Zechariah 2:12 - Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Bible Comments

And the Lord shall inherit Judah His portion - The inheritance of the Lord is the title which God commonly gave to Israel (Deuteronomy 4:20; Deuteronomy 9:26, Deuteronomy 9:29; 1 Samuel 26:19; 2Sa 14:16; 2 Samuel 20:19; 2 Samuel 21:3; 1 Kings 8:51; Psalms 28:9; Psalms 33:12; Psalms 68:10; Psalms 78:62, Psalms 78:71; Psalms 119:1; Psalms 106:40, Joel 2:17; Joel 3:2, (Hebrew) Isaiah 19:25; Isaiah 47:6; Jeremiah 12:7-9; Jeremiah 50:11). God is said to be the portion of Israel Jeremiah 10:16; Jeremiah 51:19; of the pious Psalms 16:5; Psalms 73:26; Psalms 119:57; Psalms 142:6; Lamentations 3:24; once only beside, is Israel said to be the portion of God Deuteronomy 32:9; once only is God said to inherit Israel, “Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance” Exodus 34:9. Zechariah unites the two rare idioms.

In the holy land - The land is again made holy by God, and sanctified by His Presence. So He calls the place where He revealed Himself to Moses, “holy ground” Exodus 3:5. So it is said, “the holy place” Leviticus 10:17; Leviticus 14:13, “the holy house” 1 Chronicles 29:3, “the holy ark” 2 Chronicles 35:3, “the holy city” Nehemiah 11:1, Nehemiah 11:18; Isaiah 48:2; Isaiah 52:1, “the holy mountain” Isaiah 27:13; Jeremiah 31:23; Zechariah 8:3, “the holy people” Isaiah 62:12, “the holy chambers” (Ezekiel 42:13 all), or, with reference to their relation to God who consecrates them, “My holy mountain” Psalms 2:6; Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 56:7; Isaiah 57:13; Isaiah 65:11, Isaiah 65:25; Isaiah 66:20; Ezekiel 20:40; Joel 2:1; Joel 3:17; Obadiah 1:16. Zephaniah 3:11, “Thy holy habitation” Exodus 15:13, “Thy holy dwelling-place” (Deuteronomy 26:15. “His holy hab.” Psalms 68:6; Jeremiah 25:30; Zec 2:1-13 :17) “thy holy temple” (Psalms 5:8; Psalms 79:1; Psalms 138:2; Jonah 2:5, Jonah 2:8, “His holy temple,” Micah 1:2; Habakkuk 2:20), “Thy holy mountain” (Psalms 15:1; Psalms 43:3; Daniel 9:16. “His holy hill,” Psalms 3:5; Psalms 48:2; Psalms 99:9), “Thy holy oracle” Psalms 28:2, “Thy holy city” Daniel 9:24, “cities” Isaiah 64:9, “His holy place” Psalms 24:1-10 :, “His holy border.” Psalms 78:54. It is not one technical expression, as people now by a sort of effort speak of “the holy land.” Everything which has reference to God is holy. The land is holy, not for any merits of theirs, but because God was worshiped there, was specially present there. It was an anticipation and type of “Thy holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge Thee.” This land their fathers had “polluted with blood” Psalms 106:38; God says, “they defiled My land” Jeremiah 2:7; Jeremiah 3:9; Jeremiah 16:18; Ezekiel called her eminently, “the land that is not cleansed” Ezekiel 22:24. Now God said, “I will remove the iniquity of the land” Zechariah 3:9, and she was again a holy land, as hallowed by Him.

It is not a mere conversion of the pagan, But, as Isaiah Isaiah 2:3 and Micah Micah 4:2 foretold; a conversion, of which Jerusalem should be the center, as our Lord explained to the Apostles after His Resurrection, “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” Luke 24:47.

Zechariah 2:12

12 And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.