wickedness = the lawless [one]. Hebrew. rasha', App-44 . Adjective, feminine, singular = the embodiment of the principle of lawlessness. The religions aspect of 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 .Revelation 17:0 . it : i.e. the talent, which had been "lifted up "for the prophet to see, and then cast back "into" the ephah. weight = stone; i.e. weight. This was "upon" the ephah, and is to be distinguished from the "talent", which was within. read more
"And he said, This is Wickedness: and he cast her down into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof."This is about the only explanation that the angel gave of the vision, and any more elaborate description of what was meant would seem to be precarious. That idolatry was the thing primarily meant is reasonable:If Zechariah actually had idolatry in mind, it is easy to explain why he represents it as a woman. In so doing, he simply follows the practice of the... read more
Zechariah 5:8. This is wickedness— The wicked one. That is, the wicked one representing the wicked nation. Her being driven back within the ephah denotes the check given to her farther progress; and the weight of lead, the weight of God's judgments falling upon her. And he cast it— And he drove her back, &c. read more
8. wickedness—literally, "the wickedness": implying wickedness in its peculiar development. Compare "the man of sin," :-. cast it—that is, her, Wickedness, who had moved more freely while the heavy lid was partially lifted off. weight—literally, "stone," that is, round mass. read more
G. The woman in the basket 5:5-11The preceding vision described the future removal of individual sinners from the land through divine judgment, and this one pictures the eventual removal of all wickedness from the future "holy land" (Zechariah 2:12; cf. Zechariah 3:9)."In line with the scope of all eight of Zechariah’s night visions, the fulfilment [sic] of this likewise extends into the millennial kingdom. Nevertheless the immediate application of the vision to the prophet’s time and to the... read more
The angel explained that the woman personified wickedness. Some have interpreted the woman as covenant-breakers, a particular form of wickedness. [Note: E.g., McComiskey, p. 1101.] The angel picked her up, threw her down into the middle of the basket, and shut the lead cover over her (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8). Obviously some conflict was involved; "Wickedness" did not want to be restricted. Perhaps Zechariah saw a woman, instead of a man, because the word "wickedness" in Hebrew is feminine.... read more
The Sixth and Seventh Visions1-4. A flying roll inscribed with curses comes down upon the earth. The previous visions had promised many blessings to the people; and the sixth and seventh teach that wickedness will be removed from the land; for if evil still remained, the blessings would be worthless. The first part of this process consists in the punishment of evildoers. The flying roll signifies the sin of the evildoer coming home to roost.5-11. The Seventh Vision: A woman (typifying the... read more
A SERIES OF SEVEN VISIONS.Zechariah 1:7 to Zechariah 6:15. Between the commencement of Zechariah’s prophetic labours and the incidents recorded in Zechariah 1:7 to Zechariah 6:15, the Prophet Haggai received the revelation contained in Haggai 2:10-23. On the four-and-twentieth day of the eleventh month, just five months after the re-building of the Temple was resumed, Zechariah sees a succession of seven visions in one night, followed by a symbolic action (Zechariah 6:9-15). read more
(7, 8) Talent.—Better, disc. The construction of these verses is rather difficult. They should be taken as the words of the angel-interpreter, and be rendered: And behold (i.e., and you may see) a leaden disc being lifted up, and this [which you now see on the removal of the disc] is a woman sitting in the ephah; this, continued he, is wickedness. Observe the climax: first, representatives of the two classes of sinners are spoken of; then they are heaped into an undistinguishable mass, and... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Zechariah 5:1-11
Assurance of final victory (5:1-6:8)Previously God gave a promise that the Messiah will remove sin from the land (see 3:9b). This will come either through forgiveness (in the case of those who repent) or destruction (in the case of those who continue in their sin). This latter judgment is now pictured in the vision of a huge flying scroll that announces God’s judgment on all those who choose to ignore God’s law. No one has any excuse, because the scroll is large enough for all to read and it... read more