Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions, Vol. 1

by Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg

Ver. 6. "In that day, saith the Lord, I will assemble that which halteth, and that which hath been driven out I will gather, and that which I have afflicted. Ver. 7. And I make that which is halting a remnant, and that which is far off a strong nation, and the Lord reigneth over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever."

The expression "in that day" does not refer to "at the end of the days," in ver. 1, but is connected with, and resumes ver. 4^a That the verb אסף has here the signification "to assemble," and not that "to receive," is shown by ii. 12, and especially by Ezek. xi. 17. The word refers to the announcement of Israel's being carried away, which was formerly made, and with which the scattering is connected. They are assembled for their return to the Holy Land. Such an assembling, however, is meant, as is connected with the full enjoyment of salvation, and in which the Congregation truly manifests itself in a close unity, as a kingdom of priests. In the passage, Zeph. iii. 19, which is founded upon the one under review, we find "I save" instead of "I assemble." Of such a description, the assembling under Zerubbabel was not; compare Nehem. ix. 36, 37. It can therefore come into notice only as a prelude to the true assembling.—The Fem. sing. of the Partic.," says Hitzig, "must be understood collectively; and it is not several subjects, but predicates of the same subject, viz., of the whole of Israel, which are thereby designated." The "halting," which is a condition of bodily helplessness and weakness, occurs also in Ps. xxxv. 15, and xxxviii. 18, as a designation of adversity and misery.—The expression, "to make a remnant," forms the contrast to total annihilation. While these words show that a limit will be put to the diminution, the following words predict a vast increase. In the words, "In Mount Zion," the contrast with iii. 12 appears once more at the close of the section. As regards מלך יהוה, compare Ps. xciii. 1. It does not refer to the constant government of the Lord, but to a new and glorious manifestation of it—as it were to a new ascension to the throne. The expression, "From henceforth," refers to the ideal present. In spirit, the prophet is in that time when the Lord is just entering upon His government. The words, "The Lord reigneth ... for ever," are thus beautifully illustrated by Calvin: "Micah does not here mention the descendants of David, but Jehovah Himself; not as if he wished thereby to exclude that dominion of David, but in order to show that God would make it manifest that He was the author of that dominion, yea, that He Himself held all the power. For, although God governed the ancient people by the hand of David, and by the hand of Josiah and Hezekiah, yet there was, as it were, a shadow placed between, so that God's government was then perceived darkly only. The prophet, therefore, here expresses, that there would be some difference betwixt that shadowy government, and the future new dominion which He was openly to set up by the advent of the Messiah. And this was truly and solidly fulfilled in Christ's person. For although Christ was the true seed of David, yet He was also, at the same time, Jehovah, viz., God made manifest in the flesh." With respect to this promise, however, it must also be kept in mind that it will be finally fulfilled only in the future, when the kingdom and throne of glory (compare Matt. xix. 28) shall be set up.

The prophet had hitherto described the kingdom which was to be established anew, as a kingdom of God, without mentioning the channel through which His mercy was to be poured out upon the Congregation—the mediator who was to represent Him among them. His representation, therefore, was still defective; it still wanted the connection with the promise given to David, and so frequently celebrated by him, and by other holy Psalmists and Prophets—the promise of the eternal dominion of David's house. According to this promise, every new, great manifestation of grace, must be through some descendant of this family as a mediator. This house must ever form the substratum on which the divine power and the divine nature, in its most complete manifestation, showed themselves. This blank is supplied in ver. 8.

"And thou tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee it will come; and to thee cometh the former dominion, the kingdom of the daughter of Zion."

