Bible Commentaries
Zechariah

I

INTRODUCTION – THE PROPHETS IN GENERAL

We now take up a new section of the Old Testament which, according to Hebrew classification of the books, is called the Later Prophets.

The literature on this section is abundant but largely radical in its nature. Therefore it is most difficult to find books on this section which we can commend to an English Bible student. Generally speaking, the old commentaries are safe but the student may read most of the modern books on the prophets with discrimination.

For the background there are two books which should be studied carefully. First, Wood’s Hebrew Monarchy, which is the best of its kind, since it not only gives a fine harmony of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, but also inserts the pertinent passages from the Psalms and the prophets in their chronological order. Second, Crockett’s Harmony of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, which is much more convenient than Wood’s Hebrew Monarchy, because of its size. This we use as a textbook in our studies of the Hebrew monarchy and the divided kingdom. In most instances the author accepts the chronology of this work by Crockett.

As to the commentaries, there are many among the older ones which are excellent, but only a few may be mentioned here.

First, the expository part of "The Pulpit Commentary" is generally sound and good. Second, the "Bible Commentary" is excellent, especially its introductions. It is conservative and practical for the average student of the English Bible, though its notes on archaeology are not up to date. Third, Hengstenberg is one of the author’s favorites. He is scholarly and conservative. Fourth, Pusey on the minor prophets is the best. He is also scholarly and conservative. Fifth, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown’s commentary is a good, brief, critical commentary.

Among the later writers on the prophets might be mentioned as valuable, Orelli’s Old Testament Prophecy, Elliott’s Old Testament Prophecy, Delitzsch’s Messianic Prophecies in Historical Succession and Beecher’s The Prophets and the Promise. Others will be named in connection with some of the books in this INTERPRETATION.

This period extends from Samuel to Malachi, a period of over seven hundred years. The special mission of the prophetic order was to serve as a counterpoise to the despotism of the monarch and to the formalism in the priest. A study of the history of this period reveals a strong tendency toward Oriental despotism on the part of the monarch and a very great degeneracy on the part of the priesthood. The immediate work of the prophet was to check the tendency to despotism on the part of the monarch by being God’s mouthpiece to the king, and to counteract the degeneracy of the priesthood by becoming the speakers for God, and to be the religious instructors of the people.

The word "prophet" is derived from a Greek word which is a translation of the Hebrew and means "bubbling over." The Creek word is prophetes, which is derived from the Greek pro and phanai, meaning "to speak for," i.e., to speak for another. So, etymologically the word, in its parts, expresses the following ideas: Pro means (1) "beforehand," (2) "in public," (3) "in behalf of," or "for"; phanai means "to speak." Hence the etymological meaning, "to speak for" or to speak for another. Therefore a prophet is "one who speaks to men, on behalf of God, the message he has received from God, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit." The message may relate to the past, present, or future, according to the principles of inspiration. If it relates to the future it is called predictive prophecy.

The words used for "prophet" are as follows:

(1) The Hebrew word nabhi the most common word in Hebrew for prophet, means a "speaker." The word of God came to the prophet and he spoke it to men. See Jeremiah 1:2; Jeremiah 1:11; Ezekiel 1:3 et multa al.

(2) A common word for "prophet" in the days of Samuel was ro’eh, which means a "seer," and is used to express the vision, insight, and foresight of the prophet. See 1 Samuel 9:9.

(3) The Hebrew word chozeh was used for an authoritative messenger, who received supernatural visions and so, was called a "seer." See Amos 1:1; Isaiah 1:1; Obadiah 1:1; Nehemiah 1:1.

(4) Several other terms were used to designate the prophet, such as "man of God," "servant of Jehovah," "messenger of Jehovah," et al.

The psychological process in the inspiration of the prophet is stated very clearly by Dr. Sampey, of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, as follows:

The canonical prophets claimed to be under the influence of the Spirit of God. Their message was from Jehovah. We cannot understand fully the psychology of the prophets when inspired. Their mental processes were stimulated and guided by the Spirit, who clothed them with power. Imagination, memory, and reason were no doubt heightened, as well as intuition and spiritual insight. The Spirit of God chose proper men for his purpose, and then turned to account all their powers. The mind of the prophet perhaps varied from the extreme of trance and ecstasy all the way to a quiet thoughtfulness over which the Holy Spirit preaided. Saul, wallowing on the ground under uncontrollable excitement, and Balaam, stalking forth with closed eyes to seek enchantments, are not fair specimens of prophets. The prophets had little in common with dancing and howling dervishes.

Many prophecies, or predictions, receive successive fulfilments, though there is a fulfilment higher and greater than all the rest. This we call the "perspective" of prophecy. In general, Orelli’s statement holds good: "A prophecy can only be regarded as fulfilled when the whole body of truth included in it has attained living realization."

1. The prophets before Moses and the biblical proof for each:

(1) Enoch (Judges 1:14 f.)

(2) Noah(2 Peter 2:5)

(3) Abraham and other patriarchs (Genesis 20:7; Genesis 27:27-29; 49)

2. The prophets in the age of Moses:

(1) Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18-22; Deuteronomy 34:10-12)

(2) Miriam and Aaron (Exodus 15:20; Num. 12)

(3) The seventy (Numbers 11:24-29)

(4) Balaam (Numbers 22-24)

(5) Joshua (Joshua 1; 23; 24)

3. The prophets in the period of the judges:

(1) Deborah (Judges 4-5)

(2) An unknown prophet in the days of Gideon (Judges 6:8)

(3) An unknown prophet in the days of Eli (1 Samuel 2:27-36).

4. The prophets from Samuel to the division of the kingdom:

(1) Samuel (1 Samuel 3:20, et al)

(2) Companies of prophets (1 Samuel 10:10-12; 1 Samuel 19:20-24)

(3) Gad (1 Samuel 22:5 et al)

(4) Nathan (2 Samuel 7-12)

(5) David (Psalms 110; 2; 22; Acts 2:30)

5. The prophets from the division of the kingdom to the time of Elijah:

(1) Ahijah of Shiloh (1 Kings 11:26-40)

(2) Man of God from Judah at Jeroboam’s altar (1 Kings 13:1)

(3) Shemaiah (1 Kings 12:21-24)

(4) Iddo the Seer (2 Chronicles 12:15)

(5) Azariah (2 Chronicles 15:1)

(6) Hanani {1 Chronicles 16:7-10)

(7) Jehu (2 Chronicles 19:1-3)

6. The prophets in the period of Elijah and Elisha:

(1) Elijah (1 Kings 17:1 -2 Kings 2-17)

(2) Micaiah (1 Kings 22:8)

(3) Unknown prophet (1 Kings 20)

(4) Jahaziel (2 Chronicles 20:14-17)

(5) Eliezer (2 Chronicles 20:37)

(6) Elisha (2 Kings 2-8)

There are three great periods of the canonical prophets, via: The Assyrian Period, the Chaldean Period, and the Persian Period. The canonical prophets are:

1. The Assyrian Period:

(1) Obadiah

(2) Joel

(3) Jonah

(4) Amos

(5) Hosea

(6) Isaiah

(7) Micah

(8) Nahum

2. The Chaldean Period:

(1) Zephaniah

(2) Habakkuk

(3) Jeremiah

(4) Ezekiel

(5) Daniel

3. The Persian Period:

(1) Haggai

(2) Zechariah

(3) Malachi

In the Assyrian period there appeared the schools of the prophets, Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the man of God in 2 Chronicles 25:2-10, the nameless prophet of 2 Chronicles 25:15-16, another Zechariah in 2 Chronicles 26:5; then follows Oded and Huldah, the prophetess. In the Chaldean and Persian Periods the canonical prophets alone appear and fill the foreground of the picture while the false prophets fill the background.

There are three distinct elements for which a student of the prophets should look. The first element is the message to the prophet’s own age. In order to understand this message as it was for the people of their own age, the student must get the background thereof, or the conditions in which they lived. The second element is that of prediction, or things foretold. In considering these we will find that many of them were immediately fulfilled, that others were fulfilled later and that many still await fulfilment. The third element to be looked for is the living message to our own age. They spoke the will of God and uttered age-abiding principles which have application now as surely as when they were first spoken. For these the student of the prophets should carefully look.

Certain things should be remembered in a study of the prophets:

1. The standpoint of the prophet was always that of the sovereignty of God. There are many tones in the prophecies. There is much thunder, yet very much of tenderness, but always in obedience to the vision of an enthroned God they uttered their messages.

2. Their protest against things which were contrary to the will of God was without compromise. They knew nothing of the word "expedient," but they knew a great deal of the word "obedient." They had but one thing to say to men, namely, that if, individually or incorporate, or national life, they were not living in submission to the will of God they were in the place of certain and irrevocable ruin.

3. Their intention was always that of bringing glory to the name of Jehovah. Their aim was to restore the people of God to the true relation to him in order that his name might be glorified.

4. With varying notes and emotions, every song raised by these prophets was a song of hope, a song which came out of their profound conviction that God could not be defeated, but that his purpose of love must come to ultimate accomplishment.

In the interpretation of prophecy it must be remembered:

1. The very nature of the prophet’s function made it necessary that his utterances should contain "dark sayings" and enigmas. He was a special messenger of the invisible king to uphold the constitution of his kingdom on earth. His message had regard to the principles, and administrative measures, of divine government, and it inevitably followed that it would often have to be couched in analogical language: in figures, symbols, parables, and allegories. This mode of teaching left the insincere, unbelieving, and formalist to confine themselves within the narrow limits of literalism, but it rewarded the patient and docile seeker of God with warning, enlightenment, and comfort, as we find so often in the teachings of our Lord.

2. A right understanding of the Pentateuch is indispensable to the proper construing of these "dark sayings." The law supplies the basis of the prophetic word, and the great mass of legal teaching was conveyed in the form of typical history and emblematic ordinances.

3. As time went on, the history of the nation gave birth to fresh illustrations of the character of God, and provided additional material for prophetic allegory.

In considering predictive prophecy there should be especially recognized:

1. The failure of the Chosen People.

2. The coming Messiah.

3. The establishment of the kingdom of God by the Messiah himself.

4. The final restoration of the Jews.

5. The Messiah’s kingdom must ultimately be established over the whole earth.

There is a special fitness in the arrangement of the prophetic books as we have them in the Hebrew Bible and in our English versions. The book of Isaiah ranges over the whole field of prophetic vision. Beginning with a reiteration of the terms of the Mosaic covenant and eliciting no signs of repentance it proceeds to record against the people a sentence of reprobation, then the instrument by which God’s chastisement should be inflicted is declared. Then describing the overthrow of Samaria and Judah’s extreme peril he assures Judah of a remnant of safety for all future time. He promises the coming one whose name should be "Immanuel," "Wonderful," etc., "a sure Foundation," "the Servant of the Lord," a new covenant and "a new heaven and a new earth." When we look at the breadth and grandeur of the vision of Isaiah we need no further reason for acquiescing in the existing order. All the rest of the prophets fall within this scope and present one harmonious plan of revelation.

To illustrate the one ruling purpose which pervades all the prophets, we take the book of Jonah. The history of Jonah’s mission proves:

1. That, if Israel failed in her mission to diffuse the grace of God over the whole world, God was able, if he so willed, to work by them even as reluctant agents, for the publishing of his word among the Gentiles.

2. That the ready reception of that word by the people of Nineveh was a pre-intimation of what was thereafter to take place on a larger scale.

3. That the sparing of Nineveh was an encouragement to Israel that they too would be spared, if they only repented.

4. That if, on the other hand, they should not repent, "the men of Nineveh would rise up in the judgment and condemn them."

5. That this reformation of the Ninevites made them the more suitable for being employed as "the rod of God’s anger," in the punishment of Israel.

6. That in all this there was nothing arbitrary; that the divine procedure was regulated throughout by the supreme rule of right, as illustrated in the cases of Sennacherib and Hezekiah, respectively, and in which is illustrated also the saying, "mercy rejoices against judgment."

Not a few have come forward in recent times purporting to be interpreters of the prophets, who do not so much as admit the possibility of such a thing as a genuine prophecy. The assumption rests on the contention that it is inconceivable that God should communicate to man any foreknowledge, or pre-vision, of future events. This doctrine is generally introduced as if it were an axiomatic truth, the answer to which is that it cannot be axiomatic since many who have been eminent for scientific ability, philosophic insight and practical intelligence have believed that such communication has actually taken place. Therefore it can have no claim to being an axiom. Neither is their assumption capable of proof, by either deduction or induction. For a deductive proof it would have to be shown) either that God has not the power to impart such knowledge, or that he did not purpose and will to do so. To assert the first is to limit the Almighty. To assert the second, a man must needs be himself omniscient. "Who hath known the mind of the Lord?" As to induction, it may be boldly affirmed that an inductive process, legitimately performed, on the facts supplied by the Bible, establishes incontestably that men have foretold future events which lay beyond human knowledge and which have found a most remarkable amount of verification in the history of Jesus Christ and the formation of Christendom.

These naturalistic interpreters have come to the conclusion that these prophecies are much later in date than is generally conceded. They do not agree among themselves but the general tendency among them is to place much of our canonical prophetic literature into post-exilic times. This is clearly the result of their reasoning from the mere assumption that it is incredible that God should reveal future events to man in our studies of the prophets we shall follow the chronological order as given in Sampey’s Syllabus. Each book will receive special attention in the interpretation as to authorship, date, etc.

QUESTIONS

1. What section of our Bible do we commence in these studies?

2. What can you say, in general, of the literature on this section?

3. What helps commended and what the special feature commended, or what the reservation in each case?

4. What the time limits of the prophetic period and what the special mission of the prophets?

5. What is the definition of the word "prophet"?

6. By what words or terms were the prophets known? Give an illustration of each.

7. What can you say of the psychological process in the inspiration of the prophets?

8. What can you say of prophecy and fulfilment, in general, and what says Orelli as to fulfilment of prophecy?

9. Who were the prophets before Moses and what the biblical proof?

10. Who were the prophets in the age of Moses and what the proof?

11. Who were the prophets in the period of the judges and what the proof?

12. Who were the prophets from Samuel to the division of the kingdom? Cite proof.

13. Who were the prophets from the division of the kingdom to the time of Elijah and what the proof?

14. Who were the prophets in the period of Elijah and Elisha and what the proof?

15. What three great periods of the canonical prophets and who the canonical prophets of each of these periods?

16. What other prophets contemporary with the canonical prophets?

17. What the three distinct elements for which a student of the prophets should look?

18. What certain things should be remembered in a study of the prophets?

19. What important considerations in the interpretation of prophecy?

20. In considering predictive prophecy what may especially be recognized?

21. What are the special fitness in the arrangement of the prophetic books as we have them in the Hebrew Bible and in our English versions?

22. Illustrate the one ruling purpose which pervades all the prophets by the book of Jonah.

23. What are the naturalistic speculation with reference to this view and what the reply to such contention?

24. To what conclusion have these naturalistic interpreters come with respect to the date of many of these prophecies?

25. What was the order that we shall follow in our studies of the prophets?