Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Zechariah 6:1

Four chariots: The four great empires of the Chaldeans, Persians, Grecians, and Romans. Or perhaps by the fourth chariot are represented the kings of Egypt and of Asia, the descendants of Ptolemeus and Seleucus.

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Zechariah 6:6

The land of the north: So Babylon is called; because it lay to the north in respect of Jerusalem. The black horses, that is, the Medes and Persians: and after them Alexander and his Greeks, signified by the white horses, went thither because they conquered Babylon, executed upon it the judgments of God, which is signified, ver. 8, by the expression of quieting his spirit.-- Ibid.

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Zechariah 6:6

The land of the south: Egypt, which lay to the south of Jerusalem, and was occupied first by Ptolemeus, and then by the Romans.

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 6:9-15

(Verse 9 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Take from the exiles, from Holdai, from Tobiah, and from Idah, and come in that day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Sophaiah, who came from Babylon. And take silver and gold, and make crowns, and put them on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and say to him: Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: Behold a man whose name is the Branch, and he shall grow up from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. And he himself will build a temple for the Lord, and he himself will bear the glory, and he will sit and rule on his throne, and he will be a priest on his throne, and there will be counsel of peace between them both. And the crowns will be for Helem, Tobiah, and Idajah, and for Hen son of Zephaniah, a memorial in the temple of the Lord. And those who are far off will come and build in the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And it will come to pass, if you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God. LXX: And the word of the Lord came to me saying: Take what is from the captivity, from the princes and from their benefactors, and from those who know them: and you shall enter on that day into the house of Josiah the son of Sophonias that came from Babylon, and you shall take silver and gold, and shall make crowns, and shall set them on the head of Jesus the son of Josedec the high priest, and you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold a man, the Orient is his name, and under him shall he spring up, and shall build a temple to the Lord, and he shall take upon himself the glory, and shall sit, and shall rule upon his throne. And there shall be a priest at his right hand, and there shall be counsel of peace between the two: but the crown of expectation and of benefit to him, and to them that know her, and to the beloved son of Zephaniah, and to the psalm in the house of the Lord, to them that are far off, they shall come and build in the house of the Lord. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me to you. And it shall come to pass, if hearing you will hear the voice of the Lord your God. Once I set forth the hidden doctrine of Hebrew learning, and the concealed discipline of the masters of the synagogue, namely, that which is agreeable to the holy Scriptures. To reveal in Latin. Therefore, it is necessary for me to draw lines of history in the darkest places and thus bring forth what I have learned from ecclesiastical men, leaving it to the reader's discretion as to what they should follow more. And first, the order of the reading must be restored, so that what is said becomes clear according to the letter. Take, it says, from Holdai, and from Tobia, and from Idaja, who came from the Babylonian captivity, and you shall take from them gifts that are offered, silver and gold, and you shall enter the house of Josiah, son of Zephaniah; and there you shall make crowns, distinguished by the variety of gold and silver, not one crown, but either two or more: for Ataroth, namely, στέμματα, signifies not one, but either dual or plural number. When you make the crowns, you shall set one of them on the head of Jesus, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord.”’ And when he has built that, he himself will also receive glory, that is, another crown, which in Hebrew is called 'Hod', and in another language 'ἐπιδοξότης', in another 'εὐπρέπεια', in another 'ἀρετὴ', in another 'δόξα', which all mean illustrious, beauty, virtue, or glory. They think it refers to Zerubbabel, who, rising suddenly from a low and captive state, built the temple of the Lord, and sat on his throne, ruling with princely power. And the high priest, too, said he, Jesus the son of Josedech will sit on the priestly throne, and with united minds and councils, they will govern the people of God. And there will be peace between those two, that is, between the one who is of the royal tribe and the one who is descended from the Levite line, so that they may jointly rule the priesthood and the kingdom of God's people. And you shall consecrate the very crowns that you have made of gold and silver, after they have been placed on the head of Joshua, the son of Josedech, and on the head of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, with their names from whom they have been offered, in the temple, that is, Helem, and Tobiah, and Iddo, and Hen. The second and third names are the same as above. The first has been changed, and instead of Holdai he now uses Helem. The fourth, which was not mentioned above, is Hen, of whom we will speak in the following. And after having stored the crowns in the temple of the Lord, and consecrated them for everlasting memory, the nations from all the ends of the earth, scattered afar, will come and each one will build in my temple according to their own abilities. And then, at the end of events and with the prosperity of all, you will know that the Lord has sent me, and that I have foretold everything by His command. But all these things will be if you obey the commandments of the Lord and fulfill his commands. Holdai is interpreted as the prayer of the Lord, which in Greek is more significantly called the Litany of the Lord. Tobiah is a good man, known by the Lord. Instead of Holdai, Helem is now placed in the first place, which is interpreted as a dream; and in the fourth place, Hen is added, which means grace. The crowns of these four men will be with the son of Zephaniah, whom we read above Josiah, who is the guardian and custodian of the temple of the Lord, and there they will rest with eternal station. The Hebrews Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, who came from captivity, commemorate that they brought gold and silver as gifts to the temple, as well as the crowns of the high priest and the prince. They also mention that above, Hen, that is, favor, Daniel came with a gift. And for this reason, Helem is placed in place of Holdai, so that from the interpretation of the name which is called a dream, it may be shown that Daniel was placed in captivity, and that the three boys knew the mysteries of the royal dream. For when three boys were taken, Daniel prayed to the Lord and obtained the interpretation of the dream (Daniel II). According to history, this is an attempt to explain Circumcision. However, it is necessary for us to say what our ancestors said according to the Septuagint translators. Take from the captivity and from the princes, and from her useful things, and from those who know her, gold and silver, and upon entering the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, who himself came from Babylon, make golden and silver crowns, which you will place upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest. The captivity of the Jews, that is, confessing the Lord of the people, is due to vices and sins: those who begin to do penance, and desire the former Jerusalem, that is, the Church of Christ, forsake and abandon it in Babylon, and are offered by the princes of the captives, and by their helpers, that is, those of the captivity (who themselves were handed over to the angel of Satan for their own utility, unto the perdition of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved (I Cor. V), and by those who know it, namely, the captivity, to be turned into a good part after punishment. But gold and silver are offered by those who both confess the Lord with understanding and speech, and from them, that is, from gold and silver, crowns are made in the house of Josiah, who is interpreted as saved, and he is the son of the visitation of the Lord, that is, the oversight of the Lord. For he is visited by the Lord who had previously been seriously ill. And rightly Josiah is called saved, because he himself also returned from Babylon. And crowns are placed upon Jesus, the son of Josedech the high priest, because as we progress and return to better things, the Lord is crowned by each of our virtues. Indeed, we are crowned with the virtue of repentance, and the Savior receives a crown in each of us, according to what Paul also says: Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the righteous judge, the Lord, shall give to me: and not to me only, but also to all who love the appearing of our Lord Savior Jesus Christ (I Tim. IV, 8). From where he received the name 'crown of justice' and 'Father of the Lord Savior'. For Josedec means Lord of justice, because he renders to each one according to his works. James also speaks of this crown in his Epistle: Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he is tried, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him (James 2). And the prophet is commanded that after he has placed the crown, or crowns, upon the head of Jesus, the son of Josedec the high priest, he should speak to him, and say: Thus says the Lord: Behold, a man, his name is the Rising Sun: and beneath him will arise, and so on. We do not divide Jesus, nor can we make two persons into one person; but he himself who is called Jesus, because he saved the world, and is called the Orient, because in his days righteousness arose. And it is sung in the Psalm: Truth has arisen from the earth (Ps. LXXXIV, 12), because he, who was born from the virgin womb in the completion of the ages, has said: I am the truth (John XIV, 6), and the final hour has come, as it is written in the Epistle of John (I John II, 18): Little children, it is now the final hour, in which he has called the people standing and doing nothing from the Gentiles, and has sent them to the vineyard (Matt. XX). Moreover, if he becomes different according to the diversity of names, he will be another shepherd, another ram, another lamb, another gate, another stumbling block, and another rock of offense. Therefore, the one who is crowned with our virtues will arise and be called the East. To whom the Father spoke: You are my Son, today I have begotten you (Ps. 2:7): And beneath him a multitude of believers will arise, and he will build the house of the Lord, the Church, and he himself will receive power and beauty and progress, and the glory of each one, and he will sit and reign on his throne, on the throne of David, of whom it is also written in the Gospel: And there shall be a priest at his right hand (Luke 1), or according to the Hebrew, above his throne; for he is both king and high priest: and he will sit on both the royal and the priestly throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two, so that neither the royal summit may detract from the dignity of the priesthood, nor the dignity of the priesthood from the royal summit, but that both may agree in the glory of the Lord Jesus, the one and only. I read in a certain book (Zech. 6:13): And peaceful counsel shall be between two, to be referred to the Father and to the Son: because it is not His own, but the Father's will that He came to do, and the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father (ibid., 14). But the crown, that is, the sign of victory, is promised also to those who await Him and understand the benefit of their former captivity and know all the mysteries of God, so that they may be in the grace of the son of Zephaniah, that is, in the visitation of the Lord. And those who were in Babylon said (Ps. CXXXVI, 1, 2): By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows in its midst we hung up our lyres, after they had returned to Jerusalem, let them receive a psalm and a timbrel, and let them sing in the church of the Lord. And those who were far from Judaea because of great sins, let them come with true confession, and let them rebuild the house of the Lord according to their individual progress, and then the entire congregation will know with one mind that the Almighty Lord has sent a prophet to them. But all the promises will be fulfilled if they are willing to listen to the Lord and, after repentance, remain in good works.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 449] Eznik of Kolb on Zechariah 6:11

And in the days of Joshua, son of Jehozadak, why did an angel say to the adversary who was opposing him, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan”? And why are the Jews called “sons of Satan” for transgressing the laws, if he [the adversary] perseveres in the command he received and they transgressed the commandment? And why would he be called utterly a liar, he who remains faithful to the rule? Because that evil comes not from him but from the very one who made him so. And why should he be sent into the “outer darkness”?

Source: ON GOD 209

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Zechariah 6:12

Nor was there night in Peter when he confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” when the heavenly Father revealed it to him, but there was night in him too at the moment of his denial. And in the present instance, moreover, when Judas received the morsel [and] went out immediately, night was present in him at the same time he went out, for the man whose name is “Sunrise” was not present with him because he left “the Sun of justice” behind when he went out. And Judas, who was filled with darkness, pursued Jesus; but the darkness and the one who had taken it up did not apprehend the light that was pursued. Wherefore also, when he said as word of justification, “I have sinned because I betrayed just blood” and “went and hanged himself,” Satan, who was in him, led him to the noose and hung him, at which time the devil also touched his soul. For Judas was not such that the Lord could say to the devil on his behalf what he said on Job’s behalf, “But touch not his soul.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 32:315-17

[AD 379] Basil of Caesarea on Zechariah 6:12

Therefore God helps the city, producing in it early morning by his own rising and coming. “Behold a man,” it is said, “the Orient is his name.” For those upon whom the spiritual light will rise, when the darkness that comes from ignorance and wickedness is destroyed, early morning will be at hand. Since, then, light has come into the world in order that he who walks about in it may not stumble, his help is able to cause the early morning. Or perhaps, since the resurrection was in the dim morning twilight, God will help the city in the morning early, who on the third day, early on the morning of the resurrection gained the victory through death.

Source: HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 45:18.5

[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Zechariah 6:12

The inscription, “for the octave,” therefore, that we not look to the present time, but that we look toward the “octave.” For whenever this transitory and fleeting time ceases, in which one thing comes to be and another is dissolved, and the necessity of coming to be has passed away, and that which is dissolved no longer exists … the hebdomad too, which measures time, will by all means halt. Then that “octave,” which is the next age, will succeed it. The whole of the latter becomes one day, as one of the prophets says when he calls the life, which is anticipated “the Great Day.” For this reason the perceptible sun does not enlighten that day, but “the true light,” the “sun of righteousness,” who is designated “rising” by the prophecy because he is never veiled by the settings.

Source: ON THE INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS 2:5.53

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Zechariah 6:13

Between them both: That is, he shall unite in himself the two offices or dignities of king and priest.