Introduction

Zechariah 9 is a well known text of the Bible, mainly because of its quotation in the New Testament at the moment when it narrates Jesus’ entry in Jerusalem.¹ Vv. 9-10 of that chapter describe the humble Messiah who comes to Jerusalem "riding on a donkey" (v. 9). However, one of the paradoxes of the chapter is that it doesn't only describes the humble Messiah and his peaceful kingdom, but also a liberation war that destroys Israel's enemies and gives the land to the children of Israel –cf. vv. 11-17. So it appears important to investigate the precise meaning of vv. 9-10 in the context of the whole chapter. That is what we propose to do in this paper. We will first analyze the structure and content of the chapter, and then reflect on its eschatological message.

The thematic structure of Zech 9

Zech 9 is clearly divided in three parts: vv. 1-8, vv. 9-10 and vv. 11-17. There is a clear change to the imperative mood in v. 9, which opens the second part; and the opening of v. 11, "as for you (גם־את)", signals a new perspective in the development of the thought.² There is a different theme in each of the three parts. Vv. 1-8 put the emphasis on the liberation of the land, while vv. 9-10 evidently speak about the king, the Messiah who comes to Jerusalem. Finally, vv. 11-17 concern themselves with the coming back of the inhabitants to the land.³

The first part of the chapter (vv. 1-8) appears as a long geographical list and, above all, city names. The chapter opens mentioning Hadrach, Damascus and Hamath, at the north-east end of the traditional territory of Israel –vv. 1-2. The mention at the end of v. 2 of Tyre and Sidon serves already as an introduction to the following part, vv. 3-4. The territories listed in vv. 1-2 are not mentioned by themselves but in relation to the "word of the Lord". It is the "word of the Lord" (v.1) which reaches them. As the rest of the chapter will clarify, this word concerns their "judgment", but also their "salvation". So, we discover that vv. 1-2 function as an introduction to the chapter, because the "word of the Lord" touches those cities and places but we do not know yet in what sense.⁴

The next part (vv. 3-4) focuses on Tyre. We have here two well constructed poetical lines, each one with three members:

• "Tyre has built itself a rampart,

• and heaped up silver like dust,

• and gold like the dirt of the streets.

• But now, the Lord will strip it of its possessions

• and hurl its wealth into the sea,

• and it shall be devoured by fire".⁵

The first line (v. 3) describes the self-sufficiency and pride of Tyre; the second line (v.4) the divine judgment of it. From the point of view of the poetical composition, both lines are parallel. Both of them are constructed as a gradation, in which the subject of the verbs is mentioned only in the first member of the line. The other two members develop the action adding each time new elements, with the third member as a kind of climax.

From the north coast of Palestine the chapter goes on to the south, to the land of the Philistines. This time the prophecy speaks about the judgment but also about the salvation of them – cf. vv. 5-7. The composition of the lines follows a "concentric structure":

• "Ashkelon shall see it and be afraid;

• Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;

• Ekron also, because it's hopes are withered.

• The king shall perish from Gaza;

• Ashkelon shall be inhabited;

• a mongrel people shall settle in Ashdod,

• and I will make an end of the pride of Philistia.

• I will take away its blood from its mouth,

• and it's abominations from between its teeth;

• it too shall be a remnant for our God;

• it shall be like a clan in Judah,

• and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites (vv. 5-7).⁶

The concentric composition of this verses can be seen in the disposition of the lines: the lines at the beginning and at the end each have three members, while the ones in the middle have only two members. There are other observations that could be made, but that should be sufficient for our purposes here.⁷ We notice again the listing of places and cities, which is the main characteristic of this part of the chapter. But this time there is not only judgment for the philistine cities, but also salvation. Philistia too "shall be a remnant for our God" (v.7). What here is said of the philistines, applies also for the rest of the nations mentioned in the chapter. We could call this a "particolarizing description", which with the example of one part speaks about the whole.⁸

Finally, v. 8 describes the final destiny of the "word of the Lord": the land of Israel.⁹ Notice how "the word of the Lord" (v.1) in this verse becomes the presence of God himself: God encamps in the land and protects it against any army or oppressor that would attack it.¹⁰

So we observe in this part of the chapter a movement from north to south, along the coast of Palestine. It seems that the prophecy ascribes for the liberating "word of the Lord" the same itinerary that the military expeditions from the enemies of Israel followed in their conquest of the land, from north to south, along the way of the coast.¹¹ But with a significant difference, here the same itinerary is applied to the salvation that the Lord brings to his people and to the other nations of Palestine. At the same time, the chapter announces, by the example of two nations –the Phoenicians and the Philistines– that all the nations in Palestine are judged and converted to the God of Israel. The "now" at the end of v. 8 is an "eschatological now": it indicates that the time of the redemption of Israel is at hand and that the kingdom of God has arrived.¹²

The second part of the chapter (vv. 9-10) describes the arrival of the Messiah, the King of Jerusalem. In the context of the whole chapter, vv. 9-10 describe the arrival of God's salvation to the people of God which is represented by the personification of the capital of the land, Jerusalem. The arrival of the Messiah is described in two parts: his joyful arrival to Jerusalem (v. 9) and a description of the nature and extension of his kingdom (v. 10). The three lines of v. 9 describe the arrival of the Messiah to Jerusalem. The first line (v. 9aα), with two members in perfect parallelism, invites Jerusalem to rejoice at his arrival. The other two lines describe the manner in which the Messiah comes to Jerusalem: he comes "righteous and having salvation" (v. 9aβ - NIV).¹³ Above all, he comes "humble and riding on a donkey" (v. 9b). The term translated "humble" (עני) has actually a stronger sense, "lowly, miserable, bowed down".¹⁴ In consequence, the prophecy of Zechariah 9 announces something extraordinary: the coming of a "paradoxical King". Not a warrior and a victorious one, but one who is "lowly and bowed down", "riding on a donkey" ! On the other hand, the three lines of v. 10 describe the nature of the Kingdom of the Messiah. His kingdom is a peaceful one. The "chariot" and "the war horse", both symbols of military power in the Ancient Near East, are destroyed from all the territory of his kingdom –cf. v. 10aα.¹⁵ His kingdom is universal, it extends to "the ends of the earth" (v. 10b). Everywhere, "he commands peace to the nations" (v. 10aα). Evidently, the prophecy speaks of the eschatological kingdom of God. It is true that the gospels quote v. 9 when they narrate Jesus' entry in Jerusalem, to indicate the fulfillment of the prophecy. But that fulfillment was partial, we are still waiting for the fulfillment of the whole prophecy.

The last part of the chapter (vv. 11-17) describes an "eschatological war". We have here three small parts: vv. 11-12; vv. 13-15 and vv. 16-17. The eschatological war is described in vv. 13-15, while vv. 11-12 and vv. 16-17 are the introduction and the conclusion to it. This part of the chapter begins with the announcement of the coming back of the members of the people of God from exile (vv. 11-12). The exile is described with the image of a "waterless pit" where they are "prisoners" –cf. v. 11. The announcement changes suddenly, in v. 12, to a direct address to the exiles: "Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope" (v. 12a). This is a poetic means to render the announcement more vivid. God encourages the exiles to have hope with the promise that he will restore them a "double portion" of what they had before –v. 12b. So, we observe that in Zech 9 the arrival of the Messiah (vv. 9-10) is accompanied by the redemption of the individual members of the people of God in exile (v. 11-12); they are not two different things, they go together. On the other hand, the wonderful expression "prisoners of hope" (v. 11) is actually an invitation to have hope, because the future is determined by the divine promises.¹⁶ The chapter continues with the description of an "eschatological war" (vv. 13-15):¹⁷

• (13) For I have bent Judah for me,

• as a bow I have filled Ephraim.¹⁸
  I will arouse your sons, O Zion,
  against your sons, O Greece,
  and wield you like a warrior's sword.

• (14) Then the Lord will appear over them,

• and his arrow go forth like lightning;
  the Lord Yahweh¹⁹ will sound the trumpet
  and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.

• (15) The Lord of hosts will shield them,

• and they shall eat and treat down the sling stones;
  they shall drink, shall rage as with wine;²⁰
  they shall be drenched (with blood) like the bowl, like the corners of an altar.²¹

