The Meaning of Zechariah 5:8 Explained

Zechariah 5:8

KJV: 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.

YLT: And he saith, 'This is the wicked woman.' And he casteth her unto the midst of the ephah, and casteth the weight of lead on its mouth.

Darby: And he said, This is Wickedness: and he cast her into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.

ASV: And he said, This is Wickedness: and he cast her down into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Zechariah 5:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The angel explained that the woman personified wickedness. Some have interpreted the woman as covenant-breakers, a particular form of wickedness. [1] The angel picked her up, threw her down into the middle of the basket, and shut the lead cover over her (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8). Obviously some conflict was involved; "Wickedness" did not want to be restricted. Perhaps Zechariah saw a woman, instead of a Prayer of Manasseh , because the word "wickedness" in Hebrew is feminine. It was not uncommon to represent wickedness as a woman (e.g, Proverbs 7; Revelation 17; et al.). Here the woman represents the sum total of Israel"s sins, wickedness being the opposite of righteousness (cf. Proverbs 13:6; Ezekiel 33:12). Another view is that she represents Babylon ( Revelation 17-18), but this seems unlikely since she ends up in Babylon ( Zechariah 5:11).

Context Summary

Zechariah 5:1-11 - The Vision Of The Flying Roll
This huge sheet of parchment, 30 by 15 feet, was covered with the solemn curses of the Law, on one side against the thief and on the other against false-swearing. The young community was notorious for these two sins. They brought the dry-rot with them, Zechariah 5:4. Their commercial life also, represented by the ephah, was full of wickedness. But it was to be eliminated. The swift stork wings would bear it away. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 5

1  By the flying scroll is shown the curse of thieves and swearers;
5  and by a woman pressed in an ephah the final judgment of wickedness

What do the individual words in Zechariah 5:8 mean?

Then he said this [is] Wickedness And he thrust down her into the middle the basket and threw - cover the lead over its mouth -
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ זֹ֣את הָרִשְׁעָ֔ה וַיַּשְׁלֵ֥ךְ אֹתָ֖הּ אֶל־ תּ֣וֹךְ הָֽאֵיפָ֑ה וַיַּשְׁלֵ֛ךְ אֶת־ אֶ֥בֶן הָעֹפֶ֖רֶת אֶל־ פִּֽיהָ ס

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙  Then  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
זֹ֣את  this  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
הָרִשְׁעָ֔ה  Wickedness 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: רִשְׁעָה  
Sense: wickedness, guilt.
וַיַּשְׁלֵ֥ךְ  And  he  thrust  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַךְ  
Sense: to throw, cast, hurl, fling.
אֹתָ֖הּ  her 
Parse: Direct object marker, third person feminine singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אֶל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
תּ֣וֹךְ  the  middle 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.
הָֽאֵיפָ֑ה  the  basket 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֵיפָה  
Sense: ephah.
וַיַּשְׁלֵ֛ךְ  and  threw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַךְ  
Sense: to throw, cast, hurl, fling.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אֶ֥בֶן  cover 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶבֶן  
Sense: stone (large or small).
הָעֹפֶ֖רֶת  the  lead 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֹפֶרֶת  
Sense: lead.
אֶל־  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
פִּֽיהָ  its  mouth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation