Zechariah 9:9 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
to ride (on an animal or in a vehicle) · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
ass
חֲמ֔וֹרcha.Mor
H2543
a male ass (from its dun red) · noun, common both genders singular absolute
colt
עַ֖יִר'A.yir
H5895
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
foal
בֶּןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
ass
אֲתֹנֽוֹת'a.to.Not
H860
a female donkey (from its docility) · noun, common feminine plural 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
Matthew 21:4-7 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
Zephaniah 3:14-15 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
John 12:13-16 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lo…
Zechariah 2:10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:5-6 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execut…
Luke 19:37-38 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise…
Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
Mark 11:7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Zechariah 9:9-11
That here begins a prophecy of the Messiah and his kingdom is plain from the literal accomplishment of the ninth verse in, and its express application to, Christ's riding in triumph into Jerusalem, Mat 21:5; Joh 12:15.
I. Here is notice given of the approach of the Messiah promised, as matter of great joy to the Old Testament church: Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. Christ is a king, invested with regal powers and prerogatives, a sovereign prince, an absolute monarch, having all power both in heaven and on earth. He is Zion's king. God has set him upon his holy hill of Zion, Psa 2:6. In Zion his glory as a king shines; thence his law went forth, even the word of the Lord. In the gospel-chu…
From the coming of the Grecian conqueror, Zechariah makes a sudden transition, by the prophetical law of suggestion, to the coming of King Messiah, a very different character.
daughter of Zion--The theocratic people is called to "rejoice" at the coming of her King (Psa 2:11).
unto thee--He comes not for His own gain or pleasure, as earthly kings come, but for the sake of His Church: especially for the Jews' sake, at His second coming (Rom 11:26).
he is just--righteous: an attribute constantly given to Messiah (Isa 45:21; Isa 53:11; Jer 23:5-6) in connection with salvation. He does not merely pardon by conniving at sin, but He justifies by becoming the Lord our righteousness fulfiller,…
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion - See this prophecy explained on Mat 21:5 (note).
Behold, thy King cometh - Not Zerubbabel, for he was never king; nor have they had a king, except Jesus the Christ, from the days of Zedekiah to the present time.
He is just - The righteous One, and the Fountain of righteousness.
Having salvation - He alone can save from sin, Satan, death, and hell.
Lowly - Without worldly pomp or splendor; for neither his kingdom, nor that of his followers, is of this world.
Riding upon an ass - God had commanded the kings of Israel not to multiply horses. The kings who broke this command were miserable themselves, and scourgers to their people. Jesus came to fulfill the l…
The Church Fathers
Rejoice greatly O daughter of Sion, shout O daughter of Jerusalem; behold thy King cometh unto thee; he is just and having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass—even a young colt. This passage he uttered with reference to Zerubabel, in a strain of hyperbole as regards him, for it had properly its accomplishment in the Lord Christ, whom Zerubabel as it were, personified.
Without Benjamin, the patriarchs went forth; without Paul, the apostles. Neither of them came first, but being summoned by the first, they made greater profit from the arrival of those who came before. There is, he says, grain in Egypt, that is, where there is greater hunger, there is greater plenty. There is much grain in Egypt. Finally, even God the Father says: Out of Egypt I have called my Son. From this seed comes that abundance. For there could not have been a harvest unless the Egyptians had sown the seed beforehand. Therefore, there is grain that no one believed existed before. The patriarchs trade in this grain. And indeed, they brought silver, but the good Joseph gave grain and returned the silver. For Christ is not bought with money, but with grace. Your price is faith. These divine mysteries are bought. However, that unclean donkey carried this grain in the law, but now it is clean in grace.
At another time, he speaks of us under the figure of a colt. He means by [the colt] that we are unyoked to evil, unsubdued by wickedness, unaffected, high-spirited only with him our Father. We are colts, not stallions, "who whinny lustfully for their neighbor's wife, beasts of burden unrestrained in their lust." Rather, we are free and newly born, joyous in our faith, holding fast to the course of truth, swift in seeking salvation, spurning and trampling upon worldliness. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king comes to you, the just and the Savior, and he is poor and riding upon an ass and upon a young colt." He is not satisfied to say "colt"; he adds "young" to emphasize humankind's rejuvenation in Christ and its unending, eternal youth and simplicity. Our divine Tamer trains such young colts as we little ones. Although the passage speaks of a young ass, it too is a colt.
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
Ass, The Domestic · Laws respecting: Christ entered Jerusalem on — Laws respecting: Christ entered Jerusalem on
Christ, Character Of · Just — Just
Christ, The King · Is King of Zion — Is King of Zion
Humility Of Christ, The · Exhibited in his: Entry into Jerusalem — Exhibited in his: Entry into Jerusalem
Jerusalem · Prophecies respecting: Christ to enter, as king — Prophecies respecting: Christ to enter, as king
Joy · Of saints should be: Great — Of saints should be: Great
Prophecies Respecting Christ · His entering publicly into Jerusalem — His entering publicly into Jerusalem
Salvation · Christ: Has — Christ: Has
Titles And Names Of Christ · King — King
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).
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem,.... By whom are meant, not the inhabitants of Jerusalem in common; nor the children in it, that said Hosannas to the son of David; but the church of God, and true believers in Christ, who are called upon to "rejoice" and "shout": not merely in an external way, by showing marks of outward joy, but in a spiritual manner, for which there was good reason, as follows:
behold, thy King cometh unto thee; Aben Ezra says that interpreters are divided about the sense of this prophecy; some say it is Messiah the son of David; and others, Messiah the son of Joseph. R. Moses, the priest, he observes, thinks that Nehemiah the Tirshathit…
Zechariah 9:9
9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
9. Exulta valde filia Sion, jubila fila Ierusalem: Ecce, rex tuus veniet tibi, justus et servatus ipse (vel, idem,) pauper, et equitans super asinum, et super pullum filium asinarum.
The Prophet here briefly shows the manner in which the Church was to be restored; for a king from the tribe and family of David would again arise, to restore all things to their ancient state. And this is the view given everywhere by the Prophets; for the hope of the ancient people, as our…
Whilst the heathen world falls under the judgment of destruction, and the remnant of the heathen are converted to the living God, the Lord will protect His house, and cause the King to appear in Jerusalem, who will spread out His kingdom of peace over all the earth. Zac 9:8. "I pitch a tent for my house against military power, against those who go to and fro, and no oppressor will pass over them any more; for now have I seen with my eyes. Zac 9:9. Exult greatly, O daughter Zion; shout, daughter Jerusalem: behold, thy King will come to thee: just and endowed with salvation is He; lowly and riding upon an ass, and that upon a foal, the she-ass's son. Zac 9:10. And I cut off the chariots out of…
The second message of Zechariah’s first oracle (chs 9–11) presents the juxtaposition of warfare and peace that has defined human history. Judah’s coming deliverer-king will be victorious in battle, yet righteous and humble (9:9), and he will bring peace to the nations in his universal reign (9:10).
9:9 Your king refers to a future king from David’s line, described earlier as the Branch (3:8; 6:12-13). • The donkey was a humble animal, and riding on a donkey signaled that its rider came in peace (see Matt 21:5; John 12:15).
Rashi on Zechariah 9:9
Behold! Your king shall come to you It is impossible to interpret this except as referring to the King Messiah, as it is stated: “and his rule shall be from sea to sea.” We do not find that Israel had such a ruler during the days of the Second Temple.
just and victorious saved by the Lord.
and riding a donkey This is a symbol of humility.
and a foal of she-donkeys as in (Gen. 32:16) “and ten foals.”
