Zechariah 2:1-5
II. THIRD VISION. — THE MAN WITH THE MEASURING LINE. (1-5) This vision is a prophetic realisation of the fulfilment of the promise (Zechariah 1:16): “A line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.”... [ Continue Reading ]
II. THIRD VISION. — THE MAN WITH THE MEASURING LINE. (1-5) This vision is a prophetic realisation of the fulfilment of the promise (Zechariah 1:16): “A line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.”... [ 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 ]
A MAN does not seem to mean “an angel,” as in Zechariah 1:8, for he has no message to deliver or mission to perform; but he is to be considered rather as a mere figure in the vision, performing an action for which, indeed, he is implicitly rebuked.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT IS... — Since there is no verb “is” or “will be” expressed in the original, it has been disputed whether the reference is to the actual or to the future condition of Jerusalem. But, we have little hesitation in saying that the whole vision is prophetic of the state of Jerusalem from its restora... [ Continue Reading ]
WENT FORTH. — Literally, _goes forth,_ from the prophet’s side, in the direction of the man who went to measure. LXX., εἱστήκει. WENT OUT. — Literally, _comes forth:_ viz., from the invisible — _i.e.,_ appears, reveals himself. The same word in Hebrew means to _come_ and to _go_ forth, according to... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SAID UNTO HIM. — Some commentators suppose that it is the angel-interpreter who here speaks; but if this were the case, an “other angel” would be a superfluous figure in the vision, for the angel-interpreter might have addressed “this young man” directly. Accordingly, we agree with the Authorise... [ Continue Reading ]
A WALL OF FIRE. — This verse is not intended to discountenance the building of walls to Jerusalem, a thing which was actually done under Nehemiah (B.C. 445), but is simply a solemn promise of God’s protection. Many indeed were the troubles which fell on the city in the times which intervened between... [ Continue Reading ]
(6-13) This address to Zion may be taken as the words of the prophet himself, or of the angel who had been speaking before. In any case, it was intended to be communicated to the people by the prophet, whose mind had been prepared by the foregoing vision for the reception of such a revelation.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LAND OF THE NORTH — _i.e._, Babylonia, as in Jeremiah 1:14; Jeremiah 6:22; Jeremiah 10:22. FOR I HAVE SPREAD YOU ABROAD. — This conjugation of this verb occurs _nine_ times in all in the Hebrew Scriptures. _Seven_ times it is used of “stretching forth the hands;” once (Psalms 68:15) it means “to... [ Continue Reading ]
DAUGHTER OF BABYLON means _inhabitants of Babylon,_ as (Zechariah 2:10) “daughter of Zion” means _inhabitants of Zion._ (With the whole passage comp. Isaiah 48:20; Jeremiah 51:6; Jeremiah 51:9; Jeremiah 51:45.) LXX. for “O Zion,” εὶς Σιῶν — comp. a somewhat similar mistake in Ezekiel 21:15 (Zecharia... [ Continue Reading ]
AFTER THE GLORY — _i.e.,_ in search of glory — viz., to display God’s glory upon the heathen in judgment and mercy, by first breaking their power (Zechariah 2:9), and afterwards attaching them to His service (Zechariah 2:11). (Comp. Zechariah 14 : when the prophet gives the _substance_ of the Lord’s... [ Continue Reading ]
The troubles which overtook Babylon shortly after this time are sufficiently borne witness to by the inscription executed by Darius in the fifth year of his reign (Sir W. Rawlinson) on the great rock of Behistun, near the western frontier of Media. Thereon are recorded two great insurrections in Bab... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL DWELL IN THE MIDST OF THEE. — These words (comp. Zechariah 8:3) were, no doubt, meant by the prophet to refer, in the first place, to God’s indwelling in the second Temple (see Note on Haggai 2:9), although the visible manifestation of His presence (the _Shekinah_) was not again given. This p... [ Continue Reading ]
(10-13) The prophecy contained in these verses is admitted by most Jewish as well as Christian commentators to be of a Messianic character; but opinion is not so unanimous with regard to the nature of its fulfilment. Now, in considering such passages as this, we must bear in mind that the prophets w... [ Continue Reading ]
MANY NATIONS. — Comp. Zechariah 8:20. This prophecy, which is clothed in Old Testament imagery, was spiritually fulfilled by the gathering-in of the Gentiles to the Church of Christ. AND.... SHALL BE JOINED. — LXX., καὶ καταφεύξονται, “and shall flee for refuge,” as in Jeremiah 1:5 (Jeremiah 27:5,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HOLY LAND. — This is the only passage in which this term is used. This promise has not been literally fulfilled, for, so far from God’s then inheriting “Judah or the Holy Land,” and choosing “again Jerusalem,” the coming of Christ was but the beginning of the rejection of His people, and the des... [ Continue Reading ]
BE SILENT. — Better, _Hush!_ (Comp. Habakkuk 2:20.) RAISED. — Better, _roused._ The figure is that of a lion roused up from its lair. (Comp. the still bolder metaphor of Psalms 78:65.) LXX. misread the word for “habitation,” which they render correctly elsewhere, and give ἐκ νεφελῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ, “f... [ Continue Reading ]