Zechariah 4:11
Context4:11 Next I asked the messenger, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the menorah?”
Zechariah 4:14
Context4:14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones 1 who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Zechariah 6:1
Context6:1 Once more I looked, and this time I saw four chariots emerging from between two mountains of bronze. 2
1 tn The usual word for “anointed (one),” מָשִׁיַח (mashiakh), is not used here but rather בְנֵי־הַיִּצְהָר (vÿne-hayyitshar), literally, “sons of fresh oil.” This is to maintain consistency with the imagery of olive trees. In the immediate context these two olive trees should be identified with Joshua and Zerubbabel, the priest and the governor. Only the high priest and king were anointed for office in the OT and these two were respectively the descendants of Aaron and David.
2 tn Heb “two mountains, and the mountains [were] mountains of bronze.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
sn Bronze, a hard, almost impenetrable metal, is an apt figure to speak of the obstacles standing in the way of the accomplishment of God’s purposes for the postexilic Jewish community (cf. 4:7). The cleft between the two from which the chariots emerge might be related to the eschatological triumph of the