The Book of Zechariah

Lecture Notes from Minor Prophets of the Old Testament

Introduction

I. Who was Zechariah?

--The Prophet—

--His name means “Yahweh remembers.”

--Approximately 30 Zechariahs in the OT.

--He was the “Son of Berechiah, son of Iddo” (Zech. 1:1, 1:7).

--However, he is also called “son of Iddo” (Ezra 5;1, 6:14).

--Nehemiah (12:16) tells us that Zechariah was the head of the priestly clan of Iddo.

--This would tell us that he was a priest & that Iddo was the clan name.

--Thus, Berechiah was probably his actual father & Iddo the clan name.

II. When did Zechariah Preach?

--“8^th month of 2^nd year of Darius”—This is October, 520, between Haggai’s 3^rd & 4^th oracles.

--“24^th day of the 11^th month of the 2^nd year of Darius”—This is February, 519, or 2 months after Haggai’s final oracle.

--“4^th day of the 9^th month of the 4^th year of Darius”—This is December, 518.

--These dates would date at least Zechariah 1-8 to the time of the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel & Joshua. (For Zech. 9-14, see below.)

III. Where did Zechariah Preach?

--Jerusalem

IV. What is the message of the Book of Zechariah?

--The temple will be rebuilt.

--Glory will return to Jerusalem & the temple.

--Messianic Hope—

--Zechariah & the NT—The NT quoted numerous passages to refer to Jesus’ ministry:

--13:7-9—The shepherd & sheep

--9:9-10—The king on the donkey

--11:12-13—Thirty pieces of silver (attributed to Jeremiah)

--12:10—Pierced messiah

--Zechariah & the Dead Sea Scrolls—

--The DSS also quote Zechariah often to refer to themselves as the messianic community of the last times.

--The main difference is that the DSS do not see the messianic expectations as fulfilled & the NT does.

--Call to moral & ethical living.

V. The Book of Zechariah

--Nature of the Book of Zechariah

--It has been called “obscure” by many, beginning with Jerome in the 5^th century. By this he meant that it is difficult, & at times impossible, to be certain of the meaning of some of the oracles & visions. This, of course, leads to a multitude of various interpretations.

--Visions—Many visions of various form & meaning.

--Oracles of promise, encouragement, & call to moral life.

--Is it apocalyptic?

--It contains visions. Much non-apocalyptic prophecy contained visions, but the propensity of Zechariah for visions points to apocalyptic.

--It contains interpreting angels, i.e. angels that explain the visions and their meaning for the current age.

--It contains the reinterpretation of earlier prophecies (i.e. 7:7-14).

--These certainly point to Zechariah as apocalyptic, or at the least “proto-apocalyptic,” i.e. an early form of what would eventually become apocalyptic.

--Unity of the Book of Zechariah

--Most scholars would separate Zech. 1-8 from 9-14.

--Others would separate 9-11 from 12-14.

--Why?

--The setting of 1-8 appears peaceful, 9-14 a time of war.

--No clear historical or personal references in 9-14.

--The superscription “Burden . . .” in 9:1 & 12:1 seems to separate these passages out from ch. 1-8, where no such superscription appears.

It also appears in Malachi 1:1. Some have thus suggested that the same author, or at least editor, composed Zech. 9-14 & Malachi. The editorial process may be correct, or at least it is an incredible coincidence.

--Matthew 27:9 attributes Zech. 11:12-13 to Jeremiah. This has led some scholars to attribute Zech. 9-14 to the prophet Jeremiah.

--There are no visions or interpreting angels in 9-14.

--Conclusions—

--The differences are certainly real.

--However, continuity of themes is also evident.

--Either they were written by the same hand or combined by a brilliant editor, either of which is technically possible. The current writer will treat them as the work of a single prophet.

--Brief Outline

I. Superscription (1:1)

II. First Oracle (1:2-6)

III. Night visions (1:7-6:8)

IV. Crowning of Joshua (6:9-15)

V. Oracles (7:1-14)

VI. Promised Blessings for Jerusalem (8:1-23)

VII. First Burden (9:1-11:17)

VIII. Second Burden (12:1-14:21)

Zechariah 1-8

Zechariah 1:2-6—First Oracle

--This introductory prophetic oracle is a call to repentance, i.e. “return to me” (1:3). Beginning the book with a call to repentance accomplishes several things in the Book of Zechariah:

--The current struggles of the people are set in a historical context. The people in Judah & Jerusalem were struggling to rebuild their temple & their lives. Zechariah reminds them that there is a reason for their condition, namely the refusal of their forefathers to hear the call to repentance which Yahweh offered through the earlier prophets.

--The prophet’s word (& ministry) is placed within a historical context, namely the world of prophecy. Zechariah sees his ministry as a continuation of those great prophets who preceded him.

--The people are reminded of the sovereignty of Yahweh

--They are reminded of the unchanging nature of Yahweh’s Word. Yahweh’s past & current word is “Return to me.” Yahweh’s call is always to turn to Him, while man’s propensity to turn from Yahweh is also ever-present. Yahweh will not allow His people to move away from Him without consequences.

--They are reminded of the trustworthiness of Yahweh’s word. Their forefathers are gone, but the truth of His word remains, & the reminders of the truth of that word are all around them!

1:7-6:8—Eight Visions

--1:7-17—A Man on a Red Horse

--Significance of the Four horsemen

--We must not interpret Zechariah 1:8ff acc. to Revelation 6. In that chapter the horsemen are the message & a description of the horsemen & their messages is included. That is not the point of this passage.

--Why the repeated motif?

1. Four was a number of completeness (i.e. four corners, four directions, etc.). Thus when apocalyptic literature was fully developed, four was a very important number.

2. Colors also became important, even though they do not seem important in the present text. Zechariah seems to stand at the beginning of a genre, when the images were present but their meaning was not.

3. Perhaps the lone horseman, or small group, represented a powerful picture, one of power & majesty.

--The Role of the horseman:

--To patrol the earth.

--The message of the horseman:

--“The whole world (is) at rest and in peace.”

--Was this a good thing? Not for God’s people, who were still not fully restored in the land.

--The Question of the Interpreting angel:

--“How long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem?” God’s messenger, the angel, is concerned for Yahweh’s people.

--For 70 years they have been punished in exile.

--The 70 years perhaps count from 586-516, the rebuilding of the temple.

--Others have seen 605-536 as the 70 years.

--In Jer. 29, esp. v. 10, the dating begins in 597 with the exile of Jehoiachin.

--“Seventy” should probably be seen as an important round number, but a general number rather than a specific prediction.

--Zechariah’s Commission is to proclaim:

--The “Lord of Hosts” is “jealous” for His people.

--He is angry at the nations.

--Yahweh will return to Jerusalem. Remember that Yahweh’s glory was pictured as leaving Jerusalem, esp. in Ezekiel 10-11 when Jerusalem was destroyed. But His glory will return, i.e. Ezekiel 43.

--Jerusalem & the temple will be rebuilt, i.e. “measuring line.”

--Prosperity will abound in Judah.

--Yahweh will “comfort Zion” & “choose Jerusalem.” Thus the choice of Jerusalem as God’s city has not changed, even if it may appear to be so.

[no slide--So Zechariah’s message was a word of encouragement from Yahweh.

--The restoration from exile was not complete until the temple was rebuilt. Zechariah seems to picture the people still in exile, since Yahweh had not yet returned to inhabit His holy temple. (At least that is my reading of Zechariah.)]

--1:18-21—Four Horns & Four Craftsmen

--“Four Horns”—What are they?

--Animal horns (i.e. Dt. 33:17)

--Horns of the altar

--Horns of brass or iron used to symbolize the strength of a nation (Mic. 4:13).

--“Four Horns”—What did they do?

--The scattered Judah, Israel, & Jerusalem. Notice the interesting construction here. All of God’s people were scattered by the four horns.

--We should probably avoid seeing a reference to specific nations here in the horns. That would go beyond the scope of Zechariah. Later apocalyptic writings would make these comparisons, but Zechariah does not.

