And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:

ZECHARIAH 6:12KJV
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Zechariah 6:12 (KJV)

What does Zechariah 6:12 mean?

Zechariah 6:12 announces that a man called “The BRANCH” will grow up from his own place and build the LORD’s temple. The picture is of a new leader arising among the people and taking a central role in their life of worship.

The LORD of hosts is speaking through the prophet Zechariah, who is told to deliver the message to Joshua the high priest. The title “The BRANCH” uses the image of a fresh shoot growing from a plant, suggesting new growth where the people might not have expected it.

The Hebrew behind Zechariah 6:12

  • “BRANCH” — צֶמַח (tsemach): This word can mean a shoot or growth from a plant. As a person’s title, it gives the promised figure a name drawn from that image of growth.
  • “grow up” — צָמַח (tsamach): This word can describe plants sprouting or growing. Its sound and meaning echo “BRANCH,” making the title and the person’s emergence part of the same picture.
  • “temple” — הֵיכָל (hekhal): This word can refer to a palace or a temple. Here it names the LORD’s temple, the place associated with worship of the LORD.

Why Zechariah 6:12 matters

  • The message connects the Branch with the people’s own place. The phrase “out of his place” pictures his growth as arising from a particular setting, rather than appearing without roots.
  • The message is delivered to a priest, but it speaks about a figure called the Branch. In verse 11, Joshua receives a crown; in verse 12, Zechariah addresses him with the announcement about this figure.
  • The building work is tied to public honor and rule. Verse 13 continues the announcement by saying that the one who builds the temple will bear glory and sit and rule on his throne.

Where else these words appear

“BRANCH” Hebrew H6780 · used in 12 verses

  • Genesis 19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
  • Isaiah 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
  • Ezekiel 17:9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.

“up” Hebrew H6779 · used in 32 verses

  • Genesis 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
  • 2 Samuel 23:5 Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.
  • Isaiah 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

“temple” Hebrew H1964 · used in 76 verses

  • 1 Samuel 1:9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.
  • Nehemiah 6:10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.
  • Ezekiel 8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.