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1–6. Inscription and opening prophetic exhortation. 7. Inscription of the second revelation through visions and symbolic action. 8–17. First vision: a rider between myrtles and horses of various colors. 18–21. The second vision is of four horns and four workers (Synod. Zech. 1:18–21:) 2:1–4 Masorah. T. ). Zechariah 1:1. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Barachi, the son of Adda, the prophet: In the inscription, according to the mean. t., LXX, Vulg., Targ., only the year and month the prophet received the revelation is indicated; Sirsk. adds: “on the first (day) of the month.” – “In the second year of Darius”, of course, the Persian king Darius I Hystaspes, who reigned from 521 to 485. Zechariah 1:8. I saw at night: behold, a man on a red horse stands between the myrtles that are in the recess, and behind him there are red, piebald and white horses, Revelation through visions occurred at night, but these were not dreams, but ecstatic contemplations in the waking state; this state of prophetic insight was, as it were, an awakening from the ordinary state of a person, which the prophet himself compares to a state of sleep (Zech. 4.1). It can be assumed that Zechariah was led to such a state by intense reflection on the destinies of the chosen people, as was the case with Moses in the desert and with other prophets. – The Prophet sees a man sitting “on a red horse, ... between the myrtles that are in the recess.” Interpreters are trying to figure out the meaning of myrtle trees in the sense of the image of the Jewish Church, modest and inconspicuous to the eye, but blooming and fragrant even in difficult times, such as the time of the Babylonian captivity (Targ. Jonaf. has: between the myrtle trees that are in Babylon; Keil 527, Rouge. 178, Chapter 170). But it is more likely to recognize here the corruption of the Masoretic text, since the LXX is read here (and in Zech. 1:10–11): instead of hahad-hassim-heharim (mountains); the reading of LXX, together with many researchers, can be considered more correct and on the basis, among other things, that then there will be complete correspondence with the eighth vision of chariots emerging from the gorge between two mountains (Zechariah 6:1; Marti 402). – Behind the rider are “red, piebald (Viennese: bay) and white” horses; from what follows (Zech. 1:11) we can conclude that these horses had riders; although one can see the executors of God’s will in the horses themselves. The colors of the horses, no doubt, have a symbolic meaning, as an indication of the disasters with which the Lord will strike the nations living in safety and prosperity and therefore having no fear of God ( Zech.1:15) - The man on the red horse is not the leader of those behind his horses; in Zech.1:10 he does not include himself among those whom the Lord sent to go around the earth; and from Zech.1:11 it is clear that this man is the Angel of the Lord, to whom the horses (or riders) give an account of the fulfillment of the mission entrusted to them (see Glagolev, p. 169, pr. 1). acting, in the form of horses of various colors, are, without a doubt, Angelic powers (Theod. 71), lower than the Angel of Jehovah and doing the will of Jehovah. Among other heavenly powers mentioned in the book of the prophet Zechariah, the Angel of Jehovah occupies the highest, predominant position, as can be seen from the vision of the first. According to Prof. Glagolev, in the fourth vision (chapter III) “The Angel of Jehovah is undoubtedly a divine person who has the power, like God, to forgive sins” (p. 171). The compiler of a special monograph on the Old Testament Angel of Jehovah, Roling, at the beginning of his research, pointing out the significance of the Old Testament teaching about the Angel of Jehovah, cites Stolberg’s expression, according to which “the Church of the Old Testament is the Church of God incarnate” (Lie. Aug. Roling, Ueber den Iehovaongel des Alten Testaments, Tubingen, 1866. S. 3). The book of the prophet Zechariah confirms this thought of Stolberg completely: the Angel of Jehovah here is the Face of the Divine, at the end of time the Son of God incarnate. According to the interpretation of the first vision of the prophet Zechariah, Blessed. Jerome, “the man who mounted the red horse is the Lord Savior, who, accepting the dispensation of our flesh, hears in the book of the prophet Isaiah: Why are your garments red” (Is. 63:2; p. 12). Zechariah 1:11. And they answered the Angel of the Lord, who stood between the myrtle trees, and said: We have walked around the earth, and behold, the whole earth is inhabited and calm. The report of heavenly powers, personified under the guise of horses, is reassuring and comforting in its content in general, but not for these circumstances. The peace and prosperity of the pagan peoples excluded the possibility of peace and prosperity for the chosen people. Zechariah 1:12. And the Angel of the Lord answered and said: Lord Almighty! How long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You have been angry for these seventy years? Therefore, the Angel of Jehovah turns to the Lord Almighty with a petition for the return of mercy to Jerusalem and the entire Jewish country, which has been under wrath for seventy years. From Zechariah 1:15, as well as from the second and eighth visions, it becomes clear that the intercession of the Angel of the Lord for the chosen people, obviously, was, in its content, something reminiscent of Rev. 6:10; as long as the Lord, Holy and True, does not judge and take revenge, etc. Zechariah 1:16. Therefore thus says the Lord: I turn to Jerusalem with mercy; My house will be built in it, says the Lord of hosts, and a surveying line will stretch across Jerusalem. Zechariah 1:17. Proclaim again and say: Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities will again overflow with goodness, and the Lord will comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem. The content of the good words, the comforting words spoken by the Lord (Zech. 1:13) directly about Jerusalem and other cities that the Lord calls His (Zech. 1:17) is as follows: the misfortunes of the chosen people are coming to an end; a church will be built in Jerusalem (hence Jehovah, who dwells in the church, will again be close to His people), and the city itself will be rebuilt. The disasters of captivity will be forgotten, because God’s favor will manifest itself in the fullness of blessings, which will abound in the cities of the worshipers of the true God. Zechariah 1:18. And I lifted up my eyes and saw: behold, four horns. The second vision stands in close connection with the previous one: it represents a continuation and clarification of the thoughts expressed in the first vision regarding the pagan peoples. – The prophet sees four horns. The horn, according to biblical usage, is a symbol of strength and power - the expression applies both to the chosen people and to the pagans, the enemies of the people of God and God Himself. Zechariah 1:19. And I said to the Angel who spoke to me: What is this? And he answered me: These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem. Blazh. Jerome connects this vision of Zechariah with the vision of the four monarchies in Daniel (Dan. 2:31-44) and understands by the horns in the second vision of Zechariah four specific kingdoms: Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Macedonian and Roman. Zechariah 1:20. Then the Lord showed me four workers. Under workers or craftsmen, says the blessed one. Jerome, “we understand the Angels to be subject to the power of the Lord, so that they build up what the pagans have destroyed” (p. 18). Zechariah 1:21. And I said: what are they going to do? He told me this: these horns have scattered Judas, so that no one can lift up his head; and these came to frighten them, to knock down the horns of the nations, who lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it. In the first vision it was revealed that the peaceful and prosperous state of the pagan kingdoms does not correspond to Jehovah’s intentions to return His favor and prosperity to the chosen people; in the second, it is definitely stated that the pagans will be punished for their cruelty towards Judah and Israel. You might be interested in: