unto the heathen," Zech. ix. 10. The [Hebrew: l] designates the
substratum on which the increase of dominion and the peace manifest
themselves; the dominion of the Davidic family and its kingdom gain
infinitely in extent, and in the same degree peace also increases. In
these words the Prophet gives an intimation that the Messiah will
proceed from David's family, comp. chap. xi. 1 where he designates Him
as the twig of Jesse.--[Hebrew: hkiN] "to confirm," "to establish,"
used of throne and kingdom, 1 Sam. xiii. 13, comp. 14; 1 Kings ii. 12,
comp. ver. 24, and farther, chap. xvi. 5.--The words: "from henceforth
even for ever" do not, as _Umbreit_ supposes, refer to every thing in
this verse, but to the words immediately preceding. That the words must
be understood in their full sense, we have already proved in our
remarks on the fundamental passage, 2 Sam. vii. 13: "And I will
establish the throne of His kingdom for ever;" see Vol. i. p. 131.
_Michaelis_ says: "So that that promise to David shall never fail." The
[Hebrew: eth] does not refer to the _actual_, but to the _ideal_
present, to the first appearance of the Redeemer, to the words: "Unto
us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government is upon
His shoulder."--This great change is brought about [Pg 93] by the
_zeal_ of the Lord who raises this glorious King to His people; comp.
John iii. 16. The zeal in itself is only _energy_; the sphere of its
exercise is, in every instance, determined by the context. In Exod. xv.
5; Deut. iv. 24; Nah. i. 2, the zeal is the energy of wrath. In the
passage before us, as in the Song of Solomon viii. 6, and in chap.
xxxvii. 32: "For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and escaped
ones out of Mount Zion; the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this,"
the zeal of God means the energetic character of His love to Zion.

We must, in conclusion, still make a few remarks, on the interpretation
of vers. 5 and 6. The older interpreters were unanimous in referring
these verses to the Messiah. Even by the Jews, this explanation was
abandoned at a subsequent period only. To the Messiah this passage is
referred by the Chaldean Paraphrast, by the Commentary on Genesis known
by the name _Breshith Rabbah_ in the exposition of Genesis xli. 44 (see
_Raim. Martini Pugio fidei_, Vol. iii. sec. 3, chap. xiv. Sec. 6), by
Rabbi _Jose Galilaeus_ in the book _Ekha Rabbati_, a Commentary on
Lamentations (see _Raim. Matt._ iii. 3 chap. 4,