Zechariah 5 Study Notes

5:1-4 The sixth vision focuses on the Torah (the five books of the Law), which is a departure from the focus on Jerusalem and the temple in the preceding visions. The change involves a significant shift from encouragement to expectation, from revealing what God will do, to disclosing what he expects his people to do. Throughout the OT, God’s covenant with Israel was presented as a reciprocal relationship—blessings were dependent on compliance (Gn 17:1-2,9; Jr 18:7-10)—and that was no less true for the returnees. Though that point had already been made (Zch 1:3; 3:7), Zechariah developed it in this vision and the next.

5:2 The dimensions of the scroll are unusual, though the proportions suggest a partly unrolled scroll, as if it were waiting to be read.

5:3 The curse for disobedience is not unexpected (Dt 27:15-26; 28:15-68). The selection of two commandments (Ex 20:7,15) is probably representative of all ten (for different selections, see Zch 7:4-14).

5:4 Everyone is held accountable to what the flying scroll says, with the consequences of disobedience expressed in vivid terms.

5:5-11 Idolatry was characteristic of Israel’s disobedience, with memorable acts of idol worship recorded throughout their history (Ex 32:1-8; 1Kg 11:1-11). Yet God sent the Israelites into captivity in a land known for pagan deities. The seventh vision with Wickedness being transported in a basket back to Babylon signifies that idolatry belonged there, not in the promised land. But the basket held a woman, which may be an allusion to the Israelites. Hence, the imagery may also suggest that if the chosen people succumbed again to idolatry, they would be sent back into the captivity they had just escaped (see the same consequences announced for those who had come out of the captivity in Egypt; Dt 28:68).

5:7-8 God’s chosen people are represented by a bride, or else by a prostitute when behaving in an idolatrous fashion (Ezk 16:8-19; Hs 1:2-3; 2:2-13). This is Wickedness, referring to the woman in a basket, was a shocking image, not intended to demean women but to symbolize anyone who was impure. The Hebrew word for “wickedness” is feminine in gender and may be connected with the Canaanite goddess Asherah.

5:11 Shinar is an older name for Babylon (Gn 11:1-2). If the chosen people were going to be idolatrous, they might as well do it in style back in Babylon, with a shrine in their honor.