Zechariah 14:4

4 And his feet shall stand in that day on the hill of Olives, which is against Jerusalem at the east. And the hill of Olives shall be parted of the middle part thereof to the east, and to the west, by full great before-breaking; and the half of the hill shall be departed to the north, and the half thereof to the south. (And his feet shall stand that day on the Mount of Olives, which is toward Jerusalem at the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be divided at its middle to the east, and to the west, by a very great breaking, or a very great earthquake; and half of the mountain shall be removed to the north, and half of it to the south.)

Zechariah 14:4 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 14:4

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of
Olives
Where he often was in the days of his flesh, and from whence he ascended to heaven, ( Luke 21:37 ) ( 23:29 ) ( Acts 2:12 ) but here he did not appear at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem; wherefore this must refer to a time to come; and seeing it is certain that he will stand in the latter day on the earth, at the time of the resurrection, and will come down from heaven in like manner as he went up; it seems very probable that he will descend upon that very spot of ground from whence he ascended, ( Job 19:25-27 ) ( Acts 1:11 Acts 1:12 ) . The Jews, F5 have a notion, that, at the general resurrection of the dead, the mount of Olives will cleave asunder, and those of their nation, who have been buried in other countries, will be rolled through the caverns of the earth, and come out from under that mountain. This is what they call "gilgul hammetim", the rolling of the dead; and "gilgul hammechiloth", the rolling through the caverns. So they say in the Targum of ( Song of Solomon 8:5 ) .

``when the dead shall live, the mount of Olives shall be cleaved asunder, and all the dead of Israel shall come out from under it; yea, even the righteous, which die in captivity, shall pass through subterraneous caverns, and come from under the mount of Olives.''
This is sometimes F6 represented as very painful to the righteous; but another writer F7 removes this objection by observing, that at the time of the rolling through the caverns of the earth, we may say that this rolling will be of no other than of the bone "luz", out of which the whole body will spring; so that this business of rolling will be easy and without pain; but they are not all agreed about the thing itself: Kimchi says F8,
``there is a division in the words of our Rabbins, concerning the dead without the land (i.e. of Israel); some of them say that those without the land shall come up out of their graves; and others say they shall come out of their graves to the land of Israel by rolling, and by the way of the caverns; but this verse ( Ezekiel 37:12 ) proves that those without the land shall live, as the dead of the land of Israel; for it says, "I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves"; and after that, "and I will bring you into the land of Israel".''
Which is before Jerusalem on the east;
a sabbath day's journey from it, about a mile, ( Acts 1:12 ) : and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward
the east and toward the west; [and there shall be] a very great
valley, and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and
half of it toward the south;
and this valley will be made by cleaving and removing the mountain in this manner, to hold the dead together when raised; and this is thought by some to be the same with the valley of Jehoshaphat, called the valley of decision, into which the Heathen, being awakened and raised, will be brought and judged, ( Joel 3:2 Joel 3:12 Joel 3:14 ) .
FOOTNOTES:

F5 Targum in Cant. viii. 5.
F6 T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 111. 1.
F7 Judah Zabarah apud Pocock. Not. Miscell. p. 119.
F8 Pirush in Ezek. xxxvii. 12.

Zechariah 14:4 In-Context

2 And I shall gather all folks to Jerusalem, into battle; and the city shall be taken, and houses shall be destroyed, and women shall be defouled. And the half part of the city shall go out into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be taken away from the city. (And I shall gather all the nations to Jerusalem, into battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses shall be destroyed, and the women shall be defiled. And half the city shall go out into captivity, but the rest of the people shall not be taken away from the city.)
3 And the Lord shall go out, and shall fight against those folks, as he fought in the day of strife. (And the Lord shall go out, and shall fight against those nations, like he fought in the former days of strife.)
4 And his feet shall stand in that day on the hill of Olives, which is against Jerusalem at the east. And the hill of Olives shall be parted of the middle part thereof to the east, and to the west, by full great before-breaking; and the half of the hill shall be departed to the north, and the half thereof to the south. (And his feet shall stand that day on the Mount of Olives, which is toward Jerusalem at the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be divided at its middle to the east, and to the west, by a very great breaking, or a very great earthquake; and half of the mountain shall be removed to the north, and half of it to the south.)
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of mine hills, for the valley of hills shall be joined together till to the next. And ye shall flee, as ye fled from the face of earth-moving in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah; and my Lord God shall come, and all saints with him. (And ye shall flee to the valley of my hills, for this new valley shall reach unto Azal. And ye shall flee, as ye fled from the face of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, the king of Judah; and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with him.)
6 And it shall be, in that day light shall not be, but cold and frost. (And it shall be, on that day there shall not be any light, but only cold and frost.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.