In the words immediately preceding it is said: "And the Lord reigneth over them from henceforth, even for ever." We have here, then, a prediction of the dominion of the house of David, by whose mediation the Lord is to reign; compare v. 3 (4), where it is said of Him in whom the Davidic race is to centre, "And He stands, and feeds in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God." All interpreters agree that the Davidic race is designated by the "Tower of the flock," and by "the hill of the daughter of Zion;" but, with respect to the ground of this designation, they are very much at variance. A great number of them (Grotius, and among the recent interpreters, Rosenmüller, Winer, Gesenius, De Wette) think of that Tower of the flock, in the neighbourhood of which Jacob, according to Gen. xxxv. 21, took up his abode for a time. They say that, according to Jerome, this Tower of the flock was situated in the immediate neighbourhood of Bethlehem; that it is used here only by way of a metalepsis for Bethlehem, and that Bethlehem again designates the Davidic race; so that the passage agrees altogether with v. 1 (2). But, upon a closer examination, this interpretation appears to be objectionable, for the following reasons. 1. It is anything but fixed that that Tower of the flock was situated in the immediate neighbourhood of Bethlehem. It cannot be inferred from the passage in Genesis, and as little can it be proved from Jerome. In the Quest. ad Genes. Opp. iii. p. 145, Frcf., he first mentions the opinion of the Jews, according to which, by the "Tower of the flock" is to be understood the place on which the temple was afterwards built, and then says: "But if we follow the direction of the road, we find, by Bethlehem, a 'place of the shepherds,' which was so called, either because it was there that, at the birth of the Lord, the angels sang their hymn of praise; or because Jacob fed his flock there, and gave this name to the place; or, which is more likely, because even then the future mystery was, by a revelation, shown to him." According to this, Jerome does not know anything of a "Tower of the flock" near Bethlehem. From the direction of the road which Jacob took, he only surmises that it was situated thereabouts; and since there was, in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, a place called "the place of the shepherds," he, from a mere combination, declares this to be identical with the Tower of the flock; while, after all, he is so cautious as not at once to reject the only true derivation of this name from the shepherds at the birth of Christ. By this, the other passage in the book de locis Hebr. must be judged, where Jerome expressly delivers his supposition as if it were historical truth: "Bethlehem, the city of David ... and about a thousand paces (passus) distant is the tower Ader, which is called 'the Tower of the flock,' indicating that, by some vision, the shepherds had, beforehand, been made conscious of the birth of the Lord." That tradition knew but little of any "Tower of the flock" in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, appears also from Eusebius Onom. s. v. Gader. p. 79, ed. Cleric: "The tower Gader ... While Jacob dwelt there, Reuben went in to Bilhah." Eusebius evidently knew nothing more regarding the "Tower of the flock" than what we also may learn from the passage in Genesis. He does not venture to offer even a conjecture as to its position. The same ignorance is shown by the Jews, mentioned by Jerome, who certainly would not have thought of a reference to the temple, if a place called "Tower of the flock" had existed in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem. 2. But even assuming the existence of the Tower of the flock in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, is it anything else than the assumption of a pure quid pro quo, to assert, without assigning any reason, that the "Tower of the flock" stands for Bethlehem? Rosenmüller, at least, has felt this. He makes the attempt to assign a reason: "In substituting, however, an unknown hamlet in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, for Bethlehem itself, he intended to indicate that the dominion of David would be altogether weakened and brought low." But this reason is certainly not by any means sufficient; Bethlehem was, in itself, so small, that no further diminution was required; compare v. 1 (2). It had, moreover, been always small, and had not by any means sunk down in the course of time from former greatness. Hence, such a designation, in contrast with its former glory, would be entirely out of place; and even supposing that it were not, the mode of this designation would always be inexplicable, unless we could assume a closer reference of the "Tower of the flock" to the Davidic family. It is only by establishing such a reference, that the whole explanation can be saved and confirmed. For this purpose, it would be necessary to suppose that Bethlehem, and the district belonging to it, were the general designation of the native place of the Davidic family, while the "Tower of the flock" was the special one. But there is not the slightest ground on which to support this hypothesis. Everywhere, Bethlehem itself appears as the residence of Jesse, the father of David (compare 1 Sam. xvi. 1, 18, 19, xvii. 12), and likewise of Boaz, Ruth ii. 4.

The incorrectness of another explanation is still more evident. According to it, we are, by the "Tower of the flock," to understand a tower which is alleged to have stood at Jerusalem, near to the Sheep-gate. But the existence of such a tower is supported by no evidence whatsoever, and does not become even probable by the existence of a sheep-gate; for a Tower of the flock is not a tower which stands near the Sheep-gate, but a tower which is erected for the protection of the flock, as is clearly seen from Migdal Eder in Genesis. But, even supposing that such a tower existed, is there anything which could somehow make it a suitable designation of the Davidic family?

