Study notes

Zechariah 5

Introducing ZechariahWho wrote it, when, why, and what to look for as you read

1:1–8:23 Section

God gave some messages to Zechariah by speaking to him. He gave Zechariah other messages through visions. Zechariah shared these messages while the people of Judah were rebuilding the temple. The story about this is recorded in Ezra chapters 5 and 6.

The messages had two main points. The first main point was about the Mount Sinai covenant. The people of Zechariah’s time needed to be faithful to the covenant. Their people from long ago hadn’t done this. They hadn’t worshipped only God. They hadn’t treated others the way God taught them to in the Law of Moses. They hadn’t listened to the prophets who warned them to stop doing evil deeds. They hadn’t turned away from their sin and repented.

That is why God brought judgement against the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The Assyrian government had taken control of the northern kingdom of Israel. The Babylonian government had taken control of the southern kingdom of Judah. The temple had been destroyed. Many of God’s people had been forced to leave their land. They had been scattered among other nations and lived in exile.

Many of God’s people understood that God’s judgement against them was right and fair. The people had shown how sad they were about God’s judgement. They showed it by mourning and going without food at certain times. Zechariah explained the way that God wanted them to show their sadness. It wasn’t by fasting. It was by treating people with justice. This was like the message about fasting recorded in Isaiah chapter 58. God had explained how to treat people with justice in the Law of Moses. After the exile God’s people were still required to follow those laws.

1:7–6:15

These eight visions helped the Judeans overcome their fears and trust in God's promises. The visions happened two months after Haggai's last two messages (Haggai 2:10–19, 20–23). They suggest that Haggai's prophecies were coming true.

5:1

  • Again I lifted up my eyes: This is the sixth of eight visions Zechariah had in one night.

  • A scroll, similar to a book in biblical times, was usually made of rolled parchment or leather, but sometimes of papyrus, tin, or copper. This scroll was flying, unfurled like a banner for everyone to see.

5:1–4

Zechariah's vision of the flying scroll reminded the leaders and people of Judah after the exile that they still had to follow God's commands. The blessings and curses of the law still applied (see Deuteronomy 28).

5:5–11

The seventh vision continues the theme of cleansing that began when the high priest Jeshua was declared innocent (Zechariah 3:1–10). The removal of wickedness, like the removal of Jeshua’s filthy clothes (Zechariah 3:4), shows God’s gracious forgiveness. This act comes from the covenant-keeping God.

5:6

The measuring basket, known as an ephah in Hebrew, was a standard unit for measuring dry goods. An ephah was about half a bushel. Old Testament prophets condemned unfair ephahs. They associated the ephah basket with wrongdoing (see Ezekiel 45:10; Micah 6:10).

5:7

The heavy lead cover weighed about 34 kilograms (75 pounds), which is one talent. This was not a normal cover for an ephah basket. Its weight shows that special action was needed to seal the basket’s unholy contents.

5:8

Wickedness can be moral evil or ceremonial evil, and it is opposed to righteousness (see Proverbs 13:6; Ezekiel 33:12). The word wickedness (Hebrew rish‘ah) sounds similar in Hebrew to the name Asherah, the fertility goddess of the ancient Near East (see Deuteronomy 7:5; 16:21).

5:9

In the Old Testament, it is rare to see divine or angelic winged creatures depicted as women. If these two women are the Lord's servants, they are unique angels. If they serve Wickedness (a foreign goddess), their obedience to God's command shows his power over false gods.

5:11

  • Idolatry (the worship of idols) is a powerful and aggressive form of evil. It cannot be contained among God’s people. God orders it to be removed and sent back to its place of origin, Babylonia.

    This image shows that God is able to remove every form of wickedness that separates his people from him.

  • The land of Babylonia was where the Hebrews were held captive (Micah 4:10). The prophets describe it as wicked and idolatrous (Isaiah 46–47; Jeremiah 50–51).

    In the New Testament, Babylon represents the evil Roman Empire (Revelation 17:5; 18:2; see 1 Peter 5:13).

Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources