Zechariah 6:3

Which signified, that God would sometimes give his Church rest, and pour his plagues upon their enemies, as he did in destroying Nineveh and Babylon, and others their enemies.

These represented their state under the Persians, which restored them to liberty.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

white--implying joy and victory [CALVIN].

grizzled--piebald. Implying a mixed dispensation, partly prosperity, partly adversity. All four dispensations, though various in character to the Gentile nation, portended alike good to God's people.

bay--rather, "strong" or "fleet"; so Vulgate [GESENIUS]. The horses have this epithet, whose part it was to "walk to and fro through the earth" (Zac 6:7). However, the Septuagint and Chaldee agree with English Version in referring the Hebrew to color, not strength.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. The third chariot white horses] The empire of the Greeks, founded by Alexander the Great, which destroyed the empire of the Persians.

The fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.] That is party-coloured horses; or with horses, some grisled and some bay. The empire of the Romans or of the Greeks. The Greeks divided after the death of Alexander; one part pointing out the Lagidae, who attacked and subdued Egypt; and the other, the Seleucidae, who subdued Syria under Seleucus.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

As to the last chariot, the Prophet says, that it went forth toward the south, and then it went elsewhere, and even through the whole world, for God had so permitted.

Now as to the meaning of this Prophecy nothing will remain obscure, if we hold these elements of truth — that all events are designated by the chariots, or all the revolutions which take place in the world — and that the blind power of fortune does not rule, as fools imagine, but that God thus openly makes known to us his own counsel. And why the horses are said to have been, some red, some black, some white, and some somewhat red, the plain answer is this — because God had sent forth his chariots over Judea, which was full of blood: by this then is meant the red color. But he shows also, that their enemies would have their time, and this had been in part fulfilled; for God had ridden over them with his chariots, having driven his wheels over their land when Nineveh was overthrown. And though the Spirit had not simply a reference to the Assyrians or the Chaldeans, as though he meant by the black color to designate the wars carried on among then, but rather the calamities brought by them on the Jews, yet I consider the black color to mean in general the terrible disturbances which took place through the whole of the least; and the Jews could not expect anything agreeable from that quarter, for shortly after a heavier weight fell on their heads. But in the third place the Prophet adds, that there were white horses, that is, when the time was accomplished in which God intended to deliver his Church.

But he says, that the chariots not only went forth to the East, or to Babylon; but he says, that they also ran through the south, and then visited the whole world. That we may more fully understand this, we must regard the design of the Prophet. He meant here, no doubt, to bring some comfort to the Jews, that they might not succumb under their evils, however sharply God might chastise them. And Zechariah sets before them here two things — first, that no part of the earth, or no country, would be exempt from God’s judgments, for his chariots would pass through all lands; and secondly, that though the chariots of God, terrible in their appearance on account of the black and red color, had visited Judea as well as the north, yet the time had already come in which God, having been pacified, would change the state of things; and therefore, in the third place, he sets before them another color; for God’s chariot had been sent forth through Judea, and then God’s vengeance had visited Nineveh, and afterwards Babylon: only this had rested, because it had been already in part fulfilled, for God had removed the darkness and brought sunshine to the Jews, and that from Chaldea, inasmuch as the Persian, who then possessed the empire, had begun to treat the Jews with kindness. It now follows —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(3) For grisled and bay, read only the first word, grey, as in Zec_1:8. It is necessary (with the Syriac Version) to make this conjectural emendation, because (as the Hebrew text now stands), in this verse the “grisled and bay horses” are spoken of as identical, while in Zec_6:6-7 they are distinguished from one another; and, moreover, the “red horses” are not mentioned again. LXX., ποικίλοι ψαροί.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. grisled and bay] Rather, spotted and active, or strong, as in margin of A. V. and R. V. They were spotted, perhaps with white spots on a dark ground, “sparsis pellibus albo dixit” (Virgil, Ec. ii. 41); comp. Gen_31:10; Gen_31:12. In addition to the mention of their distinguishing colour, they are said here to be active, and again in Zec_6:7, where the reason for this characteristic being mentioned appears in the request which they make.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And in the third chariot white horses,.... Which, as referring to Gospel preachers, may denote the purity of their lives and doctrines, and their conquests and victories over the souls of men by the ministry of the word; and, as applicable to angels, may express the purity of their nature and actions, the joyful messages they bring to the heirs of salvation, and their victories over the evil angels; but, as respecting the monarchies, point at the Grecians, and the conquests of Alexander, and his mildness and gentleness to the Jews: white horses were used in triumphs, in token of victory (t); see Rev 6:2 and they have been reckoned the swiftest in running; and by the "oneirocritics", to see them in a dream or vision is a good omen (u); and so it was accounted with the Jews (w); all which suits very well with Alexander, who was famous for his victories over many nations: and who, with great velocity, overran them, and as soon conquered them, and was kind and beneficent to the Jewish nation:

and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses: signifying either the diversity of gifts in the ministers of the Gospel; or the different employment and services of angels; or rather the Romans are meant, who were collected out of various nations, and consisted of different people, and had dvarious forms of government, and emperors of different dispositions to the Jews; and particularly as two colours are assigned to these, it may respect the division of their kingdom into Pagan and Papal, as is predicted in Dan 2:41. Kimchi thinks the "bay horses" design the kingdom of the Ishmaelites, or Turks, a strong and powerful people; as some think the word used signifies (x); rather the Goths and Vandals; see Zac 6:7. The word for "grisled" is by the Targum rendered "spotted" or "speckled"; and comes from one which signifies "hail"; and so denotes such coloured horses as are spotted with white spots, like hailstones (y), upon another colour, as black or red; and is by the Septuagint, and others, rendered "various" (z), of divers colours: and the other word for "bay" is rendered by them "starling coloured"; the colour of the starling, which is a black bird, with white spots; and so were a fit emblem of the Goths, Huns, &c. who were of various nations, and had various laws, customs, and usages; though some think by these two are meant the successors of Alexander, the Lagidae and the Seleucidae, put together, because of their intermarriages with one another, as well as succeeding Alexander: the former by the "grisled", who went and settled in the south country in Egypt, Zac 6:6 whose first king was Ptolemy Lagus, from whence is the name, and who is the king of the south in Dan 11:5 and the latter by the "bay" or "ash coloured", as the Targum; the kings of Syria hiding deep their counsels, as under ashes, particularly Antiochus, as Grotius observes; and sometimes making war on one nation, and sometimes on another; and both of them in their turns falling upon the Jews suddenly, and with great violence, like hailstones, and making sad devastations among them, reducing them to ashes; but then this sense shuts out the Romans, the fourth monarchy, from having any place in this vision, which cannot be admitted; since these four chariots answer to the four sorts of metal in Nebuchadnezzar's image, and to the four beasts in Daniel's vision. So the Jewish writers (a) say, the red horses are the kingdom of Babylon, which shed much blood in Israel; this is the head of gold: the black horses, the kingdom of the Persians and Medes, like to a bear, who made black the faces of Israel, by the decrees of Haman: the white horses, the kingdom of Grecia, who made white the faces of Israel by reproaches: the horses grisled and bay the fourth kingdom, which decreed various decrees, different from one another: and these four chariots went out from between two mountains, from between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, which dwell between two countries, that beyond Jordan, and the land of Israel; and they went out between them, and carried them captive; and these kingdoms are called mountains of brass, because strong as brass, and hearkened not to the words of the prophets.

(t) Aurel. Victor de Viris Ilustrib. c. 26. in Furio Camillo, & Plutarchus in Camillo. (u) Bochart, ut supra, (Hierozoic par. 1. l. 2. c. 7.) col. 105, 106. (w) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 93. 1. (x) "fortes", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; "robusti", Piscator, Tarnovius, Gussetius, Stockius, p. 74. "validi", Burkius; so Kimchi; and the Jews in Pesikta apud Yalkut in loc. (y) "grandinate", Montanus, Cocceius, Burkius; "grandiue gut. tati", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Tarnovius, De Dieu, Pembellus. (z) Sept.; "varii", Pagninus. (a) In Pesikta Rabbati apud Yalkut in loc.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Strong; (Protestants marginal note) the text has "bay." (Haydock) --- Some Greek copies read erroneously, red. (St. Jerome) --- Others have, variegated, as ver. 7. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

White horses; joyful and prosperous affairs: see Zec 1:8.

Grisled and bay; state of affairs mixed of good and bad: see Zec 1:8.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

White horses - Signifying joyful and prosperous affairs, chap. i, 8. Grisled - A mixt state of affairs.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

white To cause Persia to mount, and Persia built the Temple.

spotted They are spotted. [Their function is] to cause Greece to mount, [as Greece] oppressed Israel with various kinds of decrees

ash- colored to cause Edom and Ishmael to mount, but I do not know the expression אֲמֻצִּים. Jonathan rendered: ash-colored.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.