Leithart
Zechariah 8:9-13 forms a single unit within the chapter, and is organized chiastically: A. strong hands, v 9a B. house of Yahweh, v 9b C. no wages, v 10a D. no peace, v 10b E. Not according to former days, v 11 (more…) Read more
Zechariah 8:9-13 forms a single unit within the chapter, and is organized chiastically: A. strong hands, v 9a B. house of Yahweh, v 9b C. no wages, v 10a D. no peace, v 10b E. Not according to former days, v 11 (more…) Read more
Zechariah 7-8 form a unit, enclosed by references to fasting (7:4-7; 8:18-23) , within which Zechariah reviews the warnings of the early prophets about Israel’s social injustices (7:9-14; 8:14-17). Chapter 8 includes two major speeches, marked by the phrase “the word of Yahweh of hosts” (8:1, 18), but within that large structure are a series of smaller speeches marked by “thus says Yahweh of hosts.” There are ten short speeches in that section, Ten Words from the Lord who came... Read more
“Let Romamti-ezer bless with the Ferret- The Lord is a rewarder of them, that diligently seek him” (A 43). Sherbo notes that this connection is not necessarily arbitrary: “the association is with activities of the ferret as exemplified in the verb ‘to ferret out’” (Sherbo 46). For Smart, the diligent do not act like ferrets: they become ferrets. The pun works because ferret can be both noun and verb, but the pun is a microcosm of Smart’s view of all... Read more
It was Smart’s belief that God creates and sustains a cosmic harmony upon which the universe is contingent-in effect, God sings the universe into being-and the poet’s duty is to serve as a kind of choir-master leading the creation in an answering song. Because harmony between God and His creation is necessary for the physical continuation of the universe, Smart’s concern with the multitude of animals, birds, fish, plants, stones, and even planets in the Jubilate is much more than... Read more
Jeremiah 6:7 says of Jerusalem, “As a well keeps cold its waters, so shee keeps cold her wickedness.” Cities are wells. How? Visually there is a resemblance: Walls enclose a city as walls enclose the shaft of a well. No doubt too there is a third term in the comparison: Women are wells, cities are feminine, and therefore wells are cities. But in Jeremiah, the accent is on what wells and cities might contain. People went to wells in ancient... Read more
Some observations on Zechariah 6 that are dependent on the helpful insights of several grad students: If we connect the chariots emerging from between the bronze mountains with the horses and chariots of fire mentioned in 2 Kings 2 and 6, and if the bronze mountains are the pillars of the temple, then what we have is a fiery host charging out from the temple. That puts me in mind of the fire that came out from Yahweh to ignite... Read more
Between Genesis 10-11 and 2 Kings, “Babel” (or “Babylon”) is never mentioned. It comes up again in the description of the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 2 Kings 17: The King of Assyria brings men from Babel and sows them into the Northern kingdom. The word “Babel” appears and immediately there is another scattering, another confusion of tongues. This one, though, occurs in the land of Israel. As Deuteronomy 28 and Isaiah threatened, people speaking unknown tongues surround the... Read more
Leviticus 26 uses the verb “make desolate” ( shamem ) seven times (vv. 22, 31, 32 [2x], 34, 35, 43). Yahweh threatens to de-create the land. The link between the curses of Leviticus 26 and creation is not merely numerical. The desolations follow, roughly, the events of the creation week. (more…) Read more
Psalm 72:4 describes a king who does justice, delivers the poor, crushes the oppressor. The imperatives of Zechariah 7:9-10 echo the Psalm, but in Zechariah the imperatives are plural. Israel has become a nation of kings. Read more
Moses built a tent, and then Yahweh sat on His throne, the glory above the cherubim. Solomon built a house, and then the glory of Yahweh settled on His throne in the debir . Zechariah predicts something novel: A man named “Branch” will build the house of Yahweh, and then the Branch will take a throne (Zechariah 6:12-13). When the temple is completed, Zechariah says, a “priest” will be on a throne, a priest who “bears glory” (on glory, hod... Read more
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