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Zechariah 5:1 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 Then I turned, H7725 and lifted up H5375 mine eyes, H5869 and looked, H7200 and behold a flying H5774 roll. H4039

Cross Reference

Isaiah 8:1 STRONG

Moreover the LORD H3068 said H559 unto me, Take H3947 thee a great H1419 roll, H1549 and write H3789 in it with a man's H582 pen H2747 concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. H4122

Jeremiah 36:1-6 STRONG

And it came to pass in the fourth H7243 year H8141 of Jehoiakim H3079 the son H1121 of Josiah H2977 king H4428 of Judah, H3063 that this word H1697 came unto Jeremiah H3414 from the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 Take H3947 thee a roll H4039 of a book, H5612 and write H3789 therein all the words H1697 that I have spoken H1696 unto thee against Israel, H3478 and against Judah, H3063 and against all the nations, H1471 from the day H3117 I spake H1696 unto thee, from the days H3117 of Josiah, H2977 even unto this day. H3117 It may be that the house H1004 of Judah H3063 will hear H8085 all the evil H7451 which I purpose H2803 to do H6213 unto them; that they may return H7725 every man H376 from his evil H7451 way; H1870 that I may forgive H5545 their iniquity H5771 and their sin. H2403 Then Jeremiah H3414 called H7121 Baruch H1263 the son H1121 of Neriah: H5374 and Baruch H1263 wrote H3789 from the mouth H6310 of Jeremiah H3414 all the words H1697 of the LORD, H3068 which he had spoken H1696 unto him, upon a roll H4039 of a book. H5612 And Jeremiah H3414 commanded H6680 Baruch, H1263 saying, H559 I am shut up; H6113 I cannot H3201 go H935 into the house H1004 of the LORD: H3068 Therefore go H935 thou, and read H7121 in the roll, H4039 which thou hast written H3789 from my mouth, H6310 the words H1697 of the LORD H3068 in the ears H241 of the people H5971 in the LORD'S H3068 house H1004 upon the fasting H6685 day: H3117 and also thou shalt read H7121 them in the ears H241 of all Judah H3063 that come out H935 of their cities. H5892

Jeremiah 36:20-24 STRONG

And they went in H935 to the king H4428 into the court, H2691 but they laid up H6485 the roll H4039 in the chamber H3957 of Elishama H476 the scribe, H5608 and told H5046 all the words H1697 in the ears H241 of the king. H4428 So the king H4428 sent H7971 Jehudi H3065 to fetch H3947 the roll: H4039 and he took H3947 it out of Elishama H476 the scribe's H5608 chamber. H3957 And Jehudi H3065 read H7121 it in the ears H241 of the king, H4428 and in the ears H241 of all the princes H8269 which stood H5975 beside H5921 the king. H4428 Now the king H4428 sat H3427 in the winterhouse H1004 H2779 in the ninth H8671 month: H2320 and there was a fire on the hearth H254 burning H1197 before H6440 him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi H3065 had read H7121 three H7969 or four H702 leaves, H1817 he cut H7167 it with the penknife, H8593 H5608 and cast H7993 it into the fire H784 that was on the hearth, H254 until all the roll H4039 was consumed H8552 in the fire H784 that was on the hearth. H254 Yet they were not afraid, H6342 nor rent H7167 their garments, H899 neither the king, H4428 nor any of his servants H5650 that heard H8085 all these words. H1697

