Zechariah 11
Summary for Zech 11:1-3: 11:1-3 a This taunt song against Lebanon and Bashan concludes the preceding message of deliverance and restoration for Israel (10:1-12 b); it could also introduce the following message about good and evil shepherds (11:4-17 c). 11:1 d Lebanon, boasting snow-covered mountains and fruitful valleys, was a symbol of strength and fertility.11:2 e Like Lebanon, Bashan had superb stands of timber. Lebanon and Bashan are often paired (Isa 2:13 f; Jer 22:20-22 g; Ezek 27:5-6 h) in representing nations that God would judge when he would regather and restore the people of Israel (see Zech 10:11 i).
11:3 j Shepherds and lions figuratively represent the leaders of Lebanon and Bashan, lamenting the destruction of their forested slopes, their pride, and their livelihood (see 11:1-2 k).
Summary for Zech 11:4-17: 11:4-17 l The metaphor of the Hebrew leaders as shepherds binds together the last three messages (9:9–11:17 m) of Zechariah’s first oracle (chs 9–11 n). This message combines allegory with symbolic action on Zechariah’s part to dramatize the wickedness of Israel’s shepherds. The prophet acts out a parable of a “good shepherd” called by God to lead and unite his people, but the people reject this shepherd along with the promise of protection from the nations (11:10 o) and unity between Judah and Israel (11:14 p). Zechariah’s symbolic actions foreshadow the ministry of Jesus the Messiah as the Good Shepherd (see John 10:1-21 q). 11:4 r The people of Israel are God’s flock (see Isa 40:11 s; Mic 5:4 t). The relative helplessness of sheep places a premium on their careful shepherding.
• intended for slaughter: Like sheep fattened for butchering, the people are being treated as disposable goods in a corrupt economy.
11:5 u The sheep (the Hebrew people) were being sold as slaves to buyers—occupying foreign powers, foreign allies, or domestic slave-traders (see Amos 2:6 v).
• The sellers were the shepherds, leaders of the people who were more concerned with getting rich than with the well-being of the sheep.
11:7 w Shepherd’s staffs symbolize leadership and authority.
• Favor: This staff symbolized God’s choice of Israel as his people (see Gen 12:1-3 x) and the promise of a leader like King David (see 2 Sam 7:12-16 y).
• Union: Ezekiel’s staff (Ezek 37:16-17 z) represented the unity of the Hebrew tribes as a single nation during King David’s reign (2 Sam 5:1-3 aa).
11:8 ab The enigmatic historical reference to three evil shepherds has prompted more than forty different attempts to identify them. None of these explanations is effective. Three symbolizes completeness. God raises up good shepherds to remove evil shepherds for the well-being of his people.
11:9 ac devour each other! This might refer literally to the cannibalism that resulted from famine during the siege of Jerusalem in 588–586 BC (see Lam 4:10 ad) and later in AD 70 (see Josephus, War 7.4.4). The expression may also be a metaphor for various forms of exploitation and oppression (see Mic 3:3 ae; Gal 5:15 af).
11:10 ag Unlike Ezekiel, who dramatized the reunification of the Hebrew kingdoms (Ezek 37:15-19 ah), Zechariah dramatized the division by cutting the staffs in two (see also Zech 11:14 ai). The cutting of the staffs indicated the broken covenant bond between God and his people (11:11 aj) and the broken bond of unity between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (11:14 ak).
• A covenant between the Lord and all the nations is otherwise unknown. Zechariah might actually have been proclaiming the dissolution of the covenant binding Israel to God as his people (cp. Hos 1:6-9 al; see study note on Zech 13:9).
11:12 am Thirty pieces of silver was the price of a slave (see Exod 21:32 an). In the allegory, the silver was severance pay for the shepherd (Zech 11:9 ao). The Gospel writers find the fulfillment of this passage in the betrayal of Jesus for thirty silver coins by Judas (see Matt 26:15 ap; 27:9-10 aq).
11:13 ar to the potter: Some scholars speculate that a guild of potters might have been minor Temple officials due to the continual need for sacred vessels (see Lev 6:28 as). Others, noting the similarity between potter (Hebrew yotser) and treasury (’otsar), follow the Syriac version, which reads into the treasury (see Matt 27:6 at, 10 au; cp. Jer 32:6-9 av). The Greek Old Testament translates this sentence as “throw it into the furnace,” suggesting that the silver was melted down and recast into a silver vessel for use in Temple rituals.
• Thirty coins (or pieces of silver) was a magnificent sum of money (nearly two years’ wages for the average laborer).
11:15 aw The worthless shepherd represents corrupt leaders, in contrast with the good shepherd (cp. Ezek 34:7-16 ax).
11:16 ay Tear off their hooves is a Hebrew idiom for a wanton and ravenous search for the last morsel of edible meat on an animal carcass (see Mic 3:3 az).
11:17 ba This oracle of woe is a poetic curse against the worthless shepherd for abandoning the flock. The arm and right eye represent the physical and mental abilities of the shepherd. The maimed arm and blind eye make the worthless shepherd powerless and end his selfish, opportunistic rule.
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