Zechariah 12:6

Zec 12:6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, [even] in Jerusalem.

Ver. 6. In that day will I make the governors, &c.] This is the third similitude, whereof the Scripture is full; according to that, I will open my mouth in parables. These are of excellent use to adorn and explain; and yet they are evermore inferior to the matter in hand. They are borrowed from things well known and easy to be conceived; as here from a hearth of fire among wood; now we can all tell how great a matter (or wood) a little fire kindleth, Jas 3:5. When Nero, for his pleasure’s sake, set Rome on fire, among other stately buildings that were quickly burnt down, the circus or race yard was one, being about half a mile in length, of an oval form, with rows of seats one above another, capable of at least 150,000 spectators, without uncivil shoulderings. "As the fire burneth a wood; and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; so persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm," saith the Church, Psa 83:14-15. Thus they prayed, and thus it is here promised; and was accordingly performed in those first wars of the Maccabees; as appeareth in the first book of their story, and in Josephus. Diodati and others understand this text to be the apostles and evangelists, who should fill the world with wars and dissensions by preaching the gospel, Luk 12:49, whereby the enemies should be ruined and the Church re-established, Oba 1:18, through the spirit of judgment and of burning, Isa 4:4. To which purpose Chrysostem saith, that Peter was a man made of fire walking among stubble. Basil was compared to a pillar of fire. John Baptist is by our Saviour said to be a burning and a shining lamp. And Elijah (in whose spirit the Baptist came) was a man of that transcendent zeal, that to heighten the expression thereof some have legended of him, that when he drew his mother’s breasts he was seen to suck in fire.

And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place] sc. Where she was built at first, and not in another near place, as Tyre was; and Rome is at this day quite off her old seven hills; so that a man may look for Rome in Rome. And Jerusalem that now is hath Mount Calvary in the very midst of it (which was anciently without the city), and not one hundred families of Jews are therein to be found. That they shall one day cast out therehence Gog and Magog, inhabit it in the old place, and have excellent strength and valour ministered by God to them, all equally for their common defence, none lifting up themselves above another, but all alike ascribing the glory unto God, is concluded by some and those not inconsiderable divines out of this and the following verses.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Zec 12:6. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire, &c. — The word may be rendered, a pot. The Arabs, according to Harmer, (vol. 1. p. 233,) make a fire in a great stone pitcher, and when it is heated, spread paste upon it, which is baked almost in an instant. By a hearth of fire, however, here may be meant, a firebrand taken from the hearth, which, though small, will set other things on fire, and even whole cities. This is thought by some to be a very apt resemblance of the mischief done by the small forces of the Jews, under Judas Maccabæus, to the armies of Antiochus. It may, however, be a resemblance equally, and even more apt, of the destruction made of Gog and Magog, in the latter days, by the Jews restored to their own land. And they shall devour all the people round about — They shall destroy all the enemies that annoy them; on the right hand and on the left — That is, on the south and on the north: see note on Eze 16:46. The Targum explains the right hand, and the left, of the south and the north. And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place — Shall be situated and inhabited on the very spot where she formerly stood: see note on Zec 14:10.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12:6 flame (literally firepan): Bronze or gold firepans were used to carry hot coals to and from the sacrificial altars of the Tabernacle and the Temple (Exod 27:3; 1 Kgs 7:50). God would set Israel among the nations like a burning firepan to destroy or purify them.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

On "governors of Judah," see on Zac 9:7.

hearth--or pan.

torch . . . in a sheaf--Though small, it shall consume the many foes around. One prophet supplements the other. Thus Isa. 29:1-24; Joel 3:1-21; Zec. 12:1-14:21, describe more Antichrist's army than himself. Daniel represents him as a horn growing out of the fourth beast or fourth kingdom; St. John, as a separate beast having an individual existence. Daniel dwells on his worldly conquests as a king; St. John, more on his spiritual tyranny, whence he adds a second beast, the false prophet coming in a semblance of spirituality. What is briefly described by one is more fully prophesied by the other [ROOS].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 6. Jerusalem shall be inhabited again] This seems to refer to the future conversion of the Jews, and their "return to their own land."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He adds another metaphor for the sake of a further confirmation; for he says, that the chiefs of Judah would be like a melting pot: some render it a hearth, but improperly and without meaning. He afterwards compares them to a flaming torch, and heathen nations to wood and stubble or chaff. The Spirit speaks thus also in other places; and the reason is to be noticed; for when the ungodly assail the Church of God, all things seem to threaten its ruin; but God declares that they shall be like chaff or wood. “The house of Israel,” says Isaiah, “shall be a flaming fire, and shall consume all the wood of the forest:” so also in this place, “There shall be indeed a great host of enemies, assembled against Israel; but the Lord will consume them, for he will be like fire in the midst of his people, and his people also shall be through the secret power of the Spirit like a burning pot or a torch, which shall consume the chaff, in which there is nothing substantial.”

But the Prophet shows again that the deliverance of the Church is ever wonderful: and hence foolishly do they act who rely on human and earthly instrumentality, and wilfully bind God to their own ways; for whenever God promises to be their deliverer, their inquiry is, “But how can this be? whence will come this aid to us? how will the hand of the Lord be stretched forth to us? whence will he gather his army?” Inasmuch then as we are wont thus anxiously to inquire, and thus drive away from us the aid of God, let this truth, taught by the Prophet, be borne in mind, — that though enemies in great numbers may come upon us, they shall yet be like a heap of wood, and we like fire; for though we have no strength, yet the Lord by his hidden favor will cause that our enemies shall even, by coming nigh us, be consumed.

To the same purpose is the next similitude, — that they would be a torch in handfuls of chaff; for here also the singular number is used for the plural. Then follows an explanation, Consume shall they on the right hand, and on the left, all nations around. Zechariah seems here to ascribe an insatiable cruelty, and a revengeful passion to the faithful, who yet are to be influenced by a meek spirit, so that they may imitate their heavenly Father. But here he speaks not of their disposition and feeling, but only shows, that all the ungodly shall be frustrated in their expectation of success, and not only so, but that they shall also be destroyed. The more furiously then they assail the Church, the more sudden shall be their destruction; for though the faithful may wish to spare them, yet God, the righteous judge, will not spare them. In short, the work of God himself, as in other places, is ascribed to the Church.

In the last place he declares, that Jerusalem shall stand in its own place, where it was. There is here a sort of repetition; and it was made, because enemies thought, as we have already stated, that they could destroy Jerusalem so as wholly to obliterate it: but the Prophet on the other hand says, that it would be established in its own place, because God had chosen it as the place where he purposed to be worshipped, and he had chosen it, as it is often said by Moses, to commemorate his own name. In a word, he intimates, that the Church would be perpetually established: though all mortals conspired for its ruin and assailed it on every side, yet the sanctuary of God, as he had promised, would continue there still, even to the advent of Christ; for then, we know, Jerusalem was to be wholly destroyed, together with the temple, as an end was to come on all these things, and the world was to be renewed.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(6) Comp. Oba_1:18.

People.—Better, nations. (Comp. Zec_11:10.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. a hearth] Rather, pan. The word is used in 1Sa_2:14 of a “pan,” or cooking vessel. Elsewhere it is a bason or laver, Exo_30:18; Exo_30:28; 1Ki_7:38; and once a pulpit or platform, 2Ch_6:13. Here the figure would seem to be of a chafing-pan full of fire set among wood or faggots.

in a sheaf] among sheaves, R. V.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood,.... As a large hearth of fire, with wood all about it, devours and consumes it; so shall the governors of Judah be to the nations that shall come up against Jerusalem. The Targum renders it,

"as a garment of fire among wood:''

and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; of wheat, which presently destroys it; see Oba 1:18,

and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left; on the south and on the north, as the Targum interprets it. The phrase denotes the utter destruction of the people on all sides:

and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem; upon that very spot of ground which was formerly called Jerusalem shall the city be built again, and inhabited; and shall continue, notwithstanding the attempts of all the nations of the earth to destroy it; see Jer 30:18.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I will make the governors of Judah like a hearth - or “cauldron” of fire large, broad, deep, and full of fire, among the wood which is prepared for burning, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf The fire could not kindle the wood or the sheaf, of itself, unless applied to it. All is of the agency of God: “I will make.”

Ribera: “He foretells the increase of the Church, which by such persecutions shall not be diminished, but shall be marvelously increased. The preachers of the Church shall raise up all the peoples round about, shall destroy all unbelief, and shall kindle the hearts of hearers with the fire of the divine word.” “On the right hand and on the left.” Ribera: “He indicates the strength and success of the preachers, whom no one can resist nor hinder,” as our Lord says, “I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist” Luk 21:15.

And Jerusalem shall again - Rather, “yet, be inhabited.” “Yet” is a sort of burden in Zechariah’s prophecies . Osorius: “They at once burned up by the flame all the defilement of vices, and kindled the minds of people with the torch of divine love; at once consumed the enemy and cast a heavenly fire into the human heart: ‘yet;’ in despite of all appearances, of all which is against her. ‘She shall yet dwell in her own place in Jerusalem;’ for, however the waves of this world chafe and lash themselves into foam against her, they break themselves, not her; as soon as they have reached their utmost height, they fall back; if they toss themselves, and, for a moment, hide her light, they fall down at all sides, and the ray shines out, steady as before; for she is ‘founded on a rock,’ against which ‘the gates of hell’ should not ‘prevail’ Mat 16:18.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Furnace. Septuagint, "firebrand among wood, and as a burning lamp amid straw." (Haydock) --- Left. The Samaritans shall fall as well as the Idumeans. --- Place. The temple and city had been deserted, while the troops of Epiphanes occupied the citadel, 1 Machabees iii. 45., and iv. 38.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The governors: see Zec 12:5.

Like a hearth of fire; a hearth on which fire is thoroughly kindled.

Among the wood; the more is laid on, the more is consumed and burnt up: so the enemies of Judah and Jerusalem shall be, their multitudes shall no more save themselves than much wood cast on a great fire in the hearth can preserve itself.

Like a torch of fire in a sheaf; which immediately sets the whole sheaf on fire, and it is consumed.

They shall devour, & c.; the governors of Judah with their handful of men shall thus surely and speedily consume their enemies which set upon them.

Jerusalem shall be inhabited again; as indeed it was, and continued so till Christ’s death, and forty years after; for of these times doth the prophet speak, and not of times still to come.

In her own place; not built as Nineveh, Tyre, Babylon, or Rome, in some place near to the old cities of that name, but in the very same place where old Jerusalem did, shall re-edified Jerusalem again stand.

Even in Jerusalem; so you shall find Jerusalem in Jerusalem; or thus, spiritual Jerusalem shall be that Jerusalem in which you ought to look, and where you shall find the old typical Jerusalem, which though it lie waste, and I fear must never be built, yet is in more ample manner built up in the church, spiritual Jerusalem.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. Jehovah will use the forces of Judah to complete the defeat of the nations.

Governors — As in Zec_12:5.

Like an hearth — Better, R.V., “like a pan.” Judah will utterly destroy the hostile nations as fire devours wood or dry sheaves.

Jerusalem shall be inhabited again — R.V., more literally, “shall yet again dwell in their own place.” If the last clause, “even in Jerusalem,” is original, the name is used first of the inhabitants, then of the city. The inhabitants shall again dwell in the city. Since there is no reference to a deportation some have taken dwell as equivalent to dwell in peace. After the enemies are defeated the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall again dwell in peace. In several important manuscripts of LXX. “even in Jerusalem” is omitted; it may be an accidental repetition. If it is omitted the thought is that Jerusalem will remain unshaken by any of the events just described.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A hearth; literally, a pan. The victory should be easy and complete. The chieftains of Judah shall be like a chafing dish full of fire set among dry faggots. (comp. Oba_1:18 Nah_1:10) In a sheaf; among sheaves. Jerusalem shall be inhabited again; rather, Jerusalem shall yet again dwell. Jerusalem is personified as a female. In spite of all the attacks of the enemy, who tried to destroy and remove her, she shall remain firm and unshaken in her own place. In Jerusalem, the centre of the theocracy where God has set her. So against the Church the gates of hell shall not prevail, and the persecutions which she suffers increase her stability and add to her numbers.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Like a hearth - A hearth on which fire is thoroughly kindled. In her own place - Not built as Nineveh, Babylon, or Rome, in some place near old cities, but in the very same place where old Jerusalem stood.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

This verse continues telling about the coming attack against Jerusalem and how God will rescue the city.

like firepots among wood ... standing grain

This simile means Yahweh will enable the leaders of Judah to be strong and able to lead the people to defeat their enemies. AT: "like firepots among stacked firewood ... unharvested stalks of grain standing in a field" (See: Simile)

firepots

clay pots in which ancient people often carried burning coals

flaming torch

a wooden stick that is burning at one end which gives light as one travels or carries fire somewhere

will consume all the surrounding peoples

Completely destroying the peoples is spoken of as if the people of Judah will "devour" them. AT: "will destroy the surrounding peoples" (See: Metaphor)

on their right and on their left

Here "right" and "left" represent every direction. AT: "in every direction" (See: Merism)

Jerusalem will again live in her own place

Here "Jerusalem" represents the people who live there. AT: "The people of Jerusalem will again live in their own city" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

kingdom of Judah

grain

consume

Jerusalem

life

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

I will make the princes of Judah They will return and wage war with those who brought them there.

as a fiery stove Like a great bonfire. The word כִּיוֹר is an expression of כִּירָה, a stove. So did Menahem (Machbereth, p. 109) classify it.

in its place lit. under it.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.