The Last Days and the Day of Yahweh for Jerusalem: With two visions of Zion/Jerusalem’s restoration (1:1–2:1 and 5:1–30) bracketing substantial declarations of coming calamity for Zion/Jerusalem/Judah, chapters 1–5 as a whole have a trouble-promise-trouble-promise-trouble arrangement. Worrisomely, trouble enfolds the community even though blessing is its background destiny. Or, encouragingly, blessing does lie enfolded even if trouble dominates the community’s immediate prospects. We do not know the date of any of the material or of the composition of the whole.

4:2–6 In that day has been a worrying phrase in 3:7, 18; 4:1, but this time it heralds the promise that calamity is not Yahweh’s last word. At point after point, these verses take up the motifs of 2:6–4:1 and promise reversal. Zion’…