Zechariah 5:5-11

The Transference to Babylonia of Judah's Guilt (i.e. the cause of calamity). For their resemblance (Zechariah 5:6) read with LXX their iniquity (mg.) or rather their guilt. By the transference of Judah's guilt to Shinar (an intentional archaism for Babylon, see Genesis 11:1) Zechariah foretells both the deliverance of Judah and the ruin of the great empire. But he looks for the removal not only of the guilt, the cause of the calamity, but also of wickedness, the cause of the guilt. Wickedness, being feminine in Heb., is naturally symbolised by a woman. It is remarkable that Haggai and Zechariah make no mention of Persia, but only of Babylonia, probably because the Jews were still in captivity in the latter country.