Charles Ellicott Commentary Zechariah 3:8

"Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee; for they are men that are a sign: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch." — Zechariah 3:8 (ASV)

For they — that is, you and they. For this change of person, compare Zechariah 2:12, which runs literally, “Also ye Cushim slain by my sword (are) they.”

Wondered at. — Literally, as in margin, of sign — that is, men to whom signs are given, and for whom miracles are performed; or, according to others, persons accustomed to interpret the enigmatical sayings of prophets. Septuagint, ἄνδρες τερατοσκόποι.

For, behold. — Better, simply, Behold. (Compare ὅτι of the New Testament.)

I will bring. — Literally, I (am) bringing, a somewhat indefinite tense, the exact meaning of which can be decided only by the context. (Compare Haggai 2:6.) Thus in Isaiah 7:14 the context (Isaiah 3:16) shows that what the prophet considered a fulfillment could not be far off; in Ezekiel 24:17 this tense is shown by the next verse to be the imminent future; while in Zechariah 12:2 a similar form of construction seems to refer to a distant future.

My servant... . — Better, my servant Branch, after Ezekiel 34:23: “my servant David.”

Branch. — Hebrew, Tsémach; occurs in Isaiah 4:2, “Branch of the Lord.” (Compare the expressions in Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 53:2.) These passages Jeremiah had, doubtless, in mind when he uttered the prophecies of Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15, in which he speaks of “A righteous Branch” and a “Branch of Righteousness,” as springing from the house of David, to be a Saviour to deliver Israel from the captivity. (See the whole context in both places, especially Jeremiah 23:7-8; Jeremiah 33:12–14.) From these passages Zechariah adopts “Branch” as the proper name of the Saviour.

He may have expected that this promised Saviour would be found in Sheshbatstsar (that is, Zerubbabel), “the Prince of Judah” (Ezra 1:8), who should build the House (Haggai 2:23; Zechariah 4:9). In Haggai 2:23, Zerubbabel is expressly called “my servant”; but the expression is also a recognized title of the Messiah in the passage of Ezekiel referred to above, and in Isaiah 53:12 — “a righteous one—my servant” — and elsewhere. (This last passage is, probably, the foundation of the expression in Acts 4:27, τὸν ἅγιον παῖδά σον Ἰησοῦν.)

A glimpse of Messianic times is here, indeed, revealed to the prophet, but the clearness of his view is obscured by the medium through which he views them. (See Notes on Zechariah 2:10-13; Zechariah 6:11–15.) From “Branch,” Septuagint, ἀνατολήν, “day-spring;” Syriac, “sunrise,” since Tsemcho in Syriac denotes “shining of the sun.” (Compare Septuagint of Isaiah 4:2, ἐπιλάμψει ὁ Θεός.)