Finish Strong!, An Introduction to Malachi

Most of the minor prophets in the Old Testament spoke prior to the Babylonian captivity. But the last three prophets, those at the very end of the Old Testament, occurred after the exile, when the people of Israel have returned to Judah and are rebuilding the temple and the city. Haggai and Zechariah began their prophecies about 520 BC, as the temple was being rebuilt. (Haggai and Zechariah are explicitly mentioned in Ezra 5:1-2.) Malachi, the last Old Testament prophet, probably spoke around 460 BC, when Ezra and then Nehemiah were active.

Often the term "messenger" (Hebrew malak, Greek Septuagint angelos) is used to indicate a supernatural being. But it can also be used for a human messenger. Malachi's name means "my messenger." (Some argue that Ezra is the author.)

The message of Malachi, presented as a dialogue between God and the Jewish people, is that the people have fallen back from their enthusiasm for the second temple and the new country being created after the exile. Have the people learned nothing from the Babylonian captivity? 

Outline

The book of Malachi has only four chapters. 

• In the first chapter the priests are confronted for their contempt regarding God -- they ignore God's love for Israel and hold the sacrificial system in contempt. 
• The chastisement of the priests continues in chapter 2, where the people are scolded for breaking covenants, both the covenant of Moses and the covenant of marriage.
• The second chapter ends with a complaint about God's justice, a complaint that continues into the third chapter.
• A messenger of justice approaches in chapter 3, and there is a digression into the people's apathy for the tithe to the temple.
• Chapter 3 ends, and chapter 4 begins with a promise of rembrance of the righteous and a new day coming with this future messenger.
• The last three verses of the book summarize the message, looking back to the Mosaic Covenant and looking forward to the new day (brought in by Elijah.) Indeed, these three verses are a nice summary of the entire Old Testament.

(The ancient Hebrew manuscripts did not separate out chapter 4, but continue those six verses as part of chapter 3.)

Even after the exile, the people drift away from God. This has been going on for thousands of years and this summary is echoed in the New Testament by Paul in Galatians 4:21-31; even with all of the lessons of the Old Testament, we seem unable to throw off our broken humanity.

Resources and References

My practice is to read through the text from the New International Version (NIV), copied into the blog and italicized in blue.  At the head of each blue paragraph of text I place a short title; after the text I place my thoughts or comments in black.  I begin this process with my own reactions and thoughts and then supplement these comments with gleanings from a commentary or two.

The goal of this blog is to force us to read every verse thoughtfully, getting a deep picture for the text, as a whole.

I place hyperlinks in pink, created so that one can click on a link and see the linked site open in another window... and go down a rabbit hole if you wish!

For the book of Zephaniah, I have relied on the following resources:

• a commentary by Joyce Baldwin in Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction & Commentary (The Tyndale Old Testament Commentary Series) 1981.
• a commentary by Robert L. Alden in the seventh volume of the Expositor's Bible Commentary, Zondervan 1985.
• a commentary by Douglas Stuart in The Minor Prophets: A Commentary on Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, edited by Thomas Edward McComiskey, 2018. (Motyer has also been a major source for my study in Isaiah and Zephaniah.)

If I refer to Alden, Baldwin or Stuart in the notes, it is in reference to the commentaries above.

• The Bible Project videos are always excellent. I recommend their video on Malachi.
• Amongst the online commentaries provided by EasyEnglishBible, is an online commentary on Malachi.
• The Gospel Coalition now has a set of online commentaries. Their commentary on Malachi is here.

I place hyperlinks in pink, created so that one can click on a link and see the linked site open in another window... and go down a rabbit hole if they wish!

Like most Old Testament writings, there is considerable wordplay. There is alliteration, punning, chiasmi, and so on. I do not know Hebrew and lean on the commentators to alert me to some of these. 

After This...

As we end the three years of blogging on the Old Testament, I will begin the next year by returning to Genesis and updating and improving the old blog posts.

Malachi 2, The Importance of Covenants

Malachi continues his warnings to the priests.

Malachi 2:1-4, Admonition to priests

 "And now this admonition is for you, O priests.  If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the LORD Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me.  

"Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will spread on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.   And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue," says the LORD Almighty.  

YHWH desires a true covenant with the descendants of Levi, not an artificial one. The ancient covenant of Moses included both a blessing and a curse (Deuteronomy 28, see especially verse 15, quoted here.) The priests have been warned that even their blessings are turning into curses because of the attitude of their hearts.

