Zechariah 12:1–13:1

12:1 The second prophetic oracle is titled the same as the first (cf. 9:1 and comment). This oracle concerns “Israel,” which is striking against the background of chapter 11, since there Zechariah broke the “Union” staff to annul the “brotherhood between Judah and Israel” (11:14). This prophecy looks toward the time when God’s people will again be united (cf. 10:6).

Since “the LORD” translates the personal name “Yahweh,” the description of the Lord as Creator is an implicit claim to the uniqueness of the God of Israel. God “stretched out the heavens” like a tent and “founded the earth” like the foundation of a building being laid. He created not only the vastness of the universe but also each person’s “spirit” (cf. Gen. 2:7). God’s power in creation is also a guarantee that the prophetic word will come to pass; he is well able to recreate the nation. His creative power is seen also in that he will “make Jerusalem a cup of staggering” (Zech. 12:2), “will make Jerusalem a heavy stone” (v. 3), and “will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot” (v. 6)—creative actions showing his power and dominion over the nations (cf. 14:6–9).

12:2 A future attack on Jerusalem is envisaged. Yet, when Jerusalem is under “siege,” God will repel those who attack; he will “make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples”—they will be knocked off balance as if drunk, possibly with fear. In Isaiah 51:17, 22, “cup of staggering” is used in parallel to “cup of his [God’s] wrath,” referring to the punishment upon Jerusalem when the city was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. In Zechariah this is reversed and Jerusalem will be the agent of God’s wrath against those who come against it.

While difficult to translate, it seems the “cup of staggering,” not “the siege,” “will also be against Judah.” It seems that Judah (referring to the inhabitants of the region around Jerusalem) is initially caught up with the nations in opposition to Jerusalem (possibly by coercion) and also drinks the cup (to a limited extent) that makes the surrounding peoples stagger (it is a city, not a region, that is subject to siege; cf. also Zech. 14:14). Later Judah has a change of heart (12:5) and fights for Jerusalem (v. 6).

12:3–4 On the day the nations gather against Jerusalem, the Lord will defend it. God will make Jerusalem a “heavy stone” (v. 3) that injures “all who lift it.” The exact nature of this stone is difficult to discern. Is it a stone dropped over the city wall on those who have laid siege to it? A stone of a partly broken city wall that injures those who try to remove it in order to break through? A stone used in ancient weightlifting competitions that often “hurt” those who tried to lift it? Or is the prophet merely making a statement that is true of any heavy stone? In any case, Jerusalem will prove to be immovable. In addition, the horses of the nation used in warfare (cf. comment on 10:3) will be put out of action (12:4). The horses will be struck with panic and blindness, and the riders will be struck with madness, thwarting their attack. These are covenant curses in Deuteronomy 28:28, but here they are afflicting Jerusalem’s enemies. Yet, as God repels the attacking nations, he promises to keep his “eyes open” for the sake of the house of Judah—they will not be harmed. This statement also suggests Judah is initially caught up with the nations in this attack on Jerusalem (cf. Zech. 12:2).

12:5–6 When the “clans of Judah” see God defending Jerusalem and presumably protecting them amid the ensuing disarray described in verse 4, they have a change of heart (v. 5).¹ God now promises to make them agents of his destruction against the peoples who come against Jerusalem (v. 6). Since they have effectively infiltrated the enemy, they will attack them from the inside and consume them. Two images convey a spreading destructive presence: a “blazing pot” (alternatively “pot of fire”) “in the midst of wood” and a “flaming torch among sheaves.” The outcome is that “Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place”—it will be saved (cf. 9:9, 16; 10:6) and will occupy its proper place.

12:7 The day of salvation will be glorious for Jerusalem and the house of David. In order for the “tents of Judah” not to miss out on this “glory” (or “fame”), they are saved “first.” This also reflects Judah’s pivotal role in bringing salvation to the city in verse 6. The “tents” of Judah in this martial context may refer to the dwelling of soldiers in the field (cf. 1 Sam. 17:54).

The “house of David” is mentioned five times in Zechariah 12:7–13:1. The Davidic king was removed from the throne in Jerusalem when it was destroyed by Babylon in 586 BC (2 Kings 25:7). Zechariah earlier expresses the hope for a coming king from the house of David as central to his restoration program (Zech. 3:8; 6:12; 9:9). This is also in line with the hope of earlier prophets and the promises of the Davidic covenant, including an eternal throne for one of David’s descendants (2 Sam. 7:13, 16; cf. 23:5).² This verse indicates the house of David is a recognized entity in the postexilic period, presumably because of this hope, associated with it, for a future king.

12:8–9 God promises to protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, strengthening the feeblest so that they “shall be like David” (v. 8). This alludes to the strength God gave David to defeat Israel’s enemies in battle, which he demonstrated many times, not least in defeating the mighty Goliath and the Philistines (1 Samuel 17). Furthermore, “The house of David shall be like God” (Zech. 12:8). This bold comparison is best understood in functional terms, particularly since it is explained that they shall be “like the angel of the LORD, going before them.” The “angel of the LORD” (cf. comment on 1:11–12) led and protected God’s people on many occasions, particularly in the exodus (Ex. 13:21; 14:19; 33:2). Elsewhere, David is likened to an “angel of God,” enabling him to lead the Israelites (2 Sam. 14:17, 20; 19:27). Given this background, it seems the house of David’s being like God means they will once again lead and protect God’s people, as God himself did. Presumably this leadership of the house of David will be mediated through the future king of Zechariah 9:9 (the Messiah), underscoring a continued Davidic hope in the postexilic period.

Verse 9 of chapter 12 summarizes God’s action in verses 1–8 and functions to give assurance to God’s people that he will act in their interests. The destruction of nations hostile to Jerusalem is a theme found throughout Zechariah (cf. 1:15; 2:9; 6:8; 9:1–8, 13–15; 10:5, 7, 11; 11:1–3; 14:1–3, 12–15, 17–19).

12:10 Victory and salvation turn to bitter weeping as the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem look on one whom they have pierced, apparently in the battle described in 12:1–9. Such piercing normally led to death, which seems likely here (cf. 13:3; Isa. 13:15; Lam. 4:9).

God says he will “pour out . . . a spirit” (ruakh), which could refer to a disposition he gives his people. Yet the promise in the earlier prophets that God will send his Spirit on the day of salvation (e.g., Isa. 44:3–5; Ezek. 39:29; Joel 2:28–29) makes it more likely that it is God’s Spirit being poured out here to produce “grace and pleas for mercy” among God’s people—signs of repentance. In either case, it is God who changes his people so that they “mourn . . . as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly . . . as one weeps over a firstborn.” These expressions convey desperate and profound anguish and sorrow at the one they have “pierced.” The “firstborn” was the heir and represented the people’s future.

Who is the one they have pierced? The pronouns “me . . . him . . . him” suggest the people pierced God (metaphorically) and a closely associated third party (concretely). The immediate and wider contexts of Zechariah point to this third party intimately associated with God as the future king of the “house of David” (cf. 3:8; 6:12; 9:9), the shepherd struck in 13:7–9. The king in Israel was understood to be the agent of the Lord’s rule on earth (e.g., Psalm 72). Hence to pierce the king is also in some sense to pierce God. Indeed, the close connection between God and his anointed (seen, e.g., in Ps. 45:6; Isa. 9:6) explains how the death of the Messiah also “pierced” God. The reason for the piercing becomes clearer in Zechariah 13.

12:11 This verse alludes to the death of another Davidic king, Josiah, pierced in a battle at Megiddo (2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chron. 35:20–25). Josiah’s death is a pattern of the king to come—both are pierced, and the people mourn both deeply.

Rather than treating “Hadad-rimmon” as a reference to a pagan god (suggested by “for Hadad-rimmon”), it is better to read it as a place in the plain of Megiddo, since a reference to pagan mourning is unlikely in this context.³ Even though “Hadad-rimmon” is otherwise unknown, Zechariah 14:10 refers to a Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Since there was more than one Rimmon (cf. also Josh. 15:32; Judg. 20:45; 1 Chron. 4:32), “Hadad” functions to specify which one is meant.

12:12–14 The extent of the mourning continues to be described, and its vast extent across the land suggests that the one who died is a royal figure. The references to the “house of David” and “house of Levi” specify the royal and priestly families. However, the references to the “house of Nathan” and “family of the Shimeites” are more difficult to determine, since they are somewhat obscure subsidiary family members (cf. Nathan in 2 Sam. 5:14 and Shimei in Num. 3:21). Yet they may have had genealogical significance (seen, e.g., in Luke 3:31, where royal descent is traced through Nathan rather than Solomon). In this case the royal and priestly families will lead the people in repentance.

The repeated phrase “by itself, and their wives by themselves” indicates the whole community is involved. There may be a sense in which “by themselves” conveys the genuineness of the repentance. The mention of “wives” (or “women”) indicates the equal responsibility they bear for sin and their equal need for repentance (cf. Jer. 44:9). It may also reflect the cultural practice of segregating male and female mourners at funerals.

13:1 Water is used for cleansing in the Torah (e.g., Num. 8:5–14). A “fountain” or “spring” suggests an abundant and ongoing supply of water and anticipates the “living waters” Zechariah 14:8 says will flow from Jerusalem. While sacrifice is normally required for purification from sin, washing is used as an image of repentance and purification from sin elsewhere in the prophets (e.g., Isa. 1:16; 4:4; Jer. 4:14; Ezek. 36:25). The close connection of this verse with Zechariah 12 implies that cleansing “from sin and uncleanness” follows the death of the Messiah and the pouring out of the Spirit (v. 10; cf. 3:8–9). It is particularly said to be for those who were responsible for the piercing in 12:10—“the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”