Zechariah 2

General context

Zechariah lifts up his eyes and sees a man with a measuring line in his hand. He asks where the man is going and is told, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. The angel that talked with Zechariah goes forth, another angel comes to meet him, and the second tells the first to run and speak to this young man: Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle in it, and the Lord himself will be a wall of fire round about her and the glory in her midst. An oracle follows. Those in the land of the north are called to come forth and flee, since the Lord has spread them abroad as the four winds of the heaven, and Zion dwelling with the daughter of Babylon is told to deliver herself. The speaker says he has been sent to the nations that spoiled them, that he who touches them touches the apple of the Lord's eye, and that the Lord will shake his hand upon those nations so that they become a spoil to their own servants. The daughter of Zion is told to sing and rejoice because the Lord is coming to dwell in the midst of her, many nations will be joined to the Lord in that day and be his people, and the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and choose Jerusalem again. The chapter ends with a command to silence: Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord, for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

Cited passages: Zechariah 2:1, Zechariah 2:2, Zechariah 2:3, Zechariah 2:4, Zechariah 2:5, Zechariah 2:6, Zechariah 2:7, Zechariah 2:8, Zechariah 2:9, Zechariah 2:10, Zechariah 2:11, Zechariah 2:12, Zechariah 2:13

Zechariah 2 (KJV)

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Historical context

The chapter carries no date; the last heading stands at 1:7. The man with the measuring line is not named or explained, and the text never reports the measurement he sets out to take. Two angels appear besides the man: "the angel that talked with me," who has interpreted since 1:9, and "another angel" who meets him with an instruction. The "young man" of verse 4 is not named; the text does not say whether he is Zechariah or the man with the line. From verse 8 the speech shifts to a first person who says "hath he sent me unto the nations" and twice "the Lord of hosts hath sent me," and the chapter does not identify that speaker. The land of the north and the daughter of Babylon are named without further description, and no ruler, army or year is given for either. The promise that many nations "shall be joined to the Lord" and "shall be my people" is stated without a time beyond "in that day." "The holy land" appears here as a phrase in the promise about Judah; the chapter gives it no boundaries.

Cited passages: Zechariah 2:1, Zechariah 2:2, Zechariah 2:3, Zechariah 2:4, Zechariah 2:8, Zechariah 2:9, Zechariah 2:11, Zechariah 2:12, Zechariah 1:7, Zechariah 1:9, Zechariah 2:6, Zechariah 2:7

Literary context

The vision is interrupted before it finishes. A man sets out to measure Jerusalem, and before any measurement is reported an angel is sent running with a reason a city might need no walls: too full of men and cattle. The reply replaces stone with fire, so the missing wall becomes the point rather than the problem, and the same Lord who in 1:16 stretches a line over Jerusalem now refuses a boundary for it. The oracle that follows is built on movement in two directions, out of the north and into the midst of Zion, and both are commanded rather than described. Verses 6 to 9 use short shouts and imperatives, Ho, ho, come forth, flee, deliver thyself, and the images are bodily: the apple of the eye, the shaken hand. Verse 10 turns to song, and the promise, I will dwell in the midst of thee, is repeated in the next verse with the nations added. The chapter ends by cancelling all speech, Be silent, O all flesh, which answers its own noise and leaves the Lord rising from his holy habitation as the last action named.

Cited passages: Zechariah 2:1, Zechariah 2:2, Zechariah 2:4, Zechariah 2:5, Zechariah 1:16, Zechariah 2:6, Zechariah 2:7, Zechariah 2:8, Zechariah 2:9, Zechariah 2:10, Zechariah 2:11, Zechariah 2:13

Key moments

1. A man with a measuring line (Zechariah 2:1). Zechariah sees a man carrying a measuring line.
2. Run, speak to this young man (Zechariah 2:4). One angel sends another to say Jerusalem will be inhabited as towns without walls.
3. A wall of fire (Zechariah 2:5). The Lord says he will be a wall of fire round about her and the glory in her midst.
4. Flee from the north (Zechariah 2:6). Those spread abroad as the four winds are called to come out of the land of the north.
5. The apple of his eye (Zechariah 2:8). The speaker says whoever touches this people touches the apple of the Lord’s eye.
6. Sing, O daughter of Zion (Zechariah 2:10). Zion is told to rejoice because the Lord is coming to dwell in her midst.
7. Be silent, all flesh (Zechariah 2:13). The chapter closes with a command to silence before the Lord.

For reflection

Jerusalem is promised inhabitants beyond counting and, for that reason, no walls. What would it cost a city to accept protection it cannot see or build?

People in this chapter

• Judah