Zec 12:10-14 | TNotes | STEP | 12:10 pour out: This word describes the outpouring of God’s spirit of prophecy upon Israel and all people on the day of the Lord (cp. Ezek 39:28-29 ; Joel 2:28-29 ) and God’s judgment upon the wicked (Lam 2:4 ; Hos 5:10 ; Zeph 3:8 ). • a spirit of grace: God’s unmerited and unsought favor persuades God’s people to seek him in contrite and repentant prayer (see Ps 86:15-16 ). • me whom they have pierced: The New Testament understands the piercing of God as a reference to the piercing of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth (John 19:34-37 ; Rev 1:7 ).

12:10 ^a pour out: This word describes the outpouring of God’s spirit of prophecy upon Israel and all people on the day of the Lord (cp. Ezek 39:28-29 ^b; Joel 2:28-29 ^c) and God’s judgment upon the wicked (Lam 2:4 ^d; Hos 5:10 ^e; Zeph 3:8 ^f).

• a spirit of grace: God’s unmerited and unsought favor persuades God’s people to seek him in contrite and repentant prayer (see Ps 86:15-16 ^g).

• me whom they have pierced: The New Testament understands the piercing of God as a reference to the piercing of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth (John 19:34-37 ^h; Rev 1:7 ⁱ).
12:11 ^j The name Hadad-rimmon combines the names of two Syrian deities, the storm-god Hadad and the thunder-god Rimmon. The great mourning for these gods may be similar to the weeping for Tammuz, one of the rituals practiced in the Mesopotamian fertility cults.

• Joshua captured Megiddo (Josh 12:21 ^k), a major city on the southwest edge of the Jezreel Valley; it was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh (Josh 17:11 ^l). Megiddo controlled a key pass on the great highway from Egypt to Mesopotamia, and so was of great strategic importance. It was a district capital during Solomon’s reign (1 Kgs 4:12 ^m). King Josiah was mortally wounded in a battle against Pharaoh Neco and the Egyptians on the plain of Megiddo (2 Chr 35:22-23 ⁿ), and the mountain of Megiddo is the site of the great battle depicted in Rev 16:16 ^o.
Summary for Zech 12:12-14: 12:12-14 ^p The clan of David ... Nathan ... Levi, and ... Shimei: Zechariah might be referring to the royal families (David and his son Nathan; see 1 Chr 14:4 ^q) and the priestly families (Levi and his grandson Shimei; see Num 3:16-18 ^r; 1 Chr 6:16-17 ^s). Alternatively, the four families might represent the four principal classes of leadership in Old Testament times: the king (David, 1 Sam 16:1-13 ^t; the prophet (Nathan, 2 Sam 7:2 ^u), the priest (Levi, Deut 33:8-11 ^v), and the tribal leader (Shimei, 1 Kgs 1:8 ^w; 4:18 ^x). The first interpretation correlates with Zechariah’s emphasis on the Branch that will be both king and priest (see Zech 6:12-13 ^y).

• each clan by itself: This separation depicts the depth and totality of Israel’s mourning.