Zechariah 1:8

I saw tonight Our Sages explained [this phrase as] they explained [it] in the Aggadah of the chapter entitled “Helek” (Sanh. 93a), but the sequence of the chapter and the language do not fit it.

and behold! A man an angel.

on a red horse This is an allusion that He would exact retribution upon the Chaldeans, Media, and Persia with the sword and with blood, as He says (verse 15 below): “And I was very wroth with the nations.”

and after him were red, etc., horses prepared for the mission of the Omnipresent. That there were among them [horses of] many sorts of colors was a [means of] praise for him. black do not know what color this is. Jonathan rendered קְוָחִין.

among the myrtles that were in the pool Among the myrtle trees of Babylon.

"I saw by night." The visions of Zechariah are very obscure, like those of Daniel, but the visions of the other prophets are not so ; the reason is, that the power of prophecy had been gradually exhausting from the days of the captivity ; therefore, they did not make their words clear, and did not understand the visions as they were. He says, " I saw by night," i. e., in the visions of the night I saw this vision, in which I beheld -

"a man riding upon a red horse." We have found in the words of our rabbis of blessed memory, the following exposition of this verse : " I saw in the night, that the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to turn the whole world into night, and behold a man riding. This man is no other than the Holy One, blessed be He, for it is said, "The Lord is a man of war." "Upon a red horse.' The Holy One, blessed be He, sought to turn the whole world into blood, but when he looked upon Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah, his anger was cooled, for it is said, "And he stood among the myrtle-trees (hadassim.)" The myrtle- trees can mean nothing else but the righteous, for it is said, ' He brought up Hadassah.' (Esther 2:7) In like manner, "In the bottom,' means nothing else but Babylon, for it is said, "That saith to the deep, be dry." (Isaiah 44:27.) Immediately the black horses became speckled, and the red horses white, for it is said, ( And behind him red horses, speckled and white.' (Verse 8.)" But we shall endeavour to interpret the vision as well as we can. "