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Zechariah
Chapter Five
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 5
This chapter treats of the judgments of God
upon the wicked Jews for their sins and impieties, the measure of which was
filled up, and of the execution of them, which are represented in two visions:
the first is of a flying roll, which signifies the curse of God, and is
described by its measure, the length being twenty cubits, and the breadth ten;
and by the extent of it, it reaching to the whole earth, and particularly to
thieves and false swearers, who shall be cut off by it; and by the certainty of
its coming into the houses of such, and the utter desolation it should there
make, Zechariah 5:1 and the other is the vision of an ephah, and a woman
sitting in it, and a talent of lead cast upon the mouth of it, which signified
wickedness, Zechariah 5:5 this "ephah" is seen to be lifted up
between earth and heaven by two women, who are said to have wings like the
wings of storks, and the wind to be in them; and who are said by the angel to
carry the "ephah" into the land of Shinar, to build it a house, that
it might be established and settled upon its own base, Zechariah 5:9.
Zechariah 5:1 Then I turned and
raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll.
YLT
1And I turn back, and lift
up mine eyes, and look, and lo, a flying roll.
Then I turned, and lift up mine eyes, and
looked,.... The prophet turned himself from looking
upon the candlestick and olive branches, having had a full and clear
understanding of them, and looked another way, and saw another vision:
and behold a flying roll, a volume or book flying in the air; it being usual for books, which were
written on parchment, to be rolled up in the form of a cylinder; whence they
were called rolls or volumes.
Zechariah 5:2 2 And
he said to me, “What do you see?” So I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its
length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”
YLT
2And he saith unto me, `What
art thou seeing?' And I say, `I am seeing a flying roll, its length twenty by
the cubit, and its breadth ten by the cubit.'
And he said unto me,.... That is, the angel:
What seest thou? and I answered, I see a
flying roll, the length whereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth
thereof ten cubits; so that it was a very large one, a volume
of a very uncommon size, especially it may so seem to us; but in other nations
they have very long rolls or volumes, even longer than this: the Russians write
their acts, protests, and other court matters, on long rolls of paper, some
twenty ells, some thirty, and some sixty, and moreF24Eskuche apud
Burkium in loc. : and this being the length and breadth of the porch before the
temple, 1 Kings 6:3 hence the Jewish writers conclude that this flying roll
came from thence: it may design either the roll or book in which the sins of
men are written; which is very large, and will quickly be brought into
judgment, when it will be opened, and men will be judged according to it; which
shows the notice God takes of the sins of men; the exact knowledge he has of
them; his strict remembrance of them; and the certain account men must give of
them another day: or, the book of God's judgments upon sinners, such as was
Ezekiel's roll, Ezekiel 2:9 which are many and great; are rolled up, and not at
present to be searched into; but are flying, coming on, and will be speedily executed:
or rather the book of the law, called a roll or volume, Psalm 40:7 and which
will be a swift witness against the breakers of it, as more fully appears from
the explanation of it in the next verse Zechariah 5:3. It is a mere fancy and
conceit of some that the Talmud is meant by this roll, the body of the Jewish
traditions, which make void the commands of God, take away the blessing, and
leave a curse in the land, as they did in the land of Judea.
Zechariah 5:3 3 Then
he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the
whole earth: ‘Every thief shall be expelled,’ according to this side of the
scroll; and, ‘Every perjurer shall be expelled,’ according to that
side of it.”
YLT
3And he saith unto me, `This
[is] the execration that is going forth over the face of all the land, for
every one who is stealing, on the one side, according to it, hath been declared
innocent, and every one who hath sworn, on the other side, according to it,
hath been declared innocent.
Then said he unto me, This is the
curse,.... So the law of Moses is called, because
it has curses written in it, Deuteronomy 27:15 which curse is not causeless,
but is according to law and justice; it is from the Lord, and is no other than
the wrath of the Almighty; and, wherever it lights, it will remain and continue
for ever. Vitringa, on Isaiah 24:6 says, this is the curse which Isaiah there
prophesies of, which had its accomplishment in the times of Antiochus; but
there the prophet is speaking, not of the land of Judea, but of the
antichristian states.
That goeth forth over the face of the whole
earth: over the whole land of Judea, and the
inhabitants of it, for their breach of the law, contempt of the Gospel, and the
rejection of the Messiah; and which had its accomplishment when wrath came upon
them to the uttermost, in the destruction of their nation, city, and temple;
and is the curse God threatened to smite their land with, Malachi 4:6 and this
curse also reaches to the whole world, and the inhabitants of it, who lie in
wickedness; and to all sorts of sinners, particularly those next mentioned:
for everyone that stealeth shall be cut off as
on this side, according to it; as it is written and
declared on one side of the roll:
and everyone that sweareth shall be cut off as
on that side according to it; as is written and
declared on the other side of the roll; which two sins of theft and false
swearing, the one being against the second, and the other the first table of
the law, show that the curse of the law reaches to all sorts of sins and
sinners; to all who do not keep it in every respect: and, indeed, to all but
those who are redeemed from it by the blood of Christ; and that it is
proportioned according to a man's sins: and those two are particularly
mentioned, because they are sins which prevailed among the Jews at the time
Christ was on earth. Theft did, both in a literal and figurative sense, Matthew
23:14 and so did vain swearing, Matthew 5:33.
Zechariah 5:4 4 “I
will send out the curse,” says the Lord of hosts; “It
shall enter the house of the thief And the house of the one who swears falsely
by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house And consume it, with its
timber and stones.”
YLT
4`I have brought it out --
an affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts -- and it hath come in unto the house of the
thief, and unto the house of him who hath sworn in My name to a falsehood, and
it hath remained in the midst of his house, and hath consumed it, both its wood
and its stones.'
I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of
hosts,.... The roll was come forth, and was flying
abroad; but the curse and wrath of God, signified by it, is what God would
bring forth out of his treasures, according to his purposes and declarations,
and execute upon sinners; which shows the certainty of it, and that there is no
escaping it:
and it shall enter into the house of the
thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name; and it shall
remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof,
and the stones thereof; when wrath is gone forth from the Lord,
there is no stopping it; and where it takes place it will remain, there is no
getting rid of it; it makes an utter desolation of goods and estates, and
entirely destroys both body and soul in hell: there seems to be an allusion to
the plague of the leprosy, Leviticus 14:45. So the son of Sirach says,
"a man that swears much shall be full of
iniquity, and the plague shall not depart from his house:'
and again,
"if a man swears in vain, he shall not
be innocent or justified, for his house shall be full of calamitiesF25Ecclesiasticus
xxiii. 11. .'
So the oracle in HerodotusF26Erato,
sive l. 6. c. 86. , which Grotius has observed, makes an utter destruction of a
man's house and family, to be the punishment of the sin of perjury. Moreover,
by the house of the thief and swearer may be meant the temple, as in the times
of Christ, which was become a den of thieves and perjurers, and for their sins,
became desolate, Matthew 21:13.
Zechariah 5:5 5 Then
the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and
see what this is that goes forth.”
YLT
5And the messenger who is
speaking with me goeth forth, and saith unto me, `Lift up, I pray thee, thine
eyes, and see what [is] this that is coming forth?'
Then the angel that talked with me went forth,.... From the place where he was, and had been interpreting the vision of
the flying roll, unto another more convenient for showing and explaining the
following one; and, as it should seem, took the prophet along with him:
and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and
see what is this that goeth forth;
either out of the temple or out of heaven, into some open place, where it might
be seen.
Zechariah 5:6 6 So I
asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket[a] that is
going forth.” He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the
earth:
YLT
6And I say, `What [is] it?'
And he saith, `This -- the ephah that is coming forth.' And he saith, `This
[is] their aspect in all the land.
And I said, What is it?.... After he had lifted up his eyes and seen it, he desires to know both
what it was, and what was the meaning of it:
and he said, This is an ephah that
goeth forth; which was a measure much in use with the
Jews, Exodus 16:36 it is the same with the "bath", and held above
seven wine gallons. The Targum interprets this of such who dealt in false
measures, whose sin is exposed, and their punishment set forth; but rather it
designs the measure of iniquity filling up, either in Judea, particularly in
the times of Christ, Matthew 23:32 or in the whole world, and especially in the
antichristian states, Revelation 18:5, and
He said moreover, this is their
resemblance through all the earth; or "this is their
eye"F26זאת עינם "haec est oculus eorum", Pagninus,
Montanus, Munster, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Tarnovius,
Cocceius. ; what they are looking at, and intent upon, namely, this ephah; that
is, to fill up the measure of their iniquity: or, as Kimchi and Ben Melech
interpret it, this ephah, which thou seest, shows that there is an eye upon
them which sees their works; and this is the eye of the Lord, which sees and
takes notice of all the evil actions of men, not as approving them, but as
observing them, and avenging them. Cocceius, by the "ephah",
understands an abundance of temporal good things bestowed upon the Christian
church in Constantine's time and following, on which the eyes of carnal men
were looking.
Zechariah 5:7 7 Here
is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the
basket”;
YLT
7And lo, a cake of lead
lifted up; and this [is] a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah.'
And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of
lead,.... By the angel; since he is afterwards
said to cast it upon the mouth of the "ephah". A cicar, or talent of
silver, with the Jews, was equal to three thousand shekels, as may be gathered
from Exodus 38:24 and weighed a hundred and twenty five poundsF1Epiphanius
de Mensuris & Ponderibus. ; or, as others, a hundred and twentyF2Hebraei
apud Buxtorf. Lex. Heb. in rad. ככר. , and, according to the more exact account
of Dr. Arbuthnot, a hundred and thirteen pounds, ten ounces, one pennyweight,
and ten and two seventh grains of our Troy weight. A Babylonish talent,
according to AelianusF3Var. Hist. l. 1. c. 22. , weighed seventy two
Attic pounds; and an Attic mina, or pound, weighed a hundred drachmas; so that
it was of the weight of seven thousand two hundred such drachmas. An
Alexandrian talent was equal to twelve thousand Attic drachmas; and these the
same with a hundred and twenty five Roman libras or pounds; which talent is
supposed to be the same with that of Moses. The Roman talent contained seventy
two Italic minas, which were the same with the Roman librasF4See
Prideaux's Preface to Connexion, &c. vol. 1. p. 18, 19, &c. . But since
the Hebrew word "cicar" signifies anything plain, and what is
extended like a cake, as Arias Montanus observesF5Ephron, sive de
Siclo, prope finem. , it may here intend a plate of lead, which was laid over
the mouth of the "ephah", as a lid unto it; though indeed it is
afterwards called אבן עופרת, "a stone of lead", and so seems to
design a weight.
And this is a woman that sitteth in
the midst of the ephah; who, in Zechariah 5:8, is called
"wickedness"; and here represented by a "woman", because,
say some, the woman was first in the transgression; or rather because sin is
flattering and deceitful, and draws into the commission of it, and so to ruin:
and this woman, wickedness, intends wicked men; all the wicked among the Jews,
and even all the wicked of the world; who sit in the "ephah", very
active and busy in filling up the measure of their sins, and where they sit
with great pleasure and delight; very openly and visibly declare their sin, as
Sodom, and hide it not; in a very proud and haughty manner, with great boldness
and impudence, and in great security, without any concern about a future state,
promising themselves impunity here and hereafter. This woman is a very lively emblem
of the whore of Rome, sitting as a queen upon many waters; ruling over kings
and princes; living deliciously, and in great ease and pleasure filling up the
measure of her sins. Kimchi interprets this woman of the ten tribes, who
wickedly departed from God, and were as one kingdom.
Zechariah 5:8 8 then
he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket,
and threw the lead cover[b] over its
mouth.
YLT
8And he saith, `This [is]
the wicked woman.' And he casteth her unto the midst of the ephah, and casteth
the weight of lead on its mouth.
And he said, This is wickedness,.... A representation of wicked men, who are wickedness itself, as their
inward part is, Psalm 5:9 and particularly of the wicked one, the man of sin
and son of perdition, the Roman antichrist and apocalyptic beast; who, though
he is called by this title, "his Holiness", his true and proper name
is "wickedness"; ο ανομος, that wicked lawless one, 2 Thessalonians
2:8 yea, wickedness itself, being extremely wicked, a sink of sin and of all
abominations, Revelation 17:5.
And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; that is, wickedness; that it might be kept within bounds, and not exceed
its measure to be filled up: this seems to denote some restraint on sinners,
that they may not be able to go all the lengths they would; and some rebuke
upon them, that they might not lift up their heads with impunity; and some
check upon them, and their furious rage towards the people of God; and also the
putting of an utter end to sin and sinners, and particularly the followers of
antichrist; see Psalm 104:35.
