Centaurs and the Sacred Tree

Abstract

Zechariah 4:12 has been perplexing exegetes and scholars throughout the ages, hampering efforts to explain the message of the lampstand vision in Zech 4 as a whole. The current paper will suggest a path towards a solution by showing that the hapax legomenon צנתרות in this verse means “centaurs.” This claim, which found little support in research so far, reaches its full persuasive power by a deep linguistic, exegetical, and cultural-comparative analysis. Namely, it will be argued that phonetically *צנתר fully accords with κένταυρος if the palatalization /k/ > [t͡s] is assumed, and when Jerome’s overlooked reading sinthoroth is considered. This interpretation is further supported by iconographic data which has so far escaped the scholarly discussion of this verse. As it demonstrates, Zech 4 is based on the Sacred Tree motif iconography, in which hybrid entities are only expected.