Composition
Zechariah ("Yahweh remembers") prophesied from 520-518 B.c., quite likely after having returned to Jerusalem with the group of Babylonian exiles that accompanied Zerubbabel in 538. Along with his contemporary, Haggai, Zechariah urged the rebuilding of the temple.
Zechariah contains the greatest percentage of visionary material of any prophetic book of the Bible. In the first major section (chs. i-8), the writer reports eight visions, interspersed with related oracles. The second section (chs. 9-14) contains two extended oracles representing an early stage of apocalyptic thought.
Composition
Largely because of literary differences between the first and second parts of Zechariah, and their concentration on concerns that seem to reflect different periods in the history of the Hebrews restored to Canaan, most scholars believe that the last six chapters of the book came from an author later than Zechariah - most probably an individual living in the 5th or 4th century. Some see a connection between Zechariah 9-14 and the book of Malachi, whose opening words parallel the superscriptions of Zechariah 9:1 and 12:1. Nevertheless, the ancient manuscripts we have group together all 14 chapters that in modern Bibles make up the book of Zechariah.
1:1-6 Learn from the Past
Zechariah's recorded prophetic ministry began two months after Haggai delivered his first oracle (v. 1), during the reign of the Persian king Darius I. The account traces Zechariahs ancestry back two generations to Iddo, quite possibly the priest named in Neh. 12:4 among the exiles who accompanied Zerubbabel on his return to Judah from Babylon.
In exhorting the Hebrews to learn from the past, verses 1-6 give a brief historical introduction to the circumstances in which the community of returnees in Jerusalem now find themselves. Here Zechariah's primary purpose consists in urging his people not to repeat the mistakes of their ancestors, who failed to heed the warnings of earlier prophets concerning the need for repentance and thus had to experience the covenantal curses (cf. Deut. 28:15-68).
1:7-8:23 Eight Visions and Related Oracles
1:7-17 Vision 1: God's Horsemen Darius I developed throughout the Persian Empire a system of roads then unrivalled in the ancient Near East. Like the mounted "police" who patrolled these roads, four riders appointed by God to patrol the earth report peace throughout. (If the colors of the horses originally conveyed special meanings, they elude us today [v. 8].) But the angel accompanying Zechariah bewails this peace, for it signifies divine inaction toward restoring Judah and Jerusalem. The angelic reminder stirs God to compassion for Jerusalem/ Zion and fuels his anger at the foreign nations, who have taken too far their mandate to punish God's people. The Lord vows to return to Jerusalem, cause his temple-home to be rebuilt, and have Jerusalem surveyed in preparation for her rebuilding.
Known as the Tomb of Zechariah, this freestanding monument was carved out of the bedrock on the lower slope of the Mount of Olives in the second century B.C., well after the Old Testament period. (www. Ho l yL an d Ph o to s. o rg)
1:18-21 Vision 2: Four Horns Four animal horns (symbolizing strength, aggression, and/or pride; cf. Ps. 75:4-5; Dan. 8:3-9) represent powerful foreign nations that have overdone their duty as instruments of God's judgment against Judah/ Jerusalem. "Four" seems not to refer to particular nations but to convey the idea of completeness and thereby to encompass all foreign oppressors of the Hebrew people. Similarly, an adequate number of "blacksmiths" ("four") will hammer out God's righteous anger against the excessively hostile nations.
2:1-5 Vision 3: Interrupting the Survey of Jerusalem An angelic messenger interrupts a surveyor's measuring of Jerusalem to stress that the city will not need new defense walls. Seventy years earlier, the Babylonian army broke down the walls as part of the punitive destruction of the Judahite capital (2 Kgs. 25:10). But God himself will serve as Protector of the restored city, whose boundless population stone walls would only cramp. Thus the survey for which God calls in 1:16 must here measure not the city's limits but its limitlessness. The point here is the realization of Jerusalem's promised restoration, not a prohibition of the literal rebuilding of the walls.
2:6-13 Summoning the Exiles Who will fill the restored Jerusalem envisioned in verses 1-5? - the exiles, here summoned back from Babylon, the "land of the north." Though Babylon lay due east of Canaan, the intervening Arabian Desert prohibited a direct, westward approach to the promised land. Instead, pilgrims, merchants, and armies all skirted the Fertile Crescent and entered Canaan from the north, through Syria and Lebanon; hence the Old Testament's designation of Babylon and other Mesopotamian invaders as northern lands or enemies.
