Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zechariah 10:3
Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.
3. was kindled punished hath made ] is kindled will punish shall make, R. V.
the shepherds ] who though they were “no (true) shepherds,” yet retained the name and office. Quite parallel is the passage in Ezekiel (Eze 34:5-6 with Eze 34:7-10); where also (Eze 10:17-22), as here, the rulers and principal men are spoken of as “goats,” as well as “shepherds.”
his goodly horse ] Comp. Zec 9:13; and for the image of the war-horse, Job 39:19-25.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds – As Ezekiel continued, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand Eze 34:10.
I punished the he-goats – The evil powerful are called the he-goats of the earth: Isa 14:9; and in Ezekiel God says, I will judge between cattle and cattle, between rams and he-goats Eze 34:17; and our Lord speaks of the reprobate as goats, the saved as sheep Mat 25:32. God visited upon these in His displeasure, because He visited His flock, the people of Judah, to see to their needs and to relieve them.
And hath made them as the goodly horse – As, before, He said, I made thee as the sword of a mighty man Zec 9:13 Judahs might was not in himself; but, in Gods hands, he had might like and above the might of this world; he was fearless, resistless; as Paul says, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds 2Co 10:4.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds] Bad kings and bad priests. I will punish the goats; these were the wicked priests, who were shepherds by their office, and goats by the impurity of their lives.
As his goodly horse in the battle.] The honourable war horse, or the horse that carried the general’s equipage. In the unaccountable variation of interpreters on these chapters, this, among other things, is thought to be spoken of Matthias, and Judas Maccabeus, who assembled the people from all quarters, as a shepherd gathers his sheep together; and led them against the sons of Greece, the Seleucidae Greeks. Others refer every thing here to times before the captivity.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mine anger was kindled; though it was justly kindled against all, yet it was more hot and fierce against the chief sinners among them.
Against the shepherds; officers in church and state, who neglected to keep the flock from straying, who were ringleaders in idolatry and soothsaying.
I punished the goats; the wanton, lustful, and petulant officers among them, which, like he-goats, push. and wound, and trample under foot the feebler cattle, as Eze 34:16,17; these were more grievously punished, Jer 29:22; 39:6. Hath visited his flock, in favour and mercy.
Hath made them as his goodly horse; with change of state hath changed their sheepish weakness and cowardice into strength, courage, and gallantry, like that of a goodly horse: this appeared in the Maccabees wars.
In the battle; when all his courage is stirred up, and he appears, as Job brings him forth, with neck clothed with-thunder, Job 39:19-26.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. against the shepherdsthecivil rulers of Israel and Judah who abetted idolatry.
punishedliterally,”visited upon.” The same word “visited,” withoutthe upon, is presently after used in a good sense to heightenthe contrast.
goatshe-goats. As”shepherds” described what they ought to have been,so “he-goats” describes what they were, the emblemof headstrong wantonness and offensive lust (Isa14:9, Margin; Eze 34:17;Dan 8:5; Mat 25:33).The he-goats head the flock. They who are first in crime will befirst in punishment.
visitedin mercy (Lu1:68).
as his goodly horseInZec 9:13 they were representedunder the image of bows and arrows, here under that of theircommander-in-chief, Jehovah’s battle horse (So1:9). God can make His people, timid though they be as sheep,courageous as the charger. The general rode on the most beautiful andrichly caparisoned, and had his horse tended with the greatest care.Jehovah might cast off the Jews for their vileness, but He regardsHis election or adoption of them: whence He calls them here “Hisflock,” and therefore saves them.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds,…. The Targum interprets it of “kings”; as the “goats” of “princes”, in the next clause; by whom, according to Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, are meant the kings of Greece; but rather the antichristian kings are designed, the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication with the whore of Rome, which is the cause of the anger of the Lord being kindled: or else ecclesiastical rulers are meant, the Romish clergy, the chief of them, as cardinals, archbishops, bishops, c. who may fitly be represented by the shepherds of Israel in the times of the prophets for their name, professing to be of Israel, or to be Christians and by them for their ignorance, covetousness, luxury, disregard to the flock, tyranny and cruelty over it, and murder of it; see Isa 56:10, against these the fire of God’s wrath will be kindled, and with it will they be destroyed:
and I punished the goats; not the Seleucidae, as the above Jewish writers; though they may with propriety be so called, since they were the successors of Alexander, signified by the he goat in Da 8:5 rather the monks and friars, comparable to these for their filthiness and uncleanness; and because they pretend to be guides of the people, and to go before them, and yet use them ill, and push them with their horns of power; wherefore God will punish them, and kill those children of Jezebel with death, Re 2:22:
for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock, the house of Judah; by sending the Gospel to them, and his Spirit with it, to make it effectual to their conversion; which will be at the time that the antichristian hierarchy will be destroyed; then the Lord’s flock, who have gone astray, shall be returned to the true Shepherd and Bishop of souls, and shall seek the Lord their God, and David their King, and shall be saved by him: a gracious visitation this will be!
