Zechariah 9:1, commentary and pictures

The verse opens the final section of the book, chapters 9-14, which stands apart from the earlier chapters in historical setting, style, and wording and resembles Jeremiah. Whether Jeremiah or Zechariah wrote those chapters is disputed, and that decision determines whether they predate or follow the return from Babylon, affecting how some promises are dated and interpreted. The difference in wording and style may suggest another setting or origin, but it does not change the prophecy.

Chapters 9-11 were copied from the book of Jeremiah and carry the spirit of Jeremiah, and because Zechariah stands in the third division of the Old Testament beginning with Jeremiah and called by that name, its prophecy can be cited as spoken by Jeremiah. The word for burden means a prophetic message of judgment. The land of Hadrach is the valley of Damascus, and the name Hadrach is a compound word meaning strong-weak that designates the whole Persian empire, exactly expressing its condition and foretelling its overthrow in veiled form so as not to expose the Jews to the enmity of the Persians, their masters.

The burden is directed against Hadrach, Damascus, Hamath, Tyre, Zidon, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod. The verse begins a prophecy of the coming conquests and punishment of the principal cities around Jerusalem by Alexander the Great and Greece, while Jerusalem would be remarkably spared and delivered when he had determined to destroy it. If Hadrach represents the Persian Empire, the fulfillment started when Alexander invaded Persia in 334 BC, and after defeating the Persians at Issus he learned that the Persian king's treasures were stored at Damascus and sent troops to seize and plunder them. The fate of Damascus shows that God punishes sinners, whether Jews or Gentiles.

The latter part of the book has a much wider sweep than the first part and is very rich in predictions of the Messianic King and kingdom. Its general subject is Christ's kingdom, the great day of the Lord, and the punishment of the wicked, looking beyond the return from Babylon to the final restoration at Christ's coming. The verse belongs to the message of a prophet of the restoration who encouraged Zerubbabel and Ezra in building the temple and restoring Jerusalem, and that reformation movement is a type of the last reformation. The chapter shows that the prophecy did not rule out the kingdom being set up when its proclamation was given, and the disciples were left to learn from the fulfillment that their expectation of an immediate kingdom was mistaken.