Zechariah 10:9

"And I will sow them among the peoples; and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and shall return."

"I will sow them ..." The substitution in the Revised Standard Version and other versions of the past tense instead of the future, and "scattered" instead of "sow" is erroneous; because, as Dentan admitted, "emendation" (deliberately changing) of the sacred text was necessary in both instances.[18] Such a perversion of the scriptures was actually made upon the basis of what the critics believe God should have said in this place, instead of what he actually said. The "emended" passage reads, "I have scattered them," thus referring it to a past condition in Israel's history when the nation was deported to Assyria and Babylon; but that is not what God was speaking of here through Zechariah. He was speaking of the far future, in the times of Christ, when God's people would be "sowed" (implying the expectation of a harvest) all over the world. It began to be fulfilled when there arose a mighty persecution after the martyrdom of Stephen; and "the disciples were scattered abroad, and went everywhere preaching the word" (Acts 8:4).

"Sow" and "scattered" are very similar words, based on the fact that the ancient method of "sowing" was that of "scattering" seeds as the sower proceeded, taking handfuls from a bag and casting them as far as he could.

"I will sow ..." The significance of this is that it recalls the sacred name of the second bride of Israel's God, the people God married (in a figure) after the old wife (fleshly Israel) was divorced. The name of that second bride is given in Hosea 2:22 as Jezreel, literally meaning "to sow" in the sense of scattering seeds.[19] (See full comments on this in my commentary on the Minor Prophets, vol. 2, pp. 20,51.)

There is unquestionably a reference here to the sacred covenant name of God's New Israel in Christ, absolutely demanding that the passage be referred to Messiah and his times.

"And they shall return ..." does not apply to fleshly Israel's returning from Babylonian captivity, but to the coming of all men to Christ, having escaped from the slavery of sin. This use of captivity as a metaphor for sin is extensive throughout the Bible, as in 2 Timothy 2:26, etc., etc.

Being absolutely blind to the obvious meaning of this verse, critics have first perverted the meaning of it and then disagreed violently on the interpretation of their error. Some, for example, offer it (the emended text) as proof that Zechariah was written prior to the deportation of northern Israel in 722 B.C.: and others, Orelli for example, use it to "prove" that Zechariah was not written till the Maccabean period (168-104 B.C.)![20]