SUMMARY
In the fourth vision, the prophet sees JoshuaThe successor of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan., the high priestThe high priest was the most powerful priest in the temple in Jerusalem. The high priest Caiaphas held the office during the trial of Jesus. Later, in the New Testament book of Hebrews, the role of merciful high priest is ascribed to the resurrected Jesus., facing the angel of the Lord, with Satan at the angel’s side accusing Joshua. The Lord rebukes Satan and commands that Joshua’s filthy clothes be replaced with clean garments and a clean turban for his head.
ANALYSIS
In Genesis 3:1-5, Eve’s tempter is the unnamed “serpentA serpent is described as the snake who tricked Eve into disobeying God in the Garden of Eden. Elsewhere a serpent appears in narratives relating to Moses, in the Psalms, and in Isaiah. Jesus invoked the image of serpents and snakes in his preaching; and....” In Zechariah the word “Satan” appears with a definite article, ha-satan, and could be translated as “the adversary” or “the accuser.” The same term appears in the heavenly scene in Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7, where Satan appears among the heavenly beings. In 1 SamuelThe judge who anointed the first two kings of Israel. 29:4 and 1 Kings 11:14, the word refers to a human adversary. In Numbers 22:32, an angel appears “as an adversary” to BalaamA soothsayer who blessed Israel at the end of the wilderness wanderings.. In 1 Chronicles 21:1 (“Satan stood up against Israel, and incited DavidSecond king of Israel, David united the northern and southern kingdoms. to count the people”), the word is a proper name. In Job and Zechariah, the Satan seems to be a member of the heavenly court whose divinely appointed job is to accuse the people, to act as God’s prosecuting attorney. The Satan is allowed in God’s presence, if not always appreciated. Perhaps the Satan is overzealous in prosecution and comes up for rebuke occasionally. But the notion of Satan representing an independent power opposed to God (as in the New Testament) does not seem to have developed yet.
