Zechariah 12:6 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
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 devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
a day (as the warm hours) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
make
אָשִׂים֩'a.Sim
H7760
to put (used in a great variety of applications · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
governors
אַלֻּפֵ֨י'a.lu.Fei
H441
familiar · noun, common masculine plural construct
Judah
יְהוּדָ֜הye.hu.Dah
H3063
Jehudah (or Judah) · proper noun, a place name
hearth
כְּֽכִיּ֧וֹרke.khi.Yor
H3595
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
fire
אֵ֣שׁ'esh
H784
fire (literally or figuratively) · noun, common both genders 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
Obadiah 1:18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, a…
Psalms 149:6-9 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;
Daniel 2:44-45 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left t…
Micah 5:5-8 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise aga…
Zechariah 2:4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and ca…
Nehemiah 11:1-36 And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy c…
Isaiah 9:20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat eve…
Isaiah 10:16-18 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burnin…
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…
On "governors of Judah," see on Zac 9:7.
hearth--or pan.
torch . . . in a sheaf--Though small, it shall consume the many foes around. One prophet supplements the other. Thus Isa. 29:1-24; Joel 3:1-21; Zec. 12:1-14:21, describe more Antichrist's army than himself. Daniel represents him as a horn growing out of the fourth beast or fourth kingdom; St. John, as a separate beast having an individual existence. Daniel dwells on his worldly conquests as a king; St. John, more on his spiritual tyranny, whence he adds a second beast, the false prophet coming in a semblance of spirituality. What is briefly described by one is more fully prophesied by the other [ROOS].
Adam Clarke on Zechariah 12:6
Jerusalem shall be inhabited again - This seems to refer to the future conversion of the Jews, and their "return to their own land."
John Gill on Zechariah 12:6
In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood,.... As a large hearth of fire, with wood all about it, devours and consumes it; so shall the governors of Judah be to the nations that shall come up against Jerusalem. The Targum renders it,
"as a garment of fire among wood:''
and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; of wheat, which presently destroys it; see Obadiah 1:18,
and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left; on the south and on the north, as the Targum interprets it. The phrase denotes the utter destruction of the people on all sides:
and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem;…
The Church Fathers
(Vers. 6, 7.) On that day, I will make the leaders of Judah like a fiery furnace among wood, and like a burning torch among hay. They will consume all the surrounding peoples to the right and to the left, and Jerusalem will be inhabited again in its own place, in Jerusalem. And the Lord will save the dwellings of Judah, just as in the beginning, so that the glory of the house of David and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over Judah. LXX: On that day, I will make the commanders of Judah like a flaming firepot among wood, and like a burning torch among straw, and they will devour all the peoples of the Lord around them, to the right and to the left, and Jerusalem will still be inhabited in its own place, and the Lord will save the dwellings of Judah, just as at the beginning, so that the glory of the house of David may not be magnified, and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be lifted up over Judah. When the leaders of Judah said in their hearts: Strengthen me, Lord, those who were oppressed in Jerusalem, so that those who were overcome by their own weakness may overcome with your help. Then I, the Lord Almighty their God, will make the leaders of Judah like a fiery furnace in wood, and like a torch in straw, to devour the adversaries with whom they were joined through feigned friendship. Let them devour from the right and from the left, and let them kill all the peoples around, so that Jerusalem may once again be inhabited in its place, and may not fear hostile attacks. Let the cities, towns, villages, and hamlets of the three tribes of Judaea, which were plundered and devastated, be restored as they were before being ravaged. And let not the royal house, and the distinguished and magnificent tribe of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem boast against the tribe of Judah, for it is ruled by its own authority, governed by its own counsel; but let them know that victory belongs to the Lord in both. Whether these things are according to history or they are future events, leaving the faith of the affairs to the judgment of the Lord, and to those who have received the sacred spirit of wisdom and truth from him. We say that during the time of the Church's persecution, the leaders and officers bearing the name of Christians, about whom we have spoken above, when the Lord brings peace to Jerusalem and destroys the…
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
Fire — (1.) For sacred purposes. The sacrifices were consumed by fire (Gen. 8:20). The ever-burning fire on the altar was first kindled from heaven (Lev. 6:9, 13; 9:24), and afterwards rekindled at the…
Hearth — Heb. ah (Jer. 36:22, 23; R.V., “brazier”), meaning a large pot like a brazier, a portable furnace in which fire was kept in the king’s winter apartment. Heb. kiyor (Zech. 12:6; R.V., “pan”), a…
Laver — (Heb. kiyor), a “basin” for boiling in, a “pan” for cooking (1 Sam. 2:14), a “fire-pan” or hearth (Zech. 12:6), the sacred wash-bowl of the tabernacle and temple (Ex. 30:18, 28; 31:9; 35:16; 38:8;…
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…
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).
wood
בְּעֵצִ֗יםbe.'e.Tzim
H6086
a tree (from its firmness) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
torch
וּכְלַפִּ֥ידu.khe.la.Pid
H3940
a flambeau · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
fire
אֵשׁ֙'esh
H784
fire (literally or figuratively) · noun, common both genders singular absolute
sheaf
בְּעָמִ֔ירbe.'a.Mir
H5995
a bunch of grain · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
devour
וְאָ֨כְל֜וּve.'A.khe.Lu
H398
to eat (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
people
הָעַמִּ֖יםha.'a.Mim
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
about
סָבִ֑יבsa.Viv
H5439
(as noun) a circle · noun, common both genders singular absolute
hand
יָמִ֧יןya.Min
H3225
the right hand or side (leg · noun, common feminine singular absolute
left
שְׂמֹ֛אולse.Mol
H8040
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Jerusalem
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֥םye.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · proper noun, a place name
inhabited
וְיָשְׁבָ֨הve.ya.she.Vah
H3427
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Jerusalem
בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽםbi.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · preposition + proper noun, a place name
Zechariah 12:6
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 devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
6. In die illa ponam duces Iehudah quasi fornacem (vel, catinum fusorium) ignis inter ligna, et quasi facem (vel, lampadem) ignis in manipulo (hoc est, inter manipulos;) et comedent ad dextram et ad sinistram cunctos populos in circuitu; et habitabitur (vel, manebit) Ierusalem adhuc sub se (hoc est, in loco suo) in Ierusalem.
He adds another metaphor for the sake of a further confirmation; fo…
Zac 12:5. "And the princes of Judah will say in their hearts, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are strength to me, in Jehovah of hosts their God. Zac 12:6. On that day will I make the princes of Judah as a basin of fire under logs of wood, and like a torch of fire under sheaves; and they will devour all nations round about, on the right and on the left; and Jerusalem will dwell still further in its place, at Jerusalem. Zac 12:7. And Jehovah will save the tents of Judah first, that the splendour of the house of David and the splendour of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not lift itself up over Judah." The princes of Judah are mentioned as the leaders of the people in war. What they say is the con…
flame (literally firepan): Bronze or gold firepans were used to carry hot coals to and from the sacrificial altars of the Tabernacle and the Temple (Exod 27:3; 1 Kgs 7:50). God would set Israel among the nations like a burning firepan to destroy or purify them.
Rashi on Zechariah 12:6
I will make the princes of Judah They will return and wage war with those who brought them there.
as a fiery stove Like a great bonfire. The word כִּיוֹר is an expression of כִּירָה, a stove. So did Menahem (Machbereth, p. 109) classify it.
in its place lit. under it.
