Zechariah 2 Study Notes

2:7 Daughter Babylon may be a hint of tenderness toward this pagan nation, even with judgment impending (vv. 8-9). It anticipates “Daughter Zion” (v. 10) and suggests that God’s love for the nation of Israel, though special, does not mean he does not love the other nations.

2:8 In contrast to judging his people, God reiterated judgment on the perpetrators of judgment (cp. 1:15,18-21). Pupil of my eye refers to the most valuable yet vulnerable part of the body and more accurately translates “gate of the eye” rather than the traditional “apple of the eye,” though the poetic nature of the latter communicates more effectively. The metaphor functions to express God’s deepest feelings for his chosen people (cp. Dt 32:10; Ps 17:8; Pr 7:2).

2:11 Many nations will . . . become my people underscores a paradox of unexpected double reversal. The nations that God had used to enact judgment—which in an act of reversal came under his judgment—have now come into his blessing, yet another act of reversal. This does not suggest indecision on God’s part but the complexity of his mercy, shown to various people at different times, all of them sinners and none deserving. It is the miracle of grace.