Author: David Z. Moster

Psalm 3 – “Complaint Against Enemies”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The psalmist begs God to save him from his enemies.

II. Photo
The psalmist trusts in God: “I lie down and sleep and wake again, for the Lord sustains me.” (v. 6)

III. Select Verses
1: A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.
2-3: O LORD, my foes are so many! Many are those who attack me; many say of me, “There is no deliverance for him through God.” Selah.
7: I have no fear of the myriad forces arrayed against me on every side.
8:  Rise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! For You slap all my enemies in the face; You break the teeth of the wicked.

IV. Outline
1. Historical superscription
2a. Invocation
2b-3. Complaint: a multitude of enemies
4. Praise/thanks/trust
5. Anticipated praise
6-7. Trust
8. Petition
9. Blessing

V. Comment
Psalm 3 is the first psalm that fits into a clear genre, namely the “individual complaint.” One might ask, What is the book of Psalms? Gerstenberger writes: “The songs and prayers collected in this biblical book are but a sample of the texts used in Israel’s ceremonials throughout the centuries. As we have seen, numerous poems, for some reason or other, were not incorporated into the collection, such as the victory songs of Deborah (Judges 5) and Miriam (Exod 15:1-18), the thanksgivings of Jonah (Jonah 2), Hannah (1 Sam 2:1-10), and Hezekiah (Isa 38:10-20), or the mourning songs of the book of Lamentations, the complaints of Jeremiah and Job, and the hymns of Second Isaiah. Later compilations such as the Psalms of Solomon, of course, could no longer enter in the canonical Psalter because this book of hymns and prayer had already been closed by about 200 B.C. Other books of sacred poetry (cf. Num 21:14; Josh 10:12-13; 2 Sam 1:18; 1 Kgs 8:53 [LXX]) had been lost even before the formationof the Psalter began. What generative forces, then, brought about, sometime between 500 and 200 B.C., this specific, eclectic collection of religious poetry?
“Prayers and sacred songs are generally collected for liturgical reasons, not for private edification. Such collections normally serve as handbooks for cultic officials, not for the layperson who only participates in worship. This generalization was true particularly in ancient times, when most people were illiterate. Numerous examples can be listed to illustrate these observations. The Essenes of Qumran had their own hymnal, as did the Manichaeans and the Mandaeans… The ‘liturgical handbook,’ however, is by no means an invention of ancient Israel. As early as Sumerian times there existed ‘canonical’ collections of prayers. Later we know of many Babylonian and Assyrian rituals, including su-illa, ‘lifting up of the hands,’ namburbi ‘rite of acquittal or absolution,’ surpu ‘burning,’ maqlu ‘roasting,’ and bit rimki ‘washhouse.’ In a similar way, all the other nations of the ancient Near East committed their liturgical texts to writing. The evidence is overwhelming that written prayers, songs, and rituals were destined to be used primarily by the cultic officiant. The OT Psalter reveals the same original purpose.” (27)

While Gerstenberger makes many interesting points, it must be pointed out that he goes too far in his description of the psalms’ relation to ancient Near Eastern cultic literature. While it makes sense that the psalms were preserved by a priestly group, nothing quite like the Psalter has ever been found in the ancient world. In other words, the book of Psalms is unique, even for the variegated cultic texts of ancient Near East.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Craigie, Peter C. “Psalms 1-50” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 19 (Waco, Texas: Wordbooks, 1983).
Gerstenberger, Erhard S. “Psalms Part 1 with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry” Forms of Old Testament Literature (Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988).
Photo taken from http://www.redhilldental.com.au/attachments/Image/Sleep_101.jpg

Psalm 2 – “Coronating A King”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God pledges to support his king in Jerusalem.

II. Photo
God speaks to the King: “You are my son, I have fathered you on this day.” (v. 7b)

III. Select Verses
1-3: Why do nations assemble, and peoples plot vain things; kings of the earth take their stand, and regents intrigue together against the LORD and against His anointed?  “Let us break the cords of their yoke, shake off their ropes from us!”
6-9: “But I have installed My king on Zion, My holy mountain!” Let me tell of the decree: the LORD said to me, “You are My son, I have fathered you this day. Ask it of Me, and I will make the nations your domain; your estate, the limits of the earth. You can smash them with an iron mace, shatter them like potter’s ware.”
10-12: So now, O kings, be prudent; accept discipline, you rulers of the earth! Serve the LORD in awe; tremble with fright, pay homage in good faith, lest He be angered, and your way be doomed in the mere flash of His anger. Happy are all who take refuge in Him.

