Zechariah 4:12

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Zechariah 4:11-14

Enough is said to Zechariah to encourage him, and to enable him to encourage others, with reference to the good work of building the temple which they were now about, and that was the principal intention of the vision he saw; but still he is inquisitive about the particulars, which we will ascribe, not to any vain curiosity, but to the value he had for divine discoveries and the pleasure he took in acquainting himself with them. Those that know much of the things of God cannot but have a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zechariah 4:12

And I answered again, and said unto him ,.... Before he could have an answer to the former question, he puts the following, as being of the same import: What be these two olive branches ; which grew upon the olive trees, and were nearest to the candlestick, and the pipes that were to the lamps: these, in Zechariah 4:14 , are interpreted of the two anointed ones, or sons of oil, and may design the ministers of the word, if, by the "golden oil" after mentioned, is meant the Gospel;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 4:12

What be these two olive branches - That is, two boughs laden with branches of olive berries. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 4:12

Verse 12 I have said that there is some difference in the visions though the angel relates hardly anything new, except respecting the flowing and the tubes; but as a new explanation is given, Zechariah no doubt more fully considered what he had slightly looked on before. The more attentive then to the vision the Prophet became, the more confirmed he was; for God showed to him now what he had not sufficiently observed before, namely, that there were pipes or tubes through which the oil flowed... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 4:1-14

§ 7. The fifth vision: the golden candlestick. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 4:8-14

The Church sustained. "Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house," etc. These verses continue the metaphors of the previous portion, but in the opposite order. Zechariah 4:1-7 begin with the "olive trees" and end with the "house;" Zechariah 4:8-14 begin with the "house" ( Zechariah 4:8-10 ) and conclude with the "trees." We may look on this latter passage, therefore, as a kind of additional message ("moreover," ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 4:11-14

The olive trees and the candlesticks: model religious teachers. "Then answered I, and said unto him," etc. This is not another vision, but an explanation of the one recorded in the preceding verses. The explanation is that the two branches of the olive tree which, by means of the two tubes of gold empty their oil, is that they represented "two anointed ones," or sons of oil. Perhaps Joshua and Zerubbabel are particularly referred to. "Because," says Henderson, "when installed into office... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 4:12

The prophet perceives the chief point in the mystic olive trees, so he alters his question the second time, asking, What be these two olive branches? ( shibbolim ); Vulgate, spicae , "ears," as of corn, so called, as Kimchi supposes, because they were full of berries, as the ears are full of grains of corn. Which through the two golden pipes, etc.; rather, which by means of two golden tubes are emptying the golden oil out of themselves. The oil dropped of itself from the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Zechariah 4:12

What are the two spikes of the olive? - Comparing the extreme branches of the olive-tree, laden with their fruit, to the ears of corn, which “were by or in the hand of the golden pipes, which empty forth the golden oil from themselves.” Zechariah’s expression, in the hand of or, if so be, by the hand of the two pipes, shows that these two were symbols of living agents, for it is nowhere, used except of a living agent, or of that which it personified as such. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Zechariah 4:11-14

Zechariah 4:11-14. Then answered I Or, Then spake I, the Hebrew word ענה being not only used of giving an answer to a question, but likewise of beginning or continuing a discourse. What are these two olive-trees, &c. The prophet had learned the meaning of the candlestick and its lamps, and now wants to know what the two olive-trees signify; and no answer being given to his question, he immediately proceeds to ask another; and in the answer given to it he acquiesces. Observe, reader,... read more

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