Jeremiah 36:27-32 STRONG

Then the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 came to Jeremiah, H3414 after H310 that the king H4428 had burned H8313 the roll, H4039 and the words H1697 which Baruch H1263 wrote H3789 at the mouth H6310 of Jeremiah, H3414 saying, H559 Take H3947 thee again H7725 another H312 roll, H4039 and write H3789 in it all the former H7223 words H1697 that were in the first H7223 roll, H4039 which Jehoiakim H3079 the king H4428 of Judah H3063 hath burned. H8313 And thou shalt say H559 to Jehoiakim H3079 king H4428 of Judah, H3063 Thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 Thou hast burned H8313 this roll, H4039 saying, H559 Why hast thou written H3789 therein, saying, H559 The king H4428 of Babylon H894 shall certainly H935 come H935 and destroy H7843 this land, H776 and shall cause to cease H7673 from thence man H120 and beast? H929 Therefore thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of Jehoiakim H3079 king H4428 of Judah; H3063 He shall have none to sit H3427 upon the throne H3678 of David: H1732 and his dead body H5038 shall be cast out H7993 in the day H3117 to the heat, H2721 and in the night H3915 to the frost. H7140 And I will punish H6485 him and his seed H2233 and his servants H5650 for their iniquity; H5771 and I will bring H935 upon them, and upon the inhabitants H3427 of Jerusalem, H3389 and upon the men H376 of Judah, H3063 all the evil H7451 that I have pronounced H1696 against them; but they hearkened H8085 not. Then took H3947 Jeremiah H3414 another H312 roll, H4039 and gave H5414 it to Baruch H1263 the scribe, H5608 the son H1121 of Neriah; H5374 who wrote H3789 therein from the mouth H6310 of Jeremiah H3414 all the words H1697 of the book H5612 which Jehoiakim H3079 king H4428 of Judah H3063 had burned H8313 in the fire: H784 and there were added H3254 besides unto them many H7227 like H1992 words. H1697

Ezekiel 2:9-10 STRONG

And when I looked, H7200 behold, an hand H3027 was sent H7971 unto me; and, lo, a roll H4039 of a book H5612 was therein; And he spread H6566 it before H6440 me; and it was written H3789 within H6440 and without: H268 and there was written H3789 therein lamentations, H7015 and mourning, H1899 and woe. H1958

Zechariah 5:2 STRONG

And he said H559 unto me, What seest H7200 thou? And I answered, H559 I see H7200 a flying H5774 roll; H4039 the length H753 thereof is twenty H6242 cubits, H520 and the breadth H7341 thereof ten H6235 cubits. H520

Revelation 5:1-14 STRONG

And G2532 I saw G1492 in G1909 the right hand G1188 of him that sat G2521 on G1909 the throne G2362 a book G975 written G1125 within G2081 and G2532 on the backside, G3693 sealed G2696 with seven G2033 seals. G4973 And G2532 I saw G1492 a strong G2478 angel G32 proclaiming G2784 with a loud G3173 voice, G5456 Who G5101 is G2076 worthy G514 to open G455 the book, G975 and G2532 to loose G3089 the seals G4973 thereof? G846 And G2532 no man G3762 in G1722 heaven, G3772 nor G3761 in G1909 earth, G1093 neither G3761 under G5270 the earth, G1093 was able G1410 to open G455 the book, G975 neither G3761 to look G991 thereon. G846 And G2532 I G1473 wept G2799 much, G4183 because G3754 no man G3762 was found G2147 worthy G514 to open G455 and G2532 to read G314 the book, G975 neither G3777 to look G991 thereon. G846 And G2532 one G1520 of G1537 the elders G4245 saith G3004 unto me, G3427 Weep G2799 not: G3361 behold, G2400 the Lion G3023 of G5607 G1537 the tribe G5443 of Juda, G2455 the Root G4491 of David, G1138 hath prevailed G3528 to open G455 the book, G975 and G2532 to loose G3089 the seven G2033 seals G4973 thereof. G846 And G2532 I beheld, G1492 and, G2532 lo, G2400 in G1722 the midst G3319 of the throne G2362 and G2532 of the four G5064 beasts, G2226 and G2532 in G1722 the midst G3319 of the elders, G4245 stood G2476 a Lamb G721 as G5613 it had been slain, G4969 having G2192 seven G2033 horns G2768 and G2532 seven G2033 eyes, G3788 which G3739 are G1526 the seven G2033 Spirits G4151 of God G2316 sent forth G649 into G1519 all G3956 the earth. G1093 And G2532 he came G2064 and G2532 took G2983 the book G975 out of G1537 the right hand G1188 of him that sat G2521 upon G1909 the throne. G2362 And G2532 when G3753 he had taken G2983 the book, G975 the four G5064 beasts G2226 and G2532 four G5064 and twenty G1501 elders G4245 fell down G4098 before G1799 the Lamb, G721 having G2192 every one of them G1538 harps, G2788 and G2532 golden G5552 vials G5357 full G1073 of odours, G2368 which G3739 are G1526 the prayers G4335 of saints. G40 And G2532 they sung G103 a new G2537 song, G5603 saying, G3004 Thou art G1488 worthy G514 to take G2983 the book, G975 and G2532 to open G455 the seals G4973 thereof: G846 for G3754 thou wast slain, G4969 and G2532 hast redeemed G59 us G2248 to God G2316 by G1722 thy G4675 blood G129 out of G1537 every G3956 kindred, G5443 and G2532 tongue, G1100 and G2532 people, G2992 and G2532 nation; G1484 And G2532 hast made G4160 us G2248 unto our G2257 God G2316 kings G935 and G2532 priests: G2409 and G2532 we shall reign G936 on G1909 the earth. G1093 And G2532 I beheld, G1492 and G2532 I heard G191 the voice G5456 of many G4183 angels G32 round about G2943 the throne G2362 and G2532 the beasts G2226 and G2532 the elders: G4245 and G2532 the number G706 of them G846 was G2258 ten thousand G3461 times ten thousand, G3461 and G2532 thousands G5505 of thousands; G5505 Saying G3004 with a loud G3173 voice, G5456 Worthy G514 is G2076 the Lamb G721 that was slain G4969 to receive G2983 power, G1411 and G2532 riches, G4149 and G2532 wisdom, G4678 and G2532 strength, G2479 and G2532 honour, G5092 and G2532 glory, G1391 and G2532 blessing. G2129 And G2532 every G3956 creature G2938 which G3739 is G2076 in G1722 heaven, G3772 and G2532 on G1722 the earth, G1093 and G2532 under G5270 the earth, G1093 and G2532 such as G3739 are G2076 in G1909 the sea, G2281 and G2532 all G3956 that are in G1722 them, G846 heard I G191 saying, G3004 Blessing, G2129 and G2532 honour, G5092 and G2532 glory, G1391 and G2532 power, G2904 be unto him that sitteth G2521 upon G1909 the throne, G2362 and G2532 unto the Lamb G721 for G1519 ever G165 and ever. G165 And G2532 the four G5064 beasts G2226 said, G3004 Amen. G281 And G2532 the four G5064 and twenty G1501 elders G4245 fell down G4098 and G2532 worshipped G4352 him that liveth G2198 for G1519 ever G165 and ever. G165

Revelation 10:2 STRONG

And G2532 he had G2192 in G1722 his G846 hand G5495 a little book G974 open: G455 and G2532 he set G5087 his G846 right G1188 foot G4228 upon G1909 the sea, G2281 and G1161 his left G2176 foot on G1909 the earth, G1093

Revelation 10:8-11 STRONG

And G2532 the voice G5456 which G3739 I heard G191 from G1537 heaven G3772 spake G2980 unto G3326 me G1700 again, G3825 and G2532 said, G3004 Go G5217 and take G2983 the little book G974 which G3588 is open G455 in G1722 the hand G5495 of the angel G32 which G3588 standeth G2476 upon G1909 the sea G2281 and G2532 upon G1909 the earth. G1093 And G2532 I went G565 unto G4314 the angel, G32 and said G3004 unto him, G846 Give G1325 me G3427 the little book. G974 And G2532 he said G3004 unto me, G3427 Take G2983 it, and G2532 eat G2719 it G846 up; G2719 and it G2532 shall make G4087 thy G4675 belly G2836 bitter, G4087 but G235 it shall be G2071 in G1722 thy G4675 mouth G4750 sweet G1099 as G5613 honey. G3192 And G2532 I took G2983 the little book G974 out of G1537 the angel's G32 hand, G5495 and G2532 ate G2719 it G846 up; G2719 and G2532 it was G2258 in G1722 my G3450 mouth G4750 sweet G1099 as G5613 honey: G3192 and G2532 as soon as G3753 I had eaten G5315 it, G846 my G3450 belly G2836 was bitter. G4087 And G2532 he said G3004 unto me, G3427 Thou G4571 must G1163 prophesy G4395 again G3825 before G1909 many G4183 peoples, G2992 and G2532 nations, G1484 and G2532 tongues, G1100 and G2532 kings. G935

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Zechariah 5

Commentary on Zechariah 5 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Introduction

Sixth Vision: The Flying Roll, and the Woman in the Ephah - Zechariah 5:1-11

These two figures are so closely connected, that they are to be taken as one vision. The circumstance, that a pause is introduced between the first and second view, in which both the ecstatic elevation and the interpreting angel leave the prophet, so that it is stated in Zechariah 5:5 that “the angel came forth,” furnishes no sufficient reason for the assumption that there were two different visions. For the figure of the ephah with the woman sitting in it is also divided into two views, since the prophet first of all sees the woman and receives the explanation (Zechariah 5:5-8), and the further development of the vision is then introduced in Zechariah 5:9 with a fresh introductory formula, “And I lifted up my eyes, and saw.” And just as this introductory formula, through which new and different visions are introduced in Zechariah 2:1 and Zechariah 2:5, by no means warrants us in dividing what is seen here into two different visions; so there is nothing in the introduction in Zechariah 5:5 to compel us to separate the vision of the flying roll (Zechariah 5:1-4) from the following vision of the ephah, since there is no such difference in the actual contents of the two as to warrant such a separation. They neither stand in such a relation to one another, as that the first sets forth the extermination of sinners out of the holy land, and the second the extermination of sin itself, as Maurer supposes; nor does the one treat of the fate of the sinners and the other of the full measure of the sin; but the vision of the flying roll prepares the way for, and introduces, what is carried out in the vision of the ephah (Zechariah 5:5-11), and the connection between the two is indicated formally by the fact that the suffix in עינם in Zechariah 5:6 refers back to Zechariah 5:3 and Zechariah 5:4.


Verses 1-4

Zechariah 5:1. “And I lifted up my eyes again, and saw, and behold a flying roll. Zechariah 5:2. And he said to me, What seest thou? And I said, I see a flying roll; its length twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits. Zechariah 5:3. And he said to me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the whole land: for every one that stealeth will be cleansed away from this side, according to it; and every one that sweareth will be cleansed away from that side, according to it. Zechariah 5:4. I have caused it to go forth, is the saying of Jehovah of hosts, and it will come into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth by my name for deceit: and it will pass the night in the midst of his house, and consume both its beams and its stones.” The person calling the prophet's attention to the vision, and interpreting it, is the angelus interpres . This is not specially mentioned here, as being obvious from what goes before. The roll (book-scroll, m e gillâh = m e gillath sēpher , Ezekiel 2:9) is seen flying over the earth unrolled, so that its length and breadth can be seen. The statement as to its size is not to be regarded as “an approximative estimate,” so that the roll would be simply described as of considerable size (Koehler), but is unquestionably significant. It corresponds both to the size of the porch of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:3), and also to the dimensions of the holy place in the tabernacle, which was twenty cubits long and ten cubits broad. Hengstenberg, Hofmann, and Umbreit, following the example of Kimchi, assume that the reference is to the porch of the temple, and suppose that the roll has the same dimensions as this porch, to indicate that the judgment is “a consequence of the theocracy” or was to issue from the sanctuary of Israel, where the people assembled before the Lord. But the porch of the temple was neither a symbol of the theocracy, nor the place where the people assembled before the Lord, but a mere architectural ornament, which had no significance whatever in relation to the worship. The people assembled before the Lord in the court, to have reconciliation made for them with God by sacrifice; or they entered the holy place in the person of their sanctified mediators, the priests, as cleansed from sin, there to appear before God and engage in His spotless worship. The dimensions of the roll are taken from the holy place of the tabernacle, just as in the previous vision the candlestick was the mosaic candlestick of the tabernacle. Through the similarity of the dimensions of the roll to those of the holy place in the tabernacle, there is no intention to indicate that the curse proceeds from the holy place of the tabernacle or of the temple; for the roll would have issued from the sanctuary, if it had been intended to indicate this. Moreover, the curse or judgment does indeed begin at the house of God, but it does not issue or come from the house of God. Kliefoth has pointed to the true meaning in the following explanation which he gives: “The fact that the writing, which brings the curse upon all the sinners of the earth, has the same dimensions as the tabernacle, signifies that the measure will be meted out according to the measure of the holy place;” and again, “the measure by which this curse upon sinners will be meted out, will be the measure of the holy place.” With this measure would all sinners be measured, that they might be cut off from the congregation of the Lord, which appeared before God in the holy place.

