V.1-3. And the angel that talked with me came again, and awoke me, as one is awakened from sleep. And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said: I look, and behold, there is a candlestick all of gold, with a mantle on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it, and seven and seven ladles for the lamps that are on the top of it, and two olive trees by it, one on the right hand of the mantle, and the other on its left.
(1) Now here he wants to comfort the other head, the prince Zerubbabel, who was also challenged with two thoughts, that he should be easy and stupid to build, as it is said above [Cap. 3, § 2]. The first is that he sees his inability and his strength, which is nothing compared to the power of the Persians and all the enemies. The other is that he sees how the enemies have so far succeeded in resisting the construction and have not wanted to continue what they have undertaken. Against these two challenges, the prophet comforts him and tells him not to look at his own inability, but at God's ability. For what is impossible with men is all possible with God [Luc. I, 37], and should also consider how the great kingdom of the Persians is nothing at all compared to God, who wants to do it. For though it is a great mountain before the world, yet before God it is no mountain, but a plain like other flat fields. For before Him there is nothing great, high, broad, mighty, wise, pious, blessed, or anything else, but all nothing.
2 Thus the prophet preaches that he has seen a vision like a golden lampstand standing between two olive trees, and he himself interprets and adds the word, saying that it is the Spirit of God who wants to be among them and strengthen and help both Zerubbabel and Joshua. For, as I have often said, the signs or visions that God gives in addition to the word are necessary for weak and afflicted souls, to strengthen them the more in their faith, who cannot cling to the mere word as well as to an image and sign. For it is a great thing to believe that God has given us
The spirit is gracious and favorable, and comes to human hearts with difficulty. But the reckless enthusiasts rumble and rush along, and quickly boast of the Spirit so surely that they do not want to suffer any image or sign, and can believe all things at once, even the mere word, without sign. Here, however, even though Joshua and Zerubbabel are great men before God, and truly have a mighty faith, it is still so weak that God must instill faith in them with visions and interpretations, like young children. It is not such an easy thing about faith and spirit, so easily the rude spirits can talk about it.
(3) The prophet says, "The angel has awakened him, as one is awakened from sleep. For this is to be another sermon to Prince Zerubbabel, showing how Zerubbabel is stupid and lazy in his heart, sleeping in unbelief, and does not see the light of the Spirit that wants to help him. For the prophet to be awakened means that the prince Zerubbabel is to be awakened from his sleep. As if he were to say in words, "Zerubbabel, you have set your heart's eyes on your inability to see light and help, and so you sleep in the darkness and night of your unbelief. But awake, and behold, it is day; the grace of God shines upon thee, and will be with thee. Open your eyes and let go of your inability, there is another who will do it etc.
4 The face of this golden candlestick is a little different from that of Moses' candlestick, Ex 25:31 ff. Mosi's candlestick has tubes on the sides, on the shaft or stick etc., but this one stands straight up with its shaft, and has on top a round, large, wide plate or bowl, which I have translated a hoop; and on the same plate around seven lamps in a ring, which all burned and shone; and so that the light is not extinguished for lack of oil, there are seven ladles or tubes,
which are full of oil, always to follow. For we cannot know what form these ladles had, whether they were like pots or jugs or tubes. Oil was poured into the lamps with them, that is enough for us; they may or may not have been like pots or jugs, and they were all made of pure gold. In Hebrew it also says that there were more than seven of these ladles. For the text reads: Septem et septem infusoria pro lucernis, that is, seven and seven ladles for the lamps. This is almost as if seven ladles belonged to each lamp, to indicate that the lamps were abundantly supplied with oil, and that there was no worry that they would go out.
V. 4-6. And I answered [and said unto] the angel that talked with me, My lord, what is this? And the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these things are? And I said, No, my lord. And he answered and said unto me, This is the word of the Lord of Zerubbabel, saying, It shall not be by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
5 This is the interpretation of the lampstand and the whole face, namely, that just as the lampstand with its burning lamps and ladles stands between the two oil trees, so God wants to be with and among the people with His Spirit, especially with and among the two heads, Joshua and Zerubbabel. And he especially meets the thoughts of Zerubbabel, because he says to him: "It shall not be done by army or power, but by my spirit. As if to say, "Cast your eyes around you and see where the power is that will defend the king of Persia and all his enemies, and will help you and strengthen you. For thou canst not otherwise devise a way how it should and would be done; but I will show thee another way, that thou mayest not have such thy way. My spirit shall do it, and it shall strengthen thee with thine own, and shall give the king of Persia a gracious mind to build thee in peace, and to help thee with all his captains. And all this because my lampstand, my Spirit, is among you, and I am gracious to you and will be well with you.
