Zechariah 9:14 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Zechariah 9:14
And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the LORD God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
to see · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
arrow
חִצּ֑וֹchi.Tzo
H2671
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
forth
וְיָצָ֥אve.ya.Tza'
H3318
to go (causatively · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
lightning
כַבָּרָ֖קkha.ba.Rak
H1300
lightning · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Lord
וַֽאדֹנָ֤יva.do.Nai
H136
the Lord (used as a proper name of God only) · conjunction + proper noun, a title
GOD
יְהֹוִה֙Yah.weh
H3069
YHWH · proper noun, a title
blow
יִתְקָ֔עyit.Ka'
H8628
to clatter · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
trumpet
בַּשּׁוֹפָ֣רba.sho.Far
H7782
a cornet (as giving a clear sound) or curved horn · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
go
וְהָלַ֖ךְve.ha.Lakh
H1980
to walk (in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
whirlwinds
בְּסַעֲר֥וֹתbe.sa.'a.Rot
H5591
a hurricane · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct
south
תֵּימָֽןtei.Man
H8486
the south (as being on the right hand of a person facin… · noun, common feminine 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
Psalms 18:14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
Isaiah 66:15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames…
Psalms 144:5-6 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Isaiah 21:1 The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
Isaiah 27:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of…
Habakkuk 3:11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
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 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Zechariah 9:12–end
The prophet, having taught those that had returned out of captivity to attribute their deliverance to the blood of the covenant and to the promise of the Messiah (for they were so wonderfully helped because that blessing was in them, was yet in the womb of their nation), now comes to encourage them with the prospect of a joyful and happy settlement, and of glorious times before them; and such a happiness they did enjoy, in a great measure, for some time; but these promises have their full accomplishment in the spiritual blessings of the gospel which we enjoy by Jesus Christ.
I. They are invited to look unto Christ, and flee unto him as their city of refuge (Zac 9:12): Turn you to the strong-…
Another image: "Jehovah shall be seen (conspicuously manifesting His power) over them" (that is, in behalf of the Jews and against their foes), as formerly He appeared in a cloud over the Israelites against the Egyptians (Exo 14:19, Exo 14:24).
his arrow . . . as . . . lightning--flashing forth instantaneous destruction to the foe (Psa 18:14).
blow . . . trumpet--to summon and incite His people to battle for the destruction of their foe.
go with whirlwinds of the south--that is, go forth in the most furious storm, such as is one from the south (Isa 21:1). Alluding, perhaps, to Jehovah's ancient miracles at Sinai coming "from Teman" ("the south," in the Margin).
Adam Clarke on Zechariah 9:14
The Lord shall be seen over them - Shadowing and refreshing them, as the cloud did the camp in the wilderness.
His arrow shall go forth as the lightning - They shall be conquered in a way that will show that God fights for his followers.
The description here is very sublime; we have a good imitation of it in Nonnus: -
Και τοτε γαιαν ἁπασαν επεκλυσεν ὑετιος Ζευς,
Πυκνωσας νεφεεσσιν ὁλον πολον· ουρανιη γαρ
Βρονταιοις παταγοισι Διος μυκησατο σαλπιγξ.
Nonn. Dionys., lib. 6. ver. 229.
"When heaven's dread trumpet, sounding from on high,
Breaks forth in thunders through the darken'd sky;
The pregnant clouds to floods of rain give birth.
And stormy Jove o'erwhelms the solid earth."
J. B. B. C.…
(Verse 14) And the Lord God will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning, and the Lord God will sound the trumpet, and He will go in the whirlwind of the south. The Lord of hosts will protect them. LXX: And the Lord God will appear over them; and He will go forth like a lightning arrow: and the Lord God Almighty will sound the trumpet, and He will go in the commotion of His terror. The Lord Almighty will protect them. And this passage refers to the times of the Maccabees when, as they fought against and defeated Antiochus, the Lord's battle and victory was with them. He went forth strong to battle, and His power appeared like that of lightning, and He protected the people of Judah by scattering their enemies in the whirlwind of death. But we refer all things to the understanding of the Savior, concerning whom it was said above: 'I have stretched out Judah as my bow.' With this bow stretched out, and the heretics and gentiles from the sons of Zion being killed, the glory of the Lord will appear, and He will come forth like a lightning arrow, of which we read in Habakkuk: 'With light of your arrows they shall walk, in the brightness of your flashing spear' (Habakkuk 3:11). This lightning and brightness is also called by another name, a trumpet and a shout, so that when the holy shout resounds, let the one who was previously deaf say: 'The discipline of the Lord has opened my ears, and He has given me an ear to hear.' And what follows: And he will go in the whirlwind of the south wind, or he will go in the motion of his threat. Therefore he threatens, and says, that he will bring punishments, so that he may have mercy on the penitent. Finally, he joins and says: The Almighty Lord will protect those whom he previously terrified with his threat. Let us read the story of the Ninevites.
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
Arrows — At first made of reeds, and then of wood tipped with iron. Arrows are sometimes figuratively put for lightning (Deut. 32:23, 42; Ps. 7:13; 18:14; 144:6; Zech. 9:14). They were used in war as well as…
Lightning — Frequently referred to by the sacred writers (Nah. 1:3-6). Thunder and lightning are spoken of as tokens of God’s wrath (2 Sam. 22:15; Job 28:26; 37:4; Ps. 135:7; 144:6; Zech. 9:14). They represent…
Arrows · Fleetness of, alluded to — Fleetness of, alluded to
Whirlwind · Generally came from the south — Generally came from the south
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 9:14
And the Lord shall be seen over them,.... His apostles and ministers: or, "shall appear to them" (q); and be seen by them, as he was in the days of his flesh; they saw his person, his miracles, his sorrows, and sufferings; they saw him after his resurrection, and some have seen him since his ascension, with the eyes of their bodies, as well as with the eyes of their understandings; and so were fit to be witnesses of him: or, "the Lord shall appear over them", or "upon them" (r); he was seen over, and above them, when he ascended up to heaven; and upon them, by the descent of his Spirit on them at the day of Pentecost, and in other miraculous gifts bestowed upon them: or, "the Lord shall appe…
Zechariah 9:14
14. And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
14. Et Iehova super eos conspicuus erit, et egredietur quasi fulgur sagitta ejus; et Dominus Iehova tuba clanget, et procedet in turbinibus Theman. (vel, Austri.)
He goes on with the same subject, but explains what I have said -- that victory is promised to the Jews, not that which they could gain by their own power, but that which should happen to them beyond their expectation; for this is what is meant when he says, that God would be seen over them. For though the events of all wars depend on God, yet…
This thought is supported in Zac 9:13. by a picture of the glory intended for Israel. Zac 9:13. "For I stretch Judah as my bow, fill it with Ephraim, and stir up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Javan, and make thee like the sword of a hero. Zac 9:14. And Jehovah will appear above them, and like the lightning will His arrow go forth; and the Lord Jehovah will blow the trumpets, and will pass along in storms of the south. Zac 9:15. Jehovah of hosts will shelter above them, and they will eat and tread down sling-stones, and will drink, make a noise, as if with wine, and become full, like the sacrificial bowls, like the corners of the altar." The double recompense which the Lord will make…
appear above his people: Zechariah borrows the image of a winged sun disk that artists pictured as protectively hovering over the Persian king. The Lord will protect Israel, go before them in battle, and show them his power. • The ram’s horn issues a summons (Num 10:2-3, 7-10; Isa 27:13) and declares God’s presence and power (Exod 19:19; 20:18). • The whirlwind depicts God as a warrior of devastating power and unpredictable swiftness (Ps 77:18; Isa 21:1; 29:6; 66:15). References to lightning bring Mount Sinai to mind (Exod 19:16) and with it God’s covenant promises to Israel.
Rashi on Zechariah 9:14
And the Lord shall appear over them In the book of Josippon (chap. 18), we find that at that time a sign appeared to the people of Jerusalem.
shall sound the shofar He shall thunder.
and He shall go with the whirlwinds of the south To storm the people of the south; they are the Greeks. And some of our Sages interpreted [the phrase] as referring to Edom in the future.
