What are the two bronze mountains in Zechariah 6?

Question

I've already asked a broad question about the number two in the book of Zechariah. I've received some helpful input on that and made progress in my own thinking regarding it. However, some of the remaining specific occurrences of the number two are puzzling me.

In addition, mountains are a theme in Zechariah (1:8; 1:10-11; 4:7; 6:1; 8:3; 14:4-5). These two (!) themes come together in 6:1:

I looked up again—and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze! (NIV)

Would these mountains perhaps reference or allude to any physical mountains familiar to Ezekiel's audience? Why were they made of bronze? What is their symbolic meaning? Why would the chariots come out from them?

Answer 1

These two mountains of brass are the backdrops of the scene of which the four chariots ‘come out’ from. The chariots themselves I take the arguably most commonly held view: the four winds represents angels directing the four monarchies that overturned the known world starting with the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and then the Roman empire. The question before us then is what are these brass mountains, why two and how related to the chariots?

First as to the basic meaning we can take a step more certain. Most commentaries will all agree that we have represented in the brass mountain a sense of immovable, unstoppable strength covering a wide base. For example one author says:

Mountains are the Bible emblems of immoveable steadfastness; and mountains of brass is just a strengthening of the emblem (Lectures on the Prophecies of Zechariah, by Ralph Wardlaw, p130)

However, is this immovable sovereignty of God in general upon which these kingdoms rise and fall, or the immovable power of the kingdoms themselves, or something else? Also, why two mountains? Are we to take significance in the number two, or are we to assume this represents just a narrow passageway between one unmovable will of God whereby his decrees can slip through from his narrow opening for the event?

To take a cautious step forward in what is not clear at all, it seems the only way forward is to stick close to the chariots, otherwise any imaginative idea may be proposed. The solution must compliment the prophecy regarding the four monarchies. If we imagine it ourselves I think the answer will appear to us as obvious. If we looked upon brass-mountains through which chariots rode between their narrow openings, we would have two obvious impressions. One, the chariots are actually very small compared to the mountains. Two, the mountains keep everything else out from the scene except these chariots that they let pass. Therefore these mountains can’t directly speak to the power of the chariots themselves, but rather to the power of God’s will in allowing them to pass and esnuring they alone do pass.

Regarding the meaning of two, there are two positions that seem reasonable to me. (One my own conjecture, but I think a well received one if I may.) First, 'two' may mean nothing really other than a way to describe a mountain range with an opening for God’s sovereign will. Second (my proposed possibility) is that if we regard the immovable mountains as not only allowing passage but from their holy establishment but in regard to their high peaks viewing the seen are thereby acting as witnesses of the truthfulness of the prediction, then there is a plain meaning in the number two before is. For it is not biblical to accept the testimony of a witness unless there be at least two witnesses in establishing the truth of a matter (Deuteronomy 17:6). If we take this position then, the two brass-mountains are two reliable witnesses of God’s all powerful and unstoppable will. These emblems make the four kingdoms themselves, though tiny in comparison, unstoppable in their over-turnings of the world according to the foreordained purposes of God under the management of his angels.

However this really does not provide proper confidence to a good interpretation unless we can somewhere find mountains as taking the role of a witness in the Bible. As we look for such an indication it is no surprise that scripture has used this allusion to the high view of a fixed mountain to the concept of a testimony before:

Hear what the LORD says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the LORD has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel.( The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Mic 6:1–2). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.)

So there we have it.

Answer 2

The bronze mountains represent the entrance or gateway to the presence of God and in particular are reminsicent of the two great bronze pillars of Solomon's temple.

Context of the Canon

Mountains

Mountains are used often as symbols throughout the Hebrew Bible. Their use is not uniform, but there are identifiable symbolic themes. Mountains may represent kingdoms and their rulers. We see this in a place like Psalm 30:6-7, where David's kingdom is likened to a mountain that he feels cannot be shaken. Similarly in the vision in Daniel 2, the unhewn stone that becomes a mountain to fill the whole earth is a kingdom to crush all other kingdoms.

For our purposes though, the major symbolic link concerning mountains is to the dwelling place of God. This connection can really be elaborated at length. For example, there are notable links between the pattern of the tabernacle and encounter between God and Moses/Israel on Sinai - the court corresponding to the perimeter around the mountain where the people stood, the holy place that only the priests could enter corresponding to the base of the mountain where the 70 elders could come and eat the covenant meal with God, and the holy of holies where God's glory cloud dwelled and that only the high priest could enter corresponding ot the peak of the mountain where the cloud was and where only Moses could approach. But we also see this repeated again and again in the Psalms (e.g. 3:4 15:1, 24:3, etc...) and in the prophets (cf. Isa. 2:2-3, Ezek 40:2f). Mountains were readily seen as the connecting place between earth and the heaven where God dwelled.

Lastly, though, we note that mountains were also understood as the foundations or pillars of the earth (see Job 9:5-6). They are generally imovable but that God might shake them.

Bronze

Bronze was certainly a symbol of strength. In the Daniel 2 vision, the legs of the statue were of bronze signifying their strength. Similarly in Ezekiel's vision in 1:7 he sees legs of bronze. Isaiah compares the stuborness of the people in 48:4 to having a forehead made of bronze.

Again, though, the major thematic use of bronze in the Hebrew Bible for our purposes is undoubtedly in connection with the dwelling place of God. A great deal of bronze was used in the construction of the tabernacle and later Solomon's temple. 1 Kings 7:47 says that so much bronze was used it couldn't even be weighed. Of particular note is the construction of two massive bronze pillars at the front of the temple.

Context of Zechariah

The vision starting in 6:1 of Zechariah concludes a series of eight visions beginning in chapter 1. 1:1 begins with the word of the Lord coming to the prophet, there is a series of eight visions, and then the word of the Lord again comes to the prophet at the end of chapter six. The vision here in 6:1 can be seen as creating an inclusio with the first vision, and it should be seen as a development of that vision. The purpose of Zechariah's prophecy is to encourage the completion of the second temple by the returned exiles (cf. Ezra 5:1).

The two major themes of the eight visions are 1) the re-establishment of the temple and the priesthood in connection with it through the two annointed for the task (Joshua and Zerubbabel - cf. Ezra 5:2) and 2) judgment on the enemies of Israel for going to far in Israel's punishment. In the opening vision, the prophet sees four colored horses who go throughout the earth and find it at rest when it should not be. Next there is a vision of four horns to be smashed by four craftsmen. And then in chapter two the vision of Jerusalem being measured combines the two themes with the ingathering of the people and the rebuilding of the temple/city alongside with a pronouncement of judgment on the nations (2:9).

Context of the Immediate Pericope

All this leads up to our vision which recalls the four horse riders (scouts), now seen as four chariots (warriors). Here the two themes are linked. Verse 5 explicitly states that the four chariots are the four winds which were standing in the presence of God and are now going out into the world. The vision then ties the two themes of temple and judgment together by showing that the establishment of the new temple will be the means by which God will judge the nations.

The two bronze mountains remind the people of the bronze pillars of Solomon's temple, emphasizing also the strength and dominion of God's house, and therefore encouraging them to rebuild the temple knowing that through it God will answer their pleas: "Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?"

Answer 3

There are a number of things that these two mountains could signify, with each suggestion not being necessarily exclusive of the others. Tidiman (1996: 143-44) succinctly summarizes scholarly opinion by grouping these as: (1) the colour of the sun rising or setting; (2) a gateway to the mythological abode of the gods; (3) the two pillars Boaz and Jachin from the First Temple; (4) a theocratic alliance of some nature; and, (5) two geographical mountains around Jerusalem. To make the best decision, we need context.

Literary context places this verse as initiating the seventh and final vision of Zechariah's heptadic vision cycle (Kline, 1996: 10). It follows on from Vision 6 at 5:1-11, the vision of the flying megillah and the flying ephah, which composite vision depicts the purging of lawbreakers from the land of Yehud at 5:1-4, and their removal to the land of Shinar at 5:5-11. The context of this composite vision at 5:1-11 is both fascinating and relevant, and requires a brief overview.

Part One of Vision 6 starts from within the precincts of the First Temple. Three spaces are suggested via the 20 x 10 cubit dimensions given for the flying megillah at 5:2. These are: (a) the 'debir', where the two large cherubim guarding the Ark fit the 20 x 10 cubit dimensions (1 Kings 6:23-27); (b) the 'ulam' or porch, whose dimensions were 20 x 10 cubits and where the two pillars Boaz and Jachin stood (1 Kings 6:3); and, (c) the inner courtyard, where the altar of burnt offering stood with dimensions of 20 x 10 cubits (2 Chronicles 4:1).

All three spaces have merit and are possibly intended, but with primacy clearly given to (a) due to the fact that the megillah (a cipher for the Decalogue covenant; see 5:3) is 'flying', and the two large cherubim are winged guardians. Meyers and Meyers entertain this view as a possibility while exploring others (1987: 280-81). How does the megillah 'fly'? Because it is a symbol for the two tables of the Mosaic covenant that rested within the Ark, it flies through the two small winged cherubim atop the 'kapporet' of the Ark, and through the two large winged cherubim guarding the Ark in the 'debir'.

Part Two of Vision 6 sees this flying megillah at 5:1-2, which the Meyers suggest is a word-picture for the Ark of the Covenant, morph into a flying ephah at 5:5-6,9. Stead (2009: 197) aptly summarizes the flying ephah as an anti-ark, borne by anti-cherubim, taken to an anti-temple in an anti-Jerusalem. This view was anticipated by Barker (1978: 24). The picture is the antithesis of the earlier flying megillah, which is the Ark opened and the Covenant enacted (Kline, 1994: 5).

Vision 6 is one of movement. The movement can be read as passing from the space of the 'debir', out to the porch, past the altar of burnt offering, and finally out of the land itself. The movement is outward from the Temple.

It is easy to see how this outward movement equates to rituals performed on the Day of Atonement. This is true for the sequence of spaces covered, and for the underlying ritual purpose, which is the dual process of purgation (5:1-4) and elimination (5:5-11). This dual process is vital to understanding that Vision 6 covers the entire text of chapter 5 (so Rogland, 2014: 93-107). It is a mistake to split the text of chapter 5 into two separate visions because it fails to appreciate the dual aspects of the single ritual behind it. See Milgrom (1991: 1044-45) for further reading on purgation and elimination rites.

This overview of Vision 6 then sits within the literary framework of the heptad. The structure of the seven visions is chiastic (Kline, 1991: 179-192). We therefore need to look at the symbolism in the first vision in order to unravel that encountered in the last.

Vision 1 is set by the 'metsulah' at 1:8, a word of contested derivation of which by far the greater evidence falls in favour of it being 'the watery deep' (Boda, 2016: 124-25; Rogland, 2016: 72)). So we are looking at a sea of some description as part of an elemental backdrop to the first vision.

How does the idea of a sea at Vision 1 in any way help to clarify what our two mountains might be at Vision 7? Two suggestions will be considered here.

First, what is apparent up to this point in our reading model is that the visions take place in a Temple setting that serves as a liturgical model of the cosmos (Seybold, 1974: 65-75). The 'metsulah' of the first vision at 1:8, being 'the watery deep', matches the Sea from the First Temple (see 1 Kings 7:23-26). This Sea was, like the two mountains at Zech 6:1, made entirely from brass. This brazen Sea had an important ritual function. But it also was weighted with symbolic signification. One of its symbolic meanings relates, I suggest, to the land. Specifically, the brazen Sea is, among other things, a symbolic representation of the Mediterranean Sea, which is the western border of the land and the place where the sun sets. This forms a key boundary, geographically, of the land of the covenant people.

This reading of 'metsulah' as the brazen Sea would lend itself, then, to the two mountains of 6:1 being the two pillars outside the entrance to the First Temple (see Curtis, 2006: 143; Tiemeyer, 2015: 246). Both the two brazen pillars and the brazen Sea were encountered before entry to the Temple proper. They were constructed of brass whereas everything within the Temple proper was fashioned from gold. This differentiation in metals serves to delineate sacred space. The two mountains would then, as the 'metsulah', lend themselves to a geographical interpretation. This will be investigated shortly.

Returning to the 'metsulah', it is also symbolic of the cosmic deep of ancient near East mythology. This results in at least two symbolic readings: one geographical (the Mediterranean Sea) and one mythological (the cosmic deep).

If the 'metsulah' of 1:8 symbolizes (1) the Mediterranean Sea via the First Temple object of the brazen Sea, and (2) the cosmic deep, what would the two mountains at 6:1 - symbolic of the two brazen pillars Boaz and Jachin - represent geographically and mythologically?

Mythologically, they would represent the entrance to the abode of the gods from ancient Near East literature and iconography. This, then, is echoed in an Israelite context in the position of the two pillars Boaz and Jachin, which stood directly before the entrance to the First Temple itself, the House of Yahweh. Geographically, they might represent the interior of the land, which was mountainous. This last point is not very strong. Keil (1873: 576) believes the two mountains to be Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives, thus locating them in Jerusalem. For further background to the two mountains, see the excellent summary in Boda (2016: 361-67).

The second point concerning literary context is temporal rather than spatial, and is built around the heptadic vision cycle supposedly occurring in a single night, from dusk till dawn (see Wolters, 2014: 48-49). If Vision 1 occurs as the sun is going down, Vision 7 would be set as the sun is rising. This assumed literary setting would fit quite nicely with the symbolism suggested for the 'metsulah' at 1:8 and the two mountains at 6:1.

If the 'metsulah' - both cosmic deep and the Mediterranean Sea - were to lead us symbolically to the western border of the land, we might indeed imagine Vision 1 as set at sundown, as the sun sinks into the Mediterranean Sea. This would then lend the vision cycle a progressive movement eastward as we ascend from the coast to the Temple. At a closer level of reading, we might imagine the sun going down as the prophet, standing before the former Temple precincts, contemplates where the brazen Sea once stood. He would be looking westward from the brazen Sea towards the Temple just behind it.

The vision cycle would then reach its conclusion at and then beyond the Temple, with the sun rising between the mountains toward the east. This reading would favour a cosmic reading for the two mountains, though two specific mountains might also be intended. Keil's two mountains could come into play here. In the absence of a definite identification for these latter, however, we would have to go back to the material from which the two mountains at 6:1 are constructed in order to supplement a geographical reading.

The two brazen mountains, from a Temple perspective, would be the two pillars Boaz and Jachin. The Temple was oriented toward the east. Coming out from the Temple proper (the 'hekhal'), one would see the sun rise from between the two brass pillars. The sun would be rising opposite Mount Zion and over the Mount of Olives.

In answer to what the two mountains at 6:1 might be, several possibilities overlap. (1) They could represent sunrise, and the colour of the sun rising through the material of which they were constructed. Burnished brass gives off a gleam akin to the rising sun. The vision cycle read as a progressive temporal heptad would support this view. If Vision 1 is set at sundown, Vision 7 would be set at sunrise. (2) They almost certainly have a mythological connection through the ancient Near Eastern milieu that Israel has drawn from to construct its own cosmology. They would then be the entrance to the divine abode. The chiastic structure of the seven visions would support this reading, with the paired Visions 1 and 7 having a cosmic setting. (3) The connection to the pillars Boaz and Jachin holds its own via their grounding in an Israelite expression of a Semitic cosmology, through the material from which they were constructed, through their orientation facing east and the rising sun, and through a symbolic reading that links them to the land itself. (4) Finally, the possibility that they represent two specific mountains cannot be ruled out entirely. If the polyvalent reading of the Sea at Vision 1 allows an equation of the 'metsulah' at 1:8 with the Mediterranean Sea in the west, an equivalent reading of the two mountains at 6:1 as two topological features toward the east remains a possibility.

Of these, the one that embodies in itself all of the other possibilities suggested here is surely the best choice. Clearly, this specification would point squarely to option (3), the two pillars Boaz and Jachin. They face sunrise. They have both mythological and geographical signification. They are situated upon one mountain looking directly east at another in very close proximity. And, most importantly, they are constructed entirely of brass.

