◄ Zechariah 9:2 ►
and also against Hamath, which borders it, as well as Tyre and Sidon, though they are very shrewd.
Study Bible
and also upon Hamath
The mention of "Hamath" refers to a significant city-state located in what is now modern-day Syria. Historically, Hamath was a prominent center in the ancient Near East, often associated with wealth and influence. The Hebrew root for Hamath, "חֲמָת" (Chamath), suggests a place of fortification or defense, indicating its strategic importance. In the context of Zechariah, the prophecy extends God's judgment beyond Israel to include neighboring nations, emphasizing the universal scope of God's sovereignty and justice.

which borders it
This phrase indicates the geographical proximity of Hamath to the land of Israel. The Hebrew word "גָּבוּל" (gabul) for "borders" implies a boundary or limit, suggesting that God's message through Zechariah is not confined to Israel but extends to its neighbors. This highlights the interconnectedness of the ancient world and the comprehensive nature of divine prophecy, which transcends national boundaries.

as well as Tyre and Sidon
Tyre and Sidon were prominent Phoenician cities known for their maritime trade and economic prowess. The Hebrew names "צֹר" (Tzor) for Tyre and "צִידוֹן" (Tzidon) for Sidon reflect their historical significance as centers of commerce and culture. These cities were often seen as symbols of human pride and self-sufficiency. By including them in the prophecy, Zechariah underscores the futility of relying on wealth and human wisdom in the face of divine judgment.

though they are very shrewd
The phrase "very shrewd" translates the Hebrew word "חָכְמָה" (chokmah), meaning wisdom or skill. Tyre and Sidon were renowned for their cunning and strategic acumen, particularly in trade and diplomacy. However, the prophetic message here is that human wisdom, no matter how advanced, is ultimately insufficient when contrasted with God's omniscience and power. This serves as a reminder of the limitations of human achievement and the need for humility before God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Hamath
An ancient city located in modern-day Syria, known for its strategic importance and historical significance. It was often a point of contention among empires due to its location.

2. Tyre
A prominent Phoenician city known for its wealth, trade, and strong fortifications. Tyre was a significant maritime power in the ancient world.

3. Sidon
Another major Phoenician city, closely associated with Tyre. It was known for its skilled artisans and trade networks.

4. Shrewdness of Tyre and Sidon
The verse highlights the wisdom and cunning of these cities, which were renowned for their strategic and economic acumen.

5. Prophetic Context
This verse is part of a prophecy concerning the judgment and future of various nations surrounding Israel, emphasizing God's sovereignty over all nations.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty Over Nations
Despite their wisdom and strength, cities like Tyre and Sidon are subject to God's ultimate authority and judgment.

The Temporary Nature of Human Wisdom and Wealth
The shrewdness and wealth of Tyre and Sidon serve as a reminder that human achievements are fleeting without God's blessing.

The Call to Humility
The downfall of proud cities like Tyre warns us against pride and self-reliance, urging us to seek humility before God.

Repentance and Accountability
Jesus' reference to Tyre and Sidon in the Gospels highlights the importance of repentance and the greater accountability of those who have witnessed God's power.

God's Justice and Mercy
While God pronounces judgment, His desire is for repentance and restoration, offering hope even in the midst of warnings.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the historical context of Hamath, Tyre, and Sidon enhance our understanding of Zechariah 9:2?

2. In what ways does the prophecy against Tyre and Sidon reflect God's sovereignty over all nations?

3. How can the temporary nature of Tyre and Sidon's wealth and wisdom inform our perspective on material success today?

4. What lessons can we learn from the downfall of proud cities like Tyre regarding our own attitudes and behaviors?

5. How does Jesus' reference to Tyre and Sidon in the Gospels challenge us to respond to God's works in our lives?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 23
This chapter also prophesies the downfall of Tyre, highlighting the temporary nature of human wealth and power.

Ezekiel 28
Describes the pride and eventual judgment of the prince of Tyre, drawing a parallel to the fall of Satan due to pride.

Matthew 11:21-22
Jesus references Tyre and Sidon, comparing their potential repentance to the unrepentant cities of His time, emphasizing the accountability of those who witness God's works.
Sermons
God's JudgmentsW. Forsyth Zechariah 9:1-8
National JudgmentsT. V. Moore, D. D.Zechariah 9:1-8
Prophetic FulfilmentsRalph Wardlaw, D. D.Zechariah 9:1-8
The Dark and Bright Side of God's Revelation to MankindHomilistZechariah 9:1-8
The Dark and the Bright Side of God's Revelation to MankindD. Thomas Zechariah 9:1-8
People
Aram, Javan, Jebusites, Zechariah, Zidon
Places
Ashdod, Ashkelon, Damascus, Ekron, Euphrates River, Gaza, Greece, Hadrach, Hamath, Jerusalem, Philistia, Sidon, Tyre, Zion
Topics
Border, Bordereth, Borders, Hamath, Limit, Sidon, Skillful, Thereby, Thereon, Though, Tyre, Tyrus, Wise, Zidon
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Zechariah 9:1

     1690   word of God

Library
Messiah's Entrance into Jerusalem
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. -- And He shall speak peace unto the heathen. T he narrowness and littleness of the mind of fallen man are sufficiently conspicuous in the idea he forms of magnificence and grandeur. The pageantry and parade of a Roman triumph, or of an eastern monarch, as described in history, exhibit him to us …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

And the Manner of his Entry into Jerusalem, which was the Capital of Judæa...
And the manner of His entry into Jerusalem, which was the capital of Judæa, where also was His royal seat and the temple of God, the prophet Isaiah declares: Say ye to the daughter of Sion, Behold a king corneth unto thee meek and sitting upon an ass, a colt the foal of an ass. [233] (Isa. lxii. 11, Zech. ix. 9) For, sitting. on an ass's colt, so He entered into Jerusalem, the multitudes strewing and putting down for Him their garments. And by the daughter of Sion he means Jerusalem. …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

Caesarea. Strato's Tower.
The Arabian interpreter thinks the first name of this city was Hazor, Joshua 11:1. The Jews, Ekron, Zephaniah 2:4. "R. Abhu saith," (he was of Caesarea,) "Ekron shall be rooted out"; this is Caesarea, the daughter of Edom, which is situated among things profane. She was a goad, sticking in Israel, in the days of the Grecians. But when the kingdom of the Asmonean family prevailed, it overcame her, &c. R. Josi Bar Chaninah saith, What is that that is written, 'And Ekron shall be as a Jebusite?' (Zech …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