The flight of the roll symbolized the going forth of the curse over the whole land. כּל־הארץ is rendered by Hofmann, Neumann, and Kliefoth “the whole earth,” because “it evidently signifies the whole earth in v. Zechariah 4:10, Zechariah 4:14, and Zechariah 6:5” (Kliefoth). But these passages, in which the Lord of the whole earth is spoken of, do not prove anything in relation to our vision, in which כּל־הארץ is unmistakeably limited to the land of Canaan (Judah) by the antithesis in Zechariah 5:11, “the land of Shinar.” If the sinners who are smitten by the curse proceeding over כּל־הארץ are to be carried into the land of Sinar , the former must be a definite land, and not the earth as the sum of all lands. It cannot be argued in opposition to this, that the sin of the land in which the true house of God and the true priesthood were, was wiped away by expiation, whereas the sin of the whole world would be brought into the land of judgment, when its measure was concluded by God; for this antithesis is foreign not only to this vision, but to the Scriptures universally. The Scriptures know nothing of any distribution or punishment of sins according to different lands, but simply according to the character of the sinners, viz., whether they are penitent or hardened. At the same time, the fact that כּל־הארץ denotes the whole of the land of Israel, by no means proves that our vision either treats of the “carrying away of Israel into exile,” which had already occurred (Ros.), or “sets before them a fresh carrying away into exile, and one still in the future” (Hengstenberg), or that on the coming of the millennial kingdom the sin and the sinners will be exterminated from the whole of the holy land, and the sin thrown back upon the rest of the earth, which is still under the power of the world (Hofmann). The vision certainly refers to the remote future of the kingdom of God; and therefore “the whole land” cannot be restricted to the extent and boundaries of Judaea or Palestine, but reaches as far as the spiritual Israel or church of Christ is spread over the earth; but there is no allusion in our vision to the millennial kingdom, and its establishment within the limits of the earthly Canaan. The curse falls upon all thieves and false swearers. הנּשׁבּע in Zechariah 5:3 is defined more precisely in Zechariah 5:4, as swearing in the name of Jehovah for deceit, and therefore refers to perjury in the broadest sense of the word, or to all abuse of the name of God for false, deceitful swearing. Thieves are mentioned for the sake of individualizing, as sinners against the second table of the decalogue; false swearers, as sinners against the first table. The repetition of מזּה כּמוה points to this; for mizzeh , repeated in correlative clauses, signifies hinc et illinc , hence and thence, i.e., on one side and the other (Exodus 17:12; Numbers 22:24; Ezekiel 47:7), and can only refer here to the fact that the roll was written upon on both sides, so that it is to be taken in close connection with כּמוה : “on this side ... and on that, according to it” (the roll), i.e., according to the curse written upon this side and that side of the roll. We have therefore to picture the roll to ourselves as having the curse against the thieves written upon the one side, and that against the perjurers upon the other. The supposition that mizzeh refers to כּל־הארץ is precluded most decidedly, by the fact that mizzeh does not mean “thence,” i.e., from the whole land, but when used adverbially of any place, invariably signifies “hence,” and refers to the place where the speaker himself is standing. Moreover, the double use of mizzeh is at variance with any allusion to hâ'ârets , as well as the fact that if it belonged to the verb, it would stand after כּמוה , whether before or after the verb. Niqqâh , the niphal , signifies here to be cleaned out, like καθαρίζεσωαι in Mark 7:19 (cf. 1 Kings 14:10; Deuteronomy 17:12). This is explained in Zechariah 5:4 thus: Jehovah causes the curse to go forth and enter into the house of the thief and perjurer, so that it will pass the night there, i.e., stay there ( lâneh third pers. perf. of lūn , from lânâh , to be blunted, like zûreh in Isaiah 59:5, and other verbal formations); it will not remain idle, however, but work therein, destroying both the house and sinners therein, so that beams and stones will be consumed (cf. 1 Kings 18:38). The suffix in כּלּתּוּ (for כּלּתהוּ , cf. Ges. §75, Anm. 19) refers to the house, of course including the inhabitants. The following nouns introduced with ואת are in explanatory apposition: both its beams and its stones. The roll therefore symbolizes the curse which will fall upon sinners throughout the whole land, consuming them with their houses, and thus sweeping them out of the nation of God.


Verses 5-8

To this there is appended in Zechariah 5:5-11 a new view, which exhibits the further fate of the sinners who have been separated from the congregation of the saints. Zechariah 5:5. “And the angel that talked with me went forth, and said to me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, what is this that goeth out there? Zechariah 5:6. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the ephah going out. And He said, This is their aspect in all the land. Zechariah 5:7. And behold a disk of lead was lifted up, and there was a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah. Zechariah 5:8. And he said, This is wickedness; and he cast it into the midst of the ephah, and cast the leaden weight upon its mouth.” With the disappearing of the previous vision, the angelus interpres had also vanished from the eyes of the prophet. After a short pause he comes out again, calls the prophet's attention to a new figure which emerges out of the cloud, and so comes within the range of vision ( היּוצאת הזּאת ), and informs him with regard to it: “This is the ephah which goeth out.” יצא , to go out, in other words, to come to view. The ephah was the greatest measure of capacity which really existed among the Hebrews for dry goods, and was about the size of a cubic foot; for the chōmer , which contained ten ephahs, appears to have had only an ideal existence, viz., for the purpose of calculation. The meaning of this figure is indicated generally in the words זאת עינם כב , the meaning of which depends upon the interpretation to be given to עינם . The suffix of this word can only refer to the sinners mentioned before, viz., the thieves and perjurers; for it is contrary to the Hebrew usage to suppose that the words refer to the expression appended, בּכל־הארץ , in the sense of “all those who are in the whole land” (Koehler). Consequently עין does not mean the eye, but adspectus , appearance, or shape, as in Leviticus 13:55; Ezekiel 1:4.; and the words have this meaning: The ephah (bushel) is the shape, i.e., represents the figure displayed by the sinners in all the land, after the roll of the curse has gone forth over the land, i.e., it shows into what condition they have come through that anathema (Kliefoth). The point of comparison between the ephah and the state into which sinners have come in consequence of the curse, does not consist in the fact that the ephah is carried away, and the sinners likewise (Maurer), nor in the fact that the sin now reaches its full measure (Hofm., Hengstenberg); for “the carrying away of the sinners does not come into consideration yet, and there is nothing at all here about the sin becoming full.” It is true that, according to what follows, sin sits in the ephah as a woman, but there is nothing to indicate that the ephah is completely filled by it, so that there is no further room in it; and this thought would be generally out of keeping here. The point of comparison is rather to be found in the explanation given by Kliefoth: “Just as in a bushel the separate grains are all collected together, so will the individual sinners over the whole earth be brought into a heap, when the curse of the end goes forth over the whole earth.” We have no hesitation in appropriating this explanation, although we have not rendered הארץ “the earth,” inasmuch as at the final fulfilment of the vision the holy land will extend over all the earth. Immediately afterwards the prophet is shown still more clearly what is in the ephah. A covering of lead ( kikkâr , a circle, a rounding or a circular plate) rises up, or is lifted up, and then he sees a woman sitting in the ephah ( 'achath does not stand for the indefinite article, but is a numeral, the sinners brought into a heap appearing as a unity, i.e., as one living personality, instead of forming an atomistic heap of individuals). This woman, who had not come into the ephah now for the first time, but was already sitting there, and was only seen now that the lid was raised, is described by the angel as mirsha‛ath , ungodliness, as being wickedness embodied, just as in 2 Chronicles 24:7 this name is given to godless Jezebel. Thereupon he throws her into the ephah, out of which she had risen up, and shuts it with the leaden lid, to carry her away, as the following vision shows, out of the holy land.


