Zechariah 11 Study Notes: The Shepherd Valued at Thirty Silver Pieces
A lament over fallen forests opens a picture of a doomed flock that the prophet shepherds with two staffs, Favor and Union. The flock rejects him and he breaks Favor; paid thirty silver pieces, he casts the money to the potter and breaks Union, and a worthless shepherd is foretold.
General
In 11:4-5, how is the doomed flock treated by those who buy it, sell it and shepherd it?
Answer: They exploit it for gain and show it no compassion at all
The LORD tells the prophet to act as shepherd over a flock destined for slaughter (11:4). Those who buy the sheep kill them and feel no guilt; the sellers thank the LORD that they have become rich; and even the flock's own shepherds show them no pity (11:5). Because of this, God says He will no longer pity those living in the land; He will hand each person over to his neighbor and to his king, and He will not rescue them (11:6). Ezekiel made the same charge against shepherds who used the flock for themselves (Ezekiel 34:3), and Jeremiah pronounced woe on shepherds who destroy God's sheep (Jeremiah 23:1). The sellers' praise covers plain greed, the greed for money Paul calls a root of every sort of evil (1 Timothy 6:10).
- Zechariah 11:4-5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter, whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.”The prophet is told to shepherd a doomed flock whose buyers, sellers and shepherds care nothing for it.
- Ezekiel 34:3 (BSB)“You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.”Ezekiel accuses Israel's shepherds of using the flock for their own benefit without feeding it.
- Jeremiah 23:1 (BSB)““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.”God pronounces woe on shepherds who ruin and disperse His sheep.
- 1 Timothy 6:10 (BSB)“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”Paul warns that craving money leads to every kind of evil, the greed that drives the sellers of 11:5.
Theological
According to 11:4-5, how do the flock's buyers, sellers and shepherds treat it?
Answer: They exploit it for gain and show it no compassion at all
The prophet is commissioned to shepherd a flock appointed to slaughter (11:4). Its buyers kill without guilt, its sellers piously credit the LORD for their profits, and even its shepherds show no pity (11:5). God answers by withdrawing His own pity from the land's inhabitants, delivering each to neighbor and to king without rescue (11:6). The indictment parallels Ezekiel 34:3 and Jeremiah 23:1 on shepherds who exploit and destroy the flock, and the sellers' religious language masking greed exemplifies the craving for money Paul warns against (1 Timothy 6:10).
- Zechariah 11:4-5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter, whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.”The prophet is told to shepherd a doomed flock whose buyers, sellers and shepherds care nothing for it.
- Ezekiel 34:3 (BSB)“You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.”Ezekiel accuses Israel's shepherds of using the flock for their own benefit without feeding it.
- Jeremiah 23:1 (BSB)““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.”God pronounces woe on shepherds who ruin and disperse His sheep.
- 1 Timothy 6:10 (BSB)“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”Paul warns that craving money leads to every kind of evil, the greed that drives the sellers of 11:5.
General
True or False: In 11:8-9 the flock comes to detest its shepherd, and he declares that he will stop shepherding them.
Answer: True
This is true. The prophet takes up the role of shepherd, caring especially for the flock's afflicted sheep and carrying two staffs named Favor and Union (11:7). In one month he gets rid of three shepherds. But he loses patience with the sheep, and they come to loathe him (11:8). So he gives them up: he will stop caring for them, and he leaves the dying to die, the perishing to perish, and the rest to destroy one another (11:9). Rejecting the shepherd God provides means losing his care. Many Christians have seen here a picture of how Jesus was not received by His own people (John 1:11), as He Himself lamented over Jerusalem's unwillingness (Matthew 23:37).
- Zechariah 11:8-9 (BSB)“And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me. Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.””The shepherd and the flock come to loathe one another, and he gives up shepherding them.
- John 1:11 (BSB)“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”John says the Word was rejected by His own people.
- Matthew 23:37 (BSB)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!”Jesus laments that Jerusalem was unwilling to be gathered by Him.
Theological
True or False: According to 11:8-9, the flock comes to loathe its shepherd, and he renounces his shepherding of them.
