Giorgio Campi’s lecture in Warsaw

Giorgio Paolo Campi presented a talk entitled: The Same over All the Earth: Semantic Nuances of אחד in Zechariah 14:9 at the Seminar of the Department of Ancient History, Faculty of History, University of Warsaw (Nov. 12, 2025):

Abstract:

The prophetic logion in Zech 14:9 („And the Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one”; וְהָיָה יְהוָה לְמֶלֶךְ עַל־כָּל־הָאָרֶץ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה יְהוָה אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד׃) plays a paramount role in the Jewish liturgical tradition: this verse concludes the ‘Aleinu prayer, which is recited daily at the end of every service. Besides celebrating YHWH’s kingship, this formula also embeds a firm monotheistic statement: YHWH is אחד ‘one’, at least in the eschatological hope expressed in the passage. The dating of Zech 14 to the Late-Persian or Early-Hellenistic period further corroborates the monotheistic background of this statement. Consequently, the meaning of the adjective אחד in this verse has never been adequately problematized. This paper will argue in favor of two main points: 1. The predicate אחד is attributed to YHWH not absolutely, but in his capacity as king, and cannot be detached from this characterization. 2. A slightly different interpretation of אחד is possible and indeed more likely. This interpretation implies the idea of ‘sameness’ without rejecting the idea of ‘onenness’, and it is not at odds with a monotheistic reading of the logion but rather clarifies it and refines it further. The argument will develop in three steps. First, an analysis of the semantic flexibility and fluctuations of the term אחד in its various occurrences within Zech 14. Second, a traditional-critical investigation of the motives underlying Zech 14:9 in both biblical (Deut 6:4bβ; Mal 2:10a) and non-biblical (KTU 1.4 VII 49b-52) literature. Finally, a contextualization of the image of YHWH אחד in this passage in the wider perspective of the Dodekapropheton discourse, especially in relation to the image of the foreign nations or peoples (גוים / עמים) as literary and theological construct.