TEXT [Commentary]
II. Zechariah’s Visions (1:7–6:15)
A. A Man among the Myrtle Trees (1:7-17)
7 Three months later, on February 15,[*] the LORD sent another message to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah and grandson of Iddo.
8 In a vision during the night, I saw a man sitting on a red horse that was standing among some myrtle trees in a small valley. Behind him were riders on red, brown, and white horses. 9 I asked the angel who was talking with me, “My lord, what do these horses mean?”
“I will show you,” the angel replied.
10 The rider standing among the myrtle trees then explained, “They are the ones the LORD has sent out to patrol the earth.”
11 Then the other riders reported to the angel of the LORD, who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have been patrolling the earth, and the whole earth is at peace.”
12 Upon hearing this, the angel of the LORD prayed this prayer: “O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, for seventy years now you have been angry with Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. How long until you again show mercy to them?” 13 And the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
14 Then the angel said to me, “Shout this message for all to hear: ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Jerusalem and Mount Zion is passionate and strong. 15 But I am very angry with the other nations that are now enjoying peace and security. I was only a little angry with my people, but the nations inflicted harm on them far beyond my intentions.
16 “‘Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I have returned to show mercy to Jerusalem. My Temple will be rebuilt, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, and measurements will be taken for the reconstruction of Jerusalem.[*]’
17 “Say this also: ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: The towns of Israel will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem as his own.’”
NOTES
1:7 Three months later. This date formula governs all eight visions given to Zechariah (1:7–6:15); these were apparently a series of revelatory experiences during a single evening (cf. 4:1).
1:8 In a vision during the night, I saw. The technical expression (ra’ithi hallaylah [TH7200/3915A, ZH8011/4326]) means to receive revelation from God and implies more than mere human insight (cf. Isa 30:10). This experience is the result of divine inspiration and indicates that the prophet actually saw and heard the communication from God in some sort of “virtual reality.”
myrtle trees. Mason (1977:36) connects the myrtle trees to the entrance of heaven, since myrtle trees represent the abode of the gods in ancient Near Eastern mythology. Baldwin (1972:95) is probably closer to a correct understanding in simply associating the myrtle trees with the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. The Lord had returned to the outskirts of the city, symbolically speaking, but had not yet entered Jerusalem because the second Temple was still under construction.
red, brown, and white horses. The specific colors of the horses are the subject of some debate. The colors, however, are insignificant to the meaning of this vision. These angelic riders’ patrolling the earth simply indicates God was still concerned about Jerusalem (see the discussions in Baldwin 1972:95, 138-140; Petersen 1984:140-143; Redditt 1995:52-53). The NLT assumes the presence of “riders” on the other horses given the previous reference to a rider on the red horse (although lacking in the MT).
1:10 patrol. The (Hithpael) infinitive form of the verb halak [TH1980, ZH2143] (NLT, “patrol”) simply denotes movement back and forth. The expression suggests a relentless crisscrossing and ongoing scrutiny of the earth by the angelic riders.
1:11 angel of the LORD. Lit., “messenger of the Lord.” The title is given to the unnamed “man” (’ish [TH376, ZH408]) sitting on a red horse among the myrtle trees (1:8). This person has the ability to directly reveal information ordinarily hidden to human beings, so it seems the word “angel” or “messenger” signifies a heavenly being rather than a mortal. Often the appearance of the angel of the Lord in the OT is associated with action on behalf of the nation of Israel. At times, this angel may be a manifestation of God himself (e.g., Gen 16:13; Judg 13:21-22) but at other times appears to be a divine being distinguished from God the Father (perhaps Jesus Christ pre-incarnate, cf. Exod 23:23; 32:34; 1 Chr 21:27).
1:14 Jerusalem and Mount Zion. These are distinct and complementary entities according to Meyers and Meyers (1987:121), with Jerusalem as a broader term signifying the territories ruled by the Judean kings and Zion as the site of Yahweh’s Temple.
1:16 measurements will be taken. The reference to the measuring line or builder’s string (Qere is qaw [TH6957, ZH7742]; Kethiv is qaweh [TH6961, ZH7749]) symbolizes the first steps taken in the construction process. The stretching of the builder’s string refers to general layout and design more than to taking actual, detailed measurements (cf. Job 38:5; Jer 31:39; see further Meyers and Meyers 1987:123).
1:17 again. The word ‘od [TH5750, ZH6388] is actually repeated four times in 1:17 (MT). The repetition speaks to the certainty of God’s intention to restore Jerusalem.
overflow with prosperity. The term puts [TH6327A, ZH7046] usually means to scatter or disperse in defeat. The use of the word in this context suggests the image found in Prov 5:16 of water spilling out of a spring.
COMMENTARY [Text]
Zechariah’s “book of visions” (1:7–6:15) contains eight revelations from God proclaiming a coming age of salvation for the Hebrew community in postexilic Judah. The structure of the night visions follows a standard pattern for this form of visionary literature. The simple outline includes: (1) an introductory statement, (2) a description of the vision the prophet sees, (3) the prophet’s request for an interpretation of the vision, and (4) an angelic explanation of the meaning of the vision. The date formula (1:7) indicates that Zechariah’s series of eight visions occurred during a single night two months after Haggai’s final two oracles, which promised a return of the divine presence and a great shaking of the cosmos (Hag 2:10-19, 20-23). The timing suggests that God was advancing the program of restoration announced by Haggai.
The first vision depicts God’s concern for Jerusalem (1:7-15), and the supporting oracle of response (1:16-17) confirms God’s intentions to rebuild his Temple and restore the prosperity of the city. The vision opens with a scene of troops of riders on horses of various colors patrolling the earth (1:8-11). There is some question as to the identity of the characters portrayed in the vision. The “man” on the red horse among the myrtle trees is later addressed as the “angel of the LORD” (1:11). The unnamed angel (1:9, 13-14) is a divine messenger who guides Zechariah through the vision and interprets the symbolic action the prophet witnesses. It is assumed that the troops of riders are also angelic beings of some unnamed sort or classification.
The horse was generally connected with warfare in the ancient world. The issue here seems to be the power, speed, and endurance represented by the horse. God’s patrolling messengers crisscross the earth as his “eyes” and “ears,” gathering data and reporting their findings. Interestingly, King Darius established a network of spies posing as “royal inspectors” that he called “the eyes and ears of the King” (cf. Briant 2002:343-344). The horses of various colors reappear in Zechariah’s eighth vision pulling the chariots of the four spirits of heaven (6:2-3). We learn from visionary literature elsewhere in the Bible that the colors of the horses sometimes hold symbolic meaning (cf. Rev 6:1-8). Such does not seem to be the case here. Baldwin understands the angelic riders of Zechariah’s vision as somewhat analogous to the messengers on horseback who functioned as a type of “pony express” system carrying messages across the empire to and from the Persian kings (1972:95).
The report delivered to the angel of the Lord is that “the whole earth is at peace” (1:11). This may mean that King Darius had quelled the revolts across the Persian Empire that greeted his succession to the throne. It may also signify that God had not yet, but soon would begin his campaign of “eschatological reversal” (so Redditt 1995:51). The essential message of the first night vision is that God still loves his people Israel and his city Jerusalem (1:14). Zechariah learned that God in his mercy planned to restore the city, its Temple, and once again bless the surrounding towns of Israel with agricultural bounty (1:16-17).
The “seventy years” of God’s anger against Jerusalem and Judah is a reference to the duration of the Babylonian exile (1:12; cf. Jer 25:11-12; 29:10). If Daniel was taken captive during the first Babylonian invasion of Judah (c. 605 BC), then the exile lasted approximately 66 years and the number 70 is a round figure (placing the decree of Cyrus in 539 BC). God’s anger was vented in reaction to the violation of his holiness. Israel was bound to God in covenant relationship, and they were charged to imitate God’s holiness (Lev 11:44). Failure to do so brought the threat (and often the reality) of covenant curses against the Hebrews (cf. Lev 26; Deut 28). This divine judgment might be meted out in the form of natural calamity or as oppression by aggressor nations. The ultimate “curse” was the loss of the land of covenant promise, which involved the expulsion of the Hebrews from the land of Israel as a result of the “vomit theology” tied to the Mosaic covenant—that is, the threat that God would cause the land to “spew out” the Israelites should they adopt the idolatrous ways of the Canaanites (Lev 18:24-30). God was consistent in his application of this aspect of his divine judgment—the abominations of idolatry, gross immorality, child sacrifice, and occult practices meant expulsion from the land, whether for the Canaanite or the Hebrew (cf. 2 Kgs 21:2). The declaration that God intended to turn his anger against the nations (1:15) anticipates the message of divine judgment in the second vision (1:18-21).
God’s passionate love for Jerusalem can be traced to the promises he made through Moses to choose a place for his name (Deut 12:11; 14:23). As a result of King David’s conquest of Jerusalem and his vision for a Temple of Yahweh to be built there, that city became the place where God’s name was honored (cf. 1 Kgs 8:29, 48). God’s love for Jerusalem is tied to its designation as his residence (Ps 76:2); Mount Zion was home to the symbol of his divine presence on earth, the Ark of the Covenant, which was housed in the Temple (Ps 74:2). This means God maintained order in the cosmos and ruled over the nations of the earth from his holy city, Jerusalem—the city he loves more than any other city (Ps 87:2).
The expression “love . . . is passionate and strong” (1:14) renders a phrase that can be translated “I am jealous (qana’ [TH7065, ZH7861]) . . . (with) great jealousy.” This intense emotion is a single-minded devotion, which may produce hatred and envy when turned inward or zeal and selflessness when turned outward. God reveals himself as a jealous God because he is the one true and living God, and as Creator and Redeemer he has the exclusive right to the worship of his creatures. God’s jealousy is first mentioned in conjunction with the Sinai covenant (Exod 20:5; 34:14). The special relationship created by this covenant means that Israel belongs to God and owes him the loyalty of a bride or adopted child (Jer 2:2). God will not share his glory with another, so any lapse on the part of Israel in maintaining the covenant relationship with Yahweh will result in experiencing his jealousy as a “devouring fire” (Deut 4:24). Yet God’s love for his chosen people is so great that his jealousy is also their defense and hope of restoration (1:14; cf. Ezek 36:5; 38:19. See the discussion on “jealousy” in Baldwin 1972:101-103).
The preterist interpretation generally understands the first vision as fulfilled in the building of the second Temple by Zerubbabel and the physical and spiritual restoration of the people of Jerusalem as a result of the initiatives of Ezra and Nehemiah. Typically, the futurist interpretation identifies the rider on the red horse with Jesus Christ and associates the events of Zechariah’s first vision with the Second Advent of Christ as depicted in Revelation 5–19.