the Maccabees and others, every one for himself,

shall say in their heart shall think, believe, and reckon upon it, and be hearty in it.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem though but few and poor, yet they shall be my strength: and these shall be ready and forward to go forth against their enemies, with a handful of men to encounter mighty and numerous armies, because their strength and help lieth in the name of the Lord of hosts; not in their own power, but in the power of the almighty sovereign Lord of all, who can save by few as by many. And because

their God he will give them victory.

The governors of Judah the counsellors and rulers at home, and the leaders and captains abroad, the Maccabees and others, every one for himself,

shall say in their heart shall think, believe, and reckon upon it, and be hearty in it.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem though but few and poor, yet they shall be my strength: and these shall be ready and forward to go forth against their enemies, with a handful of men to encounter mighty and numerous armies, because their strength and help lieth in the name of the Lord of hosts; not in their own power, but in the power of the almighty sovereign Lord of all, who can save by few as by many. And because

their God he will give them victory.

Poole: Zec 12:6

The governors: see Zec 12:5 .

Like a hearth of fire a hearth on which fire is thoroughly kindled.

Among the wood the more is laid on, the more is consumed and burnt up: so the enemies of Judah and Jerusalem shall be, their multitudes shall no more save themselves than much wood cast on a great fire in the hearth can preserve itself.

Like a torch of fire in a sheaf which immediately sets the whole sheaf on fire, and it is consumed.

They shall devour & c.; the governors of Judah with their handful of men shall thus surely and speedily consume their enemies which set upon them.

Jerusalem shall be inhabited again as indeed it was, and continued so till Christ’ s death, and forty years after; for of these times doth the prophet speak, and not of times still to come.

In her own place not built as Nineveh, Tyre, Babylon, or Rome, in some place near to the old cities of that name, but in the very same place where old Jerusalem did, shall re-edified Jerusalem again stand.

Even in Jerusalem so you shall find Jerusalem in Jerusalem; or thus, spiritual Jerusalem shall be that Jerusalem in which you ought to look, and where you shall find the old typical Jerusalem, which though it lie waste, and I fear must never be built, yet is in more ample manner built up in the church, spiritual Jerusalem.

Poole: Zec 12:7

Shall save rescue from the power and rage of the Antiochuses, nay, subdue their armies, and put them to flight before the Jews.

The tents the unfenced places, the open country, the shepherd-like cottages or tents of Judah.

Of Judah first before he saveth Jerusalem, before he put Jerusalem into arms, or bring her inhabitants into the field, to fight, and help the country and its inhabitants; first the weaker are saved, next the stronger.

That the glory of the house of David that the illustrious house of David, and so the glorious citizens of Jerusalem,

do not magnify themselves against Judah boast of their power, policy, courage, and forwardness, and how much Judah owed to these for their deliverance: this would exasperate Judah, and provoke God, who would do all this: so that all might magnify their God, none think greatly of themselves.

Poole: Zec 12:8

In that day: see Zec 12:3 .

Shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem: as he had defended and saved Judah, anti the tents thereof, so will he also defend Jerusalem and its inhabitants against all their enemies, during the Persian, Grecian, and beginnings of the Roman empire, during which days many wars were raised against the Jews; but most visible was this, when the Maccabees succeeded so far, as to restore religion, and cleanse the temple.

He that is feeble reeleth through weakness,

shall be as David: a mighty man of valour was David; so these, through faith, of weak became strong, as Heb 11:34 .

The house of David shall be as God those of the royal line shall be, for prudence and prowess in the conduct of the armies of Israel, most excellent, expressed here in a hyperbole.

As God or, as angels, so Elohim is translated Psa 8:3 ; and so I find the French reads it, cornme des anges . Nay, like the Angel of the Lord, which is head of principalities; like Christ, who is Captain of our salvation. In these exploits and in this deliverance of the church they were types, and so must have somewhat in them which may be sufficient to resemble them to him.

Before them: these excellent ones of the royal line were to be leaders and commanders in these wars, and in their conduct they should show prudence and valour like that of an angel, rather than that of an ordinary man.

Poole: Zec 12:9

And it shall come to pass this also shall certainly come to pass.

That I God, the Defender and Saviour of Israel.

Will seek: this speaks not any difficulty to God in the work, as with men, who sometimes do seek to do what they cannot do; but this implieth God would thoroughly do it, his right hand should find out these his enemies, he will hunt them ont.

To destroy not to restrain, but to overthrow and destroy.

All nations without partiality, every nation that sets itself to oppress and destroy Jerusalem; God, viii pay them in their own coin: they said, Blot out her name; but God will blot out theirs. Let us, say they, cut them off from being a nation; but this God will turn upon their own heads.

That come against combine, and attempt to destroy her; and this was evidently seen upon those that sought to destroy Jerusalem and the second temple before Christ’ s incarnation; for by the Romans God destroyed the Antiochian power which had often mischiefed the Jews, and destroyed the other kingdoms which had been enemies to the Jews, who were never in danger of being cut off from being a nation, till their horrid murdering of the Lord of life.

Jerusalem literally and historically the city which the captives returned from Babylon did build; but mystically the catholic church, which God will never suffer to be destroyed, he will rather destroy all nations than suffer them to destroy his church.

Poole: Zec 12:10

And I God the Father, so Act 2:17,18 Isa 44:3 .

Will pour in plentiful measures, as a plentiful rain is poured forth on a thirsty ground: this was fulfilled on Christ’ s exaltation, when he received gifts for men, and, being glorified, gave the Spirit, sent the Comforter to his disciples and believers; this is daily performed to the children of God, and will be continually performed till we all are made perfect, and are brought to be with Christ for ever.

Upon the house of David on some of that royal family; or, typically considered, it is the whole family of Christ, his house, who was the seed of David, and who is called David their king, Eze 37:24 Hos 3:5 . Upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; literally understood it was fulfilled extraordinarily, Act 2:4,5 ; and, no doubt, in the ordinary manner to many of whom no mention is made: mystically, the inhabitants of Jerusalem are all the members of Christ, all believers of all ages.

The Spirit of grace which is the fountain of all graces in us, and which makes us lovely in the eye of our God; grace to purify us and to beautify us, that God may delight in us.

And of supplications or prayer, which is an early, inseparable fruit of the Spirit of grace: by the Spirit we cry, Abba, Father, and are helped to perform this duty, Rom 8:26 .

They all those who have received this Spirit, shall look upon me, with an eye of faith, and turn to Christ, love, obey, and wait for him.

Whom they have pierced: every one of us by our sins pierced him, but many of the Jews nailed him to the cross, and actually murdered the Lord of life. This, as foretold, so was very punctually fulfilled, and recorded in the account of his death given by John, Joh 19:34,35,37 ; this hath then a particular respect to the Jews, though not confined to them.

They shall mourn for him grieve, and heartily lament the crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ, not only as the sinful, cruel act of their fathers, but as that in which their sins had a great share.

As one mourneth for his only son with a very great and deep, with a long and continued sorrow, with an unfeigned and real sorrow, such as is the sorrow of a father in the death of an only son; they shall retain it inwardly, and express it outwardly, as in the funeral mournings on such occasions.

Shall be in bitterness for him: this speaks the inwardest affection of the mourner; there may be tears in some cases without grief or bitterness in the spirit, but here both are joined; true repentance will bitterly lament the sins which brought sorrows and shame upon our Lord.

As one that is in bitterness for his first-born: this bitterness is compared to the grief of one who loseth his first-born, to confirm and illustrate what he had just before spoken of Christians mourning for Christ.

Poole: Zec 12:11

In that day when the Jews shall know, own, and mourn for their sins and for that great sin in crucifying the Lord of glory, shall there be a great mourning; a very great mourning, which is expressed by the greatest the Jews ever were acquainted with. and which for its greatness grew up into a proverb:

The mourning of Hadadrimmon or the mourning for Josiah slain at Hadadrimmon, a town in the valley of Megiddon. Of this mourning see 2Ch 35:24,25 .

Poole: Zec 12:12

The land land put for the inhabitants of it, the land in general for the land of Judea, or that where the Jews dwelt, who should every where bear a share in this mourning. Thus some of the Jews from every country where they dwelt, being met at Jerusalem, were pricked at heart, and did mourn over the crucified Messiah, Act 2:5,37,41 .

Every family apart or family by family, expressed in Hebrew, families, families. The royal family in both branches of it, Solomon’ s and Nathan’ s. This family, as having greatest portion in Christ, should have been most tender of him, who had been heir on the throne if his kingdom had been of this world, and by descent from David: but since they forgot him, neglected to do their duty to him alive, they remember him, and do their duty towards him, dead; they mourn really and truly.

Their wives apart: the manner of the Jews in mourning was by shutting up themselves, retiring from company and pleasure; here families retire, nay, in the family, wives retire to bewail their sin and their fathers’ sin in rejecting Christ. Some there were of this family who believed in Christ, and mourned, when the gospel was first published to the Jews before it was carried to the Gentiles.

Poole: Zec 12:13

The sacerdotal tribe were the most bitter and fierce persecutors of Christ, they hired the traitor, they sought witness; the high priest (head of that family) condemned him to die; for all which they shall one day reckon with God, and therefore above other tribes they are particularly named as chief mourners for their injustice and cruelty to Christ. Here is one particular branch of Levi’ s family mentioned, the family of Shimei, of whom 1Ch 6:17 23:10 . These two families had been deeply guilty; now they do as eminently concern themselves to mourn for him, to lament the sin, deprecate the fierce wrath of God, and submit to his kingdom, which their fathers did not, would not do. In this family, where most were bitter, bloody enemies to Christ, some had other thoughts of him, and mourned for him.

The sacerdotal tribe were the most bitter and fierce persecutors of Christ, they hired the traitor, they sought witness; the high priest (head of that family) condemned him to die; for all which they shall one day reckon with God, and therefore above other tribes they are particularly named as chief mourners for their injustice and cruelty to Christ. Here is one particular branch of Levi’ s family mentioned, the family of Shimei, of whom 1Ch 6:17 23:10 . These two families had been deeply guilty; now they do as eminently concern themselves to mourn for him, to lament the sin, deprecate the fierce wrath of God, and submit to his kingdom, which their fathers did not, would not do. In this family, where most were bitter, bloody enemies to Christ, some had other thoughts of him, and mourned for him.

Poole: Zec 12:14

It would be somewhat tedious to repeat every family and their wives once, therefore a general comprehensive account may serve; some of every family of the whole remnant of Israel mourn, believe, look to, and obey Christ the Messiah. So the mourning for Christ bears Some proportion to their violent dealing against Christ, and they through faith live by the blood they did spill, and get to glory by him whom they loaded with reproaches. What will not grace do, when it converteth, accepteth, comforteth, glorifieth such offenders!

Haydock: Zec 12:5

Let. Septuagint, "We shall find for us the inhabitants of Jerusalem, in the Lord Almighty, their God." (Haydock) ---

Judas always exhorted his men to trust in the Lord, 1 Machabees iii. 18. (Calmet) ---

Mocbai, the initials of "who is like thee among the strong, ( Alim ) O Lord," (Exodus xv. 11.; Haydock) is supposed to have been his motto, (Calmet) written on his banners; and some assert, that it occasioned the appellation of Machabees. (Haydock) ---

"Strengthen for me." (Aquila)

Haydock: Zec 12:6

Furnace. Septuagint, "firebrand among wood, and as a burning lamp amid straw." (Haydock) ---

Left. The Samaritans shall fall as well as the Idumeans. ---

Place. The temple and city had been deserted, while the troops of Epiphanes occupied the citadel, 1 Machabees iii. 45., and iv. 38.

Haydock: Zec 12:7

David. The Machabees were not of this family, but Levites, born at Modin, in Ephraim. (Calmet)

Haydock: Zec 12:8

Hath. Septuagint, "is weak." ---

Offended. Such shall repent and be pardoned, like David. (Haydock) ---

They shall imitate his valour. The posterity of David shall no more cause the people to go stray. ---

Of God. He seems to allude to Christ's birth. David's offspring shall not ascend the throne; but their virtue shall be conspicuous; they shall give birth to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. (Calmet)

Haydock: Zec 12:10

Prayers. Septuagint and Chaldean, "pity." (Haydock) ---

After the Machabees more synagogues were erected, and the people were more faithful; yet this chiefly regards the new law, in which the spirit prays with us ineffably, Romans viii. 26. (Calmet) ---

Me. So far the prophet speaks in Christ's name. He afterwards relates how the people will grieve for him, beating their breasts, Luke xxiii. 48. This was clearly verified in Christ, John xix. 31. (Menochius) ---

But in the gospel we read, him whom they have pierced, as the context seems here to require. (Haydock) ---

Some Hebrew copies read in like manner, (Calmet) the Erfurth Manuscript 2 having aliu, "on him," though Michaelis remarks not this important variation. The Jewish transcriber would not alter his text to make it conformable to the New Testament. (Kennicott) ---

Septuagint, "they shall look upon me for having insulted," or skipped. (Calmet) ---

Yet "St. John did not much regard what the Greek contained, but interpreted word for word as he had read in Hebrew," as the other sacred writers did when there was any material difference. St. Jerome, quoted by Kennicott. (Dis. ii. p. 347, &c.) (Haydock) ---

Adopting this reading, we may explain this of Judas, whom the people greatly bewailed, 1 Machabees ix. 20. He was a figure of Christ, whom the prophet had chiefly in view. All the Jews who embraced the faith verify this prediction, (Calmet) as those particularly did who had been instrumental to the death of our Saviour, and afterwards entered into themselves, Acts ii. 37. Both Jews and Gentiles have all contributed by their sins to crucifying their Lord; and, at the last day, all shall look on him as their judge or as their deliverer. ---

Pierced. Hebrew dakaru. (Haydock) ---

Septuagint have transposed d and r, which are very similar, and read rokdu, "have danced," or derided. (St. Jerome) ---

The original implies, have outraged or blasphemed, as well as pierced. They shall henceforward cease to despise God and his law. (Calmet)

Haydock: Zec 12:11

Adadremmon. A place near Mageddon, where the good king Josias was slain, and much lamented by his people. (Challoner) ---

It was not far from Jezrahel, 2 Paralipomenon xxxv. The lamentation for Josias represents that of impenitent sinners at the day of judgment. (St. Jerome) (Worthington) ---

Septuagint translate the proper names, "of the pomegranate which is cut down in the field." (Haydock) ---

All from ver. 8 may be explained of Judas.

Haydock: Zec 12:12

Apart. Bands of men and of women mourning, went with musical instruments separately through the streets, and into the country; as they still do in the East. (Calmet) ---

On such occasions, as well as in times of prayer, continence is observed. (St. Jerome)

Haydock: Zec 12:13

Nathan. Zorobabel was his descendant. ---

Semei, the son of Gershom, 1 Paralipomenon vi. 16. (Calmet) ---

"From this tribe the doctors are chosen." (St. Jerome) ---

The pious of all ranks bewail the death of Christ, and the share which they had in it. (Haydock) ---

He had done good to many; and therefore we may presume that many would grieve in every tribe. (Menochius)

Gill: Zec 12:5

And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart,.... The governors of the rest of the cities in Judea, besides Jerusalem, when they shall observe the armies of the people, their horses and their riders, smitten by the Lord, as above, shall take heart, and be of good courage: and secretly say within themselves,

The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God; that is, they, in the strength of the Lord, shall overcome their enemies, and so be the means of preserving and securing the other cities of Judah from destruction: the governors do not place their strength and confidence in the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but as they are strengthened in and by the Lord their God, from whom all strength, safety, and salvation come. In this and the following verse Zec 12:6, by "the governors of Judah" are not meant Judas Maccabeus, and his brethren, as some think; for though there are some things in the context that seem to agree with them, and they may be an emblem of the governors in the times referred to, for their courage, bravery, and success; yet the thread of history, and series of prophecy, will not admit such a sense.

Gill: Zec 12:6

In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood,.... As a large hearth of fire, with wood all about it, devours and consumes it; so shall the governors of Judah be to the nations that shall come up against Jerusalem. The Targum renders it,

"as a garment of fire among wood:''

and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; of wheat, which presently destroys it; see Oba 1:18,

and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left; on the south and on the north, as the Targum interprets it. The phrase denotes the utter destruction of the people on all sides:

and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem; upon that very spot of ground which was formerly called Jerusalem shall the city be built again, and inhabited; and shall continue, notwithstanding the attempts of all the nations of the earth to destroy it; see Jer 30:18.

Gill: Zec 12:7

The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first,.... That is, the Jews, who will be in other parts of the land encamped in tents, to defend themselves against their enemies; these will be saved out of the hands of them, before the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be saved; and in such a manner, that it will evidently appear that their salvation is of the Lord: and his end in so doing will be,

that the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, do not magnify themselves against Judah; lest the chief of the family of David, and the principal inhabitants of Jerusalem, should glory over their brethren in other parts of Judea; and say it was owing to them that they were saved and delivered out of the hands of their enemies.

Gill: Zec 12:8

In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem,.... As with a shield against their enemies; and such is the Lord to all his people; he is their shield to protect them; he keeps and guards them by his power; he encompasses them about with his favour, as with a shield; and gives unto them the shield of salvation; all which will eminently appear to be the case of the Jews at this time:

and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; they that have the most fearful hearts, and feeble minds, shall be as courageous, as valiant, and as victorious as David; and they that are the weakest, in a spiritual sense, in the grace and in the doctrine of faith, and in that part of it, respecting the use of things indifferent, who are ready to be "offended, stumble, and fall" ^d; for the spiritual reign, which will at this time take place, will not be a state of perfection; even those will be like David, beloved of the Lord, kings as well as priests unto God, and as strong in faith as he:

and the house of David shall be as God; the stronger sort of believers among them, such as are strong in the Lord, in the grace of faith, and in the doctrines of the Gospel; they shall have much of God with them, great grace upon them, and be like unto him in goodness, truth, and holiness: or they shall be like "Elohim", the angels, as this word is rendered, Psa 8:5 for knowledge, purity, and readiness to do the will of God; and it follows:

as the Angel of the Lord before them; that is, as Christ, who is the Angel of the covenant, and of the divine Presence; and in whom the name of the Lord is; who is at the head of his people, and goes before them, as their Leader and Commander, and the Captain of salvation, Mic 2:13 whose image they bear, and into which they are changed from glory to glory by the spirit of God; and which will now be very clearly discerned upon the saints in the latter day glory. Kimchi and Ben Melech, by "the house of David", understand the King Messiah ^e, who was to be of the seed of David; and so does Cocceius, who takes the "as" to be a note, not of similitude, but of truth, he being truly God, and the Angel of Jehovah. The Targum is,

"the house of David shall be like great men or princes that shall prosper, as the Angel of God before them.''

Gill: Zec 12:9

And it shall come to pass in that day,.... So often mentioned in this chapter; by which is meant the latter part of the Gospel dispensation, the spiritual reign of Christ:

that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem; and shall destroy them. The whole of this paragraph seems to refer to the same as in Eze 38:1.

Gill: Zec 12:10

And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,.... The Jews that belong to the family of Christ, and to the heavenly Jerusalem, the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven:

the Spirit of grace and of supplications; by which is meant the Holy Spirit of God, who is called the "Spirit of grace"; not merely because he is good and gracious, and loving to his people, and is of grace given unto them; but because he is the author of all grace in them; of gracious convictions, and spiritual illuminations; of quickening, regenerating, converting, and sanctifying grace; and of all particular graces, as faith, hope, love, fear, repentance, humility, joy, peace, meekness, patience, longsuffering, self-denial, &c.; as well as because he is the revealer, applier, and witnesser of all the blessings of grace unto them: and he is called the "Spirit of supplications"; because he indites the prayers of his people, shows them their wants, and stirs them up to pray; enlarges their hearts, supplies them with arguments, and puts words into their mouths; gives faith, fervency, and freedom, and encourages to come to God as their Father, and makes intercession for them, according to the will of God: pouring it upon them denotes the abundance and freeness of his grace; see Isa 44:3,

and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced; by nailing him to the tree at his crucifixion; and especially by piercing his side with a spear; which, though not personally done by them, yet by their ancestors, at least through their instigation and request; and besides, as he was pierced and wounded for their sins, so by them: and now, being enlightened and convicted by the Spirit of God, they shall look to him by faith for the pardon of their sins, through his blood; for the justification of their persons by his righteousness; and for eternal life and salvation through him. We Christians can have no doubt upon us that this passage belongs to Christ, when it is observed, upon one of the soldiers piercing the side of Jesus with a spear, it is said, "these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled; they shall look on him whom they have pierced"; and it seems also to be referred to in Rev 1:7 yea, the Jews themselves, some of them, acknowledge it is to be understood of the Messiah. In the Talmud ^f, mention being made of the mourning after spoken of, it is asked, what this mourning was made for? and it is replied, R. Dusa and the Rabbins are divided about it: one says, for Messiah ben Joseph, who shall be slain; and another says, for the evil imagination, that shall be slain; it must be granted to him that says, for Messiah the son of Joseph that shall be slain; as it is written, "and they shall look upon whom they have pierced, and mourn", &c. for, for the other, why should they mourn? hence Jarchi and Kimchi on the place say, our Rabbins interpret this of Messiah the son of Joseph, who shall be slain; and the note of Aben Ezra is, all the nations shall look unto me, to see what I will do to those who have pierced Messiah the son of Joseph. Grotius observes, that Hadarsan on Gen 28:10 understands it of Messiah the son of David. The Jews observing some prophecies speaking of the Messiah in a state of humiliation, and others of him in an exalted state, have coined this notion of two Messiahs, which are easily reconciled without it. The Messiah here prophesied of appears to be both God and man; a divine Person called Jehovah, who is all along speaking in the context, and in the text itself; for none else could pour out the spirit of grace and supplication; and yet he must be man, to be pierced; and the same is spoken of, that would do the one, and suffer the other; and therefore must be the θεανθρωπος, or God-man in one person. As to what a Jewish writer ^g objects, that this was spoken of one that was pierced in war, as appears from the context; and that if the same person that is pierced is to be looked to, then it would have been said, "and mourn for me, and be in bitterness for me"; it may be replied, that this prophecy does not speak of the piercing this person at the time when the above wars shall be; but of the Jews mourning for him at the time of their conversion, who had been pierced by them, that is, by their ancestors, hundreds of years ago; which now they will with contrition remember, they having assented to it, and commended it as a right action; and as for the change from the first person to the third, this is not at all unusual in Scripture:

and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son; or, "for this" ^h; that is, piercing him; for sin committed against him; because of their rejection of him, their hardness of heart, and unbelief with respect to him; and on account of their many sins, which were the occasion of his being pierced; which mourning will arise from, and be increased by, a spiritual sight of him, a sense of his love to them, and a view of benefits by him. Evangelical repentance springs from faith, and is accompanied with it; and this godly sorrow is like that which is expressed for an only son; see Amo 8:10 and indeed Christ is the only begotten of the Father, as well as the firstborn among many brethren, as follows:

and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn; sin is a bitter thing, and makes work for bitter repentance.

Gill: Zec 12:11

In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem,.... Great numbers being awakened, convinced, and converted, and brought to true repentance:

as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. Lightfoot ⁱ thinks the prophet alludes to the two great and general lamentations of Israel; the one about the rock Rimmon, where a whole tribe was come to four hundred (it should be six hundred) men, Jdg 20:47 and may be rendered, "the sad shout of Rimmon"; and the other in the valley of Megiddo, for the death of Josiah. Some take Hadadrimmon to be the name of a man, as Aben Ezra; and the Targum and Jarchi say who he was, and also make two mournings to be alluded to ^k; paraphrasing the words thus,

"at that time mourning shall be multiplied in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Ahab the son of Omri, whom Hadadrimmon the son of Tabrimmon slew in Ramothgilead; and as the mourning of Josiah, the son of Amon, whom Pharaohnecho, or the lame, slew in the valley of Megiddo:''

and so the Syriac version renders it,

"as the mourning of the son of Amon in the valley of Megiddo.''

Of the first of these, see 1Ki 22:31 and of the latter, 2Ki 23:29 according to Jerom, it was the name of a place in the valley of Megiddo, near to Jezreel; and which, in his time, went by the name of Maximianopolis, called so in honour of the Emperor Maximian; it was seventeen miles from Caesarea in Palestine, and ten miles from Jezreel ^l; and mention is made by Jewish ^m writers of the valley of Rimmon, in which place the elders intercalated the year; though Jerom elsewhere ⁿ says, that Adadrimon was a king, the son of Tabrimmon, who reigned at Carchemish, whom Pharaohnecho slew at the same time he slew Josiah. Both words, Hadad, or Adad, and Rimmon, are names of idols with the Syrians.

Gill: Zec 12:12

And the land shall mourn,.... That is, the inhabitants of it; not only Jerusalem, but the land of Judea, and the people in it everywhere: in the Talmud ^o it is said, this is the mourning of the Messiah, that is, on his account:

every family apart; though the mourning will be general and public, yet it will be not in a body of the whole people together, but separate and distinct:

the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the men by themselves, and the women by themselves, which is according to the custom of the Jews in public worship; those that belong to the family of David shall mourn because of the Jews' long rejection of the King Messiah, Jesus the son of David, the Saviour, whom God raised up of his seed:

the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; not of Nathan the son of David, the brother of Solomon, as some think; for, as Aben Ezra observes, he and his family are comprehended in the family of David; but of Nathan the prophet, who will mourn because the Jews have so much slighted Jesus the great Prophet, the Lord raised up in Israel, his doctrines and ordinances.

Gill: Zec 12:13

The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart,.... Because of the contempt of the priestly office of Christ, which theirs prefigured, and was abolished by him; because of their trampling upon his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice:

the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; not of Shimea the son of David, 1Ch 3:5 as Jarchi thinks, for his family is comprehended in the family of David; nor of Shimei the son of Merari, and grandson of Levi, 1Ch 6:16, for the same reason: some think that, by way of prophecy, the family of Semei, mentioned among the progenitors of Christ, Luk 3:26, is intended; and others have thought of Shammai, a famous Misnic doctor in the times of Christ, whose disciples were called the house or family of Shammai, of which frequent mention is made in the Misna and Talmud: but the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read "the family of Simeon"; mentioned together with Levi, as brethren in iniquity, and now mourn for the common concern they had in the crucifixion of Christ, and their refusal of him.

Gill: Zec 12:14

All the families that remain,.... That will be in being in those times;

every family apart, and their wives apart; for the whole nation shall be born at once, and converted, and all Israel shall be saved, Isa 66:8.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Zec 12:6

¹ sn On that day (referring to the day of the Lord) the Davidic monarchy will be restored and the Lord’s people will recognize once more the legitimacy and divine sanction of David’s dynasty. But there will also be a democratizing that will not give Jerusalem and its rulers undue priority over the people of the countryside (v. 7).

² tn Heb “a firepot” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “a blazing pot”; NLT “a brazier.”

NET Notes: Zec 12:7

¹ tn Heb “the tents” (so NAB, NRSV); NIV “the dwellings.”

² tn Heb “house,” referring here to the dynastic line. Cf. NLT “the royal line”; CEV “the kingdom.” The same expression is translated “dynasty” in the following verse.

NET Notes: Zec 12:8

¹ sn The statement the dynasty of David will be like God is hyperbole to show the remarkable enhancements that will accompany the inauguration of the millennial age.

NET Notes: Zec 12:9

¹ tn Or “peoples.”

NET Notes: Zec 12:10

¹ tn Or “dynasty”; Heb “house.”

² tc Because of the difficulty of the concept of the mortal piercing of God, the subject of this clause, and the shift of pronoun from “me” to “him” in the next, many mss read אַלֵי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ale ’et ’asher, “to the one whom,” a reading followed by NAB, NRSV) rather than the MT’s אֵלַי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ela ’et ’asher, “to me whom”). The reasons for such alternatives, however, are clear – they are motivated by scribes who found such statements theologically objectionable – and they should be rejected in favor of the more difficult reading (lectio difficilior) of the MT.

tn Or “on me.”

³ tn The Hebrew term בְּכוֹר (bÿkhor, “firstborn”), translated usually in the LXX by πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos), has unmistakable messianic overtones as the use of the Greek term in the NT to describe Jesus makes clear (cf. Col 1:15, 18). Thus, the idea of God being pierced sets the stage for the fatal wounding of Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God (cf. John 19:37; Rev 1:7). Note that some English translations supply “son” from the context (e.g., NIV, TEV, NLT).

NET Notes: Zec 12:11

¹ tn “Hadad-Rimmon” is a compound of the names of two Canaanite deities, the gods of storm and thunder respectively. The grammar (a subjective genitive) allows, and the problem of comparing Israel’s grief at God’s “wounding” with pagan mourning seems to demand, that this be viewed as a place name, perhaps where Judah lamented the death of good king Josiah (cf. 2 Chr 35:25). However, some translations render this as “for” (NRSV, NCV, TEV, CEV), suggesting a person, while others translate as “of” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT) which is ambiguous.

² map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.

NET Notes: Zec 12:12

¹ sn By the time of Zechariah the line of descent from David had already been transferred from the Solomon branch to the Nathan branch (the clan of the family of Nathan). Nathan was a son of David (2 Sam 5:14) through whom Jesus eventually came (Luke 3:23-31). Matthew traces Jesus’ ancestry back through Solomon (Matt 1:6-16) but apparently this is to tie Joseph into the Davidic (and thus messianic) line. The “official” descent of Jesus may be viewed as passing through Solomon whereas the “physical” descent came through Nathan.

NET Notes: Zec 12:13

¹ sn The Shimeites were Levites (Exod 6:16-17; Num 3:17-18) who presumably were prominent in the postexilic era. Just as David and Nathan represented the political leadership of the community, so Levi and Shimei represented the religious leadership. All will lament the piercing of the Messiah.

Geneva Bible: Zec 12:5

And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The ^{( c )} inhabitants of Jerusalem [shall be] my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

^{( c )} Every captain, that had many under him before, will now think that the small power of Jerusalem will be sufficient to defend them against all enemies, because the Lord is among them.

Geneva Bible: Zec 12:7

The LORD also shall save the ^{( d )} tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not magnify [themselves] against Judah.

^{( d )} The people who are now as it were dispersed by the fields, and lie open to their enemies, will be preserved by my power just as if they were under their kings (which is meant by the house of David), or in their defended cities.

Geneva Bible: Zec 12:10

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of ^{( e )} grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have ^{( f )} pierced, and they shall mourn for ^{( g )} him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.

^{( e )} They will have the feeling of my grace by faith, and know that I have compassion on them.

^{( f )} That is, whom they have continually vexed with their obstinacy, and grieved my Spirit. In (Joh 19:37) it is referred to Christ's body, whereas here it is referred to the Spirit of God.

^{( g )} They will turn to God by true repentance, whom before they had so grievously offended by their ingratitude.

Geneva Bible: Zec 12:11

In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the ^{( h )} mourning of ^{( i )} Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

^{( h )} They will exceedingly lament and repent for their offences against God.

^{( i )} Which was the name of a town and place near to Megiddo, where Josiah was slain; (2Ch 35:22).

Geneva Bible: Zec 12:12

And the ^{( k )} land shall mourn, every family ^{( l )} apart; the family of the ^{( m )} house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

^{( k )} That is, in all places where the Jews will remain.

^{( l )} Signifying, that this mourning or repentance would not be a vain ceremony: but every one touched with his own griefs will lament.

^{( m )} Under these certain families he includes all the tribes, and shows that both the kings and the priests had by their sins pierced Christ.

Geneva Bible: Zec 12:13

The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of ^{( n )} Shimei apart, and their wives apart;

^{( n )} Also called Simeon.

Geneva Bible: Zec 12:14

All the families that ^{( o )} remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

^{( o )} That is, who were elect by grace, and preserved from the common destruction.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Zec 12:1-14

1 Jerusalem a cup of trembling to herself,

3 and a burdensome stone to her adversaries.

6 The victorious restoring of Judah.

10 The repentance of Jerusalem.

MHCC: Zec 12:1-8

Here is a Divine prediction, which will be a heavy burden to all the enemies of the church. But it is for Israel; for their comfort and benefit. It is promised that God will make foolish the counsels, and weaken the courage of the enemies of the church. The exact meaning is not clear; but God often begins by calling the poor and despised; and in that day even the feeblest will resemble David, and be as eminent in courage and every thing good. Desirable indeed is it that the examples and labours of Christians should render them as fire among wood, as a torch in a sheaf, to kindle the flame of Divine love, to spread religion on the right hand and on the left.

MHCC: Zec 12:9-14

The day here spoken of, is the day of Jerusalem's defence and deliverance, that glorious day when God will appear for the salvation of his people. In Christ's first coming he bruised the serpent's head, and broke all the powers of darkness that fought against God's kingdom among men. In his second coming he will complete their destruction, when he shall put down all opposing rule, principality, and power; and death itself shall be swallowed up in that victory. The Holy Spirit is gracious and merciful, and is the Author of all grace or holiness. He, also, is the Spirit of supplications, and shows men their ignorance, want, guilt, misery, and danger. At the time here foretold, the Jews will know who the crucified Jesus was; then they shall look by faith to him, and mourn with the deepest sorrow, not only in public, but in private, even each one separately. There is a holy mourning, the effect of the pouring out of the Spirit; a mourning for sin, which quickens faith in Christ, and qualifies for joy in God. This mourning is a fruit of the Spirit of grace, a proof of a work of grace in the soul, and of the Spirit of supplications. It is fulfilled in all who sorrow for sin after a godly sort; they look to Christ crucified, and mourn for him. Looking by faith upon the cross of Christ will cause us to mourn for sin after a godly sort.

Matthew Henry: Zec 12:1-8

Here is, I. The title of this charter of promises made to God's Israel; it is the burden of the word of the Lord, a divine prediction; it is of weight in the delivery of it; it is to be pressed upon people, and will be very pressing in the accomplishment of it; it is a burden, a heavy burden, to all the church's enemies, like that talent of lead, Zec 5:7, Zec 5:8. But it is for Israel; it is for their comfort and benefit. As even the fiery law (Deu 33:2), so the fiery prophecies and fiery providences that come from God's right hand, come for them; the word that speaks terror to their enemies speaks peace to them, as the pillar of cloud and fire, which turned a bright side towards the Israelites, to direct and encourage them, but a black side towards the Egyptians, to terrify and dispirit them. Happy are those that have even the burdens of God's word for them, as well as the blessings of it.

II. The title of him that grants this charter, which is prefixed to it to show that he has both authority to make these promises and ability to make them good, for he is the Creator of the world and our Creator, and therefore has an incontestable irresistible dominion. 1. He stretches out the heavens; not only he did so at the first, when he said, Let there be a firmament, and he made the firmament, but he does so still; he keeps them stretched out like a curtain, keeps them from running in, and will do so till the end come, when the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll. No bounds can be set to his power who stretches out the heavens, nor can any thing be too hard for him. 2. He lays the foundation of the earth, and keeps it firm and fixed on its own basis, or rather on its own axis, though it is founded on the seas (Psa 24:1, Psa 24:2), nay, though it is hung upon nothing, Job 26:7. The founder of this earth is no doubt the ruler of it, and judges in it, and those deceive themselves who say, The Lord has forsaken the earth, for, if he had, it would have sunk, since it is he that not only did lay its foundations at first, but does still lay them, still uphold them. 3. He forms the spirit of man within him. He made us these souls, Jer 38:16. He not only breathed into the first man, but still breathes into every man the breath of life; the body is derived from the fathers of our flesh, but the soul is infused by the Father of spirits, Heb 12:9. He fashions men's hearts; they are in his hand, and he turns them as the rivers of water, and casts them into what mould he pleases, so as to serve his own purposes with them; and he can therefore save his church by inspiriting his friends and dispiriting his enemies, and will eternally save all his chosen by forming their spirits anew.

III. The promises themselves that are here made them, by which the church shall be secured, and in which all its friends may enjoy a holy security.

1. It is promised that, whatever attacks the enemies of the church may make upon her purity or peace, they will certainly issue in their own confusion. The enemies of God and of his kingdom bear a great deal of malice and ill-will to Jerusalem, and form designs for its destruction; but it will prove, at last, that they are but preparing ruin for themselves; Jerusalem is in safety, and those are in all the danger who fight against it. This is here illustrated by three comparisons: -

(1.) Jerusalem shall be a cup of trembling to all that lay siege to it, Zec 12:2. They promise themselves that it shall be to them a cup of wine, which they shall easily and with pleasure drink off, and they thirst for its spoils, nay, they thirst for its blood, as for such a cup; but it shall prove a cup of slumber, nay, a cup of poison, to them, which, when they take it into their hands, and think it is all their own, they shall not be able to drink off: the fumes of it shall give them enough. When the kings were assembled against her, and saw how God was known in her palaces for a refuge, they trembled and hasted away; fear took hold upon them, as we find, Psa 48:3-6. Thus Alexander the Great was struck with amazement when he met Jaddus the high priest, and was deterred thereby from offering any violence to Jerusalem. When Sennacherib laid siege against Judah and Jerusalem he found them such a cup of stupifying wine as laid all his mighty men asleep, Psa 76:5, Psa 76:6. Some read it, I will make Jerusalem a post of contrition or breaking. Those that make any attempts upon Jerusalem do but run their heads against a post, which they cannot move, but are sure to hurt themselves. The blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall (Isa 25:4), broken by it, but not shaking it. God's church is a cup of consolation to all her friends (Isa 66:11), but a cup of trembling to all that would either debauch her by errors and corruptions or destroy her by wars and persecutions. See Isa 51:22, Isa 51:23.

(2.) Jerusalem shall be a burdensome stone to all that attempt to remove it or carry it away, Zec 12:3. All the people of the earth are here supposed to be gathered together against it, some one time and some another; there has been a succession of enemies, from age to age, making war upon the church. But though they were all at once in a confederacy against it, and had formed a resolution to cut off the name of Israel, that it should be no more in remembrance (Psa 83:4), they will find it a task too hard for them. Those that are for keeping up and advancing the kingdom of sin in the world look upon Jerusalem, even the church of God, as the great obstacle to their designs, and they must have it out of the way; but they will find it heavier than they think it is; so that, [1.] They cannot remove it. God will have a church in the world, in spite of them; it is built upon a rock, and is as Mount Zion, that abides for ever, Psa 125:1. This stone, cut out of the mountain without hands, will not only keep its ground, but fill the earth, Dan 2:35. Nay, [2.] It will break in pieces all that burden themselves with it, as that stone smote the image, Dan 2:45. All that think themselves a match for it shall be cut in pieces by it. Some think it is an allusion to a sport which Jerome, upon this place, says was in use among the Jews, as among us: young men tried their strength, and strove for mastery, by heaving up great stones, which, if they proved too heavy for them, fell upon them, and bruised them. Those that make a jest of religion, and banter sacred things, will find them a burdensome stone, that it is ill-jesting with edged-tools, and though they make light of it (saying, Am not I in sport? ) they bring upon themselves an insupportable sinking load of guilt. Our Saviour seems to allude to these words when he speaks of himself as a burdensome stone to those that will not have him for their foundation-stone, which shall fall upon them and grind them to powder, Mat 21:44.

(3.) The governors of Judah shall be among their enemies like a hearth of fire among the wood, and a torch of fire in a sheaf, Zec 12:6. Not that their own passions shall make them incendiaries and firebrands to all about them; no; Zion's King is meek and lowly, and all subordinate governors must be like him; but God's justice will make them avengers of his cause, and theirs, upon their enemies. Those that contend with them will find it is like an opposition given by briers and thorns to a consuming fire, Isa 27:4. It will go through them, and burn them together. It is God's wrath, and not theirs, that is the fire which devours the adversaries. God's fire is said to be in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem. Isa 31:9. The enemies thought to be as water to this fire, to extinguish it and put it quite out; but God will make them as wood, nay, as a sheaf of corn (which is more combustible), to this fire, not only to be consumed by it, but to be made thereby to burn the more strongly. When God would make Abimelech and the men of Shechem one another's destroyers fire is said to come out from the one to devour the other, Jdg 9:20. So here, Fire shall come out from the governors of Judah to devour all the people round about, as from the mouth of God's witnesses to consume those who offer to hurt them, Rev 11:5. The persecutors of the primitive church found this fulfilled in it, witness Lactantius's history of God's judgments upon the primitive persecutors, and the confession of Julian the apostate at last. Thou hast overcome me, O thou Galilean! The church's motto may be, Nemo me impune lacesset - He that assails me does it at his peril. If you are weary of your life, persecute the Christians, was once a proverb.

2. It is promised that God will infatuate the counsels and enfeeble the courage of the church's enemies (Zec 12:4): " In that day, when the people of the earth are gathered together against Jerusalem, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; "and again, " I will smite every horse of the people with blindness, so that they shall be no way serviceable to them; blinding the horses will be as bad as houghing them."The horses and their horsemen shall both forget the military exercise to which they were trained, and, instead of keeping ranks and observing the rules of their discipline, they shall both grow mad, and ruin themselves. The church's infantry shall be too hard for the enemy's cavalry; and those who were upbraided with trusting in horses shall be baffled by those who were forbidden to multiply horses.

3. It is promised that Jerusalem shall be re-peopled and replenished (Zec 12:6): Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The natives of Jerusalem shall not incorporate in a colony in some other country, and build a city there, and call that Jerusalem, and see the promises fulfilled in that, as those in New England called their towns by the names of towns in Old England. No; they shall have a new Jerusalem upon the same foundation, the same spot of ground, with the old one. They had so after their return out of captivity, but this was to have its full accomplishment in the gospel-church, which is a Jerusalem inhabited in its own place; for, the gospel being to be preached to all the world, it may call every place its own.

4. It is promised that the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be enabled to defend themselves, and yet shall be taken under the divine protection, Zec 12:8. See here in what method God preserves his church, and those that are his, from the gates of hell to and through the gates of heaven. (1.) He does himself secure them: In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, not only Jerusalem itself from being taken and destroyed, but every inhabitant of it from being any way damaged. God will not only be a wall of fire about the city, to fortify that, but he will encompass particular persons with his favour as with a shield, so that no dart of the besiegers shall touch them. (2.) He does it by giving them strength and courage to help themselves. What God works in his people by his grace contributes more to their preservation and defence than what he works for them by his providence. The God of Israel gives strength and power to his people, that they may do their part, and then he will not be wanting to do his. it is the glory of God to strengthen the weak, that most need his help, that see and own their need of it, and will be the most thankful for it. [1.] In that day the feeblest of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be as David, shall be men of war, as bold and brave, as skilful and strong, as David himself, shall attempt and accomplish great things, as David did, and become as serviceable to Jerusalem in guarding it as David himself was in founding it, and as formidable as he was to the enemies of it. See what divine grace does; it makes children not only men, but champions, makes weak saints to be not only good soldiers, but great soldiers, like David. And see how God often does his own work as easily and effectually, and more to his own glory, by weak and obscure instruments than by the most illustrious. [2.] The house of David shall be as God, that is, as the angel of the Lord, before them. Zerubbabel was now the top-branch of the house of David; he shall be endued with wisdom and grace for the service to which he is called, and shall go before the people as an angel, as that angel (so some think) which went before the people of Israel through the wilderness, which was God himself, Exo 23:20. God will increase the gifts and abilities both of the people and princes, in proportion to the respective services for which they are designed. It was said of David that he was as an angel of God, to discern good and bad, 2Sa 14:17. Such shall the house of David now be. The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be as strong and fit for action as nature made David, and their magistrates as wise and fit for counsel as grace made him. But this was to have its full accomplishment in Christ; now the house of David looked little and mean, and its glory was eclipsed, but in Christ the house of David shone more brightly than ever, and its countenance was as that of an angel; in him it became more blessed, and more a blessing, than ever it had been.

5. It is promised that there shall be a very good understanding between the city and the country, and that the balance shall be kept even between them; there shall be no mutual envies or jealousies between them; they shall not keep up any separate interests, but shall heartily unite in their counsels, and act in concert for the common good; and this happy agreement between the city and the country, the head and the body, is very necessary to the health, welfare, and safety of any nation. (1.) The governors of Judah, the magistrates and gentry of the country, shall think honourably of the citizens, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the merchants and tradesmen; they shall not run them down, and contrive how to keep them under, but they shall say in their hearts, not in compliment but in sincerity, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength, the strength of my country, of my family, in the Lord of hosts their God, Zec 12:5. They will therefore, upon all occasions, pay respect and deference to Jerusalem, as the mother-city, the ruling-city, and the city that is to be first served, because they look upon it to be the bulwark of the nation and its strongest fortification in times of public danger and distress, which therefore they would all come in to the assistance of and come under the protection of, and this not so much because it was a rich city, and money is the sinews of war, nor because it was a populous city and could bring the greatest numbers into the field, nor because its inhabitants were generally the most ingenious active men, the best soldiers and the best commanders ( of Zion it shall be said, This and that brave man were born there ), but because it was a holy city, where God's house and household, the temple and the priests, were, where his worship was kept up and his feasts were observed, and because it should now be more than ever a praying city, for upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem God will pour a spirit of supplication (Zec 12:10); therefore the governors of Judah shall say, These are my strength; they are so upon the account of their relation to, their interest in, and their communion with, the Lord of hosts, their God. Because the Lord of hosts is in a particular manner their God (for in Salem is his tabernacle and his dwelling-place in Zion ), therefore they shall be my strength. Note, It is well with a kingdom when its great men know how to value its good men, when its governors look upon religion and religious people to be their strength, and consider it their interest to support them, and learn to call godly praying people, and skilful faithful ministers, the chariots and horsemen of Israel, as Joash called Elisha, and not the troublers of the land, as Ahab called Elijah. (2.) The court and the city shall not despise, nor look with contempt upon, the inhabitants of the country; no, not the meanest of them, much less upon the governors of Judah; for God will put signal honour upon Judah, and so save them from the contempt of their brethren. As Jerusalem was dignified by special ordinances, so Judah shall be dignified with special providences. God says (Zec 12:4), I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah, upon the poor country people. Proud men scornfully overlook them, but the great God will graciously look upon them and look after them. Nay, (Zec 12:7), the Lord shall save the tents of Judah first. Those that dwell in tents lie most exposed; but God will remarkably protect and deliver them before those that dwell in Jerusalem. He will appear glorious in what he does for the inhabitants of his villages in Israel, Jdg 5:11. Thus, in the mystical body, God gives more abundant honour to that part which lacked, that there may be no schism in the body (see 1Co 12:22-25), which is the reason here given why the glory of the house of David, which has great power, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who have great wealth, and both which live in great pomp and pleasure, may not magnify themselves against Judah and the tents of Judah, the dwellers in which work hard, and fare hard, and perhaps are not so well bred. Note, Courtiers and citizens ought not to despise country people, nor look with disdain upon those whom God opens his eyes upon and who are first saved, while it is so hard for the rich and great to enter the kingdom of God. If God by his grace has magnified the dwellers in the tents of Judah, having chosen the weak and foolish things of the world and chosen to employ them, we affront him if we vilify them, or magnify ourselves against them, Jam 2:5, Jam 2:6. This promise has a further reference to the gospel-church, in which no difference shall be made between high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, circumcision and uncircumcision, but all shall be alike welcome to Christ, and partake of his benefits, Col 3:11. Jerusalem shall not then be thought, as it had been, more holy than other parts of the land of Israel.

Matthew Henry: Zec 12:9-14

The day here spoken of is the day of Jerusalem's defence and deliverance, that glorious day when God will appear for the salvation of his people, which, if it do refer to the successes which the Jews had against their enemies in the time of the Maccabees, yet certainly looks further, to the gospel-day, to Christ's victories over the powers of darkness and the great salvation he has wrought for his chosen. Now we have here an account of two remarkable works designed in that day.

I. A glorious work of God to be wrought for his people: " I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem, Zec 12:9. Nations come against Jerusalem, many and mighty nations; but they shall all be destroyed, their power shall be broken, and their attempts baffled; the mischief they intend shall return upon their own head."God will seek to destroy them, not as if he were at a loss for ways and means to bring it about (Infinite Wisdom was never nonplussed), but his seeking to do it intimates that he is very earnest and intent upon it (he is jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and has the day of vengeance in his heart) and that he overrules means and instruments, and all the motions and operations of second causes, in order to it. He is framing evil against them; when he seems to be setting them up he is seeking to destroy them. In Christ's first coming, he sought to destroy him that had the power of death, and did destroy him, bruised the serpent's head, and broke all the powers of darkness that fought against God's kingdom among men and against the faithful friends and subjects of that kingdom; he spoiled them, and made a show of them openly. In his second coming, he will complete their destruction, when he shall put down all opposing rule, principality, and power, and death itself shall be swallowed up in that victory. The last enemy shall be destroyed of all that fought against Jerusalem.

II. A gracious work of God to be wrought in his people, in order to the work that is to be wrought for them. When he seeks to destroy their enemies he will pour upon them the Spirit of grace and supplication. Note, When God intends great mercy for his people the first thing he does is to set them a praying; thus he seeks to destroy their enemies by stirring them up to seek to him that he would do it for them; because, though he has proposed it and promised it, and it is for his own glory to do it, yet he will for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, Eze 36:37. Ask, and it shall be given. This honour will he have to himself, and this honour will he put upon prayer and upon praying people. And it is a happy presage to the distressed church of deliverance approaching, and is, as it were, the dawning of its day, when his people are stirred up to cry mightily to him for it. But this promise has reference to, and is performed in, the graces of the Spirit given to all believers, as that Isa 44:3, I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, which was fulfilled when Jesus was glorified, Joh 7:39. It is a promise of the Spirit, and with him of all spiritual blessings in heavenly things by Christ. Now observe here,

1. On whom these blessings are poured out. (1.) On the house of David, on the great men; for they are no more, and no better, than the grace of God makes them. It was promised (Zec 12:8) that the house of David should be as the angel of the Lord. Now, in order to that, the Spirit of grace is poured upon them; for the more the saints have of the Spirit of grace the more like they are to the holy angels. When God was about to appear for the land, he poured his Spirit of grace upon the house of David, the leading men of the land. It bodes well to a people when princes and great men go before the rest in that which is good, as 2Ch 20:5. The house of David is all summed up in Jesus Christ, the Son of David; and upon him, as the head, the Spirit of grace is poured out, from him to be diffused to all his members; from his fulness we receive, and grace for grace. ( 2. ) On the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the common people; for the operations of the Spirit are the same upon the mean and weak Christians that they are upon the strong and more grown. The inhabitants of Jerusalem cannot influence public affairs by their powers and policies, as the great men of the house of David may, yet they may do good service by their prayers, and therefore upon them the Spirit shall be poured out. The church is Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem; all true believers, that have their conversation in the heaven, are inhabitants of this Jerusalem, and to them this promise belongs. God will pour his Spirit upon them. This is the earnest which all that believe in Christ shall receive; thus they are sanctified; thus they are sealed.

2. What these blessings are: I will pour upon them the Spirit. That includes all good things, as it qualifies us for the favour of God, and all his other gifts. He will pour out the Spirit, (1.) As a Spirit of grace, to sanctify us and to make us gracious. (2.) As a Spirit of supplications, inclining us to, instructing and assisting us in, the duty of prayer. Note, Wherever the Spirit is given as a Spirit of grace, he is given as a Spirit of sanctification. Wherever he is a Spirit of adoption, he teaches to cry, Abba, Father. As soon as ever Paul was converted, Behold, he prays, Act 9:11. You may as soon find a living man without breath as a living saint without prayer. There is a more plentiful effusion of the Spirit of prayer now under the gospel than was under the law; and the further the work of sanctification is carried in us the better is the work of supplication carried on by us.

3. What the effect of them will be: I will pour upon them the Spirit of grace. One would think that it should follow, "And they shall look on him whom they have believed, and shall rejoice"(and it is true that that is one of the fruits of the pouring out of the Spirit, whence we read of the joy of the Holy ghost ), but it follows, They shall mourn; for there is a holy mourning, that is the effect of the pouring out of the Spirit, a mourning for sin, which is of use to quicken faith in Christ and qualify for joy in God. It is here made the matter of a promise that they shall mourn, for there is a mourning that will end in rejoicing and has a blessing entailed upon it. This mourning is a fruit of the Spirit of grace, an evidence of a work of grace in the soul, and a companion of the Spirit of supplication, as it expresses lively affections working in prayer; hence prayers and tears are often put together, 2Ki 20:5. Jacob, that wrestler with God, wept and made supplication. But here it is a mourning for sin that is the effect of the pouring out of the Spirit.

(1.) It is a mourning grounded upon a sight of Christ: They shall look on me whom they have pierced, and shall mourn for him. Here, [1.] It is foretold that Christ should be pierced, and this scripture is quoted as that which was fulfilled when Christ's side was pierced upon the cross; see Joh 19:37. [2.] He is spoken of as one whom we have pierced; it is spoken primarily of the Jews, who persecuted him to death (and we find that those who pierced him are distinguished from the other kindreds of the earth that shall wail because of him, Rev 1:7); yet it is true of us all as sinners, we have pierced Christ, inasmuch as our sins were the cause of his death, for he was wounded for our transgressions, and they are the grief of his soul; he is broken with the whorish heart of sinners, who therefore are said to crucify him afresh and put him to open shame. [3.] Those that truly repent of sin look upon Christ as one whom they have pierced, who was pierced for their sins and is pierced by them; and this engages them to look unto him, as those that are deeply concerned for him. [4.] This is the effect of their looking to Christ; it makes them mourn. This was particularly fulfilled in those to whom Peter preached Christ crucified; when they heard it those who had had a hand in piercing him were pricked to the heart, and cried out, What shall we do? It is fulfilled in all those who sorrow for sin after a godly sort; they look to Christ, and mourn for him, not so much for his sufferings as for their own sins that procured them. Note, The genuine sorrows of a penitent soul flow from the believing sight of a pierced Saviour. Looking by faith upon the cross of Christ will set us a mourning for sin after a godly sort.

(2.) It is a great mourning. [1.] it is like the mourning of a parent for the death of a beloved child. They shall mourn for sin as one mourns for an only son, in whose grave the hopes of his family are buried, and shall be inwardly in bitterness as one that is in bitterness for his first-born, as the Egyptians were when there was a cry throughout all their land for the death of their first-born. The sorrow of children for the death of their parents is sometimes counterfeited, is often small, and soon wears off and is forgotten; but the sorrow of parents for a child, for a son, for an only son, for a first-born, is natural, sincere, unforced, and unaffected, it is secret and lasting; such are the sorrows of a true penitent, flowing purely from love to Christ above any other. [2.] It is like the mourning of a people for the death of a wise and good prince. It shall be like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon, where good king Josiah was slain, for whom there was a general lamentation (Zec 12:11), and perhaps the greater because they were told that it was their sin that provoked God to deprive them of so great a blessing; therefore they cried out, The crown has fallen from our head. Woe unto us, for we have sinned! Lam 5:16. Christ is our King; our sins were his death, and, for that reason, ought to be our grief.

(3.) It is a general universal mourning (Zec 12:12): The land shall mourn. The land itself put on mourning at the death of Christ, for there was then darkness over all the land, and the earth trembled; but this is a promise that, in consideration of the death of Christ, multitudes shall be effectually brought to sorrow for sin and turn to God; it shall be such a universal gracious mourning as was when all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord, 1Sa 7:2. Some think this is yet to have its complete accomplishment in the general conversion of the Jewish nation.

(4.) It is also a private particular mourning. There shall be not only a mourning of the land, by its representatives in a general assembly (as Jdg 2:5, when the place was called Bochim - A place of weepers ), but it shall spread itself into all corners of the land: Every family apart shall mourn (Zec 12:12), all the families that remain, Zec 12:14. All have contributed to the guilt, and therefore all shall share in the grief. Note, The exercises of devotion should be performed by private families among themselves, besides their joining in public assemblies for religious worship. National fasts must be observed, not only in our synagogues, but in our houses. In the mourning here foretold the wives mourn apart by themselves, in their own apartment, as Esther and her maids. And some think it intimates their denying themselves the use even of lawful delights in a time of general humiliation 1Co 7:5. Four several families are here specified as examples to others in this mourning: - [1.] Two of them are royal families: the house of David, in Solomon, and the house of Nathan, another son of David, brother to Solomon, from whom Zerubbabel descended, as appears by Christ's genealogy, Luk 3:27-31. The house of David, particularly that of Nathan, which is now the chief branch of that house, shall go before in this good work. The greatest princes must not think themselves exempted from the law of repentance, but rather obliged most solemnly to express it, for the exciting of others, as Hezekiah humbled himself (2Ch 32:26), the princes and the king (2Ch 12:6), and the king of Nineveh, Jon 3:6. [2.] Two of them are sacred families (Zec 12:13), the family of the house of Levi, which was God's tribe, and in it particularly the family of Shimei, which was a branch of the tribe of Levi (1Ch 6:17), and probably some of the descendants of that family were now of note for preachers to the people or ministers to the altar. As the princes must mourn for the sins of the magistracy, so must the priests for the iniquity of the holy things. In times of general tribulation and humiliation the Lord's ministers are concerned to weep between the porch and the altar (Joe 2:17), and not only there, but in their houses apart; for in what families should godliness, both in the form and in the power of it, be found, if not in ministers' families?

Keil-Delitzsch: Zec 12:5-7

Zec 12:5. "And the princes of Judah will say in their hearts, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are strength to me, in Jehovah of hosts their God. Zec 12:6. On that day will I make the princes of Judah as a basin of fire under logs of wood, and like a torch of fire under sheaves; and they will devour all nations round about, on the right and on the left; and Jerusalem will dwell still further in its place, at Jerusalem. Zec 12:7. And Jehovah will save the tents of Judah first, that the splendour of the house of David and the splendour of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not lift itself up over Judah." The princes of Judah are mentioned as the leaders of the people in war. What they say is the conviction of the whole nation ( 'allūph , as in Zec 9:7). אמצה (in this form ἁπ. λεγ. ) is a substantive = אמץ , strength (Job 17:9). The singular lı̄ (to me ) expresses the fact that every individual says or thinks this, as with the expression "should I weep"in Zec 7:3. The princes of Judah recognise in the inhabitants of Jerusalem their strength or might, not in this sense, that Judah, being crowded together before Jerusalem, expects help against the foe from the strength of the city and the assistance of its inhabitants, as Hofmann and Koehler maintain, for "their whole account of the inhabitants of the land being shut up in the city (or crowded together before the walls of Jerusalem, and covered by them) is a pure invention"(Koehler), and has no foundation in the text; but in this sense, that the inhabitants of Jerusalem are strong through Jehovah their God, i.e., through the fact that Jehovah has chosen Jerusalem, and by virtue of this election will save the city of His sanctuary (compare Zec 10:12 with Zec 3:2; Zec 1:17; Zec 2:12). Because the princes of Judah put their trust in the divine election of Jerusalem, the Lord makes them into a basin of fire under logs of wood, and a burning torch under sheaves, so that they destroy all nations round about like flames of fire, and Jerusalem therefore remains unconquered and undestroyed in its place at Jerusalem. In this last sentence Jerusalem is first of all the population personified as a woman, and in the second instance the city as such. From the fact that Jerusalem is still preserved, in consequence of the destruction of the enemy proceeding from the princes of Judah it is very evident that the princes of Judah are the representatives of the whole nation, and that the whole of the covenant nation (Judah with Jerusalem) is included in the house of Judah in Zec 12:4. And Zec 12:7 may easily be reconciled with this. The statement that the Lord will "save the tents of Judah first, that the splendour of the house of David may not lift itself up above Judah,"contains the simple thought that the salvation will take place in such a manner that no part of the nation will have any occasion to lift itself up above another, and that because the salvation is effected not by human power, but by the omnipotence of God alone. "The tents of Judah, i.e., its huts, form an antithesis to the splendid buildings of the capital, and probably (?) also point to the defenceless condition of Judah, through which it was absolutely cast upon the help of God"

(Note: Calvin observes: "In my opinion, the prophet applies the term 'tents' to huts which cannot protect their guests or inhabitants. We have thus a tacit contrast between huts and fortified cities.")

(Hengstenberg). תּפארת , the splendour or glory, not the boasting. The house of David is the royal line, which was continued in Zerubbabel and his family, and culminated in Christ. Its splendour consists in the glorification promised in Zec 4:6-10 and Zec 4:14, and Hag 2:23; and the splendour of the inhabitants of Jerusalem is the promises which this city received through its election to be the city of God, in which Jehovah would be enthroned in His sanctuary, and also through the future glorification predicted for it in consequence (Zec 1:16-17; Zec 2:8, Zec 2:12, ff.). The antithesis between Jerusalem and the house of David on the one hand, and the tents of Judah on the other, does not serve to express the thought that "the strong ones will be saved by the weak, in order that the true equilibrium may arise between the two"(Hengst.), for Judah cannot represent the weak ones if its princes consume the enemy like flames of fire; but the thought is simply this: At the deliverance from the attack of the foe, Jerusalem will have no pre-eminence over Judah; but the promises which Jerusalem and the house of David have received will benefit Judah, i.e., the whole of the covenant nation, in like manner. This thought is expressed in the following way: The defenceless land will be delivered sooner than the well-defended capital, that the latter may not lift itself up above the former, but that both may humbly acknowledge "that the victory in both cases is the Lord's"(Jerome); for, according to Zec 12:8, Jerusalem will enjoy in the fullest measure the salvation of God.

Keil-Delitzsch: Zec 12:8-9

Zec 12:8. "On that day Jehovah will shelter the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that stumbleth among them will be as David on that day; and the house of David as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them. Zec 12:9. And it will come to pass on that day, I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." In the conflict with the heathen nations, the Lord will endow the inhabitants of Jerusalem with marvellous strength with which to overcome all their foes. The population of Jerusalem is divided into two classes, the weak and the strong. The weak are designated as hannikhshâl , the stumbling one, who cannot stand firmly upon his feet (1Sa 2:4). These are to become like David, the bravest hero of Israel (cf. 1Sa 17:34., 2Sa 17:8). The strong ones, designated as the house, i.e., the household or family of David, are to be like Elohim , i.e., not angels, but God, the Deity, i.e., a superhuman being (cf. Psa 8:6), yea, like the angel of Jehovah, who goes before Israel ( לפניהם ), or the revealer of the invisible God, who is essentially the equal of Jehovah (see at Zec 1:8). The point of comparison lies in the power and strength, not in moral resemblance to God, as Kliefoth supposes, who takes Elohim as equivalent to Jehovah , and identifies it with the angel of Jehovah, as some of the earlier commentators have done, and places the graduation of Elohim into the angel of Jehovah in the appearance of God in human form, in which case, however, לפניהם has no meaning. This shows rather that the "angel of Jehovah"is simply referred to here in connection with his appearance in the history of Israel, when he went at the head of Israel and smote the Egyptians and all the enemies of Israel (Exo 23:20.; Jos 5:13.). This is evident from the antithesis in Zec 12:9. Whilst Jehovah endows the inhabitants of Jerusalem with supernatural strength, He will seek to destroy all the nations which attack Jerusalem. Biqqēsh , followed by an infinitive with Lamed , to strive after anything, as in Zec 6:7. בּוא על applied to the advance of the enemy against a city (= עלה על , Isa 7:1).

Keil-Delitzsch: Zec 12:10

But the Lord will do still more than this for His people. He will renew it by pouring out His spirit of grace upon it, so that it will come to the knowledge of the guilt it has incurred by the rejection of the Saviour, and will bitterly repent of its sin. Zec 12:10. "And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look upon me, whom they have pierced, and will mourn over him like the mourning over an only one, and will grieve bitterly over him, as one grieves bitterly over the first-born." This new promise is simply attached to the previous verse by ו consec. ( ושׁפכתּי ). Through this mode of attachment such connections as that suggested by Kliefoth, "But such glory can only be enjoyed by rebellious Israel when it is converted, and acknowledges and bewails Him whom it has rejected,"are precluded, as at variance with the text. There is not a word in the text about conversion as the condition on which the glory set before them in Zec 12:3-9 was to be obtained; on the contrary, conversion is represented as one fruit of the outpouring of the spirit of prayer upon the nation; and this outpouring of the Spirit is introduced by ושׁפכתּי , which corresponds to אבקּשׁ in Zec 12:9, as a new feature in the salvation, to be added to the promise of the destruction of the nations which fight against Jerusalem. The fact that only the inhabitants of Jerusalem are named, and not those of Judah also, is explained correctly by the commentators from the custom of regarding the capital as the representative of the whole nation. And it follows eo ipso from this, that in Zec 12:8 also the expression "inhabitants of Jerusalem"is simply an individualizing epithet for the whole of the covenant nation. But just as in Zec 12:8 the house of David is mentioned emphatically along with these was the princely family and representative of the ruling class, so is it also in Zec 12:10, for the purpose of expressing the thought that the same salvation is to be enjoyed by the whole nation, in all its ranks, from the first to the last. The outpouring of the Spirit points back to Joe 3:1., except that there the Spirit of Jehovah generally is spoken of, whereas here it is simply the spirit of grace and of supplication. Chēn does not mean "prayer,"nor emotion, or goodness, or love (Hitzig, Ewald), but simply grace or favour; and here, as in Zec 4:7, the grace of God; not indeed in its objectivity, but as a principle at work in the human mind. The spirit of grace is the spirit which produces in the mind of man the experience of the grace of God. But this experience begets in the soul of sinful man the knowledge of sin and guilt, and prayer for the forgiveness of sin, i.e., supplication; and this awakens sorrow and repentance. הבּיטוּ אלי , they look upon me. Hibbı̄t , used of bodily sight as well as spiritual (cf. Num 21:9). The suffix in אלי (to me ) refers to the speaker. This is Jehovah , according to Zec 12:1, the creator of the heaven and the earth. את־אשׁר דּקרוּ , not "Him whom they pierced,"but simply "whom they pierced." את , that is to say, is not governed by hibbı̄tū as a second object, but simply refers to אלי , to me, "whom they pierced," את־אשׁר is chosen here, as in Jer 38:9, in the place of the simple אשׁר , to mark אשׁר more clearly as an accusative, since the simple אשׁר might also be rendered "who pierced (me):"cf. Ges. §123, 2, Not. 1. Dâqar does not mean to ridicule, or scoff at, but only to pierce, thrust through, and to slay by any kind of death whatever (cf. Lam 4:9). And the context shows that here it signifies to put to death. With reference to the explanation proposed by Calvin, "whom they have harassed with insults,"Hitzig has very properly observed: "If it were nothing more than this, wherefore such lamentation over him, which, according to the use of ספד , with על governing the person, and from the similes employed, is to be regarded as a lamentation for the dead?"It is true that we have not to think of a slaying of Jehovah, the creator of the heaven and the earth, but simply of the slaying of the Maleach Jehovah, who, being of the same essence with Jehovah, became man in the person of Jesus Christ. As Zechariah repeatedly represents the coming of the Messiah as a coming of Jehovah in His Maleach to His people, he could, according to this view, also describe the slaying of the Maleach as the slaying of Jehovah. And Israel having come to the knowledge of its sin, will bitterly bewail this deed. עליו does not mean thereat, i.e., at the crime, but is used personally, over him whom they have pierced. Thus the transition from the first person ( אלי ) to the third ( עליו ) points to the fact that the person slain, although essentially one with Jehovah, is personally distinct from the Supreme God. The lamentation for the only son ( yâshı̄d : cf. Amo 8:10) and for the first-born is the deepest and bitterest death-wail. The inf. abs. hâmēr , which is used in the place of the finite verb, signifies making bitter, to which mispēd is to be supplied from the previous sentence (cf. מספּד תּמרוּרים , Jer 6:26).

