Zechariah 12:8 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Zechariah 12:8
In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
a day (as the warm hours) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
LORD
יְהוָה֙Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
defend
יָגֵ֤ןya.Gen
H1598
to hedge about · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
inhabitants
יוֹשֵׁ֣בyo.Shev
H3427
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct
Jerusalem
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔םye.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · proper noun, a place name
feeble
הַנִּכְשָׁ֥לha.nikh.Shal
H3782
to totter or waver (through weakness of the legs · definite article + verb, niphal active participle, masculine singular absolute
day
בַּיּ֥וֹםbai.Yom
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
David
כְּדָוִ֑ידke.da.Vid
H1732
David · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
house
וּבֵ֤יתu.Veit
H1004
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
David
דָּוִיד֙da.Vid
H1732
David · proper noun, a man's name
God
כֵּֽאלֹהִ֔יםke.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
angel
כְּמַלְאַ֥ךְke.mal.'Akh
H4397
a messenger · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֖הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
before
לִפְנֵיהֶֽםlif.nei.Hem
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
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
Micah 5:2-4 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be…
Joel 3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
Joel 3:16-17 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be th…
Micah 7:8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.
Micah 7:16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
Zechariah 2:5 For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
Zechariah 9:8 And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor…
Exodus 23:20-21 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
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…
Jerusalem, however, also shall be specially strengthened against the foe.
feeble . . . shall be as David--to the Jew, the highest type of strength and glory on earth (Sa2 17:8; Sa2 18:3; Joe 3:10).
angel of the Lord before them--the divine angel that went "before them" through the desert, the highest type of strength and glory in heaven (Exo 23:20; Exo 32:34). "The house of David" is the "prince," and his family sprung from David (Eze 45:7, Eze 45:9). David's house was then in a comparatively weak state.
Adam Clarke on Zechariah 12:8
He that is feeble among them - shall be as David - Here is a marked difference between Judaism and Christianity. So clear, full, and efficient shall be the salvation of believers under the Gospel that the feeblest among them shall be as strong, as full of courage, and as successful as David when he went against Goliath. The least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than John the Baptist.
And the house of David - as the angel of the Lord - The family the Church of the true David, the Lord Jesus, shall be as the angel of the Lord; shall stand in the Divine presence like Gabriel; for Christ hath said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." So "we all, with open face beholding…
(Verse 8.) On that day, the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and there will be those among them who stumble on that day, like David. The house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. LXX: And on that day, the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and the one who is weak among them on that day will be like the house of David; and the house of David will be like the house of God, and the angel of the Lord before them. With Judah achieving victory, and the Lord restoring its tents as they were in the beginning, so that the royal house does not boast against the people, on that day and at that time, the Lord (whose help Judah will use to devour its adversaries on the right and on the left) will also protect the besieged Jerusalem; and things will change to such great happiness and blessedness, that the one who was considered lowly will be like a royal house; and the one who was from the royal house will be like a house of God, that is, like a messenger of the Lord and of angelic dignity before those who are saved at that time. According to the anagogy: The Lord will protect the inhabitants of the Church, with peace restored to the Churches after the most severe persecution, when it will also be adorned with the interpretation of its own name: for Jerusalem is expressed as the vision of peace. And blessed will be those who fought for the Church, and confessed the Lord in persecution: so that even the least among them, who may have sinned and offended in some way, should be placed in the order of masters: and let the masters who have kept their rank be like the house of God, and like the angel of the Lord; for this is what we strive for with all our effort, placed on earth, and sweating with various labors, so that we may be transformed into angelic glory.
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
Meekness — A calm temper of mind, not easily provoked (James 3:13). Peculiar promises are made to the meek (Matt. 5:5; Isa. 66:2). The cultivation of this spirit is enjoined (Col. 3:12; 1 Tim. 6:11; Zeph. 2:3),…
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).
John Gill on Zechariah 12:8
In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem,.... As with a shield against their enemies; and such is the Lord to all his people; he is their shield to protect them; he keeps and guards them by his power; he encompasses them about with his favour, as with a shield; and gives unto them the shield of salvation; all which will eminently appear to be the case of the Jews at this time:
and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; they that have the most fearful hearts, and feeble minds, shall be as courageous, as valiant, and as victorious as David; and they that are the weakest, in a spiritual sense, in the grace and in the doctrine of faith, and in that par…
Zechariah 12:8
8. In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
8. Die illo proteget Iehova super habitatorem Ierosolymae; et erit qui aegrotabit inter ipsos die illo quasi David; et domus Davidis sicuti angeli (aut, Dii,) sicuti angelus Iehovae coram facie ipsorum.
He goes on with the same subject; and he says that God would be like a shield to protect the Jews. For though the verb ygn, igen, is used here, yet as it is derived from mgn, megen, which means a shield, that metaphor is to be understood here, -- even that the Jews, tho…
Zac 12:8. "On that day Jehovah will shelter the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that stumbleth among them will be as David on that day; and the house of David as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them. Zac 12:9. And it will come to pass on that day, I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." In the conflict with the heathen nations, the Lord will endow the inhabitants of Jerusalem with marvellous strength with which to overcome all their foes. The population of Jerusalem is divided into two classes, the weak and the strong. The weak are designated as hannikhshâl, the stumbling one, who cannot stand firmly upon his feet (Sa1 2:4). These are to become like David,…
The angel of the Lord is here equated with God, represented as a Divine Warrior, rescuer, and protector (see 1:11; 3:1; Exod 14:19; 15:3; Isa 59:15-20; 63:1-6). By divine enabling, the weak will be imbued with God’s power.
Rashi on Zechariah 12:8
and the weakest among them Heb. הַנִּכְשָׁל
like angels Jonathan renders: like great ones, like angels.
like the angel of the Lord before them They will prosper like the angel of the Lord before them.
