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Word Gems
exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
Gerald Sigal: Zech 9
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- from Gerald Sigal's The Jew and the Christian Missionary: A Jewish Response to Missionary Chrisitanity
One Donkey or Two? Zech. 9:9
- Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your king is coming to you, he is just and has been saved, humble, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal o f a she-ass. (Zechariah 9:9)
The Synoptic Gospels inform us that, in fulfillment of prophecy, Jesus sent two of his disciples to get the animal he was to ride into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:2-7, Mark 11:2-7, Luke 19:30-35). At variance with this, the author of the Gospel of John states that Jesus found the animal all by himself: "And Jesus, finding a young ass, sat on it; as it is written: 'Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King comes sitting on a she-ass' colt' " (John 12:14-15).
The Gospel narratives present the reader with still another mystery. Did Jesus enter Jerusalem riding on one animal, as Mark, Luke, and John tell it, or on two, as Matthew relates?
- [Jesus said] to them: "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a she-ass tied and a colt with her; untie them, and bring them to me. And if anyone says something to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them'; and immediately he will send them." Now this took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying: "Say to the daughter of Zion, behold your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted upon a she-ass, and upon a colt, the foal of a beast of burden." And the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them, and brought the she-ass and the colt, and put upon them their garments, and he sat upon them. (Matthew 21:2-7)
Matthew, in his eagerness to use Zechariah 9:9 as an example of how Jesus fulfilled prophecy, misses the point that
- biblical poetry makes frequent use of synonymous parallelism.
Reading Zechariah correctly, we see that the prophet is not speaking of
someone riding two animals. As is common in biblical poetry, which is based on parallel structure, the repetition of an idea or fact does not indicate its duplication in reality. Parallelism is a poetic device to create a thought rhythm and is not to be taken literally as a repetition in fact. The prophet's statement, "riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of a she-ass," describes the same event in different words.
Matthew sought compliance with a prophecy that did not exist. The evangelist assumes that two different animals are involved and so has the disciples bring two, a she-ass and its colt. He writes: "Behold your King is
coming to you, gentle, and mounted upon a she-ass, and upon a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. And the disciples . . . put upon them their garments, and he sat upon them."
According to Matthew, Jesus came to Jerusalem riding astride
both animals, one being male and the other female. Each animal
was covered by the garments of Jesus' disciples. Contrary to
Matthew's record, Zechariah mentions only the riding of one
male animal.
Although more subdued in their claim, the other Gospels give us no reason to believe they are based on traditions any more trustworthy than Matthew's. These narratives, describing Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, are fabrications suggested by Zechariah's prophecy. Using such methodology, it is no wonder that the New Testament is able to make so many claims of prophetic fulfillment by Jesus. Christian missionaries must accept these alleged fulfillments of prophecy on unquestioning faith alone, as they lack a basis in historical fact.
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