Zechariah 1:7

Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Zechariah 1:7-8. Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month — That is, about three months after he had received the former vision; which is the month Sebat — This was the Chaldee or Syriac name of the eleventh month, not the Hebrew name. This month corresponded with the latter end of January and the beginning of February. Came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah — This second revelation contains eight distinct visions, following each other in the same night. “The first vision is of an angel in a human form, sitting on horseback, in a low valley among myrtle-trees, attended by others upon horses, of different colours. The prophet asks the meaning, and is informed that they were the ministers of Providence, sent to examine into the state of the whole earth, which they report to be quiet and tranquil. The angel hereupon intercedes for Judah and Jerusalem, which he represents to have suffered under the divine indignation seventy years. He receives a consolatory answer. The prophet is directed to proclaim, that God’s wrath against Judah was at an end; that he would cause the temple and Jerusalem to be rebuilt; and would fill the country with good, as a token and consequence of his renewed favour, Zechariah 1:7-17.” — Blayney. Saying, I saw, &c. — That is, the word came to the prophet, who said, I saw, &c., or, thus recited the divine vision which had been sent him. What now follows (which extends to the end of the sixth chapter) was uttered when the people had made a great progress in the work of the temple, and were now to be excited to the new labour of fortifying Jerusalem. And behold a man — The prophet terms him so, according to his appearance; till, perceiving by his answer, Zechariah 1:10, that he had a divine commission, he afterward gives him the respectable title of the angel, or messenger of Jehovah; riding upon a red horse — A horse of a red or bloody colour was an emblem of the slaughters of war, as appears from Revelation 6:4. But the myrtle being a tree of pleasure, and an emblem of peace, therefore the red horse appearing among the myrtle- trees, signified that the slaughters of war were, or soon would be, repressed or restrained by a profound peace, namely, in the Persian empire, for that is here referred to: and accordingly there was a profound peace in it in the fourth, fifth, and sixth years of Darius. It is doubtful what angel or other being was represented by the figure of a man on this red horse. Some suppose Michael, whom the Prophet Daniel seems to mention as the guardian angel of the Jews, or the angel presiding, under God, over the affairs of their nation, and taking care of them. Others suppose the λογος, or Son of God, is meant; which opinion seems probable. The reason of his appearing in a bottom, or low place, amidst myrtles planted by the waters, is thought to have been to mark out the affliction, humiliation, and sorrow to which Judea was reduced. The myrtle flourishes best in shady and watery places. Littora myrtetis lætissima, says Virgil. See Calmet. Behind him were red horses — With riders on them, as appears from Zechariah 1:10, “who were angels, Zechariah 1:11. They had horses to show their power of celerity; and horses of different colours, to intimate the difference of their ministries.” — Newcome. Or, as others explain it, to signify the various events of the wars waged by Darius, which were sometimes fortunate, at other times unsuccessful.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:7-17 The prophet saw a dark, shady grove, hidden by hills. This represented the low, melancholy condition of the Jewish church. A man like a warrior sat on a red horse, in the midst of this shady myrtle-grove. Though the church was in a low condition, Christ was present in the midst, ready to appear for the relief of his people. Behind him were angels ready to be employed by him, some in acts of judgment, others of mercy, others in mixed events. Would we know something of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, we must apply, not to angels, for they are themselves learners, but to Christ himself. He is ready to teach those humbly desirous to learn the things of God. The nations near Judea enjoyed peace at that time, but the state of the Jews was unsettled, which gave rise to the pleading that followed; but mercy must only be hoped for through Christ. His intercession for his church prevails. The Lord answered the Angel, this Angel of the covenant, with promises of mercy and deliverance. All the good words and comfortable words of the gospel we receive from Jesus Christ, as he received them from the Father, in answer to the prayer of his blood; and his ministers are to preach them to all the world. The earth sat still, and was at rest. It is not uncommon for the enemies of God to be at rest in sin, while his people are enduring correction, harassed by temptation, disquieted by fears of wrath, or groaning under oppression and persecution. Here are predictions which had reference to the revival of the Jews after the captivity, but those events were shadows of what shall take place in the church, after the oppression of the New Testament Babylon is ended.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

On the twenty-fourth day - Exactly five months after the building of the temple was resumed Haggai 2:15, and two months after Haggai's last prophecy Haggai 2:20. The series of visions, leading onward, from the first deliverance from the enemies who oppressed them, to the Coming of Christ, is given as a reward to their first whole-hearted endeavor to restore their worship of Him. The visions are called the "word of the Lord," because they were prophecy, made visible to the eye, conveying the revelation to the soul, and in part explained by Him.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7. The general plan of the nine following visions (Zec 1:8-6:15) is first to present the symbol; then, on a question being put, to subjoin the interpretation. Though the visions are distinct, they form one grand whole, presented in one night to the prophet's mind, two or three months after the prophet's first commission (Zec 1:1).

Sebat—the eleventh month of the Jewish year, from the new moon in February to the new moon in March. The term is Chaldee, meaning a "shoot," namely, the month when trees begin to shoot or bud.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Sebat, which answers to part of our January.

Darius. see Haggai 1:1,15.

Came the word of the Lord, & c. see Zechariah 1:1. The first sermon Zechariah preached was three months before this, and that sermon was reproof, which probably had good effect, as Zechariah 1:6.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat,.... Called Sabat in the Septuagint version, and in the Apocrypha:

"Now Simon was visiting the cities that were in the country, and taking care for the good ordering of them; at which time he came down himself to Jericho with his sons, Mattathias and Judas, in the hundred threescore and seventeenth year, in the eleventh month, called Sabat:'' (1 Maccabees 16:14)

It is said by the Jews (g) to be the beginning of the months of the year for trees, of which they bring the first fruits. It answers to part of our January, and part of February. This is the first time that the name of a month is mentioned by any of the prophets; this prophet prophesying after the captivity in Babylon; from whence the Jews (h) say the names of months came along with the returning captives, as well as the names of angels; and we nowhere meet with them but in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, all wrote after that time; for before they used only to say, the first, second, or third month, &c.; for, as for Abib, Zif, Bul, and Ethanira, mentioned in Exodus 13:4, they are thought to be appellatives, and not proper names; though it may be observed that the books of Kings are said by the Jews (i) to be written by Jeremiah; more likely by several prophets, and at last brought into the order in which they now stand by Ezra, according to Huetius (k); and which may be thought probable enough; and, if so, the above names may be reckoned proper names of months; and the original of them may be accounted for as before. There were two fasts appointed by the Jews in this month; one on the tenth day of it, for the death of the elders which succeeded Joshua, Judges 2:7 and another on the twenty third, on account of the Israelites making war with the Benjaminites, in revenge of what was done to the wife of the Levite, Judges 19:1 (l). This prophecy, and the visions following to the end of the sixth chapter, were three months after the former prophecy, or more, if that was on the first day of the eighth month; and just two months after the foundation of the temple was laid, Haggai 2:18, "in the second year of Darius", &c. See Gill on Zechariah 1:1.

(g) Targum Sheni in Esther 3.7. (h) T. Hieros. Roshhashanah, fol. 56. 4. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 48. fol. 48. 4. (i) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 15. 1.((k) Demonstr. Evangel. prop. 4. p. 203. (l) Vid. Reland. Jud. Antiqu. par. 4. c. 13. p. 261.

Geneva Study Bible

Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month {h} Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

(h) Which includes part of January and part of February.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7. the month Sebat] or Shebat, R.V. i.e. January, or February. The identification of the Jewish months with our own cannot be effected with precision, on account of the variations that must inevitably exist between the lunar and the solar months. See Gen. Introd., Chap. II. p. 18.

the word of the Lord] The visions themselves might not improperly be called, “the word of the Lord,” inasmuch as they are the medium of communication between the Divine mind and the minds of the prophet and the people. But they are accompanied not only by the spoken explanation of the angel, but by frequent passages introduced by the expression, “thus saith the Lord” (Zechariah 1:14; Zechariah 1:16-17, Zechariah 2:5; Zechariah 2:8, &c.), so that the revelation as a whole may fitly be described as “the word of the Lord.”

