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4. Connections Between Sections ofZechariah 1-14 257
an allusion to Moses' bringing water from the rock (Exod. 17.6;
Num. 20.7-11).
This seems better, therefore, than the more usual translation 'eyes':
'... on one stone seven eyes... remove the guilt... in one day'. 1
If this is right, it would then make for a strong link with the picture
in 13.1, 'On that day there will be a fountain ("npn) opened for the
house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for
uncleanness'. Zech. 12.4 would then have double significance: 'I will
open my eyes' as the basic meaning but resonating with the 'spring'
imagery. Also note that an important feature of Zechariah 14 is the
D^ttfrr D"n D'D (note the triple rhyme here, which is very noticeable in
public reading).
However, we must face the question of the meaning of 4.10b, and
its relation to 3.9. The natural interpretation, favoured by most
scholars, is that the 'seven' referred to are the lamps of v. 2, about
which the prophet has apparently asked. Baldwin objects that this
makes the two anointed supply oil to Yahweh, 'an interpretation which
is quite untenable'. Her solution is to refer it to the springs of 3.9 and
translate: 'These seven are the springs of the Lord; they flow out over
the whole earth'. 2
In the text as it stands, the distance between the question in v. 4 and
the answer in v. lOb, makes it possible to think of both 'seven's mentioned
previously. Could it be that this was one of the purposes of the
insertion? The whole matter is complicated by the different redaction
histories that might be proposed. For, if we consider 4.1-6a + 10b-14,
the reference is clear and unambiguous. If vv. 6b-10a are added
before 3.9 (probably 3.8-10), then the reference is not so clear, but is
still unambiguous. When 3.9 is added, with its explicit mention of
'eyes', then the reference is no longer clear.
It seems plausible that the intention of the final editor of Zechariah
3-4 was that the seven 'eyes' and seven lamps should be linked
together, and that the ideas of cleansing (3.9, cf. vv. 3-5) and blessing
la fin du meme verset. Les deux locutions sont presque synonymes: "en meme temps",
"enunjour" ' (p. 26). Cf. Baldwin,Haggai,Zechariah,Malachi,pp. 117-18.
1. Cf. Rudolph, Haggai, pp. 98, 101-103.
2. Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 123. If v. 12 is treated as a later insertion,
the argument becomes less persuasive. For a useful, open discussion, see
R.L. Smith, Nahum-Malachi, pp. 203-205.