And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
The verse foretells that a foreigner will take up residence in Ashdod and that the pride of the Philistines will be cut off. The coming power is Greece under Alexander the Great, and the prophecy announces punishment and destruction upon the Philistine cities. Alexander took and laid waste those cities, including Ashdod, on his march toward Egypt, and in that conquest the pride of the Philistines was brought to an end. By contrast Jerusalem was spared, receiving protection and favorable treatment, so that the fate of the conquered cities stands in sharp contrast to the lot of the Jews.
The word rendered bastard is understood to point to Alexander himself as an illegitimate child, on the ground that he was claimed not to be the son of Philip because his mother declared him the son of Jupiter, who had entered her chamber in the form of a dragon. On another understanding the same word denotes a deteriorated or mixed population in Ashdod and among the Philistines, belonging to the period during and after the captivity or consisting of peoples settled in the land by its conquerors. The verse belongs to the work of Zechariah as a prophet of the restoration who encouraged Zerubbabel and Ezra in building the temple and restoring Jerusalem, and that restoration reformation movement is a type of the last reformation. Its broader themes are the kingdom of Christ, the great day of the Lord, and the punishment of the wicked. It stands in the closing section of Zechariah whose prophecies look forward to final restoration and foretell judgments against those who reject God.
The verse stands in Zechariah chapters 9 through 14, which some have proposed were originally part of the writings of Jeremiah and were placed among the writings of Zechariah through a manuscript error, appealing to language considered more like that of Jeremiah, including the phrase about the burden of the word of the Lord. The ninth chapter, together with the tenth and eleventh chapters, was copied from Jeremiah and carries the spirit of Jeremiah in Zechariah, and it belongs to the third division of the Old Testament beginning with Jeremiah and called by the name Jeremiah, so that a quotation from it can rightly be cited as spoken by Jeremiah. The Philistines are thereby identified as a proud people, and their pride makes them a comparison for people who resist God and heed false spiritual guidance.
The verse foretells that a foreigner will take up residence in Ashdod and that the pride of the Philistines will be cut off. The coming power is Greece under Alexander the Great, and the prophecy announces punishment and destruction upon the Philistine cities. Alexander took and laid waste those cities, including Ashdod, on his march toward Egypt, and in that conquest the pride of the Philistines was brought to an end. By contrast Jerusalem was spared, receiving protection and favorable treatment, so that the fate of the conquered cities stands in sharp contrast to the lot of the Jews.
The word rendered bastard is understood to point to Alexander himself as an illegitimate child, on the ground that he was claimed not to be the son of Philip because his mother declared him the son of Jupiter, who had entered her chamber in the form of a dragon. On another understanding the same word denotes a deteriorated or mixed population in Ashdod and among the Philistines, belonging to the period during and after the captivity or consisting of peoples settled in the land by its conquerors. The verse belongs to the work of Zechariah as a prophet of the restoration who encouraged Zerubbabel and Ezra in building the temple and restoring Jerusalem, and that restoration reformation movement is a type of the last reformation. Its broader themes are the kingdom of Christ, the great day of the Lord, and the punishment of the wicked. It stands in the closing section of Zechariah whose prophecies look forward to final restoration and foretell judgments against those who reject God.
The verse stands in Zechariah chapters 9 through 14, which some have proposed were originally part of the writings of Jeremiah and were placed among the writings of Zechariah through a manuscript error, appealing to language considered more like that of Jeremiah, including the phrase about the burden of the word of the Lord. The ninth chapter, together with the tenth and eleventh chapters, was copied from Jeremiah and carries the spirit of Jeremiah in Zechariah, and it belongs to the third division of the Old Testament beginning with Jeremiah and called by the name Jeremiah, so that a quotation from it can rightly be cited as spoken by Jeremiah. The Philistines are thereby identified as a proud people, and their pride makes them a comparison for people who resist God and heed false spiritual guidance.