And he said, This is wickedness. And
he cast it into the midst of the EPHAH; and he cast the weight of lead upon the
mouth thereof.
Zechariah 5:8
LITERAL
HEBREW:
And then he was saying, “THIS, she, THE WICKEDNESS !”
and then he was CAUSING her being forcibly thrown into the midst of the measuring-basket !
and then he was CAUSING the stone of lead being forcibly thrown upon her ( the basket’s) mouth !
Zec 5:8 וַיֹּ֨אמֶר֙ זֹ֣את הָרִשְׁעָ֔ה וַיַּשְׁלֵ֥ךְ
אֹתָ֖הּ אֶל־תֹּ֣וךְ
הָֽאֵיפָ֑ה וַיַּשְׁלֵ֛ךְ אֶת־אֶ֥בֶן
הָעֹפֶ֖רֶת אֶל־פִּֽיהָ׃
ANALYSIS:
This, she, = "This" is a Feminine "this", which is lost to English readers. Hence , the "she" is added.
The to-be verb "is" is understood in this Hebrew construction.
The Feminine "Wickedness" has the definite article "the" prefixed to it, hence, THE Wickedness. In other words, it is NOT wickedness in general but rather a SPECIFIC wickedness.
The strange verb tense for both major clauses in this verse are in the Hif'el, which indicates the subject was CAUSING the action to come about but not performing the actions himself.
Both verbs in the major clauses are in the imperfect tense, meaning on-going and unfinished. This strange tense usage here is placing the action in an intensified narrative for the reader.
This is apparent to the Hebrew reader, but not to the English reader.
The Vav Consecutive found at the beginning of the verbs indicate a succession of actions.
Measuring-basket ( EPHAH ) is Feminine singular. “Mouth” has
a 3rd person Feminine singular ending and so “it” is literally “her mouth” , in reference to
the basket opening. Hebrew has no "it" in its language.
** Note on KIKKAR: Courtesy of BIBLEHUB.COM
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. BibleSoft.com
** b. a particular unit of weight, talent, usually of gold or silver: — זָהָבּ׳כ 2 Samuel 12:30; 2 Kings 9:14 18t.; כֶּסֶף ׳כ 1 Kings 20:39; 2 Kings 5:5 21t.; but also of iron, בַּרְזֶל 1 Chronicles 29:7, and bronze נְחשֶׁת Exodus 38:29; 1 Chronicles 29:7. — The weight of the talent was 58.944 kilograms (= 129.97 lbs.) according to older (Babylonian) standard, later 49.11 king (= 108.29 lbs.) and less; see BenzArchaeology 187 ff.194NowArchaeology i. 208 f. — See also שֶׁקֶל.
INTERPRETATION:
The Interpreting Angel was greatly incensed at THE WICKEDNESS
trying to escape from the basket, as he identified her. Therefore, the imperfect Hif'el tense was in use, to intensify the action to the reader.
Obviously, she was trying to escape from the basket because
the Interpreting Angel was causing her
to be cast forcefully back into the basket. She could not leave her basket yet.
Then, to make sure She, THE Wickedness, did not escape, he
was causing the heavy lead stone, the KIKKAR, to be forcefully cast upon the
opening of the basket. . . a COMMERCIAL-sized basket used by the ancients in the commerce of food grains.
Let us keep in mind that the Early Christian writers
interpreted KIKKAR as a LARGE unit of money, hence a “talent” in the KJV. Various
historical accounts state it was either 103 lbs troy ( approximately) or 129
lbs troy.
Either measurement involved a HUGE amount of gold or silver and was very
heavy. The lead stone here may have been very familiar to 6th century BC
traders as a commercial WEIGHT used in commercial transactions of food grain .
Now, let us keep in mind that we do not know HOW the Angel
actually was causing this to happen. The CAUSATIVE action is simply how the
Hebrew verb states these actions took place, in communicating the scene to the
reader , in an intense way.
It is significant that the ITEMS identified with THE Wickedness --- items of LARGE commercial transactions --- were the SAME ITEMS being used to confine and restrict the movement of THE Wickedness.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
- WHY was THE Wickedness, trying to escape ?
- WHAT was she, THE Wickedness, going to do after she escaped ?
- WHY was she called , THE Wickedness, in the Hebrew ?
- Was there a TIME --- or ERA --- element involved in her futile attempt to leave her basket ?
- Was there a PLACE restriction involved in her attempt to leave her basket ?
Or . . .
was it BOTH, perhaps ?
+ + +
JESUS
saith unto him,
I+, I AM, the Way, the Truth, and the Life:
no man cometh unto THE FATHER,
but by ME+.
John
14:6
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