Zaccaria 12:8

8 In quel giorno l’Eterno proteggerà gli abitanti di Gerusalemme; e colui che fra loro vacilla sarà in quel giorno come Davide, e la casa di Davide sarà come Dio, come l’angelo dell’Eterno davanti a loro.

Zaccaria 12:8 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 12:8

In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of
Jerusalem
As with a shield against their enemies; and such is the Lord to all his people; he is their shield to protect them; he keeps and guards them by his power; he encompasses them about with his favour, as with a shield; and gives unto them the shield of salvation; all which will eminently appear to be the case of the Jews at this time: and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David;
they that have the most fearful hearts, and feeble minds, shall be as courageous, as valiant, and as victorious as David; and they that are the weakest, in a spiritual sense, in the grace and in the doctrine of faith, and in that part of it, respecting the use of things indifferent, who are ready to be "offended, stumble, and fall" F4; for the spiritual reign, which will at this time take place, will not be a state of perfection; even those will be like David, beloved of the Lord, kings as well as priests unto God, and as strong in faith as he: and the house of David [shall be] as God;
the stronger sort of believers among them, such as are strong in the Lord, in the grace of faith, and in the doctrines of the Gospel; they shall have much of God with them, great grace upon them, and be like unto him in goodness, truth, and holiness: or they shall be like "Elohim", the angels, as this word is rendered, ( Psalms 8:5 ) for knowledge, purity, and readiness to do the will of God; and it follows: as the Angel of the Lord before them;
that is, as Christ, who is the Angel of the covenant, and of the divine Presence; and in whom the name of the Lord is; who is at the head of his people, and goes before them, as their Leader and Commander, and the Captain of salvation, ( Micah 2:13 ) whose image they bear, and into which they are changed from glory to glory by the spirit of God; and which will now be very clearly discerned upon the saints in the latter day glory. Kimchi and Ben Melech, by "the house of David", understand the King Messiah F5, who was to be of the seed of David; and so does Cocceius, who takes the "as" to be a note, not of similitude, but of truth, he being truly God, and the Angel of Jehovah. The Targum is,

``the house of David shall be like great men or princes that shall prosper, as the Angel of God before them.''

FOOTNOTES:

F4 (lvkn) "lapsabundus, ad lapsum propensus, proprie qui facile offendit", Drusius; "corruens", Montanus; "collapsus", Burkius.
F5 R. Isaac Chizzuk Emunah, par. 1. c. 36. p. 307.

Zaccaria 12:8 In-Context

6 In quel giorno, io renderò i capi di Giuda come un braciere ardente in mezzo a delle legna, come una torcia accesa in mezzo a dei covoni; essi divoreranno a destra e a sinistra tutti i popoli d’ogn’intorno; e Gerusalemme sarà ancora abitata nel suo proprio luogo, a Gerusalemme.
7 L’Eterno salverà prima le tende di Giuda, perché la gloria della casa di Davide e la gloria degli abitanti di Gerusalemme non s’innalzi al disopra di Giuda.
8 In quel giorno l’Eterno proteggerà gli abitanti di Gerusalemme; e colui che fra loro vacilla sarà in quel giorno come Davide, e la casa di Davide sarà come Dio, come l’angelo dell’Eterno davanti a loro.
9 E in quel giorno avverrà che io avrò cura di distruggere tutte le nazioni che verranno contro Gerusalemme.
10 E spanderò sulla casa di Davide e sugli abitanti di Gerusalemme lo spirito di grazia e di supplicazione; ed essi riguarderanno a me, a colui ch’essi hanno trafitto, e ne faran cordoglio come si fa cordoglio per un figliuolo unico, e lo piangeranno amaramente come si piange amaramente un primogenito.
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