Zechariah

An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture

George Klein

• Publisher: Holman Reference
• Year: 2008
• ISBN:
  9781433672675
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is for the minister or Bible student who wants to understand and expound the Scriptures. Notable features include:
* commentary based on THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION;
* the NIV text printed in the body of the commentary;
* sound scholarly methodology that reflects capable research in the original languages;
* interpretation that emphasizes the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole;
* readable and applicable exposition.

Section V

Section V Outline

• V. BURDENS FROM THE Lord (9:1-14:21)
  1. Judgment and Salvation of Surrounding Nations (9:1-8)
  2. Introduction to the King (9:9-10)
  3. Israel's Battle and Ultimate Victory (9:11-10:1)
  4. Idolatry and Judgment (10:2-3)
  5. Israel's Battle and Victory (10:4-12)
  6. Judgment of the Shepherds (11:1-17)
  7. Israel's Battle and Victory (12:1-9)
  8. The Lord's Servant Pierced; Mourning and Purification (12:10-13:1)
  9. Idolatry and Judgment (13:2-6)
  10. Shepherd Struck; Judgment, Purification, and Return to God (13:7-9)
  11. Israel's Battle and Victory (14:1-15)
  12. Judgment and Salvation of All Nations (14:16-21)

V. Burdens From the Lord (9:1-14:21)

Introduction

Many have long agreed with the claim that "Chapters 9-14 are perhaps the most problematic six chapters in the Bible."1 Every conclusion about authorship, unity with Zech 1-8, historical setting, literary structure, purpose, and interpretation of individual texts faces great dissent among commentators. Nonetheless, the final section of the book of Zechariah offers some of the richest theological insights the Old Testament has to offer.

In many respects the book of Zechariah stands as a capstone or culmination to prior biblical revelation. Chapters 1-8 develop themes of covenant, blessing and judgment, holiness, acceptable worship to the Lord, the restoration of Judah, and the ultimate restoration when God establishes the eschatological kingdom. The Introduction develops the point that few biblical authors attained the quantity or sophistication of intertextual relationships as did Zechariah, especially in chaps. 9-14. Consequently, the book of Zechariah, particularly the final six chapters, functions much like a lens, both focusing and refracting theological concepts from the remainder of the Old Testament. Zechariah reiterates the great theological themes of the Old Testament, bringing them into sharp focus for his contemporaries and ours. Just as Zechariah brought distant biblical teachings into view, likewise the prophet made it possible for his readers to observe forthcoming biblical and eschatological developments that lay beyond human ability to perceive.

As already noted in the Introduction, Zech 9-14 probably had a more direct influence on the writers of the Gospels than any other Old Testament passages. C. H. Dodd observed that Zech 9-14 provided the New Testament writers with material of equal importance to the very testimony of Christ's ministry.2

Chapters 9-14 develop both Messianic and eschatological truths that became primary emphases in each of the Gospel accounts of Jesus Christ's earthly ministry. Because of the tremendous impact that Zech 9-14 had on the New Testament, not to mention on the Church's understanding of the Savior's work and his future kingdom, students of Zechariah should pursue this challenging portion of the book enthusiastically.

Structure of Zechariah 9-14

Despite diverse questions about chaps. 9-14, it is unnecessary to resort to the common approaches that relegate this section of Zechariah to another author who lived and ministered during a different time from Zechariah son of Berekiah, son of Iddo (1:1). As was argued in the Introduction, strong historical, literary, and theological reasons exist for maintaining the long-held view that chaps. 9-14 came from the same pen as did chaps. 1-8. Moreover, the traditional approach to the unity of the book of Zechariah best handles the biblical material contained in chaps. 9-14. Douglas Jones comments, "The well-established critical view that Zech. ix-xiv is quite separate in date and content from Zech. i-viii has not yet led to a satisfactory interpretation of the later chapters."3

Relatedly, one should not approach chaps. 9-14 as merely a disparate collection of sayings that have no organic connection with each other. At the most basic level, chaps. 9-11 and 12-14 each stand as unified sections with numerous organic affinities with one another. The most obvious connection between chaps. 9-11 and chaps. 12-14 is the presence of the introductory formula found in 9:1 and 12:1. In both introductory verses Zechariah employed the frequently used prophetic word maśśāʾ, a common word whose translation scholars dispute.4 The word maśśāʾ may be translated either "burden" or "oracle." In either case, the presence of this expression both delineates the two subsections of Zech 9-14 and functions as an obvious literary link that unites the two sections into a cohesive unit. In addition to the symmetry introduced by the two maśśāʾ units, Zechariah wove together numerous thematic threads, fashioning chaps. 9-11 and chaps. 12-14 into a single literary fabric. These motifs will receive attention in the introduction to Zech 12.

Further, several influential studies of the overall literary structure of chaps. 9-14 have recently emerged, beginning with the ground-breaking study by Paul Lamarche, which argues for the internal literary and theological cohesion of Zech 9-14.5 Not only did Lamarche note unity within chaps. 9-14 without resorting to special pleading, he also suggested that the final six chapters of Zechariah have been arranged in a chiastic pattern. Lamarche presents the following structure of Zech 9-14:

A Judgment and salvation of surrounding nations (9:1-8)

B Introduction to the king (9:9-10)

C Israel's battle and ultimate victory (9:11-10:1)

D Idolatry and judgment (10:2-3a)

C Israel's battle and victory (10:3b-11:3)

B' The people reject the shepherds (11:4-17)

C" Israel's battle and victory (12:1-9)

B" Yahweh's Servant pierced; mourning and purification (12:10-13:1)

D' Idolatry and judgment (13:2-6)

B'" Shepherd struck; judgment, purification, and return to God (13:7-9)

C" Israel's battle and victory (14:1-15)

A' Judgment and salvation of all nations (14:16-21)6

While those scholars who are already committed to the view that Zech 9-14 cannot have a structural unity generally discount Lamarche's work, a large contingent of scholars have emb...

Table of contents

• Zechariah
• Editors' Preface
• Author's Preface
• Abbreviations
• Apocrypha
• Selected Bibliography
• Maps
• Map: Postexilic Judea
• Map: The Persian Empire
• Introduction
• Section I
• Section II
• Section III
• Section IV
• Section V