Answer: True
This is true. The prophet shepherds the doomed flock, especially its afflicted, with the staffs Favor and Union (11:7), and removes three shepherds in a single month. Yet mutual loathing develops between shepherd and flock (11:8), and he abandons them to the consequences: the dying to death, the perishing to destruction, and the survivors to devour one another (11:9). The withdrawal of the shepherd is itself a judgment on a flock that despised him. Many Christians have seen in this a foreshadowing of Christ, who was not received by His own people (John 1:11) and who lamented Jerusalem's refusal to be gathered (Matthew 23:37).
- Zechariah 11:8-9 (BSB)“And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me. Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.””The shepherd and the flock come to loathe one another, and he gives up shepherding them.
- John 1:11 (BSB)“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”John says the Word was rejected by His own people.
- Matthew 23:37 (BSB)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!”Jesus laments that Jerusalem was unwilling to be gathered by Him.
General
What do the shepherds wail over in the picture of 11:1-3?
Answer: Their glory has been ruined along with the fallen forests
Chapter 11 opens with a poem of destruction. Lebanon is told to open its doors so fire can burn its cedars; the cypress and Bashan's oaks are called to wail because the great trees and thick forest have fallen (11:1-2). The shepherds wail because their glory lies in ruins, and young lions roar because the Jordan's thickets lie ruined (11:3). Isaiah used Lebanon's cedars and Bashan's oaks as pictures of proud and lofty things God brings low (Isaiah 2:12-13), and Jeremiah likewise told the shepherds to wail because the LORD was destroying their pasture (Jeremiah 25:34-36). The poem prepares for the judgment on faithless shepherds that follows in the chapter.
- Zechariah 11:1-3 (BSB)“Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may consume your cedars! Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees are ruined! Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been cut down! Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is in ruins. Listen to the roaring of the young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.”A poem of devastation: forests burn and fall, and shepherds and young lions cry out over their ruin.
- Isaiah 2:12-13 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled— against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan,”Isaiah names Lebanon's cedars and Bashan's oaks among the haughty and exalted things the LORD will bring low.
- Jeremiah 25:34-36 (BSB)“Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock. Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.”Jeremiah also calls the shepherds to wail because the LORD is laying waste their pastures.
Theological
In the lament of 11:1-3, what is the cause of the shepherds' wailing?
Answer: Their glory has been ruined along with the fallen forests
The chapter opens with a dirge: fire consumes Lebanon's cedars, the cypress and Bashan's oaks wail over the felled forest (11:1-2), the shepherds wail because their glory is ruined, and the young lions roar because the Jordan's thickets are laid waste (11:3). Lofty trees are a standard prophetic image for the proud whom the LORD humbles (Isaiah 2:12-13), and Jeremiah's summons to the shepherds to wail over their devastated pasture (Jeremiah 25:34-36) uses the same picture of judgment on Israel's leaders. The lament introduces the shepherd allegory that follows.
- Zechariah 11:1-3 (BSB)“Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may consume your cedars! Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees are ruined! Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been cut down! Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is in ruins. Listen to the roaring of the young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.”A poem of devastation: forests burn and fall, and shepherds and young lions cry out over their ruin.
- Isaiah 2:12-13 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled— against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan,”Isaiah names Lebanon's cedars and Bashan's oaks among the haughty and exalted things the LORD will bring low.
- Jeremiah 25:34-36 (BSB)“Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock. Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.”Jeremiah also calls the shepherds to wail because the LORD is laying waste their pastures.
General
When the staff called Favor was cut in two in 11:10-11, who recognized that the act was a message from the LORD?
Answer: The suffering sheep who were watching
The shepherd broke the staff named Favor in two, canceling the covenant he had established with all the peoples. It was canceled that same day (11:10). The afflicted sheep, who were watching him, understood that the LORD had spoken through it (11:11). It was the lowly and suffering who recognized it. God says He esteems those who are humble and contrite and tremble at His word (Isaiah 66:2), and Jesus thanked the Father for revealing His truth to little children rather than to the clever and educated (Matthew 11:25).
- Zechariah 11:10-11 (BSB)“Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.”Breaking the staff Favor revokes a covenant, and the afflicted who watch recognize God's word in it.
- Isaiah 66:2 (BSB)“Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.”God says He esteems the humble and contrite who tremble at His word.
- Matthew 11:25 (BSB)“At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”Jesus praises the Father for revealing truth to little children while hiding it from the clever and educated.
Theological
In 11:10-11, who discerned that the breaking of the staff Favor carried the LORD's word?
Answer: The suffering sheep who were watching
Breaking the staff Favor annulled the covenant the shepherd had established with all the peoples, effective that day (11:10). It was the afflicted sheep, those watching him, who recognized it as the LORD's word (11:11). Spiritual perception here belongs to the lowly rather than the powerful, consistent with God's regard for the humble who tremble at His word (Isaiah 66:2) and with Jesus' praise to the Father for revealing truth to little children while hiding it from the wise (Matthew 11:25). Recognition of God's word is His gift, not the achievement of the prominent.
- Zechariah 11:10-11 (BSB)“Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.”Breaking the staff Favor revokes a covenant, and the afflicted who watch recognize God's word in it.
- Isaiah 66:2 (BSB)“Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.”God says He esteems the humble and contrite who tremble at His word.
- Matthew 11:25 (BSB)“At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”Jesus praises the Father for revealing truth to little children while hiding it from the clever and educated.
General
What did the breaking of the second staff, Union, signify in 11:14?
Answer: Judah and Israel would no longer be united as brothers
Right after the silver was thrown to the potter, the shepherd cut his second staff, Union, in two. This ended the brotherly bond uniting Judah and Israel (11:14). The first staff, Favor, had already been broken to cancel a covenant with the peoples (11:10); now the bond within God's own people is broken too. Ezekiel had acted out the opposite: two sticks, for Judah and for Joseph, joined into one in God's hand (Ezekiel 37:19), as God promised one nation under one king (Ezekiel 37:22). In Zechariah 11, the rejection of the shepherd brings division instead.
- Zechariah 11:14 (BSB)“Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.”After the silver is thrown away, the shepherd breaks his second staff, Union.
- Ezekiel 37:19 (BSB)“you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will put them together with the stick of Judah. I will make them into a single stick, and they will become one in My hand.’”Ezekiel's sign promised that God would join the sticks of Joseph and Judah into one, the very unity 11:14 shows being broken.
- Ezekiel 37:22 (BSB)“I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them. Then they will no longer be two nations and will never again be divided into two kingdoms.”God promised to make Israel one nation under one king, never again split apart.
Theological
What was signified by the breaking of the staff Union in 11:14?
Answer: Judah and Israel would no longer be united as brothers
The second staff, Union, is broken immediately after the thirty silver pieces are cast away, dissolving the brotherly bond uniting Judah and Israel (11:14). Where the breaking of Favor annulled a covenant with the peoples (11:10), this act dissolves the unity of God's people itself. It reverses Ezekiel's sign of the two sticks joined into one in God's hand (Ezekiel 37:19) and the promise of one nation under one king (Ezekiel 37:22). The sequence ties the people's contempt for the shepherd directly to the loss of their unity.
- Zechariah 11:14 (BSB)“Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.”After the silver is thrown away, the shepherd breaks his second staff, Union.
- Ezekiel 37:19 (BSB)“you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will put them together with the stick of Judah. I will make them into a single stick, and they will become one in My hand.’”Ezekiel's sign promised that God would join the sticks of Joseph and Judah into one, the very unity 11:14 shows being broken.
- Ezekiel 37:22 (BSB)“I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them. Then they will no longer be two nations and will never again be divided into two kingdoms.”God promised to make Israel one nation under one king, never again split apart.
General
What wages does the shepherd receive in 11:12-13, and what does he do with them at the LORD's command?
Answer: Thirty silver pieces, which he casts to the potter at the LORD's house
The shepherd asks for his wages if they think it right, and they weigh out thirty pieces of silver (11:12). The law fixed thirty silver shekels as the payment owed to a master whose servant was gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32), so the wage was an insult. The LORD commands the prophet to fling the money to the potter, and the shepherd calls it, with biting irony, a splendid sum they had set on him; so he casts the silver to the potter at the LORD's house (11:13). Because he shepherds on the LORD's behalf, the insult is aimed at the LORD who sent him. The New Testament shows the fulfillment: the chief priests paid Judas thirty pieces of silver to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:15); the money later bought the potter's field, and Matthew says this fulfilled the prophet's words (Matthew 27:9-10). Jesus is the Shepherd valued at a servant's price.
- Zechariah 11:12-13 (BSB)“Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.”The shepherd's wages are weighed out, and at the LORD's command he casts the money to the potter.
- Exodus 21:32 (BSB)“If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned.”The law fixed thirty silver shekels as the payment to a master whose servant was gored by an ox, showing how low the shepherd's wages were.
