Zechariah 1:7–17

1:7 The sequence of eight night visions is introduced with a further dating formula, this time with a specific date (cf. 1:1 and comment). The “eleventh month” is identified as “Shebat,” a Babylonian name adopted by the people of Judah (cf. “Chislev”; 7:1). Dating to the reign of a foreign king (cf. 1:1) and using the language of foreign nations (“Shebat”) indicates a situation that should not be: even though God’s people have returned to Jerusalem, they are still experiencing elements of exile. The date corresponds to February 15, 519 BC, about three months after the date in verse 1.

“The word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah” underscores again the divine origin of Zechariah’s message (cf. vv. 1, 3).

1:8 God’s word comes to Zechariah as a series of night visions. All eight visions were likely received on this one night, since none of the other visions are dated, and each new vision is closely joined to the previous one by the Hebrew syntax.

Zechariah sees a “man riding on a red horse.” Horses were used for military or royal purposes and have great speed. Behind the man were “red, sorrel, and white horses.” These are typical horse colors and do not seem to function symbolically here (unlike in Revelation 6). The color red could also be translated “chestnut,” and sorrel could also be translated “bay,” a bright color that may have a yellow, gold, or red hue.¹ In Hebrew, the colors are a plural form of the adjective, suggesting multiple horses of each color. While not explicit, verse 11 suggests the horses have riders, since they speak to the angel of the Lord. The significance of the “myrtle trees in the glen” is not stated; “glen” is difficult to translate but could also be translated “by the deep,” referring to a body of water, such as a river, beside which myrtles were growing. These features may contribute only to the picture portrayed in the vision, not its meaning.

1:9–10 The angel who speaks with Zechariah is found in seven of the eight visions and explains the important features of the visions (he is often called the “interpreting angel” to distinguish him from other angelic figures). Here he promises to show Zechariah the significance of the scene.

The man who “was standing among the myrtle trees” (v. 10) is later identified as the “angel of the LORD” (v. 11), and he explains the function of the horses: they have been “sent to patrol the earth” (v. 10). Modeled on the Persian horsemen who patrolled the empire (carrying messages and garnering intelligence like Sauron’s Ringwraiths in The Lord of the Rings, but without sinister overtones), these horses provide surveillance for God and express his sovereign rule over the “earth” (Hb. ʼerets).²

1:11–12 The “angel of the LORD” represents God and speaks for him yet is distinct from him. In Zechariah, he appears only here and in the fourth vision (3:1, 5–6). He seems to be more than simply an angel, and elsewhere is an appearance of God in human form (e.g., Judg. 6:11–23; 13:3–23). While some therefore deduce he is an appearance of the preincarnate Christ, caution is called for in making this claim since this connection is never made in the NT.

The riders of the horses report to the angel of the Lord (and hence also to the Lord himself) that “all the earth remains at rest” (Zech. 1:11). God had promised his people “rest” and “peace” after restoration to the land (e.g., Jer. 30:10). Presumably by the end of Darius’s second year the Jewish people expected release from Persian control, but this “rest” was the experience of the nations, not of God’s people. This report provokes a complaint: “O LORD of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah?” (Zech. 1:12).

As in the introduction (vv. 1–6), here the exile is portrayed as an expression of God’s judgment—his “anger” or “curse,” prophesied by Jeremiah as lasting seventy years (cf. Jer. 25:11–12; 29:10; Zech. 7:5). The exact beginning and end points are not clear (cf. Dan. 9:2, 24–27). The seventy years could be symbolic of a lifespan or could approximate the 70-year period between the rise of Nebuchadnezzar (605 BC) and the decree of Cyrus that the exiles could return home (539). Most likely it refers to the years of temple desolation—between its destruction in 586 BC and its rebuilding in 515 (cf. Ezra 6:15). In any case, the completion of seventy years will bring an end to God’s anger and usher in his return to dwell with and bless his people.

1:13 In response to Zechariah’s lament, the Lord answers with “gracious and comforting words” to the angel, who presumably communicates these words to Zechariah in verses 14–17. Comfort brings to mind Isaiah 40, which concerns the end of exile and the coming of God to save his people.

1:14 Like the prophet Isaiah, Zechariah is also to “cry out” (cf. Isa. 40:6). He is to proclaim God’s great jealousy for Jerusalem and Zion. Although jealousy can have negative associations today, there is proper jealousy, such as between a husband and wife who have pledged to share their lives and intimacy only with each other. In the OT, God’s jealousy arises from his covenant relationship with his people and describes his passion for this relationship and his willingness to defend it (cf. Ex. 20:5; 34:15; Deut. 5:9).

“Jerusalem” and “Zion” refer essentially to the same entity, though Zion may have more of a religious connotation as the Temple Mount, while Jerusalem may have a more political nuance as the city of David.

1:15 With the seventy years of judgment coming to an end, God’s anger is shifting from his people (cf. v. 2) to the nations. Although the nations are “at ease,” it should be God’s people who are experiencing his blessing (cf. comment on 1:11–12). That the nations “furthered the disaster” implies that while God used nations such as Assyria and Babylon as his agents for the punishment on his people, these nations overstepped their role as God’s agents and committed evil themselves (e.g., Isa. 10:5–15; 47:6; 54:7–8). God’s judgment of the nations is the theme of the second and third visions.

1:16 “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy” can also be translated “I have turned to Jerusalem with mercy,” and is to be understood against the backdrop of Jeremiah’s seventy years of judgment coming to an end. God has turned from judgment to mercy, with many returning to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. The phrase speaks of restored relationship. The return of the glory of the Lord to Jerusalem, which Ezekiel saw depart (cf. Ezekiel 10), is still future and requires the rebuilding of the temple, which God assures his people will happen: “My house shall be built in it.” So, too, the city itself will be rebuilt: “The measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem,” an image anticipating the third vision (Zech. 2:1–13).

1:17 Zechariah is given a further word from the Lord to proclaim. The word “again” occurs four times in this verse to emphasize the future restoration of Jerusalem. “Cities” presumably refers to Jerusalem and her surrounding towns but could refer to all the “cities” or “towns” of Judah, of which Jerusalem is preeminent. They will “overflow with prosperity” (or “good things”) as a result of God’s return, experiencing his blessing (cf. 2:4).

God “will again comfort Zion” (cf. comment on 1:13) and will “again choose Jerusalem.” He will choose it “again” because in one sense he rejected it at the hands of the Babylonians when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 586 BC (cf. 2 Kings 23:27). The language of choosing echoes Deuteronomy, where it expresses God’s sovereignty in choosing the place where he will put his name (cf. Deut. 12:5; cf. Ps. 78:68–70). In Deuteronomy, this is associated also with where the tabernacle, and later the temple, will be located. The rebuilding of the temple will be a key theme of the fifth vision (Zech. 4:1–14).