Malachi 2:5-9,  Covenant with Levi

"My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.  True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.  

"For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction--because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty.  

But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi," says the LORD Almighty.  

"So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law."

The priests have violated the ancient covenant. As there is no record of an explicit covenant with Levi -- indeed Levi was not a particularly moral individual! -- it is presumed that the covenant here is the covenant of Moses which prescribed duties for the descendants of Levi.

Malachi 2:10-12, Judah has broken faith

Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another?  

Judah has broken faith. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.  As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the LORD cut him off from the tents of Jacob --even though he brings offerings to the LORD Almighty.  

The people of Judah break their covenant with God by marrying women who worship other gods. Nehemiah records similar complaints in Nehemiah 13:23-27.

Baldwin says that the Hebrew in verse 10 is unclear. The word echad ("one") is in a strange place and most commentators translate the passage so that it is an adjective describing God.

Malachi 2:13-15, Weeping at the altar

Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.  You ask, "Why?" 

It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not [the LORD] made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.  

The priests are distressed and weeping at the altar. This is because they have been unfaithful to several covenants. Here the focus is on a covenant of marriage. The priests abandon their wives and so break the covenant of marriage.

Baldwin says that the Hebrew word chabereth, translated "partner" here and "companion" in other translations, is often used for close male companions, Malachi is emphasizing that one's wife should be a man's "buddy", his dear friend. The marriage itself should modely holiness. (See Proverbs 5:18-19 and in the New Testament, Ephesians 5:25-28.)

Malachi 2:16, The marriage covenant

"I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith. 

The concerns about marriage are made explicit here -- YHWH hates divorce ... and violence.

Malachi 2:17, Where is justice?

You have wearied the LORD with your words. 

"How have we wearied him?" you ask. 

By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them" or "Where is the God of justice?"    

The people are content with evil and believe there is no God of justice. Justice does not seem to operate in Judah.

The question about justice is a common (and legitimate) concern. Jeremiah anguishes over the lack of justice (Jeremiah 12:1) and does Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:2-4) and the various authors of the psalms (see Psalm 10:1 and many other examples.)

The answer to this question of justice will be given in the next chapter.

First published December 27, 2025; updated December 27, 2025

Malachi 1, Priestly Contempt

The last prophetic book in the Old Testament was probably written around 460 BC, shortly after the last prophecies of Zechariah. during the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. In this book, God speaks to the people in a dialogue, stating questions the people have and then giving His response. 

Malachi 1:1-5, Jacob over Edom

An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi. 

"I have loved you," says the LORD.  

"But you ask, `How have you loved us?' 

"Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals."  

Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins." 

But this is what the LORD Almighty says: "They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD.  

You will see it with your own eyes and say, `Great is the LORD--even beyond the borders of Israel!'  

This passage is a rare Old Testament passage in which God explicitly says that He loves Israel (Baldwin.) An imaginary dialogue is given in which God addresses Israel and the people respond. God's longterm love for Israel is demonstrated by His choice of Jacob and his descendants over those of Esau. The people of Israel, despite their sins and suffering, are special in God's sight. In the New Testament, this passage is quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 9:10-13, in an argument on God's sovereignty. 

The meaning of the Hebrew word tannah, here translated "jackal", is uncertain. (The King James Version translates the word as "dragon", both here and in Lamentations 4:3, the only other place where it occurs in the Old Testament manuscripts.)

Even with the first statements about Edom, YHWH intends to act beyond the borders of Israel. In the New Testament, Jesus ministers to the people of the ancient region of Edom (Idumea and the transjordan) in Mark 3:8.

Malachi 1:6-8, Priests show contempt

"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. 

"It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. 

"But you ask, `How have we shown contempt for your name?'  

"You place defiled food on my altar. "

But you ask, `How have we defiled you?' 

"By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.  

Despite YHWH's choice of Israel, the priests ignore God. Instead of treating Him as father or master, they show contempt for God in their apathy in worship. They bring to the altar sacrifices of poor quality and assume God does not see.

"The LORD's table" is an unusual phrase (Baldwin.) It is a place where the priests make sacrifices and Ezekiel uses that concept in his propesies of the future temple in Ezekiel 44:15-16. In the New Testament that term will represent a specific regular celebration (eg. Mark 14:22-25.)

Malachi 1:9-12, Useless sacrifices

 "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"--says the LORD Almighty.  

"Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands.  

My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty. 

