Text -- Zechariah 9:1 (NET)

The Coming of the True King

9:1 An oracle of the word of the Lord concerning the land of Hadrach, with its focus on Damascus: The eyes of all humanity, especially of the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord,

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Zec 9:1

This is the name of a city in Celosyria, and here signifies the country also. It was not far from Damascus.

Wesley: Zec 9:1

This burden shall lie long as well as heavy on Damascus.

Wesley: Zec 9:1

For as all men's appeals in cases of wrong are to heaven, so they who have been wronged by Syrian injustice, look to heaven for right.

JFB: Zec 9:1

Rather, concerning or against Hadrach (compare Isa 21:13). "Burden" means a prophecy BURDENED with wrath against the guilty. MAURER, not so well, explains it, What is taken up and uttered, the utterance, a solemn declaration.

JFB: Zec 9:1

A part of Syria, near Damascus. As the name is not mentioned in ancient histories, it probably was the less-used name of a region having two names ("Hadrach" and "Bikathaven," Amo 1:5, Margin); hence it passed into oblivion. An ancient Rabbi Jose is, however, stated to have expressly mentioned it. An Arab, Jos. Abassi, in 1768 also declared to MICHAELIS that there was then a town of that name, and that it was capital of the region Hadrach. The name means "enclosed" in Syrian, that is, the west interior part of Syria, enclosed by hills, the Cœlo-Syria of STRABO [MAURER]. JEROME considers Hadrach to be the metropolis of Cœlo-Syria, as Damascus was of the region about that city. HENGSTENBERG regards Hadrach as a symbolical name of Persia, which Zechariah avoids designating by its proper name so as not to offend the government under which he lived. But the context seems to refer to the Syrian region. GESENIUS thinks that the name is that of a Syrian king, which might more easily pass into oblivion than that of a region. Compare the similar "land of Sihon," Neh 9:22.

JFB: Zec 9:1

That is, the place on which the "burden" of the Lord's wrath shall rest. It shall permanently settle on it until Syria is utterly prostrate. Fulfilled under Alexander the Great, who overcame Syria [CURTIUS, Books 3 and 4].

JFB: Zec 9:1

The eyes of men in general, and of all Israel in particular, through consternation at the victorious progress of Alexander, shall be directed to Jehovah. The Jews, when threatened by him because of Jaddua the high priest's refusal to swear fealty to him, prayed earnestly to the Lord, and so were delivered (2Ch 20:12; Psa 23:2). Typical of the effect of God's judgments hereafter on all men, and especially on the Jews in turning them to Him. MAURER, PEMBELLUS and others, less probably translate, "The eyes of the Lord are upon man, as they are upon all Israel," namely, to punish the ungodly and to protect His people. He, who has chastised His people, will not fail to punish men for their sins severely. The "all," I think, implies that whereas men's attention generally (whence "man" is the expression) was directed to Jehovah's judgments, all Israel especially looks to Him.

Clarke: Zec 9:1

The burden of the word of the Lord - The oracle contained in the word which Jehovah now speaks

This is a prophecy against Syria, the Philistines, Tyre, and Sidon, which were to be subdued by Alexander the Great. After this the prophet speaks gloriously concerning the coming of Christ, and redemption by him

Most learned men are of opinion that this and the succeeding chapters are not the work of Zechariah, but rather of Jeremiah; Hosea, or some one before the captivity. It is certain that Zec 11:12, Zec 11:13, is quoted Mat 27:9, Mat 27:10, as the language of Jeremiah the prophet. The first eight chapters appear by the introductory parts to be the prophecies of Zechariah: they stand in connection with each other, are pertinent to the time when they were delivered, are uniform in style and manner, and constitute a regular whole; but the six last chapters are not expressly assigned to Zechariah, and are unconnected with those that precede: - the three first of them are unsuitable in many parts to the time when Zechariah lived; all of them have a more adorned and poetical turn of composition than the eight first chapters, and they manifestly break the unity of the prophetical book

I conclude, from internal marks, that these three chapters, (9, 10, 11), were written much earlier than the time of Jeremiah, and before the captivity of the ten tribes. They seem to suit Hosea’ s age and manner; but whoever wrote them, their Divine authority is established by the two quotations from them, Zec 9:9; Zec 11:12, Zec 11:13. See below

The twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth chapters form a distinct prophecy, and were written after the death of Josiah, Zec 12:11; but whether before or after the captivity, and by what prophet, is uncertain, although I incline to think that the author lived before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. See on Zec 13:2-6 (note). They are twice quoted in the New Testament, Zec 12:10; Zec 13:7. - Newcome

My own opinion is, that these chapters form not only a distinct work, but belong to a different author. If they do not belong to Jeremiah, they form a thirteenth book in the minor prophets, but the inspired writer is unknown

Clarke: Zec 9:1

The land of Hadrach - The valley of Damascus, or a place near to Damascus. Alexander the Great gained possession of Damascus, and took all its treasures; but it was without blood; the city was betrayed to him

Clarke: Zec 9:1

Damascus shall be the rest thereof - The principal part of this calamity shall fall on this city. God’ s anger rests on those whom he punishes, Eze 5:13; Eze 16:42; Eze 24:13. And his rod, or his arm, rests upon his enemies, Psa 125:3; Isa 30:23. See Newcome

Clarke: Zec 9:1

When the eye of man - Newcome translates thus

"For the eye of Jehovah is over man

And over all the tribes of Israel.

This is an easy sense, and is followed by the versions.

Calvin: Zec 9:1

One thing had escaped my notice in the words of the Prophet — that great people and strong nations would come. We have said that “great” rather than “many” ought to be adopted. The latter meaning may indeed be allowed that the worshipers of God would come from various cities; but as the word עצומים , otsumim properly signifies strong, and as it is certain that the Prophet means the same thing by the two words, it is more probable that he speaks of strong and valiant people, as they are not so easily subdued; for the more any one excels in prowess, the more stiff is his neck to undertake the yoke. As then the strong and the brave, and such as are eminent in the world, are not so easily brought to submit to God, the Prophet expressly says, that they shall become teachable, and be made willing, so that pride, as it is usually the case, shall not be a hindrance to them. ⁹³

I come now to the passage in which the Prophet announces a heavy burden, or a severe and fearful prophecy respecting Syria and other neighboring nations. I prefer to retain the word “burden,” rather than to render it prophecy, as many expositors have done; for though משא , mesha, is sometimes taken simply for prophecy, yet there is here, as it appears to me, something particular intended; for the Prophet denounces God’s judgment both on Syria and on the surrounding countries, and the word prophecy is not suitable; for to say “the prophecy of the word,” would be strange and without meaning. But when he says, The burden of the word of God, the sentence is full, and flows well; for he reminds us that his word would not be ineffectual, but full of effect, as it would lie as a burden on Syria and on other countries, which they should not be able to shake off. The burden then of the word of Jehovah; that is, “I have now a prediction which will be grievous and severe to those heathens who now disturb the Jews, the chosen people.”

But this doctrine contains consolation to the godly; for they may hence know that they are safe under God’s protection, as he carries on war with their enemies; nay, his vengeance was now prepared against all those who harassed the Jews. As then he had before promised that incredible favor of God which we have noticed, so now he declares that the Church would be safe under the protection of God, inasmuch as vengeance was in readiness for all the ungodly.

But the Prophet mentions here only the cities known to the Jews, for it was enough to refer to them as an example, that the Jews might hence conclude that God would be always the protector of his Church, so that no enemies shall escape unpunished. The Prophet then no doubt mentioned these few cities to the Jews, that they might feel assured that nothing is so strong and impetuous in the world which God cannot easily subdue and lay prostrate. Now as we apprehend the Prophet’s object, we shall come to the words.

Some think that the word חדרך , chedrak, includes the whole of Syria, which seems to me probable. Others suppose that some notable city is meant, as Damascus is immediately subjoined. But as the matter is uncertain, and as there is no doubt but that the Prophet speaks of the kingdom of Syria, I will not contest the point. Be it then the name of a city or of a country, ⁹⁴ it is all the same, for the Prophet means that the vengeance of God was impending over the Syrians, and impending in such a manner, that it would not depart from them until they were wholly destroyed. For when he adds that its rest would be Damascus, he intimates that God’s judgment would not be like a storm, which soon passes away, but that it would be a heavy and burdensome mass, which could not be dissipated, according to what Isaiah says —

“The word came on Jacob and fell on Israel;” (Isa 8:9;)

that is, what God pronounced against Jacob fell on Israel. He indeed changes the name, but it is the same as though he had said — “When God shall punish Jacob, can the Israelites escape?” for they were the same. The sentence then shall fall, that is, it shall find its own place: in vain will they run here and there to escape. The Jews then will gain nothing by their flight; for the vengeance now denounced by the Lord shall lay hold on them. So also in this place he says, the burden of the word of Jehovah on the land of Chadrak and Damascus, the royal city, the metropolis, shall be its rest, its dwelling; for the Lord’s vengeance will fix its station there, and it cannot be thence removed. In vain then will the Syrians try in various ways to escape, for they must be pressed down by God’s hand, until they be laid prostrate. We now then understand in what sense the Prophet says that Damascus would be the rest, the habitation, or the abode of God’s vengeance.

He afterwards adds, For to Jehovah the eye of man. The particle כי , ki is to be taken here, I think, as an adverb of time, “When”. There is indeed in reality but little difference, except that the common rendering of it greatly obscures the meaning of the Prophet. But if it be taken as an adverb of time, the passage will read better, When the eye of man shall be to Jehovah, and of all the tribes of Israel; that is, when the Jews shall begin to turn to God without any dissimulation, but with real sincerity; then he says, God will in every way bless them, and raise up his hand against their enemies. The Prophet had before exhorted the Jews to repentance; for they had been too much given to sacrifices and fastings, while no integrity existed among them. So also he shows again that their hypocrisy was an hindrance, which prevented God to manifest his favor to them; and thus he reminds them, that the gate would be opened, and the way made plain and even for God’s favor and blessings, whenever they raised their eyes to him, that is, whenever they derived their hopes from him, and fixed on him their dependence. For to direct the eyes to God is nothing else than to look to him so as to fix on him all our thoughts. Some understand by “man” all mortals, but of this I approve not; nor do I doubt but that the Prophet refers to the Jews alone; and doubtless it is not consistent with the context to regard any but the Jews. It is indeed true, that the Prophet speaks here of the calling of the Gentiles, but so as to begin with the Jews; for as they were the first-born, so it was necessary for them to have the precedence. The Prophet then here declares that God would be glorious in his chosen people, and would lay prostrate all the bordering enemies. Then the eye of man signifies the same as the eye of the whole people; as though he had said, that after the Jews had begun to lay aside all dissimulation and devoted themselves to God, and cast all their hopes on him, they would then find God sufficiently powerful to lay in the dust all their enemies.

But he afterwards adds, by way of explanation, and of all the tribes of Israel. Some give this rendering, “How much more,” as though the Prophet reasoned here from the less to the greater. But, as I have already said, this cannot be maintained. First, this explanation is strained, “The eye of man, and especially of all the tribes of Israel;” for the Jews ought to have had the first place: and secondly, the particle waw has no amplifying sense. In short, he intended by a small particle to show that precedence belonged to the Jews. I do not then understand what they mean, who would include all nations in the word “man,” and then regard the Prophet as proceeding to mention the tribes of Israel. Now what I have stated, that the true servants of God were then few, is probable enough; hence the Prophet here exhorts the whole people to a union in religion. Whenever then the whole tribes of Israel directed their eyes to God, the burden of his word would then come upon Damascus and all the Syrians. ⁹⁵

Defender: Zec 9:1

The second portion of the book of Zechariah, beginning here at chapter 9, has been attributed by many critics to some other author than Zechariah, primarily because of its remarkable Messianic prophecies. However, there are numerous points of similarity between the two portions, in both theme and vocabulary. Furthermore, both sections are quoted in the New Testament, the authors always regarding the passages as inspired Scripture. Until the rise of modern evolutionary liberalism, both Jews and Christians, ancient and modern, have unanimously accepted the entire book as a canonical unit. In this section, received by the prophet much later in his life than the eight visions of his youthful ministry, he is given a burden of judgment soon to fall on the nations still opposing Israel (see note on Zec 12:1).

Defender: Zec 9:1

Hadrach was long believed by critics to be a mythical region. In the late 19th century, however, a number of references to it have been found in archaeological records. It was a Syrian city along with Damascus and Hamath (Zec 9:2)."

TSK: Zec 9:1

Cir, am 3494, bc 510

burden : Isa 13:1; Jer 23:33-38; Mal 1:1

Damascus : Gen 14:15; Isa 17:1-3; Jer 49:23-27; Amo 1:3-5, Amo 3:12

the rest : Zec 5:4; Isa 9:8-21

when : Zec 8:21-23; 2Ch 20:12; Psa 25:15; Isa 17:7, Isa 17:8, Isa 45:20-22, Isa 52:10; Psa 145:15; Jer 16:19

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Zec 9:1

The burden - o of the word of the Lord in (or, upon) the land of Hadrach The foreground of this prophecy is the course of the Victories of Alexander, which circled round the holy land without hurting it, and ended in the overthrow of the Persian empire. The surrender of Damascus followed first, immediately on his great victory at the Issus; then Sidon yielded itself and received its ruler from the conqueror, Tyre he utterly destroyed; Gaza, we know, perished; he passed harmless by Jerusalem. Samaria, on his return from Egypt, he chastised.

It is now certain that there was a city called Hadrach in the neighborhood of Damascus and Hamath, although its exact site is not known. "It was first found upon the geographical tablets among the Assyrian inscriptions.""In the catalogue of Syrian cities, tributary to Nineveh, (of which we have several copies in a more or less perfect state, and varying from each other, both in arrangement and extent) there are three names, which are uniformly grouped together and which we read Manatsuah, Magida (Megiddo) and Du’ ar (Dor). As these names are associated with those of Samaria, Damascus, Arpad, Hamath, Carchemish, Hadrach, Zobah, there can be no doubt of the position of the cities". In the Assyrian Canon, Hadrach is the object of three Assyrian expeditions , 9183 (b.c. 818), 9190 (811) and 9200 (801). The first of these follows upon one against Damascus, 9182 (817). In the wars of Tiglath-pileser II. (the Tiglath-pileser of Holy Scripture,) it has been twice deciphered;

(1) In the war b.c. 738, 737, after the mention of "the cities to Saua the mountain which is in Lebanon were divided, the land of Bahalzephon to Ammana"(Ammon), there follows Hadrach ; and subsequently there are mentioned as joined to the league, "19 districts of Hamath, and the cities which were round them, which are beside the sea of the setting sun."

(2) In his "War in Palestine and Arabia", "the city of Hadrach to the land of Saua,"and six other cities are enumerated, as "the cities beside the upper sea,"which, he says, "I possessed, and six of my generals as governors over them I appointed."No other authority nearly approaches these times. The nearest authority is of the second century after our Lord, 116 a.d. : "R. Jose, born of a Damascene mother, said,"answering R. Yehudah ben Elai, , "I call heaven and earth to witness upon me, that I am of Damascus, and that there is a place called Hadrach."Cyril of Alexandria says that "the land of Hadrach must be somewhere in the eastern parts, and near to Emath (now Epiphania of Antioch) a little further than Damascus, the metropolis of the Phoenicians and Palestine."A writer of the 10th century says that there was "a very beautiful mosque there, called the Mesjed-el-Khadra, and that the town was named from it."The conjecture that Hadrach might be the name of a king , or an idol , will now probably be abandoned, nor can the idea, (which before seemed the most probable and which was very old), that it was a symbolic name, hold any longer.

For the prophets do use symbolic names ; but then they are names which they themselves frame. Micah again selects several names of towns, now almost unknown and probably unimportant, in order to impress upon his people some meaning connected with them , but then he does himself so connect it. He does not name it (so to say), leaving it to explain itself. The name Hadrach would be a real name, used symbolically, without anything in the context to show that it is a symbol.

The cities, upon which the burden or heavy prophecy tell, possessed no interest for Israel. Damascus was no longer a hostile power; Hamath had ever been peaceable, and was far away; Tyre and Sidon did not now carry on a trade in Jewish captives. But the Jews knew from Daniel, that the empire, to which they were in subjection, would be overthrown by Greece Dan 8:20-21. When that rapid attack should come, it would be a great consolation to them to know, how they themselves would fare. It was a turning point in their history and the history of the then known world. The prophet describes (see below at Zec 9:8) the circuit, which the conqueror would take around the land which God defended; how the thunder-cloud circled round Judaea, broke irresistibly upon cities more powerful than Jerusalem, but was turned aside from the holy city "in going and returning,"because God encamped around it.

"The selection of the places and of the whole line of country corresponds very exactly to the march of Alexander after the battle of Issus, when Damascus, which Darius had chosen as the strong depository of his wealth, of Persian women of rank, confidential officers and envoys, , was betrayed, but so opened its gates to his general, Parmenio. Zidon, a city renowned for its antiquity and its founders, surrendered freely; Tyre, here specially marked out, was taken after a 7 months’ siege; Gaza too resisted for 5 months, was taken, and, as it was said, ‘ plucked up.’ "

And Damascus shall be the rest thereof - God’ s judgment fell first upon Damascus. But the word "resting-place"is commonly used of quiet peaceful resting, especially as given by God to Israel; of the ark, the token of the Presence of God, after its manifold removals, and of the glorious dwelling-place of the Christ among people . The prophet seems then purposely to have chosen a word of large meaning, which should at once express (as he had before) Zec 6:8, that the word of God should fall heavily on Damascus and yet be its resting-place. Hence, about the time of our Lord, the Jews interpreted this of the coming of the Messiah, that "Jerusalem should reach to the gates of Damascus. Since Damascus shall be the place of His rest, but the place of His rest is only the house of the sanctuary, as it is said, "This is My rest for ever; here will I dwell."Another added, , "All the prophets and all prophesied but of the years of redemption and the days of the Messiah."Damascus, on the conversion of Paul, became the first resting-place of the word of God, the first-fruits of the Gentiles whom the Apostle of the Gentiles gathered from east to west throughout the world.

When (or For) the eyes of man - As (literally, and that is, especially beyond others) "of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord."This also implies a conversion of Gentiles, as well as Jews. For man, as contrasted with Israel, must be the pagan world, mankind . "The eyes of all must needs look in adoration to God, expecting all good from Him, because the Creator of all provided for the well-being of all, as the Apostle says, "Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yea, of the Gentiles also"Rom 3:29. God’ s time of delivering His people is, when they pray to Him. So Jehoshaphat prayed, "O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? For we have no strength against this great company, which is come against us, and we know not what we shall do; but our eyes are on Thee"2Ch 20:12; and the Psalmist says, "The eyes of all wait toward Thee; and, "toward them that fear Him."Psa 33:18, or in Ezra’ s Chaldee, "The eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews"Ezr 5:5., or, "the eyes of the Lord thy God are upon it"(the land), Deu 11:12; but there is no construction like "the Lord hath an eye on (obj.) man"(as 70: Jonathan, Syr.) The passages, "whose eyes are opened upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give etc."Jer 32:19, "his eyes behold the nations,"are altogether different. "The eye of"must be construed as "his own eye.") "as the eyes of servants are unto the hand of their masters, add as the eyes of a maiden are unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are unto the Lord our God, until He have mercy upon us."

"For in those days,"says a Jew, who represents the traditional interpretation, (Rashi), man shall look to his Creator, and his eyes shall look to the Blessed One, as it was said above, we will go with you, and they shall join themselves, they and their cities, to the cities of Israel."And another; (Kimchi), "In those days the eyes of all mankind shall be to the Lord, not to idols or images; therefore the land of Hadrach and Damascus, and the other places near the land of Israel - shall be included among the cities of Judah, and shall be in the faith of Israel."

Poole: Zec 9:1

The burden i.e. the heavy, sad, and grievous, the menacing prediction of future evils coming upon a people; so burden in prophetic style, Isa 13:1 15:1 Nah 1:1 Hab 1:1 , signifieth.

The word ; in which from God’ s own mouth Zechariah threateneth. This might be read in apposition thus, The burden the word, for when the word of the Lord threateneth sad afflictions, they will come as a heavy burden, which they cannot decline without repentance, nor shake off by their own strength.

Of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who determines what he will do against Israel’ s enemies, and none can alter his purpose.

In or, on, against , Heb.,

the land of Hadrach not Messiah’ s land, as some, nor the land of an idol called Hadrach, i.e. the sun, as others, nor yet the land or countries that lie round about Judea, as others, nor yet is Arabia here meant, as others; but it is the name both of a city in Coelosyria, and here signifieth the country also. This town was not far from Damascus, and about twenty-five miles distant from Bostra, a sea town of Phoenicia, which is not far from Byblos, now called Giblee, or Gibelletto, says my author; no further mention is made of it in Scripture. It was likely all enemy to the Jews, and had sinned therein, and now must account for it and be punished.

And Damascus chief city of that part of Syria; and whether Abel were slain there or not, or whether that murder gave it the name, or whether the etymology be rightly given, ( dam , blood, sack , a bag,) I say not; but it was no friend to God’ s people, Isa 7 , and here it is threatened among other their enemies: the country is intended here as well as the city.

Shall be the rest thereof this burden shall lie long as well as heavy on Damascus.

When rather, for , Heb.

The eyes Heb. eye : as we read it, it is of some difficult interpretation, but more easy if read, as it may be, thus, for unto the Lord is the eye of man, and of the tribes of Israel ; i.e. unto the Lord it belongeth in look to, and by his providence to dispose of, all men as well as of Israel, and all men’ s appeals in cases of wrong are to Heaven; so they who have been wronged by Syrian injustice look to Heaven for right, and to be avenged, and God will do it.

Haydock: Zec 9:1

Burden. Preaching of the truth is disagreeable to infidels, and light to the faithful. (Worthington) ---

Hadrach; Syria, (Challoner) or a city near Damascus, on which it rested. The victories of Alexander and of the Machabees are here described. The former defeated the Arabs near Damascus, (which was betrayed to Parmenio) and having gained the victory at Issus, became master of Celosyria, of which he made Parmenio governor. (Calmet) ---

Rest. Septuagint, "his sacrifice, for the Lord looks on men and on all the tribes of Israel." (Haydock) ---

He wished for the conversion of all, and those who turn to him are not rejected. (St. Jerome)

Gill: Zec 9:1

The burden of the word of the Lord,.... A prophecy, as in Pro 31:1 which is sometimes of things sorrowful and distressing, as the destruction of people, as in Isa 31:1 and sometimes of things joyful, as in Zec 13:1 and here it contains good news to the church of Christ, Zec 9:9, &c.; and is called a "burden", because the word of the Lord is often so to carnal men; see Jer 23:33 the words may be rendered, a "declaration", or "a publication", of "the word of the Lord" ^u; it signifies a publishing of it or bringing it forth; and so the Arabic version renders it "a revelation of the word of the Lord"; a carrying of it about: which was made

in the land of Hadrach; this is either the name of a man; of some king, as Aben Ezra observes; and some Jewish writers ^w say the King Messiah, who is חד "sharp" to the nations of the world, and רך "tender" to the Israelites: or rather the name of a place, and may design Syria, to which Damascus belonged; see Isa 7:8 or some place near it: says R. Jose ^x,

"I am of Damascus, and I call heaven and earth to witness that there is a place there, the name of which is Hadrach.''

Hillerus ^y takes it to be the same with Coelesyria, or hollow Syria, a vale which lay between Libanus and Antilibanus, and goes by many names; the same that is called Hoba, Gen 14:15 the plain of Aren, and the house of Eden, Amo 1:5 and here Hadrach; and thinks it had its name from Hadar, a son of Ishmael, Gen 25:15 and observes what is said, Gen 25:18, that the "Ishmaelites dwelt from Havilah", which is to the south of Palestine, "unto Shur", a town situated over against Egypt, "as you go to Assyria"; that is, to the Agra of Ptolemy in Susiana. The Targum renders it

"in the land of the south.''

There was a city in Coelesyria, called Adra by Ptolemy ^z; which, as Jerom says ^a, was distant from Bostra twenty five miles; since called the city of Bernard de Stampis; where were Christian churches in the fourth and fifth centuries, whose bishops were present at councils held in those times ^b; and, according to this prophecy, here the word of the Lord was to be published; and it may have respect to the conversion of the inhabitants of it in future times: though some take it to be not the proper name of a place, but an appellative, and render it, "the land about", or "the land about thee" ^c; that is, about Judea; the nations round about it, particularly Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine.

And Damascus shall be the rest thereof; either of the Lord himself; his glorious Shechinah shall rest there, as Kimchi interprets it; and so the Targum paraphrases it,

"and Damascus shall be converted, that it may be of the house of his Shechinah;''

see Isa 11:10 or of the word of the Lord, which should be declared and published there, as it was by the Apostle Paul, who was converted near it, and preached in it, Act 9:3 or of Hadrach, or the adjacent country: unless it is to be understood of the burden of the Lord resting on it, or of the taking of this city in the times of Alexander the great; which, with the destruction of the cities after mentioned, some make a type or symbol of the abolition of Paganism in the Roman empire; but the former sense seems best.

When the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be towards the Lord; or, "when the eyes of men shall be to the Lord, and to all the tribes of Israel"; so Kimchi and Ben Melech; that is, as they interpret it, when the eyes of all men shall be to the Lord, and not to their idols; and also to all the tribes of Israel, to go along with them in their ways; as it is said above Zec 8:23, "we will go with you": or they shall look to the Lord, even as the tribes of Israel themselves do; and which is true of sinners when converted, whether Jews or Gentiles; and particularly was true of that great man, the Apostle Paul, who was converted near Damascus, when the eyes of his understanding being enlightened, and he seeing the insufficiency of all other objects, looked to the Lord alone for pardon, righteousness, life, and salvation; even as all true Israelites do, who are after the Spirit, and not after the flesh. Though some understand these words of the eyes of the Lord being upon every man, as well as upon the tribes of Israel; upon wicked men to punish them, as upon his people to protect and defend them: and to this sense the Targum inclines, paraphrasing the words thus,

"for before the Lord are manifest the works of the children of men, and he is well pleased with all the tribes of Israel.''

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Zec 9:1

¹ sn The land of Hadrach was a northern region stretching from Aleppo in the north to Damascus in the south (cf. NLT “Aram”).

² tn Heb “Damascus its resting place.” The 3rd person masculine singular suffix on “resting place” (מְנֻחָתוֹ, mÿnukhato), however, precludes “land” or even “Hadrach,” both of which are feminine, from being the antecedent. Most likely “word” (masculine) is the antecedent, i.e., the “word of the Lord” is finding its resting place, that is, its focus in or on Damascus.

³ tc Though without manuscript and version support, many scholars suggest emendation here to clarify what, to them, is an unintelligible reading. Thus some propose עָדֵי אָרָם (’ade ’aram, “cities of Aram”; cf. NAB, NRSV) for עֵין אָדָם (’en ’adam, “eye of man”) or אֲדָמָה (’adamah, “ground”) for אָדָם (’adam, “man”), “(surface of) the earth.” It seems best, however, to see “eye” as collective and to understand the passage as saying that the attention of the whole earth will be upon the Lord (cf. NIV, NLT).

Geneva Bible: Zec 9:1

The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of ^{( a )} Hadrach, and Damascus [shall be] the ^{( b )} rest of it: when the ^{( c )} eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, [shall be] toward the LORD.

^{( a )} By which he means Syria.

^{( b )} God's anger will remain upon their chief city, and not spare even as much as that.

^{( c )} When the Jews will convert and repent, then God will destroy their enemies.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Zec 9:1-17

1 God defends his church.

9 Zion is exhorted to rejoice for the coming of Christ, and his peaceable kingdom.

12 God's promises of victory and defence.

MHCC: Zec 9:1-8

Here are judgements foretold on several nations. While the Macedonians and Alexander's successors were in warfare in these countries, the Lord promised to protect his people. God's house lies in the midst of an enemy's country; his church is as a lily among thorns. God's power and goodness are seen in her special preservation. The Lord encamps about his church, and while armies of proud opposers shall pass by and return, his eyes watch over her, so that they cannot prevail, and shortly the time will come when no exactor shall pass by her any more.

Matthew Henry: Zec 9:1-8

After the precious promises we had in the foregoing chapter of favour to God's people, their persecutors, who hated them, come to be reckoned with, those particularly that bordered close upon them.

I. The Syrians had been bad neighbours to Israel, and God had a controversy with them. The word of the Lord shall be a burden in the land of Hadrach, that is, of Syria, but it does not appear why it was so called. That that kingdom is meant is plain, because Damascus, the metropolis of that kingdom, is said to be the rest of this burden; that is, the judgments here threatened shall light and lie upon that city. Those are miserable upon whom the burden of the word of the Lord rests, upon whom the wrath of God abides (Joh 3:36); for it is a weight that they can neither shake off nor bear up under. There are those whom God causes his fury to rest upon. Those whom the wrath of God makes its mark it will be sure to hit; those whom it makes its rest it will be sure to sink. And the reason of this burden's resting on Damascus is because the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel (or rather, even of all the tribes of Israel ), are towards the Lord, because the people of God by faith and prayer look up to him for succour and relief and depend upon him to take their part against their enemies. Note, It is a sign that God is about to appear remarkably for his people when he raises their believing expectations from him and dependence upon him, and when by his grace he turns them from idols to himself. Isa 17:7, Isa 17:8, At that day shall a man look to his Maker. It may be read thus, for the Lord has an eye upon man, and upon all the tribes of Israel; he is King of nations as well as King of saints; he governs the world as well as the church, and therefore will punish the sins of other people as well as those of his own people. God is Judge of all, and therefore all must give account of themselves to him. When St. Paul was converted at Damascus, and preached there, and disputed with the Jews, then the word of the Lord might be said to rest there, and then the eyes of men, of other men besides the tribes of Israel, began to be towards the Lord; see Act 9:22. Hamath, a country which lay north of Damascus, and which we often read of, shall border thereby (Zec 9:2); it joins to Syria, and shall share in the burden of the word of the Lord that rests upon Damascus. The Jews have a proverb, Woe to the wicked man, and woe to his neighbour, who is in danger of partaking in his sins and in his plagues. Woe to the land of Hadrach, and woe to Hamath that borders thereby.

II. Tyre and Zidon come next to be called to an account here, as in other prophecies, Zec 9:2-4. Observe here,

1. Tyrus flourishing, thinking herself very safe, and ready to set God's judgments, not only at a distance, but at defiance: for, (1.) She is very wise. It is spoken ironically; she thinks herself very wise, and able to outwit even the wisdom of God. It is granted that her king is a great politician, and that her statesmen are so, Eze 28:3. But with all their wit and policy they shall not be able to evade the judgments of God when they come with commission; there is no wisdom nor counsel against the Lord; nay, it is his honour to take the wise in their own craftiness. (2.) She is very strong, and well fortified both by nature and art: Tyrus did build herself a strong-hold, which she thought could never be brought down nor got over. (3.) She is very rich; and money is a defence; it is the sinews of war, Ecc 7:12. By her vast trade she has heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets, that is, she has an abundance of them, heaps of silver as common as heaps of sand, Job 27:16. Solomon made silver to be in Jerusalem as the stones of the streets; but Tyre went further, and made fine gold to be as the mire of the streets. It were well if we could all learn so to look upon it, in comparison with the merchandise of wisdom and grace and the gains thereof.

2. Tyrus falling, after all. Her wisdom, and wealth, and strength, shall not be able to secure her (Zec 9:4): The Lord will cast her out of that strong-hold wherein she has fortified herself, will make her poor (so some read it); there have been instances of those that have fallen from the height of plenty to the depth of poverty, and great riches have come to nothing. God will smite her power in the sea; her being surrounded by the water shall not secure her, but she shall be devoured with fire, and burnt down to the ground. Tyrus, being seated in the midst of the water, was, one would have thought, in danger of being some time or other overflowed or washed away by that; yet God chooses to destroy it by the contrary element. Sometimes he brings ruin upon his enemies by those means which they least suspect. Water enough was nigh at hand to quench the flames of Tyre, and yet by them she shall be devoured; for who can put out the fire which the breath of the Almighty blows up?

III. God next contends with the Philistines, with their great cities and great lords, that bordered southward upon Israel.

1. They shall be alarmed and affrighted by the word of the Lord lighting and resting upon Damascus (Zec 9:5); the disgraces of Israel had many a time been published in the streets of Ashkelon, and they had triumphed in them; but now Ashkelon shall see the ruin of her friends and allies, and shall fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron, concluding that their own turns come next, now that the cup of trembling goes round. What will become of their house when their neighbour's is on fire? They had looked upon Tyre and Zidon as a barrier to their country; but, when those strong cities were ruined, their expectations from them were ashamed, as our expectation from all creatures will be in the issue.

2. They shall themselves be ruined and wasted. (1.) The government shall be dissolved: The king shall perish from Gaza, not only the present king shall be cut off, but there shall be no succession, no successor, (2.) The cities shall be dispeopled: Ashkelon shall not be inhabited; the rightful owners shall be expelled, either slain or carried into captivity. (3.) Foreigners shall take possession of their land and become masters of all its wealth (Zec 9:6): A bastard shall dwell in Ashdod; a spurious brood of strangers shall enter upon the inheritances of the natives, which they have no more right to than a bastard has to the estates of the legitimate children. And thus God will cut off the pride of the Philistines, all the strength and wealth which they prided themselves in, and which were the ground of their confidence in themselves and their contempt of the Israel of God. This prophecy of the destruction of the Philistines, and of Damascus, and Tyre, was accomplished, not long after this, by Alexander the Great, who ravaged all these countries with his victorious army, took the cities, and planted colonies in them, which Quintus Curtius gives a particular account of in the history of his conquests. And some think he is meant by the bastard that shall dwell in Ashdod, for his mother Olympia owned him begotten in adultery, but pretended it was by Jupiter. The Jews afterwards got ground of the Philistines, Syrians, and others of their neighbours, took some of their cities from them and possessed their countries, as appears by the histories of Josephus and the Maccabees, and this was foretold before, Zep 2:4, etc.; Oba 1:20.

3. Some among them shall be converted, and brought home to God, by his gospel and grace; so some understand Zec 9:7, as a promise, (1.) That God would take away the sins of these nations - their blood and their abominations, their cruelties and their idolatries. God will part between them and these sins which they have rolled under their tongue as a sweet morsel, and are as loth to part with as men are to part with the meat out of their mouths, and which they hold fast between their teeth. Nothing is too hard for the grace of God to do. (2.) That he would accept of a remnant of them for his own: He that remains shall be for our God. God would preserve a remnant even of these nations, that should be the monuments of his mercy and grace and be set apart for him; and the disadvantages of their birth shall be no bar to their acceptance with God, but a Philistine shall be as acceptable to God, upon gospel-terms, as one of Judah, nay, as a governor, or chief one, in Judah, and a man of Ekron shall be as a Jebusite, or a man of Jerusalem, as a proselyted Jebusite, as Araunah the Jebusite, 2Sa 24:16. In Christ Jesus there is no distinction of nations, but all are one in him, all alike welcome to him.

IV. In all this God intends mercy for Israel, and it is in kindness to them that God will deal thus with the neighbouring nations, to avenge their quarrel for what is past and to secure them for the future.

1. Thus some understand the seventh verse, as intimating, (1.) That thus God would deliver his people from their bloody adversaries, who hated them, and to whom they were an abomination, when they were just ready to devour them and make a prey of them: I will take away his blood (that is, the blood of Israel) out of the mouth of the Philistines and from between their teeth (Amo 3:12), when, in their hatred of them and enmity to them, they were greedily devouring them. (2.) That lie would thus give them victory and dominion over them: And he that remains (that is, the remnant of Israel) shall be for our God, shall be taken into his favour, shall own him and be owned by him, and he shall be as a governor in Judah; though the Jews have been long in servitude, they shall recover their ancient dignity, and be victorious, as David and other governors in Judah formerly were; and Ekron (that is, the Philistines) shall be as the Jebusites, and the rest of the devoted nations, who were brought into subjection under them.

2. However, this is plainly the sense of Zec 9:8, that God will take his people under his special protection, and therefore will weaken their neighbours, that it may not be in their power to do them a mischief: I will encamp about my house because of the army. Note, God's house lies in the midst of an enemy's country, and his church is as a lily among thorns; and therefore God's power and goodness are to be observed in the special preservation of it. The camp of the saints, being a little flock in comparison with the numerous armies of the powers of darkness that are set against it round about, would certainly be swallowed up if the angels of God did not encamp about it, as they did about Elisha, to deliver it, Rev 20:9; Psa 34:7. When the times are unusually perilous, when armies are marching and counter-marching, and all bearing ill-will to Zion, then Providence will as it were double its guards upon the church of God, because of him that passes by and because of him that returns, that whether he return a conqueror or conquered he may do it no harm. And, as none that pass by shall hurt them, so no oppressor shall pass through them any more; they shall have no enemy within themselves to rule them with rigour, and to make their lives bitter to them with sore bondage, as of old in Egypt. This was fulfilled when, for some time after the struggles of the Maccabees, Judea was a free and flourishing state, or perhaps when Alexander the Great, struck with an awe of Jaddus the high priest, favoured the Jews, and took them under his protection, at the same time when he wasted the neighbouring countries. And the reason given for all this is, " For now have I seen with my eyes, now have I carefully distinguished between my people and other people, with whom before they seemed to have their lot in common, and have made it to appear that I know those that are mine,"This agrees with Psa 34:15, The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous; now his eyes, which run to and fro through the earth, shall fix upon them, that he may show himself tender of them, and strong on their behalf, 2Ch 16:9.

Keil-Delitzsch: Zec 9:1

Judgment upon the Land of Hadrach; and Zion's King of Peace. - Zec 9:1. The true interpretation of this section, and, in fact, of the whole prophecy, depends upon the explanation to be given to the heading contained in this verse. The whole verse reads thus: "Burden of the word of Jehovah over the land of Hadrach, and Damascus is its resting-place; for Jehovah has an eye upon the men, and upon all the tribes of Israel." There is a wide divergence of opinion concerning the land of חדרך . We need not stop to give any elaborate refutation to the opinion that Hadrach is the name of the Messiah (as some Rabbins suppose), or that it is the name of an unknown Syrian king (Ges., Bleek), or of an Assyrian fire-god, Adar or Asar (Movers), or of a deity of Eastern Aramaea (Babylonia), as Hitzig maintained, since there is no trace whatever of the existence of such a king or deity; and even Hitzig himself has relinquished his own conjecture. And the view defended by J. D. Mich. and Rosenmüller, that Hadrach is the name of an ancient city, situated not far from Damascus, is destitute of any tenable basis, since Hengstenberg ( Christol. iii. p. 372, transl.) has proved that the historical testimonies adduced in support of this rest upon some confusion with the ancient Arabian city of Drâa, Adrâa, the biblical Edrei (Deu 1:4). As the name Hadrach or Chadrach never occurs again, and yet a city which gives its name to a land, and occurs in connection with Damascus, Hamath, Tyre, and Sidon, could not possibly have vanished so completely, that even the earlier Jewish and Christian commentators heard nothing of it, Chadrach can only be a symbolical name formed by the prophet himself (as Jerome maintained, according to a Jewish tradition), from chad, acris, sharp, brave, ready for war (in Arabic, ḥdd , vehemens fuit, durus in ira, pugna ), and râkh , soft, tender, in the sense of sharp-soft, or strong-tender, after the analogy of the symbolical names. Dumah for Edom, in Isa 21:11; Sheshach for Babylon, in Jer 25:26; Jer 51:41; Ariel for Jerusalem, in Isa 29:1-2, Isa 29:7. This view can no more be upset by the objection of Koehler, that the interpretation of the name is a disputed point among the commentators, and that it is doubtful why the prophet should have chosen such a symbolical epithet, than by the circumstance that the rabbinical interpretation of the word as a name for the Messiah is evidently false, and has long ago been given up by the Christian commentators. That Hadrach denotes a land or kingdom, is raised above all reach of doubt by the fact that 'erets (the land) is placed before it. But what land? The statement in the following sentence by no means compels us to think of a province of Syria, as Hitzig, Koehler, and others suppose. As the cities and lands which follow are quoted under their ordinary names, it is impossible to imagine any reason for the choice of a symbolical name for another district of Syria bordering upon Damascus and Hamath. The symbolical name rather points to the fact that the land of Hadrach denotes a territory, of which Damascus, Hamath, Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia formed the several parts. And this is favoured by the circumstance that the words, "Burden of the word of Jehovah upon the land of Hadrach ,"form the heading to the oracle, in which the preposition ב is used as in the expression משּׂא בּערב in Isa 21:13, and is to be explained from the phrase נפל דּבר ב in Isa 9:7 : The burdensome word falls, descends upon the land of Hadrach. The remark of Koehler in opposition to this, to the effect that these words are not a heading, but form the commencement of the exposition of the word of Jehovah through the prophet, inasmuch as the following clause is appended with ו , is quite groundless. The clause in Isa 14:28, "In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden,"is also a heading; and the assertion that the ו before דּמּשׂק is not a ו explic. , but an actual ו conjunct. , rests upon the assumption that the cities and lands mentioned in the course of this prophecy have not already been all embraced by the expression ארץ חדרך - an assumption which has not been sustained by any proofs. On the contrary, the fact that not only is Damascus mentioned as the resting-place of the word of Jehovah, but Hamath and also the capitals of Phoenicia and Philistia are appended, proves the very opposite. This evidently implies that the burden resting upon the land of Hadrach will affect all these cities and lands.

The exposition of the burden announced upon the land of Hadrach commences with ודמּשׂק . This is attached to the heading with Vav , because, so far as the sense is concerned, massâ' is equivalent to "it presses as a burden."The exposition, however, is restricted, so far as Damascus and Hamath are concerned, to the simple remark that the burdensome word upon Hadrach will rest upon it, i.e., will settle permanently upon it. (The suffix in מנחתו refers to משּׂא דבר יי .) It is only with the lands which stood in a closer relation to Judah, viz., Tyre, Sidon, and the provinces of Philistia, that it assumes the form of a specially prophetic description. The contents of the heading are sustained by the thought in the second hemistich: "Jehovah has an eye upon men, and upon all the tribes of Israel." עין אדם with the genit. obj. signifies the rest of mankind, i.e., the heathen world, as in Jer 32:20, where "Israel"and "men"are opposed to one another. The explanatory clause, according to which the burden of Jehovah falls upon the land of Hadrach, and rests upon Damascus, because the eyes of Jehovah looks upon mankind and all the tribes of Israel, i.e., His providence stretches over the heathen world as well as over Israel, is quite sufficient in itself to overthrow the assumption of Hofmann and Koehler, that by the land of Hadrach we are to understand the land of Israel. For if the explanatory clause were understood as signifying that the burden, i.e., the judgment, would not only fall upon Hamath as the representative of the human race outside the limits of Israel, but also upon the land of Hadrach as the land of all the tribes of Israel, this view would be precluded not only by the circumstance that in what follows heathen nations alone are mentioned as the objects of the judgment, whereas salvation and peace are proclaimed to Israel, but also by the fact that no ground whatever can be discovered for the application of so mysterious an epithet to the land of Israel. According to Hofmann ( Schriftb. ii. 2, p. 604), ארץ חדרך signifies the whole of the territory of the kingdom of David, which is so called as "the land of Israel, which, though weak in itself, was, through the strength of God, as sharp as a warrior's sword."But if a judgment of destruction, which Hofmann finds in our prophecy, were announced "to all the nations dwelling within the bounds of what was once the Davidic kingdom,"the judgment would fall upon Israel in the same way as upon the heathen nations that are named, since the tribes of Israel formed the kernel of the nations who dwelt in what was once the Davidic kingdom, and Israel would therefore show itself as a sharp-soft people. Hence Koehler has modified this view, and supposes that only the heathen dwelling within the limits of the nation of the twelve tribes are threatened with Jehovah's judgment, - namely, all the heathen within the land which Jehovah promised to His people on their taking possession of Canaan (Num 34:1-12). But apart from the unfounded assumption that Hadrach is the name of a district of Syria on the border of Damascus and Hamath, this loophole is closed by the fact that, according to Num 34:1., Hamath and Damascus are not included in the possession promised to Israel. According to Num 34:8, the northern boundary of the land of Israel was to extend to Hamath, i.e., to the territory of the kingdom of Hamath, and Damascus is very far beyond the eastern boundary of the territory assigned to the Israelites (see the exposition of Num 34:1-12). Now, if the land of Hadrach, Damascus, and Hamath were not within the ideal boundaries of Israel, and if Hamath and Hadrach did not belong to the Israelitish kingdom in the time of David, the other lands or cities mentioned in our oracle cannot be threatened with the judgment on account of their lying within the Mosaic boundaries of the land of Israel, or being subject to the Israelites for a time, but can only come into consideration as enemies of Israel whose might was to be threatened and destroyed by the judgment. Consequently the land of Hadrach must denote a land hostile to the covenant nation or the kingdom of God, and can only be a symbolical epithet descriptive of the Medo-Persian empire, which is called sharp-soft or strong-weak on account of its inwardly divided character, as Hengstenberg and Kliefoth assume. Now, however difficult it may be satisfactorily to explain the reason why Zechariah chose this symbolical name for the Medo-Persian monarchy, so much is certain, that the choice of a figurative name was much more suitable in the case of the dominant empire of that time, than in that of any small country on the border of Damascus or Hamath. All the cities and land enumerated after "the land of Hadrach,"as losing their glory at the same time, belonged to the Medo-Persian monarchy. Of these the prophet simply refers to Damascus and Hamath in general terms; and it is only in the case of the Phoenician and Philistian cities that he proceeds to a special description of their fall from their lofty eminence, because they stood nearest to the kingdom of Israel, and represented the might of the kingdom of the world, and its hostility to the kingdom of God, partly in the worldly development of their own might, and partly in their hostility to the covenant nation. The description is an individualizing one throughout, exemplifying general facts by particular cities. This is also evident from the announcement of salvation for Zion in Zec 9:8-10, from which we may see that the overthrow of the nations hostile to Israel stands in intimate connection with the establishment of the Messianic kingdom; and it is also confirmed by the second half of our chapter, where the conquest of the imperial power by the people of God is set forth in the victories of Judah and Ephraim over the sons of Javan. That the several peoples and cities mentioned by name are simply introduced as representatives of the imperial power, is evident from the distinction made in this verse between (the rest of) mankind and all the tribes of Israel.

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 9:1--11:17

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

In this first oracle there is much change. Judgment is coming on Israel's enemies (9:1-7), but Israel will enjoy deliverance (9:8). In the midst of much blessing (9:9-10:12), Israel will experience sorrow (ch. 11). The messianic King will come, but He will be rejected.

Constable: Zec 9:1-8

The destruction of nations and the preservation of Zion 9:1-8

The first four verses of this poem deal with the north and the last four with the south. The first two verses and the last two speak of salvation, and the middle four speak of judgment. The passage begins and ends with a reference to eyes, the eyes of men (v. 1) and the eye of God (v. 8).

9:1-2 The Lord sent a burden (Heb. massa', heavy pronouncement) to Zechariah that announced judgment and blessing.¹⁸³ It concerned the lands of Hadrach (Hatarikka, near Hamath),¹⁸⁴ Hamath on the Orontes river (a city farther south in Aramea, cf. Amos 6:2), Damascus (the capital of Aramea, still farther south), and Tyre and Sidon (Phoenician cities between Aramea and Israel, cf. Ezek. 26:3-14; 28:20-24). The order of these cities in the text is from north to south. Earlier prophets had seen enemies invading Israel from the north (Isa. 41:25; Jer. 1:14-15; Ezek. 26:7), but now Yahweh would take the same route destroying Israel's enemies as He came.

"Originally the Mediterranean coast had been designated Israel's territory (Nu. 34:5, 6) and yet it had never been possessed by Israel. Now at last the Lord will claim it."¹⁸⁵

This revelation concerned a time when all the people of the world, especially the Israelites, would be looking toward Yahweh.¹⁸⁶ As history would show, this was when Alexander the Great was rapidly moving south toward Egypt after defeating the Persians at Issus in 333 B.C. The whole world was worried about what he would do next, especially the residents of the cities of Palestine that lay in his path. All these people would have their eyes on Alexander, but he was only the Lord's instrument, so Zechariah could say that they were really looking to Yahweh. The nations would have done so unwittingly, but Israel would have looked to Him for protection.

9:3-4 Tyre had trusted in physical fortifications for her defense and in stockpiles of silver and gold for her security. She had built a 150-foot high wall around the city, which stood on an island just offshore following Nebuchadnezzar's earlier unsuccessful 13-year siege (cf. Isa. 23:4; Ezek. 29:18), and she had gained great wealth through commerce.¹⁸⁷ Nevertheless the Lord would dispossess her and displace her wealth casting it into the Mediterranean Sea. The parts of the city that would not go down into the water would go up in flames. Alexander destroyed Tyre by building a causeway from the mainland to the island city and leveling it.¹⁸⁸

9:5-6 The Philistine cities farther south along the Mediterranean coast would observe Tyre's fate and fear, especially Ekron, the northernmost of the four cities mentioned.¹⁸⁹ God would also destroy these cities and populate them with a mixed group of citizens. Thus He would humble the pride of the Philistines. This too happened when Alexander swept south.

9:7 The Lord would also remove the blood that these pagans ate, which was forbidden in Israel, from their mouths. He would take the unclean, detestable food that they ate from their mouths. Drinking blood and eating unclean food was part of Philistine pagan worship (cf. Isa. 65:4; 66:3, 17), so the judgment in view included punishment for idolatry. Some remaining Philistines would turn to the Lord and become like the Israelites in their faith in Yahweh. As the Jebusites became incorporated into Israel in David's day (cf. 2 Sam. 24:16; 1 Chron. 21:18), so would the Philistines in the future from Zechariah's viewpoint.

9:8 The Lord promised to protect His people and land as with a band of soldiers since enemies would oppose them.¹⁹⁰ No enemy would oppress them ever again because the Lord had seen the plight of His people and would defend them (cf. 4:10; Exod. 3:7; Ps. 32:8). This promise of no more oppression anticipates the second advent of Messiah.

"For their preservation at the time of Alexander and for their future deliverance from every oppressor, Israel is indebted to the providence of God which watched over them for good."¹⁹¹

This section is a prophetic description of Yahweh's march from the north, using Alexander the Great as His instrument, destroying Gentiles nations but preserving the Jews.¹⁹²

"As history shows, the agent of the Lord's judgment was Alexander the Great. After defeating the Persians (333 B.C.), Alexander moved swiftly toward Egypt. On his march he toppled the cities in the Aramean (Syrian) interior, as well as those on the Mediterranean coast. Yet, on coming to Jerusalem, he refused to destroy it."¹⁹³

"The first section of this . . . part of the book establishes from the start two important facts: the Lord's victory is certain, and he intends to bring back to Himself peoples long alienated from Him. These truths underlie all that follows and culminate in the universal worship of the King, the Lord of hosts, in 14:16-19."¹⁹⁴

"One should not . . . anticipate a future scenario in which God will literally march from Hadrach to Jerusalem, establishing his dominion over all opposition. What is at hand is a formulaic way of asserting an unquestionably literal establishment of YHWH's kinship in the end times, a suzerainty to be achieved in the pattern well known to Zechariah and his fellow countrymen on the human level."¹⁹⁵

Guzik: Zec 9:1-17

Zechariah 9 - A Humble King Conquers

A. The burden against Hadrach.

1. (1-4) Judgment against the cities of Lebanon.

The burden of the word of the LORD against the land of Hadrach, and Damascus its resting place (for the eyes of men and all the tribes of Israel are on the LORD); also against Hamath, which borders on it, and against Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. For Tyre built herself a tower, heaped up silver like the dust, and gold like the mire of the streets. Behold, the LORD will cast her out; He will destroy her power in the sea, and she will be devoured by fire.

a. The burden of the word of the LORD: The two oracles that make up the remainder of Zechariah (chapters 9 through 14) are undated, but many scholars believe they came from Zechariah's old age. Most see this burden . . . against the land of Hadrach as fulfilled by the armies of Alexander the Great when he conquered this region. The cities mentioned in Zechariah 9:1-7 trace Alexander's march through the Promised Land in 332-331 B.C.

i. The eyes of men . . . are on the Lord in the sense that they are on God's instrument of judgment, Alexander

b. Against Tyre and Sidon: These were the two major cities north of Israel, in the land of Lebanon. Tyre was an important commercial city that was thought of as impossible to conquer. The Assyrians laid siege against Tyre for five years, but never conquered the city. Nebuchadnezzar tried for 13 years to conquer Tyre, but Alexander did it in seven months.

i. Alexander the Great conquered Tyre by laying siege for seven months, then using the rubble from the old city to make a causeway out to the island city. It was a spectacular achievement of both military and engineering strategy.

2. (5-8) Judgment against the cities of the Philistines.

Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall be very sorrowful; and Ekron, for He dried up her expectation. The king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. "A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. I will take away the blood from his mouth, and the abominations from between his teeth. But he who remains, even he shall be for our God, and shall be like a leader in Judah, and Ekron like a Jebusite. I will camp around My house because of the army, because of him who passes by and him who returns. No more shall an oppressor pass through them, for now I have seen with My eyes."

a. Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall be very sorrowful: The Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod are south of Tyre and Sidon, and were also conquered by Alexander the Great in 332-331 B.C.

i. This passage "accurately foretells the conquest of the eastern Mediterranean coastlands by Greek armies under the command of Alexander the Great." (Boice)

b. He who remains . . . and Ekron like a Jebusite: The Jebusites inhabited Jerusalem when David conquered the city (Joshua 15:8, 2 Samuel 5:6-9, 2 Samuel 24:16-18). David did not wipe out the Jebusites, but merely incorporated them into Israel. The same would happen to the people of Ekron.

c. I will camp around My house because of the army, because of him who passes by: When Alexander the Great marched through Lebanon and the Promised Land towards Egypt he did not conquer or attack Jerusalem. God promised to protect and spare His house during this time, and He did through a remarkable chain of events connected to Alexander the Great and the High Priest.

i. Josephus' account of Alexander's meeting with the High Priest is fascinating (Antiquities 11.8.4-5):

Now Alexander, when he had taken Gaza, made haste to go up to Jerusalem; and Jaddua the high-priest, when he heard that, was in agony, and under terror, as not knowing how he should meet the Macedonians, since the king was displeased at his foregoing disobedience. He therefore ordained that the people should make supplications, and should join with him in offering sacrifices to God, whom he besought to protect that nation, and to deliver them from the perils that were coming upon them; whereupon God warned him in a dream, which came upon him after he had offered sacrifice, that he should take courage, adorn the city, and open the gates; that the rest appear in white garments, but that he and the priests should meet the king in habits proper to their order, without the dread of any ill consequences, which the providence of God would prevent. Upon which, when he rose from his sleep, he greatly rejoiced; and declared to all the warning he had received from God. According to the dream he acted entirely, and so waited for the coming of the king.

And when he understood that he was not far from the city, he went out in procession, with the priests and the multitude of the citizens. The procession was venerable, and the manner of it different from that of other nations. It reached to a place called Sapha; which name, translated in Greek, signifies a prospect, for you have thence a prospect both of Jerusalem and of the temple; and when the Phoenicians and the Chaldeans that followed him, thought they should have liberty to plunder the city, and torment the high-priest to death, which the king's displeasure fairly promised them, the very reverse of it happened; for Alexander, when he saw the multitude at a distance, in white garments, while the priests stood clothed with fine linen, and the high-priest in purple and scarlet clothing, with his mitre on his head having the golden plate on which the name of God was engraved, he approached by himself, and adored that name, and first saluted the high-priest. The Jews also did all together, with one voice, salute Alexander, and encompass him about: whereupon the kings of Syria and the rest were surprised at what Alexander had done, and supposed him to be disordered in his mind. However, Parmenio [Alexander's second-in-command] alone went up to him, and asked him how it came to pass, that when all others adored him, he should adore the high-priest of the Jews? To whom he replied, "I did not adore him, but that God who has honored him with that high-priesthood; for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit, when I was at Dios, in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself how I might obtain the dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me dominion over the Persians; whence it is, that having seen no other in that habit, and now seeing this person in it, and remembering my vision and the exhortation which I had in my dream, I believe that I bring this army under divine conduct, and shall therewith conquer Darius, and destroy the power of the Persians, and that all things will succeed according to what is in my own mind." And when he had said this to Parmenio, and had given the high-priest his right hand, the priests ran along by him, and he came into the city; and when he went up into the temple, he offered sacrifice to God, according to the high-priest's direction, and magnificently treated both the high-priest and the priests. And when the book of Daniel was showed him, wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended; and as he was then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present, but the next day he called them to him, and bade them ask what favors they pleased of him: whereupon the high-priest desired that they might enjoy the laws of their forefathers, and might pay no tribute on the seventh year. He granted all they desired: and when they entreated him that he would permit the Jews in Babylon and Media to enjoy their own laws also, he willingly promised to do hereafter what they desired: and when he said to the multitude, that if any of them would enlist themselves in his army on this condition, that they should continue under the laws of their forefathers, and live according to them, he was willing to take them with him, many were ready to accompany him in his wars.

B. The coming King and His deliverance.

1. (9) A lowly king comes into Jerusalem.

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.

a. Behold your King is coming to you . . . lowly and riding on a donkey: This Messiah-King is lowly, but this isn't indicated by the animal he rides. He doesn't ride the triumphant stallion of a conquering general, but the customary mount for royalty, coming in peace. This was quite a contrast to the conqueror Alexander the Great.

i. "Brethren, let us be lowly. Did I hear one say, 'Well, I will try to be lowly'? You cannot do it in that way. We must not try to act the lowly part; we must be lowly, and then we shall naturally act in a humble manner. It is astonishing how much of pride there is in the most modest." (Spurgeon)

ii. "How we condemn pride! We feel that it would be well if all were as humble as we are. We boast that we detest boasting. We flatter ourselves that we hate flattery. When we are told that we are singularly free from pride, we feel as proud as Lucifer himself at the consciousness that the compliment is right well deserved. We are so experienced, so solid, so discerning, so free from self-confidence, that we are the first to be caught in the net of self-satisfaction. Brethren, we must pray God to make us humble." (Spurgeon)

b. A donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey: This seems to be a Hebrew expression of speech emphasizing that the animal is purebred - a truly magnificent, royal mount.

ii. "God had commanded the kings of Israel not to multiply horses. The kings who broke this command were miserable themselves, and scourgers to their people. Jesus came to fulfill the law. Had he in his title of king rode upon a horse, it would have been a breach of a positive command of God; therefore he rode upon an ass." (Clarke)

b. Rejoice greatly . . . Shout . . . Behold, your King is coming: This clearly prophesies what is known as the triumphal entry of Jesus (Matthew 21:5), when He presented Himself as the Messiah to Jerusalem and the people of Israel.

i. Though the triumphal entry was a joyful celebration, a Roman spectator would wonder what was so "triumphal" about this entry. It didn't compare at all to the kind of parade Julius Caesar had when he came back to Rome from Gaul. Then there was a parade that lasted three days as he displayed all the captives and booty he brought back. In contrast to this, the procession of Jesus must have seemed pretty humble, and this showed that Jesus was a different kind of King.

2. (10) The strength and the authority of the Messiah's reign.

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be 'from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.' "

a. The battle bow shall be cut off: Zechariah 9:9 belongs to the first coming of Jesus, but Zechariah 9:10 belongs to the Second Coming of Jesus, when He comes in power and glory to reign over this earth for 1,000 years. In that day there will be an enforced righteousness, and He will no longer allow war (Isaiah 2:4).

i. "Even though the Evangelists saw fulfillment of verse 9, they did not go on to quote verse 10, which may indicated that they were conscious of having only a partial fulfillment." (Baldwin)

b. His dominion shall be "from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth": When Jesus rules over this earth, His reign will be universal. The entire earth will be under His authority.

i. This speaks of the time many refer to as the millennium, the thousand-year reign of Jesus on this earth (Psalm 72, Isaiah 2:2-4, Isaiah 11:4-9, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Luke 1:32-33 and 19:12-27, Matthew 5:18).

3. (11-17) Judah's liberation and blessing.

"As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you. For I have bent Judah, My bow, fitted the bow with Ephraim, and raised up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and made you like the sword of a mighty man." Then the LORD will be seen over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, and go with whirlwinds from the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them; they shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; they shall be filled with blood like basins, like the corners of the altar. The LORD their God will save them in that day, as the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, lifted like a banner over His land; for how great is its goodness and how great its beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.

a. Because of the blood of your covenant: This is probably God acting towards Israel in light of the blood of the Covenant of Moses (Exodus 24:1-8). As Israel turns to God, He will turn to them and rescue them as if they were trapped in a dry cistern (I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit).

b. Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope: Because of His faithful promise, even the prisoners are prisoners of hope. They should receive encouragement from His promise and return to the stronghold - both in the sense of a military fortress and a spiritual fortress in the LORD Himself.

c. For I have bent Judah, My bow, fitted the bow with Ephraim, and raised up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece: This was partially fulfilled in the days of the Maccabees, when God raised up Jews to fight against the successors of Alexander's Empire. Nevertheless, it seems that the ultimate fulfillment of this promise is yet to come.

d. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet: The idea is that the LORD Himself leads the battle. Both the Bible and the Koran have the idea of the holy war - which Islam calls Jihad - but there is a huge difference between the idea of the holy war in the Bible and in Islam. Jesus alone carries out the Biblical holy war - never His people. In Islam, the Jihad is the responsibility of every good Muslim.

i. Here, God makes it clear who does the fighting: The LORD their God will save them in that day. This is God's battle, not the battle of men.

e. Grain shall make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women: As in other passages that speak of the millennium (Hosea 2:21-22, Joel 2:19) here grain and new wine are pictures of prosperity and blessing.

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

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 9 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Zec 9:1, God defends his church; Zec 9:9, Zion is exhorted to rejoice for the coming of Christ, and his peaceable kingdom; Zec 9:12, God’s promises of victory and defence.

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 9 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 9

Amidst the judgments of the neighbouring nations God will defend his church, Zec 9:1-8 . Zion is exhorted to rejoice for the coming of Christ, and his peaceable kingdom, Zec 9:9-11 . God’ s promises of victory and defence, Zec 9:12-17 .

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 9 (Chapter Introduction)

(Zec 9:1-8) God's defence of his church.

(Zec 9:9-11) Christ's coming and his kingdom.

(Zec 9:12-17) Promises to the church.

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 9 (Chapter Introduction)

At this chapter begins another sermon, which is continued to the end of ch. 11. It is called, " The burden of the word of the Lord," for every word of God has weight in it to those who regard it, and will be a heavy weight upon those who do not, a dead weight. Here is, I. A prophecy against the Jews' unrighteous neighbours - the Syrians, Tyrians, Philistines, and others (Zec 9:1-6), with an intimation of mercy to some of them, in their conversion (Zec 9:7), and a promise of mercy to God's people, in their protection (Zec 9:8). II. A prophecy of their righteous King, the Messiah, and his coming, with a description of him (Zec 9:9) and of his kingdom, the nature and extent of it (Zec 9:10). III. An account of the obligation the Jews lay under to Christ for their deliverance out of their captivity in Babylon (Zec 9:11, Zec 9:12). IV. A prophecy of the victories and successes God would grant to the Jews over their enemies, as typical of our great deliverance by Christ (Zec 9:13-15). V. A promise of great plenty, and joy, and honour, which God had in reserve for his people (Zec 9:16, Zec 9:17), which was written for their encouragement.

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

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von Rad, Gerhard. Old Testament Theology. 2 vols. Translated by D. M. G. Stalker. New York and Evanston, Ill.: Harper & Row, 1962, 1965.

Wisdom, Thurman. "Not by Might, nor by Power, but by My Spirit.'" Biblical Viewpoint 24:2 (November 1990):19-26.

Young, Robert. Analytical Concordance to the Bible. Twenty-second American edition. Revised by Wm. B. Stevenson. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d.

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 9 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 9

This chapter treats of the conversion of the Gentiles, before spoken of in general, now particularly named; of the coming of Christ into the world, and the advantages of it to his church; of the preaching of the Gospel by the apostles, and of their protection, encouragement, and success. The Gentiles converted are first the Syrians that dwelt in Hadrach, Damascus, and Hamath, the Lord's eye being upon them, Zec 9:1 next the Phoenicians, the inhabitants of Tyre and Zidon, who had a vain opinion of their wisdom, and trusted in their riches, Zec 9:2 and then the Philistines, the inhabitants of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod, guilty of pride, murder, idolatry, and other abominations, Zec 9:5 when the church and people of God should be safely protected, Zec 9:8 to whom, for their joy and comfort, is given forth a prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah; who is described by his character as a King, just, having salvation, lowly, and riding on an ass; by the peaceableness of his kingdom; by the various offices he executes; the prophetic office, speaking peace to the Heathen; the kingly office, his dominion being very large; and his priestly office, in the effusion of his blood, by which the covenant is confirmed, his people delivered out of distress, and encouraged to flee to him as their stronghold, where they find plenty and protection, Zec 9:9 next the apostles are represented as military men, accoutered with the bow and the sword of the mighty, Zec 9:13 whose success is owing to the Lord's appearance over them, and the efficacy of his grace and Spirit attending the word, Zec 9:14 who are protected and encouraged in it by the Lord, and honoured on account of it, Zec 9:15 and the chapter is concluded with an exclamation, wondering at the grace and glory of Christ, and expressing the satisfying provisions of his house, Zec 9:17.