Zechariah 12-14 is the second oracle of the second half of the
book of Zechariah. The first half of Zechariah contained eight
visions (Zechariah 1-6) and four messages (Zechariah 7-8). The
second half of Zechariah comes in the form of two oracles (the
Hebrew term only occurs in Zechariah 9:1, 12:1 and Malachi 1:1).
The first (Zechariah 9-11) promised a restored Israel—both Judah
and Ephraim—but delayed the promise due to the rejection of
Yahweh’s appointed shepherd. The second oracle (Zechariah 12-14)
envisions a bright future for Israel and uses apocalyptic
(eschatological) language to describe the day when God will
realize his promises for Israel. Zechariah 12-14 falls into two
halves with a transitional poem between them. The first half
(Zechariah 12:2-13:6) describes the triumph of Israel in the
wake of their mournful laments and their subsequent cleansing.
The second half (Zechariah 14) envisions a day of rejoicing when
even the nations of the earth will worship Yahweh and everything
will be inscribed “H