Zacarias 12
Matthew Henry · Citado em PreceptAustin
Zacarias 12
Henry - The Holy Spirit is gracious and merciful, and is the Author of all grace or holiness. He, also, is the Spirit of supplications, and shows men their ignorance, want, guilt, misery, and danger. Keil on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem - The recipients of the spiritual blessing [identical with those who mourn] will be (1) “the house of David,” through whom the promise of the Messianic-Davidic Kingdom was made (2 Sa 7:8-16), and through whom it will be realized (Luke 1:31-33); and (2) “the inhabitants of Jerusalem”—the whole saved remnant of Israel, by metonymy, the capital representing the whole nation (cf. 1Ki 20:34, where “Samaria,” the capital, represents the nation). The fact that only the inhabitants of Jerusalem are named, and not those of Judah also, is explained correctly by the commentators from the custom of regarding the capital as the representative of the whole nation. And it follows...from this, that in Zech 12:8 also the expression “inhabitants of Jerusalem” is simply an individualizing epithet for the whole of the covenant nation. But just as in Zech 12:8 the house of David is mentioned emphatically along with these was the princely family and representative of the ruling class, so is it also in Zech 12:10, for the purpose of expressing the thought that the same salvation is to be enjoyed by the whole nation, in all its ranks, from the first to the last.
Zacarias 12
Henry - At the time here foretold, the Jews will know who the crucified Jesus was; then they shall look by faith to Him, and mourn with the deepest sorrow, not only in public, but in private, even each one separately (by itself - Zech 12:12-14). Wil Pounds - The fulfillment says Keil will “not terminate till the remnant of Israel shall turn as a people to Jesus the Messiah, Whom its fathers crucified. On the other hand, those who continue obstinately in unbelief will see Him at last when He returns in the clouds of heaven, and shriek with despair (Rev. 1:7; Matt. 24:30).” It is with a deep penetrating conviction and mourning that will take place. But for so many it will be too late to be saved. According to Romans 11:25-29 there is a day coming when many in Israel will recognize her Messiah and turn to Him. The change in person from “mourn for Him” to “mourn for Me” is common in prophetic literature. The outpouring of the Spirit prompts the people to mourn for sin in private (Zech 12:10) and public (Zech 12:11). This profound sense of spiritual poverty and mourning leads to a cleansing from all sin because the precious fountain has been opened (Zech 13:1-note). (Zechariah 12:8-10 Mourning for the One Who was Pierced) At this time there will be a reversal of what occurred after Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah lamenting that "The joy of our hearts has ceased; Our dancing has been turned into mourning," (Lamentations 5:15 ). But in the Day of the Lord in Zechariah 12-14 there will be a reversal of their mourning for Jeremiah writes “Then (in that day when Jehovah ransoms His chosen people - see Jer 32:11-12-note) the virgin will rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together, for I (Jehovah's Spirit) will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow." (Jeremiah 31:13-note) Feinberg on mourning...bitterly weep - The picture in the verb saphad (mourn) is that of smiting on the breasts in mourning. Compare Isaiah 32:12....It is not so much a mourning for the act committed, but for the Person involved. Compare Jn 19:37; Rev 1:7. To emphasize the intensity and wholeheartedness of the grief, never before experienced in the nation’s history, though they have learned well through the centuries how to weep and mourn, the prophet likens the lamentation to that for the only child, and the bitterness of heart for the loss of the first-born. These sorrows are the deepest that can enter the private life. (See Ex 11:6; Jer 6:26; Am 8:10.) Mourn...mourns (05594)(saphad - see note on mourning by Patterson) is a primary verb meaning to wail, to lament, to mourn and most of the references deal with the mourning rites at someone’s death. Saphad describes Abraham's reaction when his wife Sarah died (Ge 23:2), the great mourning over the death of Jacob (Ge 50:10), all Israel at the death of Samuel (1 Sa 25:1, 28:3), mourning for seven days at the death of King Saul (2 Sa 1:12), Bathsheba mourning over Uriah's death (2 Sa 11:26). Given the emphasis with saphad on mourning over someone's death, when Israel's eyes are opened and they realize that they have killed their Messiah (as has every sinner), there will be mourning over His death. The Septuagint translates mourn in Zech 12:10 with a combination of the verb kopto which means to beat one's breast as a strong expression of grief and the rare noun kopetos (used only in Acts 8:2) which describe the beating of one's breast as a sign of grief. Ecclesiastes 3:4 says there is "A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn (saphad, Lxx = kopto) and a time to dance." The mourning of Zech 12:10 will be surely be followed by a time of dancing in Messiah's Kingdom! Gilbrant - In OT times, lamenting was a central part of life. Examples of happenings which caused people to mourn include death, natural disaster, war, sickness or awareness of sin. Joseph wailed bitterly and mourned for seven days at the threshing floor at Atad following the death of his father, Jacob (Gen. 50:10). Sāphadh is also connected with other practices of mourning rites, such as tearing clothes and wearing sackcloth, a coarse and uncomfortable material worn next to the skin (2 Sa 3:31); fasting (2 Sa 1:12) and beating one's breast (Isa 32:12). Although the meaning of such mourning practices is not completely clear, the OT seems to impart the idea that expressing bereavement must embody the entire person. The submission of the body to discomforts such as coarse clothing, sitting in ashes and hunger were appropriate actions to signify anguish. Also, the public display of sorrow indicated the communal, and not just individual, nature of mourning. Saphad - 31x in 29v - beat(1), lament(9), lamented(5), mourn(8), mourned(6), mourners(1), mourns(1). Gen. 23:2; Gen. 50:10; 1 Sam. 25:1; 1 Sam. 28:3; 2 Sam. 1:12; 2 Sam. 3:31; 2 Sam. 11:26; 1 Ki. 13:29; 1 Ki. 13:30; 1 Ki. 14:13; 1 Ki. 14:18; Eccl. 3:4; Eccl. 12:5; Isa. 32:12; Jer. 4:8; Jer. 16:4; Jer. 16:5; Jer. 16:6; Jer. 22:18; Jer. 25:33; Jer. 34:5; Jer. 49:3; Ezek. 24:16; Ezek. 24:23; Joel 1:13; Mic. 1:8; Zech. 7:5; Zech. 12:10; Zech. 12:12 And they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn: This loss is a peculiar sorrow to loving parents, which has been likened to the most intense private sorrow and here now likened to the most intense public grief (as the Egyptians were when there was a cry throughout all their land for the death of their first-born = Ex 11:6, Jer 6:26, Amos 8:10) Thank God for that godly sorrow which worketh REPENTANCE. (2 Cor 7:9-10) Matthew Henry - The sorrow of children for the death of their parents is sometimes counterfeited, is often small, and soon wears off and is forgotten but the sorrow of parents for a child, for a son, for an only son, for a first-born, is natural, sincere, unforced, and unaffected, it is secret and lasting such are the sorrows of a true penitent, flowing purely from love to Christ above any other. Weep bitterly (04943)(marar cf the adjective marar usually to describe an emotional response to a destructive, heart-crushing situation, but sometimes literal - Ex 15:23) means to be bitter, emotionally distraught or embittered. To grieve bitterly often with weeping and vocalization. It is used by Naomi who lost her husbands and two sons and declared the "Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me." (Ru 1:20, cf Ru 1:13, Job 27:2). Marar describes the Egyptians making the lives of the Israelites bitter because of hard labor (Ex 1:14). The Septuagint translates the two uses of marar in Zech 12:10 with the verb odunao which has two main senses (1) violent physical torment or being in agony as was the rich man in Hades (Lk 16.24-note) and (2) of spiritual or mental distress meaning to be grieved, be pained and the related noun odune literally describing severe, sudden pain,but here used figuratively to describe deep mental distress, agitation, sorrow, including remorse from a guilty conscience. Victor Hamilton- The verb mārar is used fifteen times, always with man as subject, never God, unless the verb describes an interpretation given by man to God's actions and will. For example, Job (and this root plus its various derivatives appear more frequently in Job than in any other OT book [ten times]) complains: The Almighty has vexed my soul (Job 27:2), Hiphil of mārar. Similarly, Naomi says, "Do not call me Naomi, call me 'Mara' for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me" (Ruth 1:20).It is interesting to note that the Hebrews expressed tragic, unpleasant experiences in terms of the sense of taste, the bitter. Actually, we employ the same figure of speech in our English language: It was a galling experience; his actions were not in very good taste, I thought; your wife is always so tastefully dressed. (TWOT) Baker says marar conveys "the sense of harshness, embitterment, offensiveness, affliction: of a physical attack on someone (Ge 49:23; Da 8:7; 11:11); of backbreaking, debilitating work (Ex. 1:14; 23:21); of the effect of calamities in life (Ruth 1:13, 20; 1 Sam. 30:6; 2 Kgs. 4:27; Job 27:2; Isa. 38:17; Lam. 1:4; Zech. 12:10); especially of the bitterness engendered by God’s judgments on His people (Isa. 22:4; 24:9). (Word Study OT) Marar - 15x in 14v - bitter(2), bitter weeping(1), bitterly(2), dealt...bitterly(1), embittered(2), enraged(2), had(1), harder*(1), made bitter(1), troubled(1), weep bitterly(1). Ge. 49:23; Ex. 1:14; Ru 1:13; Ru 1:20; 1 Sa 30:6; 2 Ki. 4:27; Job 27:2; Isa. 22:4; Isa. 24:9; Isa. 38:17; Lam. 1:4; Da. 8:7; Da 11:11; Zech. 12:10 Zechariah 12:10 in a very real sense is a fulfillment of the prophetic promise in Leviticus 26.... ‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me– 41 I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies–or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. (Lev 26:40-42-note) There is also an allusion to the fulfillment of Zechariah 12:10 in Hosea 5 when Jehovah promises... I will go away and return to My place Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction (tsar; Lxx = thlipsis) they will earnestly seek Me. (Hosea 5:15) Comment: This is an incredible prophecy, for in the Septuagint the word for affliction is the noun thlipsis, which is the very word Jesus uses in Matthew 24:29 to describe the horrible time of affliction the Jews will experience for three and one half years, in the time of the Great Tribulation (Begins - Mt 24:15-note, named - Mt 24:21-note), also referred to by Jeremiah as the Time of Jacob's Distress (Jeremiah 30:7-note), and by Daniel as "a time of distress" - Da 12:1-note. Note also that this 3.5 year period known as the Great Tribulation is also synonymous with several other time phrases = 1260 days, 42 months, "middle of the week," "time, times, and half a time." Moses also alludes to the time of fulfillment of Zechariah 12:10 declaring to the nation just before they entered the Promised Land “When (Not IF but WHEN!) you are in distress (as described in Zech 12:2-3-note, Zech 14:2-note) and all these things (cf Dt 31:17) have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. (Dt 4:30-commentary) Comment: It is also worth noting that the Hebrew word for affliction is tsar (and the Greek word thlipsis in the Septuagint) is also used in this prophetic passage. The prophetic promise in Zechariah 12:10 as noted above is echoed in Dt 4:30 and is also alluded to in Moses' prophecy in Deuteronomy 30: So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you (WHEN IS WHEN? THE FULFILLMENT IS DESCRIBED IN ZECHARIAH 12-15, especially Zechariah 12:10-note WHEN THE NATION REPENTS AND BELIEVES IN MESSIAH), the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, 2 and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons (BELOVED THIS HAS NOT YET HAPPENED FOR THE NATION OF ISRAEL! THIS HAS TO BE A FUTURE EVENT!), 3 then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 “If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth (NOTE ALL OVER THE EARTH NOT JUST ASSYRIA AND BABYLON), from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. 5 “The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live (CLEARLY THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED AND AWAITS THE RETURN OF THE MESSIAH!). (Deuteronomy 30:1-6-see commentary). As noted above in Joel 2:28-31, 32-note Joel describe the outpouring of the Spirit. God would first pour out His Spirit on the Jews at Pentecost, a foretaste of the pouring out of the Spirit on Israel in Zechariah 12:10. Then the Messiah will return at the end as Israel's Deliverer (Ro 11:26) and "ALL" of the 1/3 who survive will be saved (Zech 13:8-9-note). At that time the prophecy of Joel 2 will be completely fulfilled! The Talmud pronounces peace upon one who refers the passage to Messiah the son of Joseph, yet to be slain. They had a theory of 2 Messiahs, one to die and one to reign. The oldest interpreters of this passage however both Jewish and Christian, understood this passage clearly referred to the Messiah to come. As an aside, the rabbinical theory of two messiahs (one to suffer and one to reign) is without scriptural support. See this small booklet on The Jewish Tradition Of Two Messiahs. The repentant mourning is compared to the mourning that occurred when good King Josiah, the only king to provide any hint of spiritual hope to the believing remnant between Hezekiah and Nebuchadnezzar, was slain in battle at Megiddo (2 Chr. 35:20-25). The verbal confession of the people in that coming day is predicted in Isa. 52:13-53:12 (Matt. 24:30, Ro 11:25-33). Messianic Jewish missionary Adolph Saphir comments on Zechariah 12:10 noting that "Every Jew who, by the grace of God since the Day of Pentecost, had been brought to Christ fulfills (MORE ACCURATELY "PARITIALLY" FULFILLS) this prediction; he looks unto Him Whom he has pierced. It is the look of repentance; for only a sight of the crucified Jesus shows us our sin and grief. It is the look of supplication and faith; for He only can bless and save, and He saves all who believe. It is the look of peace and adoration; for His love is infinite, unchanging and omnipotent. It is the look which never ceases and never ends; for now the veil is taken away, and we with open face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18-note). It is interesting and surprising that John Calvin did not see Zechariah 12:10 as Messianic but held that God was vexed ("pierced") by the Jews. Even his contemporaries refuted his spurious interpretation. Charles Feinberg writes that... Among Christians the prevailing view was that Zechariah spoke of Christ and so most of the Reformers (Calvin excepted)...That interpretation which refers the passage to the Lord Jesus Christ is the correct one because... (1) the Jewish tradition referred the passge to the coming Messiah, even if it did err in assigning it to the "son of Joseph"; (2) all Jewish commentators acknowledged that the chapter spoke of the days or times of the Messiah; (3) this view agrees with other Scriptures which represent this mourning as that of repentance. Compare Ezekiel 36:25-31. There must be sufficient cause to answer to the profundity and universality of the grief. The heart that is in line with the purpose of God will pray fervently that the hour may not be far off when repentant Israel will look upon their pierced Messiah and own Him as their Shepherd, their Lord, their King and their Savior. (God Remembers: A Study of Zechariah). Feinberg - In Zech 12:10 the mourning is likened to the worst domestic grief; in verse 11 the sorrow is compared to a great public calamity. The mourning of Hadadrimmon (Maximianopolis) in the valley of Megiddo was on the occasion of the slaying of the godly king Josiah by Pharaoh-Necho of Egypt. Compare 2 Chronicles 35:22–27. The Chronicles passage reveals how great was the lamentation over this king. And rightly so, for “this was the greatest sorrow, which had fallen on Judah. Josiah was the last hope of its declining kingdom…. In Josiah’s death the last gleam of the sunset of Judah faded into night.” Related Resources: Will all Israel be saved in the end times? Romans 9:1-5 Paul's Sorrow Concerning Israel - Tony Garland Romans 9:6-13 Children of the Promise - Tony Garland Romans 9:14-24 The Potter and the Clay - Tony Garland Romans 9:25-33 A Remnant Will be Saved - Tony Garland Romans 10:1-13 The Righteousness of God - Tony Garland Romans 10:14-21 Has Israel Not Heard? - Tony Garland Romans 11:1-6 God Has Not Cast Away The Jews - Tony Garland Romans 11:7-15 Life from the Dead - Tony Garland Romans 11:16-24 Two Olive Trees - Tony Garland Romans 11:25-36 The Salvation of Israel - Tony Garland Romans 11 Does God Have a Future for Israel? by Gil Rugh The Jewish Problem - small book by Jewish believer David Baron (written in 1891-interesting!) Charles Feinberg asks an interesting question about Zechariah 12:10 - How has this important passage been treated by Jewish and Christian students in the past? Early Jewish opinion favored the Messianic interpretation of this portion of Zechariah. After the Christian era the theory of two Messiahs, the first, the son of Joseph, and the second, the son of David, came into vogue. Such is the position of the Talmud and many Jewish commentators, even to this day. But McCaul rightly asks, “Why should the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem mourn so bitterly for a son of Joseph, especially as, according to Abarbanel, his death is to make way for the object of their hopes and prayers, Messiah, the Son of David?”24 There can be no Messiah, son of Joseph, because (so McCaul): (1) they, the two Messiahs, cannot exist contemporaneously in view of Ezekiel 34:22, 23 (“one shepherd”) and 37:21–24 (“one king”); and (2) the son of David cannot succeed the son of Joseph in view of Hosea 3:4, 5, for they will have no king until they seek the son of David. However, still other Jewish commentators denied any Messianic reference whatsoever (so Kimchi). The latter says, in commenting on our passage, “Our rabbies, of blessed memory, have interpreted this of Messiah, the son of Joseph, who shall be killed in the war. But I wonder, according to their interpretation, how he is here spoken Of unconnectedly, without any previous mention at all.”25 Among Christians the prevailing view was that Zechariah spoke of Christ, and so most of the Reformers. Calvin was the exception, for he held that God was vexed (figuratively said to be pierced) by the Jews. His contemporaries repudiated his view. Later writers referred it to some Jewish leader or martyr. That interpretation which refers the passage to the Lord Jesus Christ is the correct one because, as McCaul has pointed out, (1) the Jewish tradition referred the passage to the coming Messiah, even if it did err in assigning it to the son of Joseph; (2) all Jewish commentators acknowledged that the chapter spoke of the days or times of the Messiah; and (3) this view agrees with other Scriptures which represent this mourning as that of repentance. Compare Ezekiel 36:25–31. There must be a sufficient cause to answer to the profundity and universality of the grief. The heart that is in line with the purposes of God will pray fervently that the hour may not be far off when repentant Israel will look upon their pierced Messiah and own Him as their Shepherd, their Lord, their King, and their Savior. See also - Jewish Messianic Interpretations of Zechariah 12:10 David Baron's comments continued - "I think," said a great master in Israel, " there is nothing in the whole range of scripture more touching than the promise contained in these simple, unadorned words. As they touch the heart they fix themselves on our memory. Who can ever forget them ? They shall look unto (or " upon ") Me whom they have pierced. " And yet there is not another scripture in the Old Testament around which more controversy has raged than around "these simple, unadorned," and, to the Christian, most precious words. Jewish commentators and some rationalistic Christian writers who seem not less biased in their anti-Christological methods in interpreting the Old Testament, 1 have tried their utmost to divert this scripture from Him whose rejection and suffering unto death, and yet future recognition and penitent reception on the part of " His own " nation, it foretells. The modern Jewish translation of the passage as given, for instance, in the "Appendix of the Revised Version," issued by the Jewish Community in England for the use of Jews, in 1896, is as follows: "And they (i.e., the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem) shall look up to Me because of Him whom they (i.e., the nations which come against Jerusalem) have pierced." This translation, first suggested by Rashi, adopted by Kimchi in his commentary on Zechariah, was fully elaborated by Rabbi Isaak of Troki 2 in his polemical work against Christianity, Chizzuk Emunah (" Strengthening of the Faith "), who thus explains: " If it should happen that any of the Israelites should be pierced, namely, in that war, even though it should be one of the most inconsiderable, they shall wonder greatly how this could happen, and will think that this is the beginning of a fall and defeat before their enemies, as Joshua did. When the men of Ai smote thirty-six of Israel, he said "Alas ! O Lord God, why didst Thou cause this people to pass the Jordan?" And again: What shall I say when Israel turn their backs before their enemies? (Joshua 7). So will it be at that time if they should see any of them pierced, they will be astonished, and look on Me on account of Him whom they pierced." This translation, however, to which English-speaking Jews have, as we have seen, officially committed themselves, only shows the length which modern Judaism will go in misinterpreting the plainest scriptures so as to evade the Christian argument drawn from them in support of the claims of Jesus of Nazareth. It is a rendering which is contrary to grammar and to the natural sense, for, first, the word eth asher cannot possibly mean "because of Him whom," but simply "whom," emphatically and definitely expressed. And, secondly, the modern Jewish rendering or paraphrase implies that the subject of the second verb of the first verse "pierced," is a different one from that of the first verb "shall look" in the same short sentence. But it is altogether unnatural to suppose that two parties were in the prophet s mind, and that "they" who "shall look" are the Jews, and "they " who "have pierced" are the Gentile nations. Another "Jewish" rendering of the passage, equally unfair and even less tenable, but contradictory of