Zechariah 5:2
in Zechariah 5“What do you see?” asked the angel. “I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
KJV
And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
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This verse in Zechariah 5
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And he - (the interpreting angel) said unto me It cannot be without meaning, that the dimensions of the roll should be those of the tabernacle , as the last vision was that of the candlestick, after the likeness of the candlestick therein. The explanations of this correspondence do not exclude each other.
This site's exposition
lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll
on Zechariah 5:1-2
The prophet lifts his eyes to see an unrolled scroll flying like a bird, its size given at once, twenty cubits by ten. Keil notes those are the exact dimensions of the holy place before the temple's porch in Solomon's building, the curse measured to the very sanctuary it protects, a scroll large enough to be read from a distance and to cover the land it flies over.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Chapter 5, verses 1 onwards) Then I turned and lifted up my eyes, and behold, a flying scroll! And he said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits." Then he said to me, "This is the curse that is going out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side.
It comes in opportunely today even from the Old Testament to show you the heinousness of perjury. "There was," it says, "a flying sickle, ten cubits in breadth." The "flying" betokens the swift advent of the vengeance which pursues oaths; that it is many cubits in length and breadth, signifies the force and magnitude of the woes; that it comes flying "from heaven," is to show that the vengeance comes from the judgment-seat on high: that it is in the form of a "sickle," denotes the inevitableness of the doom: for just as the sickle, where it comes and has hooked the neck, is not drawn back with nothing but itself, but with the head reaped off, even so the vengeance which comes upon the swearers is severe, and will not desist until it have completed its work. But if we swear and escape, let us not be confident; this is but to our woe. For what think ye? How many, since Ananias and Sapphira, have dared the same with them? How is it then, say you, that they have not met with the same fate? Not because it was allowed in them, but because they are reserved for a greater punishment. For those who often sin and are not punished, have greater reason to fear and dread than if they were punished. For the vengeance is increased for them by their present impunity and the long-suffering of God.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he said unto me,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
length . . . twenty cubits . . . breadth . . . ten cubits--thirty feet by fifteen, the dimensions of the temple porch (1Ki 6:3), where the law was usually read, showing that it was divinely authoritative in the theocracy. Its large size implies the great number of the curses contained. The Hebrew for "roll" or "volume" is used of the law (Ps 40:7).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
a flying scroll Our Sages explained [it] as “double,” and they said that the Torah was written on it. They deduced from here that the world is 1/3,200 of the Torah, as stated in Eruvin (21a). And Jonathan rendered: a flying scroll; i.e., flying in the air.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלַ֔י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מָ֥ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| רֹאֶ֑ה | roeh | seeing | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וָאֹמַ֗ר | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲנִ֤י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| רֹאֶה֙ | roeh | [am] seeing | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| מְגִלָּ֣ה | megilah | a scroll | H4039 → | |
| עָפָ֔ה | ʾafah | flying | H5774 → | |
| אָרְכָּהּ֙ | ʾarekah | length its | H753 → | |
| עֶשְׂרִ֣ים | ʾesrim | [is] twenty | H6242 → | |
| בָּֽאַמָּ֔ה | baamah | by the cubit | H520 → | |
| וְרָחְבָּ֖הּ | verachebah | and breadth its | H7341 → | |
| עֶ֥שֶׂר | ʾeser | [is] ten | H6235 → | |
| בָּאַמָּֽה׃ | baamah | by the cubit | H520 → |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלַ֔יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
מָ֥הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
אַתָּ֖ה[are] you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
רֹאֶ֑הseeing
roehH7200 →1300 times
וָאֹמַ֗רand I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
אֲנִ֤יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
רֹאֶה֙[am] seeing
roehH7200 →1300 times
מְגִלָּ֣הa scroll
megilahH4039 →
עָפָ֔הflying
ʾafahH5774 →
אָרְכָּהּ֙length its
ʾarekahH753 →
עֶשְׂרִ֣ים[is] twenty
ʾesrimH6242 →
בָּֽאַמָּ֔הby the cubit
baamahH520 →
וְרָחְבָּ֖הּand breadth its
verachebahH7341 →
עֶ֥שֶׂר[is] ten
ʾeserH6235 →
בָּאַמָּֽה׃by the cubit
baamahH520 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zephaniah 1:14The great Day of the LORD is near—near and coming quickly. Listen, the Day of the LORD! Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.
it leads to
- Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- Ezekiel 30:3
For the day is near, the Day of the LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
- Zephaniah 1:7
Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to…
- Isaiah 15:4
Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voices are heard as far as Jahaz. Therefore the soldiers of Moab cry out; their souls tremble within.
- Malachi 4:5
Through
Amos 7:8“Amos, what do you see?” asked the LORD. “A plumb line,” I replied. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them:
it leads to
- Amos 8:2
“Amos, what do you see?” He asked. “A basket of summer fruit,” I replied. So the LORD said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel; I will no longer spare them.”
- Amos 8:2
Through
Zechariah 4:2“What do you see?” he asked. “I see a solid gold lampstand,” I replied, “with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven spouts to the lamps.
it leads to
- Revelation 4:5
From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven Spirits of God.
- Revelation 1:12
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
- Revelation 4:5
About Zechariah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).