Zechariah 12:7
in Zechariah 12The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem be not magnified above Judah.
KJV
The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
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This verse in Zechariah 12
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first - Still it is, ‘the Lord shall save.’ We have, on the one side, the ‘siege,’ the gathering of all the peoples of the earth ‘against Jerusalem, the horse and his rider.’ On the other, no human strength; not, as before, in the prophecy of the Maccabees, the bow, the arrow, and the sword, though in the hand of God Zec 9:13. It is thrice, ‘I will make’ Zec 9:2-3,; ‘I will smite’ (Zec 9:4 bis); and now, ‘The Lord shall save.’ By ‘the tents,’ he probably indicates their defenselessness.
This site's exposition
shall save the tents of Judah first
on Zechariah 12:7-8
The Lord saves the tents of Judah, the ordinary countryside, before the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the capital's greater glory cannot boast itself over the rest of the land. In that day the feeblest among the defenders is made as David, and the house of David itself is made as God, as the angel of the Lord before them, language the older commentators take at full strength as royal empowerment rather than a claim of deity for the dynasty. Wesley and Keil read the order, country before capital, as the Lord's own check on Jerusalem's pride, the strongest promises paired here with a warning against presuming on them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 6, 7.) On that day, I will make the leaders of Judah like a fiery furnace among wood, and like a burning torch among hay. They will consume all the surrounding peoples to the right and to the left, and Jerusalem will be inhabited again in its own place, in Jerusalem. And the Lord will save the dwellings of Judah, just as in the beginning, so that the glory of the house of David and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over Judah.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The tents - The unfenced places, the open country, the cottages, or tents. First - First the weaker are saved, next the stronger. The glory - That the illustrious house of David, and the glorious citizens of Jerusalem may not boast of their power, policy and courage.
22-25 ), which is the reason here given why the glory of the house of David, which has great power, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who have great wealth, and both which live in great pomp and pleasure, may not magnify themselves against Judah and the tents of Judah, the dwellers in which work hard, and fare hard, and perhaps are not so well bred.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first,....
That as a preparative for all this mercy, and a pledge of it, he will pour upon them a spirit of prayer and repentance, the effect of which shall be universal and very particular,
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The promises themselves that are here made them, by which the church shall be secured, and in which all its friends may enjoy a holy security. It is promised that, whatever attacks the enemies of the church may make upon her purity or peace, they will certainly issue in their own confusion.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Judah is to be "first saved," because of her meek acknowledgment of dependence on Jerusalem, subordinate to Jehovah's aid. tents--shifting and insecure, as contrasted with the solid fortifications of Judah. But God chooses the weak to confound the mighty, that all human glorying may be set aside.
The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first - This, I suppose, refers to the same thing. The Gospel of Christ shall go from the least to the greatest. Eminent men are not the first that are called; the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And this is done in the wise providence of God, that the “glory of the house of David,” etc., that secular influence may appear to have no hand in the matter; and that God does not send his Gospel to a great man, because he is such.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהוֹשִׁ֧יעַ | vehoshia' | and he will save | H3467 → | 206 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אָהֳלֵ֥י | ʾoholei | [the] tents of | H168 → | |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| בָּרִֽאשֹׁנָ֑ה | barishonah | at the first | H7223 → | 182 times |
| לְמַ֨עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִגְדַּ֜ל | tigdal | it will be great | H1431 → | |
| תִּפְאֶ֣רֶת | tiferet | [the] splendor of | H8597 → | |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| דָּוִ֗יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וְתִפְאֶ֛רֶת | vetiferet | and [the] splendor of | H8597 → | |
| יֹשֵׁ֥ב | yoshev | [the] inhabitant[s] of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | above | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְהוּדָֽה׃ | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
וְהוֹשִׁ֧יעַand he will save
vehoshia'H3467 →206 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אָהֳלֵ֥י[the] tents of
ʾoholeiH168 →
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
בָּרִֽאשֹׁנָ֑הat the first
barishonahH7223 →182 times
לְמַ֨עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִגְדַּ֜לit will be great
tigdalH1431 →
תִּפְאֶ֣רֶת[the] splendor of
tiferetH8597 →
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
דָּוִ֗ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וְתִפְאֶ֛רֶתand [the] splendor of
vetiferetH8597 →
יֹשֵׁ֥ב[the] inhabitant[s] of
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
עַל־above
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יְהוּדָֽה׃Judah
yehudahH3063 →819 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
Jeremiah 30:18This is what the LORD says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be rebuilt on her own ruins, and the palace will…
it leads to
- Haggai 2:7–9
I will shake all the nations, and they will come with all their treasures, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Psalms 102:13
You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor— the appointed time has come.
- Jeremiah 30:3
For behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore from captivity My people Israel and Judah, declares the LORD. I will restore them to the land that I gave to…
- Jeremiah 33:7
I will restore Judah and Israel from captivity and will rebuild them as in former times.
- Jeremiah 49:39
“Yet in the last days, I will restore Elam from captivity,” declares the LORD.
- Haggai 2:7–9
Through
Amos 9:11“In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,
it leads to
- Acts 15:15–17
The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:
- Acts 15:15–17
Through
Psalms 55:12For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide.
it leads to
- Psalms 41:9
Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
- Psalms 41:9
Through
Romans 3:27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith.
it leads to
- Romans 4:2
If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.
- Romans 4:2
Where this verse is studied
About Zechariah
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on 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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; 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.