Book Notice: Zechariah (NICOT)

Mark J Boda

The Book of Zechariah
NICOT; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016.
Available at Amazon.com

By Len Firth

There has been a recent deluge of Zechariah commentaries. I am aware of three which in Zechariah studies constitutes a veritable flood. This is a great boon for those wanting to plumb the depths of an often misunderstood and rarely preached book. One of these three, The Book of Zechariah (NICOT) by Mark Boda commands attention. Boda is a Zechariah scholar who has been writing and researching in the field of the book of the Twelve and the Babylonian and Persian Period for most of his considerable academic career. I am aware of at least 27 books and journal articles from this domain which stand under his name.

This commentary is substantial, running to 934 pages, and its substance is equal to its length. It is clearly a reference work rather than a light Sunday afternoon read. If you are looking for a commentary which lends itself more readily to preaching, I recommend Boda’s other commentary, the NIV Application Commentary volume on Haggai and Zechariah. On the other hand, the latest commentary’s scholarly style reflects Boda’s role as professor in the Faculty of Theology at McMaster Divinity College. It lives up to the series aim to publish biblical scholarship of the highest quality, which speaks from an interpretive tradition holding that the Bible is God’s inspired Word. As an evangelical commentary, it pays particular attention to the text’s literary features, theological themes, and implications for life today.

The commentary contains the author’s own translation from the Hebrew. The introductory material is brief but informative. Boda’s comments on the Hebrew and Old Greek textual history inspire confidence in our present canonical version of the book. The summary of the Persian Empire historical background is particularly helpful. The summary of Zechariah’s major themes only spans three and a half pages, as it is in the exposition that we find his exploration many of the book’s themes and issues under debate. For example, comments about the relationship between Zechariah and apocalyptic are found on pages 689-691, where he introduces Zechariah chapter 12.

When Boda engages with various areas of scholarly debate he is gracious in his dealings with others but no milquetoast. He is careful in his claims. The evidence is clearly laid out and he draws an informed conclusion. The line of reasoning is easy to follow. Where the text allows, the reader is given room to hold a different opinion.

Boda carefully considers the NT use of the book and asserts that what can be discerned from the NT sets ‘not only the foundation but also the trajectories for the enduring appropriation of the message.’

How interesting it would have been to see some interaction between Boda’s work and the recent commentaries by Al Wolters and Anthony Petterson. Future works will certainly need to engage with Boda’s magnum opus on this important post-exilic book.

In ‘Declare His glory among the nations’ (Christian Mission, 2011, 13), Boda has written that his interest in studying the Old Testament was sparked in a missiology course given by Professor Harvey Conn at Westminster Theological Seminary. Boda commented that Conn ‘was the first to show me the potential of the Old Testament for exploring a Christian biblical theology of mission.’ It would be good to hear more from the standpoint of a missional hermeneutic in relation to Zechariah. He would have much to say which is valuable and full of insight.

This NICOT commentary is a great addition to the field of Zechariah commentaries from an impressive researcher and insightful commentator.

Len Firth is Senior Minister of St. Augustine’s Church and Lecturer in Bible and Theology for students from a non-English speaking background at Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia.