Zechariah 5:6 - Exposition

What is it? The prophet did not clearly discern the object, or his question may mean, "What does it signify?" An ephah; the ephah, as "the curse" ( Zechariah 5:3 ). The ephah was the largest of the dry measures in use among the Jews, and was equal to six or seven gallons. It was, of course, too small to contain a woman. The LXX . calls it simply "the measure;" the Vulgate, amphora; and it must be considered as an imaginary vessel of huge size. It may have a tacit reference to dishonest dealings (comp. Amos 8:5 ; Micah 6:10 ). This is their resemblance; literally, this is their eye . The Authorized Version explains the meaning accurately. "Eye" is often used for that which is seen, as in Le 13:55, where the Authorized Version has "colour;" and Numbers 11:7 , where in reference to the manna we read, "The eve thereof was as the eye of bdellium" (comp. Ezekiel 1:4 , Ezekiel 1:16 ). So here the meaning is: This ephah and this whole vision represent the wicked in the land. Some take "the eye" to mean the object of sight, that to which they look. But the ephah was not sot forth for all the people to examine. The LXX . and Syriac, from some variation in the reading, have ἀδικία , "iniquity," and some critics have desired to adopt this in the text. But authority and necessity are equally wanting.