Zechariah 5:5

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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Zechariah 5:5-8. The angel that talked with me went forth — Or rather, went on, as the verb יצאoften signifies; (see 2 Chronicles 21:19; Jeremiah 25:32;) and so it may signify at the end of this verse, and in the next, where it occurs again. And I said, What is it? — What does this signify, or, what thing is this? And he said, This is an ephah — An ephah was a measure containing somewhat less than our bushel, and consequently too small for a woman to sit in; we must therefore understand here a measure, in the form only of an ephah, but of a larger size, which was probably the reason why Zechariah did not know what it was: and being the measure whereby they bought and sold dry things, it seems to have been intended to denote the unjust dealings of the Jews in buying and selling; their fraud, deceit, and extortion in commerce, were sins abounding among them; as they are among that people at this day. He said moreover, This is their resemblance — Or, as the LXX. render it, This is their iniquity (reading עונם, instead of עינם) through all the earth — Or, through all the land; that is, by this you may make an estimate of their unjust dealings all over the land. Besides the intimation given by this vision of the ephah, that the dealings of the Jews with each other were unjust, its largeness and its going forth corresponded with the iniquities that prevailed in the land, both as exceeding the ordinary measure, and also as continually increasing, so as already to have arisen to such a pitch as made it necessary to repress them. And behold there was lifted up a talent — Or, a huge mass; of lead — This seems to have been intended to denote the weight, or severity, of the judgments here threatened. And this is a woman, &c. — What thou seest besides, is a woman sitting carelessly upon the ephah, and fearing no evil. So Grotius, “super epha, superba et nihil mali metuens.” That she appeared at first sitting upon the ephah, is evident from what is said in the following words, namely, that the angel cast her into the midst of the ephah; which implies that she was not there before. And he said, This is wickedness — This woman denotes wickedness: or, this is iniquity itself, or corruption of heart, the mother or spring of thefts, perjuries, and all kind of crimes. Blayney renders it, This is the wicked one. Public states, or societies, are often represented by women, as the mothers of their people, as we see in the ancient coins. By the same analogy, corrupt societies are expressed by harlots, and women of lewd characters; so here, the corrupt state of the Jews is set forth by a wicked woman. And he cast it — Rather, he cast her, into the midst of the ephah — So the LXX., ερριψεν αυτην εις μεσον του μετρου. So also the Vulgate. Newcome renders it, He cast her within the ephah, that is, (as he explains it,) “caused her to contract herself within the compass of the vessel, denoting the check given to her further progress.” And he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof — That is, of the epah, ne quis esset exitus, says Grotius, that there might be no exit, or way of escape. Or to signify, that when a people have filled up the measure of their iniquities, they sink under the weight of their sins, and cannot escape the judgment of God, and that thus it should fare with the Jewish people.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

5:5-11 In this vision the prophet sees an ephah, something in the shape of a corn measure. This betokened the Jewish nation. They are filling the measure of their iniquity; and when it is full, they shall be delivered into the hands of those to whom God sold them for their sins. The woman sitting in the midst of the ephah represents the sinful church and nation of the Jews, in their latter and corrupt age. Guilt is upon the sinner as a weight of lead, to sink him to the lowest hell. This seems to mean the condemnation of the Jews, after they filled the measure of their iniquities by crucifying Christ and rejecting his gospel. Zechariah sees the ephah, with the woman thus pressed in it, carried away to some far country. This intimates that the Jews should be hurried out of their own land, and forced to dwell in far countries, as they had been in Babylon. There the ephah shall be firmly placed, and their sufferings shall continue far longer than in their late captivity. Blindness is happened unto Israel, and they are settled upon their own unbelief. Let sinners fear to treasure up wrath against the day of wrath; for the more they multiply crimes, the faster the measure fills.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Then the angel went forth - From the choirs of angels, among whom, in the interval, he had retired, as before (Zephaniah 2:3 (7 Hebrew)) he had gone forth to meet another angel.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Zec 5:5-11. Seventh Vision. The Woman in the Ephah. Wickedness and idolatry removed from the Holy Land to Babylon, there to mingle with their kindred elements.

The ephah is the Hebrew dry measure containing about a bushel, or seven and a half gallons. Alluding to the previous vision as to theft and perjury: the ephah which, by falsification of the measure, they made the instrument of defrauding, shall be made the instrument of their punishment [Grotius]. Compare "this is their resemblance" (Zec 5:6), that is, this is a representation of what the Jews have done, and what they shall suffer. Their total dispersion ("the land of Shinar" being the emblem of the various Gentile lands of their present dispersion) is herein fortetold, when the measure (to which the ephah alludes) of their sins should be full. The former vision denounces judgment on individuals; this one, on the whole state: but enigmatically, not to discourage their present building [Pembellus]. Rather, the vision is consolatory after the preceding one [Calvin]. Idolatry and its kindred sins, covetousness and fraud (denounced in the vision of the roll), shall be removed far out of the Holy Land to their own congenial soil, never to return (so Zec 3:9; Isa 27:9; 52:1; 60:21; Jer 50:20; Zep 3:13). For more than two thousand years, ever since the Babylonian exile, the Jews have been free from idolatry; but the full accomplishment of the prophecy is yet future, when all sin shall be purged from Israel on their return to Palestine, and conversion to Christ.

5. went forth—The interpreting angel had withdrawn after the vision of the roll to receive a fresh revelation from the Divine Angel to communicate to the prophet.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Went forth; or went on, proceeded, or, as we read it, went forth from some more retired place, though he do not tell us what it was, or where he was with the prophet when the last vision appeared.

Lift up now thine eyes: now the prophet was come forth with the angel, he is commanded to took up and observe what he seeth going forth from Jerusalem or the temple.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Then the angel that talked with me went forth,.... From the place where he was, and had been interpreting the vision of the flying roll, unto another more convenient for showing and explaining the following one; and, as it should seem, took the prophet along with him:

and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth; either out of the temple or out of heaven, into some open place, where it might be seen.

Geneva Study Bible

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.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. went forth] or, came forth. During the intervals between the visions, when the prophet was overpowered by, or lost in contemplation of, what he had seen, the Interpreting Angel falls into the background. In this case his coming forth again, or appearing on the scene, is expressly mentioned.

goeth forth] or, cometh forth, i.e. from the surrounding darkness into clear view.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 5-11 - § 9. The seventh vision: the woman in the ephah. Verse 5. - Went forth. While the prophet meditated on the last vision, the interpreting angel retired into the background or among the company of angels; he now comes into view again to explain a new revelation closely connected with the former. That goeth forth. That comes into sight from the surrounding darkness. As the preceding vision denoted that sinners should be extirpated, so the present vision shows how iniquity itself, the very principle of evil, should be removed from the Holy Land. Zechariah 5:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

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.