Charles Ellicott Commentary Zechariah 5
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Zechariah 5
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Zechariah 5
"Then again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, a flying roll." — Zechariah 5:1 (ASV)
Then I turned ... eyes. —Better, And I again lifted up my eyes. .
Flying roll. —A scroll floating in the air. The form of the vision seems to be suggested by Ezekiel 2:9-10. The Septuagint, omitting the final ah of the word for “scroll,” renders δρέπανον, “sickle.”
"Then again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, a flying roll. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off on the one side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off on the other side according to it. I will cause it to go forth, saith Jehovah of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name; and it shall abide in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their appearance in all the land (and, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead); and this is a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is Wickedness: and he cast her down into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there came forth two women, and the wind was in their wings; now they had wings like the wings of a stork; and they lifted up the ephah between earth and heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build her a house in the land of Shinar: and when it is prepared, she shall be set there in her own place." — Zechariah 5:1-11 (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 answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits." — Zechariah 5:2 (ASV)
He. —The angel-interpreter. (Compare to Zechariah 5:5.)
The length ... and the breadth ... —These were the dimensions of the holy place of the Mosaic Tabernacle, also of the porch of Solomon’s Temple. If, then, we are to consider the measurement of the scroll as symbolical, we may regard it as indicating that the measure of the sanctuary is the measure of sin: that is, the sinner must not say, “I am not worse than my neighbour,” but should measure his conduct by the standard: Become ye holy, for I am holy (Leviticus 11:44).
"Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off on the one side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off on the other side according to it." — Zechariah 5:3 (ASV)
The whole earth. —Better, the whole land: namely, of Israel.
For every one ... on this side ... on that side according to it — that is, according to the curse written on this side and on that side of the scroll. But the Hebrew will hardly bear this interpretation. Koehler proposes to render, instead of “on this side” and “on that side,” “from here” in both cases—namely, from the land . However, the contrast, which is evidently implied here, precludes this interpretation.
We prefer to render it: For everyone who steals, on the one hand, shall, in accordance with it, certainly be destroyed; and everyone who swears [falsely], on the other hand, shall, in accordance with it, certainly be destroyed. Thieves are mentioned as an example of sinners against the second table of the Decalogue: namely, as false to man; and false swearers as sinners against the first table: namely, as false to God.
"I will cause it to go forth, saith Jehovah of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name; and it shall abide in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof." — Zechariah 5:4 (ASV)
It. — The curse, as borne on the scroll.
Bring forth. — As it were, from His treasure-house, where all preordained events are stored up (Deuteronomy 32:34–35).
And shall consume it. — In Herodotus (Book VI:86) there is an interesting parallel to this verse. A Milesian had deposited a sum of money with Glaucus on trust. When the sons of the depositor came to claim it, Glaucus consulted the oracle of Delphi whether he might perjure himself and keep the money. The priestess told him that it was best for the present to do as he desired, because death was the common lot of the honest and the dishonest. “Yet,” she added, “Oath has a son, nameless, handless, footless, but swift he pursues, until he seizes and destroys the whole race and house.”
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