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Zechariah 13

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Fountain of Cleansing and Purification 1–6

1
In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. ​
2
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. ​
3
And it shall come to pass that, when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of Jehovah; and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth. ​
4
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he prophesieth; neither shall they wear a hairy mantle to deceive: ​
5
but he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondman from my youth. ​
6
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds between thine arms? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. ​

The Striking of the Shepherd and the Remnant 7–9

7
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones. ​
8
And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. ​
9
And I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, Jehovah is my God. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Zechariah 13

Verse 1

a fountain opened — Maqor, a spring, the word of 'the fountain of living waters' that Israel forsook (Jer 2:13). It is opened to the groups who receive the Spirit in 12:10. 'Uncleanness' is niddah, the impurity met by the 'water of separation… a purification for sin' (Num 19:9). John says 'the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin' (1 John 1:7).

Verse 2

the unclean spirit — This is the only verse in the Old Testament where the KJV has 'unclean spirit'; the phrase is common in the Gospels (Mark 1:23). The names of the idols are cut off as in Hos 2:17, 'they shall no more be remembered by their name', and Ex 23:13, 'make no mention of the name of other gods'.

Verse 3

thou shalt not live — The law made death the penalty for a prophet who spoke 'to turn you away from the LORD' (Deut 13:5), and Deut 13:6–9 names the nearest kin among those who must not shield him. Deut 18:20 covers the one who speaks in the LORD's name what he was not commanded. 'Thrust him through' is daqar, the verb of 12:10, 'whom they have pierced'.

Verse 4

a rough garment — Literally a mantle (addereth) of hair (sear), the dress of Elijah, 'an hairy man' (2 Kgs 1:8), whose 'mantle' Elisha took up (2 Kgs 2:13); John the Baptist had 'raiment of camel's hair' (Matt 3:4). The prophets who put it on 'to deceive' (kachash) are 'ashamed every one of his vision'.

Verse 5

I am an husbandman — Literally a man who tills the ground (adamah). Amos made a like disclaimer of his trade, 'I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman' (Amos 7:14), and was sent by the LORD all the same (Amos 7:15). 'Taught me to keep cattle' is qanah, to acquire, the verb of 'possessors' in 11:5.

Verse 6

wounds in thine hands — 'Wounded' is nakah, to strike, the verb of 'smite the shepherd' in v.7. The wounds are read both of a false prophet's marks and of Christ's, whose hands bore 'the print of the nails' (John 20:25, 27). 'Friends' is the word for those who love (ahav), so the wounds were received 'in the house of my friends'.

Verse 7

the man that is my fellow — Amit, a companion or neighbour, a word found elsewhere only in Leviticus, where it is 'neighbour' (Lev 19:15); here the one smitten is the LORD's own 'fellow'. 'Shepherd' is the ra'ah of ch.11. Christ cites the verse on the night of his arrest: 'I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad' (Matt 26:31).

Verse 8

two parts… the third — 'Parts' is peh, 'mouth', the word of 'a double portion' (Deut 21:17). Ezekiel's sign likewise divided the people into thirds, one by pestilence, one by the sword and one scattered (Ezek 5:12). The third 'left' (yathar) is the remnant on which the next verse turns.

Verse 9

refine them as silver is refined — Tsaraph, to smelt, and bachan, to test. The LORD 'shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver' (Mal 3:3), and he says of Israel, 'I have refined thee… in the furnace of affliction' (Isa 48:10). 'I will hear them' is anah, to answer, as in 10:6. 'Thou art my people… Thou art my God' is the exchange of Hos 2:23.