Day 229- Today we are reading chapters 13-14 of Zechariah/Zecharya.

Day 227- Today we are reading chapters 9-10 of Zechariah/Zecharya.

Day 225- Today we are reading chapters 5-6 of Zechariah/Zecharya.

• 
  Connie Leading
  August 14, 2019 at 12:26 am  /

  in Zec 6:1-8, there’s a description of 4 chariots, saying that they have come from the North region, having accomplished what they were sent to do. Each chariot is being pulled by horses; each chariot’s horses are a different color the horses of the other chariots. The colors were bay, black (north region), white (west) and spotted(south) — dappled.
  What is the significance of the colors? what about east region? what about the bay horses, and dappled? YeHoVaH sent the horses out to range. Please explain. YeHoVaH doesn’t waste details…
  Thanks!

  • 
    Dawn Marie McAlister
    August 14, 2019 at 6:47 am  /

    Hi, Connie.

    First, I’m not sure what version you’re reading that says they came from the North and had accomplished what they had been sent to do. Neither The Israel Bible nor the NASB says either, only that they came from between the two mountains after standing before the Lord of all the earth. Can you tell me which version you’re reading?

    Second, I’m not sure the colors represent anything specific. Since there is no mention of the colors having significance, I think it’s dangerous to attempt to read anything into it. Yehovah might not “waste details”, but the details might simply be a way of adding to the picture so future readers are able to envision what Zechariah saw. Not every detail has a spiritual meaning.

    Third, I wondered about the East, too. In The Israel Bible, verse 7 cuts off: ” ‘and the dappled ones have gone out…’ They were ready to start out…” The verse starts with a lower case “and” meaning it’s a continuation from verse 6, and the 1st ellipse in that quote is part of the actual text. The NASB says “When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.” This reads quite differently and I haven’t had time to look into it, but I think there might be some things in the original Hebrew that are either ambiguous or words with meanings that we simply don’t know right now.

    Finally, there is nothing in the text to tell us why Yehovah sent these chariots out to range, only that He did so and that they went. The only hint is verse 8, that those in the north had done Yehovah’s pleasure, but is the verse talking about the horses that went north, or the exiles that were there? Verse 9 seems to indicate the latter, not the former, but there’s no way to know.

    Sometimes the best thing we can do is admit that there are questions we can’t answer for various reasons. The amazing thing is that Yehovah doesn’t expect us to “know” everything, and that when His Messiah comes to sit on the earthly throne in Jerusalem, all these questions will be answered. And may that day be soon.

    • 
      Connie Leading
      August 17, 2019 at 7:32 pm  /

      Dawn ~
      Thank you for your comments.
      I am reading from The Israel Bible, primarily; most often have NASB as my 2nd read, but do also check NIV, KJV or NKJV, and Complete Jewish Bible, “as needed”.
      I was not quoting, but rather attempting a summary — to avoid having a long post.
      You are correct — the chariots did NOT come from the the North, but rather as you said, “…from between the 2 mountains..”. (Zech 6:1)
      Zech 6:6 – “The one [referring to chariot] with the black horses IS GOING out to the region of the north;…”
      Zech 6:8 – “‘Take note! Those that went out to the region of the north have done my pleasure in the region of the north.”
      Since there is nothing by way of English in verses 6-8 that would indicate a change of ‘subjects’ — from talking about chariots & horses to exiled humans, I took this more like when we have ‘Breaking News’ today, i.e.: ‘ …there is no video feed from the scene, as yet;
      but a reliable source at the scene has reported _______…’.
      It seems that verse 9 would be the verse that transitions the reader from chariot(s) and horses as the subject, to the exiles as subject. But as you said, we could be missing something obvious by not being able to read Hebrew .
      As I read vs 7, I saw horses that we ready, willing, and able (strong enough) BUT who were under authority — awaiting the command –> which they obeyed when given — not before, or when they ‘got around to it’.
      Maybe someone who reads/understands Biblical Hebrew, understands the history, culture, and context, and is familiar with the prophets and prophecy, can shed some light on this, and possibly, IF there is (or could possibly be) any significance in the colors of the horses.
      Moving to your next comment, I’m not one who wildly reads (imaginary) spiritual meaning into scripture. My inclination would be towards curiosity and asking the ‘why’ question. Why are the colors mentioned? is there significance it these horse colors? And even then to fact check.
      Following your line of thought about this information just being there so we can paint a better picture of what Zecharya saw, I remember being told as a child that all the “details” in the 23rd Psalm were there to paint a picture — and that it does, albeit quite 2-dimentional, until many years later I learned why “…thy rod and staff comfort me…”. These tools, in the skilled shepherd’s hands are used to encourage, direct, protect, and rescue! and suddenly the 2-dimentional picture is 3-D! Ah! Now that’s comforting to know and understand.
      How many times have our eyes popped or our jaw dropped as we have listened to “The Original Torah Pearls”, and learned that what we had been taught was incomplete or erroneous due to misinterpretation of the original language (or “lost in translation because we ‘don’t have a word for that”) or misunderstanding the historical context or culture?
      So — sometimes I just need to ask, knowing that there might not be an answer — now.

      • 
        Dawn Marie McAlister
        August 31, 2019 at 9:06 pm  /

        Hi, Connie.

        Thanks for the reply. I’m not sure you’ll ever read this but I wanted to at least say, “Ah, now I understand.”

        And yes, I have had many “ah ha” moments while listening to “The Original Torah Pearls” and “Prophet Pearls”. The programs were instrumental in changing the direction of my studies. 🙂

  • 
    Denise Whitcomb
    August 15, 2019 at 10:33 am  /

    Here is some commentary on the subject.
    https://biblehub.com/commentaries/zechariah/6-2.htm

    • 
      Connie Leading
      August 17, 2019 at 8:09 pm  /

      Denise~

      Thanks. I was thinking that researching a World History timeline for what else was happening at this time in the known world might shed some light. Benson Commentary seems to do that; at least the first 2 comments (red and black). the 3rd and 4th reference seems to be really moving into the future — though it may be a viable explanation — I’m curious about other empire(s) to the “west of them’, and the south region; maybe the “fit is better”.

• 
  Dawn Marie McAlister
  August 14, 2019 at 7:15 am  /

  Major controversy at verse 6:13.

  I use the The Israel Bible and most often the NASB for comparison. I compared the verse in the 2 Bibles and the theological leaning of the NASB is stark when compared to the TIB. The TIB says that there are 2 individuals, a ruler who will build the House of Yehovah (like Solomon did) and the Kohen who will serve there and there will be “harmonious peace between them.”

  The NASB says there will be only one person to build the House and to serve there “and the council of peace will be between the two offices.”

  The Prophet Pearls episode from chapters 3 – 4 briefly mentions this chapter and one of the things Nehemia points out is that there seems to have been some controversy between the governor of the region and Yehoshua the High Priest and Yehovah was telling them to work together. The NASB leaves no way to understand the words for the people who would have heard them during Zechariah’s time, and what we read today wouldn’t have meant much to those who were building the Temple.

  So if this particular prophecy is only for Zechariah’s time, well and good; of course there were two people ruling in Jerusalem at that time. BUT, if the prophecy is for yesterday and tomorrow, could it be that there will be separate “thrones” in Jerusalem during the Messianic age, a King and Priest?

  Like I said, controversy. Why would the NASB (and the KJV and the NIV) change the meaning of the verse so drastically? We have a problem here.