Bible Strands
Zechariah 5:11
“To build a house for it in the land of Shinar,” he told me. “And when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its pedestal.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The angel speaking with Zechariah responds to the prophet’s question about the basket’s destination by directing that a house be constructed for it in Shinar. The vision concludes with the instruction to set the basket on its pedestal once the structure is prepared.
The words — The Hebrew לִבְנוֹת (livnot) translates literally as “to build,” and שׁינער (Shinar) names the Mesopotamian region. The verb וְהֻנִּיחָה (ve-huniḥah) means “and it will be placed,” specifying the basket’s final resting position.
The thread — Shinar recurs in Genesis 10:10 as the founding territory of Nimrod’s kingdom and in Genesis 11:2 as the plain where post-flood settlers gathered. Daniel 1:2 also references Shinar when noting the transport of Judah’s temple vessels to Babylon.
Why it lands — The text states that the measured evil will be housed in a land of human rebellion until it is ready for removal. The reader must accept that God’s vision includes both the temporary containment of sin and the certainty of its eventual judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.
Cross-references
- Genesis 10:10 His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
- Genesis 11:2 And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
- Daniel 1:2 And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.
- Genesis 14:1 In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim
- Isaiah 11:11 On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Jeremiah 29:28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, claiming: Since the exile will be lengthy, build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat their produce.’”
- Luke 21:24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
- Hosea 3:4 For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.
- Deuteronomy 28:59 He will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary disasters, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses.