Zechariah 11:8

Verse Zechariah 11:8. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month] Taking this literally, some think the three shepherds mean the three Maccabees, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon; others, the three wicked high priests, Jason, Alcimus, and Menelaus; others, the three last princes of the Asmonean race, Alexander, Hyrcanus, and Antigonus.

Perhaps three orders may be intended:

1. The priesthood.

2. The dictatorship, including the Scribes, Pharisees, c.

3. The magistracy, the great sanhedrin, and the smaller councils.

These were all annihilated by the Roman conquest.