Zechariah 10:8

I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Zechariah 10:8-10. I will hiss for them — Rather, whistle, as the word שׁרקshould be here translated. I will call them from distant countries, as a shepherd calls his flock together with his whistle. For I have redeemed them — For I have, and will, by the workings of my divine providence, deliver and redeem them out of their enemies’ hands, and from those who hold them captives. And they shall increase as they have increased — Namely, in the most flourishing times, such as were the reigns of David and Solomon. I will sow — Rather, I have sown, them among the people — Or nations, for it appears beyond a doubt that what had been formerly done is here spoken of. And they shall remember me in far countries — Whithersoever they were driven. I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt — Ptolemy Philadelphus, one of the kings of Egypt, redeemed no fewer than 100,000 of the Jews, and sent them home; God, no doubt, inclining him to be thus remarkably favourable and kind to them. For this, we have the testimony of Josephus’s history; as also, that other kings released many of those who still remained slaves, or servants in Egypt, and sent them back to their own land. And gather them out of Assyria — This was done by Alexander, the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, and by both the Demetriuses, as Josephus relates. This redeeming and releasing of the Jews, who were captives or servants in divers countries, by several kings, and sending them home at their charge or expense, which Josephus affirms to have been done, is a fact so very extraordinary that it deserves to be attended to; for it is a certain proof that the divine providence can accomplish whatever it pleases. And as this extraordinary particular was repeatedly foretold and promised by God’s prophets, long before it took place, and when there was not the least human probability of it, it is a striking proof of the truth and divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. I will bring them unto the land of Gilead and Lebanon — Gilead was taken by the arms of the Maccabees, and the cities of Syria, (here signified by Lebanon, a famous mountain in Syria,) by Hyrcanus and his successors. Gilead and Lebanon were countries remarkable for their fruitfulness. And place shall not be found for them — The land shall be too narrow for them. But this verse, and indeed the whole paragraph, has a further and mystical meaning. It relates to the success of the gospel, and the bringing in of the Jews and Gentiles into the Christian Church; and probably also to the restoration of the Jews, and of the whole remnant of the house of Israel from their present dispersions to their own land, as has been observed on Zechariah 10:6.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:6-12 Here are precious promises to the people of God, which look to the state of the Jews, and even to the latter days of the church. Preaching the gospel is God's call for souls to come to Jesus Christ. Those whom Christ redeemed by his blood, God will gather by his grace. Difficulties shall be got over easily, and effectually, as those in the way of the deliverance out of Egypt. God himself will be their strength, and their song. When we resist, and so overcome our spiritual enemies, then our hearts shall rejoice. If God strengthen us, we must bestir ourselves in all the duties of the Christian life, must be active in the work of God; and we must do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I will hiss for them - Formerly God had so spoken of His summoning the enemies of His people to chastise them. "It shall be in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly, that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria, and they shall come, and shall rest all of them in. the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns and upon all bushes" Isaiah 7:18-19. "He will hiss unto them from the ends of the earth, and behold they shall come with speed swiftly; none shall be weary or stumble among them" . He would gather them, like the countless numbers of the insect creation, which, if united, would irresistibly desolate life. He would summon them, as the bee-owner, by his shrill call, summons and unites his own swarm. Now, contrariwise God would summon with the same His own people. The fulfillment of the chastisement was the earnest of the ease of the fulfillment of the mercy.

For I have redeemed them - Then they are His, being redeemed at so dear a price. Dionysius: "For Christ, as far as in Him lay, redeemed all." God had done this in purpose, as John speaks of "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" Revelation 13:8.

And they shall increase as they increased - Kimchi: "As they increased in Egypt, so shall they increase at that time." The marvels of God's favor in Egypt shall be repeated. The increase there had been promised beforehand. "Fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation" Genesis 46:3. The fulfillment is recorded, "the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them" Exodus 1:7. God appointed that this should be part of their confession at their yearly prosperity, the offering of the basket of first-fruits; "A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went into Egypt and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous" Deuteronomy 26:5. The Psalmist dwelt upon it. "He increased His people greatly, and made them stronger than their enemies" Psalm 105:24. It became then one of the resemblances between the first deliverance and the last. Dionysius: "For the Apostles and others converted from Judaism, had more spiritual children, all those whom they begat in Christ, than the synagogue ever had after the flesh."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

8. hiss for them—Keepers of bees by a whistle call them together. So Jehovah by the mere word of His call shall gather back to Palestine His scattered people (Zec 10:10; Isa 5:26; Eze 36:11). The multitudes mentioned by Josephus [Wars of the Jews, 3:2], as peopling Galilee two hundred years after this time, were a pledge of the future more perfect fulfilment of the prophecy.

for I have redeemed them—namely, in My covenant purpose "redeemed" both temporally and spiritually.

as they have increased—in former times.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

I will hiss for them; though they are now scattered far off, I will cause them to return; I will whistle, as a shepherd, and they, as scattered sheep, shall run with sped back to the flock: I called their enemies so once, and they came, Isaiah 5:26 7:18,19; and

my people will come when thus I call to them.

And gather them; this shall be enough to bring them together; or it shall be done as soon as spoke, so soon as I whistle they shall return.

I have redeemed them; I have been at the care and charge of redeeming, I raised Cyrus to do it; I bestowed all nations and kingdoms on him, and afterwards on Darius Hystaspes, to do this, to restore my exiles, to replant Judah, to rebuild the city and temple; and I will do this also, which is much less, I will, as a shepherd with his pastoral whistle, call them in.

They shall increase as they have increased; a promise made Jeremiah 33:22, and Ezekiel 36:1,11,37,38, which see.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

I will hiss for them,.... Or "whistle for them" (p); the word signifies, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, the motion of the lips with the voice, and is a sign of calling; and so the Targum renders it, I will cry or call for them; and it denotes the call of them by the Gospel, which is the voice of Christ, which is soft, sweet, and melodious; is a sound of love, grace, and mercy; of peace, pardon, life, and salvation: the allusion seems to be to the shepherd gathering his sheep together with his pipe or whistle, and which was a reed; and so may denote the weakness of the instrument, the ministry of the word in itself, which is made the power of God unto salvation:

and gather them; from the places where they are scattered, into their land; or, by effectual calling, out from the state and condition in which they are, and from among the men of the world, to the Lord himself, as their Redeemer and Saviour; and to him for pardon and righteousness; and into his churches, and communion with him there: Kimchi observes, that some interpret this verse of future time; and Jarchi says it relates to it; and in the Talmud (q) it is applied to the times of the Messiah; where they speak of a bird called "racham", which we translate the gier eagle, Deuteronomy 14:17 and they say it is so called, because, when that comes, mercies come into the world, which this word signifies. R. Bibi bar Abi says, when it sits, it makes a whistling or hissing, from whence it is called "sarakrak", a word derived from what is here used; and when it sits on the ground, and hisses or whistles, the Messiah will come, as it is said, "I will hiss for them", &c.; the gloss is, when it stands not, but sits and chirps, it is a sign of good news. The design, seems to be to show, that the Messiah's coming is owing mercy, and would be good news, which the Gospel publishes.

For I have redeemed them; from sin, Satan, the law, death, and hell, and every enemy, by his precious blood, and the sacrifice of himself when here on earth; and this is the foundation of the effectual calling of any and every sinner; and will be the reason of the conversion and ingathering of the Jews in the latter day; they being a people redeemed and purchased by the blood of Christ, Isaiah 43:1,

and they shall increase as they have increased; either when in Egypt, or in the days of Solomon; their number shall be as the sand of the sea, Hosea 1:10 a nation shall be born at once; they shall be multiplied, and not be few, and glorified, and not be small; yea, the place shall be too strait for them to dwell in, Jeremiah 31:18.

(p) "sibilabo", i. e. "fistula pastorali", Grotius, Burkius. (q) T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 63. 1.

Geneva Study Bible

I will {i} hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.

(i) By which he declares the power of God, who needs no great preparation when he will deliver his own: for with a gesture or hiss he can call them suddenly from all places.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

8. I will hiss for them] “Formerly God had so spoken of His summoning the enemies of His people to chastise them (Isaiah 7:18-19; Isaiah 5:26-27). He would gather them like the countless numbers of the insect creation, which if united would irresistibly desolate life. He would summon them as the bee-owner, by his shrill call, summons and unites his own swarm. Now, contrariwise, God would summon with the same His own people. The fulfilment of the chastisement was the earnest of the ease of the fulfilment of the mercy.” Pusey.

as they have increased] i.e. formerly in Egypt. Exodus 1:7; Exodus 1:12. “Multiplicabuntur in exsilio, ut multiplicati fuerunt in Ægypto.” Jarchi, quoted by Maurer. Comp. Ezekiel 36:10-11.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 8-12. - § 7. The scattered people shall be gathered from all parts of the world, and dwell in their own land, under the protection of Jehovah. Verse 8. - I will him for them; σημανῶ αὐτοῖς," I will signal to them" (Septuagint); sibilabo eis (Vulgate). The slightest summons will bring them when God wills the return of the dispersed. The "hissing" is the whistling or tinkling with which bees are allured to swarm (Isaiah 5:26; Isaiah 7:18, 19). I have redeemed them. They were virtually delivered from captivity and exile, though all had not taken advantage of the deliverance. They shall increase as they have increased. The same promise is made in Ezekiel 36:10, 11. The allusion is to the marvellous growth of the Israelite nation in Egypt (Exodus 1:7, 12). The prophets often announce this fulfilment of the promise made to Abraham (Genesis 13:16; Genesis 15:5, etc.) after the return (see Isaiah 54:2; Hosea 1:10; Micah 2:12). Zechariah 10:8

