John Calvin Commentary Zechariah 12:2

"behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling unto all the peoples round about, and upon Judah also shall it be in the siege against Jerusalem." — Zechariah 12:2 (ASV)

Zechariah begins here to teach us what I have briefly explained: that Jerusalem would be under the protection of God, who would render it safe and secure against all enemies. But he uses figurative terms here, which make the point more evident. He says that Jerusalem would be a threshold of bruising, or breaking.

The word סף, saph, means a threshold almost everywhere in Scripture. But some think that it means a cup here, and then they translate רעל, rol, as drunkenness or fury. But as this word also means breaking, it is fitting to say that Jerusalem is called a threshold here at which people stumble, so that whoever comes against this threshold either breaks a bone or receives some other injury.

At the same time, the Prophet seems to express something more: that whoever ascended to attack Jerusalem would meet with a stumbling block, by which he might have his legs broken or bruised. The meaning then is that access to Jerusalem would be blocked, so that enemies would not overcome it, though they reached the walls and the gates, for they would stumble, as it is said, at the threshold.

If the other rendering is approved, the sense would be suitable: that all the ungodly, while devising schemes against God’s Church, would be inebriated by their own plans; indeed, that their drink would be deadly to them, for the passions of men produce effects like drunkenness. Therefore, when the ungodly gather their forces against the Church, it is as if they were greedily swallowing down wine, for the drunken meet together to indulge in excesses. The meaning then would be that this immoderate drinking would be fatal to the nations.

But I prefer the former view: that even if the gates of the holy city were open, or even if an easy access was made through the walls, God would still be a defense on every side, so that enemies would stumble, as we have said, at the very threshold and bruise themselves. This promise was very necessary then, for Jerusalem was exposed to the assaults of all, as it could not have defended itself by moats, walls, or mounds. But the Lord here promises that it would be a threshold of bruising.

He then adds, Also against Judah, or over Judah, it shall be during the siege against Jerusalem. The Prophet, as I think, extends the promise to the whole land, as though he had said, “Though the confines of Jerusalem should not contain all the inhabitants, yet they shall be everywhere safe, for God will take them under his protection.”

I wonder why some interpreters have omitted the preposition על, ol, and have translated it as follows: “Judah also shall be in the siege against Jerusalem.” They derive a completely different meaning from this, namely that some of the Jews themselves would become treacherous, not sparing their brethren and friends, but becoming hostile to them and uniting their forces with those of pagan nations.

But I consider the meaning to be the reverse of this: that when Jerusalem is besieged, the Lord will place obstacles everywhere, which will hinder and prevent the assaults of enemies. When God, the prophet says, defends the holy city, this very protection (for I apply this phrase to God’s protection) will extend throughout the whole land. It is as though he had said, “God will not only be the guardian of the city alone, but also of the whole of the holy land.” This must have sharply goaded the Israelites, seeing that they were excluded from God’s aid, inasmuch as they had not seen fit to return to their own country when liberty was freely given them.