History of the Interpretation.
1. AMONG THE JEWS. This History, as to its essential features, might, a priori, be sketched with tolerable certainty. From the nature of the case, we could scarcely expect that the Jews should have adopted views altogether erroneous as to the subject of the prophecy in question; for the Messiah appears in it, not in His humiliation, but in His glory--rich in gifts and blessings, and Pelagian self-delusion will, a priori, return an affirmative answer to the question as to whether one is …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Hosanna!
Assuredly, this honor paid to our Lord was passing strange; a gleam of sunlight in a day of clouds, a glimpse of summer-tide in a long and dreary winter. He that was, as a rule, "despised and rejected of men", was for the moment surrounded with the acclaim of the crowd. All men saluted him that day with their Hosannas, and the whole city was moved. It was a gala day for the disciples, and a sort of coronation day for their Lord. Why was the scene permitted? What was its meaning? The marvel is, that …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah
"And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth unto Me (one) [Pg 480] to be Ruler in Israel; and His goings forth are the times of old, the days of eternity." The close connection of this verse with what immediately precedes (Caspari is wrong in considering iv. 9-14 as an episode) is evident, not only from the [Hebrew: v] copulative, and from the analogy of the near relation of the announcement of salvation to the prophecy of disaster …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Christian State
Scripture references: Matthew 22:17-22; 17:24-27; Acts 23:5; John 6:15; Matthew 4:8-10; John 18:36-38; Mark 14; 61,62; John 18:33; 19:19; Isaiah 9:6,7; 60:3; Zechariah 9:10; Daniel 7:14; Matthew 26:64; 26:53,54; 16:16,17; 25:31,32. CHRIST AND THE STATE The Relation of Christ to the State.--He was an intense patriot. He loved His country. The names of His great countrymen, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua and David, were ever on His lips. He offered Himself as the national Messiah (Matthew 21:1-17), …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.
(from Bethany to Jerusalem and Back, Sunday, April 2, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 1-12, 14-17; ^B Mark XI. 1-11; ^C Luke XIX. 29-44; ^D John XII. 12-19. ^c 29 And ^d 12 On the morrow [after the feast in the house of Simon the leper] ^c it came to pass, when he he drew nigh unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, ^a 1 And when they came nigh unto Jerusalem, and came unto Bethphage unto { ^b at} ^a the mount of Olives [The name, Bethphage, is said to mean house of figs, but the …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The First Day in Passion-Week - Palm-Sunday - the Royal Entry into Jerusalem
At length the time of the end had come. Jesus was about to make Entry into Jerusalem as King: King of the Jews, as Heir of David's royal line, with all of symbolic, typic, and prophetic import attaching to it. Yet not as Israel after the flesh expected its Messiah was the Son of David to make triumphal entrance, but as deeply and significantly expressive of His Mission and Work, and as of old the rapt seer had beheld afar off the outlined picture of the Messiah-King: not in the proud triumph of war-conquests, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Formation of the Old Testament Canon
[Sidenote: Israel's literature at the beginning of the fourth century before Christ] Could we have studied the scriptures of the Israelitish race about 400 B.C., we should have classified them under four great divisions: (1) The prophetic writings, represented by the combined early Judean, Ephraimite, and late prophetic or Deuteronomic narratives, and their continuation in Samuel and Kings, together with the earlier and exilic prophecies; (2) the legal, represented by the majority of the Old Testament …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers. …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Fifthly, as this Revelation, to the Judgment of Right and Sober Reason,
appears of itself highly credible and probable, and abundantly recommends itself in its native simplicity, merely by its own intrinsic goodness and excellency, to the practice of the most rational and considering men, who are desirous in all their actions to have satisfaction and comfort and good hope within themselves, from the conscience of what they do: So it is moreover positively and directly proved to be actually and immediately sent to us from God, by the many infallible signs and miracles …
Samuel Clarke—A Discourse Concerning the Being and Attributes of God

The Gospel Feast
"When Jesus then lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him, He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?"--John vi. 5. After these words the Evangelist adds, "And this He said to prove him, for He Himself knew what He would do." Thus, you see, our Lord had secret meanings when He spoke, and did not bring forth openly all His divine sense at once. He knew what He was about to do from the first, but He wished to lead forward His disciples, and to arrest and …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

The Gospel of the Kingdom.
"This is He whom Seers in old time Chanted of with one accord; Whom the voices of the Prophets Promised in their faithful word." We have seen that, in the providence of God, John the Baptist was sent to proclaim to the world that "The Kingdom of Heaven" was at hand, and to point out the King. And as soon as the Herald had raised the expectation of men by the proclamation of the coming Kingdom, our Lord began His public ministry, the great object of which was the founding of His Kingdom for the salvation …
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

Zechariah
CHAPTERS I-VIII Two months after Haggai had delivered his first address to the people in 520 B.C., and a little over a month after the building of the temple had begun (Hag. i. 15), Zechariah appeared with another message of encouragement. How much it was needed we see from the popular despondency reflected in Hag. ii. 3, Jerusalem is still disconsolate (Zech. i. 17), there has been fasting and mourning, vii. 5, the city is without walls, ii. 5, the population scanty, ii. 4, and most of the people …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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