Brit-Am Biblical Commentary (BABCOM) to the Book of Zechariah
WOOD from the Hebrew word "OOD" (Dry Wood)!
Zechariah 3:
1 Then he showed me Joshua the High Priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.
2 And the LORD said to Satan, 'The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?'
Who is the Satan?
The Satan is equated with the Devil. Our image of the Satan has been modified by that of Christianity. The Christian imagery in its turn was derived mainly from Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jewish sources. In other words the Christians took imagery from different Jewish traditions (some of which would have been considered heretical and belonging to minority fringe groups) and made a coherent narrative out of them. The Jews on the other hand never really made up their mind on the subject! At the time when Christianity came into being and during its early development different Jewish sects existed in the Land of Israel, in Egypt, and throughout the Jewish Diaspora. Some of these had been influenced by their non-Jewish neighbors. There were also Gentiles who combined Jewish beliefs with pagan ones. This is all very interesting and important but once someone starts delving into these matters too deeply there is a risk of never getting out of them and of doing more harm than good.
The Christian (derived from the Jewish) version says that originally Lucifer (In Hebrew "Hilel ben Sharchar" i.e. Light son of the Morning, Isaiah 14:12) was a leading angel in Heaven. He led a rebellion against God and was expelled. Since then he roams the earth seeking to seduce mankind into doing bad and not obeying the Almighty. The serpent in the Garden who seduced Adam and Eve was actually Lucifer i.e. the Devil. All sin derives from the devil.
Some Jews believed in a personalized Satan similar to that of Christians but others held him to be merely a symbolic representation of the Evil Impulse and the Forces of Adversity. Neither version had the status of compulsory doctrine.
The Satan is mentioned in the Book of Job as appearing among the council of Angelic Forces and inciting the Almighty to put a righteous man named Job to the test. Here too, this could be interpreted as symbolic.
For a more thorough discussion of these matters, see:
The Devil or Not? Satan, Lucifer, and the Demons
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/satan.html
Other-Worldly Beings?
Did Shadim (translated as "demons") Exist?
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/demons.html
Solomon and Demons.
Notes of Interest from the sources about Shadim
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/shadim.html
"a brand plucked from the fire," (Zechariah 3:2). a brand is a burning piece of wood. This is from the Hebrew "bier" meaning burn and this is where the English word "burn" also comes from. The use of an "n" to denote past tense is also found in Mishnaic Hebrew (ca. 100 -300 CE which may itself actually be a dialect of Biblical Hebrew from Biblical Times.
The Hebrew word translated here as brand is "OOD" which actually means a dry piece of wood. It could be where our English word "wood" comes from!
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, 'Take away the filthy garments from him.' And to him He said, 'See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.'
5 And I said, 'Let them put a clean turban on his head.'
So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.
6 Then the Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying,
7 'Thus says the LORD of hosts:
'If you will walk in My ways,
And if you will keep My command,
Then you shall also judge My house,
And likewise have charge of My courts;
I will give you places to walk
Among these who stand here.
8 'Hear, O Joshua, the High Priest,
You and your companions who sit before you,
For they are a wondrous sign;
For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.
9 For behold, the stone
That I have laid before Joshua:
Upon the stone are seven eyes.
Behold, I will engrave its inscription,'
Says the LORD of hosts,
'And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
10 In that day,' says the LORD of hosts,
'Everyone will invite his neighbor
Under his vine and under his fig tree.'
According to the simple meaning this passage is referring to Joshua the High Priest whose being chosen was yet to be fully revealed.
It could also have Prophetic Significance since the prophesied removal of the iniquity of the Land has not yet taken place.
The name Joshua is the source, or one of the sources, of the name "Jesus."
Maybe this name was given some kind of Messianic significance long before Christianity?