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In order to remove all doubt as to the realization of this promise, the deliverance of Ephraim is described still more minutely in Zechariah 10:8-12. Zechariah 10:8. "I will hiss to them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they will multiply as they have multiplied. Zechariah 10:9. And I will sow them among the nations: and in the far-off lands will they remember me; and will live with their sons, and return. Zechariah 10:10. And I will bring them back out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Asshur, and bring them into the land of Gilead and of Lebanon; and room will not be found for them." That these verses do not treat of a fresh (second) dispersion of Ephraim, or represent the carrying away as still in the future (Hitzig), is evident from the words themselves, when correctly interpreted. Not only are the enticing and gathering together (Zechariah 10:8) mentioned before the sowing or dispersing (Zechariah 10:9), but they are both expressed by similar verbal forms (אשׁרקה and אזרעם); and the misinterpretation is thereby precluded, that events occurring at different times are referred to. We must also observe the voluntative form אשׁרקה, "I will (not I shall) hiss to them, i.e., entice them" (shâraq being used for alluring, as in Isaiah 5:26 and Isaiah 7:18), as well as the absence of a copula. They both show that the intention here is simply to explain with greater clearness what is announced in Zechariah 10:6, Zechariah 10:7. The perfect פּדיתים is prophetic, like רחמתּים in Zechariah 10:6. The further promise, "they will multiply," etc., cannot be taken as referring either merely to the multiplication of Israel in exile (Hengst., Koehler, etc.), or merely to the future multiplication after the gathering together. According to the position in which the words stand between אקבּצם and אזרעם, they must embrace both the multiplication during the dispersion, and the multiplication after the gathering together. The perfect כּמו רבוּ points to the increase which Israel experienced in the olden time under the oppression of Egypt (Exodus 1:7, Exodus 1:12). This increase, which is also promised in Ezekiel 36:10-11, is effected by God's sowing them broadcast among the nations. זרע does not mean to scatter, but to sow, to sow broadcast (see at Hosea 2:23). Consequently the reference cannot be to a dispersion of Israel inflicted as a punishment. The sowing denotes the multiplication (cf. Jeremiah 31:27), and is not to be interpreted, as Neumann and Kliefoth suppose, as signifying that the Ephraimites are to be scattered as seed-corn among the heathen, to spread the knowledge of Jehovah among the nations. This thought is quite foreign to the context; and even in the words, "in far-off lands will they remember me," it is neither expressed nor implied. These words are to be connected with what follows: Because they remember the Lord in far-off lands, they will live, and return with their children. In Zechariah 10:10 the gathering together and leading back of Israel are more minutely described, and indeed as taking place out of the land of Asshur and out of Egypt. The fact that these two lands are mentioned, upon which modern critics have principally founded their arguments in favour of the origin of this prophecy before the captivity, cannot be explained "from the circumstance that in the time of Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser many Ephraimites had fled to Egypt" (Koehler and others); for history knows nothing of this, and the supposition is merely a loophole for escaping from a difficulty. Such passages as Hosea 8:13; Hosea 9:3, Hosea 9:6; Hosea 11:11; Micah 7:12; Isaiah 11:11; Isaiah 27:13, furnish no historical evidence of such thing. Even if certain Ephraimites had fled to Egypt, these could not be explained as relating to a return or gathering together of the Ephraimites of Israelites out of Egypt and Assyria, because the announcement presupposes that the Ephraimites had been transported to Egypt in quite as large numbers as to Assyria, - a fact which cannot be established either in relation to the times before or to those after the captivity. Egypt, as we have already shown at Hosea 9:3 (cf. Zechariah 8:13), is rather introduced in all the passages mentioned simply as a type of the land of bondage, on account of its having been the land in which Israel lived in the olden time, under the oppression of the heathen world. And Asshur is introduced in the same way, as the land into which the ten tribes had been afterwards exiled. This typical significance is placed beyond all doubt by Zechariah 10:1, since the redemption of Israel out of the countries named is there exhibited under the type of the liberation of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt under the guidance of Moses. (Compare also Delitzsch on Isaiah 11:11.) The Ephraimites are to return into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; the former representing the territory of the ten tribes in the olden time to the east of the Jordan, the latter that to the west (cf. Micah 7:14). לא ימּצא, there is not found for them, sc. the necessary room: equivalent to, it will not be sufficient for them (as in Joshua 17:16).