Zechariah 7:1
IN THE FOURTH YEAR OF KING DARIUS] 518 b.c. CHISLEU] or 'Chislev,' corresponds very nearly to December.... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE FOURTH YEAR OF KING DARIUS] 518 b.c. CHISLEU] or 'Chislev,' corresponds very nearly to December.... [ Continue Reading ]
WARNINGS FROM THE PAST Chs.7 and 8 go together, and were spoken on a date (fourth day of the ninth month in the fourth year of Darius) two years later than the series of visions described above, viz. in 518 b.c. (On contemporary events see on Zechariah 6:8.) They are Zechariah's answer to a question... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THEY HAD SENT UNTO THE HOUSE OF GOD SHEREZER] RV 'now _they_ of Beth-el had sent Sherezer.' The v. is difficult. Some scholars suggest the translation: 'Now Bethel, Sharezer, and Regem-melech.. had sent'; or, 'Now Bel-Sharezer sent Regem-melech.. and his men.' This latter is the reading favoure... [ Continue Reading ]
SEPARATING MYSELF] The word is the root whence the term 'Nazirite' is derived. The fast involved abstinence from other things besides food and drink: see Leviticus 16:29; Leviticus 16:31.... [ Continue Reading ]
FIFTH AND SEVENTH _month_] The fasts were four (see Zechariah 8:19), viz. in the fourth month commemorating the fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 39:2; Jeremiah 52:6), in the seventh month for the murder of Gedaliah (2 Kings 25:25), in the tenth month for the commencement of the siege of Jerusalem (Jeremi... [ Continue Reading ]
PULLED AWAY THE SHOULDER] like an obstinate man refusing to listen to good advice, turning away quickly when a hand is laid upon his shoulder: cp. 'to give the cold shoulder.'... [ Continue Reading ]
HATH SENT] better, 'had sent.' 14. The prophet wishes to emphasise the truth, that to obey God's word is the supreme demand of religious life: cp. 1 Samuel 15:22. The rejection of God's message in days gone by brought desolation and exile. The true fast is to abstain from sin, and to listen to the... [ Continue Reading ]