A flying roll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits broad — the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole land against the thief and the false swearer, to consume the house with its timber and stones; then the ephah, and a woman sitting in the midst of it — 'This is Wickedness' — borne by two winged women to the land of Shinar, to be set there upon her own base.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
Then again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold a flying scroll.
verse value 1275
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "flying" (עָפָֽה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·I·returned" (וָאָשׁ֕וּב, 5 letters). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·I·saw" (root ראה, 22x in Zechariah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·I·saw', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וָאָשׁ֕וּב [and·I·returned] (315) + וָאֶשָּׂ֥א [and·I·lifted] (308) + עֵינַ֖י [my·eyes] (140) + וָֽאֶרְאֶ֑ה [and·I·saw] (213) + וְהִנֵּ֖ה [and·behold] (66) + מְגִלָּ֥ה [scroll] (78) + עָפָֽה [flying] (155) = 1275.
Rashi
Megilat Eifah. Our Sages interpreted it as "doubled," and they said that the Torah is written therein, and they derived from here that the world is one of three thousand and two hundred [parts] in the Torah, as it is stated in Eruvin (page 21). And the Targum [translates it as] "a flying scroll," [meaning] a scroll that flies in the air. And according to the simple meaning of the passage, it was a scroll of calamity, which is what he saw (Ezekiel 2:10), "And it was written in it: lamentations, and mourning, and woe."
Ibn Ezra
And I will return, “ephah” – as if it were to fly; therefore it is written: “that goes forth over the face of the whole earth.” And there are those who explain that it is said as a doubled form from the Aramaic root, but there is no sense to his interpretation. And Yefet said: It means “spread out,” like: “and they shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines.”
Radak
"And I will return" – [this refers to] a flying scroll. [The verse] reveals that he saw in a vision a single scroll that would fly through the air; and so did Jonathan the Aramaic translator render it: "a flying scroll."
Metzudat David
“And I returned.” I returned and raised my eyes upward, and I saw, and behold, a scroll was flying through the air of the heavens, and it was a scroll of calamity, similar to what Ezekiel saw, as it is stated: “And I looked, and behold, a scroll of a book” (Ezekiel 2:9).
Metzudat Zion
Megillah. It is called a letter (igra) because it is rolled up.
Ofah. From the root of ofifah and perichah:
Malbim
"And I lifted up my eyes again": After He had shown him in the previous visions that this redemption and this building of the Temple are not yet the primary redemption and building, the Lord showed him the sins for which the Temple was destroyed and Israel was exiled a second time. He saw, and behold, a flying scroll that was flying through the air.
And he said to me: ‘What do you see?’ And I answered: ‘I see a flying scroll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.’
verse value 3435
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 58 letters. The shortest word is "what" (מָ֥ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·said" (וַיֹּ֣אמֶר, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 206: seeing, seeing. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Zechariah. Unique to this verse in Zechariah (hapax): "and·her·breadth" (וְרׇחְבָּ֖הּ), "ten" (עֶ֥שֶׂר). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 110x in Zechariah); "to·me" (root אל, 36x in Zechariah); "seeing" (root ראה, 22x in Zechariah). First appearance of the root עשר ("ten") in Zechariah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'seeing', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 11 words.
Ibn Ezra
And He said - See, as if this scroll comes out of the House of the Lord that Solomon built, over the porch; therefore the measure of the length and width is like the porch.
Radak
And it said, “Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” It has not been clarified during which era this prophecy was uttered, and it appears that it was said during the time of the prophet. For we see in the Book of Ezra that there were many transgressions in their hands, and concerning theft and concerning false oath, this curse goes forth. For although theft is not as severe as vain or false oaths, from it one comes to commit a false oath. And regarding what he saw concerning the measurement of its length and the measurement of its width, the commentators explained that he saw it coming forth from the porch of the Temple, whose length was twenty and whose width was ten, like the structure that Solomon built. And even though it was in ruins at that time, this scroll came forth from there, as it had been spread out there according to the measure of the length and the width. This is what is meant by “the one that goes forth” and “I have brought it forth.”
Metzudat David
“Her length was twenty, etc.” – According to the measure of the Holy of Holies, to allude that it would be destroyed at the time of the calamity.
Malbim
Its length twenty cubits and its width ten — for this scroll came out from the entrance of the Temple, and its measure was like the measure of the entrance of the Temple, which was twenty [cubits] high and ten wide.
Then said he to me: ‘This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole land; for every one that steals shall be swept away on the one side like it; and every one that swears shall be swept away on the other side like it.
verse value 3024
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 68 letters. Verse gematria: 3024 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·every·one·who·swears" (וְכׇ֨ל־הַנִּשְׁבָּ֔ע, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 155: will·be·swept·away, will·be·swept·away. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Zechariah. Unique to this verse in Zechariah (hapax): "every·one·who·steals" (כׇל־הַגֹּנֵ֗ב), "and·every·one·who·swears" (וְכׇ֨ל־הַנִּשְׁבָּ֔ע). The root זה appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 110x in Zechariah); "to·me" (root אל, 36x in Zechariah); "all·the·earth" (root ארץ, 36x in Zechariah). First appearance of the root זאת ("this") in Zechariah. First appearance of the root כמו ("like·it") in Zechariah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all·the·earth', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 9 words.
Rashi
This is the oath. This is the one in which it is written: “The disaster of the vengeance of false oaths.”
"The one who goes out": Now, from the Holy of Holies, from before the Divine Presence, to walk upon the face of all the land. And this is [indicated by] its length being twenty and its width ten, corresponding to the measure of the entrance of the Court and the Temple, through which she went out.
"For every thief." Until now:
From this, according to it, he is cleared. From this — the punishment, as it is set forth in it [the scroll] — he is cleared, and the punishment of the individuals who transgress the Torah was not exacted; rather, He waited until the measure of them all was filled, and they were all struck together, as one, in the Destruction and in the Exile. And likewise everyone who swears falsely: until now, from this punishment — as this scroll declares — he is cleared, and it was not exacted. But from here onward, "I have brought it forth" to range over the land and to take vengeance on the thieves and the false-swearers from now on, "and it shall enter the house of the thief, etc."
Ibn Ezra
He says, "This is the curse" — the curse.
And the meaning of “going forth over the face of the entire land” is that it encompasses the Jews who were in Jerusalem and those who remained in Babylonia and in the land of Persia.
And the meaning of "from this side" is like "like it"—for it was written in the scroll: "from this side, the thief is clean; from the other side, the one who swears is clean," or "from this side and from this side," meaning that both the thief and the one who swears are clean, and this is correct.
And the meaning of "cleansed" is that each of the claimant and the one who takes the oath should consider that the Divine Name has cleansed him.
Radak
And He said, “This is the curse.” The curse:
“Upon the face of the whole land.” The Land of Israel; this is the curse that is destined to emerge. And this is like the matter of the scroll that Ezekiel saw, which was written on the inside and on the outside. Similarly, this scroll was written on this side and on that side. It was written on one side, “Every thief is innocent,” and on the other side, “Every swearer is innocent.” And the explanation of “like him” is “like you,” as in “like Pharaoh,” “like me,” “like you.” This means that the scroll was written with blessings and curses: on this side like on this side, and on this side like on this side. And the explanation of “innocent” is “cut off,” as in “and I will not clear him” (where “clear” is from the Nifal conjugation). Although I have prolonged their existence until now, from now on they will receive their retribution, for their time has come. Therefore, this scroll emerged. And the prophet saw the scroll but did not see what was written in it, just as with Ezekiel, until the angel told him. For the power of prophecy was waning; therefore, the visions of Zechariah were obscure, and in Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, prophecy ceased.
Metzudat David
"This is the curse." In that scroll, the curse is engraved and written, issuing by decree over all of the Land of Israel, as if a verdict had been issued by the Heavenly Court in writing.
For everyone who steals [shall be cleansed] from this side. For the scroll was written on front and back, like that which Ezekiel saw, as it is stated, "and it was written on front and back" (ibid. [Ezekiel 2:10]). Therefore it says "everyone who steals" — [the penalty for] one who steals wealth is inscribed on this side [of the scroll].
"Like her, it shall be cleansed." This means that just as the calamity is described in her regard, so too shall it be purged and wiped out from the world, so that it shall be cut off from her.
Everyone who swears [falsely, shall be cleansed] from this side. And everyone who swears falsely is inscribed on this side [of the scroll], and just as the punishments stated in it, so shall he be cleared away from the world.
Metzudat Zion
“The curse.” A matter of a curse [imprecation].
"Cleanse." From the word "clean" (from the root נ-ק-ה).
Malbim
And it said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth.” This means that on this scroll are written all the curses by which people used to swear falsely; all these curses were written on this scroll, and it goes forth to take vengeance upon those who swear falsely. The reason for its going forth from the Temple is that this is precisely what Solomon requested in his prayer (1 Kings 8:31): “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and the curse comes before Your altar in this house, then hear in heaven and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked.” He prayed that when a man swears an oath to his fellow, he should come before the altar, and from there judgment should issue against the one who swears falsely. Moreover, it was their practice to swear and curse in the Temple. It was their custom to curse in cases of theft, as it is stated (Judges 17:2): “The thousand and one hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, and you cursed.” For in matters that were hidden, they would impose a ban and a curse upon anyone who knew and concealed the matter. Similarly, for any matter in which the oath of the Lord was to be between the two parties, the curse would come before the altar, into the Temple. Therefore, he now saw that these curses, which had been in the Temple of the Lord, were going forth from the Temple to execute judgment and take effect upon those who swear falsely. He depicted all these curses as being written on this scroll, and that it was large in length and width, like the entrance of the Temple. This implies that they had filled the Temple with their curses. This is what is meant by the statement: “This is the curse that is going forth to execute judgment.”
For whoever steals from this [scroll] is like it, i.e., he is cleared [of liability for restitution], for the thief who takes an oath by this oath to clear himself from suspicion swears "like it," meaning like the curse written in the scroll. He swears and accepts upon himself by this oath to clear himself, and so too for anyone who swears regarding other matters, he would swear by this, by this oath that is in the scroll (portraying it as if he took from the oath itself, and by means of it he stole and swore). And regarding this it says, "like it he is cleared," meaning, is he not cleared of himself from suspicion "like it," i.e., like the words written in the oath that is in the scroll? And in the scroll is written the oath and the curse that he accepted upon himself in order to clear himself from suspicion, and therefore.
I cause it to go forth, says Hashem of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that swears falsely by My name; and it shall abide in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.’
verse value 5966
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 83 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "utterance" (נְאֻם֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·its·stones" (וְאֶת־אֲבָנָֽיו, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 91: utterance, and·will·lodge. 12 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Zechariah. Unique to this verse in Zechariah (hapax): "I·cause·it·to·go·forth" (הוֹצֵאתִ֗יהָ), "and·will·go·in" (וּבָ֙אָה֙), "to·the·house·of" (אֶל־בֵּ֣ית). The root בית appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 132x in Zechariah); "hosts" (root צבא, 54x in Zechariah); "to·the·house·of" (root איל, 34x in Zechariah). First appearance of the root שם ("in·my·name") in Zechariah. First appearance of the root שקר ("to·the·lie") in Zechariah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·the·lie', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 6 words.
Ibn Ezra
"And I will bring her forth" – "ve-lanah" is in the feminine form, like "ve-lanah," and it is a foreign word. And behold, the meaning is that the prophet will prove that these are the ones who commit these two transgressions.
Radak
"The one that I have brought forth." This is the oath that I have brought forth to punish. Henceforth, the thief and the one who takes a false oath will not have their punishment prolonged any longer.
"And it shall dwell within his house." The plague will dwell within his house until it consumes it, the timber of his house, and its stones.
Metzudat David
I have brought it forth. This means: although until now, since the measure had not yet been filled, I was long-suffering; but once it was filled, I brought out the scroll to render a definitive verdict.
And it shall come. The calamity spoken of in the verse, "It shall come upon the house of the thief," etc., and it shall desire to dwell in every house, and it shall consume it, and the timber of the building of his house, and its stones, and there shall remain no remnant.
Metzudat Zion
And regarding "to remain": The matter of permanence is like [the verse] "Righteousness shall remain in it" (Isaiah 1:21).
“And it shall consume it.” A term of destruction and annihilation.
Malbim
"I have brought it forth," says the Lord, "that it shall go forth from the Temple to execute judgment, and it shall come to the house of the thief and dwell within his house, after he has taken it from this one and accepted it upon himself, and it shall consume it, its timber, and its stones; as our Sages of blessed memory stated: 'Matters that neither fire nor water can destroy, a false oath destroys them.'"
Then the angel that spoke with me went forth, and said to me: ‘Lift up now your eyes, and see what is this that goes forth.’
verse value 2418
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 48 letters. Verse gematria: 2418 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "with·me" (בִּ֑י, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·goes·out" (הַיּוֹצֵ֥את, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Zechariah. Unique to this verse in Zechariah (hapax): "forgive" (שָׂ֣א), "your·eyes" (עֵינֶ֙יךָ֙), "and·see" (וּרְאֵ֔ה). The root יצא appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 110x in Zechariah); "to·me" (root אל, 36x in Zechariah); "who·spoke" (root דבר, 25x in Zechariah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 9 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּצֵ֕א [and·he·went·forth] (107) + הַמַּלְאָ֖ךְ [messenger] (96) + הַדֹּבֵ֣ר [who·spoke] (211) + בִּ֑י [with·me] (12) + וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֵלַ֔י [to·me] (41) + שָׂ֣א [forgive] (301) + נָ֤א [please] (51) + עֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ [your·eyes] (160) + וּרְאֵ֔ה [and·see] (212) + מָ֖ה [what] (45) + הַיּוֹצֵ֥את [that·goes·out] (512) + הַזֹּֽאת [this] (413) = 2418.
Rashi
"Lift now your eyes and see." Yet another one goes forth, which will come out from the Holy of Holies.
Radak
“And he went out, and saw.” For after He had shown him this vision of the flying scroll, the angel was hidden from him, and afterward he went out and showed him the visions of the ephah.
"The one who goes out." She goes out from the House of the Lord, like the first one; or alternatively, the meaning is that she goes out from the Land of Israel. And Targum Jonathan translates: "who are these that are being exiled."
Metzudat David
And it went out. It appeared to him in a prophetic vision as if the angel who was speaking to him passed by and departed, to allude that during the exile, prophecy will cease.
And He said to me. After this, the angel returned and said to me: Lift up your eyes and see what is the thing that is coming out from heaven.
Metzudat Zion
Sa. Lift up:
Na. Now:
Malbim
"And the angel went out" — inasmuch as he desired to show him another matter, namely, how they have yet other sins, and how He will punish them for them according to the measure of their sin, with measure and weight; unlike the punishment of a false oath, which is without limit or measure. Therefore, he went out to another level and showed him another matter that emerged.
And I said: ‘What is it?’ And he said: ‘This is the measure that goes forth.’ He said moreover: ‘This is their eye in all the land—
verse value 2769
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 47 letters. Verse gematria: 2769 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "this" (זֹ֤את, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·all·the·earth" (בְּכׇל־הָאָֽרֶץ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 408: this, this. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Zechariah. Unique to this verse in Zechariah (hapax): "what·is·it" (מַה־הִ֑יא), "their·eye" (עֵינָ֖ם). The root אמר appears 3 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·I·said" (root אמר, 110x in Zechariah); "in·all·the·earth" (root ארץ, 36x in Zechariah); "that·goes·out" (root יצא, 22x in Zechariah). First appearance of the root איפה ("ephah") in Zechariah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'what·is·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 8 words. Full calculation: וָאֹמַ֖ר [and·I·said] (247) + מַה־הִ֑יא [what·is·it] (61) + וַיֹּ֗אמֶר [and·said] (257) + זֹ֤את [this] (408) + הָֽאֵיפָה֙ [ephah] (101) + הַיּוֹצֵ֔את [that·goes·out] (512) + וַיֹּ֕אמֶר [and·said] (257) + זֹ֥את [this] (408) + עֵינָ֖ם [their·eye] (170) + בְּכׇל־הָאָֽרֶץ [in·all·the·earth] (348) = 2769.
Rashi
And it says, "What is it?" The one who goes out, so that it may be told to me, "To see:"
And He said, "This is the ephah." That you shall see it going forth as a kind of ephah with which they measure.
And he said, "This is their eye in all the land." And after I saw it, he said: this is the measure by which those whose eyes are upon all the land were punished — to rob and to oppress, to make the ephah small and the shekel large — and it was measured out to them a seah for a seah.
Radak
And it says, “This is the ephah that goes out.” He showed him the exile of the Ten Tribes, who had already been exiled, that they are sunk in exile and will not go out now, as did the exile of Judah and Benjamin. And He showed him an ephah, which is a measure, meaning that the Holy One, blessed be He, measured out to them a measure for a measure. Just as they acted by prolonging many days in their wickedness, from the day the kingdom was divided until the day they were exiled, and none of their kings returned them to the good, but they all went the evil way—so too, just as they prolonged themselves in evil, so shall they be in exile for many days. This is a measure for a measure. Therefore, the prophet saw an ephah, which is a measure.
"And He said." The Angel further explained to him regarding "their eye," saying to him: "This eye," meaning, this ephah that you see indicates that an Eye is upon them, observing their deeds; and likewise He sees throughout the entire land, as stated above, "The eyes of the Lord are ranging throughout the entire land." "Their eye" means that the Eye that sees them is the Eye of the Lord.
Metzudat David
"What is it?" Meaning: What is the thing that you are telling me to look at?
"This is the ephah that goes out." This means: I am telling you to look and pay attention to this, for it comes to allude to the sin they committed by it, namely, diminishing the ephah to deceive people.
And he said. The angel returned and raised his voice, saying: "For this shall those who dwell in all the land set their eyes, to behold the recompense of the deed, so that they may be disciplined."
