Zechariah 3:1. _he shewed me_ i.e. Jehovah, from whom all the visions proceeded, Zechariah 1:7; Zechariah 1:20, shewed me. καὶ ἔδειξέ μοι κύριος, LXX. _Joshua_ called in the Book of Ezra Jeshua (Zechariah 2:2; Zechariah 3:2, etc.). His grandfather, Seraiah, was taken captive by Nebuzar-adan after th... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord_ Jehovah, who in Zechariah 3:1; Zechariah 3:5-6, is called the Angel of Jehovah. _hath chosen Jerusalem_ comp. Zechariah 1:17; Zechariah 2:12; and for the argument Romans 8:33. The election or choice of God, as an act of free grace, is insisted on in like manner in the earlier history. Deu... [ Continue Reading ]
_filthy garments_ There is no allusion to the Roman custom of accused persons wearing sordid attire at their trials (_reus sordidatus_, Liv. ii. 54, vi. 20). Nor is there any ground for the idea that "an accusation had been lodged against" Joshua "in the Persian Court;" and that "the splendid attire... [ Continue Reading ]
_he_ i.e. the Angel of Jehovah. _those that stood before him_ Angels of inferior order, who though not previously mentioned were in attendance, as was fitting, upon the Angel of the Lord. Compare for the expression Genesis 41:46; Deuteronomy 1:38; Daniel 1:5. _change of raiment_ The Hebrew word her... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I said_ The speaker might be the Angel of the Lord, reciting further the commands which he had given. But it is better to suppose that Zechariah, looking on with intense interest, gives vent to his feelings, in the request that the now comely attire of the High Priest should not be left incompl... [ Continue Reading ]
_protested_ i.e. solemnly and earnestly affirmed. Comp. Genesis 43:3; Jeremiah 11:7; where the same Hebrew word is used.... [ Continue Reading ]
_judge my house_ This may mean "my people," Numbers 12:7; Hosea 8:1; the Jewish Church being spoken of, like the Christian, as the house of God, 1 Timothy 3:15. "Judgment, in the place of God, was part of the High Priest's office." (Pusey.) See Deuteronomy 17:8-13. But it may be used in its more obv... [ Continue Reading ]
_that sit before thee_ not, "who are now (seen) sitting," for Joshua, the High Priest, alone appears in the vision, but "who are accustomed to sit," as the inferior priests ("thy fellows") before the High Priest to receive his commands. So "the sons of the prophets" sit before Elisha for instruction... [ Continue Reading ]
_the stone that I have laid set_, R. V. The primary and immediate reference is to the Temple, in re-building which Joshua was then engaged. The "stone," which was perhaps seen lying before him in the vision, is most probably not the foundation-stone, which had been laid years before, but the head-st... [ Continue Reading ]
The consequence of the removal of the iniquity of the land shall be the return of the peaceful and prosperous days of Solomon (1 Kings 4:25), and social intercourse and festivity shall prevail on every side. Micah had already made this a type of the kingdom of Christ (Zechariah 4:4). "We are told i... [ Continue Reading ]