A Query about Commemorative Fasts (7:1-3): A question about mourning the destruction of the temple introduces a series of sayings that address the present spiritual condition of the community, review the divine judgment on its ancestors, and declare God’s promises of future blessings. A concentric literary framework holds these oracles together in a chronological and logical sequence that answers the practical question about religious observance and the underlying spiritual distress over the fulfillment of prophecy.

The first four elements in Zechariah 7, following the date formula, correspond in content to the final four elements of Zechariah 8, but with the order reversed. In 7:2–3 (A) a delegation arrives in Jerusalem to “entreat the LORD” and to ask a question about religious practice. …