Zechariah 9:13 Kommentar

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

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

When I have bent Judah for me,.... By whom are meant the apostles, who were Jews, and whose ministrations were made use of as a bow with arrows, to strike the hearts of men, and bring them into subjection to Christ: they were a bow of the Lord's bending and preparing, and which abode in strength, being made strong and effectual through the hands of the mighty God of Jacob: filled the bow with Ephraim: or rather, "filled Ephraim with the bow" (p); filled his hand with it; meaning, that some out of the ten tribes, as were the apostles, should be employed in drawing the bow of the Gospel, and shooting its arrows, the doctrines of it; which are comparable to them for swiftness, suddenness, and secrecy, and for their piercing and penetrating nature: and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece; that is, persons of the land of Judea, as such the apostles were, and who belonged to Zion the church of Christ; who were raised up, qualified, and sent forth by him into the Gentile world, with weapons of warfare, not carnal, but spiritual; against the Gentiles in general, and the wise men of Greece, as at Athens, in particular, to confound some, and to conquer others, and bring them to the obedience of Christ. Some understand this of the Maccabees raised up against Antiochus, and the Greeks that possessed the kingdom of Syria: and made thee as the sword of a mighty man; that is, made the Gospel in the hands of the church, and of her sons, as a sword in the hand of a mighty man, by whom execution is done with it; this is the sword of the Spirit, even the word of God; and is sharp and cutting, and is the power of God unto salvation; as it is girt upon the thigh, and is in the hands of Christ the most Mighty; and as it is accompanied with the Spirit of God, and of power. (p) "arcu implebo manum Ephraim", Vatablus; so Ben Melech.

(Verse 13) For I have bent Judah for Myself as My bow, I have filled Ephraim, and will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and will make you like the sword of a mighty man. LXX: For I have stretched Judah for Myself as My bow, I have filled Ephraim, and will stir up your sons, O Zion, against the sons of Greece, and will touch you as the sword of a warrior. This refers to the time of the Maccabees, when they defeated the Macedonians and cleansed the defiled temple of idolatry after a period of three and a half years. And what follows: 'I have filled Ephraim like a bow,' they think signifies those who came from the ten tribes which are called Israel, under Hezekiah, to whom Josiah is also mentioned as having reigned: provided that they interpret the testimony in a way different from the explanation we have given, and say: 'O Christ, whom we ((or, once upon a time, hoped to)) expected to come, and who were to reign over all the boundaries of the earth: in the blood of thy covenant, which thou didst find Jerusalem to be sprinkled with according to Ezekiel [16:6], and didst make a covenant with Abraham in the divisions of the calf, the ram, and the goat; thou didst send forth thy people Israel from captivity and the land of the Chaldeans, in which there was no mercy [Gen. 15:13].' Therefore, you also, O Israelites, who were bound and hoped in the Lord, return to the most beloved Jerusalem; for today you have the Lord promising you that, for the brief injury of captivity, you will receive a double recompense, as we read in the book of Job (Chapter XLII). According to allegory, this passage can be explained as follows: Judah is stretched out in the bow, when the Lord and Savior is sent from the Father into this world, who himself is both the bow and the archer and the arrow. Arcus, as in the present place. Sagittarius, as in the forty-fourth Psalm: Your arrows sharp and mighty (Psalm 44:6), with which, when wounded, he says: I am wounded with love (Song of Solomon 2:5). But the arrow itself is the one who speaks through Isaiah: He has made me like a chosen arrow, and has hidden me in his quiver (Isaiah 49:2). The chosen arrow is the word of God; the quiver in which the arrow is hidden, is the dispensation of the assumed flesh. Thus Ephraim is fulfilled, that when he is armed and prepared for war, he himself is wounded by the arrows of the Lord, from whose tribe Jeroboam, who was received in the person of the heretics, first tore the people apart (III Kings 12). Hosea the prophet more fully explains this (Hosea 5 and 6), and what we have said above: The sons of Ephraim, aiming and shooting the bow, turned back on the day of battle (Psalm 77:9). For the Lord raises up the sons of Zion, that is, the sons of the Church, and the leaders of opposing doctrines, and all the assertions and arguments of the Gentiles are destroyed, because the Lord Himself is the sword of the mighty, of whom it is said: Gird your sword upon your thigh, O most mighty. Your beauty and splendor, understand, prosper and reign; because of truth, gentleness, and justice, and your right hand will lead you wondrously. (Ibid. XLIV, 4 et seqq.). The Ethiopians are wounded by this sword, of whom it is written: And you, Ethiopians, wounded by my sword you will be. (Soph. II, 12), those who, once wounded by Christ's sword, will cast off their dark color, and rejoicing they will say: The splendor of the Lord our God will be upon us. (Ps. LXXXIX, 17), which David also promises to himself after repentance: You will wash me, and I will be made whiter than snow. (Ibid., L, 9). This is the sword about which the Apostle writes: The living word of God, and effective, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the division of soul and spirit.

Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine, were conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, and afterwards by Alexander. Some apply the beginning of this chapter (Zac 9:1-7) to the one event, and some to the other. The close of the seventh verse relates to the number of Philistines that should become proselytes to Judaism; (see Josephus Antiq. 14:15, 4); and the eighth, to the watchful providence of God over his temple in those troublesome times. From this the prophet passes on to that most eminent instance of God's goodness to his Church and people, the sending of the Messiah, with an account of the peaceable tendency and great extent of his kingdom, Zac 9:9, Zac 9:10. God then declares that he has ratified his covenant with his people, delivered them from their captivity, and restored them to favor, Zac 9:11, Zac 9:12. In consequence of this, victory over their enemies is promised them in large and lofty terms, with every other kind of prosperity, Zac 9:13-17. Judas Maccabeus gained several advantages over the troops of Antiochus, who was of Grecian or Macedonian descent. But without excluding these events, it must be allowed that the terms of this prophecy are much too strong to be confined to them; their ultimate fulfillment must therefore be referred to Gospel times.

When I have bent Judah - Judah is the bow, and Ephraim is the arrows; and these are to be shot against the Greeks. I am inclined, with Bp. Newcome, to consider that the language of this prophecy is too strong to point out the only trifling advantage which the Maccabees gained over Antiochus, who was of Macedonian descent; and it is probable that these prophecies remain to be fulfilled against the present possessors of Javan or Greece, Macedonia, and a part of Asia Minor.

NINTH TO FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS ARE PROPHETICAL. (Zec. 9:1-17) in . . . Hadrach--rather, concerning or against Hadrach (compare Isa 21:13). "Burden" means a prophecy BURDENED with wrath against the guilty. MAURER, not so well, explains it, What is taken up and uttered, the utterance, a solemn declaration. Hadrach--a part of Syria, near Damascus. As the name is not mentioned in ancient histories, it probably was the less-used name of a region having two names ("Hadrach" and "Bikathaven," Amo 1:5, Margin); hence it passed into oblivion. An ancient Rabbi Jose is, however, stated to have expressly mentioned it. An Arab, Jos. Abassi, in 1768 also declared to MICHAELIS that there was then a town of that name, and that it was capital of the region Hadrach. The name means "enclosed" in Syrian, that is, the west interior part of Syria, enclosed by hills, the CÅ“lo-Syria of STRABO [MAURER]. JEROME considers Hadrach to be the metropolis of CÅ“lo-Syria, as Damascus was of the region about that city. HENGSTENBERG regards Hadrach as a symbolical name of Persia, which Zechariah avoids designating by its proper name so as not to offend the government under which he lived. But the context seems to refer to the Syrian region. GESENIUS thinks that the name is that of a Syrian king, which might more easily pass into oblivion than that of a region. Compare the similar "land of Sihon," Neh 9:22. Damascus . . . rest thereof--that is, the place on which the "burden" of the Lord's wrath shall rest. It shall permanently settle on it until Syria is utterly prostrate. Fulfilled under Alexander the Great, who overcame Syria [CURTIUS, Books 3 and 4]. eyes of man, as of all . . . Israel . . . toward the Lord--The eyes of men in general, and of all Israel in particular, through consternation at the victorious progress of Alexander, shall be directed to Jehovah. The Jews, when threatened by him because of Jaddua the high priest's refusal to swear fealty to him, prayed earnestly to the Lord, and so were delivered (Ch2 20:12; Psa 23:2). Typical of the effect of God's judgments hereafter on all men, and especially on the Jews in turning them to Him. MAURER, PEMBELLUS and others, less probably translate, "The eyes of the Lord are upon man, as they are upon all Israel," namely, to punish the ungodly and to protect His people. He, who has chastised His people, will not fail to punish men for their sins severely. The "all," I think, implies that whereas men's attention generally (whence "man" is the expression) was directed to Jehovah's judgments, all Israel especially looks to Him.

bent Judah--made Judah as it were My bow, and "filled" it "with Ephraim," as My arrow, wherewith to overcome the successor of the Grecian Alexander, Antiochus Epiphanes (compare Notes, see on Dan 8:9; Dan 11:32; I Maccabees 1:62; 2:41-43), the oppressor of Judah. Having spoken (Zac 9:1-8) of Alexander's victories, after the parenthesis (Zac 9:9-10) as to Messiah the infinitely greater King coming, he passes to the victories which God would enable Judah to gain over Alexander's successor, after his temporary oppression of them. O Zion . . . O Greece--God on one hand addresses Zion, on the other Greece, showing that He rules all people.

III. Future of the World-Powers, and of the Kingdom of God - Zechariah 9-14 The two longer prophecies, which fill up the last part of our book (ch. 9-11 and 12-14), show by their headings, as well as by their contents, and even by their formal arrangement, that they are two corresponding portions of a greater whole. In the headings, the fact that they have both the common character of a threatening prophecy or proclamation of judgment, is indicated by the application of the same epithet, Massâ' debhar Yehōvâh (burden of the word of Jehovah), whilst the objects, "land of Hadrach" (Zac 9:1) and "Israel' (Zac 12:1), point to a contrast, or rather to a conflict between the lands of Hadrach and Israel. This contrast or conflict extends through the contents of both. All the six chapters treat of the war between the heathen world and Israel, though in different ways. In the first oracle (ch. 9-11), the judgment, through which the power of the heathen world over Israel is destroyed and Israel is endowed with strength to overcome all its enemies, forms the fundamental thought and centre of gravity of the prophetic description. In the second (ch. 12-14), the judgment through which Israel, or Jerusalem and Judah, is sifted in the war with the heathen nations, and translated into the holy nation of the Lord by the extermination of its spurious members, is the leading topic. And lastly, in a formal respect the two oracles resemble one another, in the fact that in the centre of each the announcement suddenly takes a different tone, without any external preparation (Zac 11:1 and Zac 13:7), so that it is apparently the commencement of a new prophecy; and it is only by a deeper research into the actual fact, that the connection between the two is brought out, and the relation between the two clearly seen, - namely, that the second section contains a more minute description of the manner in which the events announced in the first section are to be realized. In the threatening word concerning the land of Hadrach, ch. 9 and Zac 10:1-12 form the first section, ch. 11 the second; in that concerning Israel, the first section extends from Zac 12:1 to Zac 13:6, and the second from Zac 13:7 to the end of the book. Fall of the Heathen World, and Deliverance and Glorification of Zion - Zechariah 9 and Zac 10:1-12 Whilst the judgment falls upon the land of Hadrach, upon Damascus and Hamath, and upon Phoenicia and Philistia, so that these kingdoms are overthrown and the cities laid waste and the remnant of their inhabitants incorporated into the nation of God (Zac 9:1-7), Jehovah will protect His people, and cause His King to enter Zion, who will establish a kingdom of peace over the whole earth (Zac 9:8-10). Those members of the covenant nation who are still in captivity are redeemed, and endowed with victory over the sons of Javan (Zac 9:11-17), and richly blessed by the Lord their God to overcome all enemies in His strength (Zac 10:1-12). The unity of the two chapters, which form the first half of this oracle, is evident from the close substantial connection between the separate sections. The transitions from one complex of thought to the other are so vanishing, that it is a matter of dispute, in the case of Zac 10:1, Zac 10:2, for example, whether these verses should be connected with ch. 9, or retained in connection with Zac 10:4.

