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188 Structure and the Book ofZechariah
It is possible, therefore, to see the hand of an editor here, who
wants to elaborate on the word 'visit' in such a way as to relate this
whole section to what has gone before. If this is true, did he also want
to link in the root "DJ that occurs in v. 7, and forms an inclusio? In
any case, we note that v. 6, as it stands, begins a new sub-section. It
also picks up motifs from vv. 3b-5. ! Thus we continue:
6 'rraji. .. house of Judah. .. (Joseph)
2'tfVJ (? tf'3in)
7 "raj vm
be glad. .. their heart
their sons
be glad. .. their heart
8 I gather them
9 with their sons
they will return
It is not clear how we should regard the hiphil(s) of eto* (32^). They
do not fit neatly into the subdivisions of the text established by formcritical
methods. We must at least leave them aside for the moment.
Verses 6-9 continue by repeating the elements of strength/might for
the house of Judah, and gradually add new emphases: rejoicing (in
heart) and posterity, both traditional ways of signifying God's blessing.
Then comes the theme of bringing back those who are scattered,
expressed in two ways: 'I will gather them' and 'They will return'. It
is not easy to represent this diagrammatically in a convincing way, but
the progression is clear and logical. There is no need to delete v. 9 as
an interruption, although it is not an elegant verse, and may be due to
an editor. (See p. 186 n. 1 above.)
There follow, in vv. 10-12, at least two clearly recognizable
literary figures: a chiasmus formed by the place names Egypt, Assyria
and Gilead + Lebanon; and the second part of an inclusio formed by
'mzH. The chiasmus seems to be overweight at the middle, caused by
vlla. Many commentators would delete D^J D'3 rom from 9.4, 2 but it
1. 'House of Judah'; "oa, and just possibly rm> (see above).
2. We have noted two distinctive phrases which occur in 9.3-4 (both referring to
Tyre, and close to the beginning of the book) and 10.5, 11. While one might be
regarded as mistaken copying, to treat both in this way would be questionable. Those
familiar with this section would then see the description of Tyre's silver 'like the mud
of the streets' as waiting to be trampled on. The correspondence between Tyre's
wealth destroyed in the sea, and the more complete, exodus-like victory of 10.11,