The First Vision. The horsemen among the myrtle-trees. Zechariah 1:8-17. In the night time, in prophetic trance or vision, Zechariah sees, in a shady valley full of myrtle trees, a man (who is also called an angel of Jehovah and, as it would seem, Jehovah Himself) seated on a red horse, and behind him a number of other horsemen on horses of three different colours, Zechariah 1:8. Wishing to know the meaning of what he sees, the prophet turns for information to an angel beside him, whose office it is to interpret to him the visions, and who remains by him for that purpose throughout the entire series, Zechariah 1:9. In answer to a sign made, or an enquiry addressed to him, by this interpreting angel, the man or angel on horseback among the myrtles explains what the mission of the band of horsemen had been, and gathers from them by sign or interrogation the result of that mission, Zechariah 1:10-11. Sympathising with the prophet and his people, in the disappointment which the report of the horsemen would produce—for it told that the promised tokens of returning favour to Zion were not yet apparent, the leading horseman, the Angel of Jehovah, intercedes with the Almighty on their behalf, Zechariah 1:12. And in the name of Jehovah he gives, as the fruit of his intercession, an answer of encouragement to the interpreting angel at the prophet’s side, Zechariah 1:13; who in turn puts into the mouth of Zechariah the message of Jehovah, which he bids him proclaim to the people, that despite the world-wide peace, which that stationary group in the still night amidst the secluded myrtle-grove at once symbolize and announce, He will speedily arise to take vengeance on their enemies, Zechariah 1:14; Zechariah 1:17, and that then the Temple shall be completed, Jerusalem rebuilt, and the land at large become inhabited and prosperous, Zechariah 1:16-17.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 7-17. - § 3. The first vision: the horsemen in the myrtle grove. Verse 7. - In a series of visions it is now shown what is the nature of the restored theocracy, and what shall befall it. Thus were the people comforted by bearing God's purposes of mercy and the great future that awaited Israel. In this first vision it is revealed to Zechariah that the Gentile nations should be overthrown, and that whatever might be the present condition of the Jewish people, God's purpose of mercy toward them was unshaken and would be fulfilled. The four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat. This month (called here by its Chaldean name) answered to parts of January and February. It was three months since Zechariah had been called to the prophetical office, and five since the building of the temple had been resumed at Haggai's remonstrance. Meantime Haggai had concluded his mission by uttering his final prophecies two months ago, and now Zechariah carries on the revelation. A comparison of the months in the cuneiform inscriptions with the Hebrew will be found in Schrader, 'Keilinschriften,' 379, and in Dr. Wright's note on this verse. The word of the Lord. Thee visions with their explanations are in effect the oracle (see note on ver. 1). Zechariah 1:7

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Three months after his call to be a prophet through the first word of God that was addressed to him, Zechariah received a comprehensive revelation concerning the future fate of the people and kingdom of God, in a series of visions, which were given him to behold in a single night, and were interpreted by an angel. This took place, according to Zechariah 1:7, "on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, i.e., the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius," that is to say, exactly five months after the building of the temple had been resumed (Haggai 1:15), with which fact the choice of the day for the divine revelation was evidently connected, and two months after the last promise issued through Haggai to the people, that the Lord would from henceforth bless His nation, and would glorify it in the future (Haggai 2:10-23). To set forth in imagery this blessing and glorification, and to exhibit the leading features of the future conformation of the kingdom of God, was the object of these visions, which are designated in the introduction as "word of Jehovah," because the pictures seen in the spirit, together with their interpretation, had the significance of verbal revelations, and are to some extent still further explained by the addition of words of God (cf. Zechariah 1:14., Zechariah 2:10-13). As they were shown to the prophet one after another in a single night, so that in all probability only short pauses intervened between the different views; so did they present a substantially connected picture of the future of Israel, which was linked on to the then existing time, and closed with the prospect of the ultimate completion of the kingdom of God.