Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zechariah 1:18
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
18. four horns ] The horn is a symbol of honour (1Sa 2:1; Job 16:15), and of power (Jer 48:25; Amo 6:13). Here the latter idea is prominent. By the four horns some understand four definite powers or kingdoms, either, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Macedonians, and Romans, in accordance with the visions of Daniel, chaps. 2, 4; or, inasmuch as the horns are interpreted in Zec 1:19 to be powers which “have (already) scattered” Judah, Israel and Jerusalem, Assyria, Egypt, Babylon and Medo-Persia. But it is better to take the number four generally of enemies on every side, or towards every point of the compass.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And I lifted up mine eyes – o. Cyril on Zec 2:1 : Not those of the body (for such visions are invisible to the eyes of the flesh), but rather the inner eyes of the heart and mind. It seems as though, at the close of each vision, Zechariah sank in meditation on what had been shown him; from which he was again roused by the exhibition of another vision.
I saw four horns – The mention of the horns naturally suggests the thought of the creatures which wielded them; as in the first vision that of the horses following the chiefs, implies the presence of the riders upon them. And this the more, since the word fray them away implies living creatures, liable to fear. Cyril: The horn, in inspired Scripture, is always taken as an image of strength, and mostly of pride also, as David said to some, I said unto the fools, Deal not so foolishly, and to the ungodly, Lift not up the horns. Lift not up your horns on high and speak not with a stiff neck Psa 75:4. The prophet then sees four horns, that is, four hard and warlike nations, who could easily uproot cities and countries.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Zec 1:18-21
Behold four horns
The mission of the Churchs enemies
Three things there are which this age of ours hath brought forth: malignant enemies, special instruments of their ruin, and great endeavours for reformation.
Accordingly here are three visions: a vision of four horns (Zec 1:18-19); a vision of four carpenters (Zec 1:20-21); a vision of a man with a measuring line in his hand (chap. 2. Verse 1). The description of the Churchs enemies under the vision of four horns.
1. Their number or multitude; they are four horns according to four parts of the world.
2. Their power and strength. The horn in Scripture denotes strength.
3. Their mischievous and malignant practice; They scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. In the second vision is the description of those special instruments that are raised up for their destruction, under the similitude of four carpenters or smiths. Their work is to scatter the horns, and to cast out the Gentiles. The third vision presents the endeavours for reformation, under the similitude of a man with a measuring line in his hand; which is described in two ways: from the instrument thereof, a man, an excellent man, possibly alluding to Zerubbabel the governor; and from the exactness thereof,–he doth work by line.
Attend to three doctrines.
1. When God intendeth any good and salvation to His Churches, He doth first suffer many potent, malicious enemies to rise against them. Was it not so with Israel when God intended to bring them out of Egypt? Then their taskmasters arose and doubled their work. This is Gods way still. But what reason is there that God should suffer His people to be thus handled, oppressed, scattered, by Cruel enemies? Good reason. So many enemies, so many schoolmasters. Our enemies are our observers, and their observation is our preservation. Hereby they are occasioned to honour God; they are weaned from the world; they are more useful in their places, and even beneficial to their enemies; they carry the truths of God into other parts; they receive a fuller and clearer testimony of their own graces; their enemies themselves are the more convinced; the saints are kept from, and cured of, divisions among themselves; hereby the servants of God may see and know by experience, that it is better to serve God than man; and the servants of God learn the right use of the rod, both in Church and State. Then let no man be stumbled or offended at Gods present proceedings in the world, as if they were very mysterious.
2. Though God suffers the enemies of His Church to be many and great, He will raise up proportionate strength against them. Three enemies there are by whom you are most molested, the flesh, the devil, the world. The flesh brings forth three great evils. Ignorance in the understanding; in opposition to that Jesus Christ is called our Prophet. Rebellion in the will; in opposition to that Jesus Christ is called our King. Guiltiness that arises from ignorance and rebellion; in opposition to that Jesus Christ is called our Priest. The devil, our second enemy, is armed with all weapons of hostility against us. Whatever terms or titles of strength and power there is in Satan, there is somewhat in Jesus Christ that answereth, yea, that over answereth all. The third enemy, the world; is described in Rev 13:1. Our text speaks but of four horns, here are ten. So that, whatever your enemies are, there is strength enough in Jesus Christ to subdue their strength. Why is Christ thus furnished, but for His Church and people? He is the Lord-keeper of all our comforts; the Lord-treasurer of all our graces; and the great magazine of all our ammunition. The application of this doctrine looks two ways: to the saints by way of consolation and encouragement; to the carpenters Gods workmen, by way of direction and exhortation (W. Bridge, M. A.)
Horns and workmen
This second vision may be regarded as supplementary of the first. There the restoration of Judah was indicated generally; here some of the means by which that was to be effected are presented. Though enemies from all quarters, and on every side, might assail the people of God, the Lord, their protector, would raise up for them adequate defence, would bring into action powers sufficient to discomfit and cast down all their oppressors, however many or strong. What was thus showed for the comfort of the people of God in the old time is no less for the comfort and encouragement of the Church in all ages and places. The sum of the whole is, though the Church may not be exempt from many troubles, yet the Lord has in His hand resources by which He can restrain all assaults of the wicked, however impetuously and violently they may be impelled against the Church. The Angel of the Lord, the Divine Redeemer, abides forever with that Church which He has purchased with His own blood. And exalted as He is to the throne of His glory, and having all power in heaven and on earth, He can send forth at any time agencies by which the power of the Churchs enemies shall be broken, and all their forces routed. It behoves the Church, then, to have faith in her exalted head, and patiently to wait for Him. In due time He will interpose on her behalf when she is afflicted; He will scatter and discomfit all her adversaries, and will cause her righteousness to go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth. (W. L. Alexander, D. D.)
The vision of the four horns
Some consider the four horns represent the four kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Others look on them as types of the whole of the enemies of Israel coming from the four quarters of the earth. The same general truths are taught in either case.
1. That while the world powers continue, and the Church of God lives in their midst, the latter will be subjected to opposition and persecution.
2. That whatever number of foes the Church may have, God will take care to provide her with an equal number of friends.
3. That though there will ever be conflict between Gods Church and her enemies, there will never be defeat but on one side. The strongest force must ultimately gain the day. We can account for the existence of the Church only from the fact that God is in the midst of her. (A London Minister.)
The purpose of this vision
I. For instruction. The progress of the wicked in their enmity against the Church, is but the prologue to the Churchs deliverance. First, the horns arise and play their part; and this brings on the hammermen to act their part.
II. For admonition: that Gods people be not offended, or dismayed, when they see things, go contrary to their deliverance. At such times let us calm ourselves–
1. With a consideration of the just aggravation of our own sins, our disunion and security that opened the door to let in the misery.
2. With the consideration of the character of the horns. It is the nature of a beast to do as they do, to push and scatter. A brute will be a brute. A devil will be a devil. But beasts are not made to rule over men. And the devil is the gaoler of the wicked, not our ruler.
3. As the constitution, so the complexion of the last times is indeed the worst; so no better is to be expected for a time, but, though the several hammers make at first but a confused noise, and the pieces of the building lie in the dust, yet, ere long, the new building is reared, and the Great Master of the house comes in and dwells among us in it.
III. For exhortation.
1. Let us not judge by sense, but by faith.
2. Judge not by present action, but by their productive tendency.
3. Judge not by the meanness of means, but by the might of the hand that useth them. (N. Homes.)
Destroyers and builders
The enemy came upon the laud, came upon the hills of Judah and of Israel, laid waste the city of Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, scattered the people, broke up their happy homes, and carried them into captivity. These are the horns of which the text speaks. Wise men were raised up, skilful workers, men willing and able to rebuild Jerusalem, restore the temple, and reestablish the worship of Jehovah there. These be the carpenters spoken of in the text. The first class is characterised by the fury of the beast, and the second by the wisdom and skill of the man.
I. There are the destroyers–there is the power of the destroyer. The power opposed to God and His purpose is in Scripture often described under the symbol of a beast. The prophet Daniel saw four beasts coming forth in succession to do their destructive work. This symbol teaches us that the power opposed to God is from below, from the abyss. The persecutions that raged against the Church in other ages were eruptions from the bottomless pit, real boiling volcanic floods sent forth from the mouth of that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. Such is infidelity, and the criticism which merely destroys, and the philosophy which ignores God. The power opposed to God and goodness is coarse, rude, vulgar–the power of a beast. What will a beast do if turned into a flower garden? So the power of evil is rude and coarse. Whenever men begin to sneer at religion, at faith, at holiness, at Christianity, that moment they become coarse. The deepest and subtlest wisdom, the wisdom that can create, the wisdom that can construct and build up, is not necessary for the destroyers work. The rude, clumsy power of the reasonless beast will answer for that purpose. The power of the destroyer is out of harmony with the nature of things. The beasts of Bible symbol are all monsters. Not one of them is harmonious or proportionate. Here is one–he has the body of a leopard to begin with, the feet of a bear, the hungry mouth of a lion; he has seven heads and ten horns, and on each of the heads in flaming letters is inscribed the name of blasphemy. What a dreadful apparition that must have been to St. John! The power of evil being out of harmony with the laws of nature, we can never fall into the order of Gods universe while we are moved by the power of evil.
II. The skilful workers. These men have a Divine vocation, and are inspired of God–endued of Him for their work. There are very many Divine vocations in this world. There is the preacher, the student of nature, the statesman, the teacher, private Christians. These belong to the class of true workers. And Gods purpose shall at last be realised; the work of the skilful ones shall prosper. Refer to the building of the first temple at Jerusalem. It was an idea early started, again and again lost sight of, but at last fully realised. There is an old saying, that in this world every man has believed in his best moments that there is a golden age which belongs to humanity. Man never believes in his present degradation; he believes that it was never intended the world should remain as it is. And I am glad there are so many brave Christian people in this great city who are determined by Gods grace to do all that they can to realise this ancient idea. The prophets saw it, and it kindled their souls into rapture. (Thomas Jones.)
Four horns and four carpenters
This vision presents to us (the) cause of right in the earth.
I. That the cause of right on the earth has strong antagonists. Here are four horns, four mighty powers, all of which are in dead hostility to the covenant people. They are represented as those who have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head. The enemies of the true scatter and crush. Though Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome have long since passed away, the horns, or the mighty powers of evil, are still here, and are at work. What are they? Reigning materialism is a horn; practical atheism is a horn; intolerant superstition is a horn; and dominant selfishness is a horn.
II. That the cause of truth upon the earth has Divine defenders. Here are four carpenters, or smiths, who appear to fray them, and to east out the horns of the Gentiles. Mark, the defenders were–
(1) Men, not angels. God saves man by man. Who were the first apostles?
(2) Working men. Toilers, labourers. It is man as man, not philosopher, poet, king, millionaire, that has to battle for the right. The greatest moral victories have been won by men in the lower walks of life.
(3) They were skilled men. These men had a trade; they were craftsmen; they had been trained to the work they undertook. There is a skill required in order to strike effectively at the errors and wrongs of life. Stupid men, however good their intentions, accomplish but little, if anything, in the noble cause. A man to convert souls must have as much aptitude for the work as the carpenter has to shape the wood to his purpose, or the smith to work the metals. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 18. And behold four horns.] Denoting four powers by which the Jews had been oppressed; the Assyrians, Persians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians. Or these enemies may be termed four, in reference to the four cardinal points of the heavens, whence they came: –
1. NORTH. The Assyrians and Babylonians.
2. EAST. The Moabites and Ammonites.
3. SOUTH. The Egyptians.
4. WEST. The Philistines. See Martin.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Then; after I had seen those things, and heard those comfortable words, and received commission to publish all the good news I had heard.
I lifted up mine eyes: he was so intent before, that he looked on nothing else; now he lifts up his eyes.
Saw; clearly, certainly, and distinctly.
Behold four horns; emblems of the enemies of the Jews, for strength, fierceness, and pride, and for their number, from all parts of the world.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. four hornsTo a pastoralpeople like the Jews the horns of the strongest in the herdnaturally suggested a symbol of power and pride ofconscious strength: hence the ruling powers of the world(Rev 17:3; Rev 17:12).The number four in Zechariah’s time referred to the fourcardinal points of the horizon. Wherever God’s people turned, therewere foes to encounter (Ne 4:7);the Assyrian, Chaldean, and Samaritan on the north; Egypt and Arabiaon the south; Philistia on the west; Ammon and Moab on the east. Butthe Spirit in the prophet looked farther; namely, to the fourworld powers, the only ones which were, or are, to rise till thekingdom of Messiah, the fifth, overthrows and absorbs all others inits universal dominion. Babylon and Medo-Persia alone had as yetrisen, but soon Grco-Macedonia was to succeed (as Zec9:13 foretells), and Rome the fourth and last, was to follow(Dan 2:1-49; Dan 7:1-28).The fact that the repairing of the evils caused to Judah and Israelby all four kingdoms is spoken of here, proves that theexhaustive fulfilment is yet future, and only the earnest of it givenin the overthrow of the two world powers which up to Zechariah’s timehad “scattered” Judah (Jer 51:2;Eze 5:10; Eze 5:12).That only two of the four had as yet risen, is an argument having noweight with us, as we believe God’s Spirit in the prophets regardsthe future as present; we therefore are not to be led by Rationalistswho on such grounds deny the reference here and in Zec6:1 to the four world kingdoms.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then I lifted up mine eyes,…. To behold another vision which follows:
and saw, and behold four horns; either iron ones, such as Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made to push the Syrians with, 1Ki 22:11 or horns of beasts, as the horns of unicorns, to which the horns of Joseph are compared, De 33:17 and signify kingdoms or kings, and these very powerful and mighty; and so the Targum interprets them of “four kingdoms”; and which Kimchi and Abarbinel understand of the four monarchies, Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman; so ten horns, in Da 7:24 design ten kings or kingdoms; unless rather, seeing these horns were such who had already distressed and scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem; and two of the above monarchies were not yet in being, the Grecian and Roman, when this vision was seen; and one of those that were, were friends to the Jews, as the Persians; they may in general signify all the enemies of the Jews that were round about them, on the four corners of them; as the Syrians, Assyrians, and Babylonians, on the north; the Ammonites and Moabites on the east; the Edomites and Egyptians on the south; and the Philistines on the west; as Junius thinks. Cocceius interprets them of four kings, Shalmaneser, Nebuchadnezzar, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes the first, called Longimanus; and may be applied to the antichristian states, Pagan and Papal, in the various parts of the world, called horns, Da 7:24.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The second vision is closely connected with the first, and shows how God will discharge the fierceness of His wrath upon the heathen nations in their self-security (Zec 1:15). Zec 1:18. “And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. Zec 1:19. And I said to the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. Zec 1:20. And Jehovah showed me four smiths. Zec 1:21. And I said, What come these to do? And He spake to me thus: These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no one lifted up his head; these are now come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations which have lifted up the horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.” The mediating angel interprets the four horns to the prophet first of all as the horns which have scattered Judah; then literally, as the nations which have lifted up the horn against the land of Judah to scatter it. The horn is a symbol of power (cf. Amo 6:13). The horns therefore symbolize the powers of the world, which rise up in hostility against Judah and hurt it. The number four does not point to the four quarters of the heaven, denoting the heathen foes of Israel in all the countries of the world (Hitzig, Maurer, Koehler, and others). This view cannot be established from Zec 1:10, for there is no reference to any dispersion of Israel to the four winds there. Nor does it follow from the perfect that only such nations are to be thought of, as had already risen up in hostility to Israel and Judah in the time of Zechariah; for it cannot be shown that there were four such nations. At that time all the nations round about Judah were subject to the Persian empire, as they had been in Nebuchadnezzar’s time to the Babylonian. Both the number four and the perfect zeru belong to the sphere of inward intuition, in which the objects are combined together so as to form one complete picture, without any regard to the time of their appearing in historical reality. Just as the prophet in Zec 6:1-15 sees the four chariots all together, although they follow one another in action, so may the four horns which are seen simultaneously represent nations which succeeded one another. This is shown still more clearly by the visions in Daniel 2 and 7, in which not only the colossal image seen in a dream by Nebuchadnezzar (ch. 2), but also the four beasts which are seen by Daniel to ascend simultaneously from the sea, symbolize the four empires, which rose up in succession one after the other. It is to these four empires that the four horns of our vision refer, as Jerome, Abarb., Hengstenberg, and others have correctly pointed out, since even the picturing of nations or empires as horns points back to Dan 7:7-8, and Dan 8:3-9. Zechariah sees these in all the full development of their power, in which they have oppressed and crushed the people of God (hence the perfect zeru ), and for which they are to be destroyed themselves. Zarah , to scatter, denotes the dissolution of the united condition and independence of the nation of God. In this sense all four empires destroyed Judah, although the Persian and Grecian empires did not carry Judah out of their own land.
The striking combination, “Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem,” in which not only the introduction of the name of Israel between Judah and Jerusalem is to be noticed, but also the fact that the nota acc. is only placed before Y e hudah and Yisra’el , and not before Y e rushalaim also, is not explained on the ground that Israel denotes the kingdom of the ten tribes, Judah the southern kingdom, and Jerusalem the capital of the kingdom (Maurer, Umbreit, and others), for in that case Israel would necessarily have been repeated before Judah, and ‘eth before Y e rushalaim . Still less can the name Israel denote the rural population of Judah (Hitzig), or the name Judah the princely house (Neumann). By the fact that ‘eth is omitted before Y e rushalaim , and only Vav stands before it, Jerusalem is connected with Israel and separated from Judah; and by the repetition of ‘eth before Yisra’el , as well as before Y e hudah , Israel with Jerusalem is co-ordinated with Judah. Kliefoth infers from this that “the heathen had dispersed on the one hand Judah, and on the other hand Israel together with Jerusalem,” and understands this as signifying that in the nation of God itself a separation is presupposed, like the previous separation into Judah and the kingdom of the ten tribes. “When the Messiah comes,” he says, “a small portion of the Israel according to the flesh will receive Him, and so constitute the genuine people of God and the true Israel, the Judah; whereas the greater part of the Israel according to the flesh will reject the Messiah at first, and harden itself in unbelief, until at the end of time it will also be converted, and join the true Judah of Christendom.” But this explanation, according to which Judah would denote the believing portion of the nation of twelve tribes, and Israel and Jerusalem the unbelieving, is wrecked on the grammatical difficulty that the cop. is wanting before . If the names Judah and Israel were intended to be co-ordinated with one another as two different portions of the covenant nation as a whole, the two parts would necessarily have been connected together by the cop. Vav. Moreover, in the two co-ordinated names Judah and Israel, the one could not possibly stand in the spiritual sense, and the other in the carnal. The co-ordination of ‘eth – Y e hudah with ‘eth – Yisra’el without the cop. Vav shows that Israel is really equivalent to the Jerusalem which is subordinated to it, and does not contain a second member (or part), which is added to it, – in other words, that Israel with Jerusalem is merely an interpretation or more precise definition of Y e hudah ; and Hengstenberg has hit upon the correct idea, when he takes Israel as the honourable name of Judah, or, more correctly, as an honourable name for the covenant nation as then existing in Judah. This explanation is not rendered questionable by the objection offered by Koehler: viz., that after the separation of the two kingdoms, the expression Israel always denotes either the kingdom of the ten tribes, or the posterity of Jacob without regard to their being broken up, because this is not the fact. The use of the name Israel for Judah after the separation of the kingdoms is established beyond all question by 2Ch 12:1; 2Ch 15:17; 2Ch 19:8; 2Ch 21:2, 2Ch 21:4; 2Ch 23:2; 2Ch 24:5, etc.
(Note: Gesenius has correctly observed in his Thesaurus, p. 1339, that “from this time (i.e., from the severance of the kingdom) the name of Israel began to be usurped by the whole nation that was then in existence, and was used chiefly by the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Deutero(?)-Isaiah, and after the captivity by Ezra and Nehemiah; from which it came to pass, that in the Paralipomena, even when allusion is made to an earlier period, Israel stands for Judah,” although the proofs adduced in support of this from the passages quoted from the prophets need considerable sifting.)
Jehovah then showed the prophet four charashm , or workmen, i.e., smiths; and on his putting the question, “What have these come to do?” gave him this reply: “To terrify those,” etc. For the order of the words , instead of , see Gen 42:12; Neh 2:12; Jdg 9:48. is not a nominative written absolutely at the head of the sentence in the sense of “these horns,” for that would require ; but the whole sentence is repeated from Zec 1:2, and to that the statement of the purpose for which the smiths have come is attached in the form of an apodosis: “these are the horns, etc., and they (the smiths) have come.” At the same time, the earlier statement as to the horns is defined more minutely by the additional clause , according to the measure, i.e., in such a manner that no man lifted up his head any more, or so that Judah was utterly prostrate. Hachard , to throw into a state of alarm, as in 2Sa 17:2. Them ( ‘otham ): this refers ad sensum to the nations symbolized by the horns. Yaddoth , inf. piel of yadah , to cast down, may be explained as referring to the power of the nations symbolized by the horns. ‘Erets Y e hudah (the land of Judah) stands for the inhabitants of the land. The four smiths, therefore, symbolize the instruments “of the divine omnipotence by which the imperial power in its several historical forms is overthrown” (Kliefoth), or, as Theod. Mops. expresses it, “the powers that serve God and inflict vengeance upon them from many directions.” The vision does not show what powers God will use for this purpose. It is simply designed to show to the people of God, that every hostile power of the world which has risen up against it, or shall rise up, is to be judged and destroyed by the Lord.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Comfort for Jerusalem. | B. C. 520. |
18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. 19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. 20 And the LORD shewed me four carpenters. 21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
It is the comfort and triumph of the church (Isa. lix. 19) that when the enemy shall come in like a flood, with mighty force and fury, then the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. Now, in this vision (the second which this prophet had), we have an illustration of that, God’s Spirit making a stand, and making head, against the formidable power of the church’s adversaries.
I. We have here the enemies of the church bold and daring, and threatening to be its death, to cut off the name of Israel; such the people of God had lately been insulted by: I looked and behold four horns (v. 18), which are explained v. 19. They are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, that is, the Jews both in the country and in the city, because they were the Israel of God. They have tossed them (so some read it), as furious bulls with their horns toss that which they are enraged at. They have scattered them, so that no man did lift up his head, v. 21. No man durst show his face for fear of them, much less give them any opposition, or make head against them. They are horns, denoting their dignity and dominion–horns exalted, denoting also their strength, and power, and violence. They are four horns, for the Jews are surrounded with them on every side; when they avoid one horn that pushes at them they run upon another. The men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and many of Israel that joined themselves to them, set about the building of the temple; but the enemies of that work from all sides pushed at them, and drove them from it. Rehum, and Shimshai, and the other Samaritans that opposed the building of the temple, were these horns, Ezra iv. 8. So were Sanballat and Tobiah, and the Ammonites and Arabians, that opposed the building of the wall, Neh. iv. 7. Note, The church’s enemies have horns, and use them to the hindrance of every good work. The great enemy of the New-Testament church has seven heads and ten horns (Rev. xvii. 3), so that those who endeavour to do the church any service must expect to be pushed at.
II. We have here the friends of the church active and prevailing. The prophet did himself lift up his eyes and see the four horns, and saw them so formidable that he began to despair of the safety of every good man, and the success of every good work; but the Lord then showed him four carpenters, or smiths, who were empowered to cut off these horns, Zec 1:20; Zec 1:21. With an eye of sense we see the power of the enemies of the church; look which way we will, the world shows us that. But it is with an eye of faith that we see it safe, notwithstanding; it is the Lord that shows us that, as he opened the eyes of the prophet’s servant to see the angelic guards round about his master, 2 Kings vi. 17. Observe, Those that were to fray or break the horns of the Gentiles, and to cast them out, were, 1. Carpenters or smiths (for they are supposed by some to have been horns of iron), men who had skill and ability to do it, whose proper business it was, and who understood their business and had tools at hand to do it with. Note, God calls those to serve the interests of his church whom he either finds, or makes, fit for it. If there be horns (which denote the force and fury of beasts) against the church, there are carpenters (which denote the wisdom and forecast of men) for the church, by which they find ways to master the strongest beasts, for every kind of beasts is tamed, and has been tamed, of mankind, Jam. iii. 7. 2. They were four carpenters, as many horns so many hands to saw them off. Note, Which way soever the church is threatened with mischief, and opposition given to its interests, God can find out ways and means to check the force, to restrain the wrath, and make it turn to his praise. Some by these four carpenters understand Zerubbabel and Joshua, Ezra and Nehemiah, who carried on the work of God in spite of the opposition given to it. Those horned beasts broke into God’s vineyard to tread it down; but the good magistrates and the good ministers whom God raised up, though they had not power to cut off the horns of the wicked (as David did, Psa 75:5; Psa 75:10), yet frightened them and cast them out. Note, When God has work to do he will raise up some to do it and others to defend it and protect those that are employed in the doing of it.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
The Second Vision
Verses 18, 19:
The Four Horns–Vision 2
Verse 18 is the testimony of Zechariah that in a vision he had seen four horns. To the common, pastoral people horns were a symbol of ruling, conquering power and pride. They represented ruling powers of the Gentile world, Rev 17:3; Rev 17:12. The number four also indicated their rule in every direction, all cardinal points of the horizon. It also looked further to the four “one-world” Gentile powers of 1) Babylon, 2) Medo-Persia, 3) Greco-Macedonia, and 4) Rome, as described Daniel chs. 2, 7.
Verse 19 is a statement of Zechariah’s inquiry of the angel that talked with him. He simply asked the angel what the four horns meant. To his inquiry the angel explained that they were the horns or Gentile powers that had scattered or dispersed Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. Though the final dispersion is not yet finished, or the restoration that shall surely follow, Ezr 4:1; Ezr 5:3; Jer 50:17-18; Dan 12:7; Hab 3:14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Now follows another vision, by which God confirms what he had before testified to his Prophet. He then says, that though enemies should on every side rise up against the Church and cause it many troubles, there was yet a remedy in God’s hand, as he would break in pieces all horns by his hammers. He compares the Gentiles, who had been hostile to the Jews, to horns; and he afterwards compares to workmen the other enemies, whose hand and labor God would use for the purpose of breaking down the efforts of all those who would be troublesome to the Church. The import of the whole then is, — that though the Church would not be exempt and free from troubles, and those many, yet God would have in his hand those remedies by which he would check all the assaults of the wicked, however impetuously and violently they may rage against his miserable Church.
