<\/p>
In his comments on Zechariah 4:7, Stead notes that the adjective connected with stone is unique in the Hebrew Bible. \u00a0It looks like a feminine of the common word ro\u2019sh <\/em> (head) but might also be linked to ri\u2019shon <\/em> (first, beginning). \u00a0Stead opts for \u201ctopstone\u201d as a translation, and says that the prophecy is about Zerubbabel\u2019s completion of the temple. <\/p>\n He also notes the connection with Psalm 118:22, which describes a \u201cstone\u201d that becomes \u201chead of the corner,\u201d an event that is \u201cmarvelous\u201d in the eyes of Israel. \u00a0But he doesn\u2019t fill out the consequences of this intertextual linkage. \u00a0The stone in Psalm 118 is the rejected stone that becomes head; the last shall be first, the rejected becomes chosen and precious. \u00a0With Psalm 118 in the background, and given the semantic ambiguity of the word in Zechariah 4:7, it seems best to let the ambiguity alone. \u00a0Verse 7 is spelled out in the sequence of verse 9 \u2013 his hands establish, his hands complete. \u00a0But in verse 7, we seem to have a stone which is both cornerstone and topstone, both alpha-stone and omega-stone. <\/p>\n This stone \u201ccomes forth\u201d from Zerubbabel, and of course \u2013 again with Psalm 118 ringing in our ears \u2013 we know that this is the chief cornerstone of the new temple, the topstone too. \u00a0For that stone, Jesus, also \u201ccomes forth\u201d from Zerubbabel, hewn from the Davidic rock. <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In his comments on Zechariah 4:7, Stead notes that the adjective connected with stone is unique in the Hebrew Bible. \u00a0It looks like a feminine of the common word ro\u2019sh (head) but might also be linked to ri\u2019shon (first, beginning). \u00a0Stead opts for \u201ctopstone\u201d as a translation, and says that the prophecy is about Zerubbabel\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-ot-zechariah"],"yoast_head":"\n