Zechariah 2:4

And said unto him,.... That is, the other angel said to the angel that had been talking with the prophet, Run, speak to this young man: meaning Zechariah, who was either young in years, as Samuel and

And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: And said unto him, Run, speak to this young

And said unto him; or, And he said; or, as the French, Lequel lui dit, Which said unto him: so it is plain that the Angel which now was going forth spake to that angel which came to meet him, or gave him orders what to do. Run; since you came so seasonably, hasten with all diligence, and from me tell that young man, Zechariah. Jerusalem, which hath so long lain in rubbish, which I once delighted in, which now seems desolate and hopeless, shall be inhabited, filled with inhabitants, as towns without walls; the suburbs of it shall be as towns unwalled for greatness of extent, and for safety and freedom from enemies and danger: their own multitudes of men shall be some safeguard to them; and they shall have my presence, a better safeguard. Cattle, brought thither for sacred uses, for sacrifices.

Zechariah 2:4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited [as] towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:Ver. 4. Run, speak to this young man] Not go, but run; yea, fly swiftly, with weariness of flight, as Daniel 9:21. Christ thinks it long ere his praying people hear from him. Only he will be inquired of by them, Ezekiel 36:37. Zechariah seems to have been a young prophet, and Christ remembered the kindness of his youth, and became a wonderful counsellor to him; he gave to this young man (or greenbeaded stripling) knowledge and discretion, Proverbs 1:4. Epiphanius saith he was an old man; and that he is called a young man because a client and disciple of the angel that communed with him. Where angels are called men it was no disparagement to Zechariah to call himself a lad, or servant, considering his distance. Thus Abraham’ s servant, though old, is called his boy, Genesis 24:52, by a catachresis. That is a good note that Mr Potable gives here, that the angel tells the prophet, but the prophet must tell the people; God using not the ministry of angels, but men earthen vessels, to bear his name to his people, Acts 8:27; Acts 9:6; Acts 16:9. Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls] Or shall dwell in towns without walls viz. in the suburbs or villages, there being not room enough within the walls to receive them. This seemed an incredible thing to this poor remnant now returned from Babylon. But it is the property and duty of believers to trust God upon his bare word; and that against sense in things visible, and against reason in things improbable. For the multitude of men and cattle therein] That is, saith Augustine, of spiritual and carnal persons in the Church Catholic.

(4) And said unto him.—Some commentators suppose that it is the angel-interpreter who here speaks; but if this were the case, an “other angel” would be a superfluous figure in the vision, for the angel-interpreter might have addressed “this young man” directly. Accordingly, we agree with the Authorised Version in taking this “other angel” as the speaker. This young man is by some supposed to be Zechariah: but it gives a much more definite turn to the meaning of the vision to understand the expression as referring to “the man with the measuring line.” Towns without walls—i.e., unfortified towns. A similar expression in the Hebrew is contrasted with “fortified cities” in 1 Samuel 6:18. The “other angel,” for the instruction of Zechariah, directs the angel-interpreter to inform the man who was measuring that there could be no object in taking an exact measure of Jerusalem, since “for the multitude of men and cattle” it would soon exceed its original limits. It would be an unnecessary forcing of the words to suppose with some commentators that the measurer is called a “young man” on account of his simplicity and ignorance. That this prophecy was fulfilled in the grandeur and extent of Jerusalem may be seen by a reference to the descriptions of it, after its restoration, by Aristéas (Ed. Schmidt), Hecatæus, &c. Josephus (Bell, Jud i. 5. 4, 92) says that in the time of Herod Agrippa Jerusalem had, “by reason of the multitude” or its inhabitants, gradually “extended beyond its original limits,” so that another hill had to be taken in, which was fortified, and called “Bezethá.”

Verse 4. Run, speak to this young man] Nehemiah must have been a young man when he was [Persian] sakee, or cup-bearer, to Artaxerxes. As towns without walls] It shall be so numerously inhabited as not to be contained within its ancient limits. Josephus, speaking of this time, says, WARS v. iv. 2, "The city, overflowing with inhabitants, by degrees extended itself beyond its walls."

4. and said unto him] Rather, and he said unto him; i.e. the interpreting angel said to the second angel whom he met. That he might remain himself near the prophet, whose interpreter he was appointed to be throughout the whole series of visions, he sent his brother angel instead of going himself in pursuit of the man with the measuring line, who by this time had passed on his errand out of the field of view, giving him a message for him in the hearing of the prophet, and so discharging his interpreting function, so far as this vision is concerned. this young man] Some commentators refer this to Zechariah himself, and understand it to be the second angel in Zechariah 2:3, who meeting the interpreting angel bids him run back to the prophet with the announcement that follows. It is difficult, however, to see why on this view the angel should be told to “run;” whereas on the view taken above the messenger is directed to hasten after one who has already started on his errand, and the scenic character of the vision is altogether better maintained. as towns without walls] as open, unwalled country villages. The word is rendered, “unwalled villages,” Ezekiel 38:11, and is there explained to be places where men are “at rest and dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.” Comp. Deuteronomy 3:5; Esther 9:19. The prophecy of this and the next verse, however it may include, yet far exceeds the rebuilding of the walls by Nehemiah, or any prosperity and extension into suburbs of Jerusalem, that has yet taken place.

And said unto him, Run, speak unto this young man - The prophet himself, who was to report to his people what he heard.

4, 5. And said unto him — The interpreting angel is the speaker.