Tyndale Open Study Notes on Zechariah 11:4

A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.

Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Modern study notes
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.

11:4-17 The metaphor of the Hebrew leaders as shepherds binds together the last three messages (9:9–11:17) of Zechariah’s first oracle (chs 9–11). This message combines allegory with symbolic action on Zechariah’s part to dramatize the wickedness of Israel’s shepherds. The prophet acts out a parable of a “good shepherd” called by God to lead and unite his people, but the people reject this shepherd along with the promise of protection from the nations (11:10) and unity between Judah and Israel (11:14). Zechariah’s symbolic actions foreshadow the ministry of Jesus the Messiah as the Good Shepherd (see John 10:1-21). 11:4 The people of Israel are God’s flock (see Isa 40:11; Mic 5:4). The relative helplessness of sheep places a premium on their careful shepherding. • intended for slaughter: Like sheep fattened for butchering, the people are being treated as disposable goods in a corrupt economy.

Read Zechariah 11:4 →Read the full chapter →John Gill's Exposition →Jamieson, Fausset & Brown →Barnes' Notes →Wesley's Explanatory Notes →Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge →Keil & Delitzsch →

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