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Zechariah

About this book
Chapter 14

1 A day of the Lord is about to come when your possessions will be divided as plunder in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to wage war; the city will be taken, its houses plundered, and the women raped.⁠ Then half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be taken away. 3 Then the Lord will go to battle and fight against those nations, just as he fought battles in ancient days.⁠ 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives that lies to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, leaving a great valley. Half the mountain will move northward and the other half southward.⁠ 5 Then you will escape through my mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. Indeed, you will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come with all his holy ones with him.⁠ 6 On that day there will be no light—the sources of light in the heavens will congeal. 7 It will happen in one day—a day known to the Lord—not in the day or the night, but in the evening there will be light.⁠ 8 Moreover, on that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem,⁠ half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea;⁠ it will happen both in summer and in winter.⁠ 9 The Lord will then be king over all the earth. In that day the Lord will be seen as one with a single name. 10 All the land will change and become like the rift valley from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be raised up and will stay in its own place from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate and on to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. 11 And people will settle there, and there will no longer be the threat of divine extermination—Jerusalem will dwell in security.⁠ 12 But this will be the nature of the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will decay while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot away in their sockets, and their tongues will dissolve in their mouths. 13 On that day there will be great confusion from the Lord among them; they will seize each other and attack one another violently. 14 Moreover, Judah will fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered up—gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance. 15 This is the kind of plague that will devastate horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in those camps. 16 Then all who survive from all the nations that came to attack Jerusalem will go up annually to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to observe the Feast of Shelters.⁠ 17 But if any of the nations anywhere on earth refuse to go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, they will get no rain. 18 If the Egyptians will not do so, they will get no rain—instead there will be the kind of plague that the Lord inflicts on any nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Shelters. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Shelters. 20 On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription “Holy to the Lord.” The cooking pots in the Lord’s temple will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar. 21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will become holy in the sight of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, so that all who offer sacrifices may come and use some of them to boil their sacrifices in them. On that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Texts in conversation

Compare Zechariah 14:16 and Galatians 4:10

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

In Galatians, Paul warns the Gentiles that following the Jewish festival calendar is like slavery. This is in tension with prophets like Zechariah, which describes a future where the nations follow that calendar and those who don't are punished.

Passages

Zechariah 14:16

Hebrew Bible
15 This is the kind of plague that will devastate horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in those camps. 16 Then all who survive from all the nations that came to attack Jerusalem will go up annually to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to observe the Feast of Shelters. 17 But if any of the nations anywhere on earth refuse to go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, they will get no rain. 18 If the Egyptians will not do so, they will get no rain—instead there will be the kind of plague that the Lord inflicts on any nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Shelters. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Shelters. 20 On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription “Holy to the Lord.” The cooking pots in the Lord’s temple will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zechariah

Galatians 4:10

New Testament
7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son, then you are also an heir through God. 8 Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all. 9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless basic forces? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? 10 You are observing religious days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you that my work for you may have been in vain. 12 I beg you, brothers and sisters, become like me, because I have become like you. You have done me no wrong!
48–55 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Galatians

References

“... Before returning to Yakov’s use of Amos 9:11–12, one other prophetic passage deserves consideration. Zechariah 14:16–19, one of the latest prophetic oracles in the Hebrew Bible, seems to combine the two traditions regarding the fate of the Gentiles. After detailing the defeat of the nations who had massed against Jerusalem in battle, the survivors of these nations will come to Jerusalem on a yearly basis to celebrate the Feast of Booths, or Succot. Those who do not come will be subjected to further discipline from Yahweh. The nations, however, will be involved in the worship of Yahweh, not on an equal basis with Israel, but clearly under the dominance of Israel. If worship is not rendered voluntarily, then the nations will be compelled to worship Yahweh, or at least, suffer the consequences for failing to do so. In this passage, Israelite dominance over the nations has been maintained, while integrating the idea of the nations worshipping together with Israel. What has changed is the depiction of the nations coming to Jerusalem uncoerced. ...”
Scott Langston, “Dividing it Right: Who is a Jew and What is a Christian?” in The Missing Jesus: Rabbinic Judaism and the New Testament, ed. Bruce Chilton, Craig A. Evans, and Jacob Neusner (Leiden: Brill Academic, 2002), 131.
“... In more polemical contexts, Paul seems to be alluding to Sabbath observance and does not appear to be in favour of it if it means placing too much emphasis on it in terms of salvation and identity: ‘Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again? You are observing special days, and months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted’ (Galatians 4.9–11). This may not be too far removed from the sentiments in Romans when Paul says that if it is to be observed in a Christian context it is done in honour of the Lord. But from this perspective, the importance of dedication to Sabbath observance has effectively been undermined as it is still no longer required. ...”
James G. Crossley, The New Testament and Jewish Law: A Guide for the Perplexed (London: T&T Clark International, 2010), 36.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Zechariah 14:16 and Galatians 4:10

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