Stead again. He points out the intertextual connections between Zechariah 4:7 and Isaiah 40:4, 42:16. In all these passages, mountains are being brought low. One of the remarkable contrasts is that in Isaiah (especially 42:16), Yahweh Himself levels mountains; in Zechariah, . . . . Continue Reading »
Michael Stead ( The Intertextuality of Zechariah 1-8 (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies) ) the golden lampstand of Zechariah 4 is not Yahweh nor Israel but the temple. He notes that verses 2-3 provide a vision that verses 6-14 answer, in the same sequence. In verses 2-3, the . . . . Continue Reading »
Zechariah 2 seems to divide between verse 5 and 6, as we move from a promise of Yahweh’s dwelling in Jerusalem to an exhortation to “flee from the land of the north.” While I have not been able to discern an overall structure in the passage, there are signs that it’s . . . . Continue Reading »
Zechariah 2 contains several references to the Jubilee. Jerusalem, the Lord says, will become like an unwalled city (2:4), the kind of city where the Jubilee rules do apply (Leviticus 25). At the end of the passage, the prophet learns that Yahweh will inherit Jerusalem, a unique usage . . . . Continue Reading »
Yahweh promises to be a wall around Jerusalem (Zechariah 2:5), as well as the glory in her midst. Jerusalem dwells within the fiery wall that is Yahweh’s consuming presence. Jerusalem is indwelt by the fiery glory that is Yahweh’s consuming presence. And, if Jerusalem indwells and is . . . . Continue Reading »
The craftsmen who throw down the “horns” that have scattered Judah (Zechariah 1:18-21) are like the craftsmen that built the tabernacle and temple. They are destroying horns (of an altar), and so gaining the victory over the Gentiles. Zechariah gives a neat little verbal twist to . . . . Continue Reading »
Zechariah 1:21 (Hebrew 2:4) has a neat, sort-a-chiastic structure. In answer to Zechariah’s question, Yahweh (v. 20) says that the craftsmen come to bring down the horns of the Gentiles. A. These are horns B. Which scatter Judah C. So that a man does not lift his head A’. These . . . . Continue Reading »
In an earlier post, I noted that Zechariah 1:2 pictures Israel as hemmed in by Yahweh’s anger: Anger-fathers-anger is the word order. Zechariah 1:14 does the same. Zechariah’s message to Israel is qinne’ti liyrushalaim (jealous I am to Jerusalem) ultziyyon qin’ah . . . . Continue Reading »
Meredith Kline has argued that the entire book of Zechariah is organized as a pair of “diptychs,” each of which “hinges” on a passage about the work of the King-Shepherd of Israel. The entire book itself, moreover, is a diptych, hinging around the crowning of Joshua . . . . Continue Reading »
Zechariah 1:2 has a neat bit of text-painting. The verse uses the root “be angry” ( qatzaph ) twice. That of course gives the term emphasis. Yahweh is not merely angry; He’s ANGRY! The verse is surrounded by the root qatzaph so that the verse reads: “Angry . . . . Continue Reading »
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