This thought is supported in Zac 9:13. by a picture of the glory intended for Israel. Zac 9:13. "For I stretch Judah as my bow, fill it with Ephraim, and stir up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Javan, and make thee like the sword of a hero. Zac 9:14. And Jehovah will appear above them, and like the lightning will His arrow go forth; and the Lord Jehovah will blow the trumpets, and will pass along in storms of the south. Zac 9:15. Jehovah of hosts will shelter above them, and they will eat and tread down sling-stones, and will drink, make a noise, as if with wine, and become full, like the sacrificial bowls, like the corners of the altar." The double recompense which the Lord will make to His people, will consist in the fact that He not only liberates them out of captivity and bondage, and makes them into an independent nation, but that He helps them to victory over the power of the world, so that they will tread it down, i.e., completely subdue it. The first thought is not explained more fully, because it is contained implicite in the promise of return to a strong place; the "double" only is more distinctly defined, namely, the victory over Javan. The expression, "I stretch," etc., implies that the Lord will subdue the enemies by Judah and Ephraim, and therefore Israel will carry on this conflict in the power of its God. The figurative description is a bold one. Judah is the extended bow; Ephraim the arrow which God shoots at the foe. קשׁת is indeed separated from יהוּדה by the accents; but the lxx, Targ., Vulg., and others, have taken it more correctly, as in apposition to יהוּדה; because with the many meanings that דּרך possesses, the expression דּרך יהוּדה needs a more precise definition; whereas there is no difficulty in supplying in thought the noun qesheth, which has been mentioned only just before, to the verb מלּאתי (I fill). מלּאתי is to be understood as signifying the laying of the arrow upon the bow, and not to be explained from Kg2 9:24, "to fill the hand with the bow." A bow is filled when it is supplied with the arrow for shooting. We must bear in mind that the matter is divided rhetorically between the parallel members; and the thought is this: Judah and Ephraim are bow and arrow in the hand of Jehovah. עוררתּי, I stir up, not I swing thy children as a lance (Hitzig and Koehler); for if עורר had this meaning, חנית could not be omitted. The sons of Zion are Judah and Ephraim, the undivided Israel, not the Zionites living as slaves in Javan (Hitzig). The sons of Javan are the Greeks, as the world-power, the Graeco-Macedonian monarchy (cf. Dan 8:21), against which the Lord will make His people into a hero's sword. This took place in weak beginnings, even in the wars between the Maccabees and the Seleucidae, to which, according to Jerome, the Jews understood our prophecy to refer; but it must not be restricted to this, as the further description in Zac 9:14, Zac 9:15 points to the complete subjugation of the imperial power. Jehovah appears above them, i.e., coming from heaven as a defence, to fight for them (the sons of Zion), as a mighty man of war (Psa 24:8). His arrow goes out like the lightning (כ the so-called כ veritatis; for the fact described, compare Hab 3:11). Marching at the head of His people, He gives the signal of battle with a trumpet-blast, and attacks the enemy with terribly devastating violence. The description rests upon the poetical descriptions of the coming of the Lord to judgment, the colours of which are borrowed from the phenomena of a storm (cf. Psalm 18 and Hab 3:8.). Storms of the south are the most violent storms, as they come from the Arabian desert, which bounds Canaan on the south (Isa 21:1; cf. Hos 13:15). But Jehovah not only fights for His people; He is also a shield to them in battle, covering them against the weapons of the foe. This is affirmed in יגן עליהם in Zac 9:15. Hence they are able to destroy their enemies, and, like devouring lions, to eat their flesh and drink their blood. That this figure lies at the foundation of the horrible picture of ואכלוּ, is evident from Num 23:24, which was the passage that Zechariah had in his mind: "Behold a people like the lioness; it rises up, and like the lion does it lift itself up: it lies not down till it devour the prey, and drink the blood of the slain." Hence the object to אכלוּ is not the possessions of the heathen, but their flesh. כּבשׁוּ אבני קלע does not mean, they tread down (subdue) the enemy with sling-stones (lxx, Vulg., Grot.); for אבני ק cannot, when considered grammatically, be taken in an instrumental sense, and is rather an accus. obj.; but they tread down sling-stones. The sling-stones might be used per synecdochen to signify darts, which the enemy hurls at them, and which they tread down as perfectly harmless (Kliefoth). But the comparison of the Israelites to the stones of a crown, in Zac 9:16, leads rather to the conclusion that the sling-stones are to be taken as a figure denoting the enemy, who are trampled under the feet like stones (Hitzig, Hengstenberg). Only we cannot speak of eating sling-stones, as Koehler would interpret the words, overlooking כּבשׁוּ, and appealing to the parallel member: they will drink, reel as if from wine, which shows, in his opinion, that it is the sling-stones that are to be eaten. But this shows, on the contrary, that just as there no mention is made of what is to be drunk, so here what is to be eaten is not stated. It is true that wine and sacrificial blood point to the blood of the enemy; but wine and blood are drinkable, whereas sling-stones are not edible. The description of the enemy as sling-stones is to be explained from the figure in Sa1 25:29, to hurl away the soul of the enemy. They drunk (sc., the blood of the enemy) even to intoxication, making a noise, as if intoxicated with wine (כּמו יין, an abbreviated comparison; cf. Ewald, 221, a, and 282, e), and even to overflowing, so that they become full, like the sacrificial bowls in which the blood of the sacrificial animals was caught, and like the corners of the altar, which were sprinkled with the sacrificial blood. זויּת are corners, not the horns of the altar. The sacrificial blood was not sprinkled upon these; they were simply smeared with a little blood applied with the finger, in the case of the expiatory sacrifices. According to the law (Lev 1:5, Lev 1:11; Lev 3:2, etc.), the blood was to be swung against the altar. This was done, according to rabbinical tradition (Mishn. Seb. Sa1 25:4., and Rashi on Lev 1:5), in such a manner, that with two sprinklings all the four sides of the altar were wetted, - a result which could only be ensured by swinging the bowls filled with blood, so as to strike the corners of the altar.