the above, is that found in the bulky "Jewish Family Bible," which has also a kind of "official" air about it, inasmuch as it was "printed with the sanction of (the late) Rev. Dr. Adler, the chief Rabbi." The critical passage in question is translated thus: "But I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication, and they whom the nations are piercing shall look upon Me, and shall mourn over it," etc. But a translation which does not scruple to interpolate words and expressions is not worth noticing, except to point out that it can claim, at best, to be only a polemical Targum, or commentary, the chief aim of which is the elimination of all references to a suffering, atoning Messiah from the pages of the Old Testament. It is not necessary to point out to any one who can read the original that the words, "whom the nations were piercing," are not found in the Hebrew text, and are an unjustifiable gloss of the "reviser." But there is a more ancient Jewish interpretation of this prophecy than those to which I referred, which were invented by Jews for controversial reasons; it is that, namely, which applies the passage to Messiah ben Joseph. Thus Aben Ezra, who wrote after Rashi, says: "All the heathen shall look to me to see what I shall do to those who pierced Messiah, the son of Joseph " ; and Abarbanel, after noticing the interpretation of Rashi and Kimchi, says: "It is more correct to interpret the passage of Messiah, the son of Joseph, as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, have interpreted it in the treatise Sukkah, for he shall be a mighty man of valor of the tribe of Joseph, and shall at first be captain of the Lord s host in that war (namely, against Gog and Magog), but in that war shall die." This interpretation is of interest and importance to the Christian student, in so far as it shows that the disciples of Christ, when the New Testament was written, were not alone in interpreting this scripture of the Messiah. The Jewish Rabbis explained it in the same way, only they applied it to Messiah ben Joseph, who does not exist in Scripture, and is an invention of their own brains. (The Visions and Prophecies of Zechariah - 1918) Zechariah 12:11 "In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. like the mourning: 2Ki 23:29 2Ch 35:24 NATIONAL MOURNING AND REPENTANCE Charles Feinberg - Zechariah has not concluded what he wishes to reveal concerning that sorrow. It is of such importance that he elaborates upon it. The manner of the mourning is detailed for us. There will be universal and individual mourning. Seclusion and privacy will be sought at this time of grief. The prophet outlines for us the way in which the nation will be divided into family groups and then further into individuals as they pour out their bitter weeping over their rejection of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. (The Minor Prophets) Feinberg - Now the prophet would show us how universal as well as individual will be that sorrow, so he writes: “In that day the mourning shall be great in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. 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; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart; all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart,” (Zec 12:11–14) As Chambers rightly states, “It is a picture of penitence as vivid and accurate as any found anywhere in the Scriptures.”19 This is the experience of Psalm 51:1-19 on a national scale....Of the three proper nouns in Zec 12:11 the LXX translates only the first as a name, erroneously rendering the other two as appellatives. (Exegetical Notes) Kenneth Barker - The convicting work of the Spirit of God will produce national contrition or repentance, led by the civil (royal) and religious leaders. The future weeping (“on that day”) in Jerusalem will be so great that it is compared with “the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in ‘the plain of Megiddo.” In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem - Not a little remorse but great mourning for great sin In that day during the Great Tribulation (presumably just before Messiah returns but one cannot be dogmatic - except to say it will be in this last 3.5 year period) when the Spirit of God has opened the eyes of their heart to recognize Jesus Christ as their Messiah and with brokenness they mourn, even with great mourning given the greatness of their sin against their Messiah. Like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo - "It is like the mourning of a people for the death of a wise and good prince. It shall be like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon, where good king Josiah was slain, for whom there was a general lamentation (Zechariah 12:11), and perhaps the greater because they were told that it was their sin that provoked God to deprive them of so great a blessing." (Matthew Henry) Stephen Ger notes the great mourning "is also compared (Zech 12:11) to the national mourning that attended the untimely death of a beloved Jewish king, Josiah (2 Chron. 35:22–27). The mourning for this messianic Jewish King will not only yield public national anguish, but private, intense, individual grief, led by the Jewish political and spiritual leadership (Zech 12:12–14). (Zechariah: Minor Prophet With A Major Message - Conservative Theological Journal 03:8 Apr 1999) Hadad-rimmon (composed of the names of two Syrian idols), the name of a place in the valley of Megiddo. It is a proverbial expression derived from the lamentation for Josiah, who was mortally wounded near this place 2 Ch 35:22-25 However, Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to make war with him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to make war on the plain of Megiddo. 23 The archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” 24 So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem where he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25 Then Jeremiah chanted a lament for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations. Mourning...mourning (04553)(misped from saphad= to wail, lament) is a "masculine noun depicting wailing, mourning, lamenting. It stands for deep, despairing emotional reactions by persons and animals at some calamity: the death of a patriarch (Gen. 50:10); the prospect of being slaughtered, annihilated (Esth. 4:3); the opposite of dancing for joy (Ps. 30:11[12]); at the approach of judgment from the Lord (Isa. 22:12; Jer. 6:26; Amos 5:16, 17; Mic. 1:8); economic disaster (Ezek. 27:31). It is used of mourning for a person (Zech. 12:10, 11)." (Baker) Gilbrant - Misped is used to describe the ritual of wailing over the dead, as is the case in Gen. 50:10. Here Joseph and his attendants lamented over Jacob's death, "And [Joseph] observed seven days mourning for his father" (NASB). As is the common meaning of this noun, it is used to describe more of a prolonged mourning custom that involves certain rituals rather than mere emotive release. Scattering dust on one's head, fasting, cutting one's beard, rending one's garments and disheveling one's hair were among the observable rituals that comprised mourning rites in biblical times. (Further examples of these rituals used to express mourning can be found in Jer. 6:26; 48:38; Ezek. 27:31; and Mic. 1:8). In addition, mispfidh is used many times with respect to God's coming judgment, for judgment will bring the necessity of mourning. Three times, the word appears in Amos 5:16f to express the peoples' anguish at the Lord's passing through their midst. Oftentimes, in connection with mispfidh being used to describe a response to the Lord's coming judgment, it is also used to express repentance toward God. The Lord declares through his prophet Joel, "Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning" (Joel 2:12, NASB). (Ibid) Misped - 14x in 13v - lament(1), lamentation(4), mourning(5), wailing(4). Gen. 50:10; Est. 4:3; Ps. 30:11; Isa. 22:12; Jer. 6:26; Jer. 48:38; Ezek. 27:31; Joel 2:12; Amos 5:16; Amos 5:17; Mic. 1:8; Mic. 1:11; Zech. 12:11 R D Patterson on mourning with saphad and misped - By far most of the references in which this root and its derivative are found deal with the mourning rites at someone’s death (e.g. Gen 23:2; 50:10; I Sam 25:1; 28:3; II Sam 1:12; 3:31; 11:26; I Kgs 13:29f.; cf. Eccl 12:5). A such times, all who sensed the loss of the departed would come to share their grief with the members of the family. Their grief could be demonstrated in many ways: going barefoot, stripping off one’s clothes, cutting one’s beard or body, fasting (or banqueting), scattering ashes, or beating some part of the body. Some of these rituals were proscribed for the Israelite, doubtless because of pagan association (Lev 19:28). Shrill cries or loud wailing often accompanied the mourning, which in time became stereotyped and structured into formal laments. Of course, weeping, especially by the women, was greatly in evidence as the combination of sāpad with its set parallel bākâ (“weep”) attests. The growth of funerary ritual led to the employment of professional mourners, again, usually women. Mourning for the dead began immediately at death, went on as the body was carried to the tomb, was observed at the tomb and lasted at least seven days after the burial. The practice of mourning for the departed was seized upon by the prophets to warn of a coming national death in accordance with the just judgment of God. Isaiah 32:11ff. summons the women of Judah to mourn in the light of the coming judgment. Jeremiah 4:8 calls Jerusalem to repentance and mourning in the face of the Assyrian invasion. Joel 1:8, 13ff. calls on the mourning priests to lead the people in a time of heartfelt national repentance and sorrow for their sins, since the locust plague was but a harbinger of a worse judgment to come. Micah 1:8 goes wailing and mourning for Judah. A whole genre of prophetic lamentation grew up which not only stressed the need of national repentance for sin and the certainty of coming judgment but promised ultimate deliverance at the coming of Messiah (e.g. Zech 12:10–11), when in a far deeper sense the believer will reecho the Psalmist’s cry (Ps 30:10–11), “O Lord … thou hast turned my mourning into dancing!” (TWOT) This is the same word used by God in Joel 2 calling for Israel to repent “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; (Joel 2:12) In a very real sense the mourning in Zechariah 12:11 is an answer to Jehovah's call in Joel 2:12, as it is the mourning of a broken heart, a repentant heart. The same Hebrew word for mourning is used by David in Psalm 30 writing "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness." (Ps 30:11) Indeed for the Jews who mourned over their Messiah, their mourning and repentance would be turned by joy by the Holy Spirit. Yes in that day there will indeed be "great mourning," but it will be followed by great joy (Zephaniah 3:14-20-commentary). Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15 The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. 16 In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. 17 “The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. 18 “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts– They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them. 19 “Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth. 20 “At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the LORD. Hadadrimmon is literally "of Hadad Rimmon." Hadad Rimmon was a Syrian god of storm and fertility who may have been worshiped annually with rites of mourning, like the Mesopotamian god Tammuz (cf. Ezek. 8:14). The point may be that Israel's repentant sorrow will be as great as the abominable rites of mourning performed in disobedience to God at Megiddo. In support of this view, many pagan cult objects have been discovered in excavations at Megiddo. Nevertheless, a more likely view is that there was adjacent to Megiddo a site Hadad-Rimmon named for the pagan god, where mourning took place for Josiah. NET Note - Hadad-Rimmon is a compound of the names of two Canaanite deities, the gods of storm and thunder respectively. The grammar (a subjective genitive) allows, and the problem of comparing Israel's grief at God's "wounding" with pagan mourning seems to demand, that this be viewed as a place name, perhaps where Judah lamented the death of good king Josiah (cf. 2 Chr 35:25). However, some translations render this as "for" (NRSV, NCV, TEV, CEV), suggesting a person, while others translate as "of" (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT) which is ambiguous. MacAthur - “Since there is no specific mountain by that name, and Har can refer to hill country, it is probably a reference to the hill country surrounding the Plain of Megiddo, some sixty miles north of Jerusalem. More than two hundred battles have been fought in that region.” Zechariah 12:12 "The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; The land will mourn: Jer 3:21 Jer 4:28 Jer 31:18 Mt 24:30 Rev 1:7 the family of the house of David by itself : Jer 13:18 Jon 3:5,6 and their wives by themselves: Zec 7:3 Joe 2:16 1Co 7:5 the family of the house of Nathan by itself : 2Sa 5:14 7:2-4 12:1 Lu 3:31 Charles Feinberg - Because of the overwhelming sorrow each family will weep apart. It will be an intense and sincere sorrow; private and public; national and individual; personal and family. The mourning will extend from the highest to the lowest in the land. The mention of the house of David shows the kings to be guilty; the house of Nathan (if this be Nathan the prophet and not Nathan, son of David), prophets guilty; the house of Levi, the priests guilty; and the house of Shimei, the ordinary Levites (Nu 3:21) guilty. The old Jewish view held that Nathan represented the prophetic order, while the Shimeite stood for the teachers.