The Meaning of Zechariah 11:2 Explained

Zechariah 11:2

KJV: Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.

YLT: Howl, O fir, for fallen hath the cedar, For their honourable ones were destroyed, Howl, ye oaks of Bashan, For come down hath the fenced forest,

Darby: Howl, cypress, for the cedar is fallen; because the noble ones are spoiled. Howl, ye oaks of Bashan; for the strong forest is come down.

ASV: Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Howl,  fir tree;  for the cedar  is fallen;  because the mighty  are spoiled:  howl,  O ye oaks  of Bashan;  for the forest  of the vintage  is come down. 

What does Zechariah 11:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Likewise the cypress (juniper, pine) and oaks of Bashan should wail because they too would perish in the coming devastation. Bashan was famous for its oak forests (cf. Isaiah 2:13; Ezekiel 27:6). Earlier Zechariah combined Lebanon and Bashan to indicate the whole land ( Zechariah 10:10). All these trees suggest the people of the land as well as the land itself. A judgment that would affect the whole land of Palestine and all its people, including its rulers, is in view.
"Perhaps next in prominence to shepherd as metaphor for king is that of a plant, especially a tree [1]." [2]
The cedar tree, in particular, is a metaphor for a king (cf. 2 Kings 14:9; Isaiah 14:8; Ezekiel 17:3; Amos 2:9).

Context Summary

Zechariah 11:1-17 - Beauty And Bands
The times were very dark when Zechariah felt called upon to act as shepherd to Jehovah's harried flock. Rulers and priests were actuated by selfish greed and mutual antagonism. Three shepherds had already failed. After a brief effort Zechariah renounced the attempt. He broke his staff of Beauty, or Grace, Zechariah 11:10, r.v. margin, as if God's tender love had withdrawn from its struggle with evil; and when he challenged the people to set a value on his services, they weighed him out thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. Thereupon he broke the other staff, disrupting the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. In the following paragraph, Zechariah 11:15-17, there is an evident reference to the terrible reign of Antiochus whose cruelties led to the heroic uprising of the Maccabees. Five centuries afterwards Jesus was sent to gather the flock with the same result, Matthew 27:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 11

1  The destruction of Jerusalem
3  The elect being cared for, the rest are rejected
10  The staves of Beauty and Bands broken by the rejection of Christ
15  The type and curse of a foolish shepherd

What do the individual words in Zechariah 11:2 mean?

Wail cypress for has fallen the cedar because the mighty [trees] are ruined Wail oaks of Bashan for has come down Forest fortified the thick
הֵילֵ֤ל בְּרוֹשׁ֙ כִּֽי־ נָ֣פַל אֶ֔רֶז אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַדִּרִ֖ים שֻׁדָּ֑דוּ הֵילִ֙ילוּ֙ אַלּוֹנֵ֣י בָשָׁ֔ן כִּ֥י יָרַ֖ד יַ֥עַר [הבצור] (הַבָּצִֽיר)

הֵילֵ֤ל  Wail 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָלַל  
Sense: (Hiphil) to howl, wail, make a howling.
בְּרוֹשׁ֙  cypress 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בְּרֹושׁ  
Sense: cypress, fir, juniper, pine.
נָ֣פַל  has  fallen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
אֶ֔רֶז  the  cedar 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֶרֶז  
Sense: cedar.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  because 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
אַדִּרִ֖ים  the  mighty  [trees] 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: אַדִּיר  
Sense: great, majestic.
שֻׁדָּ֑דוּ  are  ruined 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁדַד  
Sense: to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
הֵילִ֙ילוּ֙  Wail 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: יָלַל  
Sense: (Hiphil) to howl, wail, make a howling.
אַלּוֹנֵ֣י  oaks 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אַלֹּון  
Sense: oak, great tree.
בָשָׁ֔ן  of  Bashan 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּשָׁן 
Sense: a district east of the Jordan known for its fertility which was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh.
יָרַ֖ד  has  come  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
יַ֥עַר  Forest 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יַעַר 
Sense: forest, wood, thicket, wooded height.
[הבצור]  fortified 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
(הַבָּצִֽיר)  the  thick 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּצַר 
Sense: to gather, restrain, fence, fortify, make inaccessible, enclose.