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3. The Structure of Individual Sections of Zechariah 97
v.4 e 2 What are these (coming to do)? These are
d 3 the horns that
f 2 scattered Judah
a 2 so that no one
lifted up his head
e 3 these (have come to terrify. .. cast down)
d 4 the horns (of the nations which)
a 3 lifted up
d 5 the horn (over the land of)
f 3 Judah to scatter it.
This is not an obviously regular pattern, but it does seem to be
unusual in a number of ways. When Zechariah asks, 'What are these
coming to do?' the angel first repeats, 'These are the horns which
scattered Judah' and adds, 'in such proportion ('3D) that no one raised
his head'. The following comments seem plausible:
1. The author emphasizes, by repetition, the horns and their
scattering of Israel. This is confirmed in v. 4 by the, strictly
speaking, redundant 'which lifted up the horn against Judah
to scatter it'.
2. The actual answer to Zechariah's question is delayed and this
increases the tension of the reader. The same feature is even
more strongly noticeable in Zechariah 4.
3. The author enjoys plays on words and 'lift up the head' with
'lift up the horn' is a little artistic indulgence. There may,
therefore, be a play on words between these instances and the
opening 'I lifted up my eyes'.
4. The author builds up his pictures gradually, linking one
element to the next. We noted this also in 1.2-6.
5. There is a singular lack of emphasis on 'the smiths'. In the
interpretation of the vision the word is not repeated at all,
whereas 'horn' occurs three more times. Perhaps the intention
is to avoid drawing attention to the instrument by which
Yahweh will deliver his people.
We need to look out for these features elsewhere in the book of
Zechariah. If they occur, then our tentative conclusions will be confirmed.
We must note if they occur in original prophetic material or
editorial additions, or both. This may give us further insight into the
composition of the book.