Zechariahchapter 9
17 verses · Zechariah · 520 to 518 BC · The Twelve
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Introduction
Zechariah, The Twelve, Zechariah Overview.
This chapter opens the second part of Zechariah's book, oracles that carry no date and look past the years of building. Its heading calls it a burden, a weighty word laid on the prophet. His hearers were a small province surrounded by richer and stronger neighbours along the coast and to the north. The chapter moves from judgment on those neighbours to the coming of a king to Jerusalem. Listen for the order in which the cities are named, and for the animal the king rides. Two of the Gospels quote that part of the chapter when Jesus enters Jerusalem.
Context
- Who
- A province surrounded by richer, stronger, better-defended neighbors
- What
- An oracle of judgment on Syria, Phoenicia and Philistia, followed by the coming of Zion's king, righteous and humble, riding on a donkey, and the rescue and victory of God's people.
- Where
- The lands north and west of Judah, from Hadrach and Damascus down the coast to Gaza, and then Jerusalem.
- When
- Undated; chapters 9 to 14 carry no date line and are read as later than the building years of chapters 1 to 8.
- Why
- To show that God rules the nations around Judah and to announce a humble king who will speak peace to the nations.
Historical context
The oracle sweeps down the map: Hadrach and Damascus in Syria, then Hamath, then the Phoenician ports of Tyre and Sidon, then the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod. That is the invasion route, and it names the towns in the order an army coming from the north would reach them.
Show the rest of the historical context, 4 more paragraphs
Tyre gets special attention because Tyre was famous. Its main city sat on an island offshore, protected by water, and it had survived long sieges, a thirteen-year effort by Nebuchadnezzar among them. "Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust" is a fair description of a merchant power that thought it could buy or outlast anything. The text says her wealth will go into the sea.
Many readers have connected this sequence to Alexander of Macedon's march down the coast in 332 BC, when Tyre's island was taken by building a causeway out to it and Gaza fell after a hard siege, while Jerusalem was not sacked. That is a reading, offered by interpreters ancient and modern; the text itself names no conqueror.
Then the tone changes completely. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion… behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."
A donkey was not a humiliation, kings and judges in Israel rode them, but it was pointedly not a warhorse, and the next lines say the chariot and the battle bow will be cut off and He will speak peace to the nations. The Gospels record Jesus entering Jerusalem exactly this way.
Significance
For a small unwalled province, the first half said the great powers on the coast road were on God's docket, and that He would camp around His own house.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The second half told them what kind of king to expect. Not another conqueror riding through with cavalry, but one who comes lowly and whose dominion reaches from sea to sea, and who releases prisoners out of the pit "by the blood of thy covenant."
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 9 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 first note records a dispute between two teachers over one word. Rabbi Judah son of Ilai read Hadrach as the Messiah, "who is sharp against the nations and soft to Israel". Rabbi Yose, whose mother was from Damascus, answered that he knew a place there by that name (Rashi on Zechariah 9:1:1). Rashi sets the two readings side by side.
The king of the ninth verse Rashi reads one way only. "It is impossible to interpret this except as referring to the King Messiah". His reason is the rule from sea to sea, since Israel had no such ruler in the days of the Second Temple (Rashi on Zechariah 9:9:1). A reader of chapter 6 will see the contrast, where he gave the Shoot to Zerubbabel.
The rest of the chapter he reads in history. The prisoners of hope are those "who hoped for Me until now that My words [would] be fulfilled at the end of seventy years" (Rashi on Zechariah 9:12:1). Judah bent as a bow is the war "against the Greeks in the days of the Hasmoneans" (Rashi on Zechariah 9:13:1). For the sign over them he cites the book of Josippon (Rashi on Zechariah 9:14:1). The thing left to our God in the seventh verse he reads as the synagogues and study halls of the exile (Rashi on Zechariah 9:7:2).
The corpus carries 1 further note on this chapter without an English text, each marked linked because Sefaria holds no English version of the ref. It stands cited and unquoted here. Ibn Ezra on Zechariah is cited at 9:6:1.
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 9:1 it holds Eikhah Rabbah 1:51, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Bachodesh 4:14 and Midrash Tannaim on Deuteronomy 1:1:22. It also holds Otzar Midrashim, Midrash Yelamdeinu, Last Composition from Midrash Yelamdenu 9 there. At 9:6 it holds Avot DeRabbi Natan 12:8, Avot DeRabbi Natan, Recension B 27:4 and Ein Yaakov, Kiddushin 4:13. It also holds Jerusalem Talmud Kiddushin 3:13:4 there. At 9:7 it holds Megillah 6a:13 and Megillah 6a:14.
At 9:9 it holds Aggadat Bereshit 59:2, Aggadat Bereshit 83:1 and Berakhot 56b:18. It also holds Bereshit Rabbah 56:2 there. At 9:10 it holds Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Bereshit 17, Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 19:1 and Midrash Tehillim 120:2. At 9:11 it holds Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Lech Lecha 35, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Pischa 5:1 and Midrash Yelamdenu, Selections from Yalkut Talmud Torah 76:1. It also holds Otzar Midrashim, Midrashim of Rabbi Akiba, Aleph Bet of Rabbi Akiba (Version 2) 52 there.
At 9:12 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 2:15, Ein Yaakov, Sanhedrin 2:16 and Jerusalem Talmud Megillah 1:9:4. It also holds Midrash Sekhel Tov, Bereshit 43:12:1 there. At 9:13 it holds Bereshit Rabbah 65:13, Bereshit Rabbah 93:5 and Eikhah Rabbah 1:54. At 9:14 it holds Bereshit Rabbah 56:9 and Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 2:4:2. At 9:14 to 15 it holds Ein Yaakov, Rosh Hashanah 4:6.
At 9:15 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Pesakhim 8:2, Ein Yaakov, Pesakhim 8:2 and Otzar Midrashim, Pesikta, Pesikta Chadata 35. At 9:16 it holds Ein Yaakov, Megillah 1:26, Megillah 12a:14 and Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 20:17. At 9:17 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 8:1, Bava Batra 12b:8 and Bereshit Rabbah 66:3.
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 9:1:1 to 9:14:1, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, reported CC-BY; Ibn Ezra, Ibn Ezra on Zechariah 9:6:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no text it may quote; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/zechariah/9.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", 9) and festivalReadingForBook("zechariah").
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The word against Hadrach, Tyre, and the Philistine cities
Zechariah 9:1-4
the land of Hadrach: The burden moves down the map from “the land of Hadrach and Damascus” to Tyre and Sidon. Tyre “heaped up silver like dust”, yet “she will be consumed by fire”. Keil and Pusey set Alexander's march behind this route, with the siege that took island Tyre by a causeway.
Zechariah 9:1
“The burden - o of the word of the Lord in (or, upon) the land of Hadrach The foreground of this prophecy is the course of the Victories of Alexander, which circled round the holy land without hurting it, and ended in the overthrow of the Persian empire. The surrender of Damascus followed first, immediately on his great victory at the Issus; then Sidon yielded itself and received its ruler from the conqueror, Tyre he utterly destroyed; Gaza, we know, perished; he passed harmless by Jerusalem. Samaria, on his return from Egypt, he chastised.”
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Zechariah 9:1
“Hadrach - This is the name of a city in Celosyria, and here signifies the country also. It was not far from Damascus. The rest thereof - This burden shall lie long as well as heavy on Damascus.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Zechariah 9:1
“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.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
also against Hamath, which borders it: Hamath lay north of Damascus, a Syrian kingdom on its borders. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read which borders it as a shared burden, Hamath joined to Damascus in judgment. Henry takes the shrewd reputation of Tyre and Sidon as irony, the self-confidence Ezekiel 28 charged against the king of Tyre.
Zechariah 9:2
“And Hamath also shall border thereby - Hamath on the river Orontes; and Tyre and Sidon, notwithstanding their political wisdom, address, and cunning, shall have a part in the punishment. These prophecies are more suitable to the days of Jeremiah than to those of Zechariah; for there is no evidence - although Alexander did take Damascus, but without bloodshed - that it was destroyed from the times of Zechariah to the advent of our Lord. And as Tyre and Sidon were lately destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, it is not likely that they could soon undergo another devastation.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 9:2
“Tyrus flourishing, thinking herself very safe, and ready to set God's judgments, not only at a distance, but at defiance: for, (1.) She is very wise. It is spoken ironically; she thinks herself very wise, and able to outwit even the wisdom of God. It is granted that her king is a great politician, and that her statesmen are so, Ezek. xxviii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Tyre has built herself a fortress: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown distinguish old Tyre on the mainland, taken by Nebuchadnezzar, from the island Tyre of this verse, rich in silver and gold. Her double wall stood one hundred fifty feet high. Barnes notes that she built the fortress for herself and trusted it.
Zechariah 9:3
“And Tyre did build herself a stronghold - She built it for herself, not for God, and trusted to it, not to God, and so its strength brought her the greater fall.”
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 9:3
“As Isaiah's and Ezekiel's (Eze 27:1-36) prophecies were directed against Old Tyre on the mainland and were fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar, so Zechariah's are against New Tyre, which was made seemingly impregnable by a double wall one hundred fifty feet high, as well as the sea on all sides.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the Lord will impoverish her: Henry notes the irony of the means: a city seated in the sea is consumed by fire, the element opposite the one that guarded her. Gill records that the verb behind impoverish can be read as inherit her, and he took it as Tyre becoming the Lord's own possession.
Zechariah 9:4
“Will smite her power in the sea - See Eze 26:17. Though Alexander did take Tyre, Sidon, Gaza, etc.; yet it seems that the prediction relative to their destruction was fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar. See Amo 1:6-8; Zep 2:4, Zep 2:7.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 9:4
“Tyrus, being seated in the midst of the water, was, one would have thought, in danger of being some time or other overflowed or washed away by that; yet God chooses to destroy it by the contrary element. Sometimes he brings ruin upon his enemies by those means which they least suspect.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Zechariah 9:5-8
Ashkelon will see and fear: Philistia watches Tyre fall: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and Ashdod are struck in turn, and the LORD will “cut off the pride of the Philistines”. Cleansed of blood and abominations, “they too will become a remnant for our God”, and Ekron “like the Jebusites”, absorbed as Jebusite Jerusalem once was.
Zechariah 9:5
“Ashkelon shall see and fear - The words express that to see and fear shall be as one. The mightiest and wealthiest, Tyre, having fallen, the neighbor cities of Philistia who had hoped that her might should be their stay, shall stand in fear and shame. Tyre, being a merchant-city, the mother-city of the cities of the African coast and in Spain, its desolation caused the more terror Isa 23:5-11. And the - (a) king shall perish from Gaza - that is it shall have no more kings.”
2 more voices on this verse
Zechariah 9:5
“Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron, concluding that their own turns come next, now that the cup of trembling goes round. What will become of their house when their neighbour's is on fire?”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Zechariah 9:5
“In literal fulfilment of this prophecy, after a two month's siege, Gaza was taken by Alexander, ten thousand of its inhabitants slain, and the rest sold as slaves. Betis the satrap, or petty "king," was bound to a chariot by thongs thrust through the soles of his feet, and dragged round the city.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
A mixed race will occupy Ashdod: Clarke notes the word rendered a mixed race means a stranger, and Jerome has foreigners occupy Ashdod. Clarke also saw Alexander in it. Henry points to the later Jewish seizure of Philistine cities, recorded by Josephus and in Maccabees, as the pride of the Philistines cut off.
Zechariah 9:6
“A bastard shall dwell in Ashdod - This character would suit Alexander very well, who most certainly was a bastard; for his mother Olympia said that Jupiter Ammon entered her apartment in the shape of a dragon, and begat Alexander! Could her husband Philip believe this? The word signifies a stranger.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
I will remove the blood from their mouths: Barnes reads the abominations as idol sacrifices, and the blood as the blood mixed with the wine of those sacrifices. Wesley took the blood as the prey of a warlike people. The same mouths that ate at the idol's table then belong to the remnant of God.
Zechariah 9:7
“Take away his blood - Though proud and warlike nations have delighted to shed blood, and, as it were, to eat the blood of their enemies, yet God will overthrow their power, and take the prey out of their mouth. Abominations - Their abominable sacrifices which they offered and feasted on.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 9:7
“And I will take away his blood out of his mouth,.... The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read "their blood"; not the blood of the bastard, but of the Philistines.”
I will camp around My house: Clarke ties the promise to Josephus, Antiquities 11.8. There Alexander marched on Jerusalem and spared the city and the house of God. Wesley names those who march to and fro as the Persian and Greek armies in Judah.
Zechariah 9:8
“I will encamp - To defend it from all its enemies. Mine house - This temple, but as it is an emblem of the church. The army - Of the Persian and the Grecian army, whose march lay through Judea.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 9:8
“I will encamp about mine house - This may apply to the conquests in Palestine by Alexander, who, coming with great wrath against Jerusalem, was met by Jaddua the high priest and his fellows in their sacred robes, who made intercession for the city and the temple; and, in consequence, Alexander spared both, which he had previously purposed to destroy. He showed the Jews also much favor, and remitted the tax every seventh year, because the law on that year forbade them to cultivate their ground. See this extraordinary account in Josephus Antiq. lib. xi., c. 8, s.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Your King comes, lowly, riding on a donkey
your King comes to you: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion”, for “your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey”. Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15 quote the verse of Palm Sunday. The older commentators note that the Hebrew behind victorious can mean saved as well as saving.
Zechariah 9:9
“From the protection, which God promised to His people and to His House, the prophet passes on to Him who was ever in his thoughts, and for whose sake that people and temple were preserved. He had described the great conqueror of this world, sweeping along in his course of victory. In contrast with such as he, he now exhibits to his people the character and procession of their king. “Rejoice greatly.” Not with this world’s joy. God never exhorts man to “rejoice greatly” in this world’s fleeting joys.”
3 more voices on this verse
Zechariah 9:9
“He is just - The righteous one, who cometh to fulfil all righteousness. Having salvation - To bestow on all that believe in him.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Zechariah 9:9
“The Hebrew is reflexive in sense, "showing Himself a Saviour; . . . having salvation in Himself" for us. Endowed with a salvation which He bestows as a king. Compare Margin, "saving Himself." Compare Matthew 1:21, in the Greek, "Himself shall save His people"; that is, not by any other, but by Himself shall He save.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Zechariah 9:9
“He is a righteous ruler; all his acts of government will be exactly according to the rules of equity, for he is just. He is a powerful protector to all those that bear faith and true allegiance to him, for he has salvation; he has it in his power; he has it to bestow upon all his subjects. He is the God of salvation; treasures of salvation are in him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Zechariah 9:9
- Quoted inJohn 12:15“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion. See, your King is coming, seated on the colt of a donkey.”
'Fear not... behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt'
- Quoted inMatthew 21:4“This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:”
touto de gegonen hina plerothe to rhethen, triumphal-entry fulfillment frame
- Quoted inMatthew 21:5“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
'thy King cometh unto thee... upon an ass', triumphal-entry fulfillment formula (w/ Isa 62:11)
ConnectionsMatthew 21:5
Zechariah 9:10-12
I will cut off the chariot: The King's rule begins by cutting off “the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem”, and then “He will proclaim peace to the nations”. The prisoners released “because of the blood of My covenant”, words near the Lord's words over the cup, are called “prisoners of hope”.
Zechariah 9:10
“I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem - No wars shall be employed to spread the kingdom of the Messiah; for it shall be founded and established, “not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts,” Zec 4:6.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 9:10
“I will cut off - When the Messiah comes and sets up his kingdom, he will need no external force. Neither chariot, bow nor sword, brought salvation to him, neither shall they be mentioned in the day of his conquest.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Prisoners of hope released by the blood of the covenant
because of the blood of My covenant: Barnes hears the prophet turning from the world to Israel after the flesh, promising protection in her lowest estate. Wesley called the covenant God's as made by him, Zion's as made for her, and Christ's as made in him. Henry read the release as a shadow of the King's salvation.
Zechariah 9:11
“As for thee - Oh Jerusalem; these words are Christ's words to her. By the blood - By my blood, in which thy covenant as confirmed; 'tis God's covenant as made by him, 'tis Zion's covenant as made for her, 'tis Christ's also as made in him.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Zechariah 9:11
“As for thee also - The prophet turns from the deliverance of the whole world to the former people, the sorrows which they should have in the way, and the protection which God would bestow upon them for the sake of Him, who, according to the flesh, was to be born of them.”
Zechariah 9:11
“It was by the blood of that covenant, typifying the blood of Christ, in whom all God's covenants with man are yea and amen, that they were released out of captivity; and this was but a shadow of the great salvation wrought out by thy King, O daughter of Zion!”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope: Wesley calls the prisoners of hope captives who still have hope, and their stronghold Christ. Clarke read the double the Lord will restore as an abundance of peace and salvation. The Septuagint, as Jerome gives it, reads prisoners of the assembly.
Zechariah 9:12
“Turn you to the strong hold - Ye who feel your sins, and are shut up under a sense of your guilt, look up to him who was delivered for your offenses, and rose again for your justification. Ye have hope, let that hope lead you to faith, and that faith to the blood of the covenant; and, through that blood, to God, the Father of all. I will render double unto thee - Give thee an abundance of peace and salvation.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 9:12
“Turn ye - The prophet exhorts the Jews to hasten to Christ, who is the salvation and high tower of the church. Prisoners of hope - Captives, yet not without hope.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Zechariah 9:13-17
rouse your sons, O Zion: The LORD will “bend Judah as My bow and fit it with Ephraim” and “rouse your sons, O Zion, against the sons of Greece”. He appears over them with His arrow “like lightning” and saves them “as the flock of His people”, who are “like jewels in a crown”.
Zechariah 9:13
“When - or For I have bent Judah for me As a mighty bow which is only drawn at full human strength, the foot being placed to steady it. It becomes a strong instrument, but only at God’s Will. God Himself bends it. It cannot bend itself. “And filled the bow with Ephraim.” The bow is filled, when the arrow is laid upon it.”
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 9:13
“O Greece - Against the Grecians or Ionians, who had oppressed the Jews, and bought them for slaves, against whom the Jews took arms, under the conduct of the Maccabees, to whom Christ made good much of this promise.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
The LORD seen over them, his people like jewels of a crown
Then the LORD will appear over them: Clarke pictures the Lord over his people as the cloud once stood over the camp in the wilderness, shading and refreshing it. The Septuagint, as Jerome gives it, has the Lord going in the commotion of his terror in place of the whirlwinds of the south.
Zechariah 9:14
“The Lord shall be seen over them - Shadowing and refreshing them, as the cloud did the camp in the wilderness. His arrow shall go forth as the lightning - They shall be conquered in a way that will show that God fights for his followers. The description here is very sublime; we have a good imitation of it in Nonnus: - Και τοτε γαιαν ἁπασαν επεκλυσεν ὑετιος Ζευς, Πυκνωσας νεφεεσσιν ὁλον πολον· ουρανιη γαρ Βρονταιοις παταγοισι Διος μυκησατο σαλπιγξ. Nonn. Dionys., lib.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The LORD of Hosts will shield them: Barnes notes that the verb shield was used before Zechariah only by Isaiah, always of God shielding his people. Henry recalls that Goliath fell to a slingstone. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain the sprinkling bowls as the bowls that caught the blood for the corners of the altar.
Zechariah 9:15
“And, in the fulness of their joy, they shall offer abundance of sacrifices to the honour of God, so that they shall fill both the bowls and the corners of the altar with the fat and blood of their sacrifices. And, when they thus triumph in their successes, their joy shall terminate in God as their God, the God of their salvation.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
Zechariah 9:15
“The Lord of hosts, shall defend them - As God says, “I will defend this city to save it, for Mine own sake and for My servant David’s sake” . The word is used by Isaiah only before Zechariah, and of the protection of Almighty God. The image of the complete protection on all sides stands first in God’s words to Abraham, “I am thy shield” Gen 15:1; David thence says to God, “Thou, O Lord, art a shield around me” (Psa 3:4, (Psa 3:3 in English)).”
Zechariah 9:15
“The Lord of hosts shall defend them,.... Against all their enemies; against Satan, and his temptations, and all the opposition made by him; against the world, and all the rage and reproach of men; this was remarkably verified in the apostles, who were preserved by the Lord amidst a thousand snares and dangers; and who was able to do it, being Jehovah, and the Lord of armies in heaven and in earth; he was as a shield unto them, as the word (t) used signifies; and to which he is often compared in Scripture.”
On that day the LORD their God will save them: Clarke sets the images side by side, the people as the Lord's flock and the Lord as the shepherd who saves his own. The Hebrew behind jewels in a crown, abney nezer, pictures crowned stones that raise themselves up. Clarke compared them to stones set up as monuments of deliverance.
Zechariah 9:16
“Shall save them in that day - They are his flock, and he is their Shepherd; and, as his own, he shall save and defend them. As the stones of a crown - אבני נזר מתנוססות abney nezer mithnosesoth, “crowned stones erecting themselves;” i.e., being set up by themselves, as monuments of some deliverance, they seem to be lifting themselves up; offering themselves to the attention of every passenger. It may however refer to stones anointed with oil; a sort of temporary altars set up to the Lord for a victory gained.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
How lovely they will be, and how beautiful!: The Berean applies these words to the people. Barnes and Wesley read the goodness and beauty as God's own, and Jerome read them as the good of the land's grain and wine. Henry drew the lesson that grain and new wine should lead the receiver back to the giver.
Zechariah 9:17
“Note, What good gifts God bestows upon us we must serve him cheerfully with, and must race the streams up to the fountain, and, when we are refreshed with corn and wine, must say, How great is his goodness!”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
Zechariah 9:17
“For how great is His goodness - For it is unutterable! As the Psalmist said, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy Name in all the earth!” Psa 8:1, and Jacob, “How awful is this place!” Gen 28:17, and the Psalmist, “How awful are Thy doings!” The goodness and the beauty are the goodness and beauty of God, whose great doings had been his theme throughout before. Of the goodness the sacred writers often speak , since of this we have extremest need.”
Zechariah 9:17
“His goodness - Infinite goodness is the fountain of all the good done for this people. His beauty - How wonderful the beauty of Divine Providence in Israel's deliverance and salvation?”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Keep studying
Studies14
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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, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.