Zechariah 4:13
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. | “Do you not know what these are?” he inquired. “No, my lord,” I replied. | And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedIn a night vision Zechariah sees a golden lampstand fed with oil by two olive trees. He asks twice what the trees and branches are, and the angel answers with a question: "Knowest thou not what these be?" Zechariah admits he does not, and the answer comes next: "These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth." Zechariah 4:2Zechariah 4:3Zechariah 4:11Zechariah 4:12Zechariah 4:13Zechariah 4:14
SpeakingThe angel who talked with Zechariah asks the question, and Zechariah the prophet answers. Zechariah 4:1Zechariah 4:13Zechariah overview
ToWithin the vision the angel speaks to Zechariah. The book itself is addressed to the people of Judah back from exile in Babylon, with Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest. Zechariah 4:13Zechariah overview
Also involvedThe question concerns the two olive trees and branches that pour golden oil into the lampstand. Verse 14 calls them "the two anointed ones" but does not name them. Zechariah 4:11Zechariah 4:12Zechariah 4:14
The angel repeats the same question he asked earlier in the vision, and Zechariah gives the same humble reply, "No, my lord." His plain admission that he does not understand is followed at once by the angel's explanation in the next verse. Zechariah 4:13Zechariah 4:5Zechariah 4:14
Zechariah received and recorded these messages in Jerusalem, among the people who had returned from exile. Zechariah overview
The eventsThis is one of Zechariah's eight night visions (1:7-6:8). It came while the temple was being rebuilt, after work restarted in the second year of Darius king of Persia, about 520 BC. Zechariah overview
WrittenTraditional: written by Zechariah, with dated messages from about 520 to 518 BC. Scholarly: most agree chapters 1-8, which include this verse, come from Zechariah in 520-518 BC, while many assign chapters 9-14 to later writers. Zechariah overview
HereThe angel's question draws from Zechariah the admission that he does not know, and the angel then gives the meaning in verse 14. The lampstand vision as a whole tells Zerubbabel that the temple will be finished "not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit." Zechariah 4:13Zechariah 4:14Zechariah 4:6Zechariah 4:9
In the whole of ScriptureZechariah's visions are explained to him by the angel, not worked out by the prophet on his own. The same exchange appears in 4:5, and each time the meaning is given by God's messenger. Zechariah 4:5Zechariah 4:4Zechariah 4:6Zechariah 4:14
For readersEven a prophet openly said he did not understand and asked to be taught. Readers can follow his example by asking honestly and letting the passage itself supply the meaning, as 4:14 does here. Zechariah 4:11Zechariah 4:12Zechariah 4:13Zechariah 4:14
- knowיָדַע
The word means to know, perceive, discern, or learn to know. The angel's question is about whether Zechariah has grasped the meaning of the symbols, which he has not until it is explained. Strong's H3045Zechariah 4:13Zechariah 4:14
- lordאָדוֹן
This word means lord or master and can be used of men as well as of God; here it is "my lord," a respectful address. Zechariah uses it for the angel who talks with him, not as a name for God. Strong's H0113Zechariah 4:4Zechariah 4:13
Takeaway
Zechariah admitted he did not understand, and the angel then explained the vision. The meaning of the olive trees comes from the text itself in the next verse: "the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth." Zechariah 4:13Zechariah 4:14
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
About 520-518 BC. King of Persia: Darius I (522-486 BC). Where Zechariah prophesied. A small, poor community was rebuilding the temple among the ruins of the city Babylon had burned.
Who ruled
- King of PersiaDarius I522-486 BC
Zechariah dates his messages by the years of Darius. Darius confirmed Cyrus's decree and ordered the temple work to go on at royal expense. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 7:1Ezra 6:1-12Haggai 1:1Behistun Inscription
- Governor of JudahZerubbabelc. 520 BC
A descendant of David who led the rebuilding. "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it." Zechariah 4:6-10Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:8
- High priestJoshua the high priestc. 520 BC
Called Jeshua in Ezra. He stands in Zechariah's vision clothed in filthy garments, which are taken away, and later receives crowns as a sign. Zechariah 3:1-10Zechariah 6:11Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:2
- Persian governor "on this side the river"Tattenaic. 520 BC
The governor of the province west of the Euphrates. He asked who had allowed the building, wrote to Darius, and was told to let the work go on. Ezra 5:3-6Ezra 6:6-13
What was happening, 539 BC to 332 BC
- 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus king of Persia took Babylon, ending the empire that had destroyed Jerusalem. Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleThe first return
Cyrus let the exiles go home to build the LORD's house. About fifty thousand returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Ezra 1:1-4Ezra 2:1-2Ezra 2:64-65
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe foundation is laid, then the work stops
The returned exiles laid the temple's foundation with shouting and weeping. Opposition from their neighbors stopped the work until the second year of Darius. Ezra 3:10-13Ezra 4:4-5Ezra 4:24
- 525 BCWarPersia conquers Egypt
Cyrus's son Cambyses invaded and took Egypt, bringing the whole region from the Nile to the Indus under one king. Herodotus, Histories 3.1-16
- 522-521 BCWarDarius crushes the revolts
When Darius took the throne, provinces across the empire rebelled, Babylon twice. By 520 he had put them all down. Compare the riders' report in Zechariah's first vision: "all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Behistun InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 3.150-159Zechariah 1:11
- 520 BCGod's peopleHaggai and Zechariah stir the people to build
In Darius's second year the two prophets urged the people to take up the temple work again, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to build. Ezra 5:1-2Haggai 1:1-15Zechariah 1:1
- c. 520-519 BCRulersDarius confirms Cyrus's decree
Tattenai questioned the building. A search found Cyrus's decree at Achmetha, and Darius ordered the work to continue and be paid for from royal taxes. Ezra 5:3-6:12
- 515 BCBuildingThe second temple is finished
The temple was finished on the third day of Adar in Darius's sixth year and dedicated with joy. Ezra 6:14-18Zechariah 4:9
- 490-479 BCWarPersia's wars with Greece
Persia invaded Greece twice and was turned back at Marathon (490), Salamis (480) and Plataea (479). Greece, which Zechariah names in 9:13, was becoming Persia's great rival. Herodotus, Histories 6.102-117Herodotus, Histories 8.40-96Herodotus, Histories 9.1-89Zechariah 9:13
- 445 BCBuildingNehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls
Under the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah came from Shushan and rebuilt the walls in fifty-two days. Nehemiah 2:1-8Nehemiah 6:15
- 332 BCWarAlexander takes Tyre and Gaza
Alexander the Great besieged island Tyre for seven months and then Gaza for two, on his way to Egypt. Zechariah 9 speaks of Tyre's "strong hold" and of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod. Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 2.15-27Zechariah 9:3-7
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records (the Behistun Inscription, the Cyrus Cylinder, the Babylonian Chronicles) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Original Hebrew words
| English | Hebrew | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| and he said | וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vai-YO-mer | H0559 | to sayאָמַר (a.mar) 1) to say, speak, utter 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend 1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called 1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly 1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560) |
| to me | אֵלַי֙ | 'e-LAI | H0413 | to(wards)אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to) |
| to saying | לֵאמֹ֔ר | le-MOR | H0559 | to sayאָמַר (a.mar) 1) to say, speak, utter 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend 1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called 1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly 1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560) |
| ¿ not | הֲל֥וֹא | ha-LO' | H3808 | notלֹא (lo) 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809) |
| do you know | יָדַ֖עְתָּ | ya-DA'-ta | H3045 | to knowיָדַע (ya.da) 1) to know 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to know 1a1a) to know, learn to know 1a1b) to perceive 1a1c) to perceive and see, find out and discern 1a1d) to discriminate, distinguish 1a1e) to know by experience 1a1f) to recognise, admit, acknowledge, confess 1a1g) to consider 1a2) to know, be acquainted with 1a3) to know (a person carnally) 1a4) to know how, be skilful in 1a5) to have knowledge, be wise 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be made known, be or become known, be revealed 1b2) to make oneself known 1b3) to be perceived 1b4) to be instructed 1c) (Piel) to cause to know 1d) (Poal) to cause to know 1e) (Pual) … |
| what? | מָה־ | mah- | H4100 | whatמָא (ma) 1) what, whatever 1a) what? 1b) whatever, what, whatsoever 1c) how?, why?, wherefore? (with prefixes) |
| [are] these | אֵ֑לֶּה | 'E-leh | H0428 | theseאֵ֫לֶּה (el.leh) 1) these 1a) used before antecedent 1b) used following antecedent Aramaic equivalent: el.leh (אֵלֶּה "these" H0429) |
| and I said | וָאֹמַ֖ר | va-'o-MAR | H0559 | to sayאָמַר (a.mar) 1) to say, speak, utter 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend 1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called 1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly 1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560) |
| no | לֹ֥א | lo' | H3808 | notלֹא (lo) 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809) |
| O lord my | אֲדֹנִֽי׃ | 'a-do-NI | H0113 | lordאָדוֹן (a.don) 1) firm, strong, lord, master 1a) lord, master 1a1) reference to men 1a1a) superintendent of household, of affairs 1a1b) master 1a1c) king 1a2) reference to God 1a2a) the Lord God 1a2b) Lord of the whole earth 1b) lords, kings 1b1) reference to men 1b1a) proprietor of hill of Samaria 1b1b) master 1b1c) husband 1b1d) prophet 1b1e) governor 1b1f) prince 1b1g) king 1b2) reference to God 1b2a) Lord of lords (probably = "thy husband, Yahweh") 1c) my lord, my master 1c1) reference to men 1c1a) master 1c1b) husband 1c1c) prophet 1c1d) prince 1c1e) king 1c1f) father 1c1g) Moses 1c1h) priest … |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.