And shall sit and rule upon his throne. And a priest shall also be upon his throne: And the counsel of peace shall be between these two. 14 And there shall be a crown for Heldai, and for Tobijah, and for Jedaiah, and for Josiah the son of Zephaniah; for a memorial in the temple of Jehovali, 15 And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of Jehovah: and ye shall know that Je hovah God of hosts hath sent me unto you: and this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently hearken unto the voice of Jehovah your God. .ונתת תהודך עליו and authority belonging to a sovereign or chief ruler. So when Moses was directed to give up his command and authority to Joshua, it is said by "And thou shalt put of thine honour upon him." Numb. xxvii. 20. And in this sense Christ was to receive glory NW Ps. xxi. 5. Dan. vii. 14. Acts iii. 13. v. 31. Phil. ii. 9-11. Heb. ii. 9. He was to be exalted to the right hand of God, there to sit upon his throne, as a king, governing his church, and as a priest, making intercession continually for it. It is impossible not to see that this prophecy was completed in Christ so as it never could be in any other; and therefore it must be understood of him." Blaney. -be upon his throne] 6. Ar. read by on his right hand. -counsel of peace] Zerubbabel and Joshua shall firmly unite in promoting the public good. 14. -a crown] So ó. Ar. Syr. -for Heldai] So Syr. and Houbigant. corrupt reading. חלם is plainly a and for Josiah the son] So Syr. and Houbigant observes that we must read thus, or by, and for the son of Zephaniah. -memorial] Of the pious zeal of these persons; when, after having been publicly worn by them, they are hung up in the temple. 15. far off] As in the building of Solomon's temple, at which the Tyrians assisted. --and this shall come to pass] Syr. omits . Houbigant places the whole clause at the beginning of the verse. "And it shall come to pass, if ye will diligently hearken unto the voice of Jehovah your God, that they who are far off &c," CHAP. VII. 1 AND it came to pass, in the fourth year of Darius the king, that the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, 2 even in Chisleu: (Now Sharezer, and Regem-melec and his men, had been sent to the House of God, to 3 entreat the face of Jehovah: Speaking unto the priests who were in the House of Jehovah God of hosts, and unto the prophets, saying; Shall I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done 4 these so many years?) Even the word of Jehovah 5 God of hosts came unto me, saying: Speak unto all the people of the land, and unto the priests, saying; When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh month, even those seventy years, did 6 ye indeed fast unto me, even unto me? And when + Hebr. fast, fasting. 2. —had been sent] One had sent. See on Jon. iii. 7. Et miserunt. V. It is plain, says Houbigant, that all the people and the priests had sent. See v. 5. However, the construction may be, Now Sharezer, and Regem melech and his men, had sent &c. See Numb. xvi. 1. And a reply, addressed to all, may have been given to the doubt of a few leading men. "ó. Vulg. translate-that Sharezer &c. sent. And so Ch. is most naturally understood. And it is the easiest construction Secker. 3. the fifth month] The temple and the houses and walls of Jerusalem were destroyed in this month. 2 Kings xxv. 8—10, 5. and mourned] The versions, Chald. and our translators render as if in the original they read TDD, or, as Houbigant proposes, D'. We may read TDD; cum jejunaretis plangendo, So n seperando me: v. 3. See on Haggai, i. 4. -the seventh month] Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had appointed ruler of the Jews, was murdered in that month: which was a source of new calamities. 2 Kings xxv. 25, 26, Jer. xli. 1, 10, xliv. 12. -even those seventy years] Nine MSS. and one ed. read without the vau. -fast unto me] Twenty-five MSS. read ny; which is the regular form with the affix, and equivalent to only. See Numb. xx. 5. Buxt. thes. gramm. p. 510. ---even unto me] For a like form, sce 1 Kings xxi. 19. Prov, ye ate, and when ye drank, did ye not eat unto your7 selves, and did ye not drink unto yourselves? Are not these the words which Jehovah proclaimed by § the former prophets, when Jerusalem remained still and prospered and her cities round about her, and the 8 south, and the plain, were inhabited? Then the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah, saying: 9 10 Thus spake Jehovah God of hosts, saying; * And shew mercy and compassion Every man to his brother: And the widow, and the orphan, And the stranger, and the poor, oppress not: § Hebr. by the hand of, the judgment of truth. * compassions. xxii. 19. xxiii. 15. Ps. ix. 7. Affixi et integri ejusdem repetitio emphasin elegantem notat. Buxt. thes. gramm. p. 413. Schultens animadv. phil. refers to 1 Sam. xxv. 24. 6. eat unto yourselves] Here the construction may be conformable to that of '; or □, vobis, may be understood. When ye offered sacrifices, after which ye feasted, did ye not, in this religious act, regard yourselves more than me? 7. The words] That is often used before the nominative case, see Noldius. ". Ch. Vulg. quasi legissent П pro л." Secker. This v. may refer to v. 5, 6: Did not the former prophets make like declarations concerning the inefficacy of your external observances? See Isai. lviii. 6. &c. &c. It may also refer to v. 9: And did not the former prophets insist on the superior excellence of moral duties? Amos v. 24. Micah vi. 8. &c. &c. -remained still and prospered] Sedens erat et tranquilla. See c. 1. 11. -the south, and the plain] See on Obadiah 19. -were inhabited] We should read w, which agrees with , and is converted into the past tense by the distant vau. The vau is omitted as c. ix. 5; xii. 6: but thirteen MSS. and two ed. insert it. 9. -spake] Dixerat. Houbigant. Secker. Speaketh. Spoke." 10. And the stranger] Ten MSS. and four ed. read, with the ancient versions and Chald. The order of the next clause in the Hebrew is: 11 Neither imagine in your heart But they refused to hearken, And withdrew the shoulder, And made their ears dull that they might not hear: 12 Yea, they made their heart as an adamant-stone, That they might not hear the law, and the words, Which Jehovah God of hosts sent by his Spirit, By the former prophets. 13 14 Therefore came great anger From Jehovah God of hosts. And it came to pass that, as I called and they hearkened not, So they called and I hearkened not, Saith Jehovah God of hosts. But I scattered them as with a whirlwind among all the nations Whom they knew not: And the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned; And they made a § pleasant land a || desolation. Hebr. gave a withdrawing shoulder. the hand of. § a land of desire. || for a desolation. And evil every man against his brother See c. viii 17. 11. And withdrew-] This line occurs Neh. ix. 29 The metaphor is taken from beasts that decline the yoke. See Hos. iv. 16. 12. —an adamant-stone] Bochart shews that hard stone used to polish gems. 13. I called] We may read & participially. means a 14. I scattered them as with a wirlwind] This sublime metaphor is expressed by a single word in the original. -they knew not] "Quas nesciebant eas," the being elegantly redundant; as Isai. liii. 4. after them] After their departure. Boch. Hieróz. p. ii. 1. iv. c. iv. p. 474. CHAP. VIII. 1 AND the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying; Thus saith Jehovah God of hosts: 2 3 5 I have been jealous for Sion with a great jealousy, I have returned unto Sion, And I will dwell in Jerusalem: And Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; And the mountain of Jehovah God of hosts, an † holy mountain. Thus saith Jehovah God of hosts: Old men and old women shall yet dwell In the streets of Jerusalem: Even the man that hath his staff in his hand for the number of his years. And the streets of the city shall be filled Hebr. in the midst of. ta mountain of holiness. 1.-came unto me] Twenty-one MSS. and four ed. read and three other MSS. read so originally. This is also the reading of Syr. Chald. and of ó. MS. Pachom. mos me dyr, Secker. ". צבאות post עמי .Ch .ויהי post עלי .Addit Syr * 2. jealousy-wrath] Exercised against her oppressors. "Was jealous. Have been, or am, zealous. Jealousy. Zeal. See Lowth." Secker. "In the note, chap. 1. 14. I gave it as my opinion, that the jealousy there spoken of, was God's resentment against his people for their disloyalty and misbehaviour towards hin. In this opinion I am confirmed by the present passage, where not the least mention is made of the persecuting nations. That God's jealousy bespeaks wrath towards the objects of it, needs no other proof than his own words Numb. xxv. 11." Blaney. 3. God of hosts] V. and eight MSS. add way: agreeably to the other places throughout the c. where this solemn exordium occurs. -a city of truth] See Zeph. iii. 13. ---an holy mountain] On the restoration of the temple. 4. ---Jerusalem] The walls of this city were not dedicated, Neh. xii. 27, till above sixty years after this prophecy. |