זכריה, פרק י״ב, פסוק י״א

A future era will bring an immense wave of public mourning to Jerusalem. To capture the sheer magnitude of this national grief over the fall of a great Israelite hero or king, the prophet draws a comparison to a monumental lamentation from the past [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The primary approach among commentators is that this ancient mourning was a massive, highly public eulogy held for a prominent figure. While the sheer scale of the event made it famous and instantly recognizable to the people of that generation, the specific historical details have been lost to time, leaving no further record in the biblical texts.

In contrast to this straightforward understanding, a different tradition emerges from the early sages, offering a deeper conceptual layer. According to this perspective, the ancient reference does not point to a single historical gathering or a specific geographic location. Instead, it weaves together two entirely separate national tragedies [רש״י, אברבנאל]. The first event is the death of the Israelite King Ahab, who fell in battle at the hands of Hadadrimmon, a foreign king who worshipped an idol named Rimmon. The second tragedy is the death of the Judean King Josiah, who was killed by Pharaoh Necho in the valley of Megiddon, an event that sparked bitter lamentations from the prophet Jeremiah.

Bringing these two distinct kings together serves a powerful purpose. Ahab ruled over the ten northern tribes and was mourned by them, while Josiah was mourned by the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin. By combining these two historical traumas, the tradition reveals the nature of the future mourning for the Messiah, the son of Joseph. This future grief will not be divided; rather, it will unite all the tribes of Israel, echoing the combined intensity and sorrow of both ancient tragedies [מלבי״ם, מצודת דוד].