For whom God pleases, no one will harm. And Solomon says [Proverbs 16:7], "Whoever pleases God, he also makes his enemies favorable to him."
006 Now therefore this is the opinion, O Zerubbabel, thou hast my word, which shineth unto thee out of the candlestick, which is to build thee by Zechariah and Haggai. Then look up, and be content. For where my word is, there is my spirit, there am I myself. And if I be with thee, who shall be against thee? I will make thee at peace for the building which I have called thee to do. Only do what my word says, and let me take care where you may have peace before the king of Persia and all your enemies. I will be powerful enough. I can make their hearts different, as I want, so that the ones you fear the most will help you the most.
(7) This is once again a defiant, mighty promise, that Zerubbabel will be so secure from such great enemies, and that this will happen so easily, without any effort, war or swordplay. God thereby shows us once again, for our comfort, His omnipotence, how He has our hearts and the hearts of all enemies so powerfully in His hands that they may not harm us, if He wills; and in addition, He must also help us where He wills. About that, in the New Testament, the enemies help best when they harm the most, that even death, the greatest enemy, must help us to live, just when it strangles us.
But the interpretation is this: The candlestick signifies the preaching state or office. The same lampstand is single, that is, the preachers and teachers of God's people are of one mind and teach the same thing, as Zechariah and Haggai do with their comrades. And is golden, that is, divine wisdom, and not of clay or earth, that is, they have not the word of man. The seven letters on it mean that although they teach the same thing and there is one spirit in them, they have different gifts, as Paul testifies Rom. 12, 7.8. 1 Cor. 12, 4. 7. ff. Eph. 4, 11. Now the light is the word, which they preach bodily, each according to his lamp, measure, and
1) This "where" is given in Latin by "zuonaoäo.
The oil is the grace of the Holy Spirit, which keeps such light among the people of God, and is always with and with the word, so that it always has an emphasis and consequence, and the word neither ceases nor abates. The ladles or tubes are the prophets, from whom the external teachers and preachers take and receive what they teach. For prophets are those who are not enlightened by men but by God, and other men take from them. Therefore, the same ladles are many times seven to indicate that God had always given and wanted to give prophets to this people, so that they would be abundantly supplied with prophets and with God's Word and Spirit.
(9) The angel, answering to the prophet's question, means: "Don't you know what it is? As if he should say, you should know it, because you are also a piece of the lampstand. For otherwise this answer of the angel is read as unnecessary and superfluous, as if he did not know how the prophet did not understand this face. But now it is spoken quite kindly, as a father speaks to a child: Do you not know, my dear Zechariah, what this is? You are in it yourself etc. But what the two olive trees and two beaks are, will follow in the text.
V. 7. Who are you, you great mountain, which is a plain before Zerubbabel?
(10) For more comfort he turns to the mountain, that is, against the kingdom of Persia, of which Zerubbabel feared, and is challenged in faith, as has been heard. For just as he rebuked Satan in the presence of Joshua, so he rebukes the kingdom of Persia in the presence of Zerubbabel, calling it a great mountain (for it was a mighty kingdom), according to the Scriptures, which call all kingdoms and principalities mountains. But these are sweet, fatherly words, as when a father has chastised his child, and wants to nurse it again and entice it to him, he scolds the rod in front of the child, and says: Oh, you false rod, you have chastised my little son, wait, you shall never do it, my little son is pious etc. So
Here, too, since God had well punished the Jewish people through the Babylonians, that also Zerubbabel is still afraid of the same rut, and is stupid to believe God, here he scolds the same empire before his ears, and says: it should no longer be a great, terrible mountain before Zerubbabel, before which he is afraid, but as a beautiful, funny plain, that is, through God's spirit it should be funny, friendly and helpful to the Jews.
And he shall bring up the first stone, so that people will shout. Good luck! Good luck!
(11) Then he strengthened the nursing child, and promised that it should now be established and proceed. He shall bring up the first stone, that is, he shall build up and lead the building from the foundation that was laid before and prevented for a time, so quickly and blessedly that everyone will be favorable and inclined, even happy about it. What beautiful words and promises of God to awaken and maintain the faith of Zerubbabel.
12 Thus we see how difficult it is to raise a stupid conscience. For here God must act on both sides of Zerubbabel with rich words; here reproving the enemy and making him small, there comforting his heart and making it large. For it is a tender, soft thing about a conscience.
13) These words in Latin: Exaequabit gratiam gratiae ejus, which in Hebrew say: Cum clamoribus gratia, gratia ei, I have translated: "that one will shout. Happiness! Happiness!" indicates the joy one has when one rejoices in a building that is going on, and everyone wishes happiness to it, and wants [it] to be finished. For that twice gratia vel favor, that is. In the Hebrew way, gratia vel favor means that there will be one here and one there, and that there will be many who like the building and wish them luck, which the logici distributive say is the same as when one is building and there comes one here and one there who praises it and says, "Oh, how well it is going up and pleases everyone. Such praise of many and liking of the building is called gratia, gratia ei; id est, habet gratiam, est egregium cert; so that it could also be translated: Ei, wie fein ist das;
truly a praiseworthy building etc. With this, he wants to assure Serubabel that not only should it be built, but also that it should be built finely and beautifully, so that everyone will like it, appreciate it, praise it, and wish it happiness.
V. 8, 9: And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have founded this house; his hands also shall finish it, that ye may know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who is he that despiseth these few days? etc.
14 Here the prophet comes with a sermon to further strengthen Zerubbabel against a new challenge he had from his own, namely, that some of them considered the work small and impossible, as Haggai also rebukes them, saying [Cap. 1, 2/: "This people saith, It is not yet time to build the house of the Lord"; and Ezra Cap. 3, 12/ says how many of the ancients who had seen the former temple wept when they saw the foundation of this temple; and afterwards Zechariah also Cap. 8, 6/ says: "Do they think it impossible in the sight of the rest of the people at this time; should it also be impossible in my sight, saith the Lord of hosts?"
(15) From all this it is evident that many of the people were of loose faith. Some may have mocked, especially those who were well off with Tobiah, their enemy, of whom Nehemiah writes [Cap. 2:19]. So Zerubbabel heard these and similar words: "Oh, what are we building? It will come to nothing; we are too poor and small to do it. But the others: Yes, yes, build quickly, you will do it, you are fine people for it etc.; that Zerubbabel also had to fight with his own people, so that they would not become despondent through useless mouths, renegade, and leave to build and prevent him. For what God is called and wants to have must be contested on all sides, tempted by Satan from within and without.
16 Now Zechariah repeats the previous sermon, 1) how Zerubbabel is to accomplish the building. And adds the piece: "Who is he that hath passed these few days?
1) In the old editions: "Widerumb holet".
echte?" That he might rebuke the useless mouths, as he did above [Cap. 3, 2/ Satan and the great mountain, for the comfort of Zerubbabel. And this is the opinion: You judge by reputation and not by my word. According to appearance the work is small, and yet my words are glorious. But if you believed my words, you would not be so offended by the small increase. Therefore keep your mouths shut, and do not make Zerubbabel and the others mad or despondent to me, as they did in the wilderness of old, and they deterred the people from entering the land of Canaan [Numbers 13:32]. For who are ye despisers, that esteem the low estate of the building at this time more than my word, and deceive them that esteem my word more than the low estate?
17 For "little time" is the name given to it, because at that time the building was little, just as Paul [Eph. 5:16] calls the days evil, because evil is done in them, and good days, because they are good. And in the Hebrew it reads thus: Quis contemnit ad diem parvorum, which I cannot well give in German, without thus: Who despises at the time of the small? that is: Who is it then who despises my word, because of the fact that at this time everything is still small, and not at all equal to my word? As if he should say, I will make it equal and great enough. Therefore I do not know how to translate it very well, because thus: Who despises these small days? etc.
V. 10 For they shall rejoice, and see the pinnacle of the hand of Zerubbabel, with the seven, which are the eyes of the Lord, that run through all the land.
18 In Hebrew, weight or measure means a stone; therefore the crenellated stone is here translated: "the crenellated measure"; and is, of course, what with us the masons call the Richtscheit, since the lead weight hangs in it, or whatever other measure for the building the Jews and the peoples used against the morning. What great joy is it, then, that one will see the straight edge or weight in Zerubbabel's hand? I think he does not mean the bad sight, but that through Zerubbabel the building shall be made so that one must confess that God's eyes and spirit have
He did this, and led the rod into the hand of Zerubbabel, to shut the mouths of all those who despise such small days and despair of the building.
019 For the seven that shall be with Zerubbabel (saith he) are the eyes of the Lord, that is, his Spirit with divers gifts. He shall be present, strengthening and helping with grace, both among the Jewish people and in the kingdom of Persia, that is, in all lands, so that it may not be by the sword nor by the power of the army, but by the Spirit of God, as he said above [v. 6]. Thus we also heard above [Cap. 3, § 45 f.] that "seven eyes" mean the Spirit of God with His gifts.
