Zechariah 1:19

1:19 So I asked the angelic messenger ¹  who spoke with me, “What are these?” He replied, “These are the horns ²  that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ³ 

Zechariah 2:6

2:6 “You there! ⁴  Flee from the northland!” says the Lord, “for like the four winds of heaven ⁵  I have scattered you,” says the Lord.

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¹ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in v. 9.

² sn An animal’s horn is a common OT metaphor for military power (Pss 18:2; 75:10; Jer 48:25; Mic 4:13). The fact that there are four horns here (as well as four blacksmiths, v. 20) shows a correspondence to the four horses of v. 8 which go to four parts of the world, i.e., the whole world.

³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴ sn These are the scattered Jews of eschatological times (as the expression four winds of heaven makes clear) and not those of Zechariah’s time who have, for the most part, already returned by 520 b.c. This theme continues and is reinforced in vv. 10-13.

⁵ tn Or “of the sky.” The same Hebrew term, שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.