Zechariah 11:4

Yahweh, Zechariah’s God, instructed the prophet to present himself as a shepherd assigned to care for a flock doomed to slaughter. This may mean that the prophet was to act out a parable for his audience. [Note: E. Cashdan, "Zechariah," in The Twelve Minor Prophets, p. 314; Unger, p. 191.] However it seems more likely, in view of what follows, that Zechariah spoke for God, and sometimes as Messiah, as though he were a shepherd. He seems to have been presenting an allegory that was the product of a visionary experience (cf. Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 25:15-38). [Note: Leupold, p. 207; Feinberg, God Remembers, p. 201.]