130. - Collection Point® | The Total Digital Asset Management System

3. The Structure of Individual Sections of Zechariah 121
seems unlikely, but we need to ask why this strange verse has been
inserted, and whether the connections it has with other parts of the
book are significant: T3 (v. lOa); nnr (v. 2; 6.11; 13.9; 14.14). The
structure may be set out as follows:
Description of the Vision
('angel who spoke with me' prominent)
Seven lamps. .. Dl
Two olive trees D2
Questioning (ambiguous; assumed to be about '7') Ql
Delay
Counter-question CQ
Long interruption f • • • ]
Answer
Answer to Ql (with respect to the '7') Al
Question (about the '2'; elaborated) Q2
(Wording of v. lib very close to v. 3)
Delay
Counter-question CQ
Answer to Q2 (with respect to the '2') A2
This is not a surprising result. Rather, it confirms that our method
does reveal and confirm patterns that could be detected by the more
traditional methods of OT scholarship. We have not relied on subjective
labelling, nor the selection of certain words as significant at the
expense of others. This is the pattern that is actually there in the text,
and it seems very likely that the author intended it.
We may ask about the purpose of the insertion. Why was it
inserted? Why was it inserted herel Could it have been by the author
himself? These questions will be taken up after discussion of the
middle section itself.
Zechariah 4.6ap-10aa
The words occurring twice or more may be summarized as follows.
'D occurs in 7.1 and 10.2. We cannot make much of this, but see
above (nn).
nr may be ignored. The first instance begins a sentence which makes
it prominent, but the second is simply an adjective 'this house' (9.5).
mrv occurs once on its own as part of the stereotyped expression