Zechariahchapter 13
9 verses · Zechariah · 520 to 518 BC · The Twelve
“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
Introduction
Zechariah, The Twelve, Zechariah Overview.
This chapter continues the oracle of chapter 12 and answers its mourning with cleansing. Zechariah spoke to a people whose grandparents had lost their land to idols and to prophets who told them what they wanted to hear. The chapter promises a land rid of both, and it shows how completely the false prophet will be disgraced. Then it turns to a shepherd whom God Himself calls His companion, and to the flock that is scattered when he is struck. Listen for the short covenant exchange at the close. Jesus quoted this chapter on the night He was arrested.
Context
- Who
- A people who had been ruined once by idols and lying prophets
- What
- A fountain opened for cleansing, idols and false prophets removed from the land, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, and a refined third brought through the fire.
- Where
- Jerusalem and the land of Judah.
- When
- Undated, and usually placed after the book's dated oracles of 520 to 518 BC, either late in Zechariah's life or in the fifth century BC or after.
- Why
- To show that the grief of chapter 12 leads to cleansing, and that God will purify His people through suffering until they call on Him and are answered.
Historical context
The chapter opens with a fountain opened to the house of David for sin and uncleanness. Israel's purification rituals used running water, "living water", rather than a still basin, so an open spring is the picture of cleansing that keeps flowing rather than a washing that must be repeated.
Show the rest of the historical context, 5 more paragraphs
Then two things are cut off together: idols, and prophets. Lying prophecy had been one of the causes of the exile, Jeremiah fought it his whole ministry, and here the false prophet is dealt with so severely that his own father and mother would act against him.
The result is a culture where nobody wants to be mistaken for a prophet. A man will refuse the hairy mantle that was the prophet's recognizable dress, from Elijah onward, and will say, "I am no prophet, I am an husbandman", I work the land.
Then a strange line: what are these wounds in thine hands? Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Read in context it is the false prophet deflecting, but the wording has struck Christian readers for two thousand years.
The chapter's center is a command: "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." Jesus quoted that sentence to His disciples on the night He was arrested, and told them it was about to happen to them.
The end is a refining image, two parts cut off, a third brought through the fire, refined as silver is refined and tried as gold is tried. Refining silver meant heating it until the impurities rose to be skimmed off, and the refiner watched the whole time.
Significance
For post-exilic Judah, the promise of a land purged of idols and false prophets was the removal of the two things that had destroyed their grandparents' world.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
And the refining said the survivors would be a remnant, not a majority, but they would be a remnant that says "the LORD is my God" and is answered, "it is my people." That exchange is the whole covenant in six words.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
The site's own table in src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, probed for this lane, printed no weekly portion and no Haftarah from this chapter, and no festival reading for the book. That table carries the Haftarah of each of the fifty-four weekly portions and the books read whole at the feasts. It carries nothing for the special Sabbaths, the festival days or the fast days, so this card names no public reading of chapter 13 and leaves that question to a source that holds those readings.
How it is read
Rashi is the one commentator on this chapter whose English the corpus carries. He is quoted from The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, which Sefaria reports as CC-BY, and every quotation is held to fifty words or fewer.
The fountain he reads through the water of purification. Following Jonathan, "I will forgive their sins as they become purified with sprinkling water" and the ashes of the red cow (Rashi on Zechariah 13:1:1). The prophets removed from the land are "The false prophets", and the unclean spirit is the evil inclination (Rashi on Zechariah 13:2:1 and 13:2:2).
The hairy mantle is the dress of the one who leads people astray, worn "as though they are righteous men in order that their lies be accepted" (Rashi on Zechariah 13:4:1). The wounds are marks of flogging, and the friends are those "who loved me and reproved me to the straight path" (Rashi on Zechariah 13:6:1 and 13:6:2).
The shepherd struck by the sword is "the one whom I appointed over the flock of My exile" (Rashi on Zechariah 13:7:1). The third that remains he reads as converts, "They shall proselytize and live", tested in the fire of the war of Gog and Magog (Rashi on Zechariah 13:8:1 and 13:9:1).
The corpus carries 10 further notes on this chapter without an English text, each marked linked because Sefaria holds no English version of the ref. They stand cited and unquoted here. Ibn Ezra on Zechariah is cited at 13:2:1, 13:4:1, 13:5:1 and 13:8:1. Malbim on Zechariah is cited at 13:3:1. Metzudat David on Zechariah is cited at 13:3:1. Radak on Zechariah is cited at 13:3:1, 13:4:1, 13:5:1 and 13:6:1.
The corpus lists Malbim on Zechariah 13:1:1 in the version Trans. Betzalel Avraham Feinstein, 2026, and marks it linked because the licence Sefaria reports (CC-BY-NC) does not permit keeping the text here. It is cited here by ref and never quoted.
The corpus lists Metzudat David on Zechariah 13:1:1 in the version Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology, and marks it linked because the licence Sefaria reports (unknown) does not permit keeping the text here. It is cited here by ref and never quoted.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries 40 rabbinic locators on this chapter and the text of none, so each is cited and linked here and none is quoted. The verse numbers are the corpus's own.
At 13:1 it holds Ein Yaakov, Yoma 8:12, Jerusalem Talmud Shekalim 6:2:3 and Yoma 78a:1. At 13:2 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 19:8, Midrash Lekach Tov, Leviticus 20:7:1 and Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Chukat 26:1. It also holds Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 8:1, Midrash Tehillim 146:3 and Pesikta DeRav Kahana 4:7 there. It also holds Pesikta Rabbati 14:1 and Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 759:8 there. At 13:6 it holds Ein Yaakov, Makkot 3:3, Makkot 22b:3 and Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Bachodesh 6:24.
It also holds Midrash Tannaim on Deuteronomy 25:3:17, Midrash Tannaim on Deuteronomy 5:9:12 and Midrash Tehillim 12:4 there. It also holds Midrash Tehillim 38:1 and Vayikra Rabbah 32:1 there. At 13:7 it holds Avot DeRabbi Natan 38:3, Avot DeRabbi Natan, Recension B 41:4 and Midrash Tehillim 80:3. It also holds Otzar Midrashim, The Ten Martyrs, Midrash on the Ten Martyrs (Version 2) 6 and Otzar Midrashim, The Ten Martyrs, Midrash on the Ten Martyrs (Version 3) 3 there. At 13:8 it holds Aggadat Bereshit 27:1, Bamidbar Rabbah 15:14 and Devarim Rabbah 2:33.
It also holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 11:133, Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Beha'alotcha 16:1 and Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Shoftim 10:2 there. It also holds Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Shoftim 8:1 and Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Tzav 4:2 there. At 13:9 it holds Avot DeRabbi Natan 41:15, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Rosh Hashanah 1:12 and Ein Yaakov, Rosh Hashanah 1:15. It also holds Midrash Lekach Tov, Deuteronomy 30:10:1, Midrash Lekach Tov, Deuteronomy 32:5:1 and Otzar Midrashim, Midrashim of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Chapter of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai 6 there. It also holds Otzar Midrashim, Midrashim on The Messiah, Otot Mashiach (Signs of the Messiah) 10 and Otzar Midrashim, Pesikta, Pesikta Chadata 40 there.
What each of them teaches is a saying of the rabbis, and is reported as theirs wherever this site quotes one. The quotations wait on a fetch that carries the text.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on Zechariah 13:1:1 to 13:9:1, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, reported CC-BY; Malbim, Malbim on Zechariah 13:1:1 and 13:3:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no text it may quote; Metzudat David, Metzudat David on Zechariah 13:1:1 and 13:3:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no text it may quote; Ibn Ezra, Ibn Ezra on Zechariah 13:2:1, 13:4:1, 13:5:1 and 13:8:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no text it may quote; Radak, Radak on Zechariah 13:3:1, 13:4:1, 13:5:1 and 13:6:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no text it may quote; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/zechariah/13.json, the 40 Talmud and Midrash locators of this chapter; The site's own files, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, probed for this lane through haftarahUsesForChapter("zechariah", 13) and festivalReadingForBook("zechariah").
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A fountain opened for sin and uncleanness
a fountain will be opened to the house of David: “On that day a fountain will be opened” to cleanse the house of David “from sin and impurity”. Clarke and Keil note the washing language of the Levitical law, and older commentators applied the fountain to the blood of Christ. The two chapters make one movement: piercing, mourning and cleansing.
Zechariah 13:1
“A fountain - The blood of Christ. Opened - The spouse is to Christ a fountain sealed, but Christ is to sinners a fountain opened. Inhabitants of Jerusalem - The inhabitants of Jerusalem are all to whom the gospel is preached.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
3 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Zechariah 13:1
“It is certain that water was of no value to cleanse the heart; but the sins of men, we know, are expiated by the death of Christ, so that true ablution is by the blood which he shed for us. Hence the types of the law ought no doubt to be referred to this blood.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
Zechariah 13:1
“WE DO NOT GRUDGE to the seed of Israel after the flesh the first application of this very precious promise. There will be a day when those who have so long refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messias shall discern the marks of his mission, and shall mourn that they have pierced him. When the tribes of Israel shall lament their sin with holy earnestness, there shall be no mourning to exceed it, they shall weep even as in the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo, when the wellbeloved Josiah was slain.”
Zechariah 13:1
“Thus justification and sanctification are implied in this verse as both flowing from the blood of Christ, not from ceremonial sacrifices (1Co 1:30; 1Jo 1:7; compare Eze 36:25). Sin in Hebrew is literally a missing the mark or way.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Zechariah 13:2-3
erase the names of the idols from the land: The LORD will “erase the names of the idols from the land” and “remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity”. If anyone still prophesies, his own parents will say he has “spoken falsely in the name of the LORD” and “will pierce him through”.
Zechariah 13:2
“I will cut off the names of the idols - There shall not only be no idolatry, but the very names of the idols shall be forgotten, or be held in such abhorrence that no person shall mention them. This prophecy seems to be ancient, and to have been delivered while idolatry had prevalence in Israel and Judah. I will cause the prophets - All false teachers. And the unclean spirit - That which leads to impurity, the spirit of divination; the lust of the flesh, and of the eye, and the pride of life.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
his father and mother who bore him: The law of Deuteronomy 13:6 to 10 required a family to bring forward a relative who drew others to false gods. Albert Barnes reads this verse against that law. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown see the point as the end of false prophecy, with loyalty to God above the closest ties.
Zechariah 13:3
“His father and mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live - The prophet describes the zeal against false prophecy, with reference to the law against those who seduced to apostasy from God. Deu 13:6-10: “the nearest relations were themselves to denounce any who had secretly tried to seduce them, and themselves, as the accusers, to cast the first stone at them.”
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 13:3
“The substantial truth expressed is that false prophecy shall be utterly abolished. If it were possible for it again to start up, the very parents of the false prophet would not let parental affection interfere, but would be the first to thrust him through. Love to Christ must be paramount to the tenderest of natural ties (Mt 10:37).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Zechariah 13:4-6
will be ashamed of his vision: Each “prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision”. Asked about “these wounds on your chest”, he answers “These are the wounds I received in the house of my friends”. Henry and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown record its application to Christ, wounded by those nearest Him.
Zechariah 13:4
“Neither shall they wear a rough garment - A rough garment made of goats’ hair, coarse wool, or the course pile of the camel, was the ordinary garb of God’s prophets. And the false prophets wore the same; for they pretended to the same gifts, and the same spirit, and therefore they wore the same kind of garments. John Baptist had a garment of this kind.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The former prophet now claims a plain life on the land. Albert Barnes hears an echo of Amos, who said truly that he was no prophet. Adam Clarke reads the man as a diviner forced to give up his trade and questioned by those who knew him.
