Bibelkommentare

Behold, four chariots going forth - Alb.: "By the secret disposal of God into the theater of the world," "from between two mountains of brass." Both Jews and Christians have seen that the four chariots relate to the same four empires, as the visions in Daniel.

"The two mountains." It may be that the imagery is from the two mountains on either side of the valley of Jehoshaphat, which Joel had spoken of as the place of God's judgment, Joel 3:2, and Zechariah afterward Zechariah 14:4. It may then picture that the judgments go forth from God. Anyhow the powers, symbolized by the four chariots, are pictured as closed in on either side by these mountains, strong as brass, unsurmountable, undecaying, (Ribera), "that they should not go forth to other lands to conquer, until the time should come, fixed by the counsels of God, when the gates should be opened for their going forth." The mountains of brass may signify the height of the Divine Wisdom ordering this, and the sublimity of the power which putteth them in operation; as the Psalmist says, "Thy righteousnesses are like the mountains of God" Psalm 36:6.

The symbol is different from that in the first vision. There Zechariah 1:8, they were horses only, with their riders, to go to and fro to enquire; here they are war-chariots with their horses, to execute God's judgments, each in their turn. In the first vision also, there is not the characteristic fourfold division, which reminds of the four world-empires of Daniel Dan. 2; after which, in both prophets, is the mention of the kingdom of Christ. Even if the grisled horses be the same as the speckled of the first vision, the black horses are wanting there, as well as the succession, in which they go forth. The only resemblance is, that there are horses of divers colors, two of which, red and white, are the same. The symbol of the fourth empire, grizzled, strong, remarkably corresponds with the strength and mingled character of the fourth empire in Daniel.

These are the four spirits of the heavens - They cannot be literal winds: for spirits, not winds, stand before God, as His servants, as in Job, "the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord" (Job 1:6; Job 2:1. This they did, (Jerome), "for these four kingdoms did nothing without the will of God." Zechariah sums up in one, what former prophets had said separately of the Assyrian, the Babylonian, Egyptian, Persian. "O Assyria, the rod of Mine anger - I will send him against an ungodly nation, and against the people of My wrath I will give him a charge" Isaiah 10:5. "I will send and take all the families of the north, and Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land" Jeremiah 25:9. "The Lord shall hiss for the fly, that is in the uttermost part of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria, and they shall come, and shall rest, all of them, in the desolate valleys" Isaiah 7:18-19. "I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem" Jeremiah 1:15. Whatever the human impulse or the human means, all stand before the Lord of the whole earth, ministering to His will whose are all things, the Judge of all, who withholdeth the chastisement till the iniquity is full, and then, through man's injustice, executes His own just judgment. Osorius: "He says that they went forth from where they had stood before the Lord of the whole earth, to show that their power had been obtained by the counsel of God, that they might serve His will. For no empire was ever set up on earth without the mind, counsel and power of God. He exalts the humble and obscure, He prostrates the lofty, who trust overmuch in themselves, arms one against the other, so that no fraud or pride shall be without punishment."

The black horses which are therein go forth - Literally, "That chariot wherein the black horses are, these go forth." Jerome: "Most suitably is the first chariot, wherein the red homes were, passed over, and what the second, third, fourth did is described. For when the prophet related this, the Babylonian empire had passed, and the power of the Medes possessed all Asia." Red, as the color of blood, represented Babylon as sanguinary; as it is said in the Revelation, "There went out another horse, red, and power was given to him that sat thereon, to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and there was given him a sharp sword" Revelation 6:4. "The black" were to go forth to the north country, the ancient title of Babylon. For Babylon, though taken, was far from being broken. They had probably been betrayed through the weakness of their king's. Their resistance, in the first carefully prepared (Herodotus, iii. 150) revolt against Darius, was more courageous than that against Cyrus: and more desperate .

Since probably more Jews remained in it, than returned to their own country, what was to befall it had a special interest for them. They had already been warned in the third vision Zechariah 2:7 to escape from it. The color black doubtless symbolizes the heavy lot, inflicted by the Medo-Persians; as in the Revelation it is said, "the sun became black as sackcloth of hair" Revelation 6:12; and to the beast in Daniel's vision which corresponded with it, it was said, "Arise, devour much flesh" Daniel 7:5; and in the Revelation, "he that sat on the black horse" Revelation 6:5-6 was the angel charged with the infliction of famine. Of the Medes, Isaiah had said, "I will stir up the Medes against them (Babylon), which shall not regard silver; and gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children" Isaiah 13:17-18.

The white went forth after them - For the Greek empire occupied the same portion of the earth as the Persian. White is a symbol of joy, gladness Ecclesiastes 9:8, victory Revelation 6:2, perhaps also, from its relation to light, of acute intelligence. It may relate too to the benevolence of Alexander to the Jewish nation. "Alexander used such clemency to the conquered, that it seemed as though he might be called rather the founder than the destroyer of the nations whom he subdued."

And the grizzled - The Romans in their mingled character, so prominent in the fourth empire of Daniel, "go forth" Daniel 2:41-43 to the south country, that is, Egypt; as Daniel speaks of "the ships of Chittim" Daniel 11:30 and the intervention of the Romans first in regard to the expulsion of Antiochus Epiphanes from Egypt; in Egypt also, the last enduring kingdom of any successor of Alexander, that of the Ptolemies, expired. "30 years afterward, the Son of God was to bring light to the earth. The prophet so interweaves the prediction, that from the series of the four kingdoms it is brought to the Birth of the Eternal King" .

And the strong went forth and sought to go, that they might walk to and fro through the earth - The mention of their strength corresponds to the extent of the power and commission, for which they asked, to go to and fro, up and down, at their will, unhindered, through the whole earth. The Babylonian empire held Egypt only out of Asia; the Persian was conquered in its efforts against Europe, in Greece; Alexander's was like a meteor, gleaming but breaking into the four: the Roman combined East and West and within large limits tranquilly.

And he said go, walk to and fro in the earth - He commanded, and they, which were before withheld, went, "and they walked to and fro on the earth," ordering all things at their will, under the Providence of God, whereby He gave free access to the Gospel in all their wide empire. The Greek empire being extinguished, the Romans no longer went into any given country, but superintended and governed all human things in (it is the language of the New Testament) "all the world." Cyril: "These same, the dappled and ashen-grey horses were commanded to traverse the earth, and they did traverse it; for they mastered all under heaven, and ruled the whole earth, God consenting and arraying those who swayed the Roman might with this brilliant glory. For, as God, He knew beforehand the greatness of their future piety."

Then God, or the Angel of the Lord - who speaks of what belonged to God alone, "called me" (probably "loudly" Judges 4:10, Judges 4:13; 2 Samuel 20:4-5), so as to command his attention to this which most immediately concerned his people.

These have quieted My spirit in the north country - Or rather, "have made My anger to rest" on, that is, have carried it thither and deposited it there, made it to rest upon them, as its abode, as John saith of the unbelieving, "The wrath of God abideth on him" John 3:36. Babylon had been the final antagonist and subduer of the people of God. It had at the outset destroyed the temple of God, and carried off its vessels to adorn idol-temples. Its empire closed on that night when it triumphed over God , using the vessels dedicated to Him, to the glorifying of their idols. "In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldaeans slain." This final execution of God's anger upon that their destroyer was the earnest of the rest to them; and in this the visions pause.

And the word of the Lord came to me - The visions being closed, Zechariah marks the change by adopting the usual formula, with which the prophets authenticated, that they spake not of themselves, but by the Spirit of God. The act enjoined is a symbolic act, pointing and summing up and interpreting the visions, as some of the visions had been already expanded by fresh revelations following immediately upon them.

Take of the captivity - Of that which they had brought with them. "The captivity" was, in Jeremiah ), and Ezekiel EZechariah 1:2; Ezekiel 3:11, Ezekiel 3:15; Ezekiel 11:24-25, the title of those who had been actually carried captive and were at that moment in captivity. Ezra continues it of those who had been in captivity, though now returned from exile. Yet not without a reference to the circumstances or causes of that captivity. It is the "captivity" Ezra 1:11 which Sheshbazzar brings from Babylon, or Ezra subsequently; the "children of the captivity" Ezra 8:35, who set themselves to build the temple of God Ezra 4:1; who dedicated it and kept the passover . The title is used apparently as an aggravation of sin, like that which had been chastened by that captivity. Here, the term seems to imply some blame, that they remained of their own accord in this state of severance from the altar, where alone special worship of God and sacrifice could be offered. They had been removed against their will; yet, as Christians often do, acquiesced in the loss, rather than forego their temporal advantages. Still they wished to take part in the work of restoring the public worship, and so sent these men, with their contribution of gold and silver, to their brethren, who had returned; as, in the first times of the Gospel, the Christians everywhere made collections for the poor saints, who dwelt in Jerusalem. And this their imperfect zeal was instantly accepted.

And go thyself - To make the act more impressive, "on that same day," as matter of urgency, "and thou shalt come to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah, whither they have come from Babylon" . The exiles who had brought presents for the building of the temple, lodged, it seems, in the house of Josiah, whether they doubted or no that their presents would be accepted, since they chose Babylon, not Jerusalem for their abode. This acceptance of their gifts symbolized the incoming of those from afar. It is remarkable that all five names express a relation to God. "Tobiah" in Nehemiah 2:10; Nehemiah 6:1; 3) the Tobias here and 14; 4) Tobit and Tobias in his book), "The Lord is my good;" "Yedaiah," "God knoweth" or "careth for;" Josiah, "The Lord supporteth" ; "Zephaniah," "The Lord hideth," and perhaps "Cheldai," "The Lord's world" . They had taken religious instead of worldly names. Probably Zechariah was first to accept the offerings from the three exiles, and then to take the actual gold from the house of Josiah whither they had brought it. The pilgrims from Babylon and their host are included in one common blessing.