Zechariah 4:6
The purpose of this entry is to understand the potential meaning of Zechariah 4:6 and its contextual setting.
NET: Therefore he told me, "This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,'" says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
NWT 2013: He then said to me: “This is the word of Jehovah to Ze·rubʹba·bel: ‘“Not by a military force, nor by power, but by my spirit,” says Jehovah of armies.
Robert Alter (The Hebrew Bible): And he answered and said to me, saying, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might and not by power but by My spirit, said the LORD of Armies.
Historical Setting: Daniel F. O'Kennedy locates the historical setting for Zechariah sometime between the second and fourth year of Darius I, which possibly occurred circa 520-518 BCE. Hebrew Bible readers will recall that the Persian king Darius governed numerous areas by means of twenty satrapies or jurisdictional districts. He used satraps (governors) to administer these provinces: "Judah (Yehud
in Aramaic) was part of the fifth satrapy called Abar Nahara. Yehud was
ruled by a governor and consisted of a greatly reduced territory
comprising Jerusalem and its environments" (O'Kennedy).
Conditions in sixth century BCE Judah apparently were less than favorable: the repatriated Jews were suffering economically, spiritually, and emotionally. So YHWH roused the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to initiate the rebuilding of Jerusalem's temple and to promote a spiritual revival in Judah. (See O'Kennedy). Along the way, the temple project would encounter much resistance from the surrounding peoples: this persecution is likely suggested by Zechariah 4:7-10.
Within the context of these events, Zerubbabel was appointed as governor of Judah and he led the Jews back to their homeland after the Babylonian Exile (Haggai 2:21). Haggai 1:1, 12, 14; 2:2 refers to him as the son of Shealtiel, but see 1 Chronicles 3:19. In any event, Zerubbabel was picked to oversee temple rebuilding in Judah; his name possibly means "seed of Babylon" or "scion of Babylon," but Zerubbabel also might have been known as Sheshbazzar, which could have been his royal court name.
The goal of this entry is not to give definitive answers to questions about Zerubbabel but rather to elucidate Zechariah 4:6: the aforementioned details simply provide a contextual setting for this important Bible verse.
Analysis of Zechariah 4:6:
וַיַּ֜עַן וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלַי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר זֶ֚ה דְּבַר־יְהוָ֔ה אֶל־זְרֻבָּבֶ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר לֹ֤א בְחַ֙יִל֙ וְלֹ֣א בְכֹ֔חַ כִּ֣י אִם־בְּרוּחִ֔י אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֹֽות׃
The speaker in 4:6 is the malak of the preceding verse, who acts as angelus interpres within Zechariah's prophetic work. Verse 6 is part of the night visions given to the prophet: it encompasses the fifth night vision in the series, and it's a response to Zechariah's inquiry. The angel or messenger now speaks these fateful words to the prophet, letting him know that YHWH (Jehovah) will be the ultimate source of the temple project.
Although an angel makes the utterance, what he speaks is debar-YHWH (the Word of Jehovah): the Most High God is the prophecy's absolute source (Zechariah 4:6-9; 6:9). Furthermore, these divine words were spoken to encourage both Zechariah and Zerubbabel: the former would stir the repatriated Jews to action while the latter would lead the rebuilding of Jehovah's temple in Jerusalem. Zerubbabel was appointed not only by humans, but by God (Haggai 2:20-23).
Jehovah's angel exclaims that the temple in Jerusalem will not be constructed by human strength, or might; the Hebrew term hayil potentially signifies effectual ability/power, an army or wealth (Boda, The Book of Zechariah). See 2 Samuel 23:20; Proverbs 31:10. Hayil "is never used in relation to God’s might, but it is not by definition ungodly (cf. Exod. 18:21, 25) and can be used for God’s purposes (Judg. 6:12; Isa. 60:5)." (Boda, The Book of Zechariah)
On the other hand, Bible writers use the word koah to describe God's creative activity, power conferred by God (Isaiah 40:29; Micah 3:8), God's governance of the world, and his dealings with ancient Israel. See the BDF entry for koach/koah.
George Klein writes: The next negative, “nor by power” (be-koah) indicates human resources in a more general sense (see Neh 4:10 where the same term describes the laborers' strength).311 The preposition be (NIV “by”) indicates agency or means.312 Together, the terms “might” and “power” form a hendiadys encompassing the panoply of human resources that one might marshal in order to effect God's will.
The point is that the temple would not be rebuilt by human strength or military might, but only through/by the ruah YHWH: the work would be accomplished by God's spirit operating on Zerubbabel, Joshua the priest, and the prophets.
Carol and Eric Meyers note the use of hendiadys in Zechariah 4:6 like Klein does: they point out that hayil "often means army or military force" (page 244). So the prophetic utterance strongly decries the use of human force or ingenuity; total dependence must be on the spirit of Jehovah: "God's 'spirit' is his involvement in and control over human events" (Meyers, ibid.). Jehovah's Witnesses describe God's ruah in this context as his "active force," which is distinguished from God's power. The holy spirit of God has been operative since the beginning of creation (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 33:6), and it would be the divine force that helped Judah to have a new temple despite malaise, opposition or interference from opposers:
"These memorable words have great resonance, but how do they follow from the vision of the golden lampstand? The golden lampstand, with its seven burning oil lamps, is to be a focal point in the Temple, its light a token of God’s radiant presence in His house, in the midst of His people. Thus the rebuilding of the Temple, in difficult material conditions and perhaps with some resistance from the Persian imperial power, will be consummated through God’s spirit, which is symbolized in the lampstand. The idea of imposing obstacles that are set as naught is spelled out in the next verse" (Alter, The Hebrew Bible).
References:
https://www.sots.ac.uk/wiki/zerubbabel/
O'Kennedy, Daniel F. : http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/ote/v32n1/11.pdf
Insight on the Scriptures. Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.A: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, International Bible Students Association, 1988. Print.
Hill, Andrew E. Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2012. Print.
Klein, George. New American Commentary Vol. 21B: Zechariah (Kindle Locations 4848-4853). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Boda, Mark J. The Book of Zechariah. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016.
Meyers, Carol L. and Meyers, Eric M. Haggai, Zechariah 1-8. AB 25B. New York: Doubleday, 1987.
Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible. New York: WW Norton, 2018.
