The Date Formulae in the Book of Zechariah: An Important Key for Interpreting Zechariah

Abstract

This article pursues two goals in an effort to clarify the relationship between the two major sections in the book of Zechariah, chapters 1–8 and 9–14. The first is to further the author's already published argument that the key to understanding Zechariah as a whole lies in understanding the dialogue established by the differences between its two parts. The second involves an assessment of the phenomenon of “inner-biblical exegesis,” as described by Michael Fishbane, as evidenced in and between the parts of Zechariah. Attention to the dating formulas in Zechariah 1:1, 7 and 7:1, which function to divide Zechariah 1–8 into three parts and, more importantly, to place the first section of the book in the context of the rebuilding of the temple. Most significantly, however, these formulas participate in a program of “inner-biblical exegesis” involving Jeremiah's period of seventy years and Ezekiel's vision of restoration. The reader's resultant expectation that Zechariah 1–8 moves toward an announcement of the glorious future shatters, however, at the sudden, drastic change of tone in Zechariah 9–14, a series of “burdens” (9:1; 12:1). Because of Israel's faithlessness, the prophecies of Zechariah 1–8 have gone unfulfilled. The book of Zechariah contrasts what might have been (chaps. 1–8) and what, alas, actually transpired (chaps. 9–14). This reading of Zechariah confirms the utility of attending to the phenomenon of “inner-biblical exegesis,” but it also highlights certain inadequacies in Fishbane's analysis of the phenomenon.