Teks -- Zechariah 10:3 (AV)

10:3 Mine anger@ was kindled @ against the shepherds _,@ and I punished @ the goats_:@ for the LORD@ of hosts@ hath visited @ his flock@ the house@ of Judah_,@ and hath made @ them as his goodly@ horse@ in the battle_.@ {punished: Heb. visited upon}

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Zec 10:3 - The shepherds

Officers in the church and state.

Wesley: Zec 10:3 - The goats

The officers among them, who were like he - goats, that push, and wound, and trample under foot the feebler cattle.

Wesley: Zec 10:3 - Visited

In mercy.

Wesley: Zec 10:3 - As his goodly horse

Hath given them strength and courage.

JFB: Zec 10:3 - against the shepherds

The civil rulers of Israel and Judah who abetted idolatry.

JFB: Zec 10:3 - punished

Literally, "visited upon." The same word "visited," without the upon, is presently after used in a good sense to heighten the contrast.

JFB: Zec 10:3 - goats

He-goats. As "shepherds" described what they ought to have been, so "he-goats" describes what they were, the emblem of headstrong wantonness and offensive lust (Isa 14:9, Margin; Eze 34:17; Dan 8:5; Mat 25:33). The he-goats head the flock. They who are first in crime will be first in punishment.

JFB: Zec 10:3 - visited

In mercy (Luk 1:68).

JFB: Zec 10:3 - as his goodly horse

In Zec 9:13 they were represented under the image of bows and arrows, here under that of their commander-in-chief, Jehovah's battle horse (Son 1:9). God can make His people, timid though they be as sheep, courageous as the charger. The general rode on the most beautiful and richly caparisoned, and had his horse tended with the greatest care. Jehovah might cast off the Jews for their vileness, but He regards His election or adoption of them: whence He calls them here "His flock," and therefore saves them.

Clarke: Zec 10:3 - Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds

Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds - Bad kings and bad priests. I will punish the goats; these were the wicked priests, who were shepherds by their office, and goats by the impurity of their lives

Clarke: Zec 10:3 - As his goodly horse in the battle

As his goodly horse in the battle - The honorable war horse, or the horse that carried the general’ s equipage. In the unaccountable variation of interpreters on these chapters, this, among other things, is thought to be spoken of Matthias, and Judas Maccabeus, who assembled the people from all quarters, as a shepherd gathers his sheep together; and led them against the sons of Greece, the Seleucidae Greeks. Others refer every thing here to times before the captivity.

Calvin: Zec 10:3 - NO PHRASE

He had said that the Jews had been driven into exile, and had been oppressed by their enemies, because they had no shepherd; not indeed to lessen their fault, for they were wholly inexcusable, since they had wilfully renounced God, who would have been otherwise their perpetual shepherd: but he now turns his discourse to the false teachers, to the false prophets and to the wicked priests. Though then they were all unworthy of pardon, yet God here justly summons the shepherds first before his tribunal, who had been the cause of making others to go astray: as when a blind man leads the blind into a ditch, so ungodly pastors become the cause of ruin to others. We have elsewhere observed similar passages, in which God threatened priests and prophets with special punishment, because they had unfaithfully discharged their office; but yet he did not absolve the common people, for from the least to the greatest they were guilty; and it is also certain that men are punished for their obstinacy and wickedness, whenever God gives loose reins to the devil, and deceives them by ungodly teachers.

We now then see the order observed by the Prophet: At the beginning of the chapter he declares that the Jews were without excuse, because they had turned aside again to their own superstitions, though God had severely punished the sins of their fathers, and that thus they had profited nothing; he also shows that they were acting perversely, if they clamored against God, that he scantily or badly supported them, for they did not look for any thing from him, nor solicited by prayer what he was prepared willingly to grant them. Having thus reproved generally the wickedness of the whole people, the Prophet now assails the ungodly priests, and says that judgment was nigh both the shepherd and the he-goats.

He gives the name of pastors to wolves, which is a common thing. And here the Papists betray their folly, laying hold of words only, and claiming to themselves all power, because they are called pastors in the Church, and as though Antichrist was not to reign in the temple of God. Does not Zechariah give an honorable name to these wicked men who destroyed the Church of God? Yea, he brings a most heavy charge against them, that they scattered and trampled under their feet the whole kingdom of God, and yet he calls them pastors, even because they held the office of pastors, though they were very far from being faithful, and in no respect attended to their duties.

He then concedes the name of pastors to those who had been called to rule the people, and to whom this office had been divinely committed; and yet God declares that he would visit them, because they had elicited his just displeasure. The same is said of the he-goats, by which metaphorical name he means all those who were governors, or were in rank above the common people. Those who injured and cruelly treated the sheep had been called he-goats by other Prophets, and especially by Ezekiel (Eze 34:17.) So then he adds the he-goats to the pastors, because the poor and the lower orders had been led to ruin through their misconduct. And it hence appears how dear to God is the salvation of men; for he denounces vengeance on pastors, though they had not exercised tyranny except on men worthy of such punishment; for it was the just wages of their sins, that the Lord gave them wolves instead of shepherds. But though the Jews had merited such a judgment, yet God was angry with the pastors on account of his constant solicitude for his Church.

