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Zechariah 4

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The Vision of the Gold Lampstand 1–5

1
And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, ​
2
And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: ​
3
And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4
So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5
Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. ​

God's Spirit Empowers Zerubbabel 6–10

6
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. ​
7
Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. ​
8
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9
The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. ​
10
For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. ​

The Meaning of the Two Anointed Ones 11–14

11
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? ​
12
And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
13
And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
14
Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Zechariah 4

Verse 1

waked me — 'Ur, to rouse. The visions began 'by night' (1:8), dated to 'the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month' (1:7). The speaker is 'the angel that talked with me' of 1:9, who there said, 'I will shew thee what these be'; here he rouses the prophet for the next sight.

Verse 2

a candlestick all of gold — Menorah, the lampstand of the tabernacle, which carried 'the seven lamps thereof' (Ex 25:31, 37). That one was kept burning with oil the people brought (Ex 27:20); this one has a bowl above it and a pipe to each lamp. Rev 4:5 has 'seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.'

Verse 5

Knowest thou not what these be? — At 1:9 Zechariah asked, 'O my lord, what are these?'; here he is asked, and answers, 'No, my lord' ('adoni). The question returns unchanged in v.13. The meaning is supplied by the angel's word in v.6, not read from the sight.

Verse 6

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit — Chayil (might, force, often an army) and koach (power) are set against ruach, the LORD's spirit. The work had been resumed by Zerubbabel and Jeshua, 'and with them were the prophets of God helping them' (Ezra 5:2), and Haggai had said, 'my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not' (Hag 2:5).

Verse 7

Grace, grace unto it — Chen, favour, said twice. Roshah, 'headstone', the top stone, occurs only here; its being brought out 'with shoutings' recalls the foundation day, when 'all the people shouted with a great shout' (Ezra 3:11). The 'great mountain' becomes a mishor, level ground, before Zerubbabel.

Verse 9

his hands shall also finish it — Batsa', to complete; the foundation was laid in the second year of the return under Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Ezra 3:8–10). The promise was met when 'this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar' in Darius's sixth year (Ezra 6:15). 'The LORD of hosts hath sent me' also stands in 2:9, 2:11 and 6:15.

Verse 10

the day of small things — Buz is to hold in contempt. At the foundation, men 'that had seen the first house… wept with a loud voice' (Ezra 3:12), and Haggai asked of the house, 'is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?' (Hag 2:3). The seven are 'the eyes of the LORD', as in 2 Chron 16:9 and Rev 5:6, where the seven eyes are 'the seven Spirits of God'.

Verse 11

two olive trees — They stand 'one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side' (v.3). Zechariah asks again in v.12 about 'two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves'. Rev 11:4 takes up the pair: 'the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.'

Verse 14

the two anointed ones — Literally 'the two sons of oil'. Oil marked Israel's priest (Ex 29:7) and king (1 Sam 16:13); in these chapters the priest is Joshua (3:1) and the one addressed is Zerubbabel (v.6). They 'stand by the Lord of the whole earth', as Joshua was promised 'places to walk among these that stand by' (3:7).