Debunking the notorious Zionist/nazijew misuse of Zechariah 13:8-9 (pt. II)
100% free Bible lesson for all of you.
Advanced abbreviation guide (my own designated terminology):
ALC = at-large chiasm
NPC/PC = nested pericopal chiasm (or pericopal chiasm)
RTS/TS = rhythmically trifurcated sequence (or trifurcated sequence)
Some few months ago I compiled a basic overview of the biblical record on a commonly distorted and misapplied Old Testament prophetic passage quotemined by (Na)tional (zi)onist genocidal apologists:
Well, it turns out the dismantling operation wasn’t over. Here’s yet an additional layer of evidence (oh, you’re in for quite a treat, all right!) all but destroying the “Christian Zionist” dispensationalists’ theological garbage.
Overview: menorah-chiasm connection
Allow us to briefly sideline the Nazi-Zionists’ distortions of Judaism for a few moments and understand what actual, unadulterated, authentically biblical Mosaic Judaism looks like.
First off, if biblical Judaism is associated with any geometrically definable shape, it’s the 7-branched Hebrew Temple candlestick, a.k.a. the menorah (not the hexagram, “sorry”). The Book of Exodus defines the menorah’s rigid properties: one candlestick shaft and its six branches, three out of each side.1 The almond bud formation is also additionally relevant to the menorah-chiasm correspondence intricacies, but that’s a slightly complex discourse best saved for another time (soon).
Now, a chiasm in the Bible is a symmetric literary structure which follows this specific pattern: A-B-C-D-C’-B’-A’. Here is one example in the fifth chapter of I John, in the New Testament:2
6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
See the literary symmetry? Don’t worry if it’s a bit hard to—here is what it looks like when the chiastic branch delineation is spelled out:
A) “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood.” (6a)
B) “And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” (6b)
C) “For there are three that bear record in heaven,” (7a)
D) “the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost:” (7b)
C’) “and these three are one.” (7c)
B’) “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit,” (8a)
A’) “and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” (8b)
Simply put, the A and A’ branches thematically correspond in meaning, and correspondences likewise can be mapped for B-B’ and C-C’. This is what the basic diagram essentially looks like:
In factual essence: the books of the Bible are written in such an A-B-C-D-C’-B’-A’ mirroring structure as the marking seal of divine inspiration. The idea any mortal human being can conjure up a fever dream rant conveying such meaningful literary internal mapping formations and in such a consistently recurring manner is no less preposterous than spilling 30 containers of ink onto paper and expecting to produce 30 maps of 30 countries.
Zechariah 9-14’s chiasm
The Book of Zechariah can be divided into two halves, each encapsulating its own at-large chiasmus (ALC) structure—chapters 1-8 are spanned in the first chiasm and chapters 9-14 comprise the textual substance of the second. Since this article’s topical passage is found in the second chs. 9-14 chiasm, we don’t need to look at the first chiasm here and now for sake of relevance.
It is important to study chapters 9-14 of Zechariah as a cohesively unified narrative and not as two further-subdivided designations of “Deutero-Zechariah” and “Trito-Zechariah” argued by scoffing “higher critics” denying divine inspiration. For brief context on this scholarly debate: the background idea here is that chs. 9-14 is split into two lengthy oracles, the first one spanning chapters 9 to 11 and the second from chapters 12 to 14. Not only do some scholars insist Zech. 9-14 was written by a different individual who wrote Zech. 1-8, but that this “second mysterious author” only wrote Zech. 9-11 and a third yokel penned the substance of 12-14.3
The fact all of Zechariah was authored by Zechariah the (grand)son4 of Iddo is provable, but unfortunately for brevity’s sake that’s not a topic for today. The specific canard peddled by the “higher critics” worthy of refuting here is their “Trito-Zechariah” theory positing” chapters 12-14 is completely different from 9-11.”
If it can be shown that Zech. 9-14 spans one single at-large chiasm, then the higher critics’ gutter scholarship can be safely discarded down the drain. And indeed, here is what it looks like:
A) 9-10: Jehovah’s judgment against the nations (9:1-8); God coming (9:9)… …deliverance of Ephraim (10:6-10); judgment against Egypt (10:11); strength in the LORD (10:12)
B) 11:1-11: rebuke against earthly rulers (11:1-3); flock of slaughter (11:4-5); smiting (11:6); cutting off reprobates (11:7-9); the remnant recognize God (11:10-11)
C) 11:12-17: Jesus’s messianic atonement for sin (11:12-13); separation between faithful and unfaithful because of salvation (11:14); condemnation of earthly false rulers (11:15-17)
D) 12:1-8: the LORD God delivers His people
C’) 12:9-13:3: Jesus’s messianic atonement for sin (12:9-14); fountain of salvation (13:1); condemnation of earthly false rulers (13:2-3)
B’) 13:4-9: rebuke against earthly rulers (13:4-5); one wounded in the house of his friends (13:6); smiting (13:7); cutting off reprobates (13:8); the remnant recognize and are heard by God (13:9)
A’) 14: Jehovah’s judgment against the nations (14:1-4); God coming (14:5)… …remnant of the nations will worship the LORD of Hosts (14:16); judgment against Egypt (14:17-19); holiness unto the LORD (14:20-21)
By the way, the at-large chiasm’s (ALC) D shaft can be subdivided as an internally pericopal chiasm of its own, a.k.a.:
D1) 12:1-2: Jerusalem made a cup of trembling
D2) 12:3: Jerusalem made a burdensome stone
D3) 12:4: “in that day”
D4) 12:5: strength in the LORD of Hosts
D3’) 12:6: “in that day”
D2’) 12:7: the LORD will save Judah’s tents first
D1’) 12:8: the LORD will defend Jerusalem’s inhabitants
B-C and C’-B’ inspected closer—pericopal chiasms and trifurcated sequences
The A-A’ correspondence—a.k.a. the internal parallel correspondence between the chapters 9-10 and 14 chiastic arms—isn’t exactly of direct relevance to this article, so let’s zoom onto the flanked B-C-D-C’-B’ internal body in closer detail.
Obviously, chapter 12 begins a distinctly articulated oracle, so the B and C branches on the left side of the at-large chiasm (ALC) in total can only span the entirety of chapter 11. Now, how can we be sure that marking the chiastic branch division in ch. 11 between v. 11:11 and v. 11:12 is a sound analysis? In addition, how do we know that the division between C’ and B’ on the right side is between 13:3 and 13:4?
Allow us to consider this supposition briefly: if the D chiastic “shaft” can be subdivided into a pericopal chiasm of its own, why not potentially also any of the six branches on the sides? Let’s look the C’ branch—here is the full text:5
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
Can C’ be subdivided into a “C’1-C’2-C’3-C’4-C’3’-C’2’-C’1’” structure? Let’s see…
C’1: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” (12:9-10)
C’2: “In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.” (12:11)
C’3: “And the land shall mourn, every family apart;” (12:12a)
C’4: “the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;” (12:12b-13)
C’3’: “All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.” (12:14)
C’2’: “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.” (13:1)
C’1’: “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.” (13:2-3)
The answer is a resounding yes!
What this pericopal chiasmus (PC) analysis of the C’ branch proves is the following: the full marker “and it shall come to pass in that day” signifies undoubtedly the beginning of a new sub-oracle passage and holds greater priority as a transitional phrase than the standalone “and it shall come to pass” or “in that day” phrases.
The higher critics and mainstream theologians subdivide Zech. 13 into 13:1-2 and 13:3-6, treating the full marker “and it shall come to pass in that day” (which is used in the beginning of 13:2 and 13:4) as a subordinate and marginal placeholder. That conclusion of theirs is fundamentally flawed because the full phrase “and it shall come to pass in that day” here in Zechariah, as already shown above, clearly signifies a cohesive pericopal chiasm spanning from v. 12:9 all the way into 13:3, proving that v. 13:3 belongs in paired identification to the preceding and NOT succeeding passage.
For the C’ branch, the first usage of “and it shall come to pass in that day” in 12:9 marks the beginning C’1 mini-branch of the nested pericopal chiasm, and the second usage of that full phrase in 13:2-3 marks the concluding C’1’ mini-branch, plain and simple. When v. 13:4 begins with a fresh new “and it shall come to pass in that day” marker, this marks a new ALC branch a.k.a. the start of B’, just as the first usage of that marker in 12:9 marked the beginning of C’ right after the central D shaft concludes in 12:8.
Can B’ also be subdivided into a nested pericopal chiasm (NPC)? Nope! There is no symmetrical arch/mirror because 13:4-6 begins with the full marker “and it shall come to pass in that day” while 13:8-9 is introduced with only the subset “and it shall come to pass” marker—the two are not of equal transitional strength. Instead, the 13:4-9 textual comprisal of the B’ branch can be treated as a three-part sequence:
13:4-6: shame of the false prophets and inquiry about a smite/wound in a mysterious individual’s hands
13:7: prophetic command by God to “smite the shepherd”
13:8-9: cutting off of two-thirds and purification of the one-third
It would be unfeasible to picture this structural format of three-part textual division in any geometrically “literalized” tangible concepts, because such a literary sequence here reflects the Godhead itself! God is described as three essences comprising one person,6 brilliantly summarized by the 2nd-century Apostolic Father Theophilus of Antioch as “God, and His Word [Jesus], and His wisdom [Holy Spirit].”7 Because God’s ways are higher than man’s8 and those thinking to change the glory of God into an image unto corruptible man are the fools,9 the trick here to understanding this textual “tripartite” division—or what I call a rhythmically trifurcated sequence (RTS)—is to approach it as abstractly and non-tangibly as possible. Instead of picturing it as represented by a stationary arch or three-pronged fork, think of it somewhat as a wave/wavelength—it exists from a set “start” and exists through a medium into a completed “finish” as a sequentially one-directional pattern and as one entity.
Now, here’s the interesting conclusion to understanding the B-B’ and C-C’ links!
For the B-B’ correspondence, the left B branch can be subdivided into a B1-B2-B3-B4-B3’-B2’-B1’ pericopal chiasm (PC) while the parallel B’ branch on the right side of the at-large chiasm (ALC)—as explained above—is a trifurcated sequence (TS). And for the C-C’ branch correspondence, the left C branch is split into a trifurcated sequence that matches the C’ branch on the right which splits into a PC (also explained above).
Let’s look at the left side of the chiasm—here’s the textual comprisal of B:10
Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.
3 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.
4 Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.
6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.
11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
(by the way: the mention of Lebanon has nothing to do with modern-day Lebanon—make sure you understand type → antitype properties!)
This is how it (likely?) splits into a pericopal chiasm:
B1) 11:1-2: “Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.”
B2) 11:3: “There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.”
B3) 11:4-5: “Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.”
B4) 11:6: “For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.”
B3’) 11:7: “And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.”
B2’) 11:8-9: “Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.”
B1’) 11:10-11: “And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.”
Meanwhile: the C branch of the Zech. 9-14 at-large chiasm, spanning 11:12-17, is a trifurcated sequence and does not subdivide into a pericopal chiasm because, as you should be able to clearly see…
11:12-13: “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.”
11:14: “Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.”
11:15-17: “And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.”
…there is no literary symmetry. Vv. 12-13 and 15-17 are about completely different subjects and therefore asymmetrical. Simply put, the three components of the C branch here are just that: three comprising subsections of a single pericope, nothing that can be surmised in human terms beyond that abstract summary.
So what is the point here? Very clearly, a message of complimentary symmetry in the at-large chiasm (ALC) of Zech. 9-14: the B branch (11:1-11) is subdivided into a pericopal chiasm, and its corresponding “mirrored” parallel B’ branch (13:4-9) is a trifurcated sequence; the C branch (11:12-17) is a trifurcated sequence, and its corresponding parallel C’ branch (12:9-13:3) is a pericopal chiasm.
Zech. 9-14’s B’ branch and the New Testament
Why did I mention all that above? The answer is simple: to demonstrate that the B’ branch starts at 13:4 that spans all the way into the end of the chapter at v. 9. Once we understand with secure confidence that 13:4-9 is one flowing sequence—a rhythmically trifurcated sequence—we can then study B’ in ever-zoomed scope.
First off, let’s just recap the internal parallel links between B and B’:
11:1-3 ⟷ 13:4-5: God’s announced rebuke against earthly false rulers
11:4-5 ⟷ 13:6: messianic allusion to the Son of God (Jesus Christ)
11:6 ⟷ 13:7: smiting (because of sin)
11:7-9 ⟷ 13:8: God cuts off the reprobate/unrepentant
11:10-11 ⟷ 13:9: God’s people recognize Him and His signs
Alright, let’s now dissect B’ piece by piece—first off, the question of whether v. 13:6’s respondent is a false prophet or the Messiah Jesus Christ. The higher critics, papists, and mainstream theologians resoundingly insist that the respondent in Zech. 13:6 asked about his wounds is a false prophet who mutilated himself in a pagan rite, and they take a very lazily “face-valued” approach at viewing the dialogue in 13:4-6 to insist the respondent cannot be Jesus Christ.
For context, here is the passage:11
4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
Now, bear in mind that the English translation from the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT) will inevitably flatten some of the original Biblical Hebrew linguistic complexities into a plane because of grammatical disparities. The higher-critic/mainstream-theologian view is premised on the assumption that the respondent in 13:6 is the same false prophet in 13:4-5, which isn’t actually definitively certain based off the wording in the Hebrew manuscripts. IOWs, this ambiguity indeed opens the possibility that the mysterious individual who answers, “those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends,” could possibly be Jesus.12
There is also the fact v. 13:6 is subtly tied to 13:7—let’s look at this closely:
6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
While the highlighted words in translated KJV English don’t appear notably similar in any direct fashion, in the Hebrew they are. The Hebrew word for “wounds” in 13:6 and “smite” in 13:7 are respectively the noun and imperative verb from the exact same root word (נָָכה) that means to “smite” or “strike.”13 The shared root meaning used between 13:6 and 13:7 indicates those two passages are interconnected, and not of completely distinct prophetic applications as the higher critics/mainstream theologians who push the “Zech. 13:6 is about false prophets’ self-mutilation” insinuation. As recorded in the New Testament, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ quoted Zech. 13:7 and applied that passage to Himself:14
Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
Therefore, since v. 13:7 obviously met its fulfillment in the crucifixion of Jesus, then 13:6 indicatively—unless explicit proof of the “it’s referring to false prophets who mutilated themselves as in I Kings 18” theory can be proven—is pointing to the crucifixion wounds on Jesus’s hands.
Still not convinced? Remember that in the B-B’ chiastic correspondence, 13:6 on the right side of the ALC corresponds to 11:4-5 on the at-large chiasm’s left B branch. Here is historicist Protestant Albert Barnes’s commentary about the meaning of vv. 11:4-5’s phrase “flock of slaughter”:15
Feed the flock of the slaughter — Those who were, even before the end, slain by their evil shepherds whom they followed, and who in the end would be given to the slaughter, as the Psalmist says, ‘we are counted as sheep for the slaughter’ Psalm 44:22, because they would not hear the voice of the True Shepherd, and were not His sheep. They were already, by God’s judgment, a prey to evil shepherds; and would be so yet more hereafter. As a whole then, they were ‘sheep of the slaughter.’ It is a last Charge given to feed them. As our Lord says, ‘Last of all, He sent unto them His Son, saying, They will reverence My Son’ Matthew 21:37. This failing, nothing remained but that the flock would be given up, as they themselves say, ‘He will miserably destroy those wicked people, and will let out His vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render Him the fruits in their seasons’ Matthew 21:41, that is, our Lord explains it, ‘The kingdom of heaven shall be taken from them, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Yet a remnant should be saved’ Matthew 21:43, for whose sake the larger flock was still to be fed: and, as our Lord, as Man, wept over Jerusalem, whose sentence He pronounced, so He still feeds those who would not turn to Him that they might be saved, and who would in the end be ‘a flock of slaughter,’ ‘Death their shepherd’ Psalm 49:14, since they chose death rather than Life.
And this is what Barnes notes of v. 13:6:16
And one shall say unto him, What are those wounds in thy hands? — The words are simple; the meaning different , according as they are united with what immediately precedes, or the main subject, Him whom they pierced, for whom they were to mourn, and, on their mourning, to be cleansed, and of whom it is said in the next verse, ‘Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd.’ Jerome and others explain it of the punishment inflicted by parents. ‘These wounds and bruises I received, condemned by the judgment of my parents, and of those who did not hate but loved me. And so will truth prevail dissipating falsehood, that he too, who was punished for his own fault, will own that he suffered rightly.’
But wounds of chastisement are not inflicted on the hands, and the punishment of false prophecy was not such wounds, but death. Wounds in the hands were no punishment, which parents would inflict. They were the special punishment of the cross, after sustaining which, One only lived. The most literal interpretation, then, of the wounds in the hands harmonizes with the piercing before, and the smiting of the Good Shepherd which follows, of whom David too prophesied, ‘They pierced My Hands and My Feet’ Psalm 22:16. ‘What are those wounds on Thy hands? How long, think you, and how and by whom will this be said to Him? For ever and ever, unceasingly, and with unspeakable admiration it will be said, both by God the Father, ‘to whom He was obedient unto death, the death of the Cross’ Philippians 2:8 : it will be said also both by the holy ‘angels’ who ‘desire to look into’ Him 1 Peter 1:12, and by people whom He has redeemed. O great miracle, wonderful spectacle, especially in the Lord of all, to bear wounds in the midst of His Hands! And He shall say; ‘With these I was wounded in the house of those who loved Me.’ O great sacrilege, sacrilegious homicide, that such wounds were inflicted in the house of those who loved. He will not say, ‘with these I was wounded by those who loved Me,’ but ‘in the house of those who loved Me.’ For they who inflicted them, loved Him not.
But they were the house of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David, and the rest like them, who loved Me, and expected Me, who was promised to them. Yet so to speak is not to answer the question, ‘what are these wounds?’ For it is one thing to ask, what are these wounds, another to say, where they were inflicted. Having said, that they were inflicted in the house of those who loved Me. He says, what they are, ‘the Cup which My Father hath given Me to drink.’ For what He subjoins, is the Voice of the Father giving the Cup. ‘Sword, awake, etc.’ is as though he said, Ask ye, What are these wounds? I say, ‘the tokens of obedience, the signs of the Father’s will and command. The Lord of hosts, God the Father ‘hath not spared’ Me, ‘His own Son, but hath given’ Me ‘for’ you ‘all.’ And He said, ‘Awake, o sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man cohering to Me,’ which is as much as, ‘O Death, have thou power over My Son, My good Shepherd, the Man who cohereth to Me, that is, who is joined in unity of Person with the Word who is consubstantial with Me!’ And then, as though the sword asked, how or how far shall I arise against this Thy Shepherd, he subjoins, ‘Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’ Hence, the Shepherd Himself, when about to be smitten, spake, ‘All ye shall be offended because of Me this night. For it is written, I will smite the Shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered’ Matthew 26:31. So then to those who say, ‘what are those wounds in the midst of Thy hands?’ is appositely subjoined the Voice of the Father, saying, ‘Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd etc.’ in the meaning, ‘They are monuments of the Father’s love, the tokens of My Obedience, because He ‘spared not His own Son,’ and I ‘became obedient’ to Him for you all, ‘even unto death, and that, the death of the Cross.’
The Bible-grounded sola scriptura historicist old guard Protestants understood the connection between Zech. 13:6 and 13:7, affirming a continuity of flow between those two passages instead of the higher critics’ promulgated notion that the context just magically shifts instantly from “false prophet self-mutilation” into a messianic verse.
Since it’s now shown that vv. 13:4-7 in B’ is one continuous passage, let’s now look at the last component of this trifurcated sequence: the commonly misquoted 13:8-9 passage that is used by “Christian Zionist” charlatans to justify white supremacist Nazi brutality against the Palestinian people. While I already explained it previous Stack linked in the beginning of this article, I will very quickly summarize the key points anyways. Here’s the passage and key words:17
8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
“and it shall come to pass”—indicates thematic continuity from previous passage about messianic atonement for sin and therefore vv. 13:8-9 is premised upon a necessitated basis of humility (not ethnonationalist Nazi-style supremacism)
“the land” in an antitypical context must be understood through the lens of the New Covenant and not the Old Mosaic one,18 and therefore refers to the Christian church and not the literal geographic land of “Israel” (cf.)
“the fire” = God—Paul says “our God is a consuming fire”19
“refine them as silver is refined”—the Book of Malachi says that it is God who ultimately refines and purifies silver,20 a.k.a. divine intervention that changes the individual heart towards repentance and utmost moral sincerity21
“gold” = sons of Zion22 a.k.a. God’s church (no, this has NOTHING to do with the Judeonazi/Fourth Reich savages blasphemously calling themselves “Zion”-ists)
trying in the fire = trial of individual Christians’ faith23
God hears the refined one-third BECAUSE and AFTER they call on His name, not as if they’re unconditionally granted a divine favor for their “race” or whatever
concluding passage is an implicit quotation of a Hosea passage about Jewish redemption24 explained by Peter and Paul25 as fulfilled in the apostolic 1st-century Christian church’s ingathering of the converted Gentiles (NOT some magically contrived Nazi-Jewish ethnostate built off the blood of European Jews and Palestinian Arabs jointly mass-slaughtered by a sadistic cabal of globalist Zionist-Masonic conspirators)
Very simply put: when understood through the lens of a Zech. 9-14 at-large chiasm where the B’ branch is read as a continuous trifurcated sequence spanning 13:4-9, the concluding promise—that two thirds will be cut off into death and a third will be saved as the faithful remnant—has absolutely nothing to do with modern-day Zionist-Masonic savagery because that prophecy is connected to the biblical theme of repentance and spiritual born-again renewing by the sacrifice of God’s Son on the cross atoning for the sins of humanity. IOWs, Zech. 13:8-9’s promise of final deliverance is the concluding finality to the message of salvation that will draw a line of distinction between the majority unrepentant who plunge down the wide gate into perdition and the minority repentant who will see God’s face in the end.
Conclusion
The mainstream realm of bogus “hermeneutical study” paving the way for a racially literalized Zionist-Nazi misapplication of Zech. 13:8-9 necessitates these escalating steps of unbiblically outrageous total disregard for the Hebrew Jewish scriptures inspired by the direction of Almighty God:
ignore the textual and thematic pivotal significance of the full marker “and it shall come to pass in that day” and instead treating it as anywhere from a superficial placeholder gloss to subordinate clause (cf. modern Bibles pairing Zech. 12:9 with 12:1-8 instead of as beginning a new subsection)
detach 13:7-9 into an isolated standalone passage from vv. 13:4-6 by pretending v. 13:6 is about “false prophets mutilating themselves” and ignoring the fact both 13:6 and 13:7 use derivatives of the same Hebrew word about “smiting”/“striking” which affirms the subject of 13:6 as Jesus Christ
treat 13:8-9 as separate from all of 13:4-7 and ignore the fact 13:4-9 is one single continuous progression
invent a bogus worldview claiming 13:8-9’s “third” that will be saved applies to a group of white supremacist, pseudo-Jewish, hexagramic neo-Nazionist colonizers occupying and horrendously torturing innocent Palestinian people
Ex. 25:31-32, 37:17-18.
I John 5:6-8.
Zech. 1:1, 7.
Zech. 12:9-13:3.
Cf. Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8; I Jn. 5:7.
Theophilus of Antioch, “To Autolycus,” Book II, ch. XV.
Isa. 55:8-9.
Rom. 1:18-23.
Zech. 11:1-11.
Zech. 13:4-6.
Ingram London (Apr. 2011), “Messianic Allusions of Zechariah 13:6 Revisited,” pp. 13-20. Andrews University Digital Library.
Ibid.
Matt. 26:31; cf. Mk. 14:27.
Ibid., pp. 443-44.
Zech. 13:8-9.
Cf. Jer. 31:31-34, Heb. 8:8-13.
Heb. 12:29.
Mal. 3:3.
Cf. Ezek. 11:19, 18:31, 36:26; I Jn. 1:7, 3:1-3, 18-20.
Lam. 4:1-2.
I Pet. 1:7, 4:12-13; Rev. 3:18.
Hos. 2:23; cf. 1:10.
Rom. 9:25-26; I Pet. 2:9-10.
Quite an interesting observation!