Table of Contents
Zechariah 12
Zechariah 12
1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God.
6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
7 The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
Notes
Cross Reference
[10] Ezekiel 36:27 See notes.
Commentary
Ezekiel 36:27: “אֶת־רוּחִ֖י אֶתֵּ֣ן בְּקִרְבְּכֶ֑ם וְעָשִׂ֗יתִי אֵ֤ת אֲשֶׁר־בְּחֻקַּי֙ תֵּלֵ֔כוּ וּמִשְׁפָּטַ֥י תִּשְׁמְר֖וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶֽם” “and I will put My spirit into you. Thus I will cause you to follow My laws and faithfully to observe My rules.” This “et asher” shows without a shadow of a doubt that the line should NOT read “upon (me whom) they have piereced” but “upon me (because of whom) they have pierced”.
Rashi
Verse 1
<html><b>The prophecy of the word of the Lord</b> This is the completion of the word that he began to speak about the retribution of those who devour Israel - Esau and his ilk.</html>
Verse 2
<html><b>a cup of weakness</b> a vessel of weakness, as in (Exod. 12:22), “in the blood that is in the cup.” <b>weakness</b> an expression of bewilderment, [it means] the clogging of the heart and the limbs, for, like man enwrapped in a garment, they have no strength, as in (Nahum 2:4), “And the cypress trees were enwrapped” ; and (Isa. 3:19) “And the bracelets and the veils.” In the language of the Mishnah (Shabbath 6:6) we find, “Arabian women may go out veiled.” It is involopiment in O.F. <b>and also on Judah</b> the nations that will be in siege against Jerusalem will impose upon Judah, for the house of David will be inside and the gentiles will besiege them. And also, the children of Judah will come, against their will, to besiege Jerusalem. So did Jonathan render it.</html>
Verse 3
<html><b>a stone of burden</b> A stone of burden placed upon men by order of the ruler, to carry it and to load it on their shoulders. It is very heavy, to the extent that all who bear it become gashed.</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>I will smite every horse</b> of those gathered there with bewilderment and blindness, and their riders with madness (Shem Ephraim). But upon the [members of the] house of Judah, who are among those gathered against their will, I will open My eyes to protect them from this plague.</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>And the princes of Judah shall say to themselves</b> when they see that the others who were gathered are plagued with this plague, and they are saved. <b>The inhabitants of Jerusalem were my strength, etc.</b> The inhabitants of Jerusalem, who know that we came upon them against our will, strengthened my help with their prayer by the Lord, their God.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>I will make the princes of Judah</b> They will return and wage war with those who brought them there. <b>as a fiery stove</b> Like a great bonfire. The word כִּיוֹר is an expression of כִּירָה, a stove. So did Menahem (Machbereth, p. 109) classify it. <b>in its place</b> lit. under it.</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>And the Lord shall first save the tents of Judah</b> Before the inhabitants of Jerusalem come out of the city, they shall have a salvation - to return to their tents and to their homes - and afterwards the salvation shall come to the inhabitants of the city. That is the salvation concerning which it is stated (14:3): “And the Lord shall go forth and wage war.” <b>so that the boasting of, etc., shall not increase</b> to boast over them and to say, “You were saved only because of us.”</html>
Verse 8
<html><b>and the weakest among them</b> Heb. הַנִּכְשָׁל <b>like angels</b> Jonathan renders: like great ones, like angels. <b>like the angel of the Lord before them</b> They will prosper like the angel of the Lord before them.</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>I will seek to destroy</b> I will seek their destruction, and I will be exact in judging their iniquity. And our Sages (Avodah Zarah 4a) explained this verse as concerning merit. I will search in the books of their deeds; if they have merit, I will spare them; otherwise, I will destroy them.</html>
Verse 10
<html><b>a spirit of grace and supplications</b> That it should come into their mind to supplicate Me, and they will be in My good graces. <b>a spirit</b> Talant in Old French, a desire. <b>they shall look to Me because of those who have been thrust through</b> Jonathan renders: And they shall supplicate Me because of their wanderings. <b>And they shall look to Me.</b> to complain about those of them whom the nations thrust through and slew during their exile. <b>and they shall mourn over it</b> Over that slaughter. <b>as one mourns over an only son</b> As a man mourns over his only son. And our Sages expounded this in tractate Sukkah (52a) as referring to the Messiah, son of Joseph, who was slain.</html>
Verse 11
<html><b>like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddon</b> Hadadrimmon has no connection to the Valley of Megiddon. These are, rather, two cases of mourning. [The first is] like the mourning of Ahab the son of Omri, who was slain by Hadadrimmon the son of Tabrimmon in Ramoth Gilead, as it is stated (I Kings 22:36): “A cry passed through the camp.” That is the mourning [of Ahab. The second case is] like the mourning of Josiah the son of Amon, who was slain by Pharoah the lame in the Valley of Megiddon, as it is stated (II Chron. 35:25): “And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah, and all the singing men and singing women spoke in their laments, etc.”</html>
Verse 12
<html><b>the house of Nathan</b> the prophet. Some say that it refers to Nathan the son of David, as it is said (II Sam. 5:14): “Shammua and Shobab, and Nathan and Solomon.”</html>
Verse 13
<html><b>the house of Levi</b> The priests and the Levites. <b>the family of the Shimeites</b> Shammua the son of David. Scripture first makes a generality about the house of David, and then it specifies each one.</html>
Verse 14
<html><b>All the remaining families</b> of the house of David. <b>and their wives apart</b> because of decency. Now why were the families of the priesthood and the kingdom [mentioned]? In order to restore their crowns to them, as it is stated in the beginning of the Book (4:14): “These are the two anointed ones who stand before the Lord of all the earth.”</html>