Zechariah 9:6

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Zechariah 9:1-8

After the precious promises we had in the foregoing chapter of favour to God's people, their persecutors, who hated them, come to be reckoned with, those particularly that bordered close upon them. I. The Syrians had been bad neighbours to Israel, and God had a controversy with them. The word of the Lord shall be a burden in the land of Hadrach, that is, of Syria, but it does not appear why it was so called. That that kingdom is meant is plain, because Damascus, the metropolis of that kingdom,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zechariah 9:6

And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod ,.... Some F16 R. Judah ben Bileam apud Aben Ezram in loc. take "mamzer", the word for "bastard", to be the name of a people that should dwell in Ashdod; this is the same place with Azotus, Acts 8:40 and was also one of the five lordships of the Philistines, Joshua 13:3 some, by the "bastard" here, understand Alexander the great, who gave out that he was not the son of Philip, but of Jupiter Ammon: others think Jonathan the Maccabee is intended,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 9:6

A bastard shall dwell in Ashdod - This character would suit Alexander very well, who most certainly was a bastard; for his mother Olympia said that Jupiter Ammon entered her apartment in the shape of a dragon, and begat Alexander! Could her husband Philip believe this? The word signifies a stranger. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 9:6

Verse 6 In this verse the Prophet denounces a similar ruin on Azotus, and the whole land of the Philistines, or on the whole land of Palestine. For what interpreters say, that the Jews would dwell at Azotus as strangers, that is, though they had previously been counted aliens, is to reach neither heaven nor earth. The Prophet on the contrary means, that after the destruction of these cities, if any inhabitants remained, they would be like strangers, without any certain habitation. The Prophet... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 9:1-6

A visitation of judgment. "The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach," etc. Whatever view is taken of the exact time of the fulfilment of the glorious promises with which the last chapter concludes, it was necessarily a time still future when those promises were uttered. Other things of a very different nature were first to occur. On some of these, accordingly, as constituting a kind of "burden" ( Zechariah 9:1 ) on some of the lands and people contiguous to Israel, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 9:1-8

§ 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. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 9:1-8

God's judgments. I. THE DARK SIDE . "Burden." Word of ill omen to God's enemies. God's eye is on all. Storm gathering. Will soon burst in fury, just, universal, overwhelming. None so small as to be overlooked. None so great as to secure immunity. The wisdom of the wise, the resources of the rich, and the fame of ancient days will prove as vanity. II. THE BRIGHT SIDE . Eye of kindness. Hand of gracious interposition. Incorporation of Jews and Gentiles in one glorious Church.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 9:1-8

The dark and the bright side of God's revelation to mankind. "The burden of the word of the Lord," etc. This chapter begins that portion of the book whose genuineness, though denied by some, is accepted by most unbiassed expositors. As it is our main purpose, in preparing these sketches, to use the statements, whether prosaic or poetic, prophetic or historic, to illustrate truths of universal application, it comes not within our purpose to discuss the questions of genuineness,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 9:6

A Bastard. The word ( mamzer ) occurs in Deuteronomy 23:2 (3, Hebrew), where it may possibly mean "a stranger." It is generally considered to signify one whose birth has a blemish in it—one born of incest or adultery. In Deuteronomy the LXX . renders, ἐκ πόρης , "one of harlot birth;" here, ἀλλογενής , "foreigner." The Vulgate has separator, which is explained as meaning either the Lord, who as Judge divides the just from the unjust, or the Conqueror, who divides the spoil... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Zechariah 9:6

And a bastard shall dwell at Ashdod - o The “mamzer” was one born unlawfully, whether out of marriage, or in forbidden marriage, or in adultery . Here it is, probably, like our “spurious brood” ; whether it was so itself or in the eyes of the Ashdodites; whence he adds.I will cut off the pride of the Philistines - Pride would survive the ruin of their country, the capture of their cities, the less of independence. It would not survive the loss of their nationality; for they themselves would not... read more

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