the world must have a source other than God, even if to achieve his purpose God at times uses evil. Apocalypticism’s doctrine of The Fall was the tool with which it attempted to deal with this problem.
Zechariah
The prophet Zechariah gives dates that place his activity between the years 520 and 518 B.C.E., that is after the end of the exile in 537 B.C.E. He was an optimistic prophet who, like Haggai, belonged to the cultic establishment at the time when those who had returned to Jerusalem were involved in reconstituting a viable community of worshipers of Yahveh. Most scholars agree that in its present form the book consists of two separate documents. The first, chapters 1-8, contains Zechariah’s oracles encouraging the people to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem at a time when messianic expectations were high. Chapters 9-14 is a later document with eschatological reinterpretations of messianic themes after the conquests of Alexander the Great made Greece a player in the international horizon of the Fertile Crescent in the second half of the IV B.C.E. (Zech. 9:13). The prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah’s contemporary, see the political upheavals taking place after the death of Cambyses in July of 522 B.C.E. as propitious for the establishment of an independent nation ruled by a descendant of David, Zerubbabel, the current governor of Jerusalem under Persian rule (Hag. 2:6-9, 20, 23). At that time there were revolts in Babylon led by royals who called themselves Nebuchadrezzar III and IV. It was only in his second year that Darius was able to restore order within his domains. Zechariah’s first oracle is dated to the eighth month of Darius’ second year (Zech. 1:1).
The chapters that undoubtedly come from Zechariah deal with the ups and downs of the expectations for a full restoration of the fortunes of Israel with a descendant of David on the throne of Jerusalem. Chapters 1 to 6 contain seven visions, one of them in need of some rearrangement due to the intervention of later hands. The first one (Zech 1:7-17), seems to reflect on the disappointment felt when the revolts of the Babylonians against their Persian rulers did not succeed, thus taking away the possibility of an independent Jerusalem free from Persian control. In a night vision Zechariah sees a man riding a red horse and other riders on four horses of different colors. An angel then provides an interpretation of what is going on. It would seem that this angel is the man sitting on the red horse, but that is not explicit. The riders of the four horses have been patrolling the earth, and they come back to report that “all the earth remains at rest.” Hearing this the angel takes it to be bad news because it means that the Persians have squelched the Babylonian rebellion and that Jeremiah’s prophecy that God’s punishment would last seventy years, or Ezekiel’s prophecy that it would last forty, were not going to be fulfilled. The angel appeals to God, “O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah?” God, who is in control of all political changes, reassures the angel that he has “returned to Jerusalem with compassion; my house shall be built in it.” While political independence has become less likely, the assurance that worship of Yahveh at the Jerusalem temple is to be reinstated seems to have satisfied Zechariah. The distinction between political arrangements and worship arrangements became a feature of future apocalyptic discourse; true worship is the basic requirement for the elect, as Revelation would later demonstrate.
The second vision (Zech. 1:18-21) announces that the four “horns” that had scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem will be terrified and cast down by four “smiths” being sent for that purpose. The most likely interpretation is that the Babylonian revolts against the Persians have been defeated, thus the nations that had scattered the Israelites out of Judah and Israel, Assyria and Babylon, are now no longer “raising their heads.” That the forces of evil are not gaining power again and favorable conditions will prevail is essential to the continuation of fidelity to the God of Israel. And fidelity to God under problematic conditions, of course, is the main preoccupation of apocalyptic texts.
The third vision (Zech. 2:1-13) sees a man with a measuring line ready to establish the breadth and the length of Jerusalem. When the angel who has been talking with Zechariah comes forward, another angel intercepts him and tells him to prevent the man from measuring Jerusalem. God’ plan for Jerusalem is that it be inhabited as if it were a village, without walls. “I will be to her a wall of fire round about, says the Lord, and I will be the glory within her.” Of course, if the inhabitants were to begin rebuilding the wall, that would have been interpreted by the Persians as an act of rebellion that called for immediate military intervention. Now is not the time for the people of Jerusalem to provoke the Persians by sending the wrong signal. On the other hand, the Jews who are still living in Babylon should get out before the Persians come to Babylon with reprisals for the uprisings of Nebuchadnezzar III and IV. They should come to Jerusalem because God is back in her and many nations “shall join themselves to the Lord.” This vision reaffirms the need to trust God for security in this world. Seeking security by means of alliances or defensive walls is a denial of trust in the power of God to do what he has promised. That would become a most important characteristic of the biblical apocalypses. They do not urge those suffering oppression under foreign powers to rebel with the force of arms.
The fourth vision is somewhat dismembered (Zech. 3, 4, 6:9-15). It announces the coming of the Messiah, The Branch, identified as Zerubbabel. He has laid the foundation of the temple and he will be the one who completes it. The vision also includes a crown made with silver and gold brought from Babylon by recently arrived Jews. The crown, it would seem, was to be placed on the head of Zerubbabel, the Branch. With the passage of time, however, the messianic expectations centered on Zerubbabel faded, and his name disappears from the records. The crown, therefore, is said to be for Joshua, the High Priest. This vision does not begin with a dialogue with an angel. Rather, Zechariah is shown Joshua dressed in filthy garments with an angel by his side. Satan is also standing by to accuse him. Joshua’s filthy garments indicate that he must have had a dubious past in Babylon where syncretistic practices, referred to in Jeremiah, Ezekiel and post-exilic Isaiah, were adopted by the exiles. These, apparently, render Joshua ineligible for the High Priesthood, and Satan is there to point this out. Joshua’s filthy rugs, however, are taken off and he is dressed in rich apparel and a turban. Then he is charged to “rule my house and have charge of my courts.” This arrangement conforms to the Persian predilection for rule through the mediation of priests, rather than civil servants.
Central to this vision, which occupies the core of a series of seven, there is “a lamp stand of gold, with a bowl on its top, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps. Next to it are two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” When Zechariah asks the angel for the interpretation of the vision, the angel responds with words addressed to Zerubbabel, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 4:6). In other words, the establishment of the descendant of David on the throne would take place by peaceful means, not by an armed uprising against the Persians. Jerusalem is not going to have a protecting wall and a warrior Messiah. As already said, the hopes placed on Zerubbabel did not last, and the vision clearly sets up the lamp stand as a symbol of the temple and the two olive trees as the dual leadership of a religious High Priest and a civil governor, not an independent king. The difficulties in the present text apparently were caused by the need to take Zerubbabel out of the picture when the expectations of his messianic role proved unfounded. Thus, while Zechariah tries to keep alive faith in the power of God to restore the fortunes of Israel, it has to water down the expectations for a messiah. The need to face up to the disappointment with Zerubbabel brought about a revision of the expectations for a military and political messiah. Instead, Jews came to expect a priestly messiah, as later apocalyptic texts from Qumran reveal.
The fifth vision (Zech. 5:1-4) is of a flying scroll with the dimensions of the vestibule of the temple. The scroll contains a curse upon those who steal and those who swear falsely. Their houses will be consumed, “both timber and stone.” Obviously, the curse is upon the ones who stayed in the land of Israel during the exile and took possession of real estate left empty by the exiles. They, apparently, had not only stolen the properties but also perjured themselves claiming ownership after the exile. The prophet has something quite specific to say to them: God will destroy their stolen houses. The punishment imposed gives the clue as to the situation being addressed.
