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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 3:3 and Jude 1:23

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Jude follows Jewish interpretive traditions in speaking about rescuing others like a brand taken from fire, using language from Zechariah where Joshua the high priest is compared to a burning stick pulled from danger.

Passages

Zechariah 3:3

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

Jude 1:23

New Testament
21 maintain yourselves in the love of God while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who waver; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy on others, coupled with a fear of God, hating even the clothes stained by the flesh. 24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence, 25 to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.
60–80 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jude

References

"... Others have noticed a third, even more decisive, case where the Hebrew text, not the Septuagint, must be the basis for Jude's allusion (Jude 13; Isaiah 57:20). Chase again plausibly suggested that in Jude 23 there is an allusion to the associations of Zechariah 3:3-4. Moreover, it has not been generally observed that in no case where Jude alludes to specific verses of the Old Testament does he echo the language of the Septuagint. In my judgment, these neglected facts refute the usual assumption that Jude's knowledge of the Old Testament was dependent on the Septuagint and indicate on the contrary that it was with the Hebrew Bible that he was really familiar. When he wanted to allude to it he did not stop to find the Septuagint translation, but made his own translation, in terms appropriate to the style and context of his work ..."
Richard Bauckham, Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church (London: T&T Clark International, 2004), 137.

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 3:3 and Jude 1:23

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