Table of Contents
Zechariah 3
Zechariah 3
1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by.
6 And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying,
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.
8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch.
9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
10 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.
Notes
Cross Reference
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 1
<html><b>to accuse him</b> To accuse him because his sons were married to gentile women, as it is written in the Book of Ezra (10:18): “And it was found of the sons of the priests who had taken foreign wives, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, etc.”</html>
Verse 2
<html><b>The Lord shall rebuke you, O Satan</b> The Holy One, blessed be He, shall rebuke you, O you Satan (and then he repeated and said: The Lord shall rebuke you, He who chose Jerusalem <i>Moharaz Margolioth </i>); and He Who rebukes you is the One Who chose Jerusalem, that you shall not enter before Him to accuse this righteous man. Is he not fit, and has he not merited this? For he was saved from the consuming fire. <b>Is this one not a brand plucked from fire?</b> It is related in the Aggadah of [chapter] <i>Helek</i> Helek (<i>Sanh.</i> 93a) that he [Joshua] was cast into the fire with Ahab son of Kolaiah and his colleague.</html>
Verse 3
<html><b>was wearing filthy garments</b> This is to be explained according to the Targum: He had sons who had married women who were unfit [to marry into] the priesthood, and he was punished because he did not interfere with the [sons’ marriages].</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>“Take the filthy garments off him.”</b> Let his sons separate from their wives, and he will be forgiven. <b>clean garments</b> A change of beautiful garments; i.e., merits. Since he compared the iniquity to filthy garments, he compares the merit to clean garments; beautiful, white garments.</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>And I said</b> I, Zechariah. <b>“Let them put a pure miter, etc.”</b> I begged mercy for him.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>warned</b> an expression of warning, as in (Deut. 31:28): “And I will warn them before the heaven and the earth.”</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>If you walk in My ways, etc.</b> Then I, too, will do this for you. <b>you, too, shall judge My house</b> You shall judge and be the officer over My Temple. <b>and I will give you free access</b> According to the Targum: and when the dead will be resurrected, I will resurrect you; and I will give you walkers who walk among these seraphim. According to its simple meaning, he brings him tidings that his sons will be meritorious in the future. <b>who stand by</b> Seraphim and ministering angels, who never sit.</html>
Verse 8
<html><b>you and your companions</b> They were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. <b>for they are men worthy of a miracle</b> [<i>Jonathan</i> renders:] Men worthy to have miracles performed for them, for a miracle was performed for them, too. <b>for, behold! I bring My servant, the Shoot</b> For now Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, is insignificant in the king’s court, but I will make his greatness burgeon. I will also give him favor in the eyes of the king, so that he will grant [Zerubbabel’s] request for the building of the Temple and the city, as explained in Nehemiah (1:1): “The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hachaliah.” Nehemiah was identical with Zerubbabel, as we say in <i>Sanhedrin</i> (38a).</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>For, behold the stone</b> The foundation of the house that you laid in the days of Cyrus - they stopped you, and that foundation and the thickness of the wall appeared little in your sight, as explained in Ezra (3:12f.) and in the prophecy of Haggai (2:2f.). <b>Seven eyes are directed to one stone</b> It will eventually be widened seven times as much. And so did <i>Jonathan</i> render: On one stone, seven eyes see it. The expression of עֵינַיִם is an expression of appearances. It appears to me that the seven eyes are because of the eyes of the Holy One, blessed be He in Whose eyes and heart it is [planned] to add seven times as much because of the prophecy similar to this one (4:10): “And they shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel these seven times; the eyes of the Lord they are roving to and fro throughout the land.” This is but to say that He directed His eyes to increase the glory of the Temple in its building. <b>Behold! I untie its knots</b> I untie its knots I thwart the plot of the enemies who wrote an accusation to stop the work. <b>and I will remove</b> Heb. ומשתי. <b>in one day</b> I do not know what day.</html>