Zechariah 9

• Aram was a city-state located on Israel's northern border, along the trade route linking Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean coast. Aram was sometimes an ally and sometimes an enemy of Israel and Judah.

• Damascus, the capital of Aram, marked the northern boundary of the ideal Hebrew state (Ezekiel 47:16–18).

This message reassured the Judeans that they should not fear their three main neighbors:

• Syria (Aram),

• the Phoenicians (Tyre and Sidon), and

• the Philistines.

These neighbors were rivals of Judah and often tried to gain commercial and territorial advantages. God said their efforts would fail.

This is the burden of the word: This is the superscription (introductory heading) for the entire section. It includes the term message (or oracle, burden), which is a prophetic statement of judgment. Using this word gives the message divine authority. These prophecies may relate to events between Zechariah’s time and the coming of Christ.

The second part of Zechariah differs from the first in several ways. Zechariah 9–14 has an apocalyptic style (a style that uses symbolic language to describe God’s future actions). It combines unclear references to past events with visions that look ahead to the future.

These messages alternate between warnings of judgment on other nations and promises of rescue for Israel. This section does not name Zechariah directly. Instead, it presents God speaking in his own voice. Most scholars think these messages come from a later time in Zechariah’s ministry.

• Hamath was a fortress city on a southern trade route from Asia Minor. It marked the northern boundary of Israel (see Numbers 13:21; Joshua 13:5).

• The twin port cities of Tyre and Sidon were independent Phoenician kingdoms on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel (modern-day Lebanon). They often appear together in biblical texts (for example, Ezra 3:7; Joel 3:4; Luke 10:13–14). These cities were famous for their maritime trade wealth. However, Old Testament prophets criticized their pride and harsh policies and predicted their destruction (Isaiah 23; Ezekiel 26:3–14; Amos 1:9–10).

The term fortress (Hebrew matsor) is a play on words with the name of the city of Tyre (Hebrew tsor). This famous island fortress (Isaiah 23:4; Ezekiel 26:5) was captured and destroyed by Alexander the Great in 332 BC.

Ashkelon … Gaza … Ekron … Ashdod: These Philistine cities are on Israel's coastal plain. David defeated them (2 Samuel 5:17–25), but they later regained some independence. The prophets Amos and Zephaniah predicted similar judgments against these four cities (Amos 1:6–8; Zephaniah 2:4–7).

mixed race: This Hebrew word appears elsewhere only in Deuteronomy 23:2, where it refers to children born outside of marriage. Zechariah uses it to indicate that the Philistines will eventually lose their political and social identity.

• blood: The Philistines ate meat with blood, which was considered ceremonially unclean (see Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 3:17; Acts 15:20).

• Abominations refer to eating unclean foods (see Leviticus 11:2–23).

• they too will become a remnant for our God: This predicts Philip’s work in the Philistine coastal cities (see Acts 8:40).

• The Jebusites were a Canaanite group (see Genesis 10:16; 1 Chronicles 1:14) living near Jerusalem. The city of Jebus (Jerusalem) was attacked and burned during the time of the judges (see Judges 1:8). David later recaptured it and made it his capital (see 2 Samuel 5:6–10). The Jebusites joined the Israelites through intermarriage during David’s reign (see 2 Samuel 5:13).

• your king: This refers to a future king from David’s line, earlier described as the Branch (Zechariah 3:8; 6:12–13).

• The donkey was a humble animal. Riding on a donkey showed that the rider came in peace (see Matthew 21:5; John 12:15).

The second message of Zechariah’s first oracle (Zechariah 9–11) contrasts war and peace, themes that have shaped human history. Judah’s future deliverer-king will win in battle, yet remain righteous and humble (Zechariah 9:9). He will bring peace to all nations during his universal reign (Zechariah 9:10).

• Here, Israel contrasts with Judah, the southern kingdom. The pairing of Israel and Jerusalem represents a reunited Israel and the reclaiming of the covenant land.

• The kingdoms of Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, and Israel were created through military conquest. In contrast, the kingdom of the Messiah will dismantle war machinery and eliminate all weapons (see Isaiah 2:4; 9:5; Micah 5:10–11; Joel 3:10).

• The Euphrates River marked the northern border of the promised land (Genesis 15:18).

• the ends of the earth: The righteous king will bring universal peace.

• The covenant sealed with blood most likely refers to the sacrifice involving blood that confirmed the Mosaic covenant (the agreement God made with Israel at Mount Sinai, Exodus 24:8).

• The prisoners were Jews still living as exiles in Mesopotamia after the exile in Babylon. The Jews who stayed in Persia and Babylon were spiritual exiles because they lived outside the promised land of spiritual blessing and rest (see Deuteronomy 12:10). One of the Messiah’s key roles would be to free prisoners (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:17–22; Romans 7:6; Ephesians 4:8).

Return to your stronghold: This calls for the Jews still in Babylon to go back to Judah.

In Zechariah’s time, the Persian Empire and the Greeks were competing for power. Looking ahead, God promised to judge the Greeks, who may also represent all Gentile nations.

Zechariah may be pointing to the vision recorded in the book of Daniel, where Greece appears as a future ruling power (Daniel 8:21–22).

• Zechariah uses the image of a winged sun disk, which artists showed as hovering protectively over the Persian king. The Lord will protect Israel, lead them in battle, and demonstrate his power.

• The ram’s horn calls people together (Numbers 10:2–3, 7–10; Isaiah 27:13) and announces God’s presence and power (Exodus 19:19; 20:18).

• The whirlwind shows God as a warrior with great power and quickness (Psalm 77:18; Isaiah 21:1; 29:6; 66:15). References to lightning remind us of Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16) and God’s covenant promises to Israel.

• slingstones: In ancient battles, large stones were thrown at defenders on city walls and launched at people inside. The Maccabees' victory over the Hellenistic Seleucids in the 100s BC might have partly fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy of Israel defeating the Greeks (see 1 Maccabees 3:16–24; 4:6–16; 7:40–50).

• they will be filled … drenched: When the Lord sends his armies against the Greeks, there will be a lot of bloodshed.

• like sprinkling bowls: Ceremonial sprinkling bowls filled with animal blood were used in sacrifice rituals. This image suggests that defeating the Lord’s enemies is, in some way, an offering to him (see Exodus 24:6; Leviticus 1:5; 16:18).

• On that day: See study note on Zechariah 3:10.

• The Old Testament prophets described the Messiah as both a king and a faithful shepherd (see Ezekiel 34:12, 16, 23; 37:24; John 10:1; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4).

Grain … new wine: Large harvests of grain and wine showed that God was blessing his people in visible, everyday ways. Agricultural success was a clear sign of God’s favor (see Joel 2:19; Amos 9:13; compare Haggai 1:11).