t A promise of the B. C. cir. 587. CHAP. IX. A. M. cir. 3417. because of the army, because of | minion shall be him that passeth by, and because to sea, and from of him that returneth and P no OI. XLVIII. 2, Tarpuinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 17. oppressor shall pass through them any more for now I have I seen with mine eyes. r thy and 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, King cometh unto thee: he is just, having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.. 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak' peace unto the heathen: and his do P Isa. lx. 18; Ezek. xxviii. 24. Exod. iii. 7. Isa. lxii. 11; chap. ii. 10; Matt. xxi. 5; John xii. 15. Jer. xxiii. 5; xxx. 9; John i. 49; Luke xix. 38. Or, saving himself. u Hos. i. 7; ii. 18; Mic. v. 10; Hag. ii. 22. s. 5. extraordinary account in Joseph. Antiq. lib. xi., c. 8, Bishop Newcome translates: "I will encamp about my house with an army, so that none shall pass through or return." Verse 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion] See this prophecy explained on Matt. xxi. 5. 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 splendour; 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 fulfil the law. Had he in his title of king rode upon a horse, it would have been a breach of a positive command of God; therefore, he rode upon an ass, and thus fulfilled the prophecy, and kept the precept unbroken. Hence it is immediately added Verse 10. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem] No wars shall be employed to spread the kingdom of the Messiah; for it shall be founded and established, "not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts," chap. iv. 6. 91. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci R. Roman., cir. annum 30. 11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy y prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. 12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; a race, fast bound in sin and misery, and who by the pitifulness of his tender mercy were loosed, he dying in their stead. Verse 12. Turn you to the strong hold] Ye who feel your sins, and are shut up under a sense of your guilt, look up to him who was delivered for your offences, and rose again for your justification. have hope; let that hope lead you to faith, and that faith to the blood of the covenant; and, through that blood, to Gon, the Father of all. Ye I will render double unto thee] Give thee an abundance of peace and salvation. Verse 13. When I have bent Judah] Judah is the bow, and Ephraim is the arrows; and these are to be I am inclined, with Bp. shot against the Greeks. Newcome, to consider that the language of this prophecy is too strong to point out the only trifling advantage which the Maccabees gained over Antiochus, who was of Macedonian descent; and it is probable that these prophecies remain to be fulfilled against the present possessors of Javan or Greece, Macedonia, and a part of Asia Minor. Verse 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 άπασαν επεκλυσεν ύετιος Ζευς, Isaac, Jacob, and the Israelites in general, and ratified "When heaven's dread trumpet, sounding from on by the blood of many victims; until the time should come in which the Messiah should shed his blood, as typified by the ancient sacrifices. I have sent forth thy prisoners] Those who were under the arrest of God's judgments; the human 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. A. M. cir. 3417. and the Lord GoD shall blow B. C, cir. 587. O XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R Roman, eir annum 30. the trumpet, and shall go whirlwinds of the south. with promises to his people. B. C. eir. 587. O. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman, eir. annum 30. 16 And the LORD their God A. M. cir. 3417, shall save them in that day as the flock of his people for they 15 The LORD of hosts shall shall be as the stones of a crown, defend them; and they shall devour, and lifted up as an ensign upon his land. 4 subdue with sling-stones; and they shall 17 For how great is his goodness, and how drink, and make a noise as through wine; and great is his beauty! * corn shall make the they shall be filled like bowls, and as the young men cheerful, and new wine the corners of the altar. maids. elsa xxi. 1 -- Or, subdue the stones of the sling. Or, shall ! fill both the bowels, &c.- - Lev. iv. 18, 24; Deut. xii. 37. In these two verses there is a fine image, and an allusion to a particular fact, which have escaped the notice of every commentator. I must repeat the verses: 13: When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zon, against thy sous, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man. 14: And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrows shall go forth like lightning The reader will consult what is said on Hos. vii. 16, relative to the oriental bow, which resembles a in its quiescent state, and must be recurred in order to be strung. Here, Judah is represented as the recurved bow; Ephraim, as an arrow placed on the string, and then discharged against the Javanites or Greeks with the momentum of lightning; the arrow kindling in its course through the air, and thus becoming the bolt of death to them against whom it was directed. Volat illud, et incandescit eundo, Verse 13. The Lord of hosts shail difend them] He alone is the sure trust of his Church. Subdue with sling-stones] This was an ancient and powerful instrument in the bands of the Hebrews See the note on Judg. xx 16. They shall drink] After the victory gained as above, thy people shall boid a fast, and drink and be filled with wine. There is no art:mation here that they shall drink the blood of enemies, as some barbarous nations were sccustomed to do. When they Isa. lxii. 3; Mal. iii. 17. ! * Joel i. 18; Amos ix. 14. Isa. xi. 12.- Psa. xxxi. 19. Or, grow, or speak. ezer machosesoth, "crowned stones erecting themseives." i. e., being set up by themselves, as monuments of some deliverance, they seem to be lifting themseires up; offering themselves to the attention of every passenger. It may however refer to stones anoated with oil; a sort of temporary altars set up to the Lord for a victory gained. The same word is used. Lev. xxi. 12: "Because the crown, i nezer, of the anointing oil of his God is upon him." Perhaps most of those upright stones, standing in circles, which pass for druidical monuments, were erected to commemorate victories, or to grace the tomb of an illustrious chief. These verses may refer to some final victory over the enemies of God's people. Verse 17. How great is his goodness] In himself and towards them. And how great is his beauty! His comeliness, holiness, and purity, put in and upon them. Corn shall make the young men cheerful] They shall be gladdened and strengthened by plenty of food; and they shall speak aloud of God's mercies in their harvest home. And new wine the maids.] Who shall prepare the wine from an abundant vintage. God's judgments against A. M. cir. 3417. B. C. cir. 587. Ol. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 30. ASK d ye B. C. cir. 587. Ol. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 30. of the LORD brain streets in the battle and they A. M. cir. 3417. in the time of the latter shall fight, because the LORD is rain; so the LORD shall make with them, and the riders on bright clouds, and give them horses shall be confounded. showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. 2 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd. k i h 3 Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats for the hath visited his flock the house hath made them as his goodly LORD of hosts of Judah, and horse in the battle... 5 Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle-bow, out of him every oppressor together. NOTES ON CHAP. X. Verse 1. Ask ye of the Lord rain] Rain in the due seasons-1. To impregnate the seed when sown; and 2. To fill the ear near the time of harvest-was so essential to the fertility of the land, and the well-being of the people, that it stands well among the chief of God's mercies; and the promise of it here shows that God designs to ensure the prosperity promised, by using those means by which it was promoted. Verse 2. The idols have spoken vanity] This is spoken of the Jews, and must refer to their idolatry practised before the captivity, for there were no idols after. Therefore they went their way] They were like a flock that had no shepherd, shifting from place to place, and wandering about in the wilderness, seeking for pasture, wherever they might find it. Some think that the idols and diviners were those of the Seleucida Greeks, who excited their masters with promises of success against the Maccabees. Others think that the Babylonish captivity is foretold; for a determined future event is frequently spoken of by the prophets as past. Verse 3. Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds] Bad kings and bad priests. I will punish the goats; these were the wicked priests, who were shepherds by their office, and goats by the impurity of their lives. As his goodly horse in the battle.] The honourable war horse, or the horse that carried the general's equipage. In the unaccountable variation of interpreters on these chapters, this, among other things, is thought to be spoken of Matthias and Judas Maccabeus, who 6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and " will hear them. u 7 And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD. 9 And I will sow them among the peo ple: and they shall remember me in far horses ashamed. • Num. xxiv. 17; 1 Sam. xiv. 38; Isa. xix. 13.- -P Isa. xxii. 23.-4 Psa. xviii. 42. Or, they shall make the riders on Jer. iii. 18; Ezek. xxxvii. 21.-t Hos. i. 7. Chap. xiii. 9.- - Psa. civ. 15; chap. ix. 15.. - Isa. v. 26. * Isa. xlix. 19; Ezek. xxxvi. 37.--y Hos. ii. 23.- Deut. xxx. 1, assembled the people from all quarters, as a shepherd gathers his sheep together; and led them against the sons of Greece, the Seleucide Greeks. Others refer every thing here to times before the captivity. Verse 4. Out of him came forth the corner] This is spoken of the tribe of Judah: all strength, counsel, and excellence came from that tribe. The corner stone, the ornament and completion of the building; the nail, by which the tents were fastened, and on which they hung their clothes, armour, &c.; the battlebow, the choicest archers. Every oppressor together.] Those heroes and generals, by whom, under God, their foes should be totally routed. Newcome translates, "Every ruler together." Perhaps all this is spoken of the Messiah. Verse 5. They shall be as mighty men] The Maccabees and their successors. Riders on horses] The Macedonians, who opposed the Maccabees, and had much cavalry; whereas the Jews had none, and even few weapons of war; yet they overcame these horsemen, Verse 6. I will strengthen the house of Judah] I doubt whether the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth verses are not to be understood of the future ingathering of the Jews in the times of the Gospel. See Jer. iii. 14; xxiii. 6; Hosea i. 2; vi. 11. Verse 7. Ephraim shall be like a mighty man] This tribe was always distinguished for its valour. Verse 8. I will hiss for them] p eshrekah, “I will shriek for them;" call them with such a shrill strong voice, that they shall hear me, and find that it is the voice of their redemption. Verse 9. I will sow them among the people] Wher the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. 12 And I will strengthen them in the LORD: and they shall walk up and down in his name, 11 And he shall pass through the sea with saith the LORD. a Isa. xi. 11, 16; Hos. xi. 11.- b Isa. xlix. 20. e Isa. xi. 15, 16.- d Isa. xiv. 25.- Le Ezek. xxx. 13. Verse 10. Out of the land of Egypt] I will bring them out of all the countries where they have been dispersed, and bring them back to their own land; and they shall be so numerous that they shall ́scarcely find there, in all its length and breadth, a sufficiency of room. If all the Jews that are now scattered over the face of the earth were gathered together, they would make a mighty nation. And God will gather them together. As a wonderful providence has preserved them in every place, so a wondrous providence will collect them from every place of their dispersion. When the great call comes, no one soul of them shall be left behind. Verse 11. And he shall pass through the sea] IIere is an allusion to the passage of the Red Sea, on their coming out of Egypt, and to their crossing Jordan, when they went into the promised land; the waves or waters of both were dried up, thrown from side to side, till all the people passed safely through. When Mic. iv. 5. they shall return from the various countries in which they now sojourn, God will work, if necessary, similar miracles to those which he formerly worked for their forefathers; and the people shall be glad to let them go, however much they may be profited by their operations in the state. Those that oppose, as Assyria and Egypt formerly did, shall be brought down, and their sceptre broken. Verse 12. I will strengthen them in the Lord] I, the God of Israel, will strengthen them in the LordJesus, the Messiah; and thus indeed the Chaldee: I will strengthen them, " bemeymra dayai, in or by the WORD of Jehovah, the same personal Word which we so often meet with in the Chaldee paraphrases or Targum. They shall walk up and down in his name] In the name of the Messiah. Saith the Lord-GoD speaks here, not of himself, but concerning his Christ. The Jews shall have complete liberty; they shall appear everywhere as a part of the flock of Christ, and no difference be made between them and the converted Gentiles. They shall be all one fold under one Shep herd and Bishop of all souls. CHAPTER XI. The commencement of this chapter relates to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish polity, probably by the Babylonians; at least in the first instance, as the fourth verse speaks of the people thus threatened as the prophet's charge, 1-6. The prophet then gives an account of the manner in which he discharged his office, and the little value that was put on his labours. And this he does by symbolical actions, a common mode of instruction with the ancient prophets, 7-14. After the prophet, on account of the unsuccessfulness of his labours, had broken the two crooks which were the true badges of his pastoral office, (to denote the annulling of God's covenant with them, and their consequent divisions and dispersions,) he is directed to take instruments calculated to hurt and destroy, perhaps an iron crook, scrip, and stones, to express by these symbols the judgments which God was about to inflict on them by wicked rulers and guides, who should first destroy the flock, and in the end be destroyed themselves, 15-17. Let us now view this prophecy in another light, as we are authorized to do by Scripture, Matt. xxvii. 7. In this view the prophet, in the person of the Messiah, sets forth the ungrateful returns made to him by the Jews, when he undertook the office of shepherd in guiding and governing them; how they rejected him, and valued him and his labours at the mean and contemptible price of thirty pieces of silver, the paltry sum for which Judas betrayed him. Upon which he threatens to destroy their city and temple; and to give them up to the hands of such guides and governors as should have no regard to their welfare. 