Zechariah 8 is the eighth 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 contempora ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

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 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 of a ...

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

Zechariah 1 Zechariah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Zechariah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Pro ...

–8. This chapter contains a continuation of the subject in the seventh chapter.

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 23 verses.

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 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), 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 nor ...

, that is, 4Q80 (4QXII^e; 75–50 BCE) with extant verses 2–4, 6–7.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 th ...

, 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 manuscripts) ...

(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). Some fragments containing parts of this chapter (a revision of the Septuagint) were found among the

, i.e., Naḥal Ḥever 8Ḥev1 (8ḤevXII^gr); late 1st century BCE) with extant verses 19–21, 23.

Restoration of Jerusalem (8:1–8)

This section returns to the 'renewal theme of earlier oracles in the vision cycle' (cf. Zechariah 1:14,16).

Verse 7

: ''Thus saith the Lord of hosts;'' :: ''Behold, I will save my people'' ::: ''from the east country,'' ::: ''and from the west country;'' *"From … east … west": that is, from every region (cf.

Psalm 50 Psalm 50, a Psalm of Asaph, is the 50th psalm from the Book of Psalms in the Bible, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down ...

:1) where they are scattered; to the east, under Nebuchadnezzar mainly to

Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...

, or to the "west", literally, "the going down of the sun" ( Malachi 1:11), especially countries west of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The restoration of the people includes a spiritual return to God ( Zechariah 8:8) in the future (; 43:5, 6;

Ezekiel 37 Ezekiel 37 is the thirty-seventh chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet/priest Ezekiel, and is one of the Nevi'im (Prophets). ...

:21; Amos 9:14, 15; also

Zechariah 13 Zechariah 13 is the thirteenth of the total 14 chapters in the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.Jeremiah 30:22; 31:1, 33);Robert Jamieson, Andrew Robert Fausset; David Brown. '' Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible''. 1871. also

Romans 11 Romans 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid-50s AD, with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, w ...

:26 (or a similar promise,

John 11 John 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the raising of Lazarus from the dead, a miracle of Jesus Christ, and the subsequent development of the chief priests' and Pharisees' pl ...

:52).

Verse 8

: ''And I will bring them,'' :: ''and they shall dwell in the middle of Jerusalem:'' : ''and they shall be my people,'' :: ''and I will be their God,'' ::: ''in truth and in righteousness.'' * "And they shall be My people": God promises to those who were already His people, as Jeremiah says, "I will give them an heart to know Me, that I am the Lord, and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto Me with their whole heart" (; cf. ), and, "This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and will write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people" ( Jeremiah 31:33). Barnes, Albert
''Notes on the Bible'' - Zechariah 8
James Murphy (ed). London: Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998. * "and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem": referring to 'the household of God', with 'no more foreigners and strangers'. Gill, John
''Exposition of the Entire Bible''. "Zechariah 8".
Published in 1746-1763.

Prosperity of Jerusalem (8:9–13)

This part of the oracle returns to the theme of temple building (cf. ).

Verse 12

:''For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.'' *"The seed shall be prosperous": translated from Hebrew , '' ha-'', literally, "the seed of peace", denoting that the crops sown shall be crops of peace and secure". The

reads "But I will show forth peace", whereas the Syriac version reads "The seed shall be safe". The consecutive words "For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit" can also be rendered as "For the seed of peace, the vine, shall give its fruit".Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors)
On "Zechariah 8".
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.

Expectations for Jerusalem (8:14–17)

This section's central message is the expectations of YHWH that in view of the restoration ( 8:1–8) and promised prosperity ( 8:9–13), Jerusalem must live according to her renewed status as covenant people.

Pilgrimage to Jerusalem (8:18–23)

This final part of the oracle in

Zechariah 7 Zechariah 7 is the seventh of the 14 chapters in the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.

–8 returns to the beginning theme of "fasting", arranged as a 'bracketing device' with 7:1–7, as indicated in some clues: *Pilgrimage to Jerusalem: by the Bethelites (7:2–3) then by the peoples of the nations (8:20–21) in order " to beseech the favor of YHWH" (7:2; 8:21) *Representatives sent: by a single city (7:2) and by "all languages of the nations" (8:23) *Fasting in sorrow (7:3) will be replaced by 'feasting for joy' ( 8:19).

Verse 19

: ''Thus saith the Lord of hosts;'' :: ''The fast of the fourth month,'' :: ''and the fast of the fifth,'' :: ''and the fast of the seventh,'' :: ''and the fast of the tenth,'' : ''shall be to the house of Judah'' :: ''joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts;'' : ''therefore love the truth and peace.'' * "The fast of the fourth month": Jerome gives the later Jewish traditions concerning the fastings. The fast of the seventeenth day of the fourth month commemorated the breaking of the two tables of the commandments by Moses, as well as the first breach in the walls of Jerusalem; On the ninth day "of the fourth month" of Zedekiah's eleventh year, Jerusalem, in the extremity of famine, opened to Nebuchadnezzar, and his princes sat in her gate; Jerusalem was taken ( Jeremiah 39:2; 52:6, 7). It was therefore made a fast day. * "The fast of the fifth": This fast on the ninth of Av (''Tisha B'Av''), the fifth month, had been established in memory of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The temple was burnt on the ninth or tenth of the month (see 2 Kings 25:8, 9; Jeremiah 52:12, 13). Jerome wrote that the fast of the fifth month was observed in memory of the return of the spies sent to explore Canaan, and the consequent punishment of forty years' wandering in the wilderness, as well as of the burning of the temple by the Chaldeans. * "The fast of the seventh", the fast of Gedaliah, (also in Zechariah 7:5): This fast was in memory of the murder of Gedaliah and those with him at Mizpah, issuing in the dispersion of the Jews (

2 Kings 25 2 Kings 25 is the twenty-fifth (and the final) chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording t ...

:25, 26;

Jeremiah 41 Jeremiah 41 is the forty-first 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. This ch ...

:1-3). * "The fast of the tenth": On the

tenth of Tevet Tenth of Tevet ( he, עשרה בטבת, ''Asarah BeTevet''), the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tevet, is a fast day in Judaism. It is one of the minor fasts observed from before dawn to nightfall. The fasting is in mourning of the siege ...

, the tenth month, in the ninth year of Zedekiah, the siege began (

Jeremiah 52 Jeremiah 52 is the fifty-second (and the last) 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 Biblica ...

:4). Jerome states that the fast of the tenth month was appointed because it was then that Ezekiel and the captive Jews received intelligence of the complete destruction of the temple.

Verse 23

: ''Thus saith the Lord of hosts;'' : ''In those days it shall come to pass,'' : ''that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations,'' :: ''even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying,'' ::: ''We will go with you:'' ::: ''for we have heard that God is with you.'' *"Ten men": The number ten is usually used for a large indefinite number (cf. ; ; ). It is also the number of men required to form a synagogue in Jewish tradition. *"Of all languages of the nations": The day of

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

was to be the reversal of the confusion of Babel; all were to have one voice, as God had said, "It (the time) shall come to gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come and see My glory" (

Isaiah 66 Isaiah 66 is the sixty-sixth and final chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Book of the Prophets.The ...

:18). *"They shall lay hold of the skirt of one man who is a Jew": Jerome interpret this "one man, a Jew" as

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, connecting it with the prophecy: "A prince shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until He shall come, for whom it is laid up, and for Him shall the Gentiles wait" (Genesis 49:8-10) and "there shall be a rod of Jesse, and He who shall arise to rule over the Gentiles, to Him shall the Gentiles seek" ( Isaiah 11:10), for it was essential to the fulfillment of God's promises. The Christ was to be "the Son of David" Matthew 1:1; Matthew 22:42. "Hath not the Scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the linen of Bethlehem, where David was?" (John 7:42). David, "being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne Acts 2:30; "Of this man's seed hath God, according to promise, raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus" (

Acts 13 Acts 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas to Cyprus and Pisidia. The book containing this chapter is anonymous but ear ...

:23). Paul also begins his great doctrinal Epistle with this contrast, "the Gospel of God concerning His Son Jesus Christ, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power" (Romans 1:1-4). He was that "one Man among a thousand, whom Solomon says, I found; but a woman among all those have I not found" (Ecclesiastes 7:28); the one in the whole human race. It was fulfilled when "they brought to Him all that were diseased, and besought Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole" (Matthew 14:35-36). "The whole multitude sought to touch Him, for there went virtue out of Him and healed all" (Luke 6:19, add Luke 8:46; Mark 5:30).

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Jewish

Zechariah 8 Hebrew with Parallel EnglishZechariah 8 Hebrew with Rashi's Commentary

Christian

Zechariah 8 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
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