and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle; this denotes that the Jews, when converted, will be bold in their God; valiant for the truth on earth; courageously fight the good fight of faith, and be victorious over their enemies; and that they will be in great honour and esteem among the saints, though so mean and justly despicable now: the sense is, that as the horse shows its strength and courage in battle, so should they; see Job 39:19.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
To this there is appended in Zec 10:3. the promise that Jehovah will take possession of His flock, and redeem it out of the oppression of the evil shepherds. Zec 10:3. “My wrath is kindled upon the shepherds, and the goats shall I punish; for Jehovah of hosts visits His flock, the house of Judah, and makes it like His state-horse in the war. Zec 10:4. From Him will be corner-stone, from Him the nail, from Him the war-bow; from Him will every ruler go forth at once.” When Israel lost its own shepherds, it came under the tyranny of bad shepherds. These were the heathen governors and tyrants. Against these the wrath of Jehovah is kindled, and He will punish them. There is no material difference between , shepherds, and , leading goats. Attudm also signifies rulers, as in Isa 14:9. The reason assigned why the evil shepherds are to be punished, is that Jehovah visits His flock. The perfect paqad is used prophetically of what God has resolved to do, and will actually carry out; and paqad c. acc. pers. means to visit, i.e., to assume the care of, as distinguished from paqad with ‘al pers., to visit in the sense of to punish (see at Zep 2:7). The house of Judah only is mentioned in Zec 10:3, not in distinction from Ephraim, however (cf. Zec 10:6), but as the stem and kernel of the covenant nation, with which Ephraim is to be united once more. The care of God for Judah will not be limited to its liberation from the oppression of the bad shepherds; but Jehovah will also make Judah into a victorious people. This is the meaning of the figure “like a state-horse,” i.e., a splendid and richly ornamented war-horse, such as a king is accustomed to ride. This figure is not more striking than the description of Judah and Ephraim as a bow and arrow (Zec 9:13). This equipment of Judah as a warlike power overcoming its foes is described in Zec 10:4, namely in 4 a, in figures taken from the firmness and furnishing of a house with everything requisite, and in 4 b, etc., in literal words. The verb of the fourth clause cannot be taken as the verb belonging to the in the first three clauses, because is neither applicable to pinnah nor to yathed . We have therefore to supply . From (out of) Him will be pinnah , corner, here corner-stone, as in Isa 28:16, upon which the whole building stands firmly, and will be built securely, – a suitable figure for the firm, stately foundation which Judah is to receive. To this is added yathed , the plug. This figure is to be explained from the arrangement of eastern houses, in which the inner walls are provided with a row of large nails or plugs for hanging the house utensils upon. The plug, therefore, is a suitable figure for the supports or upholders of the whole political constitution, and even in Isa 22:23 was transferred to persons. The war-bow stands synecdochically for weapons of war and the military power. It is a disputed point, however, whether the suffix in mimmennu (out of him) refers to Judah or Jehovah. But the opinion of Hitzig and others, that it refers to Jehovah, is overthrown by the expression in the last clause. For even if we could say, Judah will receive its firm foundation, its internal fortification, and its military strength from Jehovah, the expression, “Every military commander will go out or come forth out of Jehovah,” is unheard-of and unscriptural. It is not affirmed in the Old Testament even of the Messiah that He goes forth out of God, although His “goings forth” are from eternity (Mic 5:1), and He Himself is called El gibbor (Isa 9:5). Still less can this be affirmed of every ruler ( kol – moges ) of Judah. In this clause, therefore, mimmennu must refer to Judah, and consequently it must be taken in the same way in the first three clauses. On , see Mic 5:1. Noges , an oppressor or taskmaster, is not applied to a leader or ruler in a good sense even here, any more than in Isa 3:12 and Isa 60:17 (see the comm. on these passages). The fact that negus in Ethiopic is the name given to the king (Koehler), proves nothing in relation to Hebrew usage. The word has the subordinate idea of oppressor, or despotic ruler, in this instance also; but the idea of harshness refers not to the covenant nation, but to its enemies (Hengstenberg), and the words are used in antithesis to Zec 9:8. Whereas there the promise is given to the nation of Israel that it will not fall under the power of the noges any more, it is here assured that it is to attain to the position of a noges in relation to its foes (Kliefoth). is strengthened by : every oppressor together, which Judah will require in opposition to its foes.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
He had said that the Jews had been driven into exile, and had been oppressed by their enemies, because they had no shepherd; not indeed to lessen their fault, for they were wholly inexcusable, since they had wilfully renounced God, who would have been otherwise their perpetual shepherd: but he now turns his discourse to the false teachers, to the false prophets and to the wicked priests. Though then they were all unworthy of pardon, yet God here justly summons the shepherds first before his tribunal, who had been the cause of making others to go astray: as when a blind man leads the blind into a ditch, so ungodly pastors become the cause of ruin to others. We have elsewhere observed similar passages, in which God threatened priests and prophets with special punishment, because they had unfaithfully discharged their office; but yet he did not absolve the common people, for from the least to the greatest they were guilty; and it is also certain that men are punished for their obstinacy and wickedness, whenever God gives loose reins to the devil, and deceives them by ungodly teachers.
We now then see the order observed by the Prophet: At the beginning of the chapter he declares that the Jews were without excuse, because they had turned aside again to their own superstitions, though God had severely punished the sins of their fathers, and that thus they had profited nothing; he also shows that they were acting perversely, if they clamored against God, that he scantily or badly supported them, for they did not look for any thing from him, nor solicited by prayer what he was prepared willingly to grant them. Having thus reproved generally the wickedness of the whole people, the Prophet now assails the ungodly priests, and says that judgment was nigh both the shepherd and the he-goats.
He gives the name of pastors to wolves, which is a common thing. And here the Papists betray their folly, laying hold of words only, and claiming to themselves all power, because they are called pastors in the Church, and as though Antichrist was not to reign in the temple of God. Does not Zechariah give an honorable name to these wicked men who destroyed the Church of God? Yea, he brings a most heavy charge against them, that they scattered and trampled under their feet the whole kingdom of God, and yet he calls them pastors, even because they held the office of pastors, though they were very far from being faithful, and in no respect attended to their duties.
He then concedes the name of pastors to those who had been called to rule the people, and to whom this office had been divinely committed; and yet God declares that he would visit them, because they had elicited his just displeasure. The same is said of the he-goats, by which metaphorical name he means all those who were governors, or were in rank above the common people. Those who injured and cruelly treated the sheep had been called he-goats by other Prophets, and especially by Ezekiel (Eze 34:17.) So then he adds the he-goats to the pastors, because the poor and the lower orders had been led to ruin through their misconduct. And it hence appears how dear to God is the salvation of men; for he denounces vengeance on pastors, though they had not exercised tyranny except on men worthy of such punishment; for it was the just wages of their sins, that the Lord gave them wolves instead of shepherds. But though the Jews had merited such a judgment, yet God was angry with the pastors on account of his constant solicitude for his Church.
And the reason is also added, For visit will God his flock, the house of Judah; as though he had said, that he would not regard what the Jews were, but would regard his own election; for greatly valued by God is his own adoption; and as he had been pleased to choose that people, he could not have allowed them to be destroyed. When therefore he saw that his Church had been so much exposed to destruction through the fault of the pastors, he alleges here as a reason for his future vengeance, that he could not endure his favor to be brought to nothing; nor is it to be doubted but that he mentions here the house of Judah, because he had restored and consecrated that people to himself, that he might be served by them. He then takes away from the false pastors every pretense for an excuse, when he brings forward his own election, as though he had said, “Though this people had provoked me a hundred times, and deserved a hundred deaths, yet I intended you to be pastors, because the house of Judah has been made sacred to me.”
But the visitation of the flock is different from that of the shepherds; for God visits the reprobate, being armed with vengeance, and he visits his own people by aiding them. Now the visitation of the flock refers to the whole house of Judah: and this was owing, as we have said, to their gratuitous adoption; yet the Lord suffered many to rush headlong into ruin, because he delivered only his own elect. It is indeed a mode of speaking that often occurs in the Prophets — that God would help the children of Abraham, when he means only those who were Israelites indeed, and not the degenerated.
He adds that they would be as a splendid horse in war. A contrast is here no doubt implied between splendid horses and asses or oxen; for these shepherds who had tyrannically oppressed God’s people, are said to be like violent riders who ride on asses and shamefully abuse them, or like herdsman, who treat their own oxen inhumanely. God then says that he would ride his people in another manner, even as the horseman, who sits splendidly on his horse when going to battle: for even kings, after having ridden a horse in battle, do afterwards wish it to be well taken care of; and they show much solicitude for their horses, and even go to the stable that they may see, if possible, with their own eyes, that they are properly attended to. God then thus intimates, that he indeed required obedience from his people, and intended to retain his own right, to ride as it were on his own people; but yet that he would not oppress them, and that on the contrary he would make them like a splendid horse. We now then perceive why the Prophet turns his discourse here especially to the false shepherds, not indeed to extenuate the fault of the whole people, for none among them was worthy of pardon. It follows —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) Was kindled.Better, is kindled. (Comp. Note on Zec. 8:2.)
Shepherds.This term is used of native rulers and guides (Jer. 2:8; Jer. 17:16; Jer. 23:1-4; Eze. 34:2, &c.), and also of foreign rulers and oppressors (Jer. 6:3-4; Jer. 25:34-38; Jer. 49:19).
I punished.Better, I will punish.
The [he] goats are, probably, to be identified with the shepherds (as seems to be the case in Ezekiel 34), and both to be referred to foreign rulers and leaders, since the latter part of the verse seems to denote that the whole people (see Zec. 10:6-7, and comp. Zec. 9:13) is to be changed from a timid flock into a nation of warriors.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Rejuvenation of Judah and Ephraim, 3-7.
Jehovah has resolved to deliver the oppressed people; his anger will be kindled against the oppressors. The exiles will be made strong, so that they can trample their enemies under foot; then they will be restored to their own land, because Jehovah will have mercy upon them.
In Zec 10:3-4 the prophet looks into the future, therefore the tenses of R.V. are to be preferred.
The shepherds Now ruling over the Jews, the representatives of the foreign nations.
Goats [“he-goats”] Who lead the herds bell-wethers; practically synonymous with “shepherds.” There is no reason for supposing that the prophet means to make a distinction between the monarchs (shepherds) and the nobles or officials (he-goats). Against the oppressors the anger of Jehovah is kindled.
Hath visited A perfect of prophetic certainty; Jehovah has already decided upon the act, and he will surely carry out his purpose. The verb is used here in a favorable sense (compare Jer 23:2), visit with blessing.
Flock The picture of the shepherd and the sheep is continued.
House of Judah In apposition to his flock. Ephraim is not to be excluded (Zec 10:6-7), but Judah forms the nucleus, to which Ephraim will be joined.
As his goodly horse Literally, horse of splendor; a splendid war horse. Not only will the oppressors be cut off, but Israel will be transformed from an oppressed and trembling flock into a strong and victorious host, resembling in courage and swiftness a spirited war horse.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
RESTORATION OF THE JEWS AND OVERTHROW OF THE HOSTILE NATIONS, Zec 10:3 to Zec 11:3.
When the Jews came into the power of hostile nations (Zec 10:2) they were governed by bad shepherds, that is, by cruel foreign rulers. But a change is about to take place; Jehovah will cut off the bad shepherds and deliver the oppressed flock (3). Judah and Ephraim will be transformed into mighty men (4-7), and Jehovah will bring them back from Assyria and Egypt to dwell in their own land (8-12), where they may rejoice over the wonderful deliverance, while the hostile powers wail and lament over their own complete undoing (Zec 11:1-3).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Zec 10:3. The goats This should be rendered the he-goats, the chiefs and leaders of the flock, metaphorically put for the principal persons in a state. See Jer 50:8; Jer 50:46.
