1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
8 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you.
10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
<html><b>with its oil - bowl on top of it</b> as in (Josh. 15:19): “The upper springs”. This is an expression for a spring, [hence] a sort of large round bowl. <b>and its seven lamps</b> A type of vessel into which oil and wicks are inserted. <b>seven tubes each</b> Seven small tubes come to every lamp, for the oil flows from the bowl through those tubes into each lamp.</html>
<html><b>And [there were] two olive trees near it</b> Beside it were two trees upon which olives were growing. <b>one on the right of the bowl, one on the its left, etc.</b> Here [the prophet] does not explain about the two golden vats mentioned below in the chapter, which are the sorts of bowls or vats of the oil press. [These vats] stand beside the olive trees. The olives beat themselves into the vats and are heated there as [if] in a vat or pit where olives are generally packed. There they are pressed in the oil press, and the oil falls into the vats, and from the vats into the bowl, and from the bowl into the tubes, and from the tubes into the lamps. The tubes and the lamps number forty-nine, an allusion to the light, for in the future the light of the sun will be sevenfold the light of the seven days forty-nine times the light of a day of Creation.</html>
<html><b>“What are these, my Lord?”</b> What is this, that the olive trees are picked by themselves, and the oil comes into the lamps by itself?</html>
<html><b>“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel”</b> This is a sign for you to promise Zerubbabel that just as the olives and this oil are finished by themselves in all respects, so will you not build My house with your [own] power or with your [own] strength. <b>but by My spirit</b> I will place My spirit upon Darius, and he will command you to build and to pay all the building expenses from his [treasury]; and [he will] help you with wheat, wine, oil, and wood, as is explained in Ezra (6, 7): They required no aid from any man.</html>
<html><b>Who are you, O great mountain?</b> You, the princes of the other side of the river Tattenai, the governor of the other side of the river; Shethar Bozenai, and their companions (Ezra 6:6), who have stopped the work until now - from now on you shall be before Zerubbabel as a plain; you have no more ruling power or superiority over him. <b>He will bring out the stone of the main architect</b> The main architect will take the plummet in his hand to be the main architect at the head of the builders, and they will build everything according to his words [everything] that he will order concerning a beautiful and glorious building. <b>with shouts of grace, grace to it</b> To that stone, for everyone will say, “How beautiful is this building that was made with this plummet.” [The expression] “shouts of grace” is as (Job 39:7) “the shouts of a driver,” and (Isa. 66:6) “a sound of stirring” both of which are expressions of making a voice heard.</html>
<html><b>Zerubbabel’s hands founded this house</b> from beginning to end, in the days of Cyrus I. <b>and his hands shall complete</b> it now. The word תְּבַצַעְנָה is an expression of completion, as in (Isa. 10: 12) “when the Lord completes all His work.”</html>
<html><b>For, whoever despised the day</b> when the Temple was founded which was small in their eyes, as is stated in Ezra (3:12): “But many of priests, etc., who had seen, etc., upon its foundation, wept aloud when they beheld this temple;” and in Haggai (2:3): “Is it not as nothing in your eyes?” - will rejoice now when they see the plummet suspended from the plumb line in the hand of the architect, the head of the builders, with which he directs a line to the corner, and this will be in the hand of Zerubbabel. <b>these, sevenfold</b> Seven times the first foundation in the days of Cyrus. So did <i>Jonathan</i> render: Seven rows of stones like these. <b>the eyes of the Lord are roving to and fro</b> And it appeals to Him to do so; and He saw this Zerubbabel suited for the matter.</html>
<html><b>What are these two olive trees?</b> What do they symbolize, and what do the two olive branches (<i>troches</i> in Old French) symbolize? [They are] a cluster of olives on a branch, as if a type of ear of grain.</html>
<html><b>beside the two golden vats</b> i.e., beside the two golden vats, as in (II Sam. 14:30): “See, Joab’s field is near mine.” <b>that empty out the gold[en oil] from themselves</b> This oil that is clear and good to illuminate like gold, as in (Job 37:22): “From the north comes gold.”</html>
<html><b>two anointed ones</b> The horns of the priesthood and the kingdom who are anointed with the anointing oil. <b>who stand before the Lord of all the earth</b> to supplicate Him to return their greatness. <b>the two anointed ones</b> The good inclination and the evil inclination, which is converted to good in the merit of the Torah.</html>