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

206 Structure and the Book ofZechariah
formula. This means that we should take vv. 7-11 as a subsection of
the narrative, and that the 'poor of the flock' or 'the traffickers in the
sheep' are used to form an inclusio for it. 'And they knew... word of
Yahweh' is a climax within the section, as we suspected it might be in
discussing individual repeated words.
The structure may therefore be set out:
11.4 Thus said Yahweh my God
Shepherd the sheep of slaughter
11.6 For 1 1 will cause each to fall
hand of his neighbour
11.7 And I shepherded the sheep of slaughter
]Ksn "^p 1 ?
I took. . .staffs. . .Grace. . .Union
And I shepherded the sheep
11.8 I destroyed (TO) three shepherds. ..
BUT mutual hostility (DBteVefcU)
11.9 And I said I will not shepherd you. ..
IPO. .. "7DR. .. "iftn each... of her neighbour
11.10 I took. .. staff. .. Grace. . .to annul covenant
11.11 it was annulled
jKjfn "» p. . .word of Yahweh
11.12-13 Andl said. .. thirty pieces of silver. .. potter
11.14 broke. . .Union. . .to annul brotherhood. ..
11.15 And Yahweh said to me
Again take implements of a shepherd, a/my foolish one
11.16 For behold I am raising up a shepherd in the land
who... nro... iton... bsK
1. The 'D of v. 6 is puzzling, since it suggests that the first purpose in the
prophet's becoming a shepherd is to do with God's judgment. The best way to
approach the problem is to recognize that v. 6 is theological interpretation, rather
than an integral part of the parable, and to consider the sheep-shepherd picture as a
whole on its own first. The situation is then clarified: become a good shepherd...
he does (cf. 'Grace' and 'Union'). He starts to give service to the sheep by removing
their bad leaders, but then gives up. We are meant to imagine the prophet within the picture
first of all, i.e. as a shepherd with sheep. We should not simply try to by-pass
this by interpreting the allegory. Verse 6, therefore, can be understood in this sense: act
out this situation because it represents that which I am bringing about in the land.