Zechariah 14 Explained

Zechariah 14 is the fourteenth (and the final) chapter in the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.^[1] This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Zechariah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. This chapter is a part of a section (so-called "Second Zechariah") consisting of Zechariah 9–14. It continues the theme of chapters 12 and 13 about the 'war preceding peace for Jerusalem in the eschatological future'. It is written almost entirely in third-person prophetic discourse, with seven times references to the phrase 'that day'.

Text

The original text was written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 21 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Codex Cairensis (from year 895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (930), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).

Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is, 4Q76 (4QXII^a; mid 2nd century BCE) with extant verses 18.^[2]

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B;

ak{G} ^B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: ak{G} ^S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; ak{G} ^A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; ak{G} ^Q; 6th century).

The Day of the Lord (14:1–15)

This section describes God gathering the nations to lay siege to Jerusalem and when half of the population has been exiled, God comes to deliver the city (2–3), defeating those opposing Jerusalem (verses 12–15).

Verse 4

• "Mount of Olives": This mount lay on the east of Jerusalem, separated by the deep Kidron Valley, rising to a height of some 600 feet, and intercepting the view of the wilderness of Judaea and the Jordan ghor. It rises 187 feet above Mount Zion, 295 feet above Mount Moriah, 443 feet above Gethsemane, and lies between the city and the wilderness toward the Dead Sea and around its northern side, wound the road to Bethany and the Jordan. This verse is the only place in the Hebrew Bible (= Old Testament) where the name is exactly spelled, although it is often alluded to (e.g. 2 Samuel 15:30; 1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:13, where it is called "the mount of corruption", etc.).^[3] There "upon the mountain, which is on the east side of the city, the glory of the Lord stood," when it had "gone up from the midst of the city" (Ezekiel 11:23).^[4] The place of Jesus' departure at the time of ascension is located here and the same as the place of his return (in a similar "manner", 1:11 9). Coming "from the east" (24:27 9), Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives (21:1-10 9; cf. 11:23 9, with 43:2 9, "from the way of the east").
• "Shall cleave in the midst thereof": The cleaving of the mount in two is by a fissure or valley (a prolongation of the "valley of Jehoshaphat" or "valley of decision" (3:2 9),^[5] extending from Jerusalem on the west towards Jordan River, eastward. It results in an opening to escape for the besieged (cf. 3:12, 14 9). Half the divided mount is thereby forced northward, half southward; the valley running between.^[6]

Verse 5

• Amos prophesied in 8th century BCE (Amos 1:1) two years before "The earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah": related to the one occurred when King Uzziah was stricken with a leprosy for invading the priest's office, according to Josephus.^[7] Josephus wrote that at a place near the city called Eroge, half part of the mountain towards the west was broken, rolled then stood half a mile towards the eastern part, up to the king's gardens.^[5]

Verse 10

• "Corner Gate": was to the northwest of Jerusalem (14:13 KJV;), a part of expansion to the northwest side of the city under Uzziah and Hezekiah.^[8]
• "Tower of Hananeel": a well-known landmark, which is mentioned also in ; ;, standing midway between "the sheep gate" and "the fish gate", at the northeast corner of Jerusalem, then from this point, the wall which had run northwestern from the sheep gate now turned to west.

The nations worship the King (14:16–21)

The survivors among the nations will come annually to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, while those who don't come will be punished with no rain and plague. Verses 20–21 depict a 'sanctified Jerusalem in ritual sense.'

See also

• Related Bible parts: Amos 1, Zechariah 13, Luke 24, Acts 1

Sources

• Book: Boda , Mark J. . The Book of Zechariah. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. R. K.. Harrison. Robert L.. Hubbard, Jr. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 2016. 978-0802823755.
• Book: Collins , John J. . John J. Collins. Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Fortress Press. 2014. 9781451469233 .
• Book: Coogan, Michael David. Michael D. Coogan . The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 . Coogan . Michael David . Marc Zvi . Brettler . Carol Ann . Newsom . Pheme . Perkins . Augmented 3rd . Oxford University Press . 2007 . 9780195288810 .
• Book: Fitzmyer, Joseph A.. A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Joseph Fitzmyer . William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 2008. 9780802862419. Grand Rapids, MI .
• Book: Hayes , Christine . Christine Hayes. Introduction to the Bible. Yale University Press. 2015. 978-0300188271 .
• Book: Larkin, Katrina J. A. . 37. Zechariah . The Oxford Bible Commentary . John . Barton . John Barton (theologian) . John. Muddiman . John Muddiman . Oxford University Press . first (paperback) . 2007 . 610–615 . 978-0199277186 . February 6, 2019 .
• Encyclopedia: Mason . Rex . Zechariah, The Book of. . Metzger . Bruce M . Bruce M. Metzger . Coogan . Michael D . The Oxford Companion to the Bible . Oxford University Press . 1993 . 978-0195046458 . registration .
• Book: Rogerson, John W. . Zechariah . Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible . James D. G. . Dunn . John William . Rogerson. James D. G. Dunn . John William Rogerson . illustrated. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing . 2003 . 978-0802837110 . 721–729 .
• Book: Ulrich. Eugene . Eugene Ulrich. The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. 2010. Brill.
• Book: Würthwein, Ernst . Ernst Würthwein . The Text of the Old Testament . Wm. B. Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 1995 . Erroll F.. Rhodes . 0-8028-0788-7 . January 26, 2019 .

External links

Jewish

• Zechariah 14 Hebrew with 1917 JPS English translation at Mamre Institute
• Zechariah 14 Hebrew with 2023 JPS English translation

Catholic

• The Prophecy of Zacharias: Chapter 14. Vulgate in Latin with the Douay-Rheims Bible English translation at latinvulgate.com

Notes and References

1. http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15199-zechariah-book-of Zechariah, Book of
2. http://thewaytoyahuweh.com/research/dead-sea-scrolls/#zechariah Dead sea scrolls – Zechariah
3. Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "Zechariah 14". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019.
4. [Albert Barnes (theologian)|Barnes, Albert]
5. [John Gill (theologian)|Gill, John]
6. Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, Andrew Robert; Brown, David. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible. "Zechariah 14". 1871.
7. [Flavius Josephus]
8. . Quotes: Jehoash of Israel destroyed 400 cubits of the wall from the Ephraim Gate to the corner gate (II Kings xiv. 13). It seems probable that the wall was repaired under Uzziah; at least, according to II Chron. xxvi. 9,... The coming of Sennacherib (701) caused the rebuilding of some portion of the wall ... Hezekiah is mentioned as having done this repairing.... Where the towers Hananeel and Ha-Meah or Meah stood can not be ascertained. They are mentioned in Jer. xxxi. 38; Zech. xiv. 10; Neh. iii. 1, xii. 39. The former seems to have marked the northeast corner of the city;... The "old gate" or "gate of the old pool"—referring perhaps to the Patriarch's Pool northwest of the city—is called also "Sha'ar ha-Rishon" (Zech. xiv. 10) and "Sha'ar ha-Pinnah" (II Kings xiv. 13; Jer. xxxi. 38; "ha-Poneh," IIChron. xxv. 23; "ha-Pinnim," Zech. xiv. 10).