Zechariahchapter 4
14 verses · BSBZechariah book hub →
Speaks with:Zechariah 4×5Zechariah 6×2Matthew 13×21 Corinthians 2×2Revelation 11×4Zechariah 1×2
Summary
Chapter summary
A golden lampstand with a bowl above it, seven lamps, seven pipes, and two olive-trees beside it feeding it oil without human hands. Zechariah asks what it means, and the answer is given for a governor rebuilding a temple with too few men and too little money: 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts' (4:6). The obstacle is addressed directly ('Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain') and the finish is guaranteed: the hands that laid the foundation shall also finish it. 'For who hath despised the day of small things?' The two olive-trees are the anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
Context
Prophecy · Zechariah — Zechariah overview
- A. 1–5 A golden lampstand and two olive trees
- B. 6–10 Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit
- C. 11–14 The two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of all the earth
The outline
A.A golden lampstand and two olive treesvv. 1 to 5
Read vv. 1 to 5 →B.Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spiritvv. 6 to 10
Read vv. 6 to 10 →C.The two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of all the earthvv. 11 to 14
Read vv. 11 to 14 →
The world behind this chapter
Zechariah 4The history
The lampstand is the temple lampstand — the seven-branched menorah that stood in the holy place and had to be tended with oil by the priests every day. Zechariah's version has an addition: a bowl on top and pipes running to the lamps, and two olive trees standing on either side feeding oil straight into it. It never needs a servant with a jar. The supply is plumbed in.
That is the whole message to Zerubbabel: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." He had neither might nor power. He was a provincial governor under Persian license, with a work crew, hostile neighbors, and a temple to finish.
The next promise is engineering language. The great mountain in front of Zerubbabel becomes a plain, and he brings out the headstone — the finishing stone — with shouting.
Then a line for anyone who has ever worked on something unimpressive: "who hath despised the day of small things?" The plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand is a builder's tool, used to check a wall is vertical. God says the people who sneered will be glad when they see it.
The two olive trees are called "the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth" — most naturally the priest and the governor of chapters 3 and 4, the two offices carrying the community.
What it meant to them
This is the chapter that got the temple finished. It reframed a stalled construction job as a lamp that runs on a supply the builders do not have to generate.
For a community outnumbered and underfunded, "not by might nor by power" was not a slogan about spirituality over practicality. It was a statement about where their actual resources were coming from.
Sources cited
- Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services (public domain)
- John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Zechariah 4. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Connections from this chapter
v. 3 · An echo of this verse
Zechariah's two olive trees flanking the lampstand -> Revelation's 'two olive trees... the two witnesses'.
Revelation 11:4→These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
public-domain quotation; G1636
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.