What does it mean that the woman is called Wickedness?
The woman is a personification of wickedness among the people. The text does not present her as a person but as a picture of the perversity that God removes from his community.
Zechariah · chapter 5 of 14
Zechariah 5: Summary, Key Verses and Study Questions
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What happens in Zechariah 5?
Zechariah 5 contains the sixth and seventh visions. In the first, a flying scroll of great size carries a curse over the land against anyone who steals and anyone who swears falsely. In the second, a basket with a woman called Wickedness is covered with a lead lid and carried by two winged women to the land of Shinar. Both show that God removes evil from his people.
After the visions of comfort and rebuilding, the next two deal with sin within the restored community. A rebuilt temple and an inhabited city are not enough if there is theft, falsehood and wickedness inside. These visions show that God watches over the purity of his people and that evil has no permanent place among his own.
Zechariah 5 summary
Zechariah lifts his eyes again and sees a flying scroll. The angel asks what he sees, and he answers a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide. The angel explains that it is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land: according to what is written on one side, everyone who steals will be cleaned out, and according to the other side, everyone who swears falsely will be cleaned out. The Lord of hosts says he will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by his name, and it will remain in the midst of his house and consume it, both timber and stones.
Then the angel asks Zechariah to lift his eyes and see what is going out. It is an ephah, a grain measure, and it stands for the appearance of the people throughout the land. A lead cover is lifted, and inside the ephah a woman is sitting. The angel says that this is Wickedness, and he thrusts her back into the ephah and throws the lead weight down on its opening.
Zechariah lifts his eyes and sees two women coming with the wind in their wings; they have wings like the wings of a stork. They lift up the ephah between earth and heaven. The prophet asks where they are taking the ephah, and the angel answers that it is to the land of Shinar, to build a house for her; when it is ready, she will be set down there on her base.
Chapter outline
- vv. 1-4: Sixth vision: the flying scroll, a curse against the thief and the one who swears falsely.
- vv. 5-8: Seventh vision: the ephah with the woman called Wickedness, covered with a lead lid.
- vv. 9-11: Two women with stork wings carry the ephah to Shinar.
Key verses in Zechariah 5
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Zechariah 5:2
The flying scroll is twenty cubits long and ten wide, the size of the porch of Solomon's temple. It is a clear sign that its message is visible and no one can ignore it.
Zechariah 5:3
The scroll is a curse that goes out over the whole land, reaching the thief and the one who swears falsely. The two sins sum up the two halves of the law: our relationship with our neighbor and with God.
Zechariah 5:8
The angel identifies the woman in the ephah as Wickedness and thrusts her back with a lead cover. The vision teaches that wickedness is not a reality God tolerates within his people but something he contains and removes.
Zechariah 5:11
The ephah is carried to Shinar, the land of Babylon, to have a house built for it. Evil is returned to the place associated with human rebellion, and God's city is left clean.
Main themes
- Evil removed from the midst
- The curse on theft and false oaths
- The purity of God's people
- Judgment on sin at home
People and places
- Zechariah
- The angel
- The woman called Wickedness
- The two women with stork wings
- Shinar (Babylon)
Zechariah 5 study questions and answers
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
1. What are the measurements of the flying scroll?
Answer: Twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide. — Zechariah 5:2
2. Against whom does the curse of the scroll go out?
Answer: Against the thief and the one who swears falsely. — Zechariah 5:3-4
3. What will the curse do in the house of the thief?
Answer: It will remain in it and consume it, both timber and stones. — Zechariah 5:4
4. What does Zechariah see inside the ephah?
Answer: A woman sitting, called Wickedness. — Zechariah 5:7-8
5. With what is the opening of the ephah covered?
Answer: With a lead cover or weight. — Zechariah 5:8
6. Where do the two women carry the ephah?
Answer: To the land of Shinar. — Zechariah 5:11
Application for today
Zechariah 5 reminds us that sin within the community is no small matter. Stealing and swearing falsely were faults of everyday life, and the scroll shows that God sees and judges them. In a small group you can talk about honesty at work, in business and in our word, and about the need for the church to be a place of truth.
The vision also consoles: God does not leave wickedness in the midst of his people forever. Anyone struggling against sin can trust that it is the Lord who removes it and that the work of cleansing is his.
Zechariah 5 shows God cleansing the land of theft, falsehood and wickedness. Chapter 6 closes the series of visions with four chariots coming out between two bronze mountains, and with the symbolic crowning of Joshua, which points to the Branch.
Frequently asked questions about Zechariah 5
Why is she carried to Shinar?
Shinar is the ancient name of the region of Babylon (Genesis 11:2), associated with the rebellion of Babel. Carrying wickedness there means returning it to the place that stands for opposition to God, far from Jerusalem.
Why does the scroll mention theft and false oaths in particular?
They are probably examples of the two tablets of the law: sins against the neighbor and against God's name. Some interpreters see them as a summary of all sin in the community's life.