Zechariah 3 Footnotes

3:1–4:14 This section is concerned with Joshua, the high priest of the returned Judean community, and Zerubbabel, the governor who was a descendant of David (Mt 1:6-13; Lk 3:27-31). Together, they were “the two anointed ones . . . who stand by the Lord of the whole earth” (Zch 4:14). Under the difficult conditions encountered by the returned exiles, the Lord sent Zechariah a vision of encouragement for these two men. But the vision looked ahead to Christ, the “anointed” (Messiah), who fulfills in himself both roles: high priest (Heb 4:14) and Davidic ruler (Rm 1:3; Rv 22:16). Interestingly, Joshua was one of at least seventeen men mentioned in the Bible with the name “Joshua” (or a variant of it), including Jesus himself.