The first high priest of the rebuilt temple, the priestly half of the pair (with the governor Zerubbabel) that carries Israel through an age with no king. He is grandson of the Seraiah whom Nebuchadnezzar executed at the fall of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:18-21) and son of Jehozadak, who was carried to Babylon (1 Chronicles 6:15) — so the high-priestly line, like the royal one, comes home out of exile in his person. Zechariah, Haggai's contemporary, gives him two visions: stripped of filthy garments and re-clothed with a clean turban (Zechariah 3), and crowned as a sign of 'the Branch' who will build the temple (Zechariah 6). Ezra and Nehemiah spell his name JESHUA. ⚠ He is NOT Joshua son of Nun, the conqueror — a different man five centuries later — which is why this entry never answers to the bare name 'Joshua.'