Charles Ellicott Commentary Zechariah 3:1

"And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary." — Zechariah 3:1 (ASV)

And he. —Probably, the angel-interpreter.

Joshua. —The various forms of this name, that of the Savior of the world, are well worth noticing. The oldest form of the word is that used here, Y e hoshua‘, which was contracted into Yoshua‘ (Mishnah, throughout), also into Yeshua’ (Ezra 2:2), and then into Yeshu. This last was represented in Greek by Ιηοου, and with the nominative ending s became Ἰησοῦν. In the Talmudim the name also takes the forms Îsâ and Îsî, and in Arabic ‘Îsâ.

Standing before. —There is a great variety of opinion among commentators regarding the capacity in which Joshua is represented as standing before the angel of the Lord. Theodoret, among early expositors, and Hengstenberg, among moderns, maintain that Joshua is seen in the sanctuary engaged in the work of his priestly office before the angel of the Lord.

Against this view it may be urged that, however high the dignity of the angel of the Lord may be, it is hardly in accordance with the spirit of the Old Testament to represent the high priest as ministering before him, as if before God. Observe, too, how in Zechariah 1:12-13, the personality of the angel of the Lord is distinct from that of the Lord Himself. Ewald imagines that at this time the high priest was actually accused, or was dreading an accusation, at the Persian court, and that a defamation and persecution of this kind may be discerned as underlying this vision.

But there is no historical trace of any such personal accusation, nor could Joshua be looked upon as the people’s representative before the Persian Court, since Zerubbabel was their civil representative. Koehler regards Joshua as standing before the judgment-seat of the angel, while Satan stands at his right hand (Psalms 109:6) to accuse him. But, while this interpretation is in the main correct, it must be remembered that no formal judicial process is described in the vision, nor is there any mention of a judgment-seat.

Wright’s explanation seems to us the best: “The high priest was probably seen in the vision, occupied with some part of his priestly duties. While thus engaged, he discovered that he was actually standing as a criminal before the angel, and while the great Adversary accused him, the truth of that accusation was all too clearly seen by the filthy garments with which he then perceived he was clothed.”

Satan. —Literally, the adversary, who is not Sanballat and his companion (Qimchi), but ὀ διάβολος, the adversary of mankind. A belief in a personal devil was current among the Jews at least from the time of the composition of the Book of Job to Talmudic times (1 Chronicles 21:1; Talmud Babli, Baba Bathra, 26b, etc.).

At his right hand. —The position of the adversary, or complainant, as represented in the original passage (Psalms 109:6).