Charles Ellicott Commentary Zechariah 4
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Zechariah 4
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Zechariah 4
"And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep." — Zechariah 4:1 (ASV)
Came again, and waked. —Better, possibly, again waked me, the construction being similar to that of Zechariah 5:1. But it is not impossible that the angel had gone out, as before (Zechariah 2:3), to receive some fresh instruction from a higher angel, or from God, and that he now came back again.
From this verse it would appear that between some of the visions the prophet fell into a state of lethargy, and that the angel roused him; or it may be that all the visions were seen in a dream, and that he only seemed in his dream to be awakened. (See Note on Zechariah 1:8.)
"And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and, behold, a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof; and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. And I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel [thou shalt become] a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it. Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel; [these are] the eyes of Jehovah, which run to and fro through the whole earth. Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered the second time, and said unto him, What are these two olive-branches, which are beside the two golden spouts, that empty the golden [oil] out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." — Zechariah 4:1-14 (ASV)
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 2:10-23. On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, just five months after the rebuilding of the Temple was resumed, Zechariah sees a succession of seven visions in one night, followed by a symbolic action (Zechariah 6:9–15).
"And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and, behold, a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof;" — Zechariah 4:2 (ASV)
This visionary candlestick differed in four points from the original of the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple—namely, in having “a bowl,” “pipes,” and “olive trees” on each side of it, and “two golden spouts.”
With a bowl upon the top of it.—This is better than the margin, her bowl—that is, its bowl—because this was one (a) of the points of difference between the visionary candlestick and its original.
But the “seven lamps,” on the other hand, were in agreement with the original; therefore the prophet says, “and his seven,” that is, its seven lamps, namely, the seven lamps proper to it. So, again, when he comes to the next point of difference, (b) the pipes, he does not say “his pipes,” nor does he (Zechariah 4:3) say (c) “his two olive-trees.”
Seven pipes.—Better, seven pipes apiece. There were, then, forty-nine pipes, but as the candlestick is only visionary, we do not need to trouble ourselves about the difficulties of its construction. The number seven in the original candlestick was, perhaps, mystical, in which case the forty-nine pipes in the vision would be so too.
At any rate, it would seem that a great number of pipes is mentioned to indicate the unlimited nature of the supply of oil: “My strength is sufficient for thee.” The distributive use of the numerals in this passage has been much disputed, but we have, we think, satisfactorily established it in our Hebrew Student’s Commentary, on this passage. The only other admissible interpretation is that of Koehler—namely, that the number is “seven and seven,” not “fourteen,” because one group of seven lamps was for supplying the lamps from the reservoir, and the other group of seven to connect the seven lamps.
The English version follows the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, in omitting the first word “seven.” Hitzig cancels the numeral before “its lamps,” and renders, “and its lamps upon it were seven, and there were seven pipes to the lamps,” etc. But all such emendations are arbitrary and unnecessary. Pressel thinks that “seven” is repeated on account of its importance, as corresponding to “the seven eyes of the Lord;” he renders, “seven was the number of its lamps above the same—seven—and seven the number of its pipes.”
"And I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?" — Zechariah 4:4 (ASV)
These does not refer merely to the olive-trees, though in Zechariah 4:11-12 they are shown to be the salient point in the vision, but to everything described in Zechariah 4:2-3.
"Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts." — Zechariah 4:6 (ASV)
This ... word. —The vision is called “the word,” as being a symbolical prophecy . As the golden candlestick was placed in the holy place of the Tabernacle (and the Temple) before the LORD, as an everlasting statute for their generations on behalf of the children of Israel (Exodus 27:21), so did the congregation on whose behalf (or as a symbol of which) was the candlestick, require a sanctuary in which to let their light shine before the Lord, and from which it might shine before men.
This sanctuary Zerubbabel had founded, and his hands were to complete (Zechariah 4:9); but not by any merit or strength of his own or of Israel, but simply by the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts, which would revive the dry bones of the house of Israel, that they should live, and be placed in their own land (Ezekiel 37:11–14).
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