06_An_Cranz_586-598_coopia_586-598 10/12/15 10:35 Pagina 587 587 RITUAL ELEMENTS IN ZECHARIAH’S VISION OF THE WOMAN 587 that Zechariah’s vision presents the prophetic counterpart to priestly con- ceptions of expiation and purgation 5. Finally, there are those that compare Zechariah’s vision of the woman in the ephah to Hittite myths in which the divine wrath is contained in clay vessels and stored at the bottom of the ocean 6. In other words, biblicists have made ample use of comparative material in attempts to identify the cultural inspirations and historical set- tings of Zech 5,5-11. My analysis will employ a similar comparative approach, but, instead of speculating about the potential origins of Zech 5,5-11, I will utilize Assyro-Babylonian exorcisms to shed light on the manner in which the ritual elements are modified to play a meaningful role in Zechariah’s vision-cycle. In contrast to the Hittite material, which predates Zechariah by more than half a millennium, the Assyro-Babylonian exorcisms are closer in time to the composition of the prophetic vision. In either case, in my analysis I do not take the correlations between Zech 5,5-11 and the exorcisms to be any straightforward indication of direct influence or dependence. Instead the similarities are viewed as resulting from a shared cultural ethos. Comparing and contrasting Zechariah’s vision to Assyro-Babylonian exorcisms can reveal how the prophetic author avails himself of ritual elements which he then appropriates to fit his agenda. My comparison unfolds in three steps: First the Assyro-Babylonian compara- tive material and its rationale will be introduced. This is followed by an examination of the similarities between Zechariah’s vision and the manipu- Zach. 5,5-11 à la lumière de la littérature hittite”, RHR 187 (1975) 137-145, here 143-144; C. JEREMIAS, Die Nachtgesichte des Sacharja. Untersuchungen zu ihrer Stellung im Zusammenhang der Visionsberichte im Alten Testament und zu ihrem Bildmaterial (FRLANT 117; Göttingen 1977) 196-197; C.L. MEYERS – E.M. MYERS, Haggai, Zechariah 1–8. A New Translation with In- troduction and Commentary (AB 25B; New York 1987) 313-314; M. FLOYD “The Evil in the Ephah: Reading Zechariah 5:4-11 in Its Literary Context”, CBQ 58 (1996) 51-68, here 62; C. UEHLINGER, “Figurative Policy, Propa- ganda und Prophetie”, Congress Volume Cambridge 1995 (ed. J. EMERTON) (SVT 66; Leiden 1997) 297-349, here 345-347. 5 Cf. C. KÖRTING, “Sach 5,5-11 – Die Unrechtmäßigkeit wird an ihren Platz verwiesen”, Bib 87 (2006) 477-492, here 486-487. 6 For scholars who detect Hittite influence in this vision, see H. HOFFNER, “Hittite Tarpiš and the Hebrew Teraphim”, JNES 27 (1968) 61-68, here 66; D. P. WRIGHT, The Disposal of Impurity. Elimination Rites in the Bible and in Hittite and Mesopotamian Literature (SBLDS 101; Atlanta, GA 1986) 273; M. DELCOR, “La vision de la femme dans l’épha de Zach. 5,5-11 à lumière de la literature Hittite”, RHR 187 (1975) 137-145 and V. HAAS, “Ein hurriti- scher Blutritus und die Deponierung der Ritual Rückstände nach hethitischen Quellen”, Religionsgeschichtliche Beziehungen zwischen Kleinasien, Nordsyrien und dem Alten Testament. Internationales Symposium Hamburg 17.-21. März 1990 (OBO 129; Göttingen 1990) 67-85.