Zechariah 9:1-10:2

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Zechariah 9:1

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;... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Zechariah 9:1-17

9:1-14:21 THE TRIUMPH OF THE MESSIAHIsrael always looked forward to a messianic day of glory and power. The people longed for the day when all enemies would be destroyed, and righteousness would be established in the land under the rule of the Messiah. The nation’s re-establishment under Zerubbabel and Joshua was a foretaste of that great day. Israel could expect to see its former enemies conquered and full independence restored in its land.This in fact happened. The years 334-326 BC saw the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Zechariah 9:1

The use of a varied vocabulary is no proof of a different authorship. It is necessitated by the changes of subject. burden = Divine declaration. Hebrew. massa' . Compare Isaiah 13:1 .Nahum 1:1 . of = that is to say. Genitive of Apposition. See App-17 . the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah . App-4 . in: or, on: i.e. resting on. Hadrach. A country in the neighborhood of Damascus and Hamath (Zechariah 9:2 ) &c., mentioned in the Assyrian Inscriptions, with the 'arka of Genesis 10:17 . the rest... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Zechariah 9:1

Whereas the first eight chapters featured the concerns relative to the building of the physical temple, without at all leaving out of sight the far more important matter of the ultimate building of the true temple, the church or kingdom of Christ, at this point in Zechariah, the emphasis shifts almost totally to the true temple to be set up at the first Advent of the Messiah. The overwhelming importance of this section of Zechariah is attested by the repeated references to it throughout the New... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Zechariah 9:1-2

Zechariah 9:1-2. The burden, &c.— Houbigant renders these verses, The burden, &c. against the land of Hadrach, and against Damascus, which is opposite to it. For the Lord beholdeth all men, as well as the tribes of Israel; Zechariah 9:2. Hamath also, its neighbour, and Tyre and Zidon, because it is very wise. But Dr. Blayney translates the latter part of the first verse, When toward JEHOVAH shall be the eyes of men, observing—I cannot conceive how the original word can be made out to... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Zechariah 9:1

1. in . . . Hadrach—rather, concerning or against Hadrach (compare :-). "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," :-, Margin); hence it passed into oblivion. An ancient RABBI JOSE is,... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Zechariah 9:1-2

The Lord sent a burden (Heb. massa’, heavy pronouncement; cf. 2 Kings 9:25-26; Jeremiah 23:33) to Zechariah that announced judgment and blessing. [Note: For an excursus on the meaning of this rarely used Hebrew word, see Baldwin, pp. 162-63. For a more thorough study, see P. A. H. de Boer, An Inquiry into the Meaning of the Term Massa’.] It concerned the lands of Hadrach (Hatarikka, near Hamath), [Note: See J. B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts, pp. 282-83.] Hamath on the Orontes... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Zechariah 9:1-8

The destruction of nations and the preservation of Zion 9:1-8The first four verses of this poem deal with the north and the last four with the south. The first two verses and the last two speak of salvation, and the middle four speak of judgment. The passage begins and ends with a reference to eyes, the eyes of men (Zechariah 9:1) and the eye of God (Zechariah 9:8). read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 9:1-17

Judgments on the Nations. The Prince of Peace1-8. A judgment is about to fall on Damascus, Hamath, Tyre, Sidon, and the cities of the Philistines. A remnant from Philistia will acknowledge God. God will encamp around His sanctuary. 9, 10. The coming of Messiah and His kingdom of peace. 11-17. Hope for Israel. God will enable her to contend successfully with Greece. He will aid and bless her.1. Burden] oracle, or prophecy: see Jeremiah 23:33-40. In the land] RV ’upon the land.’Hadrach] not... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Zechariah 9:1

(1) In the land.—Better, on the land.Hadrach.—Until lately this word has been an insuperable difficulty to commentators, but now it is known, from various Assyrian inscriptions, that Hadrach (Ha-ta-ri-ka) was the name of a town or district in the neighbourhood of Damascus and Hamath. (Records of the Past, Vol. V.)The rest[ing place] thereof.—viz., of the prophecy: i.e., the judgments of God should begin at that city. LXX., θυσία αὐτοῦ, “his sacrifice,” reading different vowels.When the eyes . .... read more

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