Zechariah 3:8

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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

MacLaren's Expositions

Zechariah

A VISION OF JUDGEMENT AND CLEANSING

Zechariah 3:1 - Zechariah 3:10.

Zechariah worked side by side with Haggai to quicken the religious life of the people, and thus to remove the gravest hindrances to the work of rebuilding the Temple. Inward indifference, not outward opposition, is the real reason for slow progress in God’s work, and prophets who see visions and preach repentance are the true practical men.

This vision followed Haggai’s prophecy at the interval of a month. It falls into two parts-a symbolical vision and a series of promises founded on it.

I. The Symbolical Vision {Zechariah 3:1 - Zechariah 3:5}.

The scene of the vision is left undetermined, and the absence of any designation of locality gives the picture the sublimity of indefiniteness. Three figures, seen he knows not where, stand clear before the Prophet’s inward eye. They were shown him by an unnamed person, who is evidently Jehovah Himself. The real and the ideal are marvellously mingled in the conception of Joshua the high priest-the man whom the people saw every day going about Jerusalem-standing at the bar of God, with Satan as his accuser. The trial is in process when the Prophet is permitted to see. We do not hear the pleadings on either side, but the sentence is solemnly recorded. The accusations are dismissed, their bringer rebuked, and in token of acquittal, the filthy garments which the accused had worn are changed for the full festal attire of the high priest.

What, then, is the meaning of this grand symbolism? The first point to keep well in view is the representative character of the high priest. He appears as laden not with individual but national sins. In him Israel is, as it were, concentrated, and what befalls him is the image of what befalls the nation. His dirty dress is the familiar symbol of sin; and he wears it, just as he wore his sacerdotal dress, in his official capacity, as the embodied nation. He stands before the judgment seat, bearing not his own but the people’s sins.

Two great truths are thereby taught, which are as true to-day as ever. The first is that representation is essential to priesthood. It was so in shadowy and external fashion in Israel; it is so in deepest and most blessed reality in Christ’s priesthood. He stands before God as our representative-’And the Lord hath made to meet on Him the iniquity of us all.’ If by faith we unite ourselves with Him, there ensues a wondrous transference of characteristics, so that our sin becomes His, and His righteousness becomes ours; and that in no mere artificial or forensic sense, but in inmost reality. Theologians talk of a communicatio idiomatum as between the human and the divine elements in Christ. There is an analogous passage of the attributes of either to the other, in the relation of the believer to his Saviour.

The second thought in this symbolic appearance of Joshua before the angel of the Lord is that the sins of God’s people are even now present before His perfect judgment, as reasons for withdrawing from them His favour. That is a solemn truth, which should never be forgotten. A Christian man’s sins do accuse him at the bar of God. They are all visible there; and so far as their tendency goes, they are like wedges driven in to rend him from God.

But the second figure in the vision is ‘the Satan,’ standing in the plaintiff’s place at the Judge’s right hand, to accuse Joshua. The Old Testament teaching as to the evil spirit who ‘accuses’ good men is not so developed as that of the New, which is quite natural, inasmuch as the shadow of bright light is deeper than that of faint rays. It is most full in the latest books, as here and in Job; but doctrinal inferences drawn from such highly imaginative symbolism as this are precarious. No one who accepts the authority of our Lord can well deny the existence and activity of a malignant spirit, who would fain make the most of men’s sins, and use them as a means of separating their doers from God. That is the conception here.

But the main stress of the vision lies, not on the accuser or his accusation, but on the Judge’s sentence, which alone is recorded. ‘The Angel of the Lord’ is named in Zechariah 3:1 as the Judge, while the sentence in Zechariah 3:2 is spoken by ‘the Lord.’ It would lead us far away from our purpose to inquire whether that Angel of the Lord is an earlier manifestation of the eternal Son, who afterwards became flesh-a kind of preluding or rehearsing of the Incarnation. But in any case, God so dwells in Him as that what the Angel says God says and the speaker varies as in our text. The accuser is rebuked, and God’s rebuke is not a mere word, but brings with it punishment. The malicious accusations have failed, and their aim is to be gathered from the language which announces their miscarriage. Obviously Satan sought to procure the withdrawal of divine favour from Joshua, because of his sin; that is, to depose the nation from its place as the covenant people, because of its transgressions of the covenant. Satan here represents what might otherwise have been called, in theological language, ‘the demands of justice.’ The answer given him is deeply instructive as to the grounds of the divine forbearance.

Note that Joshua’s guilt as the representative of the people is not denied, but tacitly admitted and actually spoken of in Zechariah 3:4. Why, then, does not the accuser have his way? For two reasons. God has chosen Jerusalem. His great purpose, the fruit of His undeserved mercy, is not to be turned aside by man’s sins. The thought is the same as that of Jeremiah: ‘If heaven above can be measured . . . then I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done’ {Jeremiah 31:37}. Again, the fact that Joshua was ‘a brand plucked from the burning’-that is, that the people whom he represented had been brought unconsumed from the furnace of captivity-is a reason with God for continuing to extend His favour, though they have sinned. God’s past mercies are a motive with him. Creatural love is limited, and too often says, ‘I have forgiven so often, that I am wearied, and can do it no more.’ He has, therefore he will. We often come to the end of our long-suffering a good many times short of the four hundred and ninety a day which Christ prescribes. But God never does. True, Joshua and his people have sinned, and that since their restoration, and Satan had a good argument in pointing to these transgressions; but God does not say, ‘I will put back the half-burned brand in the fire again, since the evil is not burned out of it,’ but forgives again, because He has forgiven before.

The sentence is followed by the exchange of the filthy garments symbolical of sin, for the full array of the high priest. Ministering angels are dimly seen in the background, and are summoned to unclothe and clothe Joshua. The Prophet ventures to ask that the sacerdotal attire should be completed by the turban or mitre, probably that headdress which bore the significant writing ‘Holiness to the Lord,’ expressive of the destination of Israel and of its ceremonial cleanness. The meaning of this change of clothing is given in Zechariah 3:4 : ‘I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee.’ Thus the complete restoration of the pardoned and cleansed nation to its place as a nation of priests to Jehovah is symbolised. To us the gospel of forgiveness fills up the outline in the vision; and we know how, when sin testifies against us, we have an Advocate with the Father, and how the infinite love flows out to us notwithstanding all sin, and how the stained garment of our souls can be stripped off, and the ‘fine linen clean and white,’ the priestly dress on the day of atonement, be put on us, and we be made priests unto God.

II. The remainder of the vision is the address of the Angel of the Lord to Joshua, developing the blessings now made sure to him and his people by this renewed consecration and cleansing.

First {Zechariah 3:7} is the promise of continuance in office and access to God’s presence, which, however, are contingent on obedience. The forgiven man must keep God’s charge, if he is to retain his standing. On that condition, he has ‘a place of access among those that stand by’; that is, the privilege of approach to God, like the attendant angels. This promise may be taken as surpassing the prerogatives hitherto accorded to the high priest, who had only the right of entrance into the holiest place once a year, but now is promised the entrée to the heavenly court, as if he were one of the bright spirits who stand there. They who have access with confidence within the veil because Christ is there, have more than the ancient promise of this vision.

The main point of Zechariah 3:8 is the promise of the Messiah, but the former part of the verse is remarkable. Joshua and his fellows are summoned to listen, ‘for they are men which are a sign.’ The meaning seems to be that he and his brethren who sat as his assessors in official functions, are collectively a sign or embodied prophecy of what is to come. Their restoration to their offices was a shadowy prophecy of a greater act of forgiving grace, which was to be effected by the coming of the Messiah.

The name ‘Branch’ is used here as a proper name. Jeremiah {Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15} had already employed it as a designation of Messiah, which he had apparently learned from Isaiah 4:2. The idea of the word is that of the similar names used by Isaiah, ‘a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a Branch out of his roots’ {Isaiah 11:1}, and ‘a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground’ {Isaiah 53:2}; namely, that of his origin from the fallen house of David, and the lowliness of his appearance.

The Messiah is again meant by the ‘stone’ in Zechariah 3:9. Probably there was some great stone taken from the ruins, to which the symbol attaches itself. The foundation of the second Temple had been laid years before the prophecy, but the stone may still have been visible. The Rabbis have much to say about a great stone which had been in the first Temple, and there used for the support of the ark, but in the second was set in the empty place where the ark should have been. Isaiah had prophesied of the ‘tried corner-stone’ laid in Zion, and Psalm 118:22 had sung of the stone rejected and made the head of the corner. We go in the track, then, of established usage, when we see in this stone the emblem of Messiah, and associate with it all thoughts of firmness, preciousness, support, foundation of the true Temple, basis of hope, ground of certitude, and whatever other substratum of fixity and immovableness men’s hearts or lives need. In all possible aspects of the metaphor, Jesus is the Foundation.

And what are the ‘seven eyes on the stone’? That may simply be a vivid way of saying that the fulness of divine Providence would watch over the Messiah, bringing Him when the time was ripe, and fitting Him for His work. But if we remember the subsequent explanation {Zechariah 4:10} of the ‘seven,’ as ‘the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole earth,’ and connect this with Revelation 5:6, we can scarcely rest content with that meaning, but find here the deeper thought that the fulness of the divine Spirit was given to Messiah, even as Isaiah 11:2 prophesies of the sevenfold Spirit.

‘I will engrave the graving thereof’ is somewhat obscure. It seems to mean that the seven eyes will be cut on the stone, like masons’ marks. If the seven eyes are the full energies of the Holy Spirit, God’s cutting of them on the stone is equivalent to His giving them to His Son; and the fulfilment of the promise was when He gave the Holy Spirit not ‘by measure unto Him.’

The blessed purpose of Messiah’s coming and endowment with the Spirit is gloriously stated in the last clause of Zechariah 3:9 : ‘I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.’ Jesus Christ has ‘once for all’ made atonement, as the Epistle to the Hebrews so often says. The better Joshua by one offering has taken away sin. ‘The breadth of Thy land, O Immanuel,’ stretched far beyond the narrow bounds which Zechariah knew for Israel’s territory. It includes the whole world. As has been beautifully said, ‘That one day is the day of Golgotha.’

The vision closes with a picture of the felicity of Messianic times, which recalls the description of the golden age of Solomon, when ‘Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree’ {1 Kings 4:25}. In like manner the nation, cleansed, restored to its priestly privilege of free access to God by the Messiah who comes with the fulness of the Spirit, shall dwell in safety, and shall be knit together by friendship, and unenvyingly shall each share his good with all others, recognising in every man a neighbour, and gladly welcoming him to partake of all the blessings which the true Solomon has brought to his house and heart.

Benson Commentary

Zechariah 3:8. Hear now, O Joshua, and thy fellows that sit before thee — The angel directs his speech to Joshua and his assessors, or assistants in council. “Possibly these may have been some of those who were called chief priests; who, though subordinate to the high-priest, were entitled by their rank to assist in his councils.” — Blayney. The rabbins call these, of whom doubtless Zerubbabel was one, the heads of the captivity, and the men of the great synagogue, by whom they suppose the Jewish affairs, both ecclesiastical and civil, to have been settled after the captivity, and the canon of the Old Testament to have been completed. The angel bespeaks their attention to what follows, as containing matter of great importance. For they are men wondered at — Hebrew, מופת המה אנשׁי, men of wonder, or, men of sign are they: men intended for signs or tokens, or typical men, as some render the phrase. Thus Isaiah, walking naked and barefoot, was for a sign and wonder, or rather a type or example, to Egypt and Ethiopia, Isaiah 20:3; that is, a sign, or emblem, that they should be carried away without covering. So Ezekiel, in digging through the wall, &c., (as commanded chap. Zechariah 12:7-12,) and in not mourning for his wife, Ezekiel 24:24, was to be a sign, type, or emblem, to the Jews: in all which passages the same word, מופת, is used in the original. To this sense the Vulgate translates it here, viri portendentes, men foreshowing, namely, something to come, that is, the men that composed this council, with Joshua at the head of them, were an emblem, or figure, of the restoration of the church, under the government of the Messiah. Their wonderful deliverance from the Babylonish captivity; the fortitude and resolution which they manifested in returning to Jerusalem, when it lay in ruins; their perseverance amidst the various difficulties, hardships, and perils, which they had to encounter on their journey, and when they arrived in Judea; their preservation among their numerous, powerful, and inveterate enemies; not only rendered them objects of wonder to many, but proper types of the deliverance, restoration, and preservation of the church of God under the Messiah.

The next clause points out the person, of whom Joshua was to be a figure; as the verse following does those of whom his companions were to be representatives, or signs. For behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH — Namely, the Messiah, to whom this title, the BRANCH, is often given in the prophets, as descended from the stock of David: see the places referred to in the margin; in all which the word in the original is צמח, tsemach, as here; and all which texts the Chaldee explains of the Messiah; who is elsewhere called God’s servant in an eminent sense, because he was sanctified and sent into the world upon a message of the highest importance. Some, indeed, would explain this passage, and Zechariah 6:12, of Zerubbabel; but, as Dr. Blayney justly observes, there is no reasonable ground to conclude that he is designed in either place. “It is true he was a descendant from David, and appointed under the authority of the kings of Persia to be a subordinate governor of the Jews who returned from Babylon, and in that capacity he presided, and took an active part with Joshua the high-priest, and with the chief of the fathers, in forwarding the building of the temple. But there surely does not appear, in what we know of his character or performances, any thing to merit the particular notice imagined to be here taken of him. The same person must needs be intended here as is spoken of under the same title Jeremiah 23:5; nor is it conceivable that terms so magnificent as those used in this latter place especially can be applicable to one of so limited power and authority as Zerubbabel enjoyed. Besides, it is evident that the Branch is promised as one that was to come, or be brought forth, and not as one that had already enjoyed his estate, such as it was, for many years past. In short, for these and for many other reasons, it may be concluded against Zerubbabel; and, I think, against any other of less consequence than the great Messiah himself, through whom alone iniquity is put away, and the reign of perfect peace and righteousness is to be established: compare Psalm 132:17; Isaiah 4:2; Jeremiah 33:15-16.” The word which here, and in the places above referred to, is translated Branch, is by the LXX. rendered Ανατολη, the east, or sun-rising, from whence it is applied to Christ, Luke 1:78, and is translated there the day-spring. Hence the name of Oriens was probably given to the supposed king of the Jews by the Roman writers: see Tacit. Hist., lib. 5. cap. 13.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

3:6-10 All whom God calls to any office he finds fit, or makes so. The Lord will cause the sins of the believer to pass away by his sanctifying grace, and will enable him to walk in newness of life. As the promises made to David often pass into promises of the Messiah, so the promises to Joshua look forward to Christ, of whose priesthood Joshua's was a shadow. Whatever trials we pass through, whatever services we perform, our whole dependence must rest on Christ, the Branch of righteousness. He is God's servant, employed in his work, obedient to his will, devoted to his honour and glory. He is the Branch from which all our fruit must be gathered. The eye of his Father was upon him, especially in his sufferings, and when he was buried in the grave, as the foundation-stones are under ground, out of men's sight. But the prophecy rather denotes the attention paid to this precious Corner-stone. All believers, from the beginning, had looked forward to it in the types and predictions. All believers, after Christ's coming, would look to it with faith, hope, and love. Christ shall appear for all his chosen, as the high priest when before the Lord, with the names of all Israel graven in the precious stones of his breastplate. When God gave a remnant to Christ, to be brought through grace to glory, then he engraved this precious stone. By him sin shall be taken away, both the guilt and the dominion of it; he did it in one day, that day in which he suffered and died. What should terrify when sin is taken away? Then nothing can hurt, and we sit down under Christ's shadow with delight, and are sheltered by it. And gospel grace, coming with power, makes men forward to draw others to it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thou and thy companions which sit before thee; yea men of marvelous signs are they - o It seems probable that the words addressed to Joshua begin here; else the "men of signs" would be the companions of Joshua, to the exclusion of Himself. His companions are probably ordinary priests, who sit as sharing his dignity as priest, but "before him," as inferiors. So Ezekiel says, "I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Israel were sitting before me" Ezekiel 8:1. They are "images of the things to come" Hebrews 10:1. Isaiah's two sons, with their prophetic names, "Haste-spoil speed-prey, and a-remnant shall-return," were with his own name, "salvation-of-the-Lord, signs and portents" Isaiah 8:18 of the future Israel. Isaiah, walking naked and barefoot, was "a sign and portent" Isaiah 20:3 against Egypt. God tells Ezekiel, that in the "removal of his stuff, as stuff for the captivity, I have set thee for a portent unto the house of Israel" Ezekiel 12:6.

I, he explains his act, "am your portent; like as I have done, so shall it be done unto you" Ezekiel 12:11. When forbidden to mourn on the death of his wife; "Ezekiel is unto you for a portent; according to all that he hath done, shall ye do; and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord God" Ezekiel 24:24. Wherein then were Joshua and the other priests portents of what should be? One fact alone had stood out, the forgiveness of sins. Accusation and full forgiveness, out of God's free mercy, were the substance of the whole previous vision. It was the full reinstatement of the priesthood. The priesthood so restored was the portent of what was to come. To "offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; Leviticus 9:7; "to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year" Leviticus 16:34, was the object of the existence of the priesthood. Typical only it could be, because they had "but the blood of bulls and goats to offer, which could," in themselves, "never take away sins" Hebrews 10:4. But in this their act they were portents of what was to come. He adds here, "For, behold, I will bring My Servant the Branch."

The Branch - Had now become, or Zechariah made it, a proper name. Isaiah had prophesied, "In that day shall the Branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious for the escaped of Israel" Isaiah 4:2; and, in reference to the low estate of him who should come, "There shall come forth a rod out of the stump of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots" Isaiah 11:1; and Jeremiah, "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth, and this is the name whereby He shall be called, The Lord our Righteouness" Jeremiah 23:5-6; and, "In those days and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David, and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land" Jeremiah 33:15. Of him Zechariah afterward spoke as, "a man whose name is the Branch" Zechariah 6:12.

Here Zechariah names him simply, as a proper name, "My servant, the, Branch," as Ezekiel prophesied of "My servant David." The title "My servant," which is Isaiah's chiefest title of the Messiah, occurs in connection with the same image of ills youth's lowly estate, and of His atoning Death. "He shall grow up before Him as a sucker, and as a root from a dry ground" Isaiah 53:2; "a scion shall grow out of his roots" Isaiah 11:1. . Lest then God should seem to have spoken untruly, in promising to the legal priesthood that it should ever have the oversight over His house, there was need to fore-announce the mystery of Christ, that the things of the law should cease and He Himself should judge His own house through the Scion from Himself, His Son.

Osorius: "Look ye to the Branch of the Lord; set Him as the example of life; in Him, as a most strong tower, place with most becoming faith all your hope of salvation and immortality. For He is not only a Branch, who shall fill you with the richness of divine fruit, but a stone also, to break all the essays of the enemy."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

8. Hear—On account of the magnitude of what He is about to say, He at once demands solemn attention.

thy fellows that sit before thee—thy subordinate colleagues in the priesthood; not that they were actually then sitting before him; but their usual posture in consultations was on chairs or benches before him, while he sat on an elevated seat as their president.

they are—From speaking to Joshua He passes to speaking of him and them, in the third person, to the attendant angels (compare Zec 3:9).

men wondered at—Hebrew, "men of wonder," that is, having a typical character (Isa 8:18; 20:3; Eze 12:11; 24:24). Joshua the high priest typifies Messiah, as Joshua's "fellows" typify believers whom Messiah admits to share His Priesthood (1Pe 2:5; Re 5:10). This, its typical character, then, is a pledge to assure the desponding Jews that the priesthood shall be preserved till the great Antitype comes. There may be also an indirect reproof of the unbelief of the multitude who "wonder" at God's servants and even at God's Son incredulously (Ps 71:7; Isa 8:18; 53:1, &c.).

behold—marking the greatness of what follows.

my servant—the characteristic title of Messiah (Isa 42:1; 49:3; 50:10; 52:13; 53:11; Eze 34:23, 24).

the Branch—Messiah, a tender branch from the almost extinct royal line of David (Zec 6:12; Isa 4:2; 11:1; Jer 23:5; 33:15). Lu 1:78, where for "day spring," "branch" may be substituted (Mal 4:2, however, favors English Version). The reference cannot be to Zerubbabel (as Grotius thinks), for he was then in the full discharge of his office, whereas "the Branch" here is regarded as future.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Hear now; hitherto thou hast been entertained with emblems and hieroglyphics, but now, O Joshua, hear what these mean.

And thy fellows; the other priests, thy associates in the priestly office, though inferior to thee.

That sit before thee; as assessors or coadjutors in a council or assembly; the high priest as president, the other as members of the council sat with him; to let them know what these types mean.

They are men wondered at; the worldly, profane, unbelieving, and ignorant sort of Jews wonder at them, and their hopes; at their labour and expenses in attempting to build such a house, with so little helps to raise such a structure out of rubbish.

I, God the Father, will bring forth a much more wonderful work.

My servant the Branch; Christ, Messiah, the Branch, Isaiah 4:2 11:1 Jeremiah 33:15.

Hear now; hitherto thou hast been entertained with emblems and hieroglyphics, but now, O Joshua, hear what these mean.

And thy fellows; the other priests, thy associates in the priestly office, though inferior to thee.

That sit before thee; as assessors or coadjutors in a council or assembly; the high priest as president, the other as members of the council sat with him; to let them know what these types mean.

They are men wondered at; the worldly, profane, unbelieving, and ignorant sort of Jews wonder at them, and their hopes; at their labour and expenses in attempting to build such a house, with so little helps to raise such a structure out of rubbish.

I, God the Father, will bring forth a much more wonderful work.

My servant the Branch; Christ, Messiah, the Branch, Isaiah 4:2 11:1 Jeremiah 33:15.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest,.... What he was about to say further concerning the bringing forth of the Messiah, the antitype of him, and of all the priests:

thou and thy fellows, that sit before thee; the Jews interpret (w) these of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, for whom wonders were wrought in delivering them from the fiery furnace; but rather they design the priests and the prophets, and chief men, that came up with Joshua out of the captivity; and especially the young priests that sat before him as his disciples, to be instructed by him in things belonging to the priestly office:

for they are men wondered at; or, "men of a sign" (x), or "wonder"; typical of Christ, the great High Priest; they were "men wondered at", as all the people of God are: they are wondered at by themselves, that God should have any love to them, any thoughts concerning them; make a covenant with them in his Son; send him to die for them; call them by his grace; make them sons and heirs of his, and at last bring them to glory: and they are wondered at by the men of the world; that they should make such a choice as they have; that they should bear afflictions with so much cheerfulness and patience; that they should be so supported under them, and even thrive and flourish amidst them. The life of a believer is all a mystery, and wonderful: and they are wondered at by the angels, as they are the chosen of God, the redeemed of the Lamb, and called from among men; and they shall be the spectators of wonderful things themselves, which they will be swallowed up in the admiration of to all eternity. The Targum paraphrases the words thus,

