Texts in Conversation
Jeremiah envisions a “branch” sprouting from the stump of a tree that represents the fallen Davidic line, an image of renewal after collapse. Zechariah reuses the same image to describe hope rising from the ruins of exile, portraying the “branch” as new growth from what seemed dead.
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Jeremiah 23:5
Hebrew Bible
3 Then I myself will regather those of my people who are still alive from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their homeland. They will greatly increase in number. 4 I will install rulers over them who will care for them. Then they will no longer need to fear or be terrified. None of them will turn up missing. I, the Lord, promise it! 5 “I, the Lord, promise that a new time will certainly come when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, a descendant of David. He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding and will do what is just and right in the land. 6 Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety and Israel will live in security. This is the name he will go by:‘The Lord has provided us with justice.’ 7 “So I, the Lord, say: ‘A new time will certainly come. People now affirm their oaths with, “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.”
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Zechariah 3:8
Hebrew Bible
6 Then the angel of the Lord exhorted Joshua solemnly: 7 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘If you follow my ways and keep my requirements, you will be able to preside over my temple and attend to my courtyards, and I will allow you to come and go among these others who are standing by you. 8 Listen now, Joshua the high priest, both you and your colleagues who are sitting before you, all of you are a symbol that I am about to introduce my servant, the Branch. 9 As for the stone I have set before Joshua—on the one stone there are seven eyes. I am about to engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 In that day,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘everyone will invite his friend to fellowship under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In Jeremiah 23:5–6, the Lord promises to raise up for David a righteous Branch. Since the previous chapter ends with a ringing declaration that no descendant of Jehoiachin would ever again sit on the throne of David, there is some reason to doubt whether the oracle in chapter 23 comes from Jeremiah. In any case, the reaffirmation of this prophecy in Jer 33:15–16 is clearly a secondary addition to the book, as it is not found in the Greek. When it was added, we do not know. There was a flurry of messianic excitement centered on Zerubbabel in the period of the restoration. Zerubbabel was proclaimed the fulfillment of the prophecy in Jeremiah, by Zechariah, (Zechariah 3:8; 6:12) and as YHWH’s signet ring by Haggai ..."
Collins, John J.
Jewish Cult and Hellenistic Culture: Essays on the Jewish Encounter with Hellenism and Roman Rule
(p. 60) Brill, 2005
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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