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"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on ME, THE ONE they have pierced, and they will mourn for HIM as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for HIM as one grieves for a firstborn son. - Zechariah 12:10

Who is the I (in I will pour ...)?
Who is the ME (in look on ME)?
Who is THE ONE they have pierced?
Who is the HIM that they will mourn and grieve?

Does this passage teach Modalism?

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  • Not enough for a full answer, but some insight: Where the KJV simply says 'the one', the Hebrew text uses the phrase 'et asher'. The word 'et' designates the direct object of a verb (here, 'they have pierced'), while 'asher' is a preposition that can mean 'which' or 'whom'. In this context 'et asher' means something like 'they will look to me [regarding the one whom] they have pierced'. This makes it highly unlikely 'me' (universally understood as God) is the same person as '[the one whom] they have pierced' (whoever that is).
    – user2910
    Jul 25, 2017 at 0:17
  • Modalism didn't exist for thousands of years after this text was written (same for the doctrine of the Trinity). This question is anachronistic / imposed on the text.
    – Dan
    Feb 18, 2018 at 19:54

1 Answer 1

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An interpretation culled from the standard Jewish commentaries follows:

I = God

Me = still God (as Mark notes in the comments, this is likely translated as "they will look to me regarding the one whom they have pierced")

The one they have pierced = one who has died due to sins of the generation or been killed in exile (someone who dies due to these sins would be considered as severely murdered as if he had been attacked directly, also, the commentaries add "even if one person had been pierced."...)

Him = One of the dead

Him = still one of the dead

(Note: The Talmud identifies the dead individual who they are mourning over as Messiah ben Joseph.)

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  • You again and your funny name. +1
    – user20490
    Feb 21, 2018 at 13:56
  • Are you implying that the Talmud and traditional Judaism accepts that Messiah would be pierced?, That he would die? And that he was Yehoshua?
    – user20490
    Feb 21, 2018 at 13:57
  • @user20490 I invite you to ask this question over at Mi Yodeya, the Jewish Stackexchange site (judaism.stackexchange.com). The Talmud (Sukkah 52a, sefaria.org/Sukkah.52a?lang=en) says that Messiah ben Joseph was killed before the ultimate redemption, and refers to this verse. (It says nothing about Yehoshua.)
    – user22655
    Feb 21, 2018 at 14:56
  • @user20490 any updates?
    – user22655
    Apr 2, 2018 at 19:06

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