Chapter Twelve

1–9. The schemes of those hostile to Jerusalem are unsuccessful and serve their own destruction. 10–14. Universal repentant lamentation for the grievous transgression of the people.

Zechariah 12:1. An oracle—the word of the Lord concerning Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of humanity within him: In Zech 12:1 stands the same word massa that begins the first prophecy of the second part of the Book of Zechariah. Here a precise translation of the expression massa debhar yehovaah al Yisrael would not fully correspond, it seems, to the further exposition of the prophecy, if one takes the word massa in the sense of “burden.” “The burden of the word of the Lord upon Israel”—in a prophecy depicting chiefly the triumph of God’s people over the pagans, would be inappropriate. Since the word massa, used originally in predictions directed exclusively against the pagans, later began to be applied also to prophecies about Israel, it could lose its specific nuance (the meaning of a threatening prediction of calamities). Consequently, in this case, the said expression can be understood in the sense of a prophecy about Israel in general. One cannot, however, overlook the fact that in all three final chapters of the Book of Zechariah there is mention of the distressed condition of the members of the chosen people (Zech 12:2; Zech 13:7-9; Zech 14:1-2). Rougemont explains the correspondence of the prophecy’s title with its content thus: “neither the name of Israel nor its synonyms appear in that prophecy, which speaks only of Judah and the pagans. Thus this title constitutes a true riddle. Nevertheless, this riddle is not insoluble: the great promises contained in chapters XII, XIII, and XIV are given to Judah alone, and the silence maintained regarding Ephraim, who worshipped the golden calf and revolted against David’s house, is such a heavy burden as harsh threats would be. This exclusion of Ephraim should not, however, nullify the promises that Zechariah made to him earlier (Zech 10:6-12) and which also relate to the end of time (p. 233). In correspondence with Zech 9:1, where attention is drawn to God’s omniscience, in Zech 12:1 attention is called to God’s creative activity as the foundation of confidence that all that is spoken in God’s name shall certainly be accomplished.

Zechariah 12:2. Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding peoples, and also for Judah in the siege of Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:3. And on that day, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will surely hurt themselves, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. The subject of this chapter, as well, is the struggle of the pagans with God’s chosen people. The prophet depicts the futility of the designs of the pagan peoples against Judah and Jerusalem and the destructive consequences for themselves. Jerusalem, surrounded by hostile peoples, shall become for them a cup of reeling; in their struggle against it, they will, as it were, become intoxicated and weaken to such a degree that they will be unable to stand on their own feet. All Judea, under the leadership of Jerusalem, will contribute to this weakening of the pagans when they begin their hostile actions against Jerusalem, which in Zech 12:3 is compared to a heavy stone: those lifting it will only strain their strength and inflict wounds upon themselves. Thus it will be with all the peoples gathering to fight against Jerusalem.

Zechariah 12:4. On that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But on the house of Judah I will keep My eyes open; when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. Zechariah 12:5. And the leaders of Judah shall say in their hearts: The strength of the inhabitants of Jerusalem is in the Lord of hosts, their God. For Judah, which is under special divine protection, the military forces of the pagans will be safe, and the horses and riders will not only lose the properties necessary for warfare, but, coming into panic, will do harm to their own. For the leaders of Judah it will then be clear that the inhabitants of the besieged Jerusalem are strong through divine help.

Zechariah 12:6. On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot among wood and a flaming torch among sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples, right and left, and Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. The leaders of the Jews will be inaccessible to the hostile actions of the pagans: approach to them will be as dangerous as a firepot among wood or a burning lamp among sheaves; this fire of courage, kindled by God Himself, will consume all the surrounding peoples on all sides; Jerusalem meanwhile will remain at peace in its place.

Zechariah 12:7. The Lord will give salvation first to the tents of Judah, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over Judah. The victory over the pagans will be miraculous, and the tents of Judah will be saved before the fortified capital; “and never again will either the royal house or the nobly-born and distinguished of the tribe of Judah, or the inhabitants of Jerusalem, boast before the tribe of Judah that it was under their rule and submitted to their decrees; but they shall know that over them and over the tribe of Judah the victory belongs to the Lord” (Jerome, p. 150).

Zechariah 12:8. On that day the Lord will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem; even the one who stumbles among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, at their head. Zechariah 12:9. And on that day, I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Sustained by divine strength, even the weak among the Jews will be strong like David, the glorious hero and victor; and the house of David will manifest supernatural courage, displaying superhuman strength. Then all the nations rising up against Jerusalem will be condemned to destruction.

Zechariah 12:10. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication; and they will look on the One whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over the firstborn. But external security and brilliant victories over the pagans are not enough. The house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem must purify their grave transgression by repentance and remove from themselves the burden of sin. This is accomplished not without the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit; having received from above a spirit of grace and contrition, they turn their gaze toward Him whom in their blindness they delivered to death and mourn for Him with the most sincere and inconsolable weeping: as one weeps only for an only son, so they grieve only for the firstborn. Zech 12:10, according to the literal sense of the original expression (they will look upon Him whom they pierced), contains the thought of the delivery to death of Jehovah Himself, as it were. In explaining verse 10, Keil remarks that “of course one cannot understand this verse to mean the delivery to death of Jehovah Himself, Creator of heaven and earth. Here one should understand the death of the Angel of Jehovah, one in essence with Jehovah, who in the person of Jesus Christ became man. Since Zechariah depicts the coming of the Messiah several times as the manifestation of Jehovah to His people in the person of His Angel, he could accordingly denote the death of the Angel as the death of Jehovah Himself... The transition from first to third person indicates that the One who was slain in essence is one with Jehovah, while being, however, a distinct person separate from the transcendent God” (p. 638). St. Ephrem, interpreting the words: “They will look upon Him whom they pierced” in the historical sense, refers them to Judas Maccabeus (p. 225; Marti, p. 447); but at the same time he himself also refers them to the crucified Christ, whose rib was pierced (cf. Cyril, pp. 187–188; Theodoret, p. 167; Jerome, p. 154). Thus the evangelist John, the ancient interpreters, and the commentators following them in modern times see in Zech 12:10 a prophecy of the crucifixion of the Savior. Regarding the fact of the literal fulfillment of this prophecy even in its external details, Keil remarks that “it serves to make the internal connection between the prophecy and its historical fulfillment so clear that even unbelievers would not have sufficient grounds to deny it” (p. 638; cf. p. 662).

Zechariah 12:11. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The lamentation for Him whom they pierced can be compared only to the weeping over the godly king Josiah, slain at Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. “Josiah... fell, according to Rougemont’s observation, a victim of a terrible curse of God that weighed upon his people, not because of his own lack of wisdom (2 Sam 23 and following), and his death was the subject of national funerary songs, doubtless not yet forgotten in the time of Zechariah” (2 Chr 35:25, p. 237; see Oehler, pp. 98–99, 274; Reinke, p. 231; Yungerov, II, pp. 74–75, 77).

Zechariah 12:12. The land will mourn, each clan by itself: the clan of the house of David by itself, and their women by themselves; the clan of the house of Nathan by itself, and their women by themselves; Zechariah 12:13. the clan of the house of Levi by itself, and their women by themselves; the clan of Shimei by itself, and their women by themselves; Zechariah 12:14. All the remaining clans, each clan by itself, and their women by themselves. The mourning will be great and universal: all clans will weep, men will weep no less than women. Zech 12:13 according to the Symm. version is read thus in the Venetus codex: “and the land will mourn, each clan by itself... the clan of the house of Levi by itself, and their women by themselves, the clan of Shimei by itself, and their women by themselves”; also in the Slavonic, Syriac, and in the LXX, that is, as if in this verse stood the Hebrew name of a son of Jacob, in the patriarch’s blessing placed in parallel with Levi. However, the Massoretic text, the Aramaic Targum, the Vulgate, and Luther have here a name reminiscent of Schim’on but different from it—Schim’i, referring to another person, namely the grandson of Levi, son of Gershon (Exod 6:17. Symm. version—“Shimei”). Thus the prophet names the chief founders of the royal and priestly line and one branch of each line (Keil, p. 640; Reinke, pp. 237–239). Of the ancient interpreters, Cyril (p. 191) and Theodoret (p. 118) understand here, corresponding to the LXX reading, Simeon, son of Jacob; and by Nathan in Zech 12:12 the prophet of that name, a contemporary of David rather than his son. So also Jerome (though in his version the form of the name corresponds to the Hebrew text) interprets this passage with reference to the founder of one of the twelve tribes—apparently in accordance with the observation of the Jerusalem Targum on Gen 49 concerning Simeon as the founder of “men of understanding and those learned in the Law” (p. 155; Cyril, p. 191; Reinke, p. 237). St. Ephrem, in the brevity of his commentary, does not address the question of Simeon—Shimei’s identity.