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Zechariah

About this book
Chapter 13

1 “In that day there will be a fountain opened up for the dynasty of David and the people of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity. 2 And also on that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will remove the names of the idols from the land and they will never again be remembered. Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 Then, if anyone prophesies in spite of this, his father and mother to whom he was born will say to him, ‘You cannot live, for you lie in the name of the Lord.’ Then his father and mother to whom he was born will run him through with a sword when he prophesies. 4 “Therefore, on that day each prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies and will no longer wear the hairy garment of a prophet⁠ to deceive the people. 5 Instead he will say, ‘I am no prophet; indeed, I am a farmer, for a man has made me his indentured servant since my youth.’⁠ 6 Then someone will ask him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’ and he will answer, ‘Some that I received in the house of my friends.’ 7 “Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate, ”says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered;⁠ I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones. 8 It will happen in all the land,” says the Lord, “that two-thirds of the people in it will be cut off and die, but one-third will be left in it. 9 Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire; I will refine them like silver is refined and will test them like gold is tested.⁠ They will call on my name and I will answer; I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”

Texts in conversation

Compare Zechariah 13:7 and Matthew 26:31

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Matthew adapts Zechariah’s image of a struck shepherd and scattered flock to shape his account of Jesus’ betrayal. By quoting the shepherd being struck, Matthew turns a national image of scattering into a key moment in his story.

Passages

Zechariah 13:7

Hebrew Bible
5 Instead he will say, ‘I am no prophet; indeed, I am a farmer, for a man has made me his indentured servant since my youth.’ 6 Then someone will ask him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’ and he will answer, ‘Some that I received in the house of my friends.’ 7 “Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate, ”says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered; I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones. 8 It will happen in all the land,” says the Lord, “that two-thirds of the people in it will be cut off and die, but one-third will be left in it. 9 Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire; I will refine them like silver is refined and will test them like gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer; I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zechariah

Matthew 26:31

New Testament
29 I tell you, from now on I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, “This night you will all fall away because of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” 33 Peter said to him, “If they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away!”
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” This composite quotation of Zechariah 13:7 and Ezekiel 34:21 intensifies the territorial aspect of the expectation of the slain Shepherd-King of Zechariah Matthew’s redaction of the Scripture and his use of the Davidic Shepherd-King motif in the context of this narrative climax signifies the fulfillment of God’s promise to restore the Davidic Kingdom in the land and regather the dispersed at the end of the age the connection between Matthew 26:31-32 and 28:16 signifies, in the words of Peter Stuhlmacher “the eschatological restoration of Greater Israel” ..."
Joel Willitts, “Zionism in the Gospel of Matthew: Do the People of Israel and the Land of Israel Persist as Abiding Concerns in the Gospel of Matthew?” in The New Christian Zionism: Fresh Perspectives on Israel & the Land, ed. Gerald R. McDermott (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2016), 107–140.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Zechariah 13:7 and Matthew 26:31

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