◄ Zechariah 9:7 ►
I will remove the blood from their mouths and the abominations from between their teeth. Then they too will become a remnant for our God; they will become like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.
Study Bible
I will remove the blood from their mouths

God will end the Philistines’ participation in blood-consuming sacrificial feasts, practices forbidden to Israel because blood belonged to God as the sign of life and atonement (Leviticus 17:10–14). The judgment announced against Philistia is therefore not merely destructive; it purges idolatrous worship and its defilement.

Ezk 33:25 Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says:…
Lev 17:10-12 If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner…

and the abominations from between their teeth.

Detestable food and ritual offerings associated with false gods will no longer mark these former enemies of Israel. God’s cleansing reaches the practices most deeply woven into public worship and daily life, turning those once devoted to idols from their rebellion.

Isa 65:4 sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places…
Deu 14:3-8 You must not eat any detestable thing.…

Then they too will become a remnant for our God;

Survivors from Philistia will belong to the Lord rather than to their former gods. God preserves a people for Himself even from the nations that opposed His covenant people, anticipating the gathering of Gentiles into the people of God through Christ.

Isa 10:20-22 On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors…
Rom 11:5 In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant…

they will become like a clan in Judah,

Those formerly separated from Israel will receive a place among God’s people comparable to an established family within Judah. The Lord does not merely spare them from judgment; He brings them into covenant fellowship.

Ezk 47:22-23 You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves…
Lev 19:33-34 When a foreigner resides with you in your land,…

and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

Ekron, a leading Philistine city, will be incorporated as the Jebusites were incorporated after David captured Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6–9). Former foes will no longer stand as hostile pagan powers but will live under the rule and worship of the God of Israel.

Jos 15:63 But the descendants of Judah could not drive out…
Jdg 1:21 The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites.…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Zechariah
A prophet in the Old Testament who conveyed God's messages to the Israelites, particularly concerning the restoration of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah.

2. Philistines
A group of people often in conflict with Israel, known for their pagan practices and enmity towards God's people.

3. Ekron
One of the five major cities of the Philistines, representing the pagan nations surrounding Israel.

4. Jebusites
The original inhabitants of Jerusalem before King David conquered the city, later assimilated into Israel.

5. Remnant
A recurring biblical theme referring to a small, faithful group preserved by God, often used to describe those who remain true to God amidst widespread unfaithfulness.
Teaching Points
God's Transformative Power
God can transform even those who are far from Him, as seen in His promise to remove pagan practices from the Philistines and make them part of His people.

Inclusion of the Gentiles
This verse foreshadows the inclusion of Gentiles into God's covenant, a theme fulfilled in the New Testament through Christ.

Purification and Holiness
The removal of blood and forbidden food symbolizes the purification required to be part of God's people, emphasizing the need for holiness.

Hope for Redemption
No one is beyond the reach of God's redemptive plan, offering hope for all who turn to Him.

Unity in Diversity
The assimilation of different peoples into God's family highlights the unity and diversity within the body of Christ.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the transformation of the Philistines in Zechariah 9:7 reflect God's ability to change hearts today?

2. In what ways does the inclusion of the Philistines as a remnant for God parallel the New Testament inclusion of Gentiles?

3. What are some modern "forbidden foods" or practices that Christians might need to remove from their lives to pursue holiness?

4. How can the account of the Jebusites' assimilation into Israel encourage us in our efforts to build unity within the church?

5. Reflect on a time when you witnessed or experienced God's transformative power. How does this encourage you in your faith journey?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 19:18-25
This passage speaks of Egypt and Assyria turning to the Lord, similar to the Philistines becoming a remnant for God, highlighting God's plan for the inclusion of Gentiles.

Acts 15:14-17
James refers to the inclusion of Gentiles in the people of God, echoing the prophetic vision of nations turning to the Lord.

Romans 11:5
Paul speaks of a remnant chosen by grace, connecting to the idea of a faithful group preserved by God.
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
Abominations, Aside, Belong, Blood, Chief, Chieftain, Clan, Detestable, Disgusting, Ekron, Family, Forbidden, Governor, Jebusite, Jebusites, Jeb'usites, Jerusalem, Judah, Kept, Leader, Leaders, Mouth, Mouths, Remnant, Remove, Teeth
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Zechariah 9:7

     5189   teeth

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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