E-Book, Englisch, 168 Seiten
Redditt / Utzschneider Zechariah 9-14
1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-3-17-024370-5
Verlag: Kohlhammer
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark
E-Book, Englisch, 168 Seiten
ISBN: 978-3-17-024370-5
Verlag: Kohlhammer
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark
It will be argued that Zechariah 9-14 consists of four collections of traditional eschatological hope (9:1-17; 10:3b-12; 12:1-4a, 5, 8-9; and 14:1-13, 14b-21). Of the collections, the first three included hopes vital during the first half of the Persian period. The fourth collection (chapter 14) seems to have arisen later than the other three (though still before the time of Nehemiah) and expressed much more pessimism. These variations were then supplemented by a collection (12:6-7; 12:10-13:6) that is pro-Judean vis-à-vis Jerusalem and by the shepherd materials, which contradict the hopes of the first two collections. This final stage probably arose after the time of Nehemiah, i. e. after the city grew strong enough to raise the ire of Judeans outside the power structure. It is plausible to conclude, therefore, that the redactor of Zechariah 9-14 assembled the four collections and revised them by means of the supplements in 12:6-7, 12:10-13:6 and the shepherd materials.
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Introduction
The book of Zechariah contains visions and other sayings ascribed to Zechariah ben Berechiah ben Iddo. The name Zechariah means “Yhwh has remembered.” It is a common name in the Hebrew Bible, which perhaps explains why the name of his father and grandfather are added to identify the Zechariah intended. The name appears in 1:1, 1:7, and 7:1, each time followed by a date in 520 or 518 BCE. Zechariah flourished, therefore, in the early post-exilic or Persian period. Modern scholars, however, have long noted the differences between the preponderantly visionary accounts in chapters 1–8 and the more oracular messages of Zechariah 9–14, and many have concluded that those last six chapters derived from a different hand than the first eight. That issue will be the starting point for this introduction to Zechariah 9–14. Next, these pages will also offer an overview of synchronic and diachronic readings of those chapters. Throughout this book, and not merely this introduction, the designation “synchronic analysis” will focus on the text as it stands, and the designation “diachronic analysis” on how the text came to its present state. Finally, this introduction will examine the issues of the date and historical background of Zechariah 9–14, the identities of the mysterious “shepherds” and “merchants” who play a prominent role in chapter 11, the structure of Zechariah 9–14, and the relationship of Zechariah 9–14 to the rest of the Book of the Twelve. The Relationship of Zechariah 9–14 to Zechariah 1–8
Review of Scholarship. The book of Zechariah stands eleventh in the Book of the Twelve. The prophet Zechariah is the titular author of the whole book, the accuracy of which attribution continues to have its proponents among traditional scholars including E. J. Young and R. K. Harrison.1 Joyce G. Baldwin agrees with P. R. Ackroyd’s conclusion that the linking of the fourteen chapters proves “some recognition of common ideas or interests” between Zechariah 1–8 and 9–14, as does Anthony R. Petterson.2 That comment, though true, does not eliminate the possibility that a later author wrote to correct or update something Zechariah had written. Recently, several critical scholars have taken positions similar to Baldwin’s. Byran G. Curtis, for example, has argued on the basis of “social location trajectory analysis” that the whole book of Zechariah was produced within a single generation, and might well have had one author: Zechariah himself.3 Ronald W. Pierce recognizes the stylistic and other differences that distinguish Zechariah 9–14 from 1–8, but questions that the two sections of Zechariah arose from different hands. He sees the “vivid picture of a flock doomed for slaughter (Zechariah 11)” as the focal point of the entire Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi corpus, and dates it between 520 and 480.4 Edgar W. Conrad reminds readers that what is accessible to them is a literary work whose purported author is Zechariah. He proposes, then, to read Zechariah as one collection, without ignoring differences between the two parts.5 A reading dependent on Conrad and like-minded scholars might run as follows. The primary indication of authorship in the book is the threefold use of the date formula in Zech 1:1, 1:7, and 7:1, dividing the book into three sections. The first, Zech 1:1–6, reminds readers of the “former prophets.” The second, Zech 1:7–6:15, contains visions and exhortations concerning the rebuilding of the temple. The third, Zech 7:1–8:23, admits that things have not turned out as expected, but concludes by holding out hope for the future Jerusalem as the place where people from many nations will come to worship God. Two additional oracles (Zech 9–11 and 12–14), with no attribution to another author, continue working with that hope. Each is introduced with the word ???? (often translated “oracle”). Continuing in this vein, R. David Moseman adds that the use of ???? creates both discord and continuity between chapters 1–8 and 9–14.6 It “contrasts what might have been (chapters 1–8) and what, alas, actually transpired (chapters 9–14).”7 Also he notes that the last chapter in the second oracle (i.e., Zechariah 14) returns to the hope for a restored Jerusalem, to which many peoples will come to worship God. More recently Marvin A. Sweeney has argued that Zechariah 9–11 and 12–14, though written later and independently, function to explain how Yhwh’s statements concerning the restoration of Zion envisioned in Zech 1:7–8:21 would be realized.8 Zech 7:14 begins the last word of God to the prophet in chapters 1–8. Sweeney reads Zechariah 9–11 and 12–14 as a lengthy continuation of that speech. He writes: “the pronouncements in Zechariah 9–11 and 12–14 elaborate on the brief oracle concerning the nations’ recognition of Yhwh in Zech 8:18–23 by pointing to Yhwh’s intentions to punish the nations (Zechariah 9–11) and bring about restoration of Jerusalem during the course of their defeat (Zechariah 12–14).”9 While his observations are correct, there is much variation within chapters 9–14. Possibly the two high points for Jerusalem are Zech 9:9–10 (where God presents the city its new king) and Zech 14:16–21 (where all the nations come to it to worship God). In between, Jerusalem sins and suffers in Zech 11:4–17 and 12:10–14:2. Thus Sweeney’s analysis provides a useful perspective for the overall thrust of Zechariah 9–14 and offers a reading strategy for the book as a whole, but it does not account for the bitter criticism of Jerusalem in much of those chapters. Differences between Zechariah 1–8 and 9–14. There are yet other obvious differences between Zechariah 1–8 and 9–14. First, there is a difference in genre. Zechariah 1–8 contains eight visions in the first six chapters; Zechariah 9–14 contains none. Second, Zechariah 1–8 is carefully dated in the second and fourth years of the reign of Darius, while Zechariah 9–14 contains no dates at all. It mentions neither Babylon nor Persia by name, while Zechariah 1–8 speaks openly of the Exile and dates the messages of Zechariah in the second and fourth years of Darius, King of Persia. Finally, the superscriptions in Zech 1:1, 1:7, and 7:1 follow the same pattern as those in Hag 1:1; 1:15b–2:1, 2:10, and 2:20. Not only are these superscriptions alike, but also there are no others that follow this pattern elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. Moreover, the superscriptions in Zech 9:1 and 12:1 resemble Mal 1:1 and actually point more toward continuity with Malachi than with Haggai and Zechariah 1–8. For these reasons and others, generations of scholars have argued that Zechariah 9–14 constitutes an addition–perhaps two or more according to Wilhelm Rudolph and Magne Saebø10–to Zechariah 1–8, a conclusion I will adopt. Nevertheless, one can and should discern connections between Zechariah 1–8 and 9–14. A Synchronic Analysis of Zechariah 9–14
Like most of the prophetic corpus, Zechariah 9–14 has been studied pericope by pericope, dating the chapters anywhere between the eighth and third centuries, and setting them against one background or another. Such readings often pay more attention to parallels with other texts, however, than with the flow of the discussion in Zechariah 9–14. It is appropriate, therefore, to give a brief synchronic reading that pays attention to the narrative of all six chapters together. This reading mostly employs the structure of Zechariah 9–14 from my earlier commentary on Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi,11 but also draws in places upon Curtis12 who notes the alteration of longer and shorter passages. Even so, I see Zech 12:2–13:6 and Zechariah 14 in particular as passages redacted from a number of shorter passages woven together into new wholes. Zechariah 9. God’s Future Kingdom and Earthly King. Zechariah 9 opens with the word ???? (oracle), thereby connecting it to Haggai and Zechariah 1–8 and commencing three short collections (Zechariah 9–11, Zechariah 12–14, and Malachi) focused on post-exilic Jerusalem and its environs. Zechariah 8 closes on a note of optimism, predicting that “many peoples and strong nations will come to Jerusalem to entreat Yhwh.” Zechariah 9 may be read as a description of how that new kingdom will come about. The verbs in Zechariah 9 shift back and forth between descriptions of Yhwh’s work in the third person and words spoken by Yhwh in the first person singular. These changes provide a key to the chiastic structure of the chapter as it stands. 9:1–6a. Yhwh will work to re-establish the kingdom. 9:6b-8. Yhwh speaks of Yhwh’s redemptive work. 9:9–10. Yhwh presents a king to govern from Jerusalem. 9:11–13. Yhwh speaks again of Yhwh’s redemptive work. 9:14–17. Yhwh protects the restored kingdom. Specifically, the chapter offers a prediction of God’s preparing a new kingdom with borders that would stretch from Hadrach and Hamath in the north, Damascus to the east, and include not only the tribes of Israel, but the Mediterranean coast on the west as far as the River of Egypt in the south (vv. 1–8). According to...
