Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zechariah 14:3
Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
3. in the day of battle ] Some, as Calvin, refer this generally to God’s manifold interpositions on behalf of His people, throughout the course of their history; but it is better to confine it to the first great typical interposition, when the word of command was, “Jehovah shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace”; and even the enemy was fain to confess, “Jehovah fighteth for them against the Egyptians,” Exo 14:14; Exo 14:25; comp. Hab 3:15. A comparison may perhaps be suggested between the dividing of the Red Sea (Psa 136:13), and of the Mount of Olives as here predicted.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The Lord shall go forth and shall fight – Jerome: Is to be taken like that in Habakkuk, Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people, for salvation with Thine Anointed Hab 3:13, and in Micah, For behold, the Lord cometh forth out of His place, and will come down and will tread upon the high places of the earth, and the mountains shall be molten under Him, and the valleys shall be cleft Mic 1:3-4; and Isaiah also, The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man; He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war; He shall cry; He shall prevail over His enemies Isa 42:13. God is said to go forth, when by some wondrous deed He declares His Presence – His Deity is, as it were, laid up, so long as He holds Himself in, and does not by any token show His power. But He goes forth, and bursts forth, when He exercises some judgment, and worketh some new work, which striketh terror. God then will go forth out of His place, when He is constrained to break through His quietness and gentleness and clemency, for the amendment of sinners. He who elsewhere speaketh through the prophet, I, the Lord, change not Mal 3:6, and to whom it is said, Thou art the same Psa 102:28, and in the Epistle of James, With whom is no change Jam 1:17, now goeth forth and fighteth as in the day of battle, when He overwhelmed Pharaoh in the Red sea; and fought for Israel. The Lord shall fight for you, became the watchword of Moses Exo 14:14; Deu 1:30; 13:22; Deu 20:4 and the warrior Joshua in his old age (Jos 23:10; compare Jos 10:14, Jos 10:42; Jos 23:3), after his lifes experience Jos 10:14, Jos 10:42; Jos 23:3, and Nehemiah. Be not afraid by reason of this great multitude Neh 4:20, said Jahaziel, son of Zachariah, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him; for the battle is not yours, but Gods 2Ch 20:15.
As He fought in the day of battle – Osorius: All wars are so disposed by the power of God, that every victory is to be referred to His counsel and will. But this is not seen so clearly, when people, elate and confident, try to transfer to themselves all or the greater part of the glory of war. Then may the war be eminently said to be the Lords, when no one drew sword, as it is written, The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace Exo 14:14. Of all Gods wars, in which human insolence could claim no part of the glory, none was more wondrous than that, in which Pharaoh and his army were sunk in the deep. The Lord, said Moses Exo 15:3, is a man of war: the Lord is His Name. That day of battle was the image of one much greater. In that, Pharaohs army was sunk in the deep; in this, the power of evil, in Hell: in that, what could in some measure be conquered by human strength, was subdued; in this, a tyranny unconquerable; in that, a short-lived liberty was set up; the liberty brought by Christ through subdual of the enemy, is eternal. As then the image yields to the truth, earthly goods to heavenly, things perishable to eternal, so the glory of that ancient victory sinks to nothing under the greatness of the latter.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations] Against the Romans, by means of the northern nations; who shall destroy the whole empire of this once mistress of the world. But this is an obscure place.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Then, after that he hath sufficiently punished Jerusalem and the rest of the Jews,
shall the Lord go forth, out of his holy place, (spoken after the manner of men,) as a warrior prepared for battle.
Fight against those nations, which had sacked Jerusalem, and oppressed his people.
As when he fought in the day of battle; as in any of those days past, when God fought for his people and gave them great victories.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. ThenIn Jerusalem’sextremity.
as . . . in . . . day ofbattleas when Jehovah fought for Israel against the Egyptiansat the Red Sea (Exo 14:14;Exo 15:3). As He then made a waythrough the divided sea, so will He now divide in two “the Mountof Olives” (Zec 14:4).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then shall the Lord go forth,…. Out of his place in heaven, either in person, or by the display of his power; that is, the Lord Jesus Christ; whose name is called the Word of God, and is the King of kings, and Lord of lords, described as a mighty warrior,
Re 19:11, c.:
and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle: the Targum adds, “at the Red Sea” when the Lord fought for, Israel against the Egyptians, Ex 14:25 and afterwards against the Canaanites, when they entered the land of Canaan under Joshua: thus Christ shall judge, and make war in righteousness, and overcome those that shall make war with him; and with the sharp sword that goeth out of his mouth shall smite nations, and with a rod of iron rule them, and break them to shivers, Re 14:14 see also
Eze 38:21.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Zechariah here amplifies the favor of God, — that he will go forth openly, and avowedly carry on war against all the enemies of Jerusalem. It was not indeed a small mitigation of their evils, that a part of the Church would be saved. But the Prophet declares here what is still far better, — that when God afflicted his Church, and suffered it to be violently assailed by enemies, he would become at length the avenger of all the wrongs they might have done. We know how we are wounded and tried, when God gives loose reins to the ungodly, and when they grow wanton in their wickedness and triumph, insult God, and almost spit as it were at the very clouds. When therefore the ungodly thus petulantly exult, and God in the meantime hides himself and is still, it is difficult to wait patiently for the issue. Hence the Prophet promises that God will become the avenger, after having allowed his Church to be for a time chastised by ungodly and wicked enemies.
Go forth, he says, shall Jehovah. We know the meaning of this metaphorical expression. The Prophets sometimes extend the phrase, “Go forth shall God from his holy place,” as though they said — that the Jews would find by experience that God’s name is not invoked in vain in his temple, and that it has not been said in vain, that God is seated between the cherubim. But the Prophet seems here to speak of God generally, as going forth armed from his recesses to resist the enemies of his Church. Go forth then shall God; for he had for a time concealed his power. In a like manner, we know that God hides his face from us when he brings us no help, and when we also think that we are neglected by him. As then God, as long as he hides his power, seems to be without power, hence the Prophet says here, Go forth shall Jehovah, and he will fight against these nations
By these words he intimates, that there is no reason for the faithful to envy their enemies, even when all things go on prosperously with them; for they will at length find that they cannot injure the Church without God undertaking its cause, according to what he has promised,
“
I will be an enemy to thine enemies.” (Exo 23:22.)
But as this is a thing difficult to be believed, he calls to mind ancient history, —
As in the day, he says, in which he fought in the day of battle. Some confine this part to the passage through the Red Sea; but I think that Zechariah includes all the instances which God had given to the Jews to prove that they were the objects of his care. God then, not only once, not at one time, nor in one manner, had put forth his power, that the Jews might plainly see that they became conquerors through his aid. This is what Zechariah means. He in effect says, “Both you and your fathers have long ago found that God is wont to fight for his Church; for he has honored you with innumerable victories; you have been often overwhelmed with despair, and his favor unexpectedly shone upon you, and delivered you beyond all that you hoped for: you had often to contend with the strongest enemies; they were put to flight, even when ye were wholly unequal to them in number, and yet God bestowed upon you easy victories. Since then God has so often and in such divers ways cast down your enemies, why should you not hope for the same aid still from him?”
We hence see why the Prophet now refers to the ancient battles of God, even that he might by facts confirm the Jews in their hope, and that they might not doubt but that God was endued with power sufficiently strong to subdue all the ungodly, for he loses none.
And he adds, in the day of battle, even when there is need of help from heaven. He indeed calls it the day of engagement or contest, for so the word קרב, koreb, properly means. When therefore it was necessary for God to engage with enemies, then his power appeared: “There is hence no reason for you hereafter to doubt, but that he will still prevail against your enemies.” We know that this mode of speaking is frequently and commonly used by the Prophets, that is, when they adduce examples of God’s favor and power, by which he has proved that there is in him alone sufficient help for the deliverance of his Church.
It behaves us now to apply to ourselves what is here said, for Zechariah did not only speak for the men of his age, or for those of the next generation, but he intended to furnish the Church with confidence till the end of the world, so that the faithful might not faint under any trials. Whenever then the ungodly prevail, and no hope shines on us, let us remember how often and by what various means God has wonderfully delivered his Church as it were from death; for it was not his purpose only once to help and aid his own people, but also to animate us, that we at this day may not despond, when we endure evils with which the fathers formerly struggled. He then adds —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) Then shall the Lord go forth.In the hour of Israels direst need the Lord will appear as their champion, as of old. (Comp. Jos. 10:14-42; Jos. 23:3; Jdg. 4:15; 1Sa. 7:10; and especially 2Ch. 20:15.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Then When the conflict will have reached this stage Jehovah will interfere.
Shall Jehovah go forth To fight and destroy the nations. Why he will do this after commissioning them to execute judgment upon the city is not stated. It may be because they will go beyond their commission (compare Isa 10:7).
