Zechariah 4:2

And said unto me, What seest thou?.... That is, after he was awake, and had looked about him: And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all [of] gold; such an one as was in the tabernacle

And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps,

What seest thou? what dost thou discern, of that thou didst before, half asleep half awake, see, but didst not observe? I have looked; since awakened and roused, I have very diligently viewed and observed, and I see. A candlestick: by God’ s appointment there was a candlestick to be made, as an utensil and ornament of the temple, . All of gold; so was the candlestick to be for the temple, all of pure gold, . A bowl, or basin, or round and large oil cruet, capable of so much oil as would suffice to feed all the lamps in the candlestick. Upon the top of it; on the highest part of the candlestick, on the top of the candlestick on the top of the shaft, or on the head of the candlestick. Seven lamps; either so many, because the temple candlestick had just so many, or because of some perfection supposed to be in this septenary number. Seven pipes; one pipe to each lamp, the mouth of which pipe joined to the bowl or basin, and received oil from it; the other end of the pipe fastened to the lamp conveyed oil into the lamp. To the seven lamps; so each of the seven lamps had a pipe reaching from it to the bowl or basin. On the top thereof: these lamps were so set as to stand somewhat higher than the body of the candlestick.

Zechariah 4:2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all [of] gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which [are] upon the top thereof:Ver. 2. What seest thou?] The sight was already in sight; but the prophet had not seen it, or noted it, if the angel had not stirred him up to it. If the Lord give us not sight as well as light, if he enlighten not both organ and object too, if he shine not into our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of himself in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 4:5, seeing we shall see, but not perceive; with Hagar, we shall not be able to discern the fountain that is just before us. I have looked] Carefully viewed the sight. It is expected ut acti agamus; that having a talent of grace we trade with it; that our will, which at first conversion was merely passive, should be afterward active; that we, which once were darkness, but now are light in the Lord, shall walk as children of light, Ephesians 5:8. Behold a candlestick] That is, the Church, as Revelation 1:20. All of gold] Pure gold as the candlestick in the tabernacle, Exodus 25:31, which is therefore called the pure candlestick, Leviticus 24:4 Exodus 31:8, noting out the Church’ s purity in doctrine and manners. Chrysostom, that golden preacher, testifieth of some saints in his time, that they were puriores caelo, purer than the visible heaven. "Her Nazarites were purer than the driven snow, whiter than milk, ruddier than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire," Lamentations 4:7. With a bowl] Heb. gullah, an oil glass or oil cruse; a hollow round vessel, quod pariter Latine recte gulam appellas, saith a Lapide; which you may not unfitly call a gullet, or throat; for as the throat receiveth the food and transmitteth it to the stomach, so did this vessel receive the oil to be transmitted to the lamps. It figured Christ, in whom it pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell, Colossians 1:19, for the Church’ s use, John 1:16; John 3:34. And his seven lamps thereon] Signifying the manifold graces and diversity of gifts in the Church by the same Spirit of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:4; 1 Corinthians 12:6 "For of his fulness we all receive grace for grace," John 1:16. And seven pipes to the seven lamps] Heb. seven and seven, that is, seven, I say seven, by the figure anadiplosis, a repetition of the same word, saith Sanetius. This is a better gloss than that of those that say the Hebrew text is corrupted; as having two sevens for one.

(2) This visionary candlestick differed in four points from the original of the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple—viz., in having “a bowl,” “pipes,” and “olive trees” each side of it, and “two golden spouts.” With a bowl upon the top of it.—This is better than the marg., her bowl—i.e., its bowl—because this was one (a) of the points of difference between the visionary candlestick and its original. But the “seven lamps,” on the other hand, were in agreement with the original; therefore the prophet says, “and his seven,” i.e., its seven lamps, viz., the seven lamps proper to it. So, again, when he comes to the next point of difference, (b) the pipes, he does not say “his pipes,” nor does he (Zechariah 4:3) say (c) “his two olive-trees.” Seven pipes.—Better, seven pipes apiece. There were, then, forty-nine pipes, but as the candlestick is only visionary, we need not trouble ourselves about the difficulties of its construction. The number seven in the original candlestick was, perhaps, mystical, in which case the forty-nine pipes in the vision would be so too. At any rate, it would seem that a great number of pipes is mentioned to indicate the unlimited nature of the supply of oil: “My strength is sufficient for thee.” The distributive use of the numerals in this passage has been much disputed, but we have, we think, satisfactorily established it in our Hebrew Student’s Commentary, in loc. The only other admissible interpretation is that of Koehler—viz., that the number is “seven and seven,” not “fourteen,” because one group of seven lamps was for supplying the lamps from the reservoir, and the other group of seven to connect the seven lamps. The English version follows LXX., Syriac, and Vulg., in omitting the first word “seven.” Hitzig cancels the numeral before “its lamps,” and renders “and its lamps upon it were seven, and there were seven pipes to the lamps,” &c. But all such emendations are arbitrary and unnecessary. Pressel thinks that “seven” is repeated on account of its importance, as corresponding to “the seven eyes of the Lord;” he renders “seven was the number of its lamps above the same—seven—and seven the number of its pipes.”

Verse 2. A candlestick all of gold] This candlestick is formed in some measure after that of the sanctuary, Exodus 25:31-32: but in that of the sanctuary there was no bowl, nor seven pipes, nor seven lamps, nor the two olive trees. The two olive trees were to supply the bowl with oil; the bowl was to communicate the oil to the seven pipes; and the seven pipes were to supply the seven lamps. In general, the candlestick, its bowl, pipes, lamps, and olive trees, are emblems of the pure service of God, and the grace and salvation to be enjoyed by his true worshippers. The candlestick may, however, represent the whole Jewish state, ecclesiastical and civil; the oil, producing the light, the grace and mercy of God; and the two olive trees, the source of infinite love, whence that grace proceeds. The pipes may signify all means of grace; and the seven lamps, the perfection and abundance of the light and salvation provided. Some may take them in the following way: - 1. The olive trees, the Divine goodness, yield the oil from the olive berry, which is its fruit. 2. From each comes a pipe to convey the oil to the bowl. 3. This oil is collected in the bowl, which is supposed to represent Jesus, the great Mediator, through whom alone all grace and mercy descend to man. 4. The seven pipes, the various means of grace-reading, hearing, prayer, sacraments, &c.-through which Christ dispenses his grace and blessing to his followers. 5. The seven lamps-the Spirit of God in its plentitude of graces, gifts, and light, dispensed to the Christian Church.

2. I have looked] Rather, I have seen, the word being the same as in the Angel’s question, What seest thou? A candlestick all of gold] The word here used for candlestick (though not restricted to that, 2 Kings 4:10) is always used of the candlestick in the Tabernacle. That too, like this, was “all of gold.” Exodus 25:31. “It has been calculated to have been worth £5,076, exclusive of workmanship.” Dict. of Bible, Art. Candlestick. In Solomon’s Temple there were ten candlesticks (1 Kings 7:49; 2 Chronicles 4:7; comp. Jeremiah 52:19), either in addition to, or instead of, the one in the Tabernacle. In Zerubbabel’s Temple one candlestick only again was seen, as we learn from this passage and 1Ma 1:23; 1Ma 4:49; as well as from the sculpture on the Arch of Titus. a bowl] Rather, its bowl, or reservoir. The candlestick in the Tabernacle had no bowl of this kind. The “bowls” which it had (Exodus 25:31; Exodus 25:33-34; Exodus 37:17; Exodus 37:19-20;—quite a different Heb. word from that here used, and rendered cups in R. V.) were ornaments like scallop-shells, or the calix of a flower, on the shaft and branches of the candlestick. The lamps were trimmed daily by the priests (Exodus 27:21). “They were each supplied with cotton and half a log of the purest olive-oil (about two wine-glasses) which was sufficient to keep them burning during a long night.” Dict. of Bible. The use of the same word as here for the bowl of a hanging lamp, suspended from the ceiling by a “silver cord,” the giving way of which causes the lamp to fall to the ground and be shattered, Ecclesiastes 12:6, has led some to think that the lamp in Zechariah’s vision was hanging also. This, however, is improbable. The addition of the bowl to the holy candlestick has its obvious meaning: “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit,” Zechariah 4:6. No human agency is now needed. The bowl yields a ceaseless supply of oil. seven pipes to the seven lamps] This has been variously interpreted to mean either one, two, or seven pipes connecting each lamp with the oil-bowl. The most natural interpretation of our present Hebrew text is, that each lamp of the candlestick was connected by seven pipes with the bowl which fed it with oil, and that the large and perfect number of pipes is intended to symbolise the plentifulness of the supply. There are seven pipes to each of the lamps. R. V.

And I said, I have looked and behold a candlestick all of gold - The candlestick is the seven-branched candlestick of the tabernacle Exodus 25:31, but with variations purposely introduced to

1. In this vision the interpreting angel appears first. Came again — The angel seems to have withdrawn temporarily; in the fourth vision he appears — if at all — only in Zechariah 3:1.