The historical fulfilment of this prophecy commenced with the crucifixion of the Son of God, who had come in the flesh. The words הבּיטוּ אלי את־אשׁר דּקרוּ are quoted in the Gospel of John (Joh 19:37), according to the Greek rendering ὄψονται εἰς ὅν ἐξεκέντησαν , which probably emanated not from the lxx, but from Aquila, or Theodotion, or Symmachus, as having been fulfilled in Christ, by the fact that a soldier pierced His side with a lance as He was hanging upon the cross (vid., Joh 19:34). If we compare this quotation with the fact mentioned in Joh 19:36, that they did not break any of His bones, there can be no doubt that John quotes this passage with distinct allusion to this special circumstance; only we must not infer from this, that the evangelist regarded the meaning of the prophecy as exhausted by this allusion. The piercing with the spear is simply looked upon by him as the climax of all the mortal sufferings of Christ; and even with Zechariah the piercing is simply an individualizing expression for putting to death, the instrument used and the kind of death being of very subordinate importance. This is evident from a comparison of our verse with Zec 13:7, where the sword is mentioned as the instrument employed, whereas dâqar points rather to a spear. What we have observed respecting the fulfilment of Zec 9:9 by the entry of Christ into Jerusalem, also applies to this special fulfilment, viz., that the so to speak literal fulfilment in the outward circumstances only served to make the internal concatenation of the prophecy with its historical realization so clear, that even unbelievers could not successfully deny it. Luke (Luk 23:48) indicates the commencement of the fulfilment of the looking at the slain one by these words: "And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts."(For the smiting of the breasts, comp. Isa 32:12, ספד על שׁדים .) "The crowds, who had just before been crying out, Crucify him, here smite upon their breasts, being overpowered with the proofs of the superhuman exaltation of Jesus, and lament over the crucified one, and over their own guilt"(Hengst.). The true and full commencement of the fulfilment, however, shows itself in the success which attended the preaching of Peter on the first day of Pentecost, - namely, in the fact that three thousand were pricked in their heart with penitential sorrow on account of the crucifixion of their Saviour, and were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Act 2:37-41), and in the further results which followed the preaching of the apostles for the conversion of Israel (Acts 3-4). The fulfilment has continued with less striking results through the whole period of the Christian church, in conversions from among the Jews; and it will not terminate till the remnant of Israel shall turn as a people to Jesus the Messiah, whom its fathers crucified. On the other hand, those who continue obstinately in unbelief will see Him at last when He returns in the clouds of heaven, and shriek with despair (Rev 1:7; Mat 24:30).

Keil-Delitzsch: Zec 12:11-14

In Zec 12:11-14 the magnitude and universality of the mourning are still further depicted. Zec 12:11. "In that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo. Zec 12:12. And the land will mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart. Zec 12:13. The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeite apart, and their wives apart. Zec 12:14. All the rest of the families, every family apart, and their wives apart." In Zec 12:11, the depth and bitterness of the pain on account of the slain Messiah are depicted by comparing it to the mourning of Hadad-rimmon. Jerome says with regard to this: "Adad-remmon is a city near Jerusalem, which was formerly called by this name, but is now called Maximianopolis, in the field of Mageddon, where the good king Josiah was wounded by Pharaoh Necho."This statement of Jerome is confirmed by the fact that the ancient Canaanitish or Hebrew name of the city has been preserved in Rümuni , a small village three-quarters of an hour to the south of Lejun ( Legio = Megiddo: see at Jos 12:21; and V. de Velde, Reise , i. p. 267). The mourning of Hadad-rimmon is therefore the mourning for the calamity which befel Israel at Hadad-rimmon in the death of the good king Josiah, who was mortally wounded in the valley Megiddo, according to 2Ch 35:22., so that he very soon gave up the ghost. The death of this most pious of all the kings of Judah was bewailed by the people, especially the righteous members of the nation, so bitterly, that not only did the prophet Jeremiah compose an elegy on his death, but other singers, both male and female, bewailed him in dirges, which were placed in a collection of elegiac songs, and preserved in Israel till long after the captivity (2Ch 35:25). Zechariah compares the lamentation for the putting of the Messiah to death to this great national mourning. All the other explanations that have been given of these words are so arbitrary, as hardly to be worthy of notice. This applies, for example, to the idea mentioned by the Chald., that the reference is to the death of the wicked Ahab, and also to Hitzig's hypothesis, that Hadad-rimmon was the one name of the god Adonis . For, apart from the fact that it is only from this passage that Movers has inferred that there ever was an idol of that name, a prophet of Jehovah could not possibly have compared the great lamentation of the Israelites over the death of the Messiah to the lamentation over the death of Ahab the ungodly king of Israel, or to the mourning for a Syrian idol. But the mourning will not be confined to Jerusalem; the land ( hâ'ârets ), i.e., the whole nation, will also mourn. This universality of the lamentation is individualized in Zec 12:12-14, and so depicted as to show that all the families and households of the nation mourn, and not the men only, but also the women. To this end the prophet mentions four distinct leading and secondary families, and then adds in conclusion, "all the rest of the families, with their wives."Of the several families named, two can be determined with certainty, - namely, the family of the house of David, i.e., the posterity of king David, and the family of the house of Levi, i.e., the posterity of the patriarch Levi. But about the other two families there is a difference of opinion. The rabbinical writers suppose that Nathan is the well known prophet of that name, and the family of Shimei the tribe of Simeon, which is said, according to the rabbinical fiction, to have furnished teachers to the nation.

(Note: Jerome gives the Jewish view thus: "In David the regal tribe is included, i.e., Judah. In Nathan the prophetic order is described. Levi refers to the priests, from whom the priesthood sprang. In Simeon the teachers are included, as the companies of masters sprang from that tribe. He says nothing about the other tribes, as they had no special privilege of dignity.")

But the latter opinion is overthrown, apart from any other reason, by the fact that the patronymic of Simeon is not written שׁמעי , but שׁמעני , in Jos 21:4; 1Ch 27:16. Still less can the Benjamite Shimei, who cursed David (2Sa 16:5.), be intended. משׁפּחת השּׁמעי is the name given in Num 3:21 to the family of the son of Gershon and the grandson of Levi (Num 3:17.). This is the family intended here, and in harmony with this Nathan is not the prophet of that name, but the son of David, from whom Zerubbabel was descended (Luk 3:27, Luk 3:31). Luther adopted this explanation: "Four families,"he says, "are enumerated, two from the royal line, under the names of David and Nathan, and two from the priestly line, as Levi and Shimei; after which he embraces all together."Of two tribes he mentions one leading family and one subordinate branch, to show that not only are all the families of Israel in general seized with the same grief, but all the separate branches of those families. Thus the word mishpâchâh is used here, as in many other cases, in the wider and more restricted meaning of the leading and the subordinate families.

Constable: Zec 9:1--14:21

V. Oracles about the Messiah and Israel's future chs. 9--14

This part of Zechariah contains two undated oracles that are almost entirely eschatological. They expand the eschatological vision in chapters 1-8 and modify its generally optimistic view with emphasis on Israel's purification. The prophet may have composed these chapters after the temple was completed. The phrase "on that day" occurs 18 times and points to the distant future, as is clear from their contexts. The centerpiece of this section is the messianic King who will appear and bring both judgment and blessing.

"Just as the eight night visions (chapters 1-6) and prophecies springing out of the question of the national fasts (chapters 7 and 8) all have their fulfillment in events leading up to and into the kingdom (without an exception), so chapters 9-14 likewise comprehend the same great Messianic future of Israel."¹⁷⁸

"One must admit that once he begins a careful study of chapters 9-14 he is immediately made aware of the change of mood, outlook, style, and composition of this part of the book compared to the first eight chapters. . . .

". . . the prophet in this section has entered another realm of thought and perspective, much as did Isaiah in the latter part (chaps. 40-66) of his work. . . . The perspective . . . is primarily eschatological, it lacks any indisputable connection to contemporary persons or events, and it is dominated by cryptic allusions to cosmic, redemptive, and messianic themes that have no accompanying interpretation, contrary to the case in Zech. 1-8. In short, the prophet has broken free of the mold in which he cast the material of the first part and has created a new form in which to express the grand and glorious ideas that permeate his thinking in the second part."¹⁷⁹

"The last six chapters are very different. Gone are the bold outlines, and instead there are enigmatic references to enemies of former days, grim battles, betrayal, bitter weeping, interspersed with assurances of peace, prosperity and ultimate victory. It is probably with these chapters in mind that Jerome wrote, . . . that most obscure book of the prophet Zechariah, and of the Twelve the longest . . .'. Obscure though it is in places, chapters 9-14 are the most quoted section of the prophets in the passion narratives of the Gospels and, next to Ezekiel, Zechariah has influenced the author of Revelation more than any other Old Testament writer."¹⁸⁰

"In the first [burden] (chaps. 9-11), the judgment through which Gentile world-power over Israel is finally destroyed, and Israel is endowed with strength to ovecome all their enemies, forms the fundamental thought and centre of gravity of the prophetic description. In the second [burden] (chaps. 12-14), the judgment through which Israel itself is sifted and purged in the final great conflict with the nations, and transformed into the holy nation of Jehovah, forms the leading topic."¹⁸¹

This section of the book is also chiastic (cf. chs. 1-6).

"A God comes to protect and bless (chs. 9-10)

B The people reject God's shepherd (11:1-14)

C The worthless shepherd hurts the flock (11:15-17)

C' The nations come to destroy Jerusalem (12:1-9)

B' The people repent and turn to God (12:10-13:6)

A' God comes to protect and bless (13:7-14:21)"¹⁸²

Constable: Zec 12:1--14:21

B. The burden concerning Israel: the advent and acceptance of Messiah chs. 12-14

This last section of the book contrasts initial judgments on Israel with ultimate deliverance, restoration, and blessing.

"As a portion of the prophetic Scriptures it is second to none in importance in this book or in any other Old Testament book. It is indispensable to an understanding of the events of the last days for Israel--the time of the Great Tribulation and the establishment of God's kingdom on earth."²⁴⁸

The repetition of "in that day" and its equivalent 19 times in these three chapters sets these events quite clearly in the eschaton (end times).

"This prophetic time indicator is equivalent to the day of the Lord' and denotes precisely that future period when the Lord will openly and publicly manifest His power in delivering Israel from her enemies and establishing her in millennial peace and prosperity."²⁴⁹

Two main events are in view in this oracle: the final siege of Jerusalem and the return of Messiah to the earth to defeat His enemies and establish His kingdom. The nations of the earth play a major role in what these chapters predict. These events follow in time Israel's acceptance of the evil shepherd predicted in 11:15-17.

"The major difference between the two oracles (chap. 11 excepted) is that 12-14 expands greatly on the themes of 9-10 and introduces a cosmic, universalistic motif that is not as clearly perceived in the latter. Moreover, 12-14 focuses on the messianic aspect of the eschatological redemption, going so far as to identify YHWH Himself as the messianic figure (12:10-14; 13:7-9)."²⁵⁰

Constable: Zec 12:1-14

1. The repentance of Judah ch. 12

This chapter consist of two parts: Israel's deliverance (vv. 1-9) and Israel's national conversion (vv. 10-14). These events will happen sequentially but very close together.

Constable: Zec 12:1-9

Israel's deliverance 12:1-9

12:1 "The burden . . . concerning Israel" introduces chapters 12-14 as "The burden . . . against the land of Hadrach" (9:1) did chapters 9-11. By describing Yahweh as the creator of the heavens, earth, and man, Zechariah reminded his audience of God's authority and ability to accomplish what He predicted in this three-chapter oracle. He is the master over all things celestial, terrestrial, and human.

"Here at the brink of a new age it is important to know that the same God who brought everything into existence in the first place is well able to usher in the new creation of a restored people in a renewed and universal kingdom."²⁵¹

12:2 The Lord would make Jerusalem like a cup of strong wine to the nations; when they tried to consume Jerusalem (a metonymy for all Israel), it would cause them to reel. Jerusalem had previously drunk the cup of the Lord's wrath (Isa. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15-17, 28), but now it was the nations' turn to drink it. Their siege of Jerusalem would extend to all the surrounding territory of Judah. The time in view is after the Lord regathered the Israelites to their land (ch. 10).

12:3 Jerusalem would also be like a heavy stone "in that day" when the nations tried to carry it away; they would injure themselves when they tried to do so. In that day all the nations of the earth would gather together against Jerusalem (cf. 14:2; Joel 3:9-16; Rev. 16:16-21).

12:4 The Lord would cause the weapons that Israel's enemies used to destroy the city to be ineffective, and He would make the hostile soldiers crazy (cf. Deut. 28:28; Judg. 5:22). In this way He would watch over the house of Judah (the Israelites; cf. Ps. 32:8; 33:18).

12:5 The leaders of Israel's groups outside Jerusalem would realize that Yahweh Almighty, their God, was making the people of Jerusalem strong supporters of them.

12:6 In that day the Lord would not only preserve His people from the attacks of their enemies, but He would also make them effective as they aggressively attacked them (cf. Judg. 15:3-5).

12:7 Yahweh would defend the outlying areas of Judah first so the people from David's line and the residents of Jerusalem would not conclude that they were more important in God's sight (cf. Jer. 9:23-24; 1 Cor. 1:29, 31; 12:22-26; 2 Cor. 10:17). All the Jews would see that it was the Lord who was responsible for their deliverance. This would evidently end their fighting among themselves (cf. 11:6).

12:8 As part of His defending them, the Lord would strengthen the feeble among the people so they would be as strong as David, the mighty warrior. The Davidic rulers would also receive supernatural strength and would be like God, as the angel of the Lord who would go before them (cf. Exod. 14:19; 23:20; 32:34; 33:2, 14-15, 22; 1 Sam. 29:9; 2 Sam. 4:17, 20; 19:27).

12:9 In that day the Lord would set about destroying all Israel's enemies, and He will be successful.

". . . we place the entire passage in the time of the Great Tribulation and more specifically in the Battle of Armageddon, when the nations of the earth will make their last frantic effort to blot Israel out of existence, only to be met by the most crushing defeat at the hands of the Lord of hosts Himself."²⁵²

An amillennial explanation of the passage follows.

". . . it covers all time from that in which the prophet spoke to the end of days. What is said concerning Judah applies to the people of God of all times. The claims made for Jerusalem's future find their ultimate fulfillment in the true Zion of God--His church; in fact, they can be applied to Jerusalem only insofar as she for a time harbored the church of God. The whole passage speaks of God's sovereign care and protection of the church of the Old and the New Testaments through the ages and more particularly of the church's victory rather than the victory of Judah after the flesh."²⁵³

Constable: Zec 12:10-14

Israel's national conversion 12:10-14

The focus now changes from physical to spiritual deliverance (cf. Deut. 30:1-10).

12:10 The Lord also promised to pour out on the Davidic rulers and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, representing all the Israelites, a spirit of remorse. Grace would be the motive for this outpouring and supplication to God (for what the Jews had done to their Messiah) would be the result. This God-given conviction would cause them to mourn when they looked (in faith) to Him (better than on Him) whom they had formerly pierced (i.e., slain; cf. Num. 21:9; Isa. 45:22; 53:5; John 3:14-15; 19:34).

"It is not so much a mourning for the act committed, but for the Person involved. Compare John 19:37; Revelation 1:7."²⁵⁴

They would mourn as one mourns over the death of one's only (beloved, cf. Gen. 22:2; Jer. 6:26; Amos 8:10) son or his or her firstborn son.

"It is a picture of penitence as vivid and accurate as any found anywhere in the Scriptures."²⁵⁵

The Jews will do this either just before the Messiah returns to the earth or when He returns to the earth (cf. Isa. 27:9; 59:20-21; Jer. 31:31-37; Amos 9:11-15; Rom. 11:25-27). The spirit in view will be a result of the ministry of the Holy Spirit who conveys grace (compassion; cf. Heb. 10:29) and calls forth supplication (prayer; cf. Isa. 32:15; 44:3; 59:20-21; Jer. 31:31, 33; Ezek. 36:26-27; 39:29; Joel 2:28-29).

The unusual combination "they will look to Me whom they have pierced" and "they will mourn for Him" suggests two different individuals, but the deity of the Messiah solves this problem. Yahweh Himself would suffer for the people in the person of Messiah. The suffering could be figurative (they wounded His holiness) or substitutionary (He died in place of others). Other references to this text point to a substitute suffering (e.g., John 19:37; Rev. 1:7; cf. Isa. 53:5).

". . . like Thomas their excruciating and inexpressibly penetrating cry of deepest contrition will be, My Lord and my God!' (John 20:28)."²⁵⁶

12:11 In that day there would be great mourning in Jerusalem and undoubtedly elsewhere throughout Israel. Zechariah compared this mourning to the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo, an event that scholars have had trouble identifying. Hadadrimmon is a compound of two Amorite or Canaanite divine names, Hadad being the storm god and Rimmon the thunder god.²⁵⁷ Hadadrimmon may have been an important though presently unknown individual, a place near Megiddo (cf. 14:10; Josh. 15:32; 19:7),²⁵⁸ or a pagan deity (cf. 2 Kings 5:18).²⁵⁹ The devotees of the Canaanite god Baal mourned his "dying" each winter and then celebrated his "resurrection" each spring. Probably the place where King Josiah died and or where the people mourned his premature death near there as late as the writing of Chronicles is in view (cf. 2 Chron. 35:20-27).

12:12-14 All the Israelites would mourn; this would be a national repentance. The repeated phrases "every family by itself" and "their wives by themselves" solemnize the mourning and underline its genuineness.

"The wives are spoken of as mourning apart because in public lamentations the custom prevailed of separating into groups, also according to sex."²⁶⁰

"The closest relationship is as nothing in [the] presence of sin and God as its judge. Each must be alone."²⁶¹

This would not be a national media event staged by the leaders of Israel to make a show, but individuals everywhere throughout the nation would sincerely voice their remorse.

"Individually and corporately, this is the experience of Leviticus 16 (the Day of Atonement) and Psalm 51 (a penitential psalm) on a national scale. . . . Isaiah 53:1-9 could well be their confession on the great occasion."²⁶²

The houses of David and his son Nathan represent the political branches of the nation, though not just the kings as reference to Solomon might have suggested (cf. 2 Sam. 5:14).²⁶³ The houses of Levi and his grandson Shimei represent the religious branches of Israel, though not just the main ones that reference to Gershon, Shimei's father, might have suggested (cf. Num. 3:17-18, 210. Perhaps the political and priestly families received mention because they were those chiefly responsible for Messiah's death. When these leading families mourned, all the other citizens would follow their example. The families of Nathan and Shimei may have been the most prominent families of their kind in Zechariah's day. Zerubbabel came from Nathan's line (Luke 3:23-31), and the Shimeites presumably dominated the Levitical classes in the postexilic era.²⁶⁴

"Nothing can excite to repentance like a view of the crucified Saviour."²⁶⁵

Guzik: Zec 12:1-14

Zechariah 12 - Mourning For The Pierced One

A. God defends Israel against her enemies.

1. (1-4) God supernaturally defends Israel against attack.

The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. In that day," says the LORD, "I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness."

a. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens: The section begins with praise for God's creative power, reminding us that He is in control and completely able to accomplish what He predicts.

b. I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples: God says that in a coming day Jerusalem will intoxicate and stupefy the surrounding peoples. The Arab peoples surrounding Jerusalem have a passion for possessing the city that is not justified by history.

i. Muslims claim Jerusalem as their third-holiest city, but Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. In addition, "During the centuries when Jerusalem was under complete Arab control, no Arab ruler or Islamic leader ever made it the object of a religious pilgrimage - again a strange indifference toward a city which is now considered to be the third-holiest religious site in Islam after Mecca and Medina." (Dave Hunt)

ii. Jerusalem's importance to Muslims comes from the belief that in the Dome of the Rock shrine there is a rock where two significant things happened - where Abraham intended to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, and where Mohammed allegedly ascended into heaven. Though this tradition is firmly in the Muslim mind, it is of recent origin. It was invented by Yasser Arafat's uncle - Haj Amin el-Husseini, who was the past Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. He promoted this myth in the 1920's and 1930's to arouse Arab passions against the growing Jewish presence in Jerusalem.

iii. The verse in the Koran that describes Mohammed's trip to heaven is Surah 17:1: Glorified be He who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far Distant Place [al-Aqsa] of Worship the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! The Islamic interpretation says that the Inviolable Place of Worship is Mecca, and this is accepted by all. It then says that the Far Distant Place of Worship is Jerusalem - but this has no substantiation because Jerusalem had never been a place of Islamic worship to that time, nor would it be for centuries afterward. Jerusalem isn't even mentioned by name in the Koran, so how could it be a place of worship according to the Koran? Most significantly, inside the Dome of the Rock hundreds of verses from the Koran are inscribed - and Surah 17:1 is not among them! The very passage that later supposedly justified the building of the Dome of the Rock is not even included among the hundreds of passages of the Koran inscribed in it!

iv. The Dome of the Rock was built not because of the Koran, but because the Muslim ruler Abdal-Malik wanted to gain revenue from pilgrims and worshippers, and because he wanted to prevent the rebuilding of a Jewish Temple. Islamic passion for Jerusalem is indeed like drunkenness.

v. This is exactly fulfilled in modern Jerusalem. In recent peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel was willing to concede almost everything to the Palestinians in an amazing willingness to make peace. The only thing Israel would not concede was sovereignty over Jerusalem, and the entire deal was ruined over that one point. The problem between Jews and the Arab world has boiled down to one point: Jerusalem.

vi. If Muslim passion for Jerusalem is a mystery, the Jewish claim to the city is entirely Scriptural. "The very fact that Jerusalem is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible makes it worthy of special attention. This unique city is the only one upon which God has bestowed His distinctive blessing and protection (Ps 132:13-14), and the only city for whose peace we are commanded to pray (Ps 122:6). God says He has chosen Jerusalem as the place where He has put His name forever (2 Chr 6:6; 33:7; Ps 46:4; 48:1-8; 87:3). The new heavens and new earth will contain 'the city of my God...new Jerusalem' (Rv 3:12; 21:2). That there will be a 'heavenly Jerusalem' (Heb 12:22) but no 'heavenly' New York, Paris, London, Damascus, Cairo, etc. speaks volumes." (Dave Hunt, The Berean Call - September 2000)

c. I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples: If Jerusalem will be a cup of drunkenness to all her surrounding peoples, it will be a heavy stone - a burden - for all peoples, presenting a problem that cannot be solved (all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces).

i. "Consider how remarkable even this one prophecy is. Who could have imagined when the Old Testament was written that all the nations of the world would be involved in deciding the fate of Israel? And this involvement of all nations in dividing Israel has occurred exactly as prophesied and is still in the process of being implemented." (Dave Hunt)

d. I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness: Though the nations come against Jerusalem with fury, God will protect her. This will find an ultimate fulfillment in the Battle of Armageddon, but we may see an earlier fulfillment any day now.

2. (5-9) God supernaturally empowers His people.

"And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God.' In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place; Jerusalem. The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem."

a. I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile: In that day God will deliver Israel not only through His direct work, but also through blessing and empowering both the governors and inhabitants of Jerusalem. They will be supernaturally empowered by God to defend the city.

b. In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David: King David was renowned for his fighting ability, courage, and success. God promises a day when the weakest in Jerusalem will be as mighty as David - and the leaders can only be compared in might to God!

B. God gives Israel a spirit of humble repentance.

1. (10) Mourning for the pierced One.

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."

a. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication: Part of this great outpouring of strength and might to defend Jerusalem will be an outpouring of the Spirit - but for grace and supplication. God will move among Israel and bring saving grace and repentant prayer.

b. Then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son: As Jerusalem is supernaturally defended and the Spirit is poured out on the nation, they will turn to Jesus, the pierced One. His head was pierced with thorns, His hands and feet were pierced with nails, and a spear pierced His side.

i. They will look: They will turn away from their trust in the foolish, worthless shepherd and turn their focus on the Good Shepherd. When we see Jesus crucified - understanding why He went to the cross and what He accomplished there - we are drawn to Him in humble repentance (John 12:32).

ii. They will look on Him whom they pierced. They will realize that they did it, and that they bear responsibility - not sole responsibility, but responsibility nonetheless - for the crucifixion of their Savior.

iii. They will mourn: The Jewish people will turn to Jesus in repentance, mourning their past rejection of Him. The mourning will be deep, as if for an only son, the firstborn. Firstborn was synonymous with the most beloved.

iv. This will fulfill the amazing promise of Romans 11:26 (And so Israel will be saved) and many other passages that tell us that before the physical return of Jesus to this earth, the Jewish people - as a whole - will welcome Him as their Lord and Savior. The whole context of Zechariah 12 puts this radical conversion in the setting of miraculous deliverance from an attack from the nations.

c. They will look . . . they will mourn: Here we see the pattern for coming to Jesus and true repentance. First we look to Jesus, then we mourn for our sins. Looking to Jesus must come first.

i. "A great mistake is very common among all classes of men - it is currently believed that we are first of all to mourn for our sins, and then to look by faith to our Lord Jesus Christ. Most persons who have any concern about their souls, but are not as yet enlightened by the Spirit of God, think that there is a degree of tenderness of conscience, and of hatred of sin, which they are to obtain somehow or other, and then they will be permitted and authorized to look to Jesus Christ. Now you will perceive that this is not according to the Scripture, for, according to the text before us. men first look upon him whom they have pierced, and then, but not till then, they mourn for their sin." (Spurgeon)

ii. "It is a beautiful remark of an old divine, that eyes are made for two things at least; first, to look with, and next, to weep with. The eye which looks to the pierced One is the eye which weeps for him." (Spurgeon)

d. They will look upon Me: Comparing Zechariah 12:10 with Zechariah 12:1 and 12:3 (Thus says the LORD . . . says the LORD) makes it clear that the Me they look upon is the LORD God - Yahweh - Himself. This is astounding and wonderful evidence that Jesus the pierced One is God, and that Yahweh is the Triune God.

i. Simply said, the Father sends the Spirit so that men would look upon the Son.

2. (11-14) The great mourning of repentance.

"In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves."

a. A great mourning in Jerusalem: The repentance that comes to Israel in that day will be like a great mourning, the ultimate fulfillment of the Day of Atonement, the day of national mourning over their greatest sin - rejecting Jesus.

b. Like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon: This refers to the mourning over King Josiah's death (2 Kings 23:29 and 2 Chronicles 35:20-25). He was such a godly king that the whole nation wept bitterly at his death.

c. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: This indicates there will be both great individual repentance and great corporate repentance. It seems fantastic to us that Israel as a whole would turn to Jesus and repent of their sin of rejecting their Savior - it is so amazing that we would not believe it unless the Bible so clearly taught it!

i. "We know of a surety, because God has said it, that the Jews will be restored to their own land, and that they shall inherit the goodly country which the Lord has given unto their fathers by a covenant of salt for ever; but, better still, they shall be converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and shall see in him the house of David restored to the throne of Israel." (Spurgeon)

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Evidence: Zec 12:10

This is a direct reference to Jesus' crucifixion (see Psa 22:16 ).

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Zechariah (Book Introduction)

THE name Zechariah means one whom Jehovah remembers: a common name, four others of the same name occurring in the Old Testament. Like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, he was a priest as well as a prophet, which adapts him for the sacerdotal character of some of his prophecies (Zec 6:13). He is called "the son of Berechiah the son of Iddo" (Zec 1:1); but simply "the son of Iddo" in Ezr 5:1; Ezr 6:14. Probably his father died when he was young; and hence, as sometimes occurs in Jewish genealogies, he is called "the son of Iddo," his grandfather. Iddo was one of the priests who returned to Zerubbabel and Joshua from Babylon (Neh 12:4).

Zechariah entered early on his prophetic functions (Zec 2:4); only two months later than Haggai, in the second year of Darius' reign, 520 B.C. The design of both prophets was to encourage the people and their religious and civil leaders, Joshua and Zerubbabel, in their work of rebuilding the temple, after the interruption caused by the Samaritans (see Introduction to Haggai). Zechariah does so especially by unfolding in detail the glorious future in connection with the present depressed appearance of the theocracy, and its visible symbol, the temple. He must have been very young in leaving Babylonia, where he was born. The Zechariah, son of Barachias, mentioned by our Lord (Mat 23:35) as slain between the porch and the altar, must have been the one called the son of Jehoiada in 2Ch 24:21, who so perished: the same person often had two names; and our Lord, in referring to the Hebrew Bible, of which Second Chronicles is the last book, would naturally mention the last martyr in the Hebrew order of the canon, as He had instanced Abel as the first. Owing to Mat 27:9 quoting Zec 11:12-13 as the words of Jeremiah, MEDE doubts the authenticity of the ninth through the fourteenth chapters, and ascribes them to Jeremiah: he thinks that these chapters were not found till after the return from the captivity, and being approved by Zechariah, were added to his prophecies, as Agur's Proverbs were added to those of Solomon. All the oldest authorities, except two manuscripts of the old Italian or Pre-Vulgate version, read Jeremiah in Mat 27:9. The quotation there is not to the letter copied from Zechariah, Jer 18:1-2; Jer 32:6-12, may also have been in the mind of Matthew, and perhaps in the mind of Zechariah, whence the former mentions Jeremiah. HENGSTENBERG similarly thinks that Matthew names Jeremiah, rather than Zechariah, to turn attention to the fact that Zechariah's prophecy is but a reiteration of the fearful oracle in Jer. 18:1-19:15, to be fulfilled in the destruction of the Jewish nation. Jeremiah had already, by the image of a potter's vessel, portrayed their ruin in Nebuchadnezzar's invasion; and as Zechariah virtually repeats this threat, to be inflicted again under Messiah for the nation's rejection of Him, Matthew, virtually, by mentioning Jeremiah, implies that the "field of blood" (Mat 27:8-9), now bought by "the reward of iniquity" (Act 1:18) in the valley of Hinnom, was long ago a scene of prophetic doom in which awful disaster had been symbolically predicted: that the present purchase of that field with the traitor's price renewed the prophecy and revived the curse--a curse pronounced of old by Jeremiah, and once fulfilled in the Babylonian siege--a curse reiterated by Zechariah, and again to be verified in the Roman desolation. LIGHTFOOT (referring to B. BATHRA and KIMCHI) less probably thinks the third division of Scripture, the prophets, began with Jeremiah, and that the whole body of prophets is thus quoted by the name "Jeremiah." The mention of "Ephraim" and "Israel" in these chapters as distinct from Judah, does not prove that the prophecy was written while the ten tribes existed as a separate kingdom. It rather implies that hereafter not only Judah, but the ten tribes also, shall be restored, the earnest of which was given in the numbers out of the ten tribes who returned with their brethren the Jews from captivity under Cyrus. There is nothing in these characters to imply that a king reigned in Judah at that time. The editor of the Hebrew canon joined these chapters to Zechariah, not to Jeremiah; the Septuagint, three hundred years B.C., confirms this.

The prophecy consists of four parts: (1) Introductory, Zec 1:1-6. (2) Symbolical, Zec 1:7, to the end of the sixth chapter, containing nine visions; all these were vouchsafed in one night, and are of a symbolical character. (3) Didactic, the seventh and eighth chapters containing an answer to a query of the Beth-elites concerning a certain feast. And (4) Prophetic, the ninth chapter to the end. These six last chapters predict Alexander's expedition along the west coast of Palestine to Egypt; God's protection of the Jews, both at that time and under the Maccabees; the advent, sufferings, and reign of Messiah; the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome, and dissolution of the Jews' polity; their conversion and restoration; the overthrow of the wicked confederacy which assailed them in Canaan; and the Gentiles' joining in their holy worship [HENDERSON]. The difference in style between the former and the latter chapters is due to the difference of subject; the first six chapters being of a symbolical and peculiar character, while the poetical style of the concluding chapters is adapted admirably to the subjects treated. The titles (Zec 9:1; Zec 12:1) accord with the prophetic matter which follows; nor is it necessary for unity of authorship that the introductory formulas occurring in the first eight chapters should occur in the last six. The non-reference in the last six chapters to the completion of the temple and the Jews' restoration after the captivity is just what we should expect, if, as seems likely, these chapters were written long after the completion of the temple and the restoration of the Jews polity after the captivity, in circumstances different from those which engaged the prophet when he wrote the earlier chapters.

The style varies with the subject: at one time conversational, at another poetical. His symbols are enigmatical and are therefore accompanied with explanations. His prose is like that of Ezekiel--diffuse, uniform, and repetitious. The rhythm is somewhat unequal, and the parallelisms are not altogether symmetrical. Still, there is found often much of the elevation met with in the earlier prophets, and a general congruity between the style and the subjects. Graphic vividness is his peculiar merit. Chaldæisms occur occasionally. Another special characteristic of Zechariah is his introduction of spiritual beings into his prophetic scenes.

JFB: Zechariah (Outline)

• INTRODUCTORY EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE. THE VISION. The man among the myrtles: Comforting explanation by the angel, an encouragement to the Jews to build the city and temple: The four horns and four artificers. (Zec. 1:1-17) See Introduction.
• SECOND VISION. The power of the Jews foes shall be dissipated. (Zec 1:18-21)
• THIRD VISION. The man with the measuring-line. (Zec 2:1-13)
• FOURTH VISION. Joshua the high priest before the angel of Jehovah; accused by Satan, but justified by Jehovah through Messiah the coming Branch. (Zec 3:1-10) Joshua as high priest (Hag 1:1) represents "Jerusalem" (Zec 3:2), or the elect people, put on its trial, and "plucked" narrowly "out of the fire." His attitude, "standing before the Lord," is that of a high priest ministering before the altar erected previously to the building of the temple (Ezr 3:2-3, Ezr 3:6; Psa 135:2). Yet, in this position, by reason of his own and his people's sins, he is represented as on his and their trial (Num 35:12).
• FIFTH VISION. The golden candlestick and the two olive trees. The temple shall be completed by the aid of God's Spirit. (Zec 4:1-14)
• SIXTH VISION. THE FLYING ROLL. The fraudulent and perjuring transgressors of the law shall be extirpated from Judea. (Zec 5:1-4)
• SEVENTH VISION. THE WOMAN IN THE EPHAH. Wickedness and idolatry removed from the Holy Land to Babylon, there to mingle with their kindred elements. (Zec 5:5-11)
• EIGHTH VISION. THE FOUR CHARIOTS. (Zec 6:1-8)
• NINTH VISION. THE CROWNING OF JOSHUA. (Zec 6:9-15)
• II. DIDACTIC PART, SEVENTH AND EIGHTH CHAPTERS. OBEDIENCE, RATHER THAN FASTING, ENJOINED: ITS REWARD. (Zec 7:1-14)
• CONTINUATION OF THE SUBJECT IN THE SEVENTH CHAPTER. After urging them to obedience by the fate of their fathers, he urges them to it by promises of coming prosperity. (Zec. 8:1-23)
• NINTH TO FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS ARE PROPHETICAL. (Zec. 9:1-17)
• PRAYER AND PROMISE. (Zec 10:1-12)
• DESTRUCTION OF THE SECOND TEMPLE AND JEWISH POLITY FOR THE REJECTION OF MESSIAH. (Zec. 11:1-17)
• JERUSALEM THE INSTRUMENT OF JUDGMENT ON HER FOES HEREAFTER; HER REPENTANCE AND RESTORATION. (Zec 12:1-14)
• CLEANSING OF THE JEWS FROM SIN; ABOLITION OF IDOLATRY; THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN; THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND CUT OFF, EXCEPT A THIRD PART REFINED BY TRIALS. (Zec 13:1-9) Connected with the close of the twelfth chapter. The mourning penitents are here comforted.
• LAST STRUGGLE WITH THE HOSTILE WORLD POWERS: MESSIAH-JEHOVAH SAVES JERUSALEM AND DESTROYS THE FOE, OF WHOM THE REMNANT TURNS TO THE LORD REIGNING AT JERUSALEM. (Zec. 14:1-21)

TSK: Zechariah 12 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Zec 12:1, Jerusalem a cup of trembling to herself, Zec 12:3, and a burdensome stone to her adversaries; Zec 12:6, The victorious restoring of Judah; Zec 12:10, The repentance of Jerusalem.

Poole: Zechariah (Book Introduction)

THE ARGUMENT

Zechariah is the second prophet who cometh from God to the returned captives, and his errand to them was both to second Haggai’ s exhortations, and to reveal more fully than he doth all the future revolutions and events; to the final desolation of Jerusalem and the second temple by the Romans, and the rejection of the Jews for their sins against all the mercies of their God, and for their rejecting and murdering of the Messiah; who, rejected of the Jews, taketh in the Gentiles, and establisheth his church amongst them; which is revealed unto Zechariah, and communicated to the Jews by him; with a declaration of the future ruin of the Persian kingdom by the Grecians, and also of the wars of the Seleucidae and Lagidae, and their overthrow by the Romans; during the series of which times, the Jews shall be grown numerous, wealthy, and powerful, and, so long as they keep their covenant with God, shall do wonderful things, and be eminently owned of God, and be either wonderfully secured amidst these troubles, or more wonderfully victorious over those that trouble them. And indeed what Zechariah foretold, or promised to them, was in its time made good amongst them; his predictions were punctually fulfilled; if the promises were not, it was because the Jews by their sins cut themselves off from the promises, which may be observed in those intervals of times between Zechariah’ s prophesying and the coming of the Messiah. Now the first interval was above two hundred years, to the death of Alexander the Great; during which time the Jews enjoyed the common peace with the subjects of the Persian empire, and the particular favour of Alexander the conqueror during his life. These years were years of growth to the Jews. The next interval, through the wars of Alexander’ s divided captains, and between the Seleucidaes and the Lagidae, was an interval of some great trouble, and yet of greater preservation to the Jews. The next interval is that of the Maccabees, during which those victories were gotten which do almost exceed our belief. But whilst thus times were changed, the Jews continued much the same, unthankful to God, cold in religion, and added to their sins daily; till at last God delivered them into the hands of the Romans, whose general, Pompey the Great, deposed Hyrcanus from the throne, and restored the high priesthood to him. From henceforth the Jews’ sins and miseries grow together, till that was accomplished, Zec 14:2 , the city Jerusalem taken, the houses rifled, &c. Thus by various intermixture of providences, God did try the Jews, whether they would, as became his people, repent of former sins, amend their future doings, believe his promises, and obey his precepts, that he might bless them; so should all the good foretold by this prophet have crowned them. But if they failed (as they did) in those points of duty, then all the evil threatened should (as it did) overtake them, and, as Zechariah foretold, continue on them, as it doth to this day. This prophecy then contains the revolutions of the Jews, and the empires of Persia and Greece, and the Romans; in whose times the Jews, by killing the Lord of life, filled up their measure, and by whose hands God punished them, destroying their polity, razing their city, burning their temple, and captivating the people, which lasteth to this day. The better to represent all these at once to your view, take this following scheme.

Zechariah Doth

1. Exhort to present repentance and reformation, chaps. 1, 2, 7, 8

2. Promise

A. Present blessings, chap, 1, 2, 8:9-15

B. Future Mercy, and that

1. Under Persian government, Zec 8:3-7

2. Alexander and the Grecians, Zec 9:9

3. In the Maccabees’ times

3. Encourage

A. Joshua, Zec. iii

B. Zerubbabel, chap iv

4. Threaten

A. The enemies of the Jews, chap i.21; ii:9, ix:1-8, 12:1-4,9

B. The sinful and impenitent Jews, chap iv; xi:1; xiv:1,2

5. Foretell

A. The Jews’ rejecting him, Zec. xi:10-12, &c

B. Gods’

1. Avenging the sin on the Jews, chap 14:1,2

2. Calling the Gentiles, Zec. viii:20-23; xii:10, iii:8,9; vi:12,13

3. Continued protection of the church of Christ among the Gentiles,

chap 14:3, to end

All which, either in dark, yet significant, types or emblems or else in plain and easily intelligible words, is represented to us by this prophet.

Poole: Zechariah 12 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 12

Jerusalem a cup of trembling, and a burdensome stone, to the confusion of her adversaries, Zec 12:1-5 . The victorious restoring of Judah, Zec 12:6-9 . The repentance of Jerusalem, Zec 12:10-14 .

MHCC: Zechariah (Book Introduction)

This prophecy is suitable to all, as the scope is to reprove for sin, and threaten God's judgments against the impenitent, and to encourage those that feared God, with assurances of the mercy God had in store for his church, and especially of the coming of the Messiah, and the setting up his kingdom in the world.

MHCC: Zechariah 12 (Chapter Introduction)

(Zec 12:1-8) Punishment of the enemies of Judah.

(Zec 12:9-14) Repentance and sorrow of the Jews.

Matthew Henry: Zechariah (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Prophecy of Zechariah

This prophet was colleague with the prophet Haggai, and a worker together with him in forwarding the building of the second temple (Ezr 5:1); for two are better than one. Christ sent forth his disciples two and two. Zechariah began to prophesy some time after Haggai. But he continued longer, soared higher in visions and revelations, wrote more, and prophesied more particularly concerning Christ, than Haggai had done; so the last shall be first: the last in time sometimes proves first in dignity. He begins with a plain practical sermon, expressive of that which was the scope of his prophesying, in the first five verses; but afterwards, to the end of Zec 6:1-15, he relates the visions he saw, and the instructions he received immediately from heaven by them. At Zec 7:1-14, from an enquiry made by the Jews concerning fasting, he takes occasion to show them the duty of their present day, and to encourage them to hope for God's favour, to the end of ch. 8, after which there are two sermons, which are both called burdens of the word of the Lord (one begins with ch. 9, the other with Zec 12:1-14), which probably were preached some time after; the scope of them is to reprove for sin, and threaten God's judgments against the impenitent, and to encourage those that feared God with assurances of the mercy God had in store for his church, and especially of the coming of the Messiah and the setting up of his kingdom in the world.

Matthew Henry: Zechariah 12 (Chapter Introduction)

The apostle (Gal 4:25, Gal 4:26) distinguishes between " Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children" - the remaining carcase of the Jewish church that rejected Christ, and " Jerusalem that is from above, that is free, and is the mother of us all" - the Christian church, the spiritual Jerusalem, which God has chosen to put his name there; in the foregoing chapter we read the doom of the former, and left that carcase to be a prey to the eagles that should be gathered to it. Now, in this chapter, we have the blessings of the latter, many precious promises made to the gospel-Jerusalem by him who (Zec 12:1) declares his power to make them good. It is promised, I. That the attempts of the church's enemies against her shall be to their own ruin, and they shall find that it is at their peril if they do her any hurt (Zec 12:2-4, Zec 12:6). II. That the endeavours of the church's friends and patrons for her good shall be pious, regular, and successful (Zec 12:5). III. That God will protect and strengthen the meanest and weakest that belong to his church, and work salvation for them (Zec 12:7, Zec 12:8). IV. That as a preparative for all this mercy, and a pledge of it, he will pour upon them a spirit of prayer and repentance, the effect of which shall be universal and very particular (Zec 12:9-14). These promises were of use then to the pious Jews that lived in the troublous times under Antiochus, and other persecutors and oppressors; and they are still to be improved in every age for the directing of our prayers and the encouraging of our hopes with reference to the gospel-church.

Constable: Zechariah (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title and Writer

The title of this book comes from its traditional writer, as is true of all the prophetical books of the Old Testament. The name "Zechariah" (lit. Yahweh remembers) was a common one among the Israelites identifying as many as 27 different individuals in the Old Testament.¹ It was an appropriate name for the writer of this book because it explains that Yahweh remembers His chosen people and His promises and will be faithful to them. This Zechariah was the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo (1:1, 7; cf. Ezra 5:1; 6:14; Neh. 12:4, 16).

Zechariah, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, was both a prophet and a priest. He was obviously familiar with priestly things (cf. ch. 3; 6:9-15; 9:8, 15; 14:16, 20, 21). Since he was a young man (Heb. na'ar) when he began prophesying (2:4), he was probably born in Babylonian captivity and returned to Palestine in 536 B.C. with Zerubbabel and Joshua. He became a leading priest in the restoration community succeeding his grandfather, Iddo, who also returned from captivity in 536 B.C., as the leader of his priestly family (Neh. 12:4, 16). His father, Berechiah (1:1, 7), evidently never became prominent.

The Lord Jesus referred to a Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom the Jews murdered between the temple and the altar (Matt. 23:35). This appears to be how the prophet's life ended.² This would make the prophet one of the last righteous people the Jews slew in Old Testament history.³

Date

Zechariah's inspired preaching began in the eighth month of 520 B.C. (1:1). His eight night visions followed three months later in 520 B.C. (1:7), when he was a young man (2:4). He delivered the messages in chapters 7-8 in 518 B.C. (7:1). Nehemiah mentioned Zechariah as the head of a priestly family when Joiakim, who succeeded Joshua, was high priest (Neh. 12:12, 16). This may have been as late as during the reign of Artaxerxes I (465-424 B.C.).⁴ Some scholars believe he wrote chapters 9-14 during this later period of his life.⁵ The exact length of his life and ministry is guesswork, however.

Historical Background

Zechariah began ministering among the Jews who had returned from captivity in Babylon (i.e., the restoration community) two months after Haggai began preaching (1:1; 7:1; cf. Neh. 12:10-16; Hag. 1:1). In a sense, Zechariah's message supplements that of Haggai.⁶

"Both prophets . . . contrast the past with the present and future, with Haggai stressing the rebuilt Temple as a sign and source of God's blessing and Zechariah emphasizing the role of repentance and renewal in achieving that end. The two prophets worked hand in glove, complementing each other's message."⁷

"There is a marked contrast between Haggai and his contemporary Zechariah. If Haggai was the builder, responsible for the solid structure of the new Temple, Zechariah was more like the artist, adding colourful windows with their symbolism, gaiety and light. To make sure that their symbolism is rightly understood an interpreting angel acts as guide, adding in some cases a message that goes far beyond what could be deduced from the visions."⁸

Haggai and Zechariah's ministries followed those of Ezekiel and Daniel, who ministered during the Captivity in Babylon.

Table of Some Post-Exilic Events
Cyrus issued his edict allowing the Jews to return home.	538 B.C.	Ezra 1
About 50,000 Jews returned under Zerubbabel and Joshua's leadership.	536 B.C.	Ezra 2; Neh. 7
The altar was rebuilt and sacrifices resumed.	536 B.C.
Work on the temple began but then halted.	536 B.C.	Ezra 3:1-4
The Jews became occupied with rebuilding their own homes.	536-522 B.C.	Hag. 1-2
Cyrus died, and his son, Cambyses II, succeeded him and ruled Persia.	530 B.C.; 530-522 B.C.
Smerdis ruled Persia.	522-521 B.C.
Darius I, the Great (Hystaspes), rescued Persia from civil war and ruled Persia.	521-486 B.C.
Darius confirmed Cyrus' decree and encouraged the Jews to continue rebuilding the temple.	520 B.C.	Ezra 6:1-14
Haggai preached his first three sermons.	520 B.C., 6th and 7th months	Hag. 1:1, 15; 2:1
Zechariah preached his first sermon.	520 B.C., 8th month	Zech. 1:1
Haggai preached his fourth and fifth sermons.	520 B.C., 9th month	Hag. 2:10, 20
Zechariah received his eight night visions.	520 B.C., 11th month	Zech. 1:7
Joshua, the high priest, was crowned.	520 B.C., 11th month	Zech. 6:9-15
The delegation from Bethel arrived, and Zechariah preached again.	518 B.C., 9th month	Zech. 7:1
The Jews completed the temple and dedicated it.	515 B.C., 12th month	Ezra 6:15
Xerxes I (Ahasuerus) reigned over Persia.	486-464 B.C.	Esth. 2:16
Artaxerxes I reigned over Persia.	464-424 B.C.
About 5,000 Jews returned to Palestine under Ezra's leadership.	458 B.C.	Ezra 7:7
Artaxerxes I authorized Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem's walls.	445 B.C.	Neh. 2:1
Nehemiah led the third return to Palestine.	444 B.C.	Neh. 2:9
Malachi ministered.	ca. 432-431 B.C.

Purpose and Themes

Zechariah ministered to the restoration community to motivate those Jews to finish rebuilding the temple and to rededicate themselves to Yahweh with the prospect of His blessing. The central theme of the book is encouragement and hope.⁹ The key to this hope is the coming of Messiah and his overthrow of ungodly forces and establishment of His kingdom on earth.

"The prophet is concerned to comfort his discouraged and pessimistic compatriots, who are in the process of rebuilding their Temple and restructuring their community but who view their efforts as making little difference in the present and offering no hope for the future."¹⁰

This prophet dealt with the future of Israel, and particularly its distant, eschatological future, to an extent that surpassed the other Old Testament prophets (cf. 12:1-3, 9; 14:1-5, 16-21). His revelations concerning the day of the Lord are numerous.

"What former prophets revealed at length, Zechariah epitomizes for us in terse sentences or even clauses."¹¹

This book also contains many messianic prophecies (cf. 3:8-9; 6:12-13; 9:9-10, 14; 11:12-13; 13:7; 14:4, 9, 16).

"Particularly prominent in the book is the Messianic element. With the exception of Isaiah, there is no other prophet whose book contains such a wealth and variety of this element, not only in proportion to the total amount of material offered, but also as a sum total of passages."¹²

"Few books of the OT are as difficult of interpretation as the Book of Zechariah; no other book is as Messianic."¹³

Canonicity and Unity

The book is the second to the last of the Minor Prophets in the second (Prophets) division of the Hebrew Bible. Neither Jews nor Christians seriously challenged its canonicity. One reason for this is the fact that the New Testament quotes and alludes to Zechariah so often, about 41 times.¹⁴

Until A.D. 1653 no one seriously questioned that Zechariah wrote the whole book. In that year Joseph Mede suggested that Jeremiah may have written chapters 9-11, in view of Matthew 27:9. In succeeding years other scholars proceeded to question the second part of the book (chs. 9-14) because of its differences in content and historical and chronological references compared to the first part. Today almost all critical scholars regard this book as the product of two or three writers who wrote either before the exile or after Zechariah.¹⁵ The presence of predictive prophecy in the last chapters of the book has encouraged those who deny the miraculous to relegate this part to a later time and writer(s).

"We maintain it is impossible to confine or restrict the Spirit of God in His revelatory purposes. If He cares to predict an event three centuries off, He is sovereign; and if it pleases Him to foretell the plan of God a millennium before its materialization, He is just as sovereign. We emphasize this because we believe it to be the sine qua non of reverent, acceptable interpretation of Biblical prophecy."¹⁶

Competent conservative scholars have refuted the arguments of these critics adequately.¹⁷

"In the nature of the case it is not possible to prove conclusively who wrote chapters 9-14, but when every argument has been considered the fact remains that all fourteen chapters have been handed down to us as one book in every manuscript so far discovered. Even the tiny fragment of the Greek manuscript found at Qumran, which includes the end of chapter 8 and the beginning of chapter 9, shows no gap or spacing whatsoever to suggest a break between the two parts."¹⁸

Genre

Zechariah consists of a combination of exhortations (sermon material), prophetic-apocalyptic visions, and oracles concerning eschatological salvation. Some of the oracles introduce or follow visions, and others stand alone. Along with Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation, Zechariah is one of the most apocalyptic books in the Bible.¹⁹

"In the present writer's judgment, his [Zechariah's] book is the most Messianic, the most truly apocalyptic and eschatological, of all the writings of the OT."²⁰

"Apocalyptic literature is basically meant to encourage the people of God."²¹

"Only apocalyptic could express the utter transcendence involved in the radical transformations that would accompany the irruption of the kingdom of YHWH and the consequent shattering of all human and earthly systems in its wake."²²

"The apocalyptic visions of Zechariah, though filled with symbolism, are not as complicated and bizarre as those of Ezekiel, but do require angelic interpreters, at least in chapters 1-6. He goes beyond Ezekiel and other early apocalyptists, however, in his declarations that what he envisions is as good as done, for it is only an earthly reflection of what has in fact come to pass in heaven."²³

Structure

"The shape' of a poem, the artistic arrangement of a book are instruments used by the Holy Spirit to convey His message."²⁴

In the case of Zechariah, there are three large chiastic sections (1:7-6:15; 7:1-8:19; and chs. 9-14). These contain Zechariah's eight night visions and their accompanying oracles, his messages prompted by a question about fasting, and the two burdens (oracles) announcing the triumphant interventions of the Lord into history in the future. A brief section introduces the whole book (1:1-6).

Message²⁵

This is the second post-exilic prophetical book. The historical background and audience are the same as those for Haggai. As Zechariah's contemporaries looked back, they saw former glories and recent shame. As they looked forward, they saw difficulty and felt discouragement. Zechariah ministered to inspire hope in the heart of this discouraged remnant of Israelites. That was his purpose.

Zechariah delivered his first message between Haggai's first and second messages, and his purpose was the same as Haggai's: to motivate the restoration community to finish rebuilding the temple. Zechariah followed this first message with eight visions to inspire hope in his hearers. Why build if there was no future? Zechariah then explained that the present sorrowful fasts that the people were celebrating would give way to future glorious feasts. The final two oracles also provided hope for the future by predicting the coming of Messiah and His glorious kingdom.

Many writers on Zechariah have called this book the apocalypse of the Old Testament because it unveils so much of Israel's future, particularly Messiah's place in her future. The whole book is a revelation of the pervasive power and the persistent purpose of Yahweh. Zechariah revealed things about the future of the Jews that gave his discouraged contemporaries hope.

People experiencing adversity frequently see only things that are near. Zechariah provided hope from visions that he saw and from voices that he heard that encouraged his audience to lift their eyes to behold the larger plans and purposes of their God. The permanent values of this book are, therefore, that it reveals the proper attitude and activity of God's people in all circumstances, as well as the pervasive power and the persistent purpose of Yahweh.

The first three verses of the book stress the first of these values (1:1-3). The great appeal of the entire book appears in verse 3: "Return to me that I may return to you, says the LORD of hosts." Everything that follows illustrates and applies this promise.

As often, the key to understanding a book of the Bible lies in the aspect of God that God stressed in revealing Himself to His people through its writer. The title "the LORD of hosts" occurs for the first time in the Bible in 1 Samuel, when the people of Israel were concerned about armies. This title rarely appears in the historical books, but it is very common in the prophetical books. Zechariah used it more frequently than any other prophet, at least 35 times.

The word "hosts" in the Bible describes stars, angels, the people of Israel, and the armies of other nations. The title, then, describes Yahweh as sovereign Lord and Master of the entire universe. As the prophets used it, they stressed Yahweh's sovereignty in activity, not just in its abstract meaning. That is, they saw Yahweh as leading all armies--of stars, angels, and people. Zechariah lived when Israel had lost its army, had no military power, and had little political organization. Thus by referring to Yahweh as "the LORD of hosts" Zechariah was reminding his hearers of their God's abiding and active sovereignty.

The prophet referred to Yahweh as "the LORD of hosts" three times in the opening paragraph of his book (vv. 1-3). The first reference (v. 3) reminded the Israelites that their sovereign God had made His will known to His people (cf. 1:6). The Lord illustrated this truth in verse 4. The sovereign Lord had said, "Return to me" (v. 3). This was the first part of Zechariah's prophetic burden. The second part was that Yahweh promised to return to His people (v. 3). He explained the work that He as the Sovereign would do to make this return possible. The power necessary for the restoration of order would be provided by the coming of God to His people, in His Son and in His Spirit.

Thus Zechariah had a three-fold conviction. God reveals His will, He calls people back to Himself and provides the way for their coming, and He promises that if they will return to Him He will return to them. God promised to provide a way for people to return to Him through the Branch, the second person of the Trinity (3:8). The revelation of this divine-human person occupies much of this book in proportion to its length. Second, God promised to return to people who return to Him through His Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. He would do so "not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the Lord (4:6).

The visions and oracles in Zechariah illustrate Yahweh's pervasive power.

In the first vision God revealed the presence of His angel that was watching over His people in their depressed place. They knew about the depressed place, but the presence of the angel was news to them. The second vision revealed that forces would destroy the powers that opposed them. The people knew about these enemy powers, but they had lost sight that God planned to destroy them. In the third vision God revealed Jerusalem in its future large, secure condition. The people knew about Jerusalem, they were rebuilding it, but they were not sure about its future large and secure condition. The fourth vision revealed an adversary and an advocate. The people were aware of their adversary, but they were unaware of their divine advocate. In the fifth vision God revealed the people's responsibility to be lights in the world and their resource for doing so. The people knew their responsibility, but they did not fully appreciate that they had a supernatural resource that would enable them to fulfill their responsibility. The sixth vision revealed the purging of evil with divine revelation. The people were aware of the present evil, but they now learned that observing God's law would deal with it. The seventh vision illustrated ongoing evil and its final purging away. The people were aware of widespread evil, but they did not know that God would eventually remove it forever. The eighth vision revealed the need for divine control and the provision for divine control. The people were very conscious of the need for divine control in the world, but they needed to remember that God would indeed exercise divine control in the world.

Each vision revealed an aspect of God's pervasive power to overcome what Zechariah's audience faced and so gave them hope. Were they in a depressed place? God was watching over them. Were weapons being formed against them? He would break those weapons. Was the city they were rebuilding secure? He would enlarge it even further and make it secure. Was their adversary going to be successful? God would be their Advocate. Was their responsibility heavy? He would prove to be a sufficient resource for them. Was evil present everywhere? He gives the law to which evil must bow. Was evil ever going to end? He would end it. Would order ever come? He would bring it.

The oracles in Zechariah teach the same basic lesson: the pervasive power of "the LORD of hosts." To summarize this briefly, the anointed King would be rejected initially, but He would return with the pervasive power of Yahweh.

The visions and oracles also illustrate the second major revelation of Zechariah: the persistent purpose of Israel's God.

The visions unfold God's dealings with Israel eschatologically as well as contemporarily. While all the conditions of Israel described in the visions marked the restoration community, they will also mark the future of Israel. She was and would continue to be depressed among the nations. Enemies would attack her, but God would eventually defeat them. Jerusalem will be rebuilt and protected, and Israel will be cleansed. Israel will fulfill her destiny as a light to the nations, and she will disseminate the knowledge of God in the world. Evil will be greatly constrained, and all Israel's enemies will suffer defeat. All these predictions reveal the persistent purpose of God whereby He moves history toward His intended goal despite human and Satanic opposition.

The oracles illustrate the same principle. Messiah's rejection would lead to His coronation. Some of Yahweh's purposes in salvation took place when Messiah came the first time, but the rest of His purposes in salvation will take place when He comes the second time.

What should be the attitude of God's people in view of these revelations? They should return to the Lord (1:3). They should believe them, obey them, and work in view of them.

The people of God in Zechariah's day needed to complete the temple and reestablish right relations with Yahweh even though they lived in a day of darkness and discouragement. They needed to abandon the fasts that they had established to commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem and prepare for feasts that would celebrate the glorious future that Yahweh promised and would provide.

Whereas Haggai called these people to be strong and to work, Zechariah revealed the secret of their strength. The Apostle Paul put it this way: 2 Cor. 4:17. That is the message of Zechariah in Christian language.

The proof of vision is strength. What do we see as we look out over the church? We may see only the discouraging things that the restoration Jews saw as they viewed their situation. We need to be aware of the unseen things that God has said He is doing and will do in order to persevere in the work of building His church that He has called us to do.

The secret of strength is vision. If God's people say they see these positive, encouraging things and that they believe them but do nothing, it is hard to believe them. The person who is conscious, through all the appalling defeat of the hour, of the immediate, pervasive presence and power of God, is the person who grabs hold of the piece of desolation nearest to him or her and works on it until it blossoms like a garden. The true demonstration of vision is taking hold of the present situation and doing something about it trusting in the unseen presence and promises of God.

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews challenged his readers with these words, which are very appropriate in light of the message of Zechariah: Heb. 12:12-13. Some Christians seem to equate spirituality with pessimism. They consider others visionary who explore and deplore in great depth the difficulties of our days. We need to be realistic about our times, but we must also keep our eyes on the person of God and our ears open to His promises. We must also fall in line with His purposes and work in harmony with His principles of power. When we do this, we can rest assured that when the Rejected One is crowned, we will share in His triumph as we have shared in His travail.

Constable: Zechariah (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction 1:1-6

II. The eight night visions and four messages 1:7-6:8

A. The horseman among the myrtle trees 1:7-17

1. The vision proper 1:7-15

2. The oracle about God's jealousy for Israel 1:16-17

B. The four horns and the four smiths 1:18-21

C. The surveyor ch. 2

1. The vision itself 2:1-5

2. The oracle about enemy destruction and Israelite blessing 2:6-13

D. The cleansing and restoration of Joshua ch. 3

1. The symbolic act 3:1-5

2. The accompanying promises 3:6-10

E. The gold lampstand and the two olive trees ch. 4

1. The vision 4:1-5

2. Two oracles concerning Zerubbabel 4:6-10

3. The interpretation of the vision 4:11-14

F. The flying scroll 5:1-4

G. The woman in the basket 5:5-11

H. The four chariots 6:1-8

III. The symbolic crowning of Joshua 6:9-15

IV. Messages concerning hypocritical fasting chs. 7-8

A. The question from the delegation from Bethel 7:1-3

B. The Lord's rebuke 7:4-7

C. The command to repent 7:8-14

D. Israel's restoration to God's favor 8:1-17

E. Kingdom joy and Jewish favor 8:18-23

V. Oracles about the Messiah and Israel's future chs. 9-14

A. The burden concerning the nations: the advent and rejection of Messiah chs. 9-11

1. The coming of the true king ch. 9

2. The restoration of the true people ch. 10

3. The rejection of the true king ch. 11

B. The burden concerning Israel: the advent and acceptance of Messiah chs. 12-14

1. The repentance of Judah ch. 12

2. The restoration of Judah ch. 13

3. The reign of Messiah ch. 14

Constable: Zechariah

Zechariah

Bibliography

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Zechariah (Book Introduction)

THE PROPHECY OF ZACHARIAS.

INTRODUCTION.

Zacharias began to prophesy in the same year as Aggeus, and upon the same occasion. His prophecy is full of mysterious figures and promises of blessings, partly relating to the synagogue and partly to the Church of Christ. (Challoner) --- He is the "most obscure and longest of the twelve [minor prophets];" (St. Jerome) though Osee wrote the same number of chapters. (Haydock) --- Zacharias has been confounded with many others of the same name. Little is known concerning his life. Some have asserted that the ninth and two following chapters were written by Jeremias, in whose name chap. xi. 12., is quoted [in] Matthew xxvii. 9. But that is more probably a mistake of transcribers. Zacharias speaks more plainly of the Messias and of the last siege of Jerusalem than the rest, as he live nearer those times. (Calmet) --- His name signifies, "the memory of the Lord." (St. Jerome) --- He appeared only two months after Aggeus, and shewed that the Church should flourish in the synagogue, and much more after the coming of Christ, who would select his first preachers from among the Jews. Yet few of them shall embrace the gospel, in comparison with the Gentiles, though they shall at last be converted. (St. Jerome ad Paulin.) (Worthington)

Gill: Zechariah (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH

This book is in the Hebrew copies called "the Book of Zechariah"; in the Vulgate Latin version, "the Prophecy of Zechariah"; and, in the Syriac and Arabic versions, the Prophecy of the Prophet Zechariah. His name, according to Jerom, signifies "the memory of the Lord": but, according to Hillerus ^a, "the Lord remembers": either us, or his covenant; his promises of grace, and concerning the Messiah, of which there are many in this book. The writer of this prophecy could not be, as some have imagined, Zacharias the father of John the Baptist; since there must be some hundreds of years difference between them; nor the Zacharias, the son of Barachias, slain between the temple and the altar, our Lord speaks of in Mat 23:35 for though their names agree, yet it does not appear that this prophet was slain by the Jews; indeed the Jewish Targumist, on Lam 2:20, speaks of a Zechariah, the son of Iddo, a high priest, slain in the temple; but it could not be this Zechariah, since he was no high priest; Joshua was high priest in his time; nor could he be slain in such a place, seeing the temple and altar were not yet built; nor was this prophet Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, slain in the court of the Lord's house, 2Ch 24:20 for, as their names do not agree, so neither their office, he being a high priest, this a prophet; nor the times in which they lived, Zechariah the son of Jehoiada lived in the times of Joash king of Judah, two or three hundred years before this; but this was one of the captivity of Babylon, and who came up from thence with Zerubbabel, Neh 12:16 and was contemporary with the Prophet Haggai; so that the time of his prophecy was after the Babylonish captivity, and was delivered to the Jews that were returned from thence; and the design of it is to stir them up to build the temple, and restore the pure worship of God; and to encourage their faith and hope in the expectation of the Messiah; for the book consists of various visions and prophecies relating to him, and to the times of the Gospel; and the visions are, as some Jewish writers ^b observe, very obscure, and like the visions of Daniel, and difficult of interpretation. There are several passages cited out of this book in the New Testament, as Zec 8:16 in Eph 4:25, Zec 9:9 in Mat 21:5 in Mat 27:9 in Joh 19:37 in Mat 26:31 which abundantly confirm the authenticity of it. This prophet seems to have lived and died in Jerusalem; and, according to Pseudo-Epiphanius ^c, was buried near Haggai the prophet; and with which agree the Cippi Hebraici ^d, which inform us that Haggai was buried in a cave in the downward slope of the mount of Olives; and at the bottom of that mount was a large statue called the hand of Absalom, near to which was the grave of Zechariah the prophet, in a cave shut up, and over it a beautiful monument of one stone: and Monsieur Thevenot ^e tells us, that now is shown, near the sepulchres of Absalom and Jehoshaphat, on the descent of the mount of Olives, the sepulchre of the Prophet Zacharias.---It is cut in a diamond point upon the rock, with many pillars about it. Sozomen ^f the historian, indeed, makes mention of Caphar Zechariah, a village on the borders of Eleutheropolis, a city in Palestine, where it is pretended the body of this prophet was found in the times of Theodosius, to which no credit is to be given; nor is there any dependence to be had on the former accounts.

Gill: Zechariah 12 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 12

This chapter contains a prophecy of the defence, protection, and salvation of the church of God; and of the effusion of the Spirit; and of the conversion of the Jews in the latter day. It begins with a title and preface, describing the power of God, from the creation of the heavens and earth, and soul of man, Zec 12:1 then follows the subject matter of the prophecy, in a way of judgment upon the enemies of the people of God, and in a way of salvation to them. The judgments on their enemies are signified by various metaphors; by Jerusalem's being a cup of trembling, a burdensome stone, and a hearth, and torch of fire to them, Zec 12:2. The effects of which are to them astonishment, madness, blindness, and utter destruction; and to the people of God confidence in him, salvation from him, and strength and protection by him, Zec 12:4 and, at the same time that God will destroy all the enemies of his people, he will pour out his Spirit upon his chosen ones among the Jews. The consequence of which will be, their faith in Christ, signified by looking to him whom they have pierced; and their repentance towards God, expressed by mourning; and this illustrated by mourning for an only and firstborn son, Zec 12:9 and which is further illustrated by the mourning for Josiah in the valley of Megiddon; and by an enumeration of the several families in Jerusalem, that should separately mourn on this account, Zec 12:11.