Zechariah 2

Chapter 2 of Zechariah contains the third of eight visions the prophet saw during the night in the second year of King Darius (c. 520 BC). Zechariah 1 presents the vision of the horseman and the vision of the four horns and the four craftsmen, and chapter 2 goes on to depict a restored Jerusalem. The Hebrew Bible numbers the passage found at 1:18–21 in English translations as 2:1–4, so chapter 2 in the Hebrew Bible has seventeen verses.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 A man with a measuring line (a cord used to measure length) sets out to measure the breadth and length of Jerusalem. An angel is told to say to "this young man" that Jerusalem will be inhabited as towns without walls because of the multitude of people and cattle in it. The LORD will be a wall of fire round about her and the glory in her midst.
• Verses 6–9 The people of Zion living in the land of the north, that is, Babylon, are called to flee and escape from there. Whoever touches them touches the apple of the LORD's eye, and the nations that plundered them will themselves become a spoil.
• Verses 10–13 The daughter of Zion is told to rejoice, for the LORD is coming to dwell in her midst. In that day many nations will be joined to the LORD as His people, and the LORD will inherit Judah as His portion and choose Jerusalem again. The chapter closes with the command that all flesh be silent before Him.

Key Verses

• Zechariah 2:5 "For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about" — a promise that God Himself will be the protection of the returned community, which had no city walls.
• Zechariah 2:8 "for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye" — frequently cited as an expression of how precious God's people are to Him.
• Zechariah 2:11 "And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people" — expresses the prospect that peoples outside Israel will also become God's people.

People and Places

• Zechariah: A prophet who, together with Haggai, encouraged the rebuilding of the temple after the return from exile.
• The man with the measuring line: A figure in the vision who sets out to measure Jerusalem.
• Angels: The angel who interprets the visions appears, along with another angel who goes out to meet him.
• Zion: A name referring to both Jerusalem and its people.
• Babylon: Called "the land of the north," it was where the people of Judah who had not yet returned were living.

Points for Reflection

• Interpreters differ on the identity of the speaker in verses 8–11 who says that "the LORD of hosts hath sent me." Some take the speaker to be the prophet himself, while others take him to be an angel. Some Christian interpreters read the passage in connection with Christ.
• Opinions also differ on whether "this young man" refers to Zechariah or to the man doing the measuring.
• The city walls were later rebuilt in the time of Nehemiah. For this reason, many interpreters read "towns without walls" as a symbolic picture of prosperity and protection rather than as a literal prediction.
• The words "I will dwell in the midst of thee" are read in connection with John 1:14 and with the New Jerusalem, where God dwells with His people (Revelation 21:3). The motif of measuring the city also appears in Ezekiel 40 and in Revelation 11:1 and 21:15.