Zechariah 13:8 - Exposition

In all the land; i.e. Palestine, the country in which the good Shepherd tended his flock ( Zechariah 11:1-17 .), and which is a figure of the kingdom of God (comp. Zechariah 12:12 ; Zechariah 14:9 , Zechariah 14:10 ). Two parts therein shall be cut off and die; literally, the mouth, i.e. the portion of two , as Deuteronomy 21:17 ; 2 Kings 2:9 , where it denotes the double portion inherited by the firstborn. The inheritance is divided into three portions, of which two parts are given over to death. Compare a similar allotment in the case of the Moabites ( 2 Samuel 8:2 ). The doomed portion is supposed to represent the multitudes who perished at the siege of Jerusalem. This may be; but by analogy it stands for those who shall not accept the Messiah or be purified by suffering, even as Christ said, "Many are called, but few chosen" ( Matthew 20:16 ; comp. Matthew 3:12 ). The third. This third part represents the faithful among the Jews ( Romans 11:5 ), and the Christian Church gathered out of all nations (comp. Isaiah 6:13 ; and especially Ezekiel 5:2 , Ezekiel 5:12 ).