Exegesis and Theology

The Blog of Brian Collins

Best Commentaries on Zechariah

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Klein, George L. Zechariah. New American Commentary. Nashville: B&H, 2008

I would recommend this as the best all-around commentary on Zechariah. It is clear in its writing and sensible in its judgments.

Wolters, Al Zechariah. Historical Commentary on the Old Testament. Leuven, NL: Peeters, 2014

This commentary has comments on exegetical details and insights that are hard to find elsewhere. Even where I disagree with Wolters, I find him helpful.

Merrill, Eugene H. Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1994

Merrill, like Klein, provides and excellent commentary on Zechariah. He is able to go into greater detail about the Hebrew text.

Barker, Kenneth L. “Zechariah.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Revised edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008.

Barker does not have the space to comment in the same depth as the preceding works, but in his brevity he sometimes contains insights not found in the others.

Shepherd, Michael B. A Commentary on the Book of the Twelve. Kregel Exegetical Library. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2018.

I disagree with Shepherd regarding the alleged editing that took place to knit the individual prophets into a unitary Book of the Twelve, seeing the Book of the Twelve as an anthology of unedited prophetic books. However, Shepherd’s comments on individual texts are often insightful.

Boda, Mark J. The Book of Zechariah. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016.

I’ve not had the chance to use this commentary extensively, but I found it helpful when I consulted it.

Structure and Summary of Zechariah

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Zechariah is divided into three major parts 1-6, 7-8, and 9-14.[1]

In the opening message (1:1-6) Zechariah reminded the people that Yhwh “was very angry with your fathers” (1:2). They were called on to not be like their fathers and to repent. The returned exiles were not idolators as their fathers had been. Webb highlights the nature of their sin:

It was the sin of behaving just like ordinary people who have no interest in the kingdom of God. In other words, it was of being normal! And the point of Zechariah’s strong language is that this was just as bad as the sins of idolatry and hypocrisy that the forefathers had been guilty of. It aroused God’s anger just as much, and was every bit as deserving of his judgment.[2]

Zechariah 1:7-6:15 is a series of eight visions that occurred on the night and early morning of February 14-15, 519 BC.[3] These visions were given five months after the exiles recommenced temple-building after opposition had halted their efforts (Hag. 1:14-15).[4] They occurred two months after Haggai predicted that Yhwh would “shake the heavens and the earth,” “destroy the strength of kingdoms,” and “overthrow the chariots and their riders” and the horses.[5]

In the first vision (1:7-17) Zechariah saw a man on a red horse among some myrtle trees. Behind him were horses of various colors (presumably with riders). Since the colors are mentioned some interpreters think they are symbolic. Others, however, note that in the interpretation that follows nothing is made of the colors.[6] Wolters astutely notes, “It is clear that the colors are an integral part of Visions 1 and 6, since the prophet took great care to note them, but it is best to resist the temptation to speculate as to their significance.”[7] Similarly, some understand the myrtle trees to symbolize Israel or blessing.[8] Others deny that the myrtles have symbolic significance[9] and may simply locate this scene in the Kidron valley.[10] Wolters proposes that the myrtle trees evoke the Persian “garden palace at Pasargadeae.” The referent of this garden palace symbolism is God’s heavenly throne room.[11]

Zechariah asked the man seated on the red horse who the other horsemen are.[12] The man identified them as those “whom Yhwh has sent to patrol the earth.” Wolters comments, “Their riders were couriers, heavenly counterparts of the mounted Persian couriers who were a familiar sight near Jerusalem in Zechariah’s day, who had been sent out by the Lord to report back to their divine commander on the conditions that prevailed on earth.”[13]

The patrol then gave their report to the man on the red horse, now identified as the Angel of Yhwh. They reported, “all the earth remains at rest” (1:11). Verse 12 reveals that this was a disappointing report. Some suggest that it is disappointing because Haggai had predicted that in a short time God would “shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land,” even “all nations” (Hag. 2:6-7). But instead, the nations were at rest and the Jews were still subjugated to a foreign power.[14] Though there was unrest early in Darius’s reign, the empire was now at rest. Several interpreters note that “the earlier prophets use[d] ‘quiet’ (šōqāṭet) to describe the situation that will accompany restoration after the exile (Isa. 14:7; 32:17; Jer. 30:10; 46:27; Ezek. 38:11–12).”[15] But even though the people have returned from exile, it is the nations, not God’s people, who are experiencing the quiet.

The reference to seventy years in verse 12 indicates that the angel of Yhwh still saw Israel as in some sense within the seventy-year exilic period. Jonathan Edwards observed,

It was several times foretold, that the duration of the captivity should be 70 years; and also, that after 70 years were accomplished, God would destroy Babylon (Jer. 25:11–12 ff.). But this period had manifestly several different beginnings, and several endings. Thus from Jehoiakim’s captivity [2 Chron. 36:5–8] to Cyrus’ decree, for the return of the Jews, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem [2 Chron. 36:22–23], was 70 years. And from Zedekiah’s captivity [2 Kgs. 25:1–7] to Darius’ decree (Ezra 6), 70 years. And from the last carrying away of all (Jer. 52:30), to the finishing and dedication of the temple [Ezra 6], was also 70 years.[16]

The duration from the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC to this vision in 520 BC is sixty-seven years.[17] The seventy years would end in 516 BC with the completion of the temple.[18]

Yhwh responded to the angel of Yhwh’s lament with “gracious and comforting words” that confirmed his intention to judge the nations, re-establish the temple, rebuild Jerusalem (cf. the measuring line),[19] and again choose Jerusalem (an allusion to Isaiah 14:1).[20] God did fulfill this word during the post-exilic period, but, as the allusion to Isaiah 14:1 indicates, a much fuller fulfillment remains future.

In the second vision (1:18-21) Zechariah saw four horns. The angel told Zechariah that those horns scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem (cf. Joel 3:1-2).[21] If the horns, which signify power, are seen as belonging to two animals, the four horns would represent Assyria and Babylon, which scattered the people in exile.[22] However, the vision may be more general, with the four horns representing any power that persecuted God’s people.[23] Zechariah was also shown four craftsmen who were to terrify and cast down those horns (metonymy for the beasts that have them). The craftsmen are not identified, but this is a further assurance to Zechariah that the nations will not remain at rest.

In the third vision (2:1-5) Zechariah saw a man with a measuring line going to measure Jerusalem. Boda notes that the second and third visions flow out of the first:

While the second vision report in 2:1–4(1:18–21) built on the oracle in the first vision report regarding Yahweh’s anger with the carefree nations (1:15), the vision report in 2:5–9(1–5) builds on the oracle in the first vision report regarding Yahweh’s promise to take up dwelling in Jerusalem and rebuild both temple and city. The reference to “a measuring line” in 1:16 is picked up here in the third vision report and developed in detail.[24]

The man with the measuring line was told that the city was going to expand beyond its walls. It would need no walls because Yhwh would be a wall of fire around the city, and he would be the glory in the midst of Jerusalem. This was ultimately an eschatological prediction. The glory of Yhwh did not return to the second temple, apart from Jesus’s brief visits to the temple—often in judgment. Furthermore, his departure from the temple just before the Olivet discourse is worded in such a way as to evoke Ezekiel’s vision of the departure of the glory of Yhwh from the temple to the Mount of Olives. Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse, predicted, not that Yhwh would be a wall of fire around Jerusalem, but that the Romans would destroy Jerusalem (which they did in AD 70).

Zechariah 2:6-13 is a message preached in light of the first three visions. Zechariah called on the people to flee from Babylon to Zion. Yhwh had promised to protect his people and judge those who have harmed them. The vision then looked to the last day when Yhwh would dwell in their midst—leading the people to rejoice and sing for joy. In that day “many nations shall join themselves to Yhwh,” and he will call them “my people.” This is an Old Testament indication that in the new covenant era, Gentiles would not need to become Jews to be part of the people of God. Even so, Yhwh “will again choose Jerusalem” as his dwelling place.

In the fourth vision (3:1-10) Zechariah saw Joshua, the high priest of his day, standing before the Angel or Messenger of Yhwh. The Messenger of Yhwh is Christ. Standing to Joshua’s right hand was the Accuser (the Satan, in Hebrew). Yhwh spoke to the Accuser: “Yhwh rebuke you, Accuser. Yhwh who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” For Yhwh to rebuke Satan by Yhwh is an Old Testament hint of God as Triune. Note also that Yhwh did not appeal to anything in Joshua to counteract Satan’s accusations. Rather, he appealed to his own work of salvation. Indeed, Joshua was standing there in excrement smeared garments. These garments symbolize iniquity—the iniquity of the nation which Joshua represents. The Angel/Messenger of Yhwh commanded these garments to be taken from him and commanded Joshua to be clothed with pure vestments. Surely it is significant that the Messenger of Yhwh, Christ, has the filthy garments removed and the pure vestments replaced—the clean garments needed to have access to God’s temple courts in order carry out the atoning work of the priesthood. In addition, it is significant that the high priest’s name is Joshua, which is the Hebrew name rendered in Greek as Jesus. He typified Jesus who bore our iniquities and who provided atonement for sin. He is told of the one whom he typified, “my servant the Branch.” A stone is probably collective, referring to multiple stones, and the seven pairs of eyes refer to fourteen surfaces on the stones.[25] This likely refers to the fourteen engraved stones that the high priest wore on his ephod (two on the shoulders, twelve on his chest). This symbolized the priest bearing the people into the presence of Yhwh. But this inscription refers to the removal of the iniquity of the land in a single day. This looks forward not to the accomplishment of redemption but to its application to Israel in the last day (cf. 12:10-13:1). This is made clear by the last verse of the chapter, which refers to the restoration of creation: “In that day, declares Yhwh of hosts, everyone of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree” (3:10).

The fourth vision spoke of a priest being prepared to make atonement; now the fifth vision (4:1-14) speaks of the rebuilding of the temple. Zechariah saw the temple lampstand being fed oil from two olive trees that stood on either side. When he asked the significance of the vision, he was told “This is the word of Yhwh to Zerubbabel [the governor of Judah in Zechariah’s day]: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says Yhwh of hosts.” Zerubbabel was to lead the people in completing the building of the temple. This seemingly insurmountable task, which had halted, was going to be accomplished by Zerubbabel. The seven lamps on the lampstand represented the eyes of Yhwh, which range through the whole earth. This not only hearkens back to the first vision, but it indicates Yhwh’s omniscience and ability to know and meet any world events that could hinder the temple building. The two olive trees refer to two “sons of oil” (4:14, ESV, mg) that feed the lampstand. This may be a reference to Joshua and Zerubbabel, two anointed ones who led the temple rebuilding project, or to Haggai and Zechariah, two prophets who received prophetic words from the Spirit which were used to bring the temple project to completion.

In the sixth vision (5:1-4) Zechariah saw a flying scroll thirty feet by fifteen feet in size. It contained the curse of the covenant. Two sins are highlighted, stealing (a sin against other men) and swearing falsely (a sin against God’s name), which represent all sins.[26] Those who continue in these sins will come under the curses of the Mosaic covenant.

The seventh vision (5:5-11) is linked closely to the sixth. Zechariah saw a basket which contained a woman (possibly an idol of a goddess) which represented wickedness. This basket was picked up by two women with wings of a stork and flown to Shinar (Babylon) where it had a house/temple built for it. In Ezekiel, Israel’s wickedness drove Yhwh from the temple. In this vision Yhwh has wickedness removed from the land and returned to Babylon, which from Genesis to Revelation symbolizes the locus of opposition to God.

The eighth and final vision (6:1-8) sees the reappearance of the multicolored horses that featured in the first vision. This time they are pulling chariots—instruments of war.[27] They emerge from between two bronze mountains. The symbolism here is unclear, but because the chariots seem to be coming from the presence of God the mountains may symbolize the entrance to God’s abode, with the bronze composition recalling the two bronze pillars that stood at the entrance of the temple.[28] The horses and chariots are identified as “the four winds of heaven” (6:5). Four in connection with “winds” probably refers to the four points of the compass and indicates comprehensiveness.[29] The image of wind signifies “God’s destructive power” (Isa. 11:15; Eze. 1:4; Jer. 49:36).[30] The word translated winds can also be translated spirits. Though winds is the better translation given its appearance within idiom the idiom of “four winds,” the fact that the horses and chariots symbolize angelic powers indicate that the connotation of spirits is probably also intended.[31] The black horses went to the north, followed by the white horses. The dappled horses went to the south. The red horses seem to have remained behind as either the commander (cf. 1:8a) or as reserve (cf. 1:8b).[32] They were sent to execute judgment on the nations, especially on Babylon to the north, and probably on Egypt to the south.[33] Iain Duguid, linking this vision to the previous one, sees an eschatological fulfillment to this vision:

This vision thus answers the question implicit in the previous one, to which it is linked by the repeated use of ‘go out’ (yâṣâ’). In that vision, idolatry was driven (carried) out of God’s land to the land of Babel, where a temple was prepared for it (5:5-11). The focus there was on the purification of God’s people, with idolatry no longer existing in their midst as a threat to God’s presence. Now the focus shifts to answer the question: ‘Will these idolators possess Babylon for ever, in an ongoing enmity to God? Will there always be a threatening location from which to launch regular attacks on God’s people form the uttermost north, as Gog does in Ezekiel 38-39?’ To which Zechariah’s vision responds: ‘No, God will ultimately send out his power to the uttermost corners of the earth, and his Spirit will reign throughout the world, even in the place where now the seat of idolatry is located.’ The nations that at present feel secure in their opposition to God are in for an unpleasant surprise when God rouses himself to action (cf. 1:15, 20).[34]

The previous vision highlighted Babylon as the locus of opposition to Yhwh. This vision adds Egypt to Babylon. Within Revelation, the trumpet and bowl judgments are modeled from the Egyptian plagues, and Babylon plays a significant role in Revelation as the locus of opposition to God.

Zechariah 6:9-15 closes out this first major section with an undated commission for Zechariah to perform a sign prophecy. Zechariah was to take silver and gold from certain exiles, make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the high priest. He was then to say to Joshua, “Behold the man whose name is the Branch.” He is not calling Joshua the Branch. He is telling Joshua about the one whom he prefigures. This Branch will combine in his person the offices of priest and king. He will rule from the temple. This looks forward to the future reign of Jesus from Jerusalem. When the text says, “And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both,” either the offices of priest and king are being personified and pictured as joined together in a covenant[35] or the establishment of Jesus as priest-king is being rooted in a covenant of peace made between Yhwh and the Branch.[36]

Zechariah 7-8 is the next major section of the book. It is marked off with a superscription that dates it two years after the night visions. The section is introduced in 7:1-3 by a request for Zechariah to clarify whether some fasts that had been instituted to mourn the destruction of the temple should continue now that the seventy years and the construction of the temple were nearing an end. In the first part of his response to this question (7:4-14), Zechariah asked two rhetorical questions. His point is that they were not fasting from God when they fasted, and that since these were voluntary fasts, they could make their own decisions about fasting.[37] Yhwh then reminded them of what he had taught their forefathers: what God really valued was justice, kindness, mercy, and avoiding oppression of the vulnerable. When the people hardened their hearts and rejected this word, God exiled them. In the second part of his response to this question (8:1-19), Yhwh said that he would return to Zion to dwell. He described the prosperity of the people in those days. But most importantly, “they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and righteousness” (8:8). Thus, the days of fasting will be turned into days of feasting. In the final part of this section (8:20-23) Yhwh speaks of Gentile people coming to seek Yhwh in Jerusalem.

Zechariah 9-14 is the final part of the book. The organization of this major section is more opaque than the preceding parts of Zechariah. However, it can be organized into five major sections (9:1-17; 10:3-12; 11:4-16; 12:1-13:6; 14:1-21) separated by hinge sections (10:1-2; 11:1-3; 11:17; 13:7-9).[38]

Chapter 9 is the first section of this final part of Zechariah. It can be divided into three subsections: 9:1-8, 9-10, 11-17. Zechariah 9:1-8 details judgments against the nations, including Syria, Tyre and Sidon, and Philistia. These judgments may be historical. For instance, the progression of conquests is thought to match those of Alexander the Great.[39] However, verses 7-8 shifts to the salvation of the Gentiles. The Philistines will cease from abominations (like eating meat with the blood in it) and will become part of the people of God. In the time in which Yhwh is dwelling in his temple, no more oppressor will march through Philistia. Zechariah 9:9-10 calls on Zion to rejoice greatly because her king is coming. This passage was fulfilled in part when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, but it looks beyond the first coming to the day when war will end, and the King in Jerusalem will reign not only over Israel but over the entire earth. Zechariah 9:11-17 looks forward to the final return from the ultimate exile due to the blood of the new covenant. Some see in the reference to conflict with the Greeks, Israel’s struggle during the Hasmonean period.[40] If so, this would be typological of God’s eschatological defeat of Israel’s enemies. They are looking forward to the day when Yhwh will be their savior shepherd and they will be jewels in his crown as they rule with him in a flourishing creation.

Chapter 9 closed with the promise of agricultural prosperity in the new creation. The hinge section that begins Chapter 10 opens with command to ask this of Yhwh rather than to seek this of false gods and false prophets. (10:1-2).

These wicked shepherds or leaders in Judah will be judged by Yhwh (10:4-12). Yhwh will equip Israel to go forth in battle and will bring his people back to the land from all the nations.

Zechariah 11:1-3 is a hinge passage. The land is made desolate beginning in the north, adjacent to Lebanon and then heading down through Bashan and into the valley of the Jordan (the thicket of the Jordan).[41] The desolation of the land causes the wicked shepherds to “wail” because “their glory is ruined” (11:3). Given the following passage, this is likely a reference to Rome’s repression of Jewish rebels, including the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem.

In Zechariah 11:4-16 the prophet was commissioned to carry out a sign-act in which he represented two shepherds, one good and one foolish. The contrast between a good shepherd and foolish shepherds calls to mind Ezekiel 34 where Yhwh promised to displace the evil shepherds and shepherd Israel himself. However, in this passage the good shepherd does not rescue the flock from the bad shepherds. Instead, the good shepherd views the flock as deserving judgment. The flock will be handed over to the enemy (11:4-6). While the good shepherd did bring about the destruction of three evil shepherds (perhaps the chief priests, scribes, and elders who made up the Sanhedrin),[42] he was detested by the people and he was “weary” with their disobedience (11:8, NIV). So he rejected being their shepherd and gave them up to destruction (11:9). This mutual rejection most likely refers to the Jewish rejection of Jesus as their Messiah during his first advent and his delivery of them up to judgment, in the first place by the Romans. The first staff that the good shepherd had taken (11:7) was named “Favor,” and he broke it to signify that a covenant which restrained the nations from invading Israel was annulled (11:11). The good shepherd would not even require his wages before quitting, but they weighed out a slave wage (what he sarcastically called “the lordly price”). He threw the thirty pieces of silver into the temple, to the potter. This obscure statement alludes to Jeremiah 18-19: “In that book, ‘the potter’ signifies God’s right to judge Israel in exile. His appearance again in Zechariah signifies a repetition of the same event: Israel’s rejection of Messiah will cause the nation to enter deeper into the exile.”[43] This prophecy was fulfilled when Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, which he later threw back into the temple. Since it was blood money, the priests used it to buy a potter’s field (Mt 26:15; 27:3-10; Acts 1:16-19). Finally, the good shepherd broke his second staff, Union, “annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.” This is a reversal of the prophecy of Ezekiel 37 where two staffs representing Judah and Israel are joined. This is a sign that the exile would continue.[44]

Then Zechariah was to take up the equipment of a foolish shepherd. Dunham notes,

The fool is corrupt morally and religiously, more so than the inexperienced simpleton פְּתיִ) ) who is merely naïve. The fool is characterized by his arrogance (12:15; 14:13; 29:9), obstinacy (1:7; 15:5; 16:22; 27:22), aggression (12:16; 20:3), boastfulness (10:8, 10, 14; 27:3), and disregard for sacred things (1:7; 14:9). The fear of YHWH, the fundamental principle of Proverbs and linked there to knowing God (9:10), is a disposition the fool spurns (1:7).[45]

This characterization of the shepherd is a characterization of Antichrist.[46] Before Israel can experience the end of exile (Eze 37) and being shepherded by Yhwh (Eze 34), it will suffer under the shepherding of Antichrist, who will not care for the flock, but will devour it.

Zechariah 11:17 is a hinge verse. It continues the theme of the worthless shepherd from the previous section, but instead of looking at the harm he does to Israel, it turns to pronounce a woe upon him and to declare that His military power will be cursed by Yhwh.[47] The next section will see the military defeat of the nations that gather against Jerusalem.

Zechariah 12:1-13:6 begins by setting this section in a cosmic context: Thus declares Yhwh, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him. This emphasis on creation prepares the reader for the final chapters of the book which deal with the bringing about of the new creation. The next verses (12:2-9) envision Jerusalem under siege by “all the surrounding peoples.” And yet, the nations that come up against Jerusalem will be destroyed. Jerusalem will be protected and inhabited. In conjunction with this Yhwh says, “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication” (LSB), or, as most other translations read, “a spirit of grace and supplication” (NIV). In either case, this is a promise that the new covenant will be applied to Israel. Ezekiel, for instance, promised that the pouring out of the Spirit would result in a new spirit within the people. The result will be that “they will look to me, the one they have pierced” (net). Though most translations speak of looking on, the Hebrew most likely refers to looking to in faith and hope. The me that that they are looking to is Yhwh. How the original readers would have understood the idea of piercing Yhwh is unknown; it may have been a mystery to them. However, in light of the New Testament the meaning is clear. Yhwh was pierced in the person of Jesus, as he died on the cross. The people will mourn for their sin, and a fountain of cleansing will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem (another new covenant promise) (13:1). Chapter 12 was focused specifically on Jerusalem and the house of David, but chapter 13 indicates that this new covenant work will encompass the whole land. Idols and false prophets will be removed from the land on pain of death. False prophets will be executed, and those who were false prophets will claim otherwise.

Zechariah 13:7-9 is another hinge passage about the Shepherd. It first looks back to the one who was pierced by speaking of a sword that will strike the shepherd. This clarifies that the one pierced in 12:10 is the Shepherd. Zech. 3:8-9 said Yhwh’s servant the Branch would “remove the iniquity of this land in a single day,” which is what 12:10ff. recounted. Zechariah 6:12-13 revealed that the Branch would rebuild the temple and reign as a priest-king.[48] So the Shepherd is the Davidic Messiah. But the pierced one is also Yhwh, according to 12:10. And yet, in 12:10 Yhwh can refer to the pierced one in third person. And here in 13:7 he calls him “my associate” (NASB, LSB, CSB, NRSV). Who could be God’s associate other than another person of the Godhead. Thus, the Shepherd of Zechariah is Yhwh incarnate as the Davidic Son. The striking of the shepherd with the sword is the crucifixion and the scattering of the sheep is the scattering of the disciples, for this is how Jesus interpreted this verse in Matthew 26:31/Mark 14:27. This hinge passage then looks forward to “a future period when Israel will undergo a special purifying discipline, as silver and gold are refined (vv. 8-9). The surviving remnant will be the Lord’s people (v. 9).”[49] Thus this hinge passage clarifies the piercing of Yhwh by linking it to the shepherd, recaps the gist of chapter 12 in which Israel is being refined, in part, through an invasion.

Zechariah 14 begins with the invasion of Jerusalem by the nations described in chapter 12, but the first two verses indicate that initially Jerusalem suffers conquest. The turning point comes in verse 3 when Yhwh goes out to fight against the nations. Verse 4 clarifies that it is Yhwh in the person of Christ who will go out and fight against the nations, because his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which is the place where he ascended to heaven. The splitting of the Mount of Olives is consistent with other passages that indicate that at this time there will be “”a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake” (Rev 16:18; cf. Rev 11:13).[50] When Yhwh comes, “all the holy ones,” a reference to saints or angels or both, with come with him.

Verses 6-7 seem to speak of the new creation inaugurated by the return of Christ. Other passages indicate that the heavenly bodies were significantly affected during the day of Yhwh, and that may be what is in view with the statement, “in that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle” (NASB). When verse 7 says, “it shall be one day” (NKJV), it is alluding to the first day of creation “there was evening and there was morning, one day” (NASB, LSB; cf. CSB).[51] This day was dark, but because of Yhwh’s arrival on that day, there will be light at evening time. Thus, after the de-creation of the day of Yhwh, this marks the beginning of the first day of a new creation. In that day rivers will flow from Jerusalem just as rivers flowed from Eden. In that day Yhwh will be king over all the earth. Of course, Yhwh has always been king over all the earth, but the context here indicates that he will be king over all the earth in the person of the Son of Man. Further, the remainder of verse 9, with its allusion to the shema, indicates that finally the reality of that confession will be manifest to the whole earth.

Verses 10-11 speak of topographical changes in which Jerusalem is elevated while the land around it is flattened. The point seems to be the expansion of Jerusalem so that it is full of inhabitants. Verse 11 concludes that Jerusalem will down “be inhabited in security” and never again will it be “devoted to destruction” (LSB).

Verses 12-15 returns the focus to the nations attacking Jerusalem. They will be defeated by means of a plague, a word that calls to mind the plagues of Egypt. The striking of “all the peoples” at once may recall the destruction of the army of Assyria by the Angel of Yhwh (Isa 37:36).[52] The panic which leads the invaders to turn on one another recalls Yhwh’s defeat of Midian through Gideon. And the plundering of the nations recalls the plundering of the Egyptians in the exodus.

Verses 16-19 reveal that there were Gentiles from the nations that went up against Jerusalem that, with redeemed Israel, survived and entered into the new creation. Many of them are worshipers of Yhwh. Zechariah specifically highlights yearly worship connected with the Feast of Booths. Johann Gerhard, the great 17th century Lutheran theologian, captures well the significance of this feast:

On this day they lived in tents built of leafy branches in memory of God’s benefit when He caused the Israelites, whom He had led out of Egypt through the wilderness, to dwell in the very fertile and pleasant land of Canaan. This also served as a type of the very blessed and joyful dwelling place which the devout await in the eternal dwellings.[53]

This feast celebrated dwelling in the land of Canaan, a type of the new creation. Thus, just as Passover was transformed in the new covenant era into the regular observance of the Lord’s Supper, so the Feast of Booths, in this period, will be transformed into a yearly ordinance celebrating the inauguration of the new creation. However, these verses raise the possibility that some nations will fail to observe this ordinance and will suffer judgment: draught and plague. This indicates that these verses are describing the first phase of the new creation, which Revelation 20 identifies as the Millennium.

The final verses of the book speak of the pervasiveness of holiness in Jerusalem. The inscription “Holy to Yhwh” was worn on the forehead of the high priest. But now this inscription is found on the bells of the horses and every pot in Jerusalem and Judah. Holiness will be comprehensive in this day. The book closes with the statement, “And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of hosts in that day” (LSB). This is not saying that Rahab or other Canaanites who had believed on the Lord will be excluded from the house of Yhwh. The point is that Israel was supposed to purge the land of unbelieving Canaanites during the conquest, and in this day the conquest will be complete. The type is fulfilled. No unbeliever will be in the new creation, which is the house of Yhwh, in that day.[54]

[1] Wolters, HCOT, 26-27; Petterson, AOTC, 98. Some follow this basic outline while separating out 1:1-6 as an introductory segment: Boda, NICOT, viii-ix; Tully, Reading the Prophets as Christian Scripture, 366.

[2] Barry G. Webb, The Message of Zechariah (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2008), 64.

[3] Wolters, HCOT, 26.

[4] McComiskey 1998:1034; Klein 2008: 94.

[5] Hill 2008: 536.

[6] Calvin 1999: 33; Merrill 1994: 103; McComiskey 1998: 1034-35; Klein 2008: 98; Petterson 2015: 115; Boda 2015: 121.

[7] Wolters, 2014, 49.

[8] Klein 2008: 98.

[9] McComiskey 1999: 1034.

[10] Hill TOTC: 132.

[11] Wolters 2014: 45.

[12] McComiskey 1998: 1035-36.

[13] Wolters 2014: 45.

[14] KD, 10:514; Barker 1985: 611-12; Mackay 2003: 74; Klein 2008: 100-101; Hill 2012: 133-34.

[15] Petterson 2015: 116; cf. Barker 1985: 612.

[16] Edwards 1977: 408; cf. KD 10:514-15; Wolters 2014: 64-64; Boda 2015: 137.

[17] McComiskey 1998: 1039.

[18] Merrill 1994: 105; Klein 2008: 102; Wolters 2014: 64-64; Petterson 2015: 116-17; Boda 2015: 137.

[19] Klien 2008: 107.

[20] Wolters 2014: 69.

[21] Petterson, AOTC, 122.

[22] Boda, NICOT, 156, 160; Tully, Reading the Prophets as Christian Scripture, 367. However, if the horns represented Assyria and Babylon, they had already been destroyed.

[23] Klein, NAC, 110.

[24] Boda, NICOT, 167.

[25] Wolters, HCOT, 102-3. Klein suggests something similar. He takes the stone with seven pairs of eyes to refer to fourteen facets on a single stone. He also connects the image to the fourteen stones on the ephod. Klein, NAC, 149-50. Both views come to the same significance, but Wolters is to be preferred if he is correct that “the technique of faceting gems was unknown in antiquity.” Wolters, HCOT, 105.

[26] See Klein.

[27] Merrill 1994: 182-3; McComiskey 1998: 1106; Klein 2008: 184; Hill 2012: 171; Petterson 2015: 175;  Boda 2016: 356, 369.

[28] Hill 2012; 171; Petterson 2015: 176; cf. Merrill 1994: 188; Klein 2008: 185; Wolters 2014: 173; Boda 2016: 360.

[29] McComiskey 1998: 1106; Hill 2012: 172; Petterson 2015: 175; Boda 2016: 360.

[30] McComiskey 1998: 1107.

[31] Wolters 2014: 175; cf. Hill 2012: 172.

[32] Merrill 1994: 185-86; McComiskey 1998: 1109; Boda 2016: 377; cf. Wolters 2014: 176.

[33] Wolters 2014: 172; Boda 2016:376.

[34] Duguid 2010: 124.

[35] Calvin, 160; Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible, 100; Vos, RD, 3:8; Barker, EBC, 772; Klein, NAC, 204; Hill TOTC, 177-78; Shepherd, KEL, 428.

[36] Witsius, XX; Wilhemus a Brakel, 1:”254-55; WJE 24:813-14; Kline, Glory in our Midst, 223-24; Fesko, The Trinity and the Covenant of Redemption, 53-77; Richard, “The Covenant of Redemption,” in Covenant Theology, 52-53; Marko Jauhiainen, “Turban and Crown Lost and Regained: Ezekiel 21:29-32 and Zechariah’s Zemah.” JBL 127 (2008): 501-11..

[37] See Wolters, HCOT, 220-21.

[38] Kyle C. Dunham, “Zechariah 11 and the Eschatological Shepherds,” DBTJ, 23 (2018): 11. Dunham arranges these sections chiastically, and I don’t follow him in that.

[39] Wolters, HCOT, 256.

[40] Wolters, HCOT, 257.

[41] Dunham, “Zechariah 11,” 13.

[42] Dunham, “Zechariah 11,” 25.

[43] Chou, “Zechariah 11:4-14,” Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy, 1275.

[44] Chou, “Zechariah 11:4-14,” Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy, 1280.

[45] Dunham, “Zechariah 11,” 33.

[46] Dunham, “Zechariah 11,” 35.

[47] Dunham, Zechariah 11,” 38.

[48] See Petterson, AOTC, 264.

[49] Barker, EBC, 686

[50] The city in Revelation 11:13 is clearly Jerusalem. Many interpreters take the city in Revelation 16:18-19 to be Rome (=”Babylon”); however, I wonder if the city is Jerusalem.

[51] Merrill, WEC, 351-52.

[52] Klein, NAC, 417.

[53] Johann Gerhard, Theological Commonplaces, XVI, Treatise II, ch. 2, sec. 4, §22.

[54] This has to be looking beyond the millennium to the new creation. In the new creation, the new Jerusalem is the holy of holies and the rest of the creation is the temple of Yhwh.

“Peoples” a false friend in Zechariah 11:10 and Psalm 2:1

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KJV: “my covenant which I had made with all the people.”
ESV: “the covenant that I had made with all the peoples.”

“As an aside, it should be pointed out that the rendering ‘all the people’ in the KJV does not reflect an understanding of עמים as singular. It is a peculiarity of earlier English that ‘people’ is the equivalent of the plural ‘nations;’ see Oxford English Dictionary s.v. ‘people,’ 1d.”

Al Wolters, Zechariah, Historical Commentary on the Old Testament (Leuven: Peeters, 2014), 378.

This is exegetically significant: is it a covenant made with “all the people,” that is with Israel. Or is it a covenant made with “all the peoples”?

(I should note that Wolters argues that the plural should be read as a singular, with the final ם being read as enclitic. In this case a misreading of the KJV would arrive at the correct interpretation. However, I think that it is more likely that the plural reading is correct.)

After being alterted to this false friend by Wolters’ commentary on Zechariah, I noticed it again in Pslam 2:1.

NKJV: “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?”

ESV: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?”

The GB, KJV, and NKJV all translate “people.” The contemporary translations (other than the NKJV) all translate “peoples.” The Hebrew is plural. 

Interestingly, Acts 4:25 quotes Psalm 2:1, and the breakdown with the translations is the same. The GB, KJV, and NKJV all translate “people.” The modern translations (other than KJV) “peoples.” The Greek is plural. 

Acts 4:27 then interprets the psalm. The GB, KJV, NKJV, NIV, H/CSB,  translate “the Gentiles and the people of Israel” whereas the RSV, NRSV, ESV, NASB, LSB translate “the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel.” The Greek λαός is again plural here.

I would understand nations and peoples in Psalm 2:1 to be synonymous. However, in the application of the Psalm Acts 4:27 makes clear that Israel is not distinct from but included within the nations/peoples who rise in rebellion against the Messiah by referring to “peoples of Israel.” Peoples is still plural because it is being quoted from the Psalms, but “of Israel” is added for the sake of application.

The KJV translators had the option to use people in a multivalent way. The more dynamic translations translate plural in the psalm and its quotation but translate 4:27 according to its sense. The more formal translations retain the plural throughout. 

Best Commentaries on Zephaniah

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Robertson, O. Palmer. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990.

Robertson is theologically insightful throughout this commentary. He captures well the message of Zephaniah in its canonical context.

Motyer, J. Alec. “Zephaniah.” In The Minor Prophets: An Exegetical and Expository Commentary. Edited by Thomas Edward McComiskey. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998.

Motyer is also a sure-footed interpreter of this book. I found his treatment of the structure insightful. He also makes the connection between Zephaniah and 2 Peter.

Patterson, Richard D. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1991.

Patterson does a good job of handling the Hebrew text and the exegesis of specific passages.

Bailey, Waylon. “Zephaniah.” In Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.

Baily was helpful on the structure, and his comments throughout are helpful.

DeRouchie, Jason. “Zephaniah.” In Daniel–Malachi. ESV Expository Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018.

DeRouchie is sensitive to Messianic and New Testament fulfillment of Zephaniah. He sometimes comes to the edge of over-realizing his eschatology, but he is nonetheless helpful.

Renz, Thomas. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2021.

I was not able to read Renz beyond the section on structure. He was helpful on that score.

Major Theological Themes of Zephaniah

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The major theme of Zephaniah is the day of Yhwh. It will come upon the whole world as a fiery de-creation event. The only way to be hidden on this day of wrath is to seek Yhwh in all humility. This eschatological day is prefigured by historical judgments of both Judah and the nations. However, the day of Yhwh is also a day of restoration, for both Israel and the nations. Yhwh will reign as King of Israel from Zion over all the nations, who will become his worshippers along with Israel. Standing behind this dominant theme of the day of Yhwh is the theme of covenant. The historical day of Yhwh judgment on Israel is a covenant judgment for violating the Mosaic covenant. The eschatological day of Yhwh judgment comes with expiring of the Noahic covenant. And the inclusion of the nations among the worshippers of Yhwh is in fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant.

