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Page 24
The next passage which has been offered, as a prophecy of Jesus,
is to be found in the 12th chap. of Zech. v. 10, and part of it has
been misquoted by John. �And I will pour upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace
and supplications, and they shall look on me whom they have
pierced.� So it stands in the English version; but, before I state
what it ought to be, I would observe, that before the evangelist,
(who in his account of the crucifixion applies this passage as
referring to Jesus� being pierced with a spear) could make this
passage fit his purpose, he had to substitute the word �him� for
�me,� as it is in the Hebrew; confirmed by, I believe, all the
versions, ancient and modern, without exception. Yet, with this
change, it will by no means answer his purpose; for the Hebrew
word here translated �pierced,� in this place signifies
�blasphemed,� or �insulted,� as it is understood by Grotius, who
confirms this rendering from the Hebrew of Levit. xxiv. 11, where
in this passage �the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name
of the Lord.� The Hebrew word translated �blasphemed� is from
the same root with the Hebrew word translated �pierced� in the
passage in Zechariah quoted above. So that the passage ought to be
translated thus:--�I will pour upon the house of David, and upon
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications,
and they shall look towards me whom they have blasphemed.�
[To �look towards God� is a phrase frequently met with, and well
understood.] Now, to enable us to understand more perfectly this
passage, let us consider the context, where we shall find that it
states, that there was to be a war in Judea, and a siege of
Jerusalem, and then a deliverance of the Jews, by the destruction of
all the nations, that should come up at that time, against Jerusalem.
Immediately after which matters, follows the prophecy under
consideration--�I will pour upon the house of David,� &c. Now,
from these things thus laid together, I crave leave to argue in the
words of Dr. Sykes [Essay, &c., p. 268]--�Did any one
circumstance of all this happen to the Jews about the time of the
death of Jesus? Or rather, was not every thing the reverse of what
Zechariah says; and instead of all nations being destroyed that
came about Jerusalem, Jerusalem itself was destroyed: instead of a
spirit of grace and supplications, the Jews have had their hearts
hardened against the Christ; instead of mourning for him whom
they have pierced, they condemn him and his followers even until
this day.�
But it is tiresome thus to waste time in proving that parts and ends
of verses, disjointed from their connexion, and even the words
quoted, some of them changed and some transposed, (though even
done according to the rules given by the venerable Surenhusius)
prove nothing. We must, therefore, devote the remainder of this
long chapter to the consideration of the three famous prophecies,
on which Christians have not hesitated, with triumphing
confidence, to rest the issue of their cause. These are the prophecy
of Shiloh, Gen. 49; the 53d ch. of Isaiah; and Daniel�s prophecy of
the �seventy weeks.� I will consider them in order, and thus wind
up the chapter.
I have some where read in a catechism, the following question and
answer:--Q. �How can you confound the Jews, and prove, from
prophecy, that the Messiah is already come?� A. �From these two
prophecies--�The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,� &c.--Gen.
xlix.; and this--�Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people,��
&c.--Dan. ix. 24.
But, notwithstanding these overwhelming proofs, the stubborn
Jews refuse to be confounded! on the contrary, they in fact laugh at
Christians for being so easily imposed upon.
The prophecy concerning Shiloh, the Jews acknowledge, refers to
their Messiah. But they do not allow that it defines or limits the
time of his coming.
And that it in fact does not, will be perfectly, evident to all who
will look at the place in the Hebrew bible, which they will find
pointed to read not--�The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
and a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come,� &c.; but
thus--�The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver
from between his feet, for ever; for Shiloh shall come, and to him
shall the gathering of the people be.� So that the prophecy does
not intimate that the Messiah should come before the sceptre be
departed from Judah; but that it should not depart for ever, but
shall be restored when Shiloh comes. This is the plain and obvious
sense of the prophecy; and, moreover, is the only one that is
consistent with historical fact. For, in truth, the sceptre had
departed from Judah several hundred years before Jesus of
Nazareth was born. For from the time of the Babylonish captivity
�Judah� has never been free, but in subjection to the Persians, the
Syrians, the Romans, and all the world.
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