ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Zechariah 9

Zech. 9:1–14:21 The Return of the King. The reference to the surrounding nations in 8:20–23 and 9:1–8 links the book’s main parts (chs. 1–8 and chs. 9–14). In the book’s second half, two groups of oracles are introduced as the “oracle of the word of the Lord” (9:1; 12:1). The twin themes of the purity of God’s people and the fidelity of their leaders—often termed “shepherds”—run throughout these oracles. The community and its leaders suffer opposition and difficulty. The “return of the king” (9:9) marks the triumph of God’s purposes and the restoration of God’s people. It also marks the salvation of people from many nations (14:9, 16; compare 8:20–23).

9:1–11:17 The First Oracle: Leaders and Their People. Judgment on Jerusalem’s neighbors contributes to its security (9:1–8), but the arrival of a saving king completes it (9:9–17). While this remains the community’s only hope, it still must recover from destructive leaders (10:1–12) who themselves come under judgment (11:1–17).

Zech. 9:1–17 Zechariah tells Judah that its current circumstances are temporary. God will judge their oppressors. He will also send the promised king, who will rule Israel and the nations.

Zech. 9:1–8 As in 1:12, the issue is the nations that are wrongfully at rest, and that will now be subject to the Lord’s judgment. Despite all its natural resources, this whole region will experience the fiery judgment of God that will leave it desolate. Yet even from the destruction of those nations, a remnant (9:7) will emerge who will attach themselves to the Lord and become part of his people (see 8:22–23). Thus the Lord will eliminate any future threats to the peace and safety of his house (9:8) and his people.

Zech. 9:9 This campaign against Israel’s enemies ends in the triumphal entry of Israel’s king into Jerusalem. He is described as “righteous,” like the ideal ruler of Psalm 72. He will secure their “salvation” by guaranteeing God’s blessing. He is also humble (compare Deut. 17:18–20), and he comes riding on a donkey. A warrior would ride a horse, so this is the mount of one who brings peace. Jesus fulfills this prophecy during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (see Matt. 21:5; John 12:5). righteous and having salvation is he. As Jesus enters Jerusalem, this saving work is still to be accomplished.

Zech. 9:10 The Lord will eliminate Israel’s need for traditional instruments of war: chariot, war horse, and battle bow. He will provide universal peace (see Ps. 72:8).

Zech. 9:11 The prisoners, those remaining in exile, will be freed from the waterless pit, a dry well used as a temporary prison (see Gen. 37:24; Jer. 38:6). This salvation comes because of the blood of my covenant, that is, the blood of the sacrifices offered to confirm the covenant (see Ex. 24:8). Because of this covenant bond between God and his people, they should return to Jerusalem, their “stronghold” (Zech. 9:12; see 2:6–7).

Zech. 9:12–17 The prisoners of war are not the only ones who need to hear the news of the coming king. The day is coming when God will make his people themselves into a weapon against their captors (v. 13). As the Divine Warrior, the Lord will conquer his people’s oppressors in dramatic fashion (vv. 13–14). By destroying their enemies, he will rescue his people and shepherd his flock (v. 16). As his treasured possession, they will never again go hungry and thirsty. They will receive the covenantal blessings of grain and new wine (v. 17).

Zech. 9:13 The oppressors of the sons of Zion (Israel) are identified as the sons of Greece. God promises to make Zion like a warrior’s sword, defeating the Greeks. This is a predictive prophecy of future events (compare Dan. 8:21). Zechariah was writing between 520 and perhaps 480 b.c., but the Greek ruler Alexander the Great did not conquer Palestine until 333. Then the Jewish people did not successfully rebel against Alexander’s successors until the Maccabean period (roughly 166–142 b.c.). However, the name “Greece” was known at the time of Zechariah, for the Greeks had defeated Persia at the battle of Marathon in 490 b.c. Greece was never an enemy of Israel or a conquering world power, however, until the time of Alexander the Great.

Zech. 9:15–16 tread down the sling stones. These stones were hurled by slings in battle, but these stones also represent the enemies themselves. Israel’s army will trample them as they move forward to conquer. By contrast, God’s people will be saved like the jewels of a crown.