Zechariah 13:5
However, husbandry and keeping cattle might be regarded as jointly the occupation of the person questioned: then Am 7:14, "herdman," will accord with English Version. A Hebrew kindred word means "cattle." Both occupations, the respondent replies, are inconsistent with my being a "prophet."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the Hebrew as between the hands and suggest wounds received in self-defence. Matthew Henry takes them as a friend's correction. Albert Barnes notes that some older readers applied the line to the pierced one of 12:10.
Zechariah 13:6
“What are these wounds in thine hands? - Marks which he had received in honor of his idols. But he shall excuse himself by stating that he had received these marks in his own family; when, most probably, they had been dedicated to some of those idols. See the note on Isa 44:5. I do not think that these words are spoken at all concerning Jesus Christ. I have heard them quoted in this way; but I cannot hear such an application of them without horror.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Strike the shepherd; a third brought through the fire
Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd: The sword is called awake “against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion”, a word for an equal. “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered”. Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27 record Jesus quoting this verse of Himself on the night of His arrest.
Zechariah 13:7
WE are sure that we understand this passage, for we have our Lord Jesus Christ's application of it to Himself—"All you," He said to His disciples, "shall be offended because of Me this night: for it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered."
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3088: “The Storm and the Shower” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
2 more voices on this verse
Zechariah 13:7
“O sword - Afflictions, persecutions, and the cross. My shepherd - Who is my faithful shepherd, and will lay down his life for my sheep. My fellow - This speaks Christ; man with us, and God with his father, God-man in one person.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Zechariah 13:7
“For God calls Messiah "My shepherd," that is, provided (Re 13:8) for sinners by My love to them, and ever the object of My love, though judicially smitten (Isa 53:4) for their sins (Isa 42:1; 59:16). man that is my fellow--literally, "the man of my union." The Hebrew for "man" is "a mighty man," one peculiarly man in his noblest ideal.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Cross references
Zechariah 13:7
- Quoted inMark 14:27“Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’”
'I will smite the shepherd' ('it is written')
- Quoted inMatthew 26:31“Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’”
'I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered' ('it is written')
Zechariah 13:8-9
two-thirds will be cut off and perish: In all the land “two-thirds will be cut off”, and the LORD brings the third that is left “through the fire”. The covenant formula then runs both ways: “They are My people” and “The LORD is our God”. Pusey and Barnes set the formula beside the covenant of Exodus.
Zechariah 13:8
“Two parts therein shall be cut off - In the war with the Romans. But the third shall be left - Those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be preserved alive; and not one of these perished in the siege, or afterwards, by those wars.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 13:8
“Some understand by the cutting off, and dying, or two parts in all the earth, the abolishing of heathenism and Judaism, that Christianity, the third part, might be left to reign alone. The Jewish worship was quite taken away by the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. And, some time after, Pagan idolatry was in a manner extirpated, when the empire became Christian.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
I will refine them like silver: Refining removes what is false and keeps what is true. Adam Clarke reads the fire as affliction that refines God's people without consuming them. The verse ends with the covenant said in both directions.
Zechariah 13:9
“When Jerusalem and Judea were destroyed, all the Christians in that country, having among them the warning Christ gave them to flee to the mountains, shifted for their own safety, and were sheltered in a city called Pella, on the other side Jordan. We have here first the trials and then the triumphs of the Christian church, and of all the faithful members of it.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
How this psalm is built
The patterns in this chapter
How this chapter is built
1 more paragraph on the patterns
The chapter falls into two parts. Verses 1 to 6 carry the phrase on that day three times in the Berean Standard Bible, at verses 1, 2 and 4, and describe the cleansing of the land. Verses 7 to 9 are a short poem addressed to a sword, and they end in the covenant exchange of verse 9. The shepherd of verse 7 takes up the shepherd figure of chapter 11, and many readers read the two passages together.
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.