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The divine council in Zechariah, with angels and an accuser gathered around a heavenly judge, follows a similar pattern found in the Persian text Mihr Yasht. That hymn places the deities Sraosha and Rashnu at Mithra’s sides in its divine court.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Mihr Yasht
Yasht 10
Ancient Near East
We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who is truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies, with a thousand ears, well-shapen, with ten thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless, and ever awake. At his right hand drives the good, holy Sraosha; at his left hand drives the tall and strong Rashnu; on all sides around him drive the waters, the plants, and the Fravashis of the faithful.
Date: ca. 5th century BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Zechariah 3:1
Hebrew Bible
1 Next I saw Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Isn’t this man like a burning stick snatched from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood there before the angel. 4 The angel spoke up to those standing all around, “Remove his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “I have freely forgiven your iniquity and will dress you in fine clothing.” 5 Then I spoke up, “Let a clean turban be put on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood nearby. 6 Then the angel of the Lord exhorted Joshua solemnly: 7 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘If you follow my ways and keep my requirements, you will be able to preside over my temple and attend to my courtyards, and I will allow you to come and go among these others who are standing by you.
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Notes and References
"... According to the tradition the judgment is carried out by a tribunal of three yazatas: Mithra, lord of the covenant, unswerving in his equity, presides over it, with Sraoša and Rašnu as his fellow judges. ... As for Rašnu, this yazata, as the hypostasis of judging, was especially fitted for this function, and according to the tradition it is he who holds the scales in which good and evil are weighed (to which Zoroaster alludes in Y. 48.8). ..."
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