Behold

The Temple of the Lord shall be built!

What happened between the events of Ezekiel and Zecheriah is rarely discussed. Commonly the delay is blamed on the Persians. But my reading of the latter text specifically paints a different picture.

It is pretty obvious to me that the dreams of Ezekiel led him and everyone following him to conclude that the fulfillment of Isaiah and Jeremiah was about to happen to them in that moment.

The fact that the person who delivered them and fulfilled their correct suspicion that they were going to get to build a new temple was not only not ethnically Jewish, but a practitioner of a differing religion (Zoroastrianism), was a significant disappointment which needed to be processed.

I understand that the common interpretation in the Talmud is to simply apply all of these predictions as if to a Third Temple, and I'm not interested in yucking someone else's yum, but suffice it to say that the interpretation I am presenting here is not in alignment with that tenet.

What we see so interestingly in Zecheriah is the delayed return of that excitement, and I think that the names used in his text are meaningful. 𐤆𐤊𐤓𐤉𐤄 means "remember יהּ", and his father's name of 𐤁𐤓𐤊𐤉𐤄 obviously means "bless יהּ". All of this to say that I attribute the decision which even those whose worldview is rooted in the Talmud would agree took place in relation to the Second Temple to stop saying 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 but continue pronouncing יהּ, to a man named "remember יהּ" whose father was named "bless יהּ". I think that 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 𐤑𐤁𐤀𐤅𐤕 had not delivered on exactly his promise, and that the people stopped saying his name because they stopped believing in him.

Their shattered faith could not build for them a new Temple, but the faith restored by 𐤆𐤊𐤓𐤉𐤄's dream visions allowed them to build a temple which was not a temple to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 whom they had stopped believing in but instead a temple to 𐤉𐤄, who had existed alongside him as co-deity in the oldest Judean hymn we have access to:

𐤀𐤔𐤉𐤓𐤄 𐤋𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 𐤊𐤉 𐤂𐤀𐤄 𐤂𐤀𐤄 𐤎𐤉𐤎 𐤅𐤓𐤔𐤁𐤓 𐤓𐤌𐤄 𐤁𐤅𐤌 𐤏𐤆𐤉

I will sing to Yahu, so that he will rise up in glory. Horse and jockey [he] raises from the sea. My strength!

𐤅𐤆𐤌𐤓𐤕 𐤉𐤄 𐤅𐤉𐤄 𐤋𐤉 𐤋𐤔𐤉𐤏𐤄 𐤆𐤄 𐤀𐤋𐤉 𐤅𐤀𐤍𐤅𐤄𐤅 𐤀𐤋𐤄𐤉 𐤀𐤁𐤉 𐤅𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤌𐤍𐤄𐤅

And I will sing to Yah: and [lo] he has become my salvation! This is my El and vigorous is he; the Elohim of my father and uplifted is he.

𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 𐤀𐤉𐤔 𐤌𐤋𐤇𐤌𐤄 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 𐤔𐤌𐤅

Yahu [is a] man of war; Yahu is his name!

𐤌𐤓𐤊𐤁𐤕 𐤐𐤓𐤏𐤄 𐤅𐤇𐤉𐤋𐤅 𐤉𐤓𐤄 𐤁𐤓𐤌 𐤅𐤌𐤁𐤇𐤓 𐤔𐤋𐤔𐤉𐤅 𐤈𐤁𐤏𐤅 𐤁𐤉𐤌 𐤎𐤅𐤐

The chariots of Pharoah and his strength he throws into the sea. The choicest of his officers sink into the Yam Suf.

I believe actually that the shift of the word 𐤏𐤆𐤉 and the common mistranslation of that verse are associated with the decision to "remember יהּ" and use him as the people's strength rather than Yahu who had been debunked.

You might view in practical terms this shift in religious views away from aligning yourself with "your own warrior" but rather focusing on upholding "the values of your father". A religion which was less focused on יהּ and more focused on 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 would be one which cares less about worshipping one's father's priorities and more about balancing them intelligently against one's own. At least according to this song which introduces both of them and explains the differences between them.