"But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, `It is defiled,' and of its food, `It is contemptible.'  

It is better, says God, that the priests close up the temple than continue with these useless, mindless rituals. The priests profane God's name -- but YHWH will ultimately be worshiped among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other (see also Psalm 50:1, Psalm 113:3.)

Malachi 1:13-14, Contemptuous sniff

And you say, `What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty. 

"When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD.  

"Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the LORD Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations.  

                 

The people sacrifice blemished animals while promising better ones. The deceit and contempt practiced by the priests has global significance. YHWH Adonai will be worshiped by all the nations, beginning with the worship in Jerusalem.

First published December 26, 2025; updated December 26, 2025

Zechariah 14, Everything Holy

Zechariah has a final message for the returning exiles. He continues to describe a future day, a violent day in which a remnant of Israel survices.

Zechariah 14:1-3, Nations surround Israel
 A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.

Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle.
 

Israel will be plundered but then YHWH will rise up and go out against the other nations.

In the New Testament, in Revelation 16:16-21, all the nations in the valley of Armageddon to attack Israel.

Zechariah 14:4-5, Standing on the Mount of Olives

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

As the final battle begins, YHWH places His feet on the Mount of Olives and it splits in two, forming a great valley. (Mount Olives is the "eastern mountain" in Ezekiel 11:23, says Barker.) This future event will be accompanied by a great earthquake, an earthquake as great as the memorable one from the reign of Uzziah, mentioned in Amos 1:1 (about 760 BC.)

 

Zechariah 14:6-8, A unique day

On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime--a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light.

On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter.

  

That future event will be accompanied by dramatic meteorological and astronomical events -- no light, no cold, no frost. But in the evening light will come. Both Barker and Baldwin see verse 7, with the appearance of light, as the turning point, in which Jerusalem rises. (In the New Testament, in Revelation 21:23, the future Jerusalem is described as a city in which God is the light.) 

Water will flow from Jerusalem west to the Mediterranean and east into an eastern sea. Earlier, in 13:1, a fountain in Jerusalem cleanses people from sin. Here a river flows out of the city, similar to that seen by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 47:1-10.) In the New Testament, in John 7:37-39, Jesus identifies himself as the source of a "living" (flowing) steam of water.

Zechariah 14:9-11, One king, ruling all the earth

The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name. The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. 

But Jerusalem will be raised up and remain in its place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.
 

In that final day, Jerusalem will be the capital and will never again be destroyed. It will be stable and secure. As Barker points out, the Lord's Prayer, appearing in the New Testament in Matthew 6:9-10, begins by echoing verse 9, welcoming God to be ruler over all the earth.

The ancient city of Geba was apparently north of Jerusalem; Rimmon (possibly appearing previously in 12:11) is clearly a geographical location south of Jerusalem.

A number of the landmarks described in this passage were on the north side of the city rebuilt in the times of Nehemiah. (Recall that ancient enemies, such as Assyria and Babylon, approached from the north.) The Hananel Tower was on the northern wall as was the  Corner Gate, sometimes called the Old Gate. (See this article from 1850 by Rabbi Schwarz.) The First Gate was apparently also called the Jaffa Gate. It was on the west side of the old city. The Benjamin Gate was on the north side. Wikipedia has an article on the Old City of Jerusalem; in this case "old" speaks of medieval times, not the ancient times of Nehemiah and Zechariah.

Zechariah 14:12-15, Plague strikes the enemies

This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

On that day men will be stricken by the LORD with great panic. Each man will seize the hand of another, and they will attack each other. Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected--great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. 

A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

A plague will strike down the people and horses. Jerusalem had been saved by plague once before; a plague destroyed Sennacherib's army outside of Jerusalem during the reign of Judean king Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:35-37.)

Zechariah 14:16-19, Nations to the Feast of Tabernacles

Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.  

If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

In that future day, as described earlier in 8:20-23, the people of other nations will want to go to Jerusalem.

The Feast of Tabernacles, implemented during the Exodus (Leviticus 23:33-34, Deuteronomy16:13-15), was restarted after the Exile by Nehemiah (Nehemiah 8:13-18.) In this future day, the Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated every year. 

As throughout the ANE, rain is a blessing, a sign of God's favor.

Zechariah 14:20-21, Everything holy

On that day HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the LORD's house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD Almighty.

In this final time, everything in Jerusalem will be holy. There will be no distinction between sacred and secular. The phrase "Holy to the Lord", previously inscribed on a gold plate worn by the high priest (Exodus 28:36-38) will now be inscribed on daily objects. 

All evil will be gone. The earth will be a new Eden.

First published December 25, 2025; updated December 25, 2025

Zechariah 13, Strike the Shepherd!

Zechariah continues to describe a future Day, in which Israel is victorious over all evil. This message continues that of chapter 12, which ended with people weeping in remorse.

Zechariah 13:1-2a, A fountain of cleansing

On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

"On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more," 

declares the LORD Almighty.

 

The house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be cleansed in a fountain. All idols will disappear. 

Zechariah sees a fountain that opens up in Jerusalem; Ezekiel (Ezekiel 47:1-10) sees a river flowing out of the city. Zechariah will describe a similar river in the next chapter, in 14:8.

Zechariah 13:2b-3, False prophets removed

"I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother, to whom he was born, will say to him, `You must die, because you have told lies in the LORD's name.' When he prophesies, his own parents will stab him.

On that future Day, both (false) prophets and impurities will disappear. Prophets will be attacked because they are telling lies. (Throughout the rest of this chapter, the word "prophet" implies a false prophet)

Zechariah 13:4-6, Ashamed of visions

"On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet's garment of hair in order to deceive. 

He will say, `I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.'

If someone asks him, `What are these wounds on your body?' he will answer, `The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.'

On that future Day, (false) prophets will deny their role. They will instead claim to be farmers and deny their past involvement in prophecy. Some false prophets would have mutilated themselves as they prophesied. (This is forbidden, for example, in Leviticus 19:28, Deuteronomy 14:1, and practiced in 1 Kings 18:18.) Those who have done this will make up excuses for their bruises and scars.

Zechariah 13:7-8, Strike the One close to God

"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, 

against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. 

"Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, 

and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

    In the whole land," declares the LORD, 

"two-thirds will be struck down and perish; 

yet one-third will be left in it.

A calamity will come upon the land. The people will be scattered and two-thirds of them will be struck down. Barker (p. 686) sees verse 7 as a going back to a time before the final days, when One close to YHWH, that is the Messiah, is struck down and afterwards the people are scattered. Then verses 8 and 9 (below) jump forward to a future remnant, to a time before verses 1-6.

Once again, the shepherd metaphors in our prophetic writings. In the New Testament, Jesus identifies himself as the shepherd struck down; verse 7 is quoted in Matthew 26:31-32, Mark 14:27-28. Forty years later, in 70 AD, Rome sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the Second Temple and the Jews were scattered.

Zechariah 13:9, Remnant third

This third I will bring into the fire; 

I will refine them like silver 

and test them like gold. 

They will call on my name 

and I will answer them;

I will say, `They are my people,'

and they will say, `The LORD is our God.'"

Note the chiasmus:

They will call on me

I will answer them

I will say "they are mine"

They will say "This is our God."

The remnant third will be refined and dedicated to YHWH. (Isaiah sees a remnant tenth in Isaiah 6:13.)

First published December 24, 2025; updated December 24, 2025

Zechariah 12, Weeping On That Day

Zechariah has a final message for the returning exiles. In this discourse, which covers the last three chapters of his book, Zechariah continues to describe a future Day, in which Israel is victorious over all evil. In this last discourse, the phrase "on that day" appears sixteen times, six times in this chapter. Each occurrence initiates a description of this future age.

Zechariah 12:1-3, Cup of wrath, immovable stone

A prophecy:

This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares:

"I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.

 

On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 

Zechariah begins this message with a description of YHWH as creator of the heavens, the one who made the earth and formed mankind and put His spirit within man. 

After this introduction, Jerusalem is identified as a future cup (presumably of wine) that make surrounding nations stumble as they lay siege to Jerusalem. In a second metaphor, Jerusalem is a rock that cannot be moved. Those attempting to move it will only hurt themselves.

Zechariah 12:4-5, Blind panic

On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," 

declares the LORD. 

"I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, `The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.'

As the enemy nations approach, the horses are struck with blindness; they and their riders panic. The leaders of Judah are encouraged that YHWH ṣə·ḇā·’ō·wṯ ("God of hosts") is on their side.

Zechariah 12:6-7, Bursting into flame

"On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.

"The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.

A hot firepot is intended to create a fire; here the firepot ignites an entire woodpile. In a similar image, a flaming torch is thrust into dried grass. Jerusalem will ignite a fire that consumes those around them, but they will remain safe.

Zechariah 12:8-9, Weakest made strong

On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them.

 

On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

 

YHWH will form a protective shield around Jerusalem, so that the weak are made strong and the strong even more powerful. The enemy nations will begin to be destroyed.

Zechariah 12:10, The one they pierced

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

 

God will pour out on Israel grace and humble communion with their God. The people of Jerusalem will look on God as one they have "pierced" and will grieve for how they have mistreated Him. A similar description of One pierced for Israel appears in Isaiah 53:4-6. In the New Testament, in John 19:33-37, the disciple John identifies Messiah Jesus as the One Who is pierced and quotes part of this verse.

Zechariah 12:11-14, Weeping, each clan by itself

On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives and all the rest of the clans and their wives. 

 

The identity of Hadad Rimmon is unknown. Apparently Hadad was a Canaanite or Ugaritic god (see this Wikipedia page; Strong's concordance agrees here.) If Hadad Rimmon was associated with fertility, then people may have ritually wept to encourage spring rains, as they did with Tammuz (see Ezekiel 8:14.) But Hadad Rimmon could have been an important individual killed on the Megiddo plain or a town destroyed by an enemy or plague. (Barker has a long paragraph summary on p. 684. Rimmon is a geographic location in 14:10.)

Regardless of the identity of Hadad Rimmon, the people will grieve, deeply, personally, privately, in their homes and families. In context, the grieving will be for the past rebellion and will lead to renewal, described in the next chapter.

First published December 23, 2025; updated December 23, 2025

Zechariah 11, Two Shepherd Staffs: Favor and Union

Zechariah's prophetic discourse, begun in chapter 9, speaks to a future Day, in which nations return to Jerusalem and Israel. That prophesy continues... but turns darker.

Zechariah 11:1-3, Wail

    Open your doors, O Lebanon, 

so that fire may devour your cedars!

    Wail, O pine tree, for the cedar has fallen; 

the stately trees are ruined! 

Wail, oaks of Bashan; 

the dense forest has been cut down!

    Listen to the wail of the shepherds; 

their rich pastures are destroyed! 

Listen to the roar of the lions; 

the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!

The beautiful forests and pastures of Lebanon are being destroyed. Three nations, Lebanon, Bashan and Jordan are described; three types of trees are ruined: cedars, pines, and oaks. Bashan was to the northeast of Israel. It first appears in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 1:4 and Numbers 21:33, as the Israelites approach Canaan. Lebanon was (and still is) northwest of Jerusalem; Jordan is to the east.

The joy and energy at the end of chapter 10 has become despair and judgment, as enemy nations are destroyed. Shepherds wail at the destruction of their flocks; lions roar at the destruction of their thickets. (A similar passage occurs in Jeremiah 25:34-38.)

Zechariah 11:4-6, No longer pity

This is what the LORD my God says: "Pasture the flock marked for slaughter. Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, `Praise the LORD, I am rich!' Their own shepherds do not spare them. 

For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land," declares the LORD. "I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will oppress the land, and I will not rescue them from their hands."

Bad shepherds care little for their flocks and are happy to get rich. But the injustice in the land, with each person working to get rich on the backs of others, will soon be over. YHWH will no longer pity these oppressors.

Zechariah 11:7-11, Breaking Favor

So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock. In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them and said, "I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another's flesh."

Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the LORD.

Zechariah acts out the role of God looking over this oppressed flock. He carries two staffs, one named Union and the other Favor. In his acting, Zechariah becomes exasperated with the sheep and shepherds and announces that he will quit his job. He will allow the flock's rebellion to take its course. The stubborn sheep will die. Then, acting in God's place, Zechariah breaks the staff called Favor and revokes the covenant. The stubborn people are no longer in God's Favor.

Baldwin sees the two staff representing two duties of a shepherd: Favor (or grace) and Union (unity.) Union might include uniting the two kingdoms of Israel, even though one, the northern kingdom, has long been lost. (See Ezekiel 37:18-28 for another prophecy on Unity.)

There is debate over verse 8, in which the speaking shepherd gets rid of three bad shepherds in one month. Is this a literal month and three particular rulers? Or merely a figurative removal of all corrupt leaders in some future time?

Zechariah 11:12-13, Thirty pieces of silver

I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter.

Zechariah is then paid thirty pieces of silver as severance pay. That sum ("handsome price" is probably sarcastic) is then thrown in the temple to the potter. (Apparently there was a guild of potters working in the temple; the potter as a metaphor for God appears in Jeremiah 18:1-10.)

The Hebrew description of the pieces of silver uses the word shaqal "weighed out", implying that the silver is given by weight, not in stamped coins. For those seeking clues to the date of this chapter, coins appeared in Persia during the Greek period, long after the return of the exiles. This coincides with estimates of 480 BC for Zechariah's latest prophecies.

The price of thirty pieces of silver shows up in Exodus 21:32 as the payment one is to give another if his ox gores the other person's servant. Barker (p. 677) suggests that this represents the price of a slave in Old Testament times.

In the New Testament, Judas betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Then, devastated by the results, Judas throws the silver down in the temple and hangs himself. Matthew (Matthew 27:9-10) see that act as a fulfillment of this prophecy. Matthew, however, attributes the prophecy about thirty pieces of silver to Jeremiah. Some see that attribution as evidence that the last half of the book of Zechariah was really written by Jeremiah. But Jeremiah has a somewhat similar passage (Jeremiah 19:1-13) in which a potter and the Valley of Slaughter play a part.

Zechariah 11:14-16, An evil shepherd

Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

Then the LORD said to me, "Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hoofs.

Now Zechariah breaks the second staff, the one called Union. Judah and Israel are now separated. God says He will give the land a dishonest, uncaring shepherd, who will not take care of the lost but will instead eat the meat of the choice sheep.

These prophecies about good and bad shepherds, both here and in Jeremiah, were probably in the background of the Good Shepherd (New Testament) discourse of Jesus in John 10:1-18.

Zechariah 11:17, Worthless

   "Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! 

May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! 

May his arm be completely withered, 

his right eye totally blinded!" 

This prophecy ends with a four line polemic against the evil shepherd who abuses his countrymen.

First published December 22, 2025; updated December 22, 2025

Zechariah 10, Whistled Home

The prosperous new age, in which Israel reigns under the presence of YHWH, was described in chapter 9. That description continues into chapter 10.

Zechariah 10:1, Spring rains

    Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; 

it is the LORD who makes the storm clouds. 

He gives showers of rain to men,

 and plants of the field to everyone.

It is YHWH who rewards his people with rain showers and allows the crops to grow. (Both Barker and Baldwin see verse 1 as the conclusion to 9:14-17.)

Zechariah 10:2a, False visions

   The idols speak deceit, 

diviners see visions that lie; 

they tell dreams that are false, 

they give comfort in vain. 

Why do people follow idols, whose worshipers tell lies and give false comfort?

Zechariah 10:2b-3, Without a shepherd

Therefore the people wander like sheep 

oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

    "My anger burns against the shepherds,

 and I will punish the leaders;

 for the LORD Almighty will care for his flock, 

the house of Judah, 

and make them like a proud horse in battle.

Those who follow idols have no shepherd king to guide them. They wander, lost. Indeed the leaders of Judah and the false shepherds will be punished. YHWH Himself will be the Shepherd and lead the flock. (See Ezekiel 34 for a longer prophetic description of the need for a shepherd in Israel.)

The NIV translates the Hebrew attud ("male goats") as "leaders."; God's "anger burns against the shepherds" and He will punish the "male goats." (Baldwin says that "male goats" is a derogatory term.)

There is wordplay in verse 3, for the same Hebrew word, paqad is use twice. That word apparently means to visit or to focus on and can have both negative and positive connotations. It is translated by the NIV first as "punish" and then as "care". In the first place the variant, ’ep̄·qōḏ, describes a negative visitation, a punishment, and in the second, the variant, p̄ā·qaḏ, implies a positive visitation. (The second version shows up in 1 Samuel 2:21, where God visits -- "is gracious to" -- Hannah and she has five more children.)

Zechariah 10:4-5, Cornerstones and tent pegs

From Judah will come the cornerstone, 

from him the tent peg, 

from him the battle bow, 

from him every ruler.

    Together they will be like mighty men 

trampling the muddy streets in battle. 

Because the LORD is with them, 

they will fight and overthrow the horsemen.

Judah will be the foundation for the future, a cornerstone or tent peg in building, and the source of all rulers. Those of Judah will lead the fight, with YHWH beside them, and defeat the enemy. According to Barker (p. 669) the Targum viewed the cornerstone/tent peg as the coming Messiah. 

Zechariah 10:6-8, Judah and Joseph gathered in

    "I will strengthen the house of Judah 

and save the house of Joseph. 

I will restore them because I have compassion on them. 