As when he fought in the day of battle Refers to all the occasions in the past when Jehovah fought for Israel (Jos 10:14; Jos 10:42; Jos 23:3; Jdg 4:15, etc.). These acts of the past will be repeated.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Going Forth of YHWH ( Zec 14:3-5 a).
The description of the fall of ‘Jerusalem’ is then followed by a scene which is portrayed in vivid and unforgettable colours. YHWH Himself will go forth to do battle with the nations, as He had in other days of battle, and He will stand astride the Mount of Olives on the East of Jerusalem, and that mountain will as a consequence divide in half, leaving a gulf between which will go from east to west, providing a way for men to flee from Jerusalem at the time of the coming of YHWH with all His holy ones with Him. Such apocalyptic descriptions occurred earlier in the prophets. In prophesying the destruction of Nineveh in 612 BC Nahum said, ‘YHWH has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet — the mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is upheaved at His presence, yes, the world and all who dwell in it — the rocks are broken asunder by Him’ (Nah 1:3-6). But it did not happen literally, although it must have felt like it in Nineveh as the invading hordes broke in. It was depicting the tumult of the nations. Or again when prophesying the enveloping of the nations by Babylon Habakkuk could say of YHWH, ‘He stood and measured the earth, He beheld and drove asunder the nations, and the eternal mountains were scattered, the everlasting hills did bow — you cleft the earth with rivers, the mountains saw you and were afraid — the sun and moon stood still in their habitation — you marched through the land in indignation — you went forth for the salvation of your people’ (Hab 3:6; Hab 3:9-13). It was not intended to be taken literally except in an invisible way.
Zec 14:3-4
‘And YHWH will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet will stand in that day on the mountain of olive trees, which is before Jerusalem on the East. And the mountain of olive trees will cleave in the midst of it towards the east and towards the west, and there will be a very great valley. And half of the mountain will remove towards the north, and half of it towards the south.’
This scene does not necessarily follow the previous one time wise, and the Hebrew does not require it. It is simply seen as another event in the day of YHWH. And indeed the suggestion that the resultant valley will be a way to flee along (Zec 14:5) may be seen as occurring prior to the destruction of ‘Jerusalem’ to enable men to flee from the disaster that is coming.
We see here a powerful contrast. On the one hand defeat for ‘Jerusalem’, and its rifling and humiliation, and on the other the picture of YHWH going forth triumphantly against the nations. When His people are most hard-pressed YHWH triumphs. It would appear that what happens to ‘Jerusalem’ has not prevented YHWH’s triumph, and indeed may be seen as a part of it. This was to be very true of subsequent history. The church would constantly face persecution and travail, and yet through it all God would march triumphantly forward accomplishing His purposes and providing for His people a way of escape.
In fact the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD as a consequence of the cutting off of the Anointed One was not a catastrophe for the church (although certainly the Jewish Christians saw it in that way at the time) it was rather the continuing of the new assault, the assault that had already gone out from Jerusalem to the world with the good news of the Messiah. For YHWH had come and taken His stand on the Mount of Olives in the person of the Son of God (Luk 22:39 and parallels), and from it He had made a way for His people to ‘flee’. And flee they had done with great success, proceeding against the nations with the sword of the word, and conquering them in the name of the Messiah (Act 8:1-4). Thus when the nations proceeded against Jerusalem proper they found there only a disobedient people. The true people of God, the real Jerusalem, had fled.
It is significant that YHWH ‘appears’ on the Mount of Olives and not on the Temple Mount. The Mount of Olives was also where He had appeared when Jerusalem had previously been rejected (Eze 11:23). As there, it was an indication that Jerusalem itself had been rejected and was doomed. YHWH was no longer ‘in His Temple’ He had forsaken the city. But it was also accompanied by the promise of the coming work of the Spirit.
To a world without understanding the standing of Jesus on the Mount of Olives as a man may not have appeared a very significant thing. But from an eternal point of view it signalled both the coming destruction of Jerusalem, and the beginning of the momentous events which were to shake the world. From there He would go to the cross, defeating all the powers of darkness, and then to the throne of Heaven. And from that moment the invasion of the world by His forces driven on by the Holy Spirit would begin, even while the people of God were regularly facing devastation.
We may also see another significance in what happens to the Mount of Olives. It divides in two, one half to the north and the other to the south. Thus the olive trees are propelled some in the one direction (towards the north – Syrian Antioch and beyond) and some in the other (towards the south – towards Egypt). Both Antioch and Egypt would become bastions of the people of God.
If we are to see the olive trees as His anointed ones in terms of chapter 4, then it would indicate that His servants (His anointed ones, the olive trees, compare Zec 4:3; Zec 4:12; Zec 4:14) were despatched with His word both north and south, while those who flee through the valley go eastwards and westward, driven on by the divine earthquake which sent them forth, fleeing from a doomed Jerusalem with the good news of Christ (Zec 14:4-6). And the way is made level before them to facilitate their task.
The subsequent verses confirm this interpretation. These servants of God took with them into the darkness of the nations the light of the world, a continuing light that would never cease (Zec 14:6-7; Isa 42:6; Isa 49:6), and living waters went out from Jerusalem to a thirsty and needy world (Zec 14:8; Ezekiel 47; Joh 7:37-39). And the result would be that YHWH would become King over all the earth, over His invisible kingdom.
Here then has begun the final great confrontation between man and God. Two sides drawn up for battle (as in Revelation 19) and ‘Jerusalem’ in the midst, a confrontation which has taken place throughout history and will intensify in the last days. It began with the Messiah standing on the Mount of Olives, it will end with Him coming with His angels (Revelation 19).
‘Jerusalem’. We are faced here again with the meaning and significance of ‘Jerusalem’. As we have already observed, to the prophets the future apocalyptic Jerusalem was an idea. To interpret it as simply meaning Jerusalem as inhabited at some period in history is to miss the grand idea here, and to ignore the definitely apocalyptic nature of this passage. Consider for example the cessation of day and night (Zec 14:7) and the cessation of the curse (Zec 14:11). In Revelation no night and no curse indicates the eternal kingdom (Rev 22:3; Rev 22:5). Here it has in mind God’s permanent light shining on His people and their deliverance from the curse put on Adam. So half of ‘Jerusalem’ is to suffer the indignities of captivity. The other half is to continue unharmed. It pictures both the Jerusalem judged by God as in 70 AD, and the Jerusalem that would take God’s message out to the world as in Acts 1-12, suffering yet triumphant (just as it portrayed the exiles in Babylon – Zec 2:7).
The prophet thus here has in mind ‘the end battle’, commencing in the time of the Messiah, as it goes on for two thousand years. YHWH against the great enemy, the world (and the one who lies behind the world – 1Jn 5:19). The fact that it is ‘all nations’ that are gathered together as one against Jerusalem is further evidence of that (‘you shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake’ – Mar 13:13). This end battle commenced with the first coming of Christ and will continue to the end.
There was no way Zechariah could represent this in his day except as centring on Jerusalem, for to him it was Jerusalem that was the centre of God’s revelation to man and of man’s approach to God. To him if man was to attack God and His people it could only be by attacking Jerusalem. But what this really meant to him was that it was what represented God in the world that was subject to this attack.
As we have pointed out already, the prophets, who had nothing to say of an afterlife (with rare exceptions – and even then it was minimal – Isa 26:19; Dan 12:2), and could have no conception of a worldwide people of God established around the world in large numbers, looked ahead to a world divided into two, Jerusalem, representing the people of God, both false and true, and the truth of God, and the worship of God, and the nations of the world representing those who were against God. Here then Jerusalem depicts the true people of God, and all that stands for God against the world. It could indeed be seen as ‘God’s kingdom’ at odds with the world. We can compare how God’s people are depicted as a city in Rev 21:2 (as the bride of Christ).
Had they known Jesus’ teaching of ‘the Rule (or kingship) of God’ over His people, in the world, but invisible to the world, the prophets might have spoken differently. We, who can see the deeper significance of the Kingly Rule of God in the world, an invisible kingdom made up of all those who are truly His, battling with the world around, can the better understand what the picture is depicting. But the prophets had to portray it in semi-apocalyptic terms.
So the picture is of the great battle for the world’s soul. God and His people and His kingdom on one side and the world on the other. And we have in this verse the clear warning that suffering and conflict will endure right to the end.
There may also be in it the idea that even to the end His people will not have an easy time, for even to the end the people of God will see their ‘spoil’ taken from them and divided up, and many of the people of God will be subject to attack and will face vile treatment. Their property will be subject to seizure and destruction, their womenfolk will be treated as the prey of the world, and they will be subject to bondage and servitude.
But the fact that ‘the residue will not be cut off from the city’ reveals the symbolic nature of the description. All will suffer, but not all will suffer equally. Some will live in countries where they are in bondage and struggle to maintain their faith. Others will live where God is at least externally honoured and will enjoy the blessed atmosphere of ‘Jerusalem’.