Verses 9-11

Zechariah 5:9. “And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold there came forth two women, and wind in their wings, and they had wings like a stork's wings; and they carried the ephah between earth and heaven. Zechariah 5:10. And I said to the angel that talked with me, Whither are these taking the ephah? Zechariah 5:11. And he said to me, To build it a dwelling in the land of Shinar: and it will be placed and set up there upon its stand.” The meaning of this new scene may easily be discovered. The ephah with the woman in it is carried away between earth and heaven, i.e., through the air. Women carry it because there is a woman inside; and two women, because two persons are required to carry so large and heavy a measure, that they may lay hold of it on both sides ( תּשּׂנה with the א dropped; cf. Ges. §74, Anm. 4). These women have wings, because it passes through the air; and a stork's wings, because these birds have broad pinions, and not because the stork is a bird of passage or an unclean bird. The wings are filled with wind, that they may be able to carry their burden with greater velocity through the air. The women denote the instruments or powers employed by God to carry away the sinners out of His congregation, without any special allusion to this or the other historical nation. This is all that we have to seek for in these features, which only serve to give distinctness to the picture. But the statement in Zechariah 5:11 is significant: “to build it a house in the land of Shinar.” The pronoun לה with the suffix softened instead of לּהּ , as in Exodus 9:18; Leviticus 13:4 (cf. Ewald, §247, d ), refers grammatically to האיפה ; but so far as the sense is concerned, it refers to the woman sitting in the ephah, since a house is not built for a measure, but only for men to dwell in. This also applies to the feminine form הנּתחה , and to the suffix in מכנתהּ . The building of a house indicates that the woman is to dwell there permanently, as is still more clearly expressed in the second hemistich. הוּכן refers to בּית , and is not to be taken hypothetically, in the sense of “as soon as the house shall be restored,” but is a perfect with Vav consec. ; and hūkhan , the hophal of kūn , is not to be taken in the sense of restoring, but, in correspondence with m e khunâh , in the sense of establishing or building on firm foundations. M e khunâh : the firmly established house. In this the woman of sin is brought to rest. The land in which the woman of sin carried away out of the holy land is permanently to dwell, is the land of Shinar . This name is not to be identified with Babel , so as to support the conclusion that it refers to a fresh removal of the people of Israel into exile; but according to Genesis 10:10 and Genesis 11:2, Shinar is the land in which Nimrod founded the first empire, and where the human race built the tower of Babel which was to reach to the sky. The name is not to be taken geographically here as an epithet applied to Mesopotamia, but is a notional or real definition, which affirms that the ungodliness carried away out of the sphere of the people of God will have its permanent settlement in the sphere of the imperial power that is hostile to God. The double vision of this chapter, therefore, shows the separation of the wicked from the congregation of the Lord, and their banishment into and concentration within the ungodly kingdom of the world. This distinction and separation commenced with the coming of the Messiah, and runs through all the ages of the spread and development of the Christian church, until at the time of the end they will come more and more into outward manifestation; and the evil, having been sifted out by the judicial power of God and His Spirit, will form itself into a Babel of the last days, as Ezekiel 38 and 39 clearly show, and attempt a last struggle with the kingdom of God, in which it will be overcome and destroyed by the last judgment.