Zechariah 5:7-8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Zechariah 5:5-11

The foregoing vision was very plain and easy, but in this are things dark and hard to be understood; and some think that the scope of it is to foretel the final destruction of the Jewish church and nation and the dispersion of the Jews, when, by crucifying Christ and persecuting his gospel, they should have filled up the measure of their iniquities; therefore it is industriously set out in obscure figures and expressions, ?lest the plain denunciation of the second overthrow of temple and state... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zechariah 5:7

And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead ,.... By the angel; since he is afterwards said to cast it upon the mouth of the "ephah". A cicar, or talent of silver, with the Jews, was equal to three thousand shekels, as may be gathered from Exodus 38:24 and weighed a hundred and twenty five pounds F1 Epiphanius de Mensuris & Ponderibus. ; or, as others, a hundred and twenty F2 Hebraei apud Buxtorf. Lex. Heb. in rad. ככר . , and, according to the more exact account of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zechariah 5:8

And he said, This is wickedness ,.... A representation of wicked men, who are wickedness itself, as their inward part is, Psalm 5:9 and particularly of the wicked one, the man of sin and son of perdition, the Roman antichrist and apocalyptic beast; who, though he is called by this title, "his Holiness", his true and proper name is "wickedness"; ο ανομος , that wicked lawless one, 2 Thessalonians 2:8 yea, wickedness itself, being extremely wicked, a sink of sin and of all... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 5:7

Verse 7 Now the Prophet says that wickedness, when first seen, was in mid air, and in a measure; but at the same time he calls the measure the eye of the ungodly, for though wickedness extends itself to all parts, yet God confines it within a hidden measure; and this he designates by eyes, whereby he seems to allude to a former prophecy, which we have explained. For he had said that there were seven eyes in the stone of the high priest, because God would carry on by his providence the building... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 5:8

Verse 8 Now the angel adds, that a thin piece of lead was cast over the mouth of the measure, and that wickedness was cast into the measure. The expression, that wickedness was thrown into the measure, may be explained in two ways — either that God would not permit so much liberty to the devil to lead the Jews to sin as before; for how comes it that men abandon themselves to every evil, except that God forsakes them, and at the same time delivers them up to Satan, that he may exercise his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 5:5-11

§ 9. The seventh vision: the woman in the ephah. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 5:5-11

Worldliness in the Church. I. SADLY PREVALENT . "This is their eye"—what they mind and what they lust after. There is a climax. First two classes of sinners are figured, next one great indistinguishable mass. Then "wickedness" is personified, as one woman. This teaches how worldliness is: 1 . Common. 2 . Absorbing. 3 . Debasing—corrupting all that is beautiful and fair. II. SPECIALLY OFFENSIVE . Bad in the world; infinitely worse in the Church. 1 . Opposed to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 5:5-11

A materialistic community. "Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth," etc. Here is another (the seventh) vision in the wonderful series of visions which the prophet had that night. This is one of the strangest of the whole, one, perhaps, admitting of no certain interpretation—a " woman in the ephah." We know what an "ephah" was. It... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 5:6-11

The vindication of Law. "Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes," etc. The last vision was one of warning. This, as we take it, is one of judgment. The subject appears, however, to be the same. What the prophet previously dreaded and threatened he now describes as fulfilled. In other words, in a mystical fashion, and in language only partially understood by himself, he foretells how the warning just uttered by him would be, on the one hand, ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zechariah 5:7

There was lifted up a talent of lead. As the prophet gazed, the leaden cover of the ephah was raised, so that the contents became visible. The word rendered "talent" ( kikkar ) denotes a circle. It is used in Genesis 13:10 , Genesis 13:12 , for the tract of country of which the Jordan was the centre, and in 1 Samuel 2:36 for a round loaf. Here it means a disc or circular plate which formed the cover of the round shaped ephah. In the next verse it is called, "the weight of lead." And... read more

Group of Brands