History has revealed the truth of these words. Many have suffered and endured dreadful things for the name of Christ and of God. The world has ever been their enemy, and they have as it were been taken into the enemies’ camp. Others have had a much more pleasant and undemanding time, although enduring their own battles. And we have reason to believe, as Paul had, that things may well get worse before the end (2Ti 3:1-5).
But in the face of it all the people of God can hold up their heads for in the invisible world God has already triumphed, and this triumph will now be depicted. And in the end God will triumph in the visible world too when He comes to judge the world.
‘Then will YHWH go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet will stand in that day on the mountain of olive trees, which is before Jerusalem on the East. And the mountain of olive trees will cleave in the midst of it towards the east and towards the west, and there will be a very great valley. And half of the mountain will remove towards the north, and half of it towards the south.’
‘And YHWH will go forth–’. Note the comparison. Just as His people have ‘gone forth’ into captivity so YHWH ‘goes forth’ to fight on their behalf. He sees their need and their slavery and their weakness and He marches forward to deliver them.
This vivid picture sees YHWH Himself as coming on behalf of His people to fight against their enemies (compare Zec 9:14-15). It is reasonable to assume that this activity connects with the coming of the Messiah and the pouring out of the Spirit in Zec 12:6 to Zec 13:1. That is how He goes forth. We have no real grounds for transferring this picture to the second coming of Jesus Christ. The prophet intends us to see here YHWH in all the fullness of His being.
‘YHWH will go forth and fight.’ The crucifixion of Jesus and His resurrection is regularly set forth as a fight and a battle. By it He led a host of captives (Eph 4:8), He made a show of principalities and powers, triumphing over them in the cross (Col 2:15). (‘Principalities and powers’ means ‘the authorities’, both in heaven and on earth (Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12; Tit 3:1). And YHWH was with Him. And that fight would continue through His church. We are to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ (2Ti 2:3). We are to stand firm clothed in the armour of God (Eph 6:10-18).
‘As in the day of battle.’ This looks back to all the times when God has delivered His people. It includes the victory at the Red Sea and subsequent ‘battles’ in possessing the land, the victory of Joshua when the sun ‘stood still’, the victories of David including the vanquishing of Goliath, the slaying of the Assyrians at the siege of Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah, and many others.
‘His feet will stand in that day on the mountain of olive trees.’ This is a powerful anthropomorphism to denote His personal presence in a new way. He no longer rides His chariot throne in the heavens as in Ezekiel but has come to earth in order to act powerfully and effectively. YHWH Himself is here, not enthroned but standing ready for action. It is interesting to recognise that He is not seen as on the Temple Mount. The Temple has been abandoned. In Zechariah’s mind may have been the time when the angel of YHWH appeared at the threshing floor of Araunah (2Sa 24:16). But there the anger was against Jerusalem, here it is against the nations of the world.
‘The mountain of olive trees.’ Reference to the mountain of olive trees may well have in mind the two olive trees in Zec 4:3 which represented the two anointed by God. But now instead of just two olive trees (‘anointed persons’) there are a multitude, a whole mountainful of olive trees, surrounding YHWH, ready to go forth in the service of YHWH, bearing the living water to the world (Zec 14:8).
This mountain may also have been chosen specifically to avoid suggestion that there is reference to the Temple mount. The Temple is no longer significant. Where God acts is thus described as ‘before Jerusalem on the East’ (compare Eze 11:23). It is surely significant that the prophet who so emphasised the rebuilding of the Temple in his own day (chapter 6) does not mention the Temple in his eschatological references, except by possible inference and even then with a widened meaning (Zec 14:20-21). Here he has a wider view of God’s activities. He does not want us to see YHWH as descending into His Temple or restricted to the Temple but as descending to act in the world through His olive trees, His anointed people.
Nor must we be unmindful that it was on the Mount of Olives that Jesus sat and taught His disciples of the times to come leading up to the end of time (Mat 24:3; Mar 13:3). It was a favourite place of His to which He went often to commune with His Father (Joh 8:1; Luk 22:39), including on that last fateful night when He prayed in His agony and won His battle against evil. Was this because He saw it as symbolising, as here, the triumph of God’s truth, and the place of God’s victory? Can we not say that when Jesus agonised on the Mount of Olives it was the prelude to YHWH Himself coming in His mighty power to act to change the world?
