Zechariah 10 is the tenth of the 14 chapters in the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible or the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Bible.Zechariah, Book of

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet

Zechariah Zechariah most often refers to: * Zechariah (Hebrew prophet), author of the Book of Zechariah * Zechariah (New Testament figure), father of John the Baptist Zechariah or its many variant forms and spellings may also refer to: People *Zechariah ...

, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. This chapter is a part of a section (so-called "Second Zechariah") consisting of

Zechariah 9 Zechariah 9 is the ninth of the total 14 chapters in the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.14.

Text

The original text was written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 12 verses. * Continuation of the subject in the seventh chapter.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the

Codex Cairensis The Codex Cairensis (also: ''Codex Prophetarum Cairensis'', ''Cairo Codex of the Prophets'') is a Hebrew manuscript containing the complete text of the Hebrew Bible's Nevi'im (Prophets). It has traditionally been described as "the oldest dated He ...

(from year 895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916),

Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex ( he, כֶּתֶר אֲרָם צוֹבָא, romanized: , lit. 'Crown of Aleppo') is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the ...

(930), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is, 4Q82 (4QXII^g; 50–25 BCE) with extant verses 11–12.Dead sea scrolls – Zechariah
/ref> There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK:

\mathfrak

^S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q;

\mathfrak

^Q; 6th century).

Prophetic warning against superstition (10:1–2)

This part contains the oracle urging the people to turn to God alone and regrets the lack of proper leadership or shepherd. The polemic against the 'bad shepherds' here continues a tradition found in

Jeremiah 23 Jeremiah 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Text ...

and

Ezekiel 34 Ezekiel 34 is the thirty-fourth chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christianity, Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the Biblical prophet, prophet/Kohen, priest Ezekiel, and ...

Verse 1

:''Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.'' *"The latter rain": refers to the period of heavy rainfall in the spring of the year (around March or April) in Palestine.Note on Zechariah 10:1 in NET Bible Eschatologically the "latter rain" points to "the end times" when God will pour out blessings (cf.

Hosea 6 Hosea 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Hosea in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.Halley, Henry H. ''Halley's Bible Handbook'': an abbreviated Bible commentary. 24th edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1965. p. 355 ...

:3;

Joel 2 Joel 2 is the second chapter of the Book of Joel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Joel from the seventh century BCE, and is a part of the Book of the Twe ...

:21-25).

Verse 2

: '' For the idols have spoken vanity,'' :: ''and the diviners have seen a lie,'' : ''and have told false dreams;'' :: ''they comfort in vain:'' : ''therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled,'' :: ''because there was no shepherd.'' KJV * " Idols": "''teraphim''"; sculptures or images of human form and sometimes of life size (; ), in ancient times worshiped to grant temporal blessings or to provide oracles (; , ; ).Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors)
On "Zechariah 10".
In: ''The

Pulpit Commentary The ''Pulpit Commentary'' is a homiletic commentary on the Bible created during the nineteenth century under the direction of Rev. Joseph S. Exell and Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones. It consists of 23 volumes with 22,000 pages and 95,000 entrie ...

''. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019. The

book of Hosea The Book of Hosea ( hbo, , Sēfer Hōšēaʿ) is collected as one of the twelve minor prophets of the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Tanakh, and as a book in its own right in the Christian Old Testament. According to the traditional order of most Heb ...

mentions "teraphim" with "ephod," as forbidden means of enquiry in the future ("without an ephod and without teraphim" ) and the book of Judges connects them with the mingled worship of Micah (; , , ). Barnes, Albert
''Notes on the Bible'' - Zechariah 10
James Murphy (ed). London: Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998. * "Have seen a lie": that is "being given up to judicial blindness", because these 'diviners' didn't care for the truth () as the Targum calls ''"the diviners prophesy falsehood."'' Gill, John
''Exposition of the Entire Bible''. "Zechariah 10".
Published in 1746-1763. * "Have told false dreams": Vulgate, ''somniatores locuti sunt frustra''; Greek Septuagint: , "spoke false dreams" (cf. ). * "Comfort in vain": literally, "give vapor for comfort" (cf. ; ; ).Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, Andrew Robert; Brown, David. '' Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible''
"Zechariah 10"
1871. * "There was no shepherd": that is "no king to guard and lead them", so the people fell under the power of foreign rulers, who oppressed them (; ).

Yahweh's holy war and the return from exile (10:3–12)

Yahweh will punish the bad shepherds (leaders) and will produce a leadership ("the cornerstone, the tent peg and the battle bow" in ) from the "house of Judah", so with YHWH's power alone the people are gathered from their places of exile similar to

the Exodus The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the ...

().

Notes and references

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Jewish

Zechariah 10 Hebrew with Parallel EnglishZechariah 10 Hebrew with Rashi's Commentary

Christian

Zechariah 10 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zechariah 10 10