130. - Collection Point® | The Total Digital Asset Management System

210 Structure and the Book ofZechariah
something for the sheep and sends a shepherd, who at first does his job
properly, and gets rid of certain bad leaders.
For some reason—almost certainly to do with their lack of response
to him—the shepherd leaves the sheep to their fate. Almost certainly,
we are meant to assume that they are left in the hands of their leaders.
The failure of the shepherd to bring about a change in the attitude
and situation of the sheep leads to the breaking of the staffs DJU and
D**?3n, which have something to do with a covenant Yahweh has made,
and the brotherhood between Israel and Judah. Probably this signifies
that there will be disunity between the two parts of Israel, and that
they will be at the mercy of other peoples.
We can not be sure of the significance of the thirty shekels, or their
ending up with the potter 1 in the Temple. They represent at least the
low value placed by either the 'traffickers in the sheep' or the 'poor of
the flock' on the services of God's shepherd.
In 11.15-17, we find a new stage in the story. The prophet is commanded
to become a shepherd again, but this time he is to be actively
bad. For this he is himself to be punished. We are accustomed to reading
that Yahweh uses evil instruments for his purposes (cf. Isa. 10.5-
19; Hab. 1.5-6) or that he uses Cyrus, 'although he does not know'
God (Isa. 45.5), to achieve what he wants. It is quite different to read
that a prophet is commanded to do something evil. The closest parallel
is probably the ironic speech of Micaiah in 1 Kgs 22.19-23, or
Ezek. 20.25-26. The section ends with a totally bleak picture.
In 13.7-9, as we have seen from the parallels, the position is taken
up from where it was at the end of 11.17. Are we to assume that the
sword is against him because he has not done his job properly? The
text does not say this; in fact the emphasis is on the relationship
between Yahweh and the shepherd: this time *m definitely means 'my
shepherd', and Tnar confirms it. A severe double refining process is
described at the end of which the relationship between Yahweh and
1. The reading iicvn *?K has occasioned difficulty. Syr. reads •UttRn, the
treasury, and it is felt that this is more easily understandable, especially in the light of
the nvr m before the second mention of the phrase. LXX, 'A, I, L and Matt. 27.10
support MT, which should be accepted. There is a difference of opinion as to whether
this means 'potter' or 'founder'. C.C. Torrey (The Foundry of the Second Temple
at Jerusalem', JBL 55 [1936], pp. 247-60) argued that the word refers to the official
in charge of the foundry. Further see Rudolph, Haggai, pp. 202-203; Saeb0, 'Die
deuterosacharjanische Frage', pp. 78-83.