The symbol of B. C. 510. CHAPTER XI. LORD. the two staves. B. C. 510. 12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 1. A. M. 3494. off, let it be cut off; and let the rest || knew that it was the word of the A. M. 3494. eat, every one the flesh of another. 10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. 11 And it was broken in that day: and so k the of the flock that waited upon me poor "Heb. of his fellow, or, neighbour.&c., certainly knew. -8 Or, the poor of the flock, disease. Or, that which is ready to die, and will not be cured, but hath rejected the shepherd's love and skill, let it die. Thus Jesus said, If ye believe not, ye shall die in your sins. For this seems to be spoken of the miseries to which the Jewish people were delivered up for their manifold sins, and in particular for their rejection of Christ, which filled up the measure of their iniquity. And that that is to be cut off-Namely, by the sword of the enemy;|| let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another-Either live to be besieged till hunger and famine make the living eat the dead, or cruelly kill their children and others, that they may eat their flesh; a calamity threatened, Deut. xxviii. 52-58; or else, by seditious and bloody intestine quarrels, destroy each other; all which happened to them in the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. 13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto * Zeph. iii. 12; Verse 7.-9 Heb. If it be good in your eyes. 1 Matt. xxvi. 15; Exod. xxi. 32. stand Christ's words uttered on that occasion as a divine sentence, but thought to put it by with a cold, God forbid, Luke xx. 16. Yet the poor of the flock, that waited upon him-Namely, who knew the Messiah, believed in him, observed his doctrine, miracles, and life, and obeyed him; who understood with what authority he spoke, and could distinguish the voice of their shepherd from that of a stranger; knew that he was the word of the Lord-Saw and acknowledged God in all this, trembled at his word, and were confident that it would not fall to the ground. Verses 12, 13. And I said unto them-Namely, upon parting. The prophet, still personating Christ, or acting as a type of him, reminds the Jews of his concern for their welfare, the care he had taken of them, and the labour he had bestowed on instructing Verses 10, 11. And I took my staff, even Beauty them; and refers it to them whether his services -Or, pleasantness, or delight. See note on verse had not deserved some reward, and, if they had, 7: emblematical, as of God's favour, gentleness, or what that reward ought to be; saying, If ye think kindness to his people, and of the honour and privi- good, give me my price-Or rather, my wages or lege which they possessed in his oracles, instituted hire of service, as the word 1 undoubtedly signiworship, and temple; so especially of God's cove- fies; and if not, forbear—If you dismiss me withnant with them, and all the blessings of it. And cut || out wages I shall be content. So they weighed for it asunder-To signify that, as they had rejected my price thirty pieces of silver-That is, as is supGod and his favour, and refused to comply with the posed, thirty shekels, of the value of about 28. 4d. terms of his covenant, so that God had now annul- each, which was the price of a slave. This showed led it, and rendered it utterly void. That I might how little they regarded him, or his labours; that break my covenant-This, in some measure, illus- is, how little value the Jews would put on the mitrates what is meant by the staff Beauty. While it nistry of Christ; or on his labours and sufferings was unbroken, the covenant between God and the for their salvation. For, according to St. Matthew, Jews was whole and unbroken. And it is to be chap. xxvi. 15; xxvii. 9, this symbolical action was observed, Christ calls it his covenant, for he was the fulfilled when the chief priests and elders of the mediator of it: namely, to bring us to God in repent- Jews paid that sum to Judas for betraying Christ to ance, faith, and holy obedience; and to reconcile them, and putting his life in their power. And the God to us in mercy and grace. Which I had made || Lord said unto me-Unto the prophet, personating with all the people-Hebrew, by 2, literally, all Christ; Cast it unto the potter-Hereby intimating people, that is, all the tribes of Israel; and all other || that it was a reward only suitable to a potter's labour, people that, by being proselyted to their religion, and a price only adequate for such wares as he sold, were incorporated into their nation. The Jewish which were of the meanest value. A goodly price Church is thus represented as being now stripped of that I was prized at of them-Thus the prophet all its glory, its crown profaned and cast to the ironically remarks on the high estimation in which ground, and all its honour laid in the dust, God he and his services were holden: or rather, God being departed from it, and resolved no more to here upbraids the shepherds of his people, who own it for his church. When Christ told the Jews prized the great Shepherd no higher. And I cast that the kingdom of God should be taken from them to the potter, &c.