“‘As for the one in which the black horses are, they are going forth to the land of the north; and as for the white ones, they must go forth to behind the sea [literally, ‘after them’; that is, to their own rear]; and as for the speckled ones, they must go forth to the land of the south.

Zechariah 6:6, 7.a

11. (a) Why do the red horses seem to be overlooked? (b) What assignments do the other horses respectively have, and in what behalf?

¹¹ The “red horses” seem to be overlooked here; but this seeming oversight may be because they have already finished their assignment of military patrol duty. The black horses go to the “land of the north,” that is to say, to territory formerly that of Babylonia. The white horses go their way westward, the direction opposite from what they were facing (the sunrising). The speckled, parti-colored horses appear to have a double assignment, namely, “the land of the south” (toward Africa, including Egypt) and to reconnoiter the remaining open country, the eastern parts not covered by the other chariots. Jehovah’s angel told all the chariots to go to their assignments respecting the various quarters of the earth. Obediently they did so, to safeguard God’s people in Judah.