The End of the Scroll. Herold Weiss

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. This anticipates later apocalyptic descriptions of specific punishments for specific offenders.

      The sixth vision (Zech. 5:5-11) has a barrel being carried around. The angel lifts the cover of the barrel and identifies a woman in it as “Wickedness.” Then he puts down the barrel with the cover against the ground, making it impossible for wickedness to get out. Two women with wings like the wings of storks lifted the barrel to the sky. When Zechariah asks the angel where they are taking it, he is told that the barrel is being taken to the land of Shinar, where it will be placed on its base. The vision describes the elimination of the remnants of the worship of the fertility goddess of the Canaanites which was, of course, still quite prevalent in the land after the exile. This wickedness would be done in a foreign land, not any more in Jerusalem. Thus, while in Zechariah we do not read about a new heaven and a new earth free from the pollutions that permeate the fallen creation, like in Ezekiel we do read of the purification of a polluted land of Israel. Cleansing from pollution is a primary concern in a culture centered on a temple, and apocalypticism reinstated an attachment to the Temple, the place where the unity of the universe is displayed. In Revelation the throne is found in the temple. The two are the central symbols of apocalyptic texts.

       The final vision (Zech. 6:1-8) is of four chariots driven by four horses of different colors (red, black, white and dappled gray) which come from between two bronze mountains and take off in the direction of the four winds of heaven. They are to “patrol the earth,” like the four riders of the first vision. The vision ends with the angel telling Zechariah, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.” From the perspective of all the prophets, all the enemies of Jerusalem come from the north. Since the north is being carefully patrolled, God is at rest. In this way the seventh vision comes full circle to a land at rest, carefully patrolled by God’s agents. The agenda of all seven visions is to affirm that the world is under God’s total control.

      The chapters that come from Zechariah end with the report of a matter that was causing confusion among the people who had returned from the exile. Chapter 7 tells of a delegation from Bethel that came to Jerusalem with a question to the priests at the temple: Were they to observe the fast of the fifth month? The answer given by Zechariah is a word of the Lord which does not refer to the question. It gives a lengthy list of what the Lord expects from his people. It would seem that the answer is that rather than being concerned with fasting they should be concerned with kindness, mercy, non-oppression of others, etc. This answer is in agreement with the prophetic tradition that prioritizes upholding justice and peace rather than cultic performances. In the process, it shifts attention from the past to the future. Actually, since God is going to “be their God in faithfulness and in righteousness,” from now on “the fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh,