Zechariah 6 Study Notes

6:1-8 The first and eighth visions functioned as bookends for the intervening visions and convey the same message: God is sovereign and is in control of the whole earth. However, there is a change of outcome between the two visions. While both picture four horses patrolling the earth, when the report came in the first vision that there was peace on earth, the angel asked a troubling question about the lack of peace in Jerusalem. Visions two through seven address this question. This eighth vision (vv. 1-8) provides the final resolution. God’s Spirit is pacified. Here as in 1:12, the angel is the angel of the Lord—often construed as a theophany.

6:1-3 The mountains . . . made of bronze may represent heaven or its gates since the chariots seem to originate there (v. 5).

6:5 The chariots are identified as the four spirits of heaven. The Hebrew term ruach can refer to spirit, breath, or wind (see note at 2:6). Combining both meanings—with the four winds denoting the four directions of the compass—the point is that God’s Spirit is present over the whole earth.

6:6-7 The horses going to the land of the north designate the nations that had destroyed Israel. The other direction in and out of Palestine was to the south. Thus the whole earth was patrolled.

6:8 Pacified my Spirit (or “my Spirit at rest”) may be an allusion to the seventh day of creation.

6:9-15 This passage concludes the first section of Zechariah, presenting three prerequisites for rebuilding the temple. (1) There will need to be harmony between the civil and priestly leadership. (2) Israelites who have not returned from captivity should lend their support. (3) Everyone will need to be obedient to God’s law.

6:10-11 The naming of specific individuals suggests that these are envoys representing Israelites still in exile in Babylon. Dedicating a memorial to them (v. 14) functioned as encouragement to those who had not returned. It was important to remain loyal to the homeland and to see themselves as part of God’s chosen people.

6:12-13 On Zerubbabel as the Branch, see the fourth vision (see note at 3:8-10; cp. Hg 2:23). Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel were previously identified as the key leaders in the building of the temple (see note at Zch 4:11-14; cp. Hg 2:2). Some see a reference to a messianic figure in this passage (see note at Zch 3:8-10).

6:15 People who are far off refers to exiles who had not returned but should have done so. Strengthening the call to return, God’s authority will be validated if they come back. When you fully obey the Lord your God is nearly an exact quote from Dt 28:1, which emphasizes contingency in the covenant. It also recalls Zechariah’s introduction (Zch 1:3-6).