‘And the mountain of olive trees shall cleave in the middle of it.’ The valley that results goes from east to west, and the mountain moves towards north and south. Is this not an example of the mountains being made low and the valleys exalted (Isa 40:4) preparing the way for YHWH? Or is the aim to demonstrate that the olive trees, the anointed ones of YHWH, will go both north and south, in the directions of Mesopotamia and Egypt, the most prominent nations in their world.
But the rending of mountains can be seen as a sign depicting His great anger, see, for example, Nah 1:5-6; Eze 38:19-21 and His great power (Hab 3:6). So here God demonstrates His anger and power to the nations who are ‘gathered against Jerusalem’, depicted in the rending of the mountain and in the sending out of His messengers thereby. He is angry because of their sin and rebellion.
There is no suggestion that this valley reaches as far as the sea. Only the mountain of olive trees is described as being affected. It is a symbol not a description of geological effects.
So we are probably to see the splitting of the mountain of olive trees as a parable and sign, and therefore as picturing the spiritual earthquake that took place at the first coming of Christ, when He defeated the powers of darkness. It was a time of earthquakes. A great physical earthquake did tear the Temple curtain in two, connected with the resurrection of many ‘saints who slept’ (Mat 27:51-52). And the shape of the world was certainly transformed.
Zec 14:5 which follows has difficulties in translation for two possible translations are feasible depending on the meaning of the word ‘nstm’ which is repeated three times.
First Option.
Zec 14:5
(1) ‘And the valley of my mountains will be stopped up. For the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel (or ‘reach the side of it’). Yes, it shall be stopped up as it was stopped up from the face of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah.’
The verb nstm can be translated ‘flee’ or ‘stopped up’ depending on the pronunciation in the original (and thus on the pointing, i.e. the providing of vowels which took place in written form long after the time of Christ). The meaning ‘stopped up’ may be read here. This was the reading that lay behind the rendering in the Septuagint, the major Greek Old Testament. The point would then be that the rending of the mountain is under YHWH’s control and the subsequent valley is stopped up at His behest before it tears apart the whole world. We should note that in Isa 40:4 the way was to be prepared for the Gospel by valleys being filled in and mountains being brought low.
The limit is set at Azel, an unknown but clearly limited destination. Alternately ‘will reach Azel’ may be translated ‘will reach the side of it’. The assurance is then given that the split will not be much greater than occurred in the earthquake in the days of Uzziah. Thus YHWH’s anger is revealed as being under tight control. There are of course now two mountains, which explains the plural for mountains.
Josephus refers to the earthquake in the time of Uzziah and its effects as follows: ‘And before the city, at a place called Eroge, half the mountain broke off from the rest on the west, and rolled itself four furlongs, and stood still at the east mountain, till the roads, as well as the king’s gardens, were spoiled by the obstruction’ (Antiquities 9:10:4). Thus there was clearly a Jewish tradition of such an event which Zechariah probably calls on.
Second Option.
Alternately we may read:
Zec 14:5
(2) ‘And you will flee by the valley of my mountains. For the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel. Yes, you will flee, just as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.’
This alternative could indicate a flight which brings out the awe and majesty of YHWH. All flee before Him. Or it may mean that a way of passage had been made for the dwellers in Jerusalem so that they may flee, taking the Gospel with them. For this compare Act 8:1. The fleeing from Jerusalem may then indicate the going out into the world with the truth of God caused by God’s action. Compare previous references to such flight (Zec 2:6; Isa 48:20) although those were from Babylon.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Zec 14:3. As when he fought Literally, According to the day of his fighting; that is, with thunder and lightning, storms of wind and hail, earthquakes, &c. See Psa 18:7-16. Hab 3:5; Hab 3:19.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Zec 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Ver. 3. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations ] Some read it, among those nations; he shall be the Archistrategus, the commander-in-chief of those armies, which he hath brought together against Jerusalem, to revenge upon her the quarrel of his covenant. But I like the other way better; because it is purposely spoken for the comfort of saints in evil times. When therefore there is dignus vindice nodus, et periculum par animo Alexandri, as he was wont to say, when it is time for God to arise, that his enemies may be scattered, and those that hate him flee before him; he will arise and have mercy upon Zion; he will awake, as in the days of old; he will come forth from his holy place to the rescue of his praying people. “There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah,” Psa 76:3 . There he appeared “more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.” There he did, and there he will; for this is a common and current Scriptural medium. God shall fight against those nations, the very rod of his wrath, Isa 10:9 ; which, after he hath worn to the stump, he will cast it into the fire. The wicked are called God’s sword, Psa 17:13 . But it will fall out with them as with that sword which Hector gave Ajax: which as long as he used it against his enemies it served for help and defence; but after he began to abase it to the harm of harmless beasts it turned into his own bowels.
As when he fought in the day of battle
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
as = just as,
fought. Compare Jos 10:14.
battle = close conflict. Not the same word as in Zec 14:2. Hebrew. kerab. First occurance. 2Sa 17:11.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Zec 2:8, Zec 2:9, Zec 10:4, Zec 10:5, Zec 12:2-6, Zec 12:9, Isa 63:1-6, Isa 66:15, Isa 66:16, Dan 2:34, Dan 2:35, Dan 2:44, Dan 2:45, Joe 3:2, Joe 3:9-17, Zep 3:19, Hag 2:21, Hag 2:22, Rev 6:4-17, Rev 8:7-13
as: Exo 15:1-6, Jos 10:42, 2Ch 20:15
Reciprocal: Exo 15:7 – them that 2Sa 10:15 – gathered 2Sa 11:1 – David sent 1Ch 5:22 – the war was of God Neh 4:20 – our God Isa 14:2 – whose captives they were Isa 31:4 – so shall Isa 34:2 – the indignation Isa 49:25 – I will contend Isa 54:15 – shall fall Eze 5:8 – even I Eze 30:3 – the time Eze 38:7 – General Eze 38:15 – and many Hos 10:10 – and the Joe 3:11 – Assemble Mic 4:3 – and rebuke Zep 3:8 – to gather Zec 9:14 – seen Zec 12:3 – in that Zec 14:12 – the plague wherewith Zec 14:21 – in the Mat 21:41 – He will Mat 24:7 – nation shall Mat 24:21 – General Luk 21:10 – Nation shall Rev 11:18 – the nations Rev 16:16 – he
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Zec 14:3. This fight will be with the “sword of the Spirit” (Eph 6:17).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Zec 14:3. Then shall the Lord After he hath sufficiently punished Jerusalem and the rest of the Jewish nations; go forth Out of his holy place, as a warrior prepared for battle. This is spoken after the manner of men; and fight against those nations Which had taken and destroyed Jerusalem, and oppressed his people. As when he fought in the day of battle As in those days when he evidently fought for his people. The meaning is, that in after times God would discomfit and destroy the posterity of these nations, namely, the Roman idolaters and those under their empire; that when he had made use of them as a scourge to his people, he would execute his judgments upon them, as when he fought against the enemies of his church formerly, the Egyptians, Canaanites, and others. Observe here, reader, the instruments of Gods wrath will themselves be made the objects of it; for it will come to their turn to drink of the cup of trembling; and whom God fights against, he will be sure to overcome. It is observable that the Roman empire never flourished after the destruction of Jerusalem as it had done before; but God evidently fought against it, and against all the nations under its dominion, or in alliance with it, till at last it was subverted and destroyed, its richest cities taken and plundered, and its various provinces ravaged by the Goths and Vandals, and other barbarous invaders.
Zec 14:4-5, And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, &c. It is very difficult to say to what time this prediction refers, or what is its precise meaning. Commentators are not at all agreed on the subject. Some think the passage refers to the time immediately subsequent to the destruction of Jerusalem, foretold in Zec 14:1-2, and that it is to be understood figuratively, namely, 1st, That by the Lords standing before Jerusalem on the east, is meant, his drawing peculiarly near to his church and people, here, as frequently elsewhere, signified by Jerusalem; and that he would be at hand to succour and save them; and would give success to, and be manifested in, the gospel preached by his apostles, who received their commission on that mount before Christs ascension. 2d, That by the cleaving of the mount of Olives in the midst, toward the east and toward the west, so as to make a very great valley, is meant the removing of the ceremonial law, which was like an aspiring mountain, or partition wall, between the Jews and Gentiles, and a great obstruction to the conversion of the latter, and their entrance into the church of God: but that, by the destruction of Jerusalem, this mountain should be made to cleave, as it were, in the midst, this partition wall be broken down, and Gods church, the spiritual Jerusalem, made of easy access to the Gentiles. Thus the way of the Lord would be prepared, every mountain and hill brought low, and a plain and pleasant valley, or open way of communication, be found in the place of them: see Isa 40:4. 3d, That by the valley of the mountains, is meant the gospel church, to which, as a place of refuge, many of the Jews should flee, as people fled formerly from before the earthquake here mentioned, and should hasten into it together with the Gentiles. 4th, That by this valley reaching to Azal, or, to the separate place, as the word signifies, is signified that the privileges of the church should not be limited, as formerly, to any particular nation, or people, but should be extended to all those who, in obedience to the call of God, should come out from the world, separate themselves from sinners, devote themselves to God, and become his peculiar people. And, 5th, That by the Lords coming, and all his saints with him, is signified the spiritual coming and extension of his kingdom, whereby a multitude of converts, both of Jewish and Gentile extraction, should be made, who, through faith working by love, should become saints, or holy persons. This, in substance, seems to be Henrys view of the passage, as it is that of many others.
Lowth, on the other hand, interprets it literally, as follows: His feet shall stand upon the mount of Olives The glory of the Lord, that is, the Shechinah, or symbol of Gods presence, when it departed from the city and temple, settled itself upon the mount of Olives, Eze 11:23; so when God shall return to Jerusalem, [that is, to Jerusalem rebuilt and inhabited by the converted Jews restored to their own land, at the beginning of the millennium,] and make it the seat of his presence again, it [the Shechinah] shall return by the same way it departed, Eze 43:2. We may add, that when our Lord ascended from the mourn of Olives, the angels told his disciples, he should come again in like manner, that is, in a visible and glorious appearance, at the same place, Act 1:11-12. And the mount of Olives shall cleave, &c. By an earthquake, such as was in the time of King Uzziah: see Amo 1:1. The middle of mount Olivet shall cleave asunder, and sink into a deep valley, so as to leave the two points, or tops of the hill, north and south, still standing. For mount Olivet, as we learn from Maundrell, had three tops, or eminences; one on the north side, another on the south, and a third in the middle, from whence Christ ascended, and where the Christians in after times erected a cross, in memory of his ascension there. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains When ye see the mount of Olives cleave asunder, ye shall flee toward the valley for fear. The margin reads, The valley of my mountains, which may be understood of Zion and Moriah; but the Chaldee and LXX. read, The valley of my mountains shall be filled up; for the valley of the mountains shall join even to Azal, it shall even be filled up, as it was by the earthquake in the days of Uzziah. Josephus writes, (Ant. Jud., lib. 9. cap. 10,) That before the city, at a place called , [or the cleft,] one half of the mountain, on the western side, was broken off, and having rolled four furlongs toward the eastern mountain, stopped, so that the roads were choked up, and the kings gardens. And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints [or holy ones] with thee Or with him, as the Chaldee and LXX. read. The words, Lowth adds, are a description of Christs coming to judgment, attended with all the holy angels, as the writers of the New Testament express it, the word , translated saints, often signifying angels: see Deu 33:2; so the word saints seems to be used 1Th 3:13; and St. Jdg 1:14, quoting the prophecy of Enoch, says, The Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, or holy ones: a place exactly parallel with this of the text.
One observation seems needful to be made here: if the visible and personal coming of Christ be intended in these verses, it certainly cannot be his coming to raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness, because that view of the passage would not, by any means, be consistent with what is said in the two next verses concerning the continually increasing light of knowledge, holiness, and happiness in the gospel church, till, at length, at evening time it shall be quite light: but it must rather be understood of his coming to introduce, establish, and perfect his millennial reign, believed in and expected generally in the first Christian church. The reader will consider these different interpretations, and will of course adopt that which he thinks the most probable.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he {b} fought in the day of battle.
(b) As your fathers and you have had experience both at the Red Sea, and at all other times.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Yahweh would then take the role of the divine warrior and fight for His people Israel (cf. Zec 1:3; Zechariah 9; Zec 10:4-5; Zec 12:1-9). He had done this previously in the Exodus and on numerous other occasions (cf. Exo 14:13-14; Jos 10:14; Jos 23:3; Jdg 4:15; 2Ch 20:15).
"In their quest for world peace, some denominations have removed the ’militant songs’ from their hymnals, so that a new generation is growing up knowing nothing about ’fighting the good fight of faith’ or worshiping a Savior who will one day meet the nations of the world in battle (Rev 19:11-21)." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 471.]
"The actual order of events in this day peculiarly the Lord’s is: (1) the nations assembled to war against Jerusalem (Zec 14:2); (2) the city captured and plundered, etc. (Zec 14:2); (3) the spoil of the city divided within its walls (Zec 14:1); (4) the Lord’s intervention (Zec 14:3)." [Note: Unger, p. 245.]