Zechariah 14:4
in Zechariah 14On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
KJV
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
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This verse in Zechariah 14
Commentary
10 notes on this verseBut it might happen that he should sit upon a foal; give us rather a sign where the king who enters will stand. Give us a sign not far from the city, that it may not be unknown to us; give us a sign nearby and clearly visible, that being in the city we may behold the place. Again the prophet answers, saying, "That day his feet shall rest upon the Mount of Olives, which is opposite Jerusalem to the east." Is it possible for anyone standing within the city not to behold the place?
This site's exposition
in the day of battle
on Zechariah 14:3-5
Then the Lord himself goes forth to fight, as when he fought in the day of battle, and his feet stand that day upon the mount of Olives, which cleaves in two, a great valley opening where the people flee as their fathers fled the earthquake in the days of Uzziah (the same earthquake Amos dates his own book by, Amos 1:1). The chapter reads the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee, a wording the bench discusses against the ancient versions' with him, without resolving it past naming the variant. The site reads the day literally, a still-future day answered at Christ's bodily return, the reading that runs broadly across the premillennial and dispensational writers and that the early church itself received; the amillennial handling, which dissolves the mountain-splitting into a figure, has to set aside the passage's own geography to do it, and the note says so plainly.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 3, 4.) And the Lord shall go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Shall cleave - Sinai melted, at the presence of the God of the whole earth. Great valley - So rich shall be a plain access from the place of the feet of the Lord unto Jerusalem.
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives,....
Here are judgments threatened against the enemies of the church, that have fought, or do fight, against Jerusalem; and the threatening of these judgments is in order to the preservation of the church in safety. Men that read and hear of these plagues will be afraid of fighting against Jerusalem, much more when these threatenings are fulfilled in some will others hear and fear.
Who art thou, O great mountain? And a great mountain the ceremonial law was in the way of the Jews' conversion, which, one would think, could never have been got over; yet before Christ and his gospel it was made plain.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
And his feet shall stand - He shall appear in full possession of the place, as a mighty conqueror. And the mount of Olives shall cleave - God shall display his miraculous power as fully in the final restoration of the Jews, as he did when he divided the Red Sea that their forefathers might pass through dry-shod. Some refer this to the destruction of the city by the Romans. It was on the mount of Olives that Titus posted his army to batter Jerusalem. Here the tenth legion that came to him from Jericho was placed. Joseph.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He shall probably "come from the east" (Mt 24:27). He so made His triumphal entry into the city from the Mount of Olives from the east (Mt 21:1-10). This was the scene of His agony: so it shall be the scene of His glory.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives - “Over against Jerusalem to the east, wherein riseth the Sun of Righteousness.” The Mount of Olives is the central eminence of a line of hills, of rather more than a mile in length, overhanging the city, from which it is separated only by the narrow bed of the valley of the brook Cedron. It rises 187 feet above Mount Zion, 295 feet above Mount Moriah, 443 feet above Gethsemane, and lies between the city and the wilderness toward the dead sea: around its northern side, wound the road to Bethany and the Jordan . There, probably, David worshiped 2Sa 15:32; his son, in his decay, profaned it 1Ki 11:7; Josiah desecrated his desecrations 2Ki 23:13; there “upon the mountain, which is on the east side of the city, the glory of the Lord stood,” when it had “gone up from the midst of the city” Eze 11:23; it united the greatest glory of the Lord on earth, His Ascension, with its deepest sorrow, in Gethsemane. Since the Angel said, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” Act 1:11, the old traditional opinion is not improbable, that our Lord shall come again to judge the earth, where He left the earth, near the place of His Agony and Crucifixion for us. […]
The words behind it
27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעָמְד֣וּ | veamedu | and they will stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| רַגְלָ֣יו | raglav | feet his | H7272 → | |
| בַּיּוֹם־ | baiyom- | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַ֠הוּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַ֨ר | har | [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| הַזֵּתִ֜ים | hazetim | <the> Olives | H2132 → | 38 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [is] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַם֮ | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| מִקֶּדֶם֒ | mikedem | from [the] east | H6924 → | |
| וְנִבְקַע֩ | venivka' | and it will be split open | H1234 → | |
| הַ֨ר | har | [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| הַזֵּיתִ֤ים | hazeitim | <the> Olives | H2132 → | 38 times |
| מֵֽחֶצְיוֹ֙ | mechetzyo | from middle its | H2677 → | 125 times |
| מִזְרָ֣חָה | mizrachah | east -ward | H4217 → | |
| וָיָ֔מָּה | vayamah | and west -ward | H3220 → | 396 times |
| גֵּ֖יא | gei' | a valley | H1516 → | 59 times |
| גְּדוֹלָ֣ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| מְאֹ֑ד | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
| וּמָ֨שׁ | umash | and it will depart | H4185 → | |
| חֲצִ֥י | chatzi | <the> half of | H2677 → | 125 times |
| הָהָ֛ר | hahar | the mountain | H2022 → | 546 times |
| צָפ֖וֹנָה | tzafonah | north -ward | H6828 → | 153 times |
| וְחֶצְיוֹ־ | vechetzyov- | and half of it | H2677 → | 125 times |
| נֶֽגְבָּה׃ | negbah | south -ward | H5045 → | 112 times |
וְעָמְד֣וּand they will stand
veameduH5975 →521 times
רַגְלָ֣יוfeet his
raglavH7272 →
בַּיּוֹם־on the day
baiyom-H3117 →2304 times
הַ֠הוּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַ֨ר[the] mountain of
harH2022 →546 times
הַזֵּתִ֜ים<the> Olives
hazetimH2132 →38 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[is] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַם֮Jerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
מִקֶּדֶם֒from [the] east
mikedemH6924 →
וְנִבְקַע֩and it will be split open
venivka'H1234 →
הַ֨ר[the] mountain of
harH2022 →546 times
הַזֵּיתִ֤ים<the> Olives
hazeitimH2132 →38 times
מֵֽחֶצְיוֹ֙from middle its
mechetzyoH2677 →125 times
מִזְרָ֣חָהeast -ward
mizrachahH4217 →
וָיָ֔מָּהand west -ward
vayamahH3220 →396 times
גֵּ֖יאa valley
gei'H1516 →59 times
גְּדוֹלָ֣הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
מְאֹ֑דvery
meodH3966 →300 times
וּמָ֨שׁand it will depart
umashH4185 →
חֲצִ֥י<the> half of
chatziH2677 →125 times
הָהָ֛רthe mountain
haharH2022 →546 times
צָפ֖וֹנָהnorth -ward
tzafonahH6828 →153 times
וְחֶצְיוֹ־and half of it
vechetzyov-H2677 →125 times
נֶֽגְבָּה׃south -ward
negbahH5045 →112 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
Zechariah 14:10All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the…
it leads to
- Joshua 15:32
Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages.
- Zechariah 12:6
On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right…
- 1 Kings 15:22
Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa…
- Jeremiah 30:18
This 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…
- Jeremiah 37:13
But when he reached the Gate of Benjamin, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, seized him and said, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!”
- Joshua 15:32
Through
Ezekiel 11:23And the glory of the LORD rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 8:4
And there I saw the glory of the God of Israel, like the vision I had seen in the plain.
- Ezekiel 43:2
and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.
- Ezekiel 10:4
Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and stood over the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness…
- Ezekiel 8:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zechariah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
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; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 12:11; 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, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.