The Meaning of Zechariah 11:13 Explained

Zechariah 11:13

KJV: And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

YLT: And Jehovah saith unto me, 'Cast it unto the potter;' the goodly price that I have been prized at by them, and I take the thirty silverlings, and cast them to the house of Jehovah, unto the potter.

Darby: And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty silver-pieces, and cast them to the potter in the house of Jehovah.

ASV: And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of Jehovah.

Discover Zechariah 11:13

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Zechariah 11:13?

MEANING: What does Zechariah 11:13 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Zechariah 11:13 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Zechariah 11:13?

What is the context of Zechariah 11:13?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

What does Zechariah 11:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord instructed Zechariah to throw the30 shekels of silver to the potter since it was, ironically, such a handsome price. His service had been worth far more than that. So Zechariah threw the30 shekels of silver to the potter in the temple. Evidently the setting of Zechariah"s visionary allegory was the temple courtyard. Throwing something to the potter was evidently a proverbial way of expressing disdain for it since potters were typically poor and lowly craftsmen. ^[1]

"The fulfillment of this prophecy in Matthew 27:3-10 is proof enough that the money was flung down in the temple and immediately taken up by the priests to purchase a field of a potter for a burying ground for the poor." ^[2]

Matthew attributed this prophecy to Jeremiah ( Matthew 27:9-10). Probably Matthew was referring to Jeremiah 32:6-9, which he condensed using mainly the phraseology of Zechariah 11:12-13 because of its similarity to Judas" situation. Joining (conflating) two quotations from two Old Testament books and assigning them to one prophet follows the custom of mentioning only the more notable prophet. Compare Mark 1:2-3, in which Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 are quoted but are assigned to Isaiah. ^[3]

"Like the earlier prophecy of the King (ix9), the prophecy of the Shepherd is remarkable for its literal fulfillment. The "thirty pieces of silver" were literally the "goodly price" paid for Him, "whom they of the children of Israel did value." "The potter" was literally the recipient of it, as the purchase money of his exhausted field for an unclean purpose (Matt. xxvii5-10)." ^[4]

Context Summary

Zechariah 11:1-17 - Beauty And Bands

The times were very dark when Zechariah felt called upon to act as shepherd to Jehovah's harried flock. Rulers and priests were actuated by selfish greed and mutual antagonism. Three shepherds had already failed. After a brief effort Zechariah renounced the attempt. He broke his staff of Beauty, or Grace, Zechariah 11:10, r.v. margin, as if God's tender love had withdrawn from its struggle with evil; and when he challenged the people to set a value on his services, they weighed him out thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. Thereupon he broke the other staff, disrupting the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. In the following paragraph, Zechariah 11:15-17, there is an evident reference to the terrible reign of Antiochus whose cruelties led to the heroic uprising of the Maccabees. Five centuries afterwards Jesus was sent to gather the flock with the same result, Matthew 27:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 11

¹ The destruction of Jerusalem
³ The elect being cared for, the rest are rejected
¹⁰ The staves of Beauty and Bands broken by the rejection of Christ
¹⁵ The type and curse of a foolish shepherd

What do the individual words in Zechariah 11:13 mean?

And said Yahweh to me Throw it to the potter magnificence price that they set on me of them so I took thirty the [pieces] of silver and threw them into the house of for the potter

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֵלַ֗י הַשְׁלִיכֵ֙הוּ֙ אֶל־ הַיּוֹצֵ֔ר אֶ֣דֶר הַיְקָ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָקַ֖רְתִּי מֵֽעֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וָֽאֶקְחָה֙ שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים הַכֶּ֔סֶף וָאַשְׁלִ֥יךְ אֹת֛וֹ בֵּ֥ית אֶל־ הַיּוֹצֵֽר

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר	And said
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: אָמַר Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֜ה	Yahweh
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יהוה Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
אֵלַ֗י	to me
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular Root: אֶל Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַשְׁלִיכֵ֙הוּ֙	Throw it
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine singular, third person masculine singular Root: שָׁלַךְ Sense: to throw, cast, hurl, fling.
הַיּוֹצֵ֔ר	the potter
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular Root: יׄוצֵר Sense: to form, fashion, frame.
אֶ֣דֶר	magnificence
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: אֶדֶר Sense: glory, magnificence.
הַיְקָ֔ר	price
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: יְקָר Sense: price, value, preciousness, honour, splendour, pomp.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר	that
Parse: Pronoun, relative Root: אֲשֶׁר Sense: (relative part.).
יָקַ֖רְתִּי	they set on me
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular Root: יָקַר Sense: to esteem, be prized, be valuable, be precious, be costly, be appraised.
מֵֽעֲלֵיהֶ֑ם	of them
Parse: Preposition-m, third person masculine plural 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.
וָֽאֶקְחָה֙	so I took
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular, third person feminine singular Root: יָקַח Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים	thirty
Parse: Number, common plural Root: שְׁלֹשִׁים Sense: thirty, thirtieth.
הַכֶּ֔סֶף	the [pieces] of silver
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: כֶּסֶף Sense: silver, money.
וָאַשְׁלִ֥יךְ	and threw
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular Root: שָׁלַךְ Sense: to throw, cast, hurl, fling.
בֵּ֥ית	into the house of
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: בַּיִת Sense: house.
הַיּוֹצֵֽר	the potter
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular Root: יׄוצֵר Sense: to form, fashion, frame.

What are the major concepts related to Zechariah 11:13?

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Similar Scriptures for Zechariah 11:13

		Matthew 27:3-10 [7]
		Acts 1:18-19 [5]
		Isaiah 53:2-3 [2]
		Matthew 27:12 [2]
		Acts 4:11 [2]
		Isaiah 54:7-10 [2]