Because the Bible contains no punctuation marks, there are verses like this one that are difficult to read according to the plain, word-for-word syntax. A few of the issues that occupy the commentaries include: What does “after glory” refer to? After beginning with “so says the Lord of Hosts,” where exactly does the quote from God begin? Or is Zechariah speaking and paraphrasing God in his own words?
Pupil, not apple
The Jewish sages saw our verse as an expression of the extent of God’s love and affection for the nation of Israel. God takes attacks on Israel personally. Israel is described here as “the apple of His eye.” The Hebrew word translated as “apple” is bavat, which means “pupil.” It is important to note that even though the common expression “apple of my eye,” referring to something that is beloved, is based on this verse, the way this expression is commonly used does not reflect the accurate meaning based on how it is used here. This is an important point because we can easily misunderstand the nuances in this verse if we assume a meaning for “apple of His eye” that is based on our common use of the expression, rather than how it is used here in the text of Zechariah.
We see the allegory of God’s “pupil” or “apple” of His eye in Psalm 17 as well. There, David prays to God for salvation from his enemies.
The context in both Psalm 17 and here in Zechariah 2 is similar. In both verses, there is an enemy. Based on this similarity we see that the pupil or “apple” of God’s eye refers to a sensitive point of attack, a spot that must be carefully protected. This makes sense here in Zechariah as well.
To sum up this first point: the metaphor “apple of His eye” referring to Israel is not meant only to convey God’s affection for Israel. Rather, it refers to the sensitivity with which God views attacks by Israel’s enemies. God views such attacks as one would view an attack on one’s own eye.
After glory
With this in mind, we can now understand the deeper significance of our verse. In this chapter, Zechariah describes God’s judgment upon the nations who caused Israel to suffer during their exile. The verse states that God will deal with “the nations which plunder you,” at a time referred to as “after glory.” Based on immediate context, we can assume that “glory” here refers to what was stated three verses earlier, in the previous prophecy.
In other words, after Jerusalem is rebuilt and filled with the ingathered multitudes of Israel, God will then turn His attention to retribution against the nations who persecuted Israel.
Because God uses Israel as a vehicle to display His mastery over history, those who oppose Israel actually oppose God. Our verse states that God will treat attacks on Israel as attacks on Him, on his own “eye.” The punishment of the nations who attacked Israel is not meant as mere revenge. God’s judgment of His enemies, the enemies of Israel, is a necessary part of the revelation of truth. When justice is served, truth is revealed.
Attacking Israel is self-destructive
A number of classical commentaries and some translators point to an alternative way of understanding the phrase “he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.” This alternative understanding is best expressed in a comment by the Jewish sages of the 2nd century:
“He who touches you touches the apple of his eye”: Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Yosi the Galilean taught: “It is as though [the attacker] is putting out his own eye with his finger.” Rabbi Simeon replied to him, “Not so. Rather the verse refers to the Holy One.” – Midrash Sifre Zuta
According to Rabbi Elazar, the end of our verse is saying that the enemies of Israel – “he who touches you,” – are similar to a person who would put out his own eye. In other words, attacking Israel is irrational and self-destructive. Rabbi Elazar reads the words “apple of his eye” as referring to the eye of the enemy himself.
Rabbi Elazar’s comment is justified based on the syntax of our verse. The beginning of the verse explicitly says that God is speaking. If God is speaking and says, “he who touches you touches the apple of his eye,” it makes sense that it is not referring to God’s own eye. The “his” at the end of the verse refers to “he who touches you.”
Multiple possible meanings
It is important to remember that the prophecies in the Bible are often written in a manner that allows for multiple ways of reading the words. This is not because the authors of these books were poor writers. Rather, the word of God expressed in these sacred texts contains layers of meaning. These various layers are implied by the multiple ways some verses can be understood.
In the case of our verse, the two possible readings of the verse contain two distinct lessons about the consequences that befall those who attack God’s people Israel. First, based on the common reading of the verse, those who attack Israel are viewed by God as if they had attacked God Himself in the most sensitive way. At the same time, Rabbi Elazar’s reading of our verse teaches another lesson, namely, that being an enemy of Israel is self-destructive. The enemies of Israel suffer from their own actions. History is filled with examples of nations that attacked the Jewish people, only to be destroyed while the Jewish people prevailed.
God reveals Himself to the world through the history of the Jewish people. Those who stand against the fulfillment of God’s plan for Israel stand against what God cares about most, and they cause their own destruction.
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