any other attack; and whatever explanation we give of the cutting off of the "three shophercls," nothing compels us to see in it the violent deaths of Shallum, Zeohariah, and a third (?) Menahem-a. suggestion which Dr. Pusey ea.Us "even absurd." So it is affirmed tha.t the statementR in i:h. xiii. 9 and xiv. 2 apply to times before the Captivity; whereas it iK plain that the prophet is here speaking of the future, not of the past. Tu touch briefly on the positive side of the question, we may say that there are details and passages and allusions which could have been written only after the exile. Zechariah mentions governors; he never hints that there was any king in J udrea at the time when he writes ; Judah and Israel bad been in exile, and some of them still remained in the land of their capti vit_y (eh. ix. 11, 12; x. 6-10); the Jewish nation, Judah and Ephraim, sh,ill wage successful war against" Javan," the Greek rulers of Syria (eh.ix. 13J; for the jealousy between the two divisions of the chosen people is ended, and they form one nation, dwelling in Judah and Jerusalem. This co11ld never have been said of pre-exilian times. Many other alleged proofs of pre-exilian authorship a.re ca.pa.ble of easy solution, as will be seen by examining their treatment in the Exposition. Suffice it here to say that, while adhering to the traditiona.ry view of the unity and integrity of the book, we lay no great stress on the consideration that Zachariah is the author of the whole; and as long as it is allowed that the writer was gifted with predictive powers, and exercised his prophetical office under the inspiration of God, we deem it a. matter of secondary impor- tance whether the words that pass under his name a.re assigned to one, two, or three authors. It is conjectured that these last chapters had been placed at the end of the minor prophets before Malachi was added to the canon, and thus became appended to Zechariah without further examina- tion. While generally adopting the traditional theory in the Expositio'l, we have not been unmindful of modern criticism, a.nd, where practicable, have introduced the interpretation which other views of the author's date have constrained some commentators to maintain.
§ m. GENERAL cru.uCTER. Regarding the Book of Zechariah in its integrity, we meet with great diversity of style, in accordance, as we have seen a.hove, with the varying subject-matter. Visions that came before the prophet's own eyes are narrated in simple prose; in uttering prophecy he rises to a. higher level, employing figures and symbols suoh as Jeremiah and Daniel used, but also showing an originality which gives a. peculiar character to his work. The grandest and most powerful passages a.re found in eh. ix.-xi. These are as fine as any in Hebrew poetry. But in other places the prophet is often harsh, inharmonious; emphasizes by repetition; passes from one point to another abruptly, without connecting link. His parallelisms want the neatness and harmony which are found in earlier writings; his xii INTRODUCTION '1'0
language is tolerably pure and free from Chaldaisms. Many causes have combined to render his oracles difficult of comprehension, so that Jerome speaks of Zeohariah as the longest and most obscure of all the twelve prophets. But it must be observed that many of the difficulties found in his work have been imported by commentators themselves. Jewish expositors have refused to acknowledge in his pages a humbled and suffering Messiah; and modern criticA, coming to the study with prejudiced notions concerning the prophet's office, have endeavoured to discover sanction for their views in the text, and naturally find the task an arduous one. Scholarship without faith is of little use in interpreting dark places of Scripture.
§ IV. LITERATURE. The special commentaries on the Prophet Zecha.riah a.re very numerous. We select a few out of many that are noteworthy. Among the Jews we have David Kimchi's • Commentary,' translated by A. McCaul (London, ]837), and other commentaries by Hashi (1713) and Aben Ezra. Of Christian and modern commentators we may mention the following: Grynmus (Geneva, 1581); Ursinus (Frankfort, 1652); W. Pemble, 'Exposition' (London, 1629); N emethus, 'Proph. Zech. Explic.' (Ultr., 1714); Venema, 'Serm. Acad.' (Leovard., 1787); Blayney, 'A New 'franslation' (Oxford, 1797); Koester,' Meletemata' (1818); Stonard (London, 1824); Baumgarten, 'Kachtgesichte Zach.' (Braunschweig, 1854, 1855); Moore, 'Prophets of the Restoration' (New York, 1856); Neumann, 'Die Weissa.g. d. Sakh.' (Stuttgart, 1860); Kliefoth, • Der Pr. Sach. iibers.' (Schwerin, 1862); Kohler, 'Die Nachexil. Proph.' (Erlangen, 1860, 1865); Von Ortenberg, 'Die Bestundtheile d. Buch. Sach.' (Gotha, 1859); Pressel,• Comm. zu Hng.,' etc. (Gotha, 1870); Dr. C. H. H. Wright, 'Zech. and hii; Prophecies' (London, 1879); W. H. Lowe,' Hehr. Student's Comm. on Zech.' (London, 1882); Dr. W. L. Alexander, • Zechariah, his Visions and Warnings' (London, 1885); Archdeacon Perowne, in 'Cambridge Bible for Schools' (1886). Besides the above-named commentators, there are numerous writ.ere who have discussed the question of the integrity of the book, a list of the chief of whom will be found iu the ' Dictionary of the Bible,' and a further selection in the Introduction to Dr. W.right's work.
§ V. ABBANGEHENT IN SECTIONS.
The book consists of three parts. Part I. (Ch. i.-vi.) A series of eight visions, and a symbolicril action. § 1. (Ch. L 1.) Title and author. § ~- (Ch. i. 2----{j,) The prophet admonishes the ?8ople no~ to follow their fore- fathers' evil example, but to turn to the Lord with all their heart. § 3. (Oh. i. 7-17.) The first vision: the horsemen in the myrtle grove. ~ § 4. (Ch. i. 18-21.) The second vision: the four horns and the four craftsmen. § 5. (Ch. ii. 1-13.) The third vision: the man with the measuring-line. § 6. (Ch. iii. 1-10.) The fourth vision: Joshua the high priest before the angel. § 7. (Cb. iv. 1-14.) The fifth vision: the golden candlestick. § 8. (Ch. v. 1-4.) The sixth vision: the flying roll. § 9. (Ch. v. 5-11.) The seventh vision: the woman in the ephah. ~ 10. (Ch. vi. 1-8.) The eighth vision: the four chariots. § 11. (Ch. vi. 9-15.) A symbolical action-the crowning of the high priest. Part II. (Ch. vii., viii.) Answer to a question concerning the observe.nee of certain fasts. § 1. (Cb. vii. 1-3.) A deputation comes from Bethel to ask whether o. fast instituted in calamitous times was still to be maintained. THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH. xiii