But Zechariah does not simply invite the exiles home; rather, he urges them to escape while
they can, for God will soon judge the oppressive nations in which many of the exiles have chosen to remain. The tables will soon turn: the exiles ("slaves") will "plunder" the nations that have been plundering them (v. 9; cf. Exod. 12:3536). Zechariah calls on Jerusalem (= "daughter Zion") to rejoice that the Lord is coming home to stay (v io). Verse 11 anticipates the conversion of all nations to the worship of Yahweh.
3 Vision 4: Ritual Cleansing and a Clean Slate The high priest Joshua stands before the "Adversary/Accuser" (the meaning of "Satan") in the divine courtroom (cf. Job 1-2). Joshua's filthy clothes represent his guiltiness of sin. But instead of condemning Joshua, God commutes his sentence ("a brand plucked from the fire," V. 2). After summarily rebuking the Adversary, God orders clean clothes for the high priest to signify his cleansing from sin and his suitability for conducting priestly activities in the soonto-be-rebuilt temple. God's priestly charge to Joshua promises rewards for righteous conduct: authority in the temple and free access to the heavenly courtiers N. 7). "My servant the Branch" (v. 8) refers to Zerubbabel, the civil governor descended from David; but the designation carries messianic overtones that anticipate the coming of Jesus Christ, who ushers in the kingdom of peace and prosperity signified by neighborly repose beneath "vines" and "fig trees" (v. 1o; cf. Isa.11:1-5). In the enigmatic verse 9, the "seven facets" on the stone set before Joshua may represent an all-seeing, allknowing jewel, with the number seven signifying completeness. The inscription engraved on the stone grants to the restored kingdom a clean slate for a new start with God.
4 Vision 5: A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees An oracle to Zerubbabel interrupts Zechariah's fifth vision. In verses 1-5, the prophet sees a golden lampstand with a topmost central bowl, which presumably channels fuel oil to seven spouted lamps (cf. Exod. 25:31-40) representing the globally vigilant eyes of the Lord (vv lob-14; their number, seven, indicates that God sees all; cf. 3:9). Two oil-producing olive trees flank the lampstand and represent the two "anointed ones" - Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor, respectively appointed by God as leaders in the religious and political spheres.
Verses 6-boa interject an oracle emphasizing to Zerubbabel that credit for his forthcoming accomplishments (and those of Joshua) belongs to God. The "top stone" N. 7) refers to an essential architectural feature of the second temple, such as a keystone centrally placed at the top of an arch to prevent its collapse. Zerubbabel began and supervised this construction project, and here he receives divine confirmation that he will finish the job (cf. Ezra 5:2; 6:15). The "day of small things" likely refers to the local opposition that caused the initially enthusiastic returnees to abandon their rebuilding efforts (Ezra 4). Zerubbabel's resumption of the work, signified by his possession of a "plumb line," or "plummet stone;' for sighting the straightness of walls, brings gladness to the all-seeing eyes of God.
5:1-4 Vision 6: A Gigantic, Flying Scroll Zechariah envisions a 3o-foot-long, i5-foot-wide flying scroll (one cubit = 18 inches). This document represents the curses contained in the Hebrews' covenant with God (Deuteronomy 28). One side of the scroll carries punishment for stealing (Exod. 20:15); the other side brings judgment for taking God lightly (Exod. 20:7). The first transgression represents all the covenantal laws that deal with sins against fellow human beings (commandments 5 through 10), and the second stands for all the laws that address sins against God (commandments 1 through 4). The airborne scroll seen by Zechariah purges the community of returnees by afflicting evildoers with the consuming curses of the covenant.
5:5-11 Vision 7: Wickedness Whisked Off Woman Wickedness embodies the sin of the covenantal people (contrast Woman Wisdom in Proverbs). Packed for shipping in a lead-lidded bushel basket, Wickedness is whisked off to the land of the exile (Shinar = Babylonia) by two stork-winged women riding the wind. This permanent exiling of Wickedness, signified by her relocation to a Mesopotamian temple built just for her, completes the purge of the restored Hebrew community in Canaan.
6:1-8 Vision 8: Charioteers Eager for Action Zechariah's last vision answers the question raised in the first one (1:7-17): how long will God go without bringing restoration to Jerusalem and Judah? The approach of four chariots speeding from God's presence through a bronze mountain pass portends a military strike (vv. 1, 5; contrast 1:8-11). The four chariots patrol the entire earth and presumably rout out all elements of opposition to God's restorative purposes for his people. In particular, Zechariah specifies the two directions from which enemies entered Canaan - north, from which direction came most of the invaders, and south, from where the Egyptians advanced. God will be particularly satisfied with the punitive mission to the "north" (= Babylonia; cf. 2:6-13).
As in chapter b, the significance of the horses' colors eludes us. The bronze of the mountains probably represents strength (cf. the colossus in Dan. 2:31-35).
6:9-15 Crowned Priest and Consecrated Politician In Ezra 7:11-28, the Persian king Artaxerxes grants the Hebrews permission to return to Jerusalem with as many valuables as they can glean in Babylon. Verse io names several of these wealth-laden returnees. Zechariah must use some of their silver and gold to make a crown for the head of the high priest, Joshua. Then Zechariah must address the priest with a prophecy concerning "Branch" - the governor, Zerubbabel - which confirms his building of the second temple and his shared authority with Joshua over the restored Hebrew community (cf. 3:8). That the high priest wears the crown while the governor attains priestly status symbolizes the leaders' functional equality, which produces peace between the temple and state by nullifying their competition (vv. 11, 13). Though Zechariah portrays Zerubbabel enthroned as a monarch (v. 13), the prophet stops short of calling him a "king" in accordance with Jeremiah's prophetic termination of the dynasty of Jehoiachin, Judah's last king and possibly an ancestor of Zerubbabel (Jer. 22:30; cf. Hag. 2:23; also Heb. 3:1; Matt. 21:1-9). The rebuilding of the temple by returned exiles will confirm the divine origin of Zechariah's prophecy, but its fulfillment requires the Hebrews' complete obedience to God (v. 15).
7:1-8:23 Long Answer to a Short Question The oracles in chapters 7 and 8 date to 518 - two years after the opening oracle of the book, and two years prior to the completion of the second temple (1:1; Ezra 6:15).
Zechariah speaks these oracles in response to an inquiry of representatives sent to Jerusalem from Bethel, a major religious center established by the northern kingdom's breakaway monarch, Jeroboam I, to rival Jerusalem and the temple (1 Kgs. 12:25-33). The visitors ask whether they should continue to observe the mourning fast of the "fifth month" (7:3), which apparently commemorated the Babylonian destruction of the temple in 587/86. Now that many of the exiles have returned and are rebuilding the temple, the Bethelites' question seems reasonable.
Zechariah acknowledges the visitors' dutiful observance not only of the fifth month's fast but that of the seventh month also, in commemoration of the murder of the preexilic, Babylonianappointed governor Gedaliah (2 Kgs. 25:25). But the prophet charges the Bethelites with selfish, insincere motives for keeping the fasts. He notes that the preexilic prophets chastised their well-off audiences for the same kind of false piety (e.g., Amos 8) and then admonishes the inquirers to practical righteousness, as required by the Mosaic law (e.g., Deuteronomy 22; cf. Matt. 7:12). The negative example and fate of the preexilic Hebrews show the consequences of disobedience to God (7:11-14).
Yet condemnation does not come for the Bethelites; rather, God in his mercy announces his determination to return to Zion/Jerusalem, establish it as the center of truth and righteousness, and make it a city in which the elderly can find tranquility and children can express youthful exuberance (8:1-8). This promise should inspire moral courage for the returnees engaged in rebuilding the temple (8:9). Though before the period of judgment God made life hard for the defiant Hebrews, he now plans to bestow on the restored remnant the blessings of the covenant, peace, and prosperity (8:10-12). Verse 13 anticipates the fulfillment of God's promise to make his people a blessing to the nations. A glorious future lies before the Hebrew remnant - but they must treat each other well. God's righteous sensibilities demand honesty and judicial fairness in all their dealings (vv. 16-17).
At the end of chapter 8, Zechariah finally addresses the question put to him in 7:3: Should the Bethelites continue to observe the mourning fast? His answer draws on the preceding picture of the Hebrews' imminent reversal of fortunes: Soon joy will so obliterate sorrow that fasting will turn into feasting and mourning into celebration. (The fasts in the 4th and loth months commemorated the Babylonians' breaching of the wall of Jerusalem [Jer. 39:2] and the beginning of the city's siege by Nebuchadnezzar [2 Kgs. 25:1-2].) The Hebrews' great good fortune will attract to the worship of the Lord people from many nations who want to experience God's favor as his people do. The foreigners' eager attachment to the Jews will give evidence that indeed the chosen people have become a blessing to the nations (8:22-23; cf. V. 13).
9-14 Broadening the Scope
The last six chapters of Zechariah show similar concerns as chapters 1-8, but the scope of the prophecies broadens by giving greater attention to the non-Hebrew nations and to the end toward which history is moving. The same introductory superscription precedes the two extended oracles that make up this section (chs. 9-11; 12-14; cf. Mal. 1:1).
9 Foes Vanquished and Transformed The purge prophesied in chapter 9 envisions not just the perishing of powers traditionally antagonistic toward the Hebrews but also the transformation of their enemies into friends and the incorporation of non-Hebrews into the community of the chosen people. The oracle predicts this future for certain cities in and around Canaan: Hadrach, in far northern Canaan; Hamath and Damascus, in Syria; Tyre and Sidon, prominent seaports on the coast of Phoenicia; and Gaza, Ekron, Ashkelon, and Ashdod, the four remaining Philistine cities on the south-central coastal plain of Canaan. When God causes the Philistines to start observing the Hebrew food laws (v. 7a), these foreigners will become incorporated into the Judahite community of the chosen people, as had the Jebusite inhabitants of Jerusalem conquered by David N. 7b). The ruler of this eclectic kingdom will not need a war horse as a mount, but only a young donkey, for worldwide peace will take hold. (Matt. 21:5; John 12:15 quote v. 9 in reference to Jesus.) The "seas" in v. 1o refer to the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the Dead Sea on the east; the "River" denotes the Euphrates, in Mesopotamia.
The rest of the oracle addresses the Hebrews. The "blood" of the covenant recalls the sacrificial rites performed in ratification of the agreement made at Sinai (v. 11). The picture of the Hebrews as freed from imprisonment in a "waterless pit" (a dry cistern or well) communicates their divine rescue from certain death (cf. Gen. 37:18-36; Jer. 38:1-13). The writer portrays the southern kingdom of Judah as God's bow and the northern kingdom of Israel ("Ephraim," its largest and most prominent tribe) as the arrows he will use in defending the Hebrews against Greece, the reigning regional power following Alexander the Great's defeat of the Persians in 333. (Some scholars take this reference to Greece to indicate that an author who lived long after Zechariah's time [late 6th century] wrote chapters 9-14.) The military victory envisioned in vv. 15-17 appears so complete that God's people will revel in celebration. The "bowl" of v. 15 refers to a large, usually stone tub that held water for ritual bathing before performing religious rites.
10 The Exiles Come Home The prophet implores the people to turn to God for the rain that ultimately produces food and drink (1o:1; cf. 9:17). Instead, the people wander about like stupid sheep because of the scarcity of decent "shepherds" (leaders) to guide them, theologically or politically. They take the word of household idols ("teraphim," which cannot speak) and garner false hopes from fortune-tellers, who purposely lie.
God determines to "save" his people by strengthening them for victorious battle over their foreign oppressors and by bringing them back from exile. God will summon the remnant back from far-flung countries, such as Egypt, to
which some of the Judahites fled from the Babylonian army in the early 6th century, and Assyria, to which the Israelites ("Joseph'/"Ephraim") were deported after the fall of the northern kingdom in 722/21. The restored throng will sprawl beyond their previous borders into fertile Gilead in Transjordan and lush Lebanon (vv 1o-11). Verse 11 describes the homeward journey of the exiles in images reminiscent of the crossing of the Red Sea during the exodus (Exod. 14:21-22).
11 The ShortTerm Shepherd and His Foolhardy Flock The homeward march of the exiles and their settlement in and around the promised land proper spell defeat for the antagonistic neighbors bordering Canaan. Verses 1-3 portray their ruination as the destruction of their symbols of strength: the stately cedars of Lebanon, the mighty oaks of Bashan (northern Transjordan), and the densely vegetated banks of the Jordan River.
The shepherd imagery resumes in verse 4 with God's instruction that the prophet "pasture" the oppressed, foredoomed flock of Hebrews. His two staffs (v 7) symbolize the favor of God and the political unity of the chosen people. But the shepherd soon abandons his task, and the sheep prefer to be exploited. (The identification of the "three shepherds" annihilated in "one month" remains uncertain; v. 8.) The prophet gives notice by breaking his staff "Favor" - an act that symbolizes God's revoking of the covenantal blessings - and by requesting payment for his prophetic act. The "flock" insult him with the "lordly price" of 30 shekels of silver, the price of a slave (Exod. 21:32; cf. Matt. 26:15; 27:3-5) and apparently not worth keeping. The prophet's breaking of his other staff, "Unity," signifies dissension between the northern Hebrews and their southern kin. In verses 15-17, God gives the foolhardy flock what they want: a coldhearted shepherd who devours his own sheep.
12 Nationwide Remorse The first nine verses of this section promise the divine defense of Judah and Jerusalem against attacking nations. Jerusalem is a "cup of reeling" (v 2) that sends enemy heads spinning. Verse 3 pictures the Judahite capital as a heavy stone, injurious to anyone who tries to lift it. A flaming Judah burns up the wood and sheaves that come too close (v. 6)
The Davidic monarchy figures prominently from 12:7 to 13:1. This "house of David" bears the responsibility for causing nationwide mourning. (In the Hebrew text, the object of "pierced" can read either "the one;" perhaps the Messiah or a prophet, or "me," God himself; cf. John 19:34-37.) The intensity of the remorse comes across in the bitter weeping over the death of an "only son" and a "firstborn," who in patriarchal society embodied the all-important perpetuator of the family line and the primary heir to the family estate. An allusion to a communal, pagan ritual of mourning for the pagan fertility-god Hadad-rimmon (believed to die and rise with the seasons, v. 11) may convey the great scope of the people's grief. The Hebrews' private mourning conveys the depth and sincerity of their remorse (vv. 12-14). The grieving of the royal line of David and the priestly line of Levi, and the families of their sons Nathan and Shimei, conveys that the sorrow permeates the political and religious spheres and extends beyond generational lines.
13 Purifying a Remnant God responds to the Hebrews' genuine remorse by opening a "fountain" that will wash away their sin (v. 1). The image relates to the practice of ritual bathing, which brings about ceremonial purification to prepare a person for participation in religious rites, such as the offering of sacrifices. In the New Testament, John the Baptist's baptism by immersion symbolizes not only the washing away of one's sins but also that person's dying to sin and rising to new life in Christ.
Cleansing in Judah comes by way of God's eradication of idolatry and false prophecy. The false prophets will be so ashamed that they will no longer attempt to present themselves as legitimate by wearing "a hairy mantle in order to deceive" (v. 4; cf. Elijah, 2 Kgs. 1:8), and they will lie about the origin of their body scars, inflicted from gashing themselves in frenzied efforts to communicate with the gods (v. 6; cf. 1 Kgs. 18:28).
Verses 7-9 resume the shepherd-sheep imagery of chapters 1o and 11. Here the striking of God's shepherd-associate (cf.12:10) initiates the
process of purifying the flock, which involves scattering the sheep and then singling out onethird of them for refinement (cf. Mark 14:27). Once purified, this remnant becomes fit for a renewed relationship with God (cf. Jer. 31:31-34).
14 The Battle That Ends All Battles The closing chapter of Zechariah describes a climactic battle against Jerusalem. God initiates the assault by gathering the city's foes against her, but then he defends Jerusalem against the attackers. A mountain-splitting earthquake forms an escape route for the city's inhabitants. (The Mount of Olives runs for 21/2 miles in a north-south direction on the east side of Jerusalem.) The accompanying extinguishing of the heavenly luminaries is another natural phenomenon typical of biblical end-times imagery (cf. Joel 2:30-32; Rev. 6:12-14). On the "living waters" that constantly "flow out of Jerusalem;" see Ezek. 47:1-12 (cf. Rev. 22:1).
Verses 9ff. presume the triumph of God over the nations he stirred up against Jerusalem. The victory establishes him as "king over all the earth" and ensures the security of the now global capital, from which God lifts the curses for disobedience to the covenant. The flattening of the rugged hill country surrounding Jerusalem echoes Isaiah's call for the preparation of a smooth highway to facilitate God's approach to the city (Isa. 40:3-4), and the abiding mountain elevation of the city itself remembers the prophet's last-days description of Jerusalem as "highest of the mountains" (Isa. 2:2).
Verses 12-15 elaborate the plague sent to punish the nations that have mounted the failed assault on Jerusalem. The poetic justice of verse 1 triumphs in verse 14, which describes the Judahites' plundering of their attackers - nations that no doubt previously plundered the Hebrews. Survivors of the plague must make an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship God and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths), which commemorates the Hebrews' wandering in the wilderness after their exit from Egypt (vv. 16ff.; Lev. 23:33-36). Failure to honor God in this way will result in devastating drought for the homeland of any offenders. The prophetic warning singles out Egypt, whose reluctant release of the enslaved Hebrews launched them on their 40-year trek through the barren desert.
The last two verses of Zechariah picture an ultimate Jerusalem wholly dedicated to God. Exodus 28:36-38 gives instructions for affixing the inscription "Holy to the Lord" on the headpiece of the high priest; in the New Jerusalem, even horses wear this mark of consecration for
service to God. Ordinary cooking pots become as sacred as bowls that hold offerings presented at the altar. In verse 21, a Hebrew word that can be translated either "Canaanites" or "traders" strengthens the message: the absence of both types of people from the ideal temple signifies the absolute purity of the religion practiced there (cf. Matt. 21:12-13; Acts 21:27-29).