The Basket and the Removal of Wickedness
Zechariah 5:5-11
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Zec.5.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויצא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- המלאך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- שא: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- נא: PART
- עיניך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2ms
- וראה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- היוצאת: VERB,qal,ptcp,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Zechariah 5:1 (verbal): Immediate context: the prophet likewise says 'I turned and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold'—same vision-language of lifting the eyes to see a supernatural object going forth.
- Zechariah 2:1 (structural): Similar visionary formula—'I lifted up mine eyes, and saw'—where the prophet is instructed/aware to look and observe a divinely revealed scene, showing a recurring narrative pattern in Zechariah.
- Isaiah 60:4 (verbal): Uses the same imperative to 'lift up your eyes... and see' (Hebrew: עֲלוּ־עֵינֵיכֶם) to draw attention to a revealed, world-changing reality—parallel rhetoric of beholding divine action.
- Revelation 17:1-3 (thematic): An angelic guide invites the seer ('Come hither; I will shew unto thee') and then shows a vision of a symbolic woman and judgment—parallel situation of an angel directing the prophet to look at a strange symbolic scene.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the angel who had been speaking with me came out, and said to me, "Lift up your eyes and see what is going forth."
- And the angel who had been speaking with me went out and said to me, "Lift up your eyes and see what is going forth."
Zec.5.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- האיפה: ADV,interrog,loc
- היוצאת: VERB,qal,ptcp,f,sg,def
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- עינם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+pron,3,m,pl
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Zech.5.7 (quotation): Immediate continuation: the angel identifies the ephah's contents explicitly as 'Wickedness,' directly explicating verse 5:6's enigmatic object.
- Zech.5:1-4 (structural): Parallel vision in the same chapter: an angel asks 'What is it?' and explains a symbolic object (a flying scroll) as a spreading curse—same prophetic device of an object embodying iniquity/judgment.
- Ezek.8:6 (thematic): An angelic guide points out the people's abominations—'do you see what they are doing?'—paralleling Zechariah's revelation of pervasive wickedness exposed by a visionary guide.
- Rev.17:1-6 (allusion): A woman personifies widespread corruption and idolatry (the great harlot); parallels the ephah-woman 'Wickedness' as a figurative female embodiment of pervasive sin.
- Isa.24:5-6 (thematic): Depicts the earth defiled and judgment because transgression is spread through the land—echoes Zechariah's theme that wickedness appears throughout the land and brings judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I said, "What is it?" He said, "An ephah that is going forth." And he added, "This is their appearance throughout all the earth."
- And I said, "What is it?" He said, "An ephah that goes forth." And he said, "This is their appearance throughout the land."
Zec.5.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והנה: ADV
- ככר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עפרת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נשאת: PTCP,qal,ptcp,f,pl
- וזאת: CONJ+DEM,f,sg
- אשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אחת: NUM,f,sg
- יושבת: VERB,qal,ptc,.,f,sg
- בתוך: PREP
- האיפה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Zech.5.8-11 (structural): Immediate context: the woman in the ephah is explicitly identified and carried off to Babylon — clarifies that the figure in v.7 is a symbolic personification of wickedness and explains her fate.
- Rev.17:1-6 (thematic): The vision of a woman representing corrupt city/evil (the Great Harlot) parallels Zechariah’s use of a female figure to personify communal wickedness and moral corruption.
- Ezek.16:15-63 (thematic): Jerusalem is portrayed as an adulterous woman whose unfaithfulness symbolizes national sin; like Zechariah’s woman, this passage personifies collective evil in feminine form to condemn moral and religious corruption.
- Isa.47:1-7 (thematic): Babylon is addressed as a woman brought low — thematically parallel insofar as prophetic literature personifies cities/nations as women and links feminine imagery to judgment and exile (relevant because Zechariah’s ephah-woman is transported to Babylon).
- Hos.2:2-13 (thematic): Israel is depicted as an unfaithful wife whose harlotry symbolizes covenant unfaithfulness; this motif of a woman representing communal sin echoes Zechariah’s symbolic woman in the ephah.
Alternative generated candidates
- And behold, a lead weight was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah.
- And behold, a lead weight was lifted, and behold a woman sitting in the ephah.
Zec.5.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- הרשעה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- וישלך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- תוך: PREP
- האיפה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- וישלך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אבן: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- העפרת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- פיה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,f
Parallels
- Zechariah 5:3 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language—identifies the object as iniquity and pictures putting it into the ephah with a lead weight on its mouth; this is the immediate verbal parallel and thematic hinge for 5:8.
- Zechariah 5:7 (structural): Continuation of the same vision: verse 7 describes the woman (wickedness) being put into the ephah; 5:8 completes the prophetic act of containment and sealing.
- Jeremiah 19:1-11 (thematic): Both are prophetic sign-acts employing an earthenware vessel to symbolize judgment on the city/people and the treatment of wickedness—the use of a clay object to dramatize coming destruction or removal of sin.
- Ezekiel 4:1-3 (structural): Like Zechariah’s action, Ezekiel performs a symbolic, material act (making a model on a clay tile, laying siege-signs) to portray judgment; both prophets use tangible objects and ritualized gestures to represent the fate of the people.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he said, "This is Wickedness." He thrust her into the ephah and cast the lead weight upon its mouth.
- He said, "This is Wickedness." He threw her into the ephah and rolled the lead weight over its mouth.
Zec.5.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואשא: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- וארא: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- והנה: ADV
- שתים: NUM,f,pl,abs
- נשים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יוצאות: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,f,pl
- ורוח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בכנפיהם: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+SUFF,3,m,pl
- ולהנה: INTJ
- כנפים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ככנפי: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cs
- החסידה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ותשאנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- האיפה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- בין: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ובין: CONJ+PREP
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Zechariah 5:1-8 (structural): Immediate context: the flying ephah vision and the woman (symbolizing wickedness) sealed in it — vv.1–8 introduce the ephah and its contents that the two winged women carry.
- Ezekiel 10:19 (thematic): Visions of winged beings bearing or lifting something between earth and heaven; the cherubim ‘spread their wings’ and the glory departs — similar imagery of winged figures effecting heavenly transport.
- Revelation 12:14 (thematic): A woman is given ‘the wings of a great eagle’ to fly into the wilderness — parallels the motif of women with wings used to transport a person/thing to safety or removal between earthly and heavenly realms.
- Jeremiah 8:7 (verbal): Uses the same Hebrew noun for ‘stork’ (חֲסִידָה, chasidah) — a lexical parallel connecting the bird-image (wings like a stork) in Zechariah’s vision.
- Exodus 19:4 (verbal): God’s metaphor of carrying on ‘eagle’s wings’ reflects the wider biblical motif of wings as means of transport or divine delivery, resonant with the winged women bearing the ephah.
Alternative generated candidates
- I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, two women were coming forward; the wind was in their wings, and they had wings like the wings of a stork. They lifted the ephah between earth and heaven.
- I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, two women were coming out; the wind was in their wings, and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between earth and heaven.
Zec.5.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- המלאך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אנה: ADV,interrog
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- מולכות: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,f,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- האיפה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Zechariah 5:11 (structural): Immediate continuation of the vision—answers the question by identifying the destination (the land of Shinar/Babylon) where the ephah/basket and its contents are set down.
- Ezekiel 11:24 (allusion): The prophet is lifted by the spirit and brought to Chaldea (Shinar/Babylon), echoing the motif of a visionary transport to Babylon as the place of exile/judgment.
- Amos 8:1-2 (verbal): Uses the image of a basket (ephah) as a prophetic sign of impending judgment—parallels Zechariah’s ephah/basket as a symbol of doom for wickedness.
- Revelation 17:1-3 (thematic): An angelic guide shows John a woman/prostitute representing corrupting wickedness and Babylon’s judgment—parallels Zechariah’s angel-guided vision of a woman in the basket and the association with Babylon.
- Isaiah 47:1 (thematic): Oracle against Babylon that portrays the city’s humiliation and fate; thematically parallels Zechariah’s consigning of wickedness to Shinar/Babylon as the scene of judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- I said to the angel who was speaking with me, "Where are they carrying the ephah?"
- I said to the angel who had been speaking with me, "Where are they carrying the ephah?"
Zec.5.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- לבנות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- שנער: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והוכן: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- והניחה: VERB,hip,perf,3,f,sg
- שם: ADV
- על: PREP
- מכנתה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Genesis 11:2-4 (thematic): Same geographic marker (Shinar) as the ancient center of human defiance; both scenes place a human/divine project in Shinar as locus of communal wickedness/pride.
- Daniel 1:2 (verbal): Uses the phrase 'land of Shinar' and describes items/people taken to Shinar and placed in a house/temple there—paralleling the image of setting a thing on its base in Shinar.
- 2 Kings 24:13 (thematic): Nebuchadnezzar carries the treasures/objects from Jerusalem to Babylon (Shinar) and places them in the house of his god—echoing the transfer and placement of objects/impurity into Shinar.
- Jeremiah 51:7 (verbal): Babylon portrayed as a vessel ('golden cup') holding and intoxicating the nations; parallels the ephah (a container) imagery and the idea of a place that holds/reveals wickedness.
- Revelation 18:2-3 (thematic): Babylon as the symbolic center of accumulated sin and commerce condemned by heaven—resonates with Zechariah's motif of sending wickedness to Shinar/Babylon for judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- He said to me, "To build for it a house in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, they shall set it there on its base."
- He said to me, "To build for her a house in the land of Shinar. When it is made ready, she will be set there on her pedestal."
Then the angel who had been speaking with me went out and said to me, 'Lift up your eyes now and see what is going forth.' And I said, 'What is it?' He said, 'It is an ephah.' And he said, 'This is their iniquity throughout the land.' And behold, a leaden weight was lifted up, and a woman was sitting in the midst of the ephah. And he said, 'This is Wickedness.' Then he thrust her into the midst of the ephah and threw the leaden weight upon its mouth.
I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, two women were coming out, with wind in their wings; they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between earth and sky.
I said to the angel who was speaking with me, 'Where are they carrying the ephah?'
He said to me, 'To build for it a house in the land of Shinar. When it is ready, they will set it there on its base.'