In Zechariah 14:9 what does it mean "the LORD will be one and his name one"?

Question

Zechariah 14:9, talking about a future time (end times?), says:

And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. (ESV)

But God already said he is one:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one (Deut 6:4)

Maybe "and his name one" says that everybody will finally get it, but what does it mean by "will be one"? Zechariah wrote hundreds of years after Deut. Is it possible he did not know about it? If he did know Deut, why say something will happen that scripture he knew of said is already true? (I am not trying to say what is true for us now, just asking about Zech.)

Answer 1

In Deuteronomy, Yehovah is one means that he is one and alone as one at that time, he is the only true God (John 17:3). In Zechariah, we are speaking of a future prophecy which speaks of "in that day" that day is the day of the Lord. the one signified here is the kingdom of God as Yeshua says

John 17:11

And I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, guard them in Your Name those whom You have given Me, so that they might be one, as We are.

John 17:21

so that they all might be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so that they too might be one in Us, so that the world might believe that You have sent Me.

Yeshua speaks here of all those who are one with God and Yeshua as Yeshua is one with God. The oneness spoken of by Yeshua is the father in him they are one and when Yeshua is glorified all who gather to him will be one with Yehovah through Yeshua, through his sacrifice and blood, he is the door to the kingdom, without him we cannot be one with Yehovah.

Answer 2

There is no question as to whether Zechariah had ever heard the Shema, or not - "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one (Deut. 6:4). Every Israelite had it memorised and ingrained into their religious awareness from infancy.

"Verses 4-9 are known to Jews as the Shema and are recited daily, with 11:13-21 and Num. 15:37-41 by men... The four words (Yahweh, our God, Yahweh, One) may be translated in various ways, but emphasize that Israel's God was not one of a pantheon, but sovereign and the object of entire devotion." The International Bible Commentary, p.263, Zondervan/Marshall Pickering, 1986

The one question that does need addressing with the Shema is whether the people considered 'one' to be a numeric 'one', or not. They did not. Here is another Commentary on that:

"one. Heb. ehad = a compound unity (Lat. unus), one made up of others... It is not yahid, which is (Lat. unicas), unique - a single or only one." The Companion Bible, p.247, Zondervan 1923

It is necessary to clear those two points up before answering the main question. Given that Zechariah knew the Shema and also knew that 'one' was not a numeric one, we can now better grasp his meaning for chapter 14 verse 9.

There are a significant number of passages he writes that point to a coming Messiah. Of note is the way the New Testament refers to those bits in connection with the life of Christ, and they provide fixed reference points which help clear up other points.

Chapter 14 verses 8 - 11 deal with the final reign of God after a unique day without daytime or night-time (14:7). Then "The Lord will be king over the whole earth" (14:9). The word 'earth' may be translated 'land' but given that Zechariah is dealing here with the Lord's universal dominion, it is correctly rendered 'the whole earth'. The next sentence accords perfectly with the Shema but:

"What is now predicted is that there will be universal acknowledgement of this. 'Name' refers to all the character and attributes of the one who alone can truly say, 'I AM WHO I AM' (Ex. 3:14). He will be universally honoured as the unique one. Since all other claims to homage and worship of 'many' "gods" and "many" lords' will be exposed and totally done away with, it will be seen that 'there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live' (1 Cor. 8:5-6). The prophet next presents a picture of the dominance and supremacy of the final reign of God in terms of physical changes in Palestine." Haggai Zechariah Malachi, Gods Restored People, John L. Mackay, pp.255-256, Christian Focus, 1994

Yes, a day is coming when everyone "will finally get it", and this answer has dealt with what the prophet Zechariah was foretelling about the glorious reign over the whole world, of this one, true God, who will tolerate no rivals. But remember, not a numeric one - The Hebrew word is "ehad = a compound unity (Lat. unus), one made up of others". No competition, of course, for this is always true of God, and no rivalry either, for all other gods are false gods, would-be gods, imposter gods. There is only, ever, the one true God, as Zechariah knew full well.

Answer 3

And the Lord shall become King over all the earth; on that day shall the Lord be one, and His name one.(Zech. 14:9)

Rashi's commentary reads,

*"shall the Lord be one: For all the nations shall abandon their vanities and acknowledge Him, that He is one, and [that] no strange deity is with Him,and His name one: That His name shall be mentioned by everyone. *

Keil & Delitzsch's commentary reads,

"To this blessing there is added the higher spiritual blessing, that Jehovah will be King over all the land, and His name alone will be mentioned and revered.

Interestingly, Rashi's commentary includes the whole earth, whereas Keil & Delitzsch's only include Israel. They don't go into detail as to why; my suspicion is they are affected by a theological bias that prevents them from acknowledging the obvious.

I'm not a Hebrew scholar, but it appears the context is not one of the 'personages' of God, but that there is no more 'contest' as to who God is. There is but one deity, and that is God. That means any 'created being' cannot replace the pre-existent God.

The question of course is "What about Jesus?". and the answer is found in John 1:1-3,

" 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

God is one, there have been many rivals to Him. Zech. 13:2 says,

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

The Lord alone and His name will be mentioned, no other idol will be mentioned. This is the context of Zech. 14:9.

Answer 4

Malbim suggests that the "nations of the world" will no longer believe in "Shituf", but rather that there will be simply one unified God with one name and no other forms or associations.

He also follows the lead of various earlier authorities in suggesting that God will only be known by his 4-letter name, and not by any other descriptions (such as God of Judgment, Merciful One, etc.)

Answer 5

Zechariah prophesied a time when only Israel's God is the only God recognized on earth. It was said that the Greeks in the 6th century BCE, at the time of Zechariah, called their Creator god "The One." Perhaps Zechariah's message contains a contemporary anti-Hellenist polemic along the lines of: Only YHVH, the God of Israel, will be "The One"… and his name "The One" [contra any gods of the Greeks].

[C.H. Gordon, "His Name is One," Journal of Near Eastern Studies 29 (1970): 198-199]

The very fact that the God who is YHWH speaks of Himself as “I” and “Me” and is referred to as “You” (singular) and “He” and “Him” thousands upon thousands of times should convince all Bible readers of the singularity of God. In addition, words like "by myself" and "all alone" further proves this.

One answer stated, "The one question that does need addressing with the Shema is whether the people considered 'one' to be a numeric 'one', or not. They did not. Here is another Commentary on that: "one. Heb. ehad = a compound unity (Lat. unus), one made up of others... It is not yahid, which is (Lat. unicas), unique - a single or only one." The Companion Bible, p.247, Zondervan 1923"

Echad is a numeral adjective, the ordinary word for the number one. In counting in Hebrew one says , echad (one) sh'nayim (two)..

The word one in the phrase "one God" does not impart plurality to the word God. Even if the compound noun is made up of a number of parts or items, the word 'one which stands before it is not in any way altered because of its closeness to the compound noun.

How would proponents of one as a "compound one" explain Ecclesiastes 4:9 "two are better than one" Ecclesiastes 4:11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they [e]keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? Ecclessiastes 4:12 And if [f]one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him.

Echad is the word for the number one in counting. The use of Genesis 2:24 does not mean that one is really plural. The idea of the plurality cannot be found in the word echad at all.

The Shema declares YHVH's singular uniqueness as Israel's God. There is no evidence in the Hebrew Bible that any generation of Israelites understood the Shema as a reference to a compound unity in God.

If they did, who are the others? There is no record in the bible showing the Israelites knew and identified the other members/parts of this compound/composite God, nor is there such evidence in the New Testament. When the scribe asked Jesus which commandment is the foremost, Jesus quoted the Shema. Mark 12:28-30. The scribe asserted Jesus' answer. It is difficult to believe that Jesus or any person that that is postulated to be a part of this composite God, is co-equal and co-eternal with God from the beginning of time, and yet he never appears in the Old Testament.

