Iehovae, et Satan stantem ad dexteram ejus, ut adversaretur illi. (continued)
Zechariah 3
Zechariah 3:1, 2
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.
1. Et ostendit mihi Iehosuah sacerdotem magnum stantem in conspectu angeli
Iehovae, et Satan stantem ad dexteram ejus, ut adversaretur illi.
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?
2. Et dixit Iehova ad Satan, increpet te Iehova, Satan, et increpet (hoc est, iterum increpet) te Iehova, qui elegit Ierusalem: annon hic torris erutus ex igne?
We have said at the beginning that Zechariah was sent for this end --- to encourage weak minds: for it was difficult to entertain hope in the midst of so much confusion. Some, but a small portion of the nation, had returned with the tribe of Judah: and then immediately there arose many enemies by whom the building of the city and of the temple was hindered; and when the faithful viewed all their circumstances, they could hardly entertain any hope of a redemption such as had been promised. Hence Zechariah labored altogether for this end --- to show that the faithful were to look for more than they had reason to expect from the aspect of things at the time, and that they were to direct their eyes and their thoughts to the power of God, which was not as yet manifested, and which indeed God purposely designed not to exercise, in order to try the patience of the people.
This is the subject which he now pursues, when he says, that Joshua the priest was shown to him, with Satan at his right hand to oppose him 186 God was, however, 186To retain the alliteration of the Hebrew, the words may be thus rendered — "and the opponent standing on his right hand to oppose him," or, "the accuser standing on his right hand to accuse him." The word Satan is rendered here and in Job by the Septuagint, "the accuser," or "the devil," {ὁ} {διαβολος}. The station on the right hand was that of the plaintiff, or the accuser, or of the pleader, as Grotius thinks. See Psalm 109:6. The word ,[{]}שטזaccording to its use as a verb, participle, or a noun, means an opponent or adversary, rather than an accuser. See Psalm 38:20; Numbers 22:22; Genesis 26:21 Blayney, as well as Kimchi, thinks that Sanballat is meant by ;[{]}השטזbut the article ,[{]}הas it has been observed by Marckius and Henderson, seems to