And the reason is also added, For visit will God his flock, the house of Judah; as though he had said, that he would not regard what the Jews were, but would regard his own election; for greatly valued by God is his own adoption; and as he had been pleased to choose that people, he could not have allowed them to be destroyed. When therefore he saw that his Church had been so much exposed to destruction through the fault of the pastors, he alleges here as a reason for his future vengeance, that he could not endure his favor to be brought to nothing; nor is it to be doubted but that he mentions here the house of Judah, because he had restored and consecrated that people to himself, that he might be served by them. He then takes away from the false pastors every pretense for an excuse, when he brings forward his own election, as though he had said, “Though this people had provoked me a hundred times, and deserved a hundred deaths, yet I intended you to be pastors, because the house of Judah has been made sacred to me.”

But the visitation of the flock is different from that of the shepherds; for God visits the reprobate, being armed with vengeance, and he visits his own people by aiding them. Now the visitation of the flock refers to the whole house of Judah: and this was owing, as we have said, to their gratuitous adoption; yet the Lord suffered many to rush headlong into ruin, because he delivered only his own elect. It is indeed a mode of speaking that often occurs in the Prophets — that God would help the children of Abraham, when he means only those who were Israelites indeed, and not the degenerated.

He adds that they would be as a splendid horse in war. A contrast is here no doubt implied between splendid horses and asses or oxen; for these shepherds who had tyrannically oppressed God’s people, are said to be like violent riders who ride on asses and shamefully abuse them, or like herdsman, who treat their own oxen inhumanely. God then says that he would ride his people in another manner, even as the horseman, who sits splendidly on his horse when going to battle: for even kings, after having ridden a horse in battle, do afterwards wish it to be well taken care of; and they show much solicitude for their horses, and even go to the stable that they may see, if possible, with their own eyes, that they are properly attended to. God then thus intimates, that he indeed required obedience from his people, and intended to retain his own right, to ride as it were on his own people; but yet that he would not oppress them, and that on the contrary he would make them like a splendid horse. We now then perceive why the Prophet turns his discourse here especially to the false shepherds, not indeed to extenuate the fault of the whole people, for none among them was worthy of pardon. It follows —

TSK: Zec 10:3 - anger // and I // punished // visited // as

anger : Zec 11:5-8, Zec 11:17; Isa 56:9-12; Jer 10:21, Jer 23:1, Jer 23:2, Jer 50:6; Eze 34:2, Eze 34:7-10

and I : Eze 34:16, Eze 34:17, Eze 34:20,Eze 34:21; Mat 25:32, Mat 25:33

punished : Heb. visited upon, Isa 10:12, Isa 24:21; Jer 11:22, Jer 25:12; Zep 1:8 *marg.

visited : Exo 4:31; Rth 1:6; Zep 2:7; Luk 1:68; 1Pe 2:12

as : Pro 21:31; Son 1:9

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Zec 10:3 - Mine anger was kindled // Against the shepherds // I punished the goats // Hath made them as his goodly horse // In the battle

Mine anger was kindled though it was justly kindled against all, yet it was more hot and fierce against the chief sinners among them.

Against the shepherds officers in church and state, who neglected to keep the flock from straying, who were ringleaders in idolatry and soothsaying.

I punished the goats the wanton, lustful, and petulant officers among them, which, like he-goats, push. and wound, and trample under foot the feebler cattle, as Eze 34:16,17 : these were more grievously punished, Jer 29:22 39:6 . Hath visited his flock , in favour and mercy.

Hath made them as his goodly horse with change of state hath changed their sheepish weakness and cowardice into strength, courage, and gallantry, like that of a goodly horse: this appeared in the Maccabees’ wars.

In the battle when all his courage is stirred up, and he appears, as Job brings him forth, with neck clothed with-thunder, Job 39:19-26 .

Mine anger was kindled though it was justly kindled against all, yet it was more hot and fierce against the chief sinners among them.

Against the shepherds officers in church and state, who neglected to keep the flock from straying, who were ringleaders in idolatry and soothsaying.

I punished the goats the wanton, lustful, and petulant officers among them, which, like he-goats, push. and wound, and trample under foot the feebler cattle, as Eze 34:16,17 : these were more grievously punished, Jer 29:22 39:6 . Hath visited his flock , in favour and mercy.

Hath made them as his goodly horse with change of state hath changed their sheepish weakness and cowardice into strength, courage, and gallantry, like that of a goodly horse: this appeared in the Maccabees’ wars.