They will be as though I had not rejected them, 

for I am the LORD their God 

and I will answer them.

    The Ephraimites will become like mighty men, 

and their hearts will be glad as with wine. 

Their children will see it and be joyful; 

their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.

    I will signal for them and gather them in. 

Surely I will redeem them; 

they will be as numerous as before.

Both Judah (southern kingdom) and Joseph (former northern kingdom) will be savedd; YHWH will be their God. The people of Ephraim (that is, the former northern kingdom) will rejoice in God and be brought back into Israel. The final joyous redemption will create a nation at least as numerous and prosperous as any previous time.

Verse 6 is a chiasmus, literally

I will strengthen

the house of Judah

and the house of Joseph

I will save.

(Barker p. 670.)

The Hebrew word ’eš·rə·qāh, is translated "I will signal" by the NIV but it means literally, "I will whistle." That word continues the shepherd metaphor -- in this future Day, the Good Shepherd will whistle and His flock will come running.

Zechariah 10:9-10, Scattered people return

    Though I scatter them among the peoples, 

yet in distant lands they will remember me. 

They and their children will survive, 

and they will return.

    I will bring them back from Egypt 

and gather them from Assyria. 

I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, 

and there will not be room enough for them.

The people of God will be brought back from faraway lands, like Egypt and Assyria. There will be so many returning that there will be no room for them!

Zechariah 10:11-12, Walking through sea

    They will pass through the sea of trouble; 

the surging sea will be subdued 

and all the depths of the Nile will dry up. 

Assyria's pride will be brought down

 and Egypt's scepter will pass away.

    I will strengthen them in the LORD 

and in his name they will walk," 

declares the LORD.

The future Return will look to the Exodus, to God's power over the seas. All enemies (represented here by Egypt and Assyria) will have no power and will be defeated.

There is poetic assonance in verse 11: "Brought down will be ’aš·šūr (Assyria) and Egypt will yā·sūr (pass away)."

The Hebrew prophet who speaks about enemies Egypt and Assyria, in that order in verse 10, naturally reverses the order in verse 11. The ancient Hebrew storytellers and writers instinctively used both parallelisms and chiasmi in their writings. 

Some Random Thoughts

Good Shepherd, we are ready for your whistle. We are lost and confused and have no useful guides or leaders.

First published December 20, 2025; updated December 20, 2025

Zechariah 9, YHWH Sounds a Trumpet

In the first half of the book of Zechariah, he relayed a total of nine visions given him by God. These were given at the end of the exile (about 519 BC) as the exiles headed back to Jerusalem. Now the last half of the book includes some prophecies probably made later in life. (Barker suggests this portion of the book was written just prior to 480 BC, almost four decades later.)

Zechariah 9:1-2a, Against Syria

A prophecy:

The word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach 

and will rest upon Damascus-- 

for the eyes of men and all the tribes of Israel 

are on the LORD- 

and upon Hamath too, which borders on it, 

Zechariah now has some prophecies about neighboring kingdoms. To the northeast was Damascus. Hamath was north of Damascus; Hadrach was probably north of Damascus.

Much has been written about the opening word of this chapter. The Hebrew massa' roughly translates as "burden" and has been translated "oracle" or "prophecy." It opens both chapters 9 and 12 and appears to represent a "burden" that the prophet must communicate.

Zechariah 9:2b-4, Against Tyre and Sidon

and upon Tyre and Sidon, 

though they are very skillful.

Tyre has built herself a stronghold; 

she has heaped up silver like dust, 

and gold like the dirt of the streets. 

But the Lord will take away her possessions 

and destroy her power on the sea, 

and she will be consumed by fire.

On the Mediterranean coast, northwest of Israel, were Lebanon cities, Tyre and Sidon. They are identified here as being rich, with silver and gold, but they will eventually be destroyed and burned. The prophet, Ezekiel, also speaks against Tyre and Sidon, across three chapters in Ezekiel 26-28.

In the past, Israel's enemies (such as Assyria and Babylon) have attacked from the north. Here it is YHWH who moves down from the north.

Zechariah 9:5-6, Against Philistia

Ashkelon will see it and fear; 

Gaza will writhe in agony, 

and Ekron too, 

for her hope will wither. 

Gaza will lose her king 

and Ashkelon will be deserted.

Foreigners will occupy Ashdod, 

and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 

I will take the blood from their mouths,

the forbidden food from between their teeth. 

Those who are left will belong to our God 

and become leaders in Judah, 

and Ekron will be like the Jebusites. 

Philistine cities, Gaza, Ekron, Ashkelon and Ashdod (all west of Israel) will be conquered and consumed. (Ashkelon, now part of Israel, was a city on the coast, west of Jerusalem.) The survivors left in Gaza and the coast will turn over to God and become leaders. The town of Ekron (inland from the coast) will be like the Jebusites (the original settlers in Jerusalem) in being assimilated into the nation of Israel.

In Joshua 13:3 the Philistines are described as rulers of five cities (Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron) and all five cities are mentioned in 1 Samuel 6:17. Sometime after that, Gath disappears from the historical accounts. The four remaining cities are mentioned here and also in similar prophecies in Jeremiah 25:20, Amos 1:6-8, and Zephaniah 2:4-7.

The judgment of these coastal cities moves from north to south, starting in Lebanon and ending in Philistia. Barker suggests that this follows Alexander the Great's campaign against the region in 332 BC. An account of Alexander's march through Lebanon and Palestine is recorded by Flavius Josephus in Chapter 8 of Book XI of his Antiquities. In that account, although Alexander conquers the enemies of Israel, he spares Jerusalem.

In New Testament times, Ashdod is called Azotus. The apostle Philip preaches there in Acts 8:40.

Zechariah 9:8, Never again

But I will defend my house against marauding forces. 

Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, 

for now I am keeping watch.

Despite the judgment on nearby kingdoms, Jerusalem and Israel will be protected. Although Alexander the Great spared Jerusalem in the fourth century BC, many commentators (including Barker) consider this chapter to be a prophecy about a future millennial kingdom.

Zechariah 9:9-10, A king on a lowly donkey

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! 

Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! 

See, your king comes to you, 

righteous and having salvation, 

gentle and riding on a donkey, 

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

    I will take away the chariots from Ephraim 

and the war-horses from Jerusalem, 

and the battle bow will be broken. 

He will proclaim peace to the nations. 

His rule will extend from sea to sea 

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

These twelve lines form a triumphal poem. A king approaches Jerusalem. The king is gentle, humble, riding on a lowly donkey. The mechanism of war: chariots, war-horses, battle bows, are all broken and gone. Peace will rule from "sea to sea", throughout all the earth. ("Sea to sea", like "east to west", is a merism, indicating totality.)

Genesis 49:10-12 has a strange prophecy (by Jacob) about Judah. It includes a ruler who rides on a donkey.

Zechariah 9:11-13, Prisoners restored

    As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,

 I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.

    Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; 

even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

    I will bend Judah as I bend my bow 

and fill it with Ephraim. 

I will rouse your sons, O Zion, 

against your sons, O Greece, 

and make you like a warrior's sword.

Although blood has played a significant symbolic role in God's relationship with His people, whether with circumcision (see Exodus 4:24-26) or animal sacrifice, the phrase "blood of my covenant" is quite rare, only appearing elsewhere in Exodus 24:8 (says Baldwin.) where the phrase "blood of the covenant" is used. The phrase was used in the New Testament by Jesus, eg., Mark 14:23-25.

Israel will be restored, her imprisoned people set freed. Judah will be roused to defend its country. Here an enemy is named Greece (Hebrew Yavan.) Some see this as a prophecy about the upcoming invasion by Alexander the Great.

Zechariah 9:14-17, Lightning, thunder, trumpet blast

    Then the LORD will appear over them; 

his arrow will flash like lightning. 

The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; 

he will march in the storms of the south,

    and the LORD Almighty will shield them. 

They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. 

They will drink and roar as with wine; 

they will be full like a bowl 

used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.

    The LORD their God will save them on that day 

as the flock of his people. 

They will sparkle in his land 

like jewels in a crown.

    How attractive and beautiful they will be! 

Grain will make the young men thrive, 

and new wine the young women.

In this future day, YHWH will appear with dramatic light and sound, with an arrow flashing like lightning and the sound of a trumpet and thunderstorm. This description echoes the appearance of YHWH at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19:16-19.

"They" -- presumbably the people of Israel -- will have slingshots and will triumph in victory, celebrating as if filled with wine. A bowl will be full (of blood?) as used for sprinkling on the altar during sacrifices. (See Leviticus 4:3-7.) YHWH will save the nation, which will become jewels in His crown.

Prosperity, represented in parallel lines of good crops and good wine, will be in abundance.

First published December 19, 2025; updated December 19, 2025