Zechariahchapter 12
14 verses · Zechariah · 520 to 518 BC · The Twelve
Original Language
Zechariah 12— Hebrew word study · with the Hebrew tradition
In Jewish life
Jewish practice and Jewish teaching both have something to say about Zechariah 12. Three things follow: where it is read, what is done because of it, and how the rabbis have taught it. The purpose is to inform a Christian reader what Jews believe and how Judaism was and is practised.
The reading
The yearly cycle does not read Zechariah 12. The Haftarah is drawn from the Prophets a passage at a time rather than continuously, so most chapters of most prophetic books are never read in the service, and this is one of them.
The verse numbers here are the ones a Hebrew Bible carries, which differ from an English Bible by a verse or two in several places. The Sephardi reading is named only where this site records a difference; communities vary beyond what is listed. What these books are, and how a Christian reader meets them →
Where the rabbis cite this chapter
4 rows sit beside their verses in the text, on 4 verses of this chapter. No row that speaks to the chapter as a whole is recorded. Every quote links to its full source.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria (sefaria.org); excerpts follow each version’s license, and every passage opens at its source.
How to read a word below: the Hebrewword, then how it sounds, then what it means, then its number in Strong’s concordance, a widely used lookup this site follows (H for Hebrew and Aramaic, G for Greek). Square brackets hold a word the English supplies that the Hebrew does not, angle brackets mark the Hebrew’s own grammatical elements that English renders as separate words, and the mark ס or פ is where the Hebrew manuscripts end a paragraph.
Jerusalem a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone1
Zechariah 12:1· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Rashi on Zechariah 12:1
The prophecy of the word of the Lord This is the completion of the word that he began to speak about the retribution of those who devour Israel - Esau and his ilk.
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
Zechariah 12:2· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Zechariah 12:3· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Zechariah 12:4· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Zechariah 12:5· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Zechariah 12:6· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Zechariah 12:7· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Zechariah 12:8· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Zechariah 12:9· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
They shall look on me whom they have pierced10
Zechariah 12:10· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Rashi on Zechariah 12:10
a spirit of grace and supplications That it should come into their mind to supplicate Me, and they will be in My good graces.
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
Zechariah 12:11· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Rashi on Zechariah 12:11
like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddon Hadadrimmon has no connection to the Valley of Megiddon. These are, rather, two cases of mourning.
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
Zechariah 12:12· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Rashi on Zechariah 12:12
the house of Nathan the prophet. Some say that it refers to Nathan the son of David, as it is said (II Sam.:14): “Shammua and Shobab, and Nathan and Solomon.”
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
Zechariah 12:13· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Zechariah 12:14· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible