Commentary on Zechariah · §14 · Didymus the Blind

The Mission of the Descending Lord

An apostleship occurring to men follows the glory of the one called God, being Almighty; for he was not sent as Almighty, but in the manner of 'emptying himself' and 'taking the form of a servant' by descent. What is being pre-announced to those still at their peak while being plundered by nations? 'He who touches, he says, of you, touches the apple of his eye' (Zechariah 2:8), harming himself rather than striking the righteous or those he intends to harm, similarly to the one striking the apple of his own eye. This theory gathers from many places of Scripture: Cain, wishing to harm, exposed himself before he intended to murder (Genesis 4:8). The same happened to Saul pursuing David in order to kill (1 Samuel 24:1-22), and to Absalom attacking his father tyrannically (2 Samuel 15:1-14).

In the present prophetic text it signifies harming through touching, and especially through those whom God himself says to those attacking murderously against his own people: 'Touch not my anointed ones, and do evil to my prophets' (Psalm 105:15). To touch lightly lies in: 'It is good for a man not to touch a woman' (1 Corinthians 7:1), signifying approaching shamefully and licentiously. From this verb it is also shown that to touch well is to join through contact, as in that said by Jesus: 'Someone touched me' (Luke 8:46), when the woman with the issue of blood, desiring to be healed, touched by grasping the hem of Jesus' garment. Having fallen so many interpretations upon the present voice of 'touching,' the now present prophetic word signifies harming through maltreatment. But he who intends evil against those guarded by God touches the apple of the eye of the inner man. And it is manifest how he who touches the servants of God touches the apple of his own eye, because of the saying: 'I will lay my hand upon them' (Zechariah 2:9), making manifest the disciplinary power, so that they become plunder to those they formerly plundered, leading them into captivity, so that they serve those against whom they formerly ruled tyrannically. Which event leads to 'you shall know that I am the Lord Almighty' (Zechariah 2:9), having been sent by the Lord Almighty, is the completion of the things pre-announced. The God Word is being sent Almighty from the Almighty, coming to men by the good pleasure of the Father.

For by the same word by which the Father royally holds all things he made through his Word, by this also the Son holds all things and reigns, pre-existing the things constituted in him. By whom the Apostle says 'the visible and invisible were created in Christ,' being before them and all things constituted in him: 'For he is before all, and all things are constituted in him' (Colossians 1:16-17). And it is nothing strange if Almighty is from Almighty; for God is from God and light from light. For being consubstantial with the one who begot him and one with the begetter according to 'I and the Father are one' (John 10:30), all things the Father has are the Son's. The Father has being God, light, holy, Almighty. These are the Son's. Almighty, therefore, from Almighty is the Son, all-king from the one reigning over all. Indisputably in John's Revelation the Savior is confessed as Almighty, he himself saying thus concerning himself: 'Thus says the faithful witness, the beginning of God's creation, the one who is and who was and who is coming, the Lord God the Almighty' (Revelation 3:14). Being Almighty, the one saying these things is not a creature, lest he also hold himself. For this is absurd: the same one creating and being created by himself, and reigning and being held. But even if the theologized one is called 'beginning of God's creation' in the quoted voice, as royally ruling and being Almighty by this very fact, he is the beginning of creation — that is, the reigning and leading kingdom over all creatures. Zechariah 2:14-16: Rejoice and be glad, daughter Zion, for behold I come and will dwell in your midst, says the Lord. And many nations shall flee to the Lord in that day, and shall be to him a people, and shall dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. And the Lord shall inherit Judah as his portion upon the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. As when the Hebrew people had become captive, there was lamentation and wailing because the Lord had departed far from the captives, so, when they returned to the spiritual mother called Zion, command is given to rejoice and be glad, because the […]

Greek

ἀνθρώποις γινομένη ἀποστολή ἐστιν ὀπίσω τῆς τοῦ θεολογουμένου δόξης παντοκράτορος ὄντος· οὐ γὰρ ᾗ παντοκράτωρ ἀπεστάλη, ἀλλ' ᾗ «κενώσας ἑαυτὸν» τρόπῳ συγκαταβάσεως «μορφὴν ἔλαβε δούλου». ‹1.146› Τί δὲ προαναφωνεῖ τοῖς ἀκμὴν ἔτι τυγχάνουσιν ὑπὸ τὰ σκυλεύοντα αὐτοὺς ἔθνη; «Ὁ ἁπτόμενος, φησίν, ὑμῶν, ἅπτεται τῆς κόρης τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ αὐτοῦ», βλάπτοντος ἑαυτὸν μᾶλλον τοῦ πλήττοντος τοὺς δικαίους ἢ οὓς κακῶσαι βούλεται, παραπλησίως τῷ πλήττοντι τὴν τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ αὐτοῦ κόρην. Ἔστι συναγορεύειν τῇ θεωρίᾳ ταύτῃ ἐκ πολλῶν τόπων τῆς γραφῆς· βλάψαι θέλων τὸν Ἀβὲλ ὁ Κάϊν, προ̣απέκτεινεν ἑαυτὸν οὗ προτίθεται δολοφονῆσαι. Τοῦτ' αὐτὸ συνέβη καὶ τῷ Σαοὺλ διώκοντι τὸν ∆αυὶδ ἕνεκα τοῦ ἀποκτεῖναι, καὶ τῷ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ ἐπιθεμένῳ κατὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τυραννικῶς. ‹1.147› Σημαίνει ἐν τῷ προκειμένῳ προφητικῷ τὸ βλάψαι διὰ τοῦ ἅψασθαι, καὶ μάλιστα δι' ὧν ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὸς λέγει τοῖς φονικῶς ἐπιτιθεμένοις κατὰ τῶν αὐτοῦ ἀνθρώπων· «Μὴ ἅπτεσθε τῶν χριστῶν μου, καὶ ἐν τοῖς προφήταις μου μὴ πονηρεύεσθε.» ‹1.148› Ψεκτῶς θιγεῖν τὸ ἅψασθαι κεῖται ἐν τῷ· «Καλὸν ἀνθρώπῳ γυναικὸς μὴ ἅπτεσθαι», σημαῖνον τὸ πλησίασαι αἰσχρῶς καὶ ἀκολάστως. ‹1.149› ∆ηλοῦται ἐκ τούτου τοῦ ῥήματος καὶ τὸ θιγεῖν καλῶς προσψαῦσαι δι' ἁφῆς, ὡς ἐν τῷ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ λεγομένῳ· «Ἥψατό μού τις», ὅτε ἡ αἱμορροοῦσα γυνὴ πόθῳ ἰαθ̣ήσεσθαι ἥψατο δραξαμένη τοῦ κρασπέδου τοῦ ἱματίου Ἰησοῦ. ‹1.150› Τοσούτων ὑποπεσόντων ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἐκ τῆς ἅπτεσθαι φωνῆς, ἡ νῦν προκειμένη προφητικὴ λέξις τὸ βλάψαι διὰ κακώσεως δηλοῖ. Ἅπτεται δὲ τῆς κόρης τοῦ ὄμματος τοῦ ἔσω ἀνθρώπου ὁ προτιθέμενος κακοῦν τοὺς ὑπὸ Θεοῦ φρουρουμένους. Φανεροῖ δὲ πῶς ἅπτεται τῆς κόρης τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ αὐτοῦ ὁ ἁπτόμενος τῶν Θεοῦ δούλων διὰ τὸ εἰπεῖν· «Ἐπιφέρω τὴν χεῖρά μου ἐπ' αὐτούς», τὴν παιδευτικὴν δύναμιν δηλονότι, ὥστε σκῦλα γενέσθαι οἷς πρότερον αὐτοὶ ἐσκύλευον, εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν αὐτοὺς ἄγοντες, ὥστε δουλεύειν τοῖς καθ' ὧν αὐτοὶ τυραννικῶς ἐκράτουν. ‹1.151› Οὗπερ συμβάντος «γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγὼ Κύριος παντοκράτωρ εἰμί, ἀποσταλεὶς ὑπὸ Κυρίου παντοκράτορος» ἐπὶ τελειώσει τῶν προαναφωνηθέντων. Παντοκράτωρ παρὰ παντοκράτορος ἀποστελλόμενος ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος ἐστίν, ἐρχόμενος εἰς ἀνθρώπους «εὐδοκίᾳ Πατρός»· ᾧ γὰρ λόγῳ πάντων κρατεῖ βασιλικῶς ὁ Πατὴρ ὧν ἐποίησεν διὰ τοῦ Λόγου αὐτοῦ, τούτῳ καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς πάντων κρατεῖ καὶ βασιλεύει τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ συστάντων προϋπάρχων αὐτῶν. ‹1.152› Ἧι 15 φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος «ἐν Χριστῷ ἐκτίσθαι τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ ἀόρατα», πρὸ αὐτῶν ὄντι καὶ συνεστηκότων πάντων ἐν αὐτῷ· «Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστι πρὸ πάντων καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν.» ‹1.153› Καὶ παράδοξον οὐδὲν εἰ παντοκράτωρ ἐκ παντοκράτορός ἐστιν· καὶ γὰρ Θεὸς ἐκ Θεοῦ καὶ φῶς ἐκ φωτός ἐστιν. Ὁμοούσιος γὰρ ὢν τῷ γεννήσαντι καὶ ἓν ὢν πρὸς τὸν γεννήσαντα κατὰ τό· «Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν», πάντα ὅσ̣α ἔχει ὁ Πατὴρ τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἐστιν. Ἔχει δ' ὁ Πατὴρ τὸ Θεός, τὸ φῶς, τὸ ἅγιος, τὸ παντοκράτωρ εἶναι. Τοῦ Υἱοῦ δ' ἐστὶν ταῦτα. Παντοκράτωρ ἄρα ἐκ παντοκράτορος ὁ Υἱός, παμβασιλεὺς ἐκ τοῦ πάντων βασιλεύοντος ὑπάρχων. Ἀναντιρρήτως ἐν Ἰωάννου Ἀποκαλύψει παντοκράτωρ ὁ Σωτὴρ ὁμολογεῖται, αὐτοῦ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ οὕτω λέγοντος· «Τάδε λέγει ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστός, ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ.» ‹1.154› Παντοκράτωρ ὢν ὁ ταῦτα λέγων οὐ κτίσμα τυγχάνει, ἵνα μὴ καὶ ἑαυτοῦ κρατῇ. Παράλογον γὰρ τοῦτο, τὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι κτίζοντα καὶ κτιζόμενον ὑφ' ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ βασιλεύοντα καὶ κρατούμενον· εἰ καὶ λέγεται δὲ ἐν τῇ παραλημφθείσῃ φωνῇ «ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ» ὁ θεολογούμενος, ὡς βασιλικῶς ἄρχων καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο παντοκράτωρ ὤν, ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεώς ἐστιν, βασιλεία δηλονότι ἡγεμονοῦσα καὶ ἡγουμένη πάντων κτισμάτων. ‹1.155› Zach. II, 14®16: Τέρπου καὶ εὐφραίνου, θύγατερ Σιών, διότι ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἔρχομαι καὶ κατασκηνώσω ἐν μέσῳ σου, λέγει Κύριος. Καὶ καταφεύξονται ἔθνη πολλὰ ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ ἔσονται αὐτῷ εἰς λαόν, καὶ κατασκηνώσουσιν ἐν μέσῳ σου, καὶ ἐπιγνώσῃ ὅτι Κύριος παντοκράτωρ ἐξαπέσταλκέν με πρὸς σέ. Καὶ κατακληρονομήσει Κύριος τὸν Ἰούδαν τὴν μερίδα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τὴν ἁγίαν καὶ αἱρετιεῖ ἔτι τὴν Ἰερουσαλήμ. ‹1.156› Ὥσπερ αἰχμαλώτου γεγενημένου τοῦ Ἑβραίων λαοῦ, θρῆνος καὶ ὀλοφυρμὸς ἐγίνετο διὰ τὸ τὸν Κύριον μεμακρύνθαι τῶν ἑαλωκότων, οὕτως, ἀνακαμψάντων αὐτῶν εἰς τὴν πνευματικὴν μητέρα Σιὼν προσαγορευομένην, πρόσταξις δίδοται τέρπεσθαι καὶ εὐφραίνεσθαι, διὰ τὸ τὸν