Against the shepherds Or, the wicked priests, who purchased the priesthood for money. The next clause may be rendered, And I executed judgment upon the leaders; but the Lord of Hosts hath looked upon, &c. See Isa 14:9.
As his goodly horse in the battle See Job’s fine description of the war-horse, ch. Job 39:19-25 whose courage and strength are there displayed as setting forth the glorious perfections of his Maker. Such, it is said, God would make the house of Judah to be, furnished with every requisite for obtaining military success.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Zec 10:3 Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.
Ver. 3. Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds ] Pastores Impostores; the greedy priests and false prophets, main causes of the captivity; because through their default there was no knowledge nor fear of God in the land, Isa 5:13 Hos 4:6-7 Jer 23:1 Eze 34:1 .
And I punished the goats
For the Lord of hosts
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
punished = shall visit upon.
the LORD of hosts. See note on Zec 1:3.
goodly horse = majestic war-horse.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
anger: Zec 11:5-8, Zec 11:17, Isa 56:9-12, Jer 10:21, Jer 23:1, Jer 23:2, Jer 50:6, Eze 34:2, Eze 34:7-10
and I: Eze 34:16, Eze 34:17, Eze 34:20, Eze 34:21, Mat 25:32, Mat 25:33
punished: Heb. visited upon, Isa 10:12, Isa 24:21, Jer 11:22, Jer 25:12, Zep 1:8, *marg.
visited: Exo 4:31, Rth 1:6, Zep 2:7, Luk 1:68, 1Pe 2:12
as: Pro 21:31, Son 1:9
Reciprocal: Num 18:5 – no wrath Eze 34:5 – because there is no shepherd Eze 34:10 – I am Dan 11:32 – shall be Mic 5:5 – then Zec 1:20 – four Zec 9:13 – bent Zec 12:3 – in that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Zec 10:3. Gods people have always been likened to sheep and the leaders to shepherds. But both shepherd and the flock had gone astray, so the Lord regarded the shepherds as worthy of condemnation and the sheep likened to goats. But the program has been changed and the people are now likened to the noble horse in battle against His enemies.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Zec 10:3. Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds Against the kings, princes, and priests. These were the leaders of the Jewish people into idolatry and vice. The word shepherds is beautifully taken up from the preceding verse. And I punished the goats The chief ones, as Newcome renders it. The principal men are meant. For Or rather, but, the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock In mercy. He hath now given his people manifest tokens of his favour and protection. And hath made them Or, will make them, as his goodly horse in the battle Will give them strength and courage. This must relate to the times of the Maccabees, and afterward, when God punished several nations by the hands of the Jewish people.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Zec 10:3-12. This is made up of several fragments. Zec 10:3 a is apparently the beginning of a denunciation of Israels leaders founded upon Ezekiel 34, whereas Zec 10:3 b describes the Lord as visiting His distressed sheep, and making them as his warhorse. The cue which has caused Zec 10:3 b to be attached to Zec 10:3 a is the word visit, which the EV renders punish in the first instance. The Jewish sheep became warhorses in the Maccabean struggle.
Zec 10:4, which is a later insertion, presents considerable difficulty.
Zec 10:4 a apparently means that Judah possesses all the requisites of an autonomous state; the last clause, however, seems to mean that the foreign exaotors of tribute will depart from the land (cf. Zec 9:8, 1Ma 13:36 ff.).
Zec 10:5 originally followed Zec 10:3; it describes the Maccabean victory, the description being continued in Zec 10:7.
Zec 10:6 is an insertion from another source, though perhaps of the same date.
Zec 10:8-10. A Prediction of the Return of the Dispersion.Will hiss, or better, will whistle (i.e. as a signal), is perhaps suggested by Isa 5:26; Isa 7:18. The sowing of Israel among the nations may imply the increase of Israel, as seed increases when it is sown (cf. Hos 2:23). Zec 10:11 is an independent prediction of the return of the dispersion, perhaps by the author of Zec 9:1-8. For the sea of affliction read with Wellhausen the sea of Egypt, i.e. the Gulf of Suez. The smiting of the sea is here, as in Isa 11:15, a metaphorical description of the removal of the political obstacles in the way of the return of the dispersion. Assyria, as is stated above, means the Syro-Greek empire (cf. Ezr 6:22, Isa 11:11*, Isa 19:23 f.). This passage strongly resembles Isa 11:11 f. For they shall walk up and down the LXX has rightly they shall make their boast.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
10:3 My anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the {d} goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as {e} his majestic horse in the battle.
(d) Meaning, the cruel governors who did oppress the poor sheep; Eze 34:16-17 .
(e) He will be merciful to his Church, and cherish them as a king or prince does his best horse, which will be for his own use in war.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord was angry with these false shepherds (rulers, i.e., kings, princes, nobles, prophets, and priests) and the other leaders who led His sheep astray like rams (cf. 1Sa 28:3-7; 1Ki 16:31; 1Ki 22:6-12; 2Ki 1:2; 2Ki 16:15; 2Ki 21:6). The shepherds and rams may also include the foreign rulers under which the Jews had to live. [Note: See Chambers, p. 78, in Lange’s commentary.] The Lord would visit His flock, namely, the flock of Judah (the Israelites), and He would make His people like the horse He rode in battle to defeat His enemies. In other words, He would empower the Israelites. The weak sheep would become as strong as horses. The battle of Armageddon is probably in view (cf. Zec 12:1-9; Zec 14:1-8).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
5. AGAINST EVIL SHEPHERDS
Zec 10:3-12
The unity of this section is more apparent than its connection with the preceding, which had spoken of the want of a shepherd, or religious director, of Israel, while this is directed against their shepherds and leaders, meaning their foreign tyrants.
The figure is taken from Jer 23:1 ff., where, besides, “to visit upon” is used in a sense of punishment, but the simple “visit” in the sense of to look after, just as within Zec 10:3 of this tenth chapter. Who these foreign tyrants are is not explicitly stated, but the reference to Egypt and Assyria as lands whence the Jewish captives shall be brought home, while at the same time there is a Jewish nation in Judah, suits only the Greek period, after Ptolemy had taken so many Jews to Egypt, and there were numbers still scattered throughout the other great empire in the north, to which, as we have already seen, the Jews applied the name of Assyria. The reference can hardly suit the years after Seleucus and Ptolemy granted to the Jews in their territories the rights of citizens. The captive Jews are to be brought back to Gilead and Lebanon Why exactly these are mentioned, and neither Samaria nor Galilee, forms a difficulty, to whatever age we assign the chapter.
The language of Zec 10:3-12 has several late features. Joseph or Ephraim, here and elsewhere in these chapters, is used of the portion of Israel still in captivity, in contrast to Judah, the returned community.
The passage predicts that Jehovah will change His poor leaderless sheep, the Jews, into war-horses, and give them strong chiefs and weapons of war. They shall overthrow the heathen, and Jehovah will bring back His exiles. The passage is therefore one with chapter 9.
“My wrath is hot against the shepherds, and I will make visitation on the he-goats: yea, Jehovah of Hosts will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like His splendid war horses. From Him the corner-stone, from Him the stay, from Him the war-bow, from Him the oppressor-shall go forth together. And in battle shall they trample on heroes as on the dirt of the streets, and fight, for Jehovah is with them, and the riders on horses shall be abashed. And the house of Judah will I make strong and work salvation for the house of Joseph, and bring them back, for I have pity for them, and they shall be as though I had not put them away, for I am Jehovah their God and I will hold converse with them. And Ephraim shall be as heroes, and their heart shall be glad as with wine, and their children shall behold and be glad: their heart shall rejoice in Jehovah. I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they once were. I scattered them among the nations, but among the faraway they think of Me, and they will bring up their children, and come back. And I will fetch them home from the land of Misraim, and from Asshur will I gather them, and to the land of Gilead and Lebanon will I bring them in, though these be not found sufficient for them. And they shall pass through the sea of Egypt, and He shall smite the sea of breakers, and all the deeps of the Nile shall be dried, and the pride of Assyria brought down, and the scepter of Egypt swept aside. And their strength shall be in Jehovah, and in His Name shall they boast themselves-oracle of Jehovah.”