Zechariah 10 Commentary

The book of Zechariah begins with a title verse providing information concerning the date, authorship, and source of the revelation. It states that the prophecy occurred in the eighth month of the second year of Darius (vs 1). The biblical material likely dates the prophetic message according to the regnal year of the Persian king because there was no king in Judah during that time. Judah had been conquered by Babylon, which in turn had been taken over by Persia (Daniel 5:30-31).

The term prophet [“nābî” in Hebrew] means “proclaimer” or “forth-teller.” It describes someone who received a call from God to be God’s spokesman. A prophet was God’s emissary. He had a particular calling to see or hear what God was saying, live it out in his life, and proclaim it to the people roundabout. That means the prophet could not speak from his authority and was not free to say what he pleased. Rather, he was to discern what God thought about a given situation, what His attitude was toward the people’s behavior in the past, what He required of them in the present, and how He would act in their favor in the future.

Zechariah 10 begins with the prophet calling his contemporary Judeans to look to the LORD for rain for their crops instead of turning to divination experts. He tells them that their Suzerain God will be their shepherd to provide for them and give them victory over their foes. The chapter ends with God promising to strengthen and regather all of Israel to their land to ensure they become His loyal adherents. The passage’s outline is as follows: 

1. Zechariah urges the Judeans to ask the LORD for rain for their crops instead of turning to divination experts. He informs them that God will care for them and give them victory in battle (vv. 1–5).

2. The Suzerain God promises to strengthen and regather all of Israel to their land to cause them to live worthy of their calling (vv. 6–12).

The Bible Project - Zechariah Summary