4:13 When they saw the boldness 3 of Peter and John, and discovered 4 that they were uneducated 5 and ordinary 6 men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus.
23:23 For there is no spell against 7 Jacob,
nor is there any divination against Israel.
At this time 8 it must be said 9 of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘Look at 10 what God has done!’
71:7 Many are appalled when they see me, 11
but you are my secure shelter.
8:18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me 12 are reminders and object lessons 13 in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
1:1 In the eighth month of Darius’ 19 second year, 20 the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, 21 son of Berechiah son of Iddo, as follows:
3:1 Next I saw Joshua the high priest 22 standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan 23 standing at his right hand to accuse him.
1 tn Or “this noise.”
2 tn Or “was bewildered.”
3 tn Or “courage.”
4 tn Or “and found out.”
5 sn Uneducated does not mean “illiterate,” that is, unable to read or write. Among Jews in NT times there was almost universal literacy, especially as the result of widespread synagogue schools. The term refers to the fact that Peter and John had no formal rabbinic training and thus, in the view of their accusers, were not qualified to expound the law or teach publicly. The objection is like Acts 2:7.
6 tn For the translation of ἰδιῶται (idiwtai) as “ordinary men” see L&N 27.26.
7 tn Or “in Jacob.” But given the context the meaning “against” is preferable. The words describe two techniques of consulting God; the first has to do with observing omens in general (“enchantments”), and the second with casting lots or arrows of the like (“divinations” [Ezek 21:26]). See N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCB), 295-96.
8 tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.
9 tn The Niphal imperfect here carries the nuance of obligation – one has to say in amazement that God has done something marvelous or “it must be said.”
10 tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “like a sign [i.e., portent or bad omen] I am to many.”
12 sn This refers to Shear-jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:1, 3).
13 tn Or “signs and portents” (NAB, NRSV). The names of all three individuals has symbolic value. Isaiah’s name (which meant “the Lord delivers”) was a reminder that the Lord was the nation’s only source of protection; Shear-jashub’s name was meant, at least originally, to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’s name was a guarantee that God would defeat Israel and Syria (see the note at 8:4). The word מוֹפֶת (mofet, “portent”) can often refer to some miraculous event, but in 20:3 it is used, along with its synonym אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) of Isaiah’s walking around half-naked as an object lesson of what would soon happen to the Egyptians.
14 tn Heb “these men.” The cleansing of Joshua and his elevation to enhanced leadership as a priest signify the coming of the messianic age.
15 sn The collocation of servant and branch gives double significance to the messianic meaning of the passage (cf. Isa 41:8, 9; 42:1, 19; 43:10; 44:1, 2, 21; Ps 132:17; Jer 23:5; 33:15).
16 sn The juxtaposition of the messenger of the
17 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
18 sn The stem used here (Hitpael) with the verb “walk” (הָלַךְ, halakh) suggests the exercise of dominion (cf. Gen 13:17; Job 1:7; 2:2-3; Ezek 28:14; Zech 6:7). The
19 sn Darius is Darius Hystaspes, king of Persia from 522-486
20 sn The eighth month of Darius’ second year was late October – late November, 520
21 sn Both Ezra (5:1; 6:14) and Nehemiah (12:16) speak of Zechariah as a son of Iddo only. A probable explanation is that Zechariah’s actual father Berechiah had died and the prophet was raised by his grandfather Iddo. The “Zechariah son of Barachiah” of whom Jesus spoke (Matt 23:35; Luke 11:51) was probably the martyred prophet by that name who may have been a grandson of the priest Jehoiada (2 Chr 24:20-22).
22 sn Joshua the high priest mentioned here is the son of the priest Jehozadak, mentioned also in Hag 1:1 (cf. Ezra 2:2; 3:2, 8; 4:3; 5:2; 10:18; Neh 7:7; 12:1, 7, 10, 26). He also appears to have been the grandfather of the high priest contemporary with Nehemiah ca. 445
23 tn The Hebrew term הַשָּׂטָן (hassatan, “the satan”) suggests not so much a personal name (as in almost all English translations) but an epithet, namely, “the adversary.” This evil being is otherwise thus described in Job 1 and 2 and 1 Chr 21:1. In this last passage the article is dropped and “the satan” becomes “Satan,” a personal name.