Zechariah 12:4 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Zechariah 12:4
In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
a day (as the warm hours) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
saith
נְאֻםne.'um-
H5002
an oracle · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֗הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
smite
אַכֶּ֤ה'a.Keh
H5221
to strike (lightly or severely · verb, hiphil imperfect, 1st person common singular
horse
סוּס֙sus
H5483
a horse (as leaping) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
astonishment
בַּתִּמָּה֔וֹןba.ti.ma.Hon
H8541
consternation · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
rider
וְרֹכְב֖וֹve.ro.khe.Vo
H7392
to ride (on an animal or in a vehicle) · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
madness
בַּשִּׁגָּע֑וֹןba.shi.ga.'on
H7697
craziness · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
open
אֶפְקַ֣ח'ef.Kach
H6491
to open (the senses · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
eyes
עֵינַ֔י'ei.Nai
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix
house
בֵּ֤יתbeit
H1004
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct
Judah
יְהוּדָה֙ye.hu.Dah
H3063
Jehudah (or Judah) · proper noun, a place name
smite
אַכֶּ֖ה'a.Keh
H5221
to strike (lightly or severely · verb, hiphil imperfect, 1st person common singular
horse
ס֣וּסsus
H5483
a horse (as leaping) · noun, common masculine singular construct
people
הָֽעַמִּ֔יםha.'a.Mim
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
blindness
בַּֽעִוָּרֽוֹןBa.'i.va.Ron
H5788
blindness · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
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
Deuteronomy 28:28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
Zechariah 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though a…
Zechariah 12:6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall de…
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
1 Kings 8:29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that tho…
2 Kings 6:14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
2 Kings 6:18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them wit…
2 Chronicles 6:20 That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to h…
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…
I will smite . . . horse--The arm of attack especially formidable to Judah, who was unprovided with cavalry. So in the overthrow of Pharaoh (Exo 15:19, Exo 15:21).
open mine eyes upon . . . Judah--to watch over Judah's safety. Heretofore Jehovah seemed to have shut His eyes, as having no regard for her.
blindness--so as to rush headlong on to their own ruin (compare Zac 14:12-13).
Adam Clarke on Zechariah 12:4
I will smite every horse - Some apply this to the wars of the Maccabees with the Syrians; but it is more likely to be a prophecy not yet accomplished. The terms are too strong for such petty and evanescent victories as those of the Maccabees.
John Gill on Zechariah 12:4
In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness,.... The meaning is, the enemies of God's people shall be astonished at the failure of their attempts, and be filled with fury and madness because they cannot accomplish their designs; and shall be at their wits' end, not knowing what course to take: perhaps reference is had to the Turkish armies, that shall be brought against Jerusalem to recover it into their possession, which generally consist of a large cavalry; see Revelation 9:16,
and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah; which phrase is sometimes used, as expressive of the wrath of God against his enemies, Amos 9:4 and, if the…
The Church Fathers
(Vers. 4.) On that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with dismay, and its rider with madness; but upon the house of Judah I will open my eyes, and all the horses of the peoples I will strike with blindness. LXX: On that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will strike every horse with astonishment, and its rider with madness; but upon the house of Judah I will open my eyes, and all the horses of the peoples I will strike with blindness. At that time (for that is what 'day' signifies) when Jerusalem is besieged, so that even Judas is compelled to besiege it, the Lord will strike down all the enemies' horses, both carnally and spiritually, causing them to be amazed, so that all who see them being struck down will be astonished, and their riders, under the weight of their misfortune, will be driven to madness. And the Lord will open His eyes upon the house of Judah, who were being forced to do something against their own city, so that He may have mercy on them and make them worthy by His gaze and enlighten them by the light of His eyes. But He will strike down all the horses of the peoples with eternal blindness. We have already mentioned who the spiritually understanding horses are: The deceitful horse leads to salvation (Ps. 32:17). And: Some trust in chariots and some in horses (Ps. 20:8), and similar things to these. We have also called their riders, either demons or false teachers, who will all be amazed and proven to be foolish, so that they are shown to know nothing. But palpable darkness shall overwhelm them, such as when the firstborn of the Egyptians were struck down (Exod. 11). But the house of Judah, that is, the people who confess God, appears to be among the number of persecutors, broken by the anxieties of persecution and frightened by fear. The Lord will open His eyes to look upon many, saying to Himself: Look upon me and have mercy on me (Psalm 85:16), and may they deserve to hear: The Lord will be your eternal light (Isaiah 60). This is the crushing of a very heavy stone that the Lord threatens against His adversaries, who have attempted to raise up and trouble Jerusalem.
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…
Horse, The · Often suffered: From blindness — Often suffered: From blindness
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).
Zechariah 12:4
4. In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
4. Die illo, inquit Iehova, percutiam omnem equum stupore, et sesso rem ejus amentia; et super domum Iehudah aperiam oculos meos, et omnem equum populorum percutiam caecitate.
He pursues here the same subject, but in other words, -- that multiplicity of means is in God's hand, by which he can drive away and break down the fury of enemies. By the words horse and its rider, the Prophet, stating a part for the whole, means whatever is strong, and intimates that it can…
"Behold, I make Jerusalem a reeling-basin for all the nations round about, and upon Judah also will it be at the siege against Jerusalem. Zac 12:3. And it will come to pass on that day, I will make Jerusalem a burden-stone to all nations: all who lift it up will tear rents for themselves; and all the nations of the earth will gather together against it. Zac 12:4. In that day, is the saying of Jehovah, will I smite every horse with shyness, and its rider with madness, and over the house of Judah will I open my eyes, and every horse of the nations will I smite with blindness." These verses allude to an attack on the part of the nations upon Jerusalem and Judah, which will result in injury and…
Madness, blindness, and panic were among the curses threatened against Israel for covenant disobedience (Deut 28:28). The day of the Lord will witness a reversal as these curses are turned against Israel’s enemies (see 2 Kgs 7:6-7). • watch over (literally open my eyes): The open eyes of God represent divine provision for those in desperate need (see Gen 16:13-14; 21:19-21).
Rashi on Zechariah 12:4
I will smite every horse of those gathered there with bewilderment and blindness, and their riders with madness (Shem Ephraim). But upon the [members of the] house of Judah, who are among those gathered against their will, I will open My eyes to protect them from this plague.
