Zechariah 14 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 14 describes the looting of Jerusalem before her ultimate victory. The city will lose half of her residents through exile as the Gentile nations plunder her houses and rape her women. Suddenly, the LORD will intervene with His angelic army to strike the nations with a plague. He will also confuse them so they will attack one another. Israel will be victorious.

Meanwhile, Judah will ally with Jerusalem to collect all the valuable items of the enemy. The survivors among the nations will need to make an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the LORD and celebrate the Feast of Booths with Israel. Those who refuse to comply will experience drought as punishment. Jerusalem will be holy and will become the source of life-giving waters. Even ordinary items in the land will become sacred because the LORD will restore His creation. The passage’s outline is as follows:

1. Zechariah predicts a day when the Gentile nations will invade Jerusalem and carry her residents off into exile. Afterward, God will intervene to deliver her and defeat the nations (vv. 1–8).

2. Zechariah foresees a day when everyone will worship and honor the LORD as the only true God. Jerusalem will be secure, and its inhabitants will enjoy their lives freely (vv. 9–11).

3. The LORD will strike Jerusalem’s foes with a plague to defeat them. Panic will confuse them, prompting them to attack one another. Meanwhile, the Judeans will join the residents of Jerusalem in collecting the spoils of the enemy (vv. 12–15).

4. Zechariah predicts a day when the survivors among the nations will go to Jerusalem yearly to celebrate the Feast of Booths and worship the LORD. Anyone who refuses to comply will experience drought. Jerusalem will become a holy city (vv. 16–21).

The Bible Project - Zechariah Summary