IV. Outline
1-2. Rhetorical question about Israel’s enemies
3. Motivational wish
4-6. God establishes the king in Zion
7-9. God supports his king
10-12a. Exhortation to foreign kings
12b. Beatitude for those who take refuge in God

V. Comment
Psalm 2, which does not conform to any specific literary genre, focuses on anointing the king. Craigie writes: “In general terms, the psalm is a royal psalm and must be interpreted in association with the Hebrew monarchy. More specifically, Psalm 2 is a coronation psalm; such a classification depends primarily upon the content of the psalm, rather than any characteristic form which distinguishes it from other royal psalms. A coronation involved the setting of a crown upon the new king’s head, the formal presentation of a document to the new king, and his proclamation and anointing (cf 2 Kgs 11:12)… The identification of the psalm with the coronation of a Davidic king is clarified by the parallels between this psalm and the promises given to David in the oracle of Nathan (2 Sam 7:8–16).” (64)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Craigie, Peter C. “Psalms 1-50” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 19 (Waco, Texas: Wordbooks, 1983).
Gerstenberger, Erhard S. “Psalms Part 1 with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry” Forms of Old Testament Literature (Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988).
Photo taken from http://jewelsoflifephotography.com/index2/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Baby-C-BW.jpg

Psalms 1 – “Didactic Psalm: The Righteous and the Wicked”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The righteous are blessed but the wicked are doomed.

II. Photo
The psalmist praises the righteous: “He is like a tree planted beside streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, whose foliage never fades, and whatever it produces thrives.” (v. 3)

III. Select Verses
(The entire chapter)
1-3: Happy is the man who has not followed the counsel of the wicked, or taken the path of sinners, or joined the company of the insolent; rather, the teaching of the LORD is his delight, and he studies that teaching day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, whose foliage never fades, and whatever it produces thrives.
4-5: Not so the wicked; rather, they are like chaff that wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment, nor will sinners, in the assembly of the righteous.
6: For the LORD cherishes the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.

IV. Outline
1-3. Beatitude for the just man
4-5. Denunciation for the wicked man
6. Summary statement

V. Comment
Collins makes two interesting points in his introduction to Psalms, and the first has to do with the name of the book: “The name ‘Psalms’ is derived from the Greek Psalmoi (Latin Psalmi), from the verb psallo, to sing to the accompaniment of a harp or lyre. In Hebrew tradition the book is called tehillim, ‘praises.’ The root word, hll, is reflected in the acclamation ‘Hallelujah,’ which in the Hebrew Bible occurs only in the Psalter, at the beginning or end of several psalms. The closest Hebrew equivalent for ‘psalm’ is mizmor, which occurs fifty-seven times. Individual psalms are also called shir (song) or even tephillah (prayer), among other terms, some of which are no longer intelligible, such as miktam.” (461)

The second point describes the shape of the book: “The book of Psalms as found in the Hebrew Bible is divided into five books: 1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150. Each book ends with a doxology, or short hymn of praise: 41:13; 72:20; 89:52; 106:48. Psalm 150 is a doxology in its entirety, to mark the end of the Psalter… Nonetheless, there is evidence that this arrangement of the Psalms was made at a relatively late time. One indication of this is the presence of several smaller clusters that reflect earlier groupings of psalms, such as the Psalms of Asaph and of the Korahites, noted above, or the ‘Songs of Ascent’ (130-134). In the first book (1-41), all but 1, 2, 10, and 33 have superscriptions that mention David. Another cluster of psalms with Davidic superscriptions is found in Psalms 51-70 (of which only 66-67 are exceptions). Moreover, Psalm 72 is followed by an epilogue, which says that the prayers of David, son of Jesse, are ended. This statement would seem to mark the end of an earlier collection. Psalms 42-83 (that is, the second book and most of the third) are sometimes called the Elohistic Psalter, since in these psalms God is called ‘elohim  more than four times as often as YHWH, whereas the latter name predominates in the rest of the Psalter by a ration of better than 2:1. It should be noted that this Elohistic Psalter overlaps the second and third books of the canonical collection.” (462)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Gerstenberger, Erhard S. “Psalms Part 1 with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry” Forms of Old Testament Literature (Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988).
Photo taken from http://media.photobucket.com/image/tree%20river%20water/marshbotany/_MG_3538_DxO_RAW2copypop.jpg

Malachi 3 – “Cleansing the People”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God will purge the people of their sins, reward them if they act righteously, and send Elijah to announce the Day of the Lord.

II. Photo
God’s messenger will purge the people of their sins: “He shall act like a smelter and purger of silver; and he shall purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they shall present offerings in righteousness.” (v. 3)

III. Select Verses
1-3: Behold, I am sending My messenger to clear the way before Me, and the Lord whom you seek shall come to His Temple suddenly. As for the angel of the covenant that you desire, he is already coming. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can hold out when he appears? For he is like a smelter’s fire and like fuller’s lye. He shall act like a smelter and purger of silver; and he shall purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they shall present offerings in righteousness.
8: Ought man to defraud God? Yet you are defrauding Me. And you ask, “How have we been defrauding You?” In tithe and contribution.
10: Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, and let there be food in My House, and thus put Me to the test — said the LORD of Hosts. I will surely open the floodgates of the sky for you and pour down blessings on you
13-15: You have spoken hard words against Me — said the LORD. But you ask, “What have we been saying among ourselves against You?” You have said, “It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His charge and walking in abject awe of the LORD of Hosts? And so, we account the arrogant happy: they have indeed done evil and endured; they have indeed dared God and escaped.”
22: Be mindful of the Teaching of My servant Moses, whom I charged at Horeb with laws and rules for all Israel.
23: Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the LORD.

IV. Outline
1. Announcement: God’s messenger is coming
2-3. The messenger will purge the people
4. The people will return to days of old
5. God will purge the people
6-7a. God urges the people to return to him
7b-12. God urges the people to bring the tithe
13-15. A common belief: serving God is worthless
16-21. God will repay those who worship him
22. Exhortation regarding Moses’ law
23-24. Elijah will come before the Day of the Lord

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Smith, Ralph L. “Micah – Malachi” World Biblical Commentary v. 32 (Word Books: 1984).
Photo taken from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/newton/images/alch-pouringhotliquid-l.jpg

Malachi 2 – “Dishonorable Priests; National Infidelity”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God denounces the priests for their behavior and criticizes the people for national infidelity.

II. Photo
A priest has a lofty role: “For the lips of a priest guard knowledge, and men seek rulings from his mouth.” (v. 7a)

III. Select Verses
1-2a: And now, O priests, this charge is for you: Unless you obey and unless you lay it to heart, and do honor to My name — said the LORD of Hosts — I will send a curse and turn your blessings into curses.
4-7:  Know, then, that I have sent this charge to you that My covenant with Levi may endure — said the LORD of Hosts. I had with him a covenant of life and well-being, which I gave to him, and of reverence, which he showed Me. For he stood in awe of My name. Proper rulings were in his mouth, And nothing perverse was on his lips; He served Me with complete loyalty And held the many back from iniquity. For the lips of a priest guard knowledge, And men seek rulings from his mouth; For he is a messenger of the LORD of Hosts.
11-12: Judah has broken faith; abhorrent things have been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned what is holy to the LORD — what He desires — and espoused daughters of alien gods.  May the LORD leave to him who does this no descendants dwelling in the tents of Jacob and presenting offerings to the LORD of Hosts.
13: And this you do as well: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, weeping, and moaning, so that He refuses to regard the oblation any more and to accept what you offer.

IV. Outline
1-3. God demands respect from the priests
4-5. The covenant with Levi
6-7. The righteousness of the priests
8-9. The priests have changed their ways
10-12. The people have betrayed each other and the temple
13-17. The people have betrayed and angered God

V. Comment
Chapter 2 can be broken into two sections: vv. 1-9 describe the covenant of the priests, and vv. 10-17 describe the people’s betrayal. Verse 4 mentions the “covenant of Levi” – what exactly was this covenant? Collins writes: “There is no account of such a covenant in the Hebrew Bible. Its existence may have been inferred from the blessing of Levi in Deut 33:9-11, which says that the Levites ‘observed your word, and kept your covenant.’ That passage goes on to speak of the teaching role of the Levites, as does Mal 2:6. There is a perpetual covenant with Phinehas in Numbers 25. Jeremiah 33:21 speaks of ‘my covenant with my ministers the Levites,’ which cannot be broken, just like the covenant with David. Nehemiah 13:29 refers to the ‘covenant of the priests and the Levites.’ From the last two passages it seems that by the Persian period there was believed to be a covenant with Levi, or the Levites, even if it was not explicitly narrated in the Hebrew Bible. Malachi is insistent that this is a conditional covenant that requires reverence and fidelity on the part of the priests. Here again he is not questioning the importance of the priesthood or the sacrificial cult, but he is holding them to a highere standard than was observed in Jersualem in his time.” (416-417)