Let us now proceed to the establishment of our own opinion, by which the arguments advanced against the other explanations will be considerably strengthened. Concerning the situation of Jerusalem, Josephus, de B. J. i. 6, c. 13, remarks as follows: "It was built on two hills fronting each other, separated by a chasm running between, down to which the houses were situated. One of the hills, on which the upper part of the city lay, was much higher and longer than the other. And, because it was fortified, it was called the Citadel of King David," etc. These two hills are Akra and Zion. The city situated upon the latter, is, in other passages also, described by Josephus to be very high and steep; e.g., vi. 40: τὴν ἄνω πόλιν περίκρημνον οὖσαν. The sight afforded by the towers in this steep height is, by him, compared with that of the beacon at Alexandria from the sea (B. J. vi. c. 6: "It resembled in shape the lighthouse as seen by people sailing up to Alexandria"). Compare the similar representation of Tacitus, Lib. 5. Histor. c. 11 (Reland ii. p. 848 sqq.).

On the summit of this high and steep hill, in the upper town, was situated the royal castle, called the "upper house of the king," Neh. iii. 25. Its situation could not fail to afford to it extraordinary security. This is sufficiently shown by the ridicule of the Jebusites, when David, who did not build, but only enlarged it, was about to besiege it. They were of opinion that the lame and the blind would be sufficient for its defence, 2 Sam. v. 7-9; compare Faber's Archæol. p. 191.

Far above this royal castle, which David first selected for his residence (compare 2 Sam. v. 9: "And David dwelt in the castle and called it the City of David, and built it round about"), a tower jutted prominently out, and afforded a majestic sight. It is frequently mentioned in Scripture. The principal passage is Neh. iii. 25: "Opposite the tower which standeth out from the upper house of the king (appositely the Vulgate: quæ eminet de domo regis excelsa) in the court of the prison;" compare ver. 26, where the tower standing out, and elevated far above the king's castle, is likewise spoken of. Concerning the words, "In the court of the prison," we obtain some information from Jer. xxxii. 2: "Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, בחצר המטרה, which is in the house of the king of Judah;" compare Jer. xxxviii. 6, according to which the pit into which the prophet was let down, was in the court of the prison. According to these passages, the court of the prison formed, agreeably to the customs of the East, part of the royal castle on Zion; and it was in this court that the tower rose. The other principal passage is in the Song of Solomon iv. 4: "Thy neck is like the tower of David built for arms; a thousand bucklers are hanging on it, all arms of heroes." According to this passage, the majestic appearance which the tower afforded was still further increased by the glittering arms which covered it. Döpke and others think of the armour of conquered heroes; but that we must rather think of the armour of David's own heroes, appears from Ezek. xxvii. 10, 11, where it is said of the hired troops of the Tyrians, "Shield and helmet they hanged up in thee," and is confirmed by the constant designation of David's faithful ones, as his heroes; compare Song of Sol. iii. 7: "Threescore heroes stand around the bed of the king, of the heroes of Israel;" and 1 Chron. xii. 1: "These were among the heroes, helpers in the war." The expression in the Song of Solomon iv. 4, "All shields of the heroes," indicates that the armour of all those who were received into the number of the heroes, was hung up on that tower, as an outward sign of this reception, as a kind of diploma of it. The circumstance that this tower, which is certainly quite identical with the tower mentioned by Nehemiah, is called the tower of David, refutes the supposition of Clericus, on Nehemiah, l.c., according to which, it is not the castle of David or Zion which is spoken of in that passage, but another castle and its tower in the lower town, supposed to have been built by Solomon. This hypothesis is refuted, moreover, by that passage itself, inasmuch as the castle is there designated as the upper, or high one.

Now, it is this tower which Micah considers as the symbol of the Davidic house; and in so doing, he follows the example of the Song of Solomon, where it is the symbol of the lofty elevation of Israel, the centre and life-blood of which was the Davidic family. It scarcely needs any lengthened demonstration to show how well suited it was for this signification, how very naturally it represented the thing signified. It was indeed the most elevated part of the castle, the main-mast, as it were, of the ship, which, since the elevation of the Davidic family to the royal dignity, had been for centuries, and was still to be, the seat of the Davidic race. Its height was a symbol of the royal dignity and authority. Its relation to the whole of the rest of the city, which it overlooked and commanded, and which looked up to it with astonishment, symbolized the relation of the subjects to their king.