Zechariah 11:1

1 Lebanon, open your doors! Then fire can burn up your cedar trees.

Zechariah 11:1 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 11:1

Open thy doors, O Lebanon
By which may be meant, either the temple of Jerusalem, which was built of the cedars of Lebanon;

``the gates of which are said ^F23 to open of themselves forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem, when Jochanan ben Zaccai, who lived at the same time, rebuked them, saying, O temple, temple, wherefore dost thou frighten thyself? I know thine end is to be destroyed; for so prophesied Zechariah, the son of Iddo, concerning thee, "open thy doors, O Lebanon".''

So Lebanon, in ( Zechariah 10:10 ) , is interpreted of the sanctuary, both by the Targum and by Jarchi; or else it may be understood of Jerusalem, and of the whole land of Judea, because it was situated by it; it was the border of it on the north side. That the fire may devour thy cedars;
of which the temple was built, and the houses of Jerusalem, which were consumed by fire; unless the fortresses of the land are meant. So the Targum paraphrases it,

``and the fire shall consume your fortresses.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 39. 2.

Zechariah 11:1 In-Context

1 Lebanon, open your doors! Then fire can burn up your cedar trees.

2 Pine trees, cry out! The cedar trees have fallen down. The majestic trees are destroyed. Cry out, you oak trees of Bashan! The thick forest has been cut down.

3 Listen to the shepherds cry out! Their rich grasslands are destroyed. Listen to the lions roar! The trees and bushes along the Jordan River are gone.

4 The LORD my God says, "Take care of the sheep that are set apart to be sacrificed.

5 Those who buy them kill them. And they are not punished for it. Those who sell them say, 'Praise the Lord! We're rich!' And their own shepherds do not spare them.