Meredith Kline has argued that the entire book of Zechariah is organized as a pair of “diptychs,” each of which “hinges” on a passage about the work of the King-Shepherd of Israel. The entire book itself, moreover, is a diptych, hinging around the crowning of Joshua in Zechariah 6:9-15. Below I present Kline’s conclusions in outline form.
A. First “Diptych,” 1:1-6:8
1. Exhortation, 1:1-6
2. Visions, 1:7-2:13
a. Horses in myrtle grove, 1:7-17
b. Horns (of altar) cast down, 1:18-21
c. Jerusalem without walls, 2:1-13
Minor Hinge 1: Joshua reclothed, 3:1-10
c 1 . Lampstand, 4:1-14
b 1 . Evil purged, 5:1-11
a 1 . Horses sent out, 6:1-8
Major Hinge: Joshua crowned, 6:9-15
B. Second “Diptych,” 7:1-14:21
1. Exhortation, 7:1-8:23
2. Two burdens, 9:1-14:21
First Burden , 9:1-10:12
a. Advent of the king, 9:1-17
b. Condemnation of shepherds, 10:1-4
c. Lord’s defense of Israel, 10:5-12
Minor Hinge 2: Shepherd rejected, 11:1-17
Second Burden , 12:1-14:21
c 1 . Lord’s defense of Jerusalem, 12:1-13:1
b 1 . False prophets, 13:2-9
a 1 . Advent of king, 14:1-21
Helpful as this is, I do not find Kline’s outline entirely convincing. The major problem with his outline is that it blurs divisions within the text. Kline, for example, treats Zechariah 5 as a single vision, though 5:5 has all the marks of an introduction to a new vision. Similarly, Kline includes all of chapter 9 in a single section, but there are good reasons for seeing a textual break after 9:10.
Finally, I am not persuaded that Zechariah 7-8 introduces the second half of the book, rather than concluding the first part. If 7-8 are taken with 9-14, they provide some context and chronology for the “burdens” in the second half of the book, but 7-8 are so neatly structured, and conclude so conclusively, that they seem more like a self-contained unit or the conclusion to the night visions.