Zechariahchapter 9
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Speaks with:Ezekiel 28×2Zechariah 10×2Zechariah 12×2Isaiah 62×2Isaiah 9×1Jeremiah 49×1
Summary
Chapter summary
The word marches down through Hadrach, Damascus, Hamath, Tyre (who heaped up silver as the dust and will be devoured with fire) and the Philistine cities, until God encamps about his own house 'for now have I seen with mine eyes.' Then the coronation verse: 'Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion… behold, thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass' (9:9), quoted at the triumphal entry in Matthew 21 and John 12. He cuts off chariot and battle bow and speaks peace to the nations, his dominion from sea to sea. 'Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope.'
Context
Prophecy · Zechariah — Zechariah overview
- A. 1–8 The word against Hadrach, Tyre, and the Philistine cities
- B. 9–10 Your King comes, lowly, riding on a donkey
- C. 11–13 Prisoners of hope released by the blood of the covenant
- D. 14–17 The LORD seen over them, his people like jewels of a crown
The outline
A.The word against Hadrach, Tyre, and the Philistine citiesvv. 1 to 8
Read vv. 1 to 8 →B.Your King comes, lowly, riding on a donkeyvv. 9 to 10
Read vv. 9 to 10 →C.Prisoners of hope released by the blood of the covenantvv. 11 to 13
Read vv. 11 to 13 →D.The LORD seen over them, his people like jewels of a crownvv. 14 to 17
Read vv. 14 to 17 →
The world behind this chapter
Zechariah 9The history
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.
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.
What it meant to them
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.
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."
Sources cited
- Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (Whiston translation)
- John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Zechariah 9. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Connections from this chapter
v. 9 · A picture of Christ
Your King comes, humble and riding on a donkey
Matthew 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.’”
MannaFest topical index
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.