Ezra 3:8-9

3:8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, ¹  in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, ²  along with the rest of their associates, ³  the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed ⁴  the Levites who were at least twenty years old ⁵  to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple. 3:9 So Jeshua appointed both his sons and his relatives, ⁶  Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Yehudah ⁷ ), to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their relatives ⁸  the Levites.

Ezra 4:3

4:3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right ⁹  to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

Ezra 5:2

5:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began ¹⁰  to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

Haggai 1:12

The Response of the People

1:12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ¹¹  along with the whole remnant of the people, ¹²  obeyed ¹³  the Lord their God. They responded favorably to the message of the prophet Haggai, who spoke just as the Lord their God had instructed him, ¹⁴  and the people began to respect the Lord. ¹⁵ 

Haggai 1:14

1:14 So the Lord energized and encouraged ¹⁶  Zerubbabel ¹⁷  son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ¹⁸  and the whole remnant of the people. ¹⁹  They came and worked on the temple of their God, the Lord who rules over all.

Haggai 2:4

2:4 Even so, take heart, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord. ‘Take heart, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and ²⁰  all you citizens of the land,’ ²¹  says the Lord, ‘and begin to work. For I am with you,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

Zechariah 3:1

Vision Four: The Priest

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.

Zechariah 3:3

3:3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes ²⁴  as he stood there before the angel.

Zechariah 3:8-9

3:8 Listen now, Joshua the high priest, both you and your colleagues who are sitting before you, all of you ²⁵  are a symbol that I am about to introduce my servant, the Branch. ²⁶  3:9 As for the stone ²⁷  I have set before Joshua – on the one stone there are seven eyes. ²⁸  I am about to engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. ²⁹ 

¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

² tn Heb “began”; the phrase “the work” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

³ tn Heb “their brothers.”

⁴ tn Heb “stood.”

⁵ tn Heb “from twenty years and upward.”

⁶ tn Heb “brothers.”

⁷ sn The name יְהוּדָה (Yehudah; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB “Judah”) is probably a variant of Hodaviah (see Ezra 2:40; cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

⁸ tn Heb “brothers.”

⁹ tn Heb “not to you and to us.”

¹⁰ tn Aram “arose and began.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

¹¹ tn Many English versions have “Joshua [the] son of Jehozadak, the high priest,” but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

¹² tn Heb “all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant (see Ezra 9:14; Isa 10:20-22; 11:11, 16; Jer 23:3; 31:7; and many other passages). Cf. TEV “all the people who had returned from the exile in Babylonia.”

¹³ tn Heb “heard the voice of”; NAB “listened to the voice of.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and according to the words of Haggai the prophet just as the Lord their God sent him.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) take the last clause as causal: “because the Lord their God had sent him.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “and the people feared from before the Lord”; NASB “showed reverence for the Lord.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “stirred up” (as in many English versions). Only one verb appears in the Hebrew text, but the translation “energized and encouraged” brings out its sense in this context. Cf. TEV “inspired”; NLT “sparked the enthusiasm of”; CEV “made everyone eager to work.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “the spirit of Zerubbabel” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

¹⁸ tn Heb “the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest” (as in many English versions), but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

¹⁹ tn Heb “and the spirit of all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant; see the note on the phrase “the whole remnant of the people” in v. 12.

²⁰ tn Heb “and take heart.” Although emphatic, the repetition of the verb is redundant in contemporary English style and has been left untranslated.

²¹ tn Heb “the people of the land” (עַם הָאָרֶץ, ’am ha’arets); this is a technical term referring to free citizens as opposed to slaves.

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 b.c. (Neh 12:10).

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.

²⁴ sn The Hebrew word צוֹאִים (tso’im) means “excrement.” This disgusting figure of speech suggests Joshua’s absolute disqualification for priestly service in the flesh, but v. 2 speaks of his having been rescued from that deplorable state by God’s grace. He is like a burning stick pulled out of the fire before it is consumed. This is a picture of cleansing, saving grace.

²⁵ tn Heb “these men.” The cleansing of Joshua and his elevation to enhanced leadership as a priest signify the coming of the messianic age.

²⁶ 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).

²⁷ sn The stone is also a metaphor for the Messiah, a foundation stone that, at first rejected (Ps 118:22-23; Isa 8:13-15), will become the chief cornerstone of the church (Eph 2:19-22).

²⁸ tn Some understand the Hebrew term עַיִן (’ayin) here to refer to facets (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “faces” (NCV, CEV “seven sides”) of the stone rather than some representation of organs of sight.

²⁹ sn Inscriptions were common on ancient Near Eastern cornerstones. This inscription speaks of the redemption achieved by the divine resident of the temple, the Messiah, who will in the day of the Lord bring salvation to all Israel (cf. Isa 66:7-9).