UAUEL.
968
ZECHARIAH, BOOK OF
ZECHAEIAH, BOOK OF
In Zeclmriah, as in Haggai, we note the dis- appearance of immediate proplietio inspiration. Connecte<l willi tliis is the circumstance that the message is communicated to the propliet by the angel of Jaliweh (cf. Ezk 40-'"), and that his visions are no longer the outcome of intuition but ratlier of <leliberate reflexion. Hence the angelus interpres is a standing figure in them. Side by side with tlie angelus interpres we have the inaVakh Jahweh and the Satan, the latter of whom also is thus obviously to be tliought of as included among the messengers of God. Tlie greater prominence thus assumed by angels is the result of the more transcendental character to which the idea of God has attained : Jahweh is One who is enthroned on high above men, and whose dealings with them must be through the medium of angels. Here for the lirst time we encounter /ui-sntan, still indeed as an aiipellative. It is not till 1 Ch 21 that it attains the character of a proper name. The Book of Job appears, in its idea of the Satan, to occupy a position intermediate between tliese otlier t^^o. See, further, the article Satan, above, p. 408^ — Not without signihcance, perhaps, for further development is the conception here met with of Sin as an independently e.xisting power. Personi- fied as a woman, she is carried oli" to the land of Sliinar, i.e. the land of destruction (cf. 5"). This last designation is considered, indeed, to include not onlj' Shinar, but the whole heathen world ; in Zechariah, as in Haggai, the way is paved for the notion so clearly defined in Daniel of the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world. Here tlie opposition is not yet sharply marked ; here, partly as an after-eti'ect of Deutero-Isaianic ideas, but partly also as a consequence of a vivid conscious- ness of being the Ijearers of the true religion and of being ' righteous,' in contrast with the 'ungodly Gentiles' (of. 1" 2'"), we meet with the thought that from all peoples those seeking for salvation shall flock to Jerusalem and dwell there, and that Jahweh will own them as His people (cf. 2"'- 8™"-).
LrrERATrRK. — A- Kohler, Die nachexitiachen Prophften^ 1861- 1863; K. Bredenkanip, Dn- frophet Sacharja, 1S79 ; C. H. H. Wright, Zec/iariah atid hia Fropkecies, 1379 ; W. H. Lowe, The Ucbt-ew Student's Com. wl Zechariah, lieb. and LXX, 1872 ; K. Marti, Der Prophet Zacharja, der Xeitfjennttge Serubbabels, 1892; J. Wellhausen, Die kleinen Frophcten, 1892 ; W. Nowack, Die kleinen Projihettn, 1897 ; O. A. Smith, The Book nf the Twelve Prophets, ii. 1898. Cf. SelHn, Studien zitr Entstehumjs'ie- sehichte der yiid. Geineiiide nnch dem babylon. Exit, 1901 ; K. .Marti in SE, 1892, pp. 207 fl., 716ff. ; J. Ley, ib. 1893, p. 771 fl.
iii. Chapters 9-14.— (1) Contents.— C\\. 9 opens with the annount cment of judgment upon Damas- cus, Tyre, Zidon, and the Philistines. Jahweh Himself protects Jerusalem and its inhabitants. Jerusalem is to be the seat of the Messianic King, who will enter the city riding upon an ass, the animal of peace. For He works not with secular resources, but by His word puts an end to the strife among the nations. For the sake of the blood covenant Jahweh brings back the captives of Zion. Judah and Ephraim, together with Zion, are to be the weapons wherewith He subdues the sons of Javan. Then will Jahweh feed His people like a flock in His land which is so good and fair. — After a short interlude, in which the Israelites are called on to ask rain from Jaliweh, instead of turning to tuiaphim and soothsayers (lO'--'), comes lO'-Il': J.-ihweh threatens tlie sheplierds and the goats ; He removes them, and native leaders put them- eelves at the head of Judah, which with Jahweh's help overcomes those that ride upon horses. But Jahweh will have pity on the house of Joseph and V ill bring them back, so that they shall be His as if He had never cast them oil'. From E^ypt and Assyria He will bring them back to Gilead and the
Lebanon district, but the land will not suffice for them. Jahweh will be their strength, and in Hia name shall they boast. But the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan shall howl because the forest is destroved, the shepherds bewail the loss of pasturage, the lions roar because the glory of the Jordan Valley is gone. — In 11*"" we have a narrative of wli.at has occurred in recent times ; the prophet is to put the contents of his preaching in pictorial form, as it were, before the eye. He receives the commission to take the place of the worthless shepherds in feeding the sheep. He took the two staves 'Graciousness' and 'Union,' in order to represent in a way the principles by which he meant to be guided. In like manner he cut oil' the three shepherds in one month. But soon he became disgusted with the sheep, and they abhorred him. Therefore he broke the two staves, and now received the commission to act the part of a foolish shepherd, for such an one Jahweh is to set over them by way of punishment. The conclusion of this threatening of 11" is supplied by 13'"^ : Jahweh will smile the shepherd, so that the sheep shall be scattered. — 12'-13' form a whole : the heathen, and with them Judah, besiege Jerusalem, but from Judah judg- ment goes forth upon the heathen, while Jerusalem itself remains peacefully in its place. Jaliweh has at first helped the Judahites, that the pride of the house of David and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem might not become too great. Then Jahweh pro- tects Jerusalem, the heathen who are moving against her are destroyed by Him. Then shall the inhabitants of Jerusalem look back to him whom they once pierced, and they lament over him as one does over an only son.* Then Jahweh opens for the house of David and its inhabitants a fountain for purification, then He roots out the names of the idols, and destroys the prophets, and expels the spirit of uncleanness out of the land. — Ch. 14 begins once more with a reference to an attack by the nations upon Jeru.salem ; the city ia taken, the houses destroyed, half of the inhabit- ants go into captivity. Then Jahweh appears for her defence, treads upon the Mt. of Olives, which divides under His feet, and the other half of the inhabitants make their escape through the new valley thus formed. There is no more interchange of light and darkness, of heat and cold, but one day. Living waters flow from Jerusalem eastwards and westwards. Jahweh rules as king over the whole earth. The fle^h of the peoples who fight against Jerusalem shall moulder away while they are yet alive, but the remnant shall all come to Jerusalem to worship Jahweh and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.