Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries

Andrew E. Hill

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9780830894949
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

Despite the return of the Hebrews from the Babylonian exile, selfishness, apathy and despair crippled their community spirit. In response to this distress, God raised up three prophetic voices in Jerusalem. Haggai rallied the people to rebuild the Second Temple. Zechariah was given visions of the return of the glory of the Lord to Zion. Malachi preached repentance, covenant justice and restoration of proper temple worship. Andrew Hill's excellent commentary on these oracles shows how they remain timely for the Christian church?s worship and mission in the world.

Zechariah

Introduction

Zechariah is sometimes known as the ‘little Isaiah’, since this book has more to say about the messianic shepherd-king than any other OT prophetic book except Isaiah (see further Theological concerns). Zechariah’s message was one of rebuke, exhortation and encouragement – a tract for troubled times. The Hebrews who had recently returned to Judah and Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile were confronted with numerous challenges. Not only were the people faced with the daunting task of rebuilding the city and temple of Jerusalem, they were still the pawn of a Mesopotamian superpower – now Persia instead of Babylonia. In addition, doubt and despair over the seeming failure of God’s earlier promises for restoration after the exile, made by prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, spawned disillusionment and apathy among the people.

The pastoral tone for the messages of Zechariah is set in his exchange with the angel commissioned to relay the kind and comforting words from the Lord (1:13). The hortatory character of his sermons is seen in words of encouragement, such as be strong and do not be afraid (8:9, 15). Zechariah’s hope for his people was bound up in the servant-deliverer. This coming shepherd-king would be of a humble station in life (9:9; 13:7), serve as shepherd to a scattered and wandering people (10:2), deliver Israel from her enemies and rule as king in peace and righteousness in Jerusalem (9:9–10; 14:1–6, 9, 16). Zechariah’s repeated appeals to the words of the earlier prophets authenticated his own ministry and assured his audience that they had not misinterpreted God’s previous revelations (1:4; 7:7, 12). Mason (1990: 234) summarizes the ministry of all three of the postexilic prophets, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, as one of preaching ‘the hopes of the [earlier] prophets to a people who could have easily become cynical about their lack of fulfilment, assuring them of both the present degree to which they had been and were being fulfilled and the certainty of their ultimate triumph’.

1. Title and text

The book takes its title from the name of the prophet Zechariah, identified in the superscription (1:1) as God’s messenger to postexilic Judah. Jewish tradition deemed Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi to be the only prophets belonging to the Second Temple era, so these books were naturally placed at the end of the collection also known as the Twelve Prophets.1 Zechariah is the eleventh book in the collection known as the Minor Prophets (or the Book of the Twelve in the HB). The Twelve Prophets are usually grouped with the Latter (or Major) Prophets, and without exception are found in the earliest delineations of the OT canon. These twelve books were usually copied on one scroll in the ancient Hebrew manuscript tradition. The order of the Twelve Prophets does vary in some renditions of the canon of the Hebrew Bible, but the sequence of books from Nahum to Malachi seems quite stable in the various canon lists.2

The books of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi form a distinct subcollection or literary corpus within the Book of the Twelve. All three prophets belong to the early Persian period of post-exilic Hebrew history and are unified by literary device (e.g. the rhetorical question) and theological themes (repentance leading to proper worship and the practice of social justice).3

The MT of Zechariah 1 – 8 and 9 – 14 is quite well preserved and relatively free of textual problems,4 although, as Baldwin notes, this does not mean ‘that there are no matters of dispute’.5 The Hebrew of the MT is occasionally obscure and difficult to interpret (as evidenced by the textual footnotes in the EVV) due to unusual vocabulary or awkward syntax, ellipsis and the symbolic nature of the genre of prophetic and proto-apocalyptic literature. The LXX is generally a reliable (but at times an interpretive and expansive) witness to the MT of Zechariah.6 Portions of the book are attested by fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls or Qumran (Q) manuscripts, including: Zechariah 1:4–6, 9–10, 13–14; 2:10–14; 3:2–10; 4:1–4; 5:8–11; 6:1–5; 8:2–4, 6–7; 10:11–12; 11:1–2; 12:1–3, 7–12; 14:18.7 Meyers and Meyers (1993: 50–51) note only three textual variations of significance between the MT and Q, and conclude that the Q manuscripts support the Hebrew text underlying the MT. Matters of textual variants and emendation are discussed in the commentary where pertinent.

The versification of the MT in Zechariah differs from the versification of the EB versions only at the beginning of the book. The Hebrew Bible begins chapter 2 at 1:18 (which means 2:1 in the EB vers. is 2:5 in the MT). The versification of the EB is used throughout this commentary on Zechariah.

2. The prophet Zechariah

We learn from Ezra that Haggai and Zechariah were contemporary prophets of the early post-exilic period (Ezra 5:1). The date formulas in the two books indicate that Zechariah began preaching in Jerusalem about two months (Zech. 1:1) after Haggai’s brief fourmonth ministry (Hag. 1:1; 2:20). Haggai and Zechariah were also complementary prophets, in that Haggai exhorted the people to rebuild the Jerusalem temple and Zechariah summoned the community to repentance and spiritual renewal (cf. 1 Esdras 6:1; 7:3; and 2 Esdras 1:40 which lists Zechariah among the Twelve Prophets). His task was to prepare the people for proper worship in the temple once the building project was completed.

The book’s superscription (1:1) identifies Zechariah as the son of Berekiah and the grandson of Iddo. The records of Ezra confirm Zechariah as a descendant of Iddo (Ezra 5:1; 6:14 [the word ‘son’ in this context simply designates ‘a descendant’]). Nehemiah informs us that Zechariah’s grandfather, Iddo, returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylonia with Zerubbabel and Joshua (or Jeshua, Neh. 12:1, 4). Nehemiah also lists Zechariah as the head of the priestly family of Iddo (Neh. 12:16). This suggests that Zechariah was a member of the tribe of Levi and served in Jerusalem as both a priest and a prophet.

According to Jewish tradition, the prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi were among the founders of The Great Synagogue.8 This body of Jewish leaders is alleged to have played a major role in post-exilic times in preserving Scripture and handing on the traditional teaching and lore of Hebrew religion. It is further believed by the rabbis that after these three prophets had died the Holy Spirit departed from Israel.

3. Historical background

The setting for Zechariah’s preaching, as for Haggai’s, was the reign of Darius I, king of Persia (522–486 BC). Although the Hebrews had returned to the land of Israel after the Babylonian captivity, the economic situation of the community was bleak, and spiritually the people languished in apathy, despair and hopelessness. (See further the discussion of the Historical background in the commentary on Haggai, p. 45‒46.)

In response to this distress, God raised up two prophetic voices for the purpose of initiating programmes for the physical rebuilding and the spiritual renewal of post-exilic Jerusalem. The prophet Haggai was commissioned to exhort and challenge the Hebrew community to rebuild the Jerusalem temple. He preached for only four months, late in the year 520 BC. The people responded favourably to Haggai’s message, and the reconstruction of the Lord’s temple began that year (Hag. 1:12–15).

The prophet Zechariah complemented Haggai’s message by calling for the spiritual renewal of God’s people (Zech. 1:3–6; 7:8– 14). His ministry began just two months after Haggai’s, and Zechariah’s last dated message was delivered in 518 BC. So Zechariah’s ministry in post-exilic Jerusalem lasted at least two years. The reference to Haggai and Zechariah in Ezra 5:2 suggests that they both continued to support and encourage the people until the temple was completed and rededicated to the worship of YHWH with the celebration of the Passover Feast in 515 BC (Ezra 6:13–22). The undated oracles of Zechariah (chs. 9 – 14) may indicate that his prophetic ministry in post-exilic Jerusalem continued well beyond the completion of the Second Temple.

4. Author

The book is silent on the is...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Short Title Page
• Dedication Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• General preface
• Author’s preface
• Chief abbreviations
• Select bibliographies
• General introduction
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi
• Notes
• Praise for Tyndale Commentaries
• About the Author
• Tyndale Commentary Volumes
• More Titles from InterVarsity Press
• Copyright Page