 | ||
The Four horns and Four carpenters are a vision found in Book of Zechariah, in Zechariah 1:21 in traditional English texts. In Hebrew texts 1:18-21 is numbered 2:1-4. The vision precedes the vision of A Man With a Measuring Line.
Contents
Hebrew Bible text
Zechariah 2: 1 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. 2 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. 3 And the Lord shewed me four carpenters. 4 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it. TaNaK.
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2302.htm
In the Talmud
The four craftsmen are discussed in Babylonian Talmud Suk. 52b. Rav Hana bar Bizna attributed to Rav Simeon Hasida the identification of these four craftsmen as Messiah ben David, Messiah ben Joseph, Elijah, and the Righteous Priest. However David Kimchi interpreted the four craftsmen as four kingdoms.
In later interpretation
The imagery of craftsmen is generally considered as "smiths", able to master the four iron horns, as symbolizing nations used as instruments of divine power for the destruction of Israel's enemies.