TEXT [Commentary]

  I.   Prelude: A Call to Return to the Lord (1:1-6)

1 In November[*] of the second year of King Darius’s reign, the LORD gave this message to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah and grandson of Iddo:

2 “I, the LORD, was very angry with your ancestors. 3 Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.’ 4 Don’t be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.’

5 “Where are your ancestors now? They and the prophets are long dead. 6 But everything I said through my servants the prophets happened to your ancestors, just as I said. As a result, they repented and said, ‘We have received what we deserved from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. He has done what he said he would do.’”

NOTES

1:1 November of the second year of King Darius’s reign. This date formula serves to root the message of Zechariah in a specific historical context: the early years of the great Persian Empire (539–330 BC). King Darius I (Hystaspes) ruled Persia from 522–486 BC.

the LORD gave this message. Lit., “the word of the LORD came.” The combination of the verb “to be” (hayah [TH1961, ZH2118]) and the phrase “the word of the LORD” (debar-yhwh [TH1697/3068, ZH1821/3378]) constitutes the prophetic word formula. This formula commonly introduces a report of prophetic revelation in the oracular speech of the OT.

the prophet Zechariah. The word “prophet” (nabi’ [TH5030, ZH5566]) designates Zechariah as an emissary, one who speaks with the authority of the commissioning agent—in this case, God himself.

1:3 This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says. This construction (koh ’amar yhwh tseba’oth) constitutes the messenger formula in prophetic speech and signifies the oral transmission of a message by a third party. The phrase suggests the divine assembly or council of the gods found in ancient Near Eastern thought. The picture is that the messenger of the council (i.e., the prophet) has stood as an observer in the council’s session and is now reporting to others what he (as an envoy of the council) has heard (cf. ABD 2.214-217).

1:4 earlier prophets. This is a reference to the prophets of God who ministered during the preexilic period and were active in calling the kingdoms of Judah and Israel to repentance. The language of Zechariah seems to reflect especially the influence of the exilic prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel (see Boda 2004:178-79).

Turn. In contexts expressing covenant relationship, the word shub [TH7725, ZH8740] (turn) expresses a change of loyalty on the part of Israel or God. Typically the term is understood as “repentance,” a complete change of direction back to God, a total reorientation toward Yahweh. The imperative form of the verb conveys a sense of urgency and places a demand for immediate response on the audience. Baldwin (1972:90) notes that the preposition “from” indicates the prophet’s admonition “is a call first of all to turn from evil ways” as a first step in their return to God.

evil ways . . . evil practices. The word pair “ways” (derek [TH1870, ZH2006]) and “practices” (ma‘alal [TH4611, ZH5095]) often denotes a lifestyle in prophetic literature: The dispositions of the people’s hearts and minds, as well as their actions, were bent toward evil (cf. Jer 4:18; 17:10; 32:19; Hos 4:9; 12:3; see the discussion in Boda 2004:179).

1:5 ancestors. This is a reference to the people of Israel (2 Kgs 17:13-14) and Judah (2 Chr 36:15-16) who were swept into exile because they were stubborn and refused to believe the word of the Lord. The same expression is found in King Hezekiah’s “Passover Letter” calling the people of Israel and Judah to return to the Lord (2 Chr 30:7).

1:6 servants the prophets. The word “servant” (‘ebed [TH5650, ZH6269]) was a title for Moses, the archetype of the OT prophet (Deut 34:5; cf. Deut 18:15; Mal 4:4). The true servant obeys the instructions of the overlord. A key trait of the OT prophets was their obedience to God’s word (a fact that makes the story of Jonah all the more unusual; cf. Jonah 3:3). Jesus Christ, the ultimate Prophet, demonstrated this same obedient relationship to his Father (John 5:19-20; 12:49-50).

happened to your ancestors, just as I said. The term behind this expression (hissigu [TH5381, ZH5952], “overtake”) alludes to the covenant curses of the Mosaic law pursuing and overtaking those who refuse to obey God’s commands (Deut 28:15, 45).

COMMENTARY [Text]

The prelude to the book of Zechariah (1:1-6) includes the superscription (1:1) and a prologue (1:2-6). The superscription (1:1) is a formal statement that serves to classify biblical literature by genre (in this case as an oracular or prophetic text) and to identify the author, audience, date, and sometimes the occasion prompting the message from God. It is understood as distinct from an introduction in that the superscription stands outside the body of literature it prefaces.

The superscription to the book of Zechariah calls attention to two important theological truths. First, the date formula, rooting the prophet’s message in time and space, affirms God as the sovereign ruler of history. He is the one who determines the course of world events and removes and establishes kings (Dan 2:21). Secondly, we learn that God willingly communicates with humanity by giving messages to particular individuals who “publish” this divine revelation through speeches and writings. God’s ability to communicate with human beings sets him apart from the idols of false religions, which cannot hear or speak (cf. Isa 46:5-7). His omniscience makes him unique, alone as God and without rival (Isa 43:10-13).

