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Zechariah

About this book
Chapter 2

1 I looked again, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.⁠ 2 I asked, “Where are you going?” He replied, “To measure Jerusalem in order to determine its width and its length.” 3 At this point the angelic messenger who spoke to me went out, and another messenger came to meet him 4 and said to him, “Hurry, speak to this young man as follows: ‘Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls because of the multitude of people and animals there. 5 But I,’ the Lord says, ‘will be a wall of fire surrounding Jerusalem and the source of glory in her midst.’” 6 “You there! Flee from the northland!” says the Lord, “for like the four winds of heaven I have scattered you,” says the Lord.⁠ 7 “Escape, Zion, you who live among the Babylonians!” 8 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “For his own glory he has sent me to the nations that plundered you—for⁠ anyone who touches you touches the pupil of his eye.⁠ 9 Yes, look here, I am about to punish them so that they will be looted by their own slaves.” Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. 10 “Sing out and be happy, Zion my daughter! For look, I have come; I will settle in your midst,” says the Lord.⁠ 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, and they will also be my people.⁠ Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of Judah as his portion in the holy land and he will choose Jerusalem once again. 13 Be silent in the Lord’s presence, all people everywhere, for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place.”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 14:1 and Zechariah 2:11

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Zechariah uses similar language found in Isaiah that describes foreign nations joining Israel. Both describe a future where outsiders become a part of God's people, with Zechariah broadening the scope to include all the nations.

Passages

Isaiah 14:1

Hebrew Bible
1 The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob; he will again choose Israel as his special people and restore them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family of Jacob. 2 Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Israel will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord’s land. They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them. 3 When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety and from the hard labor that you were made to perform,
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Zechariah 2:11

Hebrew Bible
10 “Sing out and be happy, Zion my daughter! For look, I have come; I will settle in your midst,” says the Lord. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, and they will also be my people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of Judah as his portion in the holy land and he will choose Jerusalem once again. 13 Be silent in the Lord’s presence, all people everywhere, for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place.”
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zechariah

References

"... The verb in niphal ('join, attach oneself) occurs in the Old Testament 12 times, including Isaiah 14:1 and Zechariah 2:15. The subject is ('foreigner') in Isaiah and ('many nations') in Zechariah. Moreover, according to Isaiah 14:1 Yahweh will elect Israel, whereas in Zechariah 2:16 he will elect Jerusalem. The phrases are otherwise identical ..."
Risto Nurmela, “The Growth of the Book of Isaiah Illustrated by Allusions in Zechariah,” in Bringing Out the Treasure: Inner Biblical Allusion in Zechariah 9–14, ed. Mark J. Boda and Michael H. Floyd, JSOTSup 370 (London: Sheffield Academic, 2003), 249.

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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Isaiah 14:1 and Zechariah 2:11

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