Zechariah 12:8 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

In that day: see Malachi 12:3. Shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem: as he had defended and saved Judah, anti the tents thereof, so will he also defend Jerusalem and its inhabitants against all their enemies, during the Persian, Grecian, and beginnings of the Roman empire, during which days many wars were raised against the Jews; but most visible was this, when the Maccabees succeeded so far, as to restore religion, and cleanse the temple. He that is feeble, reeleth through weakness, shall be as David: a mighty man of valour was David; so these, through faith, of weak became strong, as Hebrews 11:34. The house of David shall be as God; those of the royal line shall be, for prudence and prowess in the conduct of the armies of Israel, most excellent, expressed here in a hyperbole. As God; or, as angels, so Elohim is translated Psalms 8:3; and so I find the French reads it, cornme des anges. Nay, like the Angel of the Lord, which is head of principalities; like Christ, who is Captain of our salvation. In these exploits and in this deliverance of the church they were types, and so must have somewhat in them which may be sufficient to resemble them to him. Before them: these excellent ones of the royal line were to be leaders and commanders in these wars, and in their conduct they should show prudence and valour like that of an angel, rather than that of an ordinary man.