August 12, 2008

Zechariah and the Teacher of Righteousness

I am presently working on a chapter for my thesis where I explore the message of Zechariah 9-14 and its reception in Jewish Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity. Those who have worked through Zechariah will no doubt remember how difficult it is to interpret the text. This, however, didn't stop the early Christians from drawing upon it in quite significant ways for understanding Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection. There is a sense from these early Christians that the full meaning of the passage was unclear until the coming of Jesus Christ. For this reason I found the following quote so fascinating:

"The prophecy [of Zechariah] is very abstruse, for it contains visions resembling dreams which want interpreting; and we shall never be able to discover the true interpretation until the teacher of righteousness arrives." --Rashi (Jewish scholar, 1040-1105; taken from Jauhiainen, The Use of Zechariah in Revelation, 37)

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