Bible Strands
Zechariah 13:5
He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for I was purchased as a servant in my youth.’
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker in Zechariah 13:5 responds during a future period when prophets are stripped of their deceptive signs and ashamed of their visions (Zechariah 13:4). He addresses an unseen questioner by explicitly rejecting the title of prophet and identifying himself as a landworker and former purchased servant.
The words — The Hebrew נָבִיא (na.Vi') means "prophet," and עֹבֵד ('o.Ved) means "who tills" or cultivates. The text records a direct denial of prophetic office followed by a claim to be a man who tills the ground (אֲדָמָה/'a.da.Mah).
The thread — This pattern of rejecting formal prophetic identity while citing an agricultural background appears in Amos 7:14. Both passages use the same rhetorical move of disavowing the prophetic title to ground the speaker's authority in ordinary labor and past servitude.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to separate spiritual authority from claimed titles or distinctive garments. It asks for a plain assessment of a person's background and work rather than acceptance based on religious performance or appearance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
Cross-references
- Amos 7:14 “I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.
- Acts 19:17 This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.