Zechariahchapter 6
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Speaks with:Zechariah 1×6Zechariah 3×3Revelation 6×3Hebrews 1×2Ephesians 1×1Daniel 8×1
Zechariah's Vision of Four Chariots — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Summary
Chapter summary
Four chariots come out from between two mountains of brass with red, black, white, and grisled horses ('these are the four winds of heaven, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth') and those that go north 'have quieted my spirit in the north country.' Then the visions stop and the prophet acts: take the silver and gold brought by the exiles, make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the high priest, a crown on a priest, which the law never allowed. 'Behold, the man whose name is the Branch… he shall build the temple of Jehovah… and he shall be a priest upon his throne' (6:12-13). King and priest in one person.
Context
Prophecy · Zechariah — Zechariah overview
- A. 1–8 Four chariots out from between two mountains of brass
- B. 9–15 A crown for Joshua, and the man whose name is the BRANCH
The outline
A.Four chariots out from between two mountains of brassvv. 1 to 8
Read vv. 1 to 8 →B.A crown for Joshua, and the man whose name is the BRANCHvv. 9 to 15
Read vv. 9 to 15 →
The world behind this chapter
Zechariah 6The history
The night ends where it started, with horses. Four chariots come out from between two bronze mountains and go to patrol the earth — the same idea as the first vision, but now with chariots instead of scouts, and with a result: the ones going north "have quieted my spirit in the north country." The north was where Babylon had come from.
Then the vision stops and something physical happens. Silver and gold are taken from men newly arrived from Babylon, a crown is made, and it is set on the head of Joshua the high priest.
That is startling, and it was meant to be. In Israel the crown and the priesthood were separate offices in separate families — kings from Judah, priests from Levi — and kings who reached for priestly work were punished for it. Here a priest is crowned and told, "he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."
The name given to the figure is BRANCH again, and he is the one who "shall build the temple of the LORD" — said while a temple was being built by other hands.
The crown is then kept in the temple as a memorial. It was not a coronation of Joshua; it was a sign hung up where people could see it. Persia would never have tolerated an actual king in Jerusalem, and Zerubbabel, the Davidic heir, is not the one crowned.
The chapter ends with an open door: they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD.
What it meant to them
The returnees had a governor who could not be king and a priest who could not be royal, and no prospect of independence. This sign told them both offices would one day sit in one person, and put the crown in the sanctuary as a receipt.
The last line was conditional and personal: this shall come to pass if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God. The promise was firm; their share in it was not automatic.
Sources cited
- Edwin Yamauchi, Persia and the Bible
- John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Zechariah 6. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
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.