Глава 12

1–9. The plans of the nations warring against Jerusalem are unsuccessful and serve to their own destruction. 10–14. General repentant cry about the grave crime of the people. Zechariah 12:1. The prophetic word of the Lord about Israel. The Lord, who stretched out the heavens, founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him, says: In Zech. 12:1 there is the same word massa, which begins the first prophecy of the second part of the book. Zechariah. Here the exact translation of the expression: massa debhar jebováal Isráel would not quite correspond, apparently, to the further presentation of the prophecy, if we take the word massa to mean “burden”. “The burden of the word of the Lord upon Israel” would be inappropriate in a prophecy primarily depicting the triumph of God’s people over the Gentiles. Since the word massa, which was originally used in prophecies directed exclusively against the pagans, later began to be applied to prophecies about Israel, it could lose its specific connotation (the meaning of a terrible prediction of disasters). Therefore, in this case, this expression can be understood in the sense of a prophecy about Israel in general. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that all three last chapters of the book of Zechariah also speak about the plight of the sons of the chosen people (Zech.12:2; Zech.13:7–9; Zech.14:1–2). Rougemont explains the correspondence of the title of the prophecy with its content: “neither the name of Israel nor its synonyms appear in the prophecy that speaks only of Judah and the pagans. Thus this title constitutes a true mystery. Nevertheless, this riddle is not insoluble: the great promises contained in ch. XII, XIII and XIV are given to Judah alone, and the silence maintained in relation to Ephraim, who worshiped the golden calf and rebelled against the Davidic family, is as heavy a burden as great threats would be. This exception of Ephraim should not, however, resolve the promises that Zechariah made to him above Zechariah 10:6-12:) and which also refer to the end of time (p. 233). – In accordance with Zech.9:1, where the omniscience of God is indicated, in Zech.12:1 attention is drawn to the creative activity of God, as the basis for the confidence that everything spoken in the name of God will undoubtedly be realized. Zechariah 12:2. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trance for all the surrounding nations, and also for Judah during the siege of Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:3. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all nations; all who lift him up will tear themselves apart, and all the nations of the earth will gather against him. The subject of this chapter is the struggle of the pagans with the chosen people of God. The prophet depicts the futility of the plans of the pagan peoples against Judah and Jerusalem and their destruction for themselves. Jerusalem, surrounded by nations hostile to it, will become for them a cup of frenzy; in the fight against him, they will become drunk and weakened so much that they will not be able to stand on their own feet. All of Judea, led by Jerusalem, will contribute to this weakening of the pagans when they open hostile actions against Jerusalem, which in Zech. 12:3 is compared to a heavy stone: those who lift it will only strain their strength and cause injury to themselves. This will be the case with all nations gathering to fight against Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:4. On that day, says the Lord, I will smite every horse with madness and its rider with madness, and I will open My eyes on the house of Judah; I will smite every horse among the nations with blindness. Zechariah 12:5. And the princes of Judah will say in their hearts, “My strength is the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord of hosts their God.” For Judas, who is under the special protection of God, all the fighting forces of the pagans and horses will be safe, and the horsemen will not only lose the properties necessary for military operations, but, having gone into a frenzy, will harm their own. It will then be clear to the leaders of Judah that the inhabitants of besieged Jerusalem are strong with divine help. Zechariah 12:6. In that day I will make the princes of Judah like a brazier with fire among the wood and like a burning lamp among the sheaves, and they will destroy all the surrounding nations, on the right and on the left, and Jerusalem will be peopled again in its place, in Jerusalem. The leaders of the Jews will be inaccessible to the hostile actions of the pagans: approaching them will be as dangerous as a brazier with fire is dangerous for wood or like a burning lamp for sheaves; this fire of courage, ignited by God Himself, will destroy all the surrounding nations from all sides; Jerusalem will remain calm in its place. Zechariah 12:7. And the Lord will first save the tents of Judah, so that the greatness of the house of David and the greatness of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not rise above Judah. The victory over the pagans will be wonderful, and the tents of Judah will be saved before the fortified capital; “And never again will the royal house, nor the nobles and nobles of the tribe of Judah, nor the inhabitants of Jerusalem, be magnified in the eyes of the tribe of Judah because it was under their control and subject to their decrees; but they will know that both over them and over the tribe of Judah, victory belongs to the Lord” (Jero 150). Zechariah 12:8. On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the weakest among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. Zechariah 12:9. And it will come to pass on that day that I will destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. Supported by divine power, even the weak of the Jews will be strong, like David, the glorious hero and conqueror; and the house of David will exhibit supernatural courage, display superhuman strength. Then all the nations rising up against Jerusalem will be condemned to destruction. Zechariah 12:10. And I will pour out the spirit of grace and compunction on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and they will look at Him, whom they pierced, and they will weep for Him as they weep for their only begotten son, and grieve as they grieve for their firstborn. But external security and brilliant victories over the pagans are not enough. The House of David and the people of Jerusalem need to cleanse their grave crime through repentance and remove the burden of sin. This is not done without beneficial influence; Having received from above the spirit of grace and tenderness, they turn their gaze to the One whom in their blindness they put to death and mourn him with the most sincere and inconsolable crying: they cry only for their only son, they mourn only for their firstborn. – Zechariah 12:10, literally. The meaning of the true expression (they will look at Him, Whom they have pierced), concludes the thought as if Jehovah Himself was being put to death. Explaining verse 10, Keil notes that “this verse, of course, cannot be understood in the sense of putting to death Jehovah Himself, the Creator of heaven and earth. Here we should understand the death of the Angel of Jehovah, one in essence with Jehovah, who became human in the person of Jesus Christ. Since Zechariah several times depicts the coming of the Messiah as the appearance of Jehovah to His people, in the person of His Angel, then, according to this representation, he could also designate the death of the Angel as the death of Jehovah Himself... At the same time, the transition from 1 l. to 3 indicates that the Mortified One is essentially one with Jehovah, being, however, a separate person from the supermundane God” (S. 638). St. Ephraim, interpreting the words: “they will look upon Him, His blood has broken” in a historical sense, refers them to Judas Maccabee (p. 225, Marti 447); but at the same time, he also refers them to the crucified Christ, whose ribs were pierced (cf. Cyrus 187–188; Theod 167; Jero 154). Thus, the Evangelist John, the ancient interpreters and the modern commentators following them in Zech. 12:10 see a prophecy about the death of the Savior on the cross. Regarding the fact of the literal fulfillment of this prophecy, even in external details, Keil notes that “it serves to make the internal connection of the prophecy with its historical fulfillment so clear that even unbelievers would not be able to reject it with sufficient thoroughness” (S. 638, Cf. S. 662). Zechariah 12:11. On that day there will be a great cry in Jerusalem, like the cry of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. The lament for the One Who was pierced can only be compared with the lament for the pious King Josiah, who was killed at Hadadrimmon on the plain of Megiddon. “Josiah... died, as Rougemont noted, as a victim of the terrible curse of God that weighed on his people, and not as a result of his own imprudence (2 Kings 23 et seq.), and his death was the subject of folk funeral songs, probably not forgotten even in the time of Zechariah” (2 Chron. 35:25, p. 237; see Oehl. 98–99, 274; Reinke 231; Jung II, 74–75, 77). Zechariah 12:12. And the earth will weep, every tribe separately: the tribe of the house of David especially, and their wives separately; the tribe of the house of Nathan is special, and their wives are special; Zechariah 12:13. the tribe of the house of Levi is special, and their wives are special; Simeon's tribe is special, and their wives are special. Zechariah 12:14. All other tribes - each tribe separately, and their wives separately. The weeping will be great and universal: all tribes will weep, men will weep no less than women. – Zechariah 12:13 according to Sim. to Vienna it reads like this: “and the earth will weep, every tribe by itself... the tribe of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves, the tribe of Simeon by themselves, and their wives by themselves”; also in Slav., Sir., and LXX, i.e., as if in this verse there was Heb. the name of the son of Jacob, in the blessing of the patriarch compared with Levi. Meanwhile, Masor. t., Trg. Vulg., Luther have here a name reminiscent of the name Schim'on, but different from it - Schim'i, applied to another person, namely the grandson of Levi, the son of Gerson (Ex. 6:17. Sim. - “Shimei”). Thus, the prophet names the main ancestors of the royal and priestly families and one branch of each family (Keil 640, Reinke 237–239). Of the ancients, Cyril (p. 191) and Theodoret (p. 118) mean here, according to the reading of LXX, Simeon, son of Jacob; and under Nathan in Zech. 12:12 the prophet of this name, a contemporary of David, and not his son. Also, Jerome (although he adopted the form of the name corresponding to the Hebrew text) interprets this passage in relation to the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes, apparently in relation to the remark of Jerus. Targum on Genesis 49:) about Simeon as the ancestor of “men of understanding and knowledgeable in the Law” (p. 155, Cyrus 191, Reinke 237). St. Ephraim, with the brevity of his interpretation, does not touch upon the question of the identity of Simeon - Shimei. You might be interested in: