"In that day, saith the Lord,

I will smite every horse with astonishment,

And his rider with madness;

And upon the house of Judah I will open my eyes,

And every horse of the nations I will smite with blindness."

Zechariah 9:7And I will take away his blood out of his mouth - The "abominations" being idol-sacrifices , the "bloods" will also be, the blood mingled with the wine of sacrifices, of which David says, "Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer" Psalm 16:4; and Ezekiel unites the offences, "Ye eat With the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood" Ezekiel 33:25.

But he that remaineth - Better, "And he too" shall remain over to our God." Of the Philistines too, as of Israel, "a remnant shall be saved." After this visitation their idolatry should cease; God speaks of the Philistine nation as one man; He would wring his idol-sacrifices and idol-enjoyments from him; he should exist as a nation, but as God's.

And he shall be as a governor in Judah - Literally, "a captain of a thousand," merged in Judah as in a larger whole, as each tribe was divided into its "thousands," yet intimately blended, in no inferior position, with the people of God, as each converted nation became an integral yet unseparated whole in the people of God.

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I will take away his blood out of his mouth - The Philistines, when incorporated with the Israelites, shall abstain from blood, and every thing that is abominable.

And Ekron as a Jebusite - As an inhabitant of Jerusalem. Many of the Philistines became proselytes to Judiasm; and particularly the cities of Gaza, and Ashdod. See Josephus Antiq. lib. xlii., c. 15, s. 4.

And I will take away his blood out of his mouth,.... The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read "their blood"; not the blood of the bastard, but of the Philistines. The Targum is, "I will destroy them that eat blood"; the meaning may be, that they shall no more thirst after blood, nor drink it; nor breathe out threatenings and slaughter against the saints, or persecute the people of God: or that they should no more offer the blood of their sacrifices upon the altars to their deities, or eat things sacrificed to them:

and his abominations from between his teeth; their idols and idolatries they were tenacious of, as a man is of his food, or of any thing that is grateful to him; it may design things sacrificed to idols, eaten by them:

but he that remaineth, even he shall be for our God: the Targum paraphrases it,

"and the proselytes that remain among them, they also shall be added to the people of our God:''

Jarchi interprets it of the synagogues and schools in the captivity of Edom or Rome; but Aben Ezra's note is much better, that there shall be none remaining of the Philistines, but only such who serve the blessed God openly: but the true sense is, that here should be a remnant, according to the election of grace, who should evidently appear to be the Lord's people, by their conversion and effectual calling:

and he shall be as a governor in Judah; the Targum is,

"they shall be as the princes of the house of Judah;''

that is, as the heads of the families in that tribe; see Micah 5:2 compared with Matthew 2:6 all true Christians are as princes, yea, they are kings and priests unto God; and some of them are as a guide, teacher; and instructor of others; who go before them, and instruct them in the doctrines of the Gospel, as pastors and ministers of the word:

and Ekron as a Jebusite; that is, the inhabitant of Ekron, that shall be converted to Christ, shall be as an inhabitant of Jerusalem, which was called Jebus, 1 Chronicles 11:4 shall have a dwelling in the church, the city of God, and enjoy all the privileges and immunities of it. Kimchi says this refers to the times of the Messiah, when, he supposes, the Ekronites will be tributary to the Israelites, as the Jebusites were in the days of David. The Targum is,

"and Ekron shall be filled with the house of Israel, as Jerusalem.''

The Syriac version is, "and Ekron shall be as Hebron".

And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his {h} teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and {i} Ekron as a Jebusite.

(h) He promises to deliver the Jews when he will take vengeance on their enemies for their cruelty, and the wrongs they did to them.

(i) As the Jebusites had been destroyed, so would Ekron and all the Philistines.

9:7 Take away his blood - Though proud and warlike nations have delighted to shed blood, and, as it were, to eat the blood of their enemies, yet God will overthrow their power, and take the prey out of their mouth. Abominations - Their abominable sacrifices which they offered and feasted on. God will punish their idolatries, and by destroying the cities of those abominations, will remove them for ever. The remnant - That small select number who escape the sword, shall be the Lord's peculiar ones. As a governor - For the honour which shall be given them. As a Jebusite - The city is put for the people, and this one city and people for all the other: all the remaining Philistines shall be as Jebusites, servants to the people of God.

blood: Heb. bloods

7. take . his blood out of . mouth-Blood was forbidden as food (Ge 9:4; Le 7:26).

abominations-things sacrificed to idols and then partaken of by the worshippers (Nu 25:2; Ac 15:29). The sense is, "I will cause the Philistines to cease from the worship of idols."

even he shall be for our God-"even he," like Hamath, Damascus, Tyre, &c., which, these words imply, shall also be converted to God (Isa 56:3, "son of the stranger joined himself to the Lord") [Rosenmuller]. The "even," however, may mean, Besides the Hebrews, "even" the Philistine shall worship Jehovah (so Isa 56:8) [Maurer].

he shall be as a governor in Judah-On the conversion of the Philistine prince, he shall have the same dignity "in Judah as a governor"; there shall be no distinction [Henderson]. The Philistine princes with their respective states shall equally belong to the Jews' communion, as if they were among the "governors" of states "in Judah" [Maurer].

Ekron as a Jebusite-The Jebusites, the original inhabitants of Jerusalem, who, when subjugated by David, were incorporated with the Jews (2Sa 24:16, &c.), and enjoyed their privileges: but in a subordinate position civilly (1Ki 9:20, 21). The Jebusites' condition under Solomon being that of bond-servants and tributaries, Calvin explains the verse differently: "I will rescue the Jew from the teeth of the Philistine foe (image from wild beasts rending their prey with their teeth), who would have devoured him, as he would devour blood or flesh of his abominable sacrifices to idols: and even he, the seemingly ignoble remnant of the Jews, shall be sacred to our God (consecrated by His favor); and though so long bereft of dignity, I will make them to be as governors ruling others, and Ekron shall be a tributary bond-servant as the Jebusite? Thus the antithesis is between the Jew that remaineth (the elect remnant) and the Ekronite.

9:1-8 Here are judgements foretold on several nations. While the Macedonians and Alexander's successors were in warfare in these countries, the Lord promised to protect his people. God's house lies in the midst of an enemy's country; his church is as a lily among thorns. God's power and goodness are seen in her special preservation. The Lord encamps about his church, and while armies of proud opposers shall pass by and return, his eyes watch over her, so that they cannot prevail, and shortly the time will come when no exactor shall pass by her any more.