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The Horses of Zechariah 1 Are God!1

I saw by night, and behold, a Man riding upon a red Horse and He stood between the myrtle trees which were in the hollow. And behind Him were Horses: Reds, Sorrels, and Whites. (Zechariah 1:8, a more literal translation)2

So they answered the Angel of the LORD, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, "We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly." Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, "O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah . . . (Zechariah 1:11-12).

Do not add (Proverbs 30:55-6) anything to the text, and by God's grace you will see.

In Zechariah 1:9 Zechariah asks, "What are these?" The "these" in the context are the Horses of verse 8.

The Man who stood among the myrtle trees (verse 10) answers Zechariah with,

These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth. (Zechariah 1:10)

In other words, the Horses are the ones who "the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth." These Horses respond.

So they answered the Angel of the Lord,3 who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, "We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly." (Zechariah 1:11)

Next, the Angel of the Lord answers the Horses.

Then the Angel of the Lord answered and said, "O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?" (Zechariah 1:12)

Here the Angel of the Lord calls the Horses the "LORD of hosts."

The Horses "are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth." This "to and fro throughout the earth" which is also found in the next verse (11) is similar language to Zechariah 4:10 of the "eyes of the Lord, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth" (see also 2 Chronicles 16:9).4 The "eyes of the Lord" are God.

So, the Angel of the Lord calls the Horses, "LORD of hosts," (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, Yehvâh tsevâ'ot). Then the Horses, that is, the LORD of hosts, answers.

And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me, with good and comforting words. (Zechariah 1:13)

So, the discourse goes like this: It begins in verse 8 as Zechariah sees "a Man riding on a red Horse" standing among the myrtle trees (Zechariah 1:8). After seeing the man and his horse, Zechariah sees behind the man, "Horses: Reds, Sorrels, and Whites," and asks the man in verse 9, "My Lord, what are these?" In other words, what are these Horses? Verses 10-11 tell what They do, and verses 12-13 reveals Who They are. They are called, "the LORD of hosts" (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, Yehvâh tsevâ'ot) in verse 12 and "the LORD" (יְהוָה, Yehvâh) in verse 13.

Endnotes:

1. These Horses in Zechariah 1 are indeed the Lord, but earthly horses are not. See e.g. Psalm 20:7; 33:17; Isaiah 31:1-3a; Hosea 1:7.

Horses of the Lord are also found e.g. in Jeremiah 8:16 (12:5?); Habakkuk 3:8, 15. Chariots of fire are found in 2 Kings 2:11-12 [13:14]; 6:17, and chariots in 1 Chronicles 28:18 [note verses 12, 19]; Psalm 68:17; Isaiah 66:15; Zechariah 6:1-8.

2. Zechariah 1:8 in the Hebrew is, רָאִיתִי הַלַּיְלָה וְהִנֵּה־אִישׁ רכֵב עַל־סוּס אָדם וְחוּא עמֵד בֵּין הַהֲדַסִּים אֲשֶׁר בַּמְּצֻלָה וְאַחֲרָיו סוּסִים אֲדֻמִּים שְׂרֻקִּים וּלְבָנִים (râ'iytiy halaylâh vehinnêh-'iysh rokhêv `al-sus 'âdom vehu' `omêd bêyn hahadasiym 'asher bamtsulâh ve'acharâyv susiym 'adummiym seruqqiym ulevâniym).

3. For more on God being called an angel, see Zechariah 3:1-2; 12:8 and also "The Three Men of Genesis 18 Are God" and endnote therein.

4. In Zechariah 1:10 what is translated "to walk to and fro" is לְהִתְהַלֵּךְ (lehithallêkh). In Zechariah 1:11 what is translated "We have walked to and fro" is הִתְהַלַּכְנוּ (hithallakhnu). In Zechariah 4:10 what is translated "scan to and fro" is מְשׁוֹטְטִים (meshottiym) which is the same word translated "run to and fro" in 2 Chronicles 16:9.

In Zechariah 6:7 what is translated "that they might walk to and fro" is לָלֶכֶת לְהִתְהַלֵּך (lâlekhet lehithallêkh). What is translated "Go, walk to and fro" is לְכוּ הִתְהַלְּכוּ (lekhu hithallekhu). What is translated "So they walked to and fro" is וַתִּתְהַלַּכְנָה (vattithallakhnâh).

In Job 1:7 & 2:2 Satan uses both terms. In Job 1:7 & 2:2 what is translated "from going to and fro" is מִשּׁוּט (mishut; 2:2 מִשֻּׁט), and what is translated "and from walking" is וּמֵהִתְהַלֵּךְ (umêhithallêkh). Daniel 12:4 uses similar language with "shall run to and fro" יְשׁטְטוּ (yeshottu), and Amos 8:12 with "they shall run to and fro" יְשׁוֹטְטוּ (yeshottu).

 

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