Commentary on Zechariah

Commentary on Zechariah 2

COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH 2 lifted up my eyes and saw, and, lo, a man with a measuring cord in his hand. I said to him, Where are you going? He replied to me, To measure Jerusalem to see what are its breadth and its length (Zec 2.1–2). It has often been mentioned before that people raise the eyes within them to understand the visions affecting them. In the same way as referred to, the prophet in this case also raised his eyes and saw a man holding a measuring cord in his hand with which, like a good architect , to measure the breadth and length of Jerusalem to see how to lay its foundations and ensure its rebuilding after experiencing destruction by the enemy. It is time to see who is the one who appeared to the prophet. See whether it is the same person as the one mounted upon a red horse and positioned between two shady mountains. According to one of the interpretations mentioned, he is the savior, whom the prophet Jeremiah indicated in saying, “Lo, a man, Dawn is his name” (called Dawn in being the true light). John the Baptist also said of him, “A man comes after me, though he is before me.”1 This man, builder of Jerusalem, who in the manner of an architect first established and laid its foundations, and, after the destruction it suffered with the onset of the enemy, who also enslaved it, measures its breadth and length so as in an orderly and coordinated fashion to lay the groundwork in the proper places where its walls should be raised. To the prophet he was shown holding a measuring cord, plaited of various architectural rules, for the accomplishment of what was stated in the verse a measuring line will still be extended over Jerusalem. In keeping with the expression the city of the 1. Zec 1.8; 6.12 (not Jeremiah); Jn 1.9, 15. The LXX sees “Dawn” in the Heb. form for “shoot” in Zec 3.8; 6.12. 49 Lord of hosts, the verse “God established it forever” is not inapplicable to the savior as architect.2 Similarly, the apostle Paul writes of this divine city, to which all those look forward who are pleasing by their faith, in these terms: “They set their sights on the city with foundations, God being its architect and builder.” As the aforementioned measuring cord he holds the angels and holy men, who like excellent architects build with him by the practice of virtue (referred to as his hand). Paul at any rate says of himself, “I laid a foundation like a skillful architect .” In fact, in Ezekiel a man is seen holding a builder’s tape and rod for measuring and laying foundations for God’s holy Temple.3 Now, how he measured and designed the building you can learn from reading the prophet. Since, then, it is also the savior who is indicated as builder of the spiritual Jerusalem on high—something that is still clearer from the Father’s reference to him in the words, “He will build my city”4 —and since the angels and human beings are also assigned to the rebuilding of the city, it is in accord with all the clarification provided that we are to understand the man shown by Zechariah in the prophet’s words, Lo, a man with a measuring cord in his hand and Where are you going? so as to obtain a response about the one holding the measuring cord for measuring how wide and long Jerusalem is. After all, it is characteristic of one planning a building properly to know about the site and suitability of the layout so that all parts of the city—shrines, temples, passageways, corners, streets—be placed in accord with suitable breadth and length. The result is that the wisdom of God will move confidently through these streets, making herself heard on the pinnacles of the city walls in keeping with the sage advice in Proverbs that God personally gives to the guardians of this holy city to proclaim in it and on its walls day and night, never keeping silent but ever saying what concerns the welfare of its citizens.5 50 DIDYMUS THE BLIND 2. Zec 1.16; Ps 48.8. 3. Heb 11.6, 10; 1 Cor 3.10; Ezek 40.3. Do holy women also play a part in this construction? Does Didymus envisage women readers of...