790 The disobedient threatened B. C. 587. a with destruction. CHAP. XI. A. M. cir. 3417. OPEN thy doors, O Lebanon, the land, saith the LORD: but lo, A. M. cir. 3437 | C. cir. 587 that the fire may devour thy I will deliver the men every O1. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci cedars. one into his neighbour's hand, R. Roman.. cir. annum 30. and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. 2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty is spoiled howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. d 3 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled; a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled. 4 Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;* 5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them g say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich and their own shepherds pity them not. 6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of Chap. x 10.- b Or, gallants. - Isa. xxxii. 12. the defenced forest. Le Ver. 7. Jer. ii. 3; 1. 7.xxix. 19; Hos. xii. 8.- —— Heb. make to be found. NOTES ON CHAP, XI. d Or, - Deut. Ver. 4. m 7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. 8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then said I, I will not feed you: P that that dieth, let it die: and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat everyone the flesh of another. 10. And I took my staff, even Beauty, and k Or, verily the poor. Binders. La Hos. v. 7. P Jer. xv. 2; xliii. 11. Zeph. iii. 12; Matt. xi. 5. _m Or, Heb. was straitened for them. Heb. of his fellow, or neighbour. mined to deliver them into the hands of the Chal Verse 1. Open thy doors, O Lebanon] I will give deans. Mr. Joseph Mede's note upon this verse: That which moveth me more than the rest, is in chap. xi., which contains a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, and a description of the wickedness of the inhabitants, for which God would give them to the sword, and have no more pity upon them. It is expounded of the destruction by Titus; but methinks such a prophecy was nothing seasonable for Zachary's time, (when the city yet for a great part lay in her ruins, and the temple had not yet recovered hers,) nor agreeable to the scope. Zachary's commission, who, together with his colleague Haggai, was sent to encourage the people, lately returned from captivity, to build their temple, and to instaurate their commonwealth. Was this a fit time to foretell the destruction of both, while they were yet but a-building? And by Zachary too, who was to encourage them? Would not this better befit the desolation by Nebuchadnezzar ?" I really think so. See Mr. J. Mede's lxi. Epistle. Lebanon signifies the temple, because built of terials principally brought from that place. Verse 7. And I will feed the flock of slaughter] I showed them what God had revealed to me relative to the evils coming upon the land; and I did this the more especially for the sake of the poor of the flock. Two staves] Two shepherd's crooks. One I called Beauty-that probably by which they marked the sheep; dipping the end into vermillion, or some red liquid. And this was done when they were to mark every tenth sheep, as it came out of the field, when the tithe was to be set apart for the Lord. The other I called Bands] Probably that with the hook or crook at the head of it, by which the shepherd was wont to catch the sheep by the horns or legs when he wished to bring any to hand. And I fed the flock.] These two rods show the beauty and union of the people, while under God as their Shepherd. It was the delight of God to see them in a state of peace and harmony, Verse 8. Three shepherds also I cut off in one ma-month] Taking this literally, some think the three shepherds mean the three Maccabees, Judas, Jonathan, Verse 2. Howl, fir tree] This seems to point out and Simon; others, the three wicked high priests, the fall and destruction of all the mighty men. Verse 3. Young lions] Princes and rulers. shepherds, kings or priests may be intended. Jason, Alcimus, and Menelaus; others, the three last By princes of the Asmonean race, Alexander, Hyrcanus, and Antigonus., Verse 4. Feed the flock of the slaughter] This people resemble a flock of sheep fattened for the shambles; feed, instruct, this people who are about to be slaughtered. Verse 5. Whose possessors] Governors and false prophets, slay them, by leading them to those things that will bring them to destruction. And they that sell them] Give them up to idolatry; and bless God, strange to tell, that they get secular advantage by the establishment of this false-religion. Verse 6. For I will no more pity] I have deter Perhaps three orders may be intended: 1. The priesthood. 2. The dictatorship, including the Scribes, Pharisees, &c, 3. The magistracy, the great sanhedrin, and the smaller councils. These were all annihilated by the Roman conquest. |