Zechariah 12:11

Old Testament Minor Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Zechariah 12:11 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
Zechariah 12:11 — American Standard Version

Context — Zechariah 12

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
11In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, etc.] Great numbers being awakened, convinced, and converted, and brought to true repentance: as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. Lightfootf274 thinks the prophet alludes to the two great and general lamentations of Israel; the one about the rock Rimmon, where a whole tribe was come to four hundred (it should be six hundred) men, (<072047>Judges 20:47) and may be rendered, “the sad shout of Rimmon”; and the other in the valley of Megiddo, for the death of Josiah. Some take Hadadrimmon to be the name of a man, as Aben Ezra; and the Targum and Jarchi say who he was, and also make two mournings to be alluded tof275;…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“As in Zac 12:10 the bitterness of their mourning is illustrated by a private case of mourning, so in this verse by a public one, the greatest recorded in Jewish history, that for the violent death in battle with Pharaoh-necho of the good King Josiah, whose reign had been the only gleam of brightness for the period from Hezekiah to the downfall of the state; lamentations were written by Jeremiah for the occasion (Kg2 23:29-30; Ch2 35:22-27). Hadad-rimmon--a place or city in the great plain of Esdraelon, the battlefield of many a conflict, near Megiddo; called so from the Syrian idol Rimmon. Hadad also was the name of the sun, a chief god of the Syrians [MACROBIUS, Saturnalia, 1.23]. A…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“As the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon - This was the greatest sorrow, which had fallen on Judah. Josiah was the last hope of its declining kingdom. His sons probably showed already their unlikeness to their father, whereby they precipitated their country’s fall. in Josiah’s death the last gleam of the sunset of Judah faded into night. Of him it is recorded, that “his pious acts, according to what was written in the law of the Lord,” were written in his country’s history 2 Chronicles 35:26, 2 Chronicles 35:7; for him the prophet “Jeremiah wrote a dirge” 2 Chronicles 35:25; “all” the minstrels of his country “spake of him in their dirges” 2 Chronicles 35:25. The dirges were…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“In that day - When the Jews shall mourn for their sins, and for that great sin, crucifying the Lord of glory. A great mourning - A mourning exprest by the greatest the Jews ever were acquainted with, and which for its greatness grew into a proverb. The mourning for Josiah slain at Hadadrimmon, a town in the valley of Megiddo. Zechariah 12:12”
Read attributed excerpt →
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“12:11 The name Hadad-rimmon combines the names of two Syrian deities, the storm-god Hadad and the thunder-god Rimmon. The great mourning for these gods may be similar to the weeping for Tammuz, one of the rituals practiced in the Mesopotamian fertility cults. • Joshua captured Megiddo (Josh 12:21), a major city on the southwest edge of the Jezreel Valley; it was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh (Josh 17:11). Megiddo controlled a key pass on the great highway from Egypt to Mesopotamia, and so was of great strategic importance. It was a district capital during Solomon’s reign (1 Kgs 4:12). King Josiah was mortally wounded in a battle against Pharaoh Neco and the Egyptians on the plain of…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“as: Kg2 23:29; Ch2 35:24 Zechariah 12:12”
Read attributed excerpt →
Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“In Zac 12:11-14 the magnitude and universality of the mourning are still further depicted. Zac 12:11. "In that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo. Zac 12:12. And the land will 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. Zac 12:13. The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeite apart, and their wives apart. Zac 12:14. All the rest of the families, every family apart, and their wives apart." In Zac 12:11, the depth and bitterness of the pain on account of the slain Messiah are…”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Sources and verification