As we can see, the description begins with the preparation for the battle. God prepares "his bow" and "his sword", which are actually Judah and Ephraim themselves –cf. v. 13a. The mention of Ephraim shows that the prophecy envisions the whole of Israel as taking part in the final redemption. A new direct address gives life to the description: "I will arouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece" (v. 13aβ). The mention of Greece is sometimes mentioned as evidence for the writing of the prophecy during the time of Alexander the Great or even later.²² But the contacts with Greece were already frequent in the 5th century, especially in the context of the wars between the Persian empire and the Greeks. Furthermore, Joel 3 already mentions the selling of the people of Judah as slaves to the Greeks.²³ So the mention of Greece appears as a rhetorical means to indicate the western limits from which the members of the people of God are brought back to Jerusalem.²⁴ Even though Judah and Ephraim are described as the armament of God, the battle is performed exclusively by God. In v. 14, which describes the "battle", the syntax of the two lines in Hebrew underlines the subject of the action: the Lord.²⁵ The Lord appears over his people, with "his arrow going forth like lightning" (v. 14a). It is the Lord who sounds the trumpet and marches "in the whirlwinds of the south" (v. 14b). The images used are the classic images used for the theophany of God in the Bible –cf. Ex 19:16-19; Jg 5:4-5; Ps 18:8-15. This time those images serve to describe the final victory of God over the enemies and especially the liberation he brings to his people. On the other hand, the difficult v. 15 describes, most probably, the celebration by Israel of the victory accomplished by the Lord. The prophecy uses typical images of war in the ancient cultural context. Apparently, we have here a celebration banquet in which one eats, and especially, drinks and "rages as with wine" (v. 15ab), while one treads on the enemies war instruments.²⁶ All along the celebration, one is drenched with the blood of the enemies killed in the battle, like the "ceremonial bowls" and like "the corners of an altar" are full of blood during the sacrifices in the temple –cf. v. 15b. We will have more to say about this eschatological battle in the second part of this paper, especially about its theological meaning. For the moment, we are struck by the contrast between these violent images of war and the peaceful kingdom of the Messiah in vv. 9-10. Both of them refer to the final liberation and to the eschatological kingdom God.

The last two verses of the chapter (vv. 16-17) are its conclusion. These verses describe the outcome of the battle: the blessed life in the kingdom of God. The individual members of the people of God will be "like jewels of a crown" (v. 16b) settled in the promised land, shining and adorning it. The grain and the fruit of the vine give new life and making flourish the "young men and women" of the land –cf. v. 17. This is an image that applies to all the members of the people of God; but the prophecy, which is also poetry, underlines it by giving the example of the choicest part, the young people. So, the prophecy ends by describing the life in the kingdom of God with simple and realistic images, because that kingdom is no fantasy or illusion. The use of realistic images serves to describe the reality and truthworthiness of that kingdom.

The eschatology of Zech 9

Zech 9 is not an easy chapter to read. It uses a cryptic language and here we don't have the historical references that we have in the first part of the book.²⁷ It certainly speaks about the future. V. 10, for instance, speaks about a time when there will be no more war and when the kingdom of the Messiah will extend itself "to the ends of the earth". In the same way, v. 16 speaks about a time when the people of God will shine "like jewels of a crown" in the promised land. Those are clear affirmations about life in the eschatological kingdom of God. But how should we interpret the whole chapter ? How can we integrate its diverse elements in a meaningful way ? On the one hand, we could think that the chapter applies mainly to the people of Israel. The fist part of the chapter, for instance, describe the future in terms of the geography of the land of Israel and from the perspective of a Jew living in Palestine at the end of the 6th century B.C. Even the work of the coming Messiah is described as a work in "Jerusalem" and "Ephraim" (v. 10), that is as a work for the Jewish community in Palestine. So, we could imagine a "historical interpretation" of the chapter. That would mean that its message is addressed mainly to the Jewish people.²⁸ The use of Zech 9 in the gospels – cf. especially Matt 21 where Zech 9:9 is quoted as being fulfilled, cf. vv. 4-5– opens another possibility. The chapter applies mainly to the Christian community. That means the whole chapter, its diverse elements, has been fulfilled in Christ and the Christian church.²⁹ We could call this kind of interpretation of the chapter, a "Christian (unilateral) interpretation".³⁰ A third possibility would be to interpret the chapter in an "eschatological way". That means that the chapter speaks mainly about the eschatological kingdom of God. And it speaks about that kingdom with images of the past, that is with images taken from the history of Israel but applied to the future.³¹ In the following lines we propose an "eschatological interpretation" of Zech 9 following three couple of categories in tension: "present and future eschatology"; "kingdom of peace and eschatological war"; and finally, "Israel and the nations". In each of those categories much could be said, but we will try to limit ourselves to reflections that come out mainly from Zech 9.

Present or future eschatology?

We have seen that Zech 9 addresses the future of the Jewish exiles at the end of the 6th century B.C. It promises them a kingdom of peace and a life in a transformed promised land. Here we see already the typical prophetic vision of the future. The redemption that God brings to his people is integral. It is not only a religious conversion, but a political and also a cosmic vision of the future. Society changes, nature changes. God brings a "new world" –cf. vv. 16-17. This vision of redemption can be summarized with the phrase the "Kingdom o God". By "Kingdom of God" we mean the "integral redemption" that we see described in Zech 9.