Metzudat Zion
The ephah. A name of a measure:
Malbim
"This is the ephah that goes out"—this is the measure that goes out to judge according to the principle of measure for measure, so that the punishment will be commensurate with the sin and its measure. And this ephah, which goes out to punish for other sins, does not emerge from the Temple like the scroll [of the Sotah ritual], because other sins do not come before the altar, such as a false oath. And therefore it says, "Its eyes are throughout the whole land," meaning that the eye that supervises these sins is not the eye that is in the Temple; rather, it is the eye and supervision that exists throughout the entire land to punish according to the measure of the sin, and it is not as severe as the eye that is in the Temple.
and, behold, there was lifted up a round piece of lead—and this is a woman sitting in the midst of the measure.’
verse value 4183
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "talent·of" (כִּכַּ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "dwelling" (יוֹשֶׁ֖בֶת, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Zechariah. Unique to this verse in Zechariah (hapax): "talent·of" (כִּכַּ֥ר), "lead" (עֹפֶ֖רֶת), "lifted" (נִשֵּׂ֑את). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "dwelling" (root ישב, 23x in Zechariah). First appearance of the root אשה ("wife") in Zechariah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'lifted', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְהִנֵּ֛ה [and·behold] (66) + כִּכַּ֥ר [talent·of] (240) + עֹפֶ֖רֶת [lead] (750) + נִשֵּׂ֑את [lifted] (751) + וְזֹאת֙ [and·this] (414) + אִשָּׁ֣ה [wife] (306) + אַחַ֔ת [one] (409) + יוֹשֶׁ֖בֶת [dwelling] (718) + בְּת֥וֹךְ [in·midst·of] (428) + הָאֵיפָֽה [ephah] (101) = 4183.
Rashi
And behold, a talent of lead was carried. I saw that it was lifted from the ground into the air, weighing a talent of lead, and I saw further that one woman was sitting within the ephah.
Radak
And behold, a talent of lead was carried. It was carried:
"Within the ephah." A talent is a feminine term, as in "a loaf of bread," "eleven talents of silver," and "a talent of lead." This indicates that it serves to weigh it down and sink them into exile.
“And this is one woman sitting within the ephah.” To whom does this “this” refer? This woman represents the Ten Tribes, who were under one kingdom and went a single way toward evil; therefore, they are called “one woman.” And she is sitting within the ephah, meaning she receives the measure of punishment corresponding to her rebellion.
Metzudat David
"A talent of lead she bore." The weight of the talent of lead lifted itself from the ground.
“And this is one woman.” This means that this one woman who diminished the ephah was sitting within the ephah to receive the reward in the place of the wicked, namely the place of judgment. And that woman alludes to the entire nation. Likewise, in many places, the prophets referred to the entire nation by the term “woman.”
Metzudat Zion
A talent. The name of a weight:
“Lifted up.” The meaning of “lifting up”:
Malbim
And behold, he saw on another side that a loaf of lead was lifted up from the ground, and he further saw that a woman was sitting within an ephah. And the interpretation of the vision was explained to him:
And he said: ‘This is Wickedness.’ And he cast her down into the midst of the measure, and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
verse value 4282
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 52 letters. The shortest word is "this" (זֹ֣את, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·lead" (הָעוֹפֶ֖רֶת, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 366: and·threw, and·threw. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Zechariah. Unique to this verse in Zechariah (hapax): "the·wickedness" (הָרִשְׁעָ֔ה), "to·midst·of" (אֶל־תּ֣וֹךְ), "the·stone·of" (אֶת־אֶ֥בֶן). The root שלך appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 110x in Zechariah); "to·midst·of" (root איל, 34x in Zechariah). First appearance of the root שלך ("and·threw") in Zechariah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'ephah', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ [and·said] (257) + זֹ֣את [this] (408) + הָרִשְׁעָ֔ה [the·wickedness] (580) + וַיַּשְׁלֵ֥ךְ [and·threw] (366) + אֹתָ֖הּ [her] (406) + אֶל־תּ֣וֹךְ [to·midst·of] (457) + הָֽאֵיפָ֑ה [ephah] (101) + וַיַּשְׁלֵ֛ךְ [and·threw] (366) + אֶת־אֶ֥בֶן [the·stone·of] (454) + הָעוֹפֶ֖רֶת [the·lead] (761) + אֶל־פִּֽיהָ [to·its·mouth] (126) = 4282.
Rashi
And it said, “This is the wickedness.” This woman that you see within the ephah is the measure of the way of wickedness that the wicked conduct themselves by. And behold, now she is placed within it, to be punished within the seah itself with which they measured, measure for measure.
"And he cast her." Until now she was sitting [in her place], and he cast her down and dashed her into it; this alludes to afflictions and punishments.
And he cast the leaden weight into its mouth. To sink it, so that they would no longer grow, and their voice would no longer be heard to plunder the poor and the needy.
Radak
And it said, "This is the wickedness." The angel said to the prophet: "This is the ephah that is the wickedness that was in Israel, and it is the Ten Tribes who made the calves and began the worship of Baal."
“And he cast her into the ephah.” Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, cast her into the ephah, according to her measure.
And he cast the lead weight into her mouth. To sink her into exile for many days; and the meaning of “into her mouth” is “into the mouth of the ephah,” and “Wickedness” is either a noun or an adjective.
Metzudat David
And He said. The angel said: This is the wicked woman who diminished the ephah.
“And he cast it in.” For initially, she sat in it, performing the judgment of the rod; he cast her in and beat her into the ephah, and he cast into her mouth the leaden stone to choke her. This is the leaden talent that is mentioned above, and it comes to allude to what they sinned by increasing the shekel, and the recompense was measure for measure in the very thing in which they sinned. And although it was lead, it says “the leaden stone,” because for the most part, weights are made of stone. And similarly, “the tin stone” (above 4:10).
Malbim
And He said, “This is the wickedness,” He explained to him that the woman sitting within the ephah is the wickedness, which had revealed itself and taken the form of a woman, and that the wickedness is sitting within the ephah, to indicate that the wickedness itself will punish the wicked, and that the wickedness will measure out to the doer of wickedness his punishment according to his wickedness, in measure for measure, until it itself sits within the ephah of the measuring vessel that punishes. And now He explained to him the interpretation of the talent of lead by means of the fact that He cast it into the ephah and He cast the lead weight into the mouth of the ephah, meaning that by punishing the wicked through their own wickedness, and because the wickedness they committed is found within the ephah to measure their punishment in measure for measure, thereby they will recognize the punishments of the Lord and will be afraid to do evil, and consequently wickedness will cease and the punishments will be halted. And the ephah will be covered with the talent of lead, which absorbs sound so that the voice of the wickedness, which is sitting within the ephah, will no longer be heard, for thereby their arrogance will be silenced when they see that there is an Overseer who rewards and punishes. How pleasant are the words of our Sages of blessed memory, who derived from this that the men of the Great Assembly abolished the yetzer hara (evil inclination) for idolatry and cast it into a jar of lead that absorbs sound. This is a metaphor indicating that by seeing the judgments of the Lord and His punishments, heresy was abolished, which is the yetzer hara for idolatry, as they used to say, “The Lord has forsaken the land into the hands of the constellations and zodiac signs.” And from then on, that voice was submerged, the ephah was sealed, and the wickedness was buried within the ephah.
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there came forth two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork; and they lifted up the measure between the earth and the heaven.
verse value 5465
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 91 letters. The shortest word is "between" (בֵּ֥ין, 3 letters) and the longest is "with·their·wings" (בְּכַנְפֵיהֶ֔ם, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Zechariah. Unique to this verse in Zechariah (hapax): "women" (נָשִׁ֤ים), "and·wind" (וְר֣וּחַ), "with·their·wings" (בְּכַנְפֵיהֶ֔ם). The root כנף appears 3 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·land" (root ארץ, 36x in Zechariah); "and·I·saw" (root ראה, 22x in Zechariah); "going·out" (root יצא, 22x in Zechariah). First appearance of the root כנף ("with·their·wings") in Zechariah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'stork', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 6 words.
Rashi
Two women go out. From the house:
The stork. A white kite, and "voltoir (vulture)" in the vernacular:
Radak
“And I lifted up mine eyes, and behold, two women” — concerning the matter: In the explanation that one woman represents the Ten Tribes, we expound that the two women are Judah and Benjamin, who were exiled to Babylonia. Even though they had already returned from exile, when this vision was shown to him, it was a vision concerning those who remained in Babylonia and were sluggish to ascend to Jerusalem, even after they had begun to build the Temple. And it said that he saw these two women going forth into exile.
“And a wind was under their wings.” This means that they were exiled quickly and swiftly to Babylonia.
“And the wings like the wings of the stork.” That is to say, wings that are long and broad, like those of the stork.
And they lifted up the ephah. They carried it on their wings to show them that their exile was in righteousness and in the measure that God measured for them in return for their evil deeds. And what is said, “between the earth and the heavens,” is a known matter: that which flies flies between the earth and the heavens, in the firmament of the heavens, to show that these are not like the first woman, whose mouth was filled with a talent of lead to sink her into the earth, in the place of her exile; rather, of these it was not said that they should be sunk into the earth, but that they were suspended in the air until the time when they returned to their land, for seventy years. And as for what he saw — Judah and Benjamin as the appearance of two women, and the ten tribes as one woman — it is because the tribe of Judah was distinct on its own account of the kingship, and the tribe of Benjamin was joined with it from among the other tribes, because their portion was as one, and both were exiled together; therefore it said “two women.” And the great sage, the Rabbi, Moses ben Maimon, of blessed memory, explained that the “two women” were angels whom he saw in the form of women, just as he saw them in the form of horses, also because the power of prophecy was weakened in his time.
Metzudat David
"Two women": they allude to Babylonia and the Chaldeans.
"Going forth from the heavens:"
"And the wind, etc." – As if the wind were bound to their wings to hasten them, and their wings were broad and long like the wings of a stork. They bore the ephah with the woman within it, and carried it through the air, between the earth and the heavens. This implies that they exiled Judah from then on. The intent of the allusion was regarding those who remained in Babylonia and did not ascend to the Land of Israel, as will be stated below:
Metzudat Zion
The stork. The name of a bird:
"Vatasheneh." Just as "vattisa'na" is spelled with an aleph.
Malbim
“And I lifted up my eyes and saw” – behold, a different vision in which two women were coming out. Our Sages of blessed memory expounded that these represent flattery and arrogance of spirit, which descended to Babylon. This means that after he saw that the ephah was sealed and heresy ceased, along with the inclination toward idolatry, he saw another matter that is equivalent to idolatry, which had broken out among them. Instead of the one woman who sat within the ephah, he saw two women: they are flattery, which is equivalent to idolatry because one performs all his deeds with hypocrisy in order to flatter others, thereby introducing partnership into his worship. As the Chovot HaLevavot states, flattery is hidden partnership, wherein one serves both God and people, and it is a form of secret denial of God. Likewise, arrogance of spirit causes one to become haughty in his heart, imagining that he has attained divine insight, relying on his intellect and understanding, and thereby leading him to heresy. This was the case in the Second Temple period with the various sects that arose among them; their cause was these two evil women, which stood in place of the one woman, namely the inclination toward idolatry, which had been cast into the ephah. However, he saw that they had wings like the wings of a stork. Although the stork is an unclean bird, it appears to perform acts of kindness, as our Sages of blessed memory stated: “Why is it called a stork? Because it performs acts of kindness with its companions.” Likewise, they guard against adultery, as naturalists state that these birds judge adulterers. Thus, this generation appears as if they are holy to their God and perform acts of kindness, but in truth they are unclean, for “every man is a flatterer.” Moreover, their end will be like that of the stork, which lifts its wings to distant lands, as it is written, “Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times.” And he saw wind in their wings – the spirit of arrogance and the spirit of flattery – and they soar on the wings of the imaginative spirit. They lifted the ephah between the earth and the heavens, meaning they are neither of the earth nor of the heavens, but stand in between. For in their overt deeds they stand in the heavens, but in the hidden depths of their hearts they are earthly, descending in the spirit of the beast to the earth below. And they lifted the ephah a second time to punish the sinners for the evil of their deeds.
Then said I to the angel that spoke with me: ‘Whither do these bear the measure?’
verse value 1707
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 36 letters. The shortest word is "with·me" (בִּ֑י, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·the·angel" (אֶל־הַמַּלְאָ֖ךְ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 502: carrying, the·ephah. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Zechariah. Unique to this verse in Zechariah (hapax): "carrying" (מֽוֹלִכ֖וֹת). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·I·said" (root אמר, 110x in Zechariah); "who·spoke" (root דבר, 25x in Zechariah); "to·the·angel" (root מלאך, 20x in Zechariah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וָאֹמַ֕ר [and·I·said] (247) + אֶל־הַמַּלְאָ֖ךְ [to·the·angel] (127) + הַדֹּבֵ֣ר [who·spoke] (211) + בִּ֑י [with·me] (12) + אָ֛נָה [where?] (56) + הֵ֥מָּה [abundance] (50) + מֽוֹלִכ֖וֹת [carrying] (502) + אֶת־הָאֵיפָֽה [the·ephah] (502) = 1707.
Radak
And he said, “Where are they leading the ephah?” He did not ask this in the first vision, because he saw that they were leading it swiftly. And what he said, that the women were leading the ephah, means that they caused the Holy One, blessed be He, to repay them according to their measure, as if he had said, “They are revealing themselves.”
Metzudat David
“Where are they?” etc. To where are they leading the ephah? And he did not inquire about the woman, for he knew on his own that she alluded to the exile that had already passed. But his question was concerning the ephah, which is the visible thing that came to measure them measure for measure, and he did not know how it was [to be understood].