The prologue (1:2-6) contains multiple layers of quoted material from earlier Old Testament prophets (1:4). Boda (2004:176) observes that “although difficult to follow, it [the prologue] reflects a rhetorical trend in later prophecy in which Yahweh is emphasized as the source of prophetic speech, even if that is at the expense of flow.” The prelude to Zechariah (1:1-6) is widely recognized as an introduction to the first half of the book (chs 1–8), if not the book of Zechariah as a whole (cf. Baldwin 1972:87; Petersen 1984:110-111; Meyers and Meyers 1987:98; Boda 2004:181).

The Old Testament prophets were not averse to ascribing anger and wrath to God, as Zechariah does in 1:2 (“very angry”; qatsap . . . qatsep [TH7107/7110, ZH7911/7912]). God is a personal being, capable of love and anger. The emotion of God’s anger is often described as an inward fire that erupts and burns with an unquenchable intensity (cf. Jer 4:4; 23:19). God’s anger proceeds from his holiness, the essential attribute of his character (Ps 93:5; Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8). The objects of God’s wrath are those who oppose him and those traveling the path of wickedness (Ps 1:4-6). Since God is also righteous, his anger is just (Ps 11:7; Isa 1:27; 5:16). Ultimately, God’s wrath is divine retribution against sins committed by humanity. This means God’s anger is not capricious or arbitrary, but rather it is a “legitimate reaction to the transgression of known stipulations” (Eichrodt 1967:260). The covenantal context of Zechariah’s call to repentance alludes to the use of this word for anger in Deuteronomy 29:28 and Jeremiah 21:5, where God’s anger burned against the Israelites because they broke faith with the Lord and worshiped other gods. The Lord is a jealous God: He will not give his glory to another (Deut 32:16, 21; Isa 42:8; 48:11). Thankfully, the Lord is also a merciful and gracious God, patient, and slow to anger (Exod 34:6; Nah 1:3). It is worth noting, according to Zechariah, that the people acknowledged that they had received what they “deserved” (1:6).

In contexts expressing covenant relationship, the word “return” (shub [TH7725, ZH8740], 1:3) is the Old Testament term for repentance. It signifies an “about-face” or a complete turnabout on the part of the person repenting. The expression connotes a change or shift in loyalty away from sin and self toward God, a reorientation to Yahweh and his covenant demands. The imperative form of the verb conveys a sense of urgency and places a demand for immediate and specific action on the part of those so addressed. The threefold repetition of the word “return” or “turn” (1:3-4) serves to heighten this sense of urgency. The liturgical formula in the prophetic summons to repentance (“return to me, and I will return to you”) is repeated in Malachi 3:7 and has a precursor in Isaiah’s plea to Jerusalem to “return to me [God], for I have paid the price to set you free” (Isa 44:22). The language of the liturgical formula may be rooted in the penitential prayers of the psalms (e.g., Pss 80:3, 7, 14, 19; 85:4-8; cf. Petersen 1984:131). (See the commentary on Mal 3:6-12 for more on the theology of repentance.)

On the human side of the ledger, returning to God and turning away from evil was essential for the forgiveness of sin. Naturally the “inward conversion of the heart in prayer and confession of sin” was assumed in this process of returning to God (Eichrodt 1967:472-473). On the divine side of the ledger, God promises to “return” to those who respond to the prophet’s message by turning to him (1:3). This means that God, in his great love and compassion, accepts the repentant person by forgiving sin and restoring that individual to full covenant relationship with him (Jer 31:20; Hos 14:1-2). This reconciliation with God stays his anger, averts judgment, and brings healing to those who had broken covenant relationship with Yahweh (Jer 4:1-2; Hos 14:4). The Hebrews returned to the land after the Babylonian exile, but they had not returned to God. As Baldwin (1972:92) has aptly observed, “on exactly the same terms as had been offered to their fathers, young and old alike are invited to return to God. If they do so, the covenant relationship will be renewed, and spiritual restoration will accompany the material restoration of the Temple.” (See the discussion of the word “return” or “repent” in W. L. Holladay, The Root Šûbh in the Old Testament. [Leiden: Brill, 1958].)

Zechariah’s rhetorical, even ironical questions (1:5) emphasize the eternal nature of God’s word in contrast to the mortality of those who heard as well as those who delivered that divine revelation. The prophet reminded his audience that God’s word was also a sure or true word since the things the prophets predicted happened just as the Lord had said (1:6). Petersen (1984:128) has identified those repenting and speaking in 1:6 as the audience of Zechariah, not their ancestors (as in the NLT). It seems quite clear in light of the context, however, that Zechariah refers to the ancestors of his audience in their admission of guilt, the justice of God, and their repentance after the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. Lam 1:18; 3:28-30, 37-40).