—Or, cast them into the house them, and given to another people, then he broke of the Lord for the potter: I cast them back into the staff of Beauty, Matt. xxi. 43. And it was the treasury in the temple, whence afterward they broken in that day, though Jerusalem and the Jew- were taken, and laid out in purchasing the potter's ish people were spared yet forty years longer; and field. This whole transaction, performed by Zechathough the great men did not, or would not, under-riah in a vision, as Lowth, Doddridge, and many VOL. III. ( 67 ) 1057 3 other interpreters suppose, or, as others think, in reality," was designed to be an exact representation of the several circumstances that should attend the betraying of Christ by Judas, the price the chief priests would put upon him, (to whom, as the governors of the temple, the money was returned,) and the use to which the money would be applied. And this whole prophetic scene was transacted in the single person of Zechariah, just as Ezekiel sustained the type or figure both of the Chaldean army that should besiege Jerusalem, and of the Jews themselves that should be besieged, Ezek. iv. 1-12." So Lowth, who adds, "This is one of those prophecies whose literal sense is fulfilled in our blessed Saviour, and cannot be applied to any other person but in a very remote or improper sense." The like instances may be seen Psa. xxii. 16-18; lxix. 21; Hos. xi. 1. The Jews themselves have expounded this prophecy of the Messiah. "There can be no doubt," says Blayney, "that this is the passage referred to Matt. xxvii. 9, though under the name of Jeremiah, (put by mistake of some transcriber of St. Matthew's gospel,) instead of Zechariah. But a question arises, how the transaction related by the evangelist can be said to be a fulfilling of that which was spoken by the prophet, considering the striking difference in some of the circumstances. In the one case, thirty pieces of silver were given as wages for service; in the other, they were paid as the price of a man's blood: in the one they were thrown with contempt to the potter; in the other, they were cast down in the temple in a fit of remorse, and taken up by others, who employed them in the purchase of the potter's field. But notwithstanding these differences, considering that all passed under the special direction of Divine Providence, it is impossible not to conclude, from a review of both transactions, that there was a designed allusion of the one to the other, and not a mere accidental resemblance between them. But the quotation, it is said, is not just for no such words are to be found in the prophet, which the evangelist hath pretended to cite from him. To this it may be answered, that though not the precise words, the substance of them is given, so that the passages are at least equivalent," as a collation of them in the original will show: see the note on Matt. xxvii. 9. Verse 14. Then-As soon as I saw what little value they put upon me, and my pastoral care over them, and services for them; I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands-The prophet did this in type, and Christ in reality; that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel-That I might declare, or foreshow, that the friendship and 1058 10 Or, Binders. Ezek. xxxiv. 2, 3, 4. union which had existed between the two tribes and the remnant of the ten tribes, was broken. "From the time that the people returned from Babylon, the Jews and Israelites had formed one society, both of religion and polity, which society continued till the last destruction of Jerusalem, when, the Jewish kingdom being subverted, the bands were broken, and a disunion in religion was made; some of the Jews continuing attached to their ancient law as much as they could without the temple, and others professing the Christian faith."-Houbigant. The design of the prophet's commission, says Blayney, was to endeavour to bring about a reformation, upon which would depend the continuance of the brotherhood, or political union, between Judah and Israel. The second crook, or staff, was therefore called Bands. But when the commission ended without producing its effect, the breaking of the crook prefigured the dissolution of that brotherhood. What that brotherhood was, is well explained by Mr. Lowth, who says, that "upon the destruction of Jerusalem, which was the bond and cement of all their tribes, being the seat and centre both of their civil power, and of the divine worship, (Psa. cxxxii. 3-5,) the consequence was the entire dissolution of the nation, and the dispersion and confusion of all their tribes, whose families could no longer be distinguished after the loss of their genealogies." Calmet thinks that, in this verse, Israel denotes the unbelieving Jews, who rejected Christ, and Judah the faithful ones who believed in him. Verse 15. And the Lord said, Take thee yet [or once more] the instruments of a foolish [or unwise] shepherd―The prophet, having hitherto represented the good shepherd, is now directed to assume the dress and equipage of one of a contrary character. As folly in the Scripture is equivalent to wickedness, by a foolish shepherd here may be meant, not only unskilful, but likewise ill-designing governors, of teachers, who should only intend their own advantage, and have no regard for the good of the flock, or people committed to their charge. The instruments of such a shepherd must be suitable to his own dis position and indiscretion, such as a crook armed with iron, which, whenever it was used, would wound the flock; and a scrip, or bag, which contained nothing useful for the sheep, and the like. The prophet here follows the order of time, that he may foretel the madness and blindness of the shepherds; that is, of the priests, rulers, and teachers of the Jewish nation, till the last destruction of Jerusalem; who not only disregarded religion, and the safety and welfare of the sheep, but even devoured such of them as were worth devouring. ( 67* ) 3 Verse 16. For lo, I will raise up a shepherd in he kills them to indulge his own appetite: or, enthe land-A shepherd, in the singular number, de- riches himself by oppressing, or otherwise taking notes a succession of such shepherds as are described || from those that are persons of property: like that in the following words. So a succession of priests wicked servant that said, My lord delays his cois represented under the single person of Levi, Mal. || ming, he eats and drinks with the drunken, serving ii. 5, 6. Since the Jews had rejected the true Shep- his own belly. 3d, They are tyrannical and cruel herd, God threatens to send, or permit to arise, among to the flock. And tear their claws [or, as it ought to them, such shepherds to rule or teach them as be rendered, break their hoofs] in pieces-This imshould be notorious for their negligence and avarice, plies the same as when it is said (Ezek. xxxiv. 4) of their cruelty and oppression. This may be under- such shepherds, With force and with cruelty have stood either of the blind guides of whom Christ ye ruled them. The unwise shepherd, instead of speaks, and whose character he describes at large, being tender and gentle with his flock, is supposed Matt. xxiii. 13–33; namely, the scribes and Phari- to drag them about with his iron crook, or to oversees, the priests and doctors of their law; or of the drive them in rough and stony ground, so as to break avaricious, tyrannical, and unmerciful princes, that their hoofs. Or, he imposes burdens and hardships should rule them with rigour, and make their own upon them that they are unable to bear. Upon land as much a place of bondage to them as ever the whole, a sluggish, negligent, covetous, riotEgypt or Babylon had been. And when they had ous, oppressive, and cruel government, priesthood, rejected him by whom princes decree justice, it was or ministry, is here shadowed out by a foolish shepjust that they should be given over into the power herd. of those who should decree unrighteous decrees. It is probable, also, that there is a reference here to the false prophets and false Christs, which, as our Lord foretold, Matt. xxiv. 5, should arise. Many such there were, who, by their seditious practices, provoked the Romans, and hastened on the ruin of the Jewish nation: but it is very remarkable that they were never deceived by a counterfeit Messiah till they had refused and rejected the true Messiah. The prophet proceeds to describe the character of these foolish shepherds, in the following words: 1st, They should be negligent; which shall not visit those that be cut off-Or, as the LXX. render it, тo Ekλμñavov, that which is missing, or has wandered from the flock; and it may signify that which is ready to perish. Neither shall seek the young one-Which are most apt to perish through weakness; he alludes to the lambs which, on account of their tender age, are not able to follow the flock. Nor heal that which is broken-Which has received some hurt, but shall leave it to die of its wounds. Nor feed that that standeth still-Not able to go forward. Blayney renders the word, made to stand, or set up again after sickness. "Such," says he, " it is well known, require much care to nourish and support them, in order to their regaining strength; a care which the foolish shepherd will not bestow upon them." Or, as the LXX. render it, тo oλokλnpov 8 μn kaтevivvn, nor shall direct that which is whole, mentioned in opposition to those that wander, or are diseased. 2d, These shepherds would be luxurious; he shall eat the flesh of the fat-That is, instead of preserving the best of his flock, in order to increase it, Verse 17. Wo to the idol shepherd-Or the shepherd of nothing, or of no value, as should be translated; he who calls himself the shepherd, ruler, or teacher of the people, but is in reality nothing less. So ND, Job xiii. 4, signifies physicians of no value. That leaveth the flock-Who taketh no care of the flock, and minds nothing but || making his own profit out of them. Such a shepherd is no better than an idol, that is profitable for nothing, (Isa. xliv. 10,) and hath only the outward form and appearance of a shepherd. The sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye-As he has abused his power and his understanding, signified by his arm and his right eye, God shall, in his just judgment, deprive him of the use of both those faculties. The sword is put for any instrument of the divine vengeance. As the word 27, here rendered sword, also means desolation, Blayney renders the clause, Because of his arm is desolation, and because of his right eye: observing, "The purport of the passage is, that since, through the misapplication of his power, and through his negligence in watching over the flock, they are subjected to desolation or the sword; therefore, as of strict justice, he shall be punished with a deprivation at least of those faculties which he so fatally misused." Some think the right arm and right eye of the people are intended, and observe, that the arm of the Jews was dried up from that time when they were no longer able to bear arms, or to defend themselves; as their right eye has been darkened to the true knowledge of the Scriptures, which they read as with a veil before them. The burden of the word ZECHARIAH. CHAPTER XII. of the Lord for Israel. "The former part of this chapter," says Lowth, "relates to an invasion made upon the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem, in the latter times of the world, probably after their return to, and settlement in, their own land, which is often spoken of by the prophets. It is probably the same attempt that is more largely described in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters of Ezekiel." Be this as it may, it seems at least probable, that the condition of the Jewish nation, after the present dispersion, and of the gospel church, either in the apostolic or millennial periods, is here spoken of. It is promised, (1,) That all the attempts of their enemies to destroy them would issue in their own danger and ruin, 1–4, 6,9. (2,) That, trusting in the Lord, they should subdue their opposers, and even the weakest of them be marvellously saved and strengthened by God, 5, 7, 8. (3,) That to prepare them for, and help them to improve, these mercies, they should be blessed in a remarkable degree with a spirit of prayer, faith, and repentance for sin, 10–14. A. M. 3494. THE burden of the word of the B. C. 510. Verse 1. The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel-Or, toward Israel; that is, as some interpret it, the prophecy which containeth the words of the Lord to Israel. Saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens-Who hath spread out the heavens to such a vast extent. And layeth the foundation of the earth-Hath assigned to the earth a fixed place in the creation, or regulates all its motions by fixed laws, which cannot be altered by the power of any creature. And formeth the spirit of man within him-Who gave life to the first man, and created the soul, and united it to the body. All these things are mentioned as undeniable instances of God's almighty power, and are made use of as arguments to encourage men to rely on his word for the fulfilment of such promises as might seem to the understanding of man most unlikely to be brought to pass. Verse 2. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling—“ An inebriating and stupifying potion of the strongest liquor and drugs. Jerusalem shall strike the nations with dread and astonishment." When they shall be in the siege-“A future siege, after the final restoration of the Jews."-Newcome. See on chap. xiv. 3; Rev. xx. 9. "It is not difficult to perceive," says 'Blayney, "that the prophecies in this and the two following chapters relate to future times, and most probably to those predicted by Ezekiel in the xxxviiith and xxxixth chapters; where it is said that Israel, after their restoration and return to their own country, would be assailed by a combi- | nation of many nations. Such an invasion is also here foretold; but it is not to be expected that all the particulars of a distant prophecy should be clearly understood, before the time of its accomplishment. It is at least likely that when the time shall come for the re-establishment of the Jews, (of which sufficient intimation is given in the prophecies both of the Old and New Testaments,) and they shall begin to collect themselves, and attempt a settlement in their ancient possessions, such a measure will create jealousy and uneasiness, in those powers more especially who are interested in the dominion over those countries. The Turks, we know, are at present, and eth the spirit of man within him. A. M. 3454. 2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem с B. C. 510. a cup of 1 trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both 22, 23. 2 Or, slumber, or, poison.—2 Or, and also against Judah shall he be which shall be in siege against Jerusalem. long have been, in possession of the country of Palestine; and in the opinion of many, who have brought specious arguments to justify it, particularly of the learned Joseph Mede, (p. 674 and 816,) their prince is intended by Gog, prince of Meshech and Tubal, Ezek. xxxviii. 2, &c.; and by the king of the north, Dan. xi. 40, &c.; concerning whom the like things are prophesied in those chapters respectively. Now should that power subsist at the time, it may fairly be presumed, that he, and any other power in the like circumstances, would oppose with all their might an attempt to set up an independent sovereignty in those parts. But, without pretending to determine precisely concerning the invaders, the substance of the prophecy in this, and on to the seventh verse of the next chapter, will be found to amount to this; that Jerusalem will be besieged by a multitude of hostile nations, to the great terror of the people in its vicinity, as well as of Judah itself; but that the attempts of those nations will be frustrated through the special interposition of the Deity, and will terminate in their total discomfiture and ruin, and in the permanent peace and prosperity of the victorious Jews. After which, the Jews will be brought at length to see and lament the sin of their forefathers in putting their Messiah to death, and thereupon will have the means of purification and atonement afforded them; and, being thus cleansed from past guilt, will renounce all their former of fensive practices, and carefully abstain from a future repetition of them." To these views of Dr. Blayney, on the important subject of the restoration of the Jews to their own land, however probable upon the whole, there seems to be one great objection. Inasmuch as God cast the Jews out of their land for rejecting and crucifying the Messiah, it seems highly improbable that he should restore them to it while they remain in impenitence and unbelief, and in a state of enmity to that Messiah. It appears much more likely that, previous to their restoration, they must be made sensible of the great guilt which their nation contracted by the commission of that sin, and of the various other sins which accompanied it; and that they must be truly humbled and brought to a God's interposition B. C. 510. CHAPTER XII. A. M. 3494. against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3d And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. 4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. d Verses 4, 6, 8, 9, 11; Chapter xiii. 1; xiv. 4, 6, 8, 9, 13. Matt. xxi. 44.- f Psa. lxxvi. 6; Ezek. xxxviii. 4. thorough repentance as a people, before God will open the way in any degree for their restoration. It is certain that, as they were carried captive into Babylon chiefly to punish them for the sin of idola- | try, so no way was made for their restoration from that captivity, till they were generally humbled and made truly penitent for that sin. in favour of the Jews. B. C. 510. 5 And the governors of Judah shall A. M. 3494. say in their heart, 3 The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. 6 ¶ In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. 3 Or, There is strength to me and to the inhabitants, &c., Joel iii. 16.- -5 Obadiah 18. remains to be accomplished. And many commentators, who are of the same opinion, consider it as a prediction of victories that will be obtained over Gog and Magog by the Jews, upon their restoration to their own land. One circumstance in favour of this interpretation is, that Gog and Magog are represented, Ezek. xxxviii. 15, as riders on horses. And if by that people the Turks be intended, we know that they have been, and still are, famous for their cavalry, wherein chiefly the strength of their armies consists. But it is here foretold, that in order to their discomfiture God will send such distraction among their horses and their riders, and throw them into such a state of confusion, that they shall fall foul one upon another, (see chap. xiv. 13,) and not be able to distinguish between their friends and their foes. And I will turn mine eyes upon the house of Judah-I will have an especial concern for their preservation. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart-Shall say within themselves, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord-" The text here," says Blayney, "has been supposed corrupt, and many attempts have been made to amend it. But, without any alteration, it well expresses the sentiments of the men of Judah, concerning the interest they had in the safety of Jerusalem and its inhabitants, on which their own strength and security depended in a great degree; so that they would, of course, be influenced to bring that assistance, the efficacy of which is set forth in the verse that follows." Verse 3. I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone-Jerusalem is here compared to a stone of great weight, which, being too heavy for those who attempted to lift it up, or remove it, falls back upon them and crushes them to pieces. St. Jerome, in a note on the place, speaks of an exercise, which, he says, was common in Palestine, and throughout all Judea, in his days, in which the young men, who were ambitious to show their strength, used to lift up stones of enormous weight, as high as they could, some to their knees, others to their navel, their shoulders, and even their heads; and some placed them on the top of their heads, with their hands erect and joined together. In this exercise, it is evident, they must have been in great danger of the stone's falling upon them and bruising them, or even crushing them to pieces. Mr. Lowth, who quotes this passage from Jerome, remarks that, to the same sense, Christ saith, Matt. xxi. 44, On whomsoever this stone shall fall, it will grind him to powder. All that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces-All that undertake to contend with Jerusalem shall be either destroyed or greatly injured, as men will have their flesh torn or bruised that let a heavy stone fall upon them. Though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it—It is obvious, that by all, here is meant only many people, as it is expressed Ezek. xxxviii. 6, 9, 15, Thou, and many ||mer, (vol. i. p. 233,) make a fire in a great stone people with thee. Verses 4, 5. In that day-This expression, in the prophetical writings, is of large extent, and not only signifies that particular point of time last spoken of, but some time afterward. I will smite every horse with astonishment-Many commentators explain this of the victories which Judas Maccabæus gained over Antiochus's captains, whose chief force consisted in cavalry. But, as Archbishop Newcome observes, the language is much too strong, as it is also verses 6-9, to denote the successes of the Maccabees against the Seleucidæ. This prophecy therefore, he thinks, Verse 6. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire, &c.—The word may be rendered, a pot. The Arabs, according to Har pitcher, and when it is heated, spread paste upon it, which is baked almost in an instant. By a hearth of fire, however, here may be meant, a firebrand taken from the hearth, which, though small, will set other things on fire, and even whole cities. This is thought by some to be a very apt resemblance of the mischief done by the small forces of the Jews, under Judas Maccabæus, to the armies of Antiochus. It may, however, be a resemblance equally, and even more apt, of the destruction made of Gog and Magog, in the latter days, by the Jews restored to their own land. And they shall devour all the peo |