Zechariah 4:5
in Zechariah 4“Do you not know what they are?” replied the angel. “No, my lord,” I answered.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
KJV
Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
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This verse in Zechariah 4
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
I asked the angel who was speaking with me
on Zechariah 4:4-5
Zechariah asks the plain question, “What are these, my lord?”, and the angel answers with a question of his own. That question, “Do you not know what they are?”, comes again before the chapter ends. Gill compares the visions of Daniel, which an interpreting angel also opens to the prophet.
This site's exposition
Do you not know what they are
Barnes quoted Osorius, who pictured the angel almost amazed that the prophet had missed what the lampstand and the olive trees meant. Once the prophet has answered “No, my lord,” the angel opens the vision to him. The same question is asked again at verse 13.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(V. 2 onwards.) And he said to me, 'What do you see?' And I said, 'I see, and behold, a golden lampstand, and its lamp on top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven pipes to the lamps that are on top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the lampstand and one on its left.' Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, 'What are these, my lord?'
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַ֠יַּעַן | vaiyaan | and he answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| הַמַּלְאָ֞ךְ | hamalakh | the angel | H4397 → | 213 times |
| הַדֹּבֵ֥ר | hadover | who was speaking | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| בִּי֙ | bi | with me | ||
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלַ֔י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הֲל֥וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדַ֖עְתָּ | yada'ta | do you know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| מָה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| הֵ֣מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| אֵ֑לֶּה | ʾeleh | [are] these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וָאֹמַ֖ר | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | no | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֲדֹנִֽי׃ | ʾadoni | O lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
וַ֠יַּעַןand he answered
vaiyaanH6030 →331 times
הַמַּלְאָ֞ךְthe angel
hamalakhH4397 →213 times
הַדֹּבֵ֥רwho was speaking
hadoverH1696 →1141 times
בִּי֙with me
bi
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלַ֔יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
הֲל֥וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
יָדַ֖עְתָּdo you know
yada'taH3045 →945 times
מָה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
הֵ֣מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
אֵ֑לֶּה[are] these
ʾelehH428 →746 times
וָאֹמַ֖רand I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
לֹ֥אno
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֲדֹנִֽי׃O lord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
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
Daniel 2:30And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you…
it leads to
- Genesis 41:16
“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”
- Genesis 41:16
Through
Mark 4:13Then Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?
it leads to
- Revelation 3:19
Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
- Luke 24:25
Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, how slow are your hearts to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
- Luke 8:11–15
Now this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.
- 1 Corinthians 3:1–2
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ.
- Hebrews 5:11–14
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing.
- Revelation 3:19
Through
Zechariah 1:9“What are these, my lord?” I asked. And the angel who was speaking with me replied, “I will show you what they are.”
it leads to
- Revelation 7:13–14
Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”
- Zechariah 4:4–5
“What are these, my lord?” I asked the angel who was speaking with me.
- Revelation 7:13–14
Where this verse is studied
About Zechariah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).