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3. The Structure of Individual Sections of Zechariah 135
IF And the angel who spoke with me went forth
IF And he said to me, Lift up now, your eyes and see
Ql What is this thing that goes forth
Q2 And I said, What is it?
Al And he said, This is the ephah that goes forth.
A2 And he said, This is their eye in all the earth.
'What is it?' implies a question about the meaning of the ephah (cf.,
e.g., Josh. 4.6 DD 1 ? rf?Rn D'n»n no). At any rate, the angel understands
it in this sense, even if his reply is not as precise as we should wish.
The opening formula contains the phrase 'the angel who spoke with
me' which does not occur again until the final section (vv. 10-11) and
therefore forms a suitable introduction to the whole of vv. 5-11.
The centre of the chiasmus contains no significant words, yet it
forms the pivotal point between description and interpretation.
The final word, p«, occurs in vv. 9 and 10 so that we have a possible
resonance between 'in all the earth', 'between earth and heaven'
and 'land of Shinar'. However, this is by no means clear.
The final section begins with the prophet doing what he had been
told to do in v. 5, lift up his eyes and see. In v. 5b it formed an introductory
formula and an integral part of the chiasmus from v. 5b to
v. 6. Here we find that the verbs 'lift up' and 'go forth' again figure
prominently. The word 'wings' occurs three times in four words,
possibly giving prominence to the word mon which might remind the
reader of "ion and contrast with the nueh in the ephah.
The final words are difficult to understand and it seems quite likely
that the text is corrupt. However, in the absence of an agreed restoration,
we should accept the text as it stands.
pin is a normal hophal of ]*o, which, being masculine singular,
would naturally refer to the house rather than to the ephah: 'And it
will be established or ready'.
nmm as it stands is a hophal third person feminine singular of rro:
and it will be caused to rest (there upon its foundation [nrusa]). This
does not seem to be too difficult. The similarity of sound between the
three words mentioned above is probably intended to correspond in
some way to the forms of *|D found in v. 9.
The structure of these verses is not so clear as that of the previous
two subsections. Nevertheless the sequence is clear: