3:1 Joshua the high priest. In the tradition of the Levitical priesthood and Aaron, the first high priest appointed for Israel by God, Joshua had come to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel sixteen years earlier, and as their mediator, represented the Israelite nation before God.

3:1 Satan standing. Satan—as in the well-known attack on Job (Job 1:6-12)—is always tempting men to sin and, when they do, accuses them before God, as “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). His hatred toward men (“created in the image of God” which he was not) is exceeded only by his hatred of God. He himself wants to be god of the universe, and so seeks to defeat all God’s purposes for His other creatures.