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Zechariah

About this book
Chapter 3

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. 8 Listen now, Joshua the high priest, both you and your colleagues who are sitting before you, all of you are a symbol that I am about to introduce my servant, the Branch.⁠ 9 As for the stone I have set before Joshua—on the one stone there are seven eyes. I am about to engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 In that day,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘everyone will invite his friend to fellowship under his vine and under his fig tree.’”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Zechariah 3:1 and Job 1:6

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Zechariah shows Joshua the high priest in a heavenly court as an accuser challenges him, and Job has a similar scene where an accuser appears among the divine assembly. Both describe a divine council with a judge and an official who brings charges.

Passages

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.”
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zechariah

Job 1:6

Hebrew Bible
5 When the days of their feasting were finished, Job would send for them and sanctify them; he would get up early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s customary practice. 6 Now the day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord—and Satan also arrived among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” And Satan answered the Lord, “From roving about on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it.” 8 So the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil.”
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Job

References

"... Zechariah 3:1–7 is clearly a Council of Yahweh text. Present at this meeting of the council are 'ha-satan', a specific messenger of Yahweh, and Joshua. The text states that 'ha-satan' intends to accuse Joshua. No speech is actually attributed, but a rebuke is delivered from Yahweh, perhaps for the intended accusation. The Lord then redeems Joshua and provides him with new clothes as he is installed in the office of high priest. This passage shows the legal context of the heavenly council. The reader is told that Joshua is “standing before the messenger of the Lord” (1:1). This verb “to stand” is present throughout the pericope: “The verb for ‘stand’ recurs in this verse and is found again once each in verses 3, 4, 5, and 7. It is a key word, making the audience fully aware, from first to last, of the divine council setting and of Yahweh’s exalted presence.” The imagery of the council in this passage differs slightly from the passage in Job. Here the legal context is more dominant. There is little debate that 'ha-satan' is the prosecuting attorney as it is depicted as being on the right hand side of 'the messenger of YHWH' ..."
Ellen White, Yahweh's Council: Its Structure and Membership (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014), 87.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Zechariah 3:1 and Job 1:6

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