Zechariah 5:2

2 And he said to me, What seest thou? And I said, Lo! I see a book flying; the length thereof was of twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof of ten cubits. (And I said, Lo! I see a flying book/Lo! I see a scroll flying through the air; its length was twenty cubits, and its breadth was ten cubits.)

Zechariah 5:2 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 5:2

And he said unto me
That is, the angel: What seest thou? and I answered, I see a flying roll, the length
whereof [is] twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits;
so that it was a very large one, a volume of a very uncommon size, especially it may so seem to us; but in other nations they have very long rolls or volumes, even longer than this: the Russians write their acts, protests, and other court matters, on long rolls of paper, some twenty ells, some thirty, and some sixty, and more ^F24: and this being the length and breadth of the porch before the temple, ( 1 Kings 6:3 ) hence the Jewish writers conclude that this flying roll came from thence: it may design either the roll or book in which the sins of men are written; which is very large, and will quickly be brought into judgment, when it will be opened, and men will be judged according to it; which shows the notice God takes of the sins of men; the exact knowledge he has of them; his strict remembrance of them; and the certain account men must give of them another day: or, the book of God's judgments upon sinners, such as was Ezekiel's roll, ( Ezekiel 2:9 Ezekiel 2:10 ) which are many and great; are rolled up, and not at present to be searched into; but are flying, coming on, and will be speedily executed: or rather the book of the law, called a roll or volume, ( Psalms 40:7 ) ( Luke 4:17 Luke 4:20 ) and which will be a swift witness against the breakers of it, as more fully appears from the explanation of it in the next verse ( Zechariah 5:3 ) . It is a mere fancy and conceit of some that the Talmud is meant by this roll, the body of the Jewish traditions, which make void the commands of God, take away the blessing, and leave a curse in the land, as they did in the land of Judea.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F24 Eskuche apud Burkium in loc.

Zechariah 5:2 In-Context

1 And I was converted, and raised mine eyes, and saw, and lo! a book flying. (And I turned, and raised up my eyes, and lo! I saw a flying book/and lo! I saw a scroll flying through the air.)

2 And he said to me, What seest thou? And I said, Lo! I see a book flying; the length thereof was of twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof of ten cubits. (And I said, Lo! I see a flying book/Lo! I see a scroll flying through the air; its length was twenty cubits, and its breadth was ten cubits.)

3 And he said to me, This is the curse, that goeth on the face of all (the) earth; for each thief shall be deemed, as it is written there; and each man swearing (falsely) shall be deemed of this also. (And he said to me, This is the curse, that goeth forth over the face of all the earth; for each thief shall be judged, as it is written there; and each person who falsely sweareth shall also be judged by this, and swept away.)

4 I shall lead out it, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall come to the house of a thief, and to the house of him that sweareth falsely in my name; and it shall dwell in the middle of his house, and shall waste him, and his trees, and his stones. (I have sent it out, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall come to the thief's house, and to the house of him who sweareth falsely in my name; and it shall stay, or remain, in the midst of his house, and it shall destroy him, and his wood, or his timber, and his stones.)

5 And the angel went out, that spake in me (who spoke to me), and said to me, Raise (up) thine eyes, and see, what this thing is that goeth out.