--“Four Craftsmen”—

--The craftsmen were coming to remove the horns which scattered Yahweh’s people. They could be removing the horns from the altar or the brass/iron horns of the nations.

--This is a word of comfort to Yahweh’s people.

--2:1-13—The Measuring Line

--The Message of the vision

--Zechariah sees a man with a measuring line, cf. 1:16. Measuring was the 1^st step in construction. The man was planning for the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem.

--The man was stopped because Jerusalem would be too big for a walled city. Rather it would be in the open country.

--Yahweh himself would be the wall around Jerusalem.

--Note that 80 years or so later, Nehemiah would return for the very purpose, to build the walls around Jerusalem. Why? God’s timing. Who knows?

--Oracles of Comfort

--Yahweh’s people are called to return from where they were scattered. God’s people would return home in safety.

--“Apple of His eye” (v. 8)—Probably should be the “pupil of his eye,” i.e. God’s people are in essence a part of Himself like the pupil inside the eye. (The Hebrew terms are different than the English parallels in Dt. 32:10, Ps. 17:8, & Prov. 7:2.)

--Many nations will join Yahweh’s people “in that day.” Another reference to the eschatological Day of the Lord when the nations will come to Yahweh & join with His people in worship of Yahweh.

--3:1-10—Joshua the High Priest

--Yahweh rebukes Satan for accusing Joshua. Here we see Satan in a role close to that in Job 1-2, where Job is present with the heavenly council of God accusing Job.

--The issue here: Cleansing from sin

--Joshua is cleansed from sin as representative of the people. His filthy clothes are removed, & he is dressed in clean clothes.

--When the “Branch” comes, all of their sin will be removed in one day. Christians can hardly miss this as a prophecy of the work of Jesus, who in one day, in one act on the cross, brought forgiveness for all those who will follow Him.

--Messianic promise

--The Branch (Jer. 23:5; Is. 11:1) In Haggai, this messianic figure was Zerubbabel.

--A day of peace & prosperity—Every person will sit under his own vine & fig tree with his neighbor.

--4:1-14—The Lampstand & the Olive Trees

--4:1-5, 10b-14—The vision itself

--The lampstand with seven lights represents the Lord’s eyes that always see everything. He is in the midst of His people, & He sees all that is happening.

--The olive trees appear to be Joshua & Zerubbabel.

--These are the two leaders of the early post-exilic community. They have been chosen to lead the people.

--Thus, the 4^th & 5^th vision fit together to be a vision of the leadership Yahweh has chosen & given to His people.

--Note the important truth that Yahweh chooses to work through people. The oil for the lamp actually flows through these two branches. Faithful leaders are a necessary prerequisite for the proper function of God’s people.

--4:6-10a—The Prophetic Oracles

--Human strength will not remove the mountain of opposition, but God’s Spirit. They were apparently facing opposition, either external or internal. The use of “Spirit” in this way is unusual in the OT & certainly points forward to the future revelation of God’s Spirit.

--God will enable the work on the temple to be completed.

--Zerubbabel will place the “capstone” on the temple amid celebrations.

--Cf. 10:4; Ps. 118:22; Is. 28:16; Luke 20:17; Acts 4;11; 1 Pet. 2:7, where the idea of capstone/cornerstone was a messianic motif. The Messiah would be the crowning of the building, i.e. the completion, or the foundation of the building.

--5:1-4—The Flying Scroll

--The scroll is 30’ x 15’. This large flying scroll is obviously supposed to be seen as imposing & awe-inspiring, i.e. from Yahweh.

--The scroll contains a curse oracle. The curse oracle was directed against:

--Thieves.

--Swearing falsely by Yahweh’s name.

--The scroll will enter & destroy the houses of those guilty of these sins. They are covenant breakers & will be punished.

--5:5-11—The Woman in a Ephah

--The ephah was a dry measure for grain and/or flour. It may have been a basket, but may have been ceramic or metal as well.

--The ephah was the “iniquity” or “guilt” of the people. This is the guilt which is brought by sin. It is a guilt that can be removed by proper repentance & ritual.

--In the ephah was a woman, who was “wickedness.” This was the wickedness that was to be removed.

--Perhaps in the form of a woman because of the constant condemnation of the worship of “asherah” and/or prostitution in the prophetic books.

--Perhaps a condemnation of worship of the “Queen of Heaven,” i.e. astral worship.

--Perhaps it was an idol seen in the ephah.

--The ephah and woman were being taken to Babylon by two half-woman, half-stork creatures. These are certainly apocalyptic type creatures.

--A place of worship, i.e. “pedestal,” would be set up in Babylon. Thus, idolatry would be removed from Judah & taken to Babylon, just like the people of Judah had once been removed. (Note the connection of the visions. This is in essence a continuation of the former vision of the removal of guilt.)

--6:1-8—The Four Chariots

--Four chariots proceed from the presence of God.

--Once again, we see the action coming from Yahweh, from His council. The 2 bronze mountains must represent His presence, perhaps Mt. Zion, or the like.

--They are the four “winds” or “spirits” of heaven.

--In Hebrew the term ruach (j'Wr) can mean “wind” or “spirit” depending entirely upon context.

--NIV translates “spirits” here (v.5), but Smith & Peterson prefer “winds.”

--The “four winds” is a common motif in ANE for the entire world, which would fit this context.

--They each move a different direction.

--They bring Yahweh’s “Spirit of rest” to the north=Babylon. Thus God’s Spirit has brought order from the chaos of the exile. He has brought rest to His people.

--It is now safe for the restoration to begin in earnest, i.e. with returning & rebuilding the temple.

--Crowning of Joshua (6:9-15)

--The prophet is told to make a crown for Joshua, the high priest. Why Joshua & not Zerubbabel? Maybe it was because Zechariah was a priest, maybe because he saw the dual nature of the new leadership of Judah, with priest & king.

--Here the priest is the “branch.” Thus a priestly messianic figure is pictured here. This was picked up by the NT & DSS, both of whom saw the nature of the messiah as both a priest & king. The difference, of course, is that the NT views the messiah as already coming in Jesus, while the DSS messiah did not appear.

--Oracles on Fasting (7:1-14)

--The oracles begin with a question concerning the need for fasting. Should they celebrate the fasts as they had in captivity?

--The answer of the prophet is that they should live a life a commanded by the earlier prophets, who condemned empty religious ritual.

--“Truth” (‘emeth, tm,a,)

--“Justice” (mishpat, fP;v]mi)

--“Loyalty” (chesed, ds,j,)

--“Compassion” (racham, !j;r;)

--Thus the question in fasting is motivation. The motivation for fasting must be to live for God, to know Him, & to live a life of obedience to Him. (cf. Isaiah 58).

--Promised Blessings for Jerusalem (8:1-23)

--The blessings will include

--Peace in Jerusalem. Young & old will come to Jerusalem & live in peace.

--A rebuilt temple. They are called upon to “be strong” & complete the temple.

--The nations. People from many languages & nations will come to Yahweh. Once again we see the eschatological, messianic promise of the coming of the nations to Yahweh & the eternal peace in Jerusalem.

Zechariah 9-11

--First Burden (9:1-11:17)

--Yahweh’s Defeat of Israel’s Enemies (9:1-8)

--This is a foreign prophecy much like Amos 1-2.

--Hadrach, Damascus, Tyre, Sidon, & the Philistines will be defeated. Those not killed will become citizens of Judah.

--Yahweh will defend His own people.

--In fact, He says that He is keeping watch & that they will never again be overrun.

--We know that this was not actually true, which points to a greater reality. Obedience was still required for Yahweh’s protection to be in force.

--The Coming of the King (9:9-17)

--The Humble & Victorious King (9:9-10)

--A call to rejoice, for the king is coming. This is a victory celebration, like that following a military victory, when the king would enter the city in royal splendor displaying the spoils of war.

--But note these unique characteristics:

--Righteous—Doing what is right, & always treating others with fairness & equity. This is one of the traditional prophetic concepts (qyDix').

--“Having salvation,” or better “victorious” or “delivered”—The new king is victorious. He has not lost like the previous kings.

--“Gentle,” “humble,” or “poor”—This is not a term normally associated with a king. Kings are normally associated with strength & power, but this king will be “humble.”

--“Riding on a donkey”—The victorious king came into the city in a fine chariot, not on a poor man’s beast of burden. But this king was “humble” & entered the victory parade on a donkey. This is most unusual indeed.

--He will remove war implements. This is reminiscent of Micah 4 & Isaiah 2 & other prophetic passages, where the prophets describe the age of peace to come. It will be an unprecedented time of prosperity.

--He will proclaim “peace.” This is a description of a glorious time of prosperity & blessing, total well-being that the new king is proclaiming.

--He will rule “from the river to the ends of the earth,” i.e. the entire world.

--Nature of the prophecy—This is an eschatological prophecy. Could a prophet have legitimately expected an earthly king to come in on a donkey, do away with war, & bring total peace to the entire world? Probably not. Rather this is a messianic expectation.

--Jesus & this prophecy—Jesus modeled his “Triumphant Entry” on this passage, or at least it worked out that way, however one wants to look at it. Jesus saw this passage as applying to Him.

--He was bringing into existence a new, worldwide kingdom of peace.

--And this kingdom would be brought with a victory of humility & righteousness, not power!

--Freedom for the Captives (9:11-13)

--The “blood of my covenant with you” (lit. “blood of your covenant,” the “my” is added simply for understanding that it is Yahweh’s covenant as well) will bring freedom for the captives.

--This language is used in reference to the covenant at Sinai in Exodus 24:8, where the blood referred to the sacrifice offered & the blood sprinkled on the altar.

--Jesus quoted this verse in Mt. 26:28 (+parallel). By His own blood Jesus said that a new covenant would be established. This sacrifice would be His own blood as a sacrifice.

--The result of this covenant is freedom “from the waterless pit” (lit. “pit there is no water in it”), i.e. the place of bondage, some would say the place of death. However, one might expect Sheol in the place of pit if death was meant.

--The Coming of the Lord (9:14-17)

--This is a theophanic text. The Lord comes in might & power to defend His people & defeat their enemies.

--He will be their shepherd, returning to a motif in the 1^st half of Zechariah.

--After this deliverance, they will be “attractive and beautiful.” They will be like jewels, i.e. unlike now when they are captive & undesirable, Yahweh’s people will be beautiful & desirable.

--Judgment on the Shepherds (10:1-12)

--The leaders of the people have failed in their role as shepherds. Thus the people wander as sheep without a shepherd.

--Compare Jer. 23:1 & Ezek. 34:5-6, where the leaders are chastised for scattering the sheep rather than caring for them. Jeremiah 23:6 is followed by a promise of a future prince, i.e. messiah, who will rule correctly.

--Jesus seems to refer to this verse in Matt. 9:36, where He laments that the people are like sheep without a shepherd.

--A new shepherd will arise:

--The cornerstone—the foundational support for his people. This is the necessary stone to build a proper building, thus a proper leader is necessary to lead Yahweh’s people. The NT picks up on this terminology, esp. 1 Peter 2.

--Tent peg—This, too, is a foundational description. The tent peg holds the tent in place. Without a strong peg, the tent would fall.

--Battle bow—This is a military metaphor symbolizing strength. The new shepherd will be strong & victorious.

--The House of Joseph, i.e. Ephraim, will be gathered from exile. This refers to the northern tribes, who had been scattered in 722/721 & never been restored (“10 lost tribes”). Yahweh will gather them back into the fold.

--Song of Judgment (11:1-3)

--This is a brief transitional passage that can be interpreted in several ways:

--The literal destruction of the forests & pastures will lead to the downfall of the shepherds.

--The trees, shepherds, & lions are the leaders of Judah who will be destroyed because of their failure to lead.

--The Allegory of the Shepherds (11:4-17)

--The present shepherds oppress the sheep, i.e. Judah’s leaders mistreat them. They “buy & sell” them. This suggests perhaps physical abuse & economic extortion.

--The prophet is told to shepherd his people. For this job he takes two staffs:

--“Favor” or “Pleasant”—This represents the covenant of Yahweh with the nations that allowed His people to return from exile. This covenant, however, would be broken because the people reject God’s leader.

--“Union”—This represents the reunion of Israel with Judah. This, too, would be broken because of disobedience.

--Thus the prophet is told to take back the tools of the former foolish shepherd. Thus, God’s people have rejected His leadership among them & they will suffer for their choice, as will the foolish shepherd.

Zechariah 12-14

--Second Burden (12:1-14:21)

--Defeat for Jerusalem’s Enemies (12:1-8)

--Yahweh will protect His people, Judah & Jerusalem.

-- This is a picture of battle, when enemies besiege Jerusalem.

--Yahweh will protect them from their attackers. He will keep watch over Judah & Jerusalem.

--All of Jerusalem’s enemies will be destroyed.

--The Pierced One (12:9-10)

--Yahweh’s people will mourn & seek Him. When they seek Him, He will give grace.

--The mourning is caused by “the one they have pierced.” Who is this?

--This is probably a reference to the Messiah, as taken by later Jewish literature. (Others, however, have seen other references, i.e. a king, child sacrifice, etc.)

--This may build upon terminology of Isaiah 53,

--In both passages the people will “look upon him” & grieve.

--Both passages speak of vicarious suffering.

--The text suggests that Yahweh himself is the one pierced.

--This fact points remarkably to Jesus as made explicit by John 19:37. John saw Jesus in this passage.

--The mourning will be great when they see what they have done, at least that seems to be the implication.

--Cleansing for Jerusalem (13:1-6)

--A fountain will open up & cleanse Jerusalem from impurity & sin. This impurity & sin could be anything that would make them unclean, or any act of sinfulness. However, the sin meant by Yahweh is made explicit.

--Idolatry, & especially the false prophets, will be removed. The idol worship & false prophets that remained in the land will be removed. The prophets will be injured or killed, even by their own parents & friends.

--The Scattered Sheep (13:7-9)

--Yahweh will judge the shepherd of Judah & the sheep will be scattered.

--Jesus took this to refer to His death, which would cause the scattering of His disciples (Matt. 26:31). Jesus saw Himself as the righteous shepherd of His people who would be struck down. Taken together with the other references in Zech. 9-14, the reader can see that Jesus saw Himself as the shepherd who would be struck down vicariously for His people to bring them final salvation & to become their righteous king & shepherd.

--When the shepherd is struck down, 2/3 of the people will perish & 1/3 will be left. Compare this with Ezekiel 5;1-12, where the prophet describes the defeat of Jerusalem in 587/586 with the same imagery. Zechariah has reapplied this prophetic material to refer to a future event.

--This 1/3 will become the new covenant people, refined in the fire (1 Pet. 1:6-7).

--They will then reaffirm the covenant with Yahweh & become the new covenant people. This terminology, “They are my people” and “The Lord is our God” is covenant language.

--The Lord Reigns in Jerusalem (14:1-21)

--In vv. 1-15 the prophet describes an eschatological, apocalyptic battle. The people of Jerusalem will be attacked & partially defeated until Yahweh intervenes. The imagery is similar to that of Revelation, describing the time preceding the final intervention of God.

--In vv. 16-21 the prophet describes the final eschatological, messianic kingdom envisioned by the prophets for centuries.

--Survivors from all the nations will come to worship Yahweh & celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles was the New Year’s Festival in the fall. It was thus the great celebration of the year.

--Everything will be “Holy to the Lord.” Nothing will be left in Jerusalem that is unclean. Thus worship will be a part of daily life for everyone, with no reason to be left out.

--The Book of Hebrews informs Christians that they now enjoy this very freedom of worship. Jesus has removed all uncleanness from His people, removing every barrier to the presence of Yahweh.