Zechariah 5
1 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.
2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.
4 I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
5 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.
6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.
7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.
8 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.
9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.
10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.
World Behind This Chapter
Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Zechariah 5.
How large is the flying scroll?
Its stated dimensions are twenty cubits by ten cubits—roughly the proportions assigned to the temple porch in 1 Kings 6:3. That parallel may be deliberate, but the vision does not explain why an unrolled scroll has those dimensions.
What is an ephah doing in the second vision?
An ephah was a dry-capacity measure used in commerce. The vision turns the container into an impossible symbolic object large enough to enclose a woman, so archaeological measures can explain the term without making the scene realistic.
Why is the ephah carried to Shinar?
Shinar is an old biblical name associated with Babylonia. The vision removes the personified “wickedness” from the land and prepares a house for it there, but scholars disagree about whether the scene targets Babylonian commerce, idolatry, imperial power, or evil more generally.
Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter 3
History & Daily Life1
- Weights and Measures in the BibleBible Odyssey
Explains ancient systems for measuring grain, liquids, metals, and commercial goods. This background clarifies the ephah in Zechariah’s vision as a standardized dry measure or measuring container and the heavy lead disk used to seal the personified Wickedness inside it.
Language & Literature1
- Of Jars, Scraps, and Scrolls: How Ancient Books Were ComposedTheTorah.com
Browser-readable scholarly study of ancient writing materials, scroll construction, storage, and the growing authority of written texts. It discusses Zechariah 5’s enormous flying scroll specifically, explaining how the written curse itself acts as an active agent entering the homes of thieves and false swearers.
Artifacts & Manuscripts1
- 4Q Minor Prophets: An Ancient Hebrew Copy of ZechariahLeon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
High-resolution images and manuscript information for 4Q80, a Hebrew scroll containing portions of the Twelve Prophets. The fragments provide a direct ancient witness to the transmission of Zechariah and help readers place its flying-scroll and basket visions within the material history of biblical scroll production.
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