Zekharya 12 | The War over Jerusalem

The final chapters of Sefer Zekharya describe a time in the future when all the nations will wage a great war against Jerusalem — a war that will ultimately end with a sweeping redemption for Yehuda and Jerusalem. This prophecy echoes the prophecy of the war of Gog and Magog found in Sefer Yechezkel (chapters 38–39). Compare the two prophecies and see where they align and where they differ.

The description of the war in this chapter continues to employ the motif of horses, which has already appeared in earlier visions. Here, the prophecy focuses on the horses of the nations, which God will strike with blindness: “On that day – the Lord has spoken – I will strike every horse with terror and their riders with insanity” (12:4). Meanwhile, Yehuda will place no trust in its own horses, but will internalize that its strength lies in trust in God —“Then the chieftains of Yehuda will say in their hearts: ‘I take strength from the strength that the residents of Jerusalem find in the Lord of Hosts, their God’” (12:5).

An interesting point appears in the next verse: “And the Lord will save the tents of Yehuda first so that the glory of the House of David and the glory of the residents of Jerusalem does not become greater than that of Yehuda” (12:7). This prophecy is not only about the redemption of the people of Israel — it already anticipates the potential social dynamic that could emerge after redemption. If fortified Jerusalem were to be saved first, its residents might come to look down upon the rest of Yehuda. Therefore, God will first redeem the tents of Yehuda — those living in more temporary and vulnerable dwellings — so that the people of Jerusalem will not become arrogant. Beyond accounting for the expected social dynamics, there seems to be a deeper message: the emphasis on the phrase “tents of Yehuda” connects the ideas of redemption and simplicity.

Back in Chapter 9, we noted that one might have expected the time of redemption to be accompanied by an abundance of horses — but Zekharya explained that in the time of redemption, the horses will actually be cut off. In a similar way, when we think of redemption, we tend to envision power and grandeur. But here, the redemption begins specifically with the tents. These simple, unassuming structures — those that don’t impress the eye — are the ones where redemption can begin, precisely because they rely on God, not on human might (compare Yeshayahu 33:20).