Zechariah 7 is the seventh of the 14

chapters Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

in the

Book of Zechariah The Book of Zechariah, attributed to the Hebrew prophet Zechariah, is included in the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Historical context Zechariah's prophecies took place during the reign of Darius the Great and were contemporary ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

.Zechariah, Book of
Jewish Encyclopedia This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Zechariah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. This chapter is a part of a section (so-called "First Zechariah") consisting of Zechariah 1– 8. The Jews having sent to inquire concerning the set fasts, Zechariah 7:1-3, Zechariah reproves the hypocrisy of their fasts, Zechariah 7:4-7, and they are exhorted by repentance to remove the cause of their calamity, Zechariah 7:8-14.Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, Andrew Robert; Brown, David. '' Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible''. 1871. "Zechariah 7".

Text

The original text was written in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. This chapter is divided into 14 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

, which includes the Codex Cairensis (from year 895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), and

Codex Leningradensis The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...

(1008). There is also a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

known as the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century),

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(S; BHK:

\mathfrak

^S; 4th century),

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century) and

Codex Marchalianus Codex Marchalianus designated by siglum Q is a 6th-century Greek manuscript copy of the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh or Old Testament) known as the Septuagint. The text was written on vellum in uncial letters. Palaeographically it ...

(Q;

\mathfrak

^Q; 6th century).

Obedience better than fasting (7:1–7)

With the completion of the new temple in Jerusalem a question arises whether the fast of the fifth month commemorating the destruction of the first temple is still necessary. The answer (7:4—7; amplified in 7:8—14) is negative and sweeps in the fast of the seventh month also (verse 5), but more likely it means that, in the ideal world envisaged by the prophet, fasting is seen as punishment, so it should no longer be necessary.

Verse 1

: ''And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius,'' :: ''that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah'' ::: ''in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;'' * " In the fourth year of King Darius": This happened in 518 BCE, nearly two years after the visions had occurred ( Zechariah 1:7) and after the foundation of the temple was laid ( Haggai 2:10). In two years more the temple was finished ( Ezra 6:15), and the work of rebuilding was now proceeding vigorously; it seemed a fit opportunity for inquiring whether, in this period of comparative prosperity and success, it behoved the people to continue the fast appointed in sadder times. * "Chisleu" or " Chislev" ( Nehemiah 1:1). This month corresponded to mid-November until mid-December in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

. The word "Chisleu" means "torpidity," the state in which nature is in November, answering to this month.

Verse 2

: ''When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the Lord,''

Verse 2 in Hebrew

Masoretic text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

: : וישלח בית־אל שר־אצר ורגם מלך ואנשיו לחלות את־פני יהוה׃ Transliteration: : wa-yi wə- wa-; lə- - . Literal translation: : and sent Bethel Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to entreat the face of the Lord.

Verse 2 notes

* "When they held sent unto the house of God": could be better rendered as "and Bethel sent" or "and the inhabitants of Bethel sent", because in the Hebrew order of the words, naturally the subject is 'Bethel'. In the Hebrew Bible "the house of God" is never called "Bethel", as Bethel is always a place name, whereas "the house of God" is designated by historians, Psalmists, and prophets by the name "Beth-elohim," or more commonly "Beth-ha-elohim", which are also used by Zechariah and Haggai. It is not likely that the name "Beth-el" should have first been given to the house of God, when it had been desecrated by the idolatries of Jeroboam. There is also no reason to send people to Bethel to seek an answer from God, and even more unlikely to say that they sent to Bethel, in order that those at Bethel should send to Jerusalem. Bethel, in Nehemiah's time , was one of the chief places of Benjamin. "Two hundred twenty and three of the men of Bethel and Ai" () had returned from exile with Zerubbabel. The answer is given to "the people" of the land, so the enquirers are not those still in Babylon. Although put as matter of religion, the answer shows that the question was not religious. It is remarkable that, whereas in the case of those who brought presents from Babylon, the names express some relation to God, these names are singularly, the one of a parricide son of

Sennacherib Sennacherib ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning " Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Sargon II in 705BC to his own death in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynas ...

, "Sharezer" ; , and of one, chief among the King of Babylon's princes ; the other probably a secular name, "''Regem-melech''", "the king's friend". Barnes, Albert
''Notes on the Bible'' - Zechariah 7
James Murphy (ed). London: Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998. * "To pray before the Lord": or "to entreat the face of the Lord"; in order to be directed to a proper answer for the question they came with and the temple at Jerusalem was the place where men used to go up to pray (cf. ). Gill, John
''Exposition of the Entire Bible''. "Zechariah 7".
Published in 1746-1763.

Verse 3

: ''And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?'' * "And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts": Those ministered in the sanctuary, as the Targum explains it, "who offered sacrifices, etc. and who were to be consulted in matters of religion", Malachi 2:7. * "And to the prophets": who were then in being, as

Haggai Haggai (; he, חַגַּי – ''Ḥaggay''; Koine Greek: Ἀγγαῖος; la, Aggaeus) was a Hebrew prophet during the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the author of ...

, Zechariah and

Malachi Malachi (; ) is the traditional author of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) section of the Tanakh. According to the 1897 ''Easton's Bible Dictionary'', it is possible that Malachi is not a proper name, as it simply mean ...

. * "Should I weep in the fifth month?" The use of the first person singular to express a community or a people is not uncommon; here it means the Bethelites (compare ; ; ). Weeping is the accompaniment of fasting (; ; ). This fast in the fifth month, the month of Ab, had been established in memory of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The temple was burnt on the ninth or tenth of the month (see ; ). The only fast-day enjoined by the Law of Moses was the great Day of Atonement on the tenth day of the seventh month, Ethanim (, etc.). But the Jews added others in memory of certain national events (see ; ; , etc.). In Zechariah 8:19 mention is made of four extraordinary fasts instituted and observed during the Captivity, viz. on the ninth day of the fourth month, in memory of the capture of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans; in the fifth month, in remembrance of the burning of the temple and city; in the seventh month, in consequence of the murder of

Gedaliah Gedaliah, Gedalia, Gedallah Hirsch, E. G. and Greenstone, J. H. (1906)Gedallah Jewish Encyclopedia or Gedalya(h) ( or ; he, גְּדַלְיָּה ''Gəḏalyyā'' or ''Gəḏalyyāhū'', meaning "Jah has become Great") was, according to the na ...

( Jeremiah 41:1–); and in the tenth month, in memory of the commencement of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.

Verse 5

: ''Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?'' * "Fifth month" The original question in Zechariah 7:3 referred only to this fast; the answer embraces also another fast in seventh month appointed by human authority. * "The seventh month": This fast was instituted in consequence of the murder of Gedaliah, B.C. 587, just seventy years ago, when the greater part of the remnant of the Jews, contrary to the prophet's warning, fled into Egypt to escape the punishment of the crime (; , etc.). * "Did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?" The fast they kept was not according to the command of God, but an appointment of theirs; nor was it directed to his glory; nor was it any profit or advantage to him; and therefore it was nothing to him whether they fasted or not; see Isaiah 58:3. * "Seventy years" (also Zechariah 1:12) refers to the fulfilled

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewi ...

's prophecy of exile ( Jeremiah 25:12, Jeremiah 29:10) which is also cited by Daniel ().

Disobedience resulted in captivity (7:8–14)

This section contains an oracle of 'warning against repeating the sins of preexilic generations who ignored the teaching of the prophets' (cf. Zechariah 1:1–6; 8:14–17).

Verse 12

:''Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.'' *"Adamant stone": translated from Hebrew , ',Hebrew Text Analysis: Zechariah 7:12
Biblehub. probably means "

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

," a very hard

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, which, according to

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

, can 'break all metals to pieces, but to be itself broken by none'; so it is called ''adamas'', "unconquerable".Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors)
On "Zechariah 7".
In: ''The Pulpit Commentary''. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

Jewish

Zechariah 7 Hebrew with Parallel EnglishZechariah 7 Hebrew with Rashi's Commentary

Christian

Zechariah 7 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
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