Zechariah, a contemporary of Haggai, lived in the time of the Persian King Darius I and encouraged the restored Judean community to rebuild the Temple. In chapters 1 through 8, through a series of symbolic visions explained to him by an angel, the prophet assured the people that they would succeed in the rebuilding, that God would return to Jerusalem and would bring the scattered exiles back and settle them in the Holy Land in peace and prosperity. According to Zechariah, many nations will come and worship Israel’s God and become his people; the governor, Zerubbabel, and the priest, Joshua, will lead the people; a “branch” (perhaps Zerubbabel) from the line of David will rule as king; and the fast days that commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem will become joyous festivals. Chapters 9–14 contain pronouncements (possibly from a different prophet or prophets) that envision the future culminating in God’s defeat of the enemy nations, rule by the House of David, the end of idolatry, and universal worship of the Lord alone in Jerusalem. The visions in these chapters influenced the growth of apocalyptic literature.
Across a red horizon evening descends
In the breeze treetops tremble and sway
As we sit around the campfire and tell
Of a Palmach man, Dudu was his name
He was with us on long exhausting treks
We…
This poster was created for Komar and Melamid’s We Buy and Sell Souls, a conceptual art project the Soviet artists launched soon after their emigration to the United States. They formed a corporation…
What more can I add? Will I tell my readers about the disreputable attributes that prevail among those coming from exile, about gratuitous hatred, discord, vain squabbles over a place in the synagogue…