89 THE FATE FUTURE ZERUBBABEL AND OF parallel verses in 2,6-7, kingdom/throne language was absent. As well, surplus words are present in v. 22, for the reference to a “throne” is not strictly needed for the expression “[I am about] to overthrow the throne of the kingdoms” to make sense, nor is the reference to “kingdoms” required in the expression “I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations ” 47. We return, now, to the matter of the relation between what God says he will do to the nations (vv. 21-22) and what he says he will do for Zerubbabel (v. 23). Despite the emphasis on royal rule in v. 22, nothing is said about giving the kingship to Zerubbabel (v. 23) nor is this a necessary inference. Japhet’s evaluation is without explicit support in the text: “...we may conclude that Haggai sees Zerubbabel as a king, whose kingdom is made possible by a change in the political structure” 48. The predicted shaking of the nations (2,7) and destruction of kingdoms (2,22) are better understood as the prelude to the establishment of the kingdom of God, not that of Zerubbabel. The fact that he is addressed as the Persian “governor of Judah” (v. 21) (as he was earlier in 1,1.14 and 2,2), suggests that his Davidic lineage is not crucial and that any royal prerogative exercised by him is beside the point. Rather, due to the valuable service that Zerubbabel as governor has rendered the temple-building program, in v. 23 he is promised God’s protection. * * * By way of conclusion, the following can be said. Neither the election terms used in connection with Zerubbabel nor the metaphor of the “seal” D.L. PETERSEN, Haggai and Zechariah 1–8. A Commentary (OTL; 47 Philadelphia, PA 1984) 96, notes that the expression is prolix. JAPHET, “Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel, I”, 78 (suspension points mine); 48 cf. VERHOEF, The Books of Haggai and Malachi, 139: “...their seats of power are overthrown and replaced to provide the necessary room for God’s own representative ” (suspension points mine); D.J.A. CLINES, “Haggai’s Temple, Constructed, Deconstructed and Reconstructed”, Second Temple Studies 2. T e m p l e and Community in the Persian Period (eds. T.C. ESKENAZI – K.H. RICHARDS) (JSOTSS 175; Sheffield 1994) 78: “So the book of Haggai ends with the announcement that Zerubbabel is to be appointed world ruler”. Unless one is already committed to Clines’ deconstructionist agenda, his admission that (on his interpretation) the last four verses of the prophecy are thematically unconnected to the temple theology of the rest of the book would seem to undermine the messianic interpretation put forward by Clines.