Zechariah 11 Study Notes

11:1-11 The rich symbolism in this scene recalls the visions in the first section of the book, though here the form is more like a parable. Given the failure of the shepherds to lead the people in the right paths (see note at 10:3-5), God appointed the prophet as a figurative shepherd. When the people failed to follow him, the Lord canceled his relationship with them and turned them over to worthless leaders.

11:1-3 Some commentators think this poem—a rhetorical portrayal of the humbling of the stately forest of Lebanon—belongs with the preceding chapter, as a continuation of judgment on Israel’s enemies, but it more likely introduces the judgment and humbling of Israel’s leaders in chap. 11. Open your gates, Lebanon may be a symbolic reference to the temple and its gates (timbers from Lebanon were used in the building of the temple), which suggests that the leadership in view is that of the religious authorities. Thus, the emphasis on the temple in earlier chapters continues.

11:4-6 The temple precinct was full of sheep intended for slaughter, which was their proper purpose in the sacrificial system. But they had become objects for personal gain, and with their own shepherds having no compassion for them, God withdrew and turned neighboring kingdoms loose on the chosen people and their land. As is often true, sin can overturn God’s stated purposes and intended blessings (Gn 3:14-24).

11:7-9 The shepherd named one of his staffs Favor (or Grace) and the other Union (or Unity), the former symbolizing the covenant (v. 10) and the latter representing reunited Israel (v. 14). But the failure of the shepherds to be good leaders resulted in letting the people self-destruct. The phrase three shepherds probably does not refer to anyone in particular.

11:10-11 As George Klein points out (Zechariah), most interpreters do not consider the covenant to be one of the biblical covenants but “a general covenant that protected Judah from the wiles of her neighboring nations.” It “speaks metaphorically of God’s protective restraint on the nations that would be withdrawn when the shepherd broke the covenant.”

11:12-13 The thirty pieces of silver may be an allusion to the value of a slave (Ex 21:32). Throwing the magnificent price (probably sarcastic) to the potter in the temple was an act of desecration. Matthew used some of this wording in reference to Judas (Mt 27:9-10), though stating that it was Jeremiah’s prophecy that was fulfilled (Jr 32:6-9).

11:14 The hoped-for reunification of Israel and Judah was canceled (see note at 10:6-9).

11:15-16 If the people were not going to follow a good shepherd, they might as well follow a bad one, so God responded in satire and appointed the prophet as a foolish shepherd.