properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular
said
וָאֹמַ֣רva.'o.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular
two
שְּׁנֵ֤יshe.Nei
H8147
two · noun, common both genders dual construct
trees
הַזֵּיתִים֙ha.zei.Tim
H2132
an olive (as yielding illuminating oil) · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
right
יְמִ֥יןye.Min
H3225
the right hand or side (leg · noun, common feminine singular construct
candlestick
הַמְּנוֹרָ֖הha.me.no.Rah
H4501
a chandelier · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
left
שְׂמֹאולָֽהּse.mo.Lah
H8040
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine 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
Zechariah 4:3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
Revelation 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Zechariah 4:11–end
Enough is said to Zechariah to encourage him, and to enable him to encourage others, with reference to the good work of building the temple which they were now about, and that was the principal intention of the vision he saw; but still he is inquisitive about the particulars, which we will ascribe, not to any vain curiosity, but to the value he had for divine discoveries and the pleasure he took in acquainting himself with them. Those that know much of the things of God cannot but have a humble desire to know more. Now observe,
I. What his enquiry was. He understood the meaning of the candlestick with its lamps: It is Jerusalem, it is the temple, and their salvation that is to go forth as a…
Zechariah three times (Zac 4:4, Zac 4:11-12) asks as to the two olives before he gets an answer; the question becomes more minute each time. What he at first calls "two olive trees," he afterwards calls "branches," as on closer looking he observes that the "branches" of the trees are the channels through which a continual flow of oil dropped into the bowl of the lamps (Zac 4:2), and that this is the purpose for which the two olive trees stand beside the candlestick. Primarily, the "two" refer to Joshua and Zerubbabel. God, says AUBERLEN, at each of the transition periods of the world's history has sent great men to guide the Church. So the two witnesses shall appear before the destruction of…
What are these two olive trees - See on Zac 4:2 (note).
John Gill on Zechariah 4:11
Then answered I, and said unto him,.... To the angel that talked with him, Zechariah 4:1,
What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick, and upon the left side thereof? in Zechariah 4:2 they are said to be on each side of the bowl. The mystery of the candlestick being explained to Zechariah by the angel, the prophet desires to know the meaning of the two olive trees that were on the right and left of it, one on one side, and the other on the other side.
The Church Fathers
(Verse 11 and following) And I answered and said to him, 'What are these two olive trees on the right and the left side of the lampstand?' And I answered the second time and said to him, 'What are these two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, from which the golden oil pours out?' And he said to me, 'Do you not know what these are?' And I said, 'No, my lord.' And he said, 'These are the two anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.' LXX: And I answered and said to him, 'What are these two olive trees on the right side of the lampstand and on its left side?' And I answered a second time and said to him, 'What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which pour out the golden fluid from themselves?' And he said to me, 'Do you not know what these are?' And I said, 'No, my Lord.' Then he said, 'These are the two sons of fatness who stand before the Lord of the entire earth.' Asking the prophet what the two olive trees meant, one of which stood at the right side of the lampstand and the other at the left, the Lord or the angel of the Lord refused to answer. When the prophet understood this, he inquires a second time, saying: What are these two branches of the olive trees or two golden pipes, which in Hebrew are called Sinthoroth (in Greek, μυξωτῆρες), and which are themselves the two μυξωτῆρες upon which the two branches or two olive trees are placed, made of the purest gold. And when the prophet asked about the two branches, and was again questioned by the angel whether he knew what the two branches signified, and he said, 'No, Lord,' the angel of the Lord answered: 'These are two sons of oil, as Symmachus wished, or of splendor, as Aquila interpreted, that is, of brightness, or of richness, as the Septuagint translated, or of clarity, as Theodotion rendered: they stand before the Ruler of all the earth.' We read above about the two olive trees that were on the right and left of the lampstand. And therefore, the one who now asks about them, does not deserve to hear, because he does not remember the previous things, or because what was said there is obscure, he desires to hear more clearly here, or surely the silence of the angels confutes his stubbornness, because he claims to know greater things, although the Hebrews confirm that when he asked about the olive trees, he heard nothing, because he did…
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
Olive-tree — Is frequently mentioned in Scripture. The dove from the ark brought an olive-branch to Noah (Gen. 8:11). It is mentioned among the most notable trees of Palestine, where it was cultivated long before…
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).
John Calvin on Zechariah 4:11–end
Zechariah 4:11-14
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?
11. Et respondi et dixi ad eum, Quid duae oleae istae ad dextram candelabri et ad sinstram ejus?
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?
12. Et respondi secundo et dixi ad eum, Quid duo alvei (vel, cursus, vertunt alii, spicas) olearum, quae sunt inter duas fistulas auri, fundentes a se aurum?
13. And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
13. Et dixit mihi dicendo, Annon cog…
This gave to the prophet a general explanation of the meaning of the vision; for the angel had told him that the house (or kingdom) of God would be built and finished by the Spirit of Jehovah, and the church of the Lord would accomplish its mission, to shine brightly as a candlestick. But there is one point in the vision that is not yet quite clear to him, and he therefore asks for an explanation in Zac 4:11-14. Zac 4:11. "And I answered and said to him, What are these two olive-trees on the right of the candlestick, and on the left? Zac 4:12. And I answered the second time, and said to him, What are the two branches (ears) of the olive-trees which are at the hand of the two golden spouts, w…
A plumb line, a cord with a tin or lead weight attached to one end, is used in construction to ensure that a wall is vertical. • The seven lamps: Seven signifies completeness or perfection. God sees all that takes place on earth; he controls the fates of peoples and nations.
Rashi on Zechariah 4:11
What are these two olive trees? What do they symbolize, and what do the two olive branches (troches in Old French) symbolize? [They are] a cluster of olives on a branch, as if a type of ear of grain.
