Zechariah 9–14 sheds additional light to the eschatological relevance of the sanctuary by emphasizing God’s presence among humankind. The sanctuary motif receives a vertical dimension by focusing on God’s original Sanctuary.

Firstly, questions of introduction will be answered to give an overview of the material. In this context, the question of genre will be handled with special care. Then it will be defined how the concept of allusions is understood. This concept then will be applied to three different OT sanctuary references. Followed by an evaluation of thesereferences. Afterwards different passages in Zech 9–14 will be examined in more detail. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn.

Definitions by Jon Paulien and John Collins are used in this thesis. While they are not specifically related to Zechariah it is important to define ones use of terms like allusion and apocalyptic(-like). Consulting benchmark works by Mark J. Boda, Meyers, Richard M. Davidson or Al Wolters and others will be necessary.

The OT references and allusions to the Sanctuary describe a flexible understanding of it, explaining why the tabernacle, the Solomonic temple and the Herodian temple are not identical. The combining element of all these references is the presence of God among humankind. Zechariah describes a post-figurated sense of that presence of God. A turn away from humankind-made sanctuaries and a return to the original sanctuary in heaven.