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208 Structure and the Book ofZechariah
If we keep the text as it is, the sub-divisions that we have discerned
are similar to those of scholars in general. Even those French scholars
who favour a structural approach agree on this.
Lamarche puts forward a more detailed plan, and is followed by
Lacocque: 1
I IF: Yahweh speech:
A Oppressed people are given a last chance, 4-5
B If they will not take it, will not spare them any more, 6
II A 1 Good shepherd sent to save the flock, 7-8a
a First staff broken, 8b-11
a' Second staff broken, 12-14
III B' The attempt having failed, Yahweh does not spare them; sends a bad
pastor, 15
b who brings misfortune on the flock, 16
b' and on himself, 17
In 13.7-9 he labels vv. 7-8 a, and v. 9 a' but without clear explanation.
He notes the interior parallelism of v. 9b: 'they will call...' // 'I
will answer'; and 'I will say...' // 'they will say'; and also the
exterior chiastic parallelism, as set out in the plan above.
On the whole Lamarche's plan seems to represent the sequence of
thought accurately, except that for 11.6 he adds an interpretation ('If
...' ) which is not in the text. The letters are not particularly helpful:
the headings he gives for vv. 8b-l 1 and 12-14 seem more related to B
than A. It will be of greater interest to examine his view of the overall
structure of Zechariah 9-14, which we shall do in Chapter 4.
The Meaning ofZechariah 11.4-17 + 13.7-9
In discussing the meaning of these sections, I hope that certain lines of
interpretation may be confirmed and, where certainty cannot be
obtained, alternative possibilities may be seen clearly. I cannot tackle
1. Lamarche, Zacharie 9-14, pp. 66-71; Lacocque (Amsler et a/., Agle,
Zecharie, Malachi, p. 172), keeps the basic plan unchanged. He also states that,
from the point of view of vocabulary, there are two pivotal verses, 7 and 14. They
have the following important elements. Verse 7: niruo—'run ponctue tout le
morceau'; nnnn ]W, juxn "jyp 1 ?; np«i; nV?pn; n«; D'"?an; 'le troupeau';
V. 14: JJ-UKI; '^pn; D'^an; -isrf?.
All of these except nmKi and D'^an are also found in v. 10, which suggests that
this also should be given pivotal status.