There is nothing in this account that Jesus reinforced the idea of a compound unity or his place in the Shema, rather, Jesus tested the scribe with a question about his identity. Mark 12:35-37 which speaks of a Lord that sits next to YHWH. Mark 12:36 was quoted from Psalm 110:1

Mark 12:36 ASV

David himself said in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.

Examining Psalm 110:1 we find,

The LORD יְהוָ֨ה ׀ (Yah·weh) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

said נְאֻ֤ם (nə·’um) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 5002: An oracle

to my Lord: לַֽאדֹנִ֗י (la·ḏō·nî) Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular Strong's 113: Sovereign, controller

The 1st LORD in Psalm 110:1 is Jehovah/YHWH. The second lord is translated from the Hebrew word adoni. The word adoni is a title which never refers to God. It does not mean God the son. Peter narrated God's plan based on the truth of Psalm 110:1 in Acts 2:33-36 Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.

The God of Jesus made him both Lord and Christ.

Psalm 110:1 could not be interpreted to mean "The LORD [YHWH, Yahweh (H3068), God the Father) is telling King David's Lord [Adon (H113), Adhonay (H136), God the Son" because adoni is not the same as Adonay and that there is no God the Son" in the bible.

There is only one Adonay YHWH.

LORD” or “the LORD” in the OT represents (YHWH) God. This is not to be confused with the Greek word Kurios, which is used of Jesus and is a title of respect, honor and authority. The title “Lord” is used of many people in the Bible not just God and Jesus. God made Jesus both lord and Christ. Nobody makes God lord. Jesus as the Son of God, yes. But, God the Son, no. There is no God the son in the bible.

Peter already identified who the second lord of Psalm 110:1 is and it is Jesus whom he says was crucified. This further proves that the second lord of Psalm 110:1 is adoni because crucifying Adonay is not possible.

John 10:30 could not be taken to mean one God since the Greek word for 'one' here is 'hen,' and is neuter. Theos (Greek for God) is masculine, so if it refers to God then the masculine heis should be used instead of hen.

In addition, if the Father and the Son were but one being, they would be the same being, and they could not be the two being bearing required witness, as John 8:17,18 say they are.

Jesus sums up the Christian quest for eternal life as belief in You (the Father) as the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. John 17:3. The Father is the only God John 5:44. This simple definition unites the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament.

Answer 6

Answer

Zechariah 14:9 is not teaching anything about the mathematics of Godhead; whether Yahweh is one or two. It is talking about yet a future time when Yahweh will be King over ALL the earth (a world government).

Explanation

As I always believe, we cannot understand the Old Testament without the help of the New Testament. According to the New Testament, it is Jesus Christ who is going to be the King over ALL the earth (a world government) as “the King of kings and the Lord of lords” (Rev 17:14); the supreme King in authority.

Hence, it becomes clear that Zechariah 14:9 is talking about the time when Jesus Christ will be ruling the earth from Jerusalem.

This makes, whether we like it or not, whether we agree or not, Jesus Christ as the Yahweh of the Old Testament.

Zech 14:9 talks about one religion and one God on the whole earth

Zechariah 14:9 is not talking about the numerical strength of Yahweh but about the time when the whole earth will have one God and one religion centered at Jerusalem.

Evidences

• “And in the days of these kings, the God of Heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break in pieces and destroy all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Dan 2:44).

• “Those from one city will say to those from another, 'We are going to worship the LORD Almighty and pray for his blessing. Come with us!' Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to worship the LORD Almighty and to pray for his blessing. In those days ten foreigners will come to one Jew and say, 'We want to share in your destiny, because we have heard that God is with you.' " (Zech 8:21-23; GNB).

• “And many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob. And He will teach us from His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For the Law shall go forth out of Zion, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. And He shall judge between many peoples, and will decide for strong nations afar off. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, nor shall they learn war still” (Mic 4:2).

• “None among the gods is like You, O Lord, and none are like Your works. All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You; yea, Lord, they shall glorify Your name. For You are great and do wonderful things; You alone are God” (Psalms 86:8-10).

• “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn back to Jehovah; and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. For the kingdom is Jehovah's; and He is the ruler among the nations” (Psalms 22:27-28).

• “nor by the earth, because it is the footstool of His feet; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King” (Mat 5:35).

• “And answering, the King will say to them, Truly I say to you, In so far as you did it to one of these, the least of My brothers, you did it to Me” (Mat 25:40).

• "Do not fear," "daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes" "sitting on" "the foal of an ass." (John 12:15).

• For Jehovah Most High is awesome, a great King over all the earth…… For God is the King of all the earth; sing a psalm for understanding. God reigns over the nations; God sits on the throne of His holiness” (Psalms 47:2, 7-8).

• “These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings” (Rev 17:14; 19:16).

Conclusion

Zechariah 14:9 is prophesying about a future time when Yahweh/Jesus will be ruling the whole earth from Zion/Jerusalem as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Those days, there will be only one God and one true religion over all the earth.

“For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).

Answer 7

There is described in scripture a period of time when the messiah's reign extends not only over Israel but over all the nations, which he will temporarily rule with a rod of iron:

Psa_2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Rev_2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Rev_12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Rev_19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Zechariah seems to be describing the final denouement of history when God himself rules over all the nations of the earth and the messiah, as king of Israel is a subject king. Paul seems to allude to this passage:

1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.  1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.  1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.  1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

The phrase "that God may be all in all" seems to me to be a reference to Zechariah 14:9 and how it shall be fulfilled in harmony with the passages that say that messiah reigns forever:

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he [God] shall reign for ever and ever.  Rev 11:16  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,  Rev 11:17  Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.  Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Psa_10:16  The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

Psa_29:10  The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.

Luk 1:31  And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.  Luk 1:32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:  Luk 1:33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

So to recap:

Zech 14:9 looks forward to the day when the messiah, from God's right hand and wielding a rod of iron subdues all the nations. At that point the kingdom is returned to God and the messiah is king only of Israel. The messiah is then a subject king and God presides as King of King over the whole earth, alone:

Psa_10:16  The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

This is also the "until" mentioned when the messiah is enthroned:

Psa 110:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

This is precisely of which Paul speaks when he says "for he must reign until He has put all his enemies under his feet".

Answer 8

It doesn't matter if Ezekiel knew Deuteronomy or not. He quotes the ancient prayer of when a person comes to the end of their life, in order to explain the idea of his prophecy.

Actually we can say that this SHMA ISRAEL statement reveals the end of the world. Meanwhile one say it on his own life but Ezekiel speaks of the end of everybody's (every sinner's) life - the end of the world.

When all people in the world would say SHMA ISRAEL it will be on that day when the world will end (and it doesn't matter what one actually will say because the world will ending).

Answer 9

The relevant portion of the two texts in question:

In Deuteronomy Moses is telling the Israelites despite the plural Elohim, YHVH Elohim "YHVH one." On the other hand Zechariah is telling the Israelites "YHVH one" has "one name." If Zechariah has Deuteronomy in view it is to further explain "YHVH one" has one name.

Contrast a similar passage in Revelation:

Revelation 15 (ESV):

³ And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! ⁴ Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Both Zechariah and Revelation describe a time of universal recognition and worship of God. If there was a global attempt to do this today, there would be many different ways YHVH could be pronounced. Even among English translations there is variation: Yahweh, Yehovah, Jehovah.

Zechariah is saying regardless of how the name is pronounced there is one King.

Revelation 17:14

They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

Answer 10

"On that day shall the Lord be one and His name one"

i.e. there will be no difference between the Lord and His four-letter name.

His four-letter name being the initial letters of "yom hashishi vay'chulu hashamayim", the last two words of Genesis 1:31 and the first two words of Genesis 2:1, marking the completion of creation, joining together the six days of creation and the seventh day of rest into a new day one (or eighth day) as "that day"