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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 Zechariah 2:8 and LXX Zechariah 2:12

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

Zechariah 2:8 reflects a scribal tradition known as “tiqqun soferim.” The Greek Septuagint preserves the original language, “the pupil of My eye,” and the Masoretic text changed it to “the pupil of his eye” to avoid giving God human features.

Passages

Zechariah 2:8

Hebrew Bible
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.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zechariah

LXX Zechariah 2:12

Septuagint
11 even to Zion: deliver yourselves, you that dwell with the daughter of Babylon. 12 For thus says the Lord Almighty; After the glory he has sent me to the nations that plundered you: for he that touches you is as one that touches the apple of [my] eye. 13 For, look, I bring my hand upon them, and they shall be plunder to those who serve them: and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Zechariah

References

"... A phenomenon that is remarkably similar to Isaiah 65:16 is found within the tradition of the tiqunne sopherim, where Zechariah 2:12 is given prominent attention ... The scribal and/or exegetical tradition that has issued in the tiqqune sopherim lists the underlined phrase as one of the 18 alleged euphemisms that conceal original readings that might have been offensive. In this case, the original reading is held to have been "my eye" That is, the final stich of this verse was considered by the scribes to have been included within the divine speech which begins at 2:9 [English 2:5].)' would then have referred to the Lord's eye. According to this tradition, an emendation has avoided such an anthropomorphic self-description ... This brief discussion of Zechariah 2:12 has treated exclusively of the Hebrew textual tradition of that verse. The same clause in the best manuscripts of LXX Zechariah 2:13 agrees with the 'corrected' Masoretic text. The point of contact with LXX Isaiah 65:16 remains solely at the conceptual level ..."
David A. Baer, When We All Go Home: Translation and Theology in LXX Isaiah 56–66, JSOTSup 318 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 2001), 144–145.
"... Rabbinic literature makes reference to תיקוני סופרים, literally scribal corrections (of the Bible). Different works of classical rabbinic literature have different lists of these “scribal corrections,” totaling between 7 and 18, from all over Tanach, including three verses from the Torah (Genesis 18:22, and Numbers 11:15 and 12:12). What did the rabbis mean when they claimed that a phrase in a biblical verse was a “scribal correction”? The Scribes Changed the Words The simplest understanding is that the scribes of rabbinic times changed the wording of various verses in the Bible. Touching God’s Eye For example, in Zechariah, God is quoted as saying: “Whoever touches you touches the pupil of his own eye.” A number of rabbinic texts claim that the uncorrected wording was actually: “Whoever touches you touches the pupil of My [= God’s!] eye.” Midrash Tanhuma calls this “a scribal correction [made] by the Men of the Great Assembly”. Writing in the Jewish Study Bible, Ehud Ben Zvi paraphrases this rabbinic comment: “The original text read, ‘the pupil of My own eye,’ and was changed by the soferim (scribes) so as to avoid the obvious anthropomorphism” ..."
Marty Lockshin, Tikkunei Soferim and the Ironic Emendation of Rashi’s Interpretation (TheTorah.com, 2015), 1–7.

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 2:8 and LXX Zechariah 2:12

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