Now, as we have seen, the New Testament applies the prophecy to Jesus. But it is important to see in which way it does it. In the first place, it does it in a eschatological context. God has sent his Son in the "fullness of time" (Gal 4:4), when "the ends of the ages" have arrived (1 Cor 10:11). Jesus himself speaks about the "fulfillment of the time" and about the arrival of the Kingdom of God with him –cf. Mc 1:15. All these allusions to "time" are allusions to the prophetic eschatological time. On the other hand, the NT applies the prophecy in a partial way. This can be seen in the quotation of Zech 9. Matt 21 quotes Zech 9:9 but leaves out v. 10, the words about the "peaceful and universal kingdom of the Messiah". Why? Was it not relevant anymore? That would contradict Jesus himself who till the end of his life continued to speak about the eschatological kingdom of God, as we well know from his eschatological discourse –cf. Matt 24-25, Mc 13 and Lk 21.Thus, the best answer is to see here a "partial application" of the prophecy. Or better, the beginning of its fulfillment. It does not exclude the complete fulfillment of the prophecy in the future. The NT speaks nowhere of a "present complete fulfillment" of the prophecy. So we see here the paradoxical nature of the fulfillment of the prophecy in the NT, that could be expressed with the well known categories of the "already" and "not yet". The Messiah has "already" come with Jesus of Nazareth, but we are still waiting for his universal "Kingdom of Peace" of which Zech 9 speaks. We are still waiting for the "integral redemption" that transforms not only our hearts but also the society and nature. The prophets would be happy with nothing less than that.

Returning to the tendencies of interpretation mentioned above, we can see now why the "Christian interpretation" is "unilateral". This is so because it ignores the eschatological dimension of the prophecy. On the other hand, the "eschatological interpretation", that we propose, does not ignore the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy with Christ and the gospel, but underlines the eschatological complete fulfillment of the prophecy. The eschatological dimension is actually the focus of most of the prophecy in Zech 9, the humble and suffering Messiah appears only in v. 9. This doesn't mean that it's less important, but we shouldn't miss the eschatological focus of the whole prophecy.

The main paradox of the chapter: "War or peace"?

This is probably the biggest paradox in Zech 9. The humble Messiah (vv. 9-10) comes in a context of war –cf. especially vv. 11-15. God appears as a "warrior", he defeats "his enemies" and bring his kingdom. What should we do with this image which goes against our modern sensibilities? How can we reconcile the "humble Messiah" and the "divine warrior" of the chapter? The first thing that we should underline is that the image of God as a "warrior" is part of the general prophetical discourse about the future –cf. Is 59:16-19; Hab 3:8-15.³² As a matter of fact, we find the image of God as "warrior" not just in the prophets, but in the whole biblical tradition. For instance, the "Song of Moses" (Ex 15) uses it already:

• The Lord is my strength and my might,

• and he has become my salvation;

• this is my God, and I will praise him,

• my father's God, and I will exalt him.

• The Lord is a warrior;

• the Lord is his name (vv. 2-3).³³

So, the image of God as a warrior is common in biblical tradition. What does it mean? With certainty it doesn't mean that God uses violence in a selfish and an arbitrary way. For instance, in the case Ex 15 –that we should read together with Ex 14–, it means that God is on the side of the "weak and poor". Israel was a mass of recently liberated slaves, which was persecuted by the biggest army of the world at that time, the Egyptian army. God, against the conceptions of the time, was not on the side of the strong, but on the side of the weak. So that means that he is a warrior in the defense of the weak and poor. It should be clear that the image of the warrior describes God using force to liberate the weak.

The prophets use the image of the warrior in a slightly different way. With that image they describe his personal intervention in bringing his eschatological Kingdom. Here it is presupposed that the "evil forces" in the world, against some modern conceptions, will not disappear by themselves.³⁴ Evil must be defeated and conquered, the one who will do that is God. Here we can perceive the relevance of the image of the "warrior": it describes a "just warrior", one who conquers evil and brings peace and justice to the world. We shouldn't take the image in a literal way and think of God fighting a literal war with the nations described in the chapter, or with the forces of evil in general. The image simply has the purpose of indicating that God will defeat and eliminate evil of this world. He is the one in charge of that task, no one else. On the other hand, the intervention of God is not arbitrary, it has the sense of a "judgment". In the parallel passage of Is 59, the armor of God is described as the "breastplate of justice" and the "helmet of salvation" –cf.v. 17. In other words, in his final intervention God brings "justice and salvation" to the world. He pays everyone "according to his deeds" (v. 18), and above all, at the same time, God comes to Zion as a "Redeemer", but only to the ones "who turn away from their transgression" (v. 20).Thus, with the light of the parallel passage of Is 59, we should interpret the "eschatological war" described in Zech 9 as the righteous judgment that God performs in the world, when he brings his Kingdom.

All these reflections tend to underline that we need to find a proper balance in our theology. If we think that God is exclusively peace and love, as in certain circles of Christianity, then we will not find a place for Zech 9 in our theology, this means mainly that we won't have a place for its eschatological message. On the other hand, if we hear the whole prophetic message, we will see that God is love, but at the same time the "Judge" of the world, or, as in our chapter, the "just warrior" who conquers evil and brings his kingdom.

We need to come back to our chapter to see the exact relationship between "war" and "peace", because both are essential in it. We can start by saying that both, the coming of the Messiah and the "theophany of the divine warrior", are parallel in the chapter. There is no indication of a chronological relation between them. Of course, after the coming of the gospel, we might want to say that the coming of the Messiah comes first. But then we will have problems with v. 10, because it speaks about the universal Kingdom of the Messiah, which clearly is still a future event. Thus, it's better to say that the chapter sees both events as parallel and complementary. This means that "peace" and "war" are not exclusive, they go together. The peaceful kingdom of the Messiah presupposes the "eschatological war", that is the judgment of evil. The universal peace of the messianic kingdom is the end result of the "eschatological war". That is why the Messiah appears not as "victorious" (NRSV), but "saved"³⁵ and "humble". The prophecy presents him depending completely on God. It is God who conquers evil and gives the Messiah his kingdom. Clearly, the Messiah and God work together. For our purposes here, that means that "peace" and "war" are not incompatible in the chapter, they are two events that go necessarily together. The concept of "peace" describes the goal of the "war" and the fundamental nature of God's kingdom. On the other hand, the concept of "war" tends to describe the reality of the "kingdom of peace". It is not just an ideal or a spiritual reality (in our hearts), but a real and visible event: the "war" brings about the eternal kingdom of peace of God and the Messiah.

Israel and the nations

We shall deal with the third couple of categories more quickly. The prophecy clearly focuses on Israel as the receiver of the promises of the chapter. In the first part (vv. 1-8), for instance, the prophecy describes the liberation of the land of Israel. And the rest of the chapter uses images and categories from Israel cultural tradition. The Messiah is received with joy by the inhabitants of Jerusalem –cf. v. 9. And Judah and Ephraim are part of the armament of God in the "eschatological war". So we observe a kind of "Israelocentrism" in the chapter. We shouldn't run too quickly to the gospel application of the prophecy to the nations. The description of the coming Kingdom of God with categories of the geography and the history of Israel has a value in itself. It describes that kingdom as something real. The prophecy is not an illusion, it is a reality. That is why the Kingdom of God can be described with the geography and the history of Israel, both of which are part of the real world in which we live.

But, the chapter offers also a "new dimension": the nations are included in the redemption of Israel. This becomes clear in v. 7, where God purifies the abominations of the Philistines and includes them in the salvation of Israel, they also become a "remnant for our God". With these affirmations the prophecy picks up some prophecies of the first part of the book that clearly include the nations in the final salvation of Israel –cf. Zech 2:10-12; 8:20-23. As we know, the gospel would eventually reveal fully the plan of God for the world: not only Israel, but also the nations are the object of God's love and salvation. Every human being who believes in Christ is also a "descendant of Abraham" (Gal 3:7). So, we see again that in the end "Israel" and the "nations" are not two exclusive categories. Both of them are necessary and go together. Israel is the "firstborn" of God among the nations –cf. Ex 4:22-23. But that doesn't exclude the other nations. Actually, it prepares the way for them. "Israel's model" is a universal model, it's the way God deals with every human being. That is why the prophecy includes the nations in the salvation of Israel, God is a universal God.³⁶

So, in conclusion, we observe that the "eschatological interpretation" of the Zech 9 is the interpretation which renders more justice to its contents. We may also call this kind of interpretation, an "Adventist interpretation" of the chapter, in the best sense of the word. One that puts the accent on the eschatological dimension of the prophecy: the coming of the kingdom of God in an open and visible way.

Bibliography

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