- Matthew 26:15 (BSB)“and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.”The chief priests agreed to pay Judas thirty silver pieces to betray Jesus.
- Matthew 27:9-10 (BSB)“Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on Him by the people of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord had commanded me.””Matthew states that the purchase of the potter's field with that silver fulfilled what the prophet had spoken.
Theological
What payment does the shepherd receive in 11:12-13, and how is it disposed of at the LORD's command?
Answer: Thirty silver pieces, which he casts to the potter at the LORD's house
When the shepherd asks for his wages, they weigh out thirty pieces of silver (11:12); the law fixed thirty silver shekels as the compensation for a servant gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32). At the LORD's command the silver is cast to the potter at the LORD's house, and the shepherd's sarcastic description of the splendid sum they had set on him shows the contempt they held for the One he represented (11:13). Matthew records the fulfillment: thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas for betraying Jesus (Matthew 26:15), and later spent on the potter's field in fulfillment of the prophetic word (Matthew 27:9-10). The rejected Shepherd-King, priced at a servant's value, is Christ.
- Zechariah 11:12-13 (BSB)“Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.”The shepherd's wages are weighed out, and at the LORD's command he casts the money to the potter.
- Exodus 21:32 (BSB)“If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned.”The law fixed thirty silver shekels as the payment to a master whose servant was gored by an ox, showing how low the shepherd's wages were.
- Matthew 26:15 (BSB)“and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.”The chief priests agreed to pay Judas thirty silver pieces to betray Jesus.
- Matthew 27:9-10 (BSB)“Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on Him by the people of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord had commanded me.””Matthew states that the purchase of the potter's field with that silver fulfilled what the prophet had spoken.
General
According to 11:16, what kind of shepherd will the LORD raise up in the land?
Answer: One who ignores the lost and broken and feeds on the best sheep
The LORD tells the prophet to pick up again the gear a foolish shepherd would carry (11:15), acting out what is coming. God will set up a shepherd who will not look after the lost, look for the young, heal the injured, or feed the healthy; instead he will eat the best of the flock and rip away their hooves (11:16). Then God pronounces woe on this worthless shepherd who abandons the flock, calling for a sword against his arm and right eye (11:17). God rules even over the rise of a harmful leader, yet that leader is fully guilty and falls under God's judgment. Ezekiel listed the same failures of bad shepherds (Ezekiel 34:4), and Jesus contrasted Himself, the good shepherd who gives up His life, with the hired hand who runs away (John 10:11-13).
- Zechariah 11:15-17 (BSB)“And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves. Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!””The prophet acts out the role of a foolish herdsman, and God announces a harmful shepherd and pronounces woe on him.
- Ezekiel 34:4 (BSB)“You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.”Ezekiel lists the same failures of bad shepherds: not strengthening the weak, healing the sick or searching for the lost.
- John 10:11-13 (BSB)“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock. The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.”Jesus contrasts Himself, the good shepherd who gives up His life, with the hired hand who abandons the sheep.
Theological
What sort of shepherd does the LORD say in 11:16 that He will raise up in the land?
Answer: One who ignores the lost and broken and feeds on the best sheep
The prophet is told to take up again a foolish shepherd's equipment (11:15), enacting God's announcement of a shepherd who will neglect the lost, the young, the injured and the healthy, while devouring the choicest sheep (11:16). Yet God then pronounces woe on this worthless shepherd who abandons the flock, calling for a sword against his arm and right eye (11:17). God's sovereignty extends even to raising up a harmful ruler over a flock that had rejected its shepherd, while the worthless shepherd remains fully accountable for his own cruelty. His failures mirror Ezekiel 34:4, and stand in contrast to Christ, the good shepherd who gives up His life rather than abandoning the sheep like the hired hand (John 10:11-13).
- Zechariah 11:15-17 (BSB)“And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves. Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!””The prophet acts out the role of a foolish herdsman, and God announces a harmful shepherd and pronounces woe on him.
- Ezekiel 34:4 (BSB)“You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.”Ezekiel lists the same failures of bad shepherds: not strengthening the weak, healing the sick or searching for the lost.
- John 10:11-13 (BSB)“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock. The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.”Jesus contrasts Himself, the good shepherd who gives up His life, with the hired hand who abandons the sheep.