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60 Structure and the Book ofZechariah
present, most structural studies do rely on key words and phrases.
Moreover, in seeking to discover thematic connections we must be
aware of the subjective nature of the task and the probability that
several different rationales could be suggested for any particular
unit. There is a strong danger of reading our own structures into the
text when we supply the headings or labels for the sections to be
compared.
3. Allusions to other parts of the OT may sometimes be detected,
and this may help us to discover connections intended by the
author/editor.
4. Techniques discovered in several different passages may be
regarded as more secure than those found only once or twice.
5. There are many individual features of a text and its parts that
might be noted, for example, gender and number of nouns, part of
speech, conjugation, theme, mood, and so on. The chance that some of
these will form regular patterns by accident is sometimes high, and
should be recognized.
6. It seems, therefore, that a reasonable procedure in seeking to
analyse biblical texts would be to:
a. Establish the text form and its divisions independently of
structural considerations, before attempting to define the
structure of particular sections.
b. Examine all repetitions, and discard those that seem to be
insignificant. This should be done without regard to a
suspected structure in the unit.
c. Estimate the likely importance of the repeated words that
remain. Whole phrases are the most likely to be used to
establish structure. Rare words, words used in characteristic
ways, clusters of related words, are also likely to be used
with a particular purpose. 'Technical terms', that is words
which are specially related to the subject matter of the
section, may be repeated simply because it is impossible not
to repeat them.
d. Consider the conclusions of scholars in various branches of
OT research—especially those who have not been primarily
concerned with structure—and compare conclusions
concerning the overall meaning and emphasis of the unit.