Zechariah 12:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Zechariah 12:1
The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
a burden · noun, common masculine singular construct
word
דְבַרde.var-
H1697
a word · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֖הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
saith
נְאֻםne.'um-
H5002
an oracle · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֗הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
stretcheth
נֹטֶ֤הno.Teh
H5186
to stretch or spread out · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
heavens
שָׁמַ֙יִם֙sha.Ma.yim
H8064
the sky (as aloft · noun, common masculine plural absolute
foundation
וְיֹסֵ֣דve.yo.Sed
H3245
to set (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
earth
אָ֔רֶץ'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · noun, common feminine singular absolute
formeth
וְיֹצֵ֥רve.yo.Tzer
H3335
to mould into a form · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
spirit
רֽוּחַRu.ach-
H7307
wind · noun, common feminine singular construct
man
אָדָ֖ם'a.Dam
H120
ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · noun, common masculine singular absolute
within
בְּקִרְבּֽוֹbe.kir.Bo
H7130
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of i…
Jeremiah 51:15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
Isaiah 57:16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
Psalms 102:25-26 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
Isaiah 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the he…
Isaiah 48:13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up toget…
Hebrews 1:10-12 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Zechariah 12:1-8
Here is, I. The title of this charter of promises made to God's Israel; it is the burden of the word of the Lord, a divine prediction; it is of weight in the delivery of it; it is to be pressed upon people, and will be very pressing in the accomplishment of it; it is a burden, a heavy burden, to all the church's enemies, like that talent of lead, Zac 5:7, Zac 5:8. But it is for Israel; it is for their comfort and benefit. As even the fiery law (Deu 33:2), so the fiery prophecies and fiery providences that come from God's right hand, come for them; the word that speaks terror to their enemies speaks peace to them, as the pillar of cloud and fire, which turned a bright side towards the Israeli…
The burden of the word of the Lord - This is a new prophecy. It is directed both to Israel and Judah, though Israel alone is mentioned in this verse.
Which stretcheth forth the heavens - See on Isa 42:5 (note).
Formeth the spirit of man within him - Then it is not the same substance with his body. It is a Spirit within Him.
John Gill on Zechariah 12:1
The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel,.... And against their enemies; for the good of the church of God, for its joy, comfort, and salvation; or, "concerning Israel" (x); what shall befall them in the latter day, as the destruction of antichrist, prophesied of in the preceding chapter Zechariah 11:1; and what is hereafter said may be believed that it shall be accomplished. The Lord is described in the greatness of his power, speaking as follows:
saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens: as a curtain, Psalm 104:2 the expanse or firmament of heaven, which is stretched out as a canopy over all the earth around:
and layeth the foundation of the earth; firm and sure, though up…
Zechariah 12:1
1. The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
1. Onus verbi Iehovae super Israel: Dicit Iehova, qui expandit coelos, et fundavit terram, et formavit spiritum hominis in medio ejus.
The inscription seems not to agree with what follows, for he does not denounce any evil on the chosen people in this chapter, but, on the contrary, comforts the miserable, and promises that God would provide for the safety of his Church. Since then Zechariah speaks only of God's favor and aid, he seems to have mentioned burden here improperly or unreasonably;…
The Church Fathers
Therefore he referred the thunders to the words of the Lord, the sound of which went out into all the earth. And we understand the word spirit in this place of the soul, which he took endowed with potential reason and perfection. For the Scripture often designates the soul of humankind by the word spirit, as you read: "Who creates the spirit of man within him." So too the Lord signified his soul by the word spirit, when he said, "Into your hands I commend my spirit."
I do not want anyone to tell me that this view [that God condemns innocent souls] should be supported by the passage "who formed the spirit of man in him" and "who made the heart of every one of them." Something supremely strong and invincible is needed to force me to believe that God condemns any souls without any guilt of theirs. It is either as great a thing, or it is, perhaps greater, to create as to form, yet it is written, "Create a clean heart in me, O God." This is no argument for thinking that the soul in this passage prays to be made before it had any being. As, therefore, while now existing, it is created by renewal of its justice, so, while now existing, it is formed by the shaping force of doctrine.
There are many statements of spirit in general in the sacred Scriptures, and a person could easily become confused from ignorance, if he did not know to what sort of spirit the particular text refers; therefore we must be sure of the nature of the Holy Spirit according to Scripture. For example, Aaron is called Christ (anointed), and David also, and Saul and others are called christs, yet there is only one true Christ; similarly, since the name of spirit has been given to many things, we must determine what in particular is called the Holy Spirit. Many things are called spirits; our soul is called spirit; this wind, which is blowing, is called spirit; great valor is called spirit; impure action is called spirit; and a hostile devil is called spirit. Take care, therefore, when you hear such things, not to mistake one for another because of the similarity of the name. Scripture says of the soul, "When his spirit departs, he returns to the earth"; and again of the soul: "Who forms the spirit of man within him."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Messiah — (Heb. mashiah), in all the thirty-nine instances of its occurring in the Old Testament, is rendered by the LXX. “Christos.” It means anointed. Thus priests (Ex. 28:41; 40:15; Num. 3:3), prophets (1…
Jews, The · Promises respecting: Sanctification — Promises respecting: Sanctification
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
"Burden of the word of Jehovah over Israel. Saying of Jehovah, who stretches out the heaven, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him." This heading, which belongs to the whole prophecy in ch. 12-14, corresponds in form and contents to that in Zac 9:1. The burden of Jehovah over Israel stands by the side of the burden of Jehovah over the land of Hadrach, the seat of the heathen power of the world (Zac 9:1). And as the reason assigned for the latter was that the eye of Jehovah looks at mankind and all the tribes of Israel, so the former is explained here by an allusion to the creative omnipotence of Jehovah. Only there is nothing in our heading to answer to…
The theme of Jerusalem versus the nations binds the four messages of Zechariah’s second oracle together; the nations are gathered against Jerusalem at the beginning (12:1-9) and the end (14:1-15) of the oracle. Through the repetition of the phrase on that day, the oracle looks to the future day of the Lord. The picture it presents mixes judgment with blessing for Jerusalem. The oracle’s focal point is the cleansing of the people of Israel (13:1); it culminates with God’s universal Kingdom (14:16-21). These visions of the future encouraged the Judeans of Zechariah’s day to be faithful in spite of their seeming insignificance and helplessness.
Rashi on Zechariah 12:1
The prophecy of the word of the Lord This is the completion of the word that he began to speak about the retribution of those who devour Israel - Esau and his ilk.
