Zechariah 9:1

9:1-8 Here are judgements foretold on several nations. While the Macedonians and Alexander's successors were in warfare in these countries, the Lord promised to protect his people. God's house lies in the midst of an enemy's country; his church is as a lily among thorns. God's power and goodness are seen in her special preservation. The Lord encamps about his church, and while armies of proud opposers shall pass by and return, his eyes watch over her, so that they cannot prevail, and shortly the time will come when no exactor shall pass by her any more.

The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of {a} Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the {b} rest of it: when the {c} eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD. (a) By which he means Syria. (b) God's anger will remain upon their chief city, and not spare even as much as that. (c) When the Jews will convert and repent, then God will destroy their enemies.

Zechariah 9:1 . The burden, &c. — A heavy judgment appointed of God to be borne: or, a prophecy of a calamitous kind. See the note on Isaiah 13:1 . The word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach — Hadrach is not elsewhere mentioned as the name of a country; the context however shows it must have been some part of Syria, of which Damascus was the capital city. According to some Jewish rabbis it was a place near Damascus. The prophecy is thought to relate to Alexander the Great conquering Syria; Damascus being at the same time betrayed to him, and all Darius’s treasure, which was laid up there, delivered into his hands. And Damascus shall be the rest thereof — Or, It shall rest upon Damascus; that is, the burden of the word of the Lord. Damascus shall in particular be afflicted with the judgment now threatened; when — Or rather, for the eyes of man, as of all Israel, shall be toward the Lord — For as all men’s appeals, in case of wrong, are made to Heaven, so they who have been wronged by Syrian injustice shall look to Heaven for right, and the Lord will right them. The words however may be better translated: When the eyes of men, even of all the tribes of Israel, &c.; when the Jews saw the conqueror approach Jerusalem it was proper for them to look up to God, and to implore his protection.

This, according to Josephus, ( Antiq., lib. 11. cap. 8,) when Alexander was besieging Tyre, Jaddua the Jewish high-priest did, and was directed by a vision to meet the conqueror in his pontifical robes, by whom he was received very graciously. The clause however will admit of yet another translation, namely, For the eyes of the Lord are upon man, as well as upon all the tribes of Israel. That is, God is the ruler and judge of all the nations of the earth, as well as of the tribes of Israel, and will punish the heathen for their sins, as well as his professing people. This, considering the context, seems to be the most probable interpretation.

1 . The burden ] It is difficult to decide between the meanings burden and utterance (onus and effatum ) for this word, which is of frequent occurrence, especially in Isaiah. If we translate burden , it will mean the heavy judgment of Jehovah. In favour of this is the fact that the word is almost always used ( Zechariah 12:1 ; Malachi 1:1 , are referred to as exceptions, but the second of these passages can hardly be called so) to introduce a prophecy of judgment. “The sentence issued against an individual or a community hung as a heavy weight, which at last dragged them down.” ( Speak. Com . on Isaiah 13:1 . Comp. 2 Kings 9:25 .) On the other hand, from the use of the cognate verb in the sense of “taking up,” i.e. “uttering,” a word or speech (as, “thou shalt not take up the name of Jehovah, thy God, in vain,” Exodus 20:7 ; “He took up his parable,” Numbers 23:18 ), many prefer to render utterance , or oracle . in the land ] upon the land , R. V. Hadrach ] This word, which occurs nowhere else in the O. T., caused, till recently, much perplexity to commentators. Some of them explained it to be the name of a king, others of an idol, while others regarded it as a symbolical name composed by the prophet. The question, however, as to the meaning of the word appears to have been satisfactorily set at rest, by its being discovered in the Assyrian inscriptions “in the catalogue of Syrian cities tributary to Nineveh.” Sir H.

Rawlinson, quoted by Pusey, says, “It is now certain that there was a city called Hadrach in the neighbourhood of Damascus and Hamath, although its exact site is not known … In the Assyrian Canon Hadrach is the object of three Assyrian expeditions.” the rest thereof ] Or, its resting place , R. V., i.e. the place on which it (the burden, or utterance, of the word of the Lord) shall light and settle. See Zechariah 6:8 , and note there. when the eyes of man , &c.] Or, for the eye … is , R. V. This has been explained as implying “a conversion of Gentiles, as well as Jews. For man , as contrasted with Israel, must be the heathen world, mankind. ‘The eyes of all must needs look in adoration to God, expecting all good from Him, because the Creator of all provided for the well-being of all.’ ” Pusey. Or, since the context, which is minatory in tone, seems not to admit of this interpretation, the words have been thus paraphrased: “When the fulfilment of the oracles takes place upon Hadrach and Damascus, and the wrath of God descends upon those cities and districts, the eyes of the nations as well as those of the people of Israel will look towards Jehovah, and marvel at the wonders of judgment which will then be performed in their sight in accordance with the solemn warnings of the prophet.” Rev. C. H. H. Wright. It is, possible, however, to render, for to Jehovah is (i. e.

CHAPTER 9 Zec 9:1-17. Ninth to Fourteenth Chapters Are Prophetical. Written long after the previous portions of the book, whence arise the various features which have been made grounds for attacking their authenticity, notwithstanding the testimony of the Septuagint and of the compilers of the Jewish canon in their favor. See [1184]Introduction. Alexander's Conquests in Syria (Zec 9:1-8). God's People Safe because Her King Cometh Lowly, but a Saviour (Zec 9:9-10). The Maccabean Deliverance a Type Thereof (Zec 9:11-17). 1. in … Hadrach—rather, concerning or against Hadrach (compare Isa 21:13). "Burden" means a prophecy BURDENED with wrath against the guilty. Maurer, not so well, explains it, What is taken up and uttered, the utterance, a solemn declaration. Hadrach—a part of Syria, near Damascus. As the name is not mentioned in ancient histories, it probably was the less-used name of a region having two names ("Hadrach" and "Bikathaven," Am 1:5, Margin); hence it passed into oblivion. An ancient Rabbi Jose is, however, stated to have expressly mentioned it. An Arab, Jos. Abassi, in 1768 also declared to Michaelis that there was then a town of that name, and that it was capital of the region Hadrach. The name means "enclosed" in Syrian, that is, the west interior part of Syria, enclosed by hills, the Cœlo-Syria of Strabo [Maurer]. Jerome considers Hadrach to be the metropolis of Cœlo-Syria, as Damascus was of the region about that city.

Hengstenberg regards Hadrach as a symbolical name of Persia, which Zechariah avoids designating by its proper name so as not to offend the government under which he lived. But the context seems to refer to the Syrian region. Gesenius thinks that the name is that of a Syrian king, which might more easily pass into oblivion than that of a region. Compare the similar "land of Sihon," Ne 9:22. Damascus … rest thereof—that is, the place on which the "burden" of the Lord's wrath shall rest. It shall permanently settle on it until Syria is utterly prostrate. Fulfilled under Alexander the Great, who overcame Syria [Curtius, Books 3 and 4]. eyes of man, as of all … Israel … toward the Lord—The eyes of men in general, and of all Israel in particular, through consternation at the victorious progress of Alexander, shall be directed to Jehovah. The Jews, when threatened by him because of Jaddua the high priest's refusal to swear fealty to him, prayed earnestly to the Lord, and so were delivered (2Ch 20:12; Ps 23:2). Typical of the effect of God's judgments hereafter on all men, and especially on the Jews in turning them to Him. Maurer, Pembellus and others, less probably translate, "The eyes of the Lord are upon man, as they are upon all Israel," namely, to punish the ungodly and to protect His people. He, who has chastised His people, will not fail to punish men for their sins severely.

Verse 1-ch. 14:21. - Part III. THE FUTURE OF THE POWERS OF THE WORLD AND OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Verse 1-ch. 11:17. - A. THE FIRST BURDEN. Verses 1-8. - § 1. To prepare the land for Israel, and to prove God's care for his people, the neighbouring heathen shall be chastised, while Israel shall dwell in safety and independence. Verse 1. - The burden (see note on Nahum 1:1). (On the circumstances connected with this prophecy, see Introduction, § I.) Destructive critics attribute ch. 9-11, to an anonymous prophet, whose utterances have been by mistake appended to the genuine work of Zechariah. We have given reasons for disputing this conclusion in the Introduction, § II. In ( upon ) the land of Hadrach. This expression is found nowhere else, and has occasioned great trouble to the commentators. But Assyrian inscriptions have cleared away the difficulty, and shown that it was the name of a city and district near Damascus, called in the monuments Hatarakha or Hatarika (see Schrader, 'Keilinschr. und das Alt. Test,' p. 453). Expeditions against this place are mentioned as occurring in various years, e.g. B.C. 772 . 765, 755 (see G. Smith, 'Assyrian Canon,' pp. 46, etc., 63; 'Records of the Past,' 5:46; Schrader, pp. 482, 484, etc., 2nd edit.). Damascus shall be the rest thereof. The "burden" shall light upon Damascus in wrath, and settle there (comp. Ezekiel 5:13 ). This district should be the first to suffer.