_GOD DEFENDETH HIS CHURCH. ZION IS EXHORTED TO REJOICE FOR THE COMING OF CHRIST AND HIS PEACEABLE KINGDOM. GOD'S PROMISES OF VICTORY AND DEFENCE._ _Before Christ 517._ THIS chapter begins with announcing the fate of the Syrians, Sidonians, and Philistines, contrasted with the better prospects of... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BURDEN, &C.— Houbigant renders these verses, _The burden,_ &c. _against the land of Hadrach, and against Damascus, which is opposite to it. For the Lord beholdeth all men, as well as the tribes of Israel;_ Zechariah 9:2. _Hamath also, its neighbour, and Tyre and Zidon, because it is very wise._... [ Continue Reading ]
AND TYRUS DID BUILD, &C.— It is very true, that Tyre did _build herself a strong-hold,_ for her situation was very strong in an island; and, besides the sea to defend her, she was fortified by a wall of 150 feet in height, and of a proportionable thickness. _She heaped up silver as the dust,_ being... [ Continue Reading ]
WILL SMITE HER POWER IN THE SEA— The Sidonians, (according to Diodorus Siculus,) on the approach of the army sent against them by Ochus king of Persia, first of all destroyed their shipping at sea; and then, retiring within the walls of their city, when they found they could hold out no longer, they... [ Continue Reading ]
ASHKELON SHALL SEE IT, &C.— "The cities of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, and Ekron, shall be very much terrified at the news of Tyre being destroyed; whence they hoped for succour against the enemy. Gaza was taken by Alexander after a siege of two months, ten thousand of the inhabitants were slai... [ Continue Reading ]
AND A BASTARD SHALL DWELL, &C.— _And a foreigner_ or _alien shall dwell,_ &c. Houbigant. _IN ASHDOD_— Ashdod, or Azotus, was burned and destroyed by Jonathan brother of Judas Maccabeus, and nearly eight thousand of its men burned or slain. Genesis 10:84. These were, probably, what was meant by "the... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I WILL TAKE AWAY HIS BLOOD, &C.— The Hebrews had a horror of all those who ate their food with the blood: this was expressly forbidden in the law. The meaning is, that when the cities here spoken of shall belong to the Hebrews, the Philistines shall observe the law of the Lord, and there shall n... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I WILL ENCAMP, &C.— _And I will inclose my house with a garrison, that none may pass by or repass; for no oppressor shall pass through them any longer, since now I look with mine eyes._ This alludes to the Maccabees, who were defenders of the house of God against Antiochus Epiphanes. They were a... [ Continue Reading ]
HE IS JUST, AND HAVING SALVATION— _The righteous one, and the Saviour._ After having foretold the victories of the Maccabees, the prophet in a sudden transport breaks forth into a joyful representation of the coming of the Messiah. _Behold, thy King cometh,_ &c. namely, that Messiah so often describ... [ Continue Reading ]
FROM SEA EVEN TO SEA, &C.— That is to say, _From the Mediterranean to the south sea; and from the river Euphrates,_ &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Zechariah 9:11_. It is more than probable, that the remaining part of this prophesy, to the end of the next chapter, relates to matters of which the time is not yet come. It is but reasonable to presume, that as the prediction follows that of the Messiah's coming, the accomplishment was meant to ta... [ Continue Reading ]
GREECE— That Javan, or Ion (for the Hebrew word יון may be sounded either way, accordingly as it is differently pointed) means Greece, anciently Ionia, having its name from Javan, or Ion, the son of Japhet, and grandson of Noah, is sufficiently made appear in Bochart. Geograph. Sacra, lib. iii. c. 3... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL BE SEEN OVER THEM— Leading them on and protecting them, as when they came out of Egypt. Exodus 13:21. _HIS ARROW SHALL GO FORTH AS THE LIGHTNING_— The lightnings are represented as the arrows of the Almighty, Psalms 18:14; Psalms 77:17 and he is here said to go forth like the lightning, scatt... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL DEVOUR, &C.— _They shall go and subdue with sling-stones; they shall drink blood as wine; they shall be wet_ [that is to say, with blood] _as bowls,—as the horns of the altar._ Houbigant.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THEY SHALL BE AS THE STONES OF A CROWN— Or rather, _as consecrated stones._ Both single stones, and heaps of stones set up by way of memorial, are frequently spoken of; and these might well be called נזר עבני _abnei nezer,_ as being _separated, set apart,_ or _consecrated_ to a particular use. T... [ Continue Reading ]