"for they are men worthy to have miracles wrought for them;''

and indeed, though they are not worthy, yet miracles of grace are wrought for them, and one follows:

for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH; not Zerubbabel, as some interpret it; but the Messiah, as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it; and which is the sense of some other Jewish writers. Kimchi, though he interprets the Branch of Zerubbabel, yet observes there are some of their interpreters who explain it of the Messiah; and it is as if it was said, though I bring you this salvation, yet I will bring you a greater salvation than this, at the time I shall bring forth my servant the Branch: and again they interpret it of him, because the name of the Messiah is Menachem, i.e. the Comforter; and which is numerically the same with "Tzemach", the Branch; and Aben Ezra, who first explains it the same way as Kimchi, yet adds, but many interpreters say this Branch is the Messiah: and he is called Zerubbabel, because he is of his seed, even as he is called David; and David my servant shall be their Prince for ever, Ezekiel 37:25 likewise another Jewish writer, R. Abraham Seba (y), understands it of the Messiah. The heathens used to call their heroes the branches of the gods; the branch of Jupiter, and the branch of Mars, &c. are frequently met with in the poets (z), and perhaps taken from this name of the Messiah; who is the servant of God as Mediator, and became so by being made of a woman, and made under the law; and is a servant of God's choosing, sending, and rewarding; the chief of whose service lay in the redemption of his people; and who was an obedient, diligent, prudent, and faithful servant. The name of "the Branch" is given him elsewhere, Isaiah 4:2 and designs his descent as man, and the meanness of it; and yet his fruitfulness in himself, and to his people: the "bringing" him "forth" intends his incarnation; and shows that he existed before, and was with God, and is brought forth by him as an instance of his grace and love to men; and because this was a matter of great moment, and very wonderful, and would certainly be done, and deserved attention, the word "behold" is prefixed to it. The Septuagint render this word by "the rising sun", or that part of the heavens where the sun rises, the east; and the Vulgate Latin version has "orientem", "the east": hence another Zechariah calls the Messiah "the Day spring from on high", Luke 1:78 and one of his titles is "the Sun of righteousness", Malachi 4:2. The eastern part of the heavens was attributed by the heathens to their gods, and reckoned their seat and abode (a); and from hence the Messiah came, that man from heaven; he was born in the eastern part of the world. Some render the words, in Micah 5:2, "his goings forth are out of the east" (b); and it was from the mount of Olives, which was to the east of Jerusalem, that he went up to heaven; and from the same point of the heavens will he come again, since his feet will stand on that mountain, Acts 1:11 he is the Angel said to ascend from the east, Revelation 7:2 and perhaps it is owing to this version of the word here, and elsewhere, when used of the Messiah, that he came to be known among the Gentiles by this name; to which it is thought Tacitus (c) has respect, when he says,

"many were persuaded that in the ancient books of the priests were contained a "prophecy", that at that time "Oriens", or the east, should prevail;''

that is, such an one should exist, or rule in the world, whose name is "Oriens", or the rising sun.

(w) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 93. 1. & Jarchi in loc. (x) "viri portenti", Montanus, Calvin, Drusius, Cocceius; "viri prodigiorum", Vatablus; "viri prodigii", Burkius. (y) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 114. 2. 3. (z) Vid. Huet. Demonstr. Evangel. prop. 9. c. 59. p. 520. (a) Porphyry & Varro in Festus, apud Gregory's Notes and Observations, c. 18. p. 72. (b) Gregory, ib. p. 82. (c) Hist. l. 5. c. 13.

Geneva Study Bible

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they {l} are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the {m} BRANCH.

(l) Because they follow my word, they are condemned in the world, and esteemed as monsters. See Geneva Isa 8:18

(m) That is, Christ, who did so humble himself, that he not only became the servant of God, but also the servant of men: and therefore in him they should have comfort, even though in the world they are condemned; Isa 11:1 Jer 23:5 33:14-15.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

8. that sit before thee] not, “who are now (seen) sitting,” for Joshua, the High Priest, alone appears in the vision, but “who are accustomed to sit,” as the inferior priests (“thy fellows”) before the High Priest to receive his commands. So “the sons of the prophets” sit before Elisha for instruction, 2 Kings 4:38; 2 Kings 6:1; and “the elders of Israel” in like manner before Ezekiel, Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 14:1.

for they are men wondered at] Rather, men of sign, or type: men which are a sign, R. V. “Men who in their persons (and office) shadow forth future events. Ezekiel 12:6; Ezekiel 12:11; Ezekiel 24:24; Ezekiel 24:27.” Gesen. This clause is a quasi-parenthesis. The direct address is interrupted, and a reason, as it were, given for making it: “To Joshua and his fellows I foretell the coming of ‘my servant, Branch,’ because they, the priesthood, in all their office and ministry, as well as in what has just happened to them in the vision in the person of their chief, are types of Him.”

my servant] A frequent name of Messiah in Isaiah, e. g. Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 52:13; Isaiah 53:11. In Acts 3:13; Acts 3:26; Acts 4:27; Acts 4:30; the R. V. has restored the true rendering of παῖς, “Servant,” not “Son,” or “Child.” This vision is thus more distinctly Messianic than those which preceded it.

The Branch] Lit. Branch, or Shoot, or Sprout; the word being used as a proper name without the article. Comp. Zechariah 6:12; Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15. The use by the LXX. of ἀνατολή, “that which rises or springs up,” for Branch in these passages has led to the “Dayspring” (rightly so rendered as the context shews) of Luke 1:78. The early and repeated failures of succeeding High Priests and their fellows to fulfil the conditions and claim the privilege of Zechariah 3:7, as we learn from the Books of Ezra (Ezra 10:18) and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 13:4-5; Nehemiah 13:28-29), and from the Gospel history, must have made this promise of the “Branch” especially precious to the faithful while they waited for its fulfilment (Luke 2:38).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 8. - Hear now; ἄκουε δή (Septuagint). Joshua is called upon to give all his attention to the important announcement that follows, which promises a very great boon in the future. Thy fellows that sit before thee. His fellow priests, who took their orders from him and sat with him in council (comp. 2 Kings 4:38; Ezekiel 8:1, etc.). These priests were not seen in the vision. Keil considers that the address, to which Joshua's attention is called, begins at "Thou and thy fellows." For (or, yea) they are men wondered at; Septuagint, διότι ἄνδρες τερατοσκόποι εἰσί, "men observers of wonders;" Vulgate, Quia viri portendentes sunt (see Isaiah 8:18). The phrase would be better rendered, "men of portent, sign, or type." Revised Version gives, "men which are a sign," i.e. who foreshadow some future events, whose persons, office, duties, typify and look forward to good things to come. I will bring forth my Servant the BRANCH. This is why they are called typical men, because God is making the antitype to appear. The word rendered "branch" (tsemach) is translated by the Septuagint ἀνατολήν, which is used in the sense of "shoot" as well as "sunrise" (see Jeremiah 23:5; Ezekiel 16:7; Ezekiel 17:10), and by the Vulgate, orientem. So the Syriac and Arabic (comp. Luke 1:78). Most interpreters rightly see here a reference to the Messiah. Some few have fancied that Zerubbabel and Nehemiah are meant; but the appellation, "my Servant Branch," has already been applied in prophetical language to Messiah, and cannot be distorted to any inferior subject, such as a mere civil ruler. Messiah is often called the Lord's "Servant," e.g. Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 43:10; Isaiah 52:13, etc. And the terms, "Branch," or "Rod," or "Shoot," referring to Messiah, are found in Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15. From the depressed house of David a scion should spring, in whom all that was prophesied concerning the priesthood and kingdom of Israel should find its accomplishment. Zechariah 3:8

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In these verses there follows a prophetic address, in which the angel of the Lord describes the symbolical action of the re-clothing of the high priest, according to its typical significance in relation to the continuance and the future of the kingdom of God. Zechariah 3:6. "And the angel of the Lord testified to Joshua, and said, Zechariah 3:7. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, If thou shalt walk in my ways, and keep my charge, thou shalt both judge my house and keep my courts, and I will give thee ways among these standing here. Zechariah 3:8. Hear then, thou high priest Joshua, thou, and thy comrades who sit before thee: yea, men of wonder are they: for, behold, I bring my servant Zemach (Sprout). Zechariah 3:9. For behold the stone which I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone are seven eyes: behold I engrave its carving, is the saying of Jehovah of hosts, and I clear away the iniquity of this land in one day. Zechariah 3:10. In that day, is the saying of Jehovah of hosts, ye will invite one another under the vine and under the fig-tree." In Zechariah 3:7 not only is the high priest confirmed in his office, but the perpetuation and glorification of his official labours are promised. As Joshua appears in this vision as the supporter of the office, this promise does not apply to Joshua himself so much as to the office, the continuance of which is indeed bound up with the fidelity of those who sustain it. The promise in Zechariah 3:7 therefore begins by giving prominence to this condition: If thou wilt walk in my ways, etc. Walking in the ways of the Lord refers to the personal attitude of the priests towards the Lord, or to fidelity in their personal relation to God; and keeping the charge of Jehovah, to the faithful performance of their official duties (shâmar mishmartı̄, noticing what has to be observed in relation to Jehovah; see at Leviticus 8:35). The apodosis begins with וגם אתּה, and not with ונתתּי. This is required not only by the emphatic 'attâh, but also by the clauses commencing with vegam; whereas the circumstance, that the tense only changes with venâthattı̄, and that tâdı̄n and tishmōr are still imperfects, has its simple explanation in the fact, that on account of the gam, the verbs could not be linked together with Vav, and placed at the head of the clauses. Taken by themselves, the clauses vegam tâdı̄n and vegam tishmōr might express a duty of the high priest quite as well as a privilege. If they were taken as apodoses, they would express an obligation; but in that case they would appear somewhat superfluous, because the obligations of the high priest are fully explained in the two previous clauses. If, on the other hand, the apodosis commences with them, they contain, in the form of a promise, a privilege which is set before the high priest as awaiting him in the future - namely, the privilege of still further attending to the service of the house of God, which had been called in question by Satan's accusation. דּין את־בּיתי, to judge the house of God, i.e., to administer right in relation to the house of God, namely, in relation to the duties devolving upon the high priest in the sanctuary as such; hence the right administration of the service in the holy place and the holy of holies. This limitation is obvious from the parallel clause, to keep the courts, in which the care of the ordinary performance of worship in the courts, and the keeping of everything of an idolatrous nature from the house of God, are transferred to him. And to this a new and important promise is added in the last clause (ונהתּי וגו). The meaning of this depends upon the explanation given to the word מהלכים. Many commentators regard his as a Chaldaic form of the hiphil participle (after Daniel 3:25; Daniel 4:34), and take it either in the intransitive sense of "those walking" (lxx, Pesh., Vulg., Luth., Hofm., etc.), or in the transitive sense of those conducting the leaders (Ges., Hengst., etc.). But apart from the fact that the hiphil of הלך in Hebrew is always written either הוליך or היליך, and has never anything but a transitive meaning, this view is precluded by the בּין, for which we should expect מבּין or מן, since the meaning could only be, "I give thee walkers or leaders between those standing here," i.e., such as walk to and fro between those standing here (Hofmann), or, "I will give thee leaders among (from) these angels who are standing here" (Hengstenberg). In the former case, the high priest would receive a promise that he should always have angels to go to and fro between himself and Jehovah, to carry up his prayers, and bring down revelations from God, and supplies of help (John 1:51; Hofmann). This thought would be quite a suitable one; but it is not contained in the words, "since the angels, even if they walk between the standing angels and in the midst of them, do not go to and fro between Jehovah and Joshua" (Kliefoth). In the latter case the high priest would merely receive a general assurance of the assistance of superior angels; and for such a thought as this the expression would be an extremely marvellous one, and theבּין would be used incorrectly. We must therefore follow Calvin and others, who take מהלכין as a substantive, from a singular מהלך, formed after מחצב, מסמר, מזלג, or else as a plural of מהלך, to be pointed מהלכים (Ros., Hitzig, Kliefoth). The words then add to the promise, which ensured to the people the continuance of the priesthood and of the blessings which it conveyed, this new feature, that the high priest would also receive a free access to God, which had not yet been conferred upon him by his office. This points to a time when the restrictions of the Old Testament will be swept away. The further address, in Zechariah 3:8 and Zechariah 3:9, announces how God will bring about this new time or future.

To show the importance of what follows, Joshua is called upon to "hear." It is doubtful where what he is to hear commences; for the idea, that after the summons to attend, the successive, chain-like explanation of the reason for this summons passes imperceptibly into that to which he is to give heed, is hardly admissible, and has only been adopted because it was found difficult to discover the true commencement of the address. The earlier theologians (Chald., Jerome, Theod. Mops., Theodoret, and Calvin), and even Hitzig and Ewald, take כּי הנני מביא (for behold I will bring forth). But these words are evidently explanatory of אנשׁי מופת המּה (men of wonder, etc.). Nor can it commence with ūmashtı̄ (and I remove), as Hofmann supposes (Weiss. u. Erfll. i. 339), or with Zechariah 3:9, "for behold the stone," as he also maintains in his Schriftbeweis (ii. 1, pp. 292-3, 508-9). The first of these is precluded not only by the fact that the address would be cut far too short, but also by the cop. Vav before mashtı̄; and the second by the fact that the words, "for behold the stone," etc., in Zechariah 3:9, are unmistakeably a continuation and further explanation of the words, "for behold I will bring forth my servant Zemach," in Zechariah 3:9. The address begins with "thou and thy fellows," since the priests could not be called upon to hear, inasmuch as they were not present. Joshua's comrades who sit before him are the priests who sat in the priestly meetings in front of the high priest, the president of the assembly, so that yōshēbh liphnē corresponds to our "assessors." The following kı̄ introduces the substance of the address; and when the subject is placed at the head absolutely, it is used in the sense of an asseveration, "yea, truly" (cf. Genesis 18:20; Psalm 118:10-12; Psalm 128:2; and Ewald, 330, b). 'Anshē mōphēth, men of miracle, or of a miraculous sign, as mōphēth, τὸ τέρας, portentum, miraculum, embraces the idea of אות, σημεῖον (cf. Isaiah 8:18), are men who attract attention to themselves by something striking, and are types of what is to come, so that mōphēth really corresponds to τύπος τῶν μελλόντων (see at Exodus 4:21; Isaiah 8:18). המּה stands for אתּם, the words passing over from the second person to the third on the resuming of the subject, which is placed at the head absolutely, just as in Zephaniah 2:12, and refers not only to רעיך, but to Joshua and his comrades. They are men of typical sign, but not simply on account of the office which they hold, viz., because their mediatorial priesthood points to the mediatorial office and atoning work of the Messiah, as most of the commentators assume. For "this applies, in the first place, not only to Joshua and his priests, but to the Old Testament priesthood generally; and secondly, there was nothing miraculous in this mediatorial work of the priesthood, which must have been the case if they were to be mōphēth. The miracle, which is to be seen in Joshua and his priests, consists rather in the fact that the priesthood of Israel is laden with guilt, but by the grace of God it has been absolved, and accepted by God again, as the deliverance from exile shows," and Joshua and his priests are therefore brands plucked by the omnipotence of grace from the fire of merited judgment (Kliefoth). This miracle of grace which has been wrought for them, points beyond itself to an incomparably greater and better act of the sin-absolving grace of God, which is still in the future.

This is the way in which the next clause, "for I bring my servant Zemach," which is explanatory of 'anshē mōphēth (men of miracle), attaches itself. The word Tsemach is used by Zechariah simply as a proper name of the Messiah; and the combination ‛abhdı̄ Tsemach (my servant Tsemach) is precisely the same as ‛abhdı̄ Dâvid (my servant David) in Ezekiel 34:23-24; Ezekiel 37:24, or "my servant Job" in Job 1:8; Job 2:3, etc. The objection raised by Koehler - namely, that if tsemach, as a more precise definition of ‛abhdı̄ (my servant), or as an announcement what servant of Jehovah is intended, were used as a proper name, it would either be construed with the article (הצּמח), or else we should have עבדּי צמח שׁמו as in Zechariah 6:12 - is quite groundless. For "if poets or prophets form new proper names at pleasure, such names, even when deprived of the article, easily assume the distinguishing sign of most proper names, like bâgōdâh and meshūbhâh in Jeremiah 3" (Ewald, 277, c). It is different with שׁמו in Zechariah 6:12; there shemō is needed for the sake of the sense, as in 1 Samuel 1:1 and Job 1:1, and does not serve to designate the preceding word as a proper name, but simply to define the person spoken of more precisely by mentioning his name. Zechariah has formed the name Tsemach, Sprout, or Shoot, primarily from Jeremiah 23:5 and Jeremiah 33:15, where the promise is given that a righteous Sprout (tsemach tsaddı̄q), or a Sprout of righteousness, shall be raised up to Jacob. And Jeremiah took the figurative description of the great descendant of David, who will create righteousness upon the earth, as a tsemach which Jehovah will raise up, or cause to shoot up to David, from Isaiah 11:1-2; Isaiah 53:2, according to which the Messiah is to spring up as a rod out of the stem of Jesse that has been hewn down, or as a root-shoot out of dry ground. Tsemach, therefore, denotes the Messiah in His origin from the family of David that has fallen into humiliation, as a sprout which will grow up from its original state of humiliation to exaltation and glory, and answers therefore to the train of thought in this passage, in which the deeply humiliated priesthood is exalted by the grace of the Lord into a type of the Messiah. Whether the designation of the sprout as "my servant" is taken from Isaiah 52:13 and Isaiah 53:11 (cf. Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 49:3), or formed after "my servant David" in Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 37:24, is a point which cannot be decided, and is of no importance to the matter in hand. The circumstance that the removal of iniquity, which is the peculiar work of the Messiah, is mentioned in Ezekiel 37:9, furnishes no satisfactory reason for deducing ‛abhdı̄ tsemach pre-eminently from Isaiah 53:1-12. For in Zechariah 3:9 the removal of iniquity is only mentioned in the second rank, in the explanation of Jehovah's purpose to bring His servant Tsemach. The first rank is assigned to the stone, which Jehovah has laid before Joshua, etc.

The answer to the question, what this stone signifies, or who is to be understood by it, depends upon the view we take of the words עינים ... על אבן. Most of the commentators admit that these words do not form a parenthesis (Hitzig, Ewald), but introduce a statement concerning הנּה האבן. Accordingly, הנּה האבן וגו is placed at the head absolutely, and resumed in על אבן אחת. This statement may mean, either upon one stone are seven eyes (visible or to be found), or seven eyes are directed upon one stone. For although, in the latter case, we should expect אל instead of על (according to Psalm 33:18; Psalm 34:16), שׂים עין על does occur in the sense of the exercise of loving care (Genesis 44:21; Jeremiah 39:12; Jeremiah 40:4). But if the seven eyes were to be seen upon the stone, they could only be engraved or drawn upon it. And what follows, הנני מפתּח וגו, does not agree with this, inasmuch as, according to this, the engraving upon the stone had now first to take place instead of having been done already, since hinnēh followed by a participle never expresses what has already occurred, but always what is to take place in the future. For this reason we must decide that the seven eyes are directed towards the stone, or watch over it with protecting care. But this overthrows the view held by the expositors of the early church, and defended by Kliefoth, namely, that the stone signifies the Messiah, after Isaiah 28:16 and Psalm 118:2, - a view with which the expression nâthattı̄, "given, laid before Joshua," can hardly be reconciled, even if this meant that Joshua was to see with his own eyes, as something actually present, that God was laying the foundation-stone. Still less can we think of the foundation-stone of the temple (Ros., Hitz.), since this had been laid long ago, and we cannot see for what purpose it was to be engraved; or of the stone which, according to the Rabbins, occupied the empty place of the ark of the covenant in the most holy place of the second temple (Hofmann); or of a precious stone in the breastplate of the high priest. The stone is the symbol of the kingdom of God, and is laid by Jehovah before Joshua, by God's transferring to him the regulation of His house and the keeping of His courts (before, liphnē, in a spiritual sense, as in 1 Kings 9:6, for example). The seven eyes, which watch with protecting care over this stone, are not a figurative representation of the all-embracing providence of God; but, in harmony with the seven eyes of the Lamb, which are the seven Spirits of God (Revelation 5:6), and with the seven eyes of Jehovah (Zechariah 4:10), they are the sevenfold radiations of the Spirit of Jehovah (after Isaiah 11:2), which show themselves in vigorous action upon this stone, to prepare it for its destination. This preparation is called pittēăch pittuchâh in harmony with the figure of the stone (cf. Ezekiel 28:9, Ezekiel 28:11). "I will engrave the engraving thereof," i.e., engrave it so as to prepare it for a beautiful and costly stone. The preparation of this stone, i.e., the preparation of the kingdom of God established in Israel, by the powers of the Spirit of the Lord, is one feature in which the bringing of the tsemach will show itself. The other consists in the wiping away of the iniquity of this land. Mūsh is used here in a transitive sense, to cause to depart, to wipe away. הארץ ההיא (that land) is the land of Canaan or Judah, which will extend in the Messianic times over the whole earth. The definition of the time, beyōm 'echâd, cannot of course mean "on one and the same day," so as to affirm that the communication of the true nature to Israel, namely, of one well pleasing to God, and the removal of guilt from the land, would take place simultaneously (Hofmann, Koehler); but the expression "in one day" is substantially the same as ἐφάπαξ in Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 9:12; Hebrews 10:10, and affirms that the wiping away of sin to be effected by the Messiah (tsemach) will not resemble that effected by the typical priesthood, which had to be continually repeated, but will be all finished at once. This one day is the day of Golgotha. Accordingly, the thought of this verse is the following: Jehovah will cause His servant Tsemach to come, because He will prepare His kingdom gloriously, and exterminate all the sins of His people and land at once. By the wiping away of all guilt and iniquity, not only of that which rests upon the land (Koehler), but also of that of the inhabitants of the land, i.e., of the whole nation, all the discontent and all the misery which flow from sin will be swept away, and a state of blessed peace will ensue for the purified church of God. This is the thought of the tenth verse, which is formed after Micah 4:4 and 1 Kings 5:5, and with which the vision closes. The next vision shows the glory of the purified church.