And he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth
thereof; either upon the mouth of the woman, or of
the ephah; and, be it which it will, it was done to keep the woman within the
ephah, and press her down there; and intends the judgments of God upon sinners;
and shows that there is no escaping divine vengeance; that it falls heavy where
it lights, and sinks to the lowest hell; and that it will continue, being laid
on by the firm, unchangeable, and irrevocable decree of God. Cocceius
understands this of the Saracens and Turks, and the barbarous nations, being
cast into the Roman empire, to restrain the antichristian tyranny; but it seems
better to apply it to the utter destruction of antichrist, signified by a
millstone cast into the sea and sunk there, never to rise more; see Revelation
18:21 and with it compare Exodus 15:10.
Zechariah 5:9 9 Then
I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the
wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they
lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
YLT
9And I lift up mine eyes,
and see, and lo, two women are coming forth, and wind in their wings; and they
have wings like wings of the stork, and they lift up the ephah between the
earth and the heavens.
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked,.... This is not a new vision, but a continuation of the former, as
appears from the "ephah" seen in it:
and, behold, there came out two women; out of the same place the "ephah" did. The Targum explains
these "two women" by two provinces; and Kimchi interprets them of the
two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who had been carried captive into Babylon;
and others of the two kings, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, who were the cause of the
captivity; but Jarchi understands by them the Babylonians and Chaldeans, two
nations as one, joined in Nebuchadnezzar's armies, which carried them captive:
others think the two reformers, Ezra and Nehemiah, are meant, who were
instruments of purging the Jews, returned from captivity, though but weak ones,
and therefore are compared to "women"; yet what they did they did
swiftly, and therefore are said to have "wings", and under the
influence of the Spirit of God; hence the "wind", or
"spirit"F6רוח "spiritus", V. L. Pagninus,
Montanus, Calvin, Burkius. , is said to be in their wings; and they acted from
a tender regard to the glory of God and the good of their country; and
therefore their wings were like the "wings of a stork"; a bird of
passage, as appears from Jeremiah 8:7 and so a fit emblem to be used in the
transportation of the "ephah"; of whom PlinyF7Nat. Hist.
l. 10. c. 23. says, from whence they come, and whither they betake themselves,
is yet unknown; and adds, there is no doubt that they come from afar; as it is
plain they must, if that relation be true, which seems to have good authority,
that one of these creatures, upon its return to Germany, brought a green root
of ginger with it; which must come from the eastern part of the world; from
Arabia, or Ethiopia, or the East Indies, where it growsF8Vid.
Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 2. c. 29. col. 328, 332. : and as it is a bird
that takes such long flights, it must have wings fitted for such a purpose; and
which are taken notice of in Job 39:13 to which the wings and feather of the
ostrich are compared; for so BochartF9Ibid. c. 16. col. 247, 248.
there renders the word, "the wing of the ostriches rejoices, truly the
wing" as of "a stork, and the feather"; or, as others, "who
gave wings to the stork and ostrich?" both remarkable for their wings: and
Vatablus renders the word here an "ostrich"; which, according to
PlinyF11Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 1. , is the largest of birds, and
almost as big as a beast. In Ethiopia and Africa they are taller than a horse
and his rider, and exceed the horse in swiftness; and their wings seem to be
given them to help them in running; but which are not sufficient to lift them
much above the earth, and so can not be meant here; but rather the stork, whose
wings are black and white; and when they fly, they stretch out their necks
forwards, and their feet backwards, and with these direct their course; when a
tempest rises, standing on both feet, they spread their wings, lay their bill
upon their breast, and turn their face that way the storm comesF12Schotti
Physica Curiosa, par. 2. l. 9. c. 26. p. 1162. . The Targum renders it an
eagle, which is the swiftest of birds, and whose wings are very strong to bear
anything upon them, as they do their young, to which the allusion is,
Deuteronomy 32:11 and so, if meant here, to lift up and bear away the ephah
between the earth and the heaven; but the word is never used of that bird. The
Harpies or Furies, with the Heathens, are represented, as women having wingsF13"Harpyiae
et magnis quatiunt clangoribus alas." Virgil. Aeneid. l. 3. ver. 223. as
these women are said to have; but these are very different women from them.
Though some think the Romans, under Vespasian and Titus, are intended; but it
may be that the two, perfections of God, his power and justice, in punishing
men for their sins, are meant, particularly in the last times, and at the day
of judgment. The power of God will be seen in raising the dead; in bringing all
to judgment; in separating the wicked from the righteous, and in the execution
of the sentence denounced on them: and the justice of God will be very
conspicuous in the judgment and destruction of them.
And the wind was in their wings; they had wings, as denoting swiftness, as angels are said to have; hence
Maimonides, as Kimchi observes, thought that angels are here meant; but this
denotes, that though God is longsuffering, and may seem to defer judgment,
which is sometimes a stumbling to the righteous, and a hardening to the wicked;
yet, as this is only for the salvation of his elect, so when once the time is
up, and the commission given forth, power and justice will speedily execute the
sentence: and the "wind" being in their wings shows the greater
swiftness and speed in the dispatch of business, and the great strength and
force with which they performed it:
for they had wings like the wings of a stork; which, being a creature kind and tender, show that there is no cruelty
in the displays of the power and justice of God in punishing sinners:
and they lifted up the ephah between the
earth and the heaven; which denotes the visibility of the whole
measure of the sins of wicked men; they will all be made manifest, and brought
into judgment: and also the visibility of their punishment; they will go into
everlasting punishment, in the sight of angels and men; and which will be the
case of the antichristian beast, Revelation 17:8.
Zechariah 5:10 10 So
I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?”
YLT
10And I say unto the
messenger who is speaking with me, `Whither [are] they causing the ephah to
go?'
Then said I to the angel that talked with me;.... This the prophet said after he had seen the "ephah" come
forth; the woman, wickedness, cast into it, and the talent of lead upon her;
and the two women lifting up the ephah between heaven and earth:
Whither do these bear the ephah? he neither asks what the ephah signified, nor who were the women that
bore it, but only whither they bore it.
Zechariah 5:11 11 And
he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar;[c] when it is
ready, the basket will be set there on its base.”
YLT
11And he saith unto me, `To
build to it a house in the land of Shinar.' And it hath been prepared and hath
been placed there on its base.
And he said unto me, To build it an house in
the land of Shinar,.... That is, in the province of Babylon, as
the Targum paraphrases it; for Babel, or Babylon, was in the land of Shinar,
Genesis 10:10 whither the Jews were carried captive, Daniel 1:2 Isaiah 11:11,
and the bearing of the "ephah" thither may denote the cause of their
captivity, the measure of sins filled up by them: though this some understand
of the like injuries, oppressions, and vexations, brought upon the Chaldeans in
the land of Shinar, which they before exercised towards and upon the Jews; and
others of the rejection of wicked men from among the Jews, by Ezra and
Nehemiah, transporting them as it were back to Babylon again: others of the
dispersion of the Jews by the Romans, who chiefly settled after that in the eastern
parts of the world; though indeed the whole world was a land of Shinar, or
"shaking out"F14ארץ שנער "terra excussionis",
Menoch ins. unto them; they being shook out of their own land, and scattered
about everywhere; which dispersion has been long and lasting, notorious and
conspicuous; and they are now settled upon their own base, established upon
their former principles of legality and self-righteousness, and rejection of
the true Messiah; or rather this may be understood of the transfer of the ephah,
or whole measure of iniquity, into mystical Babylon. The antichristian church
of Rome is called Babylon; she is represented as a sink of sin, a mystery of
iniquity, Revelation 17:5 and a house being built for this man of sin,
antichrist, denotes the continuance of him; and being established on its own
base, shows the false foundation on which the church of Rome is built, and her
carnal security. So Cocceius, by the "two women", understands the two
kingdoms or powers of antichrist, the civil and ecclesiastical powers; which
support the man of sin, lift him up, and give him the highest place in the
church, and fix his seat where idolatry and persecution reign, as formerly did
in Babylon, in the land of Shinar. Though the whole may very well be applied to
the last and everlasting punishment of sin and sinners, when the whole measure
is filled up. The end of sin and sinners is death and everlasting destruction.
The ephah, and the woman in it, are carried, not upwards to heaven, nor to the
New Jerusalem, but to the land of Shinar, the land of shaking; to hell, where
are utter darkness, weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth; where a house is
built for them, which denotes their continuance there; and which, being
established on its own base, shows their punishment shall forever remain; their
worm never dies; their fire is not quenched; the smoke of it ascends for ever
and ever; their destruction is an everlasting destruction.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)