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132 Structure and the Book ofZechariah
in mind the frequent—and frequently problematical—use of the word
I'D throughout the book of Zechariah. 1
If D3ii> is adopted we have different links with ch. 3; in v.4 'and he
said "See, I have taken away your iniquity from upon you'" is often
regarded as an addition to the text. It would be consonant with results
so far to discover the hand of our final editor here, and to suppose
that he had an artistic and theological purpose in making the addition.
In v. 9 ]ii) is linked with pR which is important in ch. 5 (vv. 3,9, 11
as well as in v. 6).
pR occurs only in 3.9 (2x); 4.7, 10; 5.4, 8; (9.15-16; 12.3) and is an
important word in most of these references. The problem is that it is
used in several different senses and it is difficult to know how to relate
them, or whether one should try. The higher our view of the theological/artistic
ability of the editor/author of Zechariah, the more likely it
is that the correspondence is intended. In 3.9 the stone has seven 'eyes'
whose significance is not clear, but it is linked with removing iniquity
from the land. In ch. 4 Zerubbabel brings forward riRtzhn pRn which
is connected with the same complex of events: the completion of the
temple as a sign that Jerusalem had been cleansed and God again
dwells within her; Zerubbabel also has in his hand 'rnan pRn.
Zech. 5.4 refers to the fate of the house of the thief and the false
swearer: unlike the Lord's house which is finished off with the headstone,
this is consumed with its timber and even its stones. In 5.8 the
mai? "iz>D of v. 7 becomes maun pR: that which keeps iniquity shut
in so that it can be removed from the land.
nRi occurs frequently: vv. 5, 6 (2x), 7, 8 and thus supplies a sibilant
and n five times. In v. 7 the usage is unusual, and is likely to be deliberately
chosen, or else a mistake. 2
nan*, vv. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (note R, a), is a 'technical term' and would
be expected to repeat, though not necessarily five times.
pR occurs in vv. 6, 9, 11 each time with a different sense.
run begins two of the subsections noted, vv. 7, 9.
1. For further suggestions see Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah, pp. 297-98.
2. The LXX reads KCCI i8o\), and we should expect nm in Hebrew. Rudolph
(Haggai, p. 118) assumes this is a valid meaning, appealing to A.S. van der Woude
(JEOL 18 [1964], pp. 308-309). GKC 136d 2 assumes that 'nnn ntftt is in
apposition to n«r depending on nil', cf. Exod. 32.1; Ezek. 40.45 and GKC 126aa.