This week we are studying Zechariah 9. Three units make up the book of Zechariah: the vision sequence in chapters 1-6, the prophet’s answer to Bethel in chapters 7-8, and eschatological oracles in chapters 9-14.
I will get it out in the open. The oracles in the last six chapters of Zechariah are quite different than the first eight chapters. The writing style pivots and the focus changes. In Zechariah 1-8, he was concerned with the key issues of the day which were mainly the rebuilding of the Temple and the return of the exiles. Zechariah 9-14 are forward looking, anxious for the coming period of blessing in the messianic age. For that reason, those chapters are riddled with Messianic prophecies that became very relevant for the New Testament.
The first eight chapters name Zechariah’s historical contemporaries: Joshua, Zerubbabel, the exiles with the offerings, and the Bethel delegation. In Zechariah 9-14, the leadership is unnamed. They are merely corrupt shepherds.
The sudden shift in Zechariah 9 has led many scholars to theorize that the book of Zechariah has multiple authors and two different dates of composition. Zechariah, the historic postexilic prophet, likely wrote the first eight chapters and someone else added the last oracles later, perhaps one of his followers. Scholars refer to the author of Zechariah 9-14 as Second Zechariah. Some experts theorize that Jeremiah authored those chapters, especially since the gospel writer Matthew attributed the verses found in Zechariah 11:12-13 to the prophet Jeremiah.