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Didymus the Blind explains Zechariah verse by verse, from the measuring of Jerusalem and the high priest's filthy garments to the lampstand and flying sickle.

Didymus the Blind (c. 313–c. 398) was a Christian theologian in Alexandria who lost his sight at about age four and nevertheless became head of the city's catechetical school. He remained a layman and an ascetic scholar, deeply influenced by the work of Origen. He wrote this commentary for readers seeking a Christian understanding of the prophet Zechariah.

Jerome visited Alexandria in 386 and asked Didymus to write on Zechariah because Origen's own commentary had stopped at chapter five and Zechariah was considered the longest and most obscure of the Minor Prophets. Didymus composed the work shortly after that request and delivered it to Jerome by 393. The commentary survived in a single papyrus codex found in 1941 at Tura near Cairo, copied in the late sixth or early seventh century.

The commentary moves verse by verse through all fourteen chapters of Zechariah. Didymus reads the prophet's visions and oracles as prophecies of Christ's incarnation, the calling of the Gentiles, and the spiritual restoration of Jerusalem, understood as the Church or the purified soul. A reader will meet Zechariah himself, Joshua the high priest, Zerubbabel, the interpreting angel, and the devil, and will hear Didymus argue against heretics such as Tatian, Paul of Samosata, Photinus, Marcellus, Artemas, and Theodotus. To follow the work, know that Jerusalem and Zion are spiritual realities, the Dawn is a title for Christ, and the author quotes the Septuagint, so Psalms are numbered one lower than in many modern Bibles and books such as 1 Kingdoms are cited as 1 Samuel.

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