Глава 6

1–8. Eighth vision - four chariots. 9–15. A symbolic action involving a series of night visions; wedding of the high priest Jesus. Zechariah 6:1. And again I raised my eyes and saw: behold, four chariots were coming out of the gorge between two mountains; and those mountains were mountains of copper. The presence of God in this vision is supposed to be in Jerusalem; therefore, the exit of the chariots from the face of God Zechariah 6:5 should be assumed in the vicinity of Jerusalem, from the mountains surrounding it. The mountains are called copper: this means, in Keil’s words, “the unshakable fortress of the place where the Lord dwells and where He founded His Kingdom” (St., d. Kohl. Sach. 1–8, s. 5. 182). Zechariah 6:4. And, having begun to speak, I said to the Angel who spoke to me: what is this, my lord? Zechariah 6:5. And the angel answered and said to me: These are the four spirits of heaven who come out, who stand before the Lord of all the earth. The content of this last vision is in close correspondence with the first vision: there are horses of symbolic colors, who went around the whole earth in order to find out in what state the kingdoms and peoples are; here are chariots drawn by horses of the same colors and heading to various countries of the earth to carry out God's judgment on the pagans. The first mission is performed by horses (or their riders); the second can be accomplished by armed war chariots, which is why they are mentioned only in the last vision. Previously, disasters threatening in the indefinitely distant future were pointed out; and now the doers of God’s will, called in Zech. 6:5 the spirits of heaven, standing before the Lord of all the earth, in the form of war chariots, are already bringing the disasters of war, with its consequences, to all pagan countries. – At the same time, the eighth vision does not stand out of connection with the visions immediately preceding it. The sixth and seventh visions depict the punishment of sinners in St. earth and the removal of wickedness within the borders of paganism. The eighth vision depicts God's judgment on all pagan peoples for their godlessness and wickedness, which found a place among them for a long stay. All the kingdoms of the earth, in all four countries of the world, will be subject to this judgment, as indicated by the sheer number of chariots. Zechariah 6:6. There the black horses go out to the northern land and the white ones follow them, and the piebald ones go to the midday land. Zechariah 6:7. And the mighty went out and sought to go through the land; and he said, Go, cross the land, and they walked through the land. The eighth vision bears close resemblance to the second vision. There, four horns and four workers represent the pagan powers of all the countries of the world and the disasters that strike them. Here the northern country, by which it is customary to mean Babylon, and the southern country, representing Egypt, are more specifically indicated, according to Cornille, “Egypt and Babylon are always a couple of powers hostile to Jehovah” (S. 167, Kohl. Sach. 1–8, ss. 185, 187–188); but other countries are not left without visits from the executors of God’s wrath (Zech. 6:7). Zechariah 6:8. Then he called me and said to me this way: look, those who went out into the northern land have calmed my spirit in the northern land. The punishment that befell Babylon, as can be seen, was most consistent with the intentions of God; The enemies of the people of God, who have suffered from them great disasters that have not yet been consigned to oblivion, deserve the wrath of God to the greatest extent. Zechariah 6:9. And the word of the Lord came to me: Zechariah 6:10. take it from those who came from captivity, from Heldai, from Tobiah and from Jedai, and go on that very day, go to the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they came from Babylon, The content of the second half of chapter six, which is not understood equally by all interpreters, is as follows: the Jews who remained in Babylon, wanting to come to the aid of their compatriots who returned to Jerusalem in the restoration of the church, sent gold and silver to the builders with elected representatives of the Babylonian inhabitants from the Jews. The prophet receives a command from the Lord - on the same day that the Babylonian ambassadors arrive in Jerusalem, to go to the house of a certain Josiah, where they will stay. Zechariah 6:11. take from them silver and gold, and make crowns, and put them on the head of Jesus the son of Jozadak, the great priest, Having taken gold and silver from those who came, the prophet must make a crown and place it on the head of the high priest Jesus. To designate a crown intended for the high priest, in vile. i.e. the plural is used: “crowns”. From this Ewald concludes that, according to the command of God, two crowns should have been made: for Jesus and for Zerubbabel; Thus, in the text of Zechariah 6:11 it is necessary to assume the omission of the words: “and on the head of Zerubbabel.” But the context does not correspond to this interpretation: according to the meaning of the entire section, the crown was intended for one person - namely, for the high priest Jesus. According to some, many ataroth only indicates the complexity of the structure of the crown, which perhaps had more than one rim (like the papal tiara). Zechariah 6:12. and say to him, Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold a Man, His name is BRANCH, He will grow from His root and build the church of the Lord. Zechariah 6:13. He will build the church of the Lord and receive the glory and sit and rule on His throne; He will also be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between both. The laying of the crown, to which the high priest had no right, has only a symbolic meaning, as can be seen from the further revelation about the Man, whose name is Branch; He will come from his people, create the church of the Lord (not made with hands: Zerubbabel’s church is only a type) and, from humiliation achieving glory, will be king and priest on his throne; then there will no longer be room for disagreement and enmity between the royal and high-priestly authorities, sad examples of which occurred in Jewish history. St. Cyril, after giving a literal and simple explanation of the historical meaning (prophecy) contained in the section under discussion, continues; “But that this obviously refers to the sacrament of Christ, no one will doubt this if they examine it well. We have maintained from the very beginning that in Zerubbabel and Jesus Christ is represented both in each separately and in both together, as one person; for in Him both the King of Israel and the High Priest are combined” (p. 78). Zechariah 6:14. And those crowns will be for Helem and Tobiah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the church of the Lord. The crown should be in the church in memory of the donors, so from this one can only see the symbolic meaning of the crown. In Jewish tradition, evidence has been preserved of the actual storage of the crown made by Zechariah in the church. (Talmudis Babylonia Codex Middoth... Opera et Studio Constantini l'Empereur de Oppyck. Luqduni Batarorum, 1630. P. p. 130–132). The very names of the donors, according to the LXX text, must also have a symbolic meaning (Reinke 63). Zechariah 6:15. And they will come from afar and take part in the building of the church of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you, and this will happen if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God. The fact of donating to the church on behalf of those who remained in Babylon will not remain isolated: many will continue to come from afar and take part in the construction of the church of the Lord; other promises will also be fulfilled, unless the people cease to listen to the voice of the Lord their God. You might be interested in: