Zechariah 7:1-5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Zechariah 7:1-7

This occasional sermon, which the prophet preached, and which is recorded in this and the next chapter, was above two years after the former, in which he gave them an account of his visions, as appears by comparing the date of this (Zech. 7:1), in the ninth month of the fourth year of Darius, with the date of that (Zech. 1:1), in the eighth month of the second year of Darius; not that Zechariah was idle all that while (it is expressly said that he and Haggai continued prophesying till the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zechariah 7:1

And it came to pass, in the fourth year of King Darius ,.... Near two years after the foundation of the temple was laid, Haggai 2:10 and near two years before it was finished, Ezra 6:15 when the work was going forward, and there was a great deal of reason to believe it would be completed: that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu : which answers to part of our October, and part of November. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zechariah 7:2

When they had sent unto the house of God ,.... It is, in the Hebrew text, "when he sent Bethel"; which some, as Kimchi observes, take to be the name of a man that was sent along with those after mentioned; but the Targum and the Septuagint render it, "when", or "after he had sent unto Bethel": not the place so called in Jacob's time; but Jerusalem, where the temple or house of God was now building; and it may be observed, that the words are expressed in the singular number, "when he had... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zechariah 7:3

And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts ,.... That ministered in the sanctuary, as the Targum explains it, who offered sacrifices, &c.; and who were to be consulted in matters of religion, Malachi 2:7 , and to the prophets ; who were then in being, as Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: saying, Should I weep in the fifth month ; which is the month Ab, and answers to July: now on the seventh day of this month, according to 2 Kings 25:8 , the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zechariah 7:4

Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying. Upon the sending of this embassy, and upon putting this question. read more

John Gill

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

Speak unto all the people of the land ,.... Of Judea, who had sent these men on this errand, and whom they represented, and in whose name they spake: and to the priests ; who were consulted on this occasion: saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth ; on the seventh or tenth day of the fifth month Ab, on account of the temple being burnt by Nebuchadnezzar: and seventh month ; the month Tisri, which answers to September; on the third day of this month a fast was kept on... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 7:1

The fourth year of Ring Darius - Two years after they began to rebuild the temple, see Zechariah 1:1 , A.M. 3486. The ninth month, even in Chisleu - This answers to a part of our November and December. The names of the month appear only under and after the captivity. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 7:2

When they had sent - Sherezer and Regem-melech - To inquire whether the fasts should be continued, which they had hitherto observed on account of their ruined temple; and the reason why they inquired was, that they were rebuilding that temple, and were likely to bring it to a joyful issue. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 7:5

When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth - month - This they did in the remembrance of the burning of the temple, on the tenth day of that month; and on the seventh month, on the third of which month they observed a fast for the murder of Gedaliah, and the dispersion of the remnant of the people which were with him. See Jeremiah 41:1 , and 2 Kings 25:25 . read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Zechariah 7:1

Verse 1 There is no vision here, but the answer which Zechariah was commanded to give to the messengers of the captives: for he says that some had been sent from Chaldea to offer sacrifices to God, and at the same time to inquire whether the fast, which they had appointed when the city was taken and destroyed, was to be observed. But there is some ambiguity in the words of the Prophet, for it is doubtful whether the two whom he names, even Sherezer and Regem-melech, together with the others,... read more

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