Zechariah 12:13
in Zechariah 12the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart;
KJV
The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
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This verse in Zechariah 12
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Nathan--representing the highest and lowest of the royal order. Nathan, not the prophet, but a younger son of David (2Sa 5:14; Lu 3:31). apart--Retirement and seclusion are needful for deep personal religion. wives apart--Jewish females worship separately from the males (Ex 15:1, 20).
This site's exposition
the mourning of Hadadrimmon
on Zechariah 12:11-14
The mourning to come is measured against the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon, which the commentators tie to the national grief over King Josiah's death there (2 Chronicles 35:22-25), a known depth of sorrow used to measure an even greater one. The land mourns family by family and apart, David's house, Nathan's house, Levi's house, and Shimei's house each named on its own, with every remaining family following the same pattern. Henry and Pusey read the private, household grief, husbands and wives mourning apart from each other, as marking a repentance too deep and too personal for a single public ceremony to hold.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The house of Levi - The sacerdotal tribe were the most bitter persecutors of Christ, they hired the traitor, they sought witness; the high priest, (head of that family) condemned him to die, for all which they shall one day reckon with God, and therefore above other tribes they are particularly named as chief mourners for their cruelty to Christ.
17 ), and probably some of the descendants of that family were now of note for preachers to the people or ministers to the altar. As the princes must mourn for the sins of the magistracy, so must the priests for the iniquity of the holy things. In times of general tribulation and humiliation the Lord's ministers are concerned to weep between the porch and the altar ( Joel ii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number
The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart,....
These promises were of use then to the pious Jews that lived in the troublous times under Antiochus, and other persecutors and oppressors; and they are still to be improved in every age for the directing of our prayers and the encouraging of our hopes with reference to the gospel-church.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2510: “Apart” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
True repentance is always accompanied by sorrow. It has been said by some of those of modern times who disparage repentance that repentance is "nothing but a change of mind." These words sound as if there was merely some superficial meaning to them and so, indeed, they are intended by those who use them, but they are not so intended by the Spirit of God! Repentance may be and is a change of mind, but what a change it is!
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2510: “Apart” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
True repentance is always accompanied by sorrow. It has been said by some of those of modern times who disparage repentance that repentance is "nothing but a change of mind." These words sound as if there was merely some superficial meaning to them and so, indeed, they are intended by those who use them, but they are not so intended by the Spirit of God! Repentance may be and is a change of mind, but what a change it is! It is not an unimportant change of mind such as you may have concerning whether you will take your holiday this week or the next, or about some trifling matter of domestic interest—it is a change of the whole heart, of the love, of the hate, of the judgment and the view of things taken by the individual whose mind is thus changed. It is a deep, radical, fundamental, lasting change. And you will find that whenever you meet with it in Scripture, it is always accompanied with sorrow for past sin. And rest you assured of this fact, that the repentance which has no tears in its eyes and no mourning for sin in its heart is a repentance which needs to be repented of, for there is no evidence of conversion, no sign of the existence of the Grace of God! In what way has that man changed his mind who is not sorry that he has sinned? In what sense can it be said that he has undergone any change worth experiencing if he can look back upon his past life with pleasure, or look upon the prospect of returning to his sin without an inward loathing and disgust? I say again that we have need to stand in doubt of that repentance which is not accompanied with mourning for sin! And even when Christ is clearly seen by faith and sin is pardoned—and the man knows that it is forgiven—he does not cease to mourn for sin. No, Brothers and Sisters, his mourning becomes deeper as his knowledge of his guilt becomes greater.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִשְׁפַּ֤חַת | mishpachat | [the] clan of | H4940 → | 303 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| לֵוִי֙ | levi | Levi | H3878 → | |
| לְבָ֔ד | levad | <to> alone | H905 → | 200 times |
| וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֖ם | unesheihem | and wives their | H802 → | 781 times |
| לְבָ֑ד | levad | <to> alone | H905 → | 200 times |
| מִשְׁפַּ֤חַת | mishpachat | [the] clan of | H4940 → | 303 times |
| הַשִּׁמְעִי֙ | hashimi | the Shimeite[s] | H8097 → | |
| לְבָ֔ד | levad | <to> alone | H905 → | 200 times |
| וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֖ם | unesheihem | and wives their | H802 → | 781 times |
| לְבָֽד׃ | levad | <to> alone | H905 → | 200 times |
מִשְׁפַּ֤חַת[the] clan of
mishpachatH4940 →303 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
לֵוִי֙Levi
leviH3878 →
לְבָ֔ד<to> alone
levadH905 →200 times
וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֖םand wives their
unesheihemH802 →781 times
לְבָ֑ד<to> alone
levadH905 →200 times
מִשְׁפַּ֤חַת[the] clan of
mishpachatH4940 →303 times
הַשִּׁמְעִי֙the Shimeite[s]
hashimiH8097 →
לְבָ֔ד<to> alone
levadH905 →200 times
וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֖םand wives their
unesheihemH802 →781 times
לְבָֽד׃<to> alone
levadH905 →200 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 16:5As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 3:16
Her husband followed her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back.” So he returned home.
- 1 Samuel 17:43
“Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
- Exodus 22:28
You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
- 1 Kings 2:8–9
Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he…
- 2 Samuel 3:16
Through
1 Chronicles 3:19The sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei. The children of Zerubbabel:
it leads to
- Ezra 2:2
accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. This is the count of the men of Israel:
- Ezra 3:2
Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests, along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates, began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it,…
- Haggai 2:2
“Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and also to the remnant of the people. Ask them,
- Ezra 2:2
Through
2 Chronicles 29:14Jehiel and Shimei from the Hemanites; and Shemaiah and Uzziel from the Jeduthunites.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 6:33
These are the men who served, together with their sons. From the Kohathites:
- 1 Chronicles 6:33
Where this verse is studied
About Zechariah
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2510: “Apart” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.