NT Use of Zephaniah

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John records in his Gospel that the people of Jerusalem rejoiced when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. They hailed him as “the King of Israel” (12:13) John identified this as the fulfillment of prophecy: “just as it is written, ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt’” (12:15). The latter part of this statement, “behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt” is drawn from Zechariah 9:9. But the phrase, “Fear not daughter of Zion” does not occur in Zechariah. “Fear not, O Zion” occurs in Zephaniah 3:14, 16. And “daughter of Zion” is language shared by Zephaniah 3:14 and Zechariah 9:9. John evidently recognized that these verses from Zephaniah and Zechariah were related, and he conflated them in his quotation.[1]

What is the significance of John’s claim that the triumphal entry was a fulfillment of these texts. Jason DeRouchie observes,

It … seems likely that John saw Jesus’ journey unto death and resurrection as initiating the fulfillment of God’s enemy-overcoming end-time rule that Zephaniah foresaw. Jesus is already reigning as “God with us” (Matt. 1:23; cf. John 1:14; 2:21), indwelling his church through his Spirit (Matt. 28:20; John 14:16–20; Rom. 8:9–10; cf. Rev. 21:3), and in so doing he is fulfilling God’s promise of divine presence with us (cf. Ezek. 37:23–24 with 2 Cor. 6:16). Christians do not need to fear.[2]

DeRouchie is right to see an initial fulfillment of these verses in the triumphal entry. However, it is important to note that the promises of Zephaniah 3 (and Zechariah 9) reach beyond the present to a day in which all war is ended as the Messiah reigns from Zion, which will be a city purified of the proud and unjust and deceitful.

It is also important to recognize that the saved from all the nations who will populate the earth during this last, glorious, stage of the day of Yhwh include resurrected saints. The gathering of these people into Christ’s kingdom has been happening from Acts through the present. Given that Zephaniah included Cush as the exemplar of the Gentile nations, the inclusion of the Ethiopian eunuch in the Acts narrative is significant.[3]

Zephaniah which, along with Obadiah and Joel, is one of the key day of Yhwh texts has also influenced the New Testament’s teaching on the day of the Lord. This is especially the case with 2 Peter 3: “It is from Zephaniah as much as from any other biblical writer that Peter learned that the present cosmic order is reserved for fire in the day of the Lord (2 Peter 3:7, 10-12).”[4] Just as Zephaniah correlated the Flood with the coming day of Yhwh, so Peter correlated the day of the Lord with the Flood. Both emphasize the fiery nature of the day of the Lord judgment.[5] Revelation speaks of fire repeatedly as part of the tribulation judgments. The first trumpet judgment involves fire being thrown to earth (8:7; cf. 8:5). In the second trumpet judgment a burning fiery object, “like a great mountain,” is thrown into the sea (8:8). In the sixth trumpet judgment demonic creatures kill a third of mankind by fire (9:18). The two witnesses are also able to kill their enemies by fire (11:5). In the fourth bowl judgment the sun itself burns people “with fire” (16:8). The prostitute and Babylon will be destroyed by fire (17:16; 18:8-9, 17). It is not clear that John is drawing on Zephaniah in any of these texts, but this emphasis on fire during the ultimate day of the Lord correlates well with Zephaniah.

[1] See DeRouchie, ESVEC, 567, 599-600. DeRouchie also ties John 12:12-15 to Zephaniah 3 with the claim that the crowd crying “Hosanna!” was “multiethnic.” Ibid., 567. This claim is based on the pericope following the triumphal entry, which begins: “Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks” (12:20).

[2] DeRouchie, ESVEC, 600.

[3] DeRouchie, ESVEC, 568. I am not convinced, however, that DeRouchie is right to correlate the “pure speech” of Zephaniah 3:9 to the tongues speaking in Acts 2.

[4] Motyer, “Zephaniah,” Minor Prophets, 3:924.

[5] For the premillennialist, the correlation of Zephaniah with 2 Peter 3 locates 2 Peter 3 with the tribulation period. Some may wish to find the referent of Zephaniah 3:8 in destruction of the nations gathered against Jerusalem at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:7-9). But not only does fire of that judgment seem more limited (a consuming of the deceived nations rather than a consuming of all the earth), but Zephaniah 3:9 links the fiery judgment that culminates the judgment part of the day of the Lord with the onset of the blessing part of the day of the Lord. “For at that time” the nations will be converted and they will bring Jews back to the land (cf. Isa. 66:20 (Patterson, WEC, 372). In other words, Zephaniah gives clear pattern of the earth being consumed by fire followed by the Millennium. This would further indicate that the new creation 2 Peter 3:13 speaks of likely begins with the Millennium and brought to consummation at its conclusion. See Robert D. Culver, Daniel and the Latter Days (Chicago: Moody, 1954), 177-90.

OT Use of Zephaniah

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Jeremiah and Ezekiel both seem to pick up some of Zephaniah’s phrases, just as some of the wording from Isaiah and Micah influenced Zephaniah.[1] Most significantly, however, Zechariah 2:10-11 alludes to Zephaniah 3:14-15. In both passages the “daughter of Zion” is told to “sing aloud,” and “rejoice” because the King of Israel is in their “midst.”[2] In addition, both passages envision God’s people encompassing the nations. Both passages are looking forward to that eschatological day when Yhwh will rule from Zion over the whole earth. Zechariah 9:9 also seems to draw on Zephaniah 3:14-15. It too calls for the “daughter of Zion” to “rejoice” because her king is coming to her—a king who will rule peacefully over the nations. Though Zechariah 9:9’s wording is not as close to Zephaniah 3:14-15 as Zechariah 2:10-11’s,[3] the passages are conceptually parallel.

[1] Berlin, AB, 15-16.

[2] Only in these two passages are the phrases, “sing,” rejoice,” and “daughter of Zion” found together. The idea of Yhwh being in their “midst” is also present in both passages (though different words for midst are used).

[3] A different Hebrew word is used for “rejoice,” and in Zechariah 9:9 the “daughter of Zion” (the one shared phrase) is told to “shout” rather than “sing.”

Zephaniah’s Use of the OT

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Zephaniah opens his book with strong allusions to the Flood judgment and the creation week.[1] These allusions identify the day of Yhwh as a de-creation event on a scale larger than that of the Flood. Though the Noahic covenant is not mentioned, Zephaniah implies that this eschatological day of Yhwh marks the end of the Noahic covenant. The wrath of God that that covenant held in abeyance until the plan of redemption was worked out now is given full rein. Positively, the salvation of the nations is in fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant’s promise that all the nations will be blessed through Abraham’s seed.

Exodus 19:18-20 and Deuteronomy 4:11 describe Yhwh’s descent to mount Sinai as accompanied with fire, smoke, darkness, clouds, gloom, the sounding of a trumpet, and thunder, and many of these elements are part of Zephaniah’s description of the day of Yhwh (1:15-16, 18).

Zephaniah also draws on Deuteronomy’s list of covenant curses for disobedience to the Mosaic covenant. To disobedient Israel, Moses said, “you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness” (Dt 28:29) and Zephaniah said of those caught in the eschatological day of Yhwh judgment, “so they shall walk as blind men” (1:17). Deuteronomy said, “You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit…. You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes” (Dt 28:30, 39). And Zephaniah said that when the day of Yhwh came upon Judah, “Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them” (1:13). On the other hand, Yhwh promised an obedient Israel, “that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made” (Dt 26:19), and Zephaniah closes his book by declaring of redeemed Israel, “I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth… for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth” (3:19-20).[2] Deuteronomy predicted that Israel would disobey and come under the covenant curses (30:1), but it also promised to Israel that Yhwh would “gather you again” and “restore your fortunes” (30:3). Zephaniah’s closing words are, “‘at the time when I gather you together…, when I restore your fortune before your eyes,’ says Yhwh” (3:20).[3] Zephaniah also drew on the prophets who preceded him. The statement that beasts, birds, and fish will be swept away occurs first in Hosea 4:3.  His description of the day of Yhwh as “near,” “great,” dark, gloomy, and cloudy, as including a sounding  trumpet, and as coming upon all the inhabitants of the land/earth (1:14-18) is indebted to Joel’s description of the day of Yhwh in Joel 2:1-11.[4]

[1] Berlin, AB, 13-14; Schnittjer, OTUOT, 414.

[2] See Robertson, NICOT, 254-55; Schnittjer, OTUOT, 436.

[3] Schnittjer, OTUOT, 436.

[4] Patterson, WEC, 321; Schnittjer, OTUOT, 436.

Structure and Summary of Zephaniah

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After the superscription (1:1), Zephaniah can be divided into three major sections (1:2-2:3; 2:4-3:8; 3:8-20).[1]

Zephaniah’s genealogy in the superscription (1:1) is lengthier than normal, reaching back four generations. It marks Zephaniah out as a descendant of King Hezekiah.[2] Thus the superscription links Zephaniah to both Hezekiah and Josiah, two great reforming kings in Israel. His father’s name is Cushi, which links him to the people of Cush, the African kingdom south of Egypt. Jason DeRouchie notes, “We know that Judah made a number of political alliances with the nation of Cush prior to Zephaniah’s ministry (Isa. 18:1–2; 20:5–6) and that Jerusalem’s leadership had strong ties with Cushites (2 Sam. 18:21; Jer. 38:7; 39:16).”[3]  The time of birth of Zephaniah’s father was also a time in which Cush was an important regional power with “diplomatic, commercial, and military activity in Judah.”[4] This points to the “likelihood that Zephaniah was a biracial Jew (probably through Cushi’s mother, Gedaliah’s wife).”[5] This background has theological significance because Zephaniah predicts a future day in which Yhwh will have worshippers “from beyond the rivers of Cush” (3:10). Zephaniah’s own family tree is an anticipation of the fulfillment of that prophecy.

The first major section of the book (1:2-2:3) concerns the day of Yhwh. It consists of two cycles, the first (1:2-6) begins with the universal day of Yhwh (1:2-3) and then shifts to a historical judgment against Judah (1:4-6). The second (1:7-18) begins with a historical day of Yhwh against Judah (1:7-13) before shifting to the universal and eschatological great day of Yhwh (1:14-18). This has the effect of sandwiching, or contextualizing, the judgment on Judah within the framework of God’s eschatological judgment. The historical judgments are anticipations of the final judgment.[6]

“‘I will utterly sweep away from the face of the earth [אֲדָמָה],’ declares Yhwh” (1:2). This opening declaration recalls the Flood narrative, in which Yhwh said to Noah, “every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground [אֲדָמָה]” (Gen 7:4; cf. Gen 6:7).[7] This is the de-creation of creation: “I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked” (1:3, ESV mg.). O. Palmer Robertson observes, “The order in which items are listed for destruction is precisely the reverse of the order in which they appear in the creation narrative.… Originally it was fish, birds, beasts, and man that God created.”[8] Further, by including fish, this judgment is seen to exceed that of the Flood in scope.[9] In the Noahic covenant God promised “I will never again destroy every living thing” (Gen 8:20), which indicates that this judgment must be the eschatological judgment that brings the present age to its conclusion to make way for the new creation. If all of this is not evidence enough that the universal eschatological judgment is in view, Jesus settled the matter by alluding to Zechariah’s statement, “I will sweep away … the stumbling blocks with the wicked” (1:3, ESV mg.) in his explanation of the parables of the tares: at the end of the age “the Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness” (Mt 13:41, NASB).[10]

This eschatological judgment seamlessly transitions to a historical judgment on Judah (1:4-6).[11] Just as Yhwh will sweep away the idolatrous stumbling blocks from the whole earth in the last day, so he would “cut off from [Judah] the remnant of Baal” (1:4) and those who worshipped other gods or blended the worship Yhwh with false worship (1:5-6).

The second cycle (1:7-18) begins with a command “Be silent before the Lord Yhwh!” And a reason for the command: “For the day of Yhwh is near” (1:7). This day is described as a sacrificial feast—in which the guests are the ones consecrated to be sacrificed! The sins that lead to this judgment are briefly mentioned. Some are clear: “violence and fraud” (1:9). Others hardly seem to be sins at all: the wearing of foreign clothes and taking care not to step on a threshold. The latter action is explained in 1 Samuel 5:4-5. When the ark of the covenant had been captured and placed in the temple of Dagon, Dagon was found fallen before the ark, with his head and hands broken off and lying on the threshold. This led to a custom in which priests of Dagon would not step on the threshold of their temple. Isarel had now, inexplicably, added this practice to their worship. Likewise, the wearing of foreign clothes was a sign that Israel’s leaders were leading the people to follow in the ways of the surrounding, idolatrous nations. There was nothing inherently wrong with stepping over a threshold or wearing foreign clothes. But those actions communicated something. Alec Motyer sums up the situation well: “Did the leaders of Zephaniah’s day say, ‘How I dress is my business. It is part of my private life and has nothing to do with my position or work’? But by their dress . . . they were eroding the distinction between the Lord’s people and the world around.”[12] Despite these warnings, there were those who said, “Yhwh will not do good, nor will he do ill.” (1:12). They dismissed the idea of coming judgment. But they would come under the curses of the Mosaic covenant (1:13; cf. Dt 28:30, 39).[13]

With verse 17, the focus turns back to the eschatological day of Yhwh. From God’s perspective, that day was near over two-and-a-half millennia ago, for “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet 3:8). How much nearer is that day now! Zephaniah draws on language from Joel 2:1-11 to describe this day of Yhwh: it is “near,” “great, dark, gloomy, full of clouds, a “day of trumpet blast.” Zephaniah adds that in this day “all the earth shall be consumed” by the “fire of [Yhwh’s] jealousy” (1:18). While one could read the reference to fire metaphorically, the New Testament writers understood Zephaniah to predict a physical, fiery judgment that will come upon the whole earth.

Chapter 2 opens with a call to seek Yhwh (2:1-3). In light of these predictions of the coming day of Yhwh, Judah is called to gather together and seek Yhwh that they might be “hidden on the day of the anger of Yhwh” (2:3). If the phrase in verse 3 is translated “humble of the earth” (NASB, LSB, CSB; cf. KJV, NKJV), then this call is expanded out to include all people. However, if the phrase is translated, “humble of the land” (ESV, NIV, NRSV), it remains focused on Judah. Since the following oracles against the nations are linked to this call with a “for,” the more universal reading is probably correct.

The second major section of the book (2:4-3:8) consists of oracles against the nations. These nations are arranged at the four points of the compass: Philistia to Judah’s west, Moab and Ammon to Judah’s east, Cush to Judah’s south, and Assyria to Judah’s north.[14] Though there are hints of salvation in these oracles (verse 7 speaks of the restoration of the remnant of Judah, and verse 11 speaks of the nations worshipping Yhwh from their own lands), the emphasis is on the judgment of the nations. The oracles culminate with Assyria, the greatest threat to Judah at that time. Assyria will be judged with the reversal of the blessing of Genesis 1:28. God blessed mankind with dominion over the earth. He specifically indicated that mankind was given dominion over the animal world. But in Zephaniah 2:14–15, Assyria was to be judged by the animals taking over its greatest city. The animals would take dominion over Nineveh.

The opening verses of chapter 3 seem to continue the judgment oracle on Nineveh: “Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!” But when Zephaniah says, “she does not draw near to her God,” which the previous line identified as Yhwh, it becomes clear that Jerusalem is the city under condemnation. Thus, Judah, like all the nations, is in danger of God’s wrath. In verses 6-8 Jerusalem and the nations are brought together in a final statement of God’s universal judgment.

Verse 8 is a hinge verse. It brings to a culmination the prediction of judgment. This again is a prediction of universal judgment by fire: “in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.” However, verse 9 indicates that following this comprehensive judgment is a comprehensive redemption (3:9-20).

It is “at that time” that the speech of the people will be changed to “pure speech” (3:9). That is, the speech of the peoples will be the speech of true worship. It is the reversal of Babel not in the sense that all peoples are speaking the same languages but in the sense that all are speaking the same worship. As a representative instance, Zephaniah draws on his own family background: Yhwh will have worshippers from beyond the rivers of Cush, which is all of Africa south of Egypt. [Joy parents and grandparents have participated in the fulfillment of this prophecy. The people they led to the Lord in Africa will be resurrected and among those worshipping the Lord in that day.] Verses 11-13 describe the extent of the transformation in that day. Daniel Timmer notes:

These statements depict more than a sanctified life—they are evidence of a heart purified of all sin, not only justified but fully sanctified and perfected. It is for this reason that they can graze and “lie down” (v. 13), with no fear of an enemy. Not only have their external enemies been removed, but sin as their longtime internal enemy no longer exists. This passage depicts the full and final stage of salvation for God’s people, whom He shepherds forever in green pastures without sin, danger, or interruption.[15]

The timing of this transformation is “in that day.” The day of Yhwh begins in judgment, but following the judgment, the day of Yhwh is characterized by restoration and salvation for God’s people. Verses 14-18 then call upon Israel to rejoice. Yhwh has removed the judgments against them as well as their enemies. But the King of Israel, who is Yhwh himself, is in their midst. Israel is then called on to “Fear not” because Yhwh their God is in their midst. He will save, rejoice over, and love them. Verses 18-20 teach that at this time Yhwh will deal with all the oppressors of his people and will reverse the shame his people experienced and gather them back to the land, so that they are honored by all the peoples of the earth.

[1] Note that 3:8 is a transitional verse between sections 2 and 3.

[2] Robertson, NICOT, 34; Motyer, “Zephaniah,” in Minor Prophets, 3:898; Berlin, AB, 65; Tully, Reading the Prophets as Christian Scripture, 342; Hoffmeier, The Prophets of Israel, 240-41.

[3] DeRouchie, ESVEC, 571.

[4] Hays, From Every People and Nation, NSBT, 122-23. Hays determined the period of Cushi’s birth as follows: “If we estimate the beginning of Zephaniah’s ministry in 630 BC, assume that he is at least 30 at the beginning of his ministry, and assign a 25-year span between father and son, then his father would have been born around 685 BC.” Ibid, 123. This is about a decade earlier the beginning of Zephaniah’s ministry which I proposed above.

[5] DeRouchie, ESVEC, 571.

[6] Timmer, Judah among the Empires, 79.

[7] Robertson, NICOT; 258; Walker, EBC, 544; Patterson, WEC, 299, 301; Berlin, AB, 81.

[8] Robetson, NICOT; 258; cf. Motyer, 3:911-12; Walker, EBC, 544; Berlin, AB, 13, 81; Tully, Reading the Prophets as Christian Scripture, Timmer, Judah among the Empires, 78.

[9] Motyer, 3:911.

[10] Robertson, NICOT, 259-60.

[11] Robertson, NICOT, 260; Walker, EBC, 546.

[12] Motyer, 3:919.

[13] Berlin, AB, 88-89; Tully, Reading the Prophets as Christian Scripture, 346.

[14] Motyer, 3:902.

[15] Timmer, Judah among the Empires, 100.

Thoughts on Israel’s Request for a King in 1 Samuel 8

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  • It’s important to note that the existence of an Israelite king was not a problem.
    • It was part of God’s covenant promise to Abraham: Gen 17:6, 16; 35:11.
    • This promise was elaborated in Jacob’s blessing of Judah: Gen 49:10
    • It was prophesied: Num 24:7, 17
    • It was provided for in the Mosaic covenant: Dt 17:14-20
    • The book of Judges closed by noting that Israel needed a king: Jdgs 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25
    • Hannah sang of the coming king: 1 Sam. 2:10
  • Deuteronomy 17:14-20 provides the divine legislation for Israel’s institution of a king:
    • They may establish a king when they have conquered and are dwelling in the land.
    • At this point they will say, “I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me.”  This could be read in a neutral sense: “like all the nations that are around me [have].” Or it could mean, “[so that may be] like all the nations that are around me.” See Block, Deuteronomy, NIVAC, 417.
    • Yhwh permits a king, but he immediately sets up requirements of the king to foreclose the second possibility: having a king so that they will be like all the nations around them.
    • Requirements of selection:
      • Must be chosen by Yhwh
      • Must be Israelite (“from among your brothers”)
      • Must be male (“from among your brothers”)
    • Prohibitions:
      • Must not acquire many horses, especially not from Egypt.
      • Must not acquire many wives.
      • Must not acquire excessive silver and gold.
    • Duties
      • Write for himself a copy of this Law under the oversight of the Levitical priests
      • Keep that book of the Law with him
      • Read the Law all the days of his life so that he learns to fear Yhwh his God
      • Keep the Law
      • Not have his heart lifted up above his brothers.
  • Evaluation of Israel’s demand for a king
    • The people saw a real failure in Samuel’s sons when he tried to set up a dynasty of judges.
    • The elders used the language of Deuteronomy in their request for a king: “Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” The question is whether they are using it in a neutral sense or to mean that they want to be like the nations.
    • Yhwh interprets the request: they are rejecting him as king in their request for a king. This means that the king they are asking for is not a Dt 17 kind of king, since that king ruled in submission to God’s law. Verse 7.
    • Yhwh interprets this in line with their rebellion since they came up from Egypt. Verse 8.
    • Samuel is to do what they ask, but he is to warn solemnly warn them about the “justice” of the king who will rule over them. Verse 9.
    • Verses 11-17 describe this king’s conception of justice:
      • Take sons and daughters to serve him in the court, military, fields, and household.
      • Take the best of the fields, vineyards, and orchards to himself.
      • Take male and female servants
      • Take livestock and flocks
      • They will become his slaves
      • When they cry out against this “justice” Yhwh won’t hear them.
    • Conclusion: this does not mean that kingship itself would be characterized by these kinds of things or that kingship itself is bad. What is bad are kings who do not rule in submission to God.
  • Further evidence that the people were looking for a king that would enable them to continue to live like the nations:
    • They insist they will have this king even after they are warned. Verse 19.
    • They specifically want the king to fight their battles. But we know from Judges that they are needing to fight these battles because they are living like the Canaanites and God is bringing enemies against them. Their request for a king is thus a request to be able to continue in their sin while mitigating the consequences.
    • This is reinforced in 10:17-19 where Samuel recalls how Yhwh has had repeatedly delivered them. But they have rejected God and wanted a king to displace God for that role.
    • After Saul is chosen by Yhwh, Samuel told the people of God’s expectations for just rule by the king. 10:25.
    • In his farewell address, Samuel attests to Yhwh’s continued deliverance of Israel when they repented of the sins that led them to come under attack (12:6-11). Thus their request for a king to fight their battles was a rejection of God (12:12). God have them a king of the kind they requested. (12:13). But both they and the king still have a chance to fear, serve, and obey God (12:14). If they don’t they will continue to fall under the curses of Mosaic covenant (12:15).
    • Samuel identifies their request for Saul to have been evil. (But this does not mean that the request for a God-fearing king from God-fearing motives would have been evil.) His solution is not to get rid of the king but to fear and to serve Yhwh wholeheartedly.