Zechariah 14:16

14:16 Then all who survive from all the nations that came to attack Jerusalem will go up annually to worship the King, the Lord who rules over all, and to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. 1 

Zechariah 1:1

Introduction

1:1 In the eighth month of Darius’ 2  second year, 3  the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, 4  son of Berechiah son of Iddo, as follows:

Zechariah 7:1

The Hypocrisy of False Fasting

7:1 In King Darius’ fourth year, on the fourth day of Kislev, the ninth month, 5  the word of the Lord came to Zechariah.

Zechariah 1:7

The Introduction to the Visions

1:7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month Shebat, in Darius’ second year, 6  the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, as follows:

Zechariah 1:12

1:12 The angel of the Lord then asked, “Lord who rules over all, 7  how long before you have compassion on Jerusalem 8  and the other cities of Judah which you have been so angry with for these seventy years?” 9 

Zechariah 7:3

7:3 by asking both the priests of the temple 10  of the Lord who rules over all and the prophets, “Should we weep in the fifth month, 11  fasting as we have done over the years?”

Zechariah 7:5

7:5 “Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh 12  months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me – for me, indeed?

1 sn Having imposed his sovereignty over the earth following the Battle of Armageddon, the Lord will receive homage and tribute from all who survive from all the nations. The Feast of Tabernacles was especially associated with covenant institution and renewal so it will be appropriate for all people to acknowledge that they are vassals to the Lord at that time (cf. Deut 31:9-13; Neh 8:12-18; 9:1-38).

2 sn Darius is Darius Hystaspes, king of Persia from 522-486 b.c.

3 sn The eighth month of Darius’ second year was late October – late November, 520 b.c., by the modern (Julian) calendar. This is two months later than the date of Haggai’s first message to the same community (cf. Hag 1:1).

4 sn Both Ezra (5:1; 6:14) and Nehemiah (12:16) speak of Zechariah as a son of Iddo only. A probable explanation is that Zechariah’s actual father Berechiah had died and the prophet was raised by his grandfather Iddo. The “Zechariah son of Barachiah” of whom Jesus spoke (Matt 23:35; Luke 11:51) was probably the martyred prophet by that name who may have been a grandson of the priest Jehoiada (2 Chr 24:20-22).

3 sn The fourth day of Kislev, the ninth month would be December 7, 518 b.c., 22 months after the previous eight visions.

4 sn The twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month…in Darius’ second year was February 15, 519 b.c.

5 sn Note that here the angel of the Lord is clearly distinct from the Lord who rules over all himself.

6 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

7 sn The seventy years refers to the predicted period of Babylonian exile, a period with flexible beginning and ending points depending on the particular circumstances in view (cf. Jer 25:1; 28:1; 29:10; Dan 9:2). Here the end of the seventy years appears to be marked by the completion of the temple in 516 b.c., exactly seventy years after its destruction in 586.

6 tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

7 sn This lamentation marked the occasion of the destruction of Solomon’s temple on August 14, 586 b.c., almost exactly 70 years earlier (cf. 2 Kgs 25:8).

7 tn The seventh month apparently refers to the anniversary of the assassination of Gedaliah, governor of Judah (Jer 40:13-14; 41:1), in approximately 581 b.c.