撒迦利亞書 1:20

20 耶 和 華 又 指 四 個 匠 人 給 我 看 。

撒迦利亞書 1:20 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 1:20

And the Lord showed me four carpenters.
] To saw and cut in pieces the four horns; or rather "four blacksmiths" ^F25; these horns were horns of iron; so the word is rendered a "smith" in ( 1 Samuel 13:19 ) and indeed it signifies both a worker in wood and a worker in iron; and who are sometimes distinguished by what they work in, whether wood or iron; see ( Isaiah 44:12 Isaiah 44:13 ) . The Jews say ^F26 these four carpenters are Messiah ben David, Messiah ben Ephraim, Elijah, and the priest of righteousness; or, as elsewhere ^F1, Elijah, the King Messiah, Melchizedek, and he that was anointed for war; though Kimchi much better interprets them of the kings, the princes above, who preside over kingdoms, that is, the angels; and so Jerom and Theodoret; who have been sometimes employed in the destruction of the enemies of God's people, or in preventing them doing the mischief they otherwise would; and even the several monarchies themselves have been the means of destroying each other; so the Babylonians were destroyed by the Medes and Persians; the Persians by the Grecians; the Grecians by the Romans; and the Romans by the Goths, Hunns, Vandals in the western part of the empire; and by the Saracens and Turks in the eastern part of it: and they may be applied to the apostles of Christ, who were chiefly mechanics, mean and illiterate persons, yet workmen in the Gospel, that need not to be ashamed; and who were sent by Christ into the four parts of the world, to spread his Gospel, set up his interest, and pull down the kingdom of Satan: and since the Jews make the Messiah himself one of these carpenters, they have no reason to upbraid or be offended at Jesus our Messiah being a carpenter, and a carpenter's son, as in ( Matthew 13:55 ) ( Mark 6:3 ) and Kimchi owns that their ancient Rabbins explain this verse of the days of the Messiah.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 (Myvrx) "fabros ferrarios", Pembellus, Sanctius, Burkius.
F26 T. Bab. Succa, fol. 52. 2.
F1 Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 11. 4. Vid. Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 14. fol. 111. 4.

撒迦利亞書 1:20 In-Context

18 我 舉 目 觀 看 ， 見 有 四 角 。

19 我 就 問 與 我 說 話 的 天 使 說 ： 這 是 甚 麼 意 思 ？ 他 回 答 說 ： 這 是 打 散 猶 大 、 以 色 列 ， 和 耶 路 撒 冷 的 角 。

20 耶 和 華 又 指 四 個 匠 人 給 我 看 。

21 我 說 ： 他 們 來 做 甚 麼 呢 ？ 他 說 ： 這 是 打 散 猶 大 的 角 ， 使 人 不 敢 抬 頭 ； 但 這 些 匠 人 來 威 嚇 列 國 ， 打 掉 他 們 的 角 ， 就 是 舉 起 打 散 猶 大 地 的 角 。