A1. Vision Eight: The Four Chariots and Joshua’s Coronation (6:1-15)
Just as this “book of visions” opened with a picture of God’s universal sovereignty (1:7-17), so it concludes. The four chariots with their variously colored horses act upon God’s command to patrol the whole earth. Many attempts have been made to explain the significance of the steeds' colors, but none is satisfactory. They are dispersed in all directions except east. Appropriately, the black horses are sent to the north, which represents the center of the world’s power. Neither the red horses nor the east are specifically mentioned, which has led some to take v.7 as referring to them (Smith, 297-98). In this way, the red ones are charged with patrolling the earth in general, while the others are dispatched in specific directions. The interpreting angel reveals his identity in v.8 with “Those going toward the north country have given my Spirit rest.”
The troubled north is now at rest and, by implication, God’s forces are universally victorious. Thus the deliverance promised in the first two visions is accomplished, and the way is now clear for the children of Israel to assume their proper role in God’s salvation history. This note leads naturally to the oracle about the Branch (6:9-14), which was not originally part of the vision.
The prophetic oracle (6:9-14) is fraught with difficulties. When three of the exiles arrive from Babylon, Zechariah is commanded to meet them and fashion a crown from their supplies. He is then to place the crown, not on Zerubbabel’s head, but upon Joshua, the high priest. Commentators have for many years assumed that the text originally contained Zerubbabel’s name instead of Joshua’s. It is assumed that the Persians objected to the messianic claims made on Zerubbabel’s behalf and prevented his coronation. Subsequently, a scribe would have exchanged Joshua’s name for Zerubbabel’s to avoid the appearance of mistaken prophecy (Mitchell, 185-86; Thomas, 1080). But this reconstruction has no textual support to commend it. Moreover, if a later scribe had wanted to excise any reference to a Davidic prince, it is unlikely that he would have left the reference to the “Branch” with all of its messianic significance (and which may also be a wordplay on Zerubbabel’s name, “Shoot of Babylon”). Elsewhere (4:9) Zechariah has given Zerubbabel credit for building the temple, which is emphatically stated in vv.12-13. Finally, the references in v.13 to majestic clothing and a throne are only appropriate for a Davidic prince.
For these reasons (among others) I conclude that it is unlikely that a later scribe altered the text to exclude a reference to Zerubbabel. A more recent theory argues that Zechariah made two crowns, one silver and one gold (Meyers and Meyers, 350). The Hebrew word for “crown” ('aṭārôt, v.11) is in fact plural. In this case, the priestly crown was placed on Joshua (v.11), and the royal crown was stored in the temple in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah (v.14, the [other] crown). Regardless of the number of crowns involved, the point seems to be that Joshua was officially inaugurated as high priest. But his contribution could never fulfill the promise of the coming Branch, so the prophet speaks in general terms of the Davidic Messiah ruling in harmony with the priesthood. In this way the priestly and royal offices were joined in the work of the Branch. In later views they would be completely united in the Messiah.