| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
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)