Zechariah 5:11

“And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar, etc.] That is, in the province of Babylon, as the Targum paraphrases it; for Babel, or Babylon, was in the land of Shinar, (<011010>Genesis 10:10 11:2) whither the Jews were carried captive, (<270102>Daniel 1:2) (<231111>Isaiah 11:11), and the bearing of the “ephah” thither may denote the cause of their captivity, the measure of sins filled up by them: though this some understand of the like injuries, oppressions, and vexations, brought upon the Chaldeans in the land of Shinar, which they before exercised towards and upon the Jews; and others of the rejection of wicked men from among the Jews, by Ezra and Nehemiah, transporting…”

“To build . . . house in . . . Shinar--Babylonia (Gen 10:10), the capital of the God-opposed world kingdoms, and so representing in general the seat of irreligion. As the "building of houses" in Babylon (Jer 29:5, Jer 29:28) by the Jews themselves expressed their long exile there, so the building of an house for "wickedness" there implies its permanent stay. set . . . upon her own base--fixed there as in its proper place. "Wickedness" being cast out of Judah, shall for ever dwell with the antichristian apostates (of whom Babylon is the type), who shall reap the fruit of it, which they deserve. Next: Zechariah Chapter 6”

“To build it an house in the land of Shinar - The name of Shinar, though strictly Babylonia, carries back to an older power than the world-empire of Babylon; which now too was destroyed. “In the land of Shinar” Genesis 11:2 was that first attempt to array a world-empire against God, ere mankind was ye dispersed. And so it is the apter symbol of the antitheist or anti-Christian world, which by violence, art, falsehood, sophistry, wars against the truth. To this great world-empire it was to be removed; yet to live there, no longer cramped and confined as within an Ephah, but in pomp and splendor. A house or temple was to be built for it, for its honor and glory; as Dagon 1 Samuel 5:2-5 or…”

“To build - Not in mercy, but in judgment. Of Shinar - Of Babylon whither many of the Jews fled, and others of them were forced by the Romans. Set there - There they shall be confined without hope of release. Her own base - They are settled upon the lees of their own unbelief: their wickedness is established on its own bases. Next: Zechariah Chapter 6”

“5:11 Idolatry is potently and aggressively evil; it cannot be confined, but must be shipped back to its source (Babylonia) by God’s decree. This symbolism indicates that God is able to purge his people of all the various forms of wickedness that separated them from him. • The land of Babylonia was the land of Hebrew captivity (Mic 4:10). The prophets condemn it as wicked and idolatrous (Isa 46–47; Jer 50–51). In the New Testament, Babylon represents the evil Roman Empire (Rev 17:5; 18:2; see 1 Pet 5:13).”

“unto: Deu 28:59; Jer 29:28; Hos 3:4; Luk 21:24 the land: Gen 10:10, Gen 11:2, Gen 14:1; Isa 11:11; Dan 1:2 Next: Zechariah Chapter 6”