Zechariahchapter 4
14 verses · Zechariah · 520 to 518 BC · The Twelve
Key verse
And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
It stands in A golden lampstand and two olive trees, verses 1 to 5.
The chapter
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
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.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
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
Where the chapter sits
Zechariah 4 falls in Eight night visions and the crown (chapters 1–6). The horses among the myrtle trees; the measuring line; Joshua the high priest and the Branch; the lampstand and the two olive trees; the flying scroll; the ephah; the four chariots; the royal-priestly crown.
The lampstand and olive trees. ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit.’
After it: Fasts and future, chapters 7–8.
The whole shape of Zechariah→The structure of this chapter
People1
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A. A golden lampstand and two olive trees
1. (vv. 1-3)
Zechariah 4:1
“And the angel that talked with me,.... See Zec 1:9, came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep; into which he fell, after he had had the former vision; see Dan 8:18.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Zechariah 4:1
“It seems, though he was in conference with an angel, and about matters of great and public concern, yet he grew dull and fell asleep, as it should seem, while the angel was yet talking with him. Thus the disciples, when they saw Christ transfigured, were heavy with sleep, Luke ix.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Zechariah 4:2
“A candlestick all of gold - This candlestick is formed in some measure after that of the sanctuary, Exo 25:31, Exo 25:32: but in that of the sanctuary there was no bowl, nor seven pipes, nor seven lamps, nor the two olive trees. The two olive trees were to supply the bowl with oil; the bowl was to communicate the oil to the seven pipes; and the seven pipes were to supply the seven lamps.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 4:2
“The Hebrew implies that it was the fountain of supply of oil to the lamps. Christ at the head ("on the top") of the Church is the true fountain, of whose fulness of the Spirit all we receive grace (Joh 1:16). his seven lamps--united in one stem; so in Ex 25:32.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Zechariah 4:3
“The Holy Spirit in this His twofold power of applying to man the grace of the atonement, and that of sanctification, must in one point of view be meant by the two olive trees which supply the bowl at the top of the candlestick (that is, Messiah at the head of the Church); for it is He who filled Jesus with all the fulness of His unction (Joh 3:34).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Zechariah 4:3
“Two olive-trees by it - All which is an emblem of the church, made of pure gold; to be a light in the world; to shine as lamps that continually burn, maintained with pure oil, distilled from the olive-trees, not pressed out by man, but continually, abundantly, and freely flowing from God.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Zechariah 4:3
“Zechariah shows that the olive shadows forth the law of Moses, speaking thus: "And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, and said to me, 'What do you see?'”
Methodius of Olympus· written before 311· BANQUET OF THE TEN VIRGINS 10:6patristic
waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep: The angel returns and rouses the prophet as a man is roused from sleep, and what he sees is a lampstand of gold with a bowl on top feeding oil through seven pipes to seven lamps, with two olive trees standing beside it. The bench reads the lampstand as the tabernacle's own menorah, the church or the covenant people cast as a light bearer, but here supplied automatically from living trees rather than by a priest's hand pouring oil in morning by morning. Keil takes the bowl and pipes as a continuous, self-feeding supply, the picture the vision builds toward before the angel ever explains it.
2. (vv. 4-5)
Zechariah 4:4
“The angel lets the prophet know, in general, that this vision was designed to illustrate a word which the Lord had to say to Zerubbabel, to encourage him to go on with the building of the temple. Let him know that he is a worker together with God in it, and that it is a work which God will own and crown.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 4:4
Osorius: “Awakened from his state of sleep, even thus the prophet seemed slowly to understand what was shown him. He asks then of the instructing angel. The angel, almost amazed, asks if he knowns it not, and when he plainly declares his ignorance, makes clear the enigma of the vision.”
Zechariah 4:5
“Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me,.... Either to upbraid him with his ignorance and stupidity; or rather to quicken his attention, and that of others, to the interpretation of it he was about to give him: Knowest thou not what these be? art thou ignorant of the design of them? or knowest thou not what is meant by them? and I said, No, my lord; he made an ingenuous confession of his ignorance, joined with great respect unto, and veneration of, the angel that conversed with him.”