V.11-14. And I answered and said unto him, What are the two olive trees on the right hand and on the left hand of the candlestick? And I answered the second time, and said unto him, What are the two branches of the olive trees, which are by the two golden beaks [of the golden candlestick], to break off the praise of the golden candlestick? And he said unto me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. And he said, They are the two sons of oil, which are with the ruler of all the earth.
020 Here the prophet himself indicates what this is, that the lampstand stands between the two olive trees and the two olive branches, saying, "The two olive trees and the two olive branches are the two olive children, that is, Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the prince of Judah. With this vision they shall be comforted and assured that God's Word and Spirit will be with them with grace and will stand with them in this work. He calls them children of oil in the Hebrew way, not only according to the oil trees and branches by which they are signified, but also according to the power and interpretation of the oil, which we would have to say in German: "There are two who are fat and full, that is, they have enough and a gracious God; just as Isaiah Cap. 5:1 also says: "My friend has a vineyard in a fat place," that is, where he stands well and is pleasing to God.
1) In the original and in the old editions: "ölehern".
21) That he sees two different visions, as two olive trees and two olive branches or two olive ears, is one thing, just as Pharaoh's dream of the seven oxen and seven ears of corn was one thing [Gen. 41:26], that God uses two signs to indicate one thing. But whoever wishes, may interpret the two olive trees as the priesthood and principality in the Jewish people, from which the two branches, Joshua and Zerubbabel, have grown up as the most prominent and special above others, and stand high in the top, and serve the Lord of all the world, or of the whole country.
22 But what the two golden beaks are, and how they have been shaped, I really do not know, and let here guess who can. It is beyond my art, also find no one who makes us certain in it. I have translated it thus: two beaks, so that one breaks off; alone, that I would not have to leave a window in the text, and have imitated the lampstand of Moses, 2 Mos. 25, 38, which also had beaks, and thought it would be fine for the sake of interpretation. For among the teachers there must also be those who sweep and clean the light, 3) so that [it] is not extinguished by filth, as is meant in Mosi's lampstand. For the first teachers, as stated above [§ 8], lay the foundation and plant; but where others do not follow, watering and sustaining such teaching, the flesh and blood is rotten and let, and causes the light to get a taint and scour, from which it becomes dark, until it is even extinguished. This is the office of the teachers, to exhort and to encourage with the doctrine which they have received. St. Paul says Romans 12:8: "He that exhorteth, let him wait for exhortation. They do not kindle any other light, but they sweep and preserve the light they have kindled; for they teach nothing new, but always stir up, urge, and persevere with the same first teaching against the rotten Adam.
Now, this interpretation is not wrong; but as I said, I cannot stand on the text. St. Jerome has also interpreted it into Latin: Quid sunt duae spicae olivarum, quae sunt juxta duo rostra aurea, in quibuss
2) In the old editions: "Ehern".
3) In the original "butzen", that is, to take away the snoot s "butze"^, to snort the light. In Latin:
sunt suffusoria ex auro? That is, what are the two branches of oil by the two golden snouts or tubes, in which are the little pots of gold? From which it can be seen that St. Jerome meant here that there were two snouts or tubes, like the spigot or tap on a barrel, through which the wine runs out, and that by the same tubes there were pots or other golden vessels, into which the oil ran through the tubes and was then poured into the lamps. But in the commentary on Zechariah he makes it thus: Quid sunt duo rami olivarum, qui in manibus duarum narium aureorum sunt, et quae infundunt et retrahunt suffusoria aurea? that is: What are the two branches of oil, which stand there between the two golden noses or snouts, and pour in and draw back the golden watering-pots?
24 From this I understand that St. Jerome did not understand the text either; what am I to make of it? The Hebrew word Zantroth [XXXXXX] they are called noses or
Toe, through which something oozes, as through the nose from the head oozes the filth. If this were true, it would be indicated herewith,
that these noses or points would have been at the candlestick, that the lights would have been swept by it, according to my above said understanding. So the Hebrew reads: Quid sunt duae spicae olivae in manu duarum narium aureorum, evacuantium superne aurum? that is: What are the two oil ears, between the two golden points, which empty the gold from above? From this I have so much, that the two golden tongues or gutters, or what [it] was, hovered above the lamps and flowed out, perhaps into golden vessels, which he here calls gold; or calls gold, the whole candlestick with lamps, and with everything, ut evacuantium a superioribus auri scilicet candelabri feces supernas in lampadibus. Whether the flowing was oil or the oil was yeast, I do not know. And why should I grope long in the darkness? I can't find it. I say that I do not know, and let the little piece go, like other dark pieces more, because not so great power lies in it, if we have the sum of it, that Serubabel should be confident by the help and assistance of God's Spirit etc.