Zec 9:14-12:2 | JFB | STEP | 14. Another image: "Jehovah shall be seen (conspicuously manifesting His power) over them" (that is, in behalf of the Jews and against their foes), as formerly He appeared in a cloud over the Israelites against the Egyptians ( , ). his arrow ... as ... lightning-- flashing forth instantaneous destruction to the foe ( ). blow ... trumpet-- to summon and incite His people to battle for the destruction of their foe. go with whirlwinds of the south-- that is, go forth in the most furious storm, such as is one from the south ( ). Alluding, perhaps, to Jehovah's ancient miracles at Sinai coming "from Teman" ("the south," in the Margin).

‏ Zechariah 9:14-17

14. Another image: "Jehovah shall be seen (conspicuously manifesting His power) over them" (that is, in behalf of the Jews and against their foes), as formerly He appeared in a cloud over the Israelites against the Egyptians (Ex 14:19, 24).

his arrow ... as ... lightning--flashing forth instantaneous destruction to the foe (Psa 18:14).

blow ... trumpet--to summon and incite His people to battle for the destruction of their foe.

go with whirlwinds of the south--that is, go forth in the most furious storm, such as is one from the south (Is 21:1). Alluding, perhaps, to Jehovah's ancient miracles at Sinai coming "from Teman" ("the south," in the Margin).

15. devour--the flesh of their foes.

drink--the blood of their foes; that is, utterly destroy them. Image (as Jr 46:10) from a sacrifice, wherein part of the flesh was eaten, and the blood poured in libation (compare Is 63:1, &c.).

subdue with sling-stones--or, "tread under foot the sling-stones" hurled by the foe at them; that is, will contemptuously trample on the hostile missiles which shall fall harmless under their feet (compare Job 41:28). Probably, too, it is implied that their foes are as impotent as the common stones used in slinging when they have fallen under foot: in contrast to the people of God (Zec 9:16), "the (precious) stones of a crown" (compare 1Sa 25:29) [Maurer]. English Version is good sense: The Jews shall subdue the foe at the first onset, with the mere slingers who stood in front of the line of battle and began the engagement. Though armed with but sling-stones, like David against Goliath, they shall subdue the foe (Jud 20:16; 1Ch 12:2) [Grotius].

noise--the battle shout.

through wine--(Zec 10:7). The Spirit of God fills them with triumph (Ep 5:18).

filled--with blood.

like bowls--the bowls used to receive the blood of the sacrifices.

as ... corners--or "horns" of the altar, which used to be sprinkled with blood from the bowls (Ex 29:12; Le 4:18).

16. save them ... as the flock of his people--as the flock of His people ought to be saved (Psa 77:20). Here the image of war and bloodshed (Zec 9:15) is exchanged for the shepherd and flock, as God will give not only victory, but afterwards safe and lasting peace. In contrast to the worthless sling-stones trodden under foot stand the (gems) "stones of the crown (Is 62:3; Mal 3:17), lifted up as an ensign," that all may flock to the Jewish Church (Is 11:10, 12; 62:10).

17. his goodness ... his beauty--the goodness and beauty which Jehovah-Messiah bestows on His people. Not as Maurer thinks, the goodness, &c., of His land or His people (Psa 31:19; Jr 31:12).

make ... cheerful--literally, "make it grow."

new wine the maids--supply, "shall make ... to grow." Corn and wine abundant indicate peace and plenty. The new wine gladdening the maids is peculiar to this passage. It confutes those who interdict the use of wine as food. The Jews, heretofore straitened in provisions through pressure of the foe, shall now have abundance to cheer, not merely the old, but even the youths and maidens [Calvin].

‏ Zechariah 10

CHAPTER 10 Zec 10:1-12. Prayer and Promise.

Call to prayer to Jehovah, as contrasted with the idol-worship which had brought judgments on the princes and people. Blessings promised in answer to prayer: (1) rulers of themselves; (2) conquest of their enemies; (3) restoration and establishment of both Israel and Judah in their own land in lasting peace and piety.

1. Ask ... rain--on which the abundance of "corn" promised by the Lord (Zec 9:17) depends. Jehovah alone can give it, and will give it on being asked (Jr 10:13; 14:22).

rain in ... time of ... latter rain--that is, the latter rain in its due time, namely, in spring, about February or March (Job 29:23; Joe 2:23). The latter rain ripened the grain, as the former rain in October tended to fructify the seed. Including all temporal blessings; these again being types of spiritual ones. Though God has begun to bless us, we are not to relax our prayers. The former rain of conversion may have been given, but we must also ask for the latter rain of ripened sanctification. Though at Pentecost there was a former rain on the Jewish Church, a latter rain is still to be looked for, when the full harvest of the nation's conversion shall be gathered in to God. The spirit of prayer in the Church is an index at once of her piety, and of the spiritual blessings she may expect from God. When the Church is full of prayer, God pours out a full blessing.

bright clouds--rather, "lightnings," the precursors of rain [Maurer].

showers of rain--literally, "rain of heavy rain." In Job 37:6 the same words occur in inverted order [Henderson].

grass--a general term, including both corn for men and grass for cattle.

2. idols--literally, "the teraphim," the household gods, consulted in divination (see on Ho 3:4). Derived by Gesenius from an Arabic root, "comfort," indicating them as the givers of comfort. Or an Ethiopian root, "relics." Herein Zechariah shows that the Jews by their own idolatry had stayed the grace of God heretofore, which otherwise would have given them all those blessings, temporal and spiritual, which they are now (Zec 10:1) urged to "ask" for.

diviners--who gave responses to consulters of the teraphim: opposed to Jehovah and His true prophets.

seen a lie--pretending to see what they saw not in giving responses.

comfort in vain--literally, "give vapor for comfort"; that is, give comforting promises to consulters which are sure to come to naught (Job 13:4; 16:2; 21:34).

therefore they went their way--that is, Israel and Judah were led away captive.

as a flock ... no shepherd--As sheep wander and are a prey to every injury when without a shepherd, so the Jews had been while they were without Jehovah, the true shepherd; for the false prophets whom they trusted were no shepherds (Eze 34:5). So now they are scattered, while they know not Messiah their shepherd; typified in the state of the disciples, when they had forsaken Jesus and fled (Mt 26:56; compare Zec 13:7).

3. against the shepherds--the civil rulers of Israel and Judah who abetted idolatry.

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

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 (Is 14:9, Margin; Eze 34:17; Da 8:5; Mt 25:33). The he-goats head the flock. They who are first in crime will be first in punishment.

visited--in mercy (Lu 1:68).

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 (So 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.

4. Out of him--Judah is to be no more subject to foreigners, but from itself shall come its rulers.

the corner--stone, Messiah (Is 28:16). "Corners" simply express governors (1Sa 14:38, Margin; Is 19:13, Margin). The Maccabees, Judah's governors and deliverers from Antiochus the oppressor, are primarily meant; but Messiah is the Antitype. Messiah supports and binds together the Church, Jews and Gentiles.

the nail--(Jud 4:21; Is 22:23). The large peg inside an Oriental tent, on which is hung most of its valuable furniture. On Messiah hang all the glory and hope of His people.

bow--(Zec 9:13). Judah shall not need foreign soldiery. Messiah shall be her battle-bow (Psa 45:4, 5; Re 6:2).

every oppressor--rather, in a good sense, ruler, as the kindred Ethiopic term means. So "exactor," in Is 60:17, namely, one who exacts the tribute from the nations made tributary to Judah [Ludovicus De Dieu].

5. riders on horses--namely, the enemy's horsemen. Though the Jews were forbidden by the law to multiply horses in battle (De 17:16), they are made Jehovah's war horse (Zec 10:3; Psa 20:7), and so tread down on foot the foe with all his cavalry (Eze 38:4; Da 11:40). Cavalry was the chief strength of the Syro-Grecian army (1 Maccabees 3:39).

6. Judah ... Joseph--that is, the ten tribes. The distinct mention of both Judah and Israel shows that there is yet a more complete restoration than that from Babylon, when Judah alone and a few Israelites from the other tribes returned. The Maccabean deliverance is here connected with it, just as the painter groups on the same canvas objects in the foreground and hills far distant; or as the comparatively near planet and the remote fixed star are seen together in the same firmament. Prophecy ever hastens to the glorious final consummation under Messiah.

bring them again to place them--namely, securely in their own land. The Hebrew verb is compounded of two, "I will bring again," and "I will place them" (Jr 32:37). Maurer, from a different form, translates, "I will make them to dwell."

7. like a mighty man--in the battle with the foe (Zec 10:3, 5).

rejoice--at their victory over the foe.

children shall see it--who are not yet of age to serve. To teach patient waiting for God's promises. If ye do not at present see the fulfilment, your children shall, and their joy shall be complete.

rejoice in the Lord--the Giver of such a glorious victory.

8. hiss for them--Keepers of bees by a whistle call them together. So Jehovah by the mere word of His call shall gather back to Palestine His scattered people (Zec 10:10; Is 5:26; Eze 36:11). The multitudes mentioned by Josephus [Wars of the Jews, 3:2], as peopling Galilee two hundred years after this time, were a pledge of the future more perfect fulfilment of the prophecy.

for I have redeemed them--namely, in My covenant purpose "redeemed" both temporally and spiritually.

as they have increased--in former times.

9. sow them among ... people--Their dispersion was with a special design. Like seed sown far and wide, they shall, when quickened themselves, be the fittest instruments for quickening others (compare Mi 5:7). The slight hold they have on every soil where they now live, as also the commercial and therefore cosmopolitan character of their pursuits, making a change of residence easy to them, fit them peculiarly for missionary work [Moore]. The wide dispersion of the Jews just before Christ's coming prepared the way similarly for the apostles' preaching in the various Jewish synagogues throughout the world; everywhere some of the Old Testament seed previously sown was ready to germinate when the New Testament light and heat were brought to bear on it by Gospel preachers. Thus the way was opened for entrance among the Gentiles. "Will sow" is the Hebrew future, said of that which has been done, is being done, and may be done afterwards [Maurer], (compare Ho 2:23).

shall remember me in far countries--(De 30:1; 2Ch 6:37). Implying the Jews' return to a right mind in "all the nations" where they are scattered simultaneously. Compare Lu 15:17, 18, with Psa 22:27, "All the ends of the world remembering and turning unto the Lord," preceded by the "seed of Jacob ... Israel ... fearing and glorifying Him"; also Psa 102:13-15.

live--in political and spiritual life.

10. Egypt ... Assyria--the former the first, the latter among the last of Israel's oppressors (or representing the four great world kingdoms, of which it was the first): types of the present universal dispersion, Egypt being south, Assyria north, opposite ends of the compass. Maurer conjectures that many Israelites fled to "Egypt" on the invasion of Tiglath-pileser. But Is 11:11 and this passage rather accord with the view of the future restoration.

Gilead ... Lebanon--The whole of the Holy Land is described by two of its boundaries, the eastern ("Gilead" beyond Jordan) and the northern ("Lebanon").

place shall not be found for them--that is, there shall not be room enough for them through their numbers (Is 49:20; 54:3).

11. pass ... sea with affliction--Personifying the "sea"; He shall afflict the sea, that is, cause it to cease to be an obstacle to Israel's return to Palestine (Is 11:15, 16). Vulgate translates, "The strait of the sea." Maurer, "He shall cleave and smite." English Version is best (Psa 114:3). As Jehovah smote the Red Sea to make a passage for His people (Ex 14:16, 21), so hereafter shall He make a way through every obstacle which opposes Israel's restoration.

the river--the Nile (Am 8:8; 9:5), or the Euphrates. Thus the Red Sea and the Euphrates in the former part of the verse answer to "Assyria" and "Egypt" in the latter.

sceptre of Egypt ... depart--(Eze 30:13).

12. I ... strengthen them in ... Lord--(Ho 1:7). I, the Father, will strengthen them in the name, that is, the manifested power, of the Lord, Messiah, the Son of God.

walk ... in his name--that is, live everywhere and continually under His protection, and according to His will (Ge 5:22; Psa 20:1, 7; Mi 4:5).

‏ Zechariah 11

CHAPTER 11 Zec 11:1-17. Destruction of the Second Temple and Jewish Polity for the Rejection of Messiah.

1. Open thy doors, O Lebanon--that is, the temple so called, as being constructed of cedars of Lebanon, or as being lofty and conspicuous like that mountain (compare Eze 17:3; Ha 2:17). Forty years before the destruction of the temple, the tract called "Massecheth Joma" states, its doors of their own accord opened, and Rabbi Johanan in alarm said, I know that thy desolation is impending according to Zechariah's prophecy. Calvin supposes Lebanon to refer to Judea, described by its north boundary: "Lebanon," the route by which the Romans, according to Josephus, gradually advanced towards Jerusalem. Moore, from Hengstenberg, refers the passage to the civil war which caused the calling in of the Romans, who, like a storm sweeping through the land from Lebanon, deprived Judea of its independence. Thus the passage forms a fit introduction to the prediction as to Messiah born when Judea became a Roman province. But the weight of authority is for the former view.

2. fir tree ... cedar--if even the cedars (the highest in the state) are not spared, how much less the fir trees (the lowest)!

forest of ... vintage--As the vines are stripped of their grapes in the vintage (compare Joe 3:13), so the forest of Lebanon "is come down," stripped of all its beauty. Rather, "the fortified" or "inaccessible forest" [Maurer]; that is, Jerusalem dense with houses as a thick forest is with trees, and "fortified" with a wall around. Compare Mi 3:12, where its desolate state is described as a forest.

3. shepherds--the Jewish rulers.

their glory--their wealth and magnificence; or that of the temple, "their glory" (Mr 13:1; Lu 21:5).

young lions--the princes, so described on account of their cruel rapacity.

pride of Jordan--its thickly wooded banks, the lair of "lions" (Jr 12:5; 49:19). Image for Judea "spoiled" of the magnificence of its rulers ("the young lions"). The valley of the Jordan forms a deeper gash than any on the earth. The land at Lake Merom is on a level with the Mediterranean Sea; at the Sea of Tiberias it falls six hundred fifty feet below that level, and to double that depression at the Dead Sea, that is, in all, 1950 feet below the Mediterranean; in twenty miles' interval there is a fall of from three thousand to four thousand feet.

4. The prophet here proceeds to show the cause of the destruction just foretold, namely, the rejection of Messiah.

flock of ... slaughter--(Psa 44:22). God's people doomed to slaughter by the Romans. Zechariah here represents typically Messiah, and performs in vision the actions enjoined: hence the language is in part appropriate to him, but mainly to the Antitype, Messiah. A million and a half perished in the Jewish war, and one million one hundred thousand at the fall of Jerusalem. "Feed" implies that the Jews could not plead ignorance of God's will to execute their sin. Zechariah and the other prophets had by God's appointment "fed" them (Ac 20:28) with the word of God, teaching and warning them to escape from coming wrath by repentance: the type of Messiah, the chief Shepherd, who receives the commission of the Father, with whom He is one (Zec 11:4); and Himself says (Zec 11:7), "I will feed the flock of slaughter." Zechariah did not live to "feed" literally the "flock of slaughter"; Messiah alone "fed" those who, because of their rejection of Him, were condemned to slaughter. Jehovah-Messiah is the speaker. It is He who threatens to inflict the punishments (Zec 11:6, 8). The typical breaking of the staff, performed in vision by Zechariah (Zec 11:10), is fulfilled in His breaking the covenant with Judah. It is He who was sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zec 11:12, 13).

5. possessors--The buyers [Maurer], their Roman oppressors, contrasted with "they that sell men." The instruments of God's righteous judgment, and therefore "not holding themselves guilty" (Jr 50:7). It is meant that they might use this plea, not that they actually used it. Judah's adversaries felt no compunction in destroying them; and God in righteous wrath against Judah allowed it.

they that sell them--(Compare Zec 11:12). The rulers of Judah, who by their avaricious rapacity and selfishness (Joh 11:48, 50) virtually sold their country to Rome. Their covetousness brought on Judea God's visitation by Rome. The climax of this was the sale of the innocent Messiah for thirty pieces of silver. They thought that Jesus was thus sold and their selfish interest secured by the delivery of Him to the Romans for crucifixion; but it was themselves and their country that they thus sold to the Roman possessors."

I am rich--by selling the sheep (De 29:19; Ho 12:8). In short-sighted selfishness they thought they had gained their object, covetous self-aggrandizement (Lu 16:14), and hypocritically "thanked" God for their wicked gain (compare Lu 18:11).

say ... pity--In Hebrew it is singular: that is, each of those that sell them saith: Not one of their own shepherds pitieth them. An emphatical mode of expression by which each individual is represented as doing, or not doing, the action of the verb [Henderson]. Hengstenberg refers the singular verbs to Jehovah, the true actor; the wicked shepherds being His unconscious instruments. Compare Zec 11:6, For I will no more pity, with the Hebrew "pitieth not" here.

6. Jehovah, in vengeance for their rejection of Messiah, gave them over to intestine feuds and Roman rule. The Zealots and other factious Jews expelled and slew one another by turns at the last invasion by Rome.

his king--Vespasian or Titus: they themselves (Joh 19:15) had said, unconsciously realizing Zechariah's words, identifying Rome's king with Judah's ("his") king, "We have no king but Cæsar." God took them at their word, and gave them the Roman king, who "smote (literally, 'dashed in pieces') their land," breaking up their polity, when they rejected their true King who would have saved them.

7. And--rather, "Accordingly": implying the motive cause which led Messiah to assume the office, namely, the will of the Father (Zec 11:4, 5), who pitied the sheep without any true shepherd.

I will feed--"I fed" [Calvin], which comes to the same thing, as the past tense must in Zechariah's time have referred to the event of Messiah's advent then future: the prophets often speaking of the future in vision as already present. It was not My fault, Jehovah implies, that these sheep were not fed; the fault rests solely with you, because ye rejected the grace of God [Calvin].

even you, O poor of the flock--rather, "in order that (I might feed, that is, save) the poor (humble; compare Zec 11:11; Zep 3:12; Mt 5:3) of the flock"; literally, not you, but, "therefore (I will feed)" [Moore]. See Margin, "Verily the poor." It is for the sake of the believing remnant that Messiah took charge of the flock, though He would have saved all, if they would have come to Him. They would not come; therefore, as a nation, they are "the flock of (that is, doomed to) slaughter."

I took ... two staves--that is, shepherds' staves or rods (Psa 23:4). Symbolizing His assumption of the pastor's office.

Beauty--The Jews' peculiar excellency above other nations (De 4:7), God's special manifestation to them (Psa 147:19, 20), the glory of the temple ("the beauty of holiness," Psa 29:2; compare Psa 27:4; 90:17; 2Ch 20:21), the "pleasantness" of their land (Ge 49:15; Da 8:9; 11:16), "the glorious land."

Bands--implying the bond of "brotherhood" between Judah and Israel. "Bands," in Psa 119:61, Margin, is used for confederate companies: The Easterns in making a confederacy often tie a cord or band as a symbol of it, and untie it when they dissolve the confederacy [Ludovicus De Dieu]. Messiah would have joined Judah and Israel in the bonds of a common faith and common laws (Zec 11:14), but they would not; therefore in just retribution He broke "His covenant which He had made with all the people." Alexander, Antiochus Epiphanes, and Pompey were all kept from marring utterly the distinctive "beauty" and "brotherhood" of Judah and Israel, which subsisted more or less so long as the temple stood. But when Jehovah brake the staves, not even Titus could save the temple from his own Roman soldiery, nor was Jurian able to restore it.

8. Three shepherds ... I cut off--literally, "to cause to disappear," to destroy so as not to leave a vestige of them. The three shepherds whom Messiah removes are John, Simon, and Eleazar, three leaders of factions in the Jewish war [Drusius]. Or, as Messiah, the Antitype, was at once prophet, priest, and king, so He by the destruction of the Jewish polity destroyed these three orders for the unbelief of both the rulers and people [Moore]. If they had accepted Messiah, they would have had all three combined in Him, and would have been themselves spiritually prophets, priests, and kings to God. Refusing Him, they lost all three, in every sense.

one month--a brief and fixed space of time (Ho 5:7). Probably alluding to the last period of the siege of Jerusalem, when all authority within the city was at an end [Henderson].

loathed them--literally, "was straitened" as to them; instead of being enlarged towards them in love (2Co 6:11, 12). The same Hebrew as in Nu 21:4, Margin. No room was left by them for the grace of God, as His favors were rejected [Calvin]. The mutual distaste that existed between the holy Messiah and the guilty Jews is implied.

9. Then said I--at last when all means of saving the nation had been used in vain (Joh 8:24).

I will not--that is, no more feed you. The last rejection of the Jews is foretold, of which the former under Nebuchadnezzar, similarly described, was the type (Jr 15:1-3; 34:17; 43:11; Eze 6:12). Perish those who are doomed to perish, since they reject Him who would have saved them! Let them rush on to their own ruin, since they will have it so.

eat ... flesh of another--Let them madly perish by mutual discords. Josephus attests the fulfilment of this prophecy of threefold calamity: pestilence and famine ("dieth ... die"), war ("cut off ... cut off"), intestine discord ("eat ... one ... another").

10. covenant which I made with all the people--The covenant made with the whole nation is to hold good no more except to the elect remnant. This is the force of the clause, not as Maurer, and others translate. The covenant which I made with all the nations (not to hurt My elect people, Ho 2:18). But the Hebrew is the term for the elect people (Ammim), not that for the Gentile nations (Goiim). The Hebrew plural expresses the great numbers of the Israelite people formerly (1Ki 4:20). The article is, in the Hebrew, all the or those peoples. His cutting asunder the staff "Beauty," implies the setting aside of the outward symbols of the Jews distinguishing excellency above the Gentiles (see on Zec 11:7) as God's own people.

11. poor ... knew--The humble, godly remnant knew by the event the truth of the prediction and of Messiah's mission. He had, thirty-seven years before the fall of Jerusalem, forewarned His disciples when they should see the city compassed with armies, to "flee unto the mountains." Accordingly, Cestius Gallus, when advancing on Jerusalem, unaccountably withdrew for a brief space, giving Christians the opportunity of obeying Christ's words by fleeing to Pella.

waited upon me--looked to the hand of God in all these calamities, not blindly shutting their eyes to the true cause of the visitation, as most of the nation still do, instead of referring it to their own rejection of Messiah. Is 30:18-21 refers similarly to the Lord's return in mercy to the remnant that "wait for Him" and "cry" to Him (Zep 3:12, 13).

12. I said--The prophet here represents the person of Jehovah-Messiah.

If ye think good--literally, "If it be good in your eyes." Glancing at their self-sufficient pride in not deigning to give Him that return which His great love in coming down to them from heaven merited, namely, their love and obedience. "My price"; my reward for pastoral care, both during the whole of Israel's history from the Exodus, and especially the three and a half years of Messiah's ministry. He speaks as their "servant," which He was to them in order to fulfil the Father's will (Php 2:7).

if not, forbear--They withheld that which He sought as His only reward, their love; yet He will not force them, but leave His cause with God (Is 49:4, 5). Compare the type Jacob cheated of his wages by Laban, but leaving his cause in the hands of God (Ge 31:41, 42).

So ... thirty pieces of silver--thirty shekels. They not only refused Him His due, but added insult to injury by giving for Him the price of a gored bond-servant (Ex 21:32; Mt 26:15). A freeman was rated at twice that sum.

13. Cast it unto the potter--proverbial: Throw it to the temple potter, the most suitable person to whom to cast the despicable sum, plying his trade as he did in the polluted valley (2Ki 23:10) of Hinnom, because it furnished him with the most suitable clay. This same valley, and the potter's shop, were made the scene of symbolic actions by Jeremiah (Jr 18:1-19:15) when prophesying of this very period of Jewish history. Zechariah connects his prophecy here with the older one of Jeremiah: showing the further application of the same divine threat against his unfaithful people in their destruction under Rome, as before in that under Nebuchadnezzar. Hence Mt 27:9, in English Version, and in the oldest authorities, quotes Zechariah's words as Jeremiah's, the latter being the original author from whom Zechariah derived the groundwork of the prophecy. Compare the parallel case of Mr 1:2, 3 in the oldest manuscripts (though not in English Version), quoting Malachi's words as those of "Isaiah," the original source of the prophecy. Compare my Introduction to Zechariah. The "potter" is significant of God's absolute power over the clay framed by His own hands (Is 45:9; Jr 18:6; Ro 9:20, 21).

in the house of the Lord--The thirty pieces are thrown down in the temple, as the house of Jehovah, the fit place for the money of Jehovah-Messiah being deposited, in the treasury, and the very place accordingly where Judas "cast them down." The thirty pieces were cast "to the potter," because it was to him they were "appointed by the Lord" ultimately to go, as a worthless price (compare Mt 27:6, 7, 10). For "I took," "I threw," here Matthew has "they took," "they gave them"; because their (the Jews' and Judas') act was all His "appointment" (which Matthew also expresses), and therefore is here attributed to Him (compare Ac 2:23; 4:28). It is curious that some old translators translate, for "to the potter," "to the treasury" (so Maurer), agreeing with Mt 27:6. But English Version agrees better with Hebrew and Mt 27:10.

14. The breaking of the bond of union between Judah and Israel's ten tribes under Rehoboam is here the image used to represent the fratricidal discord of factions which raged within Jerusalem on the eve of its fall, while the Romans were thundering at its gates without. See Josephus [Wars of the Jews]. Also the continued severance of the tribes till their coming reunion (Ro 11:15).

15. yet--"take again"; as in Zec 11:7 previously he had taken other implements.

instruments--the accoutrements, namely, the shepherd's crook and staff, wallet, &c. Assume the character of a bad ("foolish" in Scripture is synonymous with wicked, Psa 14:1) shepherd, as before thou assumedst that of a good shepherd. Since the Jews would not have Messiah, "the Good Shepherd" (Joh 10:11), they were given up to Rome, heathen and papal, both alike their persecutor, especially the latter, and shall be again to Antichrist, the "man of sin," the instrument of judgment by Christ's permission. Antichrist will first make a covenant with them as their ruler, but then will break it, and they shall feel the iron yoke of his tyranny as the false Messiah, because they rejected the light yoke of the true Messiah (Da 11:35-38; 12:1; 9:27; 2Th 2:3-12). But at last he is to perish utterly (Zec 11:17), and the elect remnant of Judah and Israel is to be saved gloriously.

16. in the land--Antichrist will probably he a Jew, or at least one in Judea.

not visit ... neither ... seek ... heal ... broken, nor feed ... but ... eat ... flesh ... tear--Compare similar language as to the unfaithful shepherds of Israel in Eze 34:2-4. This implies, they shall be paid in kind. Such a shepherd in the worst type shall "tear" them for a limited time.

those ... cut off--"those perishing" [Septuagint], that is, those sick unto death, as if already cut off.

the young--The Hebrew is always used of human youths, who are really referred to under the image of the young of the flock. Ancient expositors [Chaldee Version, Jerome, &c.] translate, "the straying," "the dispersed"; so Gesenius.

broken--the wounded.

standeth still--with faintness lagging behind.

tear ... claws--expressing cruel voracity; tearing off the very hoofs (compare Ex 10:26), giving them excruciating pain, and disabling them from going in quest of pasture.

17. the idol--The Hebrew expresses both vanity and an idol. Compare Is 14:13; Da 11:36; 2Th 2:4; Re 13:5, 6, as to the idolatrous and blasphemous claims of Antichrist. The "idol shepherd that leaveth the flock" cannot apply to Rome, but to some ruler among the Jews themselves, at first cajoling, then "leaving" them, nay, destroying them (Da 9:27; 11:30-38). God's sword shall descend on his "arm," the instrument of his tyranny towards the sheep (2Th 2:8); and on his "right eye," wherewith he ought to have watched the sheep (Joh 10:12, 13). However, Antichrist shall destroy, rather than "leave the flock." Perhaps, therefore, the reference is to the shepherds who left the flock to Antichrist's rapacity, and who, in just retribution, shall feel his "sword" on their "arm," which ought to have protected the flock but did not, and on their "eye," which had failed duly to watch the sheep from hurt. The blinding of "the right eye" has attached to it the notion of ignominy (1Sa 11:2).

‏ Zechariah 12:1-2

CHAPTER 12 Zec 12:1-14. Jerusalem the Instrument of Judgment on Her Foes Hereafter; Her Repentance and Restoration.

1. burden--"weighty prophecy"; fraught with destruction to Israel's foes; the expression may also refer to the distresses of Israel implied as about to precede the deliverance.

for Israel--concerning Israel [Maurer].

stretcheth forth--present; now, not merely "hath stretched forth," as if God only created and then left the universe to itself (Joh 5:17). To remove all doubts of unbelief as to the possibility of Israel's deliverance, God prefaces the prediction by reminding us of His creative and sustaining power. Compare a similar preface in Is 42:5; 43:1; 65:17, 18.

formeth ... spirit of man--(Nu 16:22; He 12:9).

2. cup of trembling--a cup causing those who drink it to reel (from a Hebrew root "to reel"). Jerusalem, who drank the "cup of trembling" herself, shall be so to her foes (Is 51:17, 22; Jr 13:13). Calvin with the Septuagint translates, "threshold of destruction," on which they shall stumble and be crushed when they attempt to cross it. English Version is better.

both against Judah--The Hebrew order of words is literally, "And also against Judah shall he (the foe) be in the siege against Jerusalem"; implying virtually that Judah, as it shares the invasion along with Jerusalem, so it shall, like the metropolis, prove a cup of trembling to the invaders. Maurer with Jerome translates, "Also upon Judah shall be (the cup of trembling); that is, some Jews forced by the foe shall join in the assault on Jerusalem, and shall share the overthrow with the besiegers. But Zec 12:6, 7 show that Judah escapes and proves the scourge of the foe.