Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zechariah 1:10
And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These [are they] whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
10. the man ] i.e. the rider on the red horse of Zec 1:8, who, in answer it may be to a look or sign from the interpreting angel, takes upon himself to “shew” the prophet “what these be.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the man answered – To the question addressed to the attendant-angel. He himself took the word.
These are they whom the Lord sent to walk up and down – Satan says of himself that he came from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it Job 2:2. As he for evil, so these for good. Their office was not a specific or passing duty, as when God sent His angels with some special commission, such as those recorded in Holy Scripture. It was a continuous conversation with the affairs of people, a minute course of visiting, inspecting our human deeds and ways, a part of the wonderful order , in which God has ordained and constituted the services of angels and men. Nor is it said that the angels were limited, each to his own special province, as we learn through Daniel, that certain great angels, princes among them, had the charge of empires or nations, even of the pagan . These angels had apparently only the office of inspecting and reporting to angels of a higher order, themselves a subordinate order in the heavenly Hierarchy. Nor are they spoken of, as executing any judgments of God, or as pacifying the earth; they may have been so employed; but they are only said to have reported the state in which they found it.
These answered the unexpressed inquiry of the angel of the Lord, as he had answered the unuttered question of the angel, attendant on Zechariah.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. The man that stood among the myrtle trees] The angel of the Covenant, as above, Zec 1:11.
Whom the Lord hath sent] Who are constituted guardians of the land.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The man that stood among the myrtle trees: see Zec 1:8.
Answered; gave answer to what I asked.
These; horsemen.
They whom the Lord hath sent; a periphrasis of angels, who are servants and ministers of the Divine Providence in the government of the world.
To walk to and fro through the earth: God is pleased after the manner of men to speak of his managing the affairs of the world; men must employ others, because they need them, God will employ angels, though he needs them not.
The earth; the empires which his churches were either helped or injured by: these were, partly by the pride of their emperors, partly by the flattery of their servants and ministers, and partly by the ignorance of the world at that time in matters of geography, thought to be the whole earth; and the Scripture sometimes useth phrases used and well known among men, though there be some impropriety in them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. answeredThe “angelof the covenant” here gives the reply instead of theinterpreting angel, to imply that all communications through theinterpreting angel come from Him as their source.
Lord hath sent to walk to andfro through the earthIf “Satan walks to and fro in theearth” (implying restless activity) on errands ofmischief to God’s people (Job 1:7),the Lord sends other angels to “walk to and fro”with unceasing activity everywhere to counterwork Satan’s designs,and to defend His people (Psa 34:7;Psa 91:11; Psa 103:20;Psa 103:21; Heb 1:14).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said,…. And so prevented the angel from giving the account he was about to give; and who was more capable of it, and which to do was great condescension in him, and was doing the prophet a singular honour:
these [are they] whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth; which is a description of the angels, the ministering spirits sent forth by God to take their tour throughout the earth; not to do mischief, as Satan does; but to do good to kingdoms, nations, and men in general, and to the heirs of salvation in particular; for which they are commissioned and empowered of God; see Heb 1:14.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(10) Answered.The question which Zechariah had put to the angel-interpreter.
The earthi.e., the world, all the earth (Zec. 1:11), not merely the land of Israel, as is often the meaning of the word (e.g., Zec. 13:8).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. This explanation is supplied by the further unfolding of the vision. The man among the myrtles (Zec 1:8) is the first to speak.
Answered The Hebrew verb does not mean necessarily to reply to a question, sometimes it is used in the sense of begin to speak; so here. The words are not intended as a reply to Zechariah; they are addressed to the “angel of Jehovah” (Zec 1:11), to whom the man presents his followers, that they may report the result of their investigations. The prophet, as an interested bystander, could learn the significance of the vision from this report and from the dialogue which took place subsequently between the angel and Jehovah.
These The men upon the horses of different colors, who are introduced as messengers of Jehovah, commissioned to “walk to and fro through the earth.” Their duty seems to have been purely to find out conditions and report on them; there is no indication that they were to interfere in any way with “terrestrial matters.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Zec 1:10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These [are they] whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
Ver. 10. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees ] The man Christ Jesus, that is ever with the Church, and in the midst of his people, that feedeth among the lilies, and walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. He, being asked by the foresaid angel, answered him (in Zechariah’s hearing), for he is Palmoni hammedabber, that excellent speaker, as Daniel calleth him, and therefore asketh him of the vision, Dan 8:13 .
These are they whom the Lord hath sent
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the man: Zec 1:8, Zec 1:11, Zec 13:7, Gen 32:24-31, Hos 12:3-5
These: Zec 1:11, Zec 4:10, Zec 6:5-8, Job 2:1, Job 2:2, Psa 103:20, Psa 103:21, Eze 1:5-14, Heb 1:14
Reciprocal: 1Ki 22:19 – all the host 2Ch 18:18 – all the host Job 1:7 – From going Eze 9:11 – I have Zec 1:12 – the angel Zec 2:3 – and another Zec 6:7 – the bay Luk 9:10 – the apostles
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Zec 1:10. The “man” spoken of in verse 8 gave the prophet the information that was promised by the angel. These horses were used as messengers of the Lord to go to and fro through the earth,
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The angel, who looked like a man and who was standing in the grove of trees, said that the horsemen were Yahweh’s representatives whom He had sent to patrol the earth.
"Like the Persian monarchs who used messengers on swift steeds to keep them informed on all matters concerning their empire, so the Lord knew all about the countries of the earth, including the great Persian state." [Note: Baldwin, p. 95.]