Zechariah 11 is the eleventh of the 14

chapters Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

in the

Book of Zechariah The Book of Zechariah, attributed to the Hebrew prophet Zechariah, is included in the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Historical context Zechariah's prophecies took place during the reign of Darius the Great and were contemporary ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

.Zechariah, Book of
Jewish Encyclopedia This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet 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– 14.

Text

The original text was written in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. This chapter is divided into 17 verses. * Continuation of the subject in the tenth chapter.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

, which includes the Codex Cairensis (from year 895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (930), and

Codex Leningradensis The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...

(1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

, that is, 4Q82 (4QXII^g; 50–25 BCE) with extant verses 1–2.Dead sea scrolls – Zechariah
/ref> There is also a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

known as the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century),

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(S; BHK:

\mathfrak

^S; 4th century),

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century) and

Codex Marchalianus Codex Marchalianus designated by siglum Q is a 6th-century Greek manuscript copy of the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh or Old Testament) known as the Septuagint. The text was written on vellum in uncial letters. Palaeographically it ...

(Q;

\mathfrak

^Q; 6th century).

Desolation of Israel (11:1–3)

These verses are forming a taunting song against the leadership of the people, or even the temple, alluding to Jeremiah 25:36. This section is a so-called 'link passage' with the 'stitch words': 'Lebanon' (cf 10:12; 11:1) and 'shepherds' (10:3; 11:3, 4). The passage was interpreted to refer to the second temple after the destruction of that temple in AD 70.

Prophecy of the Shepherds (11:4–17)

In this section verses 4–6 introduce a prophet who plays a "shepherd" and is strongly identified with YHWH, with the people of Israel as the "flock", and their leaders as "merchants". The passage alludes to , but controversially turning Ezekiel's image of unity into one of threefold disunity (verses 9, 10, 14). Verses 15–16 contain the image of an antitype to the good shepherd, echoing similar imagery found in ; verse 17 counteracts verses 15–16 with an oracle of woe against the worthless shepherd.

Verse 12

: ''And I said unto them,'' : ''If ye think good, give me my price;'' :: ''and if not, forbear.'' : ''So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.'' *"My price": that is, "my wages" for taking care of the "flock", which represents "people".Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors)
On "Zechariah 11".
In: ''The Pulpit Commentary''. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019. * "If ye think good": literally, "If it be good in your eyes." Christian writers connect this to the ministry of Jesus, who had given pastoral care to the people, speaking of himself as a "servant" to fulfill the Father's will ( Philippians 2:7).Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, Andrew Robert; Brown, David. '' Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible''
"Zechariah 11"
1871. * "If not, forbear": recalls the passages in the

book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Tanakh and one of the major prophetic books, following Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during ...

: "Thou shalt say unto them, thus saith the Lord God, He that heareth, let him hear, and he that forbeareth, let him forbear" ( Ezekiel 3:27; cf. , ; ).

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

had also said, "If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him" (

1 Kings 18 1 Kings 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah ...

:21) indicating that God will not force the free-will of men. Barnes, Albert
''Notes on the Bible'' - Zechariah 11
James Murphy (ed). London: Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998. * "Thirty pieces of silver": is the price of a slave, gored to death by an ox (). This is connected to the

bargain of Judas The Bargain of Judas is a biblical episode related to the life of Jesus which is recorded in all three Synoptic Gospels, , and . It relates how Judas Iscariot made a bargain with the Jewish chief priests to betray Jesus. Biblical accounts The ...

(), which the high priest, knowingly or unknowingly, fixed on the price of "thirty pieces of silver." Bereshit Rabba notes that this prophecy 'belongs to the Messiah'. Gill, John
''Exposition of the Entire Bible''. "Zechariah 11".
Published in 1746-1763.

Verse 13

:''And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.'' NKJV *"Thirty pieces of silver" (NRSV: "Thirty shekels of silver"): is the price of a slave in . This saying is attributed to

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewi ...

(as a form of

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

Jeremiah 18 Jeremiah 18 is the eighteenth Chapters and verses of the Bible, chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christianity, Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is ...

– 19) in the New Testament (; Matthew 27:3- 10).

Notes and references

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Jewish

Zechariah 11 Hebrew with Parallel EnglishZechariah 11 Hebrew with Rashi's Commentary

Christian

Zechariah 11 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zechariah 11 11