Zechariah 13:5
in Zechariah 13He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for I was purchased as a servant in my youth.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondman from my youth.
KJV
But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
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This verse in Zechariah 13
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Vers. 3 seqq.) And on that day, the prophets will be confused, each one from his own vision, when he prophesies, and they will not cover themselves with a sackcloth to deceive. Instead, they will say, 'I am not a prophet, I am a farmer, for Adam is my example from my youth.' And it will be said to him, 'What are these wounds in the middle of your hands?' And he will say, 'I have been wounded in the house of those who love me.'
This site's exposition
ashamed every one of his vision
on Zechariah 13:4-6
The false prophets of that day are ashamed of their own visions and no longer wear the rough hairy garment that once marked their office, choosing instead to deny the title outright, calling themselves husbandmen taught to keep cattle from their youth. Asked about wounds in his hands, the denying prophet answers that he was wounded in the house of his friends, a line most of the bench reads as the self-inflicted marks pagan prophets cut into their own flesh in ecstatic worship, now embarrassing evidence he must explain away. Henry and Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown also note the verse's language has long been read typologically of Christ wounded by those nearest him, a secondary application named beside the primary sense and not substituted for it.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureDisputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Again, in Zechariah thirteen it is said: I am a husbandman, for Adam has been my example from my youth; Gloss: "That I may eat my bread in the sweat of my face, while he showed himself born for this, that in the sweat of …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But he shall say, I am no prophet,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And he shall say - Repudiating his former claims, “I am a husbandman:” for a man hath taught me from my youth.” There was no room then for his having been a false prophet, since he had had from his youth one simple unlettered occupation, as Amos said truly of himself; “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son: but I was an herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit” Amo 7:
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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."
But he shall say, I am no prophet - This must be the case of a false prophet or diviner, who had been obliged to give up his infamous practice, and become even a laborer in the land. But having been known to be such, he is questioned by the people to see if he still were addicted in heart to the same practices. He declares he is no prophet, neither true nor false; that he is now a husbandman, and was brought up a herdsman.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
for a man entrusted me with his cattle Menahem (Machbereth p., second definition.) interpreted as an expression of “livestock of flocks and livestock of cattle” (Gen.:14). He entrusted me from my youth to watch his livestock.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
a hairy mantle So is the custom of those who entice or draw away [the people], to enwrap themselves with mantles as though they are righteous men in order that their lies be accepted.
And one will say to him, “What are these wounds between your hands?” Between your shoulders. There they flog the sinners.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָמַ֕ר | veamar | and he will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָבִ֖יא | navi' | [am] a prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| אָנֹ֑כִי | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| אִישׁ־ | ʾish- | [am] a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| עֹבֵ֤ד | ʾoved | [who] tills | H5647 → | |
| אֲדָמָה֙ | ʾadamah | ground | H127 → | 225 times |
| אָנֹ֔כִי | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אָדָ֖ם | ʾadam | someone | H120 → | 551 times |
| הִקְנַ֥נִי | hiknani | he sold me | H7069 → | |
| מִנְּעוּרָֽי׃ | mineurai | since youth<s> my | H5271 → |
וְאָמַ֕רand he will say
veamarH559 →5305 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נָבִ֖יא[am] a prophet
navi'H5030 →314 times
אָנֹ֑כִיI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
אִישׁ־[am] a man
ʾish-H376 →1663 times
עֹבֵ֤ד[who] tills
ʾovedH5647 →
אֲדָמָה֙ground
ʾadamahH127 →225 times
אָנֹ֔כִיI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אָדָ֖םsomeone
ʾadamH120 →551 times
הִקְנַ֥נִיhe sold me
hiknaniH7069 →
מִנְּעוּרָֽי׃since youth<s> my
mineuraiH5271 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Amos 7:14“I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.
it leads to
- Amos 1:1
These are the words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son…
- 2 Kings 2:5
Then the sons of the prophets at Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do…
- 1 Corinthians 1:27
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
- 2 Kings 4:38
When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting at his feet, he said to his attendant, “Put on the large pot and…
- 2 Chronicles 19:2
Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of…
- Amos 1:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zechariah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.