In regards to the second section of this chapter, Collins writes: “[Verses] 2:10-16 is the most difficult passage in Malachi, and one of the most difficult in all the Hebrew Bible… Judah, we are told, has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, and ‘married the daughter of a foreign god.’ Some scholars take ‘the daughter of a foreign god’ to be a goddess. The mention of foreign god implies some involvement in pagan worship. The usual view of commentators is that the passage refers to marriage with foreign women, a problem that figures prominently in the book of Ezra. Those who married foreign women were likely to gives some recognition to the religious practices of their wives (cf. the story of Solomon in 1 Kgs 11:1-8). IT is clear from the passage that the offenders had not abandoned the worship of [the Lord] but were engaging in syncretistic, or mixed, worship.” (417)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Smith, Ralph L. “Micah – Malachi” World Biblical Commentary v. 32 (Word Books: 1984).
Photo taken from http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/images/CKJ60003.JPG

Malachi 1 – “Jacob, Not Esau; Unfit Sacrifice”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God proclaims his favoritism for Jacob (Israel) over Esau (Edom) and lambastes the people for bringing unfit sacrifices.

II. Photo
God rejects Esau: “I have made his hills a desolation, his territory a home for the jackals of the desert.” (v. 3b)

III. Select Verses
2-3: I have shown you love, said the LORD. But you ask, “How have You shown us love?” After all — declares the LORD — Esau is Jacob’s brother; yet I have accepted Jacob and have rejected Esau. I have made his hills a desolation, his territory a home for beasts of the desert.
6-8: A son should honor his father, and a slave his master. Now if I am a father, where is the honor due Me? And if I am a master, where is the reverence due Me? — said the LORD of Hosts to you, O priests who scorn My name. But you ask, “How have we scorned Your name?” You offer defiled food on My altar. But you ask, “How have we defiled You?” By saying, “The table of the LORD can be treated with scorn.” When you present a blind animal for sacrifice — it doesn’t matter! When you present a lame or sick one — it doesn’t matter! Just offer it to your governor: Will he accept you? Will he show you favor? — said the LORD of Hosts.
14: A curse on the cheat who has an [unblemished] male in his flock, but for his vow sacrifices a blemished animal to the LORD! For I am a great King — said the LORD of Hosts — and My name is revered among the nations.

IV. Outline
1. Introduction
2-5. God blesses Jacob and curses Esau
6-14. Diatribe for bringing unfit sacrifices

V. Comment
There is a debate whether Malachi, the twelfth book of the Twelve Minor Prophets, was originally conceived as a discrete book. This debate stems from the fact that its introductory phrase, “A pronouncement: The word of the Lord to Israel,” only occurs three times in the Hebrew Bible, and the other two are at the end of the previous book (Zechariah 9:1, 12:1). Thus, according to some scholars, there were three anonymous oracles appended to the book of Zechariah, and Malachi was the last of them.

What about the name “Malachi”? There is no conclusive evidence here either. Andrew Hill writes: “As a proper name Malachi may be translated “my messenger” or “my angel” (cf. Zech 1:9, 11), though context militates against the latter. Several commentators have espoused the view that Malachi is indeed a proper name. Still others suggest that the name is a shortened form of Malachiah, meaning “Yah(weh) is my messenger” or “Yah(weh) is an angel.” While highly irregular, this is not impossible given the unusual revelatory ministry of the angel of the Lord in the OT (cf. Judg 13:18; 1 Chr 21:18; Zech 1:11; 3:5; 12:8).“” (5:477)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Hill, Andrew. “Malachi, Book of” Anchor Bible Dictionary, 5:477.
Smith, Ralph L. “Micah – Malachi” World Biblical Commentary v. 32 (Word Books: 1984).
Photo taken from http://cdn.fotocommunity.com/Namibia/Etosha/Jackals-in-Love-a19160704.jpg

Zechariah 14 – “An Eschatological Vision”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Zechariah predicts a time when God will perform miracles, destroy Israel’s enemies, and be worshiped by the nations in Jerusalem.

II. Photo
Zechariah has a prediction: “In that day, there shall be neither sunlight nor moonlight, but there shall be a continuous day.” (v. 6)

III. Select Verses
1-2: Lo, a day of the LORD is coming when your spoil shall be divided in your very midst! For I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for war: The city shall be captured, the houses plundered, and the women violated; and a part of the city shall go into exile. But the rest of the population shall not be uprooted from the city.
3-5: Then the LORD will come forth and make war on those nations as He is wont to make war on a day of battle. On that day, He will set His feet on the Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall split across from east to west, and one part of the Mount shall shift to the north and the other to the south, a huge gorge. And the Valley in the Hills shall be stopped up, for the Valley of the Hills shall reach only to Azal; it shall be stopped up as it was stopped up as a result of the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. — And the LORD my God, with all the holy beings, will come to you.
6-7: In that day, there shall be neither sunlight nor cold moonlight, but there shall be a continuous day — only the Lord knows when — of neither day nor night, and there shall be light at eventide.
16-17: All who survive of all those nations that came up against Jerusalem shall make a pilgrimage year by year to bow low to the King LORD of Hosts and to observe the Feast of Booths. Any of the earth’s communities that does not make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to bow low to the King LORD of Hosts shall receive no rain.

IV. Outline
1-2. Jerusalem will be plundered
3. God’s approach
4-5. The splitting of the Mount of Olives
6-8. Supernatural events
9. God’s dominion
10-11. Jerusalem’s security
12-15. A plague will defeat Jerusalem’s enemies
16-19. The nations must worship God in Jerusalem
20-21. Everything in Jerusalem will be consecrated to God.

V. Comment
The book of Zechariah ends with an apocalyptic vision. As was noted in the comment to the previous chapter, the nature of prophecy changes with the onset of the postexilic period. Collins writes: “This concluding oracle [= Zechariah 14] is in some ways typical of the anonymous oracles that have survived from the Second Temple period. Increasingly, these oracles are concerned not with the events of the time when they were composed but with the final resolution of history, the end of days. They reflect the dissonance between the glorious promises of the Scriptures and the diminished existence of Judah under the Persians and later the Greeks, and a yearning for a time when the kingship of [the God] of Israel would be revealed in all its splendor. Such oracles are sometimes called ‘proto-apocalyptic,’ and they bear some resemblance to apocalyptic visions.” (415) In other words, prophets begin to speak about major upheavals in the natural world, not specific events or miracles.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Smith, Ralph L. “Micah – Malachi” World Biblical Commentary v. 32 (Word Books: 1984).
Photo taken from http://files.myopera.com/J-G/albums/572881/yellow_sky.jpg

Zechariah 13 – “The End of Prophecy”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God will purge the false prophets from the land.

II. Photo
Jerusalem is blessed: “In that day a fountain shall be open to the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for purging and cleansing.” (v. 1)

III. Select Verses
1: In that day a fountain shall be open to the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for purging and cleansing.
2a: In that day, too — declares the LORD of Hosts — I will erase the very names of the idols from the land; they shall not be uttered any more.
2b-6: And I will also make the “prophets” and the unclean spirit vanish from the land.  If anyone “prophesies” thereafter, his own father and mother, who brought him into the world, will say to him, “You shall die, for you have lied in the name of the LORD”; and his own father and mother, who brought him into the world, will put him to death when he “prophesies.” In that day, every “prophet” will be ashamed of the “visions” [he had] when he “prophesied.” In order to deceive, he will not wear a hairy mantle, and he will declare, “I am not a ‘prophet’; I am a tiller of the soil; you see, I was plied with the red stuff from my youth on.” And if he is asked, “What are those sores on your back?” he will reply, “From being beaten in the homes of my friends.”
8: Throughout the land — declares the LORD — Two-thirds shall perish, shall die, And one-third of it shall survive.

IV. Outline
1. A fountain of purity for Jerusalem
2a. Removing idolatry
2b-6. The end of false prophecy
7-9. Oracle: God will punish Israel’s leaders and purge the people of sin

V. Comment
Verses 2b-6, which speak about the end of prophecy, highlight the changing nature of prophecy in Ancient Israel. Prophecies became eschatological (concerned with the distant future, not the present) and were attributed to prophets of bygone eras. Barton writes: “[In the postexilic period any prophet] who believed that God had spoken to him was obliged to dress his message up as the utterance of some ancient prophets, speaking in the time before “the spirit departed from Israel,” as the Talmud expresses it. This is undoubtedly part of the reason for the pseudonymity of apocalyptic works; and it no doubt also explains some of the more improbable additions to the prophetic books, such as those which imply that Isaiah addressed the problems of the Babylonian or Persian periods, or that Zechariah was interested in the Greeks. There is, however, little evidence that prophecy did in fact die out… But the forms of expression did change significantly, and postexilic prophets often expressed their oracles as additions to existing collections, or even as whole new works falsely attributed to figures from the past, rather than speaking in their own persons as earlier prophets had done.” (495)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Barton, John. “Prophecy” Anchor Bible Dictionary, 5:495.
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Smith, Ralph L. “Micah – Malachi” World Biblical Commentary v. 32 (Word Books: 1984).
Photo taken from http://newsletter.herrerainc.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/_small_water_drops1.jpg

Zechariah 12 – “Jerusalem Protected”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God will protect Jerusalem from its foes.

II. Photo
Jerusalem will mourn its enemy: “They shall lament to me about those who are slain, wailing over them as over a favorite son and showing bitter grief as over a first-born.” (v. 10b)

III. Select Verses
3-6: when all the nations of the earth gather against her. In that day, I will make Jerusalem a stone for all the peoples to lift; all who lift it shall injure themselves. In that day — declares the LORD — I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. But I will watch over the House of Judah while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. And the clans of Judah will say to themselves, “The dwellers of Jerusalem are a task set for us by their God, the LORD of Hosts.” In that day, I will make the clans of Judah like a flaming brazier among sticks and like a flaming torch among sheaves. They shall devour all the besieging peoples right and left; and Jerusalem shall continue on its site, in Jerusalem.
7: The LORD will give victory to the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the House of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be too great for Judah.
10: But I will fill the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem with a spirit of pity and compassion; and they shall lament to Me about those who are slain, wailing over them as over a favorite son and showing bitter grief as over a first-born.

IV. Outline
1. Introduction
2-6. God will protect Jerusalem from its besiegers
7. Glory for Judah, apart from Jerusalem
8. Glory for the house of David
9-14. Judah will mourn its enemy’s loss

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Smith, Ralph L. “Micah – Malachi” World Biblical Commentary v. 32 (Word Books: 1984).
Photo taken from http://www.pbase.com/image/128572447/original.jpg

Zechariah 11 – “Israel’s Worthless Leaders”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Zechariah laments the ravaged landscape and condemns the wicked “shepherds” of Israel.

II. Photo
Zechariah laments: “Throw open your gates, O Lebanon, and let fire consume your cedars!” (v. 1)

III. Select Verses
3: Hark, the wailing of the shepherds, For their rich pastures are ravaged; Hark, the roaring of the great beasts, For the jungle of the Jordan is ravaged.
4-5: Thus said my God the LORD: Tend the sheep meant for slaughter, whose buyers will slaughter them with impunity, whose seller will say, “Praised be the LORD! I’ll get rich,” and whose shepherd will not pity them.
6: For I will pity the inhabitants of the land no more — declares the LORD — but I will place every man at the mercy of every other man and at the mercy of his king; they shall break the country to bits, and I will not rescue it from their hands.
7: So I tended the sheep meant for slaughter, for those poor men of the sheep. I got two staffs, one of which I named Favor and the other Unity, and I proceeded to tend the sheep.
10:  Taking my staff Favor, I cleft it in two, so as to annul the covenant I had made with all the peoples;
14: Then I cleft in two my second staff, Unity, in order to annul the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
17: Oh, the worthless shepherd Who abandons the flock! Let a sword descend upon his arm And upon his right eye! His arm shall shrivel up; His right eye shall go blind.

IV. Outline

1-3. Lament for the landscape
4-6. Oracle: Condemning the pastoral economy
7-17. Metaphor: Condemnation of Israel’s “shepherds”
    7. Zechariah’s two staffs: “pleasantness” and “unity”   
    8-9. Zechariah sends off the shepherds
    10-11. Zechariah breaks the staff of pleasantness
    12-13. The shepherds pay Zechariah who pays the temple
    14. Zechariah grabs the staff of unity to destroy it
    15-16. Metaphor: God tells Zechariah to dress like a crazed shepherd
    17. Curse for the wicked shepherd

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Smith, Ralph L. “Micah – Malachi” World Biblical Commentary v. 32 (Word Books: 1984).
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