So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me: Zechariah asks the plain question, what are these, and the angel answers with a question of his own, knowest thou not what these be, the same pattern the vision repeats twice more before the chapter ends. Gill reads the prophet's confessed ignorance as the vision's own teaching method, drawing the meaning out of him rather than simply handing it over, the way Daniel's visions are also opened by an interpreting angel rather than left plain on their face.
B. Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit
1. (vv. 6-7)
Zechariah 4:6
“This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel - This prince was in a trying situation, and he needed especial encouragement from God; and here it is: Not by might, (of thy own), nor by power, (authority from others), but by my Spirit - the providence, authority, power, and energy of the Most High. In this way shall my temple be built; in this way shall my Church be raised and preserved.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Zechariah 4:6
“This word - Is particularly designed to him, and in an emblem prefigures what a church it is, how precious, how full of light, how maintained by God himself.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Zechariah 4:7
“Messiah is not only the "Author," but also the Finisher (Heb 12:2). "Grace" is ascribed "unto it," that is, the stone, Messiah. Hence the benediction begins, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" (2Co 13:14).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel: The angel's answer lands on the sentence the whole vision was built to deliver: not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. The temple's completion, against a governor's small resources and a province's real opposition, is set down as the Spirit's own work rather than an army's or a treasury's, and the mountain of obstacles becomes a plain before Zerubbabel on that word alone. Henry reads the headstone brought forth with shouting, grace, grace unto it, as the finished building's own doxology, the last stone raised amid acclaim precisely because the whole work was grace from its foundation.
2. (vv. 8-9)
Zechariah 4:8
“And the word of the Lord - Keil: “This word of the Lord is not addressed through ‘the interpreting angel,’ but direct from the Lord, and that through the ‘Angel of the Lord’ .”
Zechariah 4:9
“Zerubbabel shall himself bring forth the head-stone with shoutings, and loud acclamations of joy, among the spectators. The acclamations are not huzzas, but Grace, grace; that is the burden of the triumphant songs which the church sings. It may be taken, (1.) As magnifying free grace, and giving to that all the glory of what is done.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me: A second word confirms the first: the hands that laid the foundation shall also finish the house, the same builder from start to close. Zechariah is given the sign as his own credential, that Zerubbabel's finished temple will prove to the people that the Lord of hosts sent this prophet, the fulfillment itself standing as the seal on the word.
3. (v. 10)
Zechariah 4:10
“Who hath despised the day of small things? - The poverty, weakness, and unbefriended state of the Jews. It was said, “What do these feeble Jews?” “Will they build,” etc.? No. But God will build by them, and perfect his building too. And shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel - He is master builder under God, the grand architect.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Zechariah 4:10
“For who hath despised - In the work of God, the day of small things is not to be despised. God often chuses weak instruments, to bring about mighty things: and tho' the beginnings be small, he can make the latter end greatly to increase.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Zechariah 4:10
“ZECHARIAH was engaged in the building of the Temple. When its foundations were laid, it struck everybody as being a very small edifice compared with the former glorious structure of Solomon. The friends of the enterprise lamented that it should be so small—the foes of it rejoiced and uttered strong expressions of contempt! Both friends and foes doubted whether, even on that small scale, the structure would ever be completed.”
Charles Spurgeon· written before 1892· The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3489: “Encouragement for the Depressed” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
who hath despised the day of small things?: The rebuke turns from the great mountain to the small stone: who has despised the day of small things, when the plummet, the mason's line, is back in Zerubbabel's hand and the slow work of rebuilding has actually resumed. The seven lamps of verse two are named again as the eyes of the Lord, running to and fro through the whole earth, the same watching providence Chronicles describes searching the land for a heart wholly given to him. Barnes reads the small beginning and the wide-ranging eyes together, the modest present work under the same watch that governs the whole earth.
C. The two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of all the earth
1. (vv. 11-12)
Zechariah 4:11
“Then answered I, and said unto him,.... To the angel that talked with him, Zec 4:1, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick, and upon the left side thereof? in Zec 4:2 they are said to be on each side of the bowl. The mystery of the candlestick being explained to Zechariah by the angel, the prophet desires to know the meaning of the two olive trees that were on the right and left of it, one on one side, and the other on the other side.”
2 more voices on this verse
Zechariah 4:11
“What are these two olive trees - See on Zec 4:2 (note).”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Zechariah 4:11
“6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the L ORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the L ORD of hosts. 7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Zechariah 4:12
“What are the two spikes of the olive? - Comparing the extreme branches of the olive-tree, laden with their fruit, to the ears of corn, which “were by or in the hand of the golden pipes, which empty forth the golden oil from themselves.” Zechariah’s expression, in the hand of or, if so be, by the hand of the two pipes, shows that these two were symbols of living agents, for it is nowhere, used except of a living agent, or of that which it personified as such.”
2 more voices on this verse
Zechariah 4:12
“Through the pipes - These were fastened to the bowl, on each side one, with a hole through the sides of the bowl, to let the oil that distilled from those olive-branches run into the bowl. Out of themselves - An emblem of supernatural grace; these branches filled from the true olive-tree, ever empty themselves, and are ever full; so are the gospel-ordinances.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Zechariah 4:12
“When we enquire concerning the grace of God, it must be rather as it is communicated to us by the fruitful boughs of the word and ordinances (for that is one of the things revealed, which belong to us and to our children ) than as it is resident in the good olive where all our springs are, for that is one of the secret things, which belong not to us.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
What are these two olive trees upon the right side: The prophet asks a second question the first exchange left open, pressing further into the two olive trees and then the two olive branches that empty golden oil out of themselves through golden pipes. Wesley notes the doubled question as the prophet's own persistence, unwilling to let the detail pass unexplained, since the trees supply the lamp without any human hand refilling it.
2. (vv. 13-14)
Zechariah 4:13
“And he answered me, and said,.... That is, the angel answered to the prophet's questions: Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord; See Gill on Zec 4:5.”
Zechariah 4:14
“These are the two anointed ones - Joshua, the high priest; and Zerubbabel the governor. These are anointed - appointed by the Lord; and stand by him, the one to minister in the ecclesiastical, the other in the civil state. Probably we may not be able to comprehend the whole of this hieroglyphical vision; for even the interpreting angel does not choose to answer the questions relative to this, which were put to him by the prophet. See Zec 4:4, Zec 4:11. But though the particulars are hard to be understood; yet the general meaning has, I hope, been given.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Zechariah 4:14
"These are the two candlesticks standing before the Lord of the earth." These two candlesticks and two olive trees He has to this end spoken of, and admonished you that if, when you have read of them elsewhere, you have not understood, you may understand here. For in Zechariah, one of the twelve prophets, it is thus written: "These are the two olive trees and two candlesticks which stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth; " that is, they are in paradise.
Victorinus of Pettau· written before 304· Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed Johnpatristic
Zechariah 4:14
“Then said he, These are the two anointed ones,.... Or "sons of oil" (t). Some think the gifts and graces of the Spirit are meant, which come from the God of all grace, remain with Christ, are given freely by him to the sons of God, and are always for the service of the church, and sufficient for it; others, Christ the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.”
Zechariah 4:14
“The two anointed ones - Christ and the Holy Spirit. The Son was to be sent by the Father, and so was the Holy Ghost. And they stand by him, ready to go.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not: The angel's final answer names the two olive trees plainly: these are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. Read in its own setting the pair is Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest, king's office and priest's office standing together and both supplied by the same Spirit rather than by their own strength, the very point verse six already made. Henry and later readers also note that Revelation 11:4 borrows this same picture of two olive trees and two lampstands for its own two witnesses, a connection the bench draws without turning Zechariah's vision into a direct prediction of that later scene.
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 →
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
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