“Then I raised my eyes and saw, and here there were two women coming forth, and wind was in their wings. And they had wings like the wings of the stork. And they gradually raised the ephah up between the earth and the heavens.

Zechariah 5:9, 10.

32. How are these two women set in contrast with the woman inside the ephah, and what does having the wind in their wings suggest?

³² Two symbolic women are used to transport the confined “wickedness” away posthaste as if by airfreight of modern times. This is a good use of symbolisms. This womankind is used not just to symbolize wickedness; wickedness is not confined to women, but they too can be virtuous and useful in Jehovah’s service. And here in this vision they are used to symbolize agents employed by the Sovereign Lord God, who hates wickedness. Like Him, these two symbolic women hate wickedness and are glad to be used by him to rid the land of it. So here we have a nice balance in the use of women as symbols. And since “wind was in their wings,” it shows they had heavenly help to make speedy riddance of wickedness.

33. What features about the stork made it appropriate for these two symbolic women to have stork wings in this connection?

³³ We observe that their wings are the “wings of the stork.” How appropriate such kind of wings for these two symbolic women, for the Hebrew word for “stork” (hha·si·dahʹ) is evidently derived from the Hebrew word (hheʹsed) that means “loving-kindness” and “loyalty,” qualities that mark womankind. The stork is known to be markedly tender toward its brood of young and also loyal to its mate throughout life. But, of course, there is to be no tenderness in the treatment of “wickedness.” Storks being migratory birds and having an instinctive awareness of the times for their migration, these two symbolic women with stork wings would know Jehovah’s appointed time for the removal of “wickedness.” (Jeremiah 8:7) Since storks have a wingspread of up to seven feet (2.1 meters), they can fly high and also lift heavy loads. With stork wings the two symbolic women should be able to lift and carry off the heavy load of “wickedness.” (Job 39:13; Psalm 104:17)