Zechariah 9:2
in Zechariah 9and also against Hamath, which borders it, as well as Tyre and Sidon, though they are very shrewd.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and Hamath, also, which bordereth thereon; Tyre and Sidon, because they are very wise.
KJV
And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.
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This verse in Zechariah 9
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Vers. 2 seqq.) Emath quoque in terminis ejus, et Tyrus et Sidon: assumpserunt quippe sibi sapientiam valde. Et aedificavit Tyrus munitionem suam, et coacervavit argentum quasi humum, et aurum ut lutum platearum. Ecce Dominus possidebit eam, et percutiet in mari fortitudinem ejus, et haec igne devorabitur. LXX: Emath in finibus ejus Tyrus et Sidon: quoniam sapientes fuerunt nimis, et aedificavit Tyrus munitionem suam, et congregavit argentum ut humum, et aurum ut lutum viarum. Therefore the Lord will possess it, and strike its strength in the sea, and it will be consumed by fire.
This site's exposition
the land of Hadrach
on Zechariah 9:1-4
The burden moves down the map like a campaign: Hadrach and Damascus, Hamath, then Tyrus with her strong hold and silver heaped as the dust, and the sentence, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea. The commentators set Alexander's march behind the itinerary, the siege that took island Tyre by causeway after centuries of failed attempts, and present it as the striking correspondence it is while the oracle's own claim stays larger than any one army. The eyes of man toward the Lord at verse 1 governs the whole: the campaign is watched from above.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Tyrus flourishing, thinking herself very safe, and ready to set God's judgments, not only at a distance, but at defiance: for, (1.) She is very wise. It is spoken ironically; she thinks herself very wise, and able to outwit even the wisdom of God. It is granted that her king is a great politician, and that her statesmen are so, Ezek. xxviii.
Hamath - A principal town of Syria. Shall border - Shall be so near the storm, that they shall not quite escape. Very wise - Each of them are subtle, and think by craft to save themselves, but God derides their wisdom.
And Hamath also shall border thereby,....
The Jews have a proverb, Woe to the wicked man, and woe to his neighbour, who is in danger of partaking in his sins and in his plagues. Woe to the land of Hadrach, and woe to Hamath that borders thereby. Tyre and Zidon come next to be called to an account here, as in other prophecies,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And Hamath also shall border thereby - Hamath on the river Orontes; and Tyre and Sidon, notwithstanding their political wisdom, address, and cunning, shall have a part in the punishment. These prophecies are more suitable to the days of Jeremiah than to those of Zechariah; for there is no evidence - although Alexander did take Damascus, but without bloodshed - that it was destroyed from the times of Zechariah to the advent of our Lord. And as Tyre and Sidon were lately destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, it is not likely that they could soon undergo another devastation.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Hamath--a Syrian kingdom with a capital of the same name, north of Damascus. shall border thereby--shall be joined to Damascus in treatment, as it is in position; shall share in the burden of wrath of which Damascus is the resting-place. MAURER understands "which";
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And Hamath also shall border thereby - o. Near to it in place and character, it shall share its subdual. After the betrayal of Damascus, Parmenio was set over all Syria. “The Syrians, not as yet tamed by the losses of war, despised the new empire, but, swiftly subdued, they did obediently what they were commanded.” And Zidon - Zidon, although probably older than Tyre , is here spoken of parenthetically, as subordinate. Perhaps, owing to its situation, it was a wealthy , rather than a strong place. Its name is “Fishing-town;” in Joshua, it is called “the great” Jos 11:8; Jos 19:28, perhaps the metropolis; while Tyre is named from its strength Jos 19:29. It infected Israel with its idolatry Jdg 10:6, and is mentioned among the nations who oppressed them and from whom God delivered them on their prayers Jdg 10:12, probably under Jabin. In the time of the Judges, it, not Tyre, was looked to for protection Jdg 18:7, Jdg 18:28. In the times of Ezekiel it had become subordinate, furnishing “rowers” Eze 27:8 to Tyre; but Esarhaddon, about 80 years before, boasts that he had taken it, destroyed its inhabitants, and re-populated it with people from the East, building a new city which he called by his own name . Tyre too had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar . At the restoration from the captivity, Sidon had the first place, Ezr 3:7, which it retained in the time of Xerxes . […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
In the land of Hadrach R’ Judah the son of Ilai expounded: This is the Messiah, who is sharp against the nations and soft to Israel.
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. 2 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
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְגַם־ | vegam- | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| חֲמָ֖ת | chamat | Hamath | H2574 → | |
| תִּגְבָּל־ | tigbol- | [which] it borders | H1379 → | |
| בָּ֑הּ | bah | <in> it | ||
| צֹ֣ר | tzor | Tyre | H6865 → | |
| וְצִיד֔וֹן | vetzidon | and Sidon | H6721 → | |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חָֽכְמָ֖ה | chokhmah | it is wise | H2449 → | |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
וְגַם־and also
vegam-H1571 →769 times
חֲמָ֖תHamath
chamatH2574 →
תִּגְבָּל־[which] it borders
tigbol-H1379 →
בָּ֑הּ<in> it
bah
צֹ֣רTyre
tzorH6865 →
וְצִיד֔וֹןand Sidon
vetzidonH6721 →
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
חָֽכְמָ֖הit is wise
chokhmahH2449 →
מְאֹֽד׃exceedingly
meodH3966 →300 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
Ezekiel 28:12“Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 19:1
“As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel
- Ezekiel 19:1
Through
Obadiah 1:20And the exiles of this host of the Israelites will possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath; and the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the cities of…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 17:9–10
“Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
- Luke 4:26
Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon.
- Jeremiah 32:44
Fields will be purchased with silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah—the cities of the hill…
- Jeremiah 33:13
In the cities of the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev, in the land of Benjamin and the cities surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under…
- 1 Kings 17:9–10
Through
Jeremiah 49:23Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report; they are agitated like the sea; their anxiety cannot be calmed.
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:9
“Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?
- 2 Kings 18:34
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
- Isaiah 57:20
But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck.
- Isaiah 10:9
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 9 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; 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.