Giuseppe wrote: ↑Wed Jan 15, 2020 8:25 am
We know another thing: the names of these two witnesses.
Zechariah says us who will witness the coming Messiah:
Zorobabel and Joshua/Jesus.
[We have in an embryional state a pre-Christian passage where a Jew [probably] named [Yeshua/Ἰησοῦς, Iēsoûs/Jesus] is stoned, crucified and risen.
.
The Livius
webpage for Zerubbabel refers to the vision of the prophet Zechariah outlined in Zech 3:8, in which an angel is said to speak to the high priest Yeshua/Joshua, -
This is what the Lord almighty says: [...] "Listen, O high-priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch."
That Livius page says "the "branch"
note refers to Zerubbabel" (and that
note says "A reference to Isaiah 11.1 and Jeremiah 23.5-6").
As does
this page: "Zerubbabel is 'the Branch' [in Zech 3:8
and Zech 6:12-13].
That Livius page goes on to say, -
In another vision, Zechariah saw how the high-priest Joshua was crowned and ruled jointly with governor Zerubbabel. God ordered the prophet to say:
"Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two." [note = Zechariah 6.12-13.]
Zech 6:12 is the passage Philo is said to cite in
de Conf Ling [62 (or thereabouts)] where instead of the Branch, Anatole - ἀνατολή - is given, and said to mean the East, or Rising [or sunrise].
But,
this web-article says, after citing Zech 4:14, -
The speech in Zech 6:12-13] commenc[ing], "Behold the man...", [t]he man Zechariah referred to was neither the royal Zerubbabel nor the priestly Joshua, but that Man of the future who would be more special than either Zerubbabel or Joshua.
The head of Joshua within the golden crown symbolized that priesthood would be incorporated with kingship. The man of the future, the offspring of Zerubbabel, was in line not only to sit upon the royal throne of David, but also to officiate at the mercy seat in the Holiest. He would be both king and high priest.
.
Certainly Zech 4 refers to Zorobabel/Zerubbabel, [but] in this context [
Brenton Septuagint Translation]
8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 The hands of Zorobabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall finish it: and thou shalt know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to thee. 10 For who has despised the small days? surely they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet of tin in the hand of Zorobabel: these are the seven eyes that look upon all the earth.
11 And I answered, and said to him, What are these two olive-trees, which are on the right and left hand of the candlestick? 12 And I asked the second time, and said to him, What are the two branches of the olive-trees that are by the side of the two golden pipes that pour into and communicate with the golden oil funnels? 13 And he said to me, Knowest thou not what these are? and I said, No, my lord. 14 And he said, These are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
Disclaimer: nothing I have said here is designed to sideline or dismiss anything anyone else has said previously. I have posted this as a reflection of some hurried research, and for comment or feedback if anyone would like to provide any, for whatever reason.