A Fountain of Cleansing and the End of False Prophets
Zechariah 13:1-6
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Zec.13.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מקור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נפתח: VERB,nif,perf,3,m,sg
- לבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cns
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולישבי: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לחטאת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ולנדה: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezek.36:25 (thematic): God promises, “I will sprinkle clean water upon you,” a covenantal promise of purification—parallel to a fountain opened for sin and impurity as divine cleansing and restoration.
- Isa.12:3 (verbal): “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” uses water-salvation imagery similar to an opened fountain for the house of David and Jerusalem—salvific, cleansing water-language.
- Zech.12:10 (structural): In the same prophetic oracle the people repent and mourn (“they will look on me…”), linking the eschatological ‘day’ theme and communal repentance that leads to the cleansing envisaged in 13:1.
- John 7:38 (allusion): Jesus’ promise that ‘rivers of living water’ will flow (interpreted as the Spirit) echoes OT water-images of life and purification, paralleling the opened fountain for sin and impurity.
- Rev.22:1-2 (thematic): The eschatological river/’water of life’ that brings healing and restoration resonates with Zech.13:1’s promise of an opened fountain for cleansing in the final salvation context.
Alternative generated candidates
- On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and from uncleanness.
- On that day a fountain shall be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem—for sin and for impurity.
Zec.13.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אכרית: VERB,qal,impf,3,ms
- את: PRT,acc
- שמות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- העצבים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- מן: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ולא: CONJ
- יזכרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- עוד: ADV
- וגם: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- הנביאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ואת: CONJ
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הטמאה: ADJ,f,sg,def
- אעביר: VERB,hiph,impf,1,_,sg
- מן: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Isaiah 2:18 (verbal): Speaks of idols being abolished (literally 'the images shall be utterly abolished'), paralleling Zech 13:2's promise to cut off the names of idols from the land.
- Jeremiah 23:16, 30-32 (thematic): Condemns false prophets who speak lies and announces judgment upon them—parallels Zech 13:2's removal of prophets and the spirit of false prophecy.
- Ezekiel 13:9-11, 17-23 (thematic): Ezekiel denounces false prophets and describes God’s judgment that will remove their deceptive influence—closely related to Zechariah’s theme of purging false prophecy and unclean spirit from the land.
- Micah 3:5-8 (thematic): Contrasts true prophetic authority with misleading prophets who lead the people astray; Micah foretells the silencing/judgment of such prophets, echoing Zech 13:2.
- Zephaniah 1:4-6 (thematic): Announces judgment on officials, priests and prophets who practice idolatry and falsehood—paralleling Zechariah’s promise to eradicate idols and false prophetic activity.
Alternative generated candidates
- And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land; they shall be remembered no more. And I will remove the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness from the land.
- And it shall be on that day, declares the LORD of hosts: I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.
Zec.13.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- ינבא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עוד: ADV
- ואמרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- אביו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- ואמו: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,m,sg
- ילדיו: NOUN,m,pl,poss3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- תחיה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- שקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דברת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ודקרהו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl,obj:3,m,sg
- אביהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- ואמו: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,m,sg
- ילדיו: NOUN,m,pl,poss3,m,sg
- בהנבאו: PREP+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 18:20 (verbal): Declares that a prophet who presumptuously speaks in Yahweh’s name what He has not commanded shall die — language and legal principle mirrored in Zech 13:3.
- Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (thematic): Prescribes execution for prophets who entice Israel to other gods; provides the Deuteronomic background for killing a false prophet (the communal/familial enforcement motif).
- Matthew 10:21-22 (thematic): Jesus predicts family betrayal and persecution (’father against son… and children against parents’), echoing the motif of kin turning on would‑be prophets in Zech 13:3.
- 1 Kings 13:11-24 (structural): Narrative of a man of God who is led astray by an older prophet and subsequently killed — parallels the motif of a prophet’s death tied to false/deceptive prophecy and familial/communal judgment.
- Jeremiah 26:20-23 (allusion): Account of Urijah the prophet who fled for proclaiming a message and was seized and put to death by royal authority — a parallel instance of a prophet executed for his speech.
Alternative generated candidates
- And if a man still prophesies, then his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, “You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.” And his father and his mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.
- And when anyone still prophesies, then his father and his mother and his children will say to him, “You shall not live, for you have spoken lies in the name of the LORD.” And his father and his mother and his children shall pierce him through when he prophesies.
Zec.13.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- יבשו: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,pl
- הנביאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מחזינו: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- בהנבאתו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def,poss3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- ילבשו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אדרת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שער: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למען: PREP
- כחש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 13:6-9 (verbal): Denounces false prophets who 'see vain and lying visions' and will be exposed and ashamed—close verbal and thematic parallel to prophets being ashamed and their deceptive prophetic garb removed.
- Jeremiah 23:25-28 (thematic): Condemns prophets who invent dreams and mislead the people; challenges their prophetic claims—relates to Zech.13:4's exposure of false prophecy and shame of visionaries.
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (structural): Gives the law for testing prophets (if a prophet's word does not come to pass he is false)—provides the legal/theological framework for judging and rejecting false prophets like those in Zech.13:4.
- Micah 3:5-7 (thematic): Speaks of prophets who proclaim lies and the consequence that 'night shall be upon you, that you shall not have a vision'—parallels Zech.13:4's motif of the cessation/shame of false prophetic visions.
- Zechariah 13:2-6 (structural): Immediate context: describes cleansing the land of idols and false prophets, prophets being ashamed and unable to deceive—direct structural parallel and development of the same theme.
Alternative generated candidates
- On that day the prophets shall be ashamed of their visions; they will not clothe themselves in a hair garment to deceive.
- And it shall be on that day that the prophets shall be ashamed each of his vision in his prophesying; they shall not put on a hairy mantle as a cover for deceit.
Zec.13.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- נביא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבד: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אדמה: NOUN,prop,f,sg
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הקנני: VERB,hiph,perf,1,_,sg
- מנעורי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Amos 7:14 (verbal): Amos likewise denies being a prophet and identifies a humble occupation ('I was no prophet... I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores'), echoing the language and posture of Zech.13:5.
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (structural): Gives the canonical test and consequence for false prophecy—background legal framework for distinguishing true prophets from those who falsely claim prophetic status, relevant to Zechariah's judgment against false prophets.
- Ezekiel 13:3-9 (thematic): Condemns those who prophesy from their own heart and lead Israel astray; thematically parallels Zech.13's denunciation and removal of false prophets.
- Jeremiah 23:21-22 (allusion): God contrasts true and false prophets—those he sends versus those who speak on their own—similar to Zech.13's scenario exposing and disqualifying spurious prophecy.
Alternative generated candidates
- And one will say, “I am no prophet; I am a tiller of the ground— a working man since my youth.”
- And he shall say, “I am no prophet; I am a man who tills the ground—indeed, a man taught to work the soil from my youth.”
Zec.13.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- המכות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- בין: PREP
- ידיך: NOUN,f,pl,cs,2ms
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הכיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,NA,sg
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מאהבי: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Zech.12.10 (allusion): Speaks of looking on one ‘whom they have pierced’ — related motif of a wounded figure whose wounds provoke recognition/response.
- Isa.53.5 (thematic): The Servant is 'wounded' and bears suffering for others — parallels the motif of visible wounds on a figure of redemptive significance.
- Ps.22:16 (Heb. 22:17) (verbal): Imagery of pierced/wounded hands (or 'between the arms') resonates with the description of wounds in Zech.13:6.
- John 20:27 (thematic): The risen Jesus shows his hands/side to Thomas ('reach here your finger...') — New Testament echo of the significance of wounds between the limbs as identity/validation.
Alternative generated candidates
- And someone will ask him, “What are these wounds between your hands?” And he will answer, “The wounds I received in the house of my friends.”
- And one will say to him, “What are these wounds between your hands?” He will answer, “Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.”
On that day a fountain shall be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. And it shall be on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall be remembered no more; and I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. And when any one still prophesies, then his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, “You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the LORD”; and his father and his mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. And on that day the prophets shall be ashamed, each one because of his visions when he prophesies; they shall not wear the hair garment to deceive. And one shall say, “I am no prophet; I am a tiller of the ground; for a man taught me from my youth.” And he shall say to him, “What are these wounds between your hands?” And he shall answer, “The wounds I received in the house of my friends.”