In the battle when all his courage is stirred up, and he appears, as Job brings him forth, with neck clothed with-thunder, Job 39:19-26 .

Haydock: Zec 10:3 - Goats // Vir gregis ipse caper // Battle

Goats; the leaders of the people, Jeremias l. 8. (Calmet) ---

Vir gregis ipse caper. (Virgil, Eclogues vii.) ---

Jason died in exile, Lysimachus was slain in the temple, Alcimus perished miserably, and Menelaus was hurled among ashes, 2 Machabees v. 5., and iv. 39., and xiii. 4., and 1 Machabees ix. 54. ---

Battle. The apostates have suffered: God will not abandon his flock, but raises up Mathathias, &c.

Gill: Zec 10:3 - Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds // and I punished the goats // for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock, the house of Judah // and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle

Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds,.... The Targum interprets it of "kings"; as the "goats" of "princes", in the next clause; by whom, according to Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, are meant the kings of Greece; but rather the antichristian kings are designed, the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication with the whore of Rome, which is the cause of the anger of the Lord being kindled: or else ecclesiastical rulers are meant, the Romish clergy, the chief of them, as cardinals, archbishops, bishops, &c. who may fitly be represented by the shepherds of Israel in the times of the prophets for their name, professing to be of Israel, or to be Christians; and by them for their ignorance, covetousness, luxury, disregard to the flock, tyranny and cruelty over it, and murder of it; see Isa 56:10, against these the fire of God's wrath will be kindled, and with it will they be destroyed:

and I punished the goats; not the Seleucidae, as the above Jewish writers; though they may with propriety be so called, since they were the successors of Alexander, signified by the he goat in Dan 8:5 rather the monks and friars, comparable to these for their filthiness and uncleanness; and because they pretend to be guides of the people, and to go before them, and yet use them ill, and push them with their horns of power; wherefore God will punish them, and kill those children of Jezebel with death, Rev 2:22,

for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock, the house of Judah; by sending the Gospel to them, and his Spirit with it, to make it effectual to their conversion; which will be at the time that the antichristian hierarchy will be destroyed; then the Lord's flock, who have gone astray, shall be returned to the true Shepherd and Bishop of souls, and shall seek the Lord their God, and David their King, and shall be saved by him: a gracious visitation this will be!

and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle; this denotes that the Jews, when converted, will be bold in their God; valiant for the truth on earth; courageously fight the good fight of faith, and be victorious over their enemies; and that they will be in great honour and esteem among the saints, though so mean and justly despicable now: the sense is, that as the horse shows its strength and courage in battle, so should they; see Job 39:19.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Ayat / Catatan Kaki

Geneva Bible: Zec 10:3

My anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the ^{( d )} goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as ^{( e )} his majestic horse in the battle.

^{( d )} Meaning, the cruel governors who did oppress the poor sheep; (Eze 34:16-17).

^{( e )} He will be merciful to his Church, and cherish them as a king or prince does his best horse, which will be for his own use in war.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Rentang Ayat

MHCC: Zec 10:1-5

Spiritual blessings had been promised under figurative allusions to earthly plenty. Seasonable rain is a great mercy, which we may ask of God when there is most need of it, and we may look for it to come. We must in our prayers ask for mercies in their proper time. The Lord would make bright clouds, and give showers of rain. This may be an exhortation to seek the influences of the Holy Spirit, in faith and by prayer, through which the blessings held forth in the promises are obtained and enjoyed. The prophet shows the folly of making addresses to idols, as their fathers had done. The Lord visited the remnant of his flock in mercy, and was about to renew their courage and strength for conflict and victory. Every creature is to us what God makes it to be. Every one raised to support the nation, as a corner-stone does the building, or to unite those that differ, as nails join the different timbers, must come from the Lord; and those employed to overcome their enemies, must have strength and success from him. This may be applied to Christ; to him we must look to raise up persons to unite, support, and defend his people. He never will say, Seek ye me in vain.

Matthew Henry: Zec 10:1-4

Gracious things and glorious ones, very glorious and very gracious, were promised to this poor afflicted people in the foregoing chapter; now here God intimates to them that he will for these things be enquired of by them, and that he expects they should acknowledge him in all their ways and in all his ways towards them - and not idols that were rivals with him for their respects.

I. The prophet directs them to apply to God by prayer for rain in the season thereof. He had promised, in the close of the foregoing chapter, that there should be great plenty of corn and wine, whereas for several years, by reason of unseasonable weather, there had been great scarcity of both; but the earth will not yield its fruits unless the heavens water it, and therefore they must look up to God for the dew of heaven, in order to the fatness and fruitfulness of the earth (Zec 10:1): " Ask you of the Lord rain. Do not pray to the clouds, nor to the stars, for rain, but to the Lord; for he it is that hears the heavens, when they hear the earth, "Hos 2:21. Seasonable rain is a great mercy, which we must ask of God, rain in the time of the latter rain, when there is most need of it. The former rain fell at the seed-time, in autumn, the latter fell in the spring, between March and May, which brought the corn to an ear and filled it. If either of these rains failed, it was very bad with that land; for from the end of May to September they never had any rain at all. Jerome, who lived in Judea, says that he never saw any rain there in June or July. They are directed to ask for it in the time when it used to come. Note, We must, in our prayers, dutifully attend the course of Providence; we must ask for mercies in their proper time, and not expect that God should go out of his usual way and method for us. But, since sometimes God denied rain in the usual time as a token of his displeasure, they must pray for it then as a token of his favour, and they shall not pray in vain. Ask and it shall be given you. So the Lord shall make bright clouds (which, though they are without rain themselves, are yet presages of rain) - lightnings (so the margin reads it), for he maketh lightnings for the rain. He will give them showers of rain in great abundance, and so give to every one grass in the field; for God is universally good, and makes his rain to fall upon the just and the unjust.

II. He shows them the folly of making their addresses to idols as their fathers had done (Zec 10:2): The idols have spoken vanity; the teraphim, which they courted and consulted in their distress, were so far from being able to command rain for them that they could not so much as tell them when they should have rain. They pretended to promise them rain at such a time, but it did not come. The diviners, who were the prophets of those idols, have seen a lie (their visions were all a cheat and a sham); and they have told false dreams, such as the event did not answer, which proved that they were not from God. Thus they comforted in vain those that consulted the lying oracles; all the vanities of the heathen put together could not give rain, Jer 14:22. Yet this was not the worst of it; they not only got nothing by the false gods, but they lost the favour of the true God, for therefore they went their way into captivity as a flock driven into the fold, and they were troubled with one vexation after another, as scattered sheep are, because there was no shepherd, no prince to rule them, no priest to intercede for them, none to take care of them and keep them together. Those that wandered after strange gods were made to wander, into strange nations.

III. He shows them the hand of God in all the events that concerned them, both those that made against them and those that made for them, Zec 10:3. Let them consider, 1. When every thing went cross it was God that walked contrary to them (Zec 10:3): " My anger was kindled against the shepherds that should have fed the flock, but neglected it, and starved it. I was displeased at the wicked magistrates and ministers, the idol-shepherds."The captivity in Babylon was a token of God's anger against them; in it likewise he punished the goats, those of the flock that were filthy and mischievous; they were set on the left hand, to go away into punishment. Though the body of the nation suffered in the captivity, yet it was only the goats and the shepherds that God was angry with, and that he punished; the same affliction to others came from the love of God, and was but a fatherly chastisement, which to them came from his wrath, and was a judicial punishment. 2. When things began to change for the better it was God that gave them the happy turn. "He has now visited his flock with favour, to enquire after them, and provides what he finds proper for them, and he has made them as his goodly horse in the battle, has beautified them, taken care of them, managed and made use of them, as a man does the horse he rides on, has made them valuable in themselves and formidable to those about them, as his goodly horse. "It is God that makes us what we are, and it is with us as he appoints.

IV. He shows them that every creature is to them what God makes it to be (Zec 10:4): Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nails. 1. All the power that was engaged against them was from God. Out of him came all the combined force of their enemies; every oppressor together (and the oppressors of Israel were not a few) did but what his hand and his counsel determined before to be done; nor could they have had such power against them unless it had been given them from above. 2. All the power likewise that was engaged for them was derived from him and depended on him. Out of him came forth the corner-stone of the building, the power of magistrates, which keeps the several parts of the state together. Princes are often called the corners of the people, as 1Sa 14:38, marg. Out of him came forth the nail that fixed the state, the nail in the sure place (Isa 22:23), the nail in his holy place, Ezr 9:8. Out of him came forth the battle-bow, the military power, and out of him every oppressor, or exactor, that had the civil power in his hand; and therefore to God, the fountain of power, we must always have an eye, and see every man's judgment proceeding from him.

Keil-Delitzsch: Zec 10:3-4

To this there is appended in Zec 10:3. the promise that Jehovah will take possession of His flock, and redeem it out of the oppression of the evil shepherds. Zec 10:3. "My wrath is kindled upon the shepherds, and the goats shall I punish; for Jehovah of hosts visits His flock, the house of Judah, and makes it like His state-horse in the war. Zec 10:4. From Him will be corner-stone, from Him the nail, from Him the war-bow; from Him will every ruler go forth at once." When Israel lost its own shepherds, it came under the tyranny of bad shepherds. These were the heathen governors and tyrants. Against these the wrath of Jehovah is kindled, and He will punish them. There is no material difference between רעים , shepherds, and עתּוּדים , leading goats. ‛Attūdı̄m also signifies rulers, as in Isa 14:9. The reason assigned why the evil shepherds are to be punished, is that Jehovah visits His flock. The perfect pâqad is used prophetically of what God has resolved to do, and will actually carry out; and pâqad c. acc. pers. means to visit, i.e., to assume the care of, as distinguished from pâqad with 'al pers. , to visit in the sense of to punish (see at Zep 2:7). The house of Judah only is mentioned in Zec 10:3, not in distinction from Ephraim, however (cf. Zec 10:6), but as the stem and kernel of the covenant nation, with which Ephraim is to be united once more. The care of God for Judah will not be limited to its liberation from the oppression of the bad shepherds; but Jehovah will also make Judah into a victorious people. This is the meaning of the figure "like a state-horse,"i.e., a splendid and richly ornamented war-horse, such as a king is accustomed to ride. This figure is not more striking than the description of Judah and Ephraim as a bow and arrow (Zec 9:13). This equipment of Judah as a warlike power overcoming its foes is described in Zec 10:4, namely in 4 a , in figures taken from the firmness and furnishing of a house with everything requisite, and in 4 b , etc., in literal words. The verb יצא of the fourth clause cannot be taken as the verb belonging to the ממּנּוּ in the first three clauses, because יצא is neither applicable to pinnâh nor to yâthēd . We have therefore to supply יהיה . From (out of) Him will be pinnâh , corner, here corner-stone, as in Isa 28:16, upon which the whole building stands firmly, and will be built securely, - a suitable figure for the firm, stately foundation which Judah is to receive. To this is added yâthēd , the plug. This figure is to be explained from the arrangement of eastern houses, in which the inner walls are provided with a row of large nails or plugs for hanging the house utensils upon. The plug, therefore, is a suitable figure for the supports or upholders of the whole political constitution, and even in Isa 22:23 was transferred to persons. The war-bow stands synecdochically for weapons of war and the military power. It is a disputed point, however, whether the suffix in mimmennū (out of him) refers to Judah or Jehovah . But the opinion of Hitzig and others, that it refers to Jehovah, is overthrown by the expression יצא ממּנּוּ in the last clause. For even if we could say, Judah will receive its firm foundation, its internal fortification, and its military strength from Jehovah , the expression, "Every military commander will go out or come forth out of Jehovah,"is unheard-of and unscriptural. It is not affirmed in the Old Testament even of the Messiah that He goes forth out of God, although His "goings forth"are from eternity (Mic 5:1), and He Himself is called El gibbōr (Isa 9:5). Still less can this be affirmed of every ruler ( kol - mōgēs ) of Judah. In this clause, therefore, mimmennū must refer to Judah, and consequently it must be taken in the same way in the first three clauses. On יצא מן , see Mic 5:1. Nōgēs , an oppressor or taskmaster, is not applied to a leader or ruler in a good sense even here, any more than in Isa 3:12 and Isa 60:17 (see the comm. on these passages). The fact that negus in Ethiopic is the name given to the king (Koehler), proves nothing in relation to Hebrew usage. The word has the subordinate idea of oppressor, or despotic ruler, in this instance also; but the idea of harshness refers not to the covenant nation, but to its enemies (Hengstenberg), and the words are used in antithesis to Zec 9:8. Whereas there the promise is given to the nation of Israel that it will not fall under the power of the nōgēs any more, it is here assured that it is to attain to the position of a nōgēs in relation to its foes (Kliefoth). כּל־נוגשׂ is strengthened by יחדּו : every oppressor together, which Judah will require in opposition to its foes.

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 10:1-12

2. The restoration of the true people ch. 10

The first part of this oracle focused particularly on the true King who would come and exercise sovereignty over the nations (ch. 9). Now the emphasis changes to the people of the King, the Israelites, who will return to the Promised Land and rule with the King (ch. 10). Like the revelation in chapter 9, this chapter also has a near and a far fulfillment, the near being the revival of Israel's power under Judas Maccabeus in the second century B.C. and the far being the return and reign of Messiah.

"Chapter 9 presents the victory of God's people from the positive side for the most part, showing how the true Israel shall be made strong by the Lord and shall prevail. Without abandoning this point of view, chapter 10 brings greater emphasis to bear upon the negative side of the victory, namely, how the enemies shall be brought low. Yet particular stress is at the same time laid upon the gathering of the scattered Israelites."²⁰⁷

10:1 The Lord urged His people, in the day of blessing just described, to ask Him to send rain when they needed it in the spring, when they sowed their seed. He promised to send it, and it would cause their crops and other vegetation to grow (cf. 9:11; Deut. 11:13-14). Asking Him is only reasonable since He is the One who creates storm clouds. The Canaanites gave credit to Baal for sending rain and producing fertility, but Yahweh was the true rain-maker (cf. Jer. 14:22; Amos 5:8). Since rain is often a symbol of many types of blessing in the Old Testament, spiritual as well as physical blessing is probably in view here (cf. Isa. 55:10-12; Hos. 6:3; Joel 2:21-32).²⁰⁸

10:2 In contrast to the only true God, teraphim (household idols; cf. Gen. 31:19; Judg. 17:5; 18:5; 1 Sam. 15:23; Hos. 3:4) only led people into iniquity, and diviners saw misleading visions and dreams (cf. Deut. 18:9-14; Jer. 23:30-32; 27:9-10). Their comfort was worthless. Consequently the people who rely on these false indicators of God's will wander like shepherdless sheep and experience much needless trouble (cf. Mark 6:34).

"A modern parallel is the renewed interest in magic, spiritism and other survivals of primitive times. The more widespread modern equivalent is to ignore God altogether and tacitly to assume that no problem is beyond man's unaided power to solve."²⁰⁹

10:3 The Lord was angry with these false shepherds (rulers, i.e., kings, princes, nobles, prophets, and priests) and the other leaders who led His sheep astray like rams (cf. 1 Sam. 28:3-7; 1 Kings 16:31; 22:6-12; 2 Kings 1:2; 16:15; 21:6).²¹⁰ He would visit His flock, namely, the flock of Judah (the Israelites), and He would make His people like the horse He rode in battle to defeat His enemies. In other words, He would empower the Israelites. The weak sheep would become as strong as horses. The battle of Armageddon is probably in view (cf. 12:1-9; 14:1-8).

10:4 From the house of Judah would come the cornerstone of the building (kingdom) He would build, namely, Messiah (cf. 3:9; Gen. 49:10; Ps. 118:22; Isa. 28:16; Jer. 30:21; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:1-8). The cornerstone (Heb. pinnah) was a figure of a leader who would stabilize a nation and keep it from sliding down a slippery slope (cf. Judg. 20:2; 1 Sam. 14:38; Isa. 19:13). Messiah would also be like a tent peg (Heb. yathed) in that He would hold the tent (kingdom) firmly in place (cf. Judg. 4:21-22; Isa. 22:23-24; Acts 15:16). The Hebrew word also describes a peg inside a tent on which people hung beautiful things that glorified their homes (cf. 6:13; Isa. 22:22-24; Ezek. 15:3). Messiah would also be Yahweh's bow by which He would destroy His enemies (cf. 9:13; Ps. 45:5; Rev. 19:11-16). All these figures picture the strong, stable, victorious, and trustworthy nature of Messiah's rule.

"This verse constitutes one of the most far-reaching and meaningful Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament in which the seer summarizes a number of declarations by the former prophet [i.e., Isaiah], setting forth the character and ministry of Israel's Redeemer-King."²¹¹

From the house of Judah would also go forth (depart) every oppressing ruler (Heb. noges, cf. 9:8; Exod. 3:7; Isa. 3:12; 14:2; 60:17; Dan. 11:20).

"Because the Messiah intervenes in the manner to be noted, every oppressor will depart from Judah. Cause and effect are clearly stated."²¹²

10:5 These Israelites would be like mighty men in battle (cf. David's mighty men). They would subdue the Lord's enemies in battle successfully because Yahweh would be with them. The opposing adversaries would be defeated and shamed even though they fought from positions of strength. The Lord's infantry would defeat the world's apparently superior cavalry.

"It is a great mistake to suppose that all will be accomplished by Jehovah single-handed."²¹³

"The scene is that of the strengthening of the Jews in Palestine at the time of the invasion from the North under the beast' (Dan. 7:8) in conjunction with the events of Armageddon (Rev. 16:14; 19:17-20)."²¹⁴

10:6 The Lord would strengthen, deliver, and restore the house of Judah and the house of Joseph (Ephraim), both the former Northern and Southern Kingdoms. He would do this simply because He had compassion on them, not because they deserved His blessing. He would restore the Israelites to a condition similar to the one they enjoyed before He sent them into captivity including sovereignty within their own homeland. He would do this because He is Yahweh, their God. He would answer their prayers for His help.

10:7 Then the Israelites who previously had been weak from idolatry and apostasy would be strong. They and their children would rejoice in the Lord when He saved them (Ps. 32:11; Phil. 4:4).

10:8 The Lord, the true shepherd of His flock, would simply whistle and His people would follow Him because He had redeemed them (Exod. 12; Isa. 35:10; Mic. 6:4; John 10:11-16; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). They would again be as numerous as they had been in the days of their greatest prosperity.

"Just as redemption, that is, election, theologically preceded the actual exodus escape from Egypt (Ex. 2:24; 3:7-8; 4:22-23; 6:2-8), so it is on the basis of an already effected redemption that YHWH's people will enter into the eschatological land of promise."²¹⁵

10:9 When the Lord scattered His people like seed among the other peoples of the world, they would remember Him even though they lived far from the Promised Land (cf. John 12:24; 1 Cor. 15:36). Not only would the Lord remember them (the meaning of Zechariah's name), but they would remember Him. They and their children would enter into new life and return to the land. Sowing implies reaping a harvest and so conveys hope.

". . . even after Israel had been restored to the land after the Babylonian exile, the prospect of a regathered, reunited nation still appeared in Zechariah 10:9-12. The importance of this passage and its late postexilic date should not be lost by those who interpret the promise of the land spiritually or as a temporal blessing which has since been forfeited by a rebellious nation due to her failure to keep her part of the conditional (?) covenant. On the contrary, this hope burned brighter as Israel became more and more hopelessly scattered."²¹⁶

10:10 Yahweh would bring the Israelites back from the land of Egypt to Israel's south, where they had been slaves, and from the land of Assyria to its north, where they had been exiles, namely, from all over the world (cf. Isa. 11:11-16; 19:23; Hos. 11:10).²¹⁷ He would bring them back into the fruitful Promised Land, into Gilead with its rich pastures east of the Jordan River and Lebanon with its mighty forests west of the Jordan. Again, the whole land is in view.

"The Lebanon . . . is referred to in the Old Testament as a symbol of strength, dignity and splendour (e.g., 2 Kings 19:23; Isa. 35:2), as are the mountains of Gilead. Hence the two are sometimes also mentioned together to denote power and pride . . . (Jer. 22:6). In our verse too this combination may be intended to demonstrate the future power and glory of the Messianic kingdom of Israel."²¹⁸

Eventually there would be no more room because so many blessed Israelites would live there (cf. Isa. 49:19-21; 54:2-3).

10:11 Yahweh's representative, Messiah, would pass through the sea of His people's distress and banish it, as He had done to the Red Sea when the Israelites left Egypt in the Exodus (and as Jesus did when He calmed the Sea of Galilee). He would humble all Israel's enemies, of which Egypt and Assyria were only representatives. The Gentile leaders of the world, symbolized by Egypt's scepter, would no longer hold sway over Israel in the world.

10:12 Messiah would also strengthen the Israelites in the Lord. They would walk all over the earth (exercise dominion over it) in His name (as His representatives and in harmony with His character). All of this was a promise from Yahweh.

Guzik: Zec 10:1-12 - A Promise to Gather Israel

Zechariah 10 - A Promise to Gather Israel

A. The superiority of the Messiah's reign.

1. (1) The blessed nature of the Messiah's reign.

Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.

a. Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain: Ancient Israel had no irrigation system, and relied on rain to water their crops. In a time of drought, nothing grew - so Israel relied on both the former rain (falling in autumn) and the latter rain (falling in spring).

b. He will give them showers of rain: The LORD challenges His people saying, "Be bold enough to ask Me, and I will answer your prayer. I will provide what only I can provide."

c. Grass in the field for everyone: In man's ideas of equality, often everyone ends up equally poor. God's idea of equality means abundance for everyone.

2. (2-5) Only the people of the true God conquer in the end

For the idols speak delusion; the diviners envision lies, and tell false dreams; they comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; they are in trouble because there is no shepherd. "My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the goatherds. For the LORD of hosts will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and will make them as His royal horse in the battle. From him comes the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler together. They shall be like mighty men, who tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be put to shame."

a. For the idols speak delusion; the diviners envision lies: The ancient Hebrew word for idols here is teraphim, meaning common household idols. Diviners consulted the spirits of idols to predict the future. God warns His people that there is no real help from either idols or their representatives (they comfort in vain).

b. They are in trouble because there is no shepherd: The people have listened to false and deceptive leaders, and part of the reason is because there is a lack of godly leadership.

c. Will make them as His royal horse in the battle: In mercy God will take His people and transform them from a flock of sheep to a herd of war horses, ready for battle. All of them shall be like mighty men and defeat their enemies.

d. From him comes the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler together: Though God is displeased with Israel's shepherds, He will raise up the perfect shepherd from and for Judah.

i. Jesus is the cornerstone: the foundation, measure, and standard (Isaiah 28:16, Psalm 118:22-23, Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, 1 Peter 2:4-5).

ii. Jesus is the tent peg: holding all things securely (Isaiah 22:23-24).

iii. Jesus is the battle bow: a strong fighter for good (Isaiah 63:1-4, Revelation 19:11-16).

iv. Jesus is the leader over every ruler of His people (Revelation 19:16).

B. Israel gathered and strengthened

1. (6-8) Israel strengthened.

"I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; for I am the LORD their God, and I will hear them. Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. Yes, their children shall see it and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD."

a. I will strengthen the house of Judah: The promise from the preceding passage is repeated more intensely. God will save and bless Israel, and have mercy on them.

i. God has strength for us also. Ephesians 6:10 tells us that we can draw on His resources for strength: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

ii. The availability of God's strength means there will be opportunities for us to use it. "The Lord does not say, 'I will take you away from your labors,' but 'I will strengthen you, so that you will be able to perform, them.' " (Spurgeon)

b. Their children shall see it and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD: The LORD will not only return strength to Israel, but also joy. Their sense of defeat and weakness will be replaced with gladness.

2. (9-12) Israel gathered into the land from across the earth.

"I will whistle for them and gather them, for I will redeem them; and they shall increase as they once increased. I will sow them among the peoples, and they shall remember Me in far countries; they shall live, together with their children, and they shall return. I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, until no more room is found for them. He shall pass through the sea with affliction, and strike the waves of the sea: All the depths of the River shall dry up. Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. So I will strengthen them in the LORD, and they shall walk up and down in His name," says the LORD.

a. I will whistle for them and gather them: The promise to gather Israel is repeated often in the prophecies of New Covenant (Deuteronomy 30:1-6, Jeremiah 23:1-8, Jeremiah 32:37-41, Ezekiel 11:16-20, Ezekiel 36:16-28). Though Israel was scattered to the nations, they shall remember Me in far countries and come back to the land.

i. In the 20 ^th Century many Jewish people were gathered back to the land of Israel, and in 1948 Israel became a nation again - after more than 2,000 years of not being a nation. Does the 20 ^th Century gathering of Israel fulfill this prophecy? It fulfills it in part, but only in part - because Israel will be gathered again in belief, not in rejection of the LORD and His Savior. The gathering began in unbelief, but will end up in belief and trust in Jesus.

b. So I will strengthen them in the LORD, and they shall walk up and down in His name: When God gathers Israel and defeats their enemies they shall walk in freedom and liberty again. It will be like a new exodus from Egypt, complete with exodus-like miracles (He shall pass through the sea with affliction, and strike the waves of the sea: All the depths of the River shall dry up).

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

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Lainnya

Evidence: Zec 10:2-3

When those who profess to be shepherds of the flock of God fail to be faithful in their gospel proclamation, they fill the Church with false converts (goats among the sheep). (See also Isa 56:11 ).

Pendahuluan / Garis Besar

JFB: Zechariah (Pendahuluan Kitab)

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 (Garis Besar)

• 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 10 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

Overview

Zec 10:1, God is to be sought unto, and not idols; Zec 10:3, As he visited his flock for sin, so he will save and restore them.

Poole: Zechariah (Pendahuluan Kitab)

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 10 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

CHAPTER 10

God is to be sought unto, and not idols, Zec 10:1,2 . As he visited his flock for sin, so will he save and restore them, Zec 10:3-12 .

MHCC: Zechariah (Pendahuluan Kitab)

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 10 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

(Zec 10:1-5) Blessings to be sought from the Lord.

(Zec 10:6-12) God will restore his people.

Matthew Henry: Zechariah (Pendahuluan Kitab)

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 10 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

The scope of this chapter is much the same with that of the foregoing chapter - to encourage the Jews that had returned with hopes that though they had been under divine rebukes for their negligence in rebuilding the temple, and were now surrounded with enemies and dangers, yet God would do them good, and make them prosperous at home and victorious abroad. Now, I. They are here directed to eye the great God in all events that concerned them, and, both in the evils they suffered and in the comforts they desired, to acknowledge his hand (Zec 10:1-4). II. They are encouraged to expect strength and success from him in all their struggles with the enemies of their church and state, and to hope that the issue would be glorious at last (Zec 10:5-12).

Constable: Zechariah (Pendahuluan Kitab)

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 (Garis Besar)

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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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 (Pendahuluan Kitab)

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 (Pendahuluan Kitab)

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 10 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 10

This chapter is a prophecy of the conversion of the Jews in the latter day, when the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in, spoken of in the preceding chapter Zec 9:1. It begins with an exhortation to ask rain of the Lord; denounces wrath upon his enemies; and consists of various promises to his people. The exhortation to ask rain is in Zec 10:1 to which encouragement is given from its being of the Lord, from his willingness to grant it, and from the fruitfulness occasioned by it. The vanity of idols, and idolaters, who can not give it, is exposed; and the distress and confusion they were thrown into is observed, Zec 10:2. The anger of the Lord against the principal of them is declared; and his gracious visitation of the people of the Jews, whom he will honour and glorify, is taken notice of, Zec 10:3 from whom the Messiah sprung, than which a greater glory can not be enjoyed, Zec 10:4 and then follow various promises, relating to them; as of victory over their enemies, through the presence of the Lord with them, Zec 10:5 of strength and salvation to them, as owing to his free grace and mercy, Zec 10:6 of inward spiritual joy in them and theirs, Zec 10:7 of their effectual calling and spiritual increase, in consequence of redeeming grace, Zec 10:8 of their having a name and a place in Gospel churches, where they will remember the Lord, and live with their children, being converted, Zec 10:9 which conversion of theirs is represented in terms alluding to their deliverance from Egypt and Babylon, Zec 10:10 and the chapter is concluded with a promise of spiritual strength, so that they shall continue in their profession of faith in Christ, and persevere therein to the end, Zec 10:12.