to lift · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular
eyes
עֵינַ֛י'ei.Nai
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix
looked
וָאֵ֖רֶאva.'E.re'
H7200
to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular
man
אִ֑ישׁ'Ish
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
measuring
מִדָּֽהmi.Dah
H4060
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
line
חֶ֥בֶלChe.vel
H2256
a rope (as twisted) · noun, common both genders singular construct
hand
וּבְיָד֖וֹu.ve.ya.Do
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · conjunction + preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ezekiel 40:3 And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand,…
Zechariah 1:16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line s…
Ezekiel 40:5 And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an han…
Ezekiel 47:4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me…
Revelation 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them tha…
Revelation 21:15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
Zechariah 1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Zechariah 2:1-5
This prophet was ordered, in God's name, to assure the people (Zac 1:16) that a line should be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Now here we have that promise illustrated and confirmed, that the prophet might deliver that part of his message to the people with the more clearness and assurance.
I. He sees, in a vision, a man going to measure Jerusalem (Zac 2:1, Zac 2:2): He lifted up his eyes again, and looked. God had shown him that which was very encouraging to him, (Zac 1:20), and therefore now he lifted up his eyes again and looked. Note, The comfortable sights which by faith we have had of God's goodness made to pass before us should engage us to lift up our eyes again, and to search furth…
A man with a measuring-line in his hand - Probably a representation of Nehemiah, who got a commission from Artaxerxes Longimanus to build up the walls of Jerusalem; for hitherto it had remained without being enclosed.
John Gill on Zechariah 2:1
I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked,.... And saw a third vision; which, as Kimchi owns, refers to the times of the Messiah; though it might be of use to the Jews then present, to encourage them to expect the rebuilding of Jerusalem, in a literal sense:
and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand: by whom is meant, not Nehemiah, nor Zerubbabel; see Zechariah 4:10 who were concerned in the building of Jerusalem; nor any mere man, nor even a created angel; for, though he may be the same with the other angel, that did not talk with the prophet, Zechariah 2:3 as Kimchi observes; seeing he seems to be superior to him that did; yet not a ministering spirit, but the Messiah, who in this…
Zechariah 2:1-4
1. I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.
1. Et sustuli oculos meos et vidi; et ecce vir in ejus manu funiculus mensurae.
2. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
2. Et dixi, Quo tu vadis? et dixit mihi, Ad metiendum Ierusalem, ut videam quanta latitudo ejus, et quanta longitudo ejus.
3. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,
3. Et ecce angelus qui loquebatur mecum egressus est, et alter angelus egressus est in occursum ejus;
4. And said unto him, Run, spe…
The Church Fathers
(Chapter 2, Verses 1, 2.) And I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold, a man, and in his hand a measuring line. And I said: Where are you going? And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, and see how wide it is, and how long it is. (Alternate translation: And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, and see how high it is, and how long it is.) Septuagint: And I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold, a man, and in his hand a measuring cord, and I said to him: Where are you going? And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, and see how wide it is, and how long it is. With his eyes raised, Quiprius had seen sad things on the four horns. Now he raises his eyes again, to see the man about whom it is written: 'Behold the man, his name is the East' (Zech. VI, 12); about whom we also read above: 'And behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom, or in the shady mountains' (Zech. I, 8). And about whom the Father speaks: 'He has built my city' (Heb. XI), of which God is the architect and builder. Here it is seen also from Ezechiel, holding a rope in his hand, and a reed measuring a cubit, to measure Jerusalem, the description of which, namely, its width and length, the same prophet continues in mystical language (Ezek. 40). Some think that this was fulfilled in part under Zerubbabel, and Jesus, and Ezra, and Nehemiah, and other leaders or kings, who ruled the people of Israel until the coming of the Lord and Savior. But others, especially the Jews, interpret it as a thousand-year kingdom, seeking physical things. But many of us refer to the heavenly Jerusalem, and say that it must be rebuilt, as it had been destroyed by the sins of the souls. The heretics suspect this. However, we interpret Mount Zion, the mother of the firstfruits and the saints, as the Church, which was built in the passion and resurrection of the Lord, and is continually being built by him who knows the measures and merits of each individual. What we said about the Church can also be applied to the souls of the believers, which are daily built by the Lord and experience His peace that was left to the apostles.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Satan — Adversary; accuser. When used as a proper name, the Hebrew word so rendered has the article “the adversary” (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). In the New Testament it is used as interchangeable with Diabolos, or…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Whilst the second vision sets forth the destruction of the powers that were hostile to Israel, the third (Zac 2:1-5) with the prophetic explanation (Zac 2:6-13) shows the development of the people and kingdom of God till the time of its final glory. The vision itself appears very simple, only a few of the principal features being indicated; but in this very brevity it presents many difficulties so far as the exposition is concerned. It is as follows: Zac 2:1. "And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold a man, and in his hand a measuring line. Zac 2:2. Then I said, Whither goest thou? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see how great its breadth, and how great its length. Zac 2:3. A…
The scope of the visions narrows from the cosmos (vision 1), to the nations (vision 2), to the city of Jerusalem. The vision itself (2:1-3) is followed by an explanation of its meaning (2:4-5).
