VI. SEVENTH VISION. — THE FOUR CHARIOTS. (1) AND I TURNED... EYES. — Better, _And again I lifted up my eyes_ (Zechariah 4:1; Zechariah 5:1; Zechariah 8:3). THERE CAME. — Better, _coming forth._ The prototypes of these two mountains were, no doubt, the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) and Mount Zion... [ Continue Reading ]
A SERIES OF SEVEN VISIONS. Zechariah 1:7 to Zechariah 6:15. Between the commencement of Zechariah’s prophetic labours and the incidents recorded in Zechariah 1:7 to Zechariah 6:15, the Prophet Haggai received the revelation contained in Haggai 2:10. On the four-and-twentieth day of the eleventh mont... [ Continue Reading ]
RED. — Better, _bay,_ as in Zechariah 1:8. “Red” is applicable to cows, but “bay” to horses.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR GRISLED AND BAY, read only the first word, _grey,_ as in Zechariah 1:8. It is necessary (with the Syriac Version) to make this conjectural emendation, because (as the Hebrew text now stands), in this verse the “grisled and bay horses” are spoken of as identical, while in Zechariah 6:6 they are d... [ Continue Reading ]
SPIRITS. — Better, _winds._ WHICH GO FORTH. — Better, _going forth._ “Winds,” out of which He makes His messages (Psalms 104:4), are most appropriately used here, as symbolical of the working of God’s Spirit. (Comp. Jeremiah 49:36; Daniel 7:21; John 3:8.) Here the words of the angel-interpreter pas... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BLACK... THEREIN GO. — Better, _that in which are the black horses went;_ literally, [_were_]_ going._ It would seem that _two_ chariots go into the “north country,” because there were there _two_ powers to be overcome: viz., the remnant of the old Asshur-Babylonian and the Medo-Persian. THE SO... [ Continue Reading ]
BAY. — Better, _powerful;_ but in the Hebrew the word which the English Version renders “red” must be substituted here, and rendered _bay._ Then the destinations of all the four coloured horses — _bay, black, white,_ and _grey_ — will be accounted for. GET YOU HENCE. — Simply, _Go ye. _... [ Continue Reading ]
CRIED HE UPON ME, means _summoned me._ (Comp. “Who _calls on_ Hamlet?” — Shakespeare, _Hamlet,_ Acts 5, scenes 2, 3.) HAVE QUIETED MY SPIRIT. — “Spirit” being used, as in Judges 8:3, in the sense of “wrath.” (For the phrase “to quiet wrath,” comp. Ezekiel 5:12; Ezekiel 16:42; Ezekiel 24:13. This is... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SYMBOLICAL CROWNING OF JOSHUA. (10) OF THEM OF THE CAPTIVITY. — Even those who had returned from the Captivity were so called (Ezra 4:1; Ezra 6:19). These were probably, however, Jews who intended to remain in the land of their exile, but who were come on a visit to Jerusalem, bringing offering... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN TAKE. — Better, _yea take_: viz., from the three mentioned above. CROWNS. — Better, a _composite crown,_ since the word is construed with a _singular_ verb in Zechariah 6:14, and though plural in form it seems to be used of a single crown or fillet in Job 31:36. Zechariah is commanded to go to... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MAN. — Better, _a man,_ as in Isaiah 32:2. BRANCH. — See Note on Zechariah 3:8. SHALL BUILD. — This verb is often used in a figurative sense: _e.g.,_ of a family (Genesis 16:2). Since Zerubbabel is not even mentioned in this passage, Zechariah’s hearers could not possibly have thought that thi... [ Continue Reading ]
EVEN HE... AND HE. — The pronoun is most emphatic in both cases. It implies that “He” shall be the true builder, “He” the true ruler. AND HE SHALL BE A PRIEST UPON HIS THRONE. — This is the only natural translation of the words. The word “priest” cannot be here taken as “prince” (as in 2 Samuel 8:8)... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CROWNS. — Better, _the crown._ (See Note on Zechariah 6:11.) The verb is in the singular. FOR A MEMORIAL — viz., of their piety.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY THAT ARE FAR OFF. — Hardly the Jews of the Dispersion only, but non-Jews also. (Comp. Haggai 2:7; Zechariah 2:11.) AND BUILD IN — _i.e.,_ work at building, as in Psalms 128:1. With regard to the fulfilment, see Notes on the passages cited. AND THIS SHALL COME TO PASS. — Better, _And it sha... [ Continue Reading ]