Zechariah 2, A City Without Walls

Zechariah, living in the reign of Darius the Great in Babylon, has dreamed of horses and horns, in relation to the future of Israel. We now have his third dream-vision.

Zechariah 2:1-5, Measuring line
Then I looked up--and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand!

I asked, "Where are you going?" 

He answered me, "To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is."

Then the angel who was speaking to me left, and another angel came to meet him and said to him: "Run, tell that young man, `Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the LORD, `and I will be its glory within.'

Jerusalem is being measured for a future. Some day it will be so large that it will be a city without walls, protected only by YHWH, who will Himself be a wall of fire. 

The "young man" in verse 4 is most likely Zechariah.

The Hebrew of verse 5 is emphatic. Hebrew rarely expressed the verb "to be", instead just putting equal nouns together. For example, a common Hebrew phrase for "I will be its glory" would be something like "I its glory." However in verse 5, twice ’eh·yeh, ("will be") appears. Baldwin quotes a commentator, Chary, who suggests that this emphasis echoes Exodus 3:14, that God says, "I AM, Myself" will be the wall and its glory."

The remainder of this chapter is a poem, Zechariah speaking to the exiles and then to the returning Jews (Baldwin.)

Zechariah 2:6-9, Flee!

"Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north," 

declares the LORD, "

for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven," 

declares the LORD.

"Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of Babylon!"

For this is what the LORD Almighty says: 

"After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you--for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye-- I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.

The people of Israel are to flee Babylon and return to Zion/Jerusalem, for Israel is the "apple" (pupil) of God's eye, getting God's full attention.

YHWH speaks of a warrior who raises his hand against the enemy nations. Is that warrior YHWH? Or the Messiah? This vision becomes increasingly messianic.

Zechariah 2:10-13, Live among us
"Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you," declares the LORD. 

"Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling."

In a future day, YHWH will live among His people. And many nations will join and reside in Judah. This is most surely a messianic passage, for its speaks to a future time in which YHWH appears present (a "theophany") within the city. Christian writers see this future time beginning with the appearance of Yeshua/Jesus (see John 1:14.)

The Hebrew word has is translated "be still" (or "be silent".) Like the English word "hush", it is an onomatopoeia, imitating the sound it describes. In English, "hush!" is almost always said in a whisper, with a finger across the lips. In the Hebrew passage here, has is a command to settle down, be still and quietly listen to YHWH.

First published December 11, 2025; updated December 11, 2025