←Zechariah 9→BSB

• The land of Aram was a city-state on the northern boundary of Israel, on the caravan route connecting Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean coast. Aram was sometimes an ally and sometimes an enemy to Israel and Judah.
• Damascus, the capital of Aram, was the northern boundary of the ideal Hebrew state (Ezek 47:16–18).

• Hamath, a fortress city on one of the southern trade routes from Asia Minor, was on the northern boundary of Israel (see Num 13:21; Josh 13:5).
• The twin port cities of Tyre and Sidon were independent Phoenician kingdoms located on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel (modern-day Lebanon); they are often paired in biblical texts (e.g., Ezra 3:7; Joel 3:4; Luke 10:13–14). The cities were legendary for their maritime trade wealth, but Old Testament prophets condemned their pride and oppressive policies and predicted their destruction (Isa 23; Ezek 26:3–14; Amos 1:9–10).

Foreigners: This Hebrew word occurs elsewhere only in Deut 23:2, where it refers to illegitimate children. Zechariah uses it to signify the Philistines’ eventual loss of political and social identity.

• bloody meat: The Philistines ate meat that had not been drained of blood and was therefore unclean (Gen 9:4; Lev 3:17; Acts 15:20).
• Detestable sacrifices suggests eating unclean foods (see Lev 11:2–23).
• the surviving Philistines will worship our God: This anticipates Philip’s ministry in the cities of the Philistine coastal plain (Acts 8:40).
• The Jebusites were a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:16; 1 Chr 1:14) living in and around Jerusalem. The city of Jebus (Jerusalem) was sacked and burned during the days of the judges (Judg 1:8); it was later recaptured by David, who made it the capital of his kingdom (2 Sam 5:6–10). The Jebusites were absorbed by the Israelites through intermarriage during David’s reign (see 2 Sam 5:13).

• Your king refers to a future king from David’s line, described earlier as the Branch (3:8; 6:12–13).
• The donkey was a humble animal, and riding on a donkey signaled that its rider came in peace (see Matt 21:5; John 12:15).

• As used here, Israel stands in contrast to Judah, the southern kingdom. The pairing of Israel and Jerusalem signifies a reunited Israel and the regaining of the covenant land.
• The kingdoms of Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, and Israel were established by military conquest. By contrast, the kingdom of the Messiah will dismantle the machinery of war and eradicate all arsenals of weapons (see Isa 2:4; 9:5; Mic 5:10–11; Joel 3:10).
• The Euphrates River was the northern boundary of the Promised Land (Gen 15:18).
• the ends of the earth: The righteous king will establish universal peace.

• The covenant . . . sealed with blood probably refers to the blood sacrifice that sealed the Mosaic covenant (Exod 24:8).
• The prisoners were Jews still living as exiles in Mesopotamia after the Babylonian exile. The Jews who remained in Persia and Babylon were spiritual exiles because they lived outside the Promised Land of spiritual blessing and rest (see Deut 12:10). One of the Messiah’s defining activities would be to free prisoners (Isa 61:1; Luke 4:17–22; Rom 7:6; Eph 4:8).

Come back to the place of safety: This is a call for the Jews still in Babylon to return to the land of Judah.

The Persians and the Greeks were engaged in a power struggle in Zechariah’s time. In the future, God would judge the Greeks (who could represent all Gentiles). Zechariah is possibly alluding to Daniel’s vision (Dan 8:21–22).

• appear above his people: Zechariah borrows the image of a winged sun disk that artists pictured as protectively hovering over the Persian king. The Lord will protect Israel, go before them in battle, and show them his power.
• The ram’s horn issues a summons (Num 10:2–3, 7–10; Isa 27:13) and declares God’s presence and power (Exod 19:19; 20:18).
• The whirlwind depicts God as a warrior of devastating power and unpredictable swiftness (Ps 77:18; Isa 21:1; 29:6; 66:15). References to lightning bring Mount Sinai to mind (Exod 19:16) and with it God’s covenant promises to Israel.

• In ancient battles, great stones (literally sling-stones) were hurled at defenders on city walls and catapulted onto the inhabitants inside. The Maccabees’ triumph over the Hellenistic Seleucids in the 100s BC might have partially fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy of Israel’s defeat of the Greeks (see 1 Maccabees 3:16–24; 4:6–16; 7:40–50).
• They will be filled with blood . . . drenched with blood: When the Lord unleashes his armies against the Greeks, the amount of bloodshed will be vast.
• like a bowl: Ceremonial sprinkling bowls filled with animal blood were used in the rituals of sacrifice. This image almost suggests that the vanquishing of the Lord’s enemies is in some sense an offering to him (see Exod 24:6; Lev 1:5; 16:18).

• On that day: See study note on 3:10.
• The Old Testament prophets portrayed the Messiah as a king and as a faithful shepherd (see Ezek 34:12, 16, 23; 37:24; John 10:1; Heb 13:20; 1 Pet 5:4).

abundant grain . . . new wine: Agricultural prosperity was a tangible sign of God’s blessing (see Joel 2:19; Amos 9:13; cp. Hag 1:11).