Metzudat Zion
"Ana. To where (le-heikhan):"
Malbim
(10-11) And I say: And when he saw that they were carrying the ephah of punishment to another land, he asked, “Where are they carrying the ephah?” And He said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar.” He informed him that for this reason the Temple would be destroyed and Israel would go into exile a second time, because many of the exiles were in the land of Shinar, where many Jews remained. Likewise, for this reason they remained in the land of Shinar and did not return during the Second Temple period. He also informed him that it would rest there upon its foundation, for that is the place of the ephah, since even in Babylonia there is flattery and arrogance, as our Sages of blessed memory stated. And there the ephah will rest, for that is the place of its dwelling.
And he said to me: ‘To build her a house in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she shall be set there in her own place.
verse value 3272
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 46 letters. The shortest word is "there" (שָּׁ֖ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·build·for·her" (לִבְנֽוֹת־לָ֥הֿ, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Zechariah. Unique to this verse in Zechariah (hapax): "to·build·for·her" (לִבְנֽוֹת־לָ֥הֿ), "Shinar" (שִׁנְעָ֑ר), "and·it·is·prepared" (וְהוּכַ֛ן). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 110x in Zechariah); "to·me" (root אל, 36x in Zechariah); "in·land·of" (root ארץ, 36x in Zechariah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Shinar', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֵלַ֔י [to·me] (41) + לִבְנֽוֹת־לָ֥הֿ [to·build·for·her] (523) + בַ֖יִת [house] (412) + בְּאֶ֣רֶץ [in·land·of] (293) + שִׁנְעָ֑ר [Shinar] (620) + וְהוּכַ֛ן [and·it·is·prepared] (87) + וְהֻנִּ֥יחָה [and·she·will·be·set] (84) + שָּׁ֖ם [there] (340) + עַל־מְכֻנָתָֽהּ [upon·her·place] (615) = 3272.
Rashi
"And it was prepared, and she placed it there." And the house was prepared, and the ephah was placed with the wicked ones inside it.
There. In that house:
“Upon her foundation.” This refers to its stability and its base. Here is an allusion to the fact that due to the sins of Israel, who measured out in a seah of iniquity and wickedness, they were punished with that same measure, and two nations came to rule together: they are Babylon and the Chaldeans. The army of Nebuchadnezzar, and they exiled them to Babylon, and there they stood firmly established upon their fixed foundation, which was established for them according to the fullness of seventy years. until now, when they returned. And this interpretation inclines toward Jonathan the Targumist in part, and there are many ways that commentators attempt to resolve this, but they have not been satisfactory to me. Our Sages explained and derived from here that the evil inclination was given over to the men of the Great Assembly. “and they cast it into a leaden pot and covered it with lead,” because lead absorbs its sound, as it is stated in Sanhedrin and in the tractate Yoma. And since I interpreted the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar as a double, consisting of two nations, I saw in Midrash Tehillim that these four kingdoms that subjugated Israel were doubled: Babylon and Chaldea, Media and Persia, Antiochus and Greece, Edom and Ishmael. And therefore, the paytan (liturgical poet) Kaliri established, “The fourth is the eighth,” referring to Edom.
Radak
And he said to build for it a house in the land of Shinar. 'Lah' — the heh is soft (rafe). This is what the prophet Jeremiah sent them: 'It is long; build houses and dwell.'
“And they were settled, and He placed them there upon their foundation.” “And they were settled”—this refers to their dwelling there, meaning that they built houses there and established their residence there. And still, He left them there upon their foundation—meaning that regarding the preparation they had made for themselves through the construction of houses and the planting of vineyards, they grew lazy to ascend from Babylon. These were those who remained after Ezra had ascended, and they did not wish to ascend even after the building of the Temple had begun. The word “He placed them” (והניחה) is a composite word: from “they placed” (הניחה), which is in the hifil conjugation, and from “they were placed” (הונחה), which is in the hufal (hophal) conjugation. The reason for this combination is that initially, when they were exiled there, they were placed there against their will; and afterwards, they placed themselves there of their own accord, meaning that they detained themselves there and grew lazy to ascend to Jerusalem.
Metzudat David
"To build for her a house." This means to construct a permanent dwelling in Shinar for those who were exiled there and did not ascend [to the Land of Israel].
"And it was prepared." This means that she prepared for herself a place to dwell, but she did not ascend to the Land of Israel. And so it shall be: she will remain lying there in the place of her preparation, and she will not add to ascend anymore, since even the Second Temple was destroyed. And when it says, "Therefore, they lead the ephah there to measure out for her," it teaches that she will be measured with a measure for a measure: since she did not desire to ascend, therefore she will remain there.
Metzudat Zion
Shinar. It is Babylonia.
"And it was prepared." The word "mechunatah" is a term denoting preparation and establishment.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim