Zechariah 14:1–5 and Mark 13:14–23

The oracles in Zech 13 and 14 may be read together as Zech 14:1 is contiguous with Zech 13:9; additionally, the two passages are linked by catchword associations. For example, “that day” is used three times in Zech 13314 _{and eight times in Zech 14.}315 _{Moreover, the specific oracles in question (Zech} 13:7–9 and 14:1–5) are linked by תרכ, ἐξολεθρεύω, used in both Zech 13:8 and 14:2. I argue that the sequence of events in Zech 14 is replicated in Jesus’ warnings and imperatives in Mark 13:14–23, often with lexical manifestations. I examine the following elements from Mark, arguing that they depend on the logic and lexical data from Zech 14: 1) the Markan subtext of an attack on Jerusalem; 2) the flight to the mountains; 3) the danger to houses and women; and 4) the pseudoprophets. I begin with the attack on Jerusalem.

As already argued, the controlling subtext of Mark 13:14–23 is a military attack upon Jerusalem and the consequent afflictions. This point is widely accepted among Mark scholars.316 _{In favor of that} view are the following: 1) the nature of Jesus’ injunctions suggests the approach of an external danger that threatens physical safety, and a flight from Judea/Jerusalem indicates the danger is localized there; 2) the wording of the prophecy, specifically, the prediction of the stone walls being “destroyed”

(καταλυθῇ) suggests a violent attack; 3) the context of the utilized Daniel texts suggests militaristic conflict, as the “abomination” in Daniel unambiguously leads to war; 4) the topic of the temple’s destruction also suggests that Jerusalem is in danger, as it is the location of the temple.

313 _{So Lambrecht 1967, 172; Pesch 1968, 156; Stein 2008, 607. Marcus (2009, 903) calls it a “partial inclusion . . .}

with the disciples’ question in 13:4.” Presumably Marcus calls it “partial” because he believes the “fulfillment of all these things” in the question entails the parousia.

314 _{Zech 13:1, 2, 4.}

315 _{Zech 14:4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 20, 21.}

162 This subtext of war from Mark 13:14–23 corresponds to the context of Zech 14, which declares that “all the nations” will be gathered against Jerusalem for battle (המחלמל; εἰς πόλεμον).317 _{Thus both} contexts depict a successful attack on Jerusalem by gentiles. Each passage also insists that this attack is a part of the divine plan. Mark 13 undoubtedly indicates that it is one of the things that “must happen” (δεῖ γενέσθαι), while Zech 14 declares that it is God himself who gathers the nations to battle

Jerusalem.318 _{Additionally, both passages indicate that the losses will be great, but that “the Lord” is} ultimately in control. While Zech 14:3 says that “the Lord” (הוהי; κύριος) will fight for Jerusalem when it is attacked, Mark 13:20 teaches that “the Lord” (κύριος) will shorten “those days” of tribulation so as to save some. Furthermore, “the days” (τὰς ἡμέρας) of tribulation that the Lord will shorten in Mark 13 may correspond to Zech 14:1’s announcement that the coming “days” (ἡμέραι) of tribulation are “of the Lord” (הוהיל; κυρίου), similarly indicating the Lord’s direction of the events.319 _{The term κύριος is too} common to argue for Mark’s dependence upon Zech 14 for it, but it is nonetheless noteworthy that both passages mention the saving action of “the Lord” in conjunction with an attack on Jerusalem.

Furthermore, at this point it is crucial to remember that the discourse’s setting upon the Mount of Olives alludes to Zech 14:4, indicating Mark’s use of the passage when constructing this scene. The latter point suggests the correspondences are not coincidental.320

I move now to the specific imperatives and threats in light of the attack. In Mark 13:14–17, Jesus declares that at the presence of the abomination of desolation, those in Judea should flee to the

mountains; those on the housetops should not enter their houses to gather materials; those in the fields

317 _{Zech 14:2.}

318 _{See Mark 13:7 and Zech 14:2.}

319 _{Mark 13:20 and Zech 14:1.}

320 _{The Lukan version of this material also contains correspondences with Zech 14. Where Luke seems to “clarify”}

Mark, the resultant language appears to derive from Zech 14. For example, instead of the phrase “abomination of desolation,” Luke says, “Jerusalem surrounded by armies” (κυκλουμένην ὑπὸ στραταπέδων Ἰερουσαλήμ). Similarly, Zech 14:12, which recounts the attack on Jerusalem by “all the nations” from Zech 14:1–3, declares that the Lord will strike “all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem” (ὅσοι ἐπεστρατευσαν ἐπὶ

Ἰερουσαλήμ). Outside Zech 14, no other text in Greek scriptures uses that verb (ἐπιστρατεύω) in conjunction with “Jerusalem.” Additionally, Luke 21:24, discussing the concomitant afflictions, says that Jerusalemites “will be led

captive into all the nations” (αἰχμαλωτισθήσονται εἰς τὰ ἔθνη πάντα) and that Jerusalem will be trampled by “the

nations” (ὑπὸ ἐθνῶν). Similarly, Zech 14:2 declares that in the attack by “all the nations” (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη), half of the city will be led away “in exile” (ἐν αἰχμαλωσίᾳ). In light of these arguments, it seems that if Luke were dependent on Mark, he either knew that Mark used Zech 14 as an influence and so used the latter explicitly, or in his interpretation of the tradition, he was reminded of Zech 14. In either case, it seems the author of Luke 21 saw some resemblances between the attacks on Jerusalem described in his material and Zech 14.

should not turn back (into the city) to get their cloaks; and that there will be troubles for pregnant and nursing women. These threats recall those of Zech 14:1–5. I begin with the flight to the mountains.

5.11.1.1: Zechariah 14:5 and the Flight to the Hills

Regarding Jesus’ injunction to “flee to the hills,” scholars invariably suggest one or all of the following as potential backgrounds: Gen 19:17;321 _{Jer 6:1–12;}322 _{Ezek 7:16;}323 _{1 Macc 2:28.}324 _{Each of the} above is a viable background; in view of some weaknesses with the above suggestions, however, and in light of several thematic and lexical correspondences with Zech 14:5, I propose that the latter be added to the list of possible backgrounds, and be considered a prominent influence. I first examine the weakness of the typical proposals.

Like Mark 13:14, Gen 19:17 commands a flight to the hills in view of a coming catastrophe. Against this view, however, are Mark’s verb choice and the actual final command of the angel in Gen 19. Mark uses the verb φευγέτωσαν, while Gen 19:17 uses σῴζου. The semantic overlap is comparable. The Hebrew verb that σῴζου translates, however, is טלמ. The latter is used some 96 times in MT, and it is never translated in LXX with φεύγω.325 _{Furthermore, Lot objects to this command and pleads to be} allowed to flee to a small town instead, which the angel permits.326

Ezekiel 7 predicts the destruction of Jerusalem and contains a reference to safety in the mountains. Ezek 7:16 declares that those who escape “will be on the mountains.” The Hebrew verb for “escape,” which LXX translates with ἀνασωθήσονται, is טלפ. It is used some twenty-nine times in MT and is never translated in LXX with φεύγω. Furthermore, MT Ezek 7:16 declares that the survivors on the mountains will be mourning their own iniquities, while LXX Ezek 7:16 declares that God will kill those

who make it to the mountains. This passage, then, contains no command to flee to the mountains, very

little verbal correspondence, and an outcome (death in the mountains) that makes questionable the notion that this verse influences Mark 13.

Jeremiah 6:1–12 contains no command to flee to the mountains. Its main correspondence is the contextual similarity of an attack on Jerusalem, but there is little textual correspondence. Finally, 1 Macc

321 _{Hartman 1966, 154; Marcus 2009, 895.}

322 _{Gray 2010, 133–34; he suggests each of the references listed.}

323 _{Lane 1974, 470; France 2002, 524.}

324 _{Dyer 1998, 108.}

325_{טלמ is often translated with (δια)σῴζω or ῥύομαι, but never with φεύγω. When forms of (δια)σῴζω or ῥύομαι}

are used as semantic parallels of φεύγω, as in Jer 46:6, the latter is probably translating סונ, which is the verb used

in Zech 14:5 for the “flight” from Jerusalem.

164 2:28 relates the flight of Mattathias and his sons in response to Antiochus’ decree that they sacrifice and burn incense in abandonment of God’s laws. It declares, “They fled to the mountains.” Unless Mark is using this text ironically, it would seem an odd choice as the basis for Jesus’ command to flee and thus not to fight, while Mattathias and his sons retreat so that they can fight. The main deficiency of this suggestion, however, is one of comparison; that is, while it provides a possible link, I argue that Zech 14 provides a better one.

Like the above options, Zech 14:5 too contains a reference to a flight from the city in view of its destruction. Unlike all of the typically suggested alternatives, however, Zech 14:5 contains more lexical and contextual parallels, and thereby commends itself as a plausible influence. Zechariah 14:1–5 predicts that “all the nations” will come to do battle with Jerusalem, and that the means of salvation in that scenario is a flight through the mountains. Zech 14:5 reads, “You will flee by the valley of my mountains” (ירה־איג םתסנו). The verb for “flee” is a form of סונ. Outside of its use in Zech 14, it is used some 158 times in MT, and 140 times it is translated with a form of φεύγω in LXX. Thus both Zech 14:5 and Mark 13:14 claim that “flight to/through the mountains” is the means of safety in light of the coming attack in Jerusalem.

Due to thematic and lexical correspondence, Zech 14:5 plausibly influences Mark 13:14. In addition to the above correspondence, the intratextual datum of Mark 13’s opening allusion to Zech 14:4 strengthens the case for Zech 14:5 in Mark 13:14. Additional elements of the Markan text further suggest that Zech 14 is a prominent influence. I turn now to Jesus’ subsequent imperatives and statements about “houses” and “women.”

5.11.1.2: Zechariah 14:2 and Mark 13:14–17

In Mark 13:14–17 Jesus teaches that when the siege begins, Judeans should neither enter their houses (οἰκίας) nor return from the field to the city, and he proclaims woes upon women who are pregnant and nursing, presumably because of their particular vulnerability in a time of war. Each of these elements is found in Zech 14, and the injunctions in Mark may be linked with the precise

afflictions predicted in Zech 14:2. The latter declares that gentiles will capture the city. The result of the capture of the city is plundered houses (םיתבה וסשנו; διαρπαγήσονται αἱ οἰκίαι), ravaged women (הנלגשת םישנהו; αἱ γυναῖκες μολυνθήσονται), and half of the city being exiled.

Four points are noteworthy. First, the contexts of Mark 13:14–17 and Zech 14:1–5 are

comparable. Each relates a successful capture of Jerusalem and its consequences. Second, the content of the concomitant afflictions in Zech 14:2 and Mark 13:14–17 are comparable. Each assumes the threat

to houses and women. Jesus mentions precisely these two things in his comment about the flight from Judea, and they are the precise afflictions mentioned in Zech 14:2. Third, the sequence of events is the same in each text. Each progresses from 1) the capture of the city, to 2) the mention of houses, to 3) the mention of women. Fourth, importantly, the logic of Zech 14:1–5 is maintained in Mark 13, for both texts describe “flight” as the means of physical safety in the midst of the attack. The logic of Zech 14 is as follows: an attack is coming and there will be danger for houses, women, and those in the city, but those who flee to the mountains will be safe. The logic of Mark 13:14–17 is comparable: an attack is coming, so those in Judea should flee to the mountains, because there will danger to houses, those in the city, and for women trying to escape. Zech 14:2’s declaration that those in the city will be exiled is consistent with Mark’s imperative that those in the fields should not reenter [the city] in light of its capture.

To be sure, plundered houses and ravaged women are common features of depicted sieges in Jewish scriptures.327 _{But when a single passage contains all of those elements in a certain sequence with} a distinct imperative within a matter of four verses, and those same threats, in the same order, with the same distinct imperative appear in Mark 13 within the same number of verses, and when the setting of Mark 13 opens with an allusion to the passage under discussion, the conclusion that the author

intended the proposed allusions is highly plausible.328 _{In light of these correspondences, I suggest that} Mark 13:14–17 alludes to Zech 14:2–5.

Mark’s allusion to Zech 14 may be somewhat ironic, particularly if the latter did in fact foment revolutionary actions by the Zealots and other pre-revolt figures.329 _{Rather than using the text to} encourage military action in Jerusalem and the temple, Mark’s Jesus uses the text to describe the

destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The Lord will indeed come, as Zech 14:5 declares, but his

coming will vindicate neither the violence of the Zealots nor that of the Romans; he comes rather to vindicate the suffering of his elect.

Before turning to 13:24–27, I refer the reader to Section 5.9.1 and simply remind that there I argue that Mark 13:22 alludes to Zech 13:2’s “false prophets.” If the latter allusion is plausible, then Mark 13 depicts a scenario influenced by Zech 13–14 in which the false prophets attempt to lead the elect astray.

327 _{See n 297 in Section 5.11.}

328 _{These additional elements of Zech 14 in Mark 13 satisfy Hays’ criterion of “recurrence,” and Tooman’s of}

“multiplicity” (see Section 1.3.1).

166 I turn finally to Mark 13:24–27. This section constitutes the juncture at which major

interpretations diverge. Through 13:23, under the influence of Zech 13–14 and in response to the disciples’ question in Mark 13:4, the discourse describes universal disturbances, the afflictions of the disciples, and the afflictions consequent to Jerusalem’s capture. The Markan Jesus, having answered the disciples’ question fully by 13:23, turns to something which the disciples did not ask about, and yet is in keeping with the sequence of Zech 14: his return with the angels.