The Meaning of Zechariah 13:7 Explained

Zechariah 13:7

KJV: Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

YLT: Sword, awake against My shepherd, And against a hero -- My fellow, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts. Smite the shepherd, and scattered is the flock, And I have put back My hand on the little ones.

Darby: Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, even against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn my hand upon the little ones.

ASV: Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones.

Discover Zechariah 13:7

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Zechariah 13:7?

MEANING: What does Zechariah 13:7 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Zechariah 13:7 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Zechariah 13:7?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Awake,  O sword,  against my shepherd,  and against the man  [that is] my fellow,  saith  the LORD  of hosts:  smite  the shepherd,  and the sheep  shall be scattered:  and I will turn  mine hand  upon the little ones. 

What does Zechariah 13:7 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Zechariah now returned in a poem to the subject of the Shepherd that he had mentioned in chapter11. He also returned to the time when Israel would be scattered among the nations because of her rejection of the Good Shepherd.
Almighty Yahweh personified a sword, the instrument of violent death, which he commanded to execute His Shepherd, the royal Good Shepherd of Zechariah 11:4-14. This is a figure of speech called apostrophe: a direct address to an impersonal object as if it were a person. Yahweh further described this Shepherd as the man who was very close to Him, even His Associate.
"The expression "who stands next to me" is used elsewhere only in Leviticus (e.g. Leviticus 6:2; Leviticus 18:12) to mean "near neighbour"; similarly the shepherd is one who dwells side by side with the Lord, His equal." [1]
"There is no stronger statement in the OT regarding the unimpeachable deity of Israel"s Messiah, the Son of God." [2]
In Zechariah 11:17 it was the worthless shepherd whom the Lord would strike, but here it is the Good Shepherd. The one doing the striking is evidently God Himself since "strike" is masculine in the Hebrew text and agrees with "the LORD of hosts." If Song of Solomon , Zechariah presented Messiah"s death as God"s activity (cf. Isaiah 53:10; Acts 2:23) as well as Israel"s ( Zechariah 12:10-14).
The striking (death) of the Shepherd would result in the scattering of the Shepherd"s sheep (i.e, Israel, Zechariah 11:4-14). The Lord Jesus quoted this part of the verse, claiming the role of the Shepherd, when he anticipated the scattering of His disciples following His death (cf. Matthew 26:31; Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:27; Mark 14:50).
The last line of the verse is capable of two different interpretations both of which came to pass. Perhaps a double entendre was intended. God Himself would scatter even the young sheep and would extend mercy to them (cf. Mark 13:19; Mark 13:24; Luke 2:35; Revelation 11:3-10). New Testament scholar R. T. France believed that this passage influenced the thinking of Jesus, regarding His shepherd role, more than any other shepherd passage in the Old Testament. [3]
"The divine witness to the death and deity of the prophesied Messiah makes this verse one of the most significant in the entire Old Testament." [4]

Context Summary

Zechariah 13:1-9 - A Day Of Testing
This Fountain was opened, when the soldier pierced the Savior's side. But it is not enough for God to forgive; He must deal drastically with the waywardness of his people. And so thorough would be the work, that parents would rather their son should die than assume for filthy lucre and without the divine call, the lucrative profession of a prophet. A township would arise against a man suspected of being a prophet, who, in his terror, would pretend that he was a tiller of the ground. And if they discovered marks in his body which indicated that he had been previously branded as a false prophet, he would rather assert that his friends had been the cause of his affliction, than that he had any sympathy with the prophetic office.
Note that remarkable anticipation, Zechariah 13:7-9. See Matthew 26:31. Jesus knew that He was the Father's fellow. He thought it not robbery to be equal with God. "We will come unto Him, and make our abode with Him." But He is also the Man. By the grace of the One Man, we may reign in life, Romans 5:17. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 13

1  The fountain of purgation for Jerusalem,
2  from idolatry, and false prophecy
7  The death of Christ, and the trial of a third part

What do the individual words in Zechariah 13:7 mean?

Sword Awake against My Shepherd and Against the Man who is My Companion says Yahweh of hosts Strike - the Shepherd and will be scattered the sheep and I will turn My hand the little ones
חֶ֗רֶב עוּרִ֤י עַל־ רֹעִי֙ וְעַל־ גֶּ֣בֶר עֲמִיתִ֔י נְאֻ֖ם יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת הַ֤ךְ אֶת־ הָֽרֹעֶה֙ וּתְפוּצֶ֣יןָ הַצֹּ֔אן וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֥י יָדִ֖י הַצֹּעֲרִֽים

חֶ֗רֶב  Sword 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
עוּרִ֤י  Awake 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: עוּר 
Sense: to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite.
עַל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
רֹעִי֙  My  Shepherd 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: רָעָה  
Sense: shepherd (subst).
וְעַל־  and  Against 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
גֶּ֣בֶר  the  Man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: גֶּבֶר  
Sense: man, strong man, warrior (emphasising strength or ability to fight).
עֲמִיתִ֔י  who  is  My  Companion 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עָמִית  
Sense: relation, neighbour, associate, fellow.
נְאֻ֖ם  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָ֣ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
צְבָא֑וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
הַ֤ךְ  Strike 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הָֽרֹעֶה֙  the  Shepherd 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
וּתְפוּצֶ֣יןָ  and  will  be  scattered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: פּוּץ 
Sense: to scatter, be dispersed, be scattered.
הַצֹּ֔אן  the  sheep 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֥י  and  I  will  turn 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
יָדִ֖י  My  hand 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
הַצֹּעֲרִֽים  the  little  ones 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: צָעַר  
Sense: to be or grow insignificant, grow small.

What are the major concepts related to Zechariah 13:7?

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