But let us see in the first place why the Prophet mentions four horns. The Jews refer to the Assyrians and the Babylonians, to the Persian, the Grecians, and the Romans; because we find in other places, and Daniel especially shows very clearly, (Dan 2:32,) that there were to be four principal monarchies, by which God intended to give clear and memorable examples of his judgments. But the Prophet, I have no doubt, speaks here of the Moabites and of the Syrians, and of other nations, as well as of the Assyrians or Chaldees. They are then mistaken, as I think, who suppose that these four monarchies are intended here: (27) but Zechariah says that they were four horns, because they arose from the four quarters of the world; for we know that the Jews were not harassed only on one side, but on the east and the west, on the north and the south. Since then enemies on every side joined their strength and their forces against the Jews, so that there was a cause for trembling from the four quarters of the world, that is, from all places around them, the Prophet says, that they had been scattered by four horns
This view, however, seems still frigid, because it was not necessary for the Prophet to state what was well known to all: but God intended to show that the nations which had been inimical and hostile to the Jews, had done nothing but through his hidden impulse, in order that the Jews might understand that these were so many scourges by which he purposed to chastise them.
(27) Some of the Rabbins, Jerome, Vatablus, and latterly Blayney, have adopted this view; but it is wholly inadmissible. The single reason that the past enemies of the Jews are here referred to, is a sufficient refutation. The number four is differently accounted, for by Cyril and some others. It is explained of the four principal enemies of the Jews — Pul, Shalmenezar, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar. But what Calvin says seems most satisfactory. “Why four? to denote that these kingdoms had many enemies, enemies on every side, Ezr 4:1; Neh 4:7.” — Newcome. With this view Theodoret, Marckius, and Henderson also agree. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE FOUR HORNS AND FOUR CARPENTERS
Zec 1:18-21.
IN reading this first chapter of the Book of Zechariah one might be tempted to suppose that these many visions were only the wild work of the mind during a single nights slumber,that one followed another in rapid successionso that when the Prophet awoke he threaded his way through the mazes of his dream, and when the memory had painfully disentangled the visions, he took his pen and wrote quickly what he had seen in the night. But we are fully persuaded that such was not the order at all. In these visions there is a clearness of perception which lifts them from the level of mere dreams, and in some instances the Prophet intimates that long periods of time intervened the visions. These were revelations of such serious concern that it is not at all likely the Prophet could have received them in rapid succession without having been utterly undone.
Do you not recall Johns experience when on Patmos the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him was vouchsafed; and he saw one like unto the Son of Man? John says, When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead; and he had to be lifted up by the right hand of the Most High before he could receive the message. If Peter in the presence of Jesus was humbled to the very dust and compelled to cry, I am an unclean man, is it not likely that when the Prophet came into the presence of God to receive these visions, God had to proceed slowly that His servant might recover himself from the one before becoming capable of witnessing another?
The hours that try mens souls by way of holy excitement are those in which they consciously stand in the presence of God. The opening phrase of this nights text Then lifted I up mine eyes, conveys the thought that Zechariah is describing now his recovery from the excitement of the last vision, and his ability to receive another.
But, to the vision itself. It involvesThe Prophets Vision; The Angels Explanation; The Lords Revelation.
THE PROPHETS VISION
His eyes were open.
Then lifted I up mine eyes.
That is the figure of the man who has been in the dust before God. He is recovering; lifting himself now from the ground to which he had fallen in humility, to find himself face to face with the God of visions, he opens his eyes. That is what God now wants. There are times when a man ought to smite upon his breast and cry, God be merciful to me a sinner, and not lift up so much as his eyes unto Heaven. But there are times when that blindness should come to an end, and ones eyes should be opened. What a marvelous chapter is the ninth of Johnfrom the first word to the lastgiven to the healing of the blind man! When Jesus found him his eyes were closed; when Jesus left him he was seeing! And the blessing of it was, not in that he beheld the Phariseeshis critics, nor even that he looked into the faces of his old father and mother, and studied the features of friends. The greater joy was in the sight which he had of the Son of God. It was little wonder that with that sight he said, Lord, I believe; and worshipped Him.
There is a spiritual vision which answers to this miracle of physical healing. As there is the view of the bodily eyes, so there is a vision by faith. The unregenerate man sees only what is reflected to the physical retina; but the man of God beholds wondrous things out of [His] Law; and, in hours of holy communion, is vouchsafed sights which only those who are born of the Spirit are ever privileged. And, as the natural man is convinced by what he sees more than by what he apprehends through any other faculty, so the man of God reaches conviction by what he spiritually perceives. Think of that narrative in II Kings where Elisha prayed for his timorous servant, Lord, * * open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
The vision was real, yet the perception of it was spiritual rather than physical. The men who have been the mightiest powers for God are those who have been able to say with John, That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us.
Herbert Clark has a little poem descriptive of the experience of Thomas as he looked upon the nail-prints in the hands of Jesus, and the sword-wound in His side, and he writes,
Be very sure, Thomas;
It may have been
Imagination.
Nay, I have seen!
Yet sight is nothing;
Ones eyes may be
A pair of tricksters.
He spoke to me.
Only a voice, Thomas,
A floating word;
No meaning had
Christs love heard.
What did the vision,
Then, ask of you?
Touch Me! and held His
Torn hand in view.
Feel Me! and straightway
My trembling pride,
Glad but reluctant.
Found out His side.
You cannot prove, Thomas,
These things are so.
Why should I question?
I know, I know!
Yet you the Doubter
Were wont to be!
My Lord has answered
All things for me!
His eyes were Heavenward.
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw.
They were not only open; they were directed upward. That is the attitude of the seer. No man is ever granted a vision of time as in a panorama until he has first had a vision of the Eternal One. When the vision of Patmos was given to John he saw the Son of Man first; afterward the plan of the ages which is written into the twenty-one successive chapters.
Has it never occurred to you that in the Book of Daniel others had visions which Daniel interpreted by the Spirit of God; but before his marvelous visions came he had kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed, and the Ancient of Days, on His throne, had appeared to him, and he had seen in the night vision, * * one like the Son of Man come with the clouds of Heaven?
A year ago we were studying the Book of Isaiah, and we found that early in that volume in the year that King Uzziah died, the Prophet of the Lord was vouchsafed a vision of the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the Temple, and it was from Him that he received his commission.
Beloved, who can tell what believers might behold if only more often their eyes were Heavenward? Is it not an evident and awful truth, that so many of us are engaged with the muck-rake, our eyes upon the ground, in search of gold and silver and all temporal good, that we miss the vision of the crownflashing just above us, and that of the hand holding it, whether it be a Seraph or Son of God? The Psalmist knew the secret of Holy experiences and he wrote, I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
Isaac Watts had adopted a similar custom and knew the blessings thereof, and hence he wrote,
Upward I lift mine eyes;
From God is all my aid;
The God who built the skies,
And earth and nature made;
God is the tower to which I fly:
His grace is nigh in every hour.
My feet shall never slide
And fall in fatal snares,
Since God, my guard and guide,
Defends me from my fears:
Those wakeful eyes that never sleep
Shall Israel keep when dangers rise.
Hast Thou not given Thy Word
To save my soul from death?
And I can trust Thee, Lord,
To keep my mortal breath;
Ill go and come, nor fear to die,
Till from on high Thou call me home.
His expectation was rewarded.
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw.
The men who behold visions from God are the men who have looked for God. It is little wonder that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego saw in the furnace the Son of Man in their midst, since they had expected Him. To the threat of the king they answered, We are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
It is little wonder that Elijah beheld a cloud gathering upon a burning world and ready to work its way of refreshing showers, since Elijah had buried his face on his knees to pray for this, and then sent his servant to search the heavens to report on its coming. I have often wondered whether, after all, the disciples of Jesus, caught in that storm on Gennesaret and threatened with imminent death, were not longing for a vision of Christ, and perhaps praying for it, when, at the fourth watch, He came. The fact that they thought Him a spirit and were affrighted and cried out, does not militate against this idea, since the people who prayed for Peters deliverance could not believe that it was he, when, in answer, he stood at the door. Gods answer to our earnest prayers often exceeds our best expectation. It is not unusual for a man whose eyes are Heavenward to behold more than he thought. On the contrary it is Gods good custom to exceed our highest expectations.
Bancroft tells us that the young Chippewa, on approaching maturity, anxious to behold God, darkens his eyes with charcoal and building a lodge of cedar boughs, it may be on the summit of a hill, begins there his fast in solitude. The fast endures perhaps ten days, sometimes even without water, till, excited by the severest cravings of thirst and famine, he beholds the vision of God and knows it to be his guardian spirit.
Beloved, that superstitious folk, accustomed to so many iniquitous rites in the name of religion, did in this instance, hit upon the very plan divinely appointed for the vision of the Holy One. Who of us has ever fasted, prayed, patiently waited and watched, but have been able to say with Zechariah, I saw. The world is full of Christians who have had visions of God so sacred that they have shut them up in their hearts, never breathing them even to their best-beloved! To a man they will bear testimony to the fact that these holy hours came when their eyes were Heavenward, and their hearts Were hungry, and their souls waited in expectation. Oh, men, with souls benighted, walking daily in the darkness of moral night, wondering whether any man has ever heard, or seen, or handled the Lord of Life, Wait [thou] upon the Lord: Watch and pray!
THE ANGELS EXPLANATION
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
And I said unto the Angel that talked with me, What be these? And He answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
Zechariah saw but dared not interpret for himself. Beloved, it is not safe for us to attempt, unaided, the interpretation of even our own visions. Many a man has made grievous mistakes at this point. Some of you may have read Dr. Lorimers book, The Master of Millions and you will remember how the good, pious soul, Mrs. McGillivary, saw in her chamber a criminal who had fled from the officers to this refuge, and listened to his commands of silence, and took a vow not to tell what she had seen; and supposed that Satan or some evil spirit had appeared to her.
We all know how the false faiths of Zoroaster, Mohammed, and Joe Smith rested upon visions that these men claimed to have been vouchsafed to them, which, in every instance, they interpreted according to their own pleasure.
Ah, there is a better way! It is the way of the Prophet Zechariah. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Paul never dared to interpret the vision vouchsafed in the highway to Damascus until Jesus spoke to him, and even then he must be further taught its meaning by AnaniasGods angelof its explanation.
He asked the Angel of the Lord.
I said unto the Angel that talked with me.
We saw in our last study that the Angel who talked with him was the Angel of JehovahChrist Himself. He is the One to solve all our difficulties. It was concerning Him God said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him. He is the One who said, Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, * * is like a man which built an house * * on a rock. He is the One who said, I am the Truth. As John Watson declares, Jesus made a claim that separates Him forever from every other teacherthe claim of solitary and absolute infallibility. The attitude of other masters has been modest and qualifying, This I think is true, but you must not believe it as my word. This I think is right but you must not do it after my example; examine and decide for yourself. I am, like yourself, a seeker and a sinner! Jesus did not effect such humility nor make such admission. He emphasized and asserted Himself, You have heard that it was said by them of old time opens one paragraph after another of Jesus great sermon; and then follows But I say unto you. Ah, beloved, this is the absolute Teacher; this is the One who spake as never man spake; this is the One with whom is the explanation of all our visions, the solution of all our difficulties and problems; let us hear Him!
Hushed be the noise and the strife of the schools
Volume and pamphlet, sermon and speech,
The lips of the wise and the prattle of fools;
Let the Son of Man teach!
Who has the key of the future but He?
Who can unravel the knots of the skein?
We have groaned and have travailed and sought to be free:
We have travailed in vain.
Bewildered, dejected, and prone to despair,
To Him as at first do we turn and beseech:
Our ears are all open! Give heed to our prayer!
O Son of Man, teach.
The explanation was with wisdom.
These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
The one thing of which you may feel sure is thisthat when Jesus speaks He will be in accord with the Sacred Scriptures. Of the Old Testament Prophets He says, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. Here He is only completing what has already been spoken. The horn is the symbol of the nations arrogance and power. Long ago by the Psalmists pen, He had written, I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn: lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck (Psa 75:4-5).
In the flocks the horned one was the strong one, and the dangerous one; and so he became a figure of the destroying nation. Daniel in his visions had seen these same horns. In the seventh chapter of his Book we find Nebuchadnezzars graven image was divided into four parts, each standing for the world powers, and afterward as represented by a horn. Those powers were Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greco-Macedonian and Roman. And again, prophecy has become the mold of history, for those are the very people that rose to scatter Judah and Israel and Jerusalem, and that Roman power now rules the greater part of the world, and like its predecessors, remains the oppressor of this ancient folk. The Angel of the Lord, then, only confirms what Gods true Prophet had seen, and said!
And if you turn to the last Book of the Word, you find that same Angel of the Lordeven Jesusaffirming that these kingdomsfigured in the form of beastswill remain oppressors until the end (Rev 17:3; Rev 17:12-14).
Christ knew the Old Testament Scriptures; He knew them as the author knows his own book. He, who now interprets for Zechariah this vision, is the very same who granted the vision to Daniel.
Of course there would be accord! James Martineau, though a Unitarian, felt compelled to say of Christ, Not more clearly does the worship of the saintly soul, breathing through its windows opened to the midnight, betray the secrets of its affections, than the mind of Jesus of Nazareth reveals the perfect thought and inmost love of the all-ruling God. Were He the only bornthe solitary selfrevelationof the creative spirit, He could not more purely open the mind of Heaven; being the very Logosthe apprehensible nature of God which, long unuttered to the world, and abiding in the beginning with Him, has now come forth and dwelt among us, full of Grace and Truth.
It was this same Jesus who said, If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free. That is your way, men! That is your way, Women! That is our only way! No man cometh unto the Father, but by [Him]!
THE LORDS REVELATION
And, the Lord shewed me four carpenters.
Then send I, What come these to do? And He spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
This revelation was made by Jehovah Himself.
The Angel of the Lord steps aside and the great Jehovah answers. Possibly the reason is found in that He now proposes the four smithsor the four world powersthat shall try or terrify, and cast down the oppressors of His people. It is no sign of success when Satan is in command of the world, for even then Jehovah can speak and raise up what powers He pleases, and put down all rule and all authority and power (1Co 15:24).
Oh, what a revelation! Who can be discouraged for the end, when this is once spoken!
He confirms the Angels word. The Angel of the Lord had said, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
Jehovah says: These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head.
There is always an agreement between the Angel of the Lord and Jehovah;perfect accord between Jesus and Jehovah. Christ distinctly affirms with reference to His revelation, I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
In every revelation it is equally true that He and His Father are one. And now they are in agreement that the oppressors of Gods people shall themselves be oppressed and destroyed.
It is said of Hannibal that his strange conviction of being an angel of the gods to destroy his countrys enemies was with him day and night. He once told Silenus that in his sleep he felt that the supreme god of his fathers had called him into the presence of all the gods of Carthage who were sitting on their thrones in council, and gave him the solemn charge to invade Italy; and one of the council went with him, and with his army, to guide him on the way. As he went on, this Divine One commanded him See that thou look not behind. But after a while unable to bear the restraint, he looked back and there he beheld a huge monster before which orchards and houses fell crashing. He asks his god in wonder what this is, and the god answers, Thou hast seen the desolation of Italy. Go on thy way straight forward and the gods will uphold-thee.
And the man who looks into Zechariahs vision and listens to the Words of Jehovah, sees the desolation of the four great nations,the oppressors of Gods people. We ought to see another thing, namely,
The sure deliverance of Gods own. Ah, beloved, as God has raised up powers to fray and terrify and cast down the nations that have maltreated His people in the past, so God will continue to preserve His people against the might of the oppressor. Yea, even against the hand of that great oppressor described in Revelation twenty as the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan. There is deliverance for Gods people from him, Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. He shall be kept in the hollow of the Divine hand. The enemy shall in no wise hurt him. He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. What a blessed thought!
How many souls there are who say they would like to be Christians but they are afraid they would fail, they would be taken captive again by the adversary. But to all such timorous ones God answers, Come unto Me. And to him who comes He says, Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee: yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness (Isa 41:10). Speaking through Jude He affirms that He is able to keep [us] from falling.
Oh, to have such a Keeper! Friends, that is the ground of my confidence: that is also the ground of my appeal to you to-night to give yourself over to God without fear, knowing that His infinite power can preserve you from all danger, from all harm; can keep you from falling, present you faultless:
And, though the world with devils filled,
Shall threaten to undo us;
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His Truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him!
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
SECOND VISION.THE FOUR HORNS AND THE FOUR SMITHS (Zec. 1:18-21).
(18) Horns.The horn is a symbol of power and hostility. The four horns denote the heathen nations which had oppressed them.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The second vision the four horns and the four smiths, Zec 1:18-21 (in Hebrew, Zec 2:1-4).
In the second vision the prophet beholds four horns. Upon inquiry he is told by his companion that these horns symbolize the nations that have scattered the Jews. He also sees four smiths, who, he is informed, represent the divinely appointed agents to execute judgment upon the hostile nations. The first vision announces, on the one hand, the return of Jehovah to Zion; on the other, the divine wrath against the nations. These two aspects of the first vision are expanded in visions two and three respectively. The second pictures the execution of judgment upon Israel’s enemies; the third, the blessings to be enjoyed by Jerusalem and Judah.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18. Then lifted I up mine eyes Introduces a new vision (Zec 2:1; Zec 5:1; Zec 6:1). If all the visions came in one night they must have followed one another in rapid succession.
Four horns It is useless to speculate as to whether these horns belonged to one, two, or four animals, for that does not affect the symbolism. Horn is a symbol of power (Amo 6:13; Mic 4:13; Jer 48:25); four indicates the four points of the compass; the four horns represent powers approaching from the four points of the compass. This does not mean, however, that the enemies actually approached or were expected to approach from four directions; the expression is used in the more general sense of every direction or all directions. From all sides enemies crowded upon the Jews during the postexilic period; all these are to be overthrown. Some have supposed that Zechariah has in mind four definite powers, either the Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Greeks, Romans, or the Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians. In view of Zec 1:19; Zec 1:21, which indicate that the enemies are enemies of the past, the Greeks and Romans cannot be meant. The first interpretation, which leaves the enemies unidentified, is to be preferred. 19. The prophet turns for an explanation to the interpreting angel, who replies that the four horns represent the powers that have been hostile toward the Jews.
Judah The southern kingdom.
Israel The northern kingdom.
Jerusalem Mentioned on account of its special sanctity as the earthly dwelling place of Jehovah. In the corresponding passage in Zec 1:21 only Judah is mentioned, which has led many to suppose that in this verse the other names are a later addition.
In Zec 1:20 a new feature is introduced.
Carpenters R.V., “smiths”; A.V. follows LXX.; literally, workmen, artificers. The term is used of workers in wood as well as in iron or stone. If the horns are thought of as made of iron (Mic 4:13) smith is the more suitable translation. The smiths may have had their hammers in their hands, ready to strike. 21.
He The interpreting angel, whose duty it was to explain the symbolism to the prophet. According to his interpretation the four smiths represent the agents who are divinely appointed to execute judgment upon the nations.
No man did lift up his head The people were completely overwhelmed.
Fray R.V., “terrify.” Throw in a state of alarm (2Sa 17:2).
Cast out [“down”] the horns A picture of utter destruction (compare Amo 3:14). Who the powers are that Jehovah will use to execute his judgment Upon the hostile nations is not stated. It is enough to assure the despondent community that the judgment will be executed.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Second Vision. The Vision of the Horns and the Smiths ( Zec 1:18-21 ).
God will now pare back the horns that have been directed at Jerusalem. The message is that although Israel and Judah have both been scattered, together with the men and women of Jerusalem, by a number of kings, now those nations themselves will be pared back.
Zec 1:18-19
‘And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold four horns. And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?”. And he answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem”.’
The prophet sees four horns. The horn is the means by which the wild beast exercises its authority. Thus the horns indicate the nations who are seen as powerful wild beasts in violent activity. Four denotes universality, the nations seen as a whole. They are world aggressors, exacting their authority.
‘Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.’ By this he depicts the whole people of God. The threeness denotes completeness before God. No part of His people have been finally rejected. Note again that the terms refer to the people. God is not concerned with places except in so far as they benefit His people.
Zec 1:20-21
‘And YHWH showed me four smiths. Then I said, “What have these come to do?” And he spoke saying, “These are the horns which scattered Judah so that no man lifted up his head. But these are come to fray (or terrify) them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.” ’
With powerful use of their horns the nations have scattered Judah into exile, but now God’s divine instruments will act against the horns, like workmen fraying horns, so that they are rendered powerless. Then it is the nations who will be terrified because God has acted against them on behalf of His people. The smiths thus represent whatever resources God brings against the nations, including angelic ones.
‘No man lifted up his head.’ Every head was bowed down. They had been miserable times for His people. But God now wants them to know that He had not overlooked it, He has not forgotten them.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Vision of the Four Horns and the Four Smiths
v. 18. Then, v. 19. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? v. 20. And the Lord showed me four carpenters, v. 21. Then said I,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Zec 1:18. Behold, four horns In this second vision, under the emblem of four horns, is represented, that God, by such agents as he would appoint, would quell and bring down all those powers which had risen, or should rise, to oppress his people. Horns are an usual emblem of strength and power; and because those fierce beasts that have them, push and gore with them, and, tossing them furiously about, scatter and drive all before them, they aptly denote conquering and oppressive princes and states. See Daniel 7; Daniel 8. But whether the number four is used indefinitely, or to denote that specific number, and, if the latter, what particular Powers are pointed out by it, is a question that has been much agitated, but not satisfactorily determined. Several quaternions have been named, but with no other effect than to make the matter more doubtful. The most ancient and prevailing opinion among the Jews themselves, and perhaps the most probable of any, is, that the four great empires, the Assyrian or Babylonian, the Persian, Grecian, and Roman, which most certainly were alluded to by the four beasts in the seventh chapter of Daniel, and I think are designed by the four chariots in the last of these eight visions, chap. 6: are here likewise intended; by each of which the Jewish nation has been in turns oppressed, and all of them have been successively brought down, and annihilated; although from the depression of the last the Jews have not as yet apparently derived any considerable advantage.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
VISION II. THE FOUR HORNS AND FOUR SMITHS
Zec 1:18-21
A. Four Horns which scattered the People of God (Zec 1:18-19). B. Four Smiths which cast down these Horns (Zec 1:20-21)
1819 And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns. And I said to the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. 20 And Jehovah showed me four smiths. 21 And I said, What come these to do? And he said thus,22 These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that23 no man lifted up his head, but these are come to terrify them, to cast out24 the horns of the nations which lifted up the horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
This vision carries forward the assurance given in the one before it, by showing the provision made for repelling the foes of the covenant people.
Zec 1:18. I lifted up my eyes. After seeing the first vision, the Prophet had sunk down in meditation. Again he raises his eyes, and behold, four horns. The horn is a common Scriptural symbol of strength, and in the prophecies usually represents a kingdom or political power. Do these four horns refer to just so many kings or empires which oppressed the covenant people? Not a few expositors answer in the affirmative, but they differ widely in the designation of these opposing powers. Cyril names Pul, Salmaneser, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar; Grotius, the Persian Kings, Alexander, Antiochus, and Ptolemy; Pressel, Assyria, Chalda, Egypt, and Persia; but the greater number refer to the four great empires predicted by Daniel, so Jerome; Kimchi, Hengstenberg, Keil, Baumgarten, Wordsworth. It is not a sufficient objection to this last view, to say with Henderson and Khler, that of these powers two were not in existence at this time, and cannot have been spoken of, because the hostility described in the vision had already taken place; for the vision might very well have included the future as well as the past. A more serious objection is that each of these destroyed its predecessor, whereas in the vision the smiths are represented as distinct from the horns. And besides, neither the Persian nor Alexander were enemies of the Jews. It is better, therefore, with the majority of interpreters (Theodoret, Calvin, Umbreit, Hitzig, Maurer, Khler), to refer the number four to the cardinal points of the compass, and thus make it include all possible enemies. As a matter of fact the people of God had enemies on all sides, the Assyrian, Chaldean, and Samaritan on the north, the Egyptian on the south, Philistines on the west, and Moabites and Ammonites on the east. These foes scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, i. e., the twelve tribes in their completeness, with special mention for the sake of emphasis, of the capital city. The objection to this founded upon the lack of before the last substantive (Keil) is of no force, as that sign of the definite object may be inserted or omitted at pleasure, Deu 12:6 (Green H. G., 270 b).
Zec 1:20. The Prophet saw four smiths. The LXX. render , , whence our E. V., carpenters. The Vulgate gives fabri, which corresponds exactly to the Hebrew, but in view of the work assigned to these persons, most expositors render the term smiths. No man lifted up his head=all were in an utterly prostrate condition. To scatter it=its inhabitants. The four smiths simply express the various powers which God raises up and employs to overthrow the agencies which are hostile to his people. There is no indication in the passage itself what these powers are, and there seems to be no need to seek information elsewhere. The point of the entire vision lies in the coincidence of the numbers of the horns and the smiths. For every horn there was a smith to beat it down. The Church then could rest calmly in the assurance that every hostile power that rose in opposition should be judged and destroyed by the Lord. The primary reference was of course to the work of the Jews in restoring the city and completing the Temple, but this did not exhaust the meaning of this very simple but significant symbol. It had as wide a sweep as the corresponding verbal statement of Isaiah (Isa 54:17), No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. Zions God controls all persons and powers and events; and through the long tract of the Churchs history it will be seen that for every evil there is a remedy, and for every enemy a deliverer. The horn will arise and do its work, but the smith will also appear and do his work.
It is worthy of observation that what the angel in Zec 1:19 calls Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, he calls in Zec 1:21 simply Judah. So that here is a clear and indubitable proof, in the first part of the Book whose post-exile origin is unquestioned, that Israel is used, not to denote distinctively the northern kingdom, but merely to round out the view of what was left of the entire covenant people after the restoration. This bears upon the similar use of Israel and Ephraim in the second part of these prophecies.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The Church of God on earth exists in the midst of conflict. There always have appeared horns which attempt to scatter it. A halcyon period sometimes is found like that mentioned in Act 9:31, Then had the Churches [true text, Church] rest throughout all Juda and Galilee and Samaria, but its normal state is that of a struggle against numerous and mighty foes. The Saviour came not to send peace on earth but a sword. The carnal mind is enmity with God, and the flashing of truth upon an unregenerate conscience must needs provoke wrath. Hence the bloody tracks which so often occur in the records of the past. There has never been any considerable period since our Lords ascension, in which persecution of his followers has not existed in some quarter of the earth. Even now it is found in the remote east, in the Turkish Empire and in the Baltic Provinces of Russia. True believers are tossed on the horns of furious foes. Their course lies through a storm to the haven, through a battle to the crown. Let them not count it a strange thing when even a fiery trial befalls them. Such an experience belongs to the fixed purpose of God.
2. Conflict does not mean defeat. The very same voice which announces the gory horn, sets forth the agency which is to crush it. The character of this agency varies indefinitely. One horn may be used to destroy another horn, or a totally different instrument may be employed, but in either case the result is the same. Such an equilibrium between assault and defense is maintained that the Church is indestructible. One heathen ruler persecuted, another protected and restored. So in the conflicts of the early Church and of the Reformation, for every formidable horn there was found an equally formidable smith. Thus, too, in the organized attacks of Deism, Rationalism, and Scientific Atheism, at first the air was filled with the shouts of victory, but the rejoicing was premature. In every instance, the head of the Church raised up, sometimes in an unexpected quarter, a workman who needed not to be ashamed, who successfully vindicated the old truth and put to flight the armies of the alien.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Jay: We see from this that the friends of Zion are as numerous as her foes; that her defense is equal to her danger; and that as the state of his people requires it, the Lord will seasonably raise up means and instruments for their succor and deliverance. The assurance may be derived from four principles: the love of God; the power of God; the faithfulness of God; the conduct of God. In the first we see that He must be inclined to appear for them as they are infinitely dear to Him. In the second, we see that He is able to do it. In the third, that He is engaged to do it, and his promise cannot be broken. In the fourth, that He always has done it, Scripture, history, and experience being witness.
Then let the world forbear their rage,
The Church renounce her fear;
Israel must live through every age,
And be the Almightys care.
Calvin: The Prophet by asking the angel (Zec 1:19), sets before us the example of a truly teachable disposition. Tough the Lord does not immediately explain his messages, there is no reason for us disdainfully to reject what is obscure as many do in our day, who complain that Gods Word is ambiguous and extremely difficult. The Prophet although perplexed did not morosely turn away, but asked the angel. And though the angels are not nigh us or at least do not visibly appear, yet God can by other means afford us help when it is needed. He promises to give the Spirit of understanding and wisdom. If then, we do not neglect the word and sacraments, and especially if we ask for the guidance of the Spirit, there is nothing obscure or intricate in the prophecies which He will not make known so far as is necessary.
Footnotes:
[22]Zec 1:21. is not an absolute nominative which would require a different construction, but to be rendered just as the same phrase is in Zec 1:19.
[23]Zec 1:21, supply =so that. This is a rare use of the form, but it is allowed by nearly all critics.
[24]Zec 1:21. Prof. Cowles says that this word has the sense cast down to the ground, but none of the instances of its use (Jer 50:14; Lam 3:53, etc.) will bear a stronger sense than cast or cast out.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
“Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. (19) And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
Probably (but I do not determine) by these four horns as they are said to have scattered, Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, may be meant those four kingdoms which did indeed sadly afflict the Lord’s Church; that is the Chaldean, the Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman; thus extending to the time of Christ’s coming.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Zec 1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
Ver. 18. Then I lift up mine eyes, and saw ] That is, I gave good heed to this second vision also; which was added purposely for confirmation of the former promises; which should be certainly accomplished to the Church, notwithstanding her many and mighty enemies. Horns they are called for their might and mischievousness; by a metaphor, a feris cornupetis, from fierce beasts, whose strength and wrath lie in their horns; or else from warriors, who wore iron horns upon their helmets.
And behold four horns
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Zec 1:18-21
18Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. 19So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, What are these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem. 20Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. 21I said, What are these coming to do? And he said, These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.
Zec 1:18 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked See note at Zec 1:8. In the Masoretic Hebrew text Zec 1:18 Isa 2:1 (cf. NJB).
four horns Horns are symbolic of (1) power or (2) nations (cf. Jer 48:25; Eze 48:25; Amo 6:13; and Dan 8:3). The number four seems to be the number of the world (i.e., four horses of Zec 1:8 and the four winds of Zec 2:10). Some say that this refers to the kingdoms of Daniel, chapters 2 and 7 (Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome), but I believe that, in context, understanding world kingdoms that affect the Promised Land would be more appropriate.
Zec 1:19 the angel who was speaking with me Angelic mediation (cf. Zec 1:9) is one characteristic of apocalyptic literature, as is the use of symbolic numbers (cf. Zec 1:18) and colors (cf. Zec 1:8).
These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem These horns (BDB 901) represent the world powers that God used to judge His people (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon), but now God will judge them because of their excessively harsh treatment (cf. Zec 1:15; Psa 75:4-5).
This list of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem is surprising in that Israel is usually listed first when speaking about the divided monarchy. If these refer to the two Jewish kingdoms formed after 922 B.C., why list the capital of Judah without the capital of Israel (i.e., Samaria)? It may be best to understand all three as collective terms for the people of God (only Judah is mentioned in Zec 1:21).
Zec 1:20
NASB, NKJVcraftsmen
NRSVblacksmiths
TEVworkers with hammers
NJBsmiths
God’s creative power is seen in His use of four craftsmen (BDB 360) versus the destructive power of human government seen in the metaphor of four animal horns. It is uncertain if the craftsmen reflect artisans or workmen. Exactly what they do to the horns is unspecified, but they do change them and negate their power.
Zec 1:21 so that no man lifts up his head This is an idiom of defeat and rejection. Notice the repeat of the term lift up (BDB 669, KB 724). God’s agents will reverse the roles, the scattering horns will be defeated and the defeated Jews’ countenance will be lifted up!
There may be a word play on the phrase throw down (BDB 392), which can mean in the Hiphil, give thanks or in the Piel cast down. The horns who wanted to cast down the people of God are now the focus of the praise and thanksgiving of the people to God for the nations’ defeat.
to scatter The terms scatter (BDB 279, KB 280, Piel PERFECT of Zec 1:19; Zec 1:21[twice]) and gather were often used in the Ancient Near East as metaphors for the well being of nations based on the activity of their gods. In the Bible it is YHWH who allowed His people to be scattered, but He will protect them and gather them again.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. Why is Zechariah’s father omitted in the list of priests in Zec 1:1, but present in Ezr 5:1; Ezr 6:14; Neh 12:4; Neh 12:16?
2. Define the Hebrew word shub or return.
3. Who is the man riding on a red horse in Zec 1:8?
4. What is the significance of the colored horses in Zec 1:8?
5. Why is the angel upset in Zec 1:12?
6. What is the significance of Zec 1:15 in our understanding of the exile?
7. How does Zec 1:16 fit the historical setting of Haggai and Zechariah?
8. Explain the significance of horns in the OT.
9. Who do the horns represent?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
four horns: “horns” being put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), App-6, for the Gentile (Zec 1:21) powers signified by thorn.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Zec 1:18-21
A VISION OF FOUR HORNS AND SMITHS
Zec 1:18-21
Zechariahs second vision is also a vision of restoration. What the four horns have scattered, the four smiths will re-unite.
The horn is a frequently used symbol for the military might of a nation or a ruler. To a pastoral people, the horn of the lead ram lends itself quite naturally to such symbolism. In this case, the four horns refer to the four powers who had had a hand in the scattering of both the northern and southern kingdoms.
Zerr: Horns (Zec 1:18) in symbolic language means governments or other powers. The four that are mentioned here are the same as the four living creatures of Eze 1:5-6, meaning the four world empires beginning with the Babylonian. The angel explained that the four governments were the ones that had scattered the Lord’s people (Zec 1:19). That does not mean that all four of them had a hand in the affair, for two of them were yet in the future when Zechariah was writing. But the four were considered as a unit because they represented the powers that were to be permanently removed from among mankind. And all of them had one characteristic in common, that of absolute domination over people who had a right to be free. It was this phase of them that prompted Babylon to oppress Israel. but the entire regime was destined to be overthrown by the means to be described shortly,
Assyria, of course, as the destroyer of the northern kingdom, answers to the first of these horns. Babylon, who actually smote Judah, and Egypt, upon whom the Jews had depended for protection from Babylon, are easily seen as the second and third powers involved in their scattering.
It is a bit more difficult to account for the fourth horn. Traditionally the commentators have divided into three schools of thought on the matter. Some have said that the four horns are Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, and the Medo-Persians. Assyria and Babylon are obvious. Egypt is understandable since their failure to provide the protection for which Judah had entered into an alliance with her contributed to the scattering of the people.
The difficulty lies with the Medo-Persians. It was this empire which overthrew the Babylonians and opened the way for the return from exile. It was first Cyrus and later Darius, rulers of the Medo-Persian kingdom, who issued the edicts permitting the return and allowing the rebuilding. It seems highly unlikely, therefore, that this power should be included among those who scattered Judah.
The second school of thought among the commentators indicates that the number four is figurative of the four points of the compass. The powers therefore would be: to the north the Assyrians, Chaldeans and Samaritans; to the south Egypt and Arabia; to the east Ammon and Moab, and to the west Philistia. To see this interpretation of the four horns requires the ignoring of the historic relationships among the powers indicated.
The third hypothesis presented is that the first two horns were Babylon and the Medo-Persians. The third and fourth powers had at the time of Zechariah not yet risen. These would be the Graeco-Macedonians under Alexander and the Roman Empire. This interpretation results from an attempt to force Zechariah into the mold of Daniel, chapters two and seven, where four powers are predicted prior to the coming of the Messianic kingdom.
This view presents many difficulties, not the least of which is the previously mentioned fact that the Medo-Persians are historically cast in the role of deliverer and protector of the remnant rather than among the scatterers of Judah and Jerusalem.
If we will examine the pre-exilic history of Judahs neighbors, we will discover a fourth, almost forgotten power. Prior to the rather confusing shift of alliances which finally produced the Medo-Persian empire, the Medes had themselves been a power to be reckoned with in the middle east. It was they who warred against Assyria, finally destroying the capital city of Nineveh and swept across western Asia to the gates of Sardis.
Within a generation after having destroyed Nineveh, the Median empire came to an end. Its tenure was short, so short in fact that it contributed little to the rise of civilization as we know it. The exploits of Tiglath-Pileser and later of Sargon write a brief but bloody chapter in ancient history.
It was Sargon who placed several Israelites in the cities of Media (cf. 2Ki 17:6; 2Ki 17:24), thus contributing to the scattering of Gods people.
It was under Cyaxares that the Median confederation reached the zenith of its brief power. Nobopalassar, the satrap of Chaldea joined Cyaxares in an alliance against Assyria and his daughter was given as wife to Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who scattered Judah and Jerusalem.
The Medes later, under the corrupt influence of Cyaxares successor son, became weakened to the point that they were easy prey for the rising power of Cyrus the Persian who annexed Media to form the Medo-Persian empire.
The horns of Zechariah are then, in my opinion, Assyria, Egypt, Media and Babylon. The four pre-exilic powers who contributed to the scattering of both Israel and Judah.
(Zec 1:20-21) The Septuagint has artificers where our text (the Revised Version) has smiths. The King James translators render the word carpenters. The idea in the word itself seems to be those who are skilled in demolition.
Zerr: Zec 1:20. Carpenters is from CHARAS which Strong defines, “A fabricator of any material.” The word has a wide range at meaning and this place is used in reference to some forces that were to erect something in the place of these four horns that had scattered Judah. for they were to be destroyed and replaced by the carpenters’ work. The pronoun these in Zec 1:21 is used three times but for different nouns. The first and third refer to the carpenters of the preceding verse, while the second means the four horns that had scattered Judah. The carpenters had come to fray (subdue and destroy) the four horns, In other words, the four world empires were to come to an end , and within their territory and upon their ruins these new builders were to erect another kind of structure. The whole passage Zec 1:18-21, is a prediction with the same meaning as Dan 2:44. That prophecy assures the world that the four world empires were to come to an end and at the same time the God of Heaven would set up a kingdom that was to stand forever. The work of settling in that kingdom was to be accomplished through the agency of these carpenters which would be fulfilled by the labors of the apostles of Christ.
In Zechariahs second vision he is perplexed and asks what come these to do? The answer indicates that these four skillful workers are come to destroy the four powers who had scattered Judah and conquered the holy land.
In a figure the Lord promises the prophet that the world powers would be broken, indeed the Assyrians, Egyptians, Medes and Babylonians were already broken. The Medo-Persians, Greeks and Romans each fell in turn, God is ruler over human history. The nations He raises up He has also the power to pull down.
One reason the returned Jews were so hesitant to begin rebuilding was that they feared their neighbors. Rehum and Shimshai and other Samaritans opposed the building of the temple (Ezr 4:8). Sanballat and Tobiah and the Ammonites and Arabians opposed the building of the wall (Neh 4:7). The prophet must reassure the people that God will pull down any power which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it. The time has come to build and Jehovah will brook no interferences.
Questions
A Vision of Four Horns and Smiths
1. Describe Zechariahs second vision.
2. The horn is frequently used to symbolize _____________________.
3. Who are the horns?
4. Why is the fourth horn harder to identify?
5. Why would the Medo-Persian empire not likely be included among those who scattered Judah?
6. To see the horns as representing the four points of the compass requires one to ignore __________________.
7. Discuss the difficulties in the third hypothesis listed above, in which the commentators attempt to force the four horns into the mold of Daniel.
8. Who is the fourth, almost forgotten, power involved in the pre-exilic history of Judah?
9. Discuss the term smiths in Zec 1:20-21.
10. Why did the returning Jews hesitate to attempt the building of the temple
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the Redemption of Jerusalem
Zec 1:18-21; Zec 2:1-13
The work of Temple-building had ceased for fifteen years and the new resolve to arise and build might meet with a similar fate. But the four horns met with four carpenters. For Babylon the carpenter was Cyrus; for Persia, Alexander the Great; for Greece, the Roman; for Rome, the Gaul. No weapon that is formed to thwart Gods purposes can prosper. The young man with the measuring line embodied the new spirit animating the returned exiles. But God was intending to give more prosperity and increase than could be contained in walls.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
horn
A “horn” is the symbol of a Gentile king Dan 7:24; Rev 17:12 and the vision is of the four world empires; Dan 2:36-44; Dan 7:3-7 which have “scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem” (Zec 1:19)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
lifted: Zec 2:1, Zec 5:1, Zec 5:5, Zec 5:9, Jos 5:13, Dan 8:3
four: 2Ki 15:29, 2Ki 17:1-6, 2Ki 18:9-12, 2Ki 24:1 – 2Ki 25:30, Dan 2:37-43, Dan 7:3-8, Dan 8:3-14, Dan 11:28-35
Reciprocal: 1Ki 22:11 – horns of iron 2Ch 18:10 – horns of iron Amo 8:2 – Amos Mic 5:5 – then Zec 6:1 – four Rev 7:1 – four angels Rev 17:12 – the ten
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Zec 1:18. Horns in symbolic language means governments or other powers. The four that are mentioned here are the same as the four living creatures of Eze 1:5-6, meaning the four world empires beginning with the Babylonian.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Zec 1:18-21. Then, behold, four horns Horns often signify the power of princes or people, the metaphor being taken from those cattle whose strength lies in their horns. The horns here mentioned denote the powers which had scattered Israel and Judah, or that should scatter them, as a bull, in his fury, tosses into the air whatever opposes him. It is uncertain whether the number four is here used indefinitely, or to denote that specific number; and if the latter, what particular powers are pointed out by it. Calmet supposes the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Persians, and Egyptians. But the most ancient and prevailing opinion among the Jews themselves, and perhaps the most probable of any, is, that the four great empires, the Assyrian, or Babylonian, the Persian, Grecian, and Roman, are intended; namely, the empires alluded to by the four beasts, Daniel 7. By each of these the Jewish nation hath been in turns oppressed, and all of them have been successively brought down and annihilated; although, from the depression of the last, the Jews have not as yet apparently derived any considerable advantage. Blayney. The Lord showed me four carpenters Or workmen, as Bishop Newcome renders the word, observing, Vitringa supposes that the horns were iron, and that these were fabri ferrarii malleis dolabris que intructi, blacksmiths furnished with hammers and axes. Then said I, What come these to do? He inquires not who or what they were, but what was their business and design. And he spake, (or said,) These are the horns In order to satisfy the inquiry of the prophet, the angel first points to the four horns, mentioned Zec 1:18-19, as if he had said, See, there are four horns, which have scattered Judah. The LXX. add, , and have broken Israel. Instead of which addition the Arabic has, and destroyed Jerusalem. So that no man did lift up his head No one had either strength or courage to make any resistance: so dispirited and dejected were all the people. But these are come to fray them These are principal commanders, or powers, raised up by God to dismay and deter them. To cast out the horns of the Gentiles To break, or cast down, the power of these nations; which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah Who employed their strength, and used all possible efforts, to hinder the Jewish people from flourishing again in Judea. Observe, reader, in what way soever the church is threatened with mischief, and whatever opposition is given to its interests, God can find out ways and means to check the force, or restrain the wrath of its enemies, and make it turn to his praise.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Zec 1:18-21. The four horns which have scattered Judah and Jerusalem (Israel should probably be omitted) represent the whole world arrayed against Judah, and are perhaps iron horns like those made by Zedekiah (1Ki 22:11); hence smiths are introduced to shatter them.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
1:18 Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold {r} four horns.
(r) Which signifies all the enemies of the Church: east, west, north, and south.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
B. The four horns and the four smiths 1:18-21
The second vision elaborates the concept of comfort promised in the first vision (Zec 1:13; Zec 1:17). Here we learn how God will execute His anger against the nations that excessively oppressed His people. The nations will meet with retribution, and Israel will triumph over her foes.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Zec 1:18 begins chapter 2 in the Hebrew Bible. Zechariah then saw another scene in his vision. He observed four animal horns. Presumably they were on living animals since they could feel terror (Zec 1:21), though there is no mention of animals. Horns were a common figure for power in biblical and ancient Near Eastern iconography, specifically, of a Gentile king or world empire (e.g., Deu 33:17; Psa 18:2; Psa 75:10; Psa 89:17; Dan 2:36-44; Dan 7:3-7; Dan 7:24; Dan 8:20-21; Rev 17:12).