That four chariots emerge from between them is the next step, which will not be covered here. In conclusion, however, we must bear in mind that this reading is firmly grounded in a First Temple ideology and iconography. It should occasion little surprise that Zechariah should write from this position. From a priestly family, with a detailed knowledge of the collected cultic traditions and writings of his people, and writing at a time where temple reconstruction had just been initiated and undertaken by the community, we would expect him to use objects of significance from the First temple as motivating symbols to his audience.

Answer 4

Two mountains would make me think first of Gerizim and Ebal, where the Levites pronounced the blessings and curses, respectively, of Torah upon the people of Israel. These were pronouncements of God's blessings if Israel and Israelites kept covenant, and cursing if they did not (Paul refers to this in Gal 3:10). I have not studied Zechariah in any depth, but if that's correct, it's likely a picture of YHWH reinforcing the covenant by sending out messengers of blessing and judgment to patrol Judah in her captivity and see that she has returned to the law of her God.

Answer 5

In addition to what Tim Gallant has written above, we must take the Temple architecture into account. Solomon's Temple had ten symbolic chariots, each of which carried a small "laver" of water. They were symbols of the cleansing that Israel would carry to the nations. We see as much in Ezekiel 47.

The process of cleansing involves both blood and water. Blood is lifted up (presented on the four horns) and water flows down (referencing the four rivers of Eden). Once the sacrifice is accepted, Israel can minister the "living water" to the nations.

What are the two bronze mountains? Well, what was directly outside the Temple building? The bronze altar, which represented the "four cornered" Land of Israel, lifted up above the nations. They are the remains of the Bronze Altar split in two because its job is done (1 Kings 13:5). The curse is lifted and the Land is clean.

The first part of Zechariah is a microcosm of the entire book. The beginning of the Restoration era shows us these two mountains. Later, we see the entire Mount of Olives split in two, signaling the end of the same era. (This mountain was in view of the entrance to the Temple.)

Typologically, we see a similar sign-and-fulfillment in the first century. The rocks were split at the crucifixion, and then the entire "four cornered" Land of Judah was an altar "divided" by the Gospel. The Christian martyrs were sealed as sacrifices, offered to God, and then the Land was covered with their blood "up to the horses' bridles" (Rev. 14:20). These "human sacrifices" were the "sheep" Peter was commanded to feed. The sacrifices were ended legally in Christ (unhewn rocks split), and physically in AD70 (the whole Land destroyed).

So these two bronze mountains are the remains of the old four cornered "Davidic" Land, and the split allows the Spirit-horses to ride out and institute a new "prophetic" Israel. The altar is divided because "it is finished." Zechariah takes us from the inauguration of a new Jerusalem (by Covenant) to its destruction in the first century. We see a similar pattern in the Revelation. The four Gospels ride out of the New Covenant scroll as horsemen (Rev. 6:1-8), and at the end, Jesus comes with all the slain saints on horses to take vengeance on the murderous city of Jerusalem (Rev. 19).

The main reason we don't understand many Bible images is because either we are not familiar with the consistent architecture and how it is developed, or we fail to read the "cultic core" of the Torah into later Scriptures. All the action in the visions takes place within the Tabernacle/Temple layout, because it is a liturgical model of the cosmos.

Answer 6

There are two bronze mountains in colour for real that Yahweh judges on earth the chariots are angels that leaves Yahweh station to monitor the people of the earth from evil... the two bronze mountains are in Israel but its not in Jerusalem

Answer 7

500 BC—Darius I of Persia proclaims that Aramaic be the official language of the western half of his empire. 500 BC—Signifies the end of the Nordic Bronze Age civilization in Oscar Montelius periodization system and begins the Pre-Roman Iron Age. 500 BC—Foundation of first republic in Vaishali Bihar India.

Zacharias was written 500 years before Jesus. With the 400 years of silence.

It was the end of the bronze age (Persia) and the beginning of the iron age of (Roman) rule.

Answer 8

In order to understand the vision of the 4 chariots of horses in Zech 6:1-8, we need the explanation of the 4 horses in Rev 6:1-8. The 4 horses in Rev 6 culminate in 4 chariots of horses in Zech 6. It is important to understand that the 4 horses in Rev 6 begin at the time of the Lord's resurrection and continue until His 2nd coming. We know this because the White Horse is the gospel as indicated by Rev 19:11-14. The gospel began conquering after Christ's resurrection. We also know that the 4 horses are concurrent because the same 4 colors of horses are in Zech 6, but in a different order. Since they are seen as coming in a different order depending on what time you look, they must be concurrent.

Zech 6 gives the culmination of the 4 horses into chariots of horses. This takes place at the end of this age before the last 7 years of Daniel and Revelation. As someone stated earlier brass indicates judgment (Num. 16:35-39; Deut 28:23). The chariots come out in time between the 2 mountainous judgments which bookend the times of the gentiles. The 1st brass mountain is the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the Roman captivity of the Jews in 70 AD. The 2nd brass mountain is the great tribulation. The 4 chariots come out in time between these 2 mountains. But the OT does not see the times of the gentiles from 70 AD until about 1 generation before the last 7 years of this age in Daniel 9 and Rev 11. So these 4 chariots come out shortly before the last 7 years of this age.

The 4th horse in Rev 6 is "pale" and is actually 2 horses in one: Death and Hades. The 4th chariot in Zec 6 is hail-colored. The Hebrew word literally means "hail". This chariot is also 2 chariots in one: they are called the hail-colored, strong horses (Zec 6:3). But in v7 the strong horses separate from the hail-colored horses. This means that Hades separates from death, and releases all sorts of hellish things onto the earth as described in Rev. Nothing is stronger than Hades except for the Lord. Once you go down into Hades, you don't come out except by the Lord's resurrection life. This releasing of Hades apart from Death is the great trib.

Answer 9

One Rule of Interpretation of Symbolism, since we are dealing with symbols here, is that if the interpretation of the symbol is given in the Scriptures, then that remains the interpretation unless God says it is otherwise. So we are not left to our imagination to interpret the symbols, rather it is by revelation, and that revelation is one and the same.

All the prophets of the Old and New Testaments saw different things, just as the Gospel writers saw different things, but it was the same scene, just as Matthew, Mark and Luke comment on different attributes of the same healing that Christ performed. They each had a different seat in the audience, with a different viewpoint, but the same revelation. Each prophet had a different seat in time, and saw various attributes about God and His Workings, but they are the same workings, even though each prophet has a different take on them, depending when he lived and what the issues of his time were.

Daniel in Chapter 2 sees the "Bronze" as representitive of the Greek Kingdom. In Chapter 7 he sees a Beast with Iron(Roman) teeth, and brass(Greek) claws, symbolizing that the Romans copied the Greek laws and made them their own. What's more important is that in Revelations 13:1-2 we see the Beast 'like unto a leopard'-in Daniel 7 the 3rd Beast is a leopard with 4 heads. This means the entire Beast carries the attributes of the Greek Kingdom, even though the Greek Kingdom had long disappeared. Greece or the Greek Empire is the leopard, and brass is it's symbolic representation. The horses are the same as the horses of Revelation; the white horse is conquest, but white is the color of purity-remember the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords rides on a white horse. The red horse is warfare, the black horse is famine and the pale horse is plague and death. These are the Judgements of God visited upon the earth; the riderless ones in Chapter 1 are general judgements because of disobedience to the general counsels of God, the ones with riders/chariots are in specific relation to Israel and the words given by God-specific counsel. I don't know why the 2 mountains of brass; since the Greek Empire had not come into being yet, but since the Greek Empire was given dominion over the whole earth, as stated in Daniel, the 4 heads are not only the 4 generals who divided the rule of Alexander the Great but also the 4 Ordinal Directions this kingdom took.(N,S,E,W) Since East and West have little significance in direction for Israel, although they play great importance for the rest of the world, I believe they could be North and South, since these are the kingdoms that have had the greatest impact on Israel.

Interestingly, in Zech.9:13-14 it says,"When I have bent Judah for me, filled with bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as a sword of a mighty man. And the Lord will be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as lightning: and the Lord shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south." This is the scene of the last battle, all the nations(the Antichrist/Beast/leopard kingdom-Spiritual Greece) will attempt to annihilate Israel. The Lord will go forth to battle against them and destroy the Statue of Nebuchadnezzar, and the world system which supports it. This Mountain(the Lord and His Kingdom) will fill the entire earth.