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BIBLICAL

COMMENTARY
ON THE

PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

CARL FRIEDRTCH KEIL,

DOCTOR AND PROFKSSOU OF THEOLOGY.

D.D.,

^ranslatetf

from

tljc

#rma

REV.

JAMES MARTIN,

B.A.

VOL.

I.

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MDCCCLXXVL

The
first

whole of

this

Commentary, with the exception of the

i.,

99 pages of Vol.

has been translated by Rev.

James

Martin, B.A.
F. C.

University, St. Andrews.

CONTENTS.

INTEODUCTION.
I.

The Person
The Times
The Book

of the Prophet,

II.

of the Prophet,
of Ezekiel,

..... .....
Prophet

AGE
1
i'

III.

EXPOSITION.
FIRST HALF. THE PROPHECIES OF JUDGMENT. CHAP. I.-XXXII.
The Consecration and Calling
(Chap,
i.-iii.

21),

......
of Ezekiel to the Office of
its

17
(il

The Destiny

of Jerusalem

and

Inhabitants (Chap.
Places,
.

iii.

22-v. 17),

The Judgment upon the Idolatrous

shippers (Chap,
vi.),
. .

and on the Idol-wor.

.

93

The Overthrow

of Israel (Chap, vii.),

.99
.111
155
1G4
.

Vision of the Destruction of Jerusalem (Chap,

viii.-xi.),

Departure of the King and People

and Bread

of Tears (Chap, xii.),

xiii.),

Against the False Prophets and Prophetesses (Chap,

Attitude of
of the

God towards

the Worshippers of Idols, and Certainty

xiv.),
.
.
. .

Judgments (Chap,

.177
.

Jerusalem, the Useless

Wood

of a

Wild Vine (Chap,

Ingratitude and Unfaithfulness of Jerusalem. and Shame (Chap, xvi.),

.....
Its
xvii.),
.

xv.),

19

Punishment
191

Humiliation and Exaltation of the Davidic Family (Chap,

236
.

The Retributive Justice

of

God (Chap,

xviii.),

246
258

Ijamentation for the Princes of Israel (Chap, xix.),

VIU

CONTENTS.
FAGS
of Israel (Chap, xx.),

The Past, Present, and Future

263

Prophecy of the Burning Forest and the Sword of the Lord (Chap. XX. 45 to Chap. xxi. 32 (Heb. Chap, xxi.)),

286
309

The Sins of Jerusalem and

Oholah and Oholibah, the Harlots Samaria and Jerusalem (Chap.

xxiii.),

........
.

Israel

(Chap,

xxii.),

Prediction of the Destruction of Jerusalem both in Parable and

by Sign (Chap,

xxiv.),

......
....
.

320

339

PBEDICTIONS OF JUDGMENT UPON THE HEATHEN NATIONS (CHAP. XXV.-XXXH),

Against

353 360

Ammon, Moab, Edom, and

the Philistines (Chap XXV.),

Against Tyre and Sidon (Chap, xxvi.-xxviii.),

370 370

The Fall of Tyre (Chap,

xxvi.),

Lamentation over the Fall of Tyre (Chap,

xxvii.),

383

Against the Prince of Tyre (Chap, xxviii. 1-19),

Prophecy against Sidon, and Promise for

20-26),

....

405

Israel

(Chap
425

THE PEOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

INTRODUCTION.
I.

THE PERSON OF THE PROPHET.

^xiP.rn^^

[ZEKIEL,

(1.

3,

xxlv.

24),

i.e.

^N

P:in;,

God

strengthens^ 'Ie^eKL7]\

(LXX.

and Book of Sirach,

writes the

ch. xlix. 8), in the

after the

Vulgate EzecMel, while Luther,

example of the

LXX.,

name
i.e.

HeseMel, was the son of Bus!, of priestly descent, and was carried

away
with

captive into exile to

Babylon

in the year

599

B.C.,

in

the eleventh year before the destruction of Jerusalem,

along
priests,

King

Jehoiachin, the nobles of the kingdom,

class of the population of
.

many

and the better

(i.

Jerusalem and of Judah

2, xl.

1; cf 2 Kings xxiv. 14

ff.;

Jer. xxix. 1).

He

lived

there in the northern part of Mesopotamia, on the banks of the

Chaboras, married, and in his

own

house, amidst a colony of

(i. 1, iii.

banished Jews, in a place called Tel-Abib

1, xxiv. 18).

15, 24,

viii.

In the

fifth

year of his banishment,

i.e.

595

B.C.,

he was called

to be a prophet of the

Lord, and laboured in

this

official position, as

may

be shown, twenty-two years; for the

dated in the twenty-seventh year of

latest of his prophecies is

his exile,

i.e.

572

B.C. (xxix. 17).

Regarding the other circumis

stances

and events of

his life, as also of his death, nothing

known.

The

apocryphal legends found in the Fathers and in

the Rabbinical writings, to the effect that he was put to death

by a prince of

his

own

nation for rebuking his idolatry, and was

buried in the tomb of

Introd.
ii.

Shem and Arphaxad,

any

etc. (cf.

Carpzov,

p.
I.

203

ff.),

are without

historical value.

So much

EZEK.

2
alone
is

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

certain, that

he ended
liis

his life

among

the exiles, where

God had assigned him

his

sphere of labour, and did not, like

i.

contemporary Daniel (comp. Dan.

21, x. 1), outlive the

termination of the Captivity and the

commencement

of the

redemption of Israel

from Babylon,

as his prophecies

do not

contain the slightest allusion to that effect.

II.

THE TIMES OF THE PROPHET.

is

Ezekiel, like Daniel,

different fashion

a prophet of
latter,

the exile, but in a

from the

who had been

already carried
first

away

prisoner before

him

to

Babylon on the

capture of

Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in the reign of Jehoiakim, and

who

lived there

upwards of seventy years

court,

at the

Babylonian
to time

and Medo-Persian
important

and who held from time

Daniel was placed by

very

offices of State.

God

in this

high position, which afforded him a view of the formation and

evolution of the world-kingdom, in order that from this stand-

point he might be enabled to see the development of the world-

kingdoms

in the

strugMe against the kingdom of God, and

to

predict the indestructible power and glory of the latter king-

dom, which overcomes

all

the powers of the world.

Ezekiel,

on the other hand, was appointed a watcher over the exiled

nation of Israel, and was in this capacity to continue the w'ork
of the earlier prophets, especially that of Jeremiah, with w^hom

he

in several

ways

associates

himself in his prophecies

to

preach to his contemporaries the judgment and salvation of

God,
to

in order to convert

them

to the

Lord

their

God.

Rightly

understand his work as a prophet, the ripe fruit of which

before us in his prophetic writings,

lies

we must

not only keep

in view the importance of the exile for the development of the

kinfTdom of God, but also form a clear conception of the relations amidst

which Ezekiel carried on

his labours.

What

the

Lord had caused

to

be announced by Moses to the

tribes of Israel while they

were yet standing on the borders of

INTRODUCTION.
the Promised Land, and preparing to take possession of
that
if

3
viz.

it,

they sliould persistently transgress His commands,

He

would not only chastise them with heavy punishments, but

would
finally drive

them out of the land which they were about

all

to occupy,

and disperse them among

xxviii.

1445; Deut.
all

15-68),

nations (Lev. xxvi.

this

threatening, repeated

by

the prophets after Moses, had been already executed by

the Assyrians upon the ten tribes,

who had

revolted from the

house of David, and was

now

in process of fulfilment
also.

by the

Chaldeans upon the kingdom of Judah

In the reign of
first

Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, for the

time invaded Judah, captured Jerusalem,
tributary,

made Jehoiakim
Israelitish

and carried away

to

Babylon a number of

youths of noble birth and of the blood-royal, amongst

whom

was Daniel, along with a portion of the

in order that these youths

vessels of the temple,

might be trained up for the service

of his court (Dan.

i.

1-7).

With

this invasion of the

Chaldeans

begin the seventy years of Chaldean servitude and exile in

Babylon, predicted by Jeremiah.

As Jehoiakim,

so early as

three years afterwards, revolted against Nebuchadnezzar, the

latter, after

a lengthened siege, took Jerusalem a second time,

in the third

month

of the reign of Jehoiachin, and carried

away into

captivity to Babylon, along with the captive

his court, the nobles of

and the members of

salem, a great

monarch Judah and Jerucarpenters,

number

of priests, Avarriors,

and

smiths, leaving behind in the land only the

meaner portion of
whose name he

the people, over

whom

he appointed as his vassal Kino- Mat-

taniah, the uncle of the banished monarch,

changed
this

to

Zedekiah (2 Kings xxiv. 10-17

Jer. xxix. 2).

By

removal of the heart and strength of the nation the power

of the

kingdom of Judah was broken

and although Nebuchadit,

nezzar did not at that time destroy

but

still

allowed

it

to

remain as a subject kingdom under

his sway, yet its existence

could not be of any long duration.

Judah had

fallen

too

deeply to recognise in the calamities which she had suffered the


4
THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

chastening hand of her God, and to

bow

herself repentantly

under His mighty arm.

the

Instead of listening to the voice of

prophet Jeremiah, and bearing the Chaldean yoke in

patience (2 Chron. xxxvi. 12), both monarch and people placed

their trust in the assistance of

Egypt, and Zedekiah broke the

oath of fealty which he had sworn to the king of Babylon.

To punish

this perfidy,

Nebuchadnezzar again marched against

Jerusalem, and by the capture and burning of the city and

temple in the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign put an end to

the

kingdom

of Judah.

Zedekiah,

who had

fled

from the

beleaguered
his sons to

city,

was taken by the Chaldeans, and brought with

Riblah into the presence of King Nebuchadnezzar,

who

first

caused the sons of Zedekiah to be put to death before

;

the eyes of their father

of sisht, and then

next, Zedekiah himself to be deprived

commanded
Babylon
(2

the blind

monarch
;

to

be con1-30).

ducted in chains

to

Kings xxv. 1-21

Jer.lii.

Many

military officers and priests of rank were also put to

;

death at Riblah

while those

who had been taken

exile

prisoners at

Jerusalem, along with the deserters and a great portion of the

rest

of

the

people,
;

were led away into

Jer.
lii.

to

Babylon

(2 Kings xxv. 1-21

1-30).

By

this catastrophe the

;

Old Testament theocracy

nant people were

lost its political existence

the cove-

now

driven out of their

own

land amongst the

heathen, to bear the punishment of their obstinate apostasy

from the Lord

their

God.

Nevertheless this dispersion

;

among

the heathen was no entire rejection of Israel

suspension^

it

was merely a
God.

and not an

annihilation^ of the covenant of grace.

Man's unfaithfulness cannot destroy the

faithfulness of

" In spite of this terrible judgment, brought

down upon them

by the heaviest transgressions, Israel was, and remained,"

" the chosen people, through

as

x\uberlen {The Prophet Daniel, p. 27, 2d ed.) well remarks,

whom God was

His
gifts

still

to carry out

Ilis intentions towards humanity. not be repented of " (Rom. xi. 29).

and

calling

may

Even
;

after the

Babylonian

exile the theocracy

was not again restored

the covenant people

INTRODUCTION.
did not after their return again recover
tlieir

5
independence, but

remained, with the exception of the short period when under

the Maccabees they

won

for themselves their freedom, in conuntil,

stant dependence upon the heathen world-rulers,

after

the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, they were completely dispersed

among
it

all

the nations of

the earth.

The

kingdom of God, however, w^as not really to perish along with

the external theocracy
;

was only

to pass into a

development, which was intended to be the

new phase of medium of transition

towards

its

renewal and perfection in that kingdom of

to

God

which was

be founded by Christ.

To

pave the w^ay to this

end, and at the same time to serve as a witness to the exiles, that Israel, notwithstanding
still

its

dispersion

among

the heathen,

remained God's people, the Lord raised up in Ezekiel, the

son of a priest, a prophet of

uncommon power and energy

its

in

the midst of the captives, " one who raised his voice aloud,
like

a trumpet, and showed to Israel

misdeeds,

whose whole

manifestation furnished the most powerful testimony that the

Lord was

still

amongst His people

who was

himself a temple

of the Lord, before

whom the visible temple,

who

which yet remained

its

standing for a short time at Jerusalem, sank back into

nothingness

a spiritual Samson,

seized with
it

mighty arm

the pillars of the idol temple, and dashed

to the

ground

powerful, gigantic nature, which was fitted by that very qualification to effectually

subdue the Babylonian

spirit of

the time,

which delighted

in powerful, gigantic,

and grotesque forms;

standing alone, but equal to a hundred of the sons of the

prophets" (Hengstenberg's Christol. II.

p.

531).

The
fifth

call of

Ezekiel to the prophetic

office

took place in the

year of the reign of Zedekiah, in the fourth month of the

(i.

year

1, 2), at

a point of time when, amongst those who had

remained behind in the land, as well as amongst those who had

been carried to Babylon, the hope of the speedy downfall of

the Babylonian monarchy, and of the return of the exiles to
their native country,

which was then

to follow,

was very strong,

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

of false

and was powerfully encouraged by the lying statements

prophets
;

cf.

Jer. xxix.

In the same year and month pro-

phesied Ilananiah, a prophet from Gibeon, in the temple at

Jerusalem, before the eyes of the priests and the whole people,
sayino- that
lon,

Jehovah would break the yoke

of the king of

Babyall

and within two years bring back

the captives

to

Jerusalem

the

temple-vessels carried

away by Nebuchadnezzar,

as well as
to

King
Baby-

Jechoniah and

all

who had been brought

lon, Jer. xxviii.

1-4.

And

the prophet Jeremiah,

who with
servi-

the word of the

tions

Lord rebuked and opposed

those lying predic-

and empty hopes, and foretold that the Babylonian

tude would be of long duration, was violently assailed and

persecuted by the lying prophets, even by those of them

who

were

to

be found in

Babylon

cf.

Jer. xxviii. 5-17, xxix. 21-32.

This delusion regarding the

spirit of resistance to

political condition of affairs, this

the decree of the Lord, had seized not

only upon the people, but also upon the nobles and the king,
so that they

formed and eagerly carried on conspiracies against

the kinf of Babylon.

The meeting

of the kings of
in

Edom,

Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon, with Zedekiah

had no other object than
this (Jer. xxvii. 3).

Jerusalem,

The embassy,
3), as well

moreover, sent by Zedekiah to Babylon (Jer. xxiv.

as his
li.

own journey

thither In the fourth year of his reign (Jer.

59), were intended merely to deceive the king of Babylon, by assurances of devotion and fidelity, in order that the in-

tended revolt might be carried out.

But

this

baseless

hope

of a speedy liberation from the Babylonian yoke

was igno-

miniously

disappointed

in

consequence of the treacherous

rebellion of Zedekiah,

Nebuchadnezzar, after a blockade and

half, captured Jerusalem,

siege of a year

and a

burnt the city

and temple

to the
all

ground, and destroyed the kingdom of Judah.

the supports upon which the God-alienated

By

this

blow

nation had vainly relied were broken.

of the
false

The

delusive statements
;

prophets had proved to be

lies

the predictions

of

tlie

Lord's prophets, on the contrary, had been strikingly

INTRODUCTION.
justified as

divine truth.

The

destruction of Jerusalem, the

burning of the temple, and the downfall of the kingdom, form

accordingly a turning-point for the prophetic labours of Ezekiel.
Hitherto, prior to the calamity, he had to announce to the

people (animated with the hope of speedy liberation from exile)

the judgment of the downfall of Jerusalem and Judah, although

such preaching found

little

acceptance.

The

time, however,

had now arrived when,

in order to preserve

from despair the

nation languishing In exile, and given over to the scorn, con-

tempt, and tyranny of the heathen, he was able to open up the

sources of comfort

by announcing

that the Lord, in requital

all

of the Ignominy heaped upon His people, would overwhelm

the heathen nations with destruction, but that,

if

His people

whom
of

they had oppressed would repent and return to Him,

their dispersion
;

He

would again gather them out of

would make

them a holy

nation, walking in
;

His commands and yielding

to their

Him
land
;

a willing service

would conduct them back

own

would give them His servant David for a prince, and

once more gloriously establish His kingdom.

III.

THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL.

The
as
I.

collection of the prophecies placed together in this book,

falls into

forming a complete unity,

two main
Israel

divisions

Announcements
ch. ch.

of
;

judgment upon
II.

and the heathen

salvation for
divisions
is

nations,
Israel,

i.-xxxii.

Announcements of

xxxlil.-xlviii.

subdivided into two sections.

Each of these main The first, namely,

the

contains the

prophecies of judgment (a) upon Jerusalem and Israel, ch.

ill.

22-xxIv.

(6)

upon

heathen

nations,

ch.

xxv.-

xxxii.

The second main

division contains (c) the predictions

Israel,

of the redemption

and restoration of

and the downfall

;

of the heathen world-power, ch. xxxlli.-xxxix.

(d) the pro-

phetic picture of the re-formation and exaltation of the king-

dom

of

God, ch.

xl.-xlvili.

and the entire

collection

opens

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

office,

with the solemn dedication of Ezekiel to the prophetic

ch.
i.

1-iii.

21.

The

prophecies of

the

first,

third,

and

fourth parts are throughout arranged in chronological order

those of the second part

the heathen nations

subject-matter.

the threatenings predicted against are disposed according to their actual

is

This

attested

by the chronological data in

the superscriptions, and confirmed by the contents of the whole

of the groups of prophecies in the
part
first

three parts.
:

The

first

contains the following chronological notices

(i.

the fifth

year of the captivity of Jehoiachin

Ezekiel's call to the ofiice of prophet,
tions regarding

2)

as the

time of
predic-

and of the

first

Jerusalem and Israel

then the sixth

the

(viii. 1),

seventh (xx. 1), and ninth years of

captivity of

that

monarch

(xxiv. 1).

The second

part contains the predictions

against seven foreign nations, of which those against

in the eleventh (xxvi.
(xxix.
1),
1), 1), those against

Tyre

fall

Egypt

in the tenth

twenty- seventh (xxix. 17), eleventh (xxx. 20 and

xxxi.

and twelfth years of the

exile.

Of

the two last

parts, each contains only one chronological notice, namely,

ch. xxxiii. 21, the twelfth year of the captivity,

i.e.

one year

after the destruction of Jerusalem

fifth

and

ch. xl. 1, the twenty-

year of the captivity, or the fourteenth after the destruc-

tion of Jerusalem.

The remaining

prophecies, which bear at

their

head no note of time, connect themselves closely as to

their contents with those

locrical

which are furnished wuth chrono-

data, so that they belong to the

this
it

same period with

first

those.

From

appears that the prophecies of the

part

wholly, those of the second part to a great extent, date before

the destruction of Jerusalem

parts

those of the third and fourth

after
this

proceed from

the time
is

catastrophe.

Tliis

chronological relationship

in favour

of the view that

xxv.-xxxii.,

the

prophecies against foreign nations,

ch.

are

not

as the majority of

expositors suppose
first

to be assigned to the

second, but rather to the

half of the book.

This view

is

confirmed, on the one hand, by the contents of the prophecies,

INTRODUCTION.

inasmuch

as these, -without
tlie

an exception, announce only the

downfall of

heathen nations and kingdoms, making no

future
forgiveness

reference to the

and conversion of the

this

residue of these nations,

and through

very peculiarity conof

nect themselves

closely with
first

the prophecies

threatening

against Israel in the

part; on the other hand, by the

resemblance which
iii.

exists

between ch. xxx.

xviii.

1-20 and

ch.

16-21, compared with ch.

19-32, and which leaves

no doubt upon the point that

ch. xxxiii.

1-20 marks out to

the prophet the task which was to occupy his attention after

the destruction of Jerusalem, and consequently forms the introduction to the second half of his prophecies.

For further

remarks upon the contents and subdivisions of the book, see the
expositions in the introductory observations to the individual
sections

and chapters.

Ezekiel's style of prophetic representation has

ties.

many

peculiari-

In the

first

place, the clothing of

symbol and allegory

all

prevails in

him
his

to a greater degree

than in

the other proto

phets

and

symbolism and allegory are not confined

general outlines and pictures, but elaborated in the minutest

details, so as to

present figures of a boldness surpassing reality,

and

ideal representations,

which produce an impression of im-

posing grandeur and exuberant fulness.

prophetic discourse
is

Even
and in

the simplest
bold, partly

rich in imagery,

even strange, comparisons, and branches out into a copiousness

which
of

strives to

exhaust the subject on

peculiar expressions

all sides, in

consequence

which many

and forms are repeated,

has been

rendering his language diffuse, and occasionally even clumsy.

These

peculiarities of his style of representation

it

attempted, on the one hand, to explain by the influence of the

Babylonian

spirit

and taste upon the form of

his

prophecy

while others, again, would regard

them

as

the result of a

literary art, striving to supply the defect of prophetic spirit,

and the

failing

power of the living word, by the

life.

aid of learning

and an elaborate imitation of actual

The supposed Baby-

10
Ionian
spirit,

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

however, in

has no existence.

forms of our prophet's symbolism, The assertion of Hiivernick, that " the
tlie

whole of these symbols has a colossal character, which points

in

many ways

to those

powerful impressions experienced by

the prophet in a foreign land,

Chaldea, and which

here are

grasped and given out again with a mighty and independent

spirit,"

remains yet

to

be proved.

For the observation that

not

these symbols, in reference to form and contents, resemble in

many

respects the symbols of his contemporary Daniel,

is

sufficient for the purpose,

and cannot

in

itself

be accepted as

the truth, by reference to the picture of the eagle, and the

comparison of rich

men

to trees, cedars, in

ch. xvii., because

these pictures already occur in the older prophets,

as well as cedars are native in Palestine.

and

lions as

Just as

little

are

Babylonian impressions
field

to

be recognised in the visions of the

with the dead men's bones, ch. xxxvii., and of the

xl.
,

new
is

temple, ch.

so that there only

remains the representation

i.

of the cherubim with four faces, in ch.

and

x.,

which

peculiar to Ezekiel, as presumptive evidence of Chaldean influence.

But

if

we

leave out of account that the throne,

in

upon

which the Lord appears

human

form, indisputably forms

the central point of this vision, and this central point has no
specific

Babylonian impress, then the representation of the

lions,

cherubim with faces of men,

oxen, and eagles, cannot be

derived from the contemplation of the Assyrian or Chaldean

sculptures of

human figures with winged oxen with human heads,

eagle heads and wings, or

or sphinxes with bodies of

animals and female heads, such as are found in the ruins of

ancient Nineveh, inasmuch as the cherubim of Ezekiel were

not pictures of oxen with

lions'

manes, eagles' wings, and

human countenances
has
still

furnished with horns,

as

W. Neumann
human form.
to

portrayed them in his treatise upon the tabernacle,

i.

but had, according to Ezekiel, ch.

5,

the

There are indeed

winged human

also found,
;

among

the Assyrian sculptures,

figures

but these Ezekiel had no reason


INTRODUCTION.
copy, because
to

11

tlie

cherubic images in

human

form, belonging

Solomon's temple, lay

is

much

nearer to his hand.

The whole

of Ezekiel's symbolism

derived from the Israelitish sanctuary,

and

is

an outcome of Old Testament ideas and views.

ff. is

As

the

picture of the ideal temple in ch. xl.

to the relations

sketched according

of Solomon's temple, which

was burnt by the

Chaldeans, so the elements for the description of the majestic

theophany,

in

ch.

i.

and

x.,

are

contained in the throne

of Jehovah, which

was above the cherubim, who were over

;

the covering of the ark of the covenant

and

in the

pheno-

mena amid which was manifested

basis of these facts, Isaiah

the revelation of the divine

glory at the establishment of the covenant on Sinai.

On

the

had already represented

on a high and

to himself

the appearance of the Lord, as a vision, in which he beholds

Jehovah
began

in the temple, sitting

lofty throne, and,

standing around the throne, seraphim with six wings,

to

sing, " Holy, holy "

(Isa. vi.).

who This symbolism we

aim of

find modified in Ezekiel, so as to correspond with the

his vocation,

and elaborated

to a greater extent.

The manner

in

which he works out

this vision

and other symbols certainly

gives evidence of his capacity to describe, distinctly and attractively in words,

what he had beheld

as
little

in

spirit

although the

symbolism

itself is, just

as the vision, a

mere product
lively fancy,

of poetic art, or the subjective

framework of a
;

without any real objective foundation with

real,
its
i.e.

for

it

rests, in

harmony

contents and form, upon views which are spiritually

produced by the Spirit of

God
is

in the soul of the pro-

phet, in which the art of the author

reduced to a faithful
in the spirit.
is

and

distinct reproduction of

what had been seen

It is only the

abundance of pictures and metaphors, which

characteristic

in this respect

of Ezekiel,

and which betrays

his

lively imagination,

and the many-sidedness of

knowledge.

These

qualities
xl.

appear not merely in the sketch of the

ff.),

new

temple (ch.

but also in the description of the wide-

spread commerce of Tyre (ch. xxvii.), and of the relations of

12

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

(cli.

Egypt

xxix.

and

xxxi.), as well as in the

endeavours mani-

fest in all his representations,

not

merely in the symbolical

descriptions
also

and

allegorical portraits (ch. xvi.

and

xxiii.),

but

in

the simple discourses, in the rebukes of the current

sins,

vices

and

and in the threatenings of punishment and

judgment,
through

to follow out the subject treated of into the

most

special details, to
it,

throw light upon

to rest until

it

from

all sides,

to penetrate
it,

and not

he has exhausted

and that

without any

effort, in so doing, to avoid repetitions.

its

This style

of representation, however, has

foundation not merely in

still

the individuality of our prophet, but

more

in the relations

of his time, and in his attitude towards that generation to

whom

he had to announce the counsel and

the

will of the

Lord.

As symbolism and
proverbs
is,

employment of

parables, pictures,

and

in general, only a

means

for the purpose of pre-

senting in an attractive light the truths to be delivered, and

to strengthen

by

this

attractiveness

the impression

made by
and

speech and discourse, so also the copiousness and circumstantiality of the picture,

and even the

points

repetition of thoughts

new The people to whom Ezekiel was now to preach repentance, by announcing the divine judgment and salvation, was " a
expressions under

of view, serve the same end.

rebellious race,
xii. 2, etc.).

impudent and hard-hearted"

(ch.

iii.

7-9, 26,
to dis-

If he

was

faithfully

and conscientiously

charge the

office, laid

upon him by the Lord, of

a watcher over

the house of Israel, he must not only punish with stern words,

and

in drastic fashion, the sins of the people,

and

distinctly

paint before their eyes the horrors of the judgment, but he

must

also

set

forth, in to

a style palpable to the senses, that

salvation

which was
connected

bloom forth for the repentant nation

fulfilled.

when

the

judgment was

Closely

with

this

is

the

other

peculiarity

of

Ezekiel's style of prophecy, namely, the

marked prominence

assigned to the divine origin and contents of his announce-

ments, which distinctly appears in the standing form of address

INTRODUCTION.

13
to

"Son of
formulae
'"'''

man"
""?^i!

with
;
'"'''

which God summons the prophet

i^'^i^''

speech and action

in the continual use of

^''X

in the

nb or

DW

in the introduction

to

almost

every discourse of God's requirement to him to prophesy or

to

do this and that; and in the formula which recurs freall

quently in

the discourses,

" Ye

shall

know

that I

am

Jehovah."
frequent

The standing address, " Son of man," and the

speech and action, are likewise regarded by
a token of the failure of the prophetic spiritto

call to

modern
power.
so

critics as

Both phrases, however, could only be held

if

convey

much,

in conformity with the

view of Ewald, who, agreeit

ably to the naturalistic representation of prophecy, assumes

to

be a result of high poetic inspiration

of his

they had been selected

distance from
If,

by Ezekiel

own

free choice,

and employed with the inten-

tion of expressing the feeling of his

own profound

God, and of imparting

to himself

courage to prophesy.

on

the contrary, according to the Scriptural conception of pro-

phecy,
called

God

the

Lord addressed Ezekiel

as " son of

man," and

him, moreover, on each occasion to utter predictions,

then the use of the God-given name, as well as the mention of

the summons, as

proceeding from

God
own

only, furnishes

an

evidence that Ezekiel does not, like the false prophets, utter
the thoughts and inspirations of his
heart, but, in all that

he says and

does, acts

under a divine commission and under

to impress the rebellious nation

divine inspiration,

and serves

more and more with the conviction that a prophet of the Lord
is

in their midst

(ii.

5, xxxiii.

33),

and that God had not de-

parted with His Spirit from Israel, notwithstanding their banish-

ment among the heathen.

decisively the

In favour of the correctness of this

view of the expressions and phrases in question, there speak

manner and fashion

to

in

which Ezekiel was called

for the performance of

and consecrated
tion

to the prophetic office; not only the instruc-

which God communicates

(ii.

his calling
first act

1-3, 21),

and

him

which, immediately upon the

of his prophetic activity.

He

supplements to the effect

14
of enjoining

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

upon him dumbness or
entire silence, only tlien

permitting him to open his

to

mouth
27 and
his

to

speak

when He

Avishes

inspire
(iii.

him with a word

26, 27;
cf. xxiv.

to be addressed to the rebellious

xxxiii. 22),

people

but

also the

theophany which inaugurated

(ch.
tion,
i.),

call

to the

prophetic office

which, as will appear to us in the course of the exposi-

has unmistakeably the significance of an explanation of a

reality,

which

will not

be dissolved and annihilated with the

the destruction of

dissolution of the

kingdom of Judah, and

Israel.

Jerusalem, and of the temple of that covenant of grace which

Jehovah had concluded with

It
is

usual, moreover, to quote, as a peculiarity of Ezekiel's

prophecies, the prominence given to his priestly descent

disposition,
viii.-xi.

and
ch.
ff.,

especially
xl.-xlviii.,

in

the
in

visions,

ch.

i.,

cf.

ch.
iv.

x.,

and
ff.,

and

individual traits, as

13

XX.

12

xxii.

8,

xxvi.

24,

16

ff.,

etc.,

etc.,

which Ewald

explains as " a result of the one-sided literary conception of

antiquity according to mere books and traditions, as well as

of the extreme

prostration
exile

of

spirit

intensified

by the long
;"

duration

of

the

and bondage of the people

it

while

de Wette, Gesenius, and others would see in

an intellectual
is

narrowness on the part of the prophet.

The one view

as

groundless and perverse as the other, because resting upon the

superficial opinion that the
articles

copious descriptions of the sacred

in the temple

were sketched by Ezekiel only for the

purpose of preserving for the future the elevating recollection

of the better times of the past (Ewald).

When we

recognise,

on

the contrary, the symbolical character of these descriptions,

we may always

say that for the portrayal of the conception

i.

of the theophany in ch.

and

x.,

and of the picture of the

fitted as

temple in ch. xL, no individual was so well

familiar with the institutions of worship.

a priest,

In

this

symbolism,

however, we

may

not venture to seek for the products of intel-

lectual narrowness, or of sacerdotal ideas, but

must

rise to the

conviction that

God

the

Lord

selected a priest,

and no

other, to

INTRODUCTION.

15

be His prophet, and permitted him to behold the future of His

kingdom on earth

in the significant

forms of the sanctuary at

Jerusalem, because this form was the symbolical covering which

presented the closest correspondence to the same.
the passages
laid
iv.

Still less

do

13

ff.,

xx. 12

ff.,

and

others, in

which

stress is

upon the ceremonial commands of the law, and where

is

their

violation

mentioned as a cause of the judgment that was

breaking over Israel, furnish evidence of priestly one-sidedness

or narrowness of spirit.

Ezekiel takes up towards the Mosaic

is

Law

no other position than that which

taken by the older

prophets.

He

finds impressed

on the precepts, not only of the

Moral, but also of the Ceremonial Law, divine thoughts, essential

elements of the divine holiness, attesting

itself in

and

to Israel;

and penetrated by a sense of the everlasting importance of the

whole law, he urges obedience to
adherence to the Pentateuch
is

its

commands.
all

Even

the close
is

not at

peculiar to him, but

all,

common
criticize

to all the prophets,

inasmuch

as

without exception,

and judge the

life

of the nation

by the standard of the

from

prescriptions in the Mosaic

Law.

Ezekiel, with his nearest pre-

decessor Jeremiah,

is

in this respect only distinguished

the earlier prophets, that the verbal references to the Pentateuch

in both occur with greater frequency,

and receive a greater

so

emphasis.

But

this

has

its

ground not

much

in the descent

of both from a priestly family, as rather in the relations of

their time, especially in the circumstance that the falling

away

of the nation

from the law had become

so great, in consequence in the

of which the penal

judgments already threatened

Penta-

teuch upon transgressors had fallen upon them, so that the

prophets of the

Lord were

obliged, with all their energy, to

hold up before the rebellious race not merely the

ments, but also the threatenings of the law,
fully to discharge the office to
if

commandcalled.

they were faith-

which they had been

The

language of Ezekiel

is

distinguished by a great

number

of words

and forms, which do not occur elsewhere, and which,

probably, were for the greater part coined by himself (see an

16

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

enumeration of these in the Manual of Ilistorico-Cr'dical Introduction^ 77,

Rem.

6),

and shows a strong leaning towards

It has,

the diction of the Pentateuch.

however, been unable to

resist the influences of the inaccurate

popular dialect, and of the

its

Aramaic idiom,
the

so that

it

betrays, in

many

anomalies and

corruptions, the decline

and commencement of the dying out of

17 of the Historico- Critical Manual)
in a foreign

Hebrew tongue

(of.

and reminds us that the prophet's residence was

country.

The

genuineness of Ezekiel's prophecies

all critics.

is,

at

the present

day, unanimously recognised by

There is, moreover,

no longer any doubt that the writing down and redaction of them in the volume which has been transmitted to us were the work of the prophet himself. Only Ewald and Hitzig, for the
purpose of setting aside the predictions v^hich so

much
it

offend

them, have proposed very

artificial

hypotheses regarding the

;

manner and way

probability

in

which the book originated

but

appears

unnecessary to enter into a closer examination of these, as their

and trustworthiness depend only upon the dogmatic

Manualy

views of their authors.

For the exegetical

vol.
i.

literature, see the Ilistorico- Critical

p.

353 (new

ed. p. 254),

where

is

also to be added, as of

very recent date,

Das Buck

Ezecldels.

Uebersetzt und

erkliirt

von Dr. Th. Kliefoth.

Zwei Abtheilungen.

Eostock,

1864

and 1865.

EXPOSITION.
FIEST HALF.-THE PROPHECIES OF JCDGMENT.
CHAP. I.-XXXII.

CHAP.

I -III. 21.

THE CONSECRATION AND CALLING OP

God, Ezekiel beholds
ia a great cloud,
fire,

EZEKIEL TO THE OFFICE OP PROPHET.

N a vision of
through

which shone the splendour of

and

which a tempestuous wind drives from the north,

the glory of the Lord above the cherubim upon
a majestic
voice,

throne in

human form
as

(ch.

i.),

and

hears

which sends him

a prophet to
his

Israel,

and

inspires
1-iii.

him
3).

with the subject-matter of

announcements
in
spirit

(ii.

He

is

thereafter

transported

to

Tel-abib

on the

Chebar, into the midst of the

exiles,

and the duties and

responsibilities of his calling laid before

this divine
is

him

(iii.

4-21).

By

appearance and the commission therewith connected

called,

he consecrated,

and ordained to the prophetic

office.

The whole occurrences in the vision are subdivided into the

copious description of the theophany, ch. consecrated for his calling
ch.
ii.
;

i.,

by which he

is

and

into the revelation of the word,

1-3, 21, which prepares

him

for

the discharge of the

same.
ters

From

these contents

it

clearly appears that these chapsection of

do not constitute the

first

the book, but the

introduction to the whole, to which the circumstantial notices

EZEK.

I.

18

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

of the time and place of this revelation of

God

at the

com-

mencementj
Chap.

i.

1-3, also point.

i.

The Appearance of the Glory of the Lord.

Time and
place of the same.

Vers. 1-3.
to

Ver.

1.

Noio

it

came

pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth (inonth), on the fifth

{day')

of the month, as

I was among
to ere

the captives

by the river of
visions of

Chebary that the heavens

opened,

and I saw
it

God.

Ver.

2.

On the fifth day of the month,

s

loas the fifth year of

the

King
to

Jehoiachin

captivity,

Ver.

3.

The word of
hand of
the

Lord came

Ezekiel the priest, the son

of Dusi, in the land of the Chaldeans

the

by

the river

Chebar

and

Lord

teas there

upon

him.

Regarding
i.

^n^l

at the

beginning of a book, as
i.

e.g.

in

Jonah

1,

cf.

the note on Josh.

1.

The two
This
is

notices of the

year in vers. 1 and 2 are closely connected with the twofold

introduction of
first,

the theophany.
its

described in verse
in

according to

form or phenomenal nature, and then

its

verses second and third, according to

its

intended purpose, and

consisted in

effect

upon the prophet.

The phenomenon
when
to

this, that

the heavens were opened, and Ezekiel saw visions of

God.
is

The heaven opens

not merely

our eye a glimpse

(Calvin), but also
perceptible
to

disclosed of the heavenly glory of

God

when God

manifests His glory in a

manner
here.

human
*'

sight.

The

latter

was the case

t2\n7X nix^^,

visions of

God," are not "

visiones prcestantissimce^

but visions

which have divine or heavenly things for

vi. 1
;

their object; cf. Isa.

Kings

xxii.

19

2 Kings

vi.

17.

Here

it is

the mani-

festation of Jehovah's glory described in the following verses.

This was beheld by Ezekiel in the

ing to
verse second, was

thirtieth year, which, accord-

in the fifth year of the

captivity of
is

Jehoiachin.

The

real identity of these

two dates

placed

beyond doubt by the mention of the same day of the month, *' on the fifth day of the month " (ver. 2 compared with
ver. 1).

The

fifth

year from the commencement of Jehoia-

CHAP L
chin's captivity
is

1-3.

19

the year 595 B.C.; the thirtieth year, con-

sequently,

is

the year 625 B.C.

But the
is

era, in

accordance

with which

this date is

reckoned,

matter of dispute, and can

no longer be ascertained with

Plengstenberg, that the reference

certainty.
is

To

suppose,

with

to the year of the prophet's

own

h'fe, is

forbidden by the addition " in the fourth month, on

the fifth day of the month," wliich points to an era generally

recognised.
of Babylon,

In the year 625

B.C.,

Nabopolassar became king

and therefore many of the older expositors have

Nothing, however,

supposed that Ezekiel means the thirtieth year of the era of

Nabopolassar.
is

known

of

any such

era.

Others, as the Chaldee paraphrast and Jerome, and in times

also

modern
is

Ideler,

are

of opinion that the thirtieth year

reckoned from the eighteenth

year of the reign of Josiah,

because in that year the book of the law was discovered, and
the regeneration of public worship completed by a solemn celebration of the Passover.

No
in

trace,

however, can elsewhere be

pointed out of the existence of a chronology dating from these

events.

The Rabbins
but for this

Seder

Olam assume a chronology

all

according to the periods of the years of jubilee, and so also

Hitzig
;

supposition too

reliable

proofs are

wanting.
npian T]in2,
their

At
'*

the

time mentioned,
midst of the exiles,"
society
;

Ezekiel found himself

i.e.

in the

loithin the circuit

it

of

settlements, not, in their

for

is

evident from

ch.

iii.

15 that he was alone when the theophany was imparted

to him,

and did not repair

Ver.
in
3.

till

afterwards to the residences of

the settlers.

By

the river Chehar, in the land of the

Chaldees,

i.e.

Babylon or Mesopotamia.
"lun, the river of
6, is

The

river 133^ to be

distinguished from

Gosan, which flows into

the Tigris, see on 2 Kings xvii.

^Afi6ppa<i (Strabo, xvi.

the Mesopotamian Chahoras,

748), or Xa^oopa^ (Ptolem. v. 18, 3),

p.
6,
ii.

jy,^

(Edrisi

Clim.

iv.

p.

150,

ed.
p.

Jaubert and
xxiv.),

Abulf. Mesopot. in the N. Reperlor. III.

according to Edrisi takes
its rise

which

from

*'

nearly three hundred

20

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

mountain

springs," near the city Ras-el-Ain, at the foot of the

range of Masius, flows through Upper Mesopotamia in a direction parallel with its

two principal streams, and then, turning

itself into

westward, discharges

the Euphrates near Kirkesion.

There the hand of Jehovah came upon Ezekiel.

sion
(''^?)

The

expres-

?y nnin

'^^

always

signifies a

miraculous working of

the power or omnipotence of

God upon
1

man,
is

the hand being

placed in a conxviii.

the organ of power in action,

dition to exert

by which he

superhuman power,

Kings

46,

and

is

the regular expression for the supernatural transportation into

the state of ecstasy for the purpose of beholding and announcing
(cf.

2 Kings

iii.

15), or undertaking, heavenly things;

cf.
iii.

and

so

throughout Ezekiel,
xl. 1.

22,

viii.

1, xxxiii.

22, xxxvii. 1,

Vers. 4-28.
spirit

Description
prophet.

of

the

theophany seen by the

sawj and,
lo,

of

the

Ver. 4.

And I

a tem-

pestuous wind came

o'olled together like

from
hall,
its

the north,

a great cloud, and a fire of

light

and

the

brightness

round

about

it,

and

out of

midst, as the appearance of glowing

metal from

the

midst of the fire.

The

description begins

with a general outline of the phenomenon, as the same presented

itself

to the

spiritual

eye of the prophet on

its

ap-

proach from the north.

tempestuous wind brings hither

from the north a great cloud, the centre of which appears

as a

lump of
of
light,

fire,

which throws around the cloud the brightits

ness

and presents in

midst the appearance of

the

glowing metal.
north
is,

The coming

of

phenomenon from the

Baby-

as a matter of course, not connected with the

lonian representation of the mountain of the gods situated in

the extreme north, Isa. xiv. 13.

According

to the invariable

usage of speech followed by the prophets, especially by Jere-

miah

(cf. e.g.

i.

14, iv. 6, vi. 1, etc.), the north

to

is

the quarter

from which the enemies who were

Jerusalem and Judah break
in.

execute judgment upon

to this usage, the
signifies that

According

coming of

this divine

appearance from the north

CHAP.

I.

5-14.

21

it is

upon Judah.
main?? to

from the north that God will bring to pass the judgment nni5?rip {i'N, " fire rolled together like a ball," is
ix.

an expression borrowed from Ex.

I^'k^

10.

\?

refers to

]^V,

and
"Fjinp.

as

we

see

from the words

in apposition, ti'Xn

The

fire,

which formed the centre of the cloud, had the appear-

ance of

?Pk>'n.

The meaning
ch.
viii.
it

of this word, which occurs again

is

in ver, 27

and

ver. 2,

disputed.

The Septuagint
i.e.

and Vulgate translate

having a bright
silver.

by

rjjXeKrpov, electrurn,

a metal

lustre,

and consisting of a mixture of gold and

;

Cf. Strabo, III. 146

Plin. Hist. Nat. xxxiii. 4.

it

To
niJ'm,

the explanation of Bochart, that " brass," and the Talmudic word

is

a compound of

7?12
is

or sb^O, "

aurum

rude,^

and
N7DD
p.

signifies

"rough gold

ore,"
is

opposed the fact that the

reading i6^D in the

(cf.

Talmud
p.

not certain, but purports to be

Gesen. Thesaur.

535, and Buxtorf, Lexic. Talmud^

1214), as well as the circumstance that raw gold ore has not
fire.

a lustre which could shine forth out of the

probability has the supposition that
in Syriac
'*

Still

less

it

is

compound

of ^B'n,

conflavit,

fabricavit" and DC'n, "fricuit,^^ on which

Hiivernick and Maurer base the meaning of " a piece of metal

wrought in the fire." from U^n, probably "

D13,

The word

appears simply to be formed

to glow," with ?

appended, as

?0">3
is

from

and

to denote

" glowing ore."

This meaning
explained by

appro-

priate both in ver. 27,

as

well as in ch.
it.

where ?^^V viii. 2, where

is

PJ^ is
*inr,

CJ^'XTixnaj

" brilliancy," stands as

parallel to
ver. 7

^^^^, however,

different

from

?^i5 n^i'ni

in

and

in

Dan.

x. 6, for ?Pt^^ refers in all the three places to

is

the person of
7?[>

Him who
is

enthroned above the cherubim

while

n^n: in ver. 7

spoken of the feet of the cherubim, and

in

Dan.

x. 6 of

the arms and feet of the personage

who

there

manifests Himself.

In verse
first

fifth

the appearance

is

described

more minutely.
figure

There

present themselves to the eye of

the seer four beings,

whom

he describes according to their

and

style.

Vers. 5-14.

The four cherubim.

Ver.

5.

And

out of its midst

22
there prominently

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

appeared a figure^ consisting of four creatures,
appearance
:

and
Ver.
Ver.

this
6.

toas their

they

had

the figure

of a man.

And each had four faces, and each of them Jiad four xoings. 7. And their feet loere upright-standing feet ; and the soles
of a Ver.
calf,

of

their feet like the soles

and sparkling
the

like the

appear-

ance of shining brass.

8.

And
;

hands of a
all

man
;

were

under
icings.

their

wings on their four sides

9.

and

four had faces and

to

Ver.

Their icings xoere joined one

;

another

they

turned not as they went

his face.

they went each one in the direction of

the

Ver. 10.

And

form of
;

their faces
lion'' s

was

that of

man; and
all

on the rigid all four had a

the face

face

and on

the left
s

four had

of an ox

and

all

four had an eagle

face.
tivo

Ver. 11.

And And

their faces

and

their

wings tvere divided above,

of each uniting loith one another, and two covering their bodies
Ver. 12.
they
icent

each
to go,

in the

direction of his face

;

whithersoever the spirit icas

they went.

they icent

they turned not as

Ver. 13.

And

the likeness

of

the creatures resembled

burning coals of

fire, like the apioearance

of torches
;

it

{the fire)

went hilher and thither amongst the beings

liant,

and

the fire

was

bril-

and from

the fire

came

forth lightning.

Ver. 14.

And the
itself

beings ran hither

and

thither in

a zig-zag manner.

From
ni'H,

out of the fiery centre of the cloud there shows

the form (n^D% properly "resemblance," "picture") of four

animantia,

"living creatures;"

^wa, Apoc.

iv.

6;

not
it,

6r)pia,

" wild beasts," as Luther has incorrectly rendered

after the animalia of the Vulgate.

These four creatures had

Agreeably
to this notice,

nns

raD'H,

" the figure of a man."

placed at the head of the description, these creatures are to be

conceived as presenting the appearance of a

human body

in all

points not otherwise specified in the following narrative.

Each

of

them had four

faces

and four wings (nnx without the and

D^SJ? are

article stands as a distributive,

Isa. vi. 2,
straigiit

" pinions," as in
'TJC'^
P^"),

not " pairs of wings").

Their feet were

"a

foot;" the singular stands generically, stating only the

feet,

nature of the

without reference to their number.

We

CHAP.

I.

5-14.

2S

have accordingly
legs, as in a

to

assume in each of the four creatures two

i^^,

man.

" straight,"
?J"i

i.e.

standing upright, not

the whole leg, includ-

bent, as

when

sitting or kneeling.
-'J"}.

is

ing the knee and thigh, and

^3, " sole of the foot," or

the

under part of the

leg,

with which
leg,

we

tread on the ground.

calf's foot,

This part, not the whole

resembled the

which
like

is

firmly planted on the ground.

The

legs sparkled
is

the

appearance of
D''3ti3,

?^ij ri'^rra.

The
to

subject of D^WJ

not " the

which are understood

be intended under the ni'n in

is

verse fifth" (Hitzig), for this subject

2'!l''r?-'lj

too far distant, but

xiii.

which

is

here construed as masculine, as in Jer.

16.

In
i.

this sense are these

words apprehended

in the Apocalypse,

15,

and
see

^'^i^

^l^'^3

there translated by %aXA:oXi'/3ai/o9.

On

this

word

^^p 'nj

Hengstenberg and Diisterdieck on the Apoc. i. 15. probably signifies " light," i.e. " bright, shining brass,"
have rendered
it.

as the old translators

The Septuagint

has

i^aarpdinwv
plirast, aes

the Vulgate, aes candens; and the Chaldee para-

flammans.

The

signification " smoothed, polished

;

brass " (Bochart), rests upon uncertain combinations

cf.

Gesen.

Thes. p. 1217, and is appropriate neither here nor in Dan. x. 6, where these words precede, " His face had the appearance of
lightning, and his eyes were as a flame of fire."

Under

the

four wings were four hands on the four sides of each cherub,

formed
rested

like

the

hands of a man.

The wings

accordingly
forth.

upon the shoulders, from which the hands came

The
D^X

Chetib

HM may

certainly be defended if with

n^l,

Kimchi and
and

others

we punctuate

and take the

sufiix distributively

elliptically,

" his
of) a

(i.e.

each of the four creatures) hands

cf. for

were (the hands

man;"

such an
"

ellipsis as this,

passages like that in Ps.

(feet) of

xviii. 34, rii7>X3 7^"!^

my
1

feet as the

hinds;" Job xxxv.

It
is

2, ?X0, "before the righteousness

is

of God."

extremely probable, however, that

",

only the

error of an old copyist for

and that the Keri

is

^y\

is

the correct

reading, as the taking of DIX elliptically

not in keepino- -with

verbosity verges

the broad style of Ezekiel, which in

its

on

24
tautology.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

The

second half of ver. 8

is

neither, with Havernick,

to be referred to the following ninth verse,

where the faces are

;

no more spoken
but
is

of, nor,
it

with Hitzig, to be arbitrarily mutilated

to

be taken as

stands, comprising all that has hitherto

been said regarding the faces and wings, in order to append thereto in ver. 9 sqq. the description of the use

and nature of these

wings were joined

members.

The

definite statement, that " the

is

one to another,"
accordincr to

in ver. 11 limited to the

two upper wings,

which we have

so to conceive the matter, that the

top or the upper right wing of each cherub

came

in contact

with the top of the

left

wing of the neighbouring cherub.

This junction presented to the eye of the seer the unity and
coherence of
all

the four creatures as a complete whole

n^n^

and implied,

as a consequence, the

harmonious action in

common

of the four creatures.

They

did not turn as they went along,

his face.

but proceeded each in the direction of

" over against his face."
Kliefoth
:

VJa i^y"?^,

The meaning
(i.e.

is

thus rightly given by

"

As

they had four faces, they needed not to turn as

in the direction in which) they

they went, but went on as

were going, always after the face."

In the closer description

of the faces in ver. 10, the face of the

man

is

first

mentioned

as that which was turned towards the seer, that of the lion to

the right side, the ox to the

left,

and that of the eagle (behind).

all

In naming these

three,
:

it is

remarked that

the four creatures

this
all

had

these faces

in

naming the man's

word
In
Dn''])

face,

remark
the

is

omitted, because the

(referring to
it is

four)

immediately precedes.
above," "

ver. 11,

next remarked of the

faces and wings, that they were divided above (i^^^^?^, "

from

upward

")

then the direction of the wings

Qi^'^Di Is

is

more

precisely stated.

The word
it

neither to be referred to

the preceding, " and

was
is

their faces," nor, with Hltzlg, to be

expunged

as a gloss

but

quite in order as a statement that

not only the wings but also the faces were divided above, consequently were not like Janus' faces upon one head, but the

four faces were planted upon four heads and necks.

In the

CHAP.
description that
tJ'''^5

I.

5-14.

25
not quite distinct, and
"?^? nts's

follows,

^''i^

nnain

is

is

manifestly to be taken as an abbreviation of

:

rinins in ver. 9
i.e.

on each were two wings joining one another,

touching with their tops the tips of the wings of the cherub

beside them, in accordance with which

we have

to

conceive
i.e.

the wings as expanded.

Two

were covering their bodies,

each cherub covered his body with the pair of wings that folded

downwards

not, as Kliefoth supposes, that the lower

wings of

the one cherub covered the body of the other cherub beside

him, which also

that verse.

is

not the meaning in ver. 23

is

see note

on

In ver. 12, what

to be said about their

move-

ments

is

brought to a conclusion, while both statements are

completed by the addition of the
''

repeated in ver. 9&, and

principium movens.
in that direction they

In whatever direction the nn

was to go,
nn, how-

went

;"

i.e.

not according to the action of

their

own

will,

but wherever the n^l impelled them,

ever, signifies not " impulse," nor, in this place, even " the

wind," as the vehicle of the power of the spiritual

to the senses,

life

palpable

which produced and guided their movements,

For, according to ver. 20, the move-

(Kliefoth), but spirit.

ment

of the wheels, which

was

in

harmony with the movements

of the cherubim, was not caused

by the wind, but proceeded

dwelling in the creature.

from the njnn mi,

i.e.

from the
is

spirit

On

the contrary, there

not in the whole description, with the

exception of the general statement that a tempestuous wind

drove from the north the great cloud in which the theophany

was enwrapped, any

to the senses.

allusion to a

means

of motion
is

palpable

In the 13th and 14th verses

described the

entire impression

appearance,

produced by the movement of the whole ni'nn niDHI precedes, and is taken absolutely " as
the creatures," and corresponds to the
5,

regards the form of

nin

yan^ n^on in ver.

with which the description of the indifire

vidual figures which appeared in the brightness of the

introduced.
like the

was
fire,

Their appearance was

N'^n

like

burning coals of

appearance of torches.

refers to

^^

as the principal


26
conception.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Fire, like the fire of burning coals and torches,

went, moved hither and thither amongst the four creatures.

This

lire

presented a bright appearance, and out of

it

came

forth lightnings.

The

creatures, moreover, were in

constant

motion,

{^i^*"),

from

i^yj,

an Aramaising form for the Hebrew

vn, to run.

Tlie in/in. ahsol. stands instead of the jinite verb.

i<i^*^,

The

conjecture of

after

Gen.

viii.

7 (Hitzig),

is

inappro-

priate,

because here we have not to think of " coming out," and

exists for the striking out of the words,

no reason
proposes.

as
is

Ilitzig

The continued motion

of

the creatures

not in

contradiction with their perpetually

moving on

straight before
in the

them.

"They went

hither and thither,

;

and yet always

direction of their countenances

because they had a countenance

PT3 signi-

looking in the direction of every side " (Kliefoth).

fies

not " lightning" (=:p^3), but comes from PJ3

split,"

in Syriac,

" to be

and denotes " the

splitting,"

i.e.

the zigzag course

of the lightning (Kliefoth).

Vers.

Ver. 15.

And I saio

15-21. The four wheels beside the cherubim. the creatures, and, lo, there was a wheel upon
Ver. 16.

the earth beside the creatures, towards their four fronts.

The

aioiocarance of the wheels

;

and

their icorJc loas like the apjjear:

ance of the chrysolite

their

and

all

four had one kind of figure

and

appearance and

their toork zuas as if one zcheel

were xoithin

the other.

Ver. 17. Towards their four sides they went ichen

tliey

they

moved: they turned not as

high and

went.

Ver. 18.

And

their

felloes, they xcere

terrible ;

and

their felloes

were full of
ichen
the

eyes

round about in

all the four.

Ver. 19.

And
;

creatures moved, the xoheels moved beside them

and

ichen the
also
go,
the

creatures raised themselves

up from

the earth,

the icheels

raised themselves.

Ver. 20. Whithersoever the

spirit

was
;

to

they went in the direction in which the spirit teas to go

icheels raised themselves beside

and

them

for
the

the spirit of the creatures

was

in the wheels. also

;

Ver. 21.

When

former moved,
;

the latter

moved
the

ivhen the

former

stood, the latter stood

the

and when

former raised themselves from

ground^ the toheds raised

CHAP.

I.

15-21.

27

themselves beside them

wheels.

The

words, "

of the creatures was in the and I saw the creatures," prepare the

for the

spirit

way

for the transition to the

new

object which presented itself

in these creatures to the eye of the seer.

By
The

the side of these

at the four

creatures

upon the ground he

sees a wheel,

and that

fronts, or front faces of the creatures.

singular suffix in
to the

Vi3

nysi.i^c'

can neither be referred, with Rosenmiiller,

is

chariot,

which
PVSl,

not mentioned at

all,

nor, with Hitzig, to the

preposition
JSiK,

nor, with Havernick, Maurer,

and Kliefoth,

to

and

so be understood as if

every wheel looked towards four

it

sides,

because a second wheel was inserted in

is

at right angles.

This meaning
refers

not to be found in the words.

it

The

suffix

ad sensum

to rivn (Evvald), or, to express

more

correctly,

of the to the figure o

cherubim with

its

four faces turned to the

(i^*0[',

front, conceived as a unity

as one creature

ver. 22).

Acside

cordingly,

we have

so to represent the matter, that

by the

of the four cherubim, namely, beside his front face, a wheel

was

to

be seen upon the earth.

Ezekiel then saw four wheels,

one on each front of a cherub, and therefore immediately

speaks in ver. 16 of wheels (in the plural).
is

In

this verse "^^l'?

adspectus,

and

nb'yo

"work;"

i.e.

both statements employing

first

the term " construction," although in the

hemistich only

the appearance, in the second only the construction, of the

wheels

is

described.

^''P'^.^

is

the chrysolite of the ancients,

lustre of gold.

the topaz of the moderns,

a stone having the

as
if
it

The

construction of the wheels was

i.e.

one wheel were

within a wheel,

as if in the

wheel a second were inserted at

could go towards

right angles, so that without being turned

all

the four sides.

in''33,

in ver. 18, stands absolutely.

"As
Hitzig
after

regards their felloes," they possessed height and terribleness,

the
back.

latter

because they were full of eyes

all
;

round.

arbitrarily understands nna of the

upper sides

and

HN"!^,,

the Arabic, of the under side, or that which

lies

towards the

The movement of movement of the creatures

the wheels completely followed the

(vers. 19-21), because the spirit of

; :

28

THE PROrHECIES OF EZEKIEL

i^)^^,

the creature was in the wheels,

in vers.

20 and 21,

is

not the

" principle of

life

"

(Hiivernick),

but the cherubic

creatures conceived as a unity, as in ver. 22, where the

inff
is

mean-

undoubted.
rest,

The

sense

is

the wheels were, in their

motion and

completely bound by the movements and rest

of the creatures, because the spirit which ruled in

also
in

them was
and

the wheels, and

regulated their going, standing,

rising upwards.

By

the rrnn

ni

the wheels are bound in one

with the cherub-figures, but not by means of a chariot, to or

upon which the cherubim were attached.

Vers. 22-28.
heads of

The throne

of

Jehovah. Ver.

22.
like

And

over the

the creature there

appeared an expanse

the appear-

ance of the terrible crystal^ stretched out over their heads above. Ver. 23. And under the expanse loere their wings^ extended
straight one toioards another
:

each had two ivings, covering to these,

their bodies.

and each two

(icings), covering to those,

Ver. 24.

And T heard the sound of their

like the voice

loings, as the

sound of many waters,

like

of the Almighty, as they went: a loud rushing

:

the

clamour of a camp
Ver. 25.

when

they stood, they

voice

let

doion their
the exlet

wings.

And

there

came a

from above

panse which toas above

their loings sink doicn.

their heads;

when

they stood, they

Ver. 26. Over the expanse above their

a sapphire stone, the fgure of a throne

heads ivas to be seen, like

and over
above
it.

the figure

of the throne was a figure resembling a

man

Ver. 27.

And I

saw

like the

aptpearance of gloioing

brass, like the appearance

of fire

loithin the

same round about

from

the

appearance of his loins upwards, and from the appear-

ance of his loins doivnioards,

I saw
is

as of the appearance of fire,

it.

and a shining
was

light

was round about

which

Ver. 28. Like the

appearance of the
the

boiv,

in the clouds in the

light

day of rain,
This ivas

appearance of the shining

round about.

the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah.

And

saw

it,

spake.

Above,

and /ell upon my

face,

and I heard

the voice

of one that

over the heads of the figures of the cherubim,

the firmament
of

Ezekiel sees something like

heaven

(ver.

CHAP. L 22-28.

29
voice,

22

sq.),

and hears from above

this

canopy a

which

re-

-echoes in the rushing of the wings of the cherubim, and deter-

mines the movement as well as the standing

creatures.

still

of

these

The

first

sentence of ver. 22 literally signifies:

"

And
it

a likeness was over the heads of the creature,

y^i?^

a canopy,
r)^0"=i,
I

as

were, stretched out."

is

not the genitive after

it,

but an explanatory apposition to

and before
is
it

T\ri

neither

has 3 fallen out (as Hitzig supposes), nor

to be supplied.

For

riiJ3T

denotes not any definite likeness, with which another

is

could be compared, but, properly, similitudoj and

employed

by Ezekiel in the sense of " something

article,

like."

ViP'^,

without the

does not

mean

the firmament of heaven, but any exis first

panse, the appearance of which

described as resembling
It
is

the firmament by the words

Tr\\)T\

pya.

not the firmament

of heaven which Ezekiel sees above the heads of the cherubim,

but an expanse resembling

of a fear-inspiring crystal.

it,

which has the shining appearance

K"ii3,

used of

crystal, in so far as

the appearance of this glittering mass dazzles the eyes, and

assures terror, as in Judg.
in
xiii. 6,

of the look of the angel

and
is

Job

xxxvii. 22, of the divine majesty.

The

description

based upon Ex. xxiv. 10, and the similitude of the crystal has
passed over to the Apocalypse,
the wings of the cherubim,
iv. 6.

Under

the canopy were

i.e.

niiB'^.,

standing straight,

spread

out in a horizontal direction, so that they appeared to support

the canopy.

nnins~7X nc^K

is

not, with

Jerome and

others, to

be referred to the cherubim

(^'C''!)),

but to

cn''D33j as in ver. 9.

The

^''ip

which follows does

"

refer,

on the contrary, to the

cherub, and literally signifies,

ing, namely, to these
to ^''ip, in a

To

each were two wings, cover>^^>J>

and

those, their bodies."

to Dri7

corresponds

manner analogous
i^^^li,

nnsp

in ver. 6.

By

the

repetition of the

" to these and those," the four cherubim

are

divided into two pairs, standing opposite to one another.

this

That

statement contradicts, as Hitzig asserts, the

is

first

half

of the verse,

by no means evident.

If the

two creatures on

each side covered their bodies with the two wings, then two

30

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Other wings could very easily be so extended under the canopy

that the tops of the one should touch those of the other.

As
is

the creatures moved, Ezekiel hears the sound,

i.e.

the rustling

of their wings, like the roaring of mighty billows.

This

strengthened by the second comparison, " like the voice of the

Almighty,"
that follows

i.e.

resembling thunder,

cf.

x.

5.

The n?Dn Hp
li^n,

still

depends on
xi.

V^K'X..

^'^r\.,

which occurs only

here and in Jer.

6,

is

probably synonymous with

" roaring," " noise," " tumult."

This rushing sound, however,

in motion
fall
;

was heard only when the creatures were

they stood, they allowed their wings to

for

when

down.

This, of

course, applies only to the upper wings, as the under ones,

which covered the body, hung downwards, or were

let

down.

From

this

it

clearly appears that the

upper wings neither sup-

ported nor bore up the canopy over their heads, but only were
so extended,

when

the cherubim were

in motion, that

they

touched the canopy.

In

ver.

25

is

also

mentioned whence the

loud sound came, which was heard, during the moving of the
wings, from above the canopy, consequently from him

who was

placed above

it,

so that the creatures, always after this voice

still, i.e.

resounded, went on or stood

put themselves in motion,

its

or remained without moving, according to

command.
is

AVith

the repetition of the last clause of ver. 24 this subject

conto

cluded in ver. 25.

Over

or above

upon the firmament was

be seen, like a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne, on which

sat

one in the form of a

vii.

form, as in Dan.

9 sq.

man i.e. Jehovah appeared in human Upon this was poured out a fiery,
(p'^''rV VV.,

shining light, like glowing brass

like fire,

as in ver. 4)

and

n^^D r^h-T\%
n?,

within

it

round about " (n^30

= n^3,
They

" within," and

pointing back to

NM

ni"n).

This appears

to be the simplest explanation of these obscure words.

are rendered differently by Ilitzig,

fire

who

translates
it, i.e.

them

"like
is

which has a covering round about

like fire

which

enclosed, whose shining contrasts so

much

the

more brightly on

account of the dark surroundings."

But, to say nothing of

CHAP.

I.

22-23.

81
H^^i

the
this

change ^vhich would then be necessary of

into 0^3,

meaning seems very

far-fetched,
nx"]?Pj

and cannot be accepted

neither in the following

for this reason alone, that C'X

hemistich (ver. 27b) nor in

viii.

2,

has any such or similar

shows, as the

strengthening addition.

The appearance above

centre of the cloud (ver. 4), a fiery gleam of light, only there
is

to be perceived

upon the throne a

loins

figure resembling a

man,

fiery-looking

from the

upwards and downwards, and

round the throne, a shining
tlie
^Jiin,

round about the

figure, or rather

light (H^b, cf. ver. 4), like the

iv. 3.

rainbow in
not refer to

clouds, cf.

Apoc.

This

[x^n, ver. 28, does

but to the whole

appearance of him who was enthroned,

the

covering of light

included, but throne and cherubim (x. 4, 19) excluded (Hitzig)]

was the appearance of the likeness of Jehovah's glory.

these words closes the description of the vision.
clause, "

With

The

following-

And

I saw, etc.," forms the transition to the word of

Jehovah, which follows on the second chapter, and which sum-

moned Ezekiel
however, to

to

become a prophet
this

to Israel.

Before we pass,

an explanation of

word, we must endeavour to

this

form to ourselves a clear conception of the significance of

theophany.

For

its

full
it

understanding

we have

first

of

all

to keep in

view that

was imparted

to Ezekiel

not merely on his being

called to the office of prophet, but

times,

was again repeated three

namely,
sqq,,

in ch.

iii.

22

sqq.,

where he was commissioned

;

to predict symbolically the

viii.

impending siege of Jerusalem

ch.

when he

is

transported in spirit to the temple-court

at

Jerusalem for the purpose of beholding the abominations of

the idol-worship practised by the people, and to announce the

judgment which,
burst

in

consequence of these abominations, was

to

upon the

city

and the temple,

and in ch.

in

which
first

it

is

shown

to

him how the glory of the Lord abandons,

thereafter the city also
;

the temple

and
is

xliii.

1 sqq., in which

shown

to

him the

filling of

the Lord, to dwell for ever

the new temple with the glory of among the children of Israel. In

:;

32
all

THE PKOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

three passages
it

is

expressly testified that the divine ap-

pearance was like the

of his call.

first

which he witnessed on the occasion

has
i.

From

this Kliefoth

drawn the right con-

clusion, that the

to the call only,

theophany

in ch.

4 sqq. bears a relation not

but to the whole prophetic work of Ezekiel

"

We

may

not say that

God

so appears to Ezekiel at a later

time, because

He

so appeared to

him

at his call

but

we must

say, conversely, that because

God
him

wills

and must

so appear to

Ezekiel at a later time while engaged in his prophetic vocation,

therefore
call."

He

also appears to

in this

form already

at his

The

intention, however, with

which

God

so appears to

him
and

is

distinctly contained in the

:

two

last passages, ch. viii.-xi.

ch. xliii

"

God

withdraws in a

visible

manner from the

to

temple and Jerusalem, which are devoted

destruction on

account of the sin of the people: in a visible manner

enters
into

God
was

the

new temple
Ezekiel

of

the

future

and because
foretell

the

whole of what
in

was

inspired

to

comprehended
existing temple

these two things,

city,

the destruction oi the

and

and the raising up of a new and

a better
its

because the whole of his prophetic vocation had

fulfilment in these, therefore

God

appears to Ezekiel on

his call to

be a prophet in the same form as that in which

He

departs from the ancient temple and Jerusalem, in order to

their destruction,
in order to
fore, is

and in which
it

He

enters into the

new

edifice

make
it

a temple.
in
i.

The form
because

of the theophany, thereits

what

is

sqq.,

purpose was to show

and announce

to the prophet,

on the one side the destruction

its

of the temple, and on the other

restoration

and

glorification."

These remarks are quite

theophany
the
itself is

correct, only the significance of the

not thereby

made

clear.

If

it is

clear

from

purpose indicated why God

here has the cherubim with

Him,

wliile

Isa.

on the occasion of other appearances (e.g. Dan. vii. 9 as the cherubim here have vi. 1) He is without cherubim
;

no other significancy than what

nacle, viz. that

their figures

have in the taber-

God

has there His dwelling-place, the seat of

CHAP.

I.

22-28.

33

His gracious presence

either the special

yet this does not satisfactorily explain

marks by which the cherubim of Ezekiel are

distinguished from those in the tabernacle and in Solomon's

temple, or the other attributes of the theophany.

Kliefoth,

moreover, does not misapprehend those diversities in the figures

of the cherubim, and finds indicated therein the intention of

causing

it

distinctly to

appear that
the
it.

it

is

the one and

same
the

Jehovah, enthroned amid

temple, and
to

cherubim,

who

destroys

who again uprears

events,

Because Ezekiel was called

predict both

he therefore thinks there must be

excluded, on the one hand, such attributes in the form of the

manifestation as would be out of

harmony with the

different

aims of the theophany; while, on the other, those which are

important for the different aims must be combined and com-

prehended in one form, that

this

one foi*m

may

be appropriate

to all the manifestations of the

theophany.

It could not there-

fore have in

it

the ark of the covenant and the mercy-seat

because, although these would probably have been appropriate

to the manifestation for the destruction of the old

temple

(viii.

sqq.),

they would not have been in keeping with that for

entering into the

the living

new
it

temple.

Instead of
the throne

this,

it

must show
living

God Himself upon

among "the

creatures;" because

belongs to the
it

new and

glorious existence

of the temple of the future, that

self

should have Jehovah

Him-

dwelling within

it

in a visible form.

From

this, too,

may

be explained the great fulness of

divisible into three classes
:

the attributes, which are

relate to the

1.

Those which

mani-

festation of

God
;

for the destruction of Jerusalem; 2.

Those

which

relate to the manifestation of

God

for entering into the

in

new temple and, 3. Those which serve both objects mon. To the last class belongs everything which is
to the manifestation of

com-

essential

God

in itself, e.g. the visibility of

itself,

God
on
:

in
to

general, the presence of the cherubim in

and

so

the

first class all

the signs that indicate wrath and judgment,

the

consequently,

first,

coming from the north,

especially the

EZEK.

I.

ol
fire, tlie

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Uglitnings, in
;

which

God

appears as

He who

is

coming

to

judgment

but to the second, besides the rainbow and the

appearance of

God

in

human

form, especially the wheels and

the fourfold manifestation in the cherubim and wheels.

For the

new temple

does not represent the rebuilding of the temple by

Zerubbabel, but the economy of salvation founded by Christ at

His appearing,

to

which they belong as

essential tokens; to be

founded, on the one hand, by God's

own coming and dwelling

local nature of the pre-

upon the earth

on the other,

to

be of an oecumenic character,

in opposition to the particularities

and

vious ancient dispensation of salvation.

in

God

appears bodily,

human form
is

lowers
;

down
the

to earth the

canopy on which
indicate God's

His throne

seated

cherubim, which

gracious presence with Plis people, appear not merely in symbol,

but in living reality, plant their feet upon the ground, while

each cherub has at his side a wheel, which moves, not

air,

in

the

but only upon the earth.

is

By

this it is

shown that God

Himself

to

descend to the earth, to walk and to dwell visibly

;

among His
economy

people

while the oecumenic character of the

new
is

of salvation, for the establishment of which

is

God

to visit the earth,

represented in the fourfold form of the

cherubim and wheels.

oecumenicity which
is

The number
to

four

the

sign of the
its

come, and the symbol of

being

spread abroad into

all

the world

is

assigned to the cherubim

and wheels,
of

to portray the spreading

abroad of the new kingdom

that
is

God

over the whole earth.

But how much soever

true and striking this attempt at explanation

details, it

may

contain in
is

does not touch the heart of the subject, and

not

free from bold combinations.

tion, that in the

The

correctness of the assump-

theophany attributes of an opposite kind are

united, namely, such as should refer only to the destruction of

Jerusalem and of the temple, and such

foundation and nature of the
beset with well-founded doubts.

as relate only to the

new economy

of salvation,

is

Why, on

such a hypothesis,

should the form of the theophany remain the same throughout

CHAP.
in
tliree or
is

I.

22-28.

3'5

all

four cases?

This question,

wlilc]i lies

on the

surface,

not satisfactorily answered

by the remark that

Ezekiel had to predict not only the destruction of the old, but
also the foundation of a

new and much more

this end,

glorious

kingdom

of God.

For not only would

it

but also the object of

is

showing that

is

the same
if

God who

to accomplish both,

have been fully attained

the theophany had remained the

same only

in those attributes

which emblemize
;

in

a general

way God's
attributes,

gracious presence in His temple

while the special

which typify only the one and the other purpose of where
element of the

the divine appearance, would only then have been added, or

brought prominently

out,

this or that

theophany had

to

be announced.

Lloreover, the necessity in

is

general of a theophany for the purpose alleged

not evident,

much

less

the necessity of a theophany so peculiar in form.

also,
e.g.

Other prophets

Micah, without having seen a theo-

phany, have predicted in the clearest and distinctest manner

both the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and the
raising

up of a new and more glorious kingdom of God.

then,

The
turn

reason,

why

Ezekiel witnessed such a theophany, not

it

only at his

call,

but had

repeated to him at every

new

in his prophetic ministry,

must be deeper than that assigned and the theophany must have another meaning than that of
merely consecrating the prophet for the purpose of announcinoboth the judgment upon Jerusalem and the temple, and the
raising

up of a new and more

contents.

glorious

economy of

salvation,

and strengthening the word of the prophet by a symbolical

representation of
its

To

recognise this meaning,

we must endeavour

to

form a

distinct conception, not

merely of the principal elements of our

theophany, but to take into consideration at the same time their

relation to other theophanies.

In our theophany three elements

are

unmistakeably prominent,
;

1st,

The

peculiarly

formed
;

cherubim
3d,

2d,

The wheels

are seen beside the

cherubim

and,

The firmament

above, both with the throne and the form of

36

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

in

God

human shape
is

seated upon the throne.

is

The

order of

these three elements in the description

perhaps hardly of
this, that to

any importance, but

seer

simply explicable from

it is

the

who
look

is

on earth

the under part of the figure which,

first

appearing visibly in the clouds,

his

presents
of
is

itself,

and that

next turns to the upper part

all,

the

theophany.

Especially significant above

however,

the appearance of
this
it is

the cherubim under or at the throne of

indisputably pointed out that
is

God; and by

He who

appears upon the throne

the same

God

that

is

enthroned in the temple between the

their

cherubim of

the

mercy -seat upon

outspread

wings.

"Whatever opinion

may

be formed regarding the nature and

significance of the cherubim, this

lished, that

much

is

undoubtedly estab-

they belong essentially to the symbolical repre-

sentation of Jehovah's gracious presence in Israel, and that

this portion of

our vision has

its

real foundation in the plastic

representation of this gracious relation in the

of the tabernacle or temple.

Holy

of Holies

As, however, opinions are divided

on the subject of the meaning of these symbols, and the cherubim of Ezekiel, moreover, present no inconsiderable differences in their four faces and four wings from the figures of
the cherubim upon the mercy-seat and in the temple, which

had only one face and two wings, we must, for the full understanding of our vision, look a little more closely to the nature
and significance of the cherubim.
While, according
to the older view, the

cherubim are angelic

is

beings of a higher order, the opinion at the present day

widely prevalent, that they are only symbolical figures, to which

nothing real corresponds,

creature
*

merely

ideal

representations

of

life in

its

highest fulness.^

This modern view, how-

Compare the

investigation of the cherubim in

I.

my Handhuch

der Bib-

lischen Archxnhr/ie,

pp. 86 sqq.

and 113 sqq.

also KWeioth's Abhanillinig

uber die Zaldenxipiibolik der heiligen Schri/t in der Theolog. Zeitschrift von Dieckhoff und Kliefoth, III. p. 381 sqq., where especially the older view

that the cherubim are angelic beings of a higher rank

is defended in a thorough manner, and the daring hypothesis of Hofmanu signally refuted

CHAP.

I.

22-28.

37
cherubim in the
Israel-

ever, finds in the circumstance that the

itish sanctuary, as well

as in Ezekiel

and

in the Apocalypse,

are symbolical figures of varying shape, only an apparent but

no

real support.

The cherubim occur

Gen.
iii.

for the

first
it

time in the
related that

history of Paradise, where, in

22-24,

is

God, after expelling the

at the east side of the

first

human

pair

from Paradise, placed

guard the way to the
is

garden the cherubim and the flame of a

thitlier, to

sword, which turned hither and

tree of life.

If this narrative contains historical truth, and

not merely a

myth

or philosopheme

if

Paradise and the Fall,

all

with their consequences, extending over

humanity, are to

remain real things and occurrences,

also

then
God

must the cherubim

have placed

be taken as real beings.

" For

will not

symbols

pure

creations of

Hebrew fancy

at the gate of

Paradise," Kliefoth.
also held the

Upon
to

the basis of this narrative, Ezekiel

cherubim

be spiritual beings of a higher rank. 14-16, where he compares the

This appears from ch.

xxviii.

prince of Tyre, in reference to the high and glorious position

which God had assigned him,

to a cherub,

and

to

Elohim.

It does not at all conflict with the recognition of the

cherubim

as real beings, and, indeed, as spiritual or angelic beings, that

they are employed in visions to represent super-sensible relations, or are

represented in a plastic form in the sanctuary of

angels," as Kliefoth correctly remarks in re-

Israel.

"

When
this,

ference to
is

" sing the song of praise in the holy night, this

an

historical occurrence,
testify
;

and these

anirels are real ano-els,

who

by

their appearance that there are such beings as

angels

but when, in the Apocalypse, angels pour forth sounds

of wrath, these angels are figures in vision, as elsewhere, also,

men and

objects are seen in vision."

But even

this

employment
belief that

of the angels as " figures " in vision, rests

upon the

Lastly,

Ed. C. Aug. Riehm, De naturd et notione symhoUcd Cheruhorum, Commentat. Basil. 1864, who, proceeding from the view adopted by Biihr, Hengstenberg, and others that the cherubim were only symbolical figures, has sought to determine more minutely the meaning of these symbols.


38

THE PEOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Biblical

there are actually beings of tins kind.

symbolism

furnishes not a single undoubtecl instance of abstract ideas, or

ideal creations of the imagination,

being represented by the

prophets as living beings.

the cherubim

Under

the plastic representation of

in the

upon the mercy-seat, and

most holy and

the idea, that

holy place of the tabernacle and the temple,

these are heavenly, spiritual beings
;

lies

for in the tabernacle

and

temple (which was built after

the kingdom of

its

pattern) essential relations of

all

God

are embodied, and

real existence.

the symbols derived

from things having a

Vitringa remarks

When, however, on
iv. 6,

the

other hand, Ilengstenberg objects, on Apoc.

is sufficient

" that

what

to refute those

who, under the

viz. that

cherubim, would understand angels of rank,

these

four creatures are throughout the whole of this vision connected

with the assembly of the elders, and are distinguished not only

from the
vii.

angels, but

from

all

tlie

angels, as

is

done in ch.

11,"

we must

regard this refutation as altogether futile.

From
into

the division of the heavenly assembly before the throne

classes

two choirs or

(Apoc.

v.

and

vii.),

in

which the ^wa

the ayyeXot,

(cherubim) and the elders form the one

the other choir (ver. 11),
ao-ainst

(v. 8),

an argument can be

as little derived
it

the angelic nature of the cherubim, as

could be

shown, from the distinction between the arparia ovpdvco'i and a77eXo9, in Luke ii. 13, that the " multitude of the heavenly
host" were no angels at
all.

And
to the

the passage in Apoc.

vii.

11
re-

would only then furnish the supposed proof against the

lationship of the
in general

cherubim

angels,

if

Traj^re?

dyyekoL
be

all

angels,

how numerous
back

soever they

may

were spoken

of.

But the very tenor

in ch. v. 11,

of the words, Trai/re? ol

to the choir of angels

ajyeXoi,, "all the angels," points

already mentioned
ayyekoLj whose

which was formed by iroXXol

number was

ten thousand times ten thousand,

and thousands of thousands.^

^

From

the distinction between

(Moulton's translation),

See on this distinction Winer's Grammar of New Testament Greek p. 137, where, among otlicr remarks, it is obscrveil

CHAP.

I.

22-28.

39

the ^(oa and the ayyeXoL in the Apocalypse, no further in-

ference can be deduced than that the cherubim are not

common
i.

angels, "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister" (Heb.

14), but constitute a

special class of angels of higher rank.

More exact information regarding the relationship of the cherubim to the other angels, or their nature, cannot indeed be obtained, either from the name cherubim or from the circumstance that, with the exception of Gen.
iii.,

they occur always

only in connection with the throne of God.

the word
3^i?
is

The etymology

of

obscure

all

the derivations that have been

proposed from the

Hebrew

or any other Semitic dialect cannot

make
to

the slightest pretensions to probability.

The word appears

If

have come down from antiquity along with the tradition of

Paradise.

See

my

Biblical ArchcBology, p. 88 sqq.

we

take

into consideration, however, that Ezekiel calls

first

them

ni'rij

and

in ch. x. employs the

name
first

C?''"'?,

known from
;

the taber-

nacle, or rather

from the history of Paradise

x. 20,

since, as

may

be inferred from

he

recognised, from the repetition

x.,

of the theophany related in ch.

that the living creatures

seen in the vision toere cherubim,

tion
ni'rij

we

may, from the designa-

form a supposition,

if

not as to their nature, at least

as to the significance of their position towards the throne of

God.

They

are termed nvn^

all

" living," not as being " ideal

representatives of

living things

upon the earth" (Hengstenall

berg), but as beings which,

among

the creatures in heaven the fullest sense of the

spiritual beings, stand

and

earth, possess

and manifest

life in
all

word, and on that very account, of

nearest to the

God

of the spirits of all flesh

(who

lives

from

eternity to eternity),

and encircle His throne.

With

this repre-

sentation harmonises not only the fact, that after the expulsion of the
to

human beings from Paradise, God commanded them guard the way to the tree of life, but also the form in which
first
TToLactt

that "

ysvixi are all generations, whatever their

i.

number

Trxtrui

ui yivixi (Matt.

17), a/7 the generations,

those which, either

from the

context or in some other way, are familiar as a definite number."

40

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

they were represented in the sanctuary and in the visions.

The cherubim

in the sanctuary

had the form of a man, and

were only marked out by their wings as super-terrestrial beings,

not bound by the earthly limits of space.

The cherubim

in

Ezekiel and the Apocalypse also preserve the appearance of a

man.

Angels

also

assume the human form when they appear

visibly to

men on

earth, because of all earthly creatures

first

man,
place.

created in the image of God, takes the

and highest
consists

For although the

spiritual nature of

divine

image principally

in

the

man,

in the soul breathed into

him by the

Spirit of
is

God,

yet his bodily form, as the vessel of this soul,

the most perfect corporeity of which

we have any knowBut the

ledge,

and

as such

forms the most appropriate garment for

rendering visible the heavenly spiritual being within.

cherubim

in

our vision exhibit, besides the figure of the

human

body with the face of a man,

ox,

also the face of the lion, of the

and of the

eagle,

and four wings, and appear

as four-sided,
sides,

square-formed beings, with a face on each of their four

so that

they go in any direction without turning, and yet,

while so doing, they can always proceed in the direction of one

face
;

while in the vision in the Apocalypse, the four faces of

the creatures

named

are divided

among
and

the four cherubim, so

that each has only one of them.

is

In the countenance of
in each

man

portrayed his soul and

its

spirit,

one

also of the

higher order of animals,

nature.

The union

of the lion, ox,

is

and eagle-faces with that of man

doubtless, to represent

in the

cherubim,

intended,
fulis

them
life,

as beings

which possess the

ness and the power of

which

in the earthly creation

divided

among

the four creatures named.

The Rabbinical
1168)
:

dictum {Sc/iemoth Babba, Schottgen, Ilorce

Quatuor sunt qui principatum
in

TIebraicce, p.
tenent.

hoc

mundo
lies

Inter

creaturas homo, inter aves aquila, inter pecora bos, inter bestias
leo,

contains
it

truth, even

if

there

at

the foundation

of

the idea that these four creatures represent the entire

earthly creation.

For

in the cherub, the living

powers of these

CnAP.

I.

22-28.

41

four creatures are actually united.

That the

eagle,

namely,

comes
flight,

into
in

consideration only in reference to his

all

power of

which he excels

other birds,

may

be concluded
is

from the circumstance that

in

Apoc.

iv.

7 the fourth ^coov

described as resembling an eagle flying.

principle, the

According
to

to

this

ox and the lion are only

be considered in

reference to their physical strength, in virtue of which the ox

amongst tame animals, the

first

lion

amongst wild

beasts, take the his

place, while

man, through the power of

all

mind, asserts
four,

his

supremacy over

earthly creatures.^

The number

lastly,

both of the cherubim and of the four faces of each

vision, is

cherub in our
all directions

connected with their capacity to go in

without turning, and can contribute nothing in

tlie

favour of the assumption that these four indicate

living creation,
is

whole

not essential

upon the simple ground that the number four to them, for on the mercy-seat only two cheru-

bim are found.

That they are

also represented in

the vision
x.
7,

as higher spiritual beings, appears not only

from Ezek.

where a cherub stretches forth

his

hand and fetches out

it

fire

from between the cherubim, and places

angel clothed in white linen,

in the

hands of the
burnis

who was
more

to accomplish the

ing of Jerusalem
in the

but,

still

distinctly,

from what
" in
;

said

Apocalypse regarding their working.

as
:

Here we observe
manifold
they offer
to the

them,

Kliefoth

has

already pointed out,

activity

they utter day and night the Tersanctus

iv, 8, 9,

worship,

v.

8,

xlx. 4

they repeat the

Amen

song of praise from

all creation, v.

14

they invite Jolni to see

;

what the four

of

first

seals are accomplishing, vi. 1, 3, 5, 7

one

them gives

to the

seven angels the seven phials of wrath,

XV. 7."
This has been already rightly recognised by Riehm, I.e. p.. 21 fF., who it the inference quaternis icjitur faciehus eximiae vires atqiie facultates significantur cherubis a deo ad nninus suum sustinendum
'
:

has drawn from

impertitae,

which is connected with the erroneous representation that the cherubim are intended to bear the throne of God, and to carry the Lord of
the world.

42

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Besides this activity of theirs in the carrying out of the

divine counsel of salvation,

we must,

in order to gain as clear

a view as possible of the significance of the cherubim in our

vision, as well as in Biblical

symbolism generally, keep

also in

view the position which, in the Apocalypse, they occupy around

the throne of God.

Those who are assembled about the throne

:

form these three concentric circles

the four ^wa (cherubim)

form the innermost

circle

the twenty-four elders, seated upon

thrones, clothed in white garments,

and wearing golden crowns

circle that follows
;

upon

their heads,

compose the wider

all, is

while

the third, and widest of

formed by the many angels, whose

of thousands (Apoc.
iv. 4, 6, v. 6,

number was many thousands

8, vii. 11).

To

these are added the great, innumerable host,

standing before the thi-one, of the just

made

perfect from

among

all heathens, peoples,

and languages,

in white raiment,

and with palms

tribulation,

in their hands,

and have washed

day and night

their robes,

who have come out of and made them

(vii. 9,

great
w-hito

in the blood of the

Lamb, and now,

in

before the throne of God,

14, 15).

serve

Him

His temple

AcOld

cordinMy the twenty-four

elders, as the patriarchs of the

and

Testament congregation of God, have their place beside God's throne, between the cherubim and the myriads of
the other angels
;

New

and

in the

same manner

as they are exalted

above the angels, are the cherubim exalted even above them.

This position of the cherubim

justifies the conclusion that

they

have the name of ^coa from the indwelling fulness of the everlastinfT

blessed life which

is

within them, and which streams

out from the Creator of spirits the

King

of

all

kings, and

Lord
beinc^

of all lords

upon

the spiritual beings of heaven, and

that the cherubim immediately surround the throne of

God,

as

representatives

blessedness, which men, created

feited

and bearers of the everlasting life of in the image of God, have forwhich they are again, from the
humanity.
infini-

by the

Fall, but

tude of the divine compassion, to recover in the divine kingdom

founded for the redemption of

fallen

CHAP.
It is easier to recognise the

I.

22-28.

43
of the wlieels

meaning

which in

our vision appear beside the cherubim.

put the chariot in motion.

Although the

The wheel serves to throne of God is not

now

expressly represented and designated as a chariot-throne,

yet there can be no doubt that the wheels which Ezekiel sees

under the throne beside the cherubim are intended

to indicate

the possibility and ease with which the throne can be

the direction of the four quarters of the heavens.

moved in The meanexpressly

iv.

ing of the eyes, however, according to

i.

is

matter of controversy, with which,

is

18, the felloes of the wheels, and, as ch.

x.

mentioned

in

12,

and

also

noted in Apoc.
all

6,

the

cherubim themselves are furnished

round.

According to
;

Kliefoth, the eyes serve the purpose of motion

and as the

movement
this

of the cherubim

and wheels indicates the spreading

abroad over the whole earth of the new economy of salvation,

mass of eyes in the cherubim and wheels must indicate that

abroad
is

this spreading

to take place, not

through blind acciis

dent, but with conscious clearness.

priate
to

The meaning
all

not appro-

Apoc.

iv.

6,

where the cherubim have no wheels

countries
is

beside them, and where a going forth into

to be

not

thought

of.

Here

therefore, according to Kliefoth, the

eyes only serve to bring into view the moral and physical

powers which have created and supported the kingdom of

God

upon

earth,

and which are

is

also to bring

it

now

to its

consum-

mation.

This

manifestly arbitrary, as any support from

is

passages of the Bible in favour of the one view or the other

entirely wanting.
truth, that

The remark
et

of Eosenmiiller
is

is

nearer the

by the multitude of the eyes

o^vcoiria,

denoted Coelestium
to

naturarum perspicacia
explanation of Apoc.

and leads

the correct

v. 6,

where the seven eyes of the

Lamb

are declared to be ra eina irvevjxara tou Geov, ra uirearaXfieva

eh iraaav
effects

rr^v yfjv

the eyes consequently indicate the spiritual

which proceed from the

Lamb

over the entire earth in a

manner analogous
of the

to Plis seven horns,

which are the symbols

TJie eye, then,
is

completeness of His power.

the

44

THE PKOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

picture and mirror of the Spirit; and the ornamentation of the

cherubim and wheels with eyes, shows that the power of the
divine Spirit dwells within them,
their

and determines and guides

movements.
difficult to explain.

The remaining objects of the vision are not The appearance of the expanse over above
wheels, upon which a throne
is

the cherubim and

to be seen, represents the firma-

ment
holy

or heaven as the place of God's throne.

in

upon the throne

majesty.

God appears human form, in the terrible glory of Ilis The whole appearance draws nigh to the
4).

prophet in the covering of a great fiery cloud (ver.

This

cloud points back to the " thick cloud" in which Jehovah, in the
ancient time, descended upon

Mount

Sinai amid thunders and

lightnings (Ex. xix. 16) to establish Ilis covenant of grace,

promised to the patriarchs with their seed,

the people of Israel

Sinai for

brought forth from E^vpt,

grace upon the earth.
If

and

to

found His kingdom of

the connection of our

we observe

theophany with that manifestation of

God on

the
vie

founding of the Old Testament dispensation of salvation,

shall neither confine the fire

and the lightnings

in

our vision to

the manifestation of

God

for the destruction of Jerusalem

and

the temple, nor refer the splendour which appears above the

throne in the form of a rainbow to the grace which returns

after the execution of

judgment, or

to the

salvation which

is

to

be established.

new dispensation of Nor may we regard these

specially to individual
in

differing attributes,

by referring them

historical elements of the revelation of in opposition

;

God

His kingdom, as

but must conceive of them, more generally and

as

from the point of view of unity,

holiness,

symbols of the righteousness,

in

and grace which God reveals

the

preservation,
It

government, and consummation of His kingdom.

true also of
iv.

holds

our theophany what Diisterdieck remarks on Apoc.

(cf. p.

219 of the second

"

edition of his

Commentary)

rein

garding the importance of the divine appearance described

that passage
:

We

may

not hastily apply in a general way

CHAP.

I.

22-28.

45

the description before us by special reference to the judgments

of

God

(which are seen at a later time) in their relation

;

to the

divine grace

it is

enough that
all
tliat

here,

where the everlasting and

is

personal ground of

follows

described, the sacred

glory and righteousness of

tion with

God

appear in the closest connecso that the entire

His unchanging, friendly grace,

future development of the kingdom of God, and of the world

down

to the

final

termination, as that
is

is

determined by the

marvellous unity of being which

in the holy, righteous,

its

and

gracious God, must not only according to

course, but also

according to
living

its

object, correspond to this threefold glory of the

this

God."
all

As

fundamental vision (of the Apocalypse)

contains

that serves to alarm the enemies and to comfort

the friends of

Him who
its

sits

on the throne,

so the vision

of

Ezekiel also has

fundamental significance not only for the

whole of the prophet's ministry, but, generally, for the continuation

until its

and development of the kingdom of God

aim has been reached
in its

in Israel, in glory

consummation

This,

its

fundamental significance, unmistakeably appears from

circumstance,

the twofold

firstly,

that

the

theophany was
at

imparted to the prophet at his

call,

and was then repeated

the principal points in his prophetic ministry, at the announce-

ment both

of the dissolution of the old

kingdom of God by the

a

destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, ch. ix.-xi., and also

at the erection of the

new temple and

new arrangement

of

the kingdom (ch. xl.-xlviii.).

Since, as was formerly already

remarked

(p. 35),

a theophany was not required either for the

calling of Ezekiel to the office of a prophet, or for the

announce-

ment which was entrusted to him of the and the foundation of the new kingdom
tion of

annihilation of the old

of God, so the revelato

God, which pointed

in its

phenomenal shape

the

dwelling of the Lord

in the temple (and

among His

people in the Holy of Holies

in this place to Ezekiel,

which was imparted

living

among

the exiles in the land of Chaldea by the banks of

the Chebar), could only be intended, in view of the dissolution

46
of the theocracy,
to

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

which had
ah'caily

begun, ami was shortly

be completed, to give to the prophet and those of his con-

temporaries

who were

living with

him

in exile, a real pledge

that the essential element of

the

theocracy was

not to be

removed by the penal judgment which was passing over the

sinful people

and kingdom

but that

God

the

Lord would

still

continue to attest Himself to His people as the living God, and

preserve His kingdom, and one day bring
it

again to a glorious

consummation.
in the

In

correspondence with this aim,

God

appears

temple in the symbolical forms of His gracious presence

is

as

He who
are

throned above the cherubim

attributes,

but cherubim and

throne

furnished with
all

which represent the

merely to indicate
the earth, but to

movement

of the throne in

directions, not

the spreading of the kingdom of

reveal Himself as

God

over

all

Lord and King, whose might extends over

the whole world, and

who

possesses the

power

to

judge

all

the

heathen, and to liberate from their bondage His people,

who

have been given into their hands,

if

they repent and turn unto

Him
in

and who

will

again gather them together, and raise them

the place of their inheritance to the glory which had been

promised.

Such
ever,
facts

is

the significance of the theophany at the inaugura-

tion of Ezekiel to the prophetic office.

The

significance,

how-

which

its

repetition possesses

is

clearly contained in the

to

which the prophet was herewith permitted by God

behold.

From

the temple and city, polluted

by

sinful abomi-

nations, the gracious presence of

God

departs, in order that

temple and city

struction
;

into

may be given the new and

over to the judgment of deglorious

temple

tliere

enters

again the glory of God, to dwell for ever

of Israel.

among

the children

Chap.

ii.

Office.

1-iii. 3.

Vers. 1 and 2.

Call of Ezekiel to the PROPnETic Upon the manifestation of the Lord

Having,
in the feeling of his

follows the

word of vocation.

CHAP.

ir.

1, 2.

47

weal^ness and sinfulness, fallen to the ground before the terrible

revelation of Jehovah's glory, Ezekiel
is first

of

all

raised

up

again by the voice of God, to hear the word which calls him to
the prophetic function.

Ver.

1.

And He said to
it

me, Son of man,

2.

stand upon thy feet^

spirit unto

me

as

I loill He spake

speak with thee.

unto me, and

Ver.
p)laced

Then came

me on my feet,
2'3^'"i?

and 1 heard

Him

speaking unto me.

it

The address
it

occurs

so frequently in Ezekiel, that

peculiarities of his prophecies.

must be regarded
Elsewhere
is

as

one of the

occurs only once,

Dan.

viii.

17.
its

That

it

is

significant,

generally recognised,

although
it

meaning

is

variously given.

Most

expositors take

as a

reminder of the weakness and frailness of

human
it

nature

Coccejus and Kliefoth, on the contrary, connect

circumstance that
find in
to
it

with the
form, and

God

appears to Ezekiel in

human

a TK/jbi]piov amicitia;, that

as a

man, converses with him

God speaks in him as man man with his friend. This

it

last

interpretation, however, has against

Q'lN"!?

the usus loquendi.

it is

As

denotes

man

according to his natural condition,

t>'iJi?.,

used throughout as a synonym with

denoting the weakness

of.

and

fragility of
Isa.

man
li.

in

opposition to
Ivi.

God;

Ps.

viii.

5;
is

Job XXV. 6; the meaning

12,

2; and

Num.

xxiii. 19.

This

also of CTS'iS in the address, as

may

be distinctly
is

seen from the various addresses in Daniel.

Daniel

addressed,
K^'^N^

where comfort

is

to

be imparted to him, as nilDH

x.

"man

greatly beloved,"

Dan.

11, 19, cf. ix.

fallen

23; but, on the conon

his face in terror

trary, in ch. viii. 17,

where he has

before the appearance of Gabriel, with the words, " Understand,

son of man," in order to remind

him

of his

human
too,
is

weakness.

This

is

also the case in

our verse, where Ezekiel,

had

fallen

upon

his face,

and by God's word spoken

It
is

to him,

again raised to his feet.

is

only in Ezekiel that this address

the distance between the

constantly employed to
his nature

mark

human

weakness of

and the divine power which gives him

Not, however, with
viii.

the capacity and the impulse to speak. the design, mentioned by

Jerome on Dan.

17,

"that he

48

THE PKOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL,

not be elated on account of his high calling," because, as

may

Havernick subjoins, Ezekiel's extremely powerful and forcible

nature
is in

may have needed

God.
it

to

be perpetually I'eminded of what

it

reality before

If this were the

meaning and object

of this address,

would

also probably occur in the writings of

several of the other prophets, as the supposition that the nature

of Ezekiel was

more powerful and

is

forcible than

that of the

other prophets

altogether without foundation.

is

The

constant

use of this form of address in Ezekiel

the

connected rather with

manner and fashion

in
is,

which most of the revelations were

with the prevalence of " vision," in

imparted to him, that

which the distinction between

God and man comes

faculties of

out more

prominently than in ordinary inspiration or revelation, effected

by means of an impression upon the inner

man.

The

bringing prominently forward, however, of the distance between

God and men

to

is

to

remind the prophet, as well

as the people

whom

he communicated his revelations, not merely of the

at the

weakness of humanity, but to show them,

same time,

how

powerfully the word of

God

operates in feeble man, and

as the organ of Plis

also that

God, who has selected the prophet

will, possesses also

the power to redeem the people, that were

lying powerless under the oppression of the heathen, from their

misery, and to raise

them up again.

At the word of

the Lord,

" Stand ujjon thy

feet^''

came
is

n^">
*'

into the prophet,

life,

which raised

him

to his feet,

nn

here

not

consciousness " (Hitzig),

is

but the spirit-power which proceeds from God, and which

conveyed through the word which imparted

to stand before the face of
*13"10,

to

him the strength

partic.
xliii.

God, and to undertake His command. Hithpa., properly " collocutor^* occurs here and
6,

in

ch.

and in

Num.

vii.

89

elsewhere,

only

in

Sam.

xiv. 13.

Vers. 3-7.

The

calling of the prophet begins with the

Lord

describing to Ezekiel the people to

in order to

whom He

is

sending him,

make him acquainted with

him

the difficulties of his

vocation, and to encourage

for the discharge of the same.

CHAP.

11.

3-7.

49

Ver.

3.

And He
to

said to me, Son of man,

I send

thee to the chil-

dren of Israel,

the rebels loho have rebelled against

me

they

and

their fathers

have fallen away from me,

4.

even until this

very day.

Ver.

And

the

children are of hard face,

and

hardened heart. To them

I send thee ; and to

Ver.
5.

them shalt thou speah

they,

Thus says

the

Lord Jehovah.
;

And

they may hear

they shall
6.

thee or fail {to

do so) for they are a stiff-neched race,

experience that a prophet has been in their midst.

thou, son of

Ver.

But
their

man, fear not before them, and be not afraid of

words, if

thistles
;

and thorns are round about

for they are a

thee,

and thou
Ver.

sittest

upon

scorpio7is

fear not before their words, and tremble not

;

before their faces

stiff-neclced race.

7.

And
;

speah

my

toords to

them, whether they

may

hear or fail {to do so)

for they are

stiff-neched.

The
DMa,

children of Israel have

become heathen, no longer a

(''ia,

people of God, not even a heathen nation

Isa.

i.

4),

but

" heathens," that

is

is,

as being rebels against

God.

Dnniian
D'.ia,

(with the article)

not to be joined as an adjective to

article,

which

is

without the

but

is

employed substantively
rebelled against

in

the form of an apposition.

this,

They have
day

God
on

in

that they, like their fathers, have separated themselves

to this

from Jehovah down

i.

(as regards 3
;

y'li'S,

see

Isa.

and

01*^ D^fy, as in ^)J]

the Pentateuch

cf .

Lev.

xxiii.

14

Gen.

vii. 13, xvii. 23, etc.).

Like their
D''JS

fathers,
""t?'!?,

the sons are

rebellious, and, in addition, they are

of hard countei.e.

nance "= n^D

^?r^,

"of hard brow"

from
is

(iii.

7),

impudent,
This
these

without hiding the face, or lowering the look for shame.

shamelessness
springs

hardness

of

heart.

To

hardened sinners Ezekiel

to

announce the word of the Lord.

Whether they hear

xxiv. 15
;

it

or not (QX1

DN,

sive

sive, as in

Josh,

Eccles.

xi. 3, xii.

14), they shall in

any case experi-

ence that a prophet has been amongst them.

neglect to hear
is

That they

will

very probable, because they are a stiff-necked

race (n^3, ''house"

= family).
n\"n is

The Vau

before

'^Vy^

(ver. 5)

introduces the apodo&is.

perfect, not present.

This

is

EZEK.

I.

50

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

7isits

demanded by the
thought.

loquendi
is

and

the

connection of the
his testi-

The meaning
is

not

they shall

know from

mony
been

that a prophet

there

but they shall experience from

will

the result, viz.

when the word announced by him

a prophet has been amongst them.

have

fulfilled, that
is

Ezekiel,

therefore,

not to be prevented by fear of them and their

sins.

words from delivering a testimony against their

Xeyofxeva^ ^''^1^

The

aira^

and

Ci"'3i?P,

are not, with the older expositors, to

et

be explained ad jectively: " rebelles

stantives.

renuentes" but are subis

As

regards

ii?D,

the signification " thorn "

24,

placed

beyond doubt by

PP

in

xxviii.
;"

and

3"^0 in

Aramaic does
" to burn,
thistle,"
is,

indeed denote " refractarius

one,
to

but
3'^D

this signification is a derived

is

and inappropriate here. and means "

related to

^1^*,

sin2;e,"

urtica^^

''

stinging-nettle,
it.

as

Donasch

in RascJii has already explained

^ri^:?,

^nis

according

to the later usage, for

expressing the " by and with of

in Ezekiel.

association,"

and occurs frequently

the words " to

Thistles and

thorns are emblems of dangerous, hostile men.

is

The thought
For the
and

strengthened by

sit

on (?X for

?V) scorpions," as

these animals inflict a painful

similitude of dangerous

and dangerous wound.

men

to scorpions, cf. Sir. xxvi. 10,

other proof passages In Bochart, Hierozoic. III. p. 551

Rosenmiill.

sq., ed.

Ver. 8 ad

fin.

and

ch.

iii.

3.

After
is

the

Lord had pointed

out to the prophet the difficulties of the call laid upon him,
prepares

He

him

for the performance of his office,

to

by inspiring him

with the divine word which he

ihou^ son of

announce.
to

Ver.

8.

And
I
give

man, hear what I say

race
;

thee.

Be

not stiff-necked

like the stiff-necked

open thy mouth, and eat what

lo,

unto thee.
toioards

Ver.

9.

Then I saw, and,

lo,
it

a hand outstretched
of a hook.
teas icritten
it

me

and,

in the

same a

roll

Ver.

10.

And He
sighing,

spread
:

out before

me
1.

the

same

upon

the front

and back

and

there were written

upon

lamentations,

and

and woe.

Ch.
eat
;

iii.

And He

said

to

me: Son of
to the

man, what thou findest

eat the roll,

and go and speak

CHAP.

II.

8-III.

3.

51-

house of Israel,

Ver.

2.

Then opened I my mouthy and

3.

He

gave

me

this roll to eat.

Ver.

And

said to

me :

So7i

of man, feed
thee.

thy belly,

and fill thy body

it

icith this roll

which

I give

And

1 ate

it,

and
is

was in

my mouth

as honey

and

siveetncss.

The
which
to

prophet
the

to

announce

to the people of Israel only that

Lord

inspires

him

to announce.

This thought

is

embodied

in symbol, in such a

way
is

that an outstretched
to swallow,
;

hand reaches
also, at

him a book, which he

and which
x. 9 sqq.

God's

command, he does swallow

either abbreviated
is

cf.

Apoc.

This

roll

was
Q*}

inscribed on both sides with lamentations, sighing, and woe

is

from

'n^,

not

''fr^,

or as Ewald, 101c, or in).

thinks,
is

only a more distinct form of

''in

The meaning
upon
it

not, that

upon

the roll was inscribed a multitude of mournful

expressions of every kind, but that there was written

all

that the prophet

was

to

announce, and what we now read in

his book.

These contents were of a mournful nature, for they

related to the destruction of the kingdom, the destruction of

Jerusalem and of the temple.

contents, the roll
to
is

That Ezekiel may look over the

spread out before his eyes, and then handed

him

to

be eaten, with the words, "

i.e.

Go and
it

speak to the

children of Israel,"

announce

to the children of Israel

is

what

you have received into

'13"7,

yourself, or as
in
iii.

termed

in ver. 5,

"

my

words."

The words
it

3a were spoken by
be eaten.
is

God
not
his

while handing to the prophet the

roll to

He
to

is

merely to

eat,

i.e.

take

into his
i.e.

mouth, but he

fill

body and

belly therewith,

he

is

to receive into his

innermost
it,

being the word of

God

presented to him, to change

as

it

were, into sap and blood.

Whilst eating

it, it

was

sw^eet in his

mouth.

The

sweet taste must not, with Kliefoth, be explained

away

into a sweet " after-taste,"

and made

to bear this refer-

ence, that the destruction of Jerusalem

would be followed by a

more glorious

restoration.

The
him

roll,

inscribed with lamentation,

its

sorrow, and woe, tasted to

sweetly, because

contents was

God's word, which sufficed for the joy and gladness of his
heart (Jer. xv. 16); for
it is

"infinitely sweet

and lovely

to

52

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

be the organ and spokesman of the Omnipotent," and even the

most painful of divine truths possess

to a spiritually-minded

man

a joyful and

quickening side (TIengstenberg

on the Apoc.

X. 9).

To

this it is

added, that the divine penal judgments

reveal not only the holiness and righteousness of God, but also

prepare the

way

for the revelation of salvation,

and minister

to

the saving of the soul.

Chap.

iii.

4-21.

The Sending of the Prophet.

vocation (vers. 4-9)
is
;

This consists in God's promise to give him power to over-

come the
and

difficulties of his

in

next trans-

porting him to the place where he

lastly, in

to labour (vers.

10-15)

laying upon
his

him
(vers.

the responsibility of the souls

entrusted
testified,

to

charge

16-21).

After Ezekiel had

his

by eating the
to

roll

which had been given him,

willingness

announce the word of the Lord, the Lord

acquaints him with the peculiar difficulties of his vocation, and

promises to bestow upon him strength to overcome them.

Ver.

4.

And He

said to me, Son of man, go

away
Ver.

to the

house
not

of Israel, and speak with

to

my
6.

words

to

them.

5.

For

a people of hollow

lips

and heavy tongue

art thou sent, (but) to

the house of Israel.

Ver.

Not

to

many

nations of hollow lips

to

and heavy

tongue, whose

words thou dost not understand ; but

can understand
thee.

them have I sent

house of Israel

thee, they

Ver.
ivill

7.

But

the

icill

not hear thee, because they

not hear

me ;

for the whole house of Israel, of hard broio and hardened heart
are they.

Ver.

8.

Lo, I make thy countenance hard

like their 9.

countenances,
to

and

thy brow hard like their brow.

Ver.
:

like

adamant, harder than rock, do

I make

thy broio

fear

not,

and

tremble not before them, for they are a

stiff-necked race.

The

contents of this section present a great similarity to those in

eh.
ii.

3-7, inasmuch as here as well as there the obduracy and

is

stiff-neckedness of Israel

stated as a hindrance

which opposes
in

the success of Ezekiel's work.

This

is

done here, however,

is

a different relation than there, so that there

no tautology.

CHAP.

III.

4-9.

53

Here, where the Lord

is

sending the prophet,

He

first

brings

prominently forward what lightens the performance of his

mission
;

and next, the obduracy of

Israel,

which surrounds

it

with difficulty for him, in oi'der at the same time to promise

him strength
is

for the vanquishing of these difficulties.

Ezekiel

to speak, in the

words communicated to him by God, to the

This he can do, because Israel
is

house (people) of Israel.

not

a foreign nation with an unintelligible language, but possesses

the

capacity

of

understanding the words of

Dy, " a people of

the
i.e.

prophet

(vers. 5-7), nsb'

""jpcj;

deep

lips,"
;

of a style

of speech hollow, and hard to be understood

''^

cf. Isa. xxxiii. 19.

""ipoy is

not genitive, and oy

to
QJ?,

is

not the status constructus, but

in the plural, because

an adjective belonging

and used

Dy
i.e.

contains a collective conception.

"And

of heavy tongue,"
is

with a language the understanding of which

great difficulty.

attended with

Both

epithets denote a barbarously sounding,

unintelligible, foreign tongue.

The

unintelligibility of a lan-

guage, however, does not alone consist in unacquaintance with

the meaning of
liarities
its

words and sounds, but

also in the pecuis

of each nation's style of thought, of which languacre

only the expression in sounds.

In

this respect

we may, with
manner
of

Coccejus and Kliefoth, refer the prophet's inability to understand the language of the heathen to
this, that their

thinking and speaking was not formed according to the word

of God, but was developed out of purely earthly, and even

God-resisting factors.

Only

the exclusive the subject

is

prominence given
incorrect, because

by Kliefoth
irreconcilable

to

this side of

with the words, "

many

nations,

whose words

(discourse) thou dost not understand" (ver. 6).

These words
lies
''^''

show

that the

unintelligibility of
its

the language

in

not

understanding the sounds of

words.
is

Before
(cf.

n^5"^X, in

ver. 5, the adversative particle sed

omitted

Ewald,

3o4a)

the omission here

is

perhaps caused by
position

this, that

tybv nriN, in

consequence of
referred to both.

its

between both sentences, can be

ver. 5
is

In ver. 6 the thought of

expanded

54

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

0^3"^ CfSV,
^^

by the addition of

many
it is

na(io7is"

with different

languages, in order to show that

not in the abiHty, but in

the willingness, to hear the word of the

are wanting.
It
is

Lord

that the Israelites

not to
is

many

nations with unintelligible

languages that

God

sending the prophet, but to such

i.e.

are able to hear him,

can understand his

is

lano;uao;e.

men as The

second hemistich of ver. 6

if

rendered by the old translators as

they had not read i6 after DN, if

they

heathen),

vjould

hear

thee^

I sent Modern

thee to

them (the

expositors

have
as

endeavoured

to extract this

meaning, either by taking N? DS

a particle of adjuration, profecto, " verily" (Rosenmiiller, Havernick,

xxiii.

and
13.

others), or reading Sp DN, as

Ewald

does, after
:

Gen.

But the one

is

as untenable as the other

"h
is

against
;

vh DS stands the fact that

against the view that
it is

written with

i,

not with s

a particle of adjuration, stands partly

the position of the words before '^^ ^il??, which, according to

the sense, must belong to

'^^'' nsrij

partly the impossibility of

<

taking

T^iiDi''^

conditionally after the preceding N? DN.

all

If

such were the case, Ezekiel would have really done

to conceal his

he could

meaning"

(Hitzig), for Nv
''

D5<,

after a negative

sentence

preceding,

signifies

but

;"

cf.

Gen.

xxiv.

38.

Consequently neither the one view nor the other yields an

appropriate
sense.

"If I had sent thee

is
^^

to

the

heathen,"

involves a repenting of the act, which

not beseeming in God.

Against the meaning

idea, "

profecto^^

is

the consideration that the

Had

I sent thee to the heathen, verily they would hear

thee,'' is in contradiction

with the designation of the heathen as

If the

those whose language the prophet does not understand.

heathen spoke a language unintelligible to the prophet, they

consequently did not understand his speech, and could not
therefore comprehend his preaching.
It only remains, then, to

apply the sentence simply to the

nations, but
^yjO*>

Israelites,

" not to heathen

to

the Israelites have I sent thee," and to take

able to fear thee," " they can
is

as

potential, " they are

understand thy words."

This in ver. 7

closed

by the

antithesis,

CHAP.
"

III.

10-15.

55
-vNill

But

the house of Israel will not hear thee, because they

not hear
7b, cf.
ii.

me
4.

(Jehovah), as they are morally hardened."

With

The Lord, however,

obduracy
;

will provide

His prophet with

power

to resist this

will lend
;

him unbending courage

and unshaken firmness,

his

ver. 8

cf.

Jer. xv. 20.

vii.

He

will
is

make
harder

brow hard
;

as

adamant
Ex.

(cf.

Zech.

12), which

than rock
Israel.

therefore he shall not fear before the obduracy of

as in
iv.

"IV,

25,

= IIV.
1.

As
7

parallel
i.

passages in
18.
is

regard of the subject-matter,

Vers.

cf. Isa.

and Jer.

10-15. Prepared then for his vocation, Ezekiel

now

transported to the sphere of his activity.

Ver.
I

10.

And
And
them,

He
go

said to me, Son of man, all

my

ivords lohich
thine ears.

shall speak to

thee, take into thy heart,

and hear with

Ver. 11.
to

to the exiles, to the children to

of thy people, and speak

and say

them, " Tims saith the

Lord

Jehovah,''' ivhether they

may

hear thee or fail (to hear

thee).

Ver. 12. Aiid a wind

raised

me

up,

and I heard behind me

the voice

of a great tumult,

" Praised be the glory of Jehovah^^

from

their place hitherward.

Ver. 13.

And
and

the noise the noise

of

the

wings of the creatures touching

each other,

of the wheels beside them, the noise of a

great tumult.

Ver. 14.

And

a wind raised

me

up,

and

took me,

and I loent

warmth of my spirit ; and the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me. Ver. 15. And I came to Tel- A bib to the exiles, who dwelled by the river Chebar, and ivhere
thither embittered in the

they sat there sat

their midst.

The

I down

seven days, motionless

and dumb,

in

apparent hysteron proteron, " take into thy

(ver. 10), disappears so soon
is

heart,
as
it is

and hear with thine ears"

go

observed that the clause " hear with thine ears "
''

con-

nected with the following

is

to the exiles," etc.

The meaning
ea ne

not,

" postquam awibus

tradas,

tuis percepisses
et

mea mandata,
infige''^

oblivioni
miiller),

sed

corde suscipe

animo

(Rosen-

but

this,

" All

my

words which I

shall

speak to thee thou hast

lay to heart, that thou mayest obey them.

When
4, 5.

heard

my

words with thine

to them."

ears,

then go to the exiles and anii.

nounce them

With

ver. 11 cf.

Observe that

56
it is still

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

l^y
'?3,

" the children of thy" (not "

is

my ")

" people/'

Stiff-necked Israel

no longer Jehovah's people.

is,

The comimmediately

mand "to go

to

the people"

in ver. 12 sqq.,

executed by the prophet, the wind raising him up and transporting him to Tel-Abib,
considered,
is

among

the exiles,

nii^

phenomenally

a wind of which

God makes
;

use to conduct the

is

prophet to the scene of his labour

sensible substratum of the spirit

but the wind

only the
thither.

which transports him

The
air

representation

is,

that " he was borne thither through the

;

by the wind" (Kliefoth)

i.e.

but not as Jerome and Kliefoth

so that

suppose, in ipso corpore^

an actual bodily removal

through the air took place, but the raising

up and taking away

by the wind was

effected in spirit in the condition of ecstasy.

Not a
this

syllable indicates that the

;

theophany was at an end before

is

removal

the contrary rather

clearly indicated

by the

remark that Ezekiel heard behind him the noise of the wings And that the words ''^^?ii'^1 of the cherubim and of the wheels.

nn do

not necessitate us to suppose a bodily removal

1,

is

shown
merely
the

by the comparison with viii. 3, xi. understands the same words in a

internal
i.e.

24, where Kliefoth also

spiritual sense of a

experienced in a state of ecstasy

removal of
The

prophet to Jerusalem and back again to Chaldea.

noise

great

which Ezekiel hears behind him proceeds,

'T'

at least in part,

from the appearance of the

raptured prophet, but
attend
the
in

1133 being set in motion, but

itself

(according to ver. 13) not in order to remove

from the
to

by changing
the
this

its

present
his

position,

prophet

to

sphere of

labour.

It

tells

decidedly

favour of

supposition,

that

the

prophet,

according to ver. 23, again sees around him the same theophany
in the valley

where he begins
it

his

work.

This reappearance,
his

indeed, presupposes that

sicrht,

had previously disappeared from

is

but the disappearance

call

to be supposed as taking place

i.e.

only after his

has been completed,

after ver. 21.

While

being removed in a condition of ecstasy, Ezekiel lieard the rushing sound, " Praised be the glory of Jehovah." ioipsp

CHAP.

HI. 10-15.

57

belongs not to

'li1

^1"i3,
it

which would yield no appropriate sense,

difference of importance in the

but

to V^^i^,

where

makes no
suffix

meaning whether the

is

referred to

niiT'

or to

Ti3D.

Ezekiel heard the voice of the praise of God's glory issuing

forth

from the place where Jehovah or His glory were

i.e.

to be
all

found,

where they had appeared

to the prophet, not at

from the temple.

mentioned.

Who

sounded

this

song of praise

is

not

Close by Ezekiel heard the sound, the rustling of

the wino-s of the cherubim setting themselves in motion, and

how

the wings

came

into contact with the tips of each other,

touched each other

another").

(niiTt^o^

from

p'^^,

" to join," " to touch one

Ver. 14 describes the prophet's mood of mind as

he

is

carried away.
i.e.

Raised by the wind, and carried on, he

n^ii

went,

drove thither,

nona

"ip^

" bitter in the heat of his

spirit."

Although 10

is

used as well of grief and mourning as

of wrath

and displeasure, yet mourning and sorrow are not

appropriate to Httn, "

sition,

warmth

of spirit," " anger."

The suppois

however, that sorrow as well as anger were in him, or

that he

was melancholy while displeased (Kliefoth),

fundamental idea of
"i??

incom-

patible with the

as " sharp," " bitter."

Ezekiel feels himself deeply roused, even to the bitterness of

anger, partly by the obduracy of Israel, partly
sion to

by the commis-

announce

to this

obdurate people, without any prospect

of success, the

word

of the Lord.

To

so

heavy a task he

feels

himself unequal, therefore his natural

Spirit of

man

rebels against the

God, which, seizing him with a strong and powerful

grasp, tears

him away
did.

to the place of his

work

and he would
as

seek to withdraw himself from the divine

call,

Moses and
was
stronn-

Jonah once
upon him,

The hand

of the Lord, however,

this inner struggle
pin,

i.e.

" held him up in

;

with unyield-

ing power " (Kliefoth)

differs

cf. Isa. viii. 11.

" firm," " strong,"

i.e.

from
is

n33, " heavy," Ps. xxxii. 4.

a^3S hn,

" the

hill

of ears,"
exiles.

the

name
its

of the place

where resided a colony of the

The

place was situated on the river

Chebar

(see

on ch.

3),

and derived

name, no doubt, from the

fertility of the

58
valley,

THE PEOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

rich in grain
;

(nvjparij

ver. 23),
is

by which

it

was sur-

rounded

nothing further, however,

known
at

of it; cf. Gesen.

Thesaiir. p. 1505.

The

Chetib

"itTNl,

which the Masoretes

is

and many expositors have unnecessarily taken offence,

read
"i??*^},

to

be

and to be joined with the following Dr, " where they

sat" (so rightly the Chaldee, Syriac, and Vulgate).

signification

That

this

would be expressed

differently, as Hitzig thinks,

cannot be established by means of Job xxsix. 30.

n^"xi
is

The Keri
expositors.

not only unnecessary, but also inappropriate, which

also

holds true

of

other conjectures of
?

modern

Ezekiel sat there seven days, D^PV"?,

neither " deprived of

sensation," nor " being silent," but as the parttc. Hipldl

Dpi?',

from

as DKDiB'O in

Ezra

ix. 3, 4,

" rigidly without moving," there-

fore " motionless

as

and dumb."

The

seven days are not regarded

a period of mourning, in support of which

;

Job

ii.

13

is

referred to

but as

both the purification and the dedication and

is

preparation for a holy service

measured by the number seven,

(cf.

as being the number of God's works

Ex. xxix. 29 sqq.;

sits

Lev.

viii.

33

sqq.; 2

Chron. xxix. 17), so Ezekiel

for a

week " motionless and dumb," to master the impression which the word of God, conveyed to him in ecstatic vision, had made
upon
his

mind, and

to prepare

and sanctify himself for

his

vocation (Kliefoth).

Vers. 16-21.

When
final

these seven days are completed, there

comes

to

him the

word, which appoints him watchman

over Israel, and places before him the task and responsibility
of his vocation.

Ver.

16.

And

it

came

to

pass after the lapse

to

of seven

dat/s, that the loord

of Jehovah came
set thee to be

me

as folloios

Ver. 17. Son of man^ I have

house of Israel
;

a watchman over the

thou shalt hear the toord

from my mouthy and

to the sinner,

thou shalt loarn them

Thou
to

sJuzlt

surely

from me die, and thou

Ver. 18. If I say

ivarnest

him

not,

and

speaJcest not

warn

the sinner

from

his evil

way

that he

may

live,

then shall

he, the sinner, die because

require at thy hand.

of his evil deeds, but his blood xcill I Ver. 19. But if thou loarnest the sinner,

CHAP.

III.

16-21.

59
his evil

and he turn not from

Ver. 20.

Ids loichedness

and

way, then shall

he die because of his evil deeds, but thou hast saved thy soul.

And

if a righteous

man

turn

from

his righteousness^

and do

unrighteousness,
;

and I

lay a stumblingblock before him,

then shall he die

if thou hast not

warned him, he

shall die

because of his sin, and his righteousness ivhich he has done shall
not be remembered,
but his blood
ivill

require at thy hand.

Ver. 21. But if thou loarnest

the righteous

him the

righteous

man

so that
he
live,

man

sin not,

and he do not

sin, then ivill

As a because he has been warned, and thou hast saved thy soul. prophet for Israel, Ezekiel is like one standing upon a watchtower (Hab.
ii.

1),

to

watch over the condition of the people,

vi.

and warn them of the dangers that threaten them (Jer.

Isa. Ivi. 10).

17

to his charge.

As such, he is responsible for the souls entrusted From the mouth of Jehovah, i.e. according to
is

God's word, he
evil
i.e.

to

admonish the wicked

sins.

to turn
''Isp,

ways, that they die not in their

in

from their " from me,"

to the

my

name, and with

if

my
ii.

commission.

" If I say

sinner,"
niori nio

i.e.

I commission thee to say to

17, so
is

him (Kimchi).

As
ix. 5.

reminds us of Gen.

the threatening, " his

blood will I require at thy hand," an allusion to Gen.

If the prophet does not

warn the wicked man,

as

God

has

commanded him, he
which God
will take

renders himself guilty of a deadly

sin, for

vengeance on him as on the murderer for

the shedding of blood.

ministers of the word.

An

awfully solemn statement for

all

^V^l'^, in vers.

18 and 19, at which the

it,

LXX.
but
is

have stumbled, so that they have twice omitted

is

not a substantive, and to be changed, with Hitzig, into

nj.'K'ij

an adjective, foemin.

gen.,

and belongs

to

i3'}'n,

which

is
is,

construed as feminine.

The

righteous

man who

backslides

before God, regarded as equal with the sinner

who
"

persists

in his sin, if the former, notwithstanding the warning, perse-

veres in his backsliding (ver. 20 sqq.).

oneself

ipl^fa 2iK^j

to turn

from

his

righteousness,"

denotes the formal falling

away from the path

of righteousness, not

mere " stumbling or

GO

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

?))}

sinning from weakness."

n^'l'^

<'

to

do unrigliteousness,"

"to

act perversely,"

is

^^

se

prorsus dedere imjnetati" (Calvin).

PiB'DD "'nnJI

belongs
not a

still

to the protasis^ n^IS^ Xin

forming the
Ilitzig

apodosis,

suppose,
7Vt'3JPj

"

relative

sentence,

as

Ewald and

so that he, or, in

consequence of which, he die."

fall,
is

" object of offence," by which any one comes to

not destruction, considered as punishment deserved (Calvin,

Hiivernick), but everything that
sinner, in order that the sin,

God
is

puts in the

way

of the
soul,

which

germinating in his
to maturity.

may come
and

forth to the light,

and ripen

God,

indeed, neither causes sin, nor desires the death of the sinner
in this sense

He

does not tempt to evil (Jas.

i.

13), but
in

He

guides and places the sinner in relations in

life

which he
divine,

must come
barriers

to a decision for or against

what

is

good and

and either suppress the

sinful lusts of his heart, or burst the

to their satisfaction.
latter, evil

which are opposed

If he does

not do the former, but the

gains within

him more
sin,

and more strength,

so that

he becomes the servant of

is

and
this

finally reaches a point

where conversion

impossible.

In

consists the

''i'^'^O,

which God places before him, who turns

to unrighteousness or evil, in order that

awav from righteousness

this,

but not in

that

God
For
to

lets

man run on

he

may
is

die or

perish.

nV3^ does not stand for n^l,

and there
to

therefore

no ground for a change of punctuation

carry forward
of
is

Athnach

iJT}L'J'?

(Hitzig).

For the subject spoken

not

that the backsliding righteous

is

man

" in general only dies

is

if

he

not

warned"

(Hitzig),

that meaning
is

not in ver. 21, " that

he, in contrast to the

V'^'^,

gives sure obedience to the warning,"

but

only the possibility

supposed that a

P'^'^V,

"who has

transgressed upon the

way

of evil, will yield obedience to the

this.

warning, but not that he will of a certainty do

As with
may,
;

the V^l in ver. 19, only the case of his resisting the warning
is

expressly mentioned

while the opposite case

that he

in consequence of the warning, be converted

is

not excluded
p.itli

so in ver. 21, with the P^IV, ^vho has entered

upon the

of

CHAP.

III.

22-V.

17.

61

unrighteousness, only the case of conversion in consequence of

the warning
his

is

expressly mentioned, without the possibility of

hardening himself against the prophet's word being thereby

excluded.

For the

instruction of the prophet

it it

was

sufficient

to bring forward the

two cases mentioned, as

appears from

them

that in the one case as well as in the other he has done

his duty,

and saved

his soul.

CHAP.

III.

22-V.

17.

THE DESTINY OF JERUSALEM AND

INHABITANTS.

ITS

Vers. 2227 in ch.

iii.

no longer belong
office,

to the

prophet's

inauguration and introduction into

conclusion of his
act
call,

nor do they form the

first

but the introduction to his

prophetic

and prediction,

as

has been rightly recognised by Ewald

and Kliefoth.
formula,

This appears already from the introductory

of

"The hand

Jehovah came upon me"

(ver. 22),

and, more distinctly

still,

from the glory of Jehovah appearing

valley), in the

anew
seen

to the

prophet (when, in obedience to a divine impulse,

he had gone down into the

it

form

in

which he had
to

by the river Chebar, and giving him a commission

announce by word and symbol the siege of Jerusalem, and

the fate of
its

inhabitants.

For, that the divine commission did

iii.

not consist merely in the general directions, ch.

is first

25-27, but
v.,
is

given in

its

principal parts in ch. iv.

and

indis-

putably evident from the repetition of the words

in ch.
iii.

Q"]^'!? <^^^]

25,

iv. 1,

nor, in general, a

and v. 1. With nnxi neither can the first new prophecy begin. This has been recognised
in ch. iv. 1,

by Hitzig himself

where he remarks that the

first

of the three oracles which follow

down

to viii. 1,
to ch.

and which he

makes begin with

hold true also of

iv. 1,

" attaches

itself

iii.

25-27
iv. 1

as a

continuation of the same."

iii.

But what
that
is

holds true of

must

25, viz.
it

no new oracle can bemn

iii.

with this verse, but that

connected with

22-24.
''

The
and

commencement,

then,

we have

to seek in the formula,


62
the
also

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL hand

viii.

of

Jehovah came upon me"

introduced.

(lii.

22), with which

^nJi^l)

1 (where only V^Pi] stands instead of

and

xl. 1

new
time
this,

oracles

are

No

doubt these passages are

iii.

preceded by chronological notices, while in

is

22 every note of

wantinc:.

than that

But nothing further can be inferred from the divine word contained in iii. 25-v. 17 was
under the date of ch.
this,

imparted to the prophet immediately after his consecration and

call, so

that

it still falls

i.

which

may

also

be discovered from

that the D*^ in ver. 22 points to

the locality

named
last

in ver. 15.
call,

Immediately after his

then, and
(iii.

still

in the

same place
to

where the

word

of calling

16-21) was addressed

him, namely, at Tel-Abib, in the midst of the exiles, Ezekiel

received the
to
first

divine revelation which, as prophet, he

was
by

announce

to the people.
iii.

This revelation

is

introduced by

the words in ch.

22-24

and divided

into three sections

the thrice-occurring, similar address, "

(iii.

And

thou, son of
iii.

25, iv. 1, v. 1).

In the

first section,

ch.

man " 25-27, God

gives

him general injunctions

;

as to his conduct while carrying

out the divine commission

in

the second, ch.

iv.,

He

com-

mands him
with
its

to represent symbolically the siege of

;

Jerusalem

miseries

and

in the third, ch. v., the destiny of the

inhabitants after the capture of the city.

Ciiap.
iii.

22-27. Introduction to the

22.

first

prophetic announcethere
the

ment.

Ver.
and
to thee.

And

there

came upon me

hand of

Jehovah.,

Up I go into the valley, there will 1 I arose, and went into the valley: and, lo, there stood the glory of Jehovah, like the glory which I had seen and I fell upon my face. Ver. 24. And at the river Chehar spirit came into me, and placed me on my feet, and He spake
said to me,

He

speak

Ver. 23. Aiid

with me, and said

nyipzin
is,

to

me, Go, and shut thyself in thy house.

without doubt, the valley situated near Tel-Abib.

to

Ezekiel

is

go out from the midst of the

exiles

where,

according to ver. 15, he had found himself into the valley, because God will reveal Himself to him only in solitude.


CHAP.
III.

22-2i.

63
there appears to
it

When

he had complied with

this

command,

liim there the glory of Jehovah, in

the same form in which

(i.

had appeared
falls,

to

him

at the

Chaboras
;

4-28)

before

it

he

a second time, on his face

but

is
i.

also, as

on the

first

occasion, again raised to his feet, cf.

28-ii. 2.

Hereupon

the

Lord commands him

to shut himself

which doubtless he inhabited in Tel-Abib,

words, "
will

up

in

his house,

not probably " as

a sign of his future destiny," as a realistic explanation of the

Thou

canst not walk in their midst (ver. 25)

they

prevent thee by force from freely exercising thy vocation

in the midst of the people."

For

in that case the " shutting of

himself up in the house" would be an arbitrary identification

with the " binding with fetters " (ver. 25)

significance of the address D"]^
iv. 1
|3 nrixi,

and
its

besides, the

and

repetition in

and

v. 1,

would be misconceived.

For

as in iv. 1

and

V. 1

there are introduced with this address the principal parts

of the duty which Ezekiel

instruction

was

to perform, so the proper divine

;

quently

may also first begin with the same in iii. 25 consethe command "to shut himself up in his house" can
itself;

only have the significance of a preliminary divine injunction,

without possessing any significancy in

as a
to

but only "serve

is

means

for carrying out

what the prophet

commissioned
can only mean

do in the following chapters " (Kliefoth),

is

i.e.

that he

to

perform in
v.,

his

own house what

is

commanded him

in ch. iv.

and

or that he

is

not to leave his house durincr their

performance.

nor can

it

at all be taken to in his house,

is

More can hardly be sought in this injunction, mean that, having shut himself up
he
is

from others

to allow

no one

to

approach
For,

him

but only that he

not to leave his dwelling.

according to iv. 3, the symbolical representation of the siege of

Jerusalem
ing to
iv.

is

to be a sign for the

house of Israel
this

and accordaction,
to

12,

Ezekiel

is,

during

symbolical
this
it

bake

his bread before their eyes.

From

is

seen that
his pro-

his contemporaries

might come

to

him and observe

ceedings.

, :

64
Vers. 25-27.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

The

general
lo,

divine
loill

instructions.

Ver.

25.

And

thou, son of

man,

they

lay cords upon thee,

and

hind thee therewith, so that thou canst not go out into their midst.

Ver. 26.

And I shall make

thy tongue cleave to thy palate, that

thou mayest be dumb, and mayest not serve them as a reprover

for they are a stiff-necked generation.

Ver. 27. But when 1

to

speah

to thee,

I will

open thy mouth, that thou mayest say

them,

Thus sayeth

the

Lord Jehovah, Let him who

neglects, neglect {to hear)
:

wishes to hear, hear

and

let

him who

necked generation.

for they are a

stiff

Tiie

meaning of

this

general injunctior,
1303, ver.

depends upon the determination of the subject in

25.

Most

expositors think of the prophet's countrymen,

who

are to

bind him with cords so that he shall not be able to leave his
house.

The words
is

D2in3 KVn

N?"i

appear to support

this, as

the
this

suffix in D3in3 indisputably refers to his

countrymen.

But

circumstance
is

by no means

decisive

while against this view

the twofold difficulty,

firstly,

that a binding of the prophet

is

with cords by his countrymen

scarcely reconcilable with

what he performs

in ch. iv.

and

v.

secondly, of hostile attacks

is

by the
Israel

exiles

upon the prophet there

not a trace to be

discovered in the entire remainder of the book.

is

The house

of

indeed repeatedly described as a stiff-necked race, as

;

hardened and obdurate towards God's word

but any embitterrisen

ment of

feeling against the prophet,

which should have

so far as to bind him, or even to

make

direct attempts to pre-

vent him from exercising his prophetic calling, can, after what
is

related in xxxiii.

30-33 regarding the

to be

position of the people

towards him, hardly be imagined.

fettering of the prophet
is

Further, the binding and

regarded as of the same kind

with the cleaving of his tongue to his jaws, so that he should

be

silent

and not speak

(ver. 26).
;

It

is

God, however, who

to iv. 8,
stir
it is

suspends this dumbness over him

also

and according

God who
is

binds him with cords, so that he cannot

from

one side to the other.

passage

The demonstrative power

of the latter
it is

not to be weakened by the objection that

CHAP.

III.

25-27.

65

passage of an altogether different kind, and the connection

altogether different (Havernick).

For
first

the complete difference

to be proved.
is

between the two passages would

have

The

object, indeed, of the binding of the prophet in iv. 8

different

from that

in our verse.

Here

it

is

to render
;

it it

impossible for
is

the prophet to go out of the house

in iv. 8,

to prevent

him from moving from one

rather, in

side to the other.

;

But the one

must adapt

object does not exclude the other

both statements coincide,

the general thought that the prophet

will.

himself entirely to the divine

house, but
ing.
lie

not

only not leave the

side without turniv.

also for

390 days upon one

Ivliefoth,

We
that

might rather, with

understand

8 to

mean

God
(iii.

accomplished the binding of the prophet bv

human
be

instruments

viz.

that

He

caused him to be bound

by foreigners

25).

But

this supposition also

would only
25, or other
it

justified, if either the sense of

the words in

iii.

good reasons, pronounced in favour of the view that

the exiles

was

who had bound the prophet. But as this is not the case, so we are not at liberty to explain the definite ""JiriJ, "I lay on" (iv. 8), according to the indefinite 13nJ, "they lay
on," or " one lays on "
(iii.

25)

but must, on the contrary,

iv.

understand our

verse

in

accordance with

8,

and (with
=i3n3,

Hitzig) think of heavenly powers as the subject to

Job

vii.

Dan.

iv.

28

Luke

xii.

20,

as in

without, in so doing,

completely identifying the declaration in our verse with that in

iv. 8,

as

if

in the latter passage only that

was brought
If,

to

com-

pletion which

had been here

(iii.

25) predicted.

however,

the binding of the prophet proceeds from invisible powers, the

expression

is

not to be understood
;

literally,

material cords

but

of

a binding with

God

binds him by a spiritual power, so

that he can neither leave his house nor go forth to his country-

men, nor,
to him.

at a later time (iv. 8),

change the position prescribed

This

is

done, however, not to prevent the exercise of

his vocation, but,

on the contrary,

to

make him

fitted for

the
is

successful performance of the

work commanded him.

He

VOL.

1.

06

THE PKOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

not to quit his house, nor enter into fellowship and intercourse

with his exiled countrymen, that he

separation

may show

himself,

by

from them,

to

be a prophet and organ of the Lord.

is

On

the same grounds he

also (vers. 2Q, 27) to

keep
to

silence,

and not even correct them with words, but only

speak

when
ii.

God
4, 7).

opens his mouth for that purpose

to remain, moreover,

unconcerned whether they

listen to his

words or not

(cf.

He

is

to

do both of these things, because his contem;

poraries are a stiff-necked race

cf. ver.

9 and

ii.

5, 7.

That
cause
;

he
his

may

not speak from any impulse of his own,

to cleave to his jaws, so that
6.

God

will

tongue

he cannot speak
to refrain

cf.
all

Ps.

cxxxvii.

" That the prophet

is

from

speech

even from the utterance of the words given him by

God

will,

on the one hand, make the divine words which

;

he utters appear the more distinctly as such

other,

while,
silent

on the
sorrow
divine

be an evidence to his hearers of the

with

which

he

is

filled

by

the

contents

of

the

word, and with which they also ought justly to be filled"

(Kliefoth).

This state of

silence,

according to which he
his

is

only then to

speak when God opened

mouth
is,

for the utterance of words

first

which were

to be given him, as follows

indeed, at

imposed upon

the prophet
iv.

and

v.

from the

relation of vers.

25-27
iii.

to ch.

only for the duration of the period ch.

vii.

25

to

V. 17,

or rather

27.

But

the divine injunction extends, as

still

Kliefoth has rightly recognised,

further on

over

the

whole period up

to the fulfilment of his prophecies of threaten-

ing by the destruction of Jerusalem.

This appears especially

is

from

this,

that in xxiv. 27 and xxxiii. 22 there

an undeni-

able reference to the silence imposed

upon him

in our verse,

and with reference

to

which

it is

said, that
fall

when

the messenger

should bring back the news of the should be opened and

lie

of Jerusalem, his

mouth

should be no longer dumb.

The

reference in xxiv. 27 and in xxxiii. 22 to the verse before us

has been observed by most expositors

but several of them

CHAP.

Iir.

25-27.

67
merely
to

would
which

limit
lies

the silence of the prophet

xxxiii.

the time
is

between ch. xsiv. and

21 sqq.

This
is

quite

arbitrary, as neither in ch. xxlv. nor in ch. xxxiii.

silence

imposed upon him

but

in

both chapters

it

is

only stated that

he should no longer be

dumb

after the receipt of the intelli-

gence that Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Chaldeans.

The

supposition of Schmieder, moreover,

is

untenable, that the

injunction of ver. 25 refers to the turning-point in the prophet's office,

which commenced on the day when the siege of

Jerusalem actually began.

For although

this

day forms a

turning-point in the prophetic activity of Ezekiel, in so far as

he on

it

announced

to the people for the last

time the destructo Israel until the

tion of Jerusalem,

and then spake no more

it

occurrence of this event, yet

is

not said in xxiv. 27 that he

was then

to

be

dumb from

that day onwards.

The

hypothesis

then only remains, that what was imposed and enjoined on the
prophet, in vers. 26

and 27, should remain in force for the

his prophetic activity

whole period from the commencement of

to the receipt of the
arrival of a

news of the

fall of

Jerusalem, by the

messenger on the banks of the Chaboras.

There-

with

is

also

connected the position of this injunction at the

head of the

first

prophecy delivered

to

him (not

at his call), if

only the contents and importance of this oracle be understood

and recognised, that and

it

embraces not merely the siege of

city,

Jerusalem, but also the capture and destruction of the

the dispersion of the people
all

among the

heathen,

conse-

quently contains in nuce

the people

that Ezekiel had to announce to

down

to the

occurrence of this calamity, and which,

in all the divine words

from ch.

vi. to

ch. xxiv., he

had

an-ain

and again, though only

If
all

in different ways, actually

announced.

the discourses

down

to ch. xxiv. are only further exposi-

tions

and

attestations of the revelation of

God

in ch. iv.

and

v.,

then the behaviour which was enjoined on him at the time of

this

announcement was

to

be maintained during

all followini;;

discourses of similar contents.

Besides, for a correct apprecia-

G8

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

and 27,
it Is

tion of the divine precept in vers. 2()

also to

be

noticed that the prophet

is

not to keep entire silence, except

when God
is

inspires

him

to

speak; but that his keeping silence

is

explained to mean, that he

to be to his contemporaries

no

n"'3io ti'^X,

" no reprover," and consequently will place their sins

before them to no greater extent, and in no other way, than

God

expressly
is

directs

him.

Understood in
neither with
xxiv.,

this

vpay,

the

silence

in

contradiction
in

the

words of

God

communicated
which

ch.

vi.

to

nor with the predictions

directed against foreign nations in ch. xxv.-xxxiii., several of

fall

within the time of the siege of Jerusalem.

xxxiii. 22.

Cf. with

this the

remark upon xxiv. 27 and

Chap.
sign,

iv.

The Sign of the Siege of Jerusalem. This

is

which Ezekiel
and
is

to

perform in
visit

his

own house

before

the eyes of the exiles

who

him, consists in three interacts,

connected
first

mutually-supplementary symbolical

the

of which

described in vers. 13, the second in vers. 48,

and the third

in vers. 9-17.

In the

first place,

he

is

symboli-

cally to represent the

impending siege of Jerusalem

side,
;

(vers. 1-3);

in the second place,

by lying upon one

he

he

is

to

announce

the punishment

of Israel's sin (vers.

his food,
is,

4-8)

in the third place,

side, to

by the nature of

while lying upon one

hold forth to view the terrible consequences of the siege to

Israel.

The

close connection as to their subject-matter of these

three actions appears clearly from this, that the prophet, accordto ver. 7, while lying

upon one

side,

is

to direct his look

and
and,

his

arm upon

the picture of the besieged city before

is

him

according to ver. 8,
lasts,

to lie
is

upon

his side as long as the siege

and during that time

to nourish himself in the

this is the

manner
formal

prescribed in ver. 9 sqq.

division of the chapter,

In harmony with

inasmuch

as the three acts,

which the

prophet

is

to

perform for the purpose of portraying the im-

pending siege of Jerusalem, are co-ordinated to each other

by the

repetition

of the address nriNi in

vers. 3,

4,

and

8,


CHAP.
IV. 1-3.

69

and subordinated

to the general injunction

to portray

Jeru-

salem as a besieged city

introduced
a
hrich^
:

in ver. 1 with the

words

mx p
T T
'

nnxi. T
:

Vers. 1-3.

The

first

symbolical action.

Ver.
it

1.

And
a

tliou^

son of man, take

to thyself

and

lay
2.

before thee,
direct

and
siege

draw thereon a

city,

Jerusalem
it
it,

Ver.

And

against it; build against

it,

siege-towers, raise

up a mound against
it

erect

camps against
Ver.
3.

and place battering-rams against

to thyself

round about.

Aiid thou, take

an iron pan,

and place
Let

it

as an iron loall between thee

let it

and

the city,

and and

direct
besiege

thy face towards it; thus

it.

be in a state of siege,

it

be

a sign

to the

house of Israel.

The

directions in vers. 1

and 2 contain the general

a brick he

basis for
is to

the symbolical siege of Jerusalem, which the prophet

before Israel as a sign.
(Pi^n, to

lay

Upon

is

to sketch a citv
is

engrave with a writing instrument) which

:

to repre-

sent Jerusalem

around the

city he

is

to erect siege-works
;

towers, walls, camps, and battering-rams

i.e.

he

is

to inscribe

the representation of them, and place before himself the picture

of the besieged city.
stone, not

The
kiln,

selection of a brick,

i.e.

of a tileis

burnt in a

but merely dried in the sun,

not,

as

Havernick supposes, a reminiscence of Babylon and monu;

mental inscriptions

in

Palestine, also,
ix. 9),

such bricks were a

common
might be
nii'D n^b'j

building material (Isa.

in consequence of which

the selection of such a soft mass of clay, on which a picture

easily inscribed,

was readily suggested.

IW'O

]T^

Mic.

iv.

14, " to

make

a siege,"

i.e.

" to bring forward

siege-works."
is

liifO is

therefore the general expression which

specialized in the following clauses

by

P;."l,

"'

siege-towers"

(see

on 2 Kings xxv. 1)
;

by rh%^ " mound

"

(see

on 2 Sam.

XX. 15)
raises

ni:nj "

camps"

in the plural, because the hostile

city
;

army

several

camps around the

;

C'lS, " battering-rams,"

" wall-breakers," arietes

according to Joseph Kimchi, " iron

rams," to break in the walls (and gates, xxi. 27).

sisted

They

con-

of strong

beams of

hard wood, furnished at the end

70

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

with a ram's head made of iron, which were suspended by a

chain,

and driven forcibly against the wall by the

description of

soldiers.

Compare the
iii.

them by Josephus, de

hello

Judaico
siege-

7. 19.

The

suffix in Hvy, in ver.

2, refers to I'V-

The

works which are named were not probably

Ezekiel as
little

to

be placed by
latter

figures
city,

around the brick, so that the

but to be engraved upon
t?ie

would represent the

around the a siege," "

brick

city thereon portrayed.

to

The

expressions, " to

make
are

huild toAvers," " to erect a mound,"

etc.,
is

selected because the

drawing was In ver.

is

to represent

what

done

when
ver. 7

a city

is

besieged.

3,

in reference to this, the

city,"

inscribed picture of the city

at

once termed "

and

in

the picture of the besieged Jerusalem, " the siege of

Jerusalem."

The meaning of
to
is

the picture

is clear.

Every one
in

who saw
But
iron

it

was and

recognise that Jerusalem will be besieged.

to

the prophet

do

still
it

more

he

is

to take
is

hand the
an

siege itself,

to carry

out.

To

that end, he

to place

pan

as

an iron wall between himself and the

city sketched

on the brick, and direct his countenance stedfastly towards the

city (r?']),
is

and

so besiege

it.

The

iron pan, erected as a wall,

to represent neither the wall of

the city (Ewald) nor the

enemies' rampart, for this was already depicted on the brick

while to represent
ably
fast,

it, i.e.

the city wall, as " iron,"

to the

i.e.

immove-

would be contrary

meaning of the prophecy.

The

iron wall

represents, as Rosenmiiller, after the hints of

Theodoret, Cornelius a Lapide, and others, has already observed,

a firm, impregnable wall of partition, which the prophet as

messenger and representative of

God
i.e.

is

to raise

between himself

and the beleaguered

city, ut significaret,
se^

quasi ferreum muriim

interjectum esse cives inter et

Deum
iis

Deique decretxim

et

sententiam contra illos latam esse irrevocahilem, nee

preces
et

Deum

civium
Jlec-

querimonias auditurum ant

Cf. Isa
lix.

ad misericordiam
n?t]Q,
slices of

tendum.
iron

Lam.

iii.

44.

" pan,"
cakes
;

i.e.

an

plate for baking their loaves

ii.

and

see

on

Lev.

5.

The

selection of such an iron plate for the purpose

CHAP,

IV. 4-8.

71

mentioned

is

not to be explained, as Kliefotli thinks, from the

is

circumstance that the pan

preparing
sketch.
liis

primarily to serve the prophet for

is

food while he

occupied in

completing his
to

The

text says nothing of that.

If he were

have

employed the pan for such a purpose, he could

time, have placed
It

not, at the

same
city.

as a wall

between himself and the

this,

The
was

choice
to

is to

be explained simply from

in

that such a plate

fitted for the
is

be found

every household, and was quite

object intended.
in
it,

If

any other symbolical element

contained

the hard ignoble metal might, perhaps, with Grotius, be

taken to typify the hard, wicked heart of the inhabitants of

Jerusalem

cf.
is

xxii.

18

Jer. xv. 12.

sign
its

The

symbolical siege
of
Israel,
i.e.

of Jerusalem

to be a

for the house

a
of

pre-announcement of
Israel
is

impending destiny.

The house

the whole covenant people, not merely the ten

tribes as in ver. 5, in contradistinction to the

(ver. 6).

house of Judah

Vers. 4-8.

The second

symbolical act.

Ver.
it

4.

Ajtd do

tJiou

lay thyself upon- thy left side,

and

lay

upon

the evil deeds of the

house of Israel ; for the numher of the days during which thou
liest

thereon

shalt

thou bear their evil deeds.

Ver.

5.

And

reckon
three

to thee the

years of their evil deeds as a number of days

shalt thou bear the evil deeds of
(icheti)

hundred and ninety days

of Israel.

the house

Ver.

6.

And

thou hast completed

side,

these, thou shalt then lay thyself

a second time upon thy right

and bear

the evil deeds

to thee

of

the house

of Jadah forty days ; each

Ver. 7. And upon the siege of Jerusalem shalt thou stedfastly direct thy countenance, and thy

day I reckon

as a year.

naked arm^ and shalt prophesy against

it.

Ver. 8. And,

lo,

I lay
as

cords upon thee, that thou stir not from one side to the other

until thou hast

ended the days of thy siege. Whilst Ezekiel, as God's representative, carries out in a symbolical manner the
is

siege of Jerusalem, he

in this situation to portray at the

Israel beleaguered in

same time the destiny of the people of

their metropolis.

Lying upon

his left side for

390 days without

72
turning, he

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

is

to bear the guilt of Israel's sin

side, lie is to

then, lying

40

days more upon his right

sin.

bear the guilt of Judah's

In so doing, the number of the days during which he

reclines

upon

his sides shall be accounted as exactly equal to

the same

number

of years of their sinning.

to take

PV

^^%

*'

to

bear
sin,

the evil deeds,"

i.e.

upon himself the consequence of

;

and to atone for them, to suffer the punishment of sin

xiv. 34, etc.

cf.

Num.
is

Sin,

which produces

guilt

and punishment,
is

re-

garded as a burden or weight, which Ezekiel

side

to lay
it.

upon the

upon which he

reclines,

and

in this Avay bear

is

This bear-

ing, however, of the guilt of sin

not to be viewed as vicarious

is

and mediatorial,

as in the sacrifice of atonement, but

intended

as purely epideictic

and symbolical

that

is

to

say, Ezekiel,

by

his lying so

long bound under the burden of Israel and

laid

Judah which was

upon

his side,

is

to

show

to the people

how they

are to be cast

down by

the siege of Jerusalem, and

possibility

how, while lying on the ground, without the

of

turning or rising, they are to bear the punishment of their

sins.

The

full

understanding of

this

symbolical

act,

how-

ever,

depends upon the explanation of the specified periods

of time, with regard to which the various views exhibit great

discrepancy.

In the

first place,

the separation of the guilt into that of the

is

house of Israel and that of the house of Judah

closely con-

nected with the division of the covenant people into the two

kingdoms of

Israel

and Judah.
left,

That Ezekiel now

is

to bear

the sin of Israel upon the

is

that of

Judah on

the right side,

not fully explained by the circumstance that the kingdom of

left,
i.e. i.e.

the ten tribes lay to the

of

to the north, the

kingdom

Judah

to

the right,

to the south

of Jerusalem, but
to the

must undoubtedly point

of

at the
cf.

same time

pre-eminence

Judah over
is

Israel

Eccles. x. 2.
in
its
;

This pre-eminence of
period of

Judah

manifestly exhibited

punishment

extending only to 40 days

contrary,

= 40
years.

years

that of Israel, on the

390 days

= 390

These numbers, however,

CHAP.

IV. 4-8.

73

cannot be satisfactorily explained from a chronological point of

view, whether they be referred to the time during which Israel

and Judah sinned, and heaped upon themselves

was
to

guilt

which

be punished, or to the time during which they were to

atone, or suffer punishment for their sins.

Of

themselves, both

references are possible

the

first, viz.

in so far as the days in

which Ezekiel
tioned to the

is

to bear the guilt of Israel,

might be proporguilt, as

number

of the years of their

many

Kabbins, Vatablus, Calvin, Lightfoot, Vitringa, J. D. Michaelis,

and others suppose, while

very differently
;

in so doing the years are calculated

I.

cf.

des Vignoles, Chronol.

iv.

p.

479

sqq.,

and

Rosenmiiller, Scholia, Excvrs. to ch.

All these hypotheses,

however, are shattered by the impossibility of pointing out the

specified periods of time, so as to

harmonize with the chroto

nology.

If the days, reckoned as years, correspond

the

duration of their sinning, then, in the case of the house of

Israel,

only the duration of this kingdom could come into con-

sideration, as the period of

punishment began with the captivity

of the ten tribes.

But

this

kingdom
others,

lasted only

253

years.

The remaining 137

years the Kabbins have attempted to supply

;

from the period of the Judges

destruction of the ten tribes
to that of the destruction of

from the time of the

even

down

to that of Ezekiel, or

Jerusalem.

Both are altogether

and the end are mere
prophecy

arbitrary.

Still less

can the 40 years of Judah be calculated,

as all the determinations of the beginning

phantoms of the

air.

The

fortieth year before our

would nearly coincide with the eighteenth year of Josiah's

reign,

and therefore with the year in which

this pious

king

effected the reformation of religion.

Ezekiel, however, could

not represent this

year

as

marking the commencement of

Judah's

sin.

We

must

therefore, as the literal

meaning of the
Since Ezekiel,

words primarily indicates, regard the specified periods of time

as periods of

punishment for

Israel

and Judah.

then,

had

to maintain

during the symbolical siege of Jerusalem

this attitude of reclining for Israel

and Judah, and after the

74

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

lie

completion of the 390 days for Israel must

(n*:C', ver.

a second time

6)

40 days for Judah, he had

to recline in all
tliree

430
hun-

(390

+ 40)

days.
is

To

include the forty days in the

dred and ninety

to reckon the

contrary to the statements in the text.

But

two periods together has not only no argument

is

against

it,

but

even suggested by the circumstance that the

propliet, while reclining on his left

and right

sides, is to repre-

sent the siege of Jerusalem.

Regarded, however, as periods of

punishment, both the numbers cannot be explained consistently

with the chronology, but must be understood as having a symbolical
signification.
to

The

space of 430 years, which

is

an-

nounced

both kingdoms toi^ether as the duration of their

chastisement, recalls the

430 years which

bondage (Ex.

in the far past Israel

had spent

in

Egypt

in

xii.

40).

It

had

l)een

already intimated to
in

Abraham (Gen.

xv. 13) that the sojourn

for

Egypt would be a period of servitude and humiliation

;

his seed

and at a
Israelites

later time, in

consequence of the oppression

which the

then experienced on account of the rapid

it

increase of their
in

number,

was

upon

the basis of the threat

Deut.

xxviii. 68, that

God would

punish Israel for their per-

sistent

declension,

by bringing them back into ignominious

bondage in Egypt

taken

by the prophet

as a type

of the

banishment of rebellious Israel among the heathen.

sense

In

this

Hosea already threatens

(viii.

13, ix. 3, 6) the ten tribes

ix.

with being carried back to Egypt; see on Hos.

3.
is

Still

more frequently, upon the

basis

of

this

conception,

the

redemption from Assyrian and Babylonian exile announced as

a

new and miraculous exodus

e.g.

of Israel from the bondarre of

Egypt,
lies

Hos.

ii.

Isa. xi. 15, 16.

This
it

typical

meaning
as,

also

at the

foundation of the passage before us,

in

accordance with the statement of Jerome,^

cepted by the
^

was already

acin

Jews

of his time,

and has been again recognised

Alii vero et

maxime Judaei a
et

seciuido

anno Vcspasiani, qnando Ilicruest, siip]>utari voltint in

salcm a liomanis cuplii Umjdumqjie suhversum

tione et aiirjH!<tia
captii-italis jiujo

tribida-

populi constilui annos quadrinr/entos

CHAP.

IV. 4-8.

75

modern times by Havernick and

upon the period during which

Ilitzig.

That Ezeklel looked

to tlie

Israel

had been subject

is

heathen in the past as " typical of the future,

to

be assumed,

because only then does the number of 430 cease to be arbitrary

and meaningless, and

become

explicable."

at

the same time

Hitzig.

its

division into

390

+ 40
of
as
i.e.

This

latter

view

is

not,
it,

course, to be understood as Hitzig

if

and Havernick take

the 40 years of Judah's chastisement were to be viewed apart

years' sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness,

from the 40

upon which the look of the prophet would have been turned bv the sojourn in Egypt. For the 40 years in the wilderness are
not included in the 430 years of the Egyptian sojourn, so that

Ezekiel could have reduced these 430 years to 390, and yet

have added

to

them the 40 years

of the desert wanderings.

For the coming period

of punishment,
is

which

is

to

commence

for Israel with the siege of Jerusalem,

fixed at

430 years with

reference to the Egyptian bondage of the Israelites, and this

period

is

divided into 390 and 40

and

this division therefore

at least

must

also have, if not its point of

commencement,

point of connection, in the

430 years of the Egyptian sojourn.

two parts
is

The

division of the period of chastisement into

to

be explained probably from the sending of the covenant people

into the

kingdom

of Israel

and Judah, and the appointment of

a longer period of chastisement for Israel than for Judah, from

the greater guilt of the ten tribes in comparison with Judah,

but not the incommensurable relation of the divisions into 390 and 40 years. The foundation of this division can, first of all,
only
lie

in this, that the

number

fort}/

already possessed the

symbolical significance of a measured period of divine visitation.

This significance

it

had already
(Gen.

received, not throutrh the

40

years of the desert wandering, but through the 40 days of rain

at the time of the deluge
(rigiiita,

vii.

17), so that, in conformity

et sic

redire

filii Israel 430

populum ad pristinum statum ut quomodo annis fuerunt in Aegypto, sic in eodein numero
esse in

finiatiir: scriptumqiie

Ex.

xii.

40.

Hieronyjius.

76
with
this,

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

the punishment of Jying in the wilderness, suspended
is

over the rebellious race of Israel at Kadesh,

already stated at

40

years, although
xiv.

it

included in reality only 38 years; see on

it

Num.
40

32 sqq.

If now, however,

should be supposed that

this penal sentence had contributed to the fixing of the

number

as a symbolical

number

to denote a longer period of punish-

ment, the 40 years of punishment for Judah could not yet have been viewed apart from
this event.

The
-j-

fixing of the chastisein

ment
if

for Israel

and Judah

at

390

40 years could only

Israelites in

that case be measured

by the sojourn of the

Egypt,

the relations of this sojourn presented a point of connection

for a division of the

last

430 years

into

390 and 40,

i.e. if

the

40

jears of the Egyptian servitude could

somehow be

dis-

tinguished from the preceding 390.

this
is

point of contact for

offered

by an event

in

the life of

Moses which

falls

within that period, and was fertile in results for him as well as
for the whole of Israel, viz. his flight

from Egypt

in conse-

quence of the slaughter of an Egyptian who had

Israelite.

ill-treated

an

As
his

the Israelites, his brethren, did not recognise the

meaning of
them by

this act,

and did not perceive that God would save

flee

hand, IMoses was necessitated to

into the land

of Midian, and to tarry there

40 years

as a stranger, until the

Lord

called

him

to

be the saviour of his nation, and sent him as

ii.

His messenger

to

Pharaoh (Ex.

11-iii.

10; Acts

vii.

23-30).

These 40 years were for Moses not only a time of

purification for his future vocation, but

trial

and

undoubtedly

also the

period of severest Egyptian oppression for the Israelites, and in

this

respect quite fitted to be a type of the

in

coming time of

punishment for Judah,

which was

to

be repeated what Israel

had experienced
lose her king,

in

Egypt,

that, as Israel

had

lost their

helper
to

and protector with the

world-power.*

flight of

Moses, so
to the

now Judah was

and be given over

tyranny of the heathen

* Another ingenious explanation of the numbers in question has been attempted by KUcfoth, Coinmcnt. p. 123. Proceeding from the symbolical

CHAP.

IV. 4-3.

77
is

"While Ezekiel thus reclines upon one side, he

liis

to direct
i.e.

look unchangingly upon the siege of Jerusalem,

upon
i.e.

the picture of the besieged city, and keep his

arm

bare,

ready for action

against the
city,

(Isa.

lii.

10),

and outstretched, and prophesy

through
it.

especially

the

menacing attitude
couch

which he had taken up against

out,

To
i.e.

be able to carry this

God
on

will

bind him with cords,

fetter liim to his

(see until

iii.

25), so that he cannot stir from one side to another

he has completed the time enjoined upon him for the

siege.

In

this is

contained the thought that the siege of Jeru-

signification of the

and

number 40 as a measure of time for divine visitation he supposes that the prescription in Deut. xxv. 3 that if an Israelite were to be subjected to corporal punishment, he was not to receive more than 40 stripes is founded upon this symbolical signification, prescription which, according to 2 Cor. xi. 24, was in practice so carried out that only 39 were actually inflicted. From the application and bearing
trial,

thus given to the

of chastisement.

number

us are to be explained.

40, the symbolical numbers in the passage before Every year of punishment is equivalent to a stripe
of Israel 10

To the house

adjudged,

i.e.

to each of the ten tribes 39 years

X 39 years = stripes, were = stripes the individual

;

tribes are treated as so

many

single individuals,

and each receives the

amount

of chastisement usual in the case of one individual. Judah, on the contrary, is regarded as the one complete historical national tribe, because in the two faithful tribes of Judah and Benjamin the people collectively

were represented.

Judah, then,

may

receive, not the

fell

number
number

of

stripes falling to individuals, but that only

which

upon

one, althouo-h,

as a fair compensation, not the usual

number

compatible with the Torah

of 40 stripes = years.

of 40, but the higher

To

this explanation

we

would give our

only the transformation into stripes or blows of the days of the prophet's reclining, or of the years of Israel's punishment,
assent,
if

could be shown to be probable through any analogous Biblical example, and were not merely a deduction from the modern law of punishment, in which corporal punishment and imprisonment hold the same importance. The assumption, then, is altogether arbitrary irrespective of this, that in
the case of the house of Israel the measure of punishment is fixed differently from that of Judah in the former case, according to the number of the
;

tribes; in the latter, according to the unity of the

kingdom

in the former

at 39, in the latter at 40 stripes.

Finally, the presupposition that the later

Jewish practice of

inflicting only 39 instead of 40 stripes in order not to transgress the letter of the law in the enumeration which probably was made at the infliction of the punishment goes back to the time of the

exile,

is

extremely improbable, as

it

altogether breathes the spirit of

Pharisaic micrology.

78
salem
is

THE PnoniECIES OF EZEKIEL.

to

be mentally carried on until

its

capture

but no

new symbol
is

of the state of prostration of the besieged Jerusalem

implied.

For such a purpose the food of the prophet

this

(ver. 9 sqq.) during

time

is

employed.

Vers. 9-17.

The
spelt,

third

symbolical

act. Ver.
and
Leans,

9.

Aiid do
lentiles,

ihou take to thyself wheat,

and

barley,

and

and
thou
eat

millet,

and

and put

tliem in

vessel,

and prepare them

as bread for thyself, according to the

liest

on thy side

three

number of the days on which hundred and ninety days shalt thou

it.

Ver. 10.

And

thy food, which thou eatesf, shall be ac;

cording to weight, twenty shekels for a day

shalt thou eat
it.

from
time

time

to

time

Ver. 11.

And

water shalt thou drink accord-

ing to measure, a sixth part of the hin,

from
with

to

time shalt

thou drink

it.

Ver. 12.
it

And

as barley cakes shalt

eyes

thou eat

it,

and

shalt

bake

before

their

human

excrement.

Ver. 13.
eat their

And

Jehovah spake; then shall

the children of

hrael

bread jwlluted amongst the heathen, whither

them.

Ver. 14. Then said I:

Ah!

Lord, Jehovah,

I shall drive my soul has

never been ptolluted ;

have

I never

eaten

flesh has not

and of a carcase, and of that ivhich is torn, from my youth up xnitil noio, and abominable Ver. 15. Then said He unto come into my mouth.
thee the

me: Lo, I allow

dung of animals instead of

that

of

man;

therewith mayest thou prepare thy bread.

Ver. 16.

And
and

lie said to me.

Son of man,

lo,

I will

break the staff of bread in

to weight,

Jerusalem, so that they will eat bread according

in affliction,

and drink water by measure, and

fail,

in

amazement.

Ver. 17. Because bread and xcater shall

and

they shall pine

away one

icith another,

and

disajypear in their guilt.

For the
is

whole duration of the symbolical siege of Jerusalem, Ezekiel

to

furnish himself with a store of grain corn and leguminous fruits,

to place this store in a vessel beside in the

him, and daily to prepare

form of bread a measured portion of the same, 20 shekels

this as barley cakes

in

weight (about 9 ounces), and to bake

fire,

upon a
it

prepared with dried dung, and then to partake of

day.

at

the different hours for meals throughout the

In

; ;

CHAP.
addition to this, he
at the

IV. 9-17.

79

is,

hours appointed for eating, to

drink water, in like manner according to measure, a sixth part

of the hin daily,
i.e.

a quantity less than a pint (cf. Biblisch.

Archdol. II.

p.

141).

The

Israelites, probably, generally pre-

pared the niay from wheat

guests (Gen. xviii. 6).
tion,

flour,

and not merely when they had

is

Ezekiel, however,

to take, in addi-

other kinds of grain with leguminous fruits, which were

deficient
;

employed in the preparation of bread when wheat was

barley
iv.

baked
;

into bread
vi.

by the poor (Judg.

1

vii.

13

2 Kings

42

John

see

on

Kings

v. 8)

i'ia,

" beans," a com-

mon

food of the Hebrews (2 Sam.

xvii. 28),

which appears

to

have been mixed with other kinds of grain for the purpose of
being baked into bread.^
lentiles,

This especially holds true of the

a favourite food of the

in

Hebrews (Gen. xxv. 29

still
;

sq.),

from which,

Egypt

at the present day, the poor

bake
apro^

bread in times of severe famine (Sonnini, R. II. 390

(f)dKivo<;,

Athenaeus, IV. 158).

(

JD^^

"millet," termed
in

by the
Egypt,
I.

Arabs " Dochn"

and
still

-^ j),

panicwn, a fruit cultivated

in

more frequently

Arabia (see Wellsted, Arab.

295), consisting of longish round

brown

grain, resembling rice,

from which,
is

in the absence of better fruits,

a sort of bad bread

sqq.
;

baked.

Cf. Celsius, Uierohotan,

D'''????

i.

453

and Gesen.
.

Thesaur. p. 333.

" spelt or

German

corn " (cf Ex.

ix.

32), a kind of grain which produces a finer

and whiter

flour
it is

than wheat flour

the bread, however, which

is

is

baked from

somewhat

dry,

and

said to be less nutritive than

ii.

wheat bread

cf. Celsius, Hierohotan.,

is

98

sq.

Of

all

these fruits Ezekiel

indicate that all

to place certain quantities in a vessel

to

kinds of grain and leguminous fruits capable of being converted

into bread will be collected, in order to bake bread for the

appeasing of hunger.
of flour
^

In the intermixture of various kinds

we

are not, with Hitzig, to seek a transgression of the

Katur.
et

Cf. Plinii Histor.

xviii.
sit

80

fabae, quippe ex qua tentatus

etiam panis

" Inter legumina maximits Jionos Frumento etiam miscetur

. . .

apucl pkrasque gentes

maxime panico

solida ac dellcatius fracta.''^


so
law
In

THE ITiOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Lev.
xix.

19; Deut.

xxll. 9.

13D
is

is

tlic

accusative of
to

measure or cUuation.
the

The

quantity

to

be fixed according

number

of the days.

In ver. 9 only the 390 days of the

of punishment are mentioned

house of

Israel's period

quod
this

]?lures essent et fere universa

summa

(Prado)

and because

uas

sufficient to

make prominent
'l21

the hardship and oppression

of the situation, the 40 days of

Judah were omitted

food

for the

sake
eat,"

of
i.e.

brevity.^

^r'?^'??

" thy

which thou shalt

the definite portion which thou shalt have to eat,

shall

be according to weight (between subject and predicate

is

the substantive verb

to

be supplied).

Twenty

shekels
i.e.

=8

or

9 ounces of

flour,

yield 11 or 12 ounces of bread,

at

most

the half of what a

daily support."

man needs in The same is the

i.e.

southern countries for his

case
less

with the water.

A
the

sixth part of a bin,

a quantity

than a pint,

is

a very

niggardly allowance for a day.

Both, however,

eating

refers in reality only to the

what is required in vers. 9-17 and not also to the 40 days of Judah, so that so long as Ezekiel lay and bore the sins of Israel, he was to eat his food by measure, and unclean. For this is in contradiction with the distinct announcement that during the wliole time that he lay upon the one side and the other, he was besieging Jerusalem and by the scanty and unclean food, was to portray both the deficiency of
^

Kliefoth's supposition

is

untenable, that

390 days of

Israel,

bread and water wliich occurred in the besieged city (ver. 17), as well as the eating of unclean bread, which impended over the Israelites when among the heathen nations. The famine which took place in Jerusalem during the siege did not affect the ten tribes, but that of Judah while
;

unclean bread had to be eaten

among the heathen not only by the

Israelites,

but also by the Jews transported to Babylon. By the limitation of Avhat is prescribed to the prophet in vers. 9-15 to the time during which the sin of Israel was to be borne, the significance of this symbolical act for Jerusalem and Judah is taken away. 2 In our climate (Germany) we count 2 lbs. of bread for the daily supply
of a

man

but in
lbs.

warm

countries the

demand

for food is less, so that

Wellsted (Travels in Arabia, II. p. 200) relates that "the Bedoweens will undertake a journey of 10 to 12 days without carrying with them any nutriment, save a bottle full of small cakes, baked of white fiour and camel or goat's milk, and a leather bag of water.
scarcely

are required.

the latter twice within 24 hours,

Such a cake weighs about 5 ounces. Two of them, and a mouthful of water, is all which they then partake of."

" :

CHAP.

IV. 9-17.

81
do from time
to time,

bread and drinking the water,

i.e.

lie shall

" not throughout the entire

;

fixed period of

390 days
at once,

(Havernick)

but he shall not eat the daily ration

but

divided into portions according to the daily hours of meals, so

that he will never be completely satisfied.
is

In addition

to this

the pollution

(ver.

12 sqq.) of the scanty allowance of food

it is

by the manner

in

which

prepared.

D''"}'yb'

nay

is

predicate

" as barley cakes," " prepared in the form of barley cakes,"

shalt thou eat them.

The

suffix in '"^jbsxn is neuter,

and refers
" food."
that the
it

to DPI? in ver. 9, or rather to the kinds of grain there

enumerated,
i.e.

which are ground and baked before them

^[}b,

The

addition C'lyb'

is

not to be explained

from

this,

principal part of these consisted of barley, nor does

prove

that in general no other than barley cakes were

known

(Hitzig),

but only that the cakes of barley meal, baked

wei'e

in the ashes,

an extremely frugal kind of bread, which that prepared

to resemble.

by Ezekiei was

The

Hjy

was probably always

xix. 6),

baked on hot ashes, or on hot stones (1 Kings

pans, as Kliefoth here supposes.

not on
is

The

prophet, however,

to

bake them in (with) human ordure.

be understood as
if

This

is

by no means

to

he were

to

mix the ordure with the

food, for
;

which view

Isa. xxxvi.

12 has been erroneously appealed to

as 2i]vy
dung,
i.e.

in ver.

15 clearly shows

he

but

is

to

bake
fire.

it

over the

so that

dung forms

the material of the

That the
it

bread must be polluted by

this is conceivable,

although
vii.

can-

not be proved from the passages in Lev. v. 3,

xxiii.

21, and Deut.

13 that the use of

fire

composed of dung made the food

prepared thereon

levitically unclean.

The use

of fire with

human
had not

ordure must have communicated to the bread a loathsome smell

and

taste,

by which

it

was rendered unclean, even

if it

been immediately baked in the hot ashes.

of the bread
is

That the pollution

the object of this injunction,

we

see

from the
shall

explanation which

God

gives in ver. 13:

''Thus

the

children of Israel eat their defiled bread

among the

heathen."

The

heart of the prophet, however, rebels against such food.

I.

EZEK.

82

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

says he has never in his life polluted himself

He

by eating food

forbidden in the law; from his youth up he has eaten no

unclean

flesh,

neither of a carcase, nor of that which was torn

bv wild
sacrifices

beasts (cf. Ex. xxii. 30; Deut. xiv. 21), nor flesh of

decayed or putrefying

(?^23,

see

on Lev.

vii.

18;

Isa. Ixv. 4).

On
In

this

God
16

omits the requirement in ver. 12,

and permits him

that of men.^

to take for firing the ver.

dung

of oxen instead of

sq., finally, is

given the explanation

of the scanty allowance of food meted out to the prophet,

namely, that the Lord,

to take
to

at the

impending

siege of Jerusalem,

is

away from the people the

staff of bread,

and leave them

is

languish in hunger and distress.

The

explanation

in

literal

adherence to the tlireatenings of the law (Lev. xxvi. 26

to pass

and 39), wliich are now

tion of life.

into fulfilment.

Bread

is

called " staff of bread" as being indispensable for the preserva-

To

^^V'P|,

Lev. xxvi. 26, nixna, "in sorrow,"

i.e.

is

added

and

to the water, po'SC'a, " in astonishment,"

in fixed,

silent pain at the miserable death,

by hunger and

thirst,

which
finally,

they see before them.

Djiy? ip^J as

Lev. xxvi.39. If we,

this
first

cast a look over the contents of

sign,

it

says that
is

Jerusalem
suffer
^

is

soon to be besieged, and during the siege

as a

to

hunger and terror

punishment for the

sins of Israel

The use
it

that

of dung as a material for burning is so common in the East, cannot be supposed that Ezekiel first became acquainted with it

in a foreign country,

and therefore regarded

it witli

peculiar loathing.
is

Human

ordure, of course, so far as our knowledge goes,

never so emit

ployed, although the objection raised by Ilitzig, on the other hand, that

would not yield so much heat as would be necessary for roasting without immediate contact, i.e. through the medium of a brick, rests upon an erroneous representation of the matter. But the employment of cattle-

dung for firing could not be unknown to the Israelites, as Hauran (the ancient Bashau) the customary firing material
remarks on Delitzsch's
Jvb., vol. I.

it
;

forms

in the

cf.

Wetzstein's

where the preHauran from cow-dung mi.xed with choj^ped straw is minutely described and this remark is made among others, tliat the flame of the gcUe, prepared and dried from the dung of oxen that feed at large, is entirely without smoke, and that the ashes, which retain their heat for a lengthened time, are as
paration of the jclle

this prevalent material for burning

pp. 377, 8 (Eng. tran.),

in the

clean as those of wood.


CHAP. V
1-4,

83
city of Israel

and Juclah
they are to
oblio'ed to

that

upon the capture of the

(Judah)

be dispersed among the heathen, and will there be

eat unclean bread.

To

this
it

in

ch. v.

is

joined a

second sign, which shows further

how

shall fare

with the
;

people at and after the capture of Jerusalem (vers. 1-4)

after that a longer oracle,

and

which developes the significance of

these signs, and establishes the necessity of the penal

(vers.

judgment

5-17).

Chap.

V.

1-4.

The Sign which

is

Israel's impending Destiny. man, take

to to thyself

to

portray
son of
it

Ver.

1.

And

tJwu,

a sharp
it

sioord, as a razor shall thou take

thyself,

and go with
to

over

thy

head,
it

and over thy

hair).

chin,
2.

and

take

thee

scales,

and

divide

{the

Ver.
city,

third part burn

with fire in the midst of the

are accomplished:

when

the days
third,

of

the siege

and
it:

take the (other)

smite

with

the

sword round about

to the

and

the

{re-

maining) third scatter

out after them.

winds

and

the

sword will

I draw
these

Ver.

3.

Yet take a

few of them hy nmnber, and

Ver.
4.

bind them in the skirt of thy garment.

A7id of

again take a few, and cast them into the f re, and burn them with
fire
;

from

Israel.

The

thence a fire shall go forth over the ivhole house of

description

of this

sign
is
;

is

easily

understood.
is

D''D^an "lyrij

" razor of the barbers,"

suffix in "^^ni^n
is

the predicate, which

to

be understood to the

and the clause

sword

purpose for which Ezekiel

to use the sharp

states the
viz. as

razor, in order to cut off therewith the hair of his

head and

beard.

The

hair,

when

cut

off,

he

is

to divide into three parts

with a pair of scales (the

the hair).

suffix
is

in Dnppn refers ad sensum to to

The one
is

third he

burn

in the city,

i.e.

not in

the actual Jerusalem, but in the city, sketched on the brick,

which he

symbolically besieging
ri''riU"'3p,

(iv. 3).

To
is

the city also

is

to be referred the suffix in

ver. 2, as

placed beyond

doubt by ver. 12.

In the

last clause of ver. 2,

which

is

taken
into

from Lev. xxvi. 33, the description of the sign passes over


81
its

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

exposition, for
2'}''']^^?

does not refer to the hair, but to the

inliabitants of Jerusalem.
bolical act
is

The

significance also of this

is,

sym-

easily recognised,

and

moreover, stated in ver.

12.

Ezekiel, in this act, represents the besieged Jerusalem.

What

he does to his hair, that will

God

do to the inhabitants

of Jerusalem.

As
is

the hair of the prophet falls under the

fall,

sword, used as a razor, so will the inhabitants of Jerusalem

when

the city

captured, into destruction,

and that verily an

ignominious destruction.
of the hair-cutting,

This idea

is

contained in the picture

to

which was a dishonour done

See on 2 Sam.
x.

what forms

the ornament of a man.

the same
is

sqq.

third of

to perish in the city.

As

the

fire

destroys the hair,

so will pestilence

and hunger consume the inhabitants of the

beleaguered city (ver. 12).

capture of the city,
the last third will
fall

The second

third

will,

on the
12)
;

by the sword

in the environs (ver.

God

scatter to the winds,

and

already threatened the people

as

Moses has

will

draw forth the sword after

(ver. 12).

them,

still

to persecute

and smite them

This sign
act,

is

continued (vers. 3 and 4) in a second symbolical

which

shadows forth what

dispersed

is

further to happen to the people

when

among
is

the heathen.

Of

the third scattered to the

winds, Ezekiel

to bind a small portion in the skirt of his

garment.

D^'O,

" from thence," refers not to

:

ri''L;"'btJ^n,

but,

ad

senstim, to
is

nil? n^in

" from
is

the place where

the third

that

scattered to the winds

found"

i.e.,

as regards the

subject-matter, of those
persion.

who
ii.

are to be found
^".^^V,

among

the dis-

The binding up
.

into the

" the corners or ends

of the garment " (cf Jer.

34), denotes the preservation of

the few,

who

are gathered togetlier out of the whole of those

who

are dispersed
xvi. 8.
fire,

among

the heathen

cf.

Sam. xxv. 29
still

Ezek.

But even

of these

few

He

shall

cast

some

into the

and consume them.

be sifted by

Consequently those who are

all to

gathered together out of exile are not

are
still

be preserved, but
is

to

fire,

in

which process a part

to those

con-

sumed.

This image does not refer

who remain behind

CHAP.
in the land,

V. 1-4.

85
to

when

the nation

is

led

away captive

Babylon

(Theodoret, Grotius, and others), but, as

and Jerome saw,

to those

Ephrem the Syrian who were saved from Babylon, and

already clear from the
DtJ'p,

to their further destiny, as

is

rightly
is dis-

understood.

The meaning
it,

of the last clause of ver. 4

puted

in

as in the final clause of ver. 2, the symbolical

representation passes over into the

itself.

announcement of the thing

arbitrarily alter into
t^S^ T]in"7X,
''3Sp,

^2D0j

which Ewald would

cannot,

with Havernick, be referred to

because

this yields a

very forced sense, but relates to the whole act

:

described in vers. 3 and 4

that a portion thereof

is

rescued

and preserved, and yet of

fire,

this portion

many
all

are

consumed by
from

from

that a fire shall go forth over the whole house of

fire
is

Israel.

This

explained by almost

expositors,

Theodoret and Jerome onwards, of the penal judgments which

were
inflicted after the exile

upon the Jews, which reached

their

culminating point in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem

by the Romans, and which

throughout the whole world.
already remarked,
is

still

continue in their dispersion

this

But

view, as Kliefoth has

not only in decided antagonism to the init is,

tention of the text, but

see

moreover, altogether impossible to

for
all

how

judgment of extermination
saved,

Israel can be
Israelites,

deduced from the fact that a small number of the

who

are scattered to the winds,

is .still

is

and that of those who

fire.

are saved a part

consumed with

From

thence

there can only

Israel,

come

forth a fire of purification for the whole of

through which the remnant, as Isaiah had already preis

dicted (vi. 12 sqq.),

clause,

converted into a holy seed.

fire is

In the
fire,

last

consuming by

not referred

to.

The
fire

how-

ever, has not merely a destructive, but also a cleansing, purifying,

and quickening power.

To

kindle such a

on earth

did Christ

come (Luke

xii.

49),

and from

Him

the same goes

out over the whole house of Israel.

This view, for which

Kliefoth has already rightly decided, receives a confirmation

through ch.

vi.

8-10, where

is

announced the conversion of the


86

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Israelites

remnant of those
nations.

who had been

dispersed

among

the

So

far the symbolical acts.

Before, however,

we

pass on to
briefly

the explanation of the following oracle,

we must

still

touch the question, whether these acts were undertaken and

performed by the prophet in the world of external

whether they were occurrences only internally
Ezekiel experienced in spirit
i.e.

reality, or

real,

which

in

an ecstatic condition

and afterwards communicated

expositors, Kliefoth has

to the people.

Amongst modern

defended the former view, and has

:

adduced the following considerations in support

act,
it

significant

and yet

also a

silent, leisurely one,

must be performed, that

it.

may show something

to those
it

who behold

Nor

is

the case
to

such, as Hitzig supposes, that

would have been impossible

but

carry out what had been required of the prophet

in ch. iv.

1-17.
quires

It had, indeed, its difficulty;

God sometimes
although
will

realso
it

from His servants what

to the

is
it.

difficult,

He

helps

them

performance of

So here Pie

make

easy for the prophet to recline, by binding him

the sign, this certainly was kept in view, that
it

(iv. 8).

" In

should be per-

formed
in

and

it,

moreover, %cas performed, although the text,

manner

quite intelligible with reference to an act

com-

manded by God,
assertions,

does not expressly state

is

it."

For

these latter

however, there
is

anything but convincing proof.

The matter

not so simple as Kiiefoth supposes, although

we

are at one with

him

in this,

that neither the difficulty of

in the world of external

carrying out what was

reality,

commanded

nor the non-mention of the actual performance, furnishes

sufficient

grounds for the supposition of merely internal,

spiritual

occurrences.

We

also are of opinion that very

many

of the

symbolical acts of the prophets were undertaken and performed

in the external world,

and that

this supposition, as that

literal

which

corresponds most fully with the

meaning
is

of the words, is

on each occasion the most obvious, and

to,

to

be firmly adhered

unless there can be good grounds for the opposite view.

In

CHAP.

V. 1-4.

87
take into consideration

the case

now

before us,

we have

first to

that the oracle which enjoins these symbolical acts on Ezekiel

stands in close connection, both as to time and place, with the

inauguration of Ezekiel to the prophetic

the

office.

The hand

of

Lord comes upon him at the same place, where the concluding word at his call was addressed to him (tlie D^, iii. 22,
points back to DC' in
iii.

15)

and the circumstance that Ezekiel

found himself

still

on the same spot to which he had been

transported by the
revelation,

Spirit of

God

(iii.

14),

shows that the new

soo7i, if

which he here

still

received, followed very

not immediately, after his consecration to the office of prophet.

Then, upon the occasion of

clear not only

this divine revelation,

he

is

again,

as at his consecration, transported into an ecstatic condition, as

is

from the formula, "the hand of the Lord

in our

came upon me," which

book always has

this,

this signification,

but also most undoubtedly from

glory of Jehovah in the same

that he again sees the

manner

as he

had seen
if

it

in ch.

i.

viz.

when

in

an ecstatic condition.

But

this

were an

ecstatic vision,

it is

obvious that the acts also which the divine

appearance imposed upon him must be regarded as ecstatic

occurrences
;

since the assertion that every significant act

must

he performed, in order that something may be sliown

to those

who

witness

it, is

fundamentally insufficient for the proof that

within the domain of the earthly world of

this act

must

fall

sense, because the occurrences related in ch. viii.-xi. are

viewed

even by Kliefoth himself as purely internal events.

As

decisive,

however, for the purely internal character of the symbolical acts

under consideration

(ch. iv.

and

v.), is

the circumstance that

the supposition of Ezekiel having, in his

lain

own

house, actually

390 days upon

his left,

and then, again, 40 days upon his was carried

right side without turning, stands in irreconcilable contradiction

with the fact that he, according to ch.

viii.

1 sqq.,

away

in ecstasy to

Jerusalem, there to behold in the temple the

monstrosities of Israel's idolatry and the destruction of Jeru-

salem.

For the proof

of this, see the introduction to ch.

viii.

88
Vers. 5-17.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEEIEL.

The Divine Word which explains the

in

Symbolical Signs, is laid down as to its

which the judgment that

its

is

announced

cause (5-9) and as to

the

nature (10-17).

Ver.
Ver.
6.

5.

Thus says

Lord Jehovah

This Jerusalem have

placed in the midst of the nations, and raised about her the countries.

But

in wickedness she resisted

statutes

my

laivs

more than

the

nations,

and my

more than

the countries

which are round

statutes.

about her ; for they rejected my laws,

and did not walk in my

:

Ver.

7.

Therefore thus soys the

raged more than the nations

in

Lord Jehovah Because ye have round about you, and have not walked
laws,

my
;

statutes,

and have not obeyed my

Therefore thus saith the

and have not done

Lo,
even

even according to the laws of the nations which are round about

you

Ver.

8.

Lord Jehovah
9.

T,

I, shall be against thee,

and

will

perform judgments in thy midst

before the eyes of the nations.

Ver.

And I

loill

do unto thee

what

have never done, nor will again do in

all thine

like

manner, on

account of
''T^]

abominations.

nxr, not "

tliis is

Jerusalem,"
this

i.e.

this is

the destiny of
(Hitzig)
;

Jerusalem (Hiivernick), but "

is

Jerusalem
iste,

"

DST

placed before the noun in the sense of

as in

Ex.

xxxii. 1

cf.
its

Ewald,

293^.

To

place the culpability of Jerusalem in

proper prominence, the censure of her sinful conduct opens

with the mention of the exalted position which

God had

assigned

her upon earth.

Jerusalem
:

is

described in ver. 5 as forming the

is

central point of the earth

this

done, however, neither in an

external, geographical (Hitzig), nor in a purely typical sense,

as the city that
is

blessed

more than any other (Calvin, Hiiverand

nick), but in a historical sense, in so far as " God's people

city

actually

stand in the central point of the God-directed

its

world-development and
relation to the history

movements " (Kliefoth)

or,

in

of salvation, as the city in which

God

hath set up His throne of grace, from which shall go forth the

law and the statutes for

of the whole world
iv. 1 sqq.).

all

nations, in order that the salvation

ii.

may

be accomplished (Isa.

2 sqq.

Mic.

But instead of keeping the laws and statutes of

CHAP.

V. 5-9.

89

the Lord, Jerusalem has, on the contrary, turned to do wickedness more than the heathen nations in
(nnpn,
all

the lands roundabout

cum accusat. object.^ " to act rebelliously towards"). Here we may not quote Rom. ii. 12, 14 against this, as if the heathen, who did not know the law of God, did not also transgress the same, but sinned ai/o/xw?;
for the sinning avofico'?,

of which

the apostle speaks,

is

really a transgression of the

law written on the heart of the heathen.

the penal threatening
is laid
is

With

|3?,

in ver. 7,

is

introduced

but before the punishment

down, the correspondence between guilt and punishment

brought forward more prominently by repeatedly placing in

2??9l!

juxtaposition the godless conduct of the rebellious city.

is infinitive,

from

\^^,

a secondary form

lion^
cf.

in

the sense of
ii.

n^rij

"to rage,"

i.e.

to rebel against

God;
:

Ps.

1.

The

last clause of ver. 7 contains a

climax

"

And
is

ye have not even This

is

acted according to the laws of the heathen."

real contradiction to ch. xi. 12

not in any

(where

it

made

a subject of

reproach to the Israelites that they have acted according to the

laws of the heathen), so that we would be obliged, with Ewald

and Hitzig,

to

expunge the N?
and

in the verse before us,

because

wanting in the Peshito

several

Hebrew

manuscripts.
tlie

Even

in these latter,

it

has only been omitted to avoid

xi.

sup-

posed contradiction with

contradiction
lies

12.

The

solution of the apparent

in the double

meaning

of the D^i^n

'l22*^p.

The heathen had

their hearts.

laws which were opposed to those of God,

but also such as were rooted in the law of

God

written

upon
which

Obedience to the

latter

was good and

praise-

worthy

to the former,

wicked and objectionable.

Israel,

hated the law of God, followed the wicked and sinful laws of the
heathen, and neglected to observe their goodlaws.
before us
is

The

passage

to be

judged by Jer.

ii.

10, 11, to

which Raschi

had already made reference.^

^

In ver. 8 the announcement of

cordant.

xi. 12: " Haec prohe conImitahantur Jiidaei gentiles velfovendo opiniunes gentiles, vel etiam assiimendo ritus et sacra gentilium. Sed non faciehant ut gentes, quae integre

Coccejus had already well remarked on ch.

90

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL. by the repeated mention of the

'lil

the punlsliment, interrupted

cause,
is

again resumed with the words

nb

\y?.

Since Jeruexecute His

D'pD'J' nb'j;

salem has acted worse than the heathen,

God

will

judgments upon her before the eyes of the heathen.

or
D'tpsil'D nL"y (vers.

10, 15, ch. xi. 9, xvi. 41, etc.), " to accomis

plish or execute
xxxiii.

judgments,"

used in Ex.

xii.

12 and

Num.

4 of the judgments which

God suspended

over Egypt.

The

punislniient to be suspended shall be so great

and heavy,

that the like has never

again.

happened before, nor

will ever

happen
the

These words do not require us either

to refer

threatening, with Coccejus, to the last destruction of Jerusalem,

which was marked by greater severity than the

to suppose,

earlier one, or
is

with Hiivernick, that the prophet's look

directed

to both the periods of IsraeFs punishment

the times of the

Babylonian and

Koman

calamity together.

Both suppositions

are irreconcilable with the words, as these can only be referred

to the first

impending penal judgment of the destruction of

This was, so
far,

Jerusalem.

more severe than any previous

it

or subsequent one, inasmuch as by

of

the existence of the people

God was

for a time suspended, while that Jerusalem

and
con-

Israel, Avhich

were destroyed and annihilated by the Komans,

latter

were no longer the people of God, inasmuch as the

sisted at that

time of the Christian community, which was not

affected by that catastrophe (Kliefoth).

Vers. 10-17. Further execution of

this threat.

Ver. 10.

Therefore shall fathers devour their children in thy midst, and

children shall devour their fathers
:

and I will

exercise judgments

upon

thee,

and

disjjerse all thy

remnant

to the ivinds.

Yer. 11.

Therefore^ as
Verily, because

live,

is

the

declaration of the

Lord Jehovah,
away mine

thou hast polluted

all thy crimes,
tvill

my
so

sanctuary toith all thine

shall

abominations
eye withoid
thee

and

take

mercy, and
by

not spare.

Ver. 12.

tldrd of
in

shall die

the pestilence,
Israelitae

and perish by hunger

et ipsius

thy

diissuis serviehant.
videri vokbant."

Nam

nomine Dei ahutehantur

populus

CHAP.

V. 10-17.

91
thee;

midst; and the third part shcdl fall hy the sioord alout

and

the third part will

I scatter

to all the

winds

and

ivill

draiu

out the sicord after them.

Ver. 13.

^ nd my

anger shall befalfilledy

loill

and I icill

cool

my

wrath against them, and

/,

take vengeance.

Arid they shall experience that

zeal,
loill

Jehovah, have spoken in

when I accomplish

my

lorath

upon them.

Ver. 14.

my And I

make

thee

a desolation and a mockery among

thee, before the eyes

the nations

which are round about

Ver. 15.

of every passer-by.

And

it

shall be a

mockery and a scorn, a ivarning and

thee,

a tensor for

the nations

round about

when 1

exercise

my

judgments upon
tions.
I,

thee in anger

and wrath and

it.

in grievous visitaI send against

to

Jehovah, have said

Ver. 16.

When

thee the

evil

arrows of hunger, ichich minister

to

destruction,

which I shall send

destroy you

for hunger shall I heap upon

Ver. 17. xind

you, and shall break to you the staff of bread:

shall send hunger
thee childless
;

upon you, and

pestilence

evil

beasts,

which shall make

and

and blood
I,

shall pass over thee;

and
it.

the sicord loill

bring iipon thee.

Jehovah, have spoken

is
;

As

a proof of the unheard-of severity of the judgment, there

immediately mentioned in ver. 10 a most horrible circumstance,

which had been ah'eady predicted by Moses (Lev. xxvi. 29 Deut. xxviii. 53) as that which should happen to the people when
hard pressed by the enemy,
viz.

a famine so dreadful, during

the siege of Jerusalem, that parents would eat their children,

and children

their parents

and
This

after the capture of the city,

to all the winds,
i.e.

the dispersion of those

all

who remained "

is

to

quarters of the world."

described more minutely, as

an appendix

to the symbolical act in vers. 1

and

2, in vers.

11

and

12, with a solemn oath,

sins

mention of the

and with repeated and prominent which have drawn down such chastisements.

As

sin, is

mentioned the pollution of the temple by idolatrous

viii.

abominations, which are described in detail in ch.

PIJN*,

The
is

which

is

variously understood by the old translators (for

offer the explanatory correction pnjx),

which some Codices

to be explained, after

Job

xxxvi. 7, of the " turning

away

of the

92
eye,"
it

THE PBOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

and the
V''^

following as the object

is

while

D^nn-N?"i,

" that
its

feel

no compassion,"

interjected between the verb

and

object with the adverbial signification of " mercilessly."

that the words Dinn
distinctly appears

For
V^.i^,

sh

are adverbially subordinate to

from the correspondence

i6.

indicated by
is
;

''3X

D31

between
will

V^iVi

and ^ionx

Moreover, the thought, " Jehovah

not to be

mercilessly withdraw His care for the people,"

termed

" feeble " in connection with

what follows
''?^^"221,

nor

is

the

contrast,

which

is

indicated in the clause

lost, as

Hiiver-

nick supposes.

"'i'^^'DJi

does not require VIS to be understood of

to the desecration of the

a positive
sanctuary.

act,

which would correspond

is

This

shown by the

last clause of the verse.

is,

The
it

withdrawal without mercy

of the divine providence

besides,

in reality, equivalent to complete devotion to destruction, as

is

particularized in ver. 12.

For

ver. 12 see

on

vers. 1

and

2.

By

carrying out the threatened division of the people into three

parts, the

wrath of

God

is

to be fulfilled,
is

i.e.

the full measure

(cf. 7, 8),

of the divine wrath upon the people

to

be exhausted

and God

is

to appear

and "cool " His anger.

HDH mr}^
13.

sedavit
''^^C?'^?

iram" occurs again in xvi. 42, xxi. Ilitlipael, pausal form for ""^li^nanj se
satisfaction

22, xxiv.
consolari^'''

" to procure

by revenge;"
63.

cf.

Isa.

i.

24,

and

for the thing,

Deut.

xxviii.

In

ver.

14 sqq. the discourse turns again

It is to

from the people

wilderness, as

to the

city of Jerusalem.

become a

was already threatened in Lev. xxvi. 31 and 33

to the cities of Israel, in the

is

and thereby a " mockery"

23
sq.

to all nations,
in ver. 15,

manner

described in Deut. xxix.

^l^'.'^"'.,

not to be changed, after the

;

LXX.,

Vulgate, and some MSS.,

is

into the second person

but Jerusalem

to

be regarded as the
etc.,

subject which

is

to

become the object of scorn and hatred,

lpi^
is

when God accomplishes His judgments.

example.
ver. 16,

a warningit,

Among
is

the judgments which are to overtake

in

hunger
in

again made specially prominent

are wild
beasts,

(cf. iv.

16);

and

first

ver. 17

pestilence,

blood,

and

sword added, and a quartette of judgments announced as in

CHAP.

VI. 1-7.

93

xiv. 21.

For

pestilence

and blood are comprehended together

predicate.

as a unity

by means of the

Their connection
is

is

to

be understood according to xiv. 19, and the number four

nificant, as in xiv. 21; Jer. xv. 3sqq.

sig-

For more minute

evil

details

as to the meaning, see

on

xiv. 21.

The

arrows point back

to Deut. xxxii. 23; the

xxxii.

evil beasts, to

Lev. xxiv. 22 and Deut.

24 sqq.

To produce an

impression, the prophet heaps his

words together.

Unum

ejus consilium fuit penetrare in

animos
tarda

populi quasi lapideos

etfei'reos.

Hcbc igitur

est ratio,

cur

Jiic

varietate utatur et exornet

suam doctrtnam vanis

figuris (Calvin).

CHAP.

VI.

THE JUDGMENT UPON THE IDOLATROUS PLACES, AND ON THE IDOL- WORSHIPPERS.
address
in vers.

To God's
oracles,

5-17, explaining the signs in

vi.

ch. iv. 1-5, are

appended

in ch.

and

vii.

two additional

which present a further development of the contents of

these signs, the

greatness.

judgment portrayed by them

vi.

in its extent

and

In ch.

there

is

announced,

in the first section, to

the idolatrous places, and on their account to the land, desolation,

and

to the idolaters, destruction (vers.

3-7)

and

to this is dis-

added the prospect of a remnant of the people, w'ho are

persed

among

the heathen, coming to be converted to the

Lord

(vers. 8-10).

In the second section the necessity and terrible

is

character of the impending judgment

repeatedly described at

length as an appendix to vers. 12, 14 (vers. 11-14).

Vers. 1-7.
idolaters.

The
1.

desolation of the land,

and destruction of the

Ver.

And

the

word of

the

Lord came
the

to

me, say-

ing

Ver.

2.

of Israel,

Son of man, turn thy face towards and prophesy against them. Ver. 3.
mountains, and

mountains
say,
:

And

Ye

mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah

saith the
valleys,

Thus

Lord Jehovah
to

to the

to the hills, to the

and

the loio

grounds. Behold,

I
4.

bring the sioord upon

you, and destroy your high places.

Ver.

Your

altars shall be
;

made

desolate,

and your

sun-pillars shall be broken

and I shall

94

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

slain fall in the presence

mahe your

of your

idols.

Ver.

5.

And
6.

will lay the corpses of the children of Israel hefore their idolsj
will scatter

and
all

your hones round about your

the cities be

altars.

Ver.

In

your dwellings shall

;

made

desolate,

and

the high

jylaces icaste

that

your altars may be desolate and

icaste,

and your and

idols hrohen

and

destroyed,

and your

sun-pillars heion dozen,

the
IV ill

worhs of your hands exterminated.

fall in your midst
ver. 1 cf.
iii.

Ver.

7.

that

you may know

is

that

And the slain I am Jehovah.

With

16.

The prophet
That
tlie
is

to

prophesy against

the mountains of Israel.

(ver. 2) as piars p)ro toto,

mountains are mentioned

3,

seen from ver.

when

to the

moun-

tains

and

hills

are added also the valleys and low grounds, as

;

the places where idolatry was specially practised

cf.

Hos.

iv.

13; Jer.

ii.

20,

iii.

6; see on IIos. Lc. and Deut.

xii. 2.

D^T^^.j

in the older writings, denotes the " river channels,"

" the beds

of the stream ;" but Ezekiel uses the

valley,
i.e. ^i]^,
ii''},

word

as equivalent to

a valley with a brook or stream, like the Arabic

wady.

properly " deepening," " the deep ground," " the

rivxs,
cf.

deep valley;" on the form

juxtaposition
of

Ewald,
of

ISGda.

The

mountains and

hills,

valleys
;

and low
and

grounds, occurs again in xxxvi.

tion

4, 6,

and xxxv. 8
also, in

the opposi-

between mountains and valleys

xxxii. 5, 6,

xxxiv. 13.

The

valleys are to be conceived of as furnished

with trees and groves, under the shadow of which the worship of
Astarte especially was practised; see on ver. 15.
tains

On
to
is

the

moun-

and

in the valleys

were sanctuaries erected

of their destruction

Baal and

Astarte.

The announcement

appended

to the threatening in

Lev. xxvi. 30, which Ezekiel takes up

Beside the
^''^l^^,
J^i'^^^

and describes
sacrifice

at greater length.

the places of

and worship, and the

pillars or statues of Baal,

dedicated to

him
I.e.

as

the sun-god, he

names
1

also the

altars,

which, in Lev.

and other

places, are

comprehended along

with the

riiD3

see

on Lev. xxvi. 30 and

Kings

iii.

3.

With
iu the

the destruction of the idol temples, altars, and statues, the idol-

worshippers are also to be smitten, so as to

fall

down

CHAP.
presence of their
idols.

VI. 8-10.

95
of

The fundamental meaning

I.e.,

the

word

D71?3, "idols,"

borrowed from Lev.

;

and frequently

employed by Ezekiel, is uncertain signifying either " logs of wood," from ?r3, " to roll " (Gesen.), or stercorei, from ^,

"dung;"
is

not

"monuments
is

of stone" (Havernick).
30/>.

Ver. 5a
of

taken quite literally from Lev. xxvi.

The ignominy

the destruction

heightened by the bones of the slain idolaters

altars.

being scattered round about the idol

idolatry

Li order that the

throughout the
6.

may

be entirely rooted out, the

all

cities

whole land, and

the high places, are to be devastated, ver.

The forms
from
D^i^'
Dti'^,

n:jp"J'''ri

and

10e^'"^5.''.

are probably not to be derived

(Ewald,

138&), but to be referred back to a stem-

form

with the signification of DQK', the existence of which

appears certain from the old

name

liO''t^'l

in Ps. Ixviii.

and

else-

where.

The N

in

VO'S'^"'

is

certainly only mater lectionis.

In

ver. 7, the

singular bbn stands as indefinitely general.

fall in
fall,

The
who
the

thought, " slain will

your

midst,''^

involves the idea that

not

all

the people will

but that there will survive some

are saved, and prepares for

slain

what

follows.

the idolaters
The

with their idols

The

fallino- of

leads to the recoo-nition

of

to conversion to Him. away into banishment amongst the heathen, and shall remember the word of the Lord that will have been fulfilled. Ver. 8. But I shall preserve a rem-

Jehovah

as the omnipotent

God, and

Vers. 8-10.

survivors shall go

nant^ in that there shall be to you some loho have escaped the sicord

among
Ver.
9.

the nations,

when ye

shall he dispersed

among

the lands.

And
to

those

of you ivho have escaped,

me among
broken

the nations whither they are led

make mention of captive, when I have

icill

me

their

and

their eyes,

whorisk heart, ivhich had departed from me, which icent a whoring after their idols : and they

shall loathe themselves because

of

the evil ivhich they have done in

reference to all their abominations.

that

Ver. 10.

A nd ye

shall hioio

am

Jehovah.

Not
nrna

in vain have

J spoken

this evil to you.

Tnin^ superstites facere, "to

make

or preserve survivors."

The

connection with

.'iJI

is

analogous to the construction of

96

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

" giving a superabundance," with 3
9,
rei,

Tniiij in the sense of

Deut.

xxviii.

11 and xxx.

and

is

not to be rejected, with

Ewald and

Hitzig, as inadmissible.

For

ni^^3

is

supported by
''^1?'!"!,

the old versions, and the change of

^^iniiTi

into

which

would have to be referred to ver.

7, is

in opposition to the two-

fold repetition of the mn^ ^JS ^3 Drivi"! 0J^T4)j ^^^^'

^^
is

''^"^

1^'

as this repetition shows that the thought in ver. 7

different

from that

in 17, 21, not " they shall

spoken," but " they shall

know

that

know that Jehovah has lie who has done this is

some who have

Jehovah, the
will

God

of Israel."
this,

The
is injin.

preservation of a remnant

be shown in

that they shall have

escaped the sword.

CiD'^niijn

Niph. with a plural form

of the suffix, as occurs elsewhere only with the plural ending

ni of

nouns, while Ezekiel has extended

it

to the ni of

the

infinitive of rh verbs; cf. xvi. 31,

and Ewald,
is

remembrance
conversion to
as relative

of

Jehovah
itf'^^.

(ver. 9)

the
is

The commencement of
259i.

Him.

before
Clip,

''^"'St^o

not to be connected

pronoun with

but

is

a conjunction, though not

22, Deut. xi. 27,
xi.

used conditionally, "

if," as in

Lev.

iv.

and

else-

where, but of time, ore, " when," as Deut.

6 and 2 Chron.
futur. exact.

XXXV. 20, and

''^1?^'?

in the signification of the

is

The

Niplial

"i?t^'3

here

not to be taken as passive, but middle,

sihi frangere,

i.e.

D3?, poenitentid conterere aniinum

eorum

%it

ad

ipsum {Deum) redemit (Maurer, Hiivernick).

the eyes also are mentioned, which

Besides the heart,

is

God

to smite, as the
12pJl

external senses which allure the heart to

whoredom.
t2^p,

cor-

responds to ^I3n at the beginning of the verse.

the later

form

for

)'lp,

''

to feel a loathing," Ilipldly " to

x.

be

filled

with
D''J3,

loathing;"
faces,"
i.e.

cf.

Job

1 with

object.,
:

"in (on)

their

their

persons

or themselves

so also in xx. 43,

'^yiJTpripj in
is

xxxvi. 31.

niyin px^ in allusion to the evil things;

all their

reference to

abominations.

This

fruit,

which

pro-

duced by chastisement, namely, that the

idolaters are inspired

with loathing for themselves, and led to the knowledge of Jeho

van, will furnish the proof that

God

has not spoken in vain.


:;

CHAP.
Vers. 11-14.

VI. 11-14.

97

The punisliment
thy foot^

is

just

and well deserved.

Ver. 11. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Smite with thy hand,

and stamp
hunger,

loith

and

say,

Woe on

all the wielded

abomi-

nations of the house of Israel! that they must perish by sivord,

and pestilence.
;

Ver. 12.

He

that

is

afar off

loill

die by

the pestilence

and he

that is near at
is

hand

shall fall by the

:

sword

and he who know

idols

survives

and

preserved will die of hunger

and I

shall accomplish
that

my

wrath upon them.

Ver. 13.
lie

And

ye shall

I am

Jehovah, when your slain

altars,

in the midst
hill,

of your
all the

round about your

on every high

upon

summits of

the mountains,

and under every green

Ver. 14.
the

tree,

and under

every thick-leaved terebinth, on the places lohere they brought their

pleasant iricense
out

to

all their idols.

And I ivill

stretch

my hand

against them,

and make

land loasie and desolate

all their divellings
:

more than
shall ye

the ivildemess

of Diblath, in

so

know

that

arn Jehovah.
feet

Through
to

clapping of the

hands and stamping of the

violent

the
is

gestures which indicate

excitement

the
at
is

prophet

make known

the dis-

pleasure of Jehovah

the horrible idolatry of the people,

is

and thereby make manifest that the penal judgment

deserved.
^13

well

^2?^ nan
Tjiij

in xxi. 19 expressed

more

distinctly
i.e.

by

7X

P)?

" to strike one

cf.

hand against the

xxiv. 10.

other,"

" to

clap the

hands;"

Num.

ns^ an exclamation of
it^'X,

lamentation, occurring only here and in xxi. 20.

is

ver. 11,

a conjunction, " at."

Their abominations are so wicked, that

This
is

they must be exterminated on account of them.

cially

spe-

mentioned
is
;

in ver. 12.

No
its

one

will

escape the judc-ment

as

he who
at

far

removed from

scene as

little

he who

is

close
is

hand

while he

who

escapes the pestilence and the sword

to perish of hunger.

"i^V3,

servatus, preserved, as in Isa. xlix. 6.

The

signification

"besieged"

(LXX.,

Vulgate, Targum,
i^Jti'^n

etc.),

Hitzig can only maintain by arbitrarily expunging

gloss.
cf.

as a

On

ver. 126, cf. v.

13; on 13a,
13; Jer.
ii.

cf. ver.

5; and on lob,
6; Deut.
nn'':

ver. 3,

and Hos.

iv.

20,

iii.

xii.

2.

'arps 7X, according to later usage, for '3r73

hv.

ry-}.^

used

EZEK.

I.

98
in the

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL,

Pentateuch of
sacrifices

pleasing to God,
i.

is

here transviii.

ferred to idol sacrifices; see on Lev.

9 and

Gen.

21.
will

On

account of the prevalence of idolatry in

the land entirely desolate.
;

all parts,

God

make

The union
either

of nBC'Ol noroc'

serves to strengthen the idea

cf. xxxiii.

8 sqq., xxxv. 3. " in

the

The

words nnplT

"I3*irii0

are

obscure,

wilderness

towards Diblath" (even to Diblath), or " more than the wilderness of Diblath" (IP of comparison).

There

is

no doubt that
in Jer.

nn72T
xlviii.

is

a nom. prop.
;

cf.

the

22
is

Num.

xxxiii. 46.

name of the city D^n^^T The second acceptation

first.

of the

words

more probable than the

'in?3'n

For,

if

isI'tID is

the

terminus a quo^ and

the terminus

ad quern of the extent of

because a definite

the land, then must "^T'SO be punctuated not only as status

ahsolut.,

but

it

must

also

have the

article

wilderness

that,

namely, of Arabia

is

meant.

The

omission

of the article cannot be justified by reference to xxi. 3 or to

Vs. Ixxv. 7

(Hitzig, Ewald),

because both passages contain

general designations of the quarters of the world, with which

the article
is

always omitted.
;

In the next place, no Dihla can

be pointed out in the north

and the change of Dihlatha

into

Bibla, already proposed by Jerome,

and more recently brought

it

forward again by J. D. !Michaelis, has not only against

authority of
all

the

the old versions, but also the circumstance that

xxiii.

the Ribla mentioned in 2 Kings

33 did not form the

it,

northern boundary of Palestine, but lay on the other side of

in the land of

Ilamath ; while the

"^^^l^)

named

in

Num. xxxiv.
Sea

11,

is

a place on the eastern

boundary

to the north of the

of Gennesareth, which would, moreover, be inappropriate as a

designation of the northern boundary.

Finally, the extent of

the land from the south to the north

is

constantly expressed in
xiii.

a different way;
1

cf.

Num.
8
;

xiii.

21 (xxxiv. 8); Josh.

5;

Kings
5
;

viii.

Qb; 2 Kings
vii.

xiv.

65;

Amos

vi.

14; 1 Chron.
(xlviii. 1)

xiii.

2 Chron.
is

and even by Ezekiel himself

boundary on the north.

non

Ni27

named

as the

nr)73"i is

similar to nri2n for nion, although the

The form name is hardly

CHAP.

VII. 1-4.

99

to

be explained, with Hiivernick, as an appellation, after the

o

Arabic Jjj, calamitas, exitium.

The

wilderness of Dihlah
is

is

unknown.

With

'l31

""S

^Vy^,

the

discourse

rounded of in

returning to the beginning of ver. 13, while the thoughts in

vers.

13 and 14 are only a variation of vers. 4-7.

CHAP.

VII.

THE OVERTHROW OF ISRAEL.

The second
pletes the

" word of God," contained in this chapter, com-

announcement of judgment upon Jerusalem and

will

Judah, by expanding the thought, that the end

come
This

both quickly and Inevitably upon the land and people.

word

is

divided into two unequal sections, by the repetition of

the phrase, "

Thus

saith

Adonal Jehovah "

theme
is

(vers.

2 and 5).

In the
sive,

first

of these sections the

;

given in short, expresIs

and monotonous clauses

namely, the end

drawing

nicrh,

for

God

will

judge Israel without mercy according

to its

abominations.

The second

section (vers.

5-27)

is

arranged in

four strophes, and contains, in a form resembling the lamentation in chap, xix., a

more minute description of the end predicted. Vers. 1-4. The endcometh. Ver. 1. And the word of Jelio-

vdli

came

to

me

thus
:

Ver.

2.

And

thou, son of
!

man, thus
the

saith

the

Lord Jehovah
the
thee,

An

end

to the

land of Israel

end cometh

upon

four borders of

the land.

Ver.

3.

Now

(cometh) the

end upon

and I

shall send

my

wrath upon

thee,

and judae
abomi-

thee according to thy ways,

and bring upon

thee all thine

nations.

Ver.

4.

A nd my

eye shall not look with pity upon thee,

and I

shall not spare, but bring thy

ways upon
ye

thee

and thy
that

abominations shall be in the midst of

I am

Jehovah.

thee, that

may know

<^^^],

with the copula, connects this word of

It

God
It

with the preceding one, and shows

to be a continuation.

commences with an emphatic utterance

is

of the thouo-ht, that

to the kint][dom of
it

the end

coming
its

to the land of Israel,

i.e.

Judah, with

capital Jerusalem.

Desecrated as

has been

100

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

its

by

the abominations of

inhabitants,
't^''

it

will cease to

be the

land of God's people Israel,

is

n^lN?

(to the

land of Israel)

not to be taken with "f?^ nb (thus saith the Lord) in opposiY\>,

tion to the accents, but is connected with

(an end), as in

the Targ. and Vulgate, and

is

placed

first

for the sake of greater

vi.

emphasis.

In the construction, compare Job

is

14.

nya^K

}nxn niSJ3

limited

by the parallelism
It
is

to the four extremities

of the land of Israel.

(Isa. xi. 12).

used elsewhere for the whole earth

is

The

Chetih nya'ix

placed, in opposition to the

ordinary rule, before a noun in the feminine gender.

The
In
" Give

Keri gives the regular construction (yid. Ewald,

ver. 3 the
(inj) thine
inflict

267c).

end

is

explained to be a wrathful judgment.

;"
i.e.

abominations upon thee

send the consequences,

is

punishment for them.

The same thought

them

expressed

in the phrase, " thine abominations shall be in the midst of

thee ;" in other words, they would discern

in the punish-

ments which the abominations would bring

ver.

in their train.

For

4a compare

ch. v. 11.

Vers. 5-27.
vers. 2-4,

The

execution of the judgment announced in

:

arranged in four strophes

vers. 5-9,

10-14, 15-22,

23-27.

mhQ first
and
Ver.
;

strophe depicts the end as a terrible calamity,

and

as near at hand.

Vers. 3 and 4 are repeated as a refrain

in vers. 8 the

9, with slight modifications.

:

Ver.

5.

Thus

saith
it

Lord Jehovah
6.

Misfortune^ a singular misfortune, behold,

cometh.

End
it
:

cometh

there cometh the

7.

end

it

wahelh
thee,

upon

thee

behold,

cometh.

Ver.

The fate cometh upon

inhabitants of the land

the time cometh, the

day

is

near

tumidt
toill

and

not joy upon the mountains.

Ver.

8.

Now

speedily

pour out
thee
all
;

my

fury upon

thee,

and accomplish mine anger on

and judge

thee according to thy icays,

and bring upon

thee

thine abominations.

Ver.

9.

My
;

eye shall not

look toilh

pity upon thee,

and I shall
thee,

not spare

according to thy ways will

shall be
i)i

I bring
of

it

upon
ye

and thy abominations

that 1, Jehovah,
ny"j is

the

midst

thee, that

may know

am

smiting.

Misfor-

tune of a singular kind shall come.

made more emphatic

CHAP.

VII. 5-9.

101
first

by

nj?T

nns, in which

rins

is

placed

for

the sake of

emphasis, in the sense of unicus, singularis; a calamity singular

(unique) of
ch. V.
9).

its

kind, such as never

ver.

had occurred before

it

(cf.

In
is

6 the poetical PPD,

(the end)

waketh

upon

thee,

suggested by the paronomasia with

is

}*i?.L'.

The
as the

force of the words

weakened by supplying Jehovah

subject to ri?n, in opposition to the context.

And
:

it

will not

do to supply nyn
(behold,
it

(evil)

from
is

ver. 5 as the subject to

It

nx3 nan
cometh,
it.

cometh).

nN3

construed impersonally

namely, every dreadful thing which the end brings with

The meaning
in

of tz^phirdh

is

doubtful.

The
it

only other passage

which

it

occurs

is Isa. xxviii. 5,
is

where

is

used in the sense

of diadem or crown, which

altogether unsuitable here.

Raschi
K"J?V,
it

has therefore had recourse to the Syriac and Chaldee

cau'ora,

tempus matutinum,

and Havernick has explained

day."

accordingly, " the

dawn

of an evil

But

the

dawn

is

never used as a symbol or

Joel
ii.

omen

of misfortune, not even in

2,

but solely as the sign of the bursting forth of light

or of salvation.
started

Abarbanel was on the right track when he

"IS^*,

from the radical meanino; of

as probably denoting
TJies. p.

to twist,

and

takino-

tz^phirdh in the sense of orbis^ ordo, or periodical return, under-

stood

it

rerum fatique vicissitudinem in

1188).

orbem redeuntem (Ges.

But

it

has been justly

observed, that the rendering succession, or periodical return,

can only give a forced sense

better rendering, viz. fatum,

in ver. 10.

Winer has given

malum
js^,

fatale, fate or destiny, for

which he refers

to the

Arabic *

intortum, then

fatum hand
also

mutandum
given of
Ti'^n,

inevitalile.

Different explanations
the opinion that
it
;

have

been

^'^y}

^n.

But

is

synonymous with
10),
is

the joyous vintage cry (Jer. xxv. 30

it

Isa. xvi.

more probable one than that

splendor, gloria.

is

an unusual form of
is

lin,

So much

at

any rate
"in

obvious from the

the
antithesis

context,

that

the

hapax legomenon
of

is

of

ninp,

tumult,

or the noise

war.

The

shoutin"- of the

: :

102
mountains,
is

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

shouting, a rejoicing
vicinity, in a
(

upon the mountains.

3i"ii5J3,

from the immediate

as
in

temporal not a local sense,

Deut. xxxii. 17

= immediately).
;

For ^X

n?3^ see cb.

is

vi. 12.

The remainder
it

of the strophe (vers. 8b and 9)

repetition of vers. 3

and 4
is

but nao

is

added in the
smites.

last clause.

They
is

shall learn that

Jehovah who

This thought

expanded in the following strophe.

Vers. 10-14. Second strophe.

Ver.
the

10. Behold the day, he-

hold,

it

Cometh; the fate springeth up;

rod sprouteth; the pride

blossometh.

Ver. 11.

'Hie violence risefh

up as

the

rod of

evil

nothing of them, nothing of their multitude,

croivd,

nothing of their

and nothing

glorious
:

upon them.
let

Ver. 12.

The time

Cometh, the day apiproachetli

the seller trouble himself ;

not the buyer rejoice,

and

let

not

for wrath cometh upon the ivhole mulseller will not return to

titude thereof.

Ver. 13. For the

that

lohich

was

sold, even though his life

its lohole

were

still

among

the

living

for the prophecy against

multitude will not turn back;

life

and
but

no one

loill

strengthen himself as to his

through his iniquity.

;

Ver. 14. They blow the trumpet and make everything ready no
one goeth into the battle
:

for

my

wrath cometh upon

;

all their
left of

multitude.

The rod
This

is

already prepared

nothing will be

the ungodly.

is

the leading thought of the strophe.

The

three clauses of ver. 10Z> are

tion in the thought.

synonymous

but there

is

a grada-

The approaching
it

fate springs

up out of the

earth
V.

(N)'^,
;

applied to the springing up of plants, as in 1 Kings

xi.

13

Isa.

1, etc.)

sprouts as a rod, and flowers as

pride.
X. 5).

Matteh, the rod as an instrument of chastisement (Isa.

This rod

is

then called zddhon, pride, inasmuch as

violent people,

God

makes use of a proud and

(Hab.
i.

namely the Chaldeans

the punishment.

G sqq.

Jer.

1.

31

seq.),

to inflict

Sprouting and blossoming, which are generally used as figurative representations of fresh

and joyous

prosperity, denote here

is

the vigorous growth of that

power which

destined to inflict

the punishment.
refer to the

Both chdmds (violence) and zddhon (pride)

is

enemy who

to cliastisc Israel.

The

violence

'

CHAP.

VII. 10-14.

103

which he employs
i.e.

rises

up

into the chastening rod of " evil,'

is

of ungodly Israel.

In ver. lib the effect of the blow

described in short, broken sentences.

in the frequent repetition of N7
is

The emotion apparent

by the omission

intensified

of the verb, which gives to the several clauses the character of

exclamations.
insert
i^'!'}]

So

far as the

meaning

is

concerned,

we have
:

to

in thought,

and

to take \^ in a partitive sense

i.e.

there

will not

be anything of them,

nothing will be

left of

them
them)
Xey.

(the Israelites, or the inhabitants of the land).

is

DTO

(of

explained by the nouns which follow,

lion

and the
i^^^,

utt.

DriDn, plural of

cn or

nnrij

both derivatives of

are so

com-

bined that

|ion

signifies

the tumultuous multitude of people,

(like
porij

ncn the multitude of possessions

xxxvii. 16, etc.).

Isa.

Ix.

Ps.

The meaning which Havernick

is

assigns to

hdmeh,
priate.

viz.

anxiety or trouble,
aTT.

unsupported and inappro-

The

\ey. nj

is

not to be derived from nnj^ to

;

lament, as the Rabbins affirm

or interpreted, as

Kimchi

who
This

adopts this derivation

maintains,

on the ground of Jer. xvi.

sqq., as signifying that,

on account of the multitude of the

for the dead.
is

dying, there will be no

leaves the
root ni3

more lamentation
rlj

Mappik

in n unexplained,

a derivative of a

in Arabic,

ilj,

elata fuit res, eminuif, magnijicus fuit

hence
a

nb, res

magnijica.

When

everything disappears in such

way

as this, the joy occasioned

by the acquisition of property,

also pass

and the sorrow caused by

its loss, will

away

(ver. 12).

The buyer
he
will not

will not rejoice in the property

he has bought, for

not

be able to enjoy

it

and the

seller will

mourn
kindled

that he has been obliged to part with his possession, for he

would have

lost

it

in

any

case.^
;

The wrath
that
is

of

God

is

against their whole multitude

falls

to

say, the in

judgment
as

equally upon them

is

all.

The

suflnx

njion refers,

" It

a natural thing to rejoice in the purchase of property, and to

in the face,

mourn over its sale. But when slavery and captivity stare you rejoicing and mourning are equally absurd." Jerome.

104-

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

lias correctly

Jerome
Yisrael)

shown, to the " land of Israel "

to the inhabitants

(acJmatJi,

in

ver.

2,

i.e.

of the land.

The

words, " the

seller will not return to

what he has
which

sold," are to

be explained from the legal regulations concerning the year of

jubilee in Lev. xxv,, according to
all

landed property

that

had been sold was

to revert to its original

owner
;

(or his

heir),

without compensation, in the year of jubilee

to

so that he

would then return

his

mimMr

(Lev. xxv. 14, 27, 28).

if

Henceforth, however, this will take place no more, even

DH^n, their (the
setters')
life,

should be

still

alive {sc. at the

time

when the return

to his property

would take

place, accord-

ing to the regulations of the year of jubilee), because Israel

will

be banished from the land.

conditional circumstantial clause.

(a^K'^

The clause 'n D''*n3 ^iy1 is a The seller will not return
(^IK'^ N?), i.e.

N7)

to

his

possession, because the prophecy concerning

the whole multitude of the people will not return

will not

turn back (for this meaning of

31^^,

compare

Isa. xlv.
^rj'^ N7,

23, Iv. 11).

As

^Vu'^
jirn

N? corresponds to the previous

to njion-b-i'S |nn in ver. 12.
is

so does nJion ^bTiN

In the
the

last clause of ver. 13, in>n

not to be taken with

iiiy? in

sense of "in the iniquity of his life," which

iiiyn superfluous,

makes the

suffix in

but with

^PJ^^Ij

the IJUhpael being construed

life."

with the accusative, " strengthen himself in his

Whether
was
to

these words also refer to the year of jubilee, as Hiivernick

supposes, inasmuch as the regulation that every one

recover his property was founded upon the idea of the restitution

and re-creation of the theocracy, we may leave undecided

is

since the thought

evidently simply this: ungodly Israel shall

possession,

be deprived of

its

because the wicked shall not

life

obtain the stren;thenin<T of his

throufrh his sin.

This

thought leads on to ver. 14, in which we have a description

of the utter inability to offer any successful resistance to the

enemy employed
difficulty
solute,

in executing the

judgment.
VipJ^S,

There

is

some

connected with the word

i'ipn

since the injin. ab-

which the form

seems to indicate, cannot be con-

CHAP.

VII. 15-22.

105

strued with either a preposition or the article.

expression
iyi?0

Even
tlie

if tlie

Vipna in Jer.

vi.

was floating before

mind
this

of Ezekiel, and led to his employing the bold phrase

VipJ^ia^

would not
position

justify the use of the infinitive absolute with a prearticle.

VipJ^

and the

must be a substantive form, and

P^n^ an unusual

denote not clangour, but the instrument used to sound an

alarm, viz. the shophdr (ch. xxxiii. 3).
of the inf. ahs. (see Josh.
finite tense,
'S'l,

form

vii.

7),

used in the place of the

war, as in Nali.
ii.

and signifying

to equip for

4.

everything requisite for waging war.

And no

one goes

into the battle, because the wrath of

God

turns against them

(Lev. xxvi. 17), and smites them with despair (Deut. xxxii.
30).

Vers. 15-22. TJdrd strophe.

sistible

Thus

will they fall into irre-

destruction

even their silver and gold they will not

it

rescue, but will cast

away

as useless,

and leave

it

for the

enemy.
xoitliin:

Ver.
he

15.

The sword unthout, and pestilence and famine

field will die hy
tlie

who

is in the

sioord;

and famine

aiid pestilence will devour

him

that is in the

citij.

Ver. 16.

And
like

if their escaped ones escape, they will be xipon

the doves

tlie

mountains

of

tlie

valleys, all
loill

moaning, every one for his iniquity.

all knees

Ver. 17. All hands

water.

become feeble, and

flow

loith

Ver. 18. They

loill

gird themselves with sackcloth, and

all faces there

terrors ivill cover

them ; on

will be shame,
toill

and

baldness on all their heads.

silver into

Ver. 19. They

throw their
to

the

streets,

and

their
ivill

gold will be as filth

them.

Their silver and their gold

not be able to rescue them in the

day of Jehovali

wrath

they will not satisfy their souls thereit

with, nor fill their stomachs thereby, for

was

to

them a stum-

bling-block to gidlt.

Ver. 20.
their

And His

beautiful ornament, they

used

it

for pride ; and

abominable images, their abomina-

tions they

made

thereof: therefore
it

I make

itflth

to

them.

Ver.

21.

And I
I shall

shall give

into the

hand of foreigners for prey, and

to the loicked

of the earth for

spoil, that they

may

defile

it.

Ver.
;

22.

turn

my face from

them, that they defle

my

treasure

106

THE PKOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

shall

and oppressors
inent of
cli.

come upon

it

and

defile

it.

The

cliastise-

God
;

penetrates everywhere (ver. 15 compare with

flight to the

V.

12)

even

mountains, that are inaccessible

ii.

to the foe

(compare 1 Mace.

28

Matt. xxiv. 16), will only

bring misery.

Those who have

fled to the

mountains

will coo

i.e.

mourn, moan

like the doves of the valleys,

which

(as
II.

Bochart has correctly interpreted the simile in his liieroz.

p. 546, ed. Ros.),
'

when alarmed by

the bird-catcher or the

hawk, are obliged

to forsake their natural abode,

and

fly else-

where

to save their lives.

The mountain doves

are contrasted

with those of the valleys, as wild with tame."

figure

In nion D?3 the

actually renio'n is

and the

fact are fused together.

fled
;

The words

late to the

men who have

whereas the gender of

made

to agree with that of

^^T"^.

The

cooing of doves was a mournful note

regarded by the ancients as a moan

(for proofs, see Gesen.

(Jtcojah),
;

on

Isa. xxxviii. 14)

for

which Ezekiel
or
to

uses the

still

stronger expression
11).

growl

(cf. Isa. lix.

hdmdh fremere, to howl The low moaning has reference

upon them, they
and
will
all

their iniquity, the

punishment of which they are enduring.

bursts

When

the judgment

(not

merely those who have escaped, but the whole nation) be overwhelipaed with terror, shame,
suffering.

The

words, "

all

knees flow with water" (for Jidlak in this sense, compare Joel
iv. 18),

are a hyperbolical expression used to denote the entire

loss of the strength of

the knees (here, ver. 17 and ch. xxi. 12),

like the heart meltinfr

and turning

to

water in Josh.

vii. 5.

With

this utter despair there are associated grief

and horror

at
at

the calamity that has fallen upon them, and

shame and pain

the thought of the sins that have plunged

distress.
]\Iic.

them

into

such

For
10.

T\xh^ nntpa, compare Ps.

li.

Iv.

for

nir!i3 D-JD-^Ja-^x,

vii.
viii.

10, Jer.

51

and for

nn-i,?

'cKTba,

Isa. xv.

2,

Amos
Mic.

On

the custom of shaving the head bald on

account of great suffering or deep sorrow, see the comm. on

i.

16.

In

this state of

anguish they will throw

all their

treasures

away

as sinful trash (ver.

19

sqq.).

By

the silver

CHAP.

VII. 15-22.

107

and gold which they

will

throw away

(ver. 19),

we

are not to

understand idolatrous images

spoken of in ver. 20,

particularly,

these
They

are

first

but the treasures of precious metals

set

on which they had hitherto

their hearts.

will

not

merely throw these away as worthless, but look upon them as

nidddh,
filth,

the servants of their evil lust.

i!;old

an object of disgust, inasmuch as they have been The next clause, " silver and
i.

cannot rescue them," are a reminiscence from Zeph.

gives greater force to the thought

18.

But Ezekiel
" they

will not

appease their hunger therewith,"

by

addinir,
is

that

to

say, they will not be able to protect their lives thereby, either

from the sword of the enemy

(see the

comm. on Zeph.

i.

18) or

from death by
to

starvation, because there will be

city.

no more food
'iJl

purchase within the besieged

The

clause

-'ii/bo

''3

assigns the reason for that which forms the leadinr' thouo-ht of

the verse, namely, the throwing

filth;
Djij;
-'it^'DO,

away

of the silver

and gold as

a stumbling-block through which one falls into

;

guilt

and punishment

V'lJ? ''3^,

the beauty of his ornament,

is

i.e.

his beautiful

ornament.

The

allusion

to the silver

and gold;

and the singular

suffix is to

be explained from the fact that the

prophet fixed his mind upon the people as a whole, and used
the singular in a general and indefinite sense.
written absolutely at the

The words
true

are

commencement
I

of the sentence; hence

the suffix attached to

^n)D*^'.

Jerome has given the

mean-

ing of the words

possessors

"what

(God) gave for an ornament of the

and for

their wealth, they turned into pride."

And
in Isa.

not merely to ostentatious show (in the

iii.

manner depicted
i.e.

16

sqq.),

but to abominable images,

idols,

did they

apply the costly gifts of

to

God

(cf.
;

Hos.

viii.

4, xiii. 2).

n nby^

make

of (gold

and

silver)

3 denoting the material with

is

which one works and of which anything

xxxi. 4, xxxviii. 8).

made

(as in

Ex.
it

God

punishes this abuse by making

i.e.,

(gold and silver) into nidddh to them,

according to ver. 19,

it

by placing them in such circumstances that they cast

as filth,

away

and

(ver. 21)

by giving

it

as booty to the foe.

The

108

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

is

enemy
0),
i.e.

described as " the wicked of the earth " (cf Ps. Ixxv.
.

godless men,

who

not only seize upon the possession of

all

Israel,
is

but

in the

most wicked manner lay hands upon

it.

that

holy,

and

defile

The

Chetib
it

^^-'^n

is

to

be retained, not-

witlistanding the fact that

suffix.

was preceded by a masculine

from the

What
i.e.

is

threatened will take place, because the Lord

(Di!!^,

will

turn

away His face from His people

will

Israelites),

withdraw His gracious protection from

defile

them, so that the enemy will be able to

Tsdphun, that which
is

His treasure.
(Job xx. 26
;

hidden, the treasure

is

Obad.

ver. 6).

Ts'phunl

generally supposed to refer to the

in the temple.
:

temple, or the
it

Most Holy Place

Jerome renders
"signifying the

arcanum menm, and gives

of Holies,

this explanation

Holy

which no one except the

priests

and the high

priest dared to enter."

This interpretation was so commonly

adopted by the Fathers, that even Theodoret explains the rendering given in the Septuagint,
in
cf

rrjv iiriaKOTn'-jv fiov^ as signify-

the Most Holy Place

in the temple.

On

the other hand,

the Chaldee has

^nr^C' n'2 N*ynx,

" the land of the house of

it

my
it

majesty;" and Calvin understands

as signifying

"the land

which was safe under His

difficult to reconcile either

{i.e.

God's) protection."

But

is

explanation with the use of the word

signifies to hide, shelter, lay

tsdphun.
safety.
in the

The verb tsdphan

up

in

These meanings do not befit either the Holy of Holies

temple or the land of Israel.
It
is

true that the Holy of

Holies was unapproachable by the laity, and even by the ordi-

nary
less

priests,

but

it

was not a

secret, a

hidden place

and

still

was

this the case with the

land of Canaan.
is

AVe therefore

adhere to the meaning, which

so

thoroughly sustained by
" treasure," by which,
intended.

Job

XX. 26

and Obad.

ver. 6,

namely,
is

no doubt, the temple-treasure

and

primarily

This

rendering suits the context, as only treasures have been referred

to

before

it

may be made
t^is

to

harmonize with

nn 1X3 which follows.

locum, but also venire in

signifies

not merely intrare in

vi.

{e.g.

2 Kings

23

possibly Ezek.


CHAP.
XXX. 4), and
VII. 23-27.

109

may

therefore be very properly rendered, " to get

it is

possession of," since

only possible to obtain possession of a

into the place

treasure

by penetrating
There
is

where

it

is

laid

up or

concealed.
Tpjij

nothing at variance with this in the word

it

pi'ofanare, since

has already occurred in ver. 21 in con-

nection with the defiling of treasures and jewels.

as Calvin has correctly observed, the

Moreover,
to

word

is

employed here

denote " an indiscriminate abuse, when, instead of considering

to

what purpose things have been entrusted

selection, in

to us,

we squander

them rashly and without

scorn."

contempt and even in

Vers. 23-27. Fourth strophe.

Still

worse

is

coming, namely,

the captivity of the people, and overthrow of the kingdom.

Ver. 23. Make the chain, for the land

is

full of capital crime,

and

the city full

of outrage.

Ver. 24.

/ sliall

hinng evil ones of

;

the nations, that they

may

take possession, of their houses

and

shall

put an end
be defiled.
there
is

to the

pride of the strong, that their sanctuaries

;

may
but

Ver. 25. Ruin has come

none.

they seek salvation,

Ver.

26.

Destruction
ariseth
;

upon destruction

cometh,

and report upon report

they seek visions

prophets,

but the law will vanish

away from
and
the

the priest,

from and

counsel from the elders.

Ver. 27. The king will ynourn, and the

liorror,

prince

loill clothe

himself in

hands of the common

people will tremble.

will deal loith them according to their

way, and according

to their judgments will

may
and
to

learn that

I am

Jehovah,

Those who
is

[judge them, that they

have escaped death

by sword or famine
exile awaiting

at the

conquest of Jerusalem have captivity

them.
i.e.

This

the meaninii of the

command
is

make

the chain,

the fetters needed to lead the people into

is

exile.

This punishment

necessary, because the land

blood.

full

of mishpat ddmim,

judgment of

This cannot mean,

i.e.

there

is

a judgment upon the shedding of blood,

is

upon

murder, which
poses.

conducted by Jehovah, as Havernick supis

Such a thought

irreconcilable with ^^"'^f

and with

the parallel Dn n^i^o.

D''OT DSi^'p is to

be explained after the

no
same manner

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

as nv3
tas'ki'p

(a matter for sentence of

cleatli,

capital crime) in

Deut.

xix.

6, 21, 22, as signifying a matter

i.e.

for sentence of bloodshed,

a crime of

blood,
it.

or capital

crime, as the Chaldee has already rendered

Because the

land

is filled

with capital crime, and the city (Jerusalem) with

violence, the
i.e.

Lord

will

bring

D^iJ ^jn, evil

ones of the heathen,

the worst of the heathen, to put an end to the pride of the

D''iy lixa

Israelites.

is

not " pride of the insolents

''^V

" for QTJ

does not stand for

pression
is

Q''33

(Deut.

xxviii.

50, etc.).

The

ex-

rather to be explained from

TV lixa,

pride of strength,

in ch. xxiv.

21, xxx. 6, 18 (cf. Lev. xxvi. 19),

and embraces

everything on which a
rests his confidence.

man (or a nation) bases his power and The Israelites are called Q"'iy, because they
accordino- to ch. xxiv. 21, based

thonnht themselves
their strength

stronij, or,

land.

upon the possession of the temple and the holy This is indicated by 0^'?^''-? ^''"1 ^^'^'i^'^ follows, ^m,
DH'^C'lpp,

Niphal of ^^n and

not a participle Plel, from ^pj^,

ti'^iPP

with the Dagesh dropped, but an unusual form, from

Qi;}'??^!?'?

{vid. Evv.

215a).

The
In

for

u-k.

Xey. niSi?, with the tone

drawn back on account of the

Ges.

tone-syllable

which follows

(cf.

29. 3. 6), signifies excidium, destruction (according to

1?i^, to

the Rabbins), from

shrink or
ver.

roll

up

(Isa. xxxviii. 12).

S3
is

is

a prophetic perfect.

25 the ruin of the kingdom

Stroke upon stroke does the

declared to be certain, and in vers. 26 and 27 the occurrence

it is

of

more minutely depicted.

it is

ruin come; and

intensified

by

reports, alarming accounts,

terror,

which crowd together and increase the

and

also

by the

desperation of the spiritual and temporal leaders of the nation,

the

prophets, priests, and elders,

whom

God
into

deprives of

revelation, knowledge,

and counsel;

so that all

ranks (king

and princes and the common people) sink

alarm, and horror.

mourning,

That

it

is

to

no purpose that visions or

is

prophecies are sought from the prophets (ver. 26),

evident

from the
elders

antithetical

statement concerning the priests

and

which immediately follows.

The

three statements serve

CHAP. VIII.-XI.

Ill
seek for predictions
vision,

as

complements of one another.

They

from prophets, but the prophets receive no

no revelation.
is

They

seek instrnction from priests, but instruction

the priests
;

with-

drawn from
tion out

and so forth.

7ora/i signifies instruc-

of the law, which the priests were to give to the

ii.

people (Mai.

7).

In ver. 27, the three

classes into

which
{i.e.

the people were divided are mentioned

viz. king, prince

tribe-princes and heads of families), and, in contradistinction to

both, nt^n Dy, the

distinction

common

people, the people of the land, in

from the
literally
:

civil rulers, as in

2 Kings xxi. 24,

xxiii.

30.

^3"!'^'?,

from their way, their mode of

action, will

I do to them

i.e.

my

action will be derived from theirs,

cnii^ for DriN, as in ch.
iii.

and
(See

regulated accordingly,
the

22, etc.

comm. on

ch. xvi. 59.)

CHAP.

VIII.-XI. VISION

OF THE DESTRUCTION OF

JERUSALEM.

A year and
Chebar.

two months after

his call, the glory of the

it

Lord

appeared to the prophet a second time, as he had seen

by the

He

is

transported in spirit to Jerusalem into the

viii.

court of the temple (ch.

1-4), where the

viii.

Lord causes him

all

to see, first the idolatry of Israel (ch.

5-18), and secondly,

the inhabiis

the judgment why, on account of this idolatry,

tants of Jerusalem are smitten (chap, ix.), the city

burned
Lastly,

with

fire,

and the sanctuary forsaken by God

(ch. x.).

after he has been charged to foretell to the representatives of

the people more especially the coming judgment, and to those

who

are sent into exile a future salvation (ch.

xi.

121), he

describes

before his

how the gracious presence of God forsakes the city own eyes (ch. xi. 22, 23). After this has taken
back in the vision to Chaldea once
there,
to

place, Ezekiel is carried

more

and

after the vision has

come

to

an end, he
xi.

announces
24, 25).

the exiles what he has seen and heard (ch.

112
Chap.
vili.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Abominations of the Idolatry of the House OF Israel. Vers. 1-4. Time and place of the divine revela-

1.

tion.

Ver.

And

it

came

to

pass in the sixth year, in the sixth

(month)^ on the fifth {day) of the month,

and
the

the elders

of Judaic

loere sitting

I teas sitting in my house, before me ; there fell upon me

Ver.
2.

hand of

the

Lord Jehovah
its loins

there.

And
of

1 saw, and
doionlike

behold a figure like the look of fire,

icards fire,

from

the look

its loins

and from

upioards like a look of brilliance,

3.

the sight of red-hot brass.

Ver.

of a hand, and took

me

by the locks

And he stretched out the form of my head, and wind carried

me
to

me

aioay between earth and heaven, and brought

Jerusalem

in visions of

God,

to the

entrance of the gate of the inner court,

which faces towards the north, ivhere the image of jealousy exciting
jealousy

had

its

stand.

Ver. 4. And, behold,

the glory

of

the

God

of Israel loas there, like the vision which

valley.

The

place where Ezekiel received

iii.

I have seen in the this new theophany

iv. 4, 6,

agrees with the statements in ch.

24 and
lie

that he

was

to

shut himself up

in his house,

and

390 days upon the

all,

left side,

and 40 days upon the right

^C'V, "

side

in

430 days.
this,

The

use of the word

I sat,"

is

not at variance with

as yy\ does not of necessity signify sitting as contrasted with lying, but

may

also be used in the

more general sense

of stay-

in ", or living, in the house.

Nor

is

the presence of the elders

iii.

of

Judah opposed

to the

command,

in ch.

24, to shut himself

up

in the house, as

that passage.

we have already observed in the notes on The new revelation is made to him in the preit is

sence of these elders, because

of the greatest importance to

;

them.
lias left

They

are to be witnesses of his ecstasy

and after

this

the prophet, are to hear from his lips the substance of

xi.

the divine revelation (ch.

25).

It is otherwise with the

time of the revelation.

ch.
viii.

If

we compare

the date given in

with those mentioned before, this

new

vision ap-

parently falls within the period required for carrying out the

symbolical actions of the previous vision.

(the fifth

Between
the
fifth

ch.

i.

1, 2

day of

the fourth month

in

year) and

CHAP.

VIII. 1-4.

113
in the sixth year)

cli. viii.

1 (the fifth day of the sixth

month
that
is

we have one year and two months,

59 days), 413 days
1-vii.

to say (reckoning

the year as a lunar year at 354 days, and the two months at
;

whereas the two events recorded in ch.

i.

27 require

at least

437 days, namely 7 days for ch.

for ch. iv.
5, 6.

iii.

15,

and 390 + 40 = 430 days

Consequently the

new theophany would

Ezekiel was to
lie

fall

within the 40 days, during which

side for

upon the right

Judah.

To

get rid

of this difficulty,

Hitzig conjectures that the

2)

fifth

year of

Jehoiachin (ch.

i.

was a leap year of 13 months or 385 days,

interval of

by which he obtains an
for the two months, 7 days (ch.
iii.

444 days

after adding

59

a period

sufficient not

only to include the

15) and 390

+ 40

days (ch.

iv. 5, 6),

but to leave

7 days for the time that elapsed between ch.

vii.

and

viii.

But however
leap year
to give
it
is

attractive this reckoning

may

appear, the assump-

tion that the fifth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin.

was a

purely conjectural

and there

is

nothing whatever

probability.

Consequently the only thing that could

be drawn from the chronological

lead us to adopt such a solution, would be the impossibility of

reconcilins; the conclusion to

data, as to the time of the

two theophanies, with the substance

If

of these divine revelations.

we assume

that Ezekiel carried

out the symbolical acts mentioned in ch.

entirety,

iv.

and

v. in all their

we can hardly imagine

that the vision described in the

chapters before us, by which he was transported in spirit to

Jerusalem, occurred within the period of forty days, during

which he was
his right side.

to typify the siege of

Jerusalem by lying upon

Nevertheless, Kliefoth has decided in favour

it,

of this view, and argues in support of

scribed in ch.
that
ch.
it

that the vision de-

viii. 1

sqq. took place in the prophet's

own

house,

is

identical in

substance with what

is

is

contained in
all

iii.

22-vii. 27,

and that there

no discrepancy, because

that occurred here was purely internal, and the propliet himself

was

to address the

words contained

in

ch. xi.

412 and

xi.

14-21 to the inhabitants of Jerusalem EZEK. I.

in his state of ecstasy.

114
Moreover, when

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

it

is

stated in ch. xi.

25 that Ezeklel related

it

to the exiles all that he

had seen

in the vision,

is

perfectly

open

to

us to assume that this took place at the same time as

his report to

them of the words

xii.

of

God

in ch. vi.

and
25

vii.,
it

and

those which follow in ch.

But, on the other hand,

xi.
is

may

be replied that the impression produced by ch.

not that

the prophet waited several weeks after his visionary transport to

Jerusalem before communicating

the vision.

to the elders

what he saw

in

And

even

if

the possibility of this cannot be dis-

puted,

we cannot imagine any

to the

reason

why
it

the vision should be

shown

prophet four weeks before

was

to be related to

the exiles.

Again, there

is

not sufficient identity between the

viii.-xi.

substance of the vision in ch.

ch. iv.-vii., to suggest
is

and the revelation

to coincide.

in

any motive for the two

It

true that the burning of Jerusalem,

is

which Ezekiel

sees in

ch. viii.-xi.,
city,

consequent upon the siege and conquest of that

in ch. iv.-vii.

which he has already predicted

and word;

both in
it

figure

but they are not so closely connected, that

this

was necessary on account of

to

connection for

it

to

be shown

him before the completion of the symbolical

siege of Jeru-

salem.
process

And,
is

lastly,

although the ecstasy as a purely internal

so far reconcilable with the prophet's lying

upon

his

right side, that this posture did not preclude a state of ecstasy or

render

it

impossible, yet this collision

would ensue, that

while the prophet was engaged in carrying out the former word
of

God, a new theophany would be received by him, which

his

must necessarily abstract

previous

mind from the execution

of the

command

of

God, and place him

in a condition in

which

it

would be impossible for him

to set his face firmly

upon
in
to

the siege of Jerusalem, as he had been

ch. iv. 7.

On

account of this
it

collision,

commanded to do we cannot subscribe

the assumption, that

was during the time that Ezekiel was

his right side to bear the
spirit to

lying bound by

God upon

sin of

Jerusalem, that he was transported in

Jerusalem.

the temple at
transport

On

the contrary,

the fact that this

CHAP.
occurred, according to ch.

VIII. 1-4.

115
time

viii. 1,

at a

when he could not

if

have ended the symbohcal

required to carry them out in

acts
all

of ch.

iv.,

he had been

their external reality, furnishes

us with conclusive evidence of the correctness of the view

we
v.

have already expressed, that the symbolical

did not
lie

acts of ch. iv.

and

within the sphere of outward reality (see coram.

on ch.

v. 4).

And
lil.

If

Ezekiel did not really

lie

for

430 days,

there was nothing to hinder his having a fresh vision 14 months

after the
'''

theophany In ch.

I.

and
3.

ch.

ill.

22 sqq.

For vy hbn
described in

t:,

see at ch.
figure

22 and

i.

The
ch.
i.

which Ezekiel

sees in the vision

Is

ver. 2 In precisely the

same terms
of the

as the appearance of

God

in

27.

The sameness

two passages

Is

a sufficient

defence of the reading

tJ'XTiX'ioa against the arbitrary

emenda-

tion ^'^^ '^3, after the Sept. rendering o/xoiafxa dvSp6<;, In sup-

port of which

Ewald and Hitzig appeal

to ch.
is

I.

26, though
tJ'''^5,

without any reason, as the reading there

D^N*.

not

but

It

Is

not expressly stated here that the apparition was

In

human form
Is

the

fiery

appearance

Is all

that

Is

mentioned

but this

taken for granted In the allusion to the Q^^no (the

loins), either as self-evident, or as well

is

known from

ch.

i.

inf

synonymous with
Is

nJJ In ch.

i.

4, 27.

What

is

new

in the

present theophany

the stretching out of the hand, which

grasps the prophet by the front hair of his head, whereupon he

is

carried

by wind between heaven and

earth,

i.e.

through the

air, to

Jerusalem, not In the body, but in visions of

1), that
Is

God

(cf.

ch.

i.

to say, In spiritual ecstasy,

and deposited

at

the entrance of the Inner northern door of the temple.

is

JTip^jan

not an adjective belonging to "^W, for this

Is

is

not a feminine
xHii. 5
i.e.

noun, but
JT'O'^psn
:

used as a substantive, as In ch.

40)
:

(="1^9:1

cf. ch. xl.

gate of the inner court,

the gate

on the north side of the Inner court which led Into the outer
court.

We
;

are not Informed whether Ezekiel was placed on

i.e.

the Inner or outer side of this gate,

court

in the inner or outer

but

It is

evident from ver. 5 that he w'as placed in the

116

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

inner court, as his position

commanded a view
the standing

of the image
tlie

which stood

at the entrance of the gate

towards

north.

The

further statement,

" where

place of

the

image of jealousy was,"

out the reason
expression

anticipates

what

follows,

and points

why

the prophet was placed just there.

of jealousy"
is

The
which

"image

explained by

npipisrij

excites the jealousy of

Jehovah

(see the

comm. on Ex.
Deut. xxxii. 21)

xx. 5).

Consequently,

we have

not to think of any image of Jehovali,

(cf.
;

but of an image of a heathen idol

pro-

bably of Baal or Asherah, whose image had already been

placed in the temple by Manasseh (2 Kings xxi. 7)
:

certainly

not the image of the corpse of Adonis moulded in

wax

or clay.

This opinion, which Hiivernick advances,

erroneous assumption that
all

is

connected with the

the idolatrous abominations

men-

tioned in this chapter relate to the celebration of an Adonisfestival in

the temple.

There

(ver. 4) in the court of the

temple Ezekiel saw once more the glory of the

as he
i.e.

God

of Israel,

had seen

it

in the valley (ch.

iii.

22) by the Chaboras,

the appearance of
;

God upon

the throne with the cherubim

and wheels

whereas the divine figure, whose hand grasped

him

in his house,

and transported him

to the temple (ver. 2),

showed neither throne nor cherubim.

of Israel," instead of

The
iii.

expression "
is

God

Jehovah

(ch.

23),

chosen as an

antithesis to the strange god, the heathen idol,

whose image

stood in the temple.

tolerate the

As

the

God

of Israel,

Jehovah cannot
in

image and worship of another god

His temple.

To

set

up such an image in the temple of Jehovah was a praccovenant God.

tical

renunciation of the covenant, a rejection of Jehovah on

its

the part of Israel as

Here, in the temple, Jehovah shows to the prophet the

various kinds of idolatry which Israel
is

practising both publicly

and

privately, not

merely in the temple, but throughout the

arranfjement
of

whole land.

The

these

different

forms of

idolatry in four groups or abomination scenes (vers. 5, 6, 7-12,

13-15, and 16-18), which the prophet sees both in and from

CHAP.

VIII. 5,

6.

117

the court of the temple, belong to the visionary drapery of this

divine revelation.
It is altogether erroneous to interpret the

vision as signifying that all these forms of idolatry

tised in the temple itself;

were prac-

an assumption which cannot be

carried out without

doing violence to the description, more

Still

especially of the second abomination in vers. 7-12.

more

untenable
trous

is

Havernick's view, that the four pictures of idola-

practices

shown

to the

prophet are only intended to

represent different scenes of a festival of Adonis held in the

temple.

The

selection of the courts of the temple for depicting

the idolatrous worship, arises from the fact that the temple was the place where Israel was called to worship the

Lord

its

God.

Consequently the apostasy of Israel from the Lord could not be depicted more clearly and strikingly than by the following
series of pictures of

idolatrous abominations practised in the

temple under the eyes of God.

Vers. 5 and
said to me,
north.
to the
6.

First abomination-picture.
lift

Ver.

5.

And He

Son of man,

up

thine eyes

noio foivards the

And I lifted up my
Ver.
6.

eyes toivards the north, and, behold,

north of the gate of the altar was this image of jealousy at

the entrance.

And He

said to me, Son of man, seest

thou lohat they do ? great abominations, lohich the house of Israel

doeth here, that

I may go far away from

my sanctuary ;
still.

and thou

shall yet again see greater abominations

As

Ezekiel had

taken his stand in the inner court at the entrance of the north
gate,

and when looking thence towards the north saw the imao-e

of jealousy to the north of the altar gate, the image must have
stood on the outer side of the entrance, so that the prophet
it

saw

as

he looked through the open doorway.

The

altar gate is

the same as the northern gate of the inner court mentioned in

ver. 3.

But

it is

impossible to state with certainty

altar gate.

how

it

came

to

be called the

Possibly from the circumstance

that the sacrificial animals were taken through this gate to the
altar, to

be slaughtered on the northern side of the

i.

altar,

accord-

ing to Lev.

4, v. 11, etc.

Dno^ contracted from

Q^"'"'^, like

118

THE PKOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

iv. 2.

n^O from ^l no in Ex.

The words "what

describe

they are doing

here " do not force us to assume that at that very time they were

worshipping the idoh

practised there.

They simply
setting

what was generally

The

up of the image involved the wor-

ship of

it.

Jehovah.

The subject to "'i^i^^c' is not the house of Israel, but They perform great abominations, so that Jehovah is
i.e.

compelled to go to a distance from His sanctuary,

it (cf.

to forsake

ch. xi. 23), because they

make
:

it

an idol-temple.
of beasts.

Vers. 7-12. Second abomination

7.

Worship
Ver.
:

Ver.

Aiid

He

brougJit

me

to the

entrance of the court, and

8.

and behold
to

there

was a

hole in the loall.

I saw, And He said

through
said to

me, Son of man, break through the wall

and
9.

the ivall,
one.

and behold

there toas

a door.

Ver.

I broke And He

Come and

see the

ivicked abominations xohich they are doing

here.

Ver. 10.

And I came and

reptiles,

saw, and behold there tvere all

kinds offigures of

and

beasts, abominations,
ivall

and

all kinds

of

idols

of the house of Israel, drawn on the

round about.

Ver. 11.

And

seventy

men of

the elders

of the house of Israel,

with Jaazanicdi the son of Shaphan standing

in front, every

among
;

them, stood
the smell

man

with his censer in his hand

and

of

a cloud of incense arose. Ver. 12. thou, son of man, lohat the elders of
doth not see us

And He
the house

said

to

me, Seest

of Israel do in the
they say
:

dark, every one in his image-chambers ?

;

For

JeJiovah

Jehovah hath forsaken the land.

The entrance

of the court to which Ezekiel was

now

transported cannot be

the

principal entrance

to

the outer court towards the east

at variance

(Ewald).

This would be

with the context, as we

not only find the prophet at the northern entrance in vers. 3

and

5,

but

at ver.

14 we find him there

still.

If he had been

taken to the eastern gate in the meantime, this would certainly

have been mentioned.

As

that

is

not the case, the reference

must be

to that entrance to the court

which lay between the

3)

entrance-gate of the inner court

(ver.

and the northern

entrance-gate to the house of Jehovah (ver. 14), or northern

gate of the outer court, in other words, the northern entrance

CHAP.
into the outer court.

VIII. 7-12.

119

Thus
its

the prophet was conducted out of

the inner court through

northern gate into the outer court,

and placed
open
ah'.

in front of the northern gate,

which led out into the

There he saw a hole

he saw

in the wall,

and on breaking

through the wall, by the

command
all

of

God, he saw a door, and

which seventy of

having entered

it,

kinds of figures of animals enin front of

graved on the wall round about,

the elders of Israel were standing and paying reverence to the

imao;es of beasts with burnino; incense.

Accordino; to ver. 12,

elders of Israel did in

the prophet was thereby

shown what the

the dark, every one in his image-chamber.

tion

From

this

explana-

on the part of
it

God concerning
it

the picture shown to the

to

prophet,

is

very evident that

had no reference
elders in one or

any

idolatrous worship practised

cells of

by the

more

of the

the outer court of the temple.

For even though the

namely, that
it

objection raised

by Kliefoth

to this view,

can-

not be proved that there were halls with recesses in the outer
court,
halls
is is

neither valid nor correct, since the existence of such

placed beyond the reach of doubt by Jer. xxxv. 4,

xxiii. 11,

2 Kings
is

and

1 Chron. xxviii. 12; such a supposition

decidedly precluded by the fact, that the cells and recesses at

the gates cannot have been large enough to allow of seventy-one

men
is

taking part in a festive idolatrous service.

The supposition
chambers

that the seventy-one

men were

distributed in different

at variance with the distinct

words of the

text.

The prophet

not only sees the seventy elders standing along with Jaazaniah,

but he could not look through one

door into a number of

all

chambers

at once,

and see the pictures drawn

round upon

their walls.
cell

The assembling

of the seventy elders in a secret

to

by the northern gate of the outer temple

worship the
cell,
is

idolatrous

images engraved on the walls of the

one

feature in the visionary form given to the revelation of what

the elders of the people were doing secretly throughout the

whole land.

To

bring out more strikingly the secrecy of this

is

idolatrous worship, the cell

so completely hidden in the wall,

120
that the prophet

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

is

obliged to enlarge the hole by breakiiif^

through the wall before he cau see the door which leads to the
cell

and gain a view of them and of the things

it

contains,

and

the things that are done therein.^

And

the

number

of the

persons assembled there suggests the idea of a symbolical representation, as well as the secrecy of the cell.

The

seventy elders

represent the whole nation

and the number

xxlv. 25,

is

taken

from

Ex. xxiv. Isqq. and

Num.
at the

xi. 16,

where Moses, by the

to represent the

command
wards
to

of

God, chooses seventy of the elders

whole congregation

making of the covenant, and

after-

support his authority.

This representation of the

congregation was not a permanent institution, as

we may

see

from the

fact that in

Num.

xi.

seventy other

men

are said to
council,

have been chosen for the purpose named.

consisting of seventy

The high

members, the

so-called

Sanhedrim, was

formed after the captivity on the

basis of these

Mosaic types.

In the midst of the seventy was Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan,

a different
ch. xi. 1.

man

therefore from
is

the Jaazaniali mentioned in

Shaphan

probably the person mentioned as a

xxii.

man

of distinction in 2

Kings

3 sqq.

Jer. xxix. 3, xxxvi. 10,

xxxix. 14.
is

It

is

impossible to decide on what ground Jaazaniah

;

specially

mentioned by name

but

it

can hardly be on

account of the meaning of the

as

name he

bore, "

Jehovah

hears,"

Havernick supposes.

It

is

probable that he held a prominent

is

among here by name

position

the elders of the nation, so that he

as the leader of
this national

mentioned

representation.

On the wall
all

of the

chamber round about there were drawn

^0")^ reptiles

kinds of figures of nnnni

i.

and quadrupeds

(see

Gen.
to

24).

Ti?^

is

in

apposition not only to nnna^ but also

is

b'^"?.,

and therefore,
i^^[}^

as belonging to both,

not to be conof

nected with
^

in the

construct state.

The drawing

" Because the whole is exhibited pictorially and figuratively, he says that he saw one hole in a wall, and was directed to dig through and make it larger, that he miglit enter as if through an open door, and see the things which he could not posaiby have seen while stationed outside."
jEROilE.

 "
1^1

CHAP.

VIII. 13-15.

reptiles

and quadrupeds became a

sheqetz, or abomination,

from

the fact that the pictures had been drawn for the purpose of
religious worship.

The
is

following clause, " and

co-ordinate with
walls, there
'l^l

all

the idols of

the house of Israel,"

the animals
in the

n''32n"?3.

Besides

drawn on the

were

idols of other

kinds

chamber.

The drawing of
words
to this,

reptiles

and quadrupeds

naturally suggests the thought of the animal-worship of Egypt.

We

must not
is

limit the

however, since the worship

of animals
nations,

met with

in the nature-worship of other

IT'Jnn"?!!,

heathen

and the expression

"

all

kinds of figures," as

well as the clause, "all kinds of idols of the house of Israel,"

points to every possible
in Israel,
"iny^

form of idol-worship

as spread abroad

according to the

Aramaean
i.e.

usage, signifies
in secret,
like

suffimentum, perfume, ^?'n3, in the dark,

"inD3 in

2 Sam.

xii.

12

not in the

sacred darkness of the

cloud of incense (Havernick).

the term applied to the

H'^zb'O "'nin,

image-chambers,
in the

is

rooms or

closets

dwelling-

houses of the people in which idolatrous images were set up and

secretly worshipped.
IT'Sb'O signifies

idolatrous figures, as in
justified
;

Lev. xxvi. 1 and

Num.
:

xxxiii. 52.

This idolatry was

by the elders, under the delusion that " Jehovah seeth us not
that
is

to say, not

"

He

does not trouble Himself about us,"

but

He

does not see what

we

do, because

He

is

not omniscient

(cf. Isa. xxix.

15)

and

He

has forsaken the land, withdrawn

His presence and His help.

science

Thus they deny both the omni(cf. ch. ix. 9).

:

and omnipresence of God

Vers. 13-15. Third abomination

Worship of Thammuz.

Ver. 13.

And He

said to me,

Thou

shall yet again see still greater

abominations lohich they do.

Ver. 14.

And He brought me to
is

the

entrance of the gate of the house of Jehovah, xohich

north,

toioards the

and behold

there sat the

women, loeeping for Thammuz.

it,

Ver. 15.

And He
is

said to me, Dost thou see

still

son of

man

TIiou shall yet again see

greater abominations than these.

The prophet

taken from the entrance into the court to the

entrance of the gate of the temple, to see the

women

sitting

122
there weeping
generically.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

for

Tliammuz.

The
of

article

in

D''*^'3n

is

used

Whilst the

men

the nation, represented by

the seventy elders, were secretly carrying on their idolatrous

worship, the

women were

sitting at the

temple gate, and indulg-

ing in public lamentation for

for

Thammuz.

Under
worship

the weeping
the

Thammuz, Jerome

(with Melito of Sardis and

all

Greek

Fathers)
"
T=isrij

has correctly recognised the

of

Adonis.

QafjLfiov^ or a/ji/jLov^,^' says

is

Jerome, "

whom we have
this lover

interpreted as Adonis,

called

Tliamuz both in Hebrew and

heathen legend,
said to

Syriac
of

and because, according

to the
is

Venus and most

month
of

beautiful youth

have been

slain in

June and then restored to life again, they call this mouth of June by the same name, and keep an annual festival in his honour, at which he is lamented by women as
the

though he were dead, and then afterwards celebrated

as

in songs

having come

to life again."

This view has not been shaken

in his Ssaahins (II.

even by the objections raised by Chwolson

27. 202 sqq.), his relics of early Babylonian literature (p. 101),

and

his

Tammuz and human-worship among

For the

the ancient

Babythe

Thammuz, mentioned in Nabataean writings as a man who was put to death by king of Babylon, whom he had commanded to introduce
lonians.

myth

of

the the

worship of the seven planets and the twelve signs of the zodiac,

and who was exalted

with a mourning

to a

god

after his death,

and honoured

festival, is

nothing more than a refined inter-

pretation of the very ancient nature-worship which spread over

the whole of Hither Asia, and in which the power of the sun

over the vegetation of the year was celebrated.

of the

The etymology

word Tammuz
from
TTO

is

doubtful.
so that
it

It

is

probably a contraction

of

titpri,

= DDD,

denotes the decay of the force

of nature, and corresponds to the

(see Ilavernick in loc).

Greek a^aviaixo^

^ABoovtBo'i

Vers. 16-18. Fourth abomination

the priests.

Worship of the sun by

into the inner court

Ver. 16. And He took me

of ihe

house of Jehovah, and behold, at the entrance into ihe temple of

CHAP.
JehovaJi, between the porch

VIII. 16-18.

123
were five and

and

the

altar, as it

twenty men, with their backs toioards the temple of Jehovah and
their faces

toioards
east.
?

the east;

they were icorshipping the

sun
this,

towards the
son of

Ver. 17.
it too. little

And He

said to me, Seest thou

to

man

Is

for the house of Judah

perform

the abominations ivhich they are

fill

performing here, that they also

to

the
?

land

loith violence,

and provohe me

anger again and

again

For behold

they stretch out the vine-branch to their nose.

loill

Ver. 18. But 1 also

passionately,
voice in

act in

fury ;
;

my

eye shall not look com-

and I luill not spare

and if

they cry loiih a loud

my

ears,

I loill

not hear them.

After

Ezekiel has seen

the idolatrous abominations in the outer court, or place for

the people, he

is

taken back into the inner court, or court of

stilt

the priests, to see

greater abominations there.

Between

the porch of the temple and the altar of burnt-offering, the

most sacred spot therefore

in the inner court,

ii.

which the
if

priests

alone were permitted to tread (Joel

five

17), he sees as

twenty-

men, with their backs toward the temple, were worshipping

3 before ^'''pV
is

the sun in the east.

not a preposition, circa,

:

about, but a particle of comparison (an appearance)

as if

twenty-five
{vid.

men

after the analogy of 3 before

an accusative

Ewald,

282e).

For the number here

is

is

not an approxi-

mative one; but twenty-five

the exact number, namely, the

twenty-four leaders of the classes of priests (1 Chron. xxiv.

5 sqq.
;

2 Chron. xxxvi. 14

Ezra

x. 5),

wuth the high priest at

the head (see Lightfoot's Chronol. of 0. T.,

0pp.

I.
is

124).

As

the whole nation was seen in the seventy elders, so

the entire

priesthood represented here in the twenty-five leaders as deeply

sunk

in disgraceful idolatry.

Their apostasy from the Lord

is

shown

in the fact that they turn their back upon the temple, in the temple,

and therefore upon Jehovah, who was enthroned

and worship the sun, with

their faces turned towards the east.

The worship
as

of the sun does not refer to the worship of Adonis,

Havernick supposes, although Adonis was a sun-god; but

generally to the worship of the heavenly bodies, against which

; :

124

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

19, xvii. 3),

Moses had warned the people (Deut. iv. found its way in the time of Manasseh
temple, whence
xxiii. 5, 11).
it

and which

into the courts of the

was afterwards expelled by Josiah (2 Kings

Dri"'wnc'p
it

The form
is

must be a
is

copyist's error for

DMnriK'b

as the supposition that

an unusual form, with a

it

play upon IT'nC'n/

precluded by the fact that

perf.,

would in that
is

case be a 2d per. plur.

and such a construction

ren-

dered impossible by the nan which immediately precedes

it (cf.

Ewald,

118a).

To
This

these idolatrous abominations

Judah has

added other

sins, as if these
is

abominations were not bad enough

in themselves.
'131

the meaning of the question in ver. 17,

for the house of Judah, etc.
?
p\^^

^ipan

is it

too

little

with

i,

as in Isa. xlix. 6.

To

indicate the fulness of the measure of

guilt, reference is

again briefly
all

made

to the

moral corruption

of Judah.
niajjiPj

Dr:ri

embraces

the injuries inflicted upon

i.e.

men

impiety towards God,

idolatry.
(311^',

By

violent deeds

they provoke
finitive,

God

repeatedly to anger

followed by an in-

expresses the repetition of an action).

('li1

The

last

clause

of ver. 17
tion,

D^npy Q^ni)

is

very obscure.

The

usual explana-

which has been adopted by J. D. Michaelis and Gesenius

^'they hold the twig to their nose," namely, the sacred twig

Barsom, which the Parsees held

{vid.

in their

hands when praying

;

Hyde, de

rellg. vet.

Pars. p. 350, ed. 2

and Kleuker,
nor the

Zend-Avesta, III. p. 204),

words.

suits neither the context

According

to the position of the clause in the context,

we do not
of

expect an allusion to a

new

idolatrous rite, but

an

explanation of the

way

in

which Judah had excited the wrath

Moreover,
"T^i^T is
is

God by
to

its

violent deeds.

not a suitable

word

apply to the Barsom,

;

Z'mOrdh
Isa.
xvii.

a shoot or tendril
;

of the vine (cf. ch. xv. 2

10

Num.

xiii.

23).

The Barsom, on
of the tree

the other hand, consisted of bunches of twigs

of the pomegranate,

Gez or Horn, or of branches

I.e.,

the tamarisk, or the date (cf. Kleuker

1

and Strabo,

XV.

733),

"

An

extraordinary form, invented for the purpose of more effectually

expressing their extraordinary abomination."

Lightfoot.


CHAP.
IX. 1-3.

125

and was not held

as a magical

to the nose,

but kept in front of the mouth

mode

of driving

demons away
to

{vid.

Hyde,

I.e.).

Lastly, ^^ ^c^ does not

mean

hold anything, but to stretch

out towards, to prepare to strike, to use violence.

Of

the

other explanations given, only two deserve any consideration,

namely,
'

first,

the supposition that

it is

a proverbial expression,

to apply the twig to anger," in the sense of

adding fuel

to the

fire,

which Doederlein (ad Grotii adnott.) applies

it

in this

way,

" by these things they supply food, as

were, to

my

wrath,
fire

which burns against themselves,"

of

i.e.

they bring fuel to the

my

wrath.

Liglitfoot gives a similar explanation

6.

in his

Hor. lielr. ad John xv. " they apply the sickle to

The second
i.e.

is

that of Hitzig:
to injure

their nose,"

by seeking

me, they injure themselves.

in the
rriiOT.

In

this case nniOT

must be taken

sense of

"I'J^l'?,

a sickle or pruning-knife, and pointed

The

saying does appear to be a proverbial one, but the

satisfac-

origin

and meaning of the proverb have not yet been

torily explained.

Ver. 18. Therefore

will the

Lord punish

unsparingly

(cf. ch. vii. 4, 9, v. 11).

This judgment he shows

to the prophet in the

two following

cliapters.

Chap.

ix.

The Angels which

At
the
call of

smite Jerusalem.

Vers. 1-3.

Jehovah, His servants appear to

1.

execute the judgment.

Ver.

And He

called in

my

ears loith
city,

a loud

voice, saying,

Come

lather,

ye icatchmen of the

and

every one his instrument of destruction in his hand.

Ver. 2.

And
hand
and

behold six

men came ly

the icay

of the upper

gate, ivhich is

directed toward the north, every one with his smashing-tool in his
;

and a man

in the midst of them, clothed in ivhite linen,

icriting materials

by his hip
3.

and

they

came and stood near

the brazen altar.

Ver.

And
man

the glory oj the

it

God

of Israel

rose up from
the house,

the cherub,

upon

xohich

ivas, to the threshold

of

and

called to the

hip the writing materials were.

clothed in ivhite linen, by whose

^^''pn

nnp3 does not mean the

suit the con-

punishments of the

city.

This rendering does not

126
text, since
it

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

is

not the punishments that are introduced, but

;

the

men who

execute them

and
is

it

is

not established by the

usage of the language.

H'npsi

frequently used, no doubt, in

{e.g.

the sense of visitation or chastisement

ix.

Isa. x.

Ho?,

7)

but
it

it is

not met with in the plural in this sense.

In

the plural
torate, in

only occurs in the sense of supervision or protecit

which sense

occurs not only in Jer.

lii.

11 and

Ezek.

xliv. 11,

but also (in the singular) in Isa.

iii.

Ix. 17,

and as

early as
priests,
nni^Ei

Num.

38, where

it

relates to the presidency of the

and very frequently

in the Chronicles.

Consequently

are those

whom God
are

has appointed to watch over the

xi. 18),

city, the

city-guard (2 Kings

watchmen,

who

not earthly, but heavenly

now

to inflict

punishment upon the unI^IP^ is

godly, as the authorities appointed

tive Piel, as in Isa. xli. 21,

by God.

an impera^3"}i5

and must not be altered into

(Kal), as Hitzig proposes.

sense, festinanter

The

Piel

is

used in an intransitive
ch.

appropinquavit,

as in

xxxvi.

8.

The

persons called

come by the way

of the upper northern gate of

the temple, to take their stand before Jehovah, whose glory had

appeared in the inner court.

The upper

gate

is

the gate lead-

ing from the outer court to the inner, or upper court, which
stood on higher ground,

the gate mentioned in ch.

viii.

and
tools

5.

In the midst of the six men furnished with smashingthere

was one clothed

in white

byssus, with writing

as well as the

materials at his side.

instructions

The

dress

and equipment,

which he afterwards receives and executes, show

Kliefoth calls in
are angels
;

him

to

be the prince or leader of the others.

question the opinion that these seven

men
in

but
are

without any reason.

frequently called
hahitus.

Angels appearing
or
t^^'N,

human form
presupposes

D''K'JN

according to their external

neither
is

But

the

number seven

the

dogma

of the seven archangels, nor

copied from the seven

priest,

Parsic amscJiaspands.

The

dress

worn by the high

13,

when ment (Lev.

presenting the sin-offering on the great day of atonexvi. 4, 23),

was made of

i.e.

of white material

CHAP.

IX. 1-3.

127
xxviii. 42).

woven from byssus thread

It has

(see the

comm. on Ex.

been inferred from

this,

that the figure clothed in white

as the

linen

was the angel of Jehovah, who appears

priest, to protect

heavenly

high
this,

and care for

his

own.

In support of

the circumstance

may
x.

be also adduced, that the

man whom
as that of

Daniel saw above the water of the Tigris, and whose appearance
is

described, in
in

Dan.
i.

5, 6, in

the same

manner

Jehovah
Rev.
i.

Ezek.

4, 26, 27,

and that of the

D''^?

risen Christ in
x. 5, xii. 6, 7).^

13-15, appears clothed in

(Dan.

Nevertheless,

we cannot regard
is

this

view as established.

The
Ci''"n3j

shining white talar, which

evidently meant by the plural

{ut. sup.)j
is

occurring only here and in Daniel

peculiar to the angel of

not a dress

Jehovah or

to

Christ.

The seven

angels, with the vials of wrath, also appear in garments of

shining white linen (ivSeBu/xevoi \lvov KaOapov Xa/xirpov, Rev.

XV. 6)
;

and the shining white

colour, as a symbolical represen-

tation of divine holiness

and glory

(see

comm. on Lev.

xvi.

and Rev.

xix. 8), is the colour generally

spirits

chosen for the clothing

both of the heavenly

(Rev. xix. 8).
here
is

and of "just men made perfect"

Moveover, the angel with the writing materials

described in a totally different

i.

manner from the appearx.,

ance of Jehovah in Ezek.

and Dan.

or that of Christ in

Rev.

i.

and there

is

nothincr whatever to indicate a beino-

equal with God.

other six
in the

Again, the distinction between him and the

men

leads to no other conclusion, than that he stood

same

relation to

them

as the high priest to the Levites,

or the chancellor to the other ofBcials.

This position
i.e.

is

indi-

cated by the writing materials on his hips,

1

in the girdle

on

Qirja

^2^
It
is

is

rendered by the

LXX.,

in the passage before us,

hh^vKu;

^troHtpy.
i.

in accordance with this that Christ is described in Rev. 13 as clothed with a s-o3-/5g>5j, and not after Dan. x. 5, as Hengstenberg
lulilvy.ivo; jictt^lv or
is

supposes.

In Dan. x. 5, the Septuagint has In other places, the Sept. rendering of ^3

T

ra

fixloiv.
'

"kivov

(thus Lev. xvi. 4, 23,

vi.

Ex. xxviii. 42, etc.) and hence the "hivov Aa^s-p'y of Eev, xv. 6 answers to the 13 made of ti'^^', /Swcor, and is really the same as the
3
;

(ivaaivov 'hoe.^.Trpiv of

Rev. xix.

8.

l'^8

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

East are accustomed to carry

liis

hips, in wliicli scribes in the

their writing materials (vid, Rosenmiiller,

A.
In

u.

N. Morgenland,

IV.

p. 323).

He

is

provided with these for the execution of

this

the commission given to him in ver. 4.

way

the de-

scription can be very simply explained, without the slightest

necessity for our resorting to Babylonian representations of

the god Nebo,

i.e.

Mercury, as the scribe of heaven.

The

seven

men

take their station by the altar of burnt-offering,

because the glory of God, whose

to
receive,
;

had taken up

its

command^ they were about position there for the moment

(Kliefoth)

not because the apostate priesthood was stationed

there (Havernick).

The

glory of Jehovah, however, rose up

from the cherub

of this
is

to the threshold of the house.

it

The meaning

not that

removed from the

interior of the sanctuary

to the outer threshold of the temple-building (Havernick), for

it

was already

stationed, according to ch. viii. 16, above the

It

cherub, between the porch and the altar.

went back from

thence to the threshold of the temple-porch, through which one

entered the
leaving
its

Holy

Place, to give

its

orders there.

The

reason for
is

place above the cherubim (the singular

2^3

used
to

collectively) to

do

this,

was not that "

God would have had

turn round in order to address the seven from the throne, since,

according to ch.

viii.

4 and

16,

He

had gone from the north

cherubim moved in

gate of the outer court into the inner court, and His servants

had followed

Him "

(Hitzig)

for the

all

four directions, and therefore

God, even from the throne,

every
side.

could turn without difficulty to

throne, that

God

left

His

He

might issue His command for the judgment

upon

Israel

from the threshold of the temple, and show Him-

self to

be the judge who would forsake the throne which

Israel.

He
God

had assumed in

This

command He

issues

from the

temple court, because the temple was the place whence

attested Himself to

His people, both by mercy and judgment.

Vers. 4-7.
to

The

divine

command.

Ver.
city,

4.

And

Jehovah said

him)

Go

through the midst of the

through the midst of

CHAP.

IX. 4-7.

129
of the men who

Jerusalem^ and
sigh

mark a

cj^oss

upon

the foreheads

and groan over

Ver.
5.

all the
to

ahominations which take place in their

midst.

And

those he said in
smite.

my

ears

Go

through

the city behind hinij

sionately,

and

Let not your eye look compasVer.

6.

and do not

spare.

Old men, young men, and

to

maidens, and children, and women, slay

shall not touch

destruction
;

hut ye
at

any one

icho has the cross

upon him

and begin

my
fill

sanctuary.

And
7.

they began with the old men,

who were before

the house.

Ver.

And He

said to them, Defile the house,

and

the courts with slain; go ye out.

city.

smote in the

God

commands

the

And they went man provided

out,

and

witli the

writing materials to

persons in

mark on the forehead with a cross all the Jerusalem who mourn over the abominations of the

nation, in order that they

may

be spared in the time of the

judgment.

1J^,

the last letter of the

Hebrew
in the

alphabet, had the

form of a

cross in the earlier writing,

in njnn^ to

mark

a D,

is

therefore the same as to

make

mark

form of a

cross

although there was at

to enable the servants

first

no other purpose in
in inflicting the so

this sign

than

employed

judgment of

God
why

to

distinguish those

who were
Ver.
6.

marked, so that they

this

might do them no harm.

the in was to be

And

was the reason

marked upon the forehead, the most

;

visible portion of the

body

the early Christians, according to

itself as significant,

a statement in Origen, looked upon the sign

and saw therein a prophetic

the distinctive
cross of Christ

allusion to the sign of the cross as

mark
is

of Christians.

direct prophecy of the

certainly not to be found here, since the form

as a sign, and,

of the letter

Tdv was the one generally adopted

according to Job xxxi. 35, might supply the place of a signature.

is

Nevertheless, as Schmieder has correctly observed, there

this coincidence to the

something remarkable in

thoughtful

observer of the ways of God, whose counsel has carefully considered

all

beforehand, especially

when we bear
vii.

in

mind

that

in the counterpart to this passage (Eev.

3) the seal of the

living

God
T.

is

stamped upon the foreheads of the servants of

I

EZEK.

130
God, who are
to

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

be exempted from the judgment, and that
xiv. 1 they

according to Rev.

had the name of God written

at

upon

tlieir

foreheads.
this,

So much,

any

rate,

is

perfectly

obvious from

namely, that the sign was not arbitrarily

it

chosen, but was inwardly connected with the fact which

indicated
;

just as in the event

13, 22 sqq.)

upon which our

vision

is

based
the

(Ex.

xii.

the distinctive

mark

placed upon

houses of the Israelites in Egypt, in order that the destroying

angel might pass them by, namely, the smearing of the doorposts with the blood of the paschal

lamb that had been

and
its

slain,

was selected on account of

to

its

significance

corresponding

the thing signified.

The

execution of
it is

this
till

command
ver.

is

passed over as being self-evident; and

it

not

11 that
there

is

even indirectly referred

all,

to

again.

In
all

vers. 5, 6

follows, first of

the

command

given to the other six men.

They

are to go through the city, behind the

man

clothed in

white linen, and to smite without mercy

the inhabitants of

whatever age or
touch those
before Dinn

sex,

with this exception, that they are not to

who
is

are

marked with the

cross.

The

^V for

^i^

either a slip of the pen, or, as the continued

is

transmission of so striking an error

very improbable,
y,

is

to

be

accounted for from the change of N into

which

is

so

comform

mon

in

Aramaean.

The

Chetib ca^rj;

is

the unusual

grammatically considered, and

correct, has

the

singular,
^i']<]^

which
is

is

more

been substituted as KerL

followed by

JVn^'up^ to increase the force of the

sibility of

words and show the imposto

any life being saved.

They are
it

make
to

a commence-

ment

at the sanctuary, because

idols,

has been desecrated by the

worship of
the Lord.

and therefore has ceased

be the house of
is

To

this

command

the execution

immediately
before the

appended
house,

they began with the old they began to slay them.

viii.

men who were

2''Ji]^i'7

i.e.

^^^'^^7 are neither

the twenty-five priests (ch.

(ch.
viii.

16) nor the seventy elders

ri;3n
'jQp,

11).

The

latter

were not

but in a chamber
in front of the

by the outer temple gate; whereas

ri'3n

''327,

CHAP.

IX. 8-11.

131
This locality makes

temple house, points

it

to the inner court.

priests,

natural to think of
"tini^rsp
is

and consequently the

LXX.

rendered
a^Ji^T

by

airo rcov dyicov fiov.

But the

expression

D''^:x

an unsuitable one for the

to think of

priests.

We

have there-

fore

no doubt

men advanced

in years,

who had

come

into the court possibly to offer sacrifice,

liable to the

and thereby had

become

judgment.

In ver. 7 the command, which

was interrupted

in ver. 6b, is
i.e.

once more resumed.

They

are to

defile the house,

the temple, namely, by filling the courts

this
is

with

slain.

It is in

way

that

we

are to connect together,

.
.

so far as the sense

concerned, the two clauses, " defile

and
slain

fill."

This

is

required by the facts of the case.

For those

" before the house " could only have been slain in the

courts, as there

was no space between the temple house and the

courts in which

men

could have been found and

slain.

But

jT3n

^p2p

cannot be understood as signifying "in the neigh-

bourhood of the temple," as Kliefoth supposes, for the simple

reason that the progressive order of events would thereby be

completely destroyed.

The

angels

who were

standing before

the altar of burnt-offering could not begin their work by going

out of the court to smite the sinners

who happened

to

be in the

neighbourhood of the temple, and then returning to the court

to

do the same there, and then again going out into the city to

finish their

work

there.

They could only begin by

to

slaying the

sinners

who happened

be in the courts, and after having

defiled the

temple by their corpses, by going out into the city

to slay all the

ungodly there,

as

is

related in the second clause

of the verse (ver. 7b).

Vers. 8-11. Intercession of the prophet, and the answer of

the Lord.

Ver.

8.

And it

came

to

pass when they smote and

remained, Jehovah,
out

I fell vpon my face, and

Thou

cried,

and said: Alas! Lord

ivilt

destroy all the remnant of Israel, by pouring

Thy

ivrath iipon Jerusalem ?

the house
is

Ver.

9.

And He
is

said

to

me

The iniquity of
great,

of Israel and Judah

immeasurably
the city full

and

the

land

full of blood-guiltiness,

and

of

132
perversion

TDE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

for then say Jehovah hath forsaken the land, and
Ver. 10. So also shall

Jehovah
pify,

seeth not.
ivill

my

eye not look loith

and I

not spare;

Ver. 11. Aiid, behold, the

loriting materials

I ivill give man clothed

their loay

upon

their head.

in white linen,

who had
:

the

on his hip, brought ansioer, and said

have
in-

done as thou hast commanded me.

The Chetib

"IXK'SJ is

an

congruous form, composed of participle and imperfect fused

into one,

and

is

evidently a copyist's error.

It

is

not to be

altered into

"i??^)?,

however (the
""f'^t',

1st pers. imperf. Niph.),

but to

be read as a participle

and taken with

Drii3n3 as a con-

tinuation of the circumstantial clause.

For the words do not

mean
rest,

that Ezekiel alone was left, but that

left, i.e.

when

the angels

smote and he was

he
fell

was spared, was not smitten with the

on

his face, to entreat the

Lord

for mercy.

These

words and the prophet's intercession both apparently presup-

among the inhabitants of Jerusalem there was no one found who was marked with the sign of the cross, and therefore could be spared. But this is by no means to be regarded as
pose that
established.

For, in the

first

place,

it is

not stated that all had

been smitten by the angels; and, secondly, the intercession of

the prophet simply assumes that, in comparison with the multi-

tude of the

slain, the

number

of those

who were marked with

it

the sign of the cross and spared was so small that

escaped the
all

prophet's eye, and he was afraid that they might

be slain

without exception, and the whole of the remnant of the cove-

nant nation be destroyed.

the covenant nation in
its

The

rinsu' of Israel

and Judah
it

is

existing state,

when

had been

so

reduced by the previous judgments of God, that out of the whole

of what was once so

numerous a people, only a small portion

Although God has previously promised
be preserved (ch.
v. 3, 4),

remained
that a

in the land.
shall

remnant
this

He

does not

renew
but

promise to the prophet, but begins by holding up the

greatness of the iniquity of Israel, which admits of no sparing,

calls for the

most merciless punishment,

strict

to

show him

that,

according to the

demand

of justice, the whole nation has

CHAP.

X. 1-8.

133
not equivalent to
J^niD,

deserved destruction,
oppression
(Isa. Iviii.
is

na'p (ver. 9)

is

9), but signifies pei'version of justice;

is

although OQ^b

not mentioned, since this

ntan occurs in the

also omitted in

Ex.
vid.

xxiii. 2,

where

same

sense.

For

ver. 96,

ch. viii. 12.

For

'nnj 'i3 D3n"n (ver.

10 and
is

ch. xi. 21,

22, 31), vid. 1

tlie

Kings

viii.

32.

"While

God

conversing with
;

prophet, the seven angels have performed their work

and

in ver. 11 their leader returns to

Jehovah with the announce-

ment
in his

that

His orders have been executed.

He

does

this,
first

not
act

own name

only, but in that of all the rest.

is

The

of the

judgment

thus shown to the prophet in a figurative

act follows in the next chapter.

representation.

The second

Burning of Jerusalem, and Withdrawal of THE Glory of Jehovah from the Sanctuary. This
Chap.
X.

chapter divides

itself

into

two

sections.
is

In

vers.

1-8 the
fire.

prophet
vers.

is

shown how Jerusalem

is

to be

burned with

In

9-22 he

shown how Jehovah

will forsake
fire

His temple.

Vers. 1-8.

The

angel scatters coals of

over Jerusalem.

Ver.

1.

And I

saw, and behold upon the firmament^ which was

it

above the cherubimy

likeness

teas like sapphire-stone, to look at as the

of a throne ;

He

appeared above them.

Ver.
:

2.

And He
beticeen
loith

spake

to the

man

clothed in white linen,

and said

Come

the ivheels beloio the cherubim,

and

Jill thy holloio

hands

Jire-coals
city
:

from

between the chenthim, and scatter them over the

before

and he came

my

eyes.

Ver.

3.

And

the

cherubim

stood to the right of the house xohen the

filled the

man

came, and the cloud

inner court.

Ver. 4.

And

the glory

of Jehovah had

lifted itself

up from

the

cherubim

to the threshold

of

the house ;

and

the house

was filled
tlie

loith the cloud,

and
Ver.

the court teas full

5.

of
of

the splendour of
the

glory of Jehovah.

And

the noise

wings of the cherubim icas Jieard

to

the outer court, as the

voice of the

Almighty God when

came

to

pass, when

He speaketh. Ver. 6. And it He commanded the man clothed in white linen,

the wheels,

and

said,

Take fire from between

from

betweeii

the

134

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL,

Ver.
7.
to

cheruhim, and he came and stood hy the side of the wheel,

That the cherub stretched out his hand between the cherubim
ilie

fire,

which loas between the cherubim, and

it

lifted

(some) off

and gave

into the
it,

hands of
out.

the

man

clothed in white linen.

8.

And

he took

and went

Ver.

And

there

appeared
icings.

by the cherubim the likeness of a

mans hand

under their

Ver. 1 introduces the description of the second act of the judg-

ment.

According

to ch. ix. 3,

Jehovah had come down from

to the threshold of tlie

His throne above the cherubim

to issue

temple

His orders thence

for the

judgment upon the inhabit-

ants of Jerusalem, and according to ch. x. 4

He

goes thither

once more.

Consequently

He

had resumed His

is

seat above the

1,

cherubim
deed in so
sees the
like

in the

meantime.

This

expressed in ver.

not in-

many

words, but indirectly or by implication.

;

Ezekiel

theophany

and on the firmament above the cherubim,

at,

sapphire-stone to look

he beholds the likeness of a

throne on which Jehovah appeared.

To

avoid giving too great

prominence in

this

appearance of Jehovah to the bodily or

human

form, Ezekiel does not speak even here of the form of

Jehovah, but simply of His throne, which he describes in the

same manner

as in ch.

i.

26.

bi<

stands for pV according to the

7^^

later usase of the lano;ua(Te.

literal sense, as

It will never do to take

in its

Kliefoth does, and render the words: " Ezekiel

to the
nin";
;

saw
nsni

it

move away
not nini or

firmament

"

for the object to

'"'^"1^)

is

1U3, but the form of the throne spark-

ling in sapphire-stone

and

this

throne had not separated

itself

from the firmament above the cherubim, but Jehovah, or the

glory of Jehovah, according to ch.
ix. 3,

had risen up from the

The 3 cherubim, and moved away to the temple threshold. before HS^D is not to be erased, as Hitzig proposes after the

LXX.,

on the ground that

here.

it is

not found in ch.

i.

26;

it

is

quite appropriate

For the words do not

affirm that
;

Ezekiel saw the likeness of a throne like sapphire-stone

but

that he saw something like sapphire-stone, like the appearance of the

form of a throne.

Ezekiel does not see Jehovah, or the

CHAP.
glory of Jehovali,
to the throne.

X. 1-8.

135

move away

to the

firmament, and then return

tlie

He

simply sees once more

resemblance of

a throne

upon the firmament, and the Lord appearing thereon.

is

The

latter

indicated in 0^?^ ^^Ih

'iJl

These words are not

to

be taken in connection with

tence
;

^^"103, so as to

form one sen-

but have been very properly separated by the atJinach

assertion.

under ND3^ and treated as an independent

subject
to ns"):

The

might, indeed, be

NEi3

n^?0"n,

" the likeness of a

throne appeared above the cherubim;" but in that case the

words would form a pure tautology, as the fact of the throne

becoming
clause.

visible has already

been mentioned in the preceding

The

subject must therefore be Jehovah, as in the case

of

"i?pN'l

in ver. 2,

where there can be no doubt on the matter.

for the purpose of

Jehovah has resumed His throne, not "

removing to a distance, because the courts of the temple have

been defiled by dead bodies" (Hitzig), but because the object
for which

He

left it

has been attained.

He now commands
fire-coals

the

man

clothed in white linen to go in between the wheels

fill

under the cherubim, and

thence, and scatter

his

hands with

from

them over the

it.

city (Jerusalem). to this,

it

This he
appears
;

did, so that Ezekiel could see

According

as
if

if

Jehovah had issued the command from His throne

follows,
it

but

we compare what

is

evident from ver. 4 that the

glory of Jehovah had risen up again from the throne, and

removed
till

to the threshold of the temple,

and that

it

was not

after the

man
it

in white linen

had scattered the

coals over

the city that

left the threshold of the temple,

and ascended

once more up

to

the throne above the cherubim, so as to for-

sake the temple (ver. 18 sqq.).

Consequently we can only understand vers. 2-7 as implying that Jehovah issued the com-

mand

in ver. 2, not

the temple, and that

from His throne, but from the threshold of He had therefore returned to the threshold

of the temple for this purpose, and for the very

in ch. ix. 3.

same reason

as

The

possibility of interpreting the verses in this

way

is

apparent from the fact that ver. 2 contains a

summary

136

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

of the Avhole of the contents of this section, and that vers. 3-7

simply furnish more minute explanations, or contain circumstantial clauses,

is

which throw light upon the whole

3,

affair.
tlie

This
;

obvious in the case of ver.

in vers.

from the form of

in vers.

clause

and

4 and
is

5,

from the fact that

G and 7 the comit,

mand

(ver. 2)

resumed, and the execution of

"'5''Vp

which was

already indicated in

i^ijl

(ver. 2),

more minutely described

verse,

and carried forward

^f'l
i.e.
'^i?!^
''???'^

in the closing

words of the seventh

Jn

"^'G^^*'

2 signifies the whirl or rotatory motion,

the wheel-work, or the four ophannim under the cherubim

regarded as moving.

The angel was

of

to

go

in

between these,

and take
city.

coals out of the fire there,

fire

and scatter them over the

of His wrath, will kindle,

" In the
for

God, the

fire

the

fire

consuming the city" (Kliefoth).

To

depict the

scene more clearly, Ezekiel observes in ver. 3, that at this

moment
i.e.

the cherubim were standing to the

nVht of the house,

According
the

on the south or rather south-east of the temple house, on

to

the south of the altar of burnt-offering.

Hebrew usage

the right side was the southern side, and the

viii.

prophet was in the inner court, whither, according to ch.

the divine glory had taken

16,

him

and, according to ch.

ix. 2,

the

seven angels had gone to the front of the

altar, to receive the

commands

of the Lord.

Consequently we have

to picture to

ourselves the cherubim as appearing in the neighbourhood of

the altar, and then taking up their position to the south thereof,

when

the

Lord returned
is

to the threshold of the temple.

The

reason for stating this

in the desire to to

not to be sought, as Calvin supposes,

show " that the way was opened for the angel
to
it

go straight

God, and that the cherubim were standing

were, to contribute their labour."
is

there ready, as
tion in

The

posi-

which the cherubim appeared

more probably given

with prospective reference to

vers.

the account which follows in

9-22 of the departure of the glory of the Lord from the

temple.

As an

indication of the significance of this act to

Israel, the glory which issued from this manifestation of the


CHAF.
divine doxa
X. 9-22.

137

is

described in vers. 3J-5.

The

cloud,

as
;

the

earthly vehicle of the divine doxa, filled the inner court

and

when

the glory of the

Lord

stood

upon the

threshold,

it filled

the temple also, while the court became full of the splendour
of the divine glory.

That

is

to say, the brilliancy of the divine

nature shone through the cloud, so that the court and the

temple were lighted by the shining of the light-cloud.

brilliant

The
of

splendour

is

a symbol of the light of the divine grace.

The wings

of the cherubim rustled,

and

at the

movement

God

(i.

24) were audible even in the outer court.

this picture of the glorious manifestation of the divine

After

doxa, the fetching of the fire-coals from the space between the

wheels under the cherubim

is

more

closely described in vers. 6

and
fire,

7.

One
To

of the cherub's hands took the coals out of the

in white

and put them into the hands of the man clothed

this a

linen.

supplementary remark

is

added

in ver. 8, to

the effect that the figure of a hand was visible by the side of the cherubim under their wings.
out," indicates that the

The word

X>'.n,

" and he went

man
it

clothed in white linen scattered the

coals over the city, to set

on

fire

and consume

it.

Vers. 9-22.

The

glory of the

Lord

forsakes the temple.

Ver.

9.

And

1 saw, and behold four

icheels

hy the side of the

cherubim^ one wheel hy the side of every cherub, and the appear-

ance of the wheels ivas

10.

like the look

of a chrysolith

stone.

Ver.

And

as for their ojipearance, they

had

all

four one form, as

if one wheel loere in the midst

loent, they ivent to their

of

the other.
;

Ver.

IL When

they

four

sides

they did not turn in going

directed, to that they went

for

to the

place

to lohich the

head was

they did not turn in their going.

Ver. 12.

And

their ichole body,

and
To

their back,

and

their hands,
:

and

their wings,

and

the icheels,

were fidl of eyes round about

the icheels,
to

by all four their

called,

icheels.

Ver. 13.
hearing.
the first

them was

"ty/iw-Z/"
;

my

Ver. 14.

And

ivas the face

of of the cherub, the face of the second a man's face,

every one

had four faces

and

the face

and

the

third

lion's face,

the fourth

an

eagle's face.

138
Ver. 15.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

And

the

chemhim
loent

ascended.

This icas the being which

saio

by the river Cliehar.

icheels

Ver. 16.
;

And

ichen the cherubim

loent, the

by them

and

ichen the cherubim raised

their xoings to ascend

from

the earth, the icheels also did not turn

from
when

their side.

Ver. 17.

When

those stood, they stood; and.

those ascended, they ascended with

them; for

the spirit

of

the being loas in them.

Ver. 18.

And

the glory

of Jehovah

loent

out

from

the threshold

of the house, and stood above

their wings,

the cherubim.

Ver. 19.

And

the

cherubim raised

and ascended from

the wheels beside

the earth before

my
;

eyes on their going out,

and

them

and

they stoj^ped at the entrance of the eastern gate of the

house of Jehovah
them.

and

the glory

of

the

Ver. 20. This loas the being which

God of Israel was above I saw tinder the God

perceived that they were

of Israel by the river Chebar, and

cherubim.

Ver. 21. Every one had four faces, each and every
like

one four wings, and something

wings.

a man^s hands under their

Ver. 22.
which

And

as for the likeness of their faces, they tvere

the faces

I had

seen by the river Chebar, their appearance

and

they themselves.

They went every one according

to its face.

"With the words " I saw, and behold," a new feature in the
vision
is

introduced.

The

description of the appearance of the

cherubim in these verses coincides for the most part verbatim

with the account of the theophany in ch.
i.

It differs

from

this,

however, not only in the altered arrangement of the several

features,
to

and

in the introduction of certain points

;

which serve

complete the former account

but

still

more

in the insertion

of a

number

of narrative sentences, which

first

show that we have

not merely a repetition of the

trary, Ezekiel
is

chapter here.

On

the con-

now

describing the

moving

of the appearance

of the glory of

Jehovah from the inner court or porch of the

temple to the outer entrance of the eastern gate of the outer

court
;

in other words, the departure of the gracious presence

of the

Lord from

the temple

and

in

order to point out more

this event,

distinctly the importance

and meaning of

he depicts

once more the leading features of the theophany

itself.

The

CHAP.

X. 9-22.

131)

narrative sentences are found in vers. 13, 15, 18, and 19.
ver.

In

13 we have the exclamation addressed

to the wheels
;

by the
18

side of the

cherubim

to set

themselves in motion
;

in ver. 15, in vers.

the statement that the

cherubim ascended

and

and 19, the account of the departure of the glory of the Lord

from the inner portion

of the temple.

To

this

we may add

the

repeated remark, that the appearance was the same as that

which the prophet had seen by the

22).

river

Chebar

(vers. 15, 20,

To

bring clearly out to view both the independence of

manifestations and their significance
to
Israel,

these divine

Ezekiel repeats the leading featui'es of the former description

but while doing

this,

he either makes them subordinate

to the

thoughts expressed in the narrative sentences, or places them

first as

introductory to these, or lets them follow as explanatory.

Thus, for example, the description of the wheels, and of the

manner
motion.

in

which they moved

(vers. 9-12), serves both to intro-

duce and explain the

call to the

wheels to set themselves in

vers.

The

description
i.

of

the wheels in

9-11 harhowever,
;

monizes with ch.

16 and 17, with

this exception,

that certain points are given with greater exactness here

such,

for example, as the statement that the

movements

of the wheels

were so regulated, that in whichever direction the front one

turned, the others did the same.
K'Nin, the head,
first to
is

not the

head-wheel, or the wheel which was always the

move, but

the front one, which originated the motion, drawing the others
after
it

and determining

their direction.

For

ver. 12Z'
i.

and the
18.

fact that the wheels

ver.

were covered with

eyes, see ch.

In

12a we have the important addition, that the whole of the

as well as the

body and back,

were

hands and wings, of the cherubim

the less reason to question this

full of eyes.

There
it

is all

addition, or

remove

(as Plitzig does)

itself is
;

by an

ai-bitrary erasure,

inasmuch as the statement

apparently in perfect har-

mony

with the whole procedure

and the significance possessed

was not only appropriate

by the eyes

in relation to the wiieels

in the case of the cherubim, but necessarily to be

assumed

in

140

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

such a connection.

The
is

fact that the suffixes in ^"f""?, 2']??? etc.,

refer to the cherubim,

obvious enough,
is

wheels to which immediate reference

if we consider made were by

that the

the side

of the clierubim (ver. 9), and that the cherubim formed the
principal feature in the whole of the vision.

Ver. 13 does not

point back to ver. 2, and bring the description of the wheel-

work

to

a close, as

Plitzig

supposes.

This assumption, by

which the meaning of the whole description has been obscured,

is

based upon the untenable rendering, " and the wheels they
before

named

my

ears

whirl"

(J.

D. Mich., Eos.,
the
objection
to

etc.).
this,

Pliivernick

has already pointed

out

namely, that with such a rendering

addition
i^l^ is
;

""JTSB

forms an unmeaning

whereas

it is

precisely this addition

which shows that

used here in the sense of addressing, calling, and not of

naming.

One

called to the wheels

^i?^_^,

whirl

i.e.

they were

to verify their

name

galgal, viz.

to

revolve or whirl, to set

Tiiis is the explanation

themselves in motion by revolving.

given by Theodoret
rd'xOrjaav.

avaKVKX-elcrOai koI avaKuvelaOaL irpoaesignal for their

is

These words therefore gave the

departure, and accordingly the rising up of the cherubim

related in ver. 15.

Ver. 14 prepares the way for their ascent

;

by mentioning the four faces of each cherub

and

this is

still

further expanded in vers. IG and 17, by the statement that the

wheels moved according to the movements of the cherubim.

iriNl?

without an article
6 and 10.

is

used distributively (every one), as in

ch.

i.

The
i.

fact that in the description

is

which
is

fol-

lows only one face of each of the four cherubs

at variance with ch.

given,

not

10, according to which every one of the

It

cherubs had the four faces named.

tion
to

was not Ezekiel's

inten-

mention
;

all

the faces of each cherub here, as he had

it

done before

but he regarded

as sufficient in the case of each

cherub to mention simply the one face, which was turned toward him.

The

only striking feature which

i.e.

still

remains

is

the statement that the face of the one,

of the

first,

was the
i.

face of the cherub instead of the face of an ox

(cf. ch.

10),

CHAP.
since the faces of the

X. 9-22.

141

man, the

lion,

and the eagle were

would
"lili'

also

cherubs' faces.

We

may, no doubt, get

rid of the difficulty

it
;

by

altering the text, but this will not solve

for

it

still

remain inexplicable how

copyist's error
;

2T\2r\

could have grown out of

by a

and

still

more, how such an error, which might

have been so easily seen and corrected, could have been not
only perpetuated, but generally adopted.
the article in
2l"i3i!i,

Moreover, we have
if

which would also be inexplicable

the word

had originated in an oversight, and which gives us precisely the

index required to the correct solution of the
as
it

difficulty,

showing

does that

it

was not merely a cherub's

is to

face, but the face

of

tJie

cherub, so that the allusion

either well

one particular cherub,

before, or

who was
cherub
is

known from what had gone

rest.
7,

occupied a more prominent position than the

the one mentioned in ver.
fire

Such a
the coals

who had taken

from the

between the wheels, and stood nearest

to

to Ezekiel.

There did not appear

be any necessity to describe

his face

more
ch.
i.

exactly, as

it

could be easily seen from a comparison with

to depart

10.

In ver. 15, the fact that the cherubim arose

is

from

their place

followed by the remark that the cherubic

(l^'nn,

figure

was the being

singular, as in ch.
it

i.

22) which

Ezekiel saw by the Chaboras, because

})ortance that the identity of

was a matter of im-

the two theophanies should be

established as a help to the correct understanding of their real

signification.

But before the departure

of the theophany

from

the temple

is

related, there follows in vers.

16 and 17 a

repeti-

tion of the circumstantial description of the

harmonious movei.

ments of the wheels and the cherubim

then,
in
ver.

(cf. ch.

19-21); and
practical

18,

the

statement which
the

had such

significance, that the glory of

Lord

departed from the

threshold of the temple, and resumed the throne above the

cherubim
the

and

lastly,

the account in ver. 19, that the glory of

God

of Israel, seated

upon

this throne,

took up

its

position

at the

entrance of the eastern gate of the temple.

is

The

entrance

of this gate

not the gate of the temple, but the outer side of

142
tlie

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

eastern gate of the outer court, which formed the principal

entrance to the whole of the temple-space.

The

expression

"

God

of Israel" instead of

"Jehovah"
tlie

is

significant,

and

is

used to intimate that God, as

covenant God, withdrew His

gracious presence from the people of Israel by this departure

from the temple

not, indeed,

from the whole of the covenant

the temple
to the

nation, but from the rebellious Israel whicli dwelt in Jerusalem

and Judah

for the

same glory of God which

left

in the vision before the eyes of Ezekiel

had appeared

prophet by the river Chebar, and by

calling

him

to

be the
kept

prophet for Israel, had shown Himself to be the

God who

His covenant, and proved

corrupt
generation,

that,

by the judgment upon the

desired
to

He

simply

exterminate

its

untTodly nature, and create for Himself a

new and
is

holy people.

This

is

the meaning of the remark which

left

repeated in vers.

20-22, that the apparition which

the temple was the

same

being as Ezekiel had seen by the Chaboras, and that he recognised the beings under the throne as cherubim.

Chap.

xi.

Mercy.

Threatening of Judgment and Promise of Conclusion of the Vision. This chapter con-

tains the concluding portion of

the vision

namely,

first,

the
;

prediction of the destruction of the ungodly rulers (vers. 1-13)

secondly,

the consolatory and closing promise, that the

to

Lord

would gather
carried
Spirit

Himself a people out of those who had been

away
(vers.

into exile,

and would sanctify them by His Holy

and,
ihirdli/,

14-21);

the

withdrawal

of

the

gracious presence of

God from

the city of Jerusalem, and the

transportation of the prophet back to Chaldea with the termi-

nation of his ecstasy (vers. 22-25).

Vers. 1-13.

Judgment upon

the rulers of the nation.

Ver.

1.

And

a wind

lifted

me

up,

and

took

me

to the eastern (jate of the

house of Jehovah, lohich faces toxcards the east; and behold, at

the entrance

of the gate
the

loere five

and

tioentrj

men, and T saw

the son

among them Jaazaniah

son of Azzur, and Pelatiah

of

: ;

CHAP.

XI. 1-4.

143
2.

BeimiaJi, the chiefs of the nation.

Ver.

And

he said

to

me

Son of man,
houses
is

these are the

men who
3.

devise iniquity,

and counsel

evil counsel in this city ;

; it

Ver.
ive

Who

say, It is not near to build

the pot,

and
;

are the Jleah.

Ver. 4. Therefore

prophesy against them

prophesy, son of man.

Ezekiel
viii.

is

once

more transported from the inner court (cb.

IG) to the

outer entrance of the eastern gate of the temple (nil ^'^^, as in

eh. viii. 3), to

which, according to ch. x. 19, the vision of

had removed.

There he

sees twenty- five

God men, and among

them two
priests
is

of the princes of the nation,

whose names are given.

This

These twenty-five men are not

mentioned

identical with the twenty-five

in ch. viii. 16, as

Havernick supposes.

evident, not only from the difference in the locality, the

priests standing

between the porch and the

altar,

whereas the

men

referred to here stood at the outer eastern entrance to the

court of the temple, but from the fact that the two

who

are

mentioned by name are called

so that
fiv^e

DJ?n

''nb'

(princes of the people),

we may probably
chiefs.

infer

from

this that all the

twenty"'t!^

were secular

Hiivernick's opinion, that Cyn

to princes

is

a term that
is

may

also

be applied

among

the priests,
are
4,

as erroneous

as

his assertion

that the priest-princes

called " princes" in

Ezra

viii.

20,

Neh.

x. 1,

and Jer. xxxv.

whereas

it is

only to national princes that these passages refer.

equally incorrect in supposing that these twentyviii.

Havernick
five

is

men

take the place of the seventy mentioned in ch.

11

for those seventy represented the whole of the nation, whereas

these twenty-five (according to ver. 2) were simply the counsellors

of the city

not,

however, the twenty-four duces of

city,

twenty-four divisions of the

with a prince of the house of

Judah,

as

Prado maintains, on the strength of certain Eabbinical

;

assertions

or twenty-four
;

members

of a Sanhedrim, with their

president (Rosenmiiller)
of the nation)

but the twelve tribe-princes (princes

officers,

and the twelve royal

xxvii.),

or military com-

manders

(1 Chron.

with the king himself, or possibly with

the commander-in-chief of the

army

so that these twenty-five

144

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

represent the civil government of Israel, just as the twenty-

men

four priest-princes, together with the high priest, represent the

spiritual authorities of the

covenant nation.
is

The

reason

why
The

two are
words of

specially

mentioned by name
is

involved in obscurity,

as nothing further

known

of either of these persons.

God

to the prophet in ver. 2 concerning

them are

perfectly applicable to representatives of the civil authorities or

temporal rulers, namely, that they devise and give unwholesome

and

evil counsel.

This counsel

is

described in ver. 3 by the

is

words

placed in their
is

mouths

" house-building

not near

it

(the city)
difficult,

the caldron,

we
it

are the flesh."

These words are

and

different interpretations

have consequently been

is

given.

The

rendering, "
is

(the

judgment)

not near,

let

us

build houses,"

incorrect; for the infinitive

construct

riiJS

cannot stand for the imperative or the

infinitive absolute,
is

but

must be the subject

in the sense of "

of the sentence.

It

inadmissible also to

take the sentence as a question, "Is not house-building near?"

it is

certainly near," as

Ewald

does, after
is

some
someas,

of the ancient versions.

For even

if

an interrogation

times indicated simply by the tone in an energetic address,

for example, in 2 Sam.
xxiii.

5,

this

cannot be extended to
Still less

cases in which the words of another are quoted.

2\-\p2

can

mean non est tempus^ it is not yet time, as Maurer The only way in which the words can be made to supposes. yield a sense in harmony with the context, is by taking them as
N7

a tacit allusion to Jer. xxix. 5.

Jeremiah had

called

upon

those in exile to build themselves houses in their banishment,

and prepare for a lengthened stay

in Babylon,

and not

to allow

themselves to be deceived by the words of false prophets,

predicted a speedy return
fall
;

who
This

for severe

judgments had yet to

in

upon those who had remained behind

not near,"
;

the land.

word of Jeremiah the

" house-building
still
is

authorities in Jerusalem ridiculed, saying

i.e.

the house-building in exile

this,

is

a long

way

off

it

will

not come to

that Jerusalem

should

fall either

permanently or entirely into the hands of the

CHAP.

XI. 5-12.

145
is

king of Babylon.
we,
this
its
:

On

the contrary, Jerusalem

the pot, and

is

inhabitants, are the flesh.

The

point of comparison

as the pot protects the flesh

from burning,

so does the

city of

Jerusalem protect us from destruction.^

is

On

the other

hand, there
also contain

no foundation for the assumption that the words

to other sayings of

an allusion

Jeremiah, namelj',

to Jer.

i.

13, where the judgment about

to burst in

from the
;

north

is

represented under the figure of a smoking pot

or to

Jer. xix.,

where Jerusalem

is

depicted as a pot about to be

is

oroken in pieces by God; for the reference in Jer. xix.

simply to an earthen pitcher, not to a meat-caldron
;

and the

words in the verse before us have nothing at

with the figure in Jer.
tion
is
i.

all

in

common

13.

The

correctness of our explana-

evident both from ch. xxiv. 3, 6, where the figure of

is

pot and flesh

met with again, though

makes
(vers.

differently applied,

and from the reply which Ezekiel

to the saying of these

men

in

the verses

that

follow

7-11).

This saying

expresses not only false confidence in the strength of Jerusalem,

but also contempt and scorn of the predictions of the prophets

sent by God.

Ezekiel

is

therefore to prophesy, as he does in

vers. 5-12, against this pernicious counsel,

which

is

confirming

the people in their sins.

Ver.

5.

And
up

the Spirit

of Jehovah fell upon me, and said

to

me

Say, Thus saith Jehovah, So ye say,

in

house of Israel, and

U'hat riseth

your

spirit,

that

I know.

Ver.

6.

Ye have

increased your slain in this city,

and

filled its streets with slain.

slain,

Ver.

7. Therefore, thus saith the

it,

Lord Jehovah, Your

and

whom
pot

ye have laid in the midst of

but

they are the flesh,

it.

it is

the

men

will lead

you out of

Ver. 8. The sword you fear

is the

hut the sword shall

I
7

bring upon you,

saying of the
it

Lord
into

Jehovah.

Ver.

9.

shall lead

you out of

and

give

you

" This city

is
;

a pot, our receptacle and defence, and

as flesh
is

we

are the flesh

enclosed therein
so shall

preserved in

its

caldron

till it is

perfectly boiled,

we

continue here

till

an extreme old age."

HUlsemann in Calov.
K

Bihl. Illustr.

EZEK.

I.

146
the

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

hand of
foreigners,

and

shall e.recute

judgments upon you.

Ver. 10.
shall

By

the sioord shall ye fall:

on the frontier of Israel

I judge you ; and ye shall learn

pot
to

that

I am Jehovah. Ver.
Ver. 12.

11.
:

It shall not he as a

you, so that you should he flesh therein

on

the frontier

of Israel shall

judge.

And

ye shall

learn that

I am Jehovah,

in whose statutes ye have not xcalked,

and my judgments ye have not

the
'"*

done, hut have acted according to

judgments of the heathen icho are round ahout you.

For ?Bn
(ch.
;

nn

'py,

compare

ch.

viii.

1.

Instead of the
is

"hand"
is

viii.

1),

the Spirit of Jehovah

is

mentioned here

because

what follows
action

simply a divine inspiration, and there

it.

no

connected with

The words

of

God men

are directed

against the " house of Israel," whose words and thoughts are

discerned by God, because the twenty-five

are the leaders

and

counsellors of the nation,

n^l nipyo, thoughts, suggestions

of the mind,

may

be explained from the phrase 3? ?y rbv^ to

come
slain

into the mind.

Their actions furnish the proof of the

evil suggestions of their heart.

;

They have

filled

the city with

not " turned the streets of the city into a battle-field,"

however, by bringing about the capture of Jerusalem in the

time of Jeconiah, as Plitzig would explain
to be understood in a
it.

The words

are

much more

general sense, as signifying

murder, in both the coarser and the more refined signification

of the word.^
^^^l^^P is a copyist's error for Drispo.

Those

who have been murdered by you

(ver. 7).

are the fiesh in the caldron

Ezekiel gives them back their

own

words, as words

which contain an undoubted

have made the
pickled.

truth, but in a different sense

from

that in which they have used them.

city into a pot in in this sense
is

By

their bloodshed they

flesh of the slain
;

which the

is

Only

Jerusalem a pot for them

not

a pot to protect the flesh from burning while cooking, but a

1

Calvin has given the correct explanation, thus: "

He

docs not

mean
;

that

but he embraces all kinds of injustice. For we know that all who oppressed the poor, deprived men of their possessions, or shed innocent blood, were regarded as murderers in the sight of God."

men had been openly

this

assassinated in the streets of Jerusalem

under

form

of speech

CHAP.

XI. 13.

147
is

pot Into which the flesh of the slaughtered

thrown.

Yet

even in

this sense will

Jerusalem not serve as a pot

to these

worthless counsellors (ver. 11).

city
(^^''ViHj

They
pers.
fear,

will lead

you out of the

an indefinite
this city

in ver. 7, is the

3d

sing, with

subject).
is to

The sword which ye

and from which

protect you, will

come upon you, and cut you down

Israel,

not

in Jerusalem, but

on the frontier of

''^^rpy, in ver. 10,

cannot be taken in the sense of " away over the frontier," as

Kliefoth proposes
ver. 11.
;

if

only because of the synonym

literally fulfilled in the

-'^32"''^

in

This threat was

lii.

bloody scenes

at

Riblah (Jer.

24-27).

It

is

not therefore a vaticinium

ex eventu, but contains the general thought, that the wicked

who

boasted of security in Jerusalem would not find protection

either in Jerusalem or in the land of Israel as a whole, but

to be led out of
intensifies the

were

the land, and judged outside.

This threat

punishment, as Calvin has already sliown.^

In

ver. 11 the negation (x?) of the first clause is to be supplied in

the second,

as,

for example, in Deut. xxxiii. 6.

ch. v. 7.

For

ver. 12,

compare the remarks on

this

The

truth and the power of

is

word are demonstrated

at once

by what

related in the

following verse.

Ver. 13.

And

it

came

to

pass, as

Pelatiali the son

of Benaiah died : then

I was prophe ikying, that I fell upon my face^

!

and
dost

cried ivith a loud voice,

and said : Alas

Thou make an end of

the

remnant of Israeli

Lord Jehovah, The sudden

death of one of the princes of the nation, while Ezekiel was

prophesying, was intended to assure the house of Israel of the
certain fulfilment of this
^

word of God.
;

So

far,

however, as

"

He

threatens a double punishment

their

of Jerusalem, in
still

make

first, that God will cast them out which they delight, and where they say that they will abode for a long time to come, so that exile may be the

punishment. He then adds, secondly, that He will not be content with exile, but will send a severer punishment, after they have been cast out, and both home and land have spued them out as a stench which they could not bear. 1 will judge you at the frontier of Israel, i.e. outside the holy land, so that when one curse shall have become manifest in exile, a severer and more formidable punishment shall stiU await you."
first

148
the fact itself
it

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Is

concerned,

we must bear
was
at

in mind, that as

was only

in spirit that Ezekiel

Jerusalem, and pro-

phesied to the
of Pelatiah
bability

men whom he saw

in spirit there, so the death

vision,

was simply a part of the

and

in all prothis prince

was actually realized by the sudden death of

during or immediately after the publication of the vision.

the occurrence, even

But

when

the prophet saw

it

in spirit,

made

such an impression upon his mind, that with trembling and

despair he once
in

more made an importunate appeal

to

God, as

ch. ix. 8,

and inquired whether

He

meant
to

to destroy the

wliole of the

thing,

remnant of Israel. n73 nx before the object, as with

i.

nt^y,

put an end to a
i.

in Zeph.

18 (see the

comm. on Nah.

8).

The Lord then

gives

him the comforta remnant

ing assurance in vers. 14-21, that

He

will preserve

among

the exiles,

and make them His people once more.

Vers. 14-21. Promise of the gathering of Israel out of the

nations.

Ver. 14.

And

the xoord

of JeliovaJi came

to

me, saying,
the j^eople
it,

Ver. 15. Son of man, thy brethren, thy brethren are

of thy proxy,

and

the whole house

of Israel, the whole of

to

whom

the inhabitants of Jerusalem say,

to

Remain far away from

Ver. 16.
have sent
Yea,

Jehovah;

us the land

is

given for a possession.

Therefore say. Thus saith the

Lord Jehovah,

them far aivay, and have scattered them in the lands, but
become
to

I have

them a sanctuary for a

little

while in the lands whither

they have come.

Ver. 17. Therefore say. Thus saith the Lord

gather you

Jehovah,

And I will
from
the

from

the nations,

and

will collect
icill

you

together

the lands in

which ye are scattered, and

give you

land of Israel.
it

Ver. 18.

And

they

loill

come

thither,

and remove from

tions.

all its detestable things,

and

all its

abomina-

Ver. 19.

And I will
;

give them one heart,

and

give

a new

spirit within you

flesh,

and

will take the heart of stone out of their

and

give them
statutes,

a heart of

flesh

Ver. 20. That they

rights,

may

tvalk in

my

and preserve my and I

and do them : and

Ver. 21. But

they will be

my

people,

will be their God.

those whose heart goeth to the heart of their detestable things

and

CHAP.

XI.

14-2L

149

tJieir

ahomi7iat{ons,

will give their loay xipon their head, is the

saying of the
of
all

Lord Jehovah.

The prophet had

Jerusalem (ch.

interceded, first
ix. 8),

for the inhabitants of

and then

for the rulers of the nation, and had asked

God

whether

He
God

would entirely destroy the remnant of

replies that his brethren, in

Israel.

To

this

whom

he

is

to interest himself, are

not these inhabitants of Jerusalem and these rulers of the

nation, but the Israelites carried into exile,

who

are regarded

by these inhabitants

at

Jerusalem as cut 15a are not

''

off

from the people of

which are

God.

The nouns

in ver.

accusatives,

resumed
and

in the suffix to

^''riipn'in

in ver. 16," as Hitzig imagines,

^^n^?.

but form an independent clause, in which

^n^'XJ ^k'JN as well

is

the subject,

as

bxib'^

n^3-b the predicates.

The

repetition of " thy brethren" serves to increase the force of the

expression
priests,

thy true, real brethren

not in contrast to the

to the Israelites,
its

who were lineal relations (Havernick), but in contrast who had only the name of Israel, and denied
These brethren are
is

nature.

to

be the people of his proxy

n?X3
is

and toward these he

to exercise n?N3.

the business,

or the duty and right, of the Goel.

According

to the law, the

it

Goel was the brother, or the nearest relation, whose duty

to

was

come

to the help of his impoverished brother, not only

by
he

redeeming (buying back) his possession, which poverty had

compelled him to
sell,

but to redeem the

his debts (yid.

man

himself,

if

had been

sold to

pay

Lev. xxv. 25, 48).

The

Goel therefore became the possessor of the property of which

his brother
till

had been unjustly deprived,

if

it

were not restored

after his death

(Num.

v.

8).

Consequently he was not

only the avenger of blood, but the natural supporter and agent
of his brother; and n^xa signifies not merely redemption or
kindred, but proxy,
i.e.

both the right and obligation to act as

etc.,

the legal representative, the avenger of blood, the heir, the brother.

of

The

words " and the whole of the house of Israel"

Ezekiel can and

are a second predicate to " thy brethren," and affirm that the

brethren, for

whom

is

to intercede,

form the

150

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Israel, the

whole of the house of

term " whole" being rendered

more emphatic by

the repetition of hb in n>3.

contrast

is

drawn between this " whole house of Israel " and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

who

say to those brethren, "

is

Remain

far

away from Jehovah,

It follows

to us

the land given for a possession." the brethren of Ezekiel,

from

this, first of all, that

towards

whom

he was

to act as Goel,

were those v/ho had been

;

taken away from the land, his companions in exile

and,

secondly, that the exiles formed the whole of the house of

Israel, that is to say, that

they alone would be regarded by

God

as

His people, and not the inhabitants of Jerusalem or those

left in the land,

who regarded

the exiles as no longer a portion

of the nation

simply because, in their estrangement from God,

they looked upon the mere possession of Jerusalem as a pledge

of participation in the grace of God.

This shows the prophet

is

where the remnant

this there is

of the people of
ver.
this

God

to

be found.

To
15?.

appended in
will

16 sqq. a promise of the way in

which the Lord

make

remnant His true people.

therefore, viz. because the inhabitants of Jerusalem regard the

exiles as rejected

by the Lord, Ezekiel

is

to declare to

them
;

that

Jehovah

is

their sanctuary

even in their dispersion (ver. 16)

and because the others deny that they have any share
possession of

in the

the land, the

Lord

will

gather them together

again, and give

them the land

of Israel (ver. 17).

The two

|3?

are co-ordinate,

and introduce the

antithesis to the disparaging

sentence pronounced by the inhabitants

those

of Jerusalem
""S

upon

who have been

carried into exile.

The

before the two

leading clauses in ver. 16 does not

mean "

because," serving to

introduce a protasis, to which ver. 17 would form the apodosis,

as

Ewald

affirms; but

it

stands before the direct address in the

is

sense of an assurance, which indicates that there

at the

some truth
opponents,
the present

bottom of the judgment pronounced by

tlieir

the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

position of affairs
is

The thought

is

this

unquestionably that Jehovah has scattered

them

(the house of Israel)

among

the Gentiles; but

He

has

CHAP.

XI. 14-21.

151

not therefore cast them

off.

He

has become a sanctuary to

them
either

in the lands of then' dispersion.

Migddsh does not mean

had, indeed, lost the

asylum or an object kept sacred (Hitzig), but a sanc-

tuary,

more

especially the temple.

(at

They

outward temple

Jerusalem)

but the Lord Himself had

the temple into a sanctuary'
therein.

become

their temple.

What made
to

was the presence of Jehovah, the covenant God,

This even the exiles were
this

enjoy in their banishment, and in

they would possess a substitute for the outward temple.

is

This thought

rendered
to

still

more precise by the word

t^VDj

which may refer either

short time," or " in

time or measure, and signify " for a

It
is

some measure."

difficult to
latter,
it

decide

between these two renderings.

Kliefoth prefers (after the

In support of the

which

LXX.

and Vulgate),

may be

argued that the manifestation of the Lord, both by the mission

of prophets and
solations

by the outward deliverances and inward conupon the

faithful,

which

He bestowed

was but a

partial

substitute to the exile

for His gracious presence

in the temple

and

in the holy land.

Nevertheless, the context, especially the

promise in ver. 17, that

He

will

gather them again and lead

them back
sional one,

into the land of Israel, appears to favour the former

signification,

namely, that this substitution was only a provito last for

and was only

a short time, although

to

it

also implies that this could not

and was not meant

be a per-

fect substitute for the gracious presence of the Lord.

Israel, as the people of
it

For

God, could not remain scattered abroad

it

must possess the inheritance bestowed upon

its

by the Lord,
and that

and have
in a

God

in the midst of
real

it

in its

own

land,

manner more

than could possibly be the case in This will be fully realized in

captivity

among
will

the Gentiles.

the heavenly Jerusalem, where the the

Lord God Almighty and

Lamb

be a temple to the redeemed (Rev. xxi. 22).

Therefore will Jehovah gather together the dispersed once

more, and lead them back into the land of Israel,
land which
i.e.

into the

He

designed for Israel

whereas the inhabitants of

152
Jerusalem,
will lose

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

who
all

boast of their possession of

possess.

Canaan

(ver. 15),
will

what they now

Those who are restored

then remove

idolatrous abominations (ver. 17),

and receive

from God a new and feeling heart

walk
in the

(ver. 19), so that they will

ways of God, and be

in truth the people of

God

(ver. 20).

The

fulfilment of this promise did, indeed, begin with the

;

return of a portion of the exiles under Zerubbabel

but

it

was

not completed under either Zerubbabel or Ezra, or even in the

Maccabean

times.

Although

Israel

may have

entirely relinit

quished the practice of gross idolatry after the captivity,

did

not then attain to that newness of heart which

vers. 19, 20.

is

predicted in

This only commenced with the Baptist's preach;

ing of repentance, and with the coming of Christ

realized in the children of Israel,

and

it

was

who accepted Jesus

children of God.

in faith,

and suffered

Him

to

make them

Yet even
fulfilled in

by Christ
Israel,
still

this

prophecy has not yet been perfectly

but only in part, since the greater portion of Israel has

its

in

hardness that stony heart which must be removed out

it

of

its

flesh before
its

can attain to salvation.

The promise
6.

in

ver. 19 has for

basis the prediction in

is

Dent. xxx.

"

What

the circumcision of the heart

there, viz. the removal of all

uncleanliness, of which outward circumcision was both the type

and pledge,

is

represented here as the giving of a heart of flesh

instead of one of stone" (Hengstcnberg).

heart.
"^^^ 37,

I give them one

which Hitzig

is

wrong

in proposing to alter into

is

"ins 37, another heart,

after the

LXX.,
iii.

supported and ex-

plained
to fear

by Jer.

xxxii. 39, " I give

(cf.

them one heart and one way

9

me

continually"

Zeph,

and Acts
(Qr?v'

iv. 32).

One
^^^^'"

heart

is

not an upright, undivided heart

)} ^^^ ^

monious, united heart, in contrast to the division or plurality of

hearts which prevails in the natural state, in which every one
follows his
his

own way" own

all

heart and his

(Isa.
liii.

own mind, turning

" every one to

6).

God

gives one heart,

Tiiis

when He

causes

hearts and minds to

become one.

can only be

CHAP.

XI. 22-25.

153
taking away the stone-

effected
heart,

by His giving a " new

spirit,"

and giving a heart of

flesh instead.

For the

old spirit

fosters nothing but egotism

and

discord.

The

heart of stone

has no susceptibility to the impressions of the word of

the drawing of

God and

divine grace.

In the natural condition, the

''

heart of

man

is

as hard as stone.

The word
it.

of God, the

external leadings of God, pass by and leave no trace behind.

The

latter

may

crush

it,

and yet not break

Even

the frag-

ments continue hard; yea, the hardness goes on increasing"

(Hengstenberg).
tible to the

The

heart of flesh

is

a tender heart, suscep-

drawing of divine grace (compare ch. xxxvi. 26, where these figures, which are peculiar to Ezekiel, recur and
;

for the substance of the prophecy, Jer. xxxi. 33).

The

fruit

of this renewal of heart

is

walking in the commandments of

latter
is

the

Lord

and the consequence of the

the perfect

realization of the covenant relation, true fellowship with the

Lord God. Those who

judgment
clause, in

But judgment goes

side

by

side with this renewal.

will not forsake their idols

become victims
is

to the

(ver. 21).

The

first

hemistich of ver. 21

a relative

Dap

which "iC'X is to be supplied and connected with " Whose heart walketh after the heart of their abomina-

tions."

The

heart,
i.e.

which

is

attributed to the abominations

and

detestations,

to the idols, is the inclination to idolatry,

spirit

the disposition and

which manifest themselves in the

after the heart of the idols forms

worship of

idols.

Walking

the antithesis to walking after the heart of

14).

God

(1

Sam.
10.

xiii.

For

'lJ"i

Dsn-n,

" I will give their way," see ch.

ix.

Vers. 22-25.

Himself a
captive,

The promise that the Lord would preserve to holy seed among those who had been carried away

brought to a close the announcement of the judgment that would fall upon the ancient Israel and apostate Jerusalem.
All that
is

now wanting,

as a conclusion to the whole vision,

is

the practical confirmation of the announcement of judo-ment.

This

is

given in the two following verses.

their wings,

Ver. 22. Aiid the them

;

cherubim raised

and

the loheels beside

and

the

154
glory of the
the glory

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

God of Israel

teas

vp ahove them.

Ver. 23.
city,

And
and
city.

of Jehovah ascended from the midst of the

is

took

its

stand upon the mountain which

to

the east
to

of the

Ver. 24.

And

toind lifted

me

up,

and brought me

Chaldea

to

the exiles^ in

the vision, in the Spirit

of God; and the vision

seen.

ascended away

from me,

ichich

I had

Ver. 25. A^id

spolce to the exiles all the

io

me.

The

words of Jehovah, ivhich

He had

shown

manifestation of the glory of the

Lord had ah'eady

left the

temple, after the announcement of the burning of

its

Jerusalem, and had taken

eastern

stand before the entrance of the

is

gate of the outer court, that

to

say,

in the city

itself (ch. X. 19, xi. 1).

But now,

after the

announcement had
of Israel forsook

been made to the representatives of the authorities of their

removal from the

city,

the glory of the

God

the devoted city also, as a sign that both temple and city

had

ceased to be the seats of the gracious presence of the Lord.

The mountain on
of

the east of the city

is

the

Mount

of Olives,

Avhich affords a lofty outlook over the

city.

There the glory

God

remained, to execute the judgment upon Jerusalem.

Thus, according to Zech. xiv. 4, will Jehovah also appear at

the last judgment on the
fio-ht

Mount
It

of Olives above Jerusalem, to

thence against His foes, and prepare a

way

of escape for

those

who

are to be saved.

was from the Mount of Olives

21
Matt. xxiv. 3)

also that the

Son

of

God

proclaimed to the degenerate city

xix.
; ;

the second destruction

(Luke

and from
heaven
;

the same mountain

after

He made His

visible ascension to
cf.

His resurrection (Luke xxiv. 50;

His kingdom,
to

Acts

i.

12)

and,

as Grotius has observed, " thus

did Christ ascend from this

mountain
ews. J
5)

into

execute judgment upon the

After this vision of the judgments of

God upon

the ancient

people of the covenant and the kingdom of God, Ezekiel Avas carried back in the spirit into Chaldea, to the river Chaboras.

The

vision then vanished

and he related

to the exiles all that

he had seen.

CHAP.

XII.

155

CHAP.

XII.

DEPARTURE OF THE KIXG AND PEOPLE AND BREAD OF TEARS.

The words
tain

of

God which

follow in ch. xii.-xix. do not conat

any chronological data defining the exact period

which

they were communicated to the prophet and reported by him.

But

so far as their contents are concerned, they are closely con;

nected with the foregoing announcements of judgment

this renders the

and

assumption a very probable one, that they were

fell

not far removed from them in time, but

within the space of

1

eleven months intervening between ch.

viii.

and xx.

1,

and

were designed

to carry out

still

further the announcement of

judgment
light

in ch. viii.-xi.
all

This

is

done more especially in the

thrown upon

the circumstances, on which the im-

penitent people rested their hope of the preservation of the

kingdom and Jerusalem, and of

the Babylonian yoke.

their speedy liberation

from

The purpose

of the whole

is

to

show the

worthlessness of this false confidence, and to affirm the certainty

and

irresistibility of

the predicted destruction of

Judah
without

and Jerusalem,

in the

hope of awakening the rebellious and

that

hardened generation

to

thorough

repentance,

which

it

was impossible that peace and prosperity could ever

This definite purpose in the prophecies which
clearly indicated in the introductory

be enjoyed.
follow
xii.
is

remarks in ch.

2, xiv. 1,

and xx.
is

1.

In the

first

of these passages the

hardness of Israel

mentioned as the motive for the ensuing

prophecy

whilst in the other two, the visit of certain elders of

Israel to the prophet, to seek the

Lord and
from

to inquire

through

him,

is

given as the circumstance which occasioned the further

It is evident

prophetic declarations.

this that the previous

words of

God had

already

made some

impression upon the

hearers, but that their hard heart

had not yet been broken by

them.

In

ch.

xii.,

Ezekiel receives instructions to depict, by means

of a symbolical action, the departure of the king

and people

156

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

(vers. 3-7),

from Jerusalem

and

to explain

the action to the

refractory generation (vers. 8-16).

After

this

he

is

to exhibit,

by another symbolical

sign, the
(vers.

want and
17-20).

distress to

which the
he
is

people will be reduced

And

lastly,

to

rebut the frivolous sayings of the people, to the effect that

what

is

predicted will either never take place at

all,

or not

till

a very distant time (vers. 21-28).

Vers. 1-7.
the

Symbol of the Emigration.

to

Ver.

1.

And
to

word of Jehovah came

and
see not

me, saying, Ver.

2.

Son of man,

thou dwellest amidst the refractory generation, luho have eyes

see,
;

and have ears

to hear,

a refractory generation.
thyself an outfit for exile,

Ver.

3.

and hear not ; for they are And thou, son of man, make
their eyes
:

and depart hy day before

and

depart from thy place

to

another place before their eyes

perhaps
Ver. 4.

they might see, for they are

a refractory generation.

And

carry out thy things

;

lihe

an

outfit

for

exile

by day before

their eyes

but do thou go out in the evening before their eyes, as

ivhen going out to exile.

the xoall,

Ver.

5.

Before their eyes break through

and carry
upon

it

out there.
it
;

Ver.

6.

Before their eyes take

:

it

upon thy shoulder, carry

out in the darkness

cover thy face,

and

look not

the

land
7.

for

have

set thee as

a sign

to the

house of

Israel.

Ver.

And I did
an
outfit

so as

I was commanded : I

carried out

my

things like

for exile by day, and in the

evening

broke tlirough the tcall iviih

;

my hand

I carried
to

it

out

in the darkness

took
is

it

upon

my

shoulder before their eyes.

In ver. 2 the reason

assigned for the

command

perform
the

the symbolical action, namely,

people.

the hard-heartedness of

Because the generation in the midst of which Ezekiel

dwelt was blind, with seeing eyes, and deaf, with hearing ears,
the prophet was to depict before
its

eyes,

by means of the sign

that followed, the judgment which was approaching; in the hope,

as
is

added

in ver. 3, that they

might possibly observe and lay

the sign
5, 6,
iii.

to heart.

The
is

refractoriness

Qy^

^%
viz.

as in ch.

ii.

26, etc.)

described as obduracy,

having eyes.

CHAP.

XII. 1-7.

lo7
after Deut. xxix.

and not seeing

3
(cf. Jer. V.

having
;

ears,
;

and not hearing,

Matt.
xiii.

21

Isa. vi. 9

14, 15).

The

root of
obsti-

this

mental blindness and deafness was to be found in

i.e.

nacy,

in not willing

''
;

in that

presumptuous insolence," as

Michaelis says, " through which divine light can obtain no admission."
staff
npij
""PSj

the goods (or outfit) of exile, were a pilgrim's

wallet,

and

traveller's

with the provisions and utensils

necessary for a journey.

Ezekiel was to carry these out of the

house into the street in the day-time, that the people might see

them and have

their attention called to

them.

Then

in the

evening, after dark, he was to go out himself, not by the door

of the house, but through a hole which he had broken in the
wall.

He

was

also
it

to

take the

travelling

outfit

upon

his

shoulder and carry

through the hole and out of the place,

"

covering his face

to

all

the while, that he might not see the land

which he was going.

""i^^'i^S
:

Thy

place "

is

thy dwelling-place.

TvSi
i.e.

as the departures of exiles generally take place,

as exiles are accustomed to depart, not

" at the usual time

of departure into exile," as Havernick proposes.

For
and

^V^^? ^^

the

comm. on Mic.

v. 1.

riDpya differs T T-; T

from

the

darkness of the depth of night

artificially

(cf.

sio;nifies V O Gen. xv. 17) not,

;

2'M}2 V T7

however, " darkness

produced, equivalent
;

to,

with

the eyes shut, or the face covered

so that the words

which

follow are simply explanatory of riDpya," as Schmieder imagines.

Such an assumption would be

face

at variance not only with ver. 7,

but also with ver. 12, where the covering or concealing of the
is

expressly distinguished fi'om the carrying out " in the

dark."

The

order was to be as follows:

In the day-time
it

Ezekiel was to take the travelling outfit and carry

the road
first
;

out into

then in the evening he was to go out himself, having

of

all
;

broken a hole throuo;h the wall as evenino; was

coming on

and

in the darkness of night

he was

to place

upon

his shoulders

whatever he was about

to carry with

him, and

take his departure.

This he was to do, because

:

God had made

this

him a mOpheth

for Israel

in other words,

by doing

he was

158
to

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

to

show himself

be a marvellous sign to
iv.

Israel.

For

mopJieth,

see the comm. on Ex.

21.

In ver.

7, the execution of the

letter, is fully described.

command, which evidently took place in the strictness of the There was nothing impracticable in
the action, for breaking through the wall did not preclude the

use of a hamm.er or some other tool.

Vers. 8-16. Explanation of the symbolical action.

Ver.
to

8.

And the word ofJeliovah came to me in the morning^ saying, Ver.

Son of man, have they not said
refractory generation,
to thee, the

9.

house of Israel, the

What

art thou doing'? Ver. 10.

Say

them,

Tims

saith the

Lord Jehovah, This burden

to

applies to the prince in

to

Jerusalem, and

all the

house of Israel
:

whom

they belong.
it

Ver. 11. Say,

to

lam
is

your sign

as

I have

done, so shall

happen

them

into exile, into captivity, loill they go.

Ver. 12.
lift

And
his

the prince

who

in the midst of them he will

it

upon

shoulder in the dark,

icall,

and

will go out
:

they

ivill

break through the

lie

and carry

it

out thereby

he will cover his face, that

may

not see the land with eyes.

Ver. 13.

over him, so that he

loill

be caught in

And I loill spread my net my snare and I will take

:

him
it,

to

Babel, into the land of the Chaldeans

will die there.
all his troops,

but he
is

ivill

not see

and

Ver. 14.

And

all that

about him, his

help
the

and

sword behind them.

I ivill scatter into all winds, and draw out Ver. 15. And they shall learn that lam

Jehovah, when
in the lands.

I scatter them among the nations, and winnow them Ver. 16. Yet I will leave of them a small number
from
the

of men from
that they

the sword, relate

famine, and from the pestilence;

may

all their
;

abominations among the nations

learn that

lohither they

have come

and

I am

Jehovah.

As
in a

queries introduced with N?n have, as a rule, an affirmative sense,

the words " have they not asked,"

ites

etc.,

imply that the Israel-

had asked the prophet what he was doing, though not

proper state of mind, not in a penitential manner, as the epithet

nan

n"'3

plainly shows.

The prophet

is

therefore to interpret
all
its

the action which he had just been performing, and

different stages.

The words

njn nU'sn

N"'t^3nj

to

which very

CHAP,
different renderings

XII. 8-16.

159
to

have been given, are

burden,"
i.e.

be translated simplv

"the prince

is

this

the object of this burden.

i.e.

Hammassd

does not

mean

the carrying, but the burden,

the

threatening prophecy, the prophetic action of the prophet, as

in the headings to the oracles (see the

comm. on Nah.
xxi.

i.

1).

The
This

" prince "

is

the

king, as

in

ch.

30, though

not

Jehoiachin,
is

who had been

though
it is

carried into exile,

but

Zedekiah.

stated in the apposition " in Jerusalem,"

which belongs
after the predi-

to " the prince,"

cate, as

not introduced

till

is appended the further definition, " the whole house of Israel," which, being

in

Gen. xxi v. 24.

To

this

there

co-ordinated with

^''t^'^n,

affirms that all Israel (the covenant

In the last clause of D^ins ver. 10 does not stand for ^^^na, so that the suffix would refer to Jerusalem, " in the midst of which they (the house of
Israel)
are."

nation) will share the fate of the prince.

1^'X cannot be
;

a nominative, because in that

it

case nQH would be superfluous

D3in3,

is

rather to be taken with

and

^'^\}
i.e.

to

be understood as referring to the persons

(Hitzig, Kliefoth)
:

addressed,

to the Israelites in exile

in

the midst of

whom

they are,

i.e.

to

whom

they belono-.

The

sentence explains the reason

why

the prophet was to announce

;

to those in exile the fate of the prince

and people in Jerusalem namely, because the exiles formed a portion of the nation, and would be affected by the judgment which was about to burst

upon the king and people

was
sign
also
;

in

Jerusalem.

In

this sense

Ezekiel

able to say to the exiles (in ver. 11), " I

as his sign

am your

"

inasmuch

was

also of importance for them,

as those

who were

already banished would be so far affected by

the departure of the king and people which Ezekiel depicted, that
it

would deprive them of

all

hope of a speedy return

to their

native land,

urh, in ver. 11, refers to the king

n^ian is

and the house

of Israel in Jerusalem,
addition of
''?^'3.

rendered more forcible by the

that both king

The announcement
is

and people

must go

into exile,

carried out

still

further in vers. 12 and

13 with reference to the king, and in ver. 14 with reo^ard to the

160
people.

THE PKOrHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

The king

will

experience

all

that Ezeklel has described.

is

The

literal

occurrence of what
lii.

is

predicted here

related in

Jer. xxxix. 1 sqq.,

sqq.

2 Kings xxv. 4 sqq.

When

the

Chaldeans forced their way into the city after a two years'
siege,

Zedekiah and

his

men

of

war

fled

by night out of the

It
is

city

through the gate between the two walls.

not expressly

stated, indeed, in the historical accounts that a

in the wall
;

breach was made

but the expression " through the gate between the

4,
lii.

two walls" (Jer. xxxix.

2 Kings xxv. 4) renders this

very probable, whether the gate had been walled up during the
siege, or it

was necessary

to break through the wall at one par-

ticular spot in order to reach the gate.

The

king's attendants
wall,

would naturally take care that a breach was made in the

to secure for

him a way of escape

hence the expression, " they

also, is

will

break through."

The

covering of the face,

;

not

mentioned

in the historical accounts

but in

itself it is

by no
which

means improbable,
Zedekiah

as a sign of the

shame and
that he

grief with

left the city.

The words, "

may

not see the

land with eyes," do not appear to indicate anything more than

the necessary

consequence of covering the face, and refer

primarily to the simple fact that the king fled in the deepest
sorrow, and did not want to see the land; but, as ver. 13
clearly intimates, they

were

fulfilled in

another way, namely,

by the

fact that Zedekiah did not see with his eyes the land of

the Chaldeans into which he was led, because he had been

blinded at Iliblah (Jer. xxxix.

rVr',

5,

lii.

11

Kings xxv.
subject,

7).

by eye

= with

his eyes,

is

added

to give

prominence to the

idea of seeing.

For the same purpose, the

is

which

is

already implied in the verb,

rendered more emphatic by N*n

it

and

tliis

Nin

is

placed after the verb, so that

stands in con-

trast with P'J^^.

The

capture of the king was not depicted by

Ezekiel; so that in this respect the announcement (ver. 13)

goes further than the symbolical action, and removes
as to the credibility of the prophet's word,
tion of the fate awaiting him.
all

doubt

by a

distinct predic-

At the same time,

his not seeing

CHAP.
the land of Babylon

XII. 17-20.

161
that
it

is

left so

indefinite,

cannot

be

regarded as a vaticinium post eventum.

at

Zedekiah died in prison

Babylon (Jer.

lii.

11).

Along with the king, the whole of

14).

his military force will be scattered in all directions (ver.

n'lTy,

his help,

i.e.

the troops that break through with him.

his

VSiJS"73, all his

wings (the wings of

army),

i.e.

all
is

the rest

of his forces.
*'

The word
compare

is

peculiar to Ezekiel, and

rendered

wings" by Jos. Kimchi,

like

k^ndphaim
;

in Isa. viii. 8.

For the

rest of the verse

lii.

ch. v. 2

and for the

fulfilment, Jer.

8, xl. 7, 12.

The

greater part of the people will perish,

relate

and only a small number remain, that they may

the heathen, w^herever they are
Israel, in order that the
led,
all

among

the

abominations of
it is

heathen

may

learn that

not from

weakness, but simply to punish idolatry, that

God

has given

up His people to them

Vers. 17-20.

(cf.

Jer. xxii. 8).

Sign depicting the Tekrors and Consequences OF THE Conquest of Jerusalem. Ver. 17. Arid

the

word of Jehovah came

to

me, saying, Ver. 18. Son of man,

luith

thou shalt eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water
trembling and trouble
land,
;

Ver. 19.

And
to

say

to

the people

of the

Thus

saith the

Lord Jehovah
They

the inhabitants

of Jeru-

salem, in the land of Israel,

will eat their bread in trouble,

is

and drink
waste of all

their water in
its

amazement, because her land

laid

fulness for the wickedness of all ivho divell therein.

the inhabited cities
;

Ver. 20.

And

become desolate, and the land

learn that

will be laid waste

that ye

may
is

I am
;

Jehovah.

The
is

carrying out of this sign

as to its

not mentioned

not that there

it is

any doubt

having been done, but that

simply

taken for granted.

The

trouble and trembling could only be

^)y\,

expressed by means of gesture.

or violent convulsion
nW"!,
;

generally an earthquake

here, simply shaking,

is

synonymous with

trembling.
;

" Bread and water "

the standing expression

is

for food
to

so that

even here the idea of scanty provisions

This idea
is

not

be sought therein.

found merely

in the signs

EZEK.

I.

lf)2

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

of anxiety and trouble witli which Ezekiel was to eat his food,
ri^l^'^^i!

= 'n5<"^y,
appended

" upon the land," equivalent to " in the land."

to

This

is

show that the prophecy does not

refer

to those

who had

already been carried into exile, but to the

inhabitants of Jerusalem

who were
iv.

still

in the land.
iV'^p

For the

subject-matter, compare ch.

16, 17.

indicates not the

intention, " in order that/' but the motive, " because."

Vers. 21-28. Declarations to remove all Doubt as TO THE Truth of the Threat. The scepticism of the

people as to the fulfilment of

these

threatening prophecies,
signs, manifested

which had been made

itself in

still

more emphatic by

two

different ways.

Some

altogether denied that the

;

prophecies would ever be fulfilled (ver. 22)

others,

who

did

not go so far as
before they

this,

thought that

it

would be a long time These doubts were fed

came

to pass (ver. 27).

by the lying statements of

false prophets.

For

this reason the

is

refutation of these sceptical opinions (vers. 21-28)

in the next chapter

followed

by a stern reproof of the

people astray.

false prophets

and
the

prophetesses

who

led the
to

Ver.

21.

And

word of Jehovah came

hind of
2:)roverh

me, saying^ Ver. 22. Son of man, lohat

have ye in the land of Israel, that ye say, The

days become

long,

and

every prophecy comes to nothing'^

Ver. 23.
will jjut

Therefore say

to them,

Thus

saith the

Lord Jehovah, I
it

an end
soy
to

to this

saying,

and

they shall say

no more in Israel ; but

them. The days are near,

and

the

word of every prophecy.

Ver. 25.

Ver. 24. For henceforth there shall be no vain prophecy and

flattering soothsaying in the

midst of the house of Israel.

the toord
;

For I am Jehovah
to pass,

I speak ;

which

sjjeak will

come

and no longer

be postponed

for in your days,

is

refractory

generation,

vah.

Mdshdl, a

I speak a word and do it,

the saying of the

Lord Jeho-

proverb, a saying current

as a truth.

and constantly repeated

etc., i.e.

"

among the people, The days become long,"

is

the time
fulfilled.

is

lengthening out, and yet the prophecy

13K, perire, to

not being

come

to nothing, to fail of

CHAP. XIL 21-28.

the opposite of sn, to come, to be fulfilled.

163

fulfilment,
will

is

God

put an end to these sayings, by causing a very speedy

fulfilment of the prophecy.

The days
The

are near,

and every

word of the prophecy,

dicted shall
vers.

i.e.

the days in which every

word pregiven in

come
in
''3.

to pass.

reason for this

is

24 and 25,

two co-ordinate sentences, both of which are

First, every false
;

introduced with

prophecy shall henceforth

will bring

cease in Israel (ver. 24)

fulfilment of His

secondly,

God

about the
25).

own word, and

that without delay (ver.

Different explanations have been given of the

ver. 24.

meaning of
Dppjp as the

Kliefoth proposes to take

f\^i^
:

i^]^

and P^n

predicate to

no prophecy
all

in Israel shall be vain

shall

and

flatteri.e.

ing soothsaying, but

fulfilled.

prophecy

become
is

true,

be

Such an explanation, however,

CiDi?

not only

artificial

and unnatural, since

would be inserted
it

as a predicate in a

most unsuitable manner, but

contains this incongruity, that

God

would apply the term QppD^ soothsaying, to the predictions

of prophets inspired

by Himself.

On

the other hand, there

is

no force

in the

objection raised

by Kliefoth

to the ordinary-

rendering of the words, namely, that the statement that

God

was about

to

put an end to false prophecy in Israel would

anticipate the substance of the sixth

It
is

word

of

God
xiii.

(i.e.

ch. xiii.).

impossible to see

why

a thought should not be expressed

ppn,

here,
z'.^.

and then

still

further expanded in ch.

x. 2;

smooth,

flattering
4, 5).

(compare Hos.

and for the prediction, Zech.

xiii.

The same
there

reply serves also to overthrow the sceptical

objection raised

by the frivolous despisers of the prophet^s

is

words.
vers.

Hence

only a brief allusion

made

to

them
to

in

26-28.

Ver. 26.

And

the u'ord

of Jehovah came

me,

saying^

Ver. 27. Son of

vfimij

behold, the house of Israel saith,

The

vision that he seeth is

for

many days

of,

and he prophesies
Thus
saith

for distant times.

the

Ver. 28. Therefore say

to them,

Lord Jehovah, All my

which

zvords shall be no longer postponed

the ivord

shall speak shall

;

come

to

pass, saith the

Lord

Jehovah.

The

words are plain

and after what has already

164
been
said,

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

they need no special
explanation.

Ver. 20 com-

pare with ver. 25.

CHAP.

XIII.

AGAINST THE FALSE PROPHETS AND

PROPHETESSES.

The way was

parts, viz. vers.

already prepared for the address in this chapter

xii.

by the announcement in ch.

24.

It divides itself into

two

1-16, directed against the false prophets; and

vers.

17-23, against the false prophetesses.

In

botli

parts
fore-

their conduct is first described,

told.

and then the punishment

still

Jeremiah, like

Ezekiel, and sometimes

false prophets,

more

strongly,

denounces the conduct of the

to

who

are therefore

be sought for not merely among the

those

exiles,

but principally
(vid. Jer. xxiii.

among
9 sqq.).

who were

left

behind in the land

A lively

intercourse was kept

up between the two,

so

that the false prophets extended their operations from

to the

Canaan

Chaboras, and vice versa.

Vers. 1-16.

Against the False Prophets.

Vers.
to

1-7.

Their conduct.
saying, Ver.

Ver.

1.

And

the tcord

of Jehovah came

me,

Israel icho

Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of prophesy, and say to the prophets out of their heart,
2.

Hear ye
Jehovah,

the xcord

of Jehovah.

Ver.

3.

Thus

saith the

Lord

Woe

xipon the foolish prophets,

who go
4.

after their spirit,

in ruins

and

that lohich they have not seen !

Israel.

Ver.

Lile foxes
5.

have thy prophets become,

Ver.

Ye do not stand
the house of Israel

before the breaches, nor wall tip theicall

to

around

stand firm in the battle on the day of Jehovah.

Ver.

6.

They

see vanity

and

lying soothsaying, tvho say, " Oracle of Jehovah;'^

sent them
;

and Jehovah hath not

fulfilment of the xoord.

so that they might hope for the

Ver.

7.

Do

ye not

see vain visions,

and

speak lying soothsaying, and say, Oracle of Jehovah ; and I have The addition C^^fSn^ " who prophesy," is not supernot spoken ?

fluous.

Ezekiel

is

not to direct his words against the prophets

CHAP.

XIII. 1-7.

165

as a body,

but against those who follow the vocation of prophet

it

in Israel without being called to

by God on receiving a divine

revelation, but simply prophesying out of their

own

heart, or

according to their
of the

own

subjective imagination.

In the name
as fools

Lord he

is

to threaten

them with woes,

follow their

own

spirit; in
folly,

connection with which

who we must
was not

bear in mind that

according to the

Hebrew

idea,

merely a moral

failing,

but actual godlessness

is

(cf.

Ps. xiv. 1).

The phrase "going

after their spirit"

^N"J ""rip^Pj

interpreted and renis

dered more emphatic by

which

to

be taken as a
i.e.

relative clause, " that which they have not seen,"

whose

prophesying does not rest upon intuition inspired by God.

Consequently they cannot promote the welfare of the nation,

but (ver. 4) are

like foxes in ruins or desolate places.

is

The
et

point of comparison

to be found in the

undermining of the

ground by

foxes, qui

per cuniculos suhjectam terrain excavant

suffodiunt (Bochart).

For the thought

is

not exhausted by the

circumstance that they withdraw to their holes instead of stand-

ing in front of the breach (Hitzig)

and there

is

no force

in

the objection that, with this explanation,

^i^^'^'jl? is

passed over
expression
false

and becomes
*'

in fact tautological (Hiivernick).

The

in ruins " points to the fall of the theocracy,

which the

prophets cannot prevent, but, on the contrary, accelerate by

undermining the moral foundations of the

state.

For

(ver. 5)

they do not stand in the breaches, and do not build up the wall

around the house of

Israel

(yt>

belongs to both clauses).

He

who

desires to

keep

off the

enemy, and prevent

his entering the

fortress, will stand in the breach.

For the same purpose are

gaps and breaches in the fortifications carefully built up.

sins of the people

The

had made gaps and breaches

in the walls of

Jerusalem
city.
its

in other words,

had caused the moral decay of the

But they had not

stood in the

way

of this decay

and

causes, as the calling

and duty of prophets demanded, by

reproving the sins of the people, that they might rescue the
people and kingdom from destruction by restoring
its

moral

; ;

166

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

religious
life.

and
so

Tf'?-'?^ ''^.V?,

to stand, or in

keep ground,
the war.

i.e.

that ye
is

might have kept your ground

in the

Tlie

subject

the false prophets, not Israel, as Hiivernick supposes.

i.e.

" In the day of Jehovah,"

has decreed.

judgment which Jehovah

Not

to stand, does not

mean merely

to avert the
itself,

threatening judgment, but not

to be overthrow^n

to survive the

judgment

by
lie
;

it.

This arises from the fact that their

prophesying

is

because Jehovah, whose

name they have

vn^l
is

in their mouths, has not sent them (ver. 6).

dependent

upon

CnptJ':

God

has not sent them, so that they could hope

for the fulfilment of the

word which they speak.

The

render-

ing adopted by others, " and they cause to hope," is untenable for P^l with ? does not mean " to cause to hope," or give hope,

but simply

to

hope for anything.

This was really the case

is

and

it is

affirmed in the declaration, which

repeated in the

form of a

direct appeal in ver. 7, to the effect that their visions

were vain and lying soothsaying.

For

this

they are threatened

with the judgment described in the verses which follow.

Vers. 8-16. Punishment of the false

Therefore thus saith the

prophets.

Ver.

8.

Lord Jehovah, Because ye speak

Ver.

vanity

and proplcesy
saying of the

lying, therefore, behold,

Lord Jehovah.
who

I ivill deal with you, is the 9. And my hand shall he

lies
:

against the propliets

see vanity

and divine

in the council

of my

people they shall not he, and in the register of the house of

Israel they shall not he registered,

they not come
;

and

into the land of Israel shall

and ye

shall learn that

Ver. 10. Because, yea because they lead

say, " Peace,"" though there
is

I am my

the

Lord Jehovah.
and {my people)

jyeople astray,
it

no peace
it
:

and when

build a wall, behold, they plaster

to the plasterers, that it will

with cement: Ver. 11. Say

fall

there cometh a

pouring rain

and ye

hailstones fall,
lo all

and thou stormy wind break

falleth
;

loose !

Ver. 12.

And,

behold, the

will

men

not say to you,

Where

is

the plaster loilh ivhich ye have plastered it?

Ver. 13. Therefore

to

thus saith the

Lord Jehovah, I

cause a stormy wind

break

CHAP.

XIII. 8-16.

167
loill

forth in

my

xcrath,

and a pouring rain

for destruction.

come in

and

hailstones in wrath,

Ver. 14.

my anger, And I demothe ground,

lish the xoall

which ye have plastered, and cast

it to

thai

its

foundation

may

he exposed,

and

it

shall fall,

and ye

shall

perish in the midst of it; and shall learn that

I am

Jehovah.

Ver. 15.

And I

will exhaust
it ;

my

wrath xipon
to

the ivall,
is

and upon

those ivho plaster

and

ivill

soy

you, It
it;

all over with the

wall,

and

all over with those

who plastered
to

Ver. 16. With the

prophets of Israel who prophesied

peace for her, though there Jehovah.
is

Jerusalem, and saw visions of

is the

no peace,

saying of the
to fall
;

Lord

In

ver. 8 the
is

punishment which

is

upon the
it

false prophets
is

threatened in general terms

and

in ver. 9

more

specifically described in the

form of a climax, rising

its

higher and higher in the severity of

announcements.

(1)

They

are no longer to form part of the council of the people of

that
is

God

to

say, they will

(liD
is

lose

their influential

position

among

the people.

the sphere of counsellors, not the

shall not

social sphere.)

(2) Their

names

be registered in the

book of the house of

is

Israel.

The book

of the house of Israel

the register in which the citizens of the

kingdom of God are

citizen-

entered. or

Any one whose name was

of
it,

not admitted into this book,

was struck out

Israel,

was separated thereby from the

all

ship of

and

lost

the

privileges
life is

which citizenship
a similar one (cf.

conferred.

The

figure of the

book of

Ex.

xxxli. 32).

For

Israel

is

not referred to here with regard

;

to its

outward nationality, but as the people of God

so that

exclusion from Israel was also exclusion from fellowship with

God.

The circumstance

that
is

it

is

not the erasure of their

names from the book

that

mentioned here, but their not

all,

being entered in the book at

may

be accounted for from

the reference contained in the words to the founding of the

new kingdom

of

God.

The

old

theocracy was abolished,

although Jerusalem was not yet destroyed.

nation had fallen under the judgment
of Israel which was dispersed
;

The covenant

but out of that portion

the heathen, a remnant

among

168

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

would be gathered together again, and having been brought

back
of
to its

own

land,

would be made anew

into a holy people

God

(cf. ch. xi.

17 sqq.).

But

the false prophets are not to

(3)

be received into the citizenship of the new kingdom.

are not even to

They

come

into the land of Israel

i.e.

they are not

merely to remain in

exile,

but to lose

all

share in the privileges

and blessings of the kingdom of God.

This judgment

will

come upon them because they

and cherishing
false

lead astray the people of

is

God,

by proclaiming peace where there

no peace

i.e.

by

raising

hopes of prosperity and peace, by which

lives,

they encourage the people in their sinful

imafrine that
(cf. Jer. xxiii.
is

and lead them

to

to

all is

well,

and there
iii.

is

no judgment

be feared

17 and Mic.

5).

The exposure
itself is

of this offence
(cf.

introduced by the solemn

;

1^.31 ]V\

because and because

exhibited

Lev. xxvi. 43)

of a figure.

and the offence

by means
and the

When

the people build a wall, the false prophets

^51^'!

plaster the wall with lime.

(ver. 10) refers to

^'QJ^

"'SJ?,

clause
or

is

a circumstantial one.
wall, probably

signifies the plaster coating

cement of a

from the primary meaning of

to glue, or

bp^, to stick or plaster over (=ppi^, conghitinare,

fasten together),
insipid,
n^t?

from which the secondary meaning of weak,

has sprung.

The proper word

is

for plaster or

cement

is

(ver. 12),

and

^'S'^

probably chosen with an allusion to

is silly

the tropical signification of that which

xxiii.

or absurd (Jer.
is intelli-

13;

Lam.

ii.

14).

The meaning

of the figure

gible enough.

The

people build up foolish hopes, and the pro-

phets not only paint these hopes for them in splendid colours,

but even predict their fulfilment, instead of denouncing their

folly,

pointing out to the people the perversity of their ways,

and showing them that such sinful conduct must inevitably be

followed by punishment and ruin.

The

plastering

is

therefore
i.e.

a figurative description of deceitful flattery or hypocrisy,

the covering

up of inward corruption by means of outward

xxiii.

appearance (as in Matt,

27 and Acts

xxiii.

3).

This

figure leads the prophet to describe the

judgment which they

CHAP.
are bringing

XIII. 8-16.

169
as

upon the nation and themselves,

hail

a tempest

accompanied with

and pouring

rain,

which throws down

the wall that has been erected and plastered over;

and

in

connection with this figure he opens out this double thought

(1) the conduct of the people,

which

is

encouraged by the false

;

prophets, cannot last (vers.

11 and 12)

and (2) when

this

work of
also

theirs

is

overthrown, the false prophets themselves will

fate they deserve (vers. 13-16).

meet with the

The

threat
it

of

judgment commences with the

fall,

short, energetic ^S^l, let

(the wall)

or

it

shall fall, with

Vav

to indicate the train of

is

thought (Ewald,

347a).

The

subject

^sn, to
is

which

^3^.

suggests a resemblance in sound.

In ver. 12 this

predicted

as the fate awaiting the plastered wall.

In the description of
njriSI

the bursting storm the account passes with a direct address

;

(and ye) into

in

other words, the description assumes the

form of an appeal
forth wnth
all

to the destructive forces of

nature to burst

their violence against the

it.

work plastered over by

Dt;*3,

the prophets, and to destroy

ch. xxxviii. 22.
stones.

^^S^

pouring rain

cf.

K'^^pX

''J3S

here and ch. xxxviii. 22 are hailis

The word
ti'''33

'^''?2?*?,

which

peculiar to Ezekiel,

is
;

proice,

bably

(Job

xxviii.

18), with the Arabic article

bii

then crystal.
Vijizn

ni"iJ?D
is

nn^ wind of storms, a hurricane or tempest.

(ver. 11)

used intransitively, to break loose; but in

cause to break loose.
''

ver.

13

it

is

transitive, to

The

active
so.

rendering adopted by Kliefoth,

plaster of the wall,
is

the storm will rend,"

the

inappropriate in ver. 11; for a tempest

does not rend either the plaster or the wall, but throws the wall

down.
will

The

translation

which Kliefoth gives

is

in ver. 13,

" I

rend by tempest,"
sense.

at variance with both the

language

and the
in

Jehovah

will cause this

tempest to burst forth

it

His wrath and destroy the

wall,

and lay

level with the

ground.
not to
"fi?

The

suffix in iiaina refers

is

{ad sensuui) to Jerusalem,

"r])ri

(the wall), which

masculine, and has no

(midst).
for the

The words

pass from the figure to the reality here

is

plastered wall

a symbol of Jerusalem, as the centre of the

170
theocracy, which

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

is

to

be destroyed, and to bury the lying

(ver. 15) contains a phiy

prophets in

its

ruins,

"'^''^^'i

upon the
Ezekiel

word

n^3^ in ver. 13.

By
;

new turn given

to
is

rh^,

repeats the thought that the wrath of

God

to destroy the

wall and
off

its

plasterers

and through

this repetition

he rounds

the

threat

with the express declaration, that the false

are ever preaching peace are the plasterers to

prophets

who

whom

he

refers.

As Against the False Prophetesses. the Lord had not endowed men only with the gifts of prophecy, but sometimes women also, e.g. Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah
Vers. 17-23.
;

so

women

also rose

up along with the

false prophets,

and pro-

phesied out of their

Spirit of
i/iou,

own

hearts without being impelled by the

God.

Vers. 17-19. Their conduct. Ver. 17. A7id

son of man, direct thy face towards the daughters of thy

people.)

them, Ver. 18.

who prophesy out of their heart and prophesy against And say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Woe to
of

those loho sew coverings together over all the joints

my

hands,
.'

and make caps for

catch the souls of

the

head of every

size,

to

catch soids
alive.

Ye

my
me

people,
ivith
to

and keep your souls

Ver. 19.

And
for

ye profane

my

people for handfuls of barley and

p)ieces

of bread,

slay souls which shoidd not die,

live,

and

to

keep alive which should not

by your lying

to

my people who
own
heart

hearken
are
(ver.

to lying.

Like the prophets

in vers.

in ver. 2, the prophetesses

here described as prophesying out of

17)
;

their

and

18 and 19 their offences are more

particularly described.
tirely

The meaning

of these verses
'''!^,

is

en-

dependent upon the view to be taken of

which the
the
or

majority of expositors, following the lead of the

Syriac,
1^,

LXX.,

and the Vulgate, have regarded

as referring to the
is

as identical with

DJ'iJ

and understood

hands of the women or

prophetesses.

But there

nothing to justify the assumption

D^l),

that
it

''']^

is

an unusual form for

which even Evvald takes

can
it

to

be {Lehrhuch,

177a).

Still less

stand for the

CHAP.
singular 1\

XIII. 17-19.

171

And we have

not sufficient ground for altering

03"'^'^'^"'?

the text, as the expression

in ver.

20

(I will tear the

ninos from your arms) does not require the assumption that
the prophetesses had hidden their arms in ninD3; and such
a supposition
facts.
is

by no means obviously
from

in

harmony with the

The

word ninps^
Ewaki,

HDZi^

with n fern, treated as a

radical letter (cf.

18 6e), means a covering or concealor "pillow"

ment =riiD3.
TrpoaKecfiaXata,

The meaning "cushion"

Vulg.
pulvilli)
is

(LXX.
word
is^i

is

merely an inference diawn

;

from
(to

this passage,

and
is

decidedly erroneous

for the

sew together)
"''])

inapplicable

to cushions,

as well

as the

phrase

'''P''^*X~73

py,

inasmuch

as cushions
still

are

not placed

upon the

joints of the hands,

and

less

are they sewed

together upon them.

The

latter is also a decisive reason for

rejecting the explanation given

Usdthotli

by Hiivernick, namely, that the

were carpets, which were used as couches, and upon

as reclinino-.

which these voluptuous women are represented

For cushions

or couches are not placed upon, but under, the

shoulders,

arm-joints (or elbows) and the

which Hiivernick

understands by

Y^^.

This also overthrows another expla-

nation given of the words, namely, that they refer to carpets,

which the prophetesses had sewed together for

joints, so as to

all their

arm-

form comfortable beds upon splendid

carpets,

that they
tion given

may

indulge in licentiousness thereon.

The

explana-

by Ephraem Syrus, and adopted by Hitzig, namely,

that the sdtlwth were amulets or straps, which they

wound

round

their arm-joints

when they
is

received or delivered their

oracles, is equally untenable.

*'

For, as Kliefoth has observed,

it is

evident that there

not a word in the text about adultery,

or amulets, or straps used in prayer."

And

again,

when we
cevmcalia^
is

proceed to the next clause, the traditional rendering of riinapD^

as

signifying

either

pillows

{vivavyevia^

Symm.

Vulg.) or broad cloaks

= ninstpo

(Hitzig, Havernick, etc.),

neither supported by the usage of the language, nor in har-

mony

with C\xi

7y.

Mispdcholhj from sdphach, to join, cannot

172

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

in

have any other meaning

fittinf

the present context than a cap

close to the

head

and ^V must denote the pattern which

26
:

was followed,

as in Ps. ex. 4, Esth. ix.

to) the

they

after (answering

head of every
"

stature.

make the caps The words of

both clauses are figurative, and have been correctly explained

by Kliefoth
the

as follows

double charge
place,

is

brought against

prophetesses.

In the
all
;

first

they sew coverings to-

gether to wrap round

the joints of the

hand

of

God, so that

He
of

cannot touch them

i.e.

they cover up and conceal the word

God by

their prophesying,

more

especially

its

rebuking and

threatening force, so that the threatening and judicial

arm

of

God, which ought above

tive

all to

become both manifest and

effec-

through His prophetic word, does not become either one or

the other.

In the second place, they make coverings upon the

heads of men, and construct them in such a form that they

exactly
fit

the stature or size of every individual, so that the

;

men

neither hear nor see

i.e.,

by means of

their flattering

lies,

which adapt themselves

to the subjective inclinations of their

hearers at the time, they cover up the senses of the men, so

that they retain neither ear nor eye for the truth."

They do
and

both of these to catch souls.

their act
is

The

inevitable consequence of
;

represented as having been intended by them

is

this intention

then

still

further defined as being to catch the

;

souls of the people of

God
a

i.e.

to allure

them
clause

to destruction,
n3"i'ii^n DiC'Dsn

and take care of

is

their

own

souls.

The

not to be taken as

question, " Will ye catch the souls?"

implying a doubt whether they really thought that they could

carry on such conduct as theirs with perfect impunity (Hiivernick).
It

contains a

simple

statement of what really took

place in their catching of souls, namely, " they catch the souls of the people of

God, and preserve

their

own

souls ;"

i.e.

they

rob the people of

God
^sy?

of
is

flieir

lives, and take care of their

(stat.

own

(Kliefoth).

used instead of the genitive

rests

const7'.) to

show that the accent

upon

^Kiy.

And

in the

same way we have

nja? instead of the suffix.

The

construction

CHAP.

XIII, 20-23.

173

is

the same as in 1

sin

had been.

by delivering

Sam xiv. 16. Ver. 19 shows how great their They profane God among His people namely, the suggestions of their own heart to the people
;

as divine revelations,

for the purpose of getting their

iii.

daily

bread thereby

(cf.
lies,

Mic.
those

5)

by hurling into destruction,

which ought to
live,
i.e.

through their
lying
;

who

are only too glad to listen to

live,

by slaying the

souls of the people

and by preserving those which ought not to

souls (Deut. xviii. 20).
to come.

their

own

The punishment

for this will not fail

Vers. 20-23. Punishment of the false prophetesses.

Therefore thus
saitli

Ver. 20.

the

Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will

ivill let the

deal with
;

your coverings with which ye catch, 1

souls Jly

and
your

I loill

tear

them away from your arms, and

to fly.

set the souls free,

which ye catch, the souls

Ver. 21. Ajid

I will

tear

caps in pieces, and deliver

shall no
that

my

people out of your liand, and they

in

more become a prey

Jehovah.

your hand; and ye shall learn

I am

Ver. 22. Because ye grieve the heart of the

righteous with lying,

the

when I have not pained him ; and

strengthen

way,

hands of the wiched, so that he does not turn from his evil Ver. 23. Therefore ye shall no more to preserve his life.

see vanity,

and no longer practise soothsaying

threat of
sins.

and I

loill

deliver

my

people out of your hand; and ye shall learn that

I am

Jehovah.

The

judgment

is

closely connected with

the reproof of their

Vers. 20 and 21 correspond to the

reproof in ver. 18, and vers. 22 and 23 to that in ver. 19.

In the

first

place, the

Lord

will tear in pieces the

coverings

and

caps,

i.e.

the tissue of lies

woven by the
end

false prophetesses,

and rescue the people from

secondly.

their snares (vers.

20 and 21)

and,

He

will entirely put an

to the pernicious

conduct

of the persons addressed (vers.

22 and 23).

The words from

as

nans

it^'X

to riinnbp (ver. 20a),

are,

when taken

one clause, as
since
D*^,
it

they generally
impossible
to

offer insuperable difficulties,

is

get
fit

any satisfactory meaning from

in.

and

ninnb? will not

Whether we understand by

k^sdthoth

174

THE PROPHECIES of ezekiel.

"it^'J*

coverings or cushions, the connection of DK' with

(lohere

ye
is

catch the souls), whicli

tlie

majority of commentators prefer,

untenable

for coverings
souls

and cushions were not the places

where the

were caught, but could only be the means

^'^
it

employed for catching them. Instead of D3 or Dn3 and Hitzig proposes to amend
;

we should expect
Still

in this way.

less admissible is the

proposal to take

D^

as referring to
;

Jeru-

salem (" wherewith ye catch souls there ")

as DC'

would not

only contain a perfectly superfluous definition of locality, but

would introduce a limitation altogether

context.
It
is

at variance with the

not affirmed either of the prophets or of the

tliey

prophetesses
alone.
ral

that

lived

and prophesied
is

in

Jerusalem
most gene-

In vers, 2 and 17 reference

made

in the

terms to the prophets of Israel and the daughters of thy

it is

people; and in ver. 16

simply stated that the false prophets

prophesied peace to Jerusalem

when

there was no peace at

all.

Consequently we must regard the attempt to find in D^ an

allusion to

Jerusalem

(cf. ver.

16) as a mere loophole, which

betrays an utter inability to get any satisfactory sense from the

word.
ninnbp

Moreover,
is

if

we

construe the words in this manner,

also incomprehensible.
n"i3
is

Commentators have

for the

most part admitted that

sense of volare, to
fly.

used here in the Aramaean

is

In the second half of the verse there

no doubt about
Deut.
combination
^C'snp ro}y

its

havino; this meaning.

For

rr^^ is
fly
;

used in

xxii. 7 for liberating

a bird, or letting

it

and the

nirribp 'Qjrrns

nw

is

supported by the expression

in

Ex.

xxi. 26,

while the comparison of souls to

birds

is

sustained

by Ps.

xi. 1

and cxxiv.
riin~ibp
.
.

7.

Hence the

true
is,

meaning
I send

of the whole passage

(set free)

ni:;'S3n-nK 'nnpB'

away

the souls, which ye have caught, as

flying ones,

i.e.

so that they shall be able to fly

away

at liberty.

And
But
the

in the first half also

we must not adopt

a different renderit

ing for
if

niiTibpj since niC^S3n~ns is also

connected with

there.

the words in question are combined into one clause in

first

hemistich, they will give us a sense which

is

obviously

CHAP.

XIII. 20-23.

175
let

wrong,

viz.

" wherewith ye catch the souls to

them

fly."

As

the impossibility of adopting this rendering has been clearly

seen, the attempt has been

made

to cloak over the difficulty

by

means

of paraphrases.
if

Ewald, for example, renders nimb? in

;

both cases " as

they were birds of passage " but in the

it

first

instance he applies

to birds of passage, for

which nets are

spread for the purpose of catching

birds of passage
ing,

them

and

in the second, to
strictly

which are

set at liberty.

Thus,

speak-

he understands the
;

first

ninib^ as signifying the catching

of birds

and the second,

letting

them

fly

an explanation which

refutes itself, as paracA, to

well.

fly,

cannot mean " to catch " as

others,

The rendering adopted by Kimchi, Rosenmliller, and who translate ninibp ut advolent ad vos in the first
is

hemistich, and ut avolent in the second,

difficulty
is

no

better.

And

the

not removed by resorting to the dialects, as Haver-

nick, for the purpose of forcing

upon

nirrib the
is it

meaning

dis-

soluteness or licentiousness, for which there

no authority
is

in

the

Hebrew language

itself.

If,

therefore,

impossible to
it

obtain any satisfactory

meaning from the

is

existing text,
to us

can-

not be correct

and no other course

open

than

to alter
"itJ'X

the unsuitable DK' into D^, and divide the words from nariX
to nin^bp into

two
is
n^::?

clauses, as

we have done
to

in

our translation

above.
lative

There
"1^^?.,

no necessity
is

supply anything to the re(e.g.

as

construed with a double accusative

Mic.

vii.

2,

Cl^n n^^, to

catch with a net), and the object to

ni"!"]'^*^,

viz.
DK',

the souls, can easily be supphed from the next

clause.
"'JJHj

as a participle, can either be connected with " behold, I make," or taken as introducing an explanatory
:

clause

" making the souls into flying ones,"

Diti',

i.e.

so that they

are able to fly (^

Gen.

xii. 2, etc.).

The two
''Wli^l

clauses of

the

first

hemistich would then exactly correspond to the two

clauses of the second half of the verse.

Dnx

is

explana-

tory of 'nD3 7^

''::t}^

I will tear off the coverings from their

arms.

These words do not require the assumption that the

prophetesses wore the niDDis on their arms, but

may

be fully

176

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

explained from the supposition that the persons in question

prepared them
to
'1J1

witii their
;

own hands.
is

'l31

^'i'Oi'V'"!

corresponds
^J^n^?'.

nirs3n-nx n^

and nimbb
is

governed by

Tlie

insertion of Q^P'^snTiX

to be accounted for
;

from the copious

it is

nature of Ezekiel's style

repetition of nrj'S^riTix,
relative clause
D^*J'S3
'i-'O

at the
is

same

time,

not merely a

which
"lif'Sj

separated from nirnbp by the

OriX

but as the unusual plural form

shows,

is

intended as a practical explanation of the fact,

that the souls, while

compared

to birds,

are regarded as living

ti'S3

beings, which

is

the meaning borne by

in other passages.

The

omission of the article after

DS may be

explained, however,

from the fact that the souls had been more precisely defined
just before
xviii. 18,
;

just as, for example, in 1

Sam.

xxiv. 6, 2

Sam.

where the more precise

(cf.

definition follows immediately

p.

afterwards

Ewald,

277a,

683).

The same

thing

is

said in ver. 21, with regard to the caps,

said of the coverings in ver. 20.
also,

as has already been

tear these in pieces

God

will

to

deliver

His people from the power of the lying pro-

phetesses.

In what way

God

will

do this

is

explained in vers.

22 and 23, namely, not only by putting their lying prophecies

to

shame through His judgments, but by putting an end

to

soothsaying altogether, and exterminating the false prophetesses

by making them an object of ridicule and shame.

for this threat
is

The

reason

is

given in ver. 22, where a further description

;

given of the disgraceful conduct of these persons

is

and here
and

the disgracefulness of their conduct

exhibited in literal terms

to the righteous
riixan^

and

w^ithout

any

figure.

They do harm

good, and strengthen the hands of the wicked,

of nN3j in Syriac, to use harshly or depress
;

HipMl
is

so

here in the
"li??^

Hipldl, connected with 37, to afHict the heart,

adverbially
:

used

with lying, or in a lying manner

namely, by

predicting misfortune and divine punishments, with which they

threatened the godly,

who would

not acquiesce in their conduct

whereas, on the contrary', they predicted prosperity and peace

to the ungodly,

who were

willing to be ensnared

by them, and

CHAP. XIV.

1.

177

thus strengthened them in their evil ways.

put them

to

For this God would shame through His judgments, which would make
and
their soothsaying loathsome.

their deceptions manifest,

CHAP. XIV. ATTITUDE OF GOD TOWARDS THE WORSHIPPERS

OF IDOLS, AND CERTAINTY OF THE JUDGMENTS.

This chapter contains two words of God, which have obviously an internal connection with each other.

1-11) announces
to inquire

inquire of

The first (vers. who have come to the prophet of God, that the Lord will not allow idolaters to Him, but will answer all who do not turn from
to the elders,

idolatry with severe judgments,

and

will to

even destroy the prosuch inquirers.

phets

who venture

to give

an answer

The
will

second (vers. 12-23) denounces the false hope that

avert the

God

judgment and spare Jerusalem because of the

right-

eousness of the godly

men

therein.

Vers. 1-11.

ters.

The Lord
There came

gives no

Answer to the Idolathis

Yer. 1 narrates the occasion for

and

tlie

following

words of

God

and

sat dorvn before me.

me men of the elders of Israel^ These men were not deputies from
to

the Israelites in Palestine, as Grotius

elders of the exiles amoncp

and others suppose, but

with the in-

whom

Ezekiel had been labourino-.

They came

to visit the prophet (ver. 3), evidently

tention of obtaining, through him, a

word of God concerninc

the future of Jerusalem, or the fate of the

kingdom

of Judah.

But

Iltivernick
first

is

wrong

in

supposing that we

may

infer,

from

either the

or second word of
to the

God

in this chapter, that they

had addressed
to

prophet a distinct inquiry of this nature,

is

which the answer

given in vers. 12-23.

For although

their

coming

to

the prophet showed that his prophecies had

is

made an impression upon them, it they had come to inquire of God,

and there is no allusion EZEK. I.
to

not stated in ver. 1 that

like the elders in ch. xx. 1,

any

definite questions in the

words of

ITS

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

themselves.

God

The

first

(vers.

2-11) simply assumes that

they have come with the intention of asking, and discloses the
state of heart
tlie

which keeps them from coming to inquire

and

second (vers. 12-23) points out the worthlessness of their

false confidence in the righteousness of certain

godly men.
saying, Ver. 3.

Ver.

2.

And

the

Son of man, and have set

these

word of Jehovah came to me, men have let their idols rise up

in their heart,
:

the stmnbling-hlock to guilt before their face

shall

allow myself to be inquired of by them?

Ver.

4.

Jherefore

speak

to them,

and say

to

them, Tims saith the

Lord Jehovah,

Every man of the house of Israel who lifteth tip his idols in his heart, and setteth the stumbling-block to his sin before his face, and
Cometh
to the prophet, to

him do

I,

Jehovah, show myself, answe^'ing

multitude of his idols
;

according thereto, according

to the

Ver.

5.

To grasp
aioay

the house
all

of Israel by their heart, because they have turned of them through

their idols.

from me,

We

have not to

picture these elders to ourselves as given

^. ^V
*^^]tJ}.

up

to gross idolatry.
to

means, to allow anything to come into the mind,

permit

it

to rise

up

in the heart, to be mentally

busy therewith.

"To

set before

one's

face"

is

also

to

be understood, in a

spiritual sense, as relating to a thing

which a

man

will not

put

out of his mind.

(cf. ch. vii.

UiSv ?vcbp,
i.e.

stumbling-block to sin and guilt

19),

the

idols.

Thus

the two phrases simply

denote the leaning of the heart and

spirit
is

towards false gods.

attached to idols to
'iil

God

does not suffer those whose heart

seek and find

Him.

The

interrogative clause

ty'Tnxn

con-

tains a strong negation.

The emphasis
^''V.'^,
;

lies

in

the infinitive
is

absolute

t^"i"^X

placed before the verb, in which the n

softened

into N, to avoid writing n twice.

to allow oneself to be
Isa. Ixv. 1

sought, involves the finding of

God
^"^

hence in

we
a

have tnnj as parallel

to ^^>P^

\qv?,.

4, 5, there follows

positive declaration of the attitude of

God

towards those

who

are devoted to idolatry in their heart.

will

Every such

Israelite

be answered by
idols.

God

according to the measure of the

nJVi has not the significa-

multitude of his

The Niphal

CHAP. XIV.

G-8.

179
to

tion of the

Kal, and does not

mean "
;

be answerable," as

Ewald
(Job
to

supposes, or to converse

but

is

generally used in a

passive sense, " to be answered,"

xi. 2, xix. 7).

i.e.

to find or obtain a hearing

reflective sense,

It

is

employed here in a
answering.
n3,

hold or show
"^3,

oneself

according to the
softer gloss Na,
antici-

Chetib

for
'^^

which the Keri suggests the

refers to

3"i3

which follows; the nominative beins

pated, according to an idiom very

common
more

in

Aramaean, by a

previous pronoun.

It

is

written here for the sake of emphasis,

striking prominence.
to,

to bring the following object into

is

used here in the sense of secundum, according

is

not

because, since this meaning

ver.
7,

quite unsuitable for the 3 in

where
in

it

occurs in the same connection C?).

The
Here,
is

manner

which

God

will

show Himself answering the

is

idolatry according to their idols,

reserved

till

ver. 8.

in ver. 5, the design of this procedure

on the part of God

i.e.

given

viz. to

grasp Israel by the heart;

to bring

not merely to touch

and

to

improve them, but

(cf.

ments

Lev. xxvi. 41),

down their heart by judgand thus move them to give up

God.
Dps
is
'iifj,

idolatry

and return

to the living

as in Isa.

i.

4, to

recede, to

draw away from God.

^1T3.

an emphatic repetition

of the subject belonging to

Vers. 6-8. In these verses the divine threat, and the

to repent, are repeated,

summons

expanded, and uttered in the clearest

to the

words.
the

Ver.

6.

Therefore say

house of Israel, Thus saith

Lord Jehovah,

Repent, and turn aioay

all

from your

idols

and

turn

away your face from

your abominations.

Ver.

7.

For
up

every one of the house of Israel,

and of

the foreigners loho sojourn

in Israel, if he estrange himself from me,

and

let

his idols rise

in his heart,

and

set the

stumbling-block to his sin before his face,

to seek

and come

to the

prophet

me for
ivill

himself ;

I loill
8.

shoio

myand

self to him, answering in

my own
and
him

icay.

Ver.

luill direct

my face

against that man,

loill

destroy him, for a sign

for proverbs, and

learn that

cut

off out

of 7ny people
6
is

and ye

shall

I am

Jehovah.

I?? in ver.

co-ordinate with the

180

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

the thought
is

I?? in ver. 4, so far as

concerned, but

it is

directly

attached to ver. 5b

because they have estranged themselves

from God, therefore

God

requires

them

to repent

and turn.

For God

will

answer with severe judgments every one who

with idols in his heart, whether he be an
'in^t:',

would seek

God

Israelite, or a foreigner living in the midst of Israel,

turn,

be converted,
.

is
.

rendered

still

more emphatic by the

call

addition of ^^^P

''^''y''^.

This double

to

repentance

corresponds to the double reproof of their idolatry in ver. 3, and Q^V.? ^2'"^'^', to their setting the viz. UV;^, to ^5? ^V '^3 n^yn
;

idols Qt]\^? n3J.

is

^3''K'n is

not used intransitively, as

it

apparently

in ch. xviii. 30, but

D3"'3S,

is

to be taken in connection with the

at the

object

which follows

end of the verse

and

it

is

simply repeated before uyz^ for the sake of clearness

emphasis.
idolatry
is

and

The

reason for the

summons
7,

to repent

and give up

explained in ver.
Israelite,

in the

threat that
in

God

will

destroy every
di'aws

and every foreigner

Israel,

away from God and

is

attaches himself to idols.

who The

phraseology of ver. la
xvii.

adopted almost verbatim from Lev.

8,

10,

13.
all

On

the obligation of foreigners to avoid

vicl.

idolatry
xvii.

and
;

moral abominations,
19, etc.
relat.,

Lev. xx.
"iT3>

2, xviii. 2Q,

10

Ex.

xii.

The

before

and

W
:

does not " should

stand for the

Vav

but simply supposes a case

he separate himself from

etc."
""^

my

followers,

and

let his idols rise up,

V'ly'y^ does not

i^

mean, "

to seek counsel of

him

(the

prophet) from me," for

prophet, although
one, and p
to
t>'")T

cannot be taken as referring to the

?

with

does sometimes

mean

to seek

any

may

therefore indicate the person to

whom
and

one goes

make

inquiry (cf. 2 Chron. xv. 13, xvii. 4, xxxi. 21), be-

cause

it is

Jehovah who
C'"}"!

is

sought in this case

Iliivernick's

remark, that "

with

merely indicates the external object

sought by a man, and therefore in this instance the

medium

or

organ through

whom God

speaks,"

is

proved to be erroneous by
or to be taken as a dat.

the passages just cited.

)b is reflective,

commodi^ denoting the inquirer or seeker.

The person

ap-

CHAP. XIV.

9-11.

181

proaclied for the purpose of inquiring or seeking,

i.e.

God,

is

indicated by the preposition

3, as in 1

Chron.

x.

14

(nin''3 ti'i'i);

and

also frequently, in the case of idols,

is

when
and
""a

either an oracle
i.

or help

sought from them (1 Sam. xxviii. 7; 2 Kings

2 sqq.).

It is only in this

way

that

)7

can be made to
seeks
''^,

correspond to the same words in the apodosis

counsel of God, to

Whosoever
answering

him

will

God show Himself

8.

in

Him,

i.e.

in

accordance with His nature, in His

own way,
is

namely, in the manner described in ver.

posed of passages in the law
:

The
and

threat
'lJ1

comafter

'l3"i

""JS "'ijinj

''^'l^n,

Lev. XX.
after

3,

5,

and
37

'iJl

^in'niDC'ni,

though somewhat
^l^)-

freely,

Deut.

xxviii.

('lJ1

^"f?^

^W'^

There

is

no doubt,

therefore, that
"riiD'J'n,

in

from ^^^, and stands for accordance with the custom in later writings of re"'0^^^'lI is

to be derived

solving the Dagesh forte into a long vowel.

The

allusion to

Deut.

xxviii. 37,
is

compared with

T\\)^b

.Tn in ver.

46 of the same
Tiin'J'n is

chapter,

sufficient to set aside the

assumption that
;

to be derived

from Q^, and pointed accordingly

all

although the
D''b'

LXX.,
Hipliil

Targ., Syr., and Vulg. have

renderings of

(cf.

Ps. xliv. 16).

Moreover,

D''i^

in the perfect never takes the

form

and

in ch. xx.
is

26 we have
a

2?C'^?
:

in a similar

connection.

The

expression

pregnant one

make him

desolate, so that

he becomes a sign and proverbs.

prophet
is

Vers. 9-11.

No

to give

any other answer.

Ver.

9.

But

if a prophet alloio himself to he j^ersnaded,

p>'>'ophet,

and

give a tvord,

have persuaded this

and
of

loill

stretch

out

my hand
Ver. 10.

against him,

and

cut

him

off aid
:

my

people Israel.

They shall bear

their guilt

as the guilt of the inquirer, so shall

the guilt of the prophet be

Israel

may
its

no more stray from me, and

transgressions
is the
;

Ver. 11. In order that the house of may no more defile itself
hut they

with all
their

may

be

my

pteople,

and I

God,

saying of the

Lord

Jehovah.

The prophet who

Sih'q

allows himself to be
xiii. 2),

persuaded

is

not a prophet

(ch.

but one

who

really thinks that he has a

word of God.

nria, to

persuade, to entice by friendly words (in a good sense,

182
Hos.
ii.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

16)

but generally
is

sensii

malo, to lead astray, or seduce

''

to that wliicli

unallowable or

evil.

If he allow himself to

be persuaded:" not necessarily "with the hope of payment

from the hypocrites who consult him

"

(Michaelis).

This

weakens the thought.

selfish

It

might sometimes be done from unitself

good-nature.

And "the word"

own

need not have

been a divine oracle of his

invention, or a false prophecy.

The

allusion

is

simply to a word of a different character from

that contained in vers. 68, which either

demands repentance
:

every word, or denounces judgment upon the impenitent therefore, which could by any possibility confirm the sinner in
his security.

By

nin*

""JX

(ver. 9) the apodosis

;

is

introduced in

an emphatic manner, as in vers. 4 and 7

but
").

''^"JIiS

cannot be

taken in a future sense (" I will persuade

perfect
;

It

must be a

since the persuading of the prophet would necessarily

precede his allowing himself to be persuaded.

The Fathers

and
tion

earlier

Lutheran theologians are wrong

which they understand
in

in their interpreta-

of

''0"'{^r',

a permissive sense,

being seduced.
the former of
declare

meaning simply that God allowed it, and did not prevent their Still more wrong are Storr and Schmieder,

whom

regards

it

as simply declaratory, " I will

him

to

have gone astiay from the worship of Jehovah;"

the latter, " I will

his disobedience."

show him

to

be a

fool,

by punishing him for

where the persuading

The words
xxii.

are rather to be understood in

accordance with 1 Kings

(jnUdh)
is

20

sqq.,

done by a lying

spirit,

which

inspires the prophets of

Ahab to predict success to the king, in order that he may fall. As Jehovah sent the spirit in that case, and put it into the
mouth
of the prophets, so
is

the persuasion in this instance also

effected

by God

not merely divine permission, but divine

ordination and

arrangement;
all

though

this

does not

destroy

human

freedom, but, like

"persuading," presupposes the

be persuaded.
1

possibility of not allowing himself to

See the
xxii.
is

discussion of this question in the

commentary on

Kings

20 sqq.

The remark

of

Calvin on the verse before us

CHAP. XIV.
"

12-23,

183

correct

it

teaches that neither impostures nor frauds take

place apart from the will of

willing on the part of

God "

{nisi

Deo

volente).

But

this

God, or the persuading of the prophets

which have not been
inevil into

to the utterance of self-willed words,

spired by God, only takes place in persons who admit

themselves, and

is

designed to tempt them and lead them to

decide whether they will endeavour to resist and conquer the

sinful inclinations of their hearts, or will allow

them

to shape

themselves into outward deeds, in which case they will become

ripe for

judgment.

It

is

in this sense that

God

persuades such
off

a prophet, in order that people.

only.

He may

then cut him

out of His

But

this

punishment

will not fall

upon the prophet

if

It will reach the

seeker or inquirer also, in order

its

possible to bring Israel

back from

wandering

astray,

and

make
11).

it

into a people of

God

purified

from

sin (vers.

10 and

It

was

to this

end

that, in the last times of the

kingdom

of Judah,

God
it

allowed false prophecy to prevail so mightily,

namely, that

might accelerate the process of distinguishing

;

between the righteous and the wicked

and then, by means of

the judgment which destroyed the wicked, purify His nation

and lead

it

on to the great end of

its calling.

Vers. 12-23. The Righteousness of the Godly will NOT AVERT THE JUDGMENT. The threat contained in the

if

preceding word of God, that

the idolaters did not repent,

God would

not answer them in any other

left

way than
still

with an

exterminating judgment,

the possibility

open, that

He

would avert the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for the

sake of the righteous therein, as

He had

promised the patriarch

Abraham
(Gen.

that

He would do
sqq.).

in the case of

Sodom and Gomorrah

to the prophet,

xviii.

23

This hope, which might be cherished

by the people and by the elders who had come

is

now

to

be taken from the people by the word of

containing as
it

God which
if

follows,

does the announcement, that

any

land should sin so grievously against

God by

its

apostasy,

He

18-1

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

to inflict

would be driven

upon

it

the punishments threatened

by Moses against apostate

the land a desert
to

Israel (Lev. xxvi. 22, 25, 26,

and

elsewhere), namely, to destroy both

;

man and

beast, to

and make

it

would be of no advantage

such a land

have certain righteous men, such as Noah, Daniel, and Job,

livinji therein.

For although these

rio;liteous

men would
this

be

saved themselves, their righteousness could not possibly secure

salvation for the sinners.
is

The manner
is,

in

which

thought

carried out in vers.

13-20

that four exterminating punishto

ments are successively supposed

it

come upon

tlie

land and lay

waste

and

in the case of every one, the

words are repeated,

that even righteous

men, such
souls,

as

Noah, Daniel, and Job, would

only save their

own

and not one of the sinners.

will the
;

And

thus, according to vers.

21-23,

Lord
and

act

when He

sends His judgments against Jerusalem

He

will execute

them

in such a

manner

that the necessity

therein.
to Jer.

and righteousness of

His acts

shall be

made manifest

This

word

of

God

forms a supplementary side-piece

xv. 1-4,

where the
even the

Lord

replies to the intercession of the prophet, that

intercession of a

Moses and a Samuel on behalf of the people

of Jehovah came
me,

would not avert the judgments which were suspended over them.
Ver.
12.

And

the

icord

to
to

saxjhuj,

Ver. 13. Son of man, if a land sin against

onsli/,

me

act treacher-

and I
the

stretch out

my

liand against

it,

and break
into

in pieces
it,

for

it

snpjjort
it

of

bread,
beast
:

and send famine

Ver.
14.

and

cut off from

these

man and
therein,

And

there should be

three

men

Noah, Daniel, and Job, they ivould

is the

ihrovgh their righteousness deliver their soul,

saying of the

Lord Jehovah.
that they

Ver. 15. If [bring

it

evil beasts into the land, so

make

childless,
it

and

it

become a desert, so that no one

These three

passeth through

because of the beasts: Ver. IG.

the saying
;

men

therein, as

live, is

of the Lord Jehovah, ivould

not deliver sons

the land

and daughters
desert.

they only ivoidd be delivered, but

would become a

Ver. 17. Or 1 bring the sword into

off

that land,

and

say.

Let the sword go through the land; and 1 cut

CHAP. XIV.

12-20.

185

from
and

it

man and
the saving

beast: Ver. 18.

TJiese three

men

therein, as

live, is

of

the

Lord Jehovah,
would be

ivould not deliver sons

daughters, but they only

delivered.

Ver. 19. Or

I send pestilence
blood, to cut off

into that land,

and pour out

beast
it,
:

my

fury upon

it

in

from

it

man and

Ver. 20. Verily, Noah,

is the

Daniel,

and Job,

in the midst of

as

I live,

saying of the
;

Lord Jehovah,

loonld deliver neither son nor daughter

they

icould only deliver their

own

soul through their righteousness.

pX

in ver.

13

is

intentionallj left indefinite, that the thought

may be

expressed in the most general manner.

is

On

the other

hand, the sin

to cover,

very plainly defined as bv^'bvu?.

act in

bv^^ literally,

signifies to

a secret or treacherous manner,

especially towards Jehovah, either

by apostasy from Him,

is

in

other words, by
(see

idolatry, or

by withholding what

due

to

Him
it

comm. on Lev.

v. 15).

In the passage before us

is

the treachery of apostasy from

Him

by idolatry that
is

is

intended.

As

the epithet used to denote the sin

xxxii. 51, so the four

taken fi'om Lev. xxvi.

in

40 and Deut.
Lev.
ver.

punishments mentioned

the following verses, as well as inch. v. 17, are also taken from
xxvi.,

viz. evil

the breaking up of the staff of bread, from

beasts,

26; the

from

ver.

22;

and the sword and

pestilence,

from

ver. 25.

The

three men, Noah, Daniel, and

life,

Job, are named as examples of true righteousness of

^?^'^ (vers. 14, tion,
is

or

20)

i.e.,

according to Calvin's correct explanaet

quicquid 'pertinet ad regulam sancte

juste vivendi.

Noah
i.

so described in
;

Gen. vi. 9
in

and Job,

in the
is

Book

of

Job
in

1,

xii. 4, etc.
i.

and Daniel,

like

manner,

mentioned

Dan.
life.

8 sqq.,

vi.

11 sqq., as faithfully confessing his faith in his

is

The

fact that Daniel

named

before

Job does not warrant the

is

conjecture that some other older Daniel

meant, of
is

whom
merely

nothing

is

said in the history,

and whose existence

is

postulated.
logical,

For the enumeration

is

not intended to be chrono;

but

arranged according to the subject-matter

the

order being determined by the nature of the deliverance ex-

perienced by these

men

for their righteousness in the midst of

18G
great judgments.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

Consequently, as Hiivernick and Kliefoth
:

have sliown, we have a climax here

along with himself
ii.
;

Noah

saved his family

Daniel was able

to save his friends

(Dan.

17, 18)

but Job, with his

righteousness,

was not even

is

able to save his children.

The

second judgment (ver. 15)

is

introduced with

^b,

which, as a rule, supposes a case that

;

not

expected to occur, or even regarded as possible

5|^

here, however,
"^Jj^j?^

is

used as perfectly synonymous with

is

D^?.

has no

3fappik, because the tone

(see

drawn back upon the penultima

In ver. 19, the expression
''

comm. on Amos

i.

11).

to

pour out

my wrath

in blood " is a

pregnant one, for

it

to

pour out

my

wrath in such a manner that

is

manifested in the shedfor the life

is

ding of blood or the destruction of

blood.

life,

in the

In

this sense pestilence

and blood were

also associated

in ch. v. 17.

If we

look closely at the four cases enumerated,

we

find the following difference in the statements concerning

:

the deliverance of the righteous

is

that, in the first instance,

it

simply stated that Noah, Daniel, and Job would save their
i.e.

soul,

their

life,

by

their righteousness

whereas, in the three

liveth they

others,

it is

declared that as truly as the

Lord

would

not save either sons or daughters, but they alone would be

delivered.

The

difference

is

not merely a rhetorical climax or

progress in the
thesis,

address by

means

of asseveration

and

antifirst

but indicates a distinction in the thought.

The

case

is

only intended to teach that in the approaching judgtheir lives,

i.e.

ment the righteous would save

cases

that

not sweep away the righteous with the ungodly.

God would The three

exemplify

which follow are intended, on the other hand,

to

the truth that the righteousness of the righteous will be of no

avail to the idolaters

and apostates

since even such patterns

of righteousness as
their

Noah, Daniel, and Job would only save

to save the lives of

own

lives,

and would not be able

tallies

others also.
in ver. 14.

This

with the omission of the asseveration

The
the

first

declaration, that

God would

deliver the

righteous in

coming judgments, needed no asseveration,

CHAP. XiV.

21-23,

187
but
it

inasmuch

as

tliis

truth was not called in question

was

required in the case of the declaration that the righteousness

of the righteous
nation, since this

would bring no deliverance to the sinful was the hope which the ungodly cherished,

and

it

was

this

hope which was to be taken from them.

The

other differences which

we

find in the description given of the

several cases are merely formal in their nature, and do not in

any way

affect the sense

e.g.
is

the use of ^h, in ver. 18, instead

in oaths,

of the particle DX, which

commonly employed
;

and
i?

which we

find in vers.

16 and 20

the choice of the singular

the plural ni321 D^pn,
in the expressions,
li'vr.

and n?,
vers. (ver.

in ver. 20, in the place of

;

used in

16 and 18
14),

and the variation

(ver. 20),
to

2t:'23 -b^i^

D"J'D3 ^^>*:

and

D^aj)

man

(vers.

16 and

18),

which Hitzig proposes

into the third,

remove by altering the

36

first

two

forms

though without the

xii.

slightest reason.

For

although the Plel occurs in Ex.

in the sense of taking

away or

spoiling,

and
it

is

not met with anywhere else in the

just as well be used in this sense, as

sense of delivering,

may
rule

the Hipldl has both significations.

Vers. 2123.
applied to

The

expounded

in vers.

13-20
saith
evil

is

here

Jerusalem.

Ver. 21. For

thus

the

Lord
Jeru-

Jehovah,

How much
from

more lohen 1 send

evil beasts,

my

four

judgments,

sword, and famine, and

salem, to cut off
there
it

and

pestilence, against

man and

beast ?

Ver. 22.

And,

behold,

remain escaped ones in her icho will be brought

out, sons

and daughters ; behold, they will go out to yon, that ye may their icalk and their xoorhs ; and console yourselves concerning
evil

see

the

which

I have I

brought upon Jerusalem.

Ver. 23.
their

And
:

they

will console you,

when ye

see their

walk and

works

and
have
''S

ye will see that

have not done loithout cause all that

of the Lord Jehovah.
the

done
ver.
is

to

her, is the saying

By

in

21 the
in the

application of

general rule to

Jerusalem
is

made

form of a reason.

The meaning, however,

not, that the reason

why Jehovah was

obliged to act in this

unsparing manner was to be found in the corrupt condition of

188

TnE pnoPHECiES of ezekikl.

the nation, as Hiivernick supposes, the context:

;

a thought quite
This
*3
is

foreign to

but

''3

indicates that the

judgments upon Jerusalem

will furnish a practical proof of the general truth expressed

in
vers.

13-20, and so confirm

tl)an the following

it.

no more an
merely
un-

emphatic yea
to

"

^1^ is

a forcible introduction
fact,

the antithesis

formed by the coming

to the
^1^?

imanrinary cases

mentioned above" (Hitzig).

has

doubtedly the force of a climax, but not of an asseveration,

"verily"
It is

(Iliiv.)

meaning which
iv. 19, in

this particle

never has.
""S

used here, as in Job

the sense of

^l^^

and

the

'3

which

follows ^^? in this case is a conditional particle of

time, " when."

Consequently

^2

ought properly to be written

ix.

twice

but

it is

only used once, as in ch. xv. 5; Job

this
:

14, etc.

The thought

is

how much more

will

this

be the case,

namely, that even a Noah, Daniel, and Job will not deliver
either sons or daughters

when I send my judgments upon

''ijin^^ is

Jerusalem.
as in ver. 13,
it,

The

perfect

used, and not the imperfect,

because

God

has actually resolved upon sending

it

and does not merely mention

is

as a possible case.

The
upon

number four

significant,

symbolizing the universality of the

it

judgment, or the thought that

the whole of Jerusalem
;

will fall
it

on

all sides,

or

whereby

must

also

be borne in

mind

that Jerusalem as the capital represents the

Israel, so far as
it

kingdom of
in Canaan.

Judah, or the whole of

was

still

At

the same time,

by the fact that the Lord allows sons and

daughters to escape death, and to be led away to Babylon,

He
in

forces the acknowledgment of the necessity and righteousness

of His

judgments among those who are

in exile.

This

is

general terms the thought contained in vers. 22 and 23, to

which very different meanings have been assigned by the

expositors.

latest

Havernick, for example, imagines

that, in addition

to the four ordinary

judgments

laid

down
;

in

the law, ver. 22

announces a

new and

extraordinary one

whereas Hitzig and

Kliefoth have found in these two verses the consolatory assurance, that in the time of the

judgments a few of the younger

CHAP. XIV.

21-23.

189

generation will be rescued and taken to those already in exile

in Babylon, there to excite pity as well as to express
it,

and

to

give a visible proof of the magnitude of the judgment which

has fallen upon Israel.

They

differ so far

from each other,

however, that Hitzig regards those of the younger generation

who

are saved as

2''i?^1V;

their innocence, but not their guilty parents,

who have saved themselves through and who will

those

excite

the commiseration of

already in exile through

their blameless

conduct

whilst Kliefoth imagines that those

who are rescued when they come

been longer

are simply less criminal than the rest, and

to Babylon will be pitied

by those who have

in exile,

and

will pity

them

in return.

Neither of
;

these views does justice to the words themselves or to the context.

The meaning

of ver. 22a

is

clear

enough

and

in the
it.

main

there has been no difference of opinion concerning

When man
judgments,

and beast are cut

all

off
;

out of Jerusalem by the four

will

not

perish

but no^a^

i,e.

persons

who

have escaped destruction,

the city.

will be left,

and

will

be led out of
allusion

These are

called sons
;

and daughters, with an

to vers. 16, 18,

and 20

and consequently we must not take

Jerusalem, not to remain
those already in exile,

these words as referring to the younger generation in contrast

to the older.

They

will be led out of to " you,"

to

in the land, but to

come

i.e.

that

is

to say, to

go into exile
a

Babylon.

This does not imply

the

either

a modification or

sharpening of

punishment

for the cutting off of

effected not only

man and
to

beast from a

town may be

by

slaying, but

by leading away.
and

The

design
to

of

God

in
is

leaving

some

escape,

cai'rying

them

Babylon,

explained in the clauses which follow from

cri''X"i^

onwards, the meaning of which depends partly upon the more

precise definition of
D3"]"n

and

C:rn7"'5>j;,

planation to be given of
Avays

nynn'ijj; nri?pn3

and partly upon the exand csrix ^mi. The

and works are not

to

be taken without reserve as good

and righteous works,

reply to Hitzig.
Still

as Kliefoth has correctly

less

shown

in his

can ways and works denote their

; ;

100

the:

rnoPHECiES of ezekiel.
is

experience or fate, wliich

the explanation given by Kliefoth

of the words, when expounding the meaning and connection of The context certainly points to wicked ways and vers. 21-23.
evil

works.
tlie

And

it is

only the sight of such works that could

it

lead to

conviction that

was not

Dsn^ jn vain,

i.e.

without

cause, that

Jerusalem.
in ver.

God had inflicted such severe judgments upon And in addition to this effect, which is mentioned
in exile,

23 as produced upon those who were already

siglit of

by the

the conduct of the

'^^"'^S

that

came

to

Babylon,
Dripn?"!

the immediate design of

'iJl

God

is

described in ver. 22h as

nj?nn"^y.

The
it

verb Dn3 with V^ cannot be used here in the

it

sense of to repent of anything, or to grieve over

still

(Hitzig)

less

can

mean
of, or

to pity

any one (KMefoth).

for, a

For a man

cannot repent
inflicted

be sorry

judgment which God has

upon him, but only of

evil

which he himself has done

and DHJ does not mean

in the Piel
. hVj rei.

to pity a person, either

when construed

with an accusative of the person, or in the Niphal

^^''r'^^ is

Niphal, and

signifies
pV,

here to console one-

self,

as in Gen. xxxviii. 12 with

xiii.

concerning anything, as in

2 Sam.

39, Jer. xxxi. 15, etc.;

and

ion?

(ver. 23),

with

the accusative of the person, to comfort any one, as in Gen.

li.

21

Job

ii.

11, etc.

But

the works and doings of those wlio

this effect

came

to

Babyh n could only produce

upon those wlio

were already there, from the fact that they were of such a
character as to demonstrate the necessity for the judgments

which had
sity

fallen

upon Jerusalem.

conviction of the necesto

;

for the divine judgments would cause them

comfort

themselves with regard to the evil inflicted by

as they

God

inasmuch

would

see,

not only that the punishment endured was

a chastisement well deserved, but that

God

in

His righteousness

would stay the punishment when

it

had

fulfilled

His purpose,
more.

and

restore the penitent sinner to favour once

But

the consolation

which those who were

in

exile

would derive

from a sight of the works of the sons and daughters who had
escaped from death

and

come

to Babylon,

is

attributed in

CHAP. XV.
ver.

1-8.

191
It
is
;

23 (0?^^
it is

'"^H?)

to the

persons themselves.

in this

sense that

stated that " they will comfort

you

" not

by
is

expressions of pity, but

by the

sight of their conduct.

This

directly affirmed in the words, "

when ye

shall see their

conduct

and
a

their works."

Consequently ver. 23a does not contain

new

thought, but simply the thought already expressed in

ver. 22b,

which

is

repeated in a

new form

to

make

it

the

more

emphatic.

And

the expression nvJ? "'nx3n "ik:'X"?3 nst, in ver. 22,

;

serves to increase the force

whilst nx, in the sense of quoad,

serves to place the thought to be repeated in subordination to

the whole clause (cf. Ewald,

277a, p. 683).

CHAP. XV. JERUSALEM, THE USELESS

WOOD OF A WILD

TINE.

As
is

certainly as

God

will not spare

Jerusalem for the sake of

the righteousness of the few righteous

it

men

therein, so certain

that Israel has

no superiority over other nations, which

could secure Jerusalem against destruction.

As

the previous

word of God overthrows

of the godly,

false

confidence in the righteousness

what follows

in this chapter is directed against

the fancy that Israel cannot be rejected and punished

by the

overthrow of the kingdom, because of

people of God.

its

election to be tlie

Ver.

1.

And

the loord

of Jehovah came

to

me, saying, Ver. 2.

Son of man,
Ver.

ivhat advantage has the wood, of the vine over every

trees

wood, the vine-hranch, ichich was among the

3. Is icood taken

of the forest'?
?

from

it

to

use for any work

or do
?

men

take a

peg from
it

it

to

hang

all kinds

of

vessels

upon

Ver. 4.

Behold,

is

given to the fre to consume.

it is

If the

fire has conit

sumed

its

two ends, and the middle of

ii^ork ?

scorched, will
it is

then
it

^^ f^ Z^^' '^^y

Ver.
:

5.

Behold, lohen

uninjured,

is

not used for any work

hoiv

much
it

less

ivhen the fire has con-

sumed

it

and scorched

it

can

he still used for

work !

Ver.

6.

Therefore thus saith the

among

the

Lord Jehovah, As the wood of the vine wood of the forest, which I give to the fire to consume,

192
SO do

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL,

I gice up

the iuhahitants

of Jerusalem^ Ver.

7.

And

direct
the

my

face against them.

They have gone out of

the fire,

and

lire will

consume them ; that ye

may
^.

learn that

1 set my face against them.

Ver.

I am Jehovah, when And I make the land a desert,

saying of the

because they committed treachery,

is the

Lord Jehovah.
is

Israel
fire

is

like the

wood
it

of the wild vine,

is

which

put into the

to

burn, because

good for nothing.

is

From
x. 1
;

Deut.

xxxii. 32,

33 onwards,

Israel

frequently compared to a vine

;

or a vineyard (cf. Ps. Ixxx. 9 sqq.

Isa. v.

Hos.

Jer.

ii.

21), and always, with the exception of Ps. Ixxx., to point out
its

degeneracy.

This comparison

lies at

the foundation of the

of the wild vine.
It

figure employed, in vers. 2-5, of the

wood

This wood has no superiority over any other kind of wood.

cannot be used, like other timber, for any useful purposes
is
;

but

only

fit

to be burned, so that

it is

really inferior to all other

it

wood

(vers.

2 and 3a).

And

if,

in its perfect state,

less
!

cannot

be used for anything, how much

when

it

is

partially

scorched and consumed (vers. 4 and 5)

IP,

'^^.'7'''"'^>

means, what
it

is

it

above

(IP,

comparative)

followed by
i.e.

what

superiority has

to T^'-'^, all kinds of

is

wood?
\^P,^

i.e.

any other
is

wood.

'1J1

"I'f ^5

nniDin

in

apposition to
it

YV,

and

not to

be connected with
Vulgate,
to

Y)!'?^^, as

has been by the

LXX.

notwithstanding the Masoretic accentuation,

of fagot
;

to

and

so as

mean every kind

for HiiDT does not

mean a

fagot,
is

but the tendril or branch of the vine

still

(cf. ch. viii. 17),

:

which

further defined by the following relative clause

i.e.

be a

wood-vine,
grapes.

a wild vine, which bears only sour, uneatable

preterite
^l>}

The

(which

loas

not, "

is

")

may

be ex-

plained from the idea that the vine had been fetched from the
forest in order that its

wood might be

used.

The answer given

any pur-

in ver. 3

is,

that this vine-wood cannot be used for

pose whatever, not even as a peg for hanging any kind of

domestic utensils upon (see

comm. on Zech.
for

x. 4).

It

is

too

weak even
naXj'ro!'
:

for this.

The

object has to be supplied to

it,

riib'j;?

to

make, or apply

any work.

Because

it

cannot

CHAP. XV.

1-8.

193
is

be used as timber,
in ver.

it is

burned.
'P

A
The

fresh thought

introduced

46 by the words

V.^ ^^.

The two
first

clauses in ver. Ab

are to be connected together.

supposes a case, from

which the second

'^

is

deduced as a conclusion.
?

The

question,

Is

it

fit

for
""S

any work
:

"

is

determined in ver. 5 in the

inj
:

negative.

^b*

as in

ch. xiv. 21.

perfect; and

"in.''.:

imperfect, Niphal,
scorched.

of

"i^n,

in the sense of, to

is

be burned or
to

The

subject to in*!
refers.

no doubt the wood,

which

the suffix in

^nri^3i<

At

the same time, the two clauses

are to be understood, in accoi'dance with ver. 4i, as relating to

the burning of the ends and the scorching of the middle.

Vers. 6-8. In the application of the parable, the only thing to

which prominence

is

given,

is

the fact that

God

will deal

with

the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the same manner as with the

vine-wood, which cannot be used for any kind of work.

implies that Israel resembles the
this possesses
is

This

wood

of a forest-vine.

As

no superiority

to other

wood, but, on the contrary,

to other nations,

utterly useless, so Israel has

is

no superiority
is

but
fire.

even worse than they, and therefore This

fire,
is

given up to the

accounted for in ver. 7

fire will

of the

and the

They have come out consume them" (the inhabitants of

:

"

Jerusalem).
ally,

These words are not

to

be interpreted proverbi-

as meaning,

"he who

escapes one judgment falls into

vers.

another" (Havernick), but show the application of

4b

and 5

to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Out

of a fire one

must

come

either

burned or scorched.

Israel has

been

in the fire

already.
at both

It resembles a wild vine

which has been consumed

ends by the
is

fire,

while the middle has been scorched,

to be given

and which

now about

up altogether

to the fire.
it

We

must not

restrict the fire,

however, out of which

lias

come

half consumed, to the capture of Jerusalem in the time

of Jehoiachin, as Hitzig does, but

must extend

it

to all the

judg-

ments which
of the

fell

upon the covenant nation, from the destruction

consequence of which Israel now resembled

kingdom
I.

of the ten tribes to the catastrophe in the reign

in

of Jehoiachin,

and

EZEK.

194

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Tlie

a vine burned at both ends and scorched in the middle.

threat closes in the

same manner
and

as the previous one.

Compare

ver. lb with ch. xiv. 8^,

ver. 8 with ch. xiv.

15 and 13.

CHAP. XVr. INGRATITUDE AND UNFAITHFULNESS OP

JERUSALEM.

ITS

PUNISHMENT AND SHAME.

represented Israel as a wild and

The

previous word of

God
to

useless vine,

which had

be consumed.

But

as

God had
Israel

planted this vine in His vineyard, as

as His

He

had adopted

own

people, the rebellious nation, though

still

met by these

threatenings of divine judgment, might

plead that
election

God

would not

reject

Israel,

on account of

its

as the

covenant nation. covenant of grace

This proof of false confidence in the divine

is

removed by the word of God

is

in

the

present chapter, which shows that by nature Israel

no better
shameful

than other nations

and

that, in

consequence of
saved
it

its

ingratitude towards the Lord,

who

from destruction in

the days of

its

youth,

it

has sinned so grievously against

its

Him,

and has sunk

idolatry, that

so

low among the heathen through

is

excessive
it

God

obliged to punish and judge

in the
will

same manner

as the others.

At

the same time, the

Lord

continue mindful of His covenant; and on the restoration of

Sodom and Samaria, He

salem,

will also

turn the captivity of Jeru-

to the

deep humiliation and shame of Israel,

it.

and will
this

establish

an everlasting covenant with

The contents of
2-34)

word

of

God

divide themselves, therefore, into three parts.

In

the Jlrst^
its

falling

we have the away from

description of the nation's sin, through

its

God

into idolatry (vers.

in

the second, the announcement of the punishment (vers. 35-52);

and
63).

in the third, the restoration of Israel to

favour (vers. 53-

The

past, present,

and future of

Israel are all

embraced,

from

its first

commencement

to its ultimate
in

consummation.
is

These copious contents are draped

carried out on a magnificent scale.

an allegory, which

Starting from the repre-

CHAP. XVI. 1-5.

sentatlon of the covenant relation existing between the

195

Lord

and His people, under the figure of a marriage covenant,

which runs through the whole of the Scriptures,
the capital of the
Israel, the

Jerusalem,
;

kingdom

of God, as the representative of

is

covenant nation,

addressed as a wife

and the
God,
is

attitude of

God

to Israel, as well of that of Israel to its

depicted under this figure.

Vers. 1-14. Israel, by nature unclean, miserable, and near

to destruction (vers. 3-5),
is

adopted by the Lord and clothed

Vers. 1 and 2 form the introduc-

in splendour (vers. 6-14).

tion.

Ver.
2.

1.

And

the loord
slioio

of Jeliovah came

to

me, saying,

Ver.

Son of man,

Jerusalem her abominations.

sins

The
is

"abominations" of Jerusalem are the

nation, which were

of the covenant

worse than

the

sinful

abominations of
the
is

Canaan and Sodom.

first

The theme
it

of this

word of God

declaration of these abominations.

To

this

end the nation

3.

of

all

shown what
the land

was by nature.
to

Ver.
4.

And

say,

Thus

saith the

Lord Jehovah

Jerusalem, Thine origin and thy

the

birth are

from

of the Canaanites ; thy father was

Ver.

Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite.

hirth, in the

And

as for thy

day of thy

birth thy navel loas not cut,

and thou
salt,

wast not bathed in water for cleansing ; and not nibbed with

and not lorapped

thee

in bandages.

Ver.
to

5.

No

eye

looked upon
;

with pity,

to

do one of these

thee in

compassion
life,

hut

thou toast cast into the field, in disgust at thy

thy birth.

According
is

on the day of

to the allegory,

which runs through the

whole chapter, the figure adopted

Israelitish nation

to depict the origin of the

that Jerusalem, the existing representative

of the

nation,

is

described as a child, born of Canaanitish

its birth,

parents, mercilessly exposed after

perishing.

and on the point of

Hitzig and Kliefoth show that they have com-

pletely misunderstood the allegory,

when they not only

explain

the statement concerning the descent of Jerusalem, in ver. 3,

as relating to the city of

that name, but restrict

it

to the city

alone,

on the ground that " Israel as a whole was not of

; ;

196

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Canaanitish ony;in, whereas the city of Jerusalem was radically

a Canaanitish, Amoritish, and Hittite city."

But were not

all

the cities of Israel radically Canaanaean

altogether, but only half, of

Or was

Israel not

Aramaean descent?

Regarded
too obvi-

merely as a

city,

Jerusalem was neither of Amoritish nor

Hittite origin, but simply a Jebusite city.

And
;

it

is

ous to need any proof, that the prophetic word does not refer
to the city as a city, or to the

mass of houses
of

but that Jeruat that time, so

salem, as the capital of the

far as
its

kingdom
It

Judah

inhabitants w^ere concerned, represents the people of

Israel, or the

covenant nation.

was not the mass

of houses,

but the population,

which

was the foundling,

that

excited

Jehovah's compassion, and which lie multiplied into myriads

(ver.
7),

clothed in splendour, and

chose as the bride with

whom He
birth

concluded a marriage covenant.

to

The

descent and
descent.

referred

are

not

physical,

but

spiritual

Spiritually, Israel

sprang from the land of the Canaanites

its

and

its

father was the Amorite and

in

mother a
Jews, "

Hittite, in the

same sense

which Jesus said

viii.

to the

Ye

are of your

father the devil " (John

is

44).

The

land of the Canaanites

mentioned

as the

land of the worst heathen abominations;

tribes,

and from among the Canaanitish

Hittites are mentioned as father

the

Amorites and

and mother, not because the

Jebusites are placed between the two, in

Num.

xiii.

29, as
as

Hitzig
leaders

supposes,
in

but because

they were recognised

the

Canaanitish

ungodliness.
in

The

iniquity
time,

of

the

Amorites

Ol'^^v')

was great even

Abraham's

though

not yet full or ripe for destruction (Gen. xv. 16); and the

daughters of Heth,
bitterness of spirit

whom Esau
(Gen.

married, caused Rebekah great

xxvii. 46).

These

facts furnish the

substratum for our description.

the occurrence of
''ibxri

And

they also help to explain

iT'rin

^vith

the article, and

without

it.

The

plurals TiTnbO

and

^^ri'^b also point to spiritual

descent

for physical generation

and

birth are both acts that take place

once for

all.

n^'^o or nn^an (ch. xxi. 35, xxix. 14) is not the

CHAP. XVI. 3-5.

place of begetting, but generation

197

itself,

from

n!i3=n'n3, to dig

= to
birth.

beget

(cf. Isa.

li.

1).

It is not equivalent to "^ipo, or a

plural corresponding

to

the

Latin

natales, origines.

Trhp

Vers. 4 and

5 describe the circumstances connected

(ver.

with the birth,

absolute noun.

q^nni'b^

4) stands at the head as an

it

At

the birth of the child

did not receive the

cleansing and care which were necessary for the preservation

and strengthening of

its

life,

but was exposed without pity.

The

construction T]nix rrh^r\ (the passive, with an accusative of

is

the object)

the same as in Gen.

ri-na

xl.
:

20,

and many other

(Judg.
vi.

passages of the earlier writings,

for

ri"i3

28),

Pual of
-I,

Tr\3
is

and

'^^^

from

lb',

with the reduplication of the

{vid.

which

very rare in Hebrew

is

Ewald,

71).

By
from

cutting the navel-string, the child

liberated after birth

it

the blood of the mother, with which

was nourished

in the

womb.

If the cutting be neglected, as well as the tying of the

navel-string, which takes place at the same time, the child must perish when the decomposition of the placenta begins. The new-born child is then bathed, to cleanse it from the impurities attaching to
it.
'J^t^'b

cannot be derived from

see, to look (nj?C'),

r\V'^

VV^

because neither the meaning to

{VV'^),

nor the
Jos.

other meaning to smear

yields a suitable sense.

it

Kimchi
_A^,
ii.

is

evidently right in deriving

iv.,

from

J?L*'0,

in

Arabic
"

and

to

wipe

off,

cleanse.

The

termination

is

the

Aramaean form
was rubbed with
in ancient times,
{vid.

of the absolute state, for the

Hebrew

HT^'b,

cleansing (cf. Ewald,

salt,

165a).

After the washing, the body

according to a custom very widely spread

still

and
I.

met with here and there

i.

in the

East

Hieron. ad
;

h.

Galen, de Sanit.

Troilo Reiseheschr. p.

and that not merely for the purpose of making the skin drier and firmer, or of cleansing it more thoroughly, but probably from a regard to the virtue of salt as a protection from
721)
putrefaction, " to express in a symbolical

manner

a hope

and

desire for the vigorous health of the child"' (Hitzig

and Hiiver-

nick).

And,

finally,

it

was

bound round with swaddling-

198
clothes.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Not one of

these things, so indispensable to the pre-

servation and strengthening of the child,

was performed

in the

case of Israel at the time of

its

birth

from any feeling of com-

passionate love

{'^^^\}?,
it

infinitive, to

show pity or compassion

i.e.

towards
that
/J?3,

it)

but

was

cast into the field,

pjJiJ2 in

exposed, in order

it

might perish
away,

^*^'S3

disgust at thy life (compart

to thrust

reject, despise.
i.e.

Lev. xxvi. 11, xv. 30).

of Israel,

The

day of the birth of Jerusalem,

its

was the period of

sojourn in Egypt, where Israel as a nation was born,

the

sons of Jacob

a nation.

who went down to Egypt having multiplied into The different traits in this picture are not to be in-

terpreted as referring to historical peculiarities, but have their

explanation in the totality of the figure.

At

the

same time,
nature
to

they express
a level with

much
all

more than " that Israel not only stood upon

its

other nations, so far as

origin

and

its

were concerned, but was more helpless and neglected as

its

both
"

nature and

its

natural advantages, possessing a less gifted

nature than other nations, and therefore inferior to the rest

(Kliefoth).

The

smaller gifts, or humbler natural advantages,

are thoughts quite foreign to the words of the figure as well as

to the context.

Both the Canaanitish descent and the merciless

exposure of the child point to a totally different point of view,

as indicated by the allegory.
to the

The Canaanitish
is

descent points
;

moral depravity of the nature of Israel

and the ne-

glected condition of the child

intended to show

how
life

little

there was in the heathen surroundings of the youthful Israel

in

Canaan and Egypt

that was adapted to foster

fit

its

and

liealth, or to

educate Israel and

it

for

its

future destination.

To

the Egyptians the Israelites were an abomination, as a race

of shepherds; and not long after the

death of Joseph, the

Pharaohs began

to oppress the

growing nation.
its

Vers. 6-14. Israel therefore owes

tion to

preservation and exaltaits

honour and glory

t/iee,

to the

Lord

God

alone.

Ver.

G.

Then I passed by
said to theCj

and

saio thee
live !

stamping in thy blood, and

to thee,

In thy blood

and said

In thy blood

CHAP. XVI.

6-14.

199
the

live!
field,

Ver.

7.

/ made
greivest

thee into

myriads as
tall,

growth of

the

and thou

and hecamest
Ver.

and

earnest to

ornament
lohereas
thee,

of cheeks.

The

breasts expanded,
8.

and thy hair grew,

thou wast naked and hare.

And I

passed by

and

saw

thee,

and, behold,

it

was thy

time,

the time

of

love ;
;

and J

spread

my

loing over thee,

and covered thy nakedness

is

and I
Aitd I

swore

to thee,

and

entered into covenant with thee,

the saying
9.

of

the

Lord Jehovah, and

ivater,

thou becamest mine.

Yei\
thee,

bathed thee in
thee with oil.
tcork,

and rinsed thy blood from

and anointed
round

Ver. 10.

And I
icith

clothed thee loith embroidered

and shod

thee ivith morocco,

and wrapped
Ver. 11.

thee

icith

byssus,

and covered

thee

silk.

/ adorned

thee

with ornaments, and put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain

around thy neck.

Ver. 12.
thine ears,

And I

gave thee a ring in thy nose,

croion

and earrings
head.
silver
;

in

and a splendid

upon thy

Ver. 13.

And

thou didst adorn thyself loith gold

and

and thy

clothing

was byssus, and

oil
to

silk,

and embroidery.
;

Wheaten-flour, and honey, and

thou didst eat

regal dignity.

and thou
Ver. 14.

loast

very beautiful; and didst thrive

Thy
it

name went forth among

xcas perfect throxigk

the nations

on account of thy beauty ; for

my

glory, ivhich

I put upon

thee, is the

saying

of

the

Lord Jehovah.

The description of what the Lord did for

is

Israel in

His compassionate love

''

divided into two sections by

the repetition of the phrase

1 passed by tliee" (vers. 6 and 8).

for the preservation

The

first

embraces what
;

God had done

by adopting
it

and
His

increase of the nation

glorification of
Israel,

the second, what

He

had done for the

as

the people of
field as a
it,

possession.

When
child, the
it

Israel

was lying in the

neglected

new-born
it life,

Lord passed by and adopted

strength to
live.

promising

and giving
blood

To

bring out the mag-

nitude of the compassion of God, the fact that the child was
lying in
its
is

mentioned again and again.

The

explana-

tion to be given

of riDDiansp (the Ilithpolel of D^3, to

is

trample

upon, tread under foot)

doubtful, arising from the difficulty

is

of deciding whether the Ilithpolel

to

be taken in a passive or


200
THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

a reflective sense.
(Unibreit), or

The

passive rendering, "trampled

upon"
to

ad conculcandum projectus, thrown down,

etc.),
this.
is

be

trodden under foot (Gesenius,

that the Ilophal
reflective
is

open

to the objection

used for

We

therefore prefer the

;

meaning, treading oneself, or stamping

as the objec-

tion offered to this,

namely, that a new-born child thrown into

feet,

a
in

field

would not be found stamping with the

has no force
66,

an allegorical description.

In the clause ver.

'H!'?*^?

which

is

written twice, the question arises whether

is

to

be taken

with
or,

'^n

or with

T]^

ionJ: I said to thee, " In thy blood live;"

'

" I said to thee in thy blood,

it
;

Live.' "

We prefer the former,

^^Jp^? is

because

gives a

more emphatic

sense.

a concise

expression

for although lying in thy blood, in which thou

live.
"iTi,

wouldst inevitably bleed to death, yet thou shalt

proposal to connect T.^"]? in the
first

Hitzig's

clause with

and

in the

second with

"lOX,

can hardly be entertained.

is

double con-

struction of this kind

?|?

not required either by the repetition of

"'Ti

"lOX,

or by the uniform position of ^"'013 before

in both

clauses, as

compared with

Kings xx. 18 and

Isa. xxvii. 5.

In ver. la the description of the real fact breaks through the

allegory.

The word

of

God

''^n,

live,

was

visibly fulfilled in

the innumerable multiplication of Israel.

But the

allegory
xxi.

is

resumed immediately.

Tiie child

grew

ip^l, as in

Gen.

20

Deut. XXX. 16), and came into ornament of cheeks (Ni2 with
to enter into a thing, as in ver. 8
;

3,

not to proceed

in, as

Hitzig

supposes).

D^iy

"""ly,

not most beautiful ornament, or highest

''7^;

charms, for D^^y

Clietih

is

not the plural of

editions,
Ci^^'^y,

but according to the

and most of the

is

with the tone upon the

a dual

penultima,

equivalent to

form; so that

''ly

cannot mean ornament in

ciii. 5,

this case, but, as in Ps. xxxix.

is

9 and

" the cheek," which

the traditional

meaning

(cf.

Ges.

Ornament of cheeks is youthful freshness and beauty of face. The clauses which follow describe the arrival of puberty. Ji33, when applied to the breasts, means to expand,
Tlies. p. 993).
lit.

to raise oneself up.

ivti*

= uh^i

ij??',

puhes.

The

descrip-

CHAP. XVI.

6-14.

201
and mar-

tlon given in these verses refers to the preservation

vellous multiplication of Israel in Egypt,

Israel

where the sons of

Still it

grew

into a nation under the divine blessing.

^1~}V

was quite naked and bare (Qiy and

abstract sense of nakedness
to give

are substantives in the

in the place of

and bareness, used

adjectives

greater emphasis).
still

Naked and bare

are

figurative expressions for

destitute of either clothing or

ornaments.

This implies something more than " the poverty

of the people in the wilderness attached to

Egypt"
it

(Hitzig).

Nakedness represents deprivation of

tion with after

all

the blessings of salvaglorious,

which the Lord endowed Israel and made

He

had adopted

it

as the people of

His possession.

In

Egypt, Israel was living

in a state of nature, destitute of the

gracious revelations of God.

past again,

Ver.

8.

and chose for His bride the

virgin,

The Lord then went who had already

contracted mar'TlJ^y,

grown up
riage
time,
love.

to

womanhood, and with

precisely defined as

whom He

by the conclusion of the covenant

is

at Sinai.

thy

more

C^M

ny, the time of conjugal

i.e.

spread

my wing
(cf.

over thee,

the
;

lappet of

my

garment, which also served as a counterpane

I married thee
nakedness.
ii.

in other words,

Ruth

iii.

9),

and thereby covered thy

and
fidelity (cf.
i.e.

" I swore

to thee," sc. love

Hos.
into

21, 22),

and entered

into a covenant with thee,

that gracious connection formed

by the adoption
is

of Israel as

the possession of Jehovah, which

represented as a marriage
xix. 5, 6,

covenant (compare Ex. xxiv. 8 with

and Deut.

v. 2

^nk

for ^^i^).

Vers. 9 sqq. describe

how Jehovah

provided

for the purification, clothing,

adorning, and maintenance of

His wife.

As

the bride prepares herself for the wedding

so did the

by

washing and anointing,

Lord

cleanse Israel from the

blemishes and impurities which adhered to

The

rinsing from the blood

it from its birth. must not be understood as specially

referring either to the laws of purification given to the nation

(Hitzig), or as relating solely to the purification effected

by the

covenant

sacrifice

(Havernick).

It

embraces

all

that the

Lord

202
(lid
i.e.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

for the purifying of the people

from the pollution

oil

of sin,

for

its

sanctification.

The The
the

anointing -with

indicates the

powers of the Spirit of God, which flowed

divine covenant of grace.

to Israel

from the

clothing with costly garments,

and adorning with

all

jewellery of

a wealthy lady or
all

princess, points to the

equipment of

Israel with
life.

the gifts
is

that promote the beauty

and glory of

The

clothing

described as

made

of the costliest materials with which queens

to

were accustomed

clothe
ti'C^,

themselves.

"^^i?"!?

embroidered

cloth (Ps. xlv. 15).

probably the sea-cow, Manati (see

the conim. on Ex. xxv. 5).

description of leather of
a kind of morocco.

The word

is

used here for a fine

which ornamental sandals were m.ade

thee round with byssus:" this
is

"I bound
;

refers to the

headband

for t;an

the technical expression for

the binding or
(cf.

winding round of the turban-like headdress

ch. xxiv. 17;

Ex. xxix. 9; Lev.

viii.

13),

and

is

applied

by the

Targum

to the headdress of the priests. as

Consequently

coverinfT with "V?,

distinguished from clothing, can only

refer to covering with the veil, one of the principal articles of

a

woman's

toilet.

The

air.

Xey.

""V'^

(vers.
silk.

10 and 13)

is

explained by the

Rabbins

as

signifying
to

The
this
is

LXX.
a

render

it

Tpi-xaTrrov.

According

Jerome,

word

formed by the
tumj
tit

LXX.:
et

quod tantae suhtiUtatis

fiierit vestimen-

pilorum

capilloriim temdtatem habere credatur.

The

jewellery included not only armlets, nose-rings, and ear-rings,

which the daughters of

Israel

were generally accustomed to

wear, but also necklaces and a crown, as ornaments worn by

princesses

and queens.

For

"I'^i,

see
vers.

comm. on Gen.
9-12.
""l^'V

xli.

42.
to

Ver. 13 sums up the contents of

is
;

made

conform

to

""^'^

^^'
is

^^^^

^^

referred to once

more

and the

result of the

whole

said to

have been, that Jerusalem became

to

exceedingly beautiful, and flourished even

royal dignity.

The

latter

cannot be taken as referring simply to the establish-

ment

of the

monarchy under David, any more than merely

to

the spiritual sovereignty for which Israel was chosen from the

CHAP. XVI.

15-22.

^203

very beginning (Ex.

viz.

xix. 5, 6).

The

expression includes botli,

of priests,

the call of Israel to be a

kingdom
became
in

and the

his-

torical realization of this call

through the Davidic sovereignty.

so great, that the

The
It

beauty,

i.e.

glory, of Israel

name or

fame

of Israel

sounded abroad

consequence among the nations.

was perfect, because the Lord had put His glory upon His
This, too,

Church.

we must

not restrict (as Hiivernick does) to

its

the far-sounding

fame
it

of Israel on

departure from Egypt

(Ex. XV. 14 sqq.)

refers pre-eminently to the glory of the theo-

cracy under David and Solomon, the fame of which spread into
all

lands.

Thus had
it

Israel

been

glorified

by

its

God above
its

all

the nations, but

did not continue in fellowship with

God.

Vers. 15-3-1.
vers.

The

apostasy of Israel.

Its origin

and nature,
In close

15-22;

its

magnitude and extent,

vers. 23-34.
is

connection with what precedes, this apostasy

described as
trust in thy

whoredom and
beauty,

adultery.

Ver. 15. But thou didst

and

didst

commit fornication upon thy name, and didst

it

pour out
became.

thy fornication over every one ivho j^c-ssed by: his

Ver.

16.

Thou

didst take of thy clothes,

and

didst

make to thyself spotted heights,

and

didst

commit fornication upon

that

them: things ichich should not come, and

take place.

which should not

Ver. 17.

And

thou didst take jeicellery of thine

ornament of

my

gold and of

my

silver,

which I had given

didst

thee,

and
with

didst

make
;

thyself male images,

and

commit fornication
thy

them

Ver. 18.
didst

And

thou didst
:

take

embroidered
oil

clothes,

and
gave

cover them therewith

and my

and my
bread,

incense thou didst set before them.

Ver. 19.
oil,

And my

which

I
to

to thee,

fine flour,

and

and honey,

ivherewith

fed

thee,

thou didst set before them for a pleasant odour: this

came

pass, is the saying of the

Lord Jehovah.
to

Ver. 20.

And
thy

thou didst take thy sons and thy daughters, ichom thou barest
to

me, and didst sacrifice them

them

to

devour.

Was
sons,

fornication too little?

didst give them up,
all

Ver. 21. Thoic didst slay

devoting them to them.

my

and
in

Ver. 22.

And

thine

abominations

and thy fornications thou

didst

not

204
rcmemher
hare,
the

THE PROPHECIES OF EZKKIEL

days of
tliy

yontJi,

when thou wast

naTced
i.e.

and
the

and

layest

stamping in thy Hood.

The
it

beauty,
it

glory, of Israel led to its fall, because

made

the ground the gifts

of

its

confidence;

that

is

to

say,
it

it

looked upon
its

and possessions conferred upon and allowed

fact,

as

desert

and

for-

getting the giver, began to traffic with the heathen nations,

itself

to be seduced to
xxxii.

heathen ways.
xiii.

For the
"

compare Deut.

15 and Hos.

6.

We

are

inflamed with pride and arrogance, and consequently profane

the gifts of

God,
'Hv??'

in

which His glory ought

does not

to

be resplendent"

(Calvin).

mit fornication
Tlies. p. 422),

mean either *' thou didst com^V notwithstanding thy name" (Winer and Ges. or "against thy name" (Hiivernick) for hv
''??'!i
;

connected with
xix. 2.

Hit

has neither of these meanings, even in Judg.

It

means, " thou didst commit fornication upon thy

name, i.e.m reliance upon thy name" (Hitzig and Maurer)

only

we must

not understand

Di?'

as referring to the
in

name

of

the city of God, but must explain

as denoting the

it,

accordance with ver. 14,

name,

i.e.

the renown, which Israel had acquired

its
"'H";

among
words,

the heathen on account of

"'n^

beauty.
stands for
ii?

In the closing
^"^'^,

v,

i^

refers to i^ii;"?^^
''01!!

and

the copula

having been dropped from

because
^?,

ought
vi. 1),

to stand first,

and only
to
''T.

"'HI

remaining (compare
the beauty

Hos.

The

subject

is

''^).\

became

his (cf. Ps. xlv. 12).

This

fornication

is

depicted in concrete terms in vers. 16-22; and

in
vers.

with the marriage relation described

view, Israel
it

8-13

still

in

is

represented as giving up to idolatry

its

all

that
it

had received from

spotted

God.

Ver.
32
;

16.

With

the clothes

made

heights

for

itself.

ni03

stands for riion

"iria^

temples of heights, small temples erected upon heights by the

side of the altars (1
fact,

Kings
1

xiii.

Kings
2),

xvii.

29

for the

see the

comm. on

Kings

iii.

which may probably

have consisted simply of tents furnished with carpets.

2 Kings
xxiii. 7,

Compare

where the women are described as weaving

tents for Astarte, also the tent-like temples of the Slavonian

CHAP. XVI.
tribes in

15-22.

205

Germany, which

consisted of variegated carpets

and

curtains (see

Mohne on
calls

Creuzer's SpnhoUk, V. p. 176).

niKpsp,

These

hamoth Ezekiel
speckled
(cf.

not

variegated,

but spotted or

Gen. xxx.
Josh.

32), possibly with the subordinate idea

ix. 5),

of patched

('^^^'P,

because they used for the carpets

;

not merely whole garments, but pieces of cloth as well

the

word being introduced here for the purpose

commit whoredom upon them,"
temples.

of indicating con-

temptuously the worthlessness of such conduct.

i.e.

"

Thou

didst

upon the carpets

in the tent-

The words

'lil

niX3 N? are no doubt relative clauses

but the usual explanation, " which has not occurred, and will
not be," after Ex. x. 14, cannot be vindicated, as
to
it is

impossible

prove either the use of Ni3 in the sense of occurrino- or

happening (='n^n)j or the use of the participle instead of the

preterite in connection wuth the future.
this connection

can only supply one of the

The participle niX3 in many senses of the

express that which

imperfect (Ewald,

IGSc), and, like

^)}^^,,

ought

to be.

The

participial

form

riiK3 is evidently

chosen for

the sake of obtaining a paronomasia with niD3: the heights

which should not come

n^n^ points

{i.e.

back

to

Dri\!?j;

should not be erected) while ih what should not happen." 'Jini

; :

Ver. 17.
for 13T

The

jewellery of gold and silver was used by Israel

the male sex, to

'ppv,

idols of

commit fornication with

is

them.

Ewald
set

thinks that the allusion

to

Penates (teraphim),

which were

up

in the house, with

ornaments suspended upon

them, and worshipped with

lectisternia.

But

there

is

no more
there
is

allusion to lectisternia here than in ch. xxiii. 41.

still less

And

ground for thinking, as Vatke, Movers, and Havernick

or Phallus-worship, of which
it is

do, of

Lingam-

impossible to

find the slightest trace

among

the Israelites.

The arguments

used by Havernick have been already proved by Hitzig to have no force whatever. The context does not point to idols of any
particular kind,

but to the

many
is

varieties of Baal-worship;

whilst the worship of

Moloch

specially

mentioned in vers.

20

sqq. as being the greatest abomination of the whole.

The

20Q
fact that on^JSp

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

inj,

to set before

them

(the

idols),

does not

refer to lectisternia, but

is

to sacrifices offered as

food for the gods,

indisputably evident from the words nrfJ nnp, the technical

expression for the sacrificial odour ascending to

i.

God

(cf.

Lev.

9,

13, etc.).

'n'l

(ver.

19),

and

it

came

to pass {sc. this

abomination), merely serves to give emphatic expression to the

disgust which
it

occasioned (Hitzig).
this,

Vers. 20, 21.

The

And

not

even content with

the adulteress sacrificed the children

idols.

which

God had

given her to

revulsion of feeling
is

produced by the abominations of the !Moloch-worship

in the expression
''13*??,

shown
idols,

thou didst

sacrifice
still

thy children to

that they might devour

them

and

more
in

in the reproachful

question 'no
|0

t21'on,

"was

there too

little

thy whoredom'?"

before

"Jl'^i^Tri is

used in a comparative sense, though not to

thing than thy

signify "

was

this a smaller

whoredom?" which

would mean far too

used, as in ch.
viii.

little in this

cormection.

The

IP is

rather

17 and Isa.

xlix. 6, in

the sense of too: was

little,

thy whoredom, already described in vers. 1619, too

that

thou didst also slaughter thy children to idols?

TiniJin

The

Chetih

(vers.

20 and 25)

is

a singular, as in vers. 25 and 29

it

whereas the Keri has treated

as a plural, as in vers. 15, 22,

and 33, but without any satisfactory ground.

The

indignation

comes out

still

more strongly

in the description

given of these

abominations in ver. 21: "thou didst slay

in ver.

20 we

have simply " thy sons,

my sons" (whereas whom thou hast born to

">''?J![??,

me "),

" and didst give them up to them,

sc.

by making

them pass through,"

the

fire,

"'^^yri is

used here not merely

for lustration or februation

by

fire,

but for the actual burning

it

of the children slain as sacrifices, so that

ilPbp K'Xa
'i''3J|n

is

equivalent to

(2

Kings

xxiii. 10).

By

the process of burning,

the sacrifices were given to

Moloch

to devour.
it

Ezekiel has

the Moloch-worship in his eye in the form which

had assumed
to
6,

from the times of Ahaz downwards, when the people began

burn their children

xxiii. 10),

to

^Moloch

(cf.

2 Kings xvi. 3, xxi.

whereas

all

that can be proved to have been practised

CHAP. XVI. 23-34.

in earlier times

207
tlie

by the

Israelites

was

passing of children
;

througli fire without either slaying or burning

fire

a februation

by

(compare the remarks on

xviii. 21).
its

this

subject in the

comm. on
out of the
it

Lev.

Amidst

all

these abominations Israel did not

remember

youth, or

how

the

Lord had adopted

gifts.

it

deepest wretchedness to be His people, and had

made
guilt.

glorious

through the abundance of His

This base ingratitude

its

shows the depth of

its fall,

and magnifies

For

ver.

22b compare vers. 7 and

6.

Vers. 23-34. Extent and magnitude of the idolatry.

23.

And

it

came

to

pass after

all thy wichedness

Ver.
ivoe to

Woe,

thee I is the saying

of the Lord Jehovah

Ver. 24.
and

Thou

didst

build thyself arches,

the streets.

and

didst

make

thyself high places in all

Ver. 25. Thoic didst build thy high places at every

cross road,
feet

and

didst disgrace thy beauty,

by,

stretch open thy

for every one that passed

and

didst increase thy whore-

dom.

Ver. 26. Thou didst commit fornication with the sons of

in flesh,

Egypt thy neighbours, great

xohoredom
out tny
to

and

didst

increase thy

provoke me.
thee,

Ver. 27. And, behold, 1 stretched

hand against

and diminished

thine allowance,
thee, the

and

gave thee up

to the desire

of those u-ho hate

daughters of

the Philistines, ivho are

ashamed of thy lewd way. Ver. 28.

And
them,

thou didst commit fornication unth the sojis of Asshur, because

thou art never satisfied; and didst commit fornication

ivith

and wast
thy

also not satisfied.

to

Ver. 29. Aiid thou didst increase

ivast

whoredom

Canaan's land, Chaldaea, and even thereby

is

not satisfied.

Ver. 30. IIoio languishing

thy heart!

is

the

saying of the

Lord Jehovah,

that thou doest all this, the doings

of a dissolute prostitute.
arches at every cross road,
o'oad,

Ver.

3L When

thou buildest

thy

and madest thy high

p>laces in every

thou icast not lihe the harlot, since thou despisedst payment.
icife taketh

Ver. 32. The adidterous

strangers instead of her hus;

band. Ver. 33. Jllen give presents

thy presents to all thy suitors,

to all prostitutes

but thou gavest

to

and

didst reivard

them for coming

thee from all sides, for fornication with thee.

Ver. 34.

And there

208
was

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

in thee the very opposite of the

women

in

tliy

whoredom,

that

men did

not go whoring after thee.

In that thou givest payment,

and payment was

not given to thee, thou wast the very opposite.

By

Vy^'f^'^ ^^n^, the picture of

the wide spread of idolatry,

commenced
For

in ver. 22, is placed in the relation of chronological

itself.

sequence to the description already given of the idolatry

all sin, all evil,

must

first exist

before

it

can spread.

The

spreading of idolatry was at the same time an increase of

apostasy from God.

This

is

not to be sought, however, in the

sanctuary, which

fact that Israel forsook the

God had

ap-

pointed for
itself
it

it

as the scene of

His gracious presence, and built

It consisted rather in this, that
little

idol-temples (Kliefoth).

erected idolatrous altars and

temples at

all

street-corners

and cross-roads
all

(vers. 24, 25),

and committed adultery with

heathen nations (vers. 26, 28, 29), and could not be induced

to relinquish idolatry either

by the chastisements of God

(vers.

(ver.

27), or
^'!?i'y''7'

by the uselessness of such conduct

is

32-34).

the wht)le of the apostasy from the

vviiich

Lord depicted
as

in vers.

15-22,

prevailed

more and more

is

idolatry

spread.

The

picture of this extension of idolatry

introduced

with woel woe! to indicate at the outset the fearful judgment

which Jerusalem was bringing upon

clamation of woe
is

itself
;

thereby.
for
''33ni

The

ex-

inserted parenthetically
^'^''.1

(ver. 24)

forms the apodosis to

in ver. 23.

^33

and HDn are to be

with the
a collective word.

taken as general terms

but, as

the

singular ^33
is

plural ^'nbn in ver. 39 plainly shows, 33

Hiivernick has very properly called attention to the analogy

between

33

aud
nap,
33,

nzip in

Num.

xxv. 8, which

is

used there to

denote an apartment furnished or used for the service of BaalPeor.

As

from

33;?, signifies literally

that which
is

is

arched,

a vault; so
arched, a

from

333, is

literally
is

that which

curved or

hump

or back,

and hence

used here for buildings

erected for idolatrous purposes, small temples built on heights,

which were probably so called

for fornication.

to distinguish

them

as chapels

The

ancient translations sus^est this, viz.

CHAP. XVI.

23-31.

209

LXX.
thus
:

o'iK7]fia

TTopviKov

and
Ta<;

eKOe/xa,

which Polychron. explains

elwOaai
;

irpoaycioyLov,

ev6a

iropva<i rpi(f)ecv

Vulg.
i.e.

liipanar

and prostibulum.

HDi

signifies artificial heio-hts,

altars built

upon eminences, commonly

is

called

IdinOlh.

The
the

word rdmdh
primary
sit

probably chosen here with an allusion to

signification, height, as

Jerome has

said

(juod excelsus

ut volentlhus fornicari procul appareat fornicationis locus et

sit

non necesse

quaeri.
illicit

The

increase of the

whoredom,

i.e.

of
is

the idolatry and

intercourse with

heathenish ways,

individualized in vers.
facts.

26-29 by a

specification of historical
illicit

We

cannot agree with Hitzig in restricting the

with

intercourse

Egypt

(ver.

26), Asshur

(ver.

28),

and

Chaldaea

(ver.

29) to political apostasy, as distinguished from

the religious apostasy already depicted.

indicate

There

is

nothino- to

any such

distinction.

Under
its

the figure of

whoredom,
and

both in what precedes and what follows, the inclination of

Israel
to

heathen ways in

all

extent, both
first
;

religious

political, is

embraced.

Egypt stands
in

for the apostasy of

Israel
calf,

from the Lord commenced with the Avorship of the golden

and the longing

the wilderness for the fleshpots of

Egypt.

From

time immemorial Egypt was most deeply sunken

of nature.

in the heathenish worship

The

sons of Eirypt are

li^

therefore described, in accordance with the allerorv, as

"h^l.

magni came {huzdr, a euphemism

cf. ch. xxiii. 20), i.e.

:

accord-

ing to the correct explanation of Theodoret

rfj

fxeB' v7rep/3o\r]<i

Toov elBcoXwv Bepaireta irpoarerriKora^, ovroc

/36a<;
i'ySei?

jap Kal rpdyov;

Kal KpoKohelXov^
in

Kal

Kal Trpofiara, Kvva^ re Kal

Kal lepaKa^ irpoaeKvvqaav.
this erring

7ri9i]Kov<;

Kal

The way
like a

which

God

punished

conduct was, that,

husband who
his
faithless
etc.

endeavours

by means of chastisement to induce

wife to return,
{cliOg^ as in

He
ii.

diminished the supply of food, clothinir,

Prov. xxx. 8), intended for the wife (for the fact
9,

compare Hos.

10)

this

He
is

did by " not allowing Israel

to attain to the glory

and power which would otherwise have

it
;

been conferred upon

that

to say,

by not permitting

it

to

EZEK.

I.

210

THE PnOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

acquire the undisturbed and undivided possession of Canaan,

but

(rlviufT it

up

to the

power and scorn of the princes of the

t'333 }n3, to give

Philistines " (Kliefoth).

any one up

to the

desire of another.

The daughters

of

the Philistines are the

Philistian states, corresponding to

the representation of Israel

as an adulterous wife.

The

Philistines are

mentioned as the

principal foes, because Israel fell completely into their

power

at

the end
iv.)
;

of the period of the

Judges

(cf.

Judg.

xiii.-xvi.; 1

Sam.

and they are referred

to here, for the deeper humiliation

of Israel, as having been

ashamed of the

licentious

conduct of

the Israelites, because they adhered to their gods, and did not

exchange them for others as Israel had done (compare Jer.

ii.

10, 11).
is

n?3T

(ver. 21) is in apposition to

'H?'}'!:

thy way,

which
as
in

zimmd/i.

Zimmdh

is

applied to the sin of profligacy,

Lev.

xviii. 17.

But
;

Israel

was not improved by from the

was not

this

chastisement.

It

committed adultery with Asshur also from

Assyrians
satisfied
;

the
(2

times

of

Ahaz, who sought help

Kings
is

xvi. 7 sqq.)

and even with

this it

that

to say, the serious consequences

brought upon the king-

dom
sober

of
it,

Judah by seeking
so as to lead
it

the friendship of Assyria did not

to give

up seeking

for help
is

from the

heathen and their gods.

In

ver. 28, ^^ ^?jn

distinguished

from

t3"'3rri

(n3T,

with accus.).

The former

denotes the immoral

pursuit of a person for the purpose of procuring his favour

the latter, adulterous

intercourse with him,

of

when
is

his
this
:

favour
Israel

has been secured.

The thought

the verse
it

sought the favour of Assyria, because

illicit

was not
to

satisfied

with
it

intercourse with Egypt,

and continued

cultivate

yet

it

did not find satisfaction or sufficiency even in this, but

its

increased

adultery

no"'^b'3 IJ'33 pS"?Nl, to

the Canaan's-land
of the

Chaldaea.

IV33

px

is

not the proper

name

land of

Canaan

here, but an appellative designation applied to Chaldaea

as in ch. xvii.

(Kasdhn) or Babylonia,

4 (Raschi).

The explanais

tion of the words, as signifying the land of

Canaan,

precluded

by the

fact that an allusion to Canaanitish idolatry

and

inter-

CHAP. XVI.

23-34.

211

course after the mention of Assliur would be out of place, and

would not coincide with the

historical order of things; since

it

cannot be shown that " a more general diffusion of the religious

customs of Canaan took place after the Assyrian era."

it is still

And
of the

more decidedly precluded by the introduction

which cannot possibly mean

word

n'^''"ny'3,

as far as, or unto,

Chaldaea, and can only be a more precise definition of

iJ?33.

px
is

The

only thing about which a question can be raised,

the reason

why

the epithet
it

]v:2

should have been applied to

to

Chaldaea
in

whether

merely related

the commercial

spirit,

which Babylon was by no means behind the Canaanitish

or whether allusion was
also

Tyre and Sidon,

idolatry

made

to the

and immorality of Canaan.

The former

means
of

to be excluded, as
is

we

find that in ch. xvii.

is by no 4 " the land

Canaan" But we must

designated " a city of merchants"

{rokJiHim).

not exclude the latter either, inasmuch as in the

Belus- and Mylitta-worship of Babylon the voluptuous character

of the Baal- and Astarte-worship of

Canaan had degenerated

i.

into shameless unchastity (cf. Herodotus,

199).
in the

In

ver. 30, the contents of vers.

16-29 are summed up

thy heart
!

verdict which the

teress
:

Lord pronounces upon

languishing
\ey.
;

the harlot and adul"

"^^P^.

" yet

how
air.

is

(as

participle

Kal

since the verb only occurs elsewhere

in the Fual,

and that

in the

sense of faded or pining away)

can only signify a morbid pining or languishing, or the craving

of

immodest
i^f^
is

desire,

which has grown into a

Xey.
;

disease.

The
to
;

form
ninp.^

also

cltt.

but

it

is

analogous to the plural

;

np?C', powerful,

commanding

as

an epithet applied

zdnCili,
^

one wdio knows no limit to her actions, unrestrained

;

Hitzig objects to the two forms, which do not occur elsewhere and with the help of the Sept. rendering t< oixSq) tyjv Svya-ipa. aov, which is a mere guess founded upon the false reading T]n3^ n!?DX no, he adopts the conjectural reading 'i]n37 rhl2ii ilJO, "what hope is there for thy daughter?"

by which he enriches the Hebrew language with a new word (n?OX), and
the prophecy contained in this chapter with a thought which
foreign to
it,

is

completely

and altogether unsuitable.

212

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Ver. 31 contahis an
transition
to the

hence in Arabic, insolent, shameless.

independent sentence, which

facilitates the

thought expanded
surpassed
all otlicr

in vers.

32-34, namely, that Jerusalem had

harlots in her

whoredoms.

If

we

take ver. 31

as dependent u[)on the protasis in ver. 30,

drafjLrlinfT style

we

not only get a very

of expression, but the

to a

new

thouirlit exijressed in
;

ver.

31i

is

reduced
it

merely secondary idea

it

whereas the

expansion of
feature

in vers.

32 sqq. shows that

introduces a

new

into the address.

And

if

this

is

the case,

^ri''M~N7l

cannot be taken as co-ordinate with

as the apodosis
:

''^'''^'V,

but must be construed

. .

" in thy building of rooms

thou wast not

like the (ordinary) harlot, since

thou disdainest payment."

see the

For

the plural suffix attached to

ch. vi. 8.

T]*niJ3Zij

commentary on

The

infinitive opjf?

answers to the Latin gerund in

280(;Z),

ndo

{vid.

Ewald,

237c and

indicating wherein, or in

what

respect, the harlot

;

Jerusalem differed from an ordinary

prostitute

namely, in the fact that she disdained to receive

payment
words,

for her prostitution.

That

this is the

meaning of the

is

rendered indisputable by vers.

ijriN

32-34.

But

the

majority of exj)ositors have taken

D?j^7 as

indicating the
i.e.

point of comparison between Israel and other harlots,

as

defining in

what respect
is

Israel resembled other prostitutes

at

and

then, as this thought

variance with what follows, have

attempted to remove the

explanations.

discrepancy by various untenable

resort to the explanation
:

Most

of

them

thou

wast not like the other prostitutes,

who

disdain to receive the

payment
obtaining
^

offered for their prostitution, in the

still

hope of thereby

more,^

an

explanation which imports into the

:

Jerome adopts this rendering no7i facta es quasi mcrctrix fastidio aiKjem prctmm, and gives the following explanation " thou hast not imitated the cunning prostitutes, who are accustomed to raise the price of lust by increasing the difUcultics, and in tliis way to excite their lovers to greater frenzy." Kosenmuller and Maurer have adopted a similar explana" thou differest greatly from other harlots, who despise the payment tion offered them by their lovers, that they may get still more for thou acceptest any reward, being content with the lowest payment yea, thou dost even
: : ; ;

offer a price to tliine

own

lovers."

CHAP. XVI.

23-34.

213
in

words a thouglit that has no existence

nick seeks to
fix

them

at all.

Haver-

upon

D?p,

by means of the Aramaean, the

meaning

to

cry out (crying out payment), in opposition to the

ordinary meaning of D?p, to disdain, or ridicule, in wliich sense

Ezekiel also uses the noun nopp in

cli.

xxii.

4.
;

Hitzig

falls

back upon the handy method of altering the text

Kliefoth gives to
p

and

finally,
i.e.

the imaginary

meaning "

so far as,"

" to

such a degree that," which cannot be defended either through

Ex. xxxix. 19 or from Deut. xxiv.

5.

With
is

the loose

way

in

which the

infinitive construct with p

used,

we grant

that the

words are ambiguous, and might have the meaning which the
majority of the commentators have discovered in them
this
;

but

view

is

by no means necessary, inasmuch

as the subordinate

idea introduced

by

iJnx D?Pp

may

refer quite as well to the sub-

ject of the sentence, "

tliou^''

as to the condh with

whom

the

subject

is

compared.

Only

in the latter case the I^nx D?p would

apply to other harlots as well as to Israel; whereas in the

former

it

applies to Israel alone,

and shows

in

what

it

was that

Israel did not resemble ordinary prostitutes.

tion

But

the explana-

which followed was a

sufficient

safeguard against mistake.

first

In this explanation adulteresses are mentioned

(ver. 32),

and then common

be taken, as
it

prostitutes (vers. 33, 34).

Ver. 32 must not

has been by the majority of commentators, as an

exclamation, or a reproof addressed to the adulteress Jerusalem:

thou adulterous wife, that taketh strangers instead of her

!

husband

Such an exclamation
all.

as this does not suit the con-

nection at

But the verse

is

not to be struck out on that

account, as Hitzig proposes.

It has simply to be construed in

another way, and taken as a statement of what adulteresses do

(Kliefoth).

They

take strangers instead of their husband, and

seek their recompense in the simple change, and the pleasure

of being with other men.
rTJ'"'S

nnrij

lit.

under her husband,

i.e.

as a wife subject to her husband, as in the connection with n:T

in ch. xxiii. 5

and Hos.

iv.

12

(see the

comm. on Num.
up

v. 19).

Vers. 33, 34.

Common

prostitutes give themselves

for pre-

214

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

its

sents; but Israel, on the contrary, gave presents to

lovers, so

that

it

did the very opposite to

all

other harlots, and the practice

far behind by that of Israel.
(a present)
is

of ordinary prostitutes

was

left
17^

The change

of forms

i^"]^

and

probably to be
t^lJ

explained simply on the ground that the form

was length-

ened into pJ with a consonant as the termination, because the

suffix

could be attached more easily to the other.

i.e.

'HPi?,

the

reverse, the opposite,

with the present context, something

unheard
harlot.

of,

which never occurred in the case of any other

has thus fulfilled the task appointed

Ezekiel
now

him

in ver. 2, to

charge Jerusalem with her abominations.

turns to an announcement of the punishment.

The

address

Vers. '65-52.

As

Israel has been worse than all the heathen,

it

Jehovah

will

punish

notwithstanding
all

its

election, so that its

shame shall be uncovered before

manifest (vers. 43-52).

the nations (vers. 36-42), and

it

the justice of the judgment to be inflicted upon

shall be

made

According

to

these points of view,

the threat of punishment divides

following

itself into

two parts

in the
first

manner

In

the

first (vers.

35-42) we have,

of

all (in ver.

36), a recapitulation of the guilty conduct described

;

in vers.

16-34

and secondly, an announcement of the punishto the guilt, as the

ment corresponding
and murder
retribution
(vers.

punishment of adultery
its infliction,

37 and 48), and a picture of

as

for the enormities

(vers.

committed

(vers.

39-42).

In

the second part

justice of this

43-52) there follows a proof of the

judgment.

Vers. 35-42.

The punishment
harlot,

will

Ver.
lovers,

correspond to the

sin.

35.

Therefore,

hear the word of Jehovah!

Ver. 36. Tlius saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy brass has
been lavished,

and thy shame exposed

all the idols

in thy ivhoredom iviih thy

and because of
to

of thine abominations, and

according

the blood

of thy sons, tchich thou hast given tliem

ivill

Ver. 37. Therefore, behold, 1

xchoin thou hast pleased,
icith all

gather together all thy lovers,

hast loved, together

and

all ichoni thou

whom

thou hast hated,

and

will gather them against thee

CHAP. XVI.

35-42.

215
to

from round about, and may see all thy shame.

the

will expose thy

shame

tliem, that they

to

Ver. 38.

/ ivill

judge thee according

judgment of adidteresses and murderesses, and make

IV rath

thee into
thee into

blood of

and jealousy.

Ver. 39.

And I loill give

and

their hand, that they

heights

that they

may destroy may strip thy

and
uj)

thy arches,

and pull down thy

take thy

clothes off thee,

splendid jewellery,

leave

thee

naked and bare.

thee,

Ver. 40.
stone thee,

And
and

they shall bring

a company against

and

cut thee in pieces ivith their swords.

Ver. 41.

And
upon
to

they
thee

shall burn tky houses loith fire,

and

execute judgment

before the eyes of

many

xcomen.
also give

Thus do I put an end

paym&nt no more.

thy

ichoredom

and thou

loilt

Ver. 42.

And I
jealousy

quiet

my fury
thee,

toward

thee,

and

loill

turn aivay

my

from

that

I may

repose

and vex myself no more.

be

In the brief summary of

punished
:

the guilt of the whore, the followis

ing objects are singled out, as those for which she

(1) the pouring out of her brass
;

to

and the exposure of

her shame

(2) the idols of her abominations (with bv before

\Vl

the noun, corresponding to

before the infinitive)

(3) the
to,

blood of her sons, with the preposition 3, according

indicate

to

the measure

of her

punishment.

Two

things are

mentioned as constituting the first ground of punishment. The first is, " because thy brass has been poured out." Most
of the commentators have explained this correctly, as referring
to the fact that Israel

had squandered the possessions received

and food

from the Lord,

(vers.

viz. gold, silver, jewellery, clothing,

10-13 and 16-19), upon

this is the

idolatry.

The

only difficulty

connected with

use of the word n^chosheth, brass or

copper, in the general sense of

money

or metal, as there are no

other passages to support this use of the word.

At

the same

time, the objection raised to this, namely, that n^chosheth cannot

signify

money, because the Hebrews had no copper

that the use of copper or brass as

coin, is

an

assertion without proof, since all that can be affirmed with cer-

tainty

is,

tioned anywhere in the

money is not menOld Testament, with the exception of

216

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

the passage before us.

But we cannot
in use.

infer with certainty

from

this that

it

was not then

coins,

As

soon as the

Hebrews
in

be^an to stamp

bronze or copper coins were stamped as

well as the silver shekels,

and specimens of these are

still

existence from the time of the Maccabees, with the inscription

"Simon, prince of Israel"

transl.

(cf.

Cavedoni, Bill. Numismatikj

by Werlhof,

p.

20

sqq.).

Judging from

their size,

these coins were in

all

probability worth a whole, a half, and a

If,

quarter gerah (Caved, pp. 50, 51).

then, the silver shekel

of the value of 21 grains contained twenty gerahs in Moses'

time, and they had already silver pieces of the weight of a

shekel and half shekel, whilst quarter shekels are also

men-

tioned in the time of Samuel, there would certainly be metal

coins in use of the value of

agcrah for the purposes of trade and

in all probability be

commerce, and these would

have been found too small.
denied that brass or copper

made

of brass,

copper, or bronze, as silver coins of the value of a

penny would

Consequently

it

cannot be positively
used as coin for the

may have been

payment of a gerah, and therefore

that the

word n^chosheih

may have been

applied to money.

We

therefore adhere to

the explanation that brass stands for money, which has been

already adopted by the

LXX.

and Jerome; and we do

so all

the more, because every attempt that has been

made

to fasten
intertext,

another meaning upon

pretation (Ilabb.), or
is

n^cIiOsheth,

whether by allegorical

from the Arabic, or by altering the

not only arbitrary, but does not even yield a

the context.
'H?^''?,

meaning

that

suits

to

be poured

out

= squandered

or

lavished.

To

the squandering of the possessions bestowed

by

the
of

Lord upon His congregation,

shame,
i.e.

there was added the exposure

its

the disgraceful sacrifice of the honour and

dignity of the people of God, of which Israel had

guilty

made
i.e.

itself

by

its

whoredom with

idols,

i.e.

by

falling into idolatry,

and adopting heathen ways.

thy lovers (^V standing for

Ti^3nsp"7y, to (towards),
?^5,

with

according to later usage: vid.

Ewald,

217i, p.

5G1),

is

to

be explained after the analogy of

CHAP. XVI.

35-42.

217
i.e.

7N

niT,

as signifying to

commit adultery towards a person,

fo the

with him.

But

it

was not enough

to sacrifice the gifts of the

Lord,

i.e.

His possessions and His glory,

;

heathen and
all

their idols

Israel also

made
i.e.

for itself

rii33;in

Wa"73j
it

kinds
its

of logs of abominations,

of idols,
it

upon which

hung

ornaments, and before which

set oil
it

and incense, meal and

satisfied

honey
this,

(vers.

18 and 19).
its

And

was not even

its

with
its

but gave to

idols the (ver. 20).

blood of

sons,

by slaying

children to

Moloch

Therefore (vers. 37 sqq.) the

all

Lord

will

uncover the shame of His people before

the

nations.

He

will

gather them together, both friend and foe,

against Jerusalem, and let

them execute the judgment.

sin.
it

The

punishment

will

correspond to the

Because Israel has

shall

cultivated friendship with the heathen,

now be
The

given up

altogether into their power.

On

the uncovering of the nakedii.

ness as a punishment, compare Hos.

12.

explanation
nations shall

of the figure follows in ver. 38.

inflict

The heathen
had committed
falling

upon Jerusalem the punishment due

Jerusalem
(i.e.

to adultery
this

and

bloodshed.
crime.
It

Israel)

twofold

had committed adultery, by

;

away from

Jehovah
to

into idolatry

and bloodshed, by the

sacrifices offered

Moloch.

(see the
ix. 6
;

The punishment for adultery was death by stoning comm. on ver. 40) and blood demanded blood (Gen.
;

Ex.

xxi. 12).

'ui

DT
''

Tl^nn;^

does not mean, " I will put

blood in thee " (Ros.), or

I will cause thy blood to be shed in

etc.)
;

anger " (De Wette, Maurer,

but I make thee into blood

which we must not soften down,

thee to bleed.

as Hitzig proposes, into cause

:

The thought

is

rather the following

thou shalt
be
left of

be turned into blood, so that nothing but blood

thee,

may

and that the blood of fury and jealousy, and jealousy of God (compare
will destroy
all

as the

working

of the wrath

ver. 42).

To

this

end the heathen

and
riinn, ver.

the objects of idolatry (33

39, as in vers. 24, 25), then take

from the harlot

i.e.

both clothes and jewellery, and leave her naked,

plunder

Jerusalem and lay

it

waste, and, lastly, execute upon her the

218
])unishment of

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

cleatli

by stoning and by

swortl

in other words,

destroy both city and kingdom.

(up) against thee an assembly,

ancient

The words 'iJl vi/n, they bring may be explained from the
which the

mode

of administering justice, according to

cf.

popular assembly (qdhdl,

cases of adultery

Prov. v. 14) sat in judgment on

and

capital crimes,

and executed the sentence,

;

as the law for stoning expressly enjoins (Lev. xx. 2 XV.

Num.

36

Deut.

xxii.

21

compare

my

Bibl. Archdol. II. p. 257).

But they

are also applicable to the foes,

who would march

against Jerusalem (for qdhdl in this sense, compare ch. xvii. 17).

The punishment
XX.

of adultery (according to Lev. xx. 10) was

death by stoning, as

we may

see
viii.

from Lev. xx. 2-27 and Deut.

5.

24 compared with John

This was the usual mode

of capital punishment under the Mosaic law,

when

judicial

sentence of death was pronounced upon individuals (see

my
to

Archdol. II. p. 2G4).

The

other form of punishment, slaying

by the sword, was adopted when there were many criminals

be put to death, and was not decapitation, but cutLiug
stabbing (hdtliaq, to

down

or

hew

in

pieces) with the

sword (see

my
9).

Archdol.
severe

I.e.).

The punishment

of death was rendered more

xx. 14,
is

by the burning of the corpse (Lev.

and

xxi.

Consequently the burning of the houses in ver. 41

regarded as intensifying the punishment
;

also to

be

it is

in the

same

light that the threat is to be regarded, that the

judgment would

be executed "before the eyes of

many women.'

The many
"

women
tion of

are the

many heathen

nations, according to the descrip-

Jerusalem or Israel as an unfaithful wife.

As

it is

the greatest punishment to an adulterous

in

her sin

before the eyes

of other

woman women
all

to be exposed
;

so
it

will

the

severest portion of Israel's

punishment
the
in

be, that

will stand

exposed in
(Klicfoth).

its

sin
is

before
the

eyes

of

other

nations"

This

way

which

God
i?p,

will

put an end to

the fornication, and appease His wrath and jealousy

harlot (vers. 41 i

upon the

and 42).

n^r^'n, Avith

to cause a person to

cease to be or do anything.

For

ver. 42,

compare

ch. v. 13.

CEAP. XVI.

43-52.

219
('^^?[?)

By

the execution of the judgment the jealousy

is

of the

injured husband

appeased.
is

Vers. 43-52. This judgment

not only forgotten the grace of
in
its

perfectly just

for Israel has

it

its

God

manifested towards

election,

but has even surpassed both Samaria and

Sodom

in its abominations.
the

Ver. 43. Because thou hast not rememhered

all this

days of thy youth, and hast raged against me in

behold,

I also

give thy loay

that

upon thy head,

is

the saying

of the
all

Lord Jehovah,
thine

I may

not do that which is

wrong above
one
that

abominations.
loill

Ver. 44.

Behold,

every
:

useth

proverbs

use this proverb concerning thee

as the mother, so

the daughter.

Ver. 45. Thou art the daughter of thy mother,

who

casteih off her

husband and her children ; and thou

liusbands

art the

sister

of thy

sisters, luho cast off their

is

and

their children.

Your mother

Hlttite,
is

and your father an Amorite.

Ver. 46.

And

thy great sister

;

Samaria with her daughters,

tvho divelleth

at thy left

and
is

thy sister,

who

is

smaller than thou,

who

dwelleth

at thy right,

Sodom with
only

her daughters.

Ver. 47. But thou

according
to

hast

not

walked in their ivays and

little
;

done

their

abominations a

thou didst act more corruptly than

they in all thy ways.

Ver. 48.

As

live,

is

the saying

of the

Lord Jehovah, Sodom

this

thy sister, she with her daughters hath not

ivith thy daughters.

done as thou hast done

Ver. 49. Behold,

was

the sin of

Sodom, thy

sister:

pride, superabundance

of food, and
the

her daughters, and hand of the poor and needy she did not hold. Ver. 50. They were haughty, and did abominations before me; and I
ivith

rest undisturbed

had she

swept them away when

hath not sinned
to

I saw

it.

Ver. 51.
;

And

Samaria, she

the

half of thy sins

they,

thou hast increased

thine abominations

more than
thine

and

hast

made

thy sisters
done.

onghteous

by

all

abominations

ichich

thou hast

Ver. 52. Bear,

to

then, also thy shame,

ichich thou hast

adjudged
committed

thy sisters.

Through thy
they,

sins,

ivhich thou hast

more abominably than

thou.

they become
to

more righteous than

Be

thou, then, also

put

shame, and bear thy disgrace,

220

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

as thou hast justified ihj sisters.

to
]V]

"itf'X

}r,

which corresponds
^lost of

in ver. 36, introduces a

new

train of thought.

the commentators take ver.

cedes,

43

in connection with

what pre""i^ni

and place the pause

this
is

at ver. 44.

But the

perfect

shows that

wrong.

If

ver.

43 simply contained a

recapitulation,

or

a concluding summary, of the threat of

judgment
in the

in vers.

35-42, the punishment would be announced

it is

future tense, as

in ver. 37.
is

By
in

the perfect

""rinj,

on

the contrary, the punishment

exhibited as a completed fact,

vindication of the
in vers.

and further reasons are then assigned

justice of the divine procedure,

which we find
is

44

sqq.

To

this

end the guilt of Jerusalem

mentioned once more

i.e.

" thou didst not

remember the days of thy youth,"

;

what

thou didst experience in thy youth

didst find thyself,

the misery in which thou

and out of which I rescued thee and exalted

thee to glory (vers. 4-14).

against Jehovah,
P
fi"3,

To

this

there was added rage

in

which manifested

itself

idolatrous acts.

to

be excited upon or against any person, to rage; thus

in

HiOipael with ^x in 2 Kings xix. 27, 28.

ch. ix. 10.

For TNif

7]-it

|n3,

compare

been misinterpreted in
pointing,
Ti^b'i;

The last clause of ver. 43, 'li^ TT'C'j; N?l, has many ways. According to the ^lasoretic
;

is

the second person

but this does not

j'ield

a suitable meaning. O

For

ni2T nb'J?
T

is

not used in the sense

is

adopted by the Targum, upon which the Masoretic pointing

undoubtedly based, and which Raschi, Kimchi, and Rusenmiiller retain, viz. cogitationem facere
:

" thou hast not taken

i.e.

any thought concerning

any remorse.
wrung, and
(cf.
is

all

thy abominations,"
is

hast not felt

The

true meaning

to

commit a crime, a
the more reason

used for the most part of unnatural offences

;

Judg. XX. 6

IIos. vi. 9).

There

is

all

for retaining this

ni?2T

meaning, that nsT (apart from the plural

seiisu

= nisTO)

only occurs

malo, and for

(^vid.

tlie

most part

in

the sense of an immoral

action
to

Job
all

xxxi. 11).
:

Con-

sequently

we should have

adopt the rendering

and thou no

longer committest this immorality above

thine abominations.

CHAP. XVI,

43-52.

221
to

But
by

in that case not only

would

*iij?

have

be supplied, but a

distinction

would be drawn between the abominations committed

sin of lewdness,
i.e.

Israel

and the

adultery,

which

is

quite

foreign to the connection and to the contents of the entire

chapter

for,

according to these, the abominations of Israel

consisted in adultery or the sin of lewdness.

fore take \Tb'J? as the
first

We

must

there-

person, as

Symm. and Jerome have

done, and explain

toleration

the words from Lev. xix. 29, where the by a father of the whoredom of a daughter is deIf

signated as zimmdh.
says that

we adopt

this interpretation,

Jehovah
Israel, in

order

He has punished the spiritual whoredom of that He may not add another act of wrong to the
by allowing such immorality
to

abomina-

tions of Israel

go on unpunished.

If

He

did not punish,

He

would commit a zimmdh Himself,

accessory to the sins of

in other words, would

Israel.

make Himself

The

concludinir characteristic of the moral deo-radafits

tion of Israel

in very appropriately here in vers.

is

44

sqq.,

in

which Jerusalem

compared

to

Samaria and Sodom, both of

which had been punished long ago with destruction on account of their sins. This characteristic is expressed in the form of sayings. proverbial Every one who speaks in proverbs (mOshel,
as in

Num.

xxi. 27) will

then say over thee: as the mother, so

life is so

her daughter.

Her abominable

conspicuous, that

it

strikes every one,

and furnishes occasion for proverbial sayino-s. nss may be a feminine form of DX, as Hip is of 2^ (ver. 30)
it

or

may

also be a Raplie

form for

HffX

as her (the daun-hter s)

(cf.

mother, so her (the mother's) daughter

note, with 21, 22^).

Evvald,

174g,

the representative of

The daughter is of course Jerusalem, as Israel. The mother is the Canaanitish

3 and 45^*).

race of Hiuites and Amorites, whose immoral nature had been

adopted by Israel
relation
is

(cf. vers.

In ver. 45 the

sisterlv
still

added

to the

maternal, to carry out the thoucrht

further.

Some

difficulty arises here

from the statement, that

unquestionable that the

the mothers and the sisters despise their husbands and their
children, or put

them away.

For

it

is

222

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Tjrss*,

participle nH'b belongs to

relative

and not

to na, to

from the

parallel

clause

I^J^J

"'-*'?!,

which applies
is

the

sisters.

The The
The
and

husband of the wife Jerusalem

Jehovah, as the matrimonial

Israel.

head of the covenant nation or congregation of

children of the wives, viz. the mother, her daughter, and her
sisters,

are the children offered in sacrifice to Moloch.

worship of Moloch was found

is

here attributed to Samaria and

its

among the Sodom

early Canaanites,
also,

though we have

no other proofs of
to
it

existence there than the references

made

in the

Old Testament.

The husband, whom

evident

the mother

and

sisters
;

have put away, cannot therefore be any other than

Jehovah

from which

it

is

that Ezekiel

regarded

idolatry generally as apostasy

from Jehovah, and Jehovah as

also.^

the

God

not only of the Israelites, but of the heathen

T|ninx (ver.

45)

is

a plural noun, as the relative clause

clearly show,

which

follows and ver.

46

and therefore
;

is

a contracted

form of
]).

^^nins* (ver.

51) or T]nvns (ver. 52

vid.

Ewald,

2126,

538).

Samaria and Sodom are called

sisters of

Jerusalem,

not because both cities belonged to the same mother-land of

Canaan, for the origin of the

sideration here at
all,

cities
cities

does not come into con-

and the

represent the kingdoms, as

is

the additional words " her daughters," that

of a land or

to say, the cities

kingdom dependent upon the

Jerusalem

capital, clearly prove.

cities

Samaria and Sodom, with the daughter

them, are
sisters of
spirit

belonging to

in a spiritual sense, as

animated

by the same

of idolatry.

Samaria

is

called the great

sister.

(greater) sister of Jerusalem, and

Sodom

the smaller

This

is

not equivalent to the older and the younger, for Samaria

in idolatry

was not more deeply sunk

than Sodom, nor was

her idolatry more ancient than that of

Grotius)
^
;

Sodom (Theodoret and

finer

and Hiivernick's explanation^ that " the

lias

form
this,

Theodoret
is

explained

it

correctly in tins

way

"He
;

shows by

that lie

not the God of Jews only, but of Gentiles also for God once trave oracles to them, before they chose the abomination of idolatry. Tliercfore he says that they also put away both the husband aud the children by denying God, and slaying the children to demons."

CHAP. XVI. 43-52.

of idolatry, the mixture of the worship of

223
Jehovah with that of
first

nature, as represented by Samaria, was the

to find

an

entrance into Judah, and this was afterwards followed by the

coarser abominations of heathenism,"
is

unsatisfactory, for the

simple reason that, according to the historical books of the Old

Testament, the coarser forms of idolatry forced their

way

into

Judah

at quite

as

early a period as the

more

refined.

The

idolatry of the time of

Rehoboam and Abijam was not merely

a mixture of Jehovah-worship with the worship of nature, but the introduction of heathen idols into Judah, along with which
there
places
is

no doubt that the

also practised.

syncretistic worship of the high

was

7iia

and

l^i^

do not generally mean

transferred

old and young, but great and small.

The

meaning
great;

old

and young can only apply

to

men and

animals,

when

ness and littleness are really signs of a difference in age

it

but

is

altogether inapplicable to kingdoms or

is

cities,

the size of

which

by no means dependent upon their age.

Consequently

the expressions great and small simply refer to the extent of

the kingdoms or states here named, and correspond to the description

given of their situation

" at the
i.e.

left

hand,"

i.e.

to

the north, and " at the right hand,"

to the south of

Jeru-

salem and Judah.

Jerusalem had not only equalled these

sisters in

sins

and

abominations, but had acted more corruptly than they (ver. 47).

The
half.

first

hemistich of this verse, " thou walkest not in their

ways,"

etc., is

more

precisely defined

by

|no

"'Jin'^'ni

in the second
is

The

link of connection
3i^

between the two statements

formed by

t2y03.
i.e.

This

is

generally rendered, " soon was

there disgust,"
their ways,

thou didst soon feel disgust at walking in

still

and didst act

worse.

But

apart from the fact

that while disgust at the

way

of the sisters might very well

i.e.

constitute a motive for forsaking those ways,

relinquishino-

their abominations, it could not furnish a motive for surpassing

those abominations.
logical difficulty, that

This explanation
t^i?

is

exposed to the philote,

by

itself

cannot signify taeduit

and


224
THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.
ti^p

the impersonal use of

would
if

at all events

require

'^1^,

which

could not be omitted, even

tive.

t^P

were intended for a substanif

These
lai,

difBculties fall

away

we

interpret

t^i?

from the

Arabic

omnino, tantum, as Alb. Schultens has done, and conlittle

nect the definition " a

only " with the preceding clause.

:

We

then obtain this very appropriate thought

thou didst walk

only, but thou
is

in the

ways of thy
still

sisters;

and that not a

they.

little

didst act
vers.

more corruptly than

This

proved in

48

sqq.

by an enumeration of the
i.e.

sins of

Sodom.
{vid.

They
Prov.

were
XXX.

pride, satiety,
9),

superabundance of bread

and
In

careless rest or security,

which produce haughti-

ness and harshness, or uncharitableness, towards the poor and

wretched.

this

way Sodom and her daughters (Gomorrah,

"^l^?, i.e.

Admali, and Zeboim) became proud and haughty, and committed abominations
xviii.

before Jehovah (alluding to Gen.

21)

and God destroyed them when

He saw

this.

The

sins of

Samaria

(ver. 51) are not specially mentioned, because

the principal sin of this kingdom, namely, image-worship, was

well known.
sin half so

It is simply stated, therefore, that she did

;

not
the did

times of

much as Jerusalem and in fact, if we except Ahab and his dynasty, pure heathenish idolatry

not exist in the kingdom of the ten tribes, so that Samaria

seemed

really a righteous city in comparison with the idolatry

of Jerusalem

and Judah, more

(vid. Jer.
iii.

especially

from the time of

of Samaria
is

Ahaz onward

11).

The punishment
to

by the destruction of the kingdom of the ten

passed over as being well
ver.

tribes
;

also
in
to

known
directly

every Israelite
to

and
i.e.

52 the application
:

is

made

Jerusalem,

Judah
to

"

Thou

also,
sc.

bear thy shame, thou

who

hast adjudged

thy

sisters,"

by pronouncing an uncharitable judgment

upon them, thinking thyself better than they, whereas thou

hast sinned more abominably, so that they appear

more

right-

eous than thou.

Ply, to be righteous,

and

PIIV,

to justify, are

used in a comparative sense.

In comparison with the abomi-

CHAP. XVI.
nations of Jerusalem, the sins of
perfectly trivial.

53-63.

225

Sodom and Samaria appeared

the announcement of punish-

After

J^^

DJI.,

ment

is

repeated for the sake of emphasis, and that in the form

of a consequence resulting from the sentence with regard to

the nature of the sin

therefore be thou also put to shame,

and bear thy disgrace.

Vers. 53-63.

But

this disgrace will not

be the conclusion.
Israel,

Because of the covenant which the Lord concluded with

Jerusalem
will

not continue in misery, but will attain to the

glory promised to the people of

God

and that

in

such a way

that all boasting will be excluded,

and Judah, with the deepest

confidence in the gracious

shame,

will attain

God.

to a

knowledge of the true compassion of

all false

Yet, in order that

promises of

God may be

prevented, and the sinful nation be

thoroughly humbled, this last section of our word of

God
is

announces the restoration of Sodom and Samaria as well as

that of Jerusalem, so that
all

precluded.
tivity

boasting on the part of Israel

Ver. 53. Aiid

will turn their captiviti/, the cap-

of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria

the captivity

and her daughters, and

ashamed of

of thy captivity in

the midst

of them: Ver. 54. That thou inayest bear thy shame, and he
all that thou hast done, in comforting them.

Ver. b5.

And

thy sisters,

Sodom and

her daughters, will return to their

will return to their

first estate ;
first estate ;

and Samaria and her daughters

and thou and

thy daughters will i^eiurn to your first

estate.

Ver. 56.

And Sodom

thy sister was not a discourse in

thi/

thy mouth in the day of thy haughtinesses, Ver. 57. Before

wickedness was disclosed, as at the time of the disgrace of the daughters of Aram and all its surroundings, the daughters of the
Philistines,

who

despised thee round about.

Ver. 58. T7iy wrongis the

doing and all thy abominations, thou bearest them,

saying

of Jehovah. do
loith thee

Ver. 59. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah,

as thou hast done,

And I

who

hast despised oath to break

covenant.
thee in the

Ver. 60.

And

shall

remember

my

covenant tcith

days of thy youth, and shall establish an everlasting

EZEK.

I.

226
covenant with thee.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Ver. 61,

And

thou wilt remember thy loays,

and
thou

be ashamed,
to

when thou

receivest thy sisters, those greater than

those smaller than thou;

and I

give them to thee for

daughters, although they are not of thy covenant.

Ver. 62.

And

I u'ill establish my covenant ivith thee; and thou wilt j^erceive that I am Jehovah ; Ver. 63. That thou mayest remember, and be ashamed, and there may no longer remain to thee an opening of the mouth because of thy disgrace, lohen I forgive thee all that thou hast done, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. The promise
commences with an announcement
Jerusalem, but of
peoples, upon which judgment
to receive

of the restoration, not of

Sodom and Samaria.

and
it

The two

kintrdoms, or

first fell, shall

also be the first

mercy

will not

be

till

after then that Jeru-

salem, with the other cities of Judah, will also be restored to

favour, in order that she
of her sins (ver. 54)
;

may

bear her disgrace, and be ashamed

to say, not

that

is

because

Sodom and
to

Samaria have borne

their

punishment for a longer time, but

the deeper shaming, the more complete humiliation of Jerusalem,

r^y^ y^^, to turn the captivity, not " to bring back the

captives" (see the

comm. on Deut.

xxx. 3),

is

here used in a

figurative sense for restitutio in statum integritatis, according to

the explanation given of the expression in ver. 55.

No

carry-

ing away, or captivity, took place in the case of Sodom.

The
not

form

JT'nK^,

which the Chetib has adopted several times here,

Hilt'.

has iust the same meaninfj as

Tjwa^' n^3K^ does

mean

the captives of thy captivity, since the same word cannot

first

be used

as a concrete

and then

as

an abstract noun

nor

does the combination serve to give greater emphasis, in the

sense of a superlative,

viz.

" the captivity of thy captivities,

equivalent

to

thy severest or most fearful captivity,"

as

Stark and Htivernick suppose.

" captivity, which
of expression
is

The

genitive must be taken as

explanatory, as already proposed by Hengstenberg and Kliefoth

:

is

thy captivity

" and the pleonastic

mode

chosen to give greater prominence to the

captivity," than

thought, " thine

own

would have been given

to

CHAP. XVI.

53-63.

227
njriDina, in

it

by a

suffix

attached to the simple noun.

their
in

midst, does not imply, that just as

Judah was

situated

now

the very midst between

Sodom and Samaria,

is

so its captives

would return home occupying the centre between those two

(Hitzig)
;

the reference

rather to fellowship in captivity, to

the fact that Jerusalem would share the same fate, and endure the same punishment, as Samaria and

Sodom

(Hengst., Klief.).

The

concluding words of ver. 54, " in that thou comfortest

rendering, " didst comfort them,"

them," do not refer to the sins already committed by Israel (as

Kliefoth,

who

adopts the

imagines), but to the bearing of such disgrace as makes Jeru-

salem ashamed of

its

sins.

By

bearing disgrace,

i.e.

by

its

endurance of well-merited and disgraceful punishment, Jerusalem consoles her

sisters

Samaria and Sodom; and that not

misfortune,

merely by fellowship
(Calvin, Hitzig, etc.),

in

solamen

miseris,

etc.

but

by

the fact that from the punish-

ment endured by Jerusalem, both Samaria and Sodom can

discern the righteousness of the

ways of God, and

find therein
will

a foundation for their hope, that the righteous

to

God

bring

an end the merited punishment as soon

as its

object has

been attained (see the comm. on ch.

xiv. 22, 23).

The turning
to their

of the captivity, according to ver. 55, will consist in the fact

that

Sodom, Samaria, and Jerusalem return

i^^li^

]T\'Q'X\b^

original state,

does not
(co?

mean

the former or earlier state,

ap-^T]^;^

but the original state

xxiii.

r^aav air

LXX.),
in

as in Isa.
this as

7.
:

Kliefoth

is

wrong, however, in explaining

meaning
creative
iatis,

" as they were,

hand of God."

when they came The original state

Adam

from the

is

the status integri-

not as a state of sinlessness or original ricrhteousness and

holiness,

for neither Jerusalem on the one hand, nor

other,

Samaria

and Sodom on the

had ever been

in such a state as this,

but

as

an original

state of glory, in

which they were before

they had fallen and sunk into ungodly ways.

But how could a

(Gomorrah,
etc.)

restoration of

Sodom and her

daufrhters

be predicted, when the destruction of these

228
cities

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

was accompanied by the sweeping away of
all

their in-

habitants from off the face of the earth ?

Many

of the

com-

mentators have attempted to remove the

that

difficulty

by assuming

Sodom

here stands for the Moabites and Ammonites,

who
the

were descendants of Lot, who escaped from Sodom.

untenableness of

But

such an explanation

is

obvious, from the

simple fact that the

Ammonites and Moabites were no more

Sodomites than Lot himself.

And

the

view expressed by

Origen and Jerome, and

lately

revived by Hiivernick, that

generally,
is

Sodom

is

a typical

also unsatisfactory.

name denoting heathenism The way in which Sodon^ is

(vers. 49, 50), point

classed with

Samaria and Jerusalem, and the

special reference to the judg-

ment

that fell

upon Sodom

undeniably

to

the real Sodom.

The heathen world comes

it

into consideration

only so far as

this,

that the pardon of a heathen city, so deeply the assurance that

degraded as Sodom, carries with

will

mercy

be extended to

all

heathen nations.
literal

We

must therefore

take the words as referring to the

tainly cannot for a

Sodom.
cities that

Yet we cermoment think of any earthly restoration of For even if we could conceive of a restoration of the
Sodom.
were destroyed by
Sea,
it is

fire,

and sunk into the depths of

the

Dead

impossible to form any conception of an

earthly and corporeal restoration of the inhabitants of those

cities,

who were
it is

destroyed at the same time

and

in this con-

nection

chiefly to

them

that the words refer.

itself is

This does

not by any means prove that the thing

impossible, but

simply that the realization of the prophecy must be sought for

beyond the present order of

life everlasting.

things, in one that extends into the

As

ver.

55 elucidates the contents of ver. 53, so the thought

is

of ver. 54

explained and

still

further expanded in vers. 5G

is

and 57
so

The meaning
is

of ver. 56a

a subject of dispute; but

much

indisputable, that the attempt of Kliefoth to explain

to the future,

vers.

56 and 57 as referring
its

and signifying that

no longer carry

in

the coming day of

glory Israel

will

CHAP. SVI. 53-63.

229

Sodom
the
to take

as a legend in
is

Its

mouth

as

it

does now, does violence to

It is

grammar, and
nriTi N71 as T T
;

quite a mistake.
'

no more allowable
7

a future, in

tlie

sense of " and will not be,"

it

than to render riann ny iD3 (ver. 57), "

of scorn."

will be like the

"Hl^i^?
^i''?

time

Moreover, the application of

is

to the

day

of future glory

precluded by the fact that in ver. 49 the

word

p5<3 is
;

used to denote the pride which was the chief sin of

to this verse very naturally suggests

Sodom
itself.

and the reference

The meaning
nyint:'?.

of ver. 56 depends

upon the rendering

to

be given to

The

explanation given by Rosenmiiller

and Maurer, after Jerome,

is

viz. noji erat in audiiione, i.e. no7i

all

audiebatur, thou didst not think at

its

of

Sodom,

didst not take

rii'ieC''

name
last,

into thy mouth,

by no means

satisfactory.

means proclamation,
the

discourse,

and

also report.

If

we adopt
(iiSb

we must

take the sentence as interrogatory

for
this

^^^U), as
is

Hengstenberg and Hitzig have done.

there
are no
clear

Although

certainly admissible,

indexes

here to
is

warrant our assumption of

hinted at

an interrogation, which
therefore prefer the

only

by the tone.
:

We

meaning

" discourse

"

thy

sister

Sodom was

not a discourse in thy

didst talk of

mouth

in the

day of thy haughtinesses, that thou

the fate of
sperity.

Sodom and lay it to heart when thou wast in proThe plural "H!?^^? is more emphatic than the singular.
is

Tile day of the haughtinesses

defined in ver. 57 as the

period before the wickedness of

Judah had been

Through
this

disclosed.

This

Avas effected

by means of the judgment, which burst upon

Jerusalem on the part of Babylon.

Jerusalem
is

judgment

said to have been covered with disgrace, as at the

i.e.

time when the daughters of Aram,

those of the Philistines

the cities of Syria, and

(Aram on
11),

the east,

and the Philistines

it

on the west,
about.

Isa.

ix.

scorned and maltreated

round

This refers primarily to the times of Ahaz, when the

Syrians and Philistines pressed hard upon Judah (2 Kings

XV. 37, xvi. 6; and 2 Chron. xxviii. 18, 19).
restricted to this,
It

must not be

however

but was repeated in the reign of

230
Jelioiaclnn,

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

when
Kings
;

Jeliovali

sent

troops

of

the

Chaldaeans,
to destroy

Aramaeansy Ammonites, and Moabltes against him,

Judah

(2

xxiv. 2).

It

is

true, the Philistines are not

in

mentioned here

but from the threat

Ezek. xxv. 15, we

to

may

infer that they also attempted at the

same time

bring dis-

grace upon Judah.

to treat

t^XB'

tD^:;>,

according to Aramaean usage,

(cf.

contemptuously, or with repudiation

ch. xxviii.

24, 26).

Jerusalem

will

have
its

to atone for this pride,

and

to

bear

its

wrong-doing and

abominations (ver. 58).

For
indi-

zimmdh, see the comm. on

ver. 43.

The

perfect
is

D''risb'3

cates that the certainty of the

if it

punishment

just as great as

had already commenced.

in ver.

The

reason

assigned for this

thought
of the

59 forms a transition to the further expansion

vers.

promise in

GO sqq.

JT'D'yi

(ver.

59) has been

correctly pointed
copulative,

by the Masoretes

as the 1st person.

The

is

and shows that what follows forms the concluding

^nix for
"^J^'^5,

summary
etc., to

of all that precedes,

as in vers. 60,

deal with any one.

The

construction of nb'y, with an

accusative of the person, to treat any one, cannot be sustained

either

from

ch. xvii. 17
is

and

xxiii. 25, or

from Jer.

xxxiii. 9
it

and Gesenius
Isa. xlii. 16.

wronrj in assumintr that

we meet with

in

Despising

the oath {^^^) points back to Deut.

at

xxix. 11, 12,

where the renewal of the covenant concluded

Sinai

is

described as an entrance into the covenant and oath

which the Lord then made with His people.

Israel has faithlessly broken the covenant,

But

even

if

and must bear the

consequent punishment, the unfaithfulness of

alter the faithfulness of

man can

never

God.

This

is

the link of connection

between the resumption and further expansion of the promise

in ver.

60 and the closing words of

is

ver. 59.

The remembrance
favour

of His covenant

mentioned in Lev. xxvi. 42 and 45 as the

only motive that will induce

God

to restore Israel to

again, when the humiliation effected by the endurance of

punishment has brought

covenant which

it

to

a confession of

its

sins.

The
its

God concluded

with Israel in the dav of

CHAP. XVI.

53-63.

231

youth,

I.e.

when He

led

it

out of Egypt,

He

will establish as

an

everlasting covenant.

Consequently

it is

not an entirely

new

covenant, but simply the perfecting of the old one for everlasting duration.

For the

fact itself,

compare Isa.lv.
is

3,

where

the

making

of the everlasting covenant

i.e.

described as granting

the stedfast mercies of David,

as the fulfilment of the pro-

This promise is called by David himself an everlasting covenant which God had made with him (2 Sam. xxiii. 5). And the assurance of its evervii.).

mise given to David (2 Sam.

lasting duration

was

to

be found in the fact that this covenant

did not rest

upon

the fulfilment of the law, but simply

upon

the forgiving grace of

God (compare
fill it

ver.

63 with Jer. xxxi.

in

31-34).

The bestowal of
its

this grace will

put Israel

remem^']^'!\

brance of

ways, and

with shame.
in ver.

In

this sense

(and thou
with
''iyi^3J

slialt

remember),

61,

is

placed side by side

will seize

(I will

remember)

in ver. 60.

This shame

upon
is

Israel

when

the establishment of an everlasting covenant

followed by the greater and smaller nations being associated

it

with

in glory,
its

and incorporated
covenant.

into

it

as children,

though they

are not of

The

greater and smaller sisters are

the greater and smaller nations, as

members of the universal who are to be exalted to the glory of one larrfe family of God. The restoration, which is promised in vers. 53 and 55 to Sodom and Samaria alone, is expanded here into a
family of man,

prophecy of the reception of

all

the greater and smaller nations

into fellowship in the glory of the people of

God.

We

may
dis-

see

from

this that

Sodom and Samaria

represent the heathen

nations generally, as standing outside the

Old Testament

pensation

Sodom

representing those that were sunk in the

deepest moral degradation, and Samaria those that had fallen

from the

state of grace.

The

attitude in

which these nations

is

stand towards Israel in the everlasting covenant of grace,

defined as the relation of daughters to a mother.
Israel,

If, therefore,

which has been thrust out among the heathen on account

deep
fall, is

of

its

not to return to

its

first

estate

till

after the


232
return
of

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

Sodom, which has been destroyed, and Samaria,
all

which has been condemned, the election of Israel before

the

nations of the earth to be the first-born son of Jehovah will

continue unchanged, and Israel will form the stem of the

new

kingdom of God,
porated.

which the heathen nations will be incorThe words, " and not of thy covenant," have been
into
of,
is

taken by most of the commentators in the sense cause thou hast kept the covenant
incorrect.
thesis to
;

" not becertainly

anti-

"

but

this

For even

if

"thy covenant"
(vers.

really

formed an

"my

covenant"

60 and 62), "thy covenant"

fulfilment of

could not possibly

obligations.

signify

the

thy covenant

The words belong

to hdnoth (daughters),
i.e.

who

are

thereby designated as extra-testamental,

in the covenant
as

as

not included

which God made with

Israel,

and consequently
to participate in

having no claim by virtue of that covenant

is

the glory of the everlasting covenant which

established.
will

hereafter to be

When
God
it

this
is

covenant has been established, Israel

know

that

Jehovah, the unchangeably true (for the

Jehovah, see the commentarv on Gen.
to

nieanincT of the
ii.

4)

that

name may call

mind,

sc.

both

its

sinful abominations
so filled with to
its

and the compassionate grace of God, and be

shame and penitence that

or to

it

will

no more venture

open

its

mouth, either for the purpose of finding excuses for

fall,

previous

murmur
Lord

against

God and His

its

judgments,

namely,
consists in

when

the

forgives all

sins

by

establishing the ever-

lasting covenant, the kernel

and essence of which

the forgiveness of sins (cf. Jer. xxxi. 34).

Thus

will the ex-

perience of forgiving grace complete what judgment has already

begun,
into

viz. the

transformation of proud and haughty sinners

children of God, for

meek and humble

whom

the

kingdom

has been prepared from the beginning.

This thought brings the entire prophecy

to a close,

a pro-

phecy which embraces the whole of the world's history and the

New Testament, the parallel

words, "

to

which

is

contained in the apostle's

in

God

hath concluded them

all

unbelief, that

He

CHAP. XVI. 53-C3.

233
32).

might have mercy upon all" (Rom.

xi.

As

the punish-

ment threatened
that

to

the adulteress,

i.e.

to the nation of Israel

had despised

its

God and King, had

is

been

fulfilled

upon
still,

Jerusalem and the Jews, and

so has the promise
also

in process of fulfilment
fulfilled, so

been already

far as

its

commencement
fulfilment
is

is

concerned, though the complete and ultimate

only to be expected in time to come.

The turning

of the captivity, both of Jerusalem and her daughters, and of

Samaria and her daughters, commenced with the establishment

of the everlastintr covenant,
Christ,
i.e.

of the covenant

made

throuirh

and with the reception of the believing portion of Israel

in Judaea, Samaria,

and Galilee (Acts

viii.

5 sqq., 25,

ix.

31).

And
into

the turning of the captivity of

Sodom commenced

with

the spread of the gospel

the

among the
Clirist,

heathen, and their entrance

kingdom of

inasmuch as Sodom with her

degraded
heathen
world.

daughters represents

the

morally

Their reception into the kingdom of heaven, founded by Christ

on earth, forms the commencement of the return of the

given to their
first

fori.e.

estate
all

on the " restitution of

all

things,"

the restoration of

moral relations
iii.

to their original

normal

constitution (compare Acts

21 and Meyer's comm. thereon

its

with Matt.

xvii.

11),

which

will attain

perfection in the
its origi-

TraXiyyeveaLa, the general restoration of the world to

nal glory (compare Matt. xix. 28 with

Rom.

viii.

18 sqq. and

2 Pet.

iii.

13).

The prophecy
It
is

before us in ver. 55 clearly

points to this final goal.

true that one might understand

the return of Jerusalem and Samaria to their original state,

which

is

predicted here as simply relating to the pardon of the

covenant nation, whose apostasy had led to the rejection of

both
its

parts

and

this

pardon might be sought

its

in its recep-

tion into the

kingdom of Christ and

restoration as the people

of

God.

In that case the complete fulfilment of our prophecy

in the spread of the

would take place during the present aeon

gospel
Israel

among
which

all

nations,

and the conversion of that portion of

still

remained hardened after the entrance of the

234
full

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

number

of the Gentiles into the

kingdom

of

God.

But

would be out of harmony with the equality of position assigned to Sodom and her daughters on the one hand,
this limitation

and Samaria and Jerusalem on the other.

Though Sodom

is

not merely a type of the heathen world, the restoration of

Sodom and her daughters cannot

descendants of the
cities

consist in the reception of the

fell

on which the judgment

into the

kingdom of God or the Christian Church,

ner in which those
of
cities

since the peculiar

man-

were destroyed prevented the

alive

possibility

any of the inhabitants remaining

whose descendants

could be converted to Christ and blessed in

present period of the world.

Him

during the

On

the other hand, the opinion

expressed by C. a Lapide, that the restoration of

Sodom

is

to

be

referred and restricted to the conversion of the descendants of the

inhabitants of Zoar, which was spared for Lot's sake,

when

the

other

cities of

the plain w'ere destroyed,

is

too

much

at variance

with the words of the passage to allow of our accepting such a

solution as this.

The turning

of the captivity of

her daughters,

i.e.

the forgiveness of the

Sodom and inhabitants of Sodom

and the other

cities of

the plain, points beyond the present

aeon, and the realization can only take place on the great day

of the resurrection of the dead in the persons of the former

inhabitants of

Sodom and
till

the neighbouring

cities.

And

in the

same way the

restoration of

Samaria and Jerusalem

will not

be
of

completely fulfilled

after the perfecting of the

kingdom

Christ in glory at the last day.

Consequently the prophecy before us goes beyond Rom.

xi.

25

sqq.,

inasmuch as

it

presents, not to the covenant nation

to all the larger

only, but, in

Samaria and Sodom,

also,

and smaller

heathen nations

the prospect of being eventually received

into the everlasting

kingdom of God

although, in accordance

with the main purpose of this prophetic word, namely, to bring

the pride of Israel completely down, this
is

simply hinted

at,

and no precise intimation

is

given of the manner in which the

predicted apokatastasis will occur.

But notwithstanding

this

CHAP. XVI.
indefinlteness,

53 -C3.

235
tlie

we must

not explain
it is

away

fact itself

by

arbitrary expositions, since

placed beyond

all

possible doubt

by other passages of the Scriptures.

in Matt. x. 15

The words

of our

Lord

tolerable in the

and xi. 24, to the effect that it will be more day of judgment for Sodom than for Capernaum
city that shall

and every other

stands open

have rejected the preaching of

the gospel, teach most indisputably that the

still

way
it

of

mercy

even for Sodom

itself,

and that the judgment

the final deci-

which has

fallen

upon

it

does not carry with

sion with regard to its inhabitants.

For Sodom did not put

salvation.

away the
in

perfect revelation of

mercy and
in

If the

mighty works which were done

Capernaum had been done

day (Matt.
xi.

Sodom,

it

would have stood

it

to the present

23).

And from
fell

this

clearly follows that all the

judgments which

before the time of Christ, instead of carrying with

them

the final decision, and involving eternal damnation, leave the

possibility of eventual

pardon open

still.

The

last

judgment,
after the
will the

which

is

decisive for eternity, does not take place

till

full revelation of grace

and truth

in Christ.

Not only

gospel be preached to

all

nations before the end comes (Matt,

;

xxiv. 14), but even to the dead

to the spirits in prison,

it

who

did

not believe at the time of Noah,

at the time

has been already preached,

spirit, in

when

Christ went to them in

order that,

although judged according to man's

way

in

the flesh, they

iii.

might
iv. 6).

live

according to God's

way

in the spirit (1 Pet.

first

19,

What

the apostle teaches in the

of these passao-es
affirms in the

concerning the unbelievers before the

flood,
is

and

second concerning the dead in general,

equally applicable

according to our prophecy to the Sodomites

after man's

nations earthly

who were judged way in the flesh, and indeed generally to all heathen who either lived before Christ or departed from this
without having heard the gospel preached.

life

It is

according to these distinct utterances of the

New

Testament

that the prophecy before us respecting the apokatastasis of

Sodom, Samaria, and Jerusalem

is

to be interpreted

and

this

236
is

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

doctrine of the

not to be confounded with the heretical

i.e.

restoration,

the uhimate salvation of

all

the ungodly, and

even of the devil himself.

If the preaching of the gospel pre-

cedes the last judgment, the final sentence in the judgment

will

be regulated by the attitude assumed towards the gospel

living

by both the
reject
it

and the dead.

All souls that obstinately

will

and harden themselves in unbelief,

be given up to
conversion of
is

everlasting damnation.

The

reason

why

the

Sodom and Samaria

in the general

is

not expressly mentioned,

to

be found

tendency of the promise, in which the simple

fact

is

announced without the intermediate circumstances, for

the purpose of humbling Jerusalem.

The

conversion of Jeru-

salem also

is

not definitely stated to be the condition of pardon,

as well

but

this is
is

assumed

known from

the words of Lev. xxvi.,

and
will

simply implied in the repeated assertion that Jerusalem

be seized with the deepest shame on account of the pardon

which she receives.

CHAP. XVII. nUMILIATIOX AND EXALTATION OF THE

DAVIDIC FAMILY.

The

contents of this chapter are introduced as a riddle and a

parable,

and are divided into three

;

sections.

Vers. 1-10 con-

tain the parable

vers. 11-21, the interpretation

;

and application

of

it

to

King Zedokiah

and

vers.

22-24, the promise of the

Messianic kingdom.
Vers. 1-10.

The

Parable.
2.

Ver.

1.

came

to

me, saying^ Ver.

to the

Son of man, give a

Andthetcord of Jehovah riddle, and relate

a parable
the

house of Israel; Ver. 3.

And
to

say,

Thus

saith

Lord Jehovah,

A great eagle, icith great icings and long pinions,

came
Jjehanon and took
topmost of
its
:

full of featliers of variegated colours,

the top
shoots,
set
it.

of the cedar

Ver.
into

4. lie

plucked
;

of the

and brought
Ver.
5.
;

it

Canaaiis land

in a merchant-city he
it

And
took

he took of the seed of the land, and put

it

into seed-land

away

to

many

waters^ set

it

as a ivillow.

CHAP. XVII.

1-10.

237
loio

Ver.

6.

And

it

grew, and became an overhanging vine of

stature, that its branches

might turn towards

it

hinij

and

its

roots

might be under him

and

became a

vine,

and produced

shoots,
ivilh

and

sent out foliage.

Ver. 7. There was another great eagle

great loings
its

and many feathers ; and,

behold, this vine stretched

roots languishingly towards him,

it

and extended

its its

branches
planting.
to

towards him, that he might water

fro)n the beds of

Ver.

8. It

was planted in a good field by many waters,

to

send
Say,

out roots

and bear fruit,

become a glorious vine.

it

Ver.

9.

Thus

saith the

Lord Jehovah, Will

its

thrive ?
it

ivill

they not j^ull

up

its roots,

and

cut off its fruit, so that

sjyrouting loill wither,
loill it

icithereth ? all the

fresh leaves of

and not with strong arm

it

and with much people

roots.

be possible to raise
it

up from

its
it

Ver.
will

10.
it

And,

behold, although

is

planted, will
it ?

thrive ?

not icither
it

when

the east loind touches

upon

the beds in ichich

grevj

it

will icither.

The

parable (indslidl, corresponding

Trapa/SoXt])
is

exactly to the

New

Testament

called chidhdh, a riddle, because of the

shell. The symmany commentators
;

deeper meaning lying beneath the parabolic

bolism of this parable has been traced by
to

Babylonian influences working upon the prophet's mind

but

without any tenable ground.

of prey, applied to

The figure a conqueror making a

in
it

of the eagle, or bird

rapid descent upon a

country, has as

little

of a specifically Babylonian character

as the comparison of the royal family to a cedar or a vine.

Not only
xlviii.

is

Nebuchadnezzar compared
as

to

an eagle in Jer.
of prey in
Isa.

40, xlix. 22,

;

Cyrus

is

to a bird

xlvi.

11

but even Moses has described the paternal watchfulover His

xix.

ness of

God

own people

as bearing

them upon
cedar of

eagle's

wings (Ex.

4; Deut. xxxii. 11).

The

Lebanon
ver. 12)

and the vine are genuine

in ver. 3
is

Israelitish figures.

The

great eagle

the great

King Nebuchadnezzar (compare

tlie species,

The

article is

simply used to indicate

article.

for

which
of

ice

should use the indefinite

article,

In

ver. 7, instead

the
first

we have

"inx in the

sense of " another."

This

238

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

he has already flown
i?""i'^'K,

eagle has large wings and long pinions

victoriously over wide-spread countries,

'"ittj^-iri

literally,

which

is

to

him the variegated ornament,

i.e.

which he has

as such

an ornament.
the

The

feathers of variecjated ornamental

peoples,
differing
in

colours point to

many
etc.)

language,

manners, and customs, which were united under the sceptre of

Nebuchadnezzar (Hitzig,

not to the wealth and splendour

is

of the conqueror, as such an allusion

altogether remote from

to

the tendency of the parable.

He came

Lebanon.

This

is

not a symbol of the Israelitish land, or of the kingdom of

Judah
with

but, as in Jer. xxii. 23, of Jerusalem, or

Mount

Zion,

its
ii.

royal palace so rich in cedar

wood

(see the

comm. on

Hab.

17 and Zech.

xi. 1), as

being the place where the cedar

ver. 12).
it is

was planted (compare the remarks on

the royal house of David, and the top of

The cedar is King Jeholachin. The

The word tzammereth

primary meaning
or, as it
is

is

only met with in Ezekiel, and there

only for the top of a cedar (compare ch. xxxi. 3 sqq.).

doubtful.

Some

derive

it

from the curly,

were, woolly top of the older cedars, in which the small

twigs that constitute their foliage are only found at the top of
the tree.

Others suppose

it

to be connected with the Arabic

it

^,
is

to conceal,

and understand
vnip':"i k'ni,

as

an epithet applied In ver.

its

to the

foliage, as the veil or covering of the tree.

4,

tzammereth

explained to be

the topmost of
1^33 p.^"''^?

shoots.

This

the eagle plucked off and carried

to

an epithet applied

Babylonia here and in ch.

it

xvi. 29, as

being a land whose

trading spirit had turned

into a

Canaan.
i.e.

This

is

evident

from the

parallel Dy?"!

"'"'J';

city of traders,

Babylon (comis

The seed of the King Zedekiah, because he was

pare ver. 12).
in

land, according to ver. 13,

of the land, the native king,

Hi?,

contrast to a foreign, Babylonian governor.

for

nj^^,

after the analogy of ^^\> in Hos. xi. 3,

to

and pointed with Kametz

-'X

distinguish
xxiii.

it

from the imperative.

np?

is

used as in

Num.

27.

The air.

Xej.

'"iDysv signifies, in

Arabic and the

Talmud, the willow, probably

so called because

it

grows in well-

CHAP. XVII.

1-10.

239
it is

watered places; according to Gesenius,

to overflow, literally, the

derived from
is

f)i^f,

inundated
"

tree.
it

This meaning

per-

fectly appropriate here.

He

set

as a willow "
it

means he
it

treated

it

as one,

inasmuch
soil,
i.e.

as

he took

to

many

waters, set

in a well-watered

in a suitable place.
i.e.

The

cutting

grew

into an overhanging vine,

all

to a vine spreading out its

branches in

directions,

though not growing very high, as

^^r'r^
its

the following expression

i^1^'\?

more

clearly shows.

The

object of this growth was, that

(the eagle),

branches might turn to him

eagle).

and

its

roots

might be under him (the

The
(?

suffixes attached to
is

V^t<!

and vnnn refer

to

^K^3.

This

allusion
vers.

required not only by the explanation in ver. 14

15),

14,

but also by ver.

7,

where the roots and

In ver. 6b,
is

branches of the vine stretch to the (other) eagle.

what has already been affirmed concerning the growth

briefly

summed up
Isaiah

The form nnxa is peculiar to Ezeklel. rr^SS n^NS in ch. x. 33. has The word signifies branch
again.

and

foliage, or a

branch covered with

foliage, as the
is

ornament
wings and
;

of a tree.

The other
i.e.

eagle mentioned in ver. 7

the king of

Egypt, according

to ver. 15.

He

had

also large

many
for

feathers,
is

a widely spread and powerful kingdom

but there

nothing said about pinions and variegated colours,

his

Pharaoh had not spread out

jM, as a verb
;

kingdom over many counyearn or pine

that he (the

tries

and peoples, or subjugated a variegated medley of peoples

tribes.
air. Xey., signifies to

and

after a thing

in Chaldee, to
it

hunger,

nipt^'n?,

eagle-Pharaoh) might give

to drink, or

water

it.

The words
and
;

nytSD niJijn? are not connected with nip^'nj', but with ^rh'C' nQ33,
it

from the beds of

its

planting,

i.e.

in

which

it

was planted

stretched out roots and branches to the other eagle, that he

it

might give
15.

to drink.

The

interpretation

is

given in ver.

The

words nnix

nipt^n|)j

which are added by way of ex;

planation, do not interrupt the train of thought

nor are they

superfluous, as Hitzig supposes, because the vine had water

enough already

(vers. 5

and

8).

For

this

is

precisely

what the

240
passage
Is

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

intended to show, namely, that there was no occasion

for this pining

other eagle,

and stretching out of the branches towards the inasmuch as it could thrive very well in the place

where

it

was planted.

The

latter

is

expressly stated once

perfectly clear,

more

in ver. 8, the

meaning of which

is

namely,

that

if

Zedekiah had remained quiet under Nebuchadnezzar, as

a hanging vine, his government might have continued and

prospered.
it

But, asks Ezekiel in the

?

name

of the Lord, will

prosper

npyn

is

a question, and the third person, neuter

is
is

gender.

This question

answered in the negative by the

introduced with an affirmative Ni?n.
not the
first

following question, which

The

subject to P^T. and

^^'^P\ is

eagle (Nebuchad-

nezzar), but the indefinite clause of ver. 9 niXii'O

is

"one"

(jnan, they).

In the

last

a substantive formation, used instead

the infinitive, after the form S<bo in
ni,

of the simple form of

2 Chron. xix.

7,

with the termination

borrowed from the verb

is
it

n? (compare Ewald,
the same as in
will
3,
it

1606 and 239o), and the construction

vi.

Amos
raise

10;

it it

will

not be to raise up

not be possible
1).

to raise
it

up (compare Ges.
its

132,

Anm.
its

To

up from

root does not

mean

to tear

up by the root (Havernick), but

roots again, to cause
it

to rear the withered vine

from

to sprout again.

This rendering

of the words corresponds to the interpretation given in ver. 17.

In ver. 10 the leading thought

off.
its

is

repeated with emphasis,

and rounded

The east wind

is

peculiarly dangerous to plants

xli. 6,
;

on account of

dryness (compare Gen.

and Wetstein on
it is

Job

xxvii.

21 in Delitzsch's Commentary)

and

used very

appropriately here, as the Chaldeans

came from the

east.

Vers. 11-21. Interpretation of the riddle.

the

Ver.
its

11.

And
to

word of Jeliovah came

to

me, saying, Ver. 12. Say

this

the

refractory race:
the king

Do

ye not knoio xchat

to

isf

Say, Behold,
king

of Babel came

Jerusalem, and took

to

and

its

princes,

and brought them

to enter

himself

to

Babel.

Ver. 13.

And

he took of the royal seed, and

made a covenant with him, and

;

caused him

into

an oalh

and he

took the strong ones

CHAP. XVII. 11-21.

2U

of the land

Ver. 14. That

it

might he a lowly kingdom, not

it

to lift itself up, that he

might keep his covenant, that

might

stand.

Ver. 15. But he rebelled against him by sending his

it

messengers to Egypt, that

people.

might give him horses and much

Will

lie

prosper

will he that hath done this escape ?

escape'^

He has broken the covenant, and should he As I live, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah,
of the king, tcho made him king, %vhose oath
lie

Ver. 16.

surely in the plact

despised,

and

ichose

covenant he broke with him, in Babel he will die.

not with great

Ver. 17.
act with

And
him

army and much people

Ver. 18.

will

Pharaoh

in the war, ivhen they cast

up a rampart and build

siege-toioers, to
to

cut off

many

souls.

He

has despised an oath

break

the covenant, and, behold, he has given his

hand and done

saitli

all this ;

he will not

escajye.

Ver. 19. Therefore thus

the

Lord

Jehovah,

As I / my

live, stately

my

oath ivhich

lie

has despised, and

my

covenant which he has broken,

will spread out

ivill

give

upon

his head.

Ver. 20.
taken in

my

net over him, so that he will be

snare,

and

will bring

him

to

Babel, and contend with

lie

him

there on account of his treachery ivhich

has been guilty of

toivards me.

Ver. 21.

And

all his fugitives in all his regiments,

by the sword will they

to all

fall,

and

those

who remain
2-10

ivill

be scattered
it.
;

winds
vers.

and ye

shall see that

I Jehovah
is

have spoken
interpreted
is

In

12-17 the parable

in vers.

and

in vers.

19-21 the threat contained

further expanded.
i.e.

in the parable

confirmed

and

still

We

have an account of the carry-

ing away of the king,

in 2

Jehoiachin, and his princes to Babel

Kings xxiv. 11 sqq., Jer. xxlv. 1, and xxix. 2. The king's seed (na^sn i)nT, ver. 13, as in Jer. xli. 1 = ^S^n i;iT, 1 Kings
14)
is

xi.

Jehoiachin's uncle Mattaniah,

the

whom

Nebucliadnezzar

made king under

and from

name

of Zedekiah (2

Kings

xxiv. 17),

The

he took an oath of fealty (2 Chron. xxxvi. 13). '"b'X, 2 Kings xxiv. strong of the land (''^''X 15), whom

whom

Nebucliadnezzar took

(np^),

i.e.

took away to Babel, are not

;

the heads of tribes and families (2 Kings xxiv. 15)

expression
is

but the

used in a wide sense for the several classes of

EZEK.

T.

242

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

of wealth,

men

who

are grouped together in 2

^^n

Kings

xxiv.

14

under the one term

^nisrb

(^>n ^c-JN,

2 Kings xxiv. 16),

including masons, smiths, and carpenters (2 Kings xxiv. 14 and

16), whereas the heads of tribes

and families are classed with

xxiv. 15)

the court

officials

(D''p"'"iDj

Kings

under the

title

rf^b* (princes) in ver. 12.

The

design of these measures was

i.e.

to

make

a lowly kingdom, which could not raise itself,

could not revolt, and to deprive the vassal king of the means
of
is

breaking O the

covenant.

The

suffix

attached to
"^^^P^

^'^'CVb
T
: 1 :

probably to be taken as referring to

rather than

*n"'n3j

although both are admissible, and -would yield precisely

the same sense, inasmuch as the stability of the

kingdom was

dependent upon the

rebelled (2

stability of the covenant.

Kings

xxiv. 20).

give Zedekiah horses

to his assistance with

But Zedekiah The Egyptian king who was to and much people, in other words, to come a powerful army of cavalry and fighting
of the

men, was Hophrah, the Apries

points back to npvri in ver.
rebellious king,

Greeks, according
xxiv. 19, 20).
it

to

Jer. xliv. 30 (see the comni. on 2 Kings

9
;

rih"^':^

but here

is

applied to the
"IJI

and

is

explained in the clause

'2?'2^n.

The

answer

is

given in ver. 16 as a word of

:

God

confirmed by a
the king,

solemn oath

he

shall die in Babel, the capital of

will

who placed him on the throne, and Pharaoh him any effectual help (ver. 17). ^nix nb'y, as
act with him, that
is

not render

in ch. xv. 59, to

to say, assist him,

come

to his help,

inix

refers to Zedekiah, not to Pharaoh, as Ewald assumes in an

inexplicable manner.
for the fact
itself,

For

'Ul

^^r^

^b'J',

compare ch.

iv.

and

Jer. xxxiv. 21, 22, and xxxvii. 5, according

?in

to which, although

Egyptian army came

to the rescue of

Jerusalem
deans,
it,

at

the time

when

it

was besieged by the Chalto

it

was repulsed by the Chaldeans who marched

meet

without having rendered any permanent assistance to the

besieged.

In ver. 18, the main thought that breach of faith

is

can biing no deliverance

repeated for the sake of appending

i*i)

the further expansion contained in vers. 19-21.

|nj,

he

CHAP. XVII. 11-21,

243

gave

his

hand,

i.e.

as a pledge of fidelity.
kincr of

The

oath which

Zedekiah swore to the

Babel

is

desicrnated in ver.

19

as Jehovah's oath (V^^)y

and the covenant made with him as

Jehovah's

covenant, because the oath

fidelity

had been sworn by

Jehovah, and the covenant of

towards Nebuchadnezzar
;

had thereby been made impUcite with Jehovah Himself

that the breaking of the oath
faith towards

so

and covenant became a breach of

and 19,

Jehovah.

Consequently the very same expresto designate this

sions are used in vers. 16, 18,

breach

of oath, which are applied in ch. xvi. 59 to the treacherous

apostasy of Jerusalem

(Israel)

from Jehovah, the covenant

to
is

God.

And

the

same expressions are used

14.
in^< t^Sy'J

describe the

punishment
the

as in ch. xii. 13,

construed with

accusative of the

thing

respecting which he was to be

judged, as in 1 Sam.
revolt

xii. 7.

Jehovah regards the treacherous

as

from Nebuchadnezzar
;

treachery against

Himself

Cli ?yo) fidelity

not only because Zedekiah had sworn the oath of

also

by Jehovah, but

from the

fact that

Jehovah had
power of

delivered

up His people and kingdom

God.

into

the

Nebuchadnezzar, so that revolt from him really became rebellion against

is

nx before

in"i30"?3

is

nota accus., and

for example, in

used in the sense of quod adtinet ad,

as,

Kings

vi. 5.

^^I?'^,

his

fugitives,

is

rendered both by the

is

Chaldee and Syriac "his brave men," or "heroes," and

therefore identified with
I'J'^'^P

(his

chosen ones), which

is

the

reading in some manuscripts.

But

neither these renderings

nor the parallel passage

corresponds to
it,

in ch. xii. 14,

where vniTnp apparently

this explanation, or

will

warrant our adopting

making any
avTov

alteration in the text.

The Greek
:

versions have

TTao-a? ^V'yaBela<i
;

avrov
:

Theodoret

iv
;

Trdaaa

Tat<; <pu<yaSeiaL'i

the Vulgate

omnes profugi ejus

and therefore they

all

had the reading imno, which

also yields a

very suitable meaning.

to

The mention
toward
all

of

some who remain, and who are

is

be scattered
all

the winds,

not at variance with the statement that

the fugitives in the wings of the

army

are to fall

by the sword.

2i4:

THE PROrHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

latter tlireat

The
by

simply declares that no one will escape death

is

flight.

But

there

no necessity

to take those
all

who remain
" must not

as being simply fighting

men

and the word "

be taken too

literally.

Vers. 22-24.

David.
take

The

planting of the trne twig of the stem of

saith the

Ver. 22.

Thus

Lord Jehovah, And I

and
will set
it ;

loill

from
it

the top of the high cedar,

its

from
and

the
tcill

topmost of
plant

shoots will

pluck

of a
it,

tender one,

upon a high and exalted viountain.

icill

Ver. 23.
it

On

the

high mountain of Israel

branches,
all

I plant

and

icill

put forth

and bear

fruit,

and become a splendid

will dwell

cedar, so that
it.

the

birds of every
its

plumage
lolll

under

In

the

shade of
trees

branches

they dwell.

Ver. 24.

And

all the

of the field will learn that

tree,

I Jehovah

have lowered the

lofty

lifted

up

the

low

tree,

viade the green tree wither,

and

the withered tree

it.

become green.

I Jehovah

have said

it,

and

have done

Although the sprout of David, whom Nebuchad-

nezzar had made king, would lose the sovereignty because of

breach of faith, and bring about the destruction of the kingdom of Judah, the Lord would not let His kingdom be destroyed, but would fulfil the promise which He had given to
his

the seed of David,

its

The announcement of

this fulfilment takes

form from the preceding parable.

off a
(\'er.

As Nebuchadnezzar
it

broke

twig from the top of the cedar and brought

13), so will

to

Babel

Jehovah Himself

also pluck off a shoot

from the top of the high cedar, and plant it upon a high mounThe Vav before ""^ni?? is the Vav consec, and ^?X is tain.
appended
to the verb for the sake of

emphasis; but in antithesis

it

to the acting of the eagle, as described in ver. 3,

is

placed

after

it.

The

cedar, which

it

designated by the epithet rdmdh,

is

as rising above the other trees,

the royal house of David, and

off

the tender shoot which Jehovah breaks the Messianic kingdom or sovereignty, sa

and plants

is

not

that Zerubbabel could

historical

be included, but the Messiah Himself as " a distinct

personage" (Hiivernick).

The

predicate ^l, tender, refers to

CHAP. XVII. 22-24.

245
lili.

Him

also the

word
the

P^y,

a sprout (Isa.

2),

which indicates
(Hitzig)
liii.

not so

much

youthful age of the Messiah

as

the lowliness of

His origin (compare

to

Isa. xi. 1,

2); and
iii.

even when applied

1

David and Solomon,

in 2

Sam.

39,

Chron.

xxii.

5,

xxix. 1, expresses not

their youthfulness,

but their want of strength for the proper administration of

such a government.
as the high

The high mountain,

Israel,
is

described in ver. 23

mountain of

Zion, regarded as the seat

is

and centre of the kingdom of God, which

the Messiah above
etc.).
all

to

be exalted by
ii.

the mountains of the earth (Isa.

2,

The twig

planted by the
all

Lord

will

grow there

into a

glorious cedar, under which

grows
all

into a cedar in the

The Messiah kingdom founded by Him, in which

birds will dwell.
its

the inhabitants of the earth will find both food (from the

fruits of the tree)

figure,

and protection (under

iv. 8, 9.

shadow).

For

this

compare Dan.
(cf. ch.

^J?"''^
is

liBV, birds of

every kind
vii.

of

plumage

xxxix. 4, 17),

derived from Gen.

14, where

birds
is

of

every kind

find shelter in

Noah's ark.

The

allusion

to

men from

every kind of people and tribe.

field learn that

By

this will all the trees of the

God

lowers the

lofty

and

lifts

up the lowly.

As

the cedar represents the royal

field

house of David, the trees of the

can only be the other

kings or royal families of the earth, not the nations outside

the limits of the covenant.

At

the same time, the nations are

not to be entirely excluded because the figure of the cedars

embraces the idea of the kingdom,

clauses, " I bring

so that the trees of the field

kini;s.

denote the kincfdoms of the earth tofjether with their

The

down

the high tree," contain a purely

ii.

general thought, as in 1 Sam.

7, 8,

and the perfects are not

to be taken as preterites, but as statements of practical truths. It

is

true that the thought of the royal house of

itself in

David

in its

previous greatness naturally suggests

the high and green tree,

connection with
in connection

and that of Jehoiachin

xxii.

with the dry tree (compare Jer.

30)

and these are not

to

be absolutely

set aside.

At

the

same

time, the omission of the

246
article

THE PROPHECIF.S OF EZEKIEL.

from
"is
|*y

and the objects which

to

follow,

is

sufficient

to show that the words are not

be restricted to these parti-

cular persons, but are applicable to every high and green, or

withered and lowly tree

all

i.e.

not merely to kings alone, but to

parallel to 1
;

men

in

common, and furnish a

of the mighty

Sam.

ii.

4-9,

"

The bows

men

are broken
etc.

and they that

stumbled are girded with strength,"

CHAP. XVIII. THE RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD.

In the word of
that

God

contained in this chapter, the delusion

is

God

visits

the sins of fathers upon innocent children

is

overthrown, and the truth

clearly set forth that every

man

bears the guilt and punishment of his

own

sins (vers. 1-4).

The
son

righteous lives through his righteousness (vers. 5-9), but

his

cannot save

wicked son thereby

(vers.

10-13); whilst the

who

avoids the sins

and wickedness
(vers.

of his father, will live

through his own righteousness

repents and avoids sin
is

not even cliarged with his

and, on the other hand, the

ri^T-hteousness,

The man who own sin man who forsakes the way of
14-20).
;

and gives himself up

to unrighteousness, will not

be protected from death even by his

(vers.

21-29).
;

Thus
it is

will

own former righteousness God judge every man according to

itself
is

his

way

and

only by repentance that Israel

exposition of these truths

can

live

(vers. 30-32).

The

closely con-

nected with the substance and design of the preceding and

following prophecies.

In the earlier words of God, Ezekiel

had taken from

rebellious Israel every support of false con-

fidence in the preservation of the

kingdom from

destruction.

But as an impenitent
evade the

^.inner,

even when he can

sins,

no longer

punishment of

his

endeavours as much as
to others,

possible to transfer the guilt

from himself

and com-

forts himself with the thought that he has to suffer for sins that

others have committed,

and hardens himself against the chassuch false consolation as this; so even

tisement of

God through

CHAP. XVIII. 1-4.

2-17

among the people of Israel, when the divine judgments burst upon them, the delusion arose that the existing generation had
to suffer for the fathers' sins.
If, then,

the

judgment were ever

to bear the fruit of Israel's conversion

and renovation, which

and quieting

God

designed, the impenitent generation must be deprived even

its

of this pretext for covering over

science,

sins

its

con-

by the demonstration of the

justice

which characterized

the o-overnment of
Vers. 1-4.

God in His kino;dom. The proverb and the word

of Jehovah came
to

of

God.

Ver.

1.

And

the loord
this

me, saying, Ver. 2.

Why
3.

do you use

proverb in the land of Israel, saying, Fathers

eat sour grapes,

and

the sons'

teeth

are

set

on edge.
this

Ver.

As I
not

live, is the

saying of the
in

Lord Jehovah,

proverb shall
all soids

be

used any more

Israel.

Ver. 4. Behold,
the soul

are mine; as the father s soul, so also

they are

mine ; the soul lohich sinneth,

ch.
of,
xii.

it

shall die.
to you,

On

of the son,
ver.

2a

compare
thinking

22.
.

D^^'TIO,

what

is

what are you

riJpns'^j;,

that

.? is a question of
xii.

amazement.

in the land of Israel (ch.

Israel," as

22), not " concerning the land of

Havernick assumes.

fathers have eaten sour grapes,"

The proverb was for we have not

accustomed
all

not, "
l-'^i^,

The
and

as in

Jer. xxxi. 29, but

rii2X;

^''^N^,

they
it

eat, are

to eat,

has no

article,

because

applies to

who

eat sour grapes.

Baser, unripe, sour grapes, like beser in

Job

xvi.

33 (see the

comm. in loc). The meaning of the proverb is self-evident. The sour grapes which the fathers eat are the sins which they
commit; the
setting of the children's teeth on edge
i.e.

is

the con-

sequence thereof,
endure.
there also

the suffering which the children have to

is

The same proverb

it is

quoted in Jer. xxxi. 29, 30, and

condemned

as

an

error.

The

origin of such a

proverb
natural

is esfsily

to be accounted for

from the inclination of the which has brought

man

to transfer to others the guilt

suffering

upon himself, more

especially as the law teaches that

the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children (Ex, xx. 5), and the prophets announce that the Lord would put away

248

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

face on account of the sins of

Judah from before His

(2

Manasseh
Never-

Kings
V.

xxiv. 3

Jer. xv. 4), while Jeremiah complains in

Lam.

7 that the people are bearing the fathers' sins.

theless the proverb contained a

most dangerous and

fatal error,

for which the teachinij of the law concerninc the visitation of

the sins of the fathers,

etc.,

was not accountable, and which

Jeremiah,
xxxii. 18),

who

expressly mentions the doctrine of the law (Jer.

as strongly as Ezekiel.

condemns

God
hate

will visit

the sins of the fathers upon the children

who

Him, and
;

who
those

also

walk

in the footsteps of their fathers' sins

but to
will

who

love Ilim,
to the

and keep His commandments,

He

show mercy
for their

thousandth generation.

The

proverb, on

the other hand, teaches that the children would have to atone
fathers' sins without

any

culpability of their

own.

How

remote such a perversion of the truth as to the trans-

mission of sins and their consequences, viz. their punishment,

was from the law of Moses,

is

evident from the express com-

mand

in Dent. xxiv. 16, that the children were not to be j)ut

to death with

the fathers for the sins which the latter had

committed, but that every one was to die for his

own

sin.

What God

here enjoins upon the judicial

authorities

must

apply to the infliction of His

own judgments.

Consequently

what Ezekiel says

delusion,

in the following verses in opposition to the

which

this

proverb helped to spread abroad,

is

simply

a commentary upon the words, " every one shall die for his
sin," and not a correction of the law, which
is

own

the interpretation

that

many have

put upon these prophetic utterances of Jeremiah

and Ezekiel.
riM^ DX,

In ver.

3,

the

Lord

declares with an oath that

this proverb shall not be used any more.

'l31

The

apodosis to

which

is

not expressed, would be an imprecation, so

that the oath contains a solemn prohibition. care that this

so

God

will

take

proverb shall not be used any more

in Israel,

not

much by

the fact that

He
it,

will

not give them any further

in

occasion to

make

use of

as

by the way

which

He

will

convince them, through the judgments which

He

sends, of the

CHAP. XVIII.

1-4.

249
is

justice

of
:

His ways.

The

following

Calvin's

admirable

paraphrase

" I will soon deprive

you of

this

boasting of yours
all

for your iniquity shall be

made

manifest, so that

the world

may
your

see that

you are but enduring just punishment, which you

it

yourselves have deserved, and that you cannot cast

fathers, as

upon
the

you have hitherto attempted

;

to do."

At
tlie

same

time, this only gives one side

is

we must
will

also

add

other,
sqq.,

which

brought out so prominently in Jer. xxxi. 29

the judgment God

namely, that after

manifest His grace

so gloriously in the forgiveness of sins, that those

who

are for-

given will fully recognise the justice of the judgments

inflicted.

Experience of the love and compassion of the Lord, manifesting

itself in

the foi'giveness of sin, bows

down
is

the heart so deeply

that the pardoned sinner has no longer any doubt of the justice

of the judgments of God.

"/?i

IsraeV

added, to show that

Israel.

such a proverb

is

opposed to the dignity of

In

ver. 4,

the reason assigned for the declaration thus solemnly confirmed

by an oath commences with a general thought which contains

the thesis for further discussion. All souls are mine, the soul of
the father as well as that of the son, saith the Lord.

In these

words, as Calvin has well said, "

God

does not merely vindicate

His government or His authority, but shows that

with paternal affection toward the whole of the

He

is

moved
race

human

which

He

created and formed."

There

is

no necessity for God

to punish the

one for the other, the son for the father, say

because of the possibility that the guilty person might evade

Him
by
for

and

as the

Father of

all.

He

cannot treat the one in a

different

manner from the

has
is

other, but can only punish the one

whom punishment
^?3n
riTO is
is
*'

been deserved.

The

soul

that

sinneth shall die.

used here, as in

many

other passages,

man," and

equivalent to suffering death as a punish-

ment.

"Death"

used to denote the complete destruction

in

with which transgressors are threatened by the law, as

XXX. 15 (compare Jer. xxi. 8
;

Deut.
is

Prov.

xi. 10).

This sentence

explained in the verses which follow (vers. 5-20).

250
Vers. 5-0.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

The

righteous

man
right

shall

not

die.

Ver.
lift

5.

If

man

is

righteous^

and doeth

and

righteousness, Ver. 6.

And

doth not eat upon the mountains, and doth not

vp

his

eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,

and doth not

defile his

neighbour
ness,

s wife,

and doth not approach

his xoife in her unclean(lit.

Ver.

7.

Oppresseth no one, restoreth his security

debt-

j)ledge), committeth

no robbery, giveth his bread

to the

hungi^,

and

covereth the naked loith clothes, Ver. 8.

Doth not

give

vpon

usury, and taketh not interest,

e.vecuteth

tvithholdeth his hand from wrong,

9.

judgment of truth between one and another, Ver.

Walketh in
is

my

statutes,

and keepeth my

rights to execute truth

; lie

righteous, he shall live, is the saying of the

Lord

^'

Jehovah

Tlie exposition of
sinner,

the assertion,

tliat

God

only punishes the

not the innocent, commences with a picture of the

life. The righteouscommandments of the

righteousness which has the promise of

ness consists in the fulfihiient of the

law

viz.

(1)

those relating to religious duties, such as the

avoidance of idolatry, whether of the grosser kind, such as

eating upon the mountains,
i.e.

observing sacrificial festivals,

and

therefore sacrificing to idols (cf.

refined description,
e.g.

Deut.

xii.

2 sqq.), or of a
idols, to

more

lifting

up the eyes to

look to them, or
plication to

make
(cf.

tliem the object of trust, and offer sup-

them

Ps. cxxi. 1

Deut.
;

iv.

19), as Israel

had

done, and was doing

to

still (cf.

ch. vi. 13)

and

(2) those relating

moral obligations, such as the avoidance of adultery (com;

pare Ex. XX. 14

Lev. xx. 10

Deut.

xxii.

22

and for

NlSi?,

Gen. xxxiv.
Lev.

5),

and of conjugal intercourse with a wife during

All these sins were forbidden in

menstruation, which was a defilement of the marriage relation

(cf.
xviii. 19, xx. 18).

the law on pain of death.

to a neighbour

To

these tliere are appended duties

(vers. 7 sqq.), viz. to abstain

from oppressing

any one (Ex.

to a debtor

xxii.

28

Lev. xxv.
25
;

14, 17), to restore the pledge

6,

(Ex.

xxii.

Deut. xxiv.

10

sqq.).

2\n

is

hardly to be taken in any other sense than as in apposition to inynn^ his pledge, which is debt," equivalent to his debt-pledge

! ;

CHAP. XVIII.
n?3T 'qanT

10-13.

251

or security, like
Hitzig,
tliat

in

cli.

xvi. 27.

The

supposition of
7, in

nin

is

a participle, like Dip in 2 Kings xvi.

the

sense of debtor,

is

a far less natural one, and has no valid

support in
ocjiei'XovTO'i.

the

free

rendering

of

the

LXX.,

ive^vpaafiov

The

further duties are to avoid taking unlawful

;

possession of the property of another (of. Lev. v. 23)

to

feed

the hungry, clothe the naked

Jas.
xxiii.
ii.

(cf. Isa. Iviii.

Matt. xxv. 26;

15,
cf.

16)

to
xxii.

abstain

from practising usury (Deut.

20;

Ex.

24) and taking interest (Lev. xxv. 36,

37)

in judicial sentences, to

draw back the hand from wrong,

and promote judgment of

truth,

a sentence
all

in accordance with
vii.

the true nature of the case (see the

comm. on Zech.
that
is

9)

and, lastly, to walk in the statutes and rights of the Lord,

expression which embraces, in conclusion,

an

essential to

the rifhteousness required by the law.

This

definition of the

idea of true righteousness, which preserves from death and

destruction,
vers.

and ensures

life

to the possessor,

is

followed in

10 sqq. by a discussion of the attitude which

God

sustains

towards the sons.

Vers. 10-13.
protect the

The

righteousness

of

the

father
death.

does not
10.

wicked,

unrighteous son from

Ver.
blood,

7/, hoivever, he hegettelh

violent son,

who sheddeth
upon

and

doeth only

one of these things, Ver. 11.

this,

not done all

defileth his

Bat he himself hath

the mountains,

if he even eateth

and
up

neighhour^s wife, Ver. 12.

Oppresseih the suffering

and poor, committeth robbery, doth and

not restore a pledge, lifteth

his eyes to idols, committeth abomination,

Ver. 13. Giceth upon

usury,

taketh interest

should he
;

live f

He

shall not live

;

He

hath done all these abominations

he shall be put to death

"l

his

blood shall be upon him.

rio-hteous
literally,

The

subject to

v^!Ti,

in ver. 10,

is

the

man

described in the preceding verses,

is

na,

violent,

breaking in or through,

rendered more emphatic by

the words "shedding blood"

(cf.

Hos.

iv. 2).

We

regard nx

in the next clause as simply a dialectically different form of

writing and pronouncing, for

"^I^*,

" only," and he doeth only

252

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

one of these, the sins previously mentioned (vers. 6 sqq.). inx,

witli a partitive

p, as

in

Lev.

iv. 2,
is

where

it is

used in a similar
in

connection

the form ^^^^'?

also

met with

Deut. xv.

7.

The

explanation given by the

Targum, *'and doeth one

of these

to his brother," is neither

warranted by the language nor comis

mended by

the sense,

nb'y

never construed with the accusais

tive of the person to

whom

anything

done
is
.

and the limitation

of the words to sins against a brother

unsuitable in this
Ninij

connection.

The next

clause, nb*y

N*^

which has

also

been variously rendered, we regard as an adversative circumstantial clause,

and agree with Kliefoth in referring

:

it

to the

begetter (father)

''

any of these

sins."

and he (the father) has not committed For it yields no intelligible sense to refer
cannot possibly refer to
at
""S

this clause also to the son, since '1?X"73

different things

from the preceding n^XO, and a man cannot

the same time both do and not do the same thinor.

The

which follows

signifies

"

if,"

as

is

frequently the case in the

or
it

enumeration of particular precepts

example, Ex. xxi.
1, 7, 17, etc.,

cases
is

compare, for

where
is

construed with the

imperfect, because the allusion

to things that

may

occur.

Here, on the contrary,

sins

it is

followed by the perfect, because the

enumerated are regarded as committed.

The emphatic

D?

(even) forms an antithesis to

tJiosis

insD HN
""3

(?|S),

or rather an epanorstill

of

it,

inasmuch as

D3

resumes and carries out

further the description of the conduct of the wicked son, which

was interrupted by the circumstantial clause

and that not

only in a different form, but with a gradation in the thought.

The

thought, for instance,

if

is

as follows

the violent son of a

righteous father, even

he has committed only one of the sins

shall die.

which the father has not committed,

committed even the gross
sins

And

if

he has

named,

viz. idolatry, adultery,

etc.,

violent oppression of the poor,

robbery,

should he then

continue to live?

The

*)

in
is

""ni

introduces the apodosis, which

contains a question, that

simj)]y indicated

by the
for

tone,

and

is

immediately denied.

The

antique form

""n

n'n^

3d

pers.

CHAP. XVIII.
perf., is

14-20.

253

taken from the Pentateuch

(cf.

Gen.

iii.

22 and

Num.

xxi. 8).

The formulae

ri?pv

niD and 13
(cf.

Vm

are also derived

from the language of the law

Vers. 14-20.

Lev. xx.

9, 11, 13, etc.).

The
will

son
die

who
who

avoids his father's sin will live;

but

the

father

for his

own

sins.

Ver. 14. Aitd

behold, he hegetteth a son,

seeth all his father s sins ichich

he doeth

he seeth them,

and doeth not such

things.

Ver. 15.

He

eateth not

upon

the mountains,

and

lifteth

not up his eyes to

the idols
loife,

of

the house

of Israel; he defileth not his neighbours no one; he doth not loithhold a

;

Ver. 16.

And

oppressetli

pledge,

and committeth

not robbery

giveth his bread to the hungry,

and
his

covereth the naked with clolhes.

Ver. 17.

He

holdeth back

hand from

the distressed one, taketh not usury

and

interest,

doeth

my

rights, walketh in

my

statutes

lie

will not die for the sin

of

his father ;

he shall

live.

Ver. 18. His father, because he

hath practised oppression, committed robbery upon his brother,

and hath done

that ichich is not

good in

the

midst of his people

behold, he shall die for his sin.

Ver. 19.

And
my
s

do ye say,

Why

doth the son not help

to

bear the father

s sin ?

But

the son hath

done right and righteousness, hath kept

all

statutes,

and done
it

them; he shall
die.

live.

Ver. 20. Tlie soul that sinneth,

to

shall

son shall not help

bear the father

sin,

and a father

shall not help to bear the sin of the son.

Tlie onghteousness

of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. The case supposed in these verses

forms the

antithesis

to

the

preceding

one

the father

is

the transgressor in this instance, and the son

the law.

a keeper of

The

subject to *lvin in ver. 14

is
is

not the righteous

described immecommandments of
is

man
God.
read

described in ver. 15, but a

man who

diately afterwards as a transgressor of the

The
i^'^^l,

Chetib nt^I in the last clause of ver. 14

^o^rjOfj^ et timuerit, as
;

not to be

/cat

it

has been by the translais it

tors of the
HK"!*!,

Septuagint and Vulgate

nor
to

to

be altered into
it

as it has been
;

by the Masoretes,

make

accord with

ver,

28

but

it is

the apocopated form

N"!*5,

as in the preceding

254
clause,

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

and the object
is

to

be repeated from what precedes, as

in the similar case

which we find in Ex. xx. 15 (18).

''}V^

Ewald

and

Hitziu; propose to alter

in ver. 17 into

?)i?p

after ver. 8,

but without the slightest necessity.

The

LXX.

are not to be

taken as an authority for

this,
''^V

since the Chaldee

;

and Syriac

have both read and rendered

the same sentences,
ticular words.
is

and Ezekiel, when repeating

to

accustomed

make

variations in pardistressed,
is

Holding back the hand from the

equivalent to abstaining from seizing upon

of crushing
his

him

for the purpose

in the

him (compare

ver. 12)

Vsy

"^11^3,

midst of

countrymen

i^y

'=l^^?j is

adopted from the language of the

a participle.
is

Pentateuch.

T)D after n3n is

The

question, "

Why

does the son not help to bear? "

part of the people, but
is

not a direct objection on the

to be taken as a pretext,

which the

people might offer on the ground of the law, that

visit

God would

the sin of the fathers upon the sons in justification of their

proverb.
it

Ezekiel cites this pretext for the purpose of meeting

by

stating the reason

why

this does not occur.

N"^'3,

to

carry, near or with, to join in carrying, or help to carry (cf.

Num.

xi.

17).

This proved the proverb

to

be

false,

and con-

firmed the assertion

made

in

ver. 4i,

to

which the address

therefore returns (ver. 20).

The

righteousness of the righteous

man

will

come upon him,

i.e.

uj)on the righteous

man, namely,

in its

consequences.

The
is

righteous

man

will receive the bless-

ing of righteousness, but the unrighteous

wickedness.

man

the curse of his

There

no necessity for the

V'<^'\

article,

which the

Kei'i proposes to insert before

Vers. 21-26. Turning to good leads to life; turning to evil

is

followed by death.

Ver. 21.
and

But

if the iviclced

man
live,

turneth

Jrom
die.

all his sins ichich he

hath committed, and keepeth all nnj

righteousness, he shall

statutes,

and doeth

right

and not

Ver. 22. All his transgressions ivhich he hath committed,

shall not be

remembered

to

him : for

the sake

of the righteousness

which he hath done he

icill live.

Ver. 23. Have

the saying

then pleasure
:

in the death of the icicked ?

is

of Jehovah

and not

CHAP. XVril.
rather that he turn
the righteous
ness,

21-2G.

255
live ?

from

his ways,

and

Ver. 24. But if

man

turn

from

his righteousness,
to

and doeth wicked-

and

acteth according

all

the

abominations which the

ungodly
lie

man hath

done, should he live ?

:

All
for

the righteousness that

hath done shall not be remembered

his unfaithfulness that

he hath committed, he shall die.

right^''
it

and for

his sin that he hath sinned, for these

Ver. 25.
no70,

And

ye say, " The ivay of the

Lord

is

not

Hear

house of Israel: Is
?

my way

not right'?

Is

not your ivays that are not right

turneth

Ver, 2Q. If a righteous

man

from

his righteousness,

and doeth wickedness, and

his sin did not contain

dieth in consequence, he dielh for Ids loickedness that he hath done.

The proof
eousness of

that every one

must bear

an exhaustive reply to the question, in what relation the nVht-

God

stood to the sin of

men

For the

cases sup-

posed in vers. 5-20 took for granted that there was a constant
persistence in the course once taken,
stances,

and overlooked the

in-

which are by no means

changed.
It

rare,

when

a man's course of

life is entirely

still

remained, therefore, to take

notice of such cases as these, and they are handled in vers.

21-26.

The ungodly man, who

repents and turns, shall live

of sin, shall die.

and the righteous man, who turns

"As

the righteous man,

to the way who was formerly

;

a sinner,

is

not
a
"

crushed down by his past sins

righteous man,
is

so the sinner,

who was once

is

not supported by his early righteousness.

Every one
(Jerome).
is

will

be judged in that state in which he

found

The motive

for the pardon of the repenting sinner

given in ver. 23, in the declaration that

God

has no pleasure

in the death of the

wicked man, but desires

is

his conversion, that

he

may

live.

God

therefore not only just, but merciful and

gracious,

will not desist

and punishes none with death but those who either from evil, or will not persevere in the way of
Consequently the complaint, that the
i.e.

His commandments.

way

of the Lord,

His conduct toward men,

1

is

not weighed
is

(i?^^, see

comm. on

Sam.

ii.

3),

i.e.

not just and right,

altogether unfounded, and recoils upon those

who make

it.

It

256
is

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

tliat

not God's wavs, but the sinner's,

are
is

wrong

(vcr. 25).

The

proof of

this,

which Hitzig overlooks,

23 and 26,

contained in the
the fact that

declarations

made

in vers.

viz. in

God
to

does not desire the death of the sinner, and in His mercy forgives the penitent
his
all his

former

sins,

and does not lay them

charge

and

also in the fact that

He

punishes the

man who
to
;

turns from the

way

of righteousness

and gives himself up

wickedness, on account of the sin which he commits

so that
nb'J?1

He
is

simply judges him according to his deeds.

In
is

ver. 24,

the continuation of the infinitive J,Wj

and

"'Hi

interrogatory,

as in ver. 13.

Vers. 27-32.

The

vindication of the ways of

God might
But
as the

have formed a

fitting close to this divine oracle.

prophet was not merely concerned with the correction of the

error contained in the proverb which
people, but
still

was current among the

more with the rescue of the people themselves

from destruction, he follows up the refutation with another

earnest call to repentance.

Ver.

27.

If a wicked

man

turneth

from
and

his wickedness

which he hath done, and doeth riyht and

Ver. 28. If he seeth

righteousness^ he will heep his soul alive.

turneth

he shall
saithj

lice

from and

all his transgressions

which he hath committed,

not die.
the
f

Vc-i-.

29.

And

the house of Israel

The way of

Lord
Is

is

not right.

Are my

icays not right,

that are not
to

house of Israel
right ?

it

not rather your ways

Ver. 30. Tlieirfore, every one according

his

ways,

will

house of Israel, is the saying of the Lord I judge you, Tarn and repent of cdl your transgressions, that it Jehovah.

may

not become to you a stumbling-block to guilt.

Ver. 31.

Cast from you all your transgressions tchich ye have committed,

and make yourselves a

neiv

heart

and a new

spirit !

A nd
of the
the
call

why

will ye die,

home of

Israel"?

Ver. 32. For 1 have

is

no pleasure in the death

of the dying,

the saying
live.

Lord Jehovah.
to

Therefore repent, that ye

may

For
vers.

purpose of securing an entrance into their hearts for the

repentance,
the

prophet

not

only

repeats,

in

27

CHAP. XVIII.

27-32.

257

and 28, the truth declared

turns from his sin finds
as he has already
life,

in vers.

21 and 22, that he who

charge that God's ways
is

but refutes once more in ver. 29,

done in

ver. 25, the

are not right.

The

fact that the singular ]^^\

connected

with the plural

into ^^pn"!, but

D^'^^'i'ij

does not warrant our altering the plural

may be

explained in a very simple manner, by

all

assuming that the ways of the people are

one,

and that the meaning

your own ways,

is

this

applies to
just

what you say of

it is

summed up in my way
;

namely, "

not right
;

there

is

measure therein."
is

}5^,

" therefore,

etc.

"

because

my

way,

and not yours,

to his

right, I will

judge you, every one according

if

way.

Repent, therefore,
^2V^
is

ye would escape from death

sc.

and destruction.
D^D^JSj

rendered more emphatic by ^^V?)

last clause of ver. 30,

as in ch. xiv. 6.

In the

PV

is

not

to

be taken as the subject of the sentence according to the

is

accents, but
vii.

a genitive dependent upon 3

;

-'V^'^rp,

as in

ch.

19 and

xiv.
:

and the subject

it

is

to

be found in the

preceding clause

that

(the sinning)
i.e.

may

not become to you

a stumbling-block of iniquity,

a stumbling-block through

which ye

fall into guilt

and punishment.

The

appeal in

vei-.

31 points back to the promise in ch.

xi. 18, 19.

V?^'?^ to cast

away.

The

application of this

word

to transgressions

may be
"

explained from the fact that they consisted for the most part of
idols

and idolatrous images, which they had made.

Make

yourselves a

new

heart and

new

spirit

" a

indeed, create either of these by his

own power

man cannot, God alone

;

can give them (ch.

xi.

19).

But a man both can and should

:

come
God.

to

God
let

to receive

them

in other words,

he can turn to

God, and

both heart and

this

spirit

be renewed by the Spirit of

;

And

God

is

willing to do

for

He

has no pleasure

nipn nia3, in the death of the

dying one.
is

In the repetition of

the assurance given in ver. 23, rien

very appropriately substi-

tuted for Vfl, to indicate to the people that while in sin they
are lying in death, and
that
it

is

only by conversion and

renewal that they can recover

life

again.

EZEK

258

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

CnAP. XIX. LAMENTATION FOR THE PRINCES OF ISRAEL.

Israel, the lioness,
lions.

brought up young

lions in the

midst of

But when they showed

their leonine nature, they

were

taken captive by the nations and led away, one to Egypt, the
other to Babylon (vers. 1-9).

The mother
and

herself,
is

once a vine
tlie

planted by the water with vigorous branches,

soil,

torn from

so that her strong tendrils wither,

is

transplanted into

a dry land.

Fire, emanating

from a rod of the branches, has

a cane
is left

devoured the
a
ruler's

fruit of the vine, so that not

to

form

sceptre

(vers.

10-14).

This

lamentation,

which

bewails the overthrow of the royal house and the banishment

of Israel into exile, forms a finale to the preceding prophecies

of the overthrow of Judah,

and was well adapted

to annihilate
all.

every hope that things might not come to the worst after

Vers.

1-9.

Capture and Exile of the Princes.

3.

Ver.

1.

Ver.

2.

And do thou raise a lamentation for the princes of Israel^ And say^ Why did thy mother, a lioness, lie doicn among
np her np
ivhelps

lionesses; bring

among young
:

lions'?

Ver.

A nd

she brought

one of her

lolielps

it

became a young
Ver.
4.

lion,

and he learned
brought him

to take

prey; he devoured man.

in

A}id
they
5.

nations heard of

him; he was caught

their pit,

and

with nose-rings into

the land of

Egypt.

Ver.

A7id when she saw that her hope was exhausted, overthrown, she
took one of her ivhelps,

made

it

a young

lion.

Ver.

6.

And

he
to

walked among
take prey.

lionesses,

he became a young

lion,

and learned
its

He

devoured man.
;

Ver.

7. lie

knew
its

widows,

and

laid waste their cities

and

the land

and
8.

fulness became

waste, at the voice of his roaring.

Ver.

Then nations round

about from the provinces

their

set

net: he was caught

in their pit.

up against him, and spread over him Ver. 9. And they put him
to

in

the cage

with nose-rings, and brought him

into

the king

of

Babylon: brought him

a fortress, that his voice might not be

heard any more on the mountains of Israel.

CHAP. XIX.

1-9.

259

The
pointed

princes of Israel, to
(^''P'J,

whom
10),

the lamentation applies, are

the kings

as in ch.
vers.

xii.

two of

whom
is

are so clearly

out in

4 and

9, that there
is

no mistaking

Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin.

the plural
^''b'^j
'^^'''^'^

This fact alone

sufficient to protect

against the arbitrary alteration into the singular

proposed by Houbigant and Hitzig, after the reading of

the

LXX.

The

lamentation

is

not addressed to one particular

prince, either Zedekiah (Hitzig) or Jehoiachin (Eos., Maurer),

but to Israel as a nation

and the mother

(ver.

2)

is

fhe

national community, the theocracy, out of which the kings

were born, as

is

indisputably evident from ver. 10.

nv3"i

The words

from

"^tp^ n?o

to

sense to separate

"H^sx
is

rendering,

"what

form one sentence. It yields no good no from "^y^"!, whether we adopt the thy mother?" or take HO with t5*3? and

render

it,

"how

is

thy mother a lioness?" unless, indeed,

we

supply the arbitrary clause " now, in comparison with what she

was before," or change the interrogative

has thy mother become a lioness
?

into a preterite

"

The

lionesses,

how among

"

which

Israel lay

down, are the other kingdoms, the Gentile

connection with Gen.
xlix.
is

nations.

The words have no

is

9,

where Judah

depicted as a warlike lion.

It
is

The

figure

different one here.

not so

much

the strength and courage

of the lion as

its

wildness and ferocity that are the points of

resemblance in the passage before us.

her young ones

The mother

brings up

among young
T3
is

lions, so that

they learn to take

;

prey and devour men.

the

is

the lion's whelp, catulus

1*?,

young

lion,

which

old

enough

to

go out

in search of

prey.

^V'Pi\ is

a Hipliil, in the tropical sense, to cause to spring

i.e.

up, or

grow up,

to bring up.

The thought
fellowship
itself

is

the following:

Why

has Israel
?

entered
then, has

into
it

with

the

heathen

nations

Why,

put

upon a

level with the

heathen nations,

and adopted the rapacious and tyrannical

?

nature of the powers of the world then

? "

The

question "

why

when taken with what

follows, involves the reproof

its

that Israel has struck out a course opposed to

divine callini:,

260 and
will

THE PROPHECIES

01-

EZEKIEL.

now have

to taste the bitter fruits of this assumption

of heathen ways.

The heathen

nations have taken captive

its

king, and led

him away

into heathen lands.

VPX 1VP'^\ they

heard of him (IvX for I^V)'

ver.

The

fate of Jehoahaz, to Avhich

xxiii.

refers,

is

related in 2

Kings

31 sqq.

Vers.

5-7

refer to Jehoiacliin, the son of Jehoiakim, and not to Zedekiah,

as Hitzig imagines.
his

For the

fact that Jehoiachin

went out of
is

own accord

to

the king of Babylon (2 Kings xxiv. 12),

8,

not at variance with the figure contained in ver.

according to

which he was taken

self

(as a lion) in a net.

He

simply gave himto escape

up

to the

king of Babylon because he was unable

city.

from the besieged

Moreover, Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin

are simply mentioned as examples, because they both fell into

the hands of the world-powers, and their fate showed clearly

enough " what the end must inevitably

kino's

be,

when

Israelitish

became ambitious of being

lions, like the kino;s of the

nations of the world" (Kliefoth).

Jehoiakim was not

so suit-

able an example as the others, because he died in Jerusalem^^lI^^j

which has been explained

in

different ways,
pn''

we agree
in the

with

Ewald

in

regarding as the NipJuil of

h^n,

sense of feeling vexed, being exhausted or deceived, like the

Syriac ^^j^o], viribus defecit, desperavit.

viii.

For even

in

Gen.

12, Pnij

simply means to wait

is

and

this is inapplicable

here, as waiting

not equivalent to waiting in vain.

is

The
7^n

change from
or

^^in

to ?n^

established

by Judg.
In
ver.

iii.

25,

where

aH occurs

in

the sense of ^^\

7,

the figurative

language passes into a

pursued by the king.
the nation's) widows.
yTl,

literal description of

the ungodly course

its (Israel's,

He

knew,

i.e.

dishonoured,
reads
j;"i*l

The Targum

here instead of
palaces
"
;

and renders

it

accordingly, " he destroyed

the

its

and

Ewald has adopted

smash

same rendering.
ii.

But
is

yj;n,

to break, or

in pieces, e.g. a vessel (Ps.

;

9),

never used for the

destruction of buildings
(niiD")S),

and

fliJ^?^
is

does not
in

mean

palaces

but windows.

There

nothing

the use of the

CHAP. XIX.

10-14.

261

word

in Isa. xiii.

22

to

support the meaning "palaces," because

the palaces are simply called 'almdnuth (widows) there, with a

sarcastic side glance at their desolate

and widowed

condition.
is

Other conjectures are

as follows
:

still

more inadmissible.

The thought

Jehoiachin

went much further than Jehoahaz.

hands on defenceless
waste to such an extent that the

He

not only devoured men, but laid

cities

widows, and laid the

land with
rapacity.
its

inhabitants became perfectly desolate through his

description
is

The
is

no doubt equally applicable

to his

father Jehoiakim, in whose footsteps Jehoiachin walked, since

Jehoiakim

described in Jer. xxii.

13 sqq. as a grievous
Ql^*^">

despot and tyrant.

^iP^\
:

In ver. 8 the object

also belongs to

they set up and spread out their net.

:

The
Judg.

plural

T])l)i^

is

used in a general and indefinite manner

i.e.

in lofty castles,
xii. 7).

mountain-fortresses,

in

one of them

(cf.

Destruction of the Kingdom, and Banishment OF THE People. Ver. 10. TIaj mother loas like a viiie,
Vers. 10-14.

planted hy the xoater in

in tendrils

tliy

repose

it

became fruitful and rich

from many
icas
visible

loaters.
;

Ver. 11.
its

And

it

had strong

shoots for rulers

clouds,

sceptres

and
its

growth ascended among the

multitude
cast

and

in
it

height in the

of
to

its

branches.

Ver. 12. Then

ivas

torn
its

np

in firy^
;

the

ground, and the east wind, dried up

icere

fridt

its

strong shoots

broken
noio
if

off,
is

and

ivithered ; fire

devoured them.

Ver. 13.

And

planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land.

fire

Ver. 14. There goeth out

devoureth
its

from
is

the shoot of

its

branches,

fruit,

so

that

there

no

more a strong shoot

it
is,

upon
will

it,

scep)tre

for riding.

lamentation

and

it

be for

lamentation.
to

From

the lamentable

fate of the

princes
to

transported

Egypt and Babylon,

which the

the ode passes

description of the fate,

is

lion-like rapacity of

the princes

preparing for the kingdom and people.

Israel

resembled a vine planted by the water.

The

difficult

word

ipna

w'B agree with Havernick and Kliefoth in tracing to the

262
verb
ni3l,

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

to rest

(Jer. xiv. 17),

and regard

it

as
i.e.

synonymous
in the time

with

''^13 in Isa. xxxviii.

10

" in thy repose,"

of peaceful, undisturbed prosperity.

For neither of the other

which originated

renderings, " in thy blood " and " in thy likeness," yields a
suitable

meaning.

The

latter explanation,
is

with Raschi and Kimchi,

precluded by the fact that Ezekiel

always uses the word n^OT to express the idea of resemblance.

For the
it

figure of the vine,

compare Ps. Ixxx. 9

;

sqq.
is

This
to say,

vine sent out strong shoots for rulers' sceptres

that

brought forth powerful kings, and grew up

to a great height,
lit.

even into the clouds.

Cnhy

signifies " clouds,"

thicket of

clouds, not only here, but in ch. xxxi. 3, 10, 14. The rendering " branches " or " thicket of foliage" is not suitable in any

of these passages.
that of a

The form
Ixxvii.

of the

word

is

not to be taken as

new

plural of nuy^ the plural of 2y,

which occurs in
^i^i?,

2 Sam.

xxiii.

4 and Ps.

18

but

is

the plural of

an

interlacing or thicket of foliage, and

is

simply transferred to

the interlacing or piling up of the clouds.

The

clause

'tJI

i^y],

and

it

appeared, was seen, or became visible, simply serves to

still

depict

further the glorious and vigorous growth, and needs

no such

alteration as Hitzig proposes.

This picture

is

followed

in ver. 12 sqq., without any particle of transition, by a description of the destruction of this vine.
It

was torn up in fury by

its

the wrath of God, cast

down

to the

ground, so that

fruit

withered (compare
is

the similar figures in ch. xvii. 10).

I'y

^1^ ntSQ
;

used collectively, as equivalent to

is

nitsn (ver. 11)

and the

suffix in ^nnPDX

written in the singular on account of this

collective use of niSD.

The uprooting ends

in the transplanting

of the vine into a waste, dry, unwatered land,

in other words,

in the transplanting of the people, Israel, into exile.

The dry
in

land
the

is

Babylon, so described as being a barren

of

soil

which

kincdom

God

could not flourish.

According

to ver. 14,
fire,

this catastrophe is occasioned

by the princes.
it

The

which

devours the fruit of the vine so that

cannot send out any

its

more branches, emanates

n'^'nn

ntSDOj

from the shoot of

CHAP. XX.
branches,

263

i.e.

from

its

branches, which are so prolific in shoots.

n^D

is

the shoot which

grew

into rulers' sceptres,

i.e.

the royal

family of the nation.

The

reference

is

to

Zedekiah, whose

treacherous breach of covenant (ch. xvii. 15) led to the over-

throw of the kingdom and of the earthly monarchy.

picture from ver. 12 onwards
is

The

prophetic.

The

tearing up of

the vine, and

its

transplantation into a dry land, had already

of Jeconiah
;

commenced with the carrying away

not completed
till

but

it

was

the destruction of Jerusalem

still

and the carry-

ing away of Zedekiah, which were

in the future at the

time when these words were uttered.

The
it

clause

'iJl

X'''"'

nj''p
T

does not contain a concluding historical notice, as Hiivernick

supposes, but simply the Jinale of the lamentation, indicating

the credibility of the prediction which

prophetic, like the perfects from
K'riPii

contains,

''n^l
;

is

in ver. 12

onwards

and

the meaning

is

this

A
it

lamentation forms the substance of the

will lead to

whole chapter; and

fulfilled.

lamentation,

when

it

is

CHAP. XX. THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTUIIE OF ISRAEL.

The
also

date given in ch. xx. 1 applies not only to ch. xx., but
xx.-xxiii.

to ch.

(compare ch. xxiv. 1)

the prophetic

utterances in these four chapters being bound together into a

group of connected words of God, both by

their contents

and

by the threefold repetition of the expression, "

{vid. ch. XX. 4, xxii. 2,

wilt thou judcre ?"

t^isti'nn,

and

xxiii.

36).

The formula

which
in

is

only omitted from the threat of punishment contained

indicates at the

ch. xxi.,

same time both the nature and

design of these words of God.

The prophet

is

to Judge,

i.e.

to

hold up before the people once more their sinful abominations,

and

to predict the

consequent punishment.
this
is

The circumstance

which occasioned
elders of Israel

narrated in ch. xx. 1-3.

Men

of the

came

to the

prophet to inquire of the Lord.

The

occasion

is

therefore a similar one to that described in the

264
previous

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

group
;

for

we have
had come

already

been

informed,

in

ch. xiv. 1, that elders

to the prophet to hear

God's

word from him

but they had not gone so far as to inquire.

Here, however (ch. xx.), they evidently address a question to

the prophet, and through
of their inquiry
is

him

to the

Lord

though the nature

not given, and can only be gathered from

the answer, which was given to

prophet.

them by the Lord through the

words of

The ground

for the following

God

is

there-

fore essentially the

same

as for those contained in ch. xiv.-xix.

and

this serves to explain the relation in

which the two groups

stand to

each other, namely, that ch. xx.-xxiv. simply contain

of the reproachful

a further expansion

and threatening ad-

dresses of ch. xiv.-xix.

In ch. XX. the prophet points out to the elders, in the form of
a historical survey,

how

rebellious Israel

had been towards

(vers.

tlie

Lord from the very

desert
(vers.

first,

even in Egypt

5-9) and the

later

10-17

and 18-26), both the older and

against the

generations,

how they had sinned

it

Lord

their

God

through their idolatry, and how

sake that the

was only for His own name's

Lord had not destroyed them in His anger And as Israel hath not given up idolatry even (vers. 27-31). would not suffer Himself to be inquired Lord the Canaan, in
of by the idolatrous generation, but would refine
it

by severe
it

judffments

among

the nations (vers. 32-38), and sanctify

thereby into
o-ather
it

a people well-pleasing to

Him, and would then

it

again out of the dispersion, and bring

it

into the land

promised to the fathers, where

fices

would serve

Him

with sacri-

and

gifts

upon His holy mountain

is

(vers.

39-44).

This

word of God

therefore a

more

literal

repetition of tlie

allegorical description contained in ch. xvi.

Vers. 1-4. Date, occasion, and theme of the discourse which

follows.
the

Ver.

1.

And
Israel,
2.

it

came

to

pass in the seventh year, in

ffth (moon),

on the tenth of the moon, there came men

to

of the elders of Ver. before me.

inquire of Jehovah,
the tcord

and

sat
to

down
me.

Then

of Jehovah came

CHAP. XX. 1-4

265
of Israel^ and
to

saying^ Ver. 3.

Son of man^ speak

to the elders

say to them, Thus saith the

irjquire

Lord Jehovah, Have ye come

of

me?
the

As I
soyintj

live,

if

suffer myself

to

he inquired of

hy you,

is

of the Lord Jehovah.

son of

Ver. 4.

Wilt

thou judge them ?

Wilt thou judge,

man

Mahe

known

the abominations of their fathers to them.

viii.

If

we comshall find
five

pare the date given in ver. 1 with ch.

that this

1,

we

word of God was uttered only eleven months and

viii.
;

days after the one in chap.

five

two years, one month, and

i.

days after the

call of

Ezekiel to be a prophet (ch.

2)

and two years and

five

months before the blockading of Jeru1).

salem by the Chaldeans (ch. xxiv.

almost in the middle of the
first

Consequently

it

falls

section of Ezekiel's prophetic

i.e.

work,

nin^

nx ^y^,

to seek

Jehovah,

to ask a revelation
is

from Him.
in ch. xlv. 3.

The Lord's answer

in ver. 3

similar to that

Instead of giving a revelation concerning the

future, especially with regard to the speedy termination of the

penal sufferings, which the elders had, no doubt, come to

the prophet
is

solicit,

to

judge them,

i.e.

as the

follomng clause

explains, not only in the passage before us, but also in ch. xxii. 3

and
of

xxiii. 36, to

hold up before them the sins and abominations

in anticipation of the following picture of the

Isi'ael.

It

is

apostasy of the nation from time immemorial that the sins of

the fathers are mentioned here.
sinners, but chiding for their sins;
live,'

"

and

No reply is given to the He adds the oath, as I

'

that the. sentence of refusal

may

be

all
is

the stronger"

(Jerome).

The

question

t:iE^^'n^J

which

repeated

with

emotion, " gives expression to an impatient wish, that the thinrj

could have been done already " (Hitzig).

The
to

interrogative

form of address

is

therefore adopted simply as a

more earnest

mode
thing.
also

of giving expression to the

command

go and do the
is

Hence
is

the literal explanation of the word tilBD'nn

(DV^lin).

appended in the form of an imperative

The

prophet

to revert to the sins of the fathers, not

merely for

the purpose of exhibiting the magnitude of the people's guilt,

266

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

but also to hold up before the sinners themselves, the patience

and long-suffering which have hitherto been displayed by the

Lord.
Vers. 5-9. Election of Israel in E^ypt.
the
Its resistance to

commandments
to the

of

God.

Ver.
day

5.

And
I

say

to

them, T/nis

saith the

Lord Jehovah^ In

the

that

chose Israel)

and
to

lifted

my hand
in the

seed of Jacoh^

and made myself known

them

land of Egypt, and lifted

my hand
6.

to

them, saying, I

am
the

Jehovah, your
to

God:

Ver.

In
of

that

day

lifted

my

hand

them, to bring them out

the

land of Egypt into

land which

and honey

I
is

sought out for them, ivhich floioeth with milk

it

an ornament of
every

all lands:

Ver.

7.

And

said

to them, Cast

away

man

the abominations of his eyes, and

do not

defile yourselves

with the idols of Egypt.

I am

Jehovah,

your God.

Ver.

8.

Eat

they ivere rebellious against me,

and

loould not hearken to 7ne.

Not one of them threw away

to

the abo-

minations of his eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt.

Then 1 thought

to

pour out my wrath upon them,

accomplish

my

anger upon them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

it

Ver.

9.

Bat I did
they

for
the

my

name^s sake, that

it

might not be pro-

faned before
tvere,

eyes of the
wliose

nations, in the midst of which

before

eyes

I had made myself known

5)
is

to

them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

Vers. 5 and 6
in

form one period,

(ver. 6),

''"inn

Di'3

(ver.

resumed
i'b'SJ

N^nn ni'3

and the sentence continued.

Witli

the construcLift-

tion with tlie infinitive passes over into the finite verb.

ing

tlie

hand,

sc. to

heaven,

is

a gesture employed in taking an

oath (see the comra. on Ex.

is

vi. 8).

The

substance of the oath

;

introduced by the word "ibN? at the close of ver. 5

'iJI

but the

clause

V']^'<)

(and made myself known)

lifting of the

is

previously inserted,
to indicate

and then the

vers. 5

hand mentioned again

the importance of this act of divine grace.

The

contents of

and 6

rest
to

upon Ex.

vi.

2 sqrp, where the

Lord makes

Himself known
Israel,

Moses, and through him to the children of

according to the nature involved in the

name Jehovah,


CHAP. XX.
5-9.

267

ill

which

He had
Both

not yet revealed Himself to the patriarchs

'y^ 'na^i^

(Ex.

vl. 3).

(I lifted

my

hand) and

nin^

^:s'

are

taken from Ex.

vi. 8.

The word

"^rpJ^,

from nw,

to seek out,
i.

explore, also belongs to the Pentateuch (compare Deut.

33)

and the same may be said of the description given of Canaan

as " a land flowing with milk

and honey"

(vid.

Ex.

iii.

8, etc.).

JBut

''3V,

ornament, as an epithet applied

to the land of Israel,

is first

employed by the prophets of the time of the captivity

this chapter, in

namely, in vers. 6 and 15 of

in

Jer.

iii.

19,

and

Dan.

viii. 9, xi.

16, 41.

The

election of the Israelites to be

the people of Jehovah, contained eo ipso the

command

to give

up the

idols of

Egypt, although
first
is

it

was

at Sinai that the

worship

of other gods was for the

XX. 3),
(cf.

time expressly prohibited (Ex.

only mentioned in Lev.
xvii. 7

and Egyptian idolatry

Josh. xxiv. 14).

Ezekiel calls the idols " abominations of

their eyes,"

because, " although

they were

abominable and
"

execrable things, they were looked upon with delight by them

(Rosenmiiller).
in the

It

is

true that there

is

nothing expressly stated

Pentateuch as
of

to the refusal of the Israelites to

obey

the
in

command
Egypt
;

God, or
it

their unwillingness to give

up

idolatry

but

may

be inferred from the statements con-

tained in Ex.

vi.

9 and 12, to the effect that the Israelites did

not hearken

to

Moses when he communicated

to

them the
still

determination of

God

to lead

them out of Egypt, and

more

plainly from their relapse into Egyptian idolatry,

from

the worship of the golden calf at Sinai (Ex. xxxii.),

their repeated desire to return to

and from
in

Egypt while wandering

to

the desert.^

Nor

is

there anything said in the Pentateuch

concerning the determination of

God

pour out His wrath

" We do not ^ The remarks of Calvin upon this point are very good. learn directly from Moses," he says, " that they had been rebels against

God, because they would not throw away their

idols and superstitions; but the conjecture is a very probable one, that they had always been so firmly fixed in their abominations as to prevent in a certain way the hand of God

from bringing them relief. And assuredly, if they had embraced what Moses promised them in the name of God with promptness of mind, the

268

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

idolatrous people in Egypt.
this

upon the
assume on

We
as

need not indeed

account that Ezekiel derived his information

traditional

from some
Observv.
ss.

special
I.

source,

Vitringa has done

263), or regard the statement as a revelation

to Ezekiel,

made by God
of

and through him

to us.

The words

do not disclose to us either a particular fact or a definite decree

God

they simply contain a description of the attitude whicli

God, from His inmost nature, assumes towards sinners who rebel
against His holy

commandments, and which

(Ex. xx.

He

displayed both

in the declaration

made concerning Himself

visits iniquities 5),

as a zealous, or

jealous God,

who

and

also in the

words addressed
Sinai, " Let

to

Moses when the people

fell into

idolatry at

me

alone, that

my

wrath

may wax

hot against

them, and that I

that

may consume them"

who would
it

(Ex. xxxii. 10).

felt

All

God

expresses here, His heart

must have

in

Egypt
For
t^'VNl

towards the people

not desist from idolatry.

vii. 8,

the words themselves, compare ch.

(ver. 9),
''

vi.

12, v. 13.

but I did

for

my

name's sake."

The missing
" that
I
if

object explaining

what
to be

He

did,

namely, abstain from pouring

:

out His wrath,

is

gathered from what follows

might not profane

my

name."

This would have taken place

;

God had

destroyed Israel by pouring out His wrath

in other

words, have allowed them to be destroyed by the Egyptians.

The heathen might then have

to liberate

said that
their

Jehovah had been unable

(cf.

His people from

hand and power

an
injin.

Num.

xiv.

16 and Ex. xxxii. 12).

(cf.

bnn

is

Niphal of

?2^ for

^nn

Lev.

xxi. 4).

Vers. 10-17. Behaviour of Israel in the desert.

Ver.

10.
ihetn

And I
we may

led them out oj the land of Egi/pt,

and brought

But was their own obtuseness which hindered God from stretching out His hand forthwith and actually fulfilling all that He had promised It was necessary, indeed, that God should contend with Pharaoh, that His power might be more conspicuously displayed but the people would not have been so tyrannically afflicted if they had not closed the
learn that
it
;

execution of the promise would have been more prompt and swift.

door of divine mercy."

CHAP. XX.

10-17.

269

into the desert;

Ver. 11.
to

And
/

gave them

my
is

statutes,

and my

rights

I made known
them.

them, tvhich

man

to

do that he

may

live tlirough

Ver. 12.

also gave them

my

Sabbaths, that

they anight be for a sign between

me and

them, that they might

the house

know
Israel
in

that

I Jehovah

sanctify them.

Ver. 13. But

:

of

was

rebellious against

me

in the desert

they did not loalk

my

statutes,

and my
live

rights they

rejected,

which

man

is

to

do, that he

may
to

through them, and

to

my

Sabbaths they greatly

in

profaned:
the

Then 1 thought
destroy
it

pour out my wrath upon them

Ver. 14. But

desert

them.

did

it

for

my
the

name's sake, that

might not be profaned before the eyes of

nations, before whose eyes

lifted

I had

led

them

out.

Ver. 15.

also

my hand to them in the desert, not to bring them into the land which I had given (them), which floiveth vnth milk and honey
it

is

an ornament of

all lands,

Ver. 16. Because they rejected

Sabbaths,

my rights, did
for
their

not icalk in

my statutes, and profaned my

heart went after their idols.

Ver. 17. But

my

eye

looked with pity upon them, so that

make an end of them

the people

in the desert.

I did not destroy them, and God gave laws at Sinai to

people, that they

whom He
God.

had brought out of Egypt, through whicli

they were to be sanctified as His

live before

own

might

On

ver. 11

compare Deut. xxx. 16 and 19.

Ver. 12

is

taken almost word for word from Ex. xxxi. 13, where

God

concludes the directions for His worship by urging upon

the people in the most solemn

manner

tlie

observance of His

Sabbaths, and thereby pronounces the keeping of the Sabbath

the kernel of
all

divine worship.

And

as in that passage

we

are to understand by the Sabbaths the actual weekly Sabbaths,

and not the

institutions of worship as a whole, so here

we must

retain the literal signification of the word.

It
all

is

only of the
it

Sabbath recurring every week, and not of

could be said
it

the fasts, that

Israel.

was a sign between Jehovah and

that they

It

was a

sign, not as a token,

Israelites, as

Hitzig supposes, but to

who observed it were know (that they might

know)

that

Jehovah was sanctifying them, namely, by the


270
Sabbath
rest

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

as

a refreshing and elevation of the mind,

to

in

which

Israel
all

was
to

have a foretaste of that blessed resting

from
attain

works

which the people of

on Ex, xx. 11).

God was
It
is

ultimately to
this

(see the conim.

from

deeper
to the

signification of the

Sabbath that the prominence given

Sabbaths here

is

to

be explained, and not from the outward

exile,

circumstance that in

when

the sacrificial worship wns

necessarily suspended, the keeping of the Sabbath

was the only

bond

which united the Israelites, so far as the worship of

God

was concerned (Hltzig).

of Israel against the

Historical examples of the rebellion

commandments

of

God

in the desert are

given in Ex. xxxii. 1-6 and

cration of the Sabbath, in

Num.
xvi.

xxv. 1-3; and of the dese-

Ex.

27 and

Num.

xv. 32.
;

For

the threat referred to in ver. lob, compare Ex. xxxii. 10

xiv. 11, 12.

Num.

Vers.
relate

15 and 16 are not a repetition of ver. 13

(Hitzig)

nor do they introduce a limitation of ver. 14 (Kliefoth).

They simply

what

else

God

did to put bounds to the

to cut Israel off, at

rebellion after

He

had revoked the decree

the intercession of Moses

(Num.

xiv.

11-19).

He

lifted

His

hand to the oath

(Num. xiv. 21 sqq.), that which had come out of Egypt should not come
Canaan, but should
die
in

the generation
into the land of

the wilderness.

Therewith
did not

He

looked with pity upon

the people, so that

He

make an
xi.

end of them by following up the threat with a promise that

the children should enter the land.
n?3 nb'y, as in ch.
13.

Vers. 18-26. The generation that grew up

in the desert.

Ver. 18.

And I

spake

to their

sons in the desert,

their rights,

Walk

not in not

the statutes

of your fathers, and keep not

their idols.

and do

defile yourselves loith

Ver. 19.

/ am
rights,

Jehovah your

God

walk in

my

statutes,

and keep

my
that

and do them,
be for a sign

Ver. 20.
betiveen

And

sanctify

my

Sabbaths, that they

may

me and

you, that ye

may know

I am

Jehovah your

God.

Ver. 21. But the sons

icere rebellious against

rights, to

me;

they

walked not in

my

statutes,

and did not keep my

do them,

which

man

should do that he

may

live

through them ; they pro-

CHAP. XX.

18-26.

271

faned

my

Sahhailis.

them, to accomplish

But I turned hack

Tlien I thought to pour out my wrath upon my anger upon them in the desert. Ver. 22. my hand and did it for my names sake, that it

might not heprofaned before the eyes of the nations, before ivhose
eyes

I had them
lands
;

out.

Ver. 23.

also lifted

my hand

to

them in

the desert, to scatter

them among

the nations,

and

to disperse

them

in the

Ver. 24. Because they did not

my

rights,

and

despised

my

statutes,

profaned

my

Sabbaths,

and

their eyes icere

after the idols of their fathers.

statutes,
live ;

Ver. 25.

And I also

gave them

which

loere not good,

and rights, through

them in

ichich they did not

Ver. 26.

And

defiled

their sacrificial gifts, in that

to

they caused all that openeth the

fill

womb

pass through, that

I miglit

them

loith horror, that they

might knoio that

I am

Jehovah.

of

The

sons acted like their fathers in the wilderness.

Plistorical

proofs of this are furnished by the accounts of the Sabbath-

breaker

(Num

XV. 32 sqq.), of the rebelh'on of the

company
of

Korah, and of the

against

murmuring
and
xvii.).

of the

whole congregation
Korah's

Moses and Aaron

xvi.

after the

destruction
last

company (Num.
threatened that

In the

two cases

God
(cf.

He

would destroy the whole congregation

xvii.
9,

Num.

xvi.

21 and

10); and on both occasions the

Lord drew back His hand at the intercession of Moses, and his actual intervention (Num. xvi. 22 and xvii. 11 sqq.), and
did not destroy the whole nation for His name's sake.

statements in vers. 216 and 22 rest upon these facts.

The The
would

words of

ver.

23 concerning the oath of God, that

He

scatter the transgressors

among

the heathen, are also founded

upon the Pentateuch, and not upon an independent tradition, or any special revelation from God. Dispersion among the
heathen
is

and there

is

threatened in Lev. xxvi. 33 and Deut. xxviii. 64, no force in Kliefoth's argument that " these

threats do not refer to the generation in the wilderness, but

to a later age."

For
set
is

in

both chapters the blessings and curses

of the law are

before the people

who were then

in the

desert

and there

not a single word to intimate that either

272

THE PKOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL. upon

tlie

blessing or curse would only be fulfilled

generations
to the

of later times.

On

the contrary,

when Moses addressed

people assembled before him his last discourse concerning the

renewal of the covenant (Deut. xxix. and xxx.), he called upon

them

to enter into the covenant, "

which Jehovah maketh with

to keep all the
this

thee this day " (Deut. xxix. 12),

this

and

words of
in

covenant and do them.

calls the

It is

upon

same discourse,

which Moses
(Deut. xxix.

threatenings of the law nps, an oath

13), that " the lifting of the

hand of God
is

to

swear," mentioned in ver. 23 of this chapter,

also founded.
lifted

Moreover,

it

is

not

stated in this verse that

God

His

hand

to scatter

among

the heathen the generation which

had

grown up

in the wilderness,

and

to disperse

them

in the lands

before their entrance into the land promised to the fathers

but simply that

He

had

lifted

His hand

in the wilderness to

threaten the people with dispersion

in

among

the heathen, without

any way defining the period of dispersion.

of the

In the blessings
Lev.
xxvi.

and threatenings
no

law contained in
is

and
;

Deut. xxviii.-xxx., the nation

so that
distinction
is

regarded as a united whole

made between

the successive genera-

tions, for the

purpose of announcing this particular blessing or

punishment

to either

one or the other.

It
is

And

Ezekiel acts in

precisely the

same way.

true that he distinguishes the

generation which came out of Egypt and was sentenced by

God to

die in the wilderness

from the
;

sons,

i.e.

the generation the sons

which grew up
of those

in the wilderness

but the

latter, or

who had

fallen, the generation

which was brought

all

into the land of

sive generations,

Canaan, he regards as one with

the succes-

and embraces the whole under the common

day (" your

name

of

''

fathers " to the generation living in his

fathers " ver. 27), as

to the sentence

we may

clearly see

from the turn given

In thus embracing the

which describes the apostasy of those who came

into the land of

Canaan

('ui riNT liy).

generation which grew up in the wilderness and was led into

Canaan, along with the generations which followed and lived

in

CHAP.

XX

18-26.

2 o
t

Canaan, Ezekiel adheres very closely to the view prevailing in

the Pentateuch, where the nation in
tions
is

all

its

successive generathreat of dispersion

in the wilderness to
is

regarded as one united whole.

the heathen, which the

The

among

Lord uttered

the sons of those

who were

not to see the land,

also

not

mentioned by Ezekiel as one which

God

designed to execute

upon the people who were wandering

in the desert at the time.

For

if

he had understood
its

it

in
also,

this

sense,

he would have

mentioned
'Ul "'^C'

non-fulfilment
as

and would have added a

lypp

i^'y^?3,

he has done in the case of the previous

14,

threats (cf. vers. 22,

and

9).

But we do not

find

this

either in ver. 2-i or ver. 26.

The

omission of this turn clearly

shows that ver.

designed to

2'6

does not refer to a punishment which

God
:

inflict,

but did not execute for His name's sake

but that the dispersion

transgressors of

among the heathen, with which the His commandments were threatened by God
is

when
even
to lead

in the

wilderness,

simply mentioned as a proof that

in the wilderness the people,

whom God had

determined

into

Canaan, were threatened with that very punishactually

ment which had now

Israel

commenced, because

rebellious

had obstinately

resisted the

commandments and

rights

of

its

God.
are equally applicable to vers. 25 and
2(5.

Tliese remarks

Tjiese verses are not to be restricted to the generation which

was born

in the wilderness

and gathered

to its fathers not long

to their descendants

after its entrance into

Canaan, but refer

also, that is to say, to the fathers of

our prophet's contempo-

raries,

who were born and had

life.

died in Canaan.

God gave
we
are not to

them

statutes

which were not good, and rights which did not

It
is

bring them

perfectly self-evident that

understand by these statutes and rights, which were not good,

either the

Mosaic commandments of the ceremonial law,

earlier Protestant

as

some of the Fathers and

commentators sup;

posed, or the threatenings contained in the law

so that this

needs no elaborate proof.

The

ceremonial

commandments
S

EZEK.

I.

274
given by

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

God

\Yere

good, and had the promise attached to

them, that obedience to

them would give hfe; whilst the

threats

of punishment contained in the law are never called

D^DQtt'O.

D^ipn

and

Those

statutes only are called " not

life

good " the

fulfil-

ment

of

which did not bring

or blessing and

salvation.

The second The

clause serves as an explanation of the

first.

The

examples quoted in ver. 26 show what the words really mean.

defiling in

their sacrificial gifts

(ver.

2G),

for example,

consisted in their causing that which opened the

throu'di,
i.e.

womb

to pass

in the sacrifice of the first-born.

xiii.

Drn

"iJ2B"73

T'syn

points back to Ex.

12; only

niii^p,

which occurs in that

is

passage,

is

omitted, because the allusion

not to the

commandThis
the
this

ment given
formula
is

there, but to its perversion into

idolatry.

used in the book of

Exodus
Jehovah
;

{I.e.)

to denote in ver.

dedication of the first-born to

limitation
is

but

13
is

introduced, that the first-born of

i''?yO signifies

man
fire

to be

redeemed.
ty'sa,

a dedication through

(="'"'?i!'!l

ver. 31),
'"j'^!?,

and
in

is

adopted in the book of Exodus, where

it is

joined to

marked

opposition to the Canaanitish custom

of dedicating children to

Moloch by februation

in fire (see the

comm. on Ex.

xiii.

12).

The prophet

refers to this Canaanitish

custom, and cites

it

as a striking

example of the defilement of

the Israelites in their sacrificial gifts {^^^, to

to declare unclean, or treat as unclean).

make

unclean, not

That

this

custom

also

made
(Lev.

its

way among the

Israelites,

is

evident from the repeated

fire to

prohibition against offering children through the

xviii.

Moloch
it is

21 and Deut.

xviii.

10).

When,

therefore,

affirmed with regard to a statute so sternly prohibited in the

law of God, that Jehovah gave

ness,

it

to the Israelites in the wilder-

the word

jOi

(give) can only be used in the sense of a

judicial sentence,

and must not be taken merely

;

as indicat-

ing divine permission

like 2 Thess.
ii.

in other words,

it

is

to

be understood,

11 ("

God

sends them strong delusion ") and

Acts

42 (" God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven "), in the sense of hardening, whereby whoever
vii.

CHAP. XX. 27-31.

will not

275

renounce idolatry

is

so given
in.

up

to its
is

power, that

it

draws him deeper and deeper

" that I might

This

in perfect

keeping
in doing

with the statement in ver. 26 as the design of

this
:

God
if

fill

them with horror

and
to return to

"

i.e.

might excite
possible they
their

such horror and amazement in their minds, that

might be brought

to reflect

Jehovah

God.

Vers. 27-31. Israel committed these sins in Canaan also,

and

to this

day has not given them up

therefore

God

will not

allow the idolatrous generation to inquire of

Him.

Ver. 27.
have your

Therefore speak
them,

to the

house of Israel,

son of man, and say to

Still further'

Thus

saith

the

Lord Jehovah,
in
this, loith

fathers blasphemed

me

the faithlessness ichich they

have shoion toicard me.

the

Ver. 28.
lifted

When I had

brought them into

them, then they

land,

xohich

I had

my hand

to give

looked out every high hill

offered their sacrifices there,

and

every thickly covered tree,

and and

and gave

their irritating gifts there,

there,

and presented
poured out
them.

the

fragrance of their pleasant odour

their drink-offerings there.

Ver. 29.

What

height is

that

to

ichich ye

go?

And I said to And its name is

to the

called Height to this day.

Israel, Tlius saith the
selves

Ver. 30. Therefore say

house of

Lord Jehovah, What?

your fathers
;

Do

ye

defile

your-

in the ivay of
;

and go lohoring

after their

abominations
to

Ver. 31.

And

defile yourselves in all

your idols
to

tins

day, by lifting up your gifts,

;

and causing your sons

let

pass through the fire

of by you?

and should I
is

myself be

inquired

As I
let

live,

the

saying of the

ivill

not
is

myself be
in

inquired of by you.

Lord Jehovah, The i?^ in

ver.

27

resumed
the

ver.

30; and there the answer given

to

by God
is first

to

elders,

who had come

its

inquire of

Him,

communicated, after an express declaration of the fact

that

Israel

had continued
its

idolatry

in

the

most daring

manner, even after

in

entrance into Canaan.

liy,

But the form

which

this is

done

DNT

"

still

further in this "

is

to

be

understood as intimating that the conduct of the fathers of the

existing generation, and

therefore not merely of those w^ho

276

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

in the wilderness,

grew up

but also of those

in

who had

lived in

Canaan, has already been described

general terms in the

preceding verses, and that what follows simply adds another

novel feature.

But

this

can only be the case

DXI
is

if

vers.

23-26
;

are taken in the sense given above.

fl"n3

an accusative

and

is

construed with the accusative both of the person and

thin<:r.

The more

precise definition of nxr

is

not given in

^2 D?j??Dn at

the end of the verse, but in the idolatry depicted in the faithlessness involved in the breach

ver. 28.

^Vl^ refers to

of the covenant
tion
;

and

in idolatry.

This

is

the general descrip-

whilst the idolatry mentioned in ver. 28b constituted one

particular feature, in which the faithlessness appeared in the

form of blasphemy.

For the
1

fact itself,

namely, the worship

on high places, which was practised on every hand, see ch.

vi.

13, xvi. 24,

25

Kings

xiv.

23

2 Kings xvii. 10.

is

In

the enumeration of the offerings, there

in

something striking

the position in which

CDJa"}!?

Dya stands, namely, between

the slaughtered sacrifices (Q"'D?0 and the increase- and drinkofferings

'i:i
;

and
is

this

is

no doubt the reason why the clause

Cod.
Vat.
to

Dtt' ^3ri'1

omitted from the

and Alex, of the

it
;

LXX.
is

and even Hitzig proposes

this
|3"ip is

strike

out.

But

Theodoret found

reading in the Alex. Version

and Hitzig

wronii in affirm ins that

meat-offerings,

used

in

connection with sacri-

fices,

and drink-offerings.
nin''J

The

meat-offerings

are not expressly named, for

offerings, but
is

nn
for

does not signify meatthe odour of

all

used

in

the law

the

offerings, both slaughtered sacrifices

and meat-offerings, even

the
IS^iJ

though in Ezek.
bloodless
offerings
all

xvi.

19

it

is

applied to the odour of

in

alone.

And
i.

the

same way does

embrace
xl.

the offerings, even the slain offerings, in Ezek.

2,
ii.

43, in
it is

harmony with Lev.

1,

and other passages.

is

That

used in this general signification here,

DJ?|, irritation

evident from

the introduction of the word

their gifts,
i.e.

or provocation of

their gifts

which provoked

irritation

on the part

of

God, because they were

offered to idols.

As

this sentence

CHAP. XX.

27-31.

277
bloodless), so also does

applies to

all tlie

sacrifices (bloody
'l31

and

the clause which follows,

tif

^0''b'Jl,

refer to all the offerings

which were burned upon the

material employed.
offerings

altar,

without regard

to

the

Consequently Ezekiel mentions only slain

in-

and drink-offerings, and, by the two clauses

serted between, describes the offering of the slaughtered sacrifices as

a gift of irritation to God, and of pleasant fragrance to

the idolatrous worshippers

who presented them.

to the slain offerings,

He

does not

mention the meat-offerings separately, because they generally

formed an accompaniment
were included
in

and therefore
called the

these.

But although God had

this

people to account for this worship on high places, they had not
relinquished
it

even " to
29,

day."

This

is

no doubt the
in

meaning of

ver.

which has been

interpreted

very

different ways.

The
is
is

context shows, in the most conclusive

to

manner, that n3n

of the singular

be taken collectively, and that the use

to be explained

from the

antithesis to the

one divinely appointed Holy Place in the temple, and not, as

Kinichi

and Hiivernick suppose, from any allusion

*'

to

one

particular Icimdh of peculiar distinction, viz.

the great high

place at Gibeon."

The

question ^9?'^
is

'^^

^^

^^^ expressive of

contempt (Hitzig), but "

founded upon the assumption that

;

they would have to give an account of their doings

asks,

and merely
?

What

kind of heights are those to which you are going

?

Who

has directed you to go thither with your worship

"

(Kliefoth).

There

is

no need

to refute the trivial

fancy of J.

D. Michaelis, which has been repeated by Hitzig, namely, that Ezekiel has taken no3 as a derivative from X3 and no. Again,
the question does not presuppose a
Israel,

word addressed by God

to us; but
is

to

which Ezekiel only has handed down

simply

a rhetorical

mode

of presenting the condemnation by

God

of

the worship of the high places, to which both the law and the
earlier prophets

had given utterance.

called

The next

clause, "
is

and

their

name was

Height"

(high place),

not to be

regarded as containing merely a historical notice of the

name

278

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

;

given to these idolatrous places of worship

the

but the giving of

;

name

is

a proof of the continued existence of the thing

so

that the words affirm, that notwithstanding the condemnation

on the part of God,

from the

Israel

had retained these high

places,

had

not abolished them to this day.

transition
first

Vers. 30 and 31
God
its

facilitate the

part of this word of

to the second.

What

has already been said in vers.

5-29 concerning the

election onwards,
is

idolatry of the people,

from the time of

here expressly applied to the existing generation, and carries

with

it

the declaration to them, that inasmuch as they are

defiling themselves

by

idolatry, as their fathers did,

Jehovah

cannot permit Himself to be inquired of by them.

is

The thought
astonishment

couched in the form of a question,

to express

that those

who denied
from Him.

the Lord, and dishonoured

Him

by

their

idolatry, should

nevertheless imagine that they could obtain

revelations

The

lifting

up

(nstr,

from

N'f J) of gifts

signifies the offering of sacrifices

upon the

altars of the

high

places.

For

ver. 31&,

compare

ver. 3.

With
But

this declaration

God

assigns the reason for the refusal to listen to idolaters,

in ver. 3.
it

which had already been given

with this refusal.

does not rest

God now

proceeds to disclose to

them the

thoughts of their own hearts, and announces to them that

will refine

He

them by severe judgments, and bring them thereby

to repentance of their sins, that

He may

then gather them out

of the dispersion,

and make them partakers of the promised

salvation as a people willingly serving

vers.

Him.

In

this

way do

32-44

cast

a prophetic glance over the

whole of the

future history of Israel.

Vers. 32-38.

The judgment

awaiting Israel of purification

among
mind

the heathen.

Ver. 32.
to
is

Aiid thatxchich

riseth

up

in your

shall not

come

pass, in that ye say,

We

will be like the

heathen, like the families of the lands, to serve loood

and

stone.

Ver. 33.

As I
and

live,

the

saying of the

Lord Jehovah, with

out,

strong hand
%dll

tvith outstretched

arm, and with lorath poured

I ride

over you.

Ver. 34.

And I icill

bring you out of the

CHAP. XX.

32-38.

279

nations,

and gather you

out of the lands in ivhich ye have been

outstretched arm,

scattered, with strong

hand and with

and

xoith

lorath

poured

out,

Ver. 35.

And

ivill

bring you into the desert

of the nations, and contend with you

tliere

face

to face.

Ver. 36.

As

] contended with your fathers in

so loill

the desert

of the land of

Egypt,
Jehovah.

contend

ivith

you,

is

the saying

of
pass

the

Lord

Ver. 37.

And I

will

cause

you

to

through

under the rod, and bring you into the bond of the covenant.
Ver. 38.

And I

will separate

from you

the rebellious,

and

those

who
will

are apostates

from me ;

out of the land of their sojourning

lead them out, but into the land of Israel shall they not

come; that ye may knoiu that I

am

Jehovah.

n^n by npyn^ that

which

rises

up

in the spirit,
this

is

the thought that springs up in

is

the mind.

What
stone
;

thought was
in the

shown
become

in ver. 326, viz.

we will be Hke the heathen

wood and
that
is

lands of the earth, to serve

idolaters like the
;

to say,

we

will

heathen, pass into heathenism.

the contrary,

This

shall not take place

on

arm and
mighty

fury.

God will rule over them as King with strong The words, " with strong hand and stretchedliberated

out arm," are a standing expression in the Pentateuch for the

acts

by which Jehovah

His people from the

(cf.

power of the Egyptians, and

vi. 1,

led
vii.

them out of Egypt

19, etc.),

Ex.

6; Deut.
vi.

iv.

34, v. 15,

and are connected

33 with

in

Ex.

6 with D^iia D-ipEron^.

Here, on the contrary, they

are connected with nsiDC' nona,

and are used

in ver.

reference to the
ver.

government
to the

of

God

over Israel, whilst in

34 they are applied

bringing out of Israel from the

introduction of the clause "with

midst of the heathen.

By the

fury poured out," the manifestation of the omnipotence of

God
was

which
still

Israel experienced in

its

dispersion,
is

and which

it

to experience

among

the heathen,

described as an ema-

nation of the divine wrath, a severe and wrathful judgment.

The

leading

and gathering of

Israel

out

of

the

nations

(ver. 34) is neither their restoration

from the existing captivity

in Babylon, nor their future restoration to

Canaan on the con-

280

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

version of the people

rejected by God.
at variance

who were still hardened, and The former assumption would be

^'^^V^

therefore

decidedly

with both

and

^i^*'3^5n

p^ since Israel was

people at

dispersed only throughout one land and

among one
more

the time of the Babylonian captivity.

Moreover, neither of the

especially with

assumptions
ver. 35.

is

reconcilable with the context,

According

to the context, this leading out is

is

an act of
;

divine anger, which Israel

this

to feel in connection therewith

and

cannot be affirmed of either the redemption of the people

out of the captivity in Babylon, or the future gathering of

Israel

from

its

dispersion.

According

to ver. 35,

God

will con-

duct those

who

are brought out

from the nations and gathered

together out of the lands into the desert of the nations, and

contend with them there.

The "desert

of the nations"

is

not

the desert lying between Babylonia and Palestine, on the coast-

lands of the Mediterranean, through which the Israelites would

have

to pass

on

their

way home from Babylon

For there
is

(Rosenmiiller,

Hitzig, and others).

this

no imaginable reason why

touched the borders of
tlie

should be called the desert of the nations in distinction

also
is

from the desert of Arabia, which

several nations.

The

expression

doubtless a typical one,

future guidance of Israel being depicted as a repetition of the

earlier

guidance of the people from Egypt to Canaan

in Hos.
ii.

as

it

also

is

16.

All the separate features in the descripespecially vers. 36

tion indicate this,

more

and

37,

where

it

is

impossible to overlook the allusion to the guidance of Israel in

the time of Moses.

The more

precise explanation of the words

must depend, however, upon the sense in which we are to

understand the expression, " desert of the land of Egypt."

Here
to,

also the supposition that the

it

Arabian desert

is

referred

because

touched the border of Egypt, does not furnish a

It

sufficient explanation.
well.

touched the border of Canaan

as

Why

then did not Ezekiel

name

it

after the land of

Canaan?

Evidently for no other reason than that the time

spent by the Israelites in the Arabian desert resembled their

CHAP. XX. 32-38.

281

sojourn in

Egypt much more

closely than their settlement in

Canaan, because, while

there, they

were

still

receiving their

training for their entrance into Canaan, and their possession

and enjoyment of
Egypt.

its benefits,

just as

much

as in the land of

And
from

iu a
is

manner corresponding

to this, the

" desert of

the nations "

nations,

a figurative expression applied to the world of

whom

they were indeed spiritually distinct, whilst

still

outwardly they were

suffer

in

the midst of them, and had to

from their oppression.

Consequently the leading of

is

Israel out of the nations (ver. 34)

not a local and corporeal

deliverance out of heathen lands, but a spiritual severance from

the heathen world, in order that they might not be absorbed

into
will
it

or

become inseparably blended with the heathen.

God

accomplish this by means of severe chastisements, by con-

tending with them as

in the

He

formerly contended with their fathers

Arabian

desert.

God

contends with His people

when

He

charges them with their sin and guilt, not merely in words,
i.e.

but also with deeds,

through chastening and punishments.

:

The words "

the
fire."

face to face" point back to Deut. v. 4

" Jehovah

talked with you face to face in the mount, out of the midst of

Just as at Sinai the Lord talked directly with

to
it

Israel,

and made known

the devouring
that
all

fire

of

His own holy

nature, in so terrible a

manner

the people trembled and

entreated Moses to act the part of a mediator between them,

promising at the same time obedience to him (Ex. xx, 19)

will the

so

Lord make Himself known

to Israel in the desert of

the world of nations with the burning zeal of His ancrer, that
it

may

learn to fear

Him.

This contending

is

more

precisely

defined in vers. 37 and 38.

I will cause you to pass through

under the (shepherd's) rod.

shepherd

lets

his

sheep pass

through imder his rod for the purpose of counting them, and seeing whether they are in good condition or not
13).
(yid. Jer. xxxiii.

The
i.e.

figure

is

here applied to God.

Like a shepherd,

He

will cause

His

flock,

the Israelites, to pass through under

His rod,

take them into His special care, and bring

them

282

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

" into the bond of the covenant " (n"^bO, not from "1D [Raschi], but from "iDX, for ri"?.DN, a fetter) ; that is to say, not " I will

bind myself to you and you to

Ilieroz. I. p. 508), for this
is

me by a new
opposed
it,

covenant " (Bochart,

to the context, but, as the

Syriac version has rendered

discipline of

"|2.05jlQ13 (in

dlsciplina),

" the

the covenant."

By

this

we

are not merely to

understand the covenant punishments, with which transgressors

of the law are threatened, as Hiivernick does, but the covenant

promises must also be included.

For not only the

i?ij is

threats of

the covenant, but the promises of the covenant, are bonds by

which God trains His people; and

not only applied to

burdensome and crushing

well {vid.

fetters,
6).

but to the bonds of love as

Kliefoth understands by the

Song

of Sol.

vii.

fetter of the

covenant the Mosaic law, as being the means

to preserve the Israelites

employed by God

from mixing with

the nations while placed in the midst of them, and to keep them
to

Himself, and adds the following explanation,

"this law,

throuc^h which they should have been able to live, they have

now

to

wear

as a fetter,

and

to feel the chastisement thereof."

But however
of the law."
Israel

correct the latter thought

may

be in

itself, it

is

hardly contained in the words, " lead them into the fetter (band)

Moreover, although the law did indeed preserve

fact that the

to the

from becoming absorbed into the world of nations, the Jews were bound to the law did not bring them
knowledge of the truth, or bring
to pass the

purging of

the rebellious from

among

the people, to which ver. 38 refers.

All that the law accomplished in this respect in the case of

those
incrs

who

lived

among

the heathen was effected by

its

its

threaten-

and

its

promises, and not by

statutes

and

their faithful

observance.
people,

This discipline will secure the purification of the

rebellious

by severing from the nation the

and apostate.
DniiD

God

will bring

them

forth out of the land of their pilgrimage,

but will not bring them into the land of Israel.

px

is

the standing epithet applied in the Pentateuch to the land of

CHAP. XX.

39-44.

283
as

Canaan,

in

which the patriarchs lived Ex.

pilgrims,
(cf.

without
xvii. 8,

coming

into actual possession of the land

Gen.
was

xxviii. 4, xxxvi.

vi. 4).

This epithet Ezekiel has transit

ferred to the lands of Israel's exile, in which

pilgrim-life until
it

to lead a
^''V^'^,

was ripe for entering Canaan.

to

lead out,

is

used here for clearing out by extermination, as the

following clause, " into the land of Israel shall they not come,"
plainly shows.

The The

singular

i^i^^

is

used distributively

not

one of the rebels will enter.

Vers. 39-44.
ultimate gathering of Israel, and
its

con-

version to the Lord.

saith the

Ver. 39.
hearken
to

Ye

then,

house of Israel, thus

Lord Jehovah, Go
ye
ivill

ye, serve every one his idols ! but after-

wards
holy

truly

me, and no longer desecrate

my
the

name

icith

your

sacrificial gifts

and

yo^ir idols,

Ver. 40. But

is

upon

my

holy mountain, upon the high mountain of Israel,

saying of the

Lord Jehovah,
it

there will all the house of Israel

serve me, the whole of

in the land; there will

accept them

gladly

there loill

ask for your heave-offerings and the first-

fruits of your gifts in all that ye

make

holy.

Ver. 41.

As

pleasant odour will

accept

you

gladly, lohen

I bring you

out

jroin the nations, and gather you out of the lands, in which you

have been scattered, and sanctify myself in you before the eyes of
the heathen

nations.

Ver. 42.

And

ye shall know that

I am

Jehovah, lohen

I
up

bring you into the land of Israel, into the land

which

lifted

my hand to

give to your fathers

Ver. 43.

And

there ye will think of

your ways and your deeds, with which ye

(lit.

have defiled yourselves, and will loathe yourselves

experience

loathing before yourselves) on account of all your evil deeds

which ye have performed

Ver. 44.

And

ye

xoill

knoic that

I am

Jehovah, when I deal with yuu for my namis

to

sake, not according

your

evil loays

and according
of Jehovah.
prevent

to

your corrupt deeds,

house of
to

Israel, is the saying

After the Lord has declared

the people that

He

will

its

being absorbed into the heathen

world, and will exterminate the ungodly by severe judgments, the

address passes on, with the direction henceforth to serve idols

284

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

and the restoration
''

only, to a prediction of theeventual conversion,

to

Canaan

of the purified nation.

The direction,

Go
it,

je, serve
a power-

every one his idols," contains, after what precedes

ful appeal to repent.

God

thereby gives up the impenitent to

first

do whatever they

will,

having

of

all

told

them that not

Their oppo-

one of them will come into the land of Canaan.

sition

will

not frustrate His plan of salvation.

in5<1. is

The words
in dif-

which follow from

ferent ways.
It

onwards have been interpreted

opposed to the usage of the language to

connect insi with

for
1

^^^y, serve

ye hereafter
t

also

(De Wette,
and
is

etc.),

has not the force of the Latin

it

= etiam^

still

less

does

signify "afterwards just as before."

Nor

it

allow-

able to connect insi closely with

''

what

follows, in the sense of

and hereafter

also,

if

ye

will

hearken to me, profane ye

my

name no more"

(Rosenmiiller, I^Iaurer).
it
it

For

if

v^nri

were

used as an imperative, either

would have

to stand

at the

beginning of the sentence, or

instead of
iib.

would be preceded by 7X
not
is
is

^lareover, the antithesis between

being

willing to hear and not profaning the

arbitrarily into the text.

name

of

God,

imported
profaned

The name

of the

Lord
to

not only by
in the

sacrifices offered in external

form

Jehovah and
by

heart to idols, but also by disobedience to the word

of

and commandments
itself,

God.

It

is

much

better to take inj^l

and to render the following particle, CX, as the ordinary

:
.
.

verily, sign of an oath " but afterwards {i.e. in the future) ye will hearken to me; " that is to say, ye will have been con.

verted from your idolatry through the severe judgments that

have fallen upon you.

The ground

for this thought

is

intro-

duced

in ver.

40 by a reference

to the fact that all Israel will

'3 is

then serve the Lord upon His holy mountain.

not " used

emphatically before a direct address" (Hitzig), but has a causal

signification.

For

''^'^

Diip

"ii},

see the

comm. on

ch. xvii. 23.

In the expression "

all Israel,"
n->3,

which
is

is

rendered more emphatic

to the eventual

by the addition of

there

an allusion

termination of the severance of the people of

God (compare

CHAP. XX. 39-44.

285
delight both

ch. xxxvli. 22).

Then

will the

Lord accept with

nio^iin,
ii.

them and
the

their sacrificial gifts,

heave-offerings (see
9),

comm. on Ex.
all

xxv. 2 and Lev.

used here in the

broader sense of

the sacrificial gifts, along with which the

gifts of first-fruits are specially

named.

ni^^'^'^P,

as applied to

holy offerings in the sense of uva9/]/j,ara, belongs to the later

usage of the
secrated

lancruarre.
^''^r'!?.*

D3''K'"tp"?D2

consistino; of all
xxii.

your con-

gifts.

as

in

Lev.

15.

This promise
its

includes iwplicite the bringing back of Israel from

banish-

ment.
it is

This

is

expressly mentioned in ver. 41

but even there

only introduced as self-evident in the subordinate clause,

whereas the cheerful acceptance of Israel on the part of God

constitutes the

leading

thought.

niT'J

rjnn,

as

an odour of
accept His

delight (3, the so-called Beth essentiue), will

people.
n'rT'J

God

n''7,

odour

of satisfaction, is the technical expres-

sion for the cheerful (well-pleased) acceptance of the sacrifice,

or rather of the
sacrifice,

feelings
to

of the worshipper

presenting the

which ascend
viii.

God

in the sacrificial

odour (see the

is

comm. on Gen.
ing
:

21).

The thought

therefore

the follow-

their
to

When God shall dispersion. He will

direct all

eventually gather His people out of

accept them as a sacrifice well-pleasing
''ri'-^"api^

Him, and

His good pleasure towards them.

D;:3

does not mean, I shall be sanctified through you, and

xxii.

is

not to be explained in the same sense as Lev.

miiller), for

32 (Rosen" I will

is

not equivalent to ^inn

but

it

signifies

sanctify myself on you," as in

Num.

xx. 13, Lev. x. 3,

(cf.

and

other passages, where

xxviii. 25, xxxvi.

tJ':!p3

is

construed with 3 pers.

Ezek.

23, xxxviii. 16, xxxix. 27), in the sense of

proving oneself holy, mostly by judgment, but here through

having made Israel into a holy nation by the refining judgment, and one
inheritance.
to

which

He

can therefore grant the promised

Vers. 42

sqq.

Then

will Israel also recognise its

its

God

in

His grace, and be ashamed of

former

sins.

For

ver. 43,

compare ch.

vi.

9 and xvi. 61.

With

regard to the

fulfilment, as Kliefoth has

correctly observed, " in the predic-

286
tion

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

contained in vers,

32-38, the whole of the searching

lead Israel to conversion, are

judgments, by which

God would
and the

summed up

in

one, which includes not only the Babylonian

first,

captivity, the nearest

but the
;

still
it

more remote
is

judgment, namely, the present dispersion

present dispersion of Israel that

for

only in the
it

God
it

has really taken

into

the wilderness of the nations, just as

of Christ that its rebellious attitude
as the

was only

in the rejection

was

fully manifested.

And

prophecy of the

state

of punishment combines
;

in this

way both

the nearer and more remote

in

so are both the nearer

and more distant combined

what

vers.

40

to

44

affirm with

regard to the ultimate fate of Israel."

The gathering
its

of Israel

from among the heathen

Christ,

will

be fulfilled in

conversion to

and hitherto

it

has only taken place in very small

fulfilment
is

beginnings.

The

principal

still

to

Israel, as a nation, shall

to the

be converted to Christ.

come, when With regard

bringing back of the people into " the land of Israel,"

see the

comm. on

ch. xxxvii.,

where

this

promise

is

more fully

expanded.

CHAP. XX.

45

TO CHAP. XXI.

32

(HEB. CHAP. XXI.^).

PRO-

PHECY OF THE BURNING FOREST AND THE SWORD OF THE LORD.

A fire kindled
(ch. XX. 45-48).

by the Lord

will

burn the

forest of the south

is

This figurative announcement

explained

in

what

follows, in order that the divine threat

may make an
will

impression upon the people (ver. 49).

The Lord

draw His

sword from

its

scabbard, and cut off from Jerusalem and the

;

land of Israel both righteous and wicked (ch. xxi. 1-17)

is

that

to say,

the king of Babylon

will

draw

his

sword against
ver.

In the

Hebrew Bible the previous chapter

there.

closes at

44,

and

ch. xxi.

Keil has adhered to this division of chapters but for the sake of convenience we have followed the arrangement adopted Tr. in the English authorized version.

commences

CHAP. XX.

45-49.

287
will, first

Jerusalem and the sons of

Ammon, and

of

all,

put an

end

to the

kingdom

of Judah,

and then destroy the Ammonites

divides itself accordingly into

(vers. 18-32).

The prophecy

three parts

viz.

(1) the prediction of the destruction of the

;

kingdom
bitants of

of

Judah

(2) the explanation of this prediction

by

the threat that the sword of the

Lord

will smite all the inha-

Judah, which threat

is

divisible into three sections,

is

ch. xxi. 1-7, 8-13,

and 14-17; (3) the application of what

said with regard to the sword to Nebuchadnezzar's expedition

against Jerusalem and the

divided into three sections,

Ammonites, which may

viz. (a)

also

be

the general announcement

of Nebuchadnezzar's design (vers. 18-23)

(b)

and

its

execution

by
of

his expedition against Jerusalem, to destroy the kino--

dom
the

Judah

(vers.

24-27)

and

(c)

by

his expedition against

Ammonites

(vers. in

28-32).

The

first

four or five verses are

;

taken by
still

many

connection with chap. xx.

and Kliefoth

maintains that they should be separated from what follows,

to that

and attached

chapter as a second word of God.

1,
'*'

But

neither ch. xx. 49 nor the formula in ch. xxi.

of

the word

Jehovah came
ch.

to

me," warrants our separating the parabolic

prediction in

xx.

45-48 from the

is

interpretation in vers.

117.
so as to in vers.
fire is

And

the third pArt

also connected with

what precedes,

form one single discourse, by the allusion

31 and 32.

to the sword 19 and 28, and by the fact that the figure of the
in vers.

resumed

And

there

is all

the less

ground for taking the formula, " and the word of Jehovah came
to

me," as determining the division of the several portions in

this particular instance,

from the circumstance that the section

it

(vers.

1-17)

in

which

occurs both at the

commencement

and

in the

middle (vers. 1 and

8), is obviously divided into the

minor

sections or turns

N33ni ("

and prophesy

by the threefold occurrence of the verb vers. 2, 9, and 14).

forest.

Chap. XX. 45-49. The burning

Ver. 45. Ajid the

word of Jehovah came

to

me, saying^ Ver. 46. Son of man, direct

thy face toward the south,

and

trickle

down towards

the south^

288

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

a7id propliesi/ concerning the forest of the field in the south land

Ver. 47.

And
;

say

to the forest

of the south land, Hear the word

kindle a

of Jehuvah

Thus

saith the

Lord Jehovah, Behold, I

fire in thee, which will

consume in

thee every green tree,

and
all

every dry tree: the blazing flame will not be extinguished,

and

faces

from

the south to the nortlt, will be

burned thereby.
it
:

Ver. 48.
it

And

alljlesh shall see that I, Jehovah, have kindled

shall not
I

be extinguished.

Ver. 49.

And I said, Ah,

?

Ijord Jehovah
is

they

say of me, Does he not speak in parables

his face

The prophet

to turn

toward the south, and prophesy concerning the forest

^""ipn is

of the field there,

vii.

used for prophesying, as

in

Amos

16 and Mic.

ii.

6, 11.

The
is

distinction

between the three

:

epithets

appHed
lies

to the south

the following

t^'^ is literally
is

that which

on the right hand, hence the south

Ci''"^,

a particular

quarter of the heavens;

which only occurs in Ezekiel

xxxiii.

and Ecclesiastes, with the exception of Deut.

23 and

Job

xxxvii. 17,

is

derived from

"i"]"!,

to shine or

emit streams of
;

light,

and probably
is

signifies the brilliant

quarter

3^3,

the dry,

parched land,

a standing epithet for the southern district of

Palestine and the land of

xv. 21).

Judah
field

(see the
in
is

comm. on Josh,
is

The

forest

of

the

the south

a figure
^'^)^'\},

denoting the kingdom of Judah

(333

in apposition to

and

is

appended

to it as a
field, as

more

precise definition).

H'lK' is

not
;

used here for a

but for the

distinguished from a city or a garden

fields

in

the sense of country or territory, as in

Gen.

xiv.

7
is

and

xxxii. 3.

In ver. 47, 3J3n

IV], forest

of the
(3331?,

south land,

the expression applied to the

same object

with the

article, is

a geographical term for the southern portion

forest
is

of Palestine).

The

a figure signifying the population,

or the mass of people.

tree
is

Individual

men
3,

are trees.

The green
xxiii. 31).

a figurative representation of the righteous man, and

the dry tree of the ungodly (ver.

compare Luke
fire

The

fire

which Jehovah kindles

is

the

of war.

The comis

bination of the

synonyms

r\^[}T^ ^^^-j

flame of the flaming

brightness, serves to strengthen the expression, and

equiva-

CHAP. xzr.

1-7.

289
2"';2i-^3j

lent to the strongest possible flame, the blazing fire.

all

faces are not

human

faces or persons, in which case the

;

prophet would have dropped the figure

generally the outside of things, which
force of the flame.
single thing in the

but pdnim denotes

the
first

is

to feel the

" All the faces " of the forest are every

forest,

which

is

caught at once by the

is

flame.

In

ver. 4, kdl-pdnim (all faces)

interpreted

by

kol-

bdsar

(all flesh).

length of the

which cannot
has kindled
it,

From south to north, i.e. through the whole land. From the terrible fierceness of the fire, be extinguished, every one will know that God that it has been sent in judgment. The words
and

of the prophet himself, in ch. xx. 49, presuppose that he has

uttered these parabolic words in the hearing of the people,

that they have ridiculed

them

as obscure

{mdshdl

is

used here in

the sense of obscure language, words difficult to understand, as

irapa^oXrj also
is

in Matt.

xiii.

10).

At
is

the same time,

it

con-

tains within itself a request that

they

may
first

be explained.
of
all

This

request

is

granted

and the
still

simile

interpreted in

ch. xxi. 1-7,

and then

further expanded in vers. 8 sqq.

of the

Chap.
effects.

xxi. 1-7.
1.

The sword
the
set

Lord and

its

disastrous

Ver.
And
I will
and

And

word of Jehovah came

to

me, saying,

Ver.

2.

Son of man,
say
to

thy face toward Jerusalem,

and

trickle

over the holy places,

and prophesy over

the land

Ver.

3.

the land of Israel, of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah,

Behold,

deal with thee,

cut off

and

will

draw my

sivord out of

its

scabbard,

from

thee the righteous

and

the wicked.

Ver. 4. Because

loill

cut off

from

thee the righteous

its

and

the

wicked, therefore shall against all flesh

shall

my

sword go forth from

Ver.
5.

scabbard
all flesh
its

from

south to north.

And

know
it

that I, Jehovah, have

drawn my sword out of

Ver.
;

scabbard:

shall not return again.

so that
the hips

6.

And

thou, son

of

man,

sigh

break

and

tcith

bitter

pain sigh

before their eyes I

Ver.
? say,

7.

And when
all

they say to thee,

it is

Wherecoming

fore dost thou sigh

Because of a report that

and every EZEK.

heart will sink,

I.

and

hands become powerless, and every

290
spirit will
it

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

become
ivill

dull,

and
is

all knees turn into loater

Behold,

Cometh, and

happen,

the saying of the

Lord Jehovah.

In the preceding parable, the expression " forest of the field in the south," or " forest of the south-land," was enigmatical.
This
is

explained to signify Jerusalem with

its

holy places
Israel,
i.e.

(D''^I50, see
tlie

comm. on
of
is

ch.

vii.

24),

and the land of

kingdom

Judah.

In accordance with

this,

the fire

kindled by the Lord

interpreted as being the sword of the

;

Lord.

It is true that this is a figurative expression

but

it

is

commonly used
death,
off

for war, which brings with

intelligible.

it

devastation and
will cut

and would be generally

The sword

both righteous and wicked.

This applies

to the outer side

of the judgment, inasmuch as both good and bad fall in war.

This

is

the only aspect brought into prominence here, since the

great purpose was to alarm the sinners,

their security; but the distinction
in ch. ix.

who were

boasting of

between the two, as described

sqq., is

not therefore to be regarded as no longer

will

existing.
till it
i.

This sword

not return,

sc.

into the scabbard,

(cf.

has accomplished the result predicted in ver. 3

;

2 Sam.

22

Isa. Iv. 11).

As

Tremellius has aptly observed upon this

is

passage, " the last slaughter

contrasted with the former ones,

in which, after the people had been chastened for a time, the

sword was returned

to its scabbard again."

In order

to depict

the terrors of this judgment before the eyes of the people, the

prophet
painful

is commanded to groan before their eyes in the most way possible (vers. 6 sqq.). 0;'3riO p?^?, with breaking
i.e.

of the hips,

with pain sufficient to break the hips, the

seat of strength in
n^">''i,

bitterness,

i.e.

man (compare Nah. ii, 11 Isa. xxi. 3). The reason which he is bitter ansjuish.
;

to assign to the questioners for this sighing is

" on account of the

report that

is

coming,"
(cf.
it is

an antlptosis for " on account of the

i.

coming report"
the substance of
of the

Gen.

4, etc.).

The

report comes
is

when

realized.

The
is

reference
to say,

to the report

sword of the Lord,

that

of the approach

of the Chaldeans to destroy Jerusalem

aud the kingdom of

CHAP. XXI.

8-17.

291

Judah.

The

impression which this disclosure will

make upon
All courage

the hearers will be perfectly paralyzing (ver. 7b).

and strength for offering resistance will be crippled and broken. n^-b Dpj (cf. Nah. ii. 11) is strengthened by nf^a nnna,
every
spirit will

become
'i3l

dull, so that

no one

will

know what
'^^^Z''?

counsel to give.
(cf. ch. vii.

i^^^^ri

n^3"i3"72
is

corresponds to

i^n

17).

The

threat

strengthened by the words,

"

beliold, it

comethj and will take place."

the substance of the report.
vers.

The

subject

is

WDtJ',

the report,
fully

i.e.

This threat

is

more

expanded in

8-17

vers.
6, 7.

8-13 corresponding

to vers.

1-5, and vers. 14-17 to vers.

Vers. 8-17.

The sword

is

sharpened for slaying.

Ver.

8.

A7id
marif

word of Jehovah came to me, sayingj Ver. 9. Son of prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah, A sivord, a sicord
the

sharpened and also polished:

slaughter
shall
is
it

Ver. 10.
it

That

it

may

effect

sharpened; that
(saying),
it

may

flash

is it

polished: or

we

rejoice

the

sceptre

of

my

son despiseth all

vjood?
in the

Ver. 11. But

has been given

to be polished, to take it
it

hand;
into the
it

it

is

sharpened, the sword, and

the slayer.

is

polished, to

give

it

hand of

Ver. 12.
it

Cry and howl, son

of man, for

goeth over

my people,

goeth over all the princes

of Israel : they have fallen by the sword along with

therefore smite

my people
made,

upon the

thigh.

Ver. 13. For the

trial is

and
the

ivhat if the despising sceptre shall not

come

Lord Jehovah.
the

Ver. 14.
together,

And
and

thou, son

of of man, prophesy

? is the saying

and smite
into

hands
the

the sivord shall double itself

:

threefold,

sword of

the pierced

it

is

the

pierced one, of the great one, which encircles them.

sword of a Ver. 15.

That the heart

multiplied,

may be dissolved, and stumbling-blocks may be I ham set the draioing of the sword against all their
!

gates

Alas

it

is

made

into flashing,
to

drawn for

slaying.

Ver. 16. Gather thyself up

the right hand, turn to the left,

xohithersoever thine edge is intended.

Ver. 17.

And I
I,

also loill

smite

my
it.

hands

together,

and

quiet

my

wrath
is

Jehovah, have
lyrical

spoken

The

description of the sword

thrown into a

292

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

(vers. 8-13),

form

a kind of sword-song, commemorating the

terrible devastation to be effected

by the sword of the Lord.

rnn-.n
is

The

repetition of S^ri in ver. 9

is

emphatic,
n^^nn
is

the per-

fect Ilophal of Tin, to sharpen,

the passive participle

of 210, to polish

?'^'p (ver. 10), the participle Pual^ with

n''n,

dropped, and Dagesh enplion.

for ni-n.

a rare form of the infinitive

The

polishing gives to the sword a flashing brilliancy,

its
ii<,

which renders the sharpness of

edge

still

more

terrible.

The very obscure

and Kliefoth
prophet in the
in

words,

'ui b**b'J

I agree with Schmieder

regarding

as

a protest, interposed

by the

name

of the people against the divine threat of

the sword of vengeance, on the ground of the promises which

had been given to the

tribe of

Judah.

ix,

or perhaps

introsaid.

ducing an opposite case, or an exception

to

what has been

The words
"ibXP
is

'Ul

''J2

03t^ are to be taken as an objection, so that

to

be supplied in thought

Tlie objection

is

taken from

the promise given in Jacob's blessing to the tribe of

Judah

"the sceptre
^33 DDii*

will

not depart from

Judah" (Gen.
^J3 is

xlix. 10).

points unquestionably to this.

taken from ver. 9,

to
is

where the patriarch addresses Judah, whom he compares

young

lion, as

^32,

Consequently the sceptre of

my
i.e.

son

the

command which
tribe of
ruler's

the patriarch holds out to view before the

Judah.
staff,

This sceptre despises

all

wood,
is

every other

as

bad wood.

This

view

not rendered a

doubtful one by the fact that

here, whereas
it

I33ti' is

construed as a feminine

is

construed as a masculine in every other

is

case; for this construction

unquestionable in ver. 7 (12),

All the other explanato

and has many analogies

tions that

in its favour.

have been proposed are hardly worth mentioning,

say nothing of refuting, as they amount to nothing more than

arbitrary conjectures
;

whereas the assumption that the words

is

are to be explained from Gen. xllx. 10

naturally suggested

by the unquestionable
which we
is

allusion to the prophecy in that passage,

find in ver.

27 of the present chapter.

it

!^'5

in ver.

11

to be taken adversatively, " but he gave

(the sword) to be


CHAP. XXI.
sharpened.**
finite,

8-17.

293
is

Tlie subject to
(jnan,

]^^)

is

not Jehovah, but

it

inde-

"one"

Ang]. they), although

is

actually

God

who

has prepared the sword for the slaughter of Israel.

is

train of thouiiht

the followincr:

Do

not think

The we have no

reason to fear the sharply-ground sword of Jehovah, because

Judah has
depart from

received
it
;

the promise that the sceptre shall not

this

and

promise will certainly be

fulfilled,

and

Judah be

victorious over every hostile power.

The promise
is

will not help

you

in this instance.
it

The sword

given to be
it

ground, not that

may

be put into the scabbard, but that

all
X''n,

may
and

be taken in the hand by a slayer, and smite

all
its

the people

princes.

In the phrase
X'^n^
till

3"in

rrnmn

nin

is

in

apposition to the subject

to the words.

and
ver.

is

introduced to give emphasis

it

It is not

19 that

is

stated

who

the

slayer is; but the

hearers of the prophecy could be in no

doubt.
there
is

Consequently

this is

the connection with ver. 12

no ground for rejoicing from a feeling of security and

an occasion for painful lamentation.
in the

pride, but rather

This

is

the

meaning contained

command

to the

prophet to cry
its

and howl.
princes.

For the sword

It
is

will

come upon the nation and

X"'n

the simplest rendering to take

as referring

to iin, 3 ^l^, to

be at a person, to fasten to him,

to

come upon
not from

him, as in 1 Sam. xxiv. 14; 2 Sam. xxiv. 17.

-113,

""^.I^P,

but the passive participle of

"IJ^ in

the Piial, to overthrow,

cast

down

(Ps. Ixxxix. 45)

" fallen by the sword have they

(the princes) become, along with

my

people."

The

perfects

are prophetic, representing that which will speedily take place

as

having already occurred.

Smiting upon the thigh

19).
|n3,
is

is

a sign
is

of alarm and horror (Jer. xxxi.

perfect Paal,

used impersonally

the

trial

made.

The words

allude to

the victories gained already by Nebuchadnezzar, which have

furnished tests of the sharpness of his sword.

The

question

which follows nni contains an aposiopesis

if

and what?

Even

the despising sceptre shall not come, what will be the case
I^P^^
^r^'^)

then?

according to ver.

10,

is

the

sceptre of

t9t

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

all

Judali, which despises

this instance, is

other sceptres as bad wood.

JT;:!^^

in

not "

to be," in

the sense of to remain, but to

become, to happen, to come (come to pass), to enter.

The
prove

meaning

is, if

the sceptre of

Judah

shall not display, or

it.

itself to possess,

the strength expected of

With

ver.

14 the
still

address takes a

new

start,

for the purpose of depicting

further the operations of the sword.

(smiting hand in hand)
(cf. ch. vi.
is

Smiting the hands together

a gesture expressive of violent emotion

11

Num.
edge.

xxiv. 10).

The sword
is

is

to double,

i.e.

multiply itself, into threefold (nnc'^i^, adverbial),

strength, or
metically, as
its
it

namely, in

its

Of

course this

not to be taken arithis

has been by Hitzig, but

a bold paradoxical

statement concerning the terrible effect produced by the sword.

It
is

not even to be understood as referring to three attacks

at different times

made

by the Chaldeans upon Jerusalem, as

many

of the

commentators suppose.

The sword
it

is

called

C'pSn ann,

sword of pierced ones, because

produces the

pierced or slain.

The

following words are rendered by Hitzig

and Kliefoth

the great sword of the slain.

But

apart from

the tautology which this occasions, the rendering can hardly be

defended on grammatical grounds. cannot see

For, in the

first

place,

why

the singular p?^ should have been chosen,

we when

the expression was repeated, instead of the plural 2v7n; and

secondly, ''Hsn cannot be an adjective agreeing with ^^n, for
3"in is

a noun of the feminine gender, and

is

construed here as
is
;

a feminine, as ri^nhn clearly shows.

?>7)

''i''3n

in apposition to "

" sword of a pierced man, the great one

pierced
is

and the great

man

the king, as

Ewald

admits, in agreement with

therefore affirm

Hengstenberg and

Iliivernick.

The words

that the sword will not only slay the mass of the people, but
pierce the king himself.

(See also the comm. on ver. 25.)

Ver. 15a
a

is

not dependent upon what precedes, but introduces

is

new

thought, viz. for what purpose the sword

all

sharpened.

God

has placed the flashing sword before

the gates of the

IV'rP)

Israelites, in

order that

(? iV^^,

pleonastic for

the heart

CHAP. XXI.

18-22.

295
their courage for

may

dissolve,

the inhabitants

may

lose all
i.e.

defence, and

to multiply offendicula,

occasions to fall

by

the sword.

The
Mishna

air.

Xey.

nniN
(cf.

signifies the rapid

motion or

turning about of the sword

?IDn,

Gen.

iii.

24)

rax, related to
of
t3jJ, t3"]D,

in the

T]DX.
i.e.

The

utt. Xey. nt^Vp, fern,

does
but,

not

mean smooth,

sharpened, synonymous w^Ith

according to the Arabic kx^, eduxit e vagina gladium, drawn

(from the scabbard).

In ver. 16 the sword

is

addressed, and

commanded
i.e.

to smite right
all

and

left.

''inNnrij

gather thyself up,

turn with

thy might toward the right (Tanchum).

it is

To
an

the verb

1"'b'n

easy to supply
left."

'n^^Si,

from the context,

from

" direct thine edge toward the

interrogative, as in Josh.
ii.

njx, whither, without

ii.

5 and Neh.

16.

ri^''J''^,

W,

intended, ordered; not, directed, turned.

for

The feminine

form may be accounted

^^33.

from a construction ad sensum^

sword
strengthened by the

the gender regulating itself according to the ^^n addressed in

The command

to

the

is

explanation given by Jehovah in ver. 17, that

He

also (like the

prophet, ver. 14) will smite His hands together and cool His

wrath upon them

Vers. 18-22.

(cf. ch. v. 13).

The sword

of the king of Babylon will smite

also.

Jerusalem, and then the Ammonites

Ver.

18.

And

the

word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Ver. 19. And thou, son of man, make to thyself tico ivays, that the sword of the king
of Babylon

may come

by them

out of one land shall they both

at the cross

come forth, and draw a hand,

thou draio
it.

road of

the city

do
to

Ver. 20. Make a way that the sword

of Ammon, and
the king
to

may come

liabbah of
salem.

the sons

Jiidah into fortified Jeruis

Ver. 21. For

of Babylon

stopping at the cross

lie is
liver.

road, at the parting of the two ivays, to practise divination.

shaking the arrows, inquiring of the teraphim, looking at the

Ver. 22. The divination falls

tering-rams, to open the

to his rigid

Jerusalem,
to lift

to set bat-

mouth with a death-cry,

up

the voice

with a war-cry,

to

set battering-rams at the gates,

to

heap up a ramterrible devas-

part, to build siege towers.

After the picture of the

296
tation

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

which the sword of the Lord
in this
will produce, the last

word

of

God

prophecy answers the questions, in whose hand

Jehovah

will place

His sword, and

whom

it

will smite.
is

The

slayer into
is

whose hand the sharpened sword

given (ver. 11)

the king of Babylon,

and

it

will

smite not only Judah, but

will

the
fall,

Ammonites
will

also.

Jerusalem and Judah

be the

first to

and then the arch-enemy of the covenant nation, namely

Ammon,
people

succumb

to the strokes of the sword of Jehovah,

in order that the embittered

enemies of the Lord and His

is

may
God.

learn that the fall of Jerusalem

not, as they

fancy, a proof of the impotence, but rather of the omnipotence,

of
its

In

this

way

does our prophecy expand into a

fall
it

prediction of the judgment which will

upon the whole of

only as the archinto

the world in hostility to God.

For

is

enemies of the kingdom of

consideration here.
of

God

that the

Ammonites come

The

parallel

between Israel and the sons

Ammon

is

carried out in such a

way

as to give constant

prominence to the distinction between them.

fall,

Jerusalem

w'ill

the ancient theocracy will be destroyed

will restore the right (vers.

till

he shall come
on the

who

26 and 27).

Ammon,

other hand, will perish, and not a trace be left (vers. 31, 32).

This prediction

is

exhibited to the eye by

means of a

sign.

The prophet

is

to

make two ways,

i.e.

to prepare a

sketch

representing a road leading from a country, viz. Babylon, and

dividing at a certain spot into two roads, one of which leads to

Rabbath-Aramon, the

capital of the

kingdom of the Ammonites,

the other to Judah, into Jerusalem.

for the

He

is

to

draw the ways

coming

(*^^37)

of the sword of the king of Babylon.

is

At
dig

the fork of the road he

S"J3 signifies in

to

engrave a hand, T,

i.e.

an index.

the Piel to cut

xxiii.

away (Josh.

xvii. 15, 18), to

or

hew (Ezek.
to

47), here to engrave written characters in

selection of this

hard material.

The

word shows

that Ezekiel

was

sketch the ways upon some

tile (of.
i.e.

hard material, probably a

brick or

eh. iv. 1).

T}/].

1J

does not

mean

locus spatium, but

i.e.

a hand,

an index.

^^'"'j

the beginning of the road,

CHAP. XXI. 18-22.

the fork of the road (ch. xvi. 25),
it is

297

is

explained in ver. 21, where

as the roads

called

'H"?.'!]']

2*?,

mother of the road, inasmuch

start

from the point of separation, and

"^^V
T]i"n,

^''Di'nn '<y^ C"N"i,

begin-

ning of the two roads.

the road to a city.

For Babthe

hath-Ammon, which

is

preserved in the ruins of

Amman, on

Upper Jabbok (^Nalir Ammdii), see the comm. on Deut. iii. 11. The road to Judah is still more precisely defined by D^^T'li
nniV3, into fortified Jerusalem, because the conquest of

Jerusalem
omission

was the purpose of Nebuchadnezzar's expedition.

of the article before
ni^i^fa

The

may be

explained from the nature of

the participle, in which, even in prose, the article

out after a definite noun (cf. Ewald,

335a).
of

may be left The drawing is

is

explained in vers. 21 and 22.

The king

Babylon

halting

p^y, to stand still, stop) to consult his oracles, and inquire which of the two roads he is to take. DDp Dbp^ to take in hand,
or practise divination.

In order that he may proceed

safely,

he

avails himself of all the

means

of divination at his

command.

He On

shakes the arrows (more

the practice itself

strictly,

the quiver with the arrows).

:

Jerome

writes as follows

" tie consults

the oracle according to the custom of his nation, putting his

arrows into a quiver, and mixing them together, with the names
of individuals inscribed or stamped

upon them,
be

to see

whose
^

arrow

will

come

out,

and which

state shall

first

attacked."

He
and

consults the Teraphim, or Penates, worshipped as oracular

deities

and gods of good fortune

Biblical Archaeology,

(see the

comm. on Gen.
is

xxxi. 19

my

90).
deities
liver.

Nothing

known

con-

cerning the

way

in

which these
examines the

were consulted and gave

their oracles.

He

The

practice of rjiraro-

The arrow-lot (Belomantie) of the ancient Greeks (Homer, II. iii. 32-i, 182, 183) was similar to this; also that of the ancient Arabs (vid. Pococke, SpeciiJi. hist. Arab. pp. 327 sqq., and the passages from Nuweiri quoted by Reiske, Samml. einiger Arab. Sprichicorter von den Stecken oder Another kind, in which the lot was obtained by shooting Staben, p. 21). off the arrows, was common according to the Fihrist el Ulum of En-Nedim among the Hananian Ssabians (see Ghwolsohn, Ssabier, ii. pp. 26 and 119,
'

vii.

200.

298

THE TROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

which signs of good or bad luck, of the

CKOTTia, extispicium, in

success or failure of any enterprise, were obtained from the

peculiar condition of the liver of the sacrificial animals, was a
species of divination to

which great importance was attached

(vlcL

by both the Babylonians

(Cicero, de divin. vi. 13),

Diod. Sic.

ii.

29) and the

Romans

and of which
p.

traces were found, accord-

ing to Barhebr. Chron.

of

125, as late as the eighth century

the

the

Christian

era

among

Ssabians of Haran.

The

divination resulted in a decision for Jerusalem,

is not " in his right hand was," but "into his right to be translated

n^n SyiTi:

hand there came."

does not
is

r\\r\

-.

ijivero

(LXX.),

^^33

(Chald.), DDi?
Dv'f^i'

mean

lot (Ges.),

but soothsaying, divination.

the form of a noun in

connected with this

:

in

apposirisht

tion

the divination which indicated Jerusalem.

is

The

hand

the more important of the two.

words cannot be more precisely

The meaning of defined, because we are

;

the

not

acquainted with the kind of divination referred to

even

if

we
this

were

to take the

words as simply relating to the arrow in

sense, that

an arrow with the inscription "Jerusalem" came

into his right hand,

and thus furnished the

decision,

which was

afterwards confirmed by consulting the Teraphim and examining

the liver.

But

the circumstance

itself,

that

is to say,

the fact

that the divination coincided with the purpose of

God, must

not be taken, as Havernick supposes, as suggesting a point of

contact between Hebraism and the soothsaying of heathenism,

which was peculiar

All that
is

to Ezekiel or to the time of the captivity.

is,

proved by this fact

that even heathenism

is

is

subject

to the rule

and guidance of Almighty God, and

In the words,

vient to the accomplishment of the plans of

and'

made subserboth His kingdom

is

His

salvation.

to set battering rams, etc.,

the substance of the oracle obtained by Nebuchadnezzar

more minutely given.

of Jerusalem, as
verse (ch.
iv.

It is

a double one, showing what he

i.e.

is

to do: viz. (1) to set battering rams,

still
;

to

proceed to the siege

last portion of

further described in the

the

2)

and (2)

to raise the war-cry for

storming the

CHAP. XXI. 23-27.

city, that is to say, to take

299

it

by storm.
;

The two

clauses

'lJ1

nriap

and

'l3'>

C^C? are synonymous

they are not " pure tautology,"

however, as Ilitzig affirms, but are chosen for the purpose of

giving greater emphasis to the thought.
creates

The

expression ny^2

some

difficulty,

inasmuch

as tlie phrase " ut operiat os

in

in caede " (Vulg.), to

open the mouth

is

murder or

ruin,

i.e.

to

put to death or lay in ruins,

a very striking one, and could

hardly be justified as an " energetic expression for the battle-

cry" (Hiivernick).
the intention,
all

2 does not mean "to," and cannot indicate

the less because nTi3
is

parallel to

Wiri?,

where nyinn
itself.

is

that in which the raising of the voice expresses

is

There

nothing

left

then but to take

n^*">

in the sense

of field- or war-cry, and to derive this

or,

meaning

either

from n^n

per metathesin, from nny.

Vers. 23-27. This announcement will appear to the Judaeans,

indeed, to be a deceptive divination, but nevertheless
verified,
it

will

be
;

Ver. 23. And

it is like

deceptive divination in their eyes

;

sacred oaths are theirs

rememh7'ance, that they
saith the

(lit.

to

them)

hid he brings the iniquity to

may

he taken.

Ver. 24. Therefore thus

hrancCy

Lord Jehovah, Because ye hring your iniquity to rememin that your offences are made manifest, so that your sins
all

appear in

your deeds, because ye are remembered ye shall he

Ver. 25.
is

taken loith the hand.

And thou pierced one,

sinner, prince

of Israel, ivhose day

come

at the time of the final transgression,

Ver. 26. 2'hus saith

the

the

Lord Jehovah, The turban ivill

is

be removed,

crown taken

off.

This

not this

the low will be lifted up,

and

the lofty loivered.

xcill

Ver. 27. Overthrown, overthrown, overthroivn

till

I make

it ;

even this shall not he,

He

cometh,

to

ichom
is

is

the right, to

Him do I give it. In ver. 23

by DiTrya^

(28), Dn?,

which

more
the

precisely defined

refers to the Israelites,

i.e.

Judaeans.

This also applies to the following DHP, which cannor

possibly be taken as referring to a different subject, say, for

example, the Chaldeans.

It

is

evident, therefore, that

it

is

impossible to sustain the rendering given in Gesenius' Thesaurus

(s.r.)

to

the

obscure words

nSv^^ "yf^,

viz.

qui juramenta

300
jurarunt
eis
(sc.
:

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Chaldaeis), which

Maurer has modified and

;

expounded thus

" they will not fear these auguries

is

tliey will

swear oaths to them (the Chaldeans), that

to say, accordinfr

to their usual custom, these truce-hreakers will take fresh oaths,

hoping that the Chaldeans

over, the thought itself
is

will

be conciliated thereby."

Moresuch

an unsuitable one, inasmuch as " the

defiant attitude

of

confidence with which they looked

awfully threatening danger in the face must have had some

other ground than a reliance upon false oaths and Chaldean

credulity"

(Havernick).

The common
is,
''

explanation,

wliich

Rosenmiiller and Kliefoth uphold,

are sworn
allies,

because the Chaldeans

sworn confederates of theirs;" or as Kliefoth

explains

it,

" on account of the oath of fealty or vassalage

sworn by Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar, they have sworn confederates in the Chaldeans,

and relying upon

this,

they are

confident that they have no hostile attack to fear from them."

But

this is altogether untenable,

not only because

still

it is

perfectly
for the

arbitrary to supply " the Chaldeans," but

more

reason adduced by Maairer.

" How," he justly asks, " could the

Judaeans despise these auguries because the Chaldeans were

bound
faith 1

to

them by an oath when they themselves had

a treaty has been violated by one party,

bi'oken
is

When

not

the other released from his oath?"

We

therefore adopt the

same explanation
them),
i.e.

as

Havernick

" oaths of oaths are theirs (to

the most sacred oaths are (made) to them, namely,

by God."
to

They

rely

upon

that

which

God

has solemnly sworn

them, without considering upon what

this

promise was con-

ditional,

namely, upon a faithful observance on their part of the

of God.

commandments
side of riiync'

For

the fact

itself,

compare

ch. xx. 42,

and such passages

as Ps. cv. 9 sqq., etc.

The form

''V.y^

by the

may

be explained in a very simple way from the

i.e.

relation of the construct state,

from the endeavour

state,

to secure

an obvious form for the construct

case

and cannot

in

any

furnish

well-founded

argument against the

correct-

ness of our explanation.

As Ezekiel

uses D'V"?? ^or nit'DJ in ch.

CHAP. XXL
xiii.

23-27.

301
(^VT^)

20, he

may

also

have formed

D""!??*^"

by the

side of

niV3^'._As they rely upon the promises of God without reflecting upon their own breach of covenant, God will bring their
sin to

remembrance through His judgment,

rely.
|iy

i^^ni is

Jehovah,

upon whose oaths they

the wrong-doing of

must not be

restricted to

Zedekiah's breach of covenant, since ver. 24 clearly shows that

it is

Judah

generally.

i/'3nn^ in ver.

24 (29)
is

is

also to be understood of the

whole nation, which

to be

taken and punished by the king of Babylon.

introduces the reason for the statement
of ver. 23 (28).

For

ver.

24 (29)

made

in the last clause

put the people in remembrance of their iniquity by inflicting punishment, because they have called
it

God must
sins

to

remembrance by
to

committed without any shame, and

thereby have, so to speak, compelled

God
(*29)

to

remember them,

and

cause the sinners to be grasped by the hand of the

fiV

slayer.

i^arn

is

used in ver. 24

in a different sense
'i:i

from

ver.

23
is

(28),

and

is

therefore explained by

n)bin2.
in ver.

^?3, which

indefinite in itself, points

its

back to

J"?.in

11 (16), and receives from that

more exact

definition.

less

With ver. 25 the address turns to the chief sinner, the godKing Zedekiah, who was bringing the judgment of destrucupon the kingdom by
hhn^ Vf},

tion

his faithless

breach of oath.

The

words

and

'b'^

N^'^J

are aspidela, co-ordinate to one

another.

7^n does

not

mean profane
slain.

or infamous

(jSe^rjXe,
is

LXX.),

but simply pierced,

This
is

This meaning

to

be

retained here.

demanded not only by the of the language, but also by the relation in which
D^i'C'i ^^^^n

fixed usage

hhn stands

29 (34). It is true that Zedekiah was not pierced by the sword either at that time or afterwards, but was simply blinded and led in captivity to Babylon, where he died. But all that follows from this is, that
in ver.

both to ver. 14 and to

used here in a figurative sense, given up to the sword, i.e. to death and Zedekiah is so designated for the purpose of
is
;

?7n

announcing
fate.

in a

more energetic manner the certainty

term
b'?n is

of his

The

selection of the

the more natural, because

303

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

throughout the whole prophecy the description of the judg-

ment takes its character from the

figure of the

sword of Jehovah.
''^n

As God

does not literally wield a sword, so

ioi^,

is

no proof of

actual slaying with the sword,

struction (cf. 1

his day,

is

the day of his de-

Sam. xxvi.
end,

10), or of the

judgment upon him. The

time of the

final trans2;ression is
its
i.e. its

not the time

when

the transpires-

sion reaches

completion, but the time

when the

wickedness brings the end,

for
}'i^

i.e.

destruction (cf. ch. xxxv. 5, and

in this sense, ch. vii. 2, 3).

is

The

fact that the end, the

is

destruction,

come,

i.e. is

close at hand,

announced
which

in ver.

26

to the prince,

and

in his person to the

whole nation.
is

If

we

understand the

connection in

this

vvay,

naturally

suggested by ver. 256, w^e get rid of the objection, which led
Kliefoth to question the fact that
in ver. 25a,
it is

the king

who

is

addressed

and

to take the

words as

collective,

" ye slaughtered

sinners, princes of Israel,"

to the entire

and to understand them as referring

body of

rulers, including the priests,

an
.
.

explana(tliou

tion that is completely upset

.
.

by the words

^"1''^

nnx

prince),

which are so entirely opposed to the

collective
viz.

view.

Again, the remark that " what follows in ver. 26,

the statement to be

made

to the

N'''^^,

has really nothing to do

with him, since the sweeping away of the priesthood did not
affect

Zedekiah personally" (Kliefoth),

is

neither correct nor

conclusive.

For

ver.

26 contains an announcement not only of

the abrogation of the priesthood, but also of the destruction of

the kingdom, which did affect Zedekiah both directly and personally.

Moreover, we must not

isolate the

king addressed,
or,

even as an individual, from the position which he occupied,

at

any

rate,

which he ought

to

have occupied as a theocratic

monarch, so as to be able to say that the abrogation of the

priesthood did not affect him.

The

priesthood was one of the

fundamental

pillars

of the theocracy, the removal of which

would
state,

necessarily be followed

by the

collapse

of the divine

and therefore by the destruction of

it

the
is

monarchy.
mentioned

Hence

is

that the abolition of the priesthood

CHAP. XXL

23-27.

303
imperatives)
T'pn

first.

The

infinitives

absolute

(not

and

C'ln are selected for the purpose of expressing the truth in

the most emphatic

D^"]n,

manner

and the verbs are synonymous.

to lift up,
Ivii.

i.e.

not to elevate, but to take away, to abolish,

viii.

as in Isa.

14; Dan.

11.
Ixii. 3,

nwyp

does not

mean

the

royal diadem, like T?V' "^ Isa.

priest, as it

but the tiara of the high

does in every instance in the Pentateuch, from

'^^9^'^,

which Ezekiel has taken the word.

the king's crown.

The diadem
removal
is

of the priest

and the regal crown are the insignia

of the offices of high priest

and king

and consequently

their

the abolition of both high-priesthood and monarchy.

These words contain the sentence of death upon the theocracy,

of

which the Aaronic priesthood and the Davidic monarchy

constituted the foundations.

They predict not

when
the

merely a tem-

porary, but a complete abolition of both offices and dignities

and

their

fulfilment took place

kingdom of Judah
earthly sovereignty
after the captivity
like

was destroyed by the king of Babylon.

of the house of

The

David was not restored again

and the high-priesthood of the

restoration,

the second

temple, was only a shadowy outline of the glory and essential

features of the high-priesthood of Aaron.

As

the ark with the

Shechinah, or the gracious presence of God, was wanting in the

temple of Zerubbabel
;

so

were the Urim and

Thummim

want-

ing to the high-priesthood, and these were the only means by

which the high

priest could really

carry out the mediation

iib Tail

between the Lord and the people,

nsr

(this is
riNT

not this)
neuter,

does not refer to the tiara (mitre) and crown.

is

and therefore construed with the masculine

and crown)
continue,
will not be this (n^n
is it

^^'^.

This (mitre
i.e.

prophetic),

it

will not

it will

be

all

over with

(Havernick, Maurer, and

Kliefoth).

To

this there is

appended the further thought, that

take place.

a general inversion of things will

This

is

the
lofty

meaning
lowered.

of the words
TSiL'

the low

will

be

lifted up,

and the

and

^''^'^V

are infinitives, and are chosen in the

same sense

as in the first hemistich.

The form

'"^f'?'^'!',

with n

304
without the tone,

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

is

masculine

the

probably serving merely

to

to give greater fulness to the form,

and

make
is

it

correspond
still

more nearly to
more

lii^jr;.^

This
;

general thought
i^)V,

expressed

definitely In ver. 27a.

which
is

is

repeated twice to give

^)V,

greater emphasis to the thought,

inversion, overthrow

noun derived from

'^3n''b'S

and the

suffix in

points back to

DNT in ver. 26 (31).

This, the existing state, the high-priestwill I

hood and the monarchy,

overthrow.

make

into destruction, or utterly

But

the following DNI cannot also refer to the tiara

and crown,
precedes
tioned.
or, as
it.

as Kliefoth supposes,

on account of the

D3
last

which

This shows that nXT relates to the thing

this,

men-

Even

the overthrow, shall have no durability

it,

Tanch. has correctly expressed

neqiie haec conditio erit

itself

durahilis.
tliis last

The

following N3"^J? attaches

not so

much
is

to

clause as to the

main thought
is

overthrow upon over:

throw
rest,

will

ensue.

The thought
all

this

" nowhere

there

nowhere security;

things are in a state of flux

till tlie

coming of the great Restorer and Prince

berg).
It
is

of peace " (Hengsten-

generally acknowledged that the

words N3"ny
10, Ni3; ^3 ny
tiie

tOB'fbn i^-ntJ'K contain

Tb^\^
;

an

allusion to

Gen.

xlix.

and

it is

only by a false interpretation of

preceding

clauses,

wrung from

the words by an arbitrary alteration of

is

the text, that Hitzig

^

able to set this connection aside.

At

Hitzig has given a most preposterous exposition of this verse.

Taking

the words i^DH and D''in as antithetical, in the sense of removing and

and regarding the clauses as questions signifying, " Shall the high-priesthood be abolished, and the
exalting or sustaining in an exalted position,
real dignity, on the contrary, remain

untouched?" he

finds the answer to

these questions in the words DNT NP nxT (this, not this).

in his opinion, an aflirmation of
tlie

They contain,

former and a negation of the latter. But he does not tell us how riXf vh riXT without a verb can possibly mean, " the former (the abrogation of the high-priesthood) will take place,

but the

monarchy) will not occur." And, " the low shall be lifted up," etc., is said to contain simply a watchword, which is not for the time being to be followed by any result. Such trifling needs no refutation. We simply ol)serve, therefore, that there is no ground for the assertion, that D''"in without }d cannot
latter (the exaltation of the
finally, the last clause,

possibly signify to abolish.

CHAP. XXI. 28-32.

the same time, tasc'Dn ib'i^'X

305

is

of course not to be taken as a

nS*^, but is simply a theo-

philological explanation of the

word

logical interpretation of the patriarchal prophecy, with direct

reference to the predicted destruction of the existing relations

in consequence of the ungodliness

and unrighteousness of the

t2^^Bn
in
is

leaders of the theocracy

rightful claim to the mitre
sense, as belonging to
to the earthly

up

to

that time.

not the

and crown, but right

(Deut.
i.

an objective

God

17),

and entrusted by God

government as His representative.

He

then, to
it, is

whom

this right belongs,

and

to

whom God

will give

the

Messiah,

of

whom

the

prophets

from the times of David

onwards have prophesied as the founder and restorer of perfect

right on earth (cf. Ps. Ixxii.
xxxiii. 17).
;

Isa. ix. 6, xlii. 1

is

Jer.

xxiii. 5,

The

suffix

attached to VnriJ

not a dative, but an

accusative, referring to t2Q^D (cf. Ps. Ixxii. 1).

There was no
would

necessity to mention the person again

to

whom God

give the right, as

vious expression

He

had already been designated

in the pre-

i? 1??'^.

Vers. 28-32. Overthrow of the

thou, son of

Ammonites. Ver.
saith the

28.

And

man, prophesy and say, Thus

Lord Jehovah,
sword,
it

concerning the sons of

sword, drawn
flash
!

to slay, polished, that

Ammon, and concerning their scorn, it may devour, that

to thee,

may

Ver. 29. While they prophesy deceit

while they

divine lying to thee,

slain,

it shall lay thee by the necJcs of the sinners whose day cometh at the time of the final transgression.

Ver. 30. Pat

it in its

scabbard again.

toast created, in the

land of thy birth will

thee,

And

pour out

my

anger upon

At the place where thou I judge thee, Ver. 31. kindle the fire of my wrath

against thee,
smitlis

of destruction.
;

devour

hand of foolish men, of Ver. 32. Thou shall be for the fire to thy blood shall remain in the midst of the land ; thou
give thee into the
;

and

shalt be

remembered no more
in

for

Jehovah have spoken

it.

is

As Judah

Jerusalem
all

will fall

by the sword of the king of

;

Babylon, contrary to

expectation

so will the

Ammonites

be punished for their scorn with utter extermination, nsnn EZEK. I. u

306

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

G,

scorn at the overthrow of Israel (cf. ch. xxv. 3,

ii.

and Zeph.
nmnSj
is

8).

The sword

is

already drawn against them.

taken out of the scabbard, as in Ps. xxxvii. 14.

n2D?
accents,

to

be connected
7'3np with

with nmnSj notwithstanding

the

and

ncno.

This

is

required by the correspondence of

!"i3

the clauses.

''''^^ is

regarded as a derivative of

by Ewald

and

others, in the sense of ad siistineiidum, according to capa-

city, i.e. as

much

as possible.

But the

adverbial rendering

is

opposed to the context, and cannot be sustained from

xxiii.

ch.
to

32.

Moreover,

713,

to contain, is applicable

enough

goblets and other vessels, but not to a sword.

Hitzig therefore
i.e.

explains
blind.

it

from the Arabic

this is

J^,

to blunt (sc. the eyes),

to

But

open

to the objection that the

;

form

?"'3n

points to the verb

one,

namely,

Ss

rather than b73

is

and

also to a

still

greater

that there
in

nothing in the Hebrew usage to

this,

suggest the use of 7?2

such a sense as
it

and even

if

it

were used in the sense of blunting,

trary to supply
D]'3^y
;

would be perfectly arbi-

and

lastly,

that even the flashing of the

is

sword does not suggest the idea of blinding, but

intended to

heighten the terror occasioned by the sharpness of the sword.

We
in 2

therefore adhere to the derivation of

it

?''3n

from

73X,

and

regard

as a

defective form for

^''^^\},

like

^ipri
^[}^\

for ^lONH
(Isa. xiii.

Sam.

xix. 14, ?n^ as

syncopated form for

2 Sam. xx. 9
it
fit
;

20), and

inJ^l

for Jn^i^l in
i.e.

literally, to

cause

it

to eat or devour,

to

make

for the

work

of devouring.

PI? ]V^?, literally, for the sake of the lightning (flash) that shall
issue therefrom (cf. ver. 10).

In
of

ver.

29 (34),

riri7

(to

lay,

or

place)
;

is

also

dependent upon
first

nnins nnn^ drawn to lay

verse
is

thee

so that

the

half

the

inserted as a

parenthesis,

either to

indicate the occasion

for bringing the

sword into the land (Hitzig), or to introduce an attendant

circumstance, according to the sense in which the 3 in niina
taken.
is

The

parenthetical clause

is

understood by most of the

commentators as referring

to deceptive oracles of

Ammonitish

CHAP. XXI.

28-22.

307

soothsayers, which either determined the policy of

Hitzig supposes
ites

(cf.

Jer. xxvii. 9, 10), or inspired the

Ammon, as Ammon-

with confidence, that they had nothing to fear from the

Chaldeans.

KHefoth, on the other hand, refers the words to

the oracles consulted by Nebuchadnezzar, according to ver. 23. " These oracles, which directed the king not to
the Ammonites, but
against

march against

Jerusalem,

proved themselves,

according to ver. 29, to be deceptive prophesying to the

ites,

Ammon;

inasmuch as they

also afterwards fell

by the sword

just as,

according to ver. 23, they proved themselves to be genuine so

far as the Israelites were concerned, inasmuch as they were
really the first to be smitten."

This view

is

a very plausible

one,

if it

only answered in any degree to the words.

But

it is

hard

to believe that the words,

" while

it

(one) prophesies falseits

hood

to thee," are
itself to

meant

to

be equivalent to "while

prophecy

proves

be false to thee."

]Moreover, Nebuchadnezzar
oracle, either false or true,

did not give the

Ammonites any
march

by

the circumstance that his divination at the cross-road led

to decide in favour of the to

him

Jerusalem

for all that he

did in

consequence was to postpone his designs

to

upon the

Ammonites, but not

relinquish them.

We

cannot under-

stand the words in any other sense, therefore, than as relating

to oracles,

their

own.

which the Ammonites received

fi'om soothsayers of
it

Hitzig takes offence at the expression, " that

(the sword)
slain,"

may

lay thee

by

(to) the necks

of the sinners

because colla cannot stand for corpora decoUata, and

"n^^i^

consequently proposes to alter

into nniX^ to put

it

(the

sword) to the necks.

less striking

But by

this conjectui'e

he gets the not

thought, that the sword was to be put to the necks

;

of those already slain

a thing which would be perfectly un-

meaning, and
slain

is

therefore not generally done.

are the Judaeans

to

who have
fate to the
2C'n
:

fallen.

The sinners The words point

repeated here,
It
its
is

back

ver.

25, the second half of

which

is

and predict the same

to supply 3"in to
"^)J'^!!>"^^?

Ammonites.

easy

put the sword into

scabbard

308
again.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Tliese words can only be addressed to the

Ammonites

not to the Chaldeans, as Kliefoth imagines, for the latter does not harmonize in any

way with what

follows, viz. in the place of

thy birth

will I

judge thee.

God

does not execute the judg-

ment independently
of
their sword.

of the Chaldeans, but through the

difficulties

medium
the

The

occasioned by taking

words as referring

to the

Ammonites

are not so great as to

necessitate an alteration of the text (Hitzig), or to call for the

arbitrary explanation

put

it

now

or for the present into the

scabbard (Kliefoth).

The
^Hi^^,

use of the masculine ^^'^ (with

Patach for y^^, as in

Isa. xlii. 22), if

Ammon

is

addressed by

the side of the feminine

may

be explained in a very simple

is

way, from the fact that the sword

carried by
is

men,

so that

here the thought of the people, the warriors,

predominant,

and the representation of the kingdom of the Ammonites as a

woman

falls

into the background.

The

objection that the

suffix in ^"ly^

can only refer to the sword (of the Chaldean)

is

mentioned

in ver. 28,

more

plausible than conclusive.

For

inasmuch

as the scabbard presupposes a sword,

and every sword

has a scabbard, the suffix

may be

fully accounted for

its

from the

thing

itself,

as the words, " put the sword into to think at

scabbard,"

would lead any hearer

once of the sword of the

person addressed, without considering whether that particular

sword had been mentioned before or not.

The meaning

of the

words

Is

this

every attempt to defend thyself with the sword

will

and avert destruction

be in vain.
the

In thine own land

will

God judge

thee.
is

For
still
is

^*ni"i3p, see

comm. on
fire

ch. xvi. 3.

This judgment

further explained in ver. 31, where the

figure of the sword

dropped, and that of the

n"'DX
. .
.

of the wrath
:

of

God introduced
of

in its place.

:^X3,

we render

" the

fire

my

wrath I blow (kindle) against thee," after

fire
;

Isa. llv. 16,

and not " with the

as others

... do I blow, or snort, against thee,"

fire is

have done

because blowing with the

an un-

natural figure, and the interpretation of the words in accordance

with Isa.

I.e. is all

the

more

natural, that la the closing words of

CHAP. XXII.
the verse,
^l^'^^" '''^1^,

309
is

the allusion to that passage

indisputable,

and

it is

only from this that the combination of the two words

for.

can be accounted
of D^l^s.
Isa. XXX.

Different explanations have been given

it

Some render
27
:

ardentes,

and

in accordance
is

with

burning with wrath.

But 1^2

never used in
(Kliefoth)

this sense.

Nor can the rendering

e.g.

" scorching

men"

be sustained, for 1^3, to burn, only occurs in connection with

things which are combustible,
fire,

pitch, coals, etc.

7,

The

word must be explained from Ps.

always bearing in mind that the

xcii.

" brutish," foolish,

Hebrew

associated the idea of

its

godlessness with folly, and that cruelty naturally follows in

train.

Ver. 32. Thus will

Ammon

perish through fire and

sword, and even the

compare
in

ch. xv. 4.

memory of it be obliterated. For ver. 32a The words, " thy blood will be p.?'^ ^^^?
all

the midst of the land," can hardly be understood in any

the land."

other sense than " thy blood will flow over

the rendering

For

proposed by Ewald, " remain in the midst of

the earth, without thy being mentioned," like that given

Kliefoth, " thy blood
will the earth drink," does not

by

harmonize

with ch. xxiv.

7,

where

n^n nsina

r\m

is

affirmed of blood,
dust.

which cannot penetrate into the earth, or be covered with

For

''"}?W,

see ch. xxv. 10.

Ammon

as the

enemy

of the king-

dom

of

God

will utterly perish, leaving

no trace behind, and

without any such hope of restoration as that held out in ver.

27 to the kingdom of Judah or the people of

Israel.

CHAP. XXII. THE SINS OF JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL.

To
which

the prediction of the

judgment

in ch. xxi. there is

appended

another description of the sins of Jerusalem and Israel, by

this

judgment

is

occasioned.

The chapter

contains

three words of

God, which are connected together both in

viz. (1)

substance and design,

The
to

blood-guiltiness

and idolatry
city

of Jerusalem accelerate the

will

coming of the days when the

all

be an object of scorn

the world

(vers.

1-16);

310
(2)

niE PROPHECIES OF EZERIEL.

The house

of Israel has

become

dross,
;

and

is

to

be melted

in the fire of tribulation

(vers.

17-22)

(3) All

ranks of the

kingdom
23-31).

prophets, priests, princes, and people

are thoroughly
(vers.

corrupt, therefore has the

judgment burst upon them

Vers. 1-16. Blood-guiltiness of Jerusalem and the burden of

its

sins.

Vers. 15 contain the principal accusation relating

to bloodshed
tiie

and idolatry; and and

1.

vers.

6-16 a further account of

sins of the people

their rulers, with a brief threatening

the

of punishment.

Ver.
A nd

And

word of Jehovah came

to

me,
thou

mying, Ver.
judge the
city

2.

thou, son

of man, wilt thou judge ?

?

xoilt

of blood-guiltiness

then shoiv

it

all its abominations,

Ver.

3.

And say. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah,

it,

City,

which sheddeth
idols

blood in the midst of

ivithin
itself

that her time

may
4.

come,

and maketh

for defilement.

Ver.

Through thy blood

ichich

thou hast shed hast thou

idols

made
to

thyself guilty,

and through
make

thine

which thou hast made hast thou defied

thyself,

and hast draivn

thee a

thy days near,

and hast come and

thy years

therefore 1

scorn

to the nations,

ridicule to all lands.

Ver.

5.

Those near

and

those

far

off from thee shall ridicule thee as defiled in

name,

rich in confusion.

The

expression

'iJI

'^JSK'nn

proves this ad-

dress to be a continuation of the reproof of Israel's sins, which

commenced

in ch. xx. 4.

The

epithet city of blood-guiltiness,

ill.

as in ch. xxiv. 6, 9

(compare Nah.

1), is

explained in ver.

3.

The

apodosis

commences with

i^^y"liiT!,

and

is

continued in ver. 3

(rnoxi).

nriy
:

NUp, that her time,

i.e.

her time of punishment,

^'^^'V\
is

may come
'Ivy, of

^^V, like iDV in ch. xxi. 30.

not a conJ^3-?b'.

tinuation of

the infinitive Ni37, but of

the

participle

which different renderings have been given, does not

itself," i.e. as
;

mean " over

(Iliivernick)

a burden with which

itself" (Hitzig), a
i.e.

it

has laden

itself

still

less

"for

meaning which ^V
covering the city

never has, but

with
it,

literally

" upon,"

in itself,

as

it

were.
is

''^^liPJiil,

thou hast brought near, brought on

thy days, that

to,

to say, the days of

sc.

judgment, and hast come

arrived at thy years,

the years of visitation and punish-

CHAP. XXII.
nient (cf. Jer.

6-12.

311
is

xl.

23).

This meaning
defiled,

readily supplied

by

the context.

QtJ'n

nxDD

unclean with regard to the

name,

i.e.

having forfeited the name of a holy city through

capital crimes

and other

sinful abominations,

nainp
iii.

is

internal

confusion, both moral and religious, as in

Iv.

Amos

9 (cf. Ps.

10-12).

In
sins

vers.

6-12 there follows an enumeration of a multitude of

in Jerusalem.

which had been committed

Ver.
to his

6.

Behold,

the princes of Israel are every

to

07ie,

according

arm^ in thee

shed blood.

Ver.

7.

Father and mother they despise in thee

;

toicard the fottiyner they act violently in the midst of thee

orphans

and widows

they oppress in thee.

Ver.

8.

Thou
9.

despisest

my

holy things, and desecratest

in thee to shed blood,

my

Sabbaths.

Ver.
the

Slanderers are

and

they eat

upon

mountains in thee;
s

they practise lewdness in thee.

Ver. 10. They uncover the father

nakedness in thee; they ravish the defiled in her uncleanness in

thee.

Ver. 11.
s

And

one committeth abomination icith his neighhis daughter-in-law

bour

wife,

and another defleth

by

incest,
thee.

and

the third ravisheth his sister, his father''s

gifts

daughter in

Ver. 12. They take

usury thou
takest,

in

thee

to

shed blood; interest and

and

overreachest thy neighbours icith violence,

and thou

forgettest me, is the saying

of

the

Lord Jehovah.
blood (vers.
6,

9,

By
and

the repetition of the refrain, to shed

12), the enumeration
in the
is

divided into three groups of sins,

which are placed

category of blood-guiltiness by the fact

that they are preceded by this sentence

it

and the repetition of

group
(vers.

after the

form of a

refrain.

The

first

6-8)

embraces
the

sins

which are committed

in daring opposition to all

laws of morality.

By

the

princes of

Israel

we

are

to

understand primarily the profligate kings, who caused innocent

})ersons to

be put to death, such, for example, as Jehoiakim

xxiv. 4),

(2

Kings

Manasseh
B'>*

(2

Kings
and

xxi. 16),

and

others.

The words vn STsh

are rendered by Hitzig

;

and Kliefoth,
^'^

they were ready to help one another

dering they appeal to Ps.
Ixxxiii. 9.

in support of the renin that case SVhf?

But

312
would Stand
tion

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

for C^>'
V'-\f?,

or rather for

\i^'i6 yiiT

tr^N, a substitu-

which cannot be sustained.

Nor can
alone,

they be taken in the

his

sense proposed
i.e.

by Havernick, every one relying upon

physical
i.e.

arm,

looking

to

force

but simply every one

according to his arm,

are they in thee.

according to his strength or violence,

In

this case

Vn does not require anything

to
9.

be supplied, any more than in the similar combination in ver.

Followed by

IV^p with

an

infinitive, it

means
In

to be there

with
to

the intention of doing anything, or

direct his efforts to a certain end.

making an attempt,
ver. 7
it

i.e.

is

not the
l?i?n is

princes

who

are the subject, but the ungodly in general.

the opposite of 133 (Ex. xx. 12).

In the reproofs which

xix.

follow,

compare Ex.

xxii.

20

sqq.

Lev.

13; Deut. xxiv. 14sqq.

is

With

insolence
all

and violence toward men there

is

associated con-

tempt of

that

holy.

For

ver. 86, see ch. xx. 13.

In the
Lev.

second group, vers. 9-11, in addition to slander and idolatry,

the crimes of lewdness and incest are the principal sins for

which the people are reproved

xviii.

and here the

allusion to

and

xix. is

very obvious.

The

reproof of slander also

16.

points back to the prohibition in Lev. xix.

Slander to

shed blood, refers to malicious charges and false testimony in a

court of justice {vid. 1 Kings xxi. 10, 11).

For eating upon

zimmdh
is

the mountains, see ch.

xviii.

6.

The

practice of

more
itself,

specifically described in vers.

10 and 11.
15 and
9.

For the thing

compare Lev.

xviii. 7, 8, xix.

The

threefold

K^'N in ver.

11 does not mean every one, but one, another, and

the third, as the correlative injn shows.

ver.

The
2
;

third

group,
first

12,

is

composed of

sins of in

covetousness.

For the

clause,

compare the prohibition

Ex.

xxiii.

for the second,

ch. xviii. 8, 13.

The

reproof finishes with forgetfulness of God,

which

is

closely allied to covetousness.

Vers. 13-16.

The Lord

is

enraged at such abominable doings.

to

He

will interfere,

and put an end

them by

scattering

among

the heathen.

Ver. 13. Andy behold^

smite mrj

Judah hand

because of thy gain ivhich thou hast made,

and over thy blood-

CHAP. XXII.

17-22.

313
Ver. 14. Will thy heart

guiltiness

which

is

in the midst

of

thee.

indeed stand jfirm, or will thy hands he strong for the day when
shall deal with thee ?

I
it.

1 Jehovah have spoken

it^

and

also

do

Ver. 15. 7 will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee
in the lands,

and

will utterly remove thine uncleanness

from
is

thee.

Ver. 16.

And

thou wilt be desecrated through thyself before the eyes

of the nations, and know that

I am

Jehovah.

Ver. 13

closely

connected with the preceding verse.

This serves to explain the

fact that the only sins mentioned as exciting the wrath of

God
^'y^_

are covetousness
xi.
f)3

and

blood-guiltiness.
is

^3 nan^ as

Kings
a

12

clearly shows,

a contracted expression for ^3

7K (ch. xxi. 19), and the smiting of the hands together

is

gesture indicative of wrathful indignation.

contracted from ^J^\ see the

For the form

"^^"n,

comm. on

ch.xvi. 45.

As

ver.

13

leads on to the threatening of judgment, so does ver. 14 point

in anticipation to the terrible nature of the

judgment

itself.

The

question, " will thy heart stand firm?" involves a warninof

"loy is the opposite of

against security.

D03

(cf. ch. xxi. 12),

as standing forms the antithesis to passing

l]nis nb'J?, as in ch. xvi.

away

(cf. Ps. cii. 27).

59 and

vii.

27.

The Lord

will scatter
sin,

them

(cf. ch. xii. 15, xx. 23),

and remove the uncleanness of

(cf. Isa. iv. 4).

namely, by purifying the people in exile

Dnn,

from Q^n, to cause

ri^nJ,

to cease, with jp, to take completely

away.

Niphal of
-'nj,

hhn^

connected with

D^iJ

V.''J^^,

as in ch. xx. 9,

not from

as

many

of the commentators
'^3,

who

follow the Sep-

tuagint and Vulgate suppose.

thee,
i.e.

not in

te,

in thyself,
its

but through

through thy sinful conduct and

consequences.

Vers. 17-22. Refining of Israel in the furnace of besieged

Jerusalem.
ing,

Ver.

17.

And

the

word of Jehovah came

tin,

to

me, sayto

Ver. 18. Son of man, the house of Israel has become

;

me

as dross

they are all brass,

silver

and

and

iron,

and

lead in the

furnace; dross of
thus saith the

have they become.

Ver. 19. Therefore

all

Lord Jehovah, Because ye have

become dross,

therefore, behold,

I gather you

together in Jerusalem.
brass,

Ver. 20.
lead,

As
tin

men

gather together silver,

and

and

iron,

and

and

314

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

upon
it

into the furnace, to blow the fire

for melting^ so

loill

gather (you) together in

and melt you.

the fire of

Ver. 21.

my anger and my wrath, and put you in And I will collect you together, and blow
that ye

my

wrath upon you,

may

be melted therein.

Ver, 22.
ilierein

As
(viz.

silver is melted in the furnace, so shall

ye be melted

in

Jerusalem), and shall learn that

have poured
rests

out

my
but

wrath upon you.

Jehovah

Tliis

second word of

God

no doubt upon the figure

;

in ver. 15^, of the

uncleanness

or dirt of sin
dirt, as
tlie

it is

not an exposition of the removal of the

predicted there.

For

that was to be effected through

dispersion of Israel

among

the nations, whereas the word of

God, from

ver. 17 onwards, represents the siege awaiting Jeru-

salem as a melting process, through which

God

will separate

the silver ore contained in Israel from the baser metals mingled

with

it.

In

ver.

18

it

commences with a
It

description of the

existing condition of Israel.

clearly a perfect,

has turned to dross,

vn

is

and

is

not to be taken as a prophetical future,

as Kliefoth proposes.

Such a rendering
]Vl

is

not only precluded

by the clause
verse, " all of Israel

'til

rirn

in ver. 19, but could only be

made

to

yield an admissible sense

by taking the middle clause of the

tin," etc., as a

them brass and

statement of what

had become, or

as a preterite in opposition to all the rules

of

Hebrew

syntax, inasmuch as this clause merely furnishes

an explanation of

3Wn.

jiD,

which only occurs here, for

literally,

rp

signifies dross,

not smelting-ore (Kliefoth),

rece-

danea, the baser ingredients which are mixed with the silver,

and separated from

where
it

it

by smelting.

This

is

the
as

meaning

here,

is

directly afterwards

interpreted
still

consisting of
D''3p

brass, tin, iron,

fip3,

and

lead,

and then

further defined as
lead, with a

dross of

silver, i.e. brass, tin, iron,

and

mixture

of silver.

Because

Israel

had turned
it

into silver-dross of this

kind, the
it

Lord would gather

and

together in Jerusalem, to smelt

there as in a smelting furnace; just as

tin in a

men

gather together

brass, iron, lead,

furnace to smelt them, or rather

*lp3 nvap^ literally, a

to separate the silver contained therein.

CHAP. XXII.

23-31.

315

collection of silver, etc., for " like a collection."

The

3 simil.

is

probably omitted for the sake of euphony, to avoid the discord

occasioned by prefixing
it

to

ri>'3i?.

Ezekiel mentions the silver

brass,

as well, because there is

iron, etc., or the dross
is

some

silver contained in the

silver-dross,
;

^wn^ nomen

verbale,

from

^n^ in the Hipliil, smelting

literally, as

the smelting of silver

is

takes place in the furnace.

The

smelting

treated here simply

as a figurative representation of

punishment, and consequently

the result of the smelting, namely, the refining of the silver by

the removal of the baser ingredients,

further, as
iii.

is

not referred to any

vi.

is

the case in Isa.

i.

22,

25; Jer.

27-30; Mai.
in

2, 3.

This smelting process was experienced by Israel

the last siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans.

Vers. 23-31.
is

The

corrupt state of
its

all classes in

the

kingdom

the immediate cause of

destruction.

Ver. 23.

And

the

tvord of Jehovah came to me, saying, Ver. 24. Son of man, say to it, Thou art a land which is not shined upon, nor rained upon
in
the

day of anger.
it ;

Ver. 25. Conspiracy of

lion,

its

prophets

is

within

like

a roaring

which rends in pieces the prey, they

;

devour soids, take possessions and money

they multiply

its

widows within
fane

it.

Ver. 26.
;

Its priests violate

my

law and pro-

my

holy things

they

make no

distinction between holy

and

unholy, and do not teach the difference betiveen clean and unclean,

and

they hide their eyes

from my Sabbaths, and 1 am profaned

Its princes

among them.
tvolves,

Ver. 27.

in the midst of

it

are like

which rend prey in pieces, that they

may

shed blood,

destroy souls, to acquire gain.

it

Ver, 28.
is

And its prophets plaster

and divining
lies

with cement, seeing ivhat

worthless,

for

them, saying, " Urns saith the

not spoken.

Ver. 29.
;

Lord Jehovah^^ when Jehovah hath The common people offer violence and
and
the poor,

commit

theft

they crush the wretched

and oppress
them for a

the foreigner against rigid.

Ver. 30.

/ seek among
it,

man who

might build a

tcall

and

step into the breach before

me

on behalf of the land, that I might not destroy

Ver. 31. Therefore I pour out

but

my

anger upon them;

I find none. I destroy

31G
them in
head,
is

THE PROPnECIES OF EZEKIEL.

the the

fire

of

my

wrath,

saying the

of the

J Lord

give their

Jehovah.
still

way upon To show

their

the
in

necessity

for

predicted

judgment

more

clearly,

the third
tion
is

word of God contained

in this chapter

a descripall

given of the spread of

deep corruption among

classes of the people,

and the impossibility of saving the king-

dom

is

plainly shown.

The words

n?""iOS, "

say unto her," are

taken by most of the commentators as referring to Jerusalem,

the abominations of which the prophet
is

commanded
this,

to declare.

But although the

clause,

*'

thou art a land,"

etc. (ver. 24),

could

unquestionably be

made

to

harmonize with

yet the words

of ver. 30, " I sought for a

man who might

stand in the gap

before Jehovah for the land," indicate most unquestionably that

this

word of God

is

directed against the land of Judah, and

consequently
follows, the
to

yO must

be taken as referring to p.^ which

pronoun

in this case being placed before the

noun

which

it

refers, as in

Num.

xxiv. 17.

Any

allusion to the

city of

Jerusalem would therefore be somewhat out of place,

as in the preceding
city,

inasmuch
to

word of God the object referred

here

was not the

but the house of Israel, or the nation

transition
is

generally,

from which a

made
r]

to the land, or
is

the kingdom of Judah.

question,
t^''^

The meaning
which
is

of ver. 24

a disputed
in

TJ'^^^ Np^

rendered

ov

/Spe^^ofjiivT)
it is

the Sept.,

is

taken by most of the expositors to mean, "

not

cleansed," the form nnnbp being correctly rendered as a participle

Pual of in^.

But

this

rendering does not furnish any

'"^^V?

appropriate sense, unless the following words

as a threat
:

^^ are taken

there shall not be rain, or

it

shall not
is

be rained

upon

in the

day of wrath.

But

this

view

hardly reconcilable

with the form of the word,

pointing with
as a

i^^fp,

according to the Masoretic

Mappik
Dk:'3.

in the n, is evidently

meant

to

be taken

noun

Dy'a =

In that case,

if

the words were intended

to contain a threat,

n'^ri^

ought not

to

be omitted.

But without

a verb the words contain a statement in

precedes.

We

regard the Chetib

HD'J'J

harmony with what as the perfect Pual

CHAP. XXII.
nDty3.

23-31.

317

And
is

let it

not be objected to this that the Pual of this

D^'3

verb

not met with elsewhere, for the form of the noun

else.

with the u sound does not occur anywhere

Pualj ncE'J N7
^'''?

As

a perfect

is

a simple continuation of the participial clause

"'"^C'^P

^i

containing like this an affirmation, and cannot

But " not a threat or prediction. " " cleansed " and not rained upon do not agree together, as
possibly

be taken as

rain
idea.

is

not a means of purification according to the Hebrew

It is true that in the
is

law the withdrawal or suspension

of rain

threatened as a punishment from God, and the pouris

ing out of rain

if

promised as a theocratical blessing.

But even

the words are taken in a tropical sense, as denoting a with-

drawal of the blessings of divine grace, they will not harmonize

with the other clause, " not cleansed."

We

therefore take

nnnbp

in the sense of " shined

upon by the
is

light," or provided

with brightness; a meaning which

sustained by Ex. xxiv. 10,

where tohar occurs

kindred word

in

the

sense of

splendour, and by

the

tzohar, light.

In

this

way we

obtain the suitable

thought, land which has neither sunlight nor rain in the day of

wrath,

i.e.

does not enjoy a single trace of the divine blessing,

but

is

given up to the curse of barrenness.

is

The

reason for this

threat

given in vers. 25 sqq., where a picture

all

is

drawn of the

moral corruption of

ranks;

viz.

of the prophets (ver. 25),

the priests (ver. 26), the princes (ver. 27), and the

common

people (ver. 29).

There

is

something very striking in the

allusion to the prophets in ver. 25, not so

mentioned again

in ver. 28,

for this

much because they are may be accounted for on

the ground that in the latter passage they are simply introduced
as false advisers of the princes,

as

on account of the statement

made concerning them

is

in ver. 25, namely, that, like lions tearetc.

;

ing their prey, they devour souls,

not given either in chap.
n''K"'33

a description

which

xiii.

or elsewhere.
n^^''^'^,

Hitzig there-

fore proposes to alter

a(})7]jovfMevoi

Into

after the rendering

given by the

LXX.

This alteration of the

is

text,

which confines

itself to

a single letter,

rendered very

" ;

318
plausible

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

by the
fact that almost the

same

is

affirmed of the

persons mentioned in ver. 25 as of the princes in ver. 27, and

that in the passage in
to the

Zephaniah

(iii.

3, 4),

which

is

so similar
it

one before

us, that
(v'"'']^*)

Ezekiel appears to have had

in his

mind, the princes

and the judges

(n^psb') are called the

prophets and the priests.

The CN^bO

here would correspond to

D'^DCb'.

the D'lf of Zephaniah, and the D'l^ to the

to ver. 6, the
D''S''r3

According

would indicate primarily the members of

would be the heads of

the royal

family, possibly including the chief officers of the

(ver. 27)
tribes,

crown

and the C")^

of families, and of fathers' houses, in whose hands the national

administration of jqstice principally lay (cf. Ex.

xviii.

19sqq.

Deut.

i.

13-18; and

my

Bill. Archdol.

ii.

149).

I therefore

prefer this conjecture, or correction, to the Masoretic reading,

although the latter

is

supported by ancient witnesses, such as the

i*'^"^??,

Chaldee with Jerome.

its

rendering

scribes,

and the version of

is

For the statement which the verse contains

not

applicable to prophets, and the best explanation given of the

Masoretic text

namely, that
;

by Michaelis, " they have made

in order that their authority

a compact with one another as to what kind of teaching they

would or would not give

and

may continue undisturbed, they persecute even to who do not act with them, or obey them, but rather
does not do
is

blood those contradict"

">*t;'p

justice to the words, but

'3J,

weakens
{i.e.

their sense.

not a predicate to
'2: is

" they are

form) a conspiracy
is

but

a genitive.

At

the same time, there

no necessity

to take IK'P in

the sense of " company," a rendering which

cannot be sustained.

The
is

fact that in

what

follows,

where the

comparison to lions

introduced, the WH'^li (D^N^bj) are the

subject, simply proves that in the first clause also these

men
is

actually form the prominent idea.

There

is
;

no ground for supbut the simile

to

plying ^^^ to 'w '1X3 (they are

like, etc.)

to

be linked on to the following clause.

1^3

t^D3 is

be explained
it

from the comparison

has captured

to a lion,

which devours the prey that

is

in its blood, in

which

the soul, or nephesh (Gen.

CHAP. XXII. 23-31.

319
is

ix.

Lev.

xvli.

11

sqq.).

The thought

this: in their insa-

tiable greed for riches they sacrifice

men and

put thera to death,

(for the fact, see

and thereby multiply the number of victims

chap. xix.
5,

7).

What

is

stated in ver.

26 concerning the
iii.

priests is simply a further expansion of

first

Zeph.

4,

where the
is

two clauses occur word for word

''^'}P,

for ^"Jp in

Zephaniah

really equivalent to

holy things and deeds.

The

desecra-

tion of the holy things consisted in the fact that they

distinction

made no

between sacred and profane, clean and unclean.

For the

fact,

compare Lev.

x. 10,

11.

Their covering their

permitting the

eyes from the Sabbaths showed

itself in their

Sabbaths to be desecrated by the people, without offering any

opposition
(cf.

Jer. xvii.

27).
is

The comparison
iii.

of the rulers
3.

(sdrim) to ravening wolves

taken from Zeph.

xiii.

For the

following clause, compare ver. 12 and ch.

souls to acquire gain
is

10.

Destroying

perfectly applicable to unjust judges,

xviii.

inasmuch

as,

according to Ex.
is

21, the judges were to hate

W?.
10, 9,

All that
is

affirmed in ver. 28 of the conduct of the false

xiii.

prophets

repeated for the most part verhatim from ch.

7.

and

By

D[i^,

which points back

to the three classes

of

men

already mentioned, and not merely to the sdriin, the

prophets are represented as helpers of those

who support the

from the

ungodly

in their

wicked ways, by oracles which assured them

P.^^"

of prosperity.
spiritual

^^

{ver.

29), as

distinguished

and secular

rulers of the nation, signifies the

their
sins

common

people.

With

reference to
;

and wickedness, see

against oppressing

ch. xviii. 7, 12, 18

and

for the

command

the poor and foreigners,

xxiv. 17.

compare Ex.
is

xxii. 20,

21

Deut.
is

The corruption
who could

so universal, that not a

man

to

be found
avert the

enter into the gap as a righteous man, or

his intercession.

judgment of destruction by

Dnp

refers not merely to the prophets,

who
all

did not enter into the the classes previously

gap according
mentioned.

to ch.

xiii. 5,

but to
it

At

the

same time,

does not follow from this, that

entering into the gap by means of intercession cannot be the

320

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

thing intended, as Hitzig supposes.

Y'}.^'}

The
is

expression ^y3

'Jsp

clearly refers to intercession.

This

apparent from the

simple fact that, as Hitzig himself observes, the intercession of

Abraham
the

for

Sodom (Gen.

xviii.

13 sqq.) was floating before

mind

of Ezekiel, since the concluding words of the verse

xviii.

contain an obvious allusion to Gen.

28.

Because the

Lord does not

for the land,

find a single righteous

man, who might intercede

it,

He

pours out His anger upon

to destroy the

inhabitants thereof.

With

reference

to

the

fact
vii.

and the
4, ix. 10,

separate words employed, compare ch. xxi. 36,

xi.

21, and xvi. 43.

is

It does not follow

from the word ^SKW,

that Ezekiel "

speaking after the catastrophe" (Hitzig).

For

although

"^^"^i^]

expresses the consequence of Jehovah's seeking

a righteous

man and

not finding one,

it

by no means follows

from the occurrence of the

also a preterite.
'H^'^^J
is

preterite ''^X^'9

^^^^

'^^'^'^)

is

simply connected with

^\?.'^^)

as a

consequence

and

in both verbs the

Vav

consec. expresses the

sequence of thought, and not of time.

The

seeking, therefore,

with the result of not having found, cannot be understood in a

chronological sense,
i.e.

as

an event belonging

to the past, for

the simple reason that the preceding words do not record the
chronological order of events.
It

merely depicts the existing

moral condition of the people, and ver. 30 sums up the result

of the description in the thought that there

was no one

to

be

found who

could enter in the gap before God.

Consequently

we cannot determine from

out of the wrath.

the imperfect with Vav consec. either

the time of the seeking and not finding, or that of the pouring

CHAP. XXIII. OHOLAH AND OHOLIBAH, THE HARLOTS

SAMARIA AND JERUSALEM.

Samaria and Jerusalem,
of the two
as the capitals

and representatives
sisters,

kingdoms

Israel

and Judah, are two

who

have practised whoredom from the days of Egypt onwards

CHAP. XXIII.
(vers.

1-4.

321
this

2-4).

Samaria has carried on

whoredom with

Assyria and Egypt, and has been given up by

God

into the

power of the Assyrians

as a consequent

punishment

(vers. 5-10).

But Jerusalem,

instead of allowing this to serve as a warning,

still

committed fornication

the Chaldeans, and, last of

all,

more grievously with Assyria and with Egypt again (vers. 11-21).
will

In consequence of

this,

the

Lord

permit the Chaldeans to

make war upon them, and

so that, as a

to plunder

punishment for

their

and put them to shame, whoredom and their forfetmeasure, experience

fulness of

God, they may,

in the fullest

Samaria's fate (vers. 22-35).

are

In conclusion, both kingdoms

still

shown once more, and

for both adultery
its

in

severer terms, the guilt of

their idolatry (vers. 36-44), whilst the infliction of the punish-

ment
In

and murder

is

foretold (vers. 45-49).

general character, therefore, this word of

God

is

co-

ordinate with the two preceding ones in ch. xxi. and

setting forth once

xxii.,

more

in a

comprehensive way the sins and

this is

the punishment of Israel.

allegory,

But

done in the form of an

its

which closely resembles in

description in ch. xvi.
;

general features the

allegorical

though, in the particular

its

details, it possesses

a character peculiarly

own, not only in

in the arranore-

certain original turns

and

figures,

but

still

more

ment and execution

present,

of the whole.

The

allegory in ch. xvi.

depicts the attitude of Israel towards the

Lord

in the past, the

us,

and the future

but in the chapter before

the guilt

and punishment of

Israel stand in the foreground of the picture

throughout, so that a parallel

is drawn between Jerusalem and Samaria, to show that the punishment of destruction, which

Samaria has brought upon

itself

through

its

adulterous inter-

course with the heathen, will inevitably fall upon Jerusalem

and Judah

also.

Vers. 1-4.
the loord

The

sisters

Oholah and Oholibah.

to

Ver.

1.

And
man
They

of Jehovah came

me, saying^ Ver. 2. Son of

3.

two loomen, daughters of one mother were they, Ver.

committed whoredom in Egypt, in their youth they committed

EZEK.

I.

322 whoredom
;

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

there
ivere

their

breasts

pressed,

and

there

men
and
is
^^

handled their virgin bosom.

the greater,

Ver.
sister

4.
;

Their names are Oholah,

and OhoUbah her

and

they became mine,

bare sons

and daughters.
is

But

their

Oholah,

and Jerusalem
J^^

OhoUbah.

The
;

names are: Samaria

name

'"^^.n^

formed from
ri/inx
is

v^X, "

my

tent in her
'^^^^,
nil

"

and, accordingly,
to

to

be derived from

" her tent," and not

be

regarded as an abbreviation of
Hitzig and Kliefoth maintain.

nSnx, " her tent in her," as

is

There

no ground for

this

assumption, as " her tent," in contrast with "

my

tent in her,"

expresses the thought with sufficient clearness, that she had a

tent of her own,

and the place where her tent was does not

come

into consideration.

The "tent"

is

the sanctuary: both

tabernacle and temple.

These names characterize the two

Jeru-

kincrdoms according to their attitude toward the Lord.

salem had the sanctuary of Jehovah

Samaria, on the other

hand, had her

own

sanctuary,

i.e.

one invented by herself.

Samaria and Jerusalem, as the

kingdoms,
represent
Israel

historical

names of the two

tribes

of

the

ten

and Judah.

Oholah and Oholibah are daughters of one mother, because

they were the two halves of the one Israel
called
;

and they are

(ver. 4).

women, because Jehovah had married them

is

Oholah

called

^^i"'?'?,

the great,

i.e.
:

greater sister (not the

elder, see the

comm. on
tribes.

ch. xvi. 46)

because ten

tribes,

the

greater portion of Israel, belonged to Samaria, whereas

had only two

Judah They committed whoredom even in Egypt in their youth, for even in Egypt the Israelites defiled themselves with Egyptian idolatry (see the comm. on ch. xx. 7).
^yo, to press, to crush
handling.
:

the Fual

is

used here to denote lewd

Piel
nti'j?

In a similar

manner the

is

used to signify

tractare, contrectare

mammas,

in an obscene sense.

Vers. 5-10. Samaria's whoredom and punishment.

Ver.

5.

And

Oholibah played

the harlot under me,

and burned towards

Ver.
6.

her lovers, even as far

as

Assyria,

standing near

Clothed in purple, governors and

officers, all

of them choice men

CHAP. SXIII.

5-10.

323
7.

of good deportment, horsemen riding upon horses. Ver. she directed her whoredom toivard them, to the choke of

And

the sons

of Assyria

all

of them, and

icith

all

towards

whom

she burned,

loith all their idols

she defied herself.

Ver.

8.

Also her whoredom

from Egypt she did not give up ; for they had lain icith her in her youthy and they had handled her virgin bosom, and had poured
out their lust upon her.
the

Ver.

9.

Therefore

I have

given her into

hand of her

lovers, into the

hand of

the sons

of Assyria, toivards

ivhom she teas inflamed.

took

Ver. 10. They uncovered her nakedness,

loith the

away her

sons

and her daughters, and slew her

the zvomen,

sword, so that she became a legend among

and executed
towards and

judgments upon

her.

Coquetting
and

and whoring with Assyria

and Egypt denote

religious

political leaning

connection with these nations and kingdoms, including idolatry

and the formation of

is to

alliances with them, as in chap. xvi.

HC^'^N

""Jl^nri

be interpreted in accordance with

nnn

(ch. xvi. 32).

3iy,

which only occurs in Ezekiel and once in Jeremiah, denotes

the eager desire kindled by passionate love towards any one.

By

the words

l^tJ'X"?^

the lovers are

is

more

precisely defined.

caiip without an article

n''3nso,

not an adjective, belonging to

is

but in apposition, which

continued in the next verse.

In these appositions the particular features, which excited the

ardent passion towards the lovers, are pointed out.
to be taken in
3i"i|5 is

not

an outward or
nearness
:

local sense,

but as signifying

inward or

spiritual

standing near, equivalent to

;

inwardly related, as in Ps. xxxviii. 12

Job

xix.

14.

The
by

description given of the Assyrians in ver. 6 contains the thought

that Israel, dazzled by Assyria's splendour, and overpowered

the might of that kingdom, had been drawn into intercourse

with the Assyrians, which led her astray into idolatry.

predicate, clothed in purple, points to the splendour

The

and glory

of this imperial power

of
its

the other predicates, to the magnitude

military force.
(cf.

2"'iijp!i

nins are rulers of higher and lower

is

grades

Jer.

li.

57).

" Here the expression

a general

one, signifying the different classes of

office-bearers in the

324

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

kingdom" (Havernick).
on Hag.
i.

With regard
see Delitzsch
to

to nns^ see

my comm.
" Rid-

and for
is

i^D,

on

Isa. xli. 25.

ing upon horses"

added

QV"J3 to denote

the noblest
(

horsemen, in contrast to riders upon asses and camels

Isa. xxi. 7).
nnJl^j

cf.

In ver. lb ^\}yS^r^^^

is

in apposition to

"^r'^. ''^?
:

and defines more precisely the

all

instigation to pollution
all

with

towards

whom

she burned in love, namely, with

is

their

(the lovers')

idols.

The thought

as

follows

it

was not

merely through her intercourse with the Assyrians that Israel

defiled herself, but also

through their

idols.
it

At

the same time,

Samaria did not give up the idolatry which

Enypt.
It

had derived from

was from Egypt that the worship of God under the

image of the golden calves had been imported.

The words

are

much

too strong for us to understand

them

as relating simply

to political intercourse, as Hitzig has done.

We
itself

have already
the Israelites
is

observed at ch. xx.

7,

that even in

Egypt

had

defiled themselves with

Egyptian

idolatry, as

also stated

in ver. 8b.

Vers.

9, 10.

As

a punishment for this,

God gave

Samaria into the power of the Assyrians,

so that they executed

judgment upon the

from the figure

harlot.

In ver. 10b the prophecy passes

to the fact.

The

uncoverincr of the nakedness

i.e.

consisted in the transportation of the sons and daughters,

the population of Samaria, into exile by the Assyrians, the

who

slew

woman
women

herself with the sword

in

other words, destroyed

of Samaria. the kinrrdom n

Thus

did Samaria become a

for

that

is

to

say, her

name was

circulated

name among

the nations, her fate became an

ridicule to the nations,

object of conversation and

not " a nickname for the nations," as

Cpi^t', a later

Havernick supposes
Vers. 11-21.
OJiolibah saio
it,

{vid. ch. xxxvi. 3).

form

for

D^DDB' (cf. ch. xvi. 41).

Whoredom of Judah.

Ver.

11.

And her sister

more xcantonly

and carried on her coquetry

still

than she had done, and her xohoredom more than the whoredom of
her
sister,

Ver. 12. She was injiamed with lust towards the sons

cf Asshurj governors and ojicers, standing near, clothed in

CHAP. XXllI.

11-21.

325

perfect heaiity, horsemen riding upon horses, choice

men of good

deportment.

Ver. 13.

they both ivent one way.

still

And I saw that she had defiled herself; Ver. 14. And she carried her ivltoredom
men engraved upon
the wall, figures

further; she saio

of

Chaldeans engraved

ivith

red ochre, Ver. 15. Girded about the

hips with girdles, ivith overhanging caps upon their heads, all of

them knights in appearance, resembling

land of ivhose birth
is

the sons

of Babel, the

Chaldea

Ver. 16.

And

she luas infiamed.

with lust toward them, when her eyes saw them, and sent messengers to them to Chaldea.

Ver, 17. Then

the sons

of Babylon

came

to

her to the bed of love,

wlien she

and

defiled her xoith their ichore-

dom; and
itself aicay

had

defiled herself with them, her soul tore

from
as

them.

Ver. 18.

whoredom, and uncovered her

And when she uncovered her nakedness, my soul tore itself away
itself

from

her,

my

soul

had torn

away from her

sister.

Ver. 19.

And

she increased her ichoredom, so that she remem-

bered the days of her youth, when she played the

the

harlot

in

land of Egypt.

Ver. 20.

And

she burned toward their

paramours, icho have members

Ver. 21.
they of

like asses

and

heat like horses.

Thou

lookest after

the

lewdness of thy youth, ichen

thy virgin breasts.
:

Egypt handled thy bosom because of

thought in these verses
is

in

The

train of

the following

Judah

went much further than Samaria.

sinful intercourse with Assyria,
latter

It not only indulged

which led on
itself to

to idolatry as the

had done, but

it also

allowed

be led astray by

the splendour of Chaldea, to form alliances with that imperial

power, and to defile

itself

with her idolatry.

it

And when

it

became

tired of the Chaldeans,

it

formed impure connections

its

with the Egyptians, as

sojourn in Egypt.

had done once before during and

The

description of the Assyrians in ver. 12

6,

coincides with that in vers. 5

except that some of the

-'i^^D
''t^'n7

predicates are placed in a different order, and

is

substituted for J^??0

''?f9-

"^^'^

former expression, which occurs

again in eh. xxxviii. 4, must really

mean

the same as npan

'2^.

But

it

does not follow from this that ^1?^^ signifies purple, as

326
Hitzis; maintains.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

The
it

true

meaning

is

perfection

and when

used of

tlie

clothing,

signifies perfect beauty.

rendering, evirapvcpa, with a beautiful border,

a variegated one,
actual

merely
''i^'^p.

more

The Septuagint
especially

expresses the sense, but not the

is

meaning

of

The Chaldee rendering

which Judah was seduced

103

''*C'37,

2')erfecte induli.

There
way
in

is

great obscurity in the statement in

to cultivate

ver.

14

as to the

intercourse with the Chaldeans.

She saw men engraved or

Fual of
Pi^n^

drawn upon the wall

work, or sculpture).

(ni^TO, a participle

engraved

These

figures

were pictures of Chaldeans,

engraved (drawn) with

^^ijrij

iii'C',

red ochre, a bright-red colour.

girdle.

an adjective form

"^i^n,

wearing a

D^^^p, coloured
to

cloth,

from 7?9) ^^ colour; here, according

n^iD?
is

the context,

variegated head -bands or turbans.

^^^^

overhanging,

used here of the cap.

The

reference

to the tiarae tinctae

(Vulgate), the lofty turbans or caps, as they are to be seen

upon the monuments of ancient Nineveh.

warriors, but knights
:

^'^^"'^'^\

not chariot-

"

tristatae^ the

name

of the second grade

after the regal dignity"

xiv. 7
ino-s

(Jerome.

See the comm. on Ex.

and 2 Sam.

xxiii. 8).

The

description of these engrav-

answers perfectly to the sculptures upon the inner walls of

the Assyrian palaces in the

monuments

of

Nimrud, Khorsabad,
its

and Kouyunjik

(see Layard's

Nineveh and

Remains^ and

Vaux, Nineveh and

Persepolis).

The

pictures of the Chaldeans

are not mythological figures (Hiivernick), but sculptures depictin(T

war-scenes, triumphal processions of Chaldean rulers and

warriors, with which the Assyrian palaces were adorned.

We

have not to look for these sculptures in Jerusalem or Palestine.

This cannot be inferred from ch.
poses
;

viii.

10, as Hiivernick sup-

nor established by

Ilitzig's

argument, that the

must

have been in circumstances to see such pictures.

woman The
it

intercourse between Palestine and Nineveh, which

was carried

on even

in

Jonah's time, was quite sufficient to render

possible for the pictures to be seen.

to

When

Israelites travelled

Nineveh, and saw the palaces there, they could easily make

CHAP, xxiir. 11-21.

327
of Nineveh
It
is

the

people

acquainted with

the glory

by the
to

accounts they would give on their return.

this,

no reply

to state that the

woman

does not send ambassadors

till

afterwards (ver. 16), as Hitzig argues; for

Judah

sent

am-

bassadors to Chaldea not to view the glories of Assyria, but to

form alliances with the Chaldeans, or

to sue for their favour. to

Such an embassy,

for example,

was sent
is

Babylon by Zedever.

kiah (Jer. xxix. 3); and there

no doubt that in

166
this,

Ezekiel has this in his mind.

Others

may have

preceded

concerning which the books of Kings and Chronicles are just

as silent as they are concerning that of Zedekiah.

The thought

in these verses

is

therefore the following

The acquaintance

made by
incited

Israel

(Judah) with the imperial splendour of the

Chaldeans, as exhibited in the sculptures of their palaces,

Judah

to cultivate political

and mercantile intercourse

its

with this imperial power, which led to

in

becoming entangled

the heathen ways

and idolatry of the Chaldeans.

laid the foundation for

The
an in-

Chaldeans themselves came and

tercourse which led to the pollution of

and afterwards
quence of

filled it

with disgust, because

Judah with heathenism, it was brouo-ht

thereby into dependence upon the Chaldeans.

all this

The

conse-

was, that the

Lord became

tired of

Judah Judah
;

(vers. 17, 18).

For

instead of returning to the Lord,

turned to the other power of the world, namely, to Egypt

in the time of

and

Zedekiah renewed

its

ancient coquetry with that

nation (vers. 19-21 compared with ver. 8).

in ver. 20,

The form
o/i),

nnayrii

which the Keri

also gives in ver. 18, has

taken ah as

a feminine termination (not the cohortative

like nann in

Prov.

i.

20,

viii.

1 {vid. Delitzsch,

On

Johj pp. 117 and 268).

W'm^^ are

scoria mascida here (Kimchi),

drastically sarcastic

epithet applied to the sdrisim, the eunuchs, or courtiers.

figurative epithet answers to the

The

licentious character of the

Egyptian
is

idolatry.

The

sexual heat both of horses and asses

vi.

referred to by Aristotle, Hist. anim.

vi.

22,

and Columella,

de re rust.

27; and that of the horse has already been

; ;

328

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

applied to the idolatry of the people

V, 8).
"i^'?,

by Jeremiah
as

(vid. Jer.

as in ch. xvi. 26. to

1i?3 (ver. 21), to

it
;

look about for

anything,
imagines.

i.e.

search for

not to miss

it,

Havernick

Vers. 22-35. Punishment of the harlot Jerusalem.

Therefore^
raise
itself

"Ver. 22.

Oholibah, thus saith the

lovers against
thee,

Lord Jehovah, Behold, I

thy soul has torn
thee

up thy

from whom
all the

away, and cause them

to

come upon

from

every side

Ver. 23. The sons of Babel, and

Chaldeans, rulers, lords,

and

nobles, all the sons

of Assyria

icith

them: chosen men of

graceful deportment, governors and oj/icers together, knights

counsellors,
all riding

and
a

upon

horses.

Ver. 24.

And

they will
ivith

come upon

thee loilh
;

weapons, chariots, and wheels, and

host of peoples

target

and
:

shield

and helmet
to

will they direct

the

against thee round about

that

and

commit

them

judgment,

they

may judge

thee according to their rights.

thee, so

Ver. 25.

And I
and thy
and

direct

my

jealousy against
:

that they shall deal

with thee in wrath

last

nose and ears will they cut

the sioord
:

of from

thee

one shall fall by

;

they will take thy soiis

thy daughters

and

thy last one will be consumed by fire.

Ver. 26. They

toill

strip off thy clothes

from

thee,

and

take thy

splendid jeioellery.
thee,

Ver. 27.

will abolish thy lewdness

from

and thy ivhoredom from

lift

the land

of Egypt

that thou

may est
t/tee

no more

thine eyes to them,

the

and no longer remember Egypt.

give

Ver. 28. For thus saith

into the

Lord Jehovah, Behold, I

away
Ver. 29.

hand of

those ichom thou hatest, into the

:

hand of

those

from whom
thee

thy soul has torn itself

And
and

they
leave

shall deal loith thee in hatred,

and

take all thy gain,

naked and bare

that thy whorish

shame may be wicovered,

Ver.
30.

and thy lewdness and thy whoredom.

happen
to thee,

This

shall

because thou goest whoring after the nations, and

defiling thyself with their idols.

on account of thy
the

Ver. 31. In

way

of thy sister hast thou walked; therefore

the deep

I give

her cup

into thy hand.

Ver. 32. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, The cup

of thy

sister thou shalt drink,

and broad one;

it

icill

CHAP. XXIII.

22-S5.

329
it

he

for laughter and for derision, because

contains so much.
:

Ver. 33. Thou wilt become full of drunkenness and misery

a cup

of desolation

and devastation
loilt

is the

cup of thy
it,

sister

Samaria.
its
it,

Ver. 34. Thou

ments,

drink

it

up and drain
;

and gnaw

fragis

and

tear thy breasts (thereiuith)

for I have spoken

the

saying of the

Lord Jehovah.

Ver. 35. Therefore thus saith the

Lord Jehovah, Because

dom.

thou hast forgotten me, and hast cast

me

behind thy back, thou shalt also bear thy lewdness and thy lohore-

As

Jerusalem has given herself up to whoredom,

sister's fate.

like

her sister Samaria, she shall also share her

The
all

paramours, of

whom

she has become tired,

God

will bring

against her as enemies.

their

The Chaldeans

will

come with

her.

For

might, and execute the judgment of destruction upon

the purpose of depicting their great and powerful

forces, Ezekiel

enumerates in vers. 23 and 24 the peoples and

their

military

equipment

viz.

the

sons

of

Babel,

i.e.

the

inhabitants of Babylonia, the Chaldeans,

the ruling people of

i.e.

the empire at that time,

and

all

the sons of Asshur,

the

inhabitants of the eastern portions of the empire, the former

rulers of the
yipl
J^ic'l

world.

There

is

some obscurity

in the

words

1ip3,

which the older theologians have almost unanito

mously taken

be the

names of
also

different
this

tribes

in

the
it

Chaldean empire.
certainly incorrect
;

Ewald
for the

adopts

view,
to

but

is

words are in apposition

1

D'^'nb'S-priij

as the omission of the copula

before

"lipB is sufficient to
is

show.

This

is

confirmed by the fact that VV^

used, in Isa. xxxii. 5

dis-

and Job xxxiv. 19, in the sense of the man of high rank,
tinguished for his prosperity, which
the passage before us.
is

quite in
is

harmony with
21
but the

Consequently nipS

not to be taken in
1.
;

the sense of visitation or punishment, after Jer.

meaning
or ruler,

is

to
;

be sought in the verb

*ip3,
is

to exercise super-

vision, or lead

and the abstract oversight

to
T'pQ.
V'ip

used for overseer,

according
princes,
to

as

an equivalent

Lastly,

Rabbins, the Vulgate,

nobles.

and

others,

signifies

or

The

predicates in ver. 236 are repeated

from

vers.

330
and
12,

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

and
D'Siii?

alone

is

added.

This

is

a word taken from

the Pentateucli, where the heads of the tribes and families, as

being members of the council of the whole congregation of

Israel,

are called

'^'}V.'^

"'*?''"'i?

or

^J;iJ^
i.

''^''"'i?,

persons called or

summoned
same way

to the meeting

(Num.

16, xvi. 2).

As

Michaelis

has aptly observed, " he describes them sarcastically in the very

in

which he had previously described those upon

whom
its
is

she doted."

Xey. iVHj

There
?3?J^

is

a difficulty iu explaining the an.

for

which many
its

aiss.

read

I^'H,

as regards not only

meaning, but

position in the sentence.

The

fact that

it is

associated with

33t would seem to indicate that l^n

also either

an implement of war or some kind of weapon.

^5^21
;

At

the same time, the words cannot be the subject to

but as

the expression

D''!3y

Pnpai,

which

follows,

clearly shows, they

simply contain a subordinate definition of the manner in whicli,

or the things with which, the peoples mentioned in vers. 23, 24
will

come, while they are governed by the verb

in the freest

way.

The

attempts which
difficulty,

Ewald and Hitzig have made

to

remove the

by means of conjectures, are forced and

Dn\^?r
''^O?,

extremely improbable.
place before them)
;

I give up to them (not, I

V.?r I^J? as in 1

Kings viii. 40,

to deliver up,
is

or give a thing into a person's hand or power,

this sense in

''^pp

used in

Gen.

xiii.

9 and

xxiv. 51.

In

vers. 25, 26, the

execution of the judgment is depicted in detail.

The

words,

" they take away thy nose and ears," are not to be interpreted,
as the earlier expositors suppose,

from the custom prevalent

among

the Egyptians and other nations of cutting off the nose

;

of an adulteress

but depict, by one particular exnmple, the

mutilation of prisoners captured by their enemies,

posterity,

nnnx

not

which by no means

suits

the

last clause of

the verse,
(see

and cannot be defended from the usage of the language

the

comm. on Amos
in

iv.

2)

but the

last,

according to the figure

or,

employed

the

first

clause,

the trunk;

following

the

second clause, the

last

thing remaining in Jerusalem, after the

i.e.

taking away of the sons and daughters,

after the slaying

CHAP. XXIII.

22-35.

331
viz.

and the deportation of the inhabitants,

For
of

ver. 26,

compare ch.
is

xvi. 39.

the

empty houses.

In ver. 27, "from the land

Egypt"

not equivalent to "dating from

Egypt;"

for

according to the parallel ^^p, from thee, this definition does not belong to ^^T, " thy whoredom," but to ''^^'y^, " I cause thy

whoredom
compare

to

cease from

Egypt"

(Hitzig).

ch. xvi.

37

for ver. 28h, vid. ver. 17 above

ch. xvi. 39.
is

ver. 29, see vers.

25 and 26, and

ver.
shall

For

ver.
;

28a,

and for

Ver. 31 looks

back to ver. 13; and

vers.

31 &

still

further expanded in

32-34.

Judah
as
li.

drink the

cup of the wrathful

judgment of God,
cup, compare Isa.
in ver.

Samaria has done.

For the

figure of the
is

17 and Jer. xxv. 15.

i.e.

This cup

described

32 as deep and wide,

all its

very capacious, so that whoever

intoxicated.
n^Tin

exhausts
is

contents
;

must be thoroughly
is

the third person

but the subject

'^2"ip,

and not

DID.

The

greatness or breadth of the cup will be a subject of laughter

and
read

ridicule.
:

It

is

very arbitrary to supply "

to

thee" so as to

will

be for laughter and ridicule

it

to thee,
is

which does not

even yield a suitable meaning, since

nations

not

Judah but
i^^J}^

the

who laugh

at

the cup.
;

Others regard

as the

second person, thou wilt become

in the gender, as the masculine

but apart from the anomaly

would stand for the feminine,

Hitzig has adduced the forcible objection, that according to

this

view the words would not only anticipate the explanation

given of the figure in the next verse, but would announce the

consequences of the pvi piS?' mentioned there.

Hitzig there-

fore proposes to erase the words from "''nn to 3P?=i as a gloss,

and

to alter

n3"ip into n3")D

which contains much,

is

very

capacious.

But

there

is

not sufficient reason to warrant such

critical violence as this.

it

Although the form

''^IP is air. Xey.,

is

not

to be rejected as a

nomen
hold,

subst.;

and

if

we
of

take
the

^''sn^ i^^y?,

the

magnitude
still

to

as

the

subject

sentence,

it

contains a

further description of the cup,

which does not anticipate what follows, even though the cup
will

be an object of laughter and

ridicule, not so

much

for

its


332
size, as

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

because of
its

being destined to be drunk completely

empty.
fi3),

In ver. 33 the figure and the fact are combined,

misery, being added to
li"^3^,

lamentation,

drunkenness,

and the cup being designated a cup of devastation.

figure of drinking
into the
is

The
34

expanded

in the boldest

manner

in ver.

gnawing of the fragments

of the cup,

and the tearing

of the breasts with the fragments.

In

ver.

35 the picture of

the

judgment

is

closed with a repetition of the description of

the nation's guilt.

For

ver. 356,

compare ch.
of the sins

xvi.

52 and 58.

Vers. 36-49. Another

of the two

summary
36.

and punishment
to

women.

Ver.

And

Jehovah said

me, Son of

man,

unit thou
;

judge Oholah and Oholibah, then shoiv them their

abominations
blood
is

Ver. 37. For they have committed adultery, and

in their
;

hands ; and they have committed adultery

their sons also
to

icith

their idols

and

ivhom they bare

to

to

me

they have

caused

to

pass through

them

be devoured.

Ver. 38.

Yea

more, they have done this to

the

me ;
to

they have defiled

my
came

sanctuary

same day, and have desecrated

their sons
to

my

Sabbaths.
idols,

Ver. 39. When

into

they slaughtered

their

they

my

sanctuary the same day

desecrate it; and, behold, they have

acted thus in the midst of

my

house.
to

Ver. 40. Yea, they have them was a message

sent,

even sent to

men coming from afar ;

and put
07i

and, behold, they came, for lohom thou didst bathe thyself, jmint
thine eyes,
self

ornaments, Ver. 41.

And

didst seat thy-

upon a splendid cushion, and a

table teas spread before them,

oil.

thou didst lay thereon

my

incense

and my
to the

Ver. 42.

And

the

loud noise became

still thereat,

and

men

out of the multitude

they 'put armlets

there were brought topers out

of the

desert,

and

upon

their hands,
to

and

glorious croions

upon

their heads.

Ver. 43.

Then I said
her

her who was

debilitated

for adultery,

Noiv

icill

whoredom

itself

go whoring, Ver. 44.

;

And

they will go in to

her as they go in to a ichore

Oholibah, the

so did they go in to Oholah

and and

lewd women.

Ver. 45. But righteous men, these

shall judge them according to the judgment of adulteresses

according to the judgment of murderesses

for they are adulter-

CHAP. XXIII.

3C-49.

333

esses,

and

there is blood in their hands.

loill

Ver. 46. Foj' thus saith

the

Lord Jehovah, I
deliver

bring up against them an assembly,

and

them up for maltreating and for booty.

Ver. 47.

And
their

the assembly shall stone them,

and

cut them in pieces loith

swords

; their

sons

and

their daughters shall they kill,

and burn

their houses with fire.

Ver. 48. Thus will

loomen

eradicate lewdness

from

the land, that all

like

may

take learning

and not practise

lewdness

you.

Ver. 49.

And

they shall bring your lev)dness

upon you, and ye

that

shall bear the sins of

your

idols,

and

shall learn
'iJI

I am

the

Lord Jehovah.
really a

The introductory words

tsis^'rin

point back not only to ch. xxii. 2, but also to ch. xx. 4, and show
that this section
is

summary of

the contents of the whole

group
is

(ch. XX. 23).

The

actual subject-matter of these verses

closely connected with ver. 16,

more

especially in the desig-

nation of the sins as adultery and bloodshed (compare vers. 37

and 45 with

ch. xvi. 38).

''^"nx 5|X3, to

commit adultery with

8 and

the idols, whereby the idols are placed on a par with Jehovah
as the

husband of

Israel

(compare Jer.

iii.

ii.

27).

For
more

the Moloch-worship in ver. olb, compare ch. xvi. 20, 21, and
ch. XX. 31.

The

desecration of the sanctuary (ver. 38a)

^'^'^^

is

minutely defined in ver. 39.

so offended the

Di'3 in ver. 38,

it

which has

LXX.

and Hitzig that

is
it

omitted by the
is

former, while the latter proposes to strike

out as a gloss,

added for the purpose of designating the profanation of the sanctuary as contemporaneous with the Moloch-worship of
ver. 37^, as
is

evident from ver. 39.

4, 5, 7.

For the

fact itself,

com-

pare 2 Kings xxi.

in ch. XX. 13, 16.

The

desecration of the Sabbaths, as

For

ver. 39a,

compare

ch. xvi. 21.

The

words are not

children to
after they

to

be understood as signifying that they sacrificed

in the temple, but simply that

Moloch

immediately

had

sacrificed children to

Moloch, they went into the

also,

temple of Jehovah, that there they might worship Jehovah

and thus placed Jehovah upon a par with Moloch.

a profanation
(pfj})

This was

of His sanctuary.
allusion
is

In

vers.

40-44 the

not to actual idolatry, but to

ZM
the

THE PROPHECIES OF EZE KIEL.

ungodly alliance into which Juduh

had entered with

Chaldea.

Judah

sent ambassadors to Clialdea,

and

for the

purpose of receiving the Chaldeans, adorned herself as a

woman
was a

would do
self

for the reception of her paramours.

She seated herthat she

upon a splendid divan, and

have offered

in front of this there

oil

table spread,

upon which stood the incense and the

to

ought

to

Jehovah.

This
vers.

is

the explanation

which Kliefoth has correctly given of

emphatic
ence
is
''3

40 and 41.

The
refer-

^1X1

in ver.

40

is

sufficient to

show that the

to a

new crime deserving

in vers.

of punishment.

This cannot

be idolatry, because the worship of Moloch has already been

mentioned

38 and 39 as the worst of

all

the idolatrous

abominations.

Moreover, sending for (or

to)

men who come

from afar does not apply word

;

to idolatry in the literal sense of the

for

men

to

whom

the harlot sent messengers to invite

them

to

come

to her could not

be

idols for

which she sent

to a

distant land.

The

allusion

is
it

rather to Assyrians or Chaldeans,

is

and, according to ver. 42,

the former

who

are referred to
in Hitzig's

here (compare Isa. xxxix. 3).

objection, namely, that the one
their being sent for
in ver. 16.

There

is

no force

woman

sent to these, and that

and coming have already been disposed of

singulars in the last clause of ver.

For the

40 show

that even here only one

woman

is

said to

have sent for the men.

this

Again, n3n^L"n might even be the third person singular, as

form does sometimes

and Ges.
47,

take the termination nj (vid.

3).

Ewald,
is

191c,

Anm.

At

the

same time, there

nothing in

the fact that the sending to Chaldea has already been

men-

tioned in ver. 16 to preclude another allusion to the same

circumstance from a different

point of

view.

The woman
to paint the

adorned herself that she

for

might secure the favour of the men

^n3
is

whom

she had sent.

(Jcohol).

the Arabic

J^v^,

eyes with stibium

For the

fact itself, see the

remarks

on 2 Kings
(not lay

ix.

30.

She then seated

a bed
;

herself

upon a cushion
to lie

down upon

for SB'J does not

mean

down),

and in front of

this there

was a

table,

spread with different

CHAP. XXIII. OG-49,

335
oil.

kinds of food, upon which she placed incense and

suffix to
rT'Pj;

The

refers to

inpti*,

and

is

to

be taken as a neuter,

which

suits the table as a thing, whilst \^T^ generally takes the

termination ni in the plural.

In ver. 41, Evvald and Hiivernick

detect a description of the lectisternia and of the licentious

worship of the Babylonian Mylitta.

(ar^)

But

neither the sitting

upon a cushion (divan), nor the

position taken
this.

by the
has

woman

behind the table, harmonizes with

if

As Hitzig

correctly observed, "

she has taken her seat upon a cushion,

her, she evidently intends to dine,

and has a table spread before

and that with the men for
oil
is

whom

she has adorned herself.

vi.

The
Prov.

meant
cf.

for anointing at
xxiii. 5),
oil

meal-time (Amos

xxi.

17;

Ps.

and the incense for burning."

"My
but had
18
:

incense and

my

" are the incense

to

and
to

oil

given to her by
service,

God, which she ought

Hos.

have devoted

His

squandered upon herself and her foreign friends

ii.

(cf. ch. xvi.

10).
gift of

The

oil,

as the produce of the land of Palestine,

;

was the

Jehovah

and although incense was not a pro-

duction of Palestine, yet as the

money with which Judah

it,

purchased

it,

or the goods bartered for

also call
it

were the
Ver. 42
et

gifts of
is

God, Jehovah could

obscure.

His incense.
first

very

Such renderings

of the

clause as

vox multicareless

tudinis exultantis in ea (Vulg.),

and " the voice of a

lion ^ip occurs, it
;

multitude within her" (Havernick), can hardly be sustained.

In every other passage

in

which
and

does not sig-

nify the voice of a multitude, but a loud tumult

xiii. 4, xxxiii. 3,
is

compare

Isa.
''ip

Dan.

x. 6,

Sam.
?ip.

iv.

14,

where

iiC'J\}

used as synonymous with

is

nj^i'jrn

Even

in cases

where

f^^^

used for a multitude,

it

denotes a noisy, boisterous,

tumultuous crowd.

Consequently

v^

cannot be taken as an
is

adjective connected with iicn^ because a quiet tumult

tradiction,

a con-

and

"0^ does not

mean

either exultans or recklessly

breaking loose (Havernick), but simply living in quiet, peaceful

and contented,

v^ must

therefore be the predicate

to

i10n 7ip; the

sound of the tumult or the loud noise was (or

336
became)
quiet,

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

still.

1^3,

thereat (neuter, like

follow,
'Ul

'"^3,

thereby,

Gen.

xxiv. 14).

The words which

D^Ji? ?^\ are not to

be taken with the preceding

yield no sense.

clause, as the connection

D^^5

would
2''*^'^^

can only be the

They belong to what follows. men who came from afar (ver.
were brought,
i.e.

^^^

40).

In addi-

tion to these, there

induced to come, topers

from the
t<2D^

desert.

The
;

Chetih D^J^niD

is

no doubt a
is

participle of

drinkers, topers

and the Hophal Q'X3^D

chosen instead

of the

Kal

2''X3,

for the sake of the paronomasia, with D''xniD.

(i^tl^X ""Ja,

The

former, therefore, can only be the Assyrians

vers. 5

and

7), the latter (the topers) the Chaldeans

(^'^n

""^nj

ver. 15).

The

epithet drinkers
;

is

a very appropriate one for

the sons of Babylon

lonians as

as Curtius (ver. 1) describes the

et

Babyeffusi.

maxime

in

mnxim

quae ehrietatem sequuntur

The

phrase

"from

the desert" cannot indicate the

"53*1'?^

home

of

these men, although

corresponds to

pn""|>^ in ver.

40, but

simply the place from which they came to Judah, namely, from
the desert of Syria and Arabia, which separated Palestine from

Babylon.

These peoples decorated the arms of the harlots

with clasps, and their heads with splendid wreaths (crowns).

The
and

plural suffixes indicate that the words apply to both

this is

women,
in

confirmed by the fact that they are both

subject to
-l^ri'i

named

ver. 44.

The

is

not merely the

is

2"'sniD,

but also

the pni'?P

D""?'^^.

in ver. 40.

The thought
to wealth
;

simply that Samaria

and Judah had attained

and earthly glory through

the very gifts with which,

their intercourse with these nations

according to ch. xvi. 11 sqq., Jehovah Himself had adorned

His people.
in
its

The meaning
to

of the verse, therefore,

:

when taken
the

connection, appears to be the following

When

Assyrians began

form alliances with

Israel, quiet

was the

immediate

result.

The Chaldeans were

afterwards added to

these, so that

through their adulterous intercourse with both

these nations Israel and

Judah acquired both wealth and

this
it

glory.

The
that

sentence which

God pronounced upon

conduct was,

Judah had sunk

so deeply into adultery that

would be


CHAP. XXIII.
impossible for
in

; :

8G-49.

337
sin.

it

ever to desist from the

ver.

This

is

the ^Yay

which we understand
:

43, connecting CSXJ TV27 with

*icxi

" I said concerning her

n73,

who was
it

debilitated with whore-

dom."

feminine of n?2, used up,

ix. 4, 5,

worn out

see,
;

for
it

example, Josh.
is

where

is

appHed

to clothes

here

transferred to persons decayed, debihtated, in which sense

xviii. 12.
Q''??;^?,

the verb occurs in Gen.

which

is

co-ordinated

with

""173,

does not indicate the means by which the strength

is

has been exhausted, but

an accusative of direction or refer-

ence, debilitated with regard to adultery, so as no longer to be

capable of practising
is

it.^

In the next clause

'iJ^

njr ny,

^^"^^JT^l

the subject to n^r, and the Chetib

is correct,

the Keri being

If irmjin were

erroneous, and the result of false exposition.

the object to

HiJr,

so that the

woman would
But
if,

be the subject,

we

should have the feminine n:rn.

nTn^rn
is

on the other hand,

this,
it

the subject, there

is

no necessity for
D'^niiTH,

whether we

regard the word as a plural, from

as

or take

as a singular,
it is

Ewald

259a) has done, inasmuch as in either case

still

an abstract,

which might
N^"^J

easily be preceded

by the verb in

the masculine form.

suffix,

gives greater force, not only to the

but also to the noun

and that even she (her whoredom).

personified, or regarded as CJi^T
r\r\

The

sin of
iv.

whoredom

is

(Hos.
all its

12), as a propensity to

whoredom, which continues

in

force after the capacity of the

woman

herself

is

gone.

Ver. 44 contains the result of the foregoing description of the

adulterous conduct of the two
vers.

women, and

this is followed in

45 sqq. by an account of the attitude assumed by God, and

the punishment of the sinful

subject, they (nian, one)

women,
to her.

'^i^'lj ^^'i^h

an indefinite

went

yf?^.,

the one

woman,

The proposal

of

Ewald

to take D"'2S3

TDlh as an independent clause,

by the usage of the language and that of Hitzig, " the Avithered hag practises adultery,'" is an unnatural invention, inasmuch as p, if taken as nota datici, would give this meaning
the hag has (possesses) adultery as her property
indicate that
it

" adultery to the devil," cannot be defended

and there

is

nothiug to

should be taken as a question.

EZEK.

I.

338
Oholibah.
is

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

It is only in the apodosis that

what has

to be said

extended to both women.

This

is

the only interpretation

^*i3>1

of ver.

44 which does

justice both to the verb

(imperfect
'IJ^S.

with Vav consec. as the historical tense) and the perfect

The
fine

plural

W^
it

does not occur anywhere

into the singular, as "

else.

Hitzig would
of,"

therefore alter

unheard

and con-

the attribute to Oholibah,

who

is

the only one mentioned

in the first clause of the verse,

and

also in vers. 43, 40,

and 41.

The judgment upon the two sisters is to be eous men (ver. 45). The Chaldeans are
tlie

executed by rightnot designated as

righteous in contrast to the Israelites, but as the instruments of

punitive righteousness of

God

in this particular instance,

executing just judgment upon the sinners for adultery and blood-

shed

(yid. ch. xvi. 38).

The

infinitives iVV}}

and pni

in ver.

46

stand for the third person future.

For other

points,

compare the
niyp
|n3 is

commentary on

ch. xvi.

40 and 41.
i<i3i is

The formula
the
inf. abs. Piel.

derived from Deut. xxviii. 25, and has been explained in the
exposition of that passage.

For the

meaning of the word,

see the
i.e.

comm. on
is

ch. xxi. 24.

From

this

judgment
desist

all

women,

all

nations, are to take

a

warning

to

from

idolatry.

liDI!?

mixed form, compounded of

IS?? in Deut. xxi. 8

the Niphal and Hithpael, for

(see the

^iis^^n, like

comm.
is

in loc).

For
to

ver. 49, vid. ch. xvi. 58.

The
The
which

punishment
as
still

announced

both the women, Israel and Judah,

in the future, although

Oholah (Samaria) had been

overtaken by the judgment a considerable time before.

explanation of this
is

to be

found in the allegory

itself, in

both kingdoms are represented as being

sisters of

one mother

and

it

may

also

be defended on the ground that the approach-

ing destruction of Jerusalem and the kingdom of

Judah

affected
still

the remnants of the kingdom of the ten tribes, which were

to be

found

in Palestine

whilst,

on the other hand, the judg-

ment was not

entire nation.

restricted to the destruction of the

two kingdoms,
fell

but also embraced the later judgments which

upon the

CHAP. XXIV.

1,

2.

339

CHAP. XXIV. PREDICTION OF THE DESTPvUCTION OF

JERUSALEM BOTH

IN

PARABLE AND BY

SIGN.
the

On
siege

the day on which the king of Babylon

commenced

and blockade of Jerusalem,

to Ezekiel

this

event was revealed by

God

on the Chaboras

(vers. 1

and 2)

and he was

commanded

to predict to the people through the

its

medium

of a

parable the fate of the city and

inhabitants (vers. 3-14).

God

then foretold to him the death of his own wife, and commanded

him

to

show no si^n of mournino; on account of

vv^as

it.

His wife

died the following evening, and he did as he

commanded.
this,

When
the

he was asked by the people the reason of

he ex-

plained to them, that what he was doing was symbolical of

way

in

which they were to act when Jerusalem

fall

fell

(vers.

15-24).
fu'ntive,

The

would be announced
loncrer

to the prophet

by a

and then he would no

speak to the people again (vers. 25-27).

remain mute, but would

Apart, therefore, from

the last three verses, this chapter contains two words of God, the
first

of which unfolds in a parable the approaching calamities,

result of the
;

and the
(vers.

siege of Jerusalem

by the Chaldeans

1-14)

whilst the second typifies

by means of a sign the

pain and mourning of Israel, namely, of the exiles at the

destruction of the city with
its

sanctuary and

its

inhabitants.

These two words of God, being connected together

contents, were addressed to the prophet on the
that, as the introduction (vers. 1

by

their

same day, and

and 2) expressly observes, the

day on which the siege of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon

began.

Ver.
year,

1.

And

the

icord of Jehovah

came

to

me

in the ninth

in
2.

the tenth month,

on

the

tenth

of the month, saying,

Ver.

Son of man, ivrite for thyself the name of the day, The king of Babylon has fallen upon Jeruthis same day ! The date given, namely, the tenth day salem this same day.

i.

of the tenth

month of the ninth year

2), or what
is

after the carrying

away

of Jehoiachin (ch.

the same

thing, of the

340

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

reign of Zedekiali,

who was appointed king

1,

in Lis

stead,
1,

is

mentioned

in Jer. Hi. 4, xxxix.

and 2 Kings xxv.

city of

as the

day on wliich Nebuchadnezzar, blockaded the

Jerusalem

by throwing up a rampart
still

and after the captivity

viii.

this

day was

kept as a fast-day in consequence (Zech.

tlius

19).

What
to

was

taking place at Jerusalem was revealed to Ezekiel on

the Chaboras the very

same day
and the

and he was instructed

announce

it

to the exiles,

" that they and the besieged might

result, that the destruction of

learn both from the time

the city was not to be ascribed to chance or to the power of the

Babylonians, but to the will of

that,

Him who had

long ago foretold

on account of the wickedness of the inhabitants, the city

fire
;

would be burned with

because even when
tance, he had
in

and that Ezekiel was a true prophet,

dis-

Babylon, which was at so great a

Jerusalem."

known and had publicly announced the state of The detinite character of this prediction cannot
tlie

be changed into a vaticinium post eventum, either by arbitrary

explanations of the words, or by

unfounded hypothesis
this de-

down in Writing the name of finite form till after the event. The reason is equivalent to making a note of the day.
proposed by Hitzig, that the day was not set

the day
for this

is

given in ver. 2h, namely, because Nebuchadnezzar had fallen

'^'rD

upon Jerusalem on that very day.

hold up (his hand)
the
;

signifies to support,

and hence both here and

in Ps. Ixxxviii. 8

meaning

to press violently

upon anything.

The

rendering

" to draw near," which has been forced upon the word from
the Syriac (Ges., Winer, and others), cannot be sustained.

Vers. 3-14.

Payable of the Pot with the Boiling

3.

Pieces.

Ver.
to

And

relate

a parable

to

the rebellious house,

set

and say

them,

Thus

saith the

Lord
it.

Jehovah, Set on the pot,

4.

on and also j^our tvater into

fle&h into
it,

Ver.

Gather

its

pieces of

all the

good
5.

pieces,

haunch and shoulder,

the floch,
it

Jill it loith

choice bones.
pile

Ver.

Take the choice of

;

and

also

of icood underneath for the bones

make

boil well, also

CHAP. XXIV. S-14.

341

cooh

its

bones therein.

Ver.

6.

Therefore, thus saith the

!

Lord
and
out,

Jehovah,

Woe!

city

of murders

pot in ichich

is riisf^
it

u'hose rust doth not depart

the lot

from
it.

it; ptVce

hy piece fetch

hath not fallen upon

Ver.
it

7.

For her blood

naked rock
it

is in the

midst of her ; she hath placed

not poured
it

upon

the

she hath

upon

the ground, that they

to take

might cover

icith dust.

Ver.

8.

To bring up fury,

vengeance,
it

have made her

blood come upon the naked rock, that

might not be covered.

to the city

Ver.

9.

Therefore thus saith the

I

Lord Jehovah, Woe

of ivood great.

of murders

I also

tcill

make

the pile

Ver. 10.

Heap

%ip the icood, stir the fire,

do

the flesh thoroughly,

make

the

broth boil, that the bones

may
the

also be cooked away.

that its

Ver. 11.
brass

And

set

it

empty upon

coals thereof,

may
melt

become hot and gloioing, that the uncleanness thereof

within
pains,
it, its

may

rust pass away.

Ver. 12.

He
her

hath exhausted the

;

and her

great rust doth not go

from

into the fire with

her mist!
cause
loilt

Ver. 13. Li thine uncleanness

cleansed thee,

is

abomination; be-

I have

and thou hast

not become clean, thou

till

no more become clean from thy uncleanness,

I quiet my
repent me.

fury xiponthee.

Ver. 14. / Jehovah have spoken

it; it cometh,

and I icill do
According
judge
to

it;

I will

not cease, nor spare, nor

let it

thy ways,

and according

to

thy deeds, shall they

thee, is the

saying of the

Lord Jehovah,
^'f'o,

The
able
;

contents of these verses are called

a proverb or parto the refractory

act,

and Ezekiel

is to

communicate them
from
this that the
is

generation.
the prophet
is

It follows

ensuing

which

commanded

to perform,

not to be regarded as

a symbolical act which he really carried out, but that the act

forms the substance of the mdshCd, in other words, beloncrs to

the

parable

itself.

Consequently the interpretation of the

is

parable in vers.
actually done.

10 sqq.

clothed in the form of a thincr

The

pot with the pieces of flesh and the bones,

it

which are

to

be boiled in
its

and boiled away, represents Jeru-

salem with
boiled,
is

inhabitants.

the

fire

of war,

The fire, with which they are and the setting of the pot upon the

342
fire is

THE PBOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

the

commencement
is

of the siege,

by which
flesh

tlie

populain

tion of the city

to be boiled

a pot.

n?y'

is

used, as in 2

away like the Kings iv. 38, to

'iJI

and bones

signify the setting

its

of a pot by or
to(Tetlier.

upon
'^^^

tlie

fire.

^35<
i.e.

put in

pieces

all

O"*"'"???

pieces of flesh,

the pieces belonging to

the cooking-pot.

These are defined

still

more minutely

as the

best of the pieces of flesh,

and of these the thigh (haunch) and

This

shoulder are mentioned as the most important pieces, to which

the choicest of the bones are to be added.
still

is

rendered

more emphatic by the further instruction

to take the choice

of the flock in addition to these.

The

choicest pieces of flesh

ablest portion

and the pieces of bone denote the strongest and

of the population of the city.

To
is

boil these pieces

away, more
is

especially the bones, a large fire

requisite.

This

indicated

by

the words, " and also a pile of

"in

bones."

in

ver.

5,

for

wood underneath for the which nn^o is substituted in

and occurs in
this sense in

ver. 9, signifies a pile of wood,

Isa.

XXX. 33,

from "m,

to

lay round, to

arrange,

pile

up.

D^ovyn "in cannot

article,

mean

a heap of bones,

on account of the

but simply a

pile of

wood

for the (previously mentioned)

bones, namely, for the purpose of boiling

them away.

If

we

pay attention

to the

article,

we

shall

see that the supposition

that Ezekiel was to place a heap of bones under the pot, and the
alteration proposed

by Bottcher, Ewald, and Hitzig of

D"'PVJ{n

into

Ci'Vy,

are alike untenable.

Even
up

if "in

in itself does not

mean
the

a pile of wood, but simply strues, an irregular heap, the

it is

fact that

wood which
If
Ci''Oyyn

is

piled

is

appai'ent

enough from
through a

context.

had grown out of

D"'>*y

corruption of the text, under the influence of the preceding

D'Diy,
it

would not have had an

i^'nrii,

article prefixed.

Hitzig also

proposes to alter n^nrn into

though without any necessity.

The fact that D'H^n does not occur again proves nothing at all. The noun is added to the verb to intensify its force, and is
plurale taut, in the sense of boiling.
'l31

^i'^'^-Da

is

dependent

upon the previous clause

Da taking the place

of the copula-

CHAP. XXIV.

3-14.

343

live

1.

On

^'^% to be cooked, thoroughly done, see the

comm.

on Ex. In

xii. 9.

vers.

6-8 the interpretation of the parable

is

given, and

that in two trains of thought introduced by

I?? (vers. 6

and

9).

The

reason for

commencing with

I?^,

therefore,

may

be found

in the fact that in the parable contained in vers. 3 sqq., or

more

correctly in the blockade of Jerusalem, which furnished

the occasion for the parable, the judgment about to burst upon

Jerusalem
following:
to

is

plainly indicated.

The

train of thought
is

is

the

Because the judgment upon Jerusalem

to her, for

now about
is

commence, therefore woe

her blood-guiltiness

so great that she

must be destroyed.

But the punishment

is

answering to the magnitude of the guilt

so distributed in the
first

two strophes,
treats of the

vers.

6-8 and vers. 9-13, that the

strophe
;

punishment of the inhabitants of Jerusalem

itself.

the

second, of the punishment of the city

latter feature, there is a

To

account for the

is

circumstance introduced which

itself,
is

not

mentioned in the parable

namely, the rust upon the pot,

thereby appropriately extended.

and the figure of the pot

Moreover,
in the

explanation of the parable the figure and the

fact pass repeatedly the one into the other.

Because Jeru-

salem

is

a city of murders,

it

resembles a pot on which there

are spots of rust that cannot be removed.

Ver. Qb

is

difficult,

and has been expounded

twofold
ing to
n''nn3 is,

in various ways.
to

The

7 before the
:

no doubt,
i.e.

be taken distributively

accord-

its

several pieces,

piece

by

piece, bring

it

out.

But

the suffix attached to nx^in cannot be taken as referring to

Tp, as Kliefoth proposes, for

meaning.
of flesh,

this

does not yield a suitable

its

One would not say

is

bring out the pot by

pieces of the

when nothing more

to
^''^in

meant than the bringing

pieces of flesh out of

the pot.

And

this

difficulty is

not

removed by giving
language

the meaning to reach hither.

is

For,

apart from the fact that there

to sustain the
it

nothing in the usage of the

it

meaning, reach
fire,

hither for the purpose

:

of setting

upon the

one would not say

reach hither

344

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

its

the pot according to

several pieces of flesh, piece

liither

by

piece,
filled

when

all

that

was meant was, bring

flesli.

the pot

with pieces of
p'V),
i'C.

The
to

suffix to

ns^Vin refers to the city

to

its

population,
its

" to which the blood-guiltiness

collection of

really adhered,
It is

and not

houses"
9''nri3

(Ilitzio-).

only in appearance also that the suffix to

it

refers to
its

the pot; actually

refers to the city,

i.e.

to the

whole of

population, the different individuals in which are the separate

pieces of flesh.

The meaning
:

of the instructions therefore

is

by no means doubtful
in

the whole of the population to be found

Jerusalem

is

to be brought out,
lot,

and that without any excepfall

tion,

inasmuch as the
will

which would

upon one and not

is

upon another,
to seek for

not be cast upon her.

There

no necessity
to the

any causal connection between the reference

and
to take the

rust

upon the pot and the bringing out of the pieces of

it,

flesh

that are cooking within that

all

words as signifying

the pieces, which had been rendered useless

pot,

by the rust

upon the
nick)
;

were

to

be taken out and thrown away (Haver-

but through the allusion to the rust the interpretation

already passes beyond the limits of the figure.

flesh are to

The

pieces of

be brought out, after they have been thoroughly

pot, that
it

boiled, to

empty the

may

then be
it

set

upon the

fire
is

again, to burn out the rust adhering to

(ver. 11).

There

no force

in Kliefoth's objection, that this exposition does not

as,

agree with the context, inasmuch

" according to the last

clause of ver. 5 and vers. 10 and 11, the pieces of flesh and

even the bones are not to be taken out, but to be boiled away

by a strong

fire;

and the pot

is

to

become empty not by the

fact that the pieces of flesh are taken out and thrown away,

but by the pieces being thoroughly boiled away, first to broth and then to nothing." For " boiling away to nothing" is not

found

in

the text, but simply that even the bones are to be

jelly.

thoroughly done, so as to turn into the softness of

far as the fact
is

So

concerned,

we cannot

follow the majority of

is

commentators, who suppose that the reference

simply to the

CHAP. XXIV. S-14.

o-i5

carrying away of the

inhabitants into exile.

Bringing the

pieces of flesh out of the pot, denotes the sweeping

away

of the

inhabitants from the city, whether

by death

(vid. ch. xi. 7) or

is

by
of

their being carried

away

captive.
its

The

city

to

be emptied

men

in consequence of

being blockaded by the king of

is

Babylon.

The

reason of this
is

given in vers. 7 and

8,

where

the guilt of Jerusalem

depicted.

The

city has

shed blood,

which

is

not covered with earth, but has been left uncovered,

like blood

poured out upon a hard rock, which the stone cannot

absorb, and which cries to

God
Job

for vengeance, because

it is

un-

covered

(cf.
is

Gen.
this
:

iv.

10

xvi.

18; and

Isa. xxvi. 21).

The

thought

she has sinned in an insolent and shameless

to cover her sin, has

manner, and has done nothing

sign of

shown no

repentance or atonement, by which she might have

sin.

got rid of her

This has

all

been ordered by God.

fall

He
rock,

has caused the blood that was shed to

that
it

upon a bare
to

might

lie

uncovered, and

He

might be able

execute

vengeance for the crime.

the

The second turn in the address (ver. 9) commences in just same manner as the first in ver. 6, and proceeds with a

further picture of the execution of punishment.

the guilt,
fierce fire.

To

avent^e

God

will

make

the pile of wood large, and

stir

up a

The development of this thought is given in ver. 10 in the form of a command addressed to the prophet, to put much wood underneath, and to kindle a fire, so that both flesh and bones may boil away. Dririj from D^ri, to finish, complete
;

with

"lt^'3,

to cook thoroughly.

There are differences of opinion

as to the true

meaning of
ni^"i,

nni^"}^n rii^nn

but the rendering some-

times given to

namely, to

spice, is at all events unsuitable,

and cannot be sustained by the usage of the language.

true that in Ex. xxx. 25 sqq. the verb
ni^n
is

It

Is

used for the pre-

paration of the anointing

different ingredients that

oil,

but

it

is

not the mixing of the

is

referred

to,

but in

all

probability

the thorough boiling of the spices, for the purpose of extracting

their essence, so that "

thorough boiling "

is

no doubt the true

346

TCE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

In Job
xli.

meaning of the word.

boiling unguent-pot.

23 (31), ^'^\P^
11.

is

the

^"^^^ is

a cohortative Hiphil, from iin, to

become

red-hot,

to

be consumed.

Ver.

When
it

the flesh
is

and bones liave thus been thoroughly boiled, the pot

placed upon the coals empty, that the rust upon

to be

may

be

burned away by the heat.

The emptying

of the pot or kettle

to broth,
is

by pouring out the

rust

flesh,

which has been boiled

is

passed over as self-evident.

upon

it.

^^^

is

The uncleanness an Aramaean form

of the pot

the

for DF.n
:

=
"

Driri.

Michaelis has given the true explanation of the words

civi-

bus caesis etiam urhs consumetur " (when the inhabitants are
slain, the city itself will

be destroyed).^
it

In

vers. 12 sqq. the

inflict

reason

is

given, which rendered

necessary to

this

exterminating judgment.
the figure, but in ver. 13
it

In ver. 12 the address

still

keeps to
It

passes over to the actual fact.

(Q"'^^'!!,

(the pot) has exhausted the pains

ver.
it

air. Xej.),

namely, as
to

13 clearly shows, the pains, or wearisome exertions,

make

clean by milder means, and not (as Hitzig erroneously infers

to

from the following clause)

extreme heat.
form, which

eat

away the

rust
is

by such

^^?\}, third pers. Hiphil of ns?,

the earlier

fell

into almost entire disuse in later times (vid.

1 Hitzig discovers a Hysterovproteron in this description, because the cleaning of the pot ought to have preceded the cooking of the flesh in it, and not to have come afterwards, and also because, so far as the actual

fact

is

concerned, the rust of sin adhered to the people of the city, and not

But neither of these objections to the city itself as a collection of houses. is sufficient to prove what Hitzig wants to establish, namely, that the
untenable character of the description shows that it is not really a prophecy nor is there any force in them. It is true that if one intended to boil flesh in a pot for the purpose of eating, the first thing to be done would
;

be to cleah the pot itself. But this is not the object in the present instance. The flesh was simply to be thoroughly boiled, that it might be destroyed and thrown away, and there was no necessity to clean the pot for this
purpose.
of sin does

And

so far as the second objection

is

concerned, the defilement

no doubt adhere to man, though not, as Hitzig assumes, to man According to the Old Testament view, it extends to things as well alone. Thus leprosy, for example, did not pollute {vid. Lev. xviii. 25, xxvii. 28). men only, but clothes and houses also. And for the same reason judgments were not restricted to men, but also fell upon cities and lands.

CHAP. XXIV. 15-21

3i7

Ges.

75,

Anm.

1).

The

last

words of ver. 11, I agree with

Hitzig, Havernick, and

others, in taking as
all
fire.

an exclamation.

Because the pot has exhausted

it,

the efforts

made

to cleanse
is

its

rust

is

to

go into the
is

In

ver.

13 Jerusalem

addressed, and

nsr

not a genitive belonging to TjrisODB, " on

account of thy licentious uncleanness" (Ewald and Hitzig), but a predicate, " in thine uncleanness is (there lies) nET, i.e.

an abomination deserving of death"

(see

Lev.

xviii.

17 and

XX. 14, where the fleshly sins, which are designated as zimmdh,

are ordered to be punished with death).

The

cleansings which

God
ment

had attempted, but without Jerusalem becoming clean,

of destruction, to convert the people from their sinful

consisted in the endeavour, which preceded the Chaldean Judg-

ways, partly by threats and promises communicated through

the prophets (vid. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 15), and partly by
chastisements.
is

means
to

of

For nn
of

ry^T\^

see ch. v. 13.

In

ver.

14 there
a

summary

the wdiole,

which brings the threat

close.

Vers. 15-24.

The Sign of
to

silent

THE Destruction of Jerusalem.

of Jehovah came
take

Ver.

Sorrow concerning 15. And the loord

and thou
thee.

me, saying, Ver. 16. Son of man, behold, I

delight hy

from

thee thine eyes

stroke,

shall not

m,ourn nor loeep, and no tear shall come from

Ver. 17.

Sigh in silence

lamentation for the dead thou shall not make

thee,

bind thy head-attire upon

and put
and
eat

thy shoes

upon thy

feet,

and do not
Ver. 18.
evening

cover thy beard,

not
the

the

bread of men.

And I spake to the people in my wife died, and I did in the

morning, and in the

teas

morning as I
to

com-

manded.

Ver. 19. Then the people said

me, Wilt thou not

show us
Aiid

ivhat this signifies to us that thou doest so ?

to

Ver. 20.

I said

them,
to the

Ver. 21. Say

The ivord of Jehovah has come to me, saying, house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah,

Behold, I will profane

the delight

my

sanctuary, the pride of your strength,

the desire

of your

eyes,

and

of your soul

and your

343
sons

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL. and your daughters,

Ver. 22. TheJi
ichoni ye have
I'ft,

ivill

fall hy the
loill

sioord.

ivill

ye do as

have done, ye
23.

not
will

cover the heard, nor eat the bread of

men ; Ver.

And ye

have your head-attire upon your heads, and your shoes upon your
feet; ye will not
inicjuity,

mourn nor weep,

you

hut

ivill

pine away in your

and

shjh one
to

toward another.
;

Ver. 24.
ivill

Thus will

Ezekiel he a sign
it

as he hath done

ye do

cometh, ye will
in

know
ver.

that

I
to

the

Lord am Jehovah.
effect
tliat
tlie

From

ivhen

the statements

18,

the

propliet

spoke to the people in the morning, and then in the evening

his

wife died, and then

again
of

in

the

(following)

morning,
grief,

according to the
in

command
did,

God, he manifested no

and

answer

to the inquiry of the

people explained to them the

evident that the word of

meaning

of

what he

it

is

God

contained in this section came to him on the same day as the

preceding one, namely, on the day of the blockade of Jerusalem

;

for

what he
is

said to the people on the

morning of

this

day

(ver. 18)

the prophecy contained in vers. 3-14.

diately after

He

had made

this revelation to

Immehim, God also

announced

to

him the approaching death

this

of his wife, together

with the significance which

generall}'.

event would have to the people

IG)
is

The

delight of
stroke,

the eyes (ver.

his

wife

(ver. 18) nS3?D3

by a

i.e.

by a sudden death

inflicted

by

God

{vid.

Num.
is

xiv. 37, xvii. 13).

On

the occurrence of her

death, he

neither to allow of any loud

lamentings, nor to
D^ri'j

manifest any sign of grief, but simply to sigh in silence.

/>3N

does not stand for

CHD

73X, but the words are both accu:

satives.

The

literal

rendering would be
i.e.

the dead shalt thou

not

make an

object of mourning,

thou shalt not have any

mourning for the dead,

explained the words.

as Storr {Ohservv. p. 19) has correctly

On

occasions of

mourning
it

it

was cus-

tomary
to

to

uncover the head and strew ashes upon

Isa. xx. 2),

(Isa. Ixi. 3),

go barefoot (2 Sam. xv. 30;

is

and

to cover the

beard, that

to say, the lower part of the face as far as the nose

(Mic.

iii.

7).

Ezekiel

is

not to do any of these things, but


CHAP. XXIV.
to
15-24.

349

arrange

liis

head-attire

("|^^2,

the head-attire generally, or

turban, vid. ver. 23 and Isa.

priests,

Ixi. 3,

and not

specially that of the

which

is

called nyzisn i-ix| in Ex. xxxix. 28),

and

to

put on his shoes, and also to eat no mourning bread.

does not
D"'l:'JX

C^U'jS

UiV

mean

pa^iis

miserorum^ cibus lugentlum^ in wliich case

to
C''"J']Xj

would be equivalent
is

but bread of men,

i.e.

of

the people, that

to say,

according to the context, bread which

the people were accustomed to send to the house of

in cases

mourning
to console

of death, to manifest their

sympathy and

and refresh the mourners,

custom which gave

rise in the

course of time to that of formal funeral meals.

These are not

mentioned in the Old Testament

food to the house of mourning
xxvi. 14, Hos. ix. 4,
is

but the sendinfj of bread or

clearly referred to in Deut.

and Jer.

xvi. 7 (see also 2

all

Sam.

iii.

35).

When
sign of

Ezekiel thus abstained from

lamentation and outward

mourning on the death

and asked him what

of his dearest one, the people

conjectured that such striking conduct must have some significance,

it

was that he intended

to

show
(vers.

thereby.

He
As
its

then announced to them the word of

his dearest one, his wdfe,

God

2024).
so should

had been taken from him,

dearest object, the holy temple, be taken

from the

nation by destruction, and their children by the sword.

this occurred,

When
;

then would they act as he was doing

in their

now

they

Avould not

mourn and weep, but simply

gloomy sorrow

sigh in silence on account of their sins, and groan one toward

another.

The
its

profanation

(>}}})

of the sanctuary
24).

is

effected

through

destruction

(cf. ch. vii.

To show
CjDiy

the magnitude

of the loss, the worth of the temple

is

in the eyes of the nation

|i5<2

dwelt upon in the following clauses.

is

taken from

Lev. xxvi. 19.

The temple
its

is

called the pride of

your strength,
it

because Israel based

might and strength upon

as the scene

of the gracious presence of God, living in the hope that the

Lord would not

salem and
its

give

up His sanctuary

to the heathen to be

destroyed, but would defend the temple, and therewith Jeru-

inhabitants also (cf. Jer.

vii.

4).

D3l"'S3 h)2n'q^

350

THE PROPHECIES OF

EZIIKIEL.

the desire or longing of the soul (from

ferri ad aliquam rem).

-'On, in

Arabic, desiderio

The

sons and daughters of the people

are the relatives

and countrymen

whom

the exiles had been

obliged to leave behind in Canaan.

The
is

explanation of this

lamentation and mourning on account of the destruction of the

sanctuary and death of their relations,

antithesis
iniquities
:

to

be found in the

'1^3 DriJDOJi,

ye

will pine or languish

iv.

away

in

your

(compare ch.

17 and Lev.

xxvi. 39).

Conse-

quently

we have

" not to imagine either " stolid indifference

stolid

(Eichhorn and Hitzig), or "

impenitence" (Ewald), but

overwhelming
tion,

grief, for

which there were no tears, no lamenta-

but only deep inward sighing on account of the sins which

terrible a calamity.
lix.
^\}'^, lit.

had occasioned so

to utter a

deep

growl, like the bears (Isa.

11)

here to sigh or utter a deep

groan.

"One

toward another,"
;

i.e.

manifesting the grief to

one another by deep sighs

not " full of

murmuring and

seek-

ing the sin which occasioned the calamity in others rather than
in themselves,"

as Hitzig supposes.

The

latter exposition

is

entirely at variance with the context.

This grief, which conthe

sumes the bodily strength, leads

sin,

to a clear perception of

and

also to true repentance,

to regeneration

and through penitence and

life.

atonement

and newness of

And

thus will

they attain to a knowledge of the Lord through the catastrophe

which bursts upon them

sign, see the

(cf.

Lev. xxvi. 40sqq.).

21.

For

^P)^^ a

comm. on Ex.

iv.

Sequel of the Destruction of Jerusalem TO the Prophet himself. Ver. 25. And thou, son of man^ behold, in the day ichen I take from them their might, their
Vers. 25-27.

glorious joy, the delight of their eyes

their sons

and

the desire

of

their soul,
tvill

and

their
to

daughters,
to
tell
it

Ver. 26. In that day

to

fugitive
that
tvilt

come

thee,

thine

ears.

Ver. 27. In

day will thy mouth

speak,
to

he opened loith the fugitive,

;

and thou
a

and no

longer be mute

and thus
that

shalt thou be

sign

them that they

may

knoio

I am

Jehovah.

As

CHAP. XXIV. 25-27.

351

the destruction of Jerusalem would exert a powerful influence

upon the future

history of the

exiles

on the Chaboras, and

be followed by most important

results, so

was

it

also to be a

turning-point for the prophet himself in the execution of his

calling.

Hiivernick has thus correctly explained the connection

between these closing verses and what precedes, as indicated by

nriX"!

in ver. 25.

As
when

Ezekiel up to this time was to speak to

the

the people only

at other times

Lord gave him a word

silent

for them,
(ch.
iii.

and

was to remain

and dumb

26 and

27)

from the day on which a messenger should come

tidings of the destruction of Jerusalem

to bring

him the
he was

and the temple,

to open his mouth, and not continue dumb any longer. The execution of this word of God is related in ch. xxxiii. 21, 22. The words, " when I take from them their strength," etc., are

to be understood in accordance with ver.

21.

Consequently
Israelites

Djyo

is

the sanctuary, wdiich

was taken from the

through the destruction of Jerusalem.

follow

The
soul

predicates which
(cf. ver.
lifts

down

to

D"fS3 xc'O

refer to the temple

21).

K'SJ NtJ'Dj

an object toward which the

for which
it

itself

up

(Nb'J)j

i.e.

cherishes a desire or longing; hence

21.

synonymous with

^P}, ''P'?'? in ver.

i^'^^\}

The

sons and daughters

are attached aavvBeTco<;.

Oi'3 (in that day), in ver. 26,

which resumes the words

etc.) in ver. 25, is not the

'l^l

''^np Di"'3 (in

the day

when

I take

day of the destruction of the temple,

but generally the time of this event, or more precisely, the day

on which the tidings would reach the prophet,

generic article, a fugitive (vid. Gen. xiv. 13).

t^^sn^ with the

D^^'^^ n^V^i:''rp^

to

cause the ears to hear

(it), i.e.

to relate

it,

namely

to the bodily
it

ears of the prophet, whereas he

had already heard

in spirit

from God.
tive Hiphil.

riiyoC'n,

a verbal noun, used instead of the infinii.e.

to^snTiXj with the escaped one,

at the
ris

same

time " with the mouth of the fugitive" (Hitzig).

expresses

association, or so far as the fact is concerned, simultaneousness.

The

words, " then wilt thou speak, and no longer be dumb," do

it

not imply that

was only from that time forward that Ezekiel

352
was
to

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

keep
is

silence,

but point back

to ch.

ill.

20 and 27, where

silence
there,

imposed upon him, with the exceptions mentioned

his ministry
;

from the very commencement of

with that
passage,

and

in

comparison

simply involve

iwplicite

the

thought that the silence imposed upon him then was to be

observed in the strictest manner from the present time until
the receipt of the intelligence of the
his
fall of

mouth would be opened once more.

Jerusalem, when Through the " words

of

God"

that were given to His prophet (ch. iv.-xxiv.), the

said to the people of Israel all that

Lord had now

sider

He
to

had

to

say concerning the approaching catastrophe for them to con-

and lay

to heart, that they

might be brought

acknowto their

ledge their

sin,

and turn with sorrow and repentance

God.

Therefore was Ezekiel from this time forward to keep

perfect silence toward Israel, and to let

God

the

Lord speak
It
his

by His acts and the execution of His threatening words.

was not

till

after the

judgment had commenced that

still

mouth

was

to

be opened again for

further announcements {vid.

ch. xxxiii. 22).

Israelites.

Ezekiel was tliereby to become a sign to the These words have a somewhat different meaning in There, Ezekiel, ver. 27 from that which they have in ver. 24. by the way in which he behaved at the death of his wife, was
to

be a sign

to the people of the

manner
fall

in

which they were

;

to

act

when

the

judgment should
riair:)^

upon Jerusalem

whereas

here (ver. 27),

refers to Ihe

whole of the ministry of the

still

prophet, his silence hitherto, and that which he was

observe, as well as his future words.

to

Through both

of these

he was to exhibit himself to his countrymen as a man whose silence, speech, and action were alike marvellous and full of
meanincT to them, and
led'TC of the
all

designed to lead them

of their salvation.

to the

know-

Lord, the

God

CHAP. XXV.-XXXII.

353

Chap.

XXV.-XXXIL PEEDICTIONS OF JUDGMENT UPON THE HEATHEN NATIONS.

prophet's

While the

mouth was

to

be mute to Israel, the

Lord

directed

him

to

speak against the heathen nations, and to

destruction, that they might

foretell to

them the judgment of

tlie fall

not be lifted up by

of the people and

kingdom

of

God,

but might recognise in the judgment upon Israel a work of the

omnipotence and righteousness of the Lord, the Judge of the

whole earth.

There are seven heathen nations whose destruc-

tion Ezekiel foretells in this section of his book, viz. (1)

Ammon
(5)

(2)
(6)

Moab

(3)

Edom

(4) the Philistines (ch. x.xv.)

;

Tyre

Sidon (ch, xxvi.-xxviii.)

and (7) Egypt

(ch. xxix.-xxxii.).

God by the "The word of Jehovah came to me," the utterances against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the Philistines, being all comprehended in one word of God whereas there are four separate words of God directed against Tyre, one against
These prophecies are divided into thirteen words of
introductory formula,
;

Sidon, and seven against Egypt. the seven words of

In the seven nations and

God

directed against

Egypt we cannot
position

fail

to discover an allusion to the symbolical significance of the

number.

Sidon, which had lost

its

commanding

and

become dependent upon Tyre long before the time of Ezekiel,

is

evidently selected for a special word of

God

only for the

in order to

purpose of making up the number seven.

And

make
of the

it

the

more apparent that the number has been chosen

its

on account of

significance, Ezekiel divides his

announcement

judgment upon the seventh people

into seven words of

God.

On

the basis of Gen.

i.,

seven

is

the

number denoting
therefore, Ezekiel

the completion of the works of God.

selects seven nations

When,

and utters seven words of God concerning

the principal nation, namely Egypt, he evidently intends to

indicate thereby that the

judgment predicted
its

will

be executed

and completed upon the heathen world and EZEK. I.

peoples through

354

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

the word and acts of God.

The predictions of
Philistia,

judgment upon

these seven heathen nations are divisible, accordingly, into two

groups.

Ammon, Moab, Edom,

way
in

Tyre, and Sidon

alone.

form one group, while the second

is

treats of

Egypt

This
is

certainly the

which the cycle of these prophecies

to be divided rather than the plan ordinarily adopted, according to

which the nations included

in ch. xxv., as representatives of

the one phase of the world-power, are placed in contrast with the other phase of heathenism represented by Tyre, Sidon, and

Egypt.

The

latter is the opinion entertained

by Hiivernick,

for example, with regard to the " beautiful

and symmetrical
all,"

arrangement " of these prophecies.

" First of

says he,

" the prophet shows in one series of nations

how

the idea of the

judgment of God was

which rose up

realized

in

the case of those nations

hostility to

in direct

and open

the theocracy,
as turned

and thereby represented the might of heathenism

away from God and engaged in downright rebellion against Him (ch. xxv.). The prophecies concerning Tyre and Sidon contemplate heathenism in a second aspect (ch. xxvi.-xxviii.).

lu

Tyre we have an exhibition of pride or carnal

looks
sin

security,

which

away from God, and plunges deeper and deeper

life.

into the

and worthlessness of the natural

Both aspects are

then finally combined in Egypt, that ancient foe of the cove-

nant nation, which had grown into a world-power, and while

displaying in this capacity unbending arrogance and pride, was

now,
of

like all the rest,

about to be hurled down from the summit

its

ancient glory into a bottomless deep."

is,

But

this inter-

pretation

in

more than one

which

respect, manifestly at variance

with the substance of the prophecies.

place, to the antithesis
is

This applies, in the

first

said to exist

between the nations

threatened in ch. xxv. on the one hand, and Tyre and Sidon

on the other.

In the case of

Ammon, Moab, Edom, and

the

Philistines, for example, the sins

mentioned as those for which

they would be overthrown by the judgment are their malicious

delight at the fall of Israel, and their revengeful, hostile beha-

CHAP. XXV.-XXXII. viour towards the covenant nation

355
xxv.
3,

(cli.

8,

12,

15).

And

in the

same way, according

to

ch. xxvi. 2,

Tyre had

involved

itself in guilt

by giving utterance

to its delight at the

destruction of Jerusalem, which inspired the hope that every-

thing would

now

flow into

its

own

store.

On

the other hand,

nothing

is

said in the case of

Pharaoh and Egypt about mali-

cious pleasure, or hostility, or enmity towards Israel or the

kingdom
saying
:

of

God

but Pharaoh has rendered himself guilty by

mine, I have

the Nile

is

made

it

for myself

and by the

fact that

Egypt had become a

staff of

reed to the house of Israel,

which broke when they sought

to lean

upon

it

(ch. xxix. 3, 6, 7).

According to these obvious explanations, Ezekiel reckoned Tyre and Sidon among the nations that were inimically disposed towards Israel, even though the hostile attitude of the Phoenicians was dictated by different motives

from those of

Edom
This
is

and the other nations mentioned

estabhshed beyond

in ch. xxv.;

and the heathen

that each of these

nations are arranged in two groups, and not in three.

all

doubt,

when we observe

two groups terminates with a promise for

of

Israel.
is

To

the threat

judgment uttered against Sidon there

:

appended the pro-

mise

and there

shall

be no more for Israel a malicious briar

all

and smarting thorn from

despise

that are round about

shall

them who
its

them

and when the Lord

gather Israel from

dispersion, then will

He

cause

it

to dwell safely
will

and prosper-

ously in His land, inasmuch as

all

He

execute judgment upon

(ch. xxviii.

round about them who despise them

the prediction of judgment upon

2426).

And

Egypt

in the last pro-

phecy uttered concerning

this land, in the

twenty-seventh year

of the captivity (ch. xxix. 17), closes in a similar manner, with

the promise that at the time

spoil to the

when

the

Lord

gives

Egypt

as

king of Babylon,

He

will cause

a horn to grow to
fact that these

the house of Israel (ch. xxix. 21).

The

two

prophecies correspond to each other would not have been overlooked by the commentators
if

the prophecy concerning Egypt,

which was

really the last in order of time,

had been placed in

356
its

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

proper chronological position in the book of Ezekiel, namely,

at the close of the ^vorcls of

God

directed against that land.

The
is

date of the great mass of these propliecies falls within

the period of the last siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, that

to say, in the interval

between ch. xxiv. and

cli.

xxxiii., as

the chronological data in the headings plainly affirm.

-word concerning

Tlie

first

Tyre

is

from the eleventh year of the captivity

of Jehoiachin (ch. xxvi. 1).

Of

the prophecies against Egypt,

the one in ch. xxix. 1-16 dates from the tenth

month
month

of the

tenth year; that in ch. xxx. 20-26, from the

first

of the of the

eleventh year; that in clu xxxi., from the third

month
sqq,,

same year; the two

twelfth

in ch. xxxii. 1 sqq.

and 17

from the

month

of the twelfth year; and lastly, the brief utter-

ance in ch. xxix. 17-21, from the twenty-seventh year of the

captivity.

There are no chronological data attached

to

the

others.

But

the short, threatening words

against

the

Am-

monites, Moabites, Edomites, and Philistines in ch. xxv. belong

to the time

immediately succeeding the

its

fall

of Jerusalem, since
third

they presuppose

having occurred.

The second and

20

utterances concerning Tyre in clu xxvii. and ch, xxviii. 1-19,

as well as that concerning Sidon in ch. xxviii.
sqq., are closely
first

connected, so far as their contents are concerned, with the

word of God against Tyre belonging

the captivity.

to the eleventh

year of

And

lastly,

the threatening word concerning

Eiiypt in ch. xxx. 1-19, to -which no definite chronological data are attached, appears to stand nearer in point of time to
ch.
xxix.

1-16 than
is

to ch. xxix.

1721.

Consequently

the

arrangement

based upon the subject-matter of the prophecies,

is

and the chronological sequence

relation to the theocracy-

kept subordinate to

this, or

rather to the comparative importance of the several nations in

These prophecies evidently

I

rest

upon the predictions of

nations, so far as their

the earlier prophets against the

same

contents are concerned

and

in

the threats directed against

Tyre and Egypt, more

especially,

many

of the thoughts con-

cnAP. xxv.-xxxii.
tallied in

357
xxlii.

the propliecies of Isaiah

(Isa.

and

xix.) are

reproduced and expanded.

But notwithstanding

this

resting

upon the utterances of

earlier prophets,
is

Ezekiel's

prophecy

against the lieathen nations

distinguished in a characteristic

manner from

that of the other prophets, by the fact that he

does not say a word about the prospect of these nations bein<T
ultimately pardoned, or of the remnant of
to the

them being converted

these
in

Lord, but stops with the announcement of the utter

desti'uction of the earthly

and temporal condition of

all

kingdoms and nations.

ch. xxix.

The prophecy concerning Egypt

captivity,

1316,
will

to the effect that after forty years of chastiseits

ment God
is

turn

and gather

it

together again,

only an apparent and not a real exception to this; for this

is

turning of the judgment

not to bring about a restoration of

its
is

Egypt

to its
;

former might and greatness or

but, according to vers.

glorification in

the future

14

sqq.,

simply to restore

a lowly and impotent kingdom, which will offer no inducement

to

Israel to rely

upon

its

strength.

Through
is

this promise,

therefore, the threat of complete destruction

only somewhat

modified, but

by no means withdrawn.

The

only thing which

Ezekiel positively holds out to view before the seven heathen

nations
is,

that in consequence of the

judgment

falling

upon them,

they

w^ill

learn that

God

is

Jehovah, or the Lord.

all

This formula

regularly returns in the case of

7,

the nations [vid. ch. xxv. 5,

11, 17, xxvi. 6, xxviii. 22, 23, xxix. 6, 9, xxx. 8, 19, 25, 26,
;

xxxii. 15)

and we might take

of
their

it

to

mean, that through the

temporal respect,
these

judgment

destruction

in

nations will

come

to the

knowledge of the God of

it

salvation.

And

with this interpretation

would contain a

slight allusion

to the salvation,

which

will flourish in

consequence of and after

destruc-

the judgment, in the case of those

tion.
If,

who have escaped

however,

we

consider, on the one hand, that in the

case of

Edom

(ch. xxv. 14) the

formula takes a harsher form,

namely, not that they shall know Jehovah, but that they shall
experience His vengeance; and, on the other hand, that the

358
mighty Tyre
is

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

repeatedly threatened with destrnction, even

eternal extinction (ch. xxvi. 20, 21, xxvii. 3G, xxviii. 19), and

that the whole cycle of these prophecies closes with a funeraldirge on the descent of
(ch. xxxii. 17-32),
all

we

the heathen nations into Sheol

shall see that the

formula in question
Kliefoth main-

cannot be taken
tains,

in the sense indicated above, as

but must be understood as signifying that these nations

the punitive righteousness of

will discern in their destruction

God, so that

it

presents no prospect of future salvation, but

simply increases the force of the threat.

this distinction,

There

is

nothing in

however,

to

establish a
;

discrepancy between

Ezekiel and the earlier prophets

for Ezekiel simply fixes his

fall

eye upon the judgment, which will

upon the heathen

nations, partly on account of their hostile attitude towards the

kingdom of God, and

their

partly on account of their deification of

is

own might, and

silent as

to the salvation
itself,

which

will

accrue even to them out of the judgment

the least degree denying
it.

but without in
is

The

reason for his doing this

not that the contemplation of the particular features, which

form the

details of the

immediate fulfilment, has led him

to

avert his eye from the

more comprehensive survey

of the entire

future

but that the proclamation of the spread of salvation

among

the heathen lay outside the limits of the calling which

he had received from the Spirit of God.

sion of Ezekiel

The

prophetic mis-

was

restricted to the

remnant of the covenant

and scattered among the

nation, which

was carried
this

into exile,

heathen.
^

To

remnant he was
Isa.

to foretell the destruction

xxiii.) has

Drechsler (in his commentary on

given

tlie

following

explanation of the distinction to be observed between the prophecies of

Isaiah

and those

of Ezekiel concerning Tyre,

its

namely, that

in the case of

Isaiah tlie spirit of prophecy invests

totality, in

utterances with the character of

entrance upon a

accordance with the position assigned to this prophet at the new era of the world, embracing the entire future even

to the remotest times, and sketching with grand simplicity the ground-

plan and outline of the whole such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel,

whereas in the case of the later prophets, the midst of the historical execution, the survey of the whole gives place to the contemplation of
;

who were living in


CHAP.
of the

XXV -XXXI

I.

359

kingdom

of Judali,

and after the occurrence of that

catastrophe the preservation and eventual restoration of the

kingdom of God
associated,

in a

renewed and

glorified form.

With

this

commission, which he had received from the Lord, there was

it is

true, the

announcement of judgment upon the

heathen, inasmuch as such an announcement was well fitted to

preserve from despair the Israelites,

who were pining under

the

oppression of the heathen, and to revive the hope of the

fulfil-

ment

of the promise held out before the penitent of their future

redemption from their state of misery and restoration to the

position of the people of

God.

But

this

would not apply to

the prophecies of the reception of the heathen into the renovated

kingdom

of

God,

as they contained

no special element of con-

solation to the covenant people in their depression.

In connection with
stance,

this

we have

the equally striking circum-

that

Ezekiel does not mention

Babylon among the

merely from

heathen nations.

This

may

also be explained, not

the predominance of the idea of the judgment upon Israel and

Jerusalem, which the Chaldeans were to execute as " righteous

men"

(ch. xxiii. 45), so that they only

came before him

as

such righteous men, and not as a world-power also (Kliefoth),

but chiefly from the fact that, for the reason described above,
Ezekiel's prophecy of the
stricted

judgment upon the heathen

is

re-

to

those

nations which

had hitherto cherished and

displayed either enmity or false friendship toward Israel, and

the Chaldeans were not then reckoned

among

the number.

For the further development

of the prophecy concerning the

future of the whole heathen world, the

Lord had

called the

particular features belonging to the details of the immediate fulfilment.

But

tliis explanation is not satisfactory, inasmuch as Jeremiah, notwithstanding the fact that he lived in the midst of the execution of the judgment, foretold the turning of judgment into salvation at least in the case

of

some

of the heathen nations.

For example, in

ch. xlviii.

47 he prophesies

to the Moabites, and in ch. xlix. 6 to the Ammonites, that in the future

time Jehovah will turn their captivity and in ch. xlvi. 26 he says, concerning Egypt, that after the judgment it will be inhabited as in the days
;

of old.

360

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

same time
as Ezckiel,

propliet Daniel at the

and assigned him

his post at the seat of the existing heathen imperial power.

CHAP. XXV. AGAINST AMMON, MOAB, EDOM, AND THE

PHILISTINES.

The
8-11),

prophecies,

comprehended

in the

heading

(ver. 1) in

one

" word of the Lord," against

Ammon
and the

(vers. 1-7),

!Moab (ters.

Edom

(vers. 12-14),

Philistines (vers. 15-17),

those four border-nations of Israel, are very concise, the judg-

ment of destruction being

lines, partly

foretold to them, in a

few forcible

on account of their scorn

at the fall of the people

hostility
is

and kingdom of God, and partly because of actual

manifested toward them.
given in the heading
of
;

The

date of these utterances

3, 6,

not

but in vers.

and 8 the destruction

Jerusalem

is

presupposed as having already occurred, so

till

that they cannot have been delivered

after this catastrophe.

Vers. 1-7.

Against the Ammonites.

to

Ver.

1.

And

the

word of Jehovah came

Ver.
the
3.

me, saying, Ver. 2. Son of man, direct

thy face towards the sons of

And
Aha!

say

to

the

Ammon, and prophesy against them, sons of Ammon, Hear ye the loord of
saith the

Lord Jehovah! Thus

concerning

Lord Jehovah, Because

it

thou

sayest,

my

sanctuary^ that
it is

is

jjrofaned;
;

and

concerning the land of Israel, that

ing the house of Judah,
that

laid waste

and concerncaptivity
;

they have gone

tliee to

into

Ver.

4.

Therefore, behold,

for a possession, that they

I loill give may pitch

;

the sons

of

tlie

east

their tent-villages in thee,

and

erect their dicellings

in thee

they shall eat thy fruits,

5.

and

they shall drink thy

jnillc.
tlie

Ver.
sons of

a camel-ground, and
jlochs;

And Rahhah icill I make Ammon a resting-place for

Jehovah.

and ye

shall

know

tliat

I am

Ver.

6.

For

thus

saith the

Lord

Jcliovah, Because thou hast clapped thy hand,

loith all thy

and
con-

stamped with thy foot, and hast rejoiced in soid

tempt concerning the house of Israel, Ver.
7.

Therefore, behold,

CHAP. XXV.
loill stretch

1-7.

361
to the nations for

out

my hand against (hee, and give thee

booty,

and cut

thee offfrom the peoples,and exterminate thee from the

lands

Iioill destroy thee, that thou

mayst learn that

In

I am Jehovah.
Nebu-

ch. xxi.

28

sqq.,

when

predicting the expedition of

chadnezzar against Jerusalem, Ezekiel had ah'eady foretold the

destruction of the

Ammonites,

so that these verses are simply a

resumption and confirmation of the earlier prophecy.

passage referred
ii.

In the

to,

Ezekiel, like Zephaniah before

him (Zeph.

8, 10),

mentions their reviling of the people of

God

as the

sin for

which they are to be punished with destruction.

This

reviling, in

which

their

hatred of the divine calling of Israel

sin of

found vent, was the radical

of Judah's
fall, it

Amnion.

On

the occasion

rose even to

contemptuous and malicious joy

at the profanation of the

sanctuary of Jehovah by the destruc-

tion of the temple (a comparison with ch. xxi v. 21 will

show

that this

is

the sense in which PnJ

is to

be understood), at the

devastation of the land of Israel, and at the captivity of Judah,

in other words, at the destruction of the religious

and

political

existence of Israel as the people of

God.

The

profanation of

the sanctuary
to Israel,

is

mentioned

first,

to intimate that the hostility

manifested by the Ammonites on every occasion that

itself (for proofs, see

presented
its

the

comm. on Zeph.

ii.

8),

had

roots not so

much

in national antipathies, as in antacronism

to the sacred calling of Israel.

As

a punishment for this, they

are not only to lose their land (vers.

4 and

5),

but to be cut off

7).

from the number of the nations

will

(vers. 6

and

The Lord

give up their land, with

i.e.,

its

productions, for a possession to

the sons of the east,

according to Gen. xxv. 13-18, to the

Q"3i^
"'23,

Arabs, the Bedouins (for

see the

comm. on Judg.

vi.

3
is

and Job

i.

3).

The

Piel

^^U'"',

although only occurring here,

not to be rejected as critically suspicious, and to be changed

into Kal, as Hitzig proposes.

The Kal would

be unsuitable

because the subject of the sentence can only be D"ip ""paj and not Dn^nh^p; and yS'l in the Kal has an intransitive sense.

For nirpj

tent-villages of

nomads, see the comm. on Gen.

3G2
XXV.
16.

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

^"'?rr'?,

dwellings,

are

the

separate

tents

of

the

shepherds.

In the
;

last clauses of ver. 4,

nan

is

repeated for the

first

sake of emphasis

and Hitzig's opinion, that the

'lJi

n^n corre-

sponds to the subject in the clause

in ^^nji,
is

^^i^'l,

the second to that

to be rejected as a marvellous flight of imagination,

in

which approaches absurdity

signifies the folds,
i.e.

the

assertion

that

p^!!'^

^l?

the animals, of the land.

i.e.

Along with
milk
is

the fruit of the land,

the produce of the

soil,

also

mentioned

as a production of pastoral life,

and the principal

food of nomads.

On
Judg.

the wealth of the

vi.

and herds,

see

5.

Ammonites in flocks The words are addressed to

suffix.

Ammon,
The
the

as a land or

kingdom, and hence the feminine

capital will also share the fate of the land.

Rahhah

(see

comm. on Deut.

iii.

11) will become a camel-ground, a

lie

waste spot where camels

almost
literally fulfilled.

down and
ruins of

feed.

This has been

are deserted by

The

Amman

men, and Seetzen found Arabs with

{vid.

their camels not far off

von Raumer, Palestine,

i.e.

p. 268).

In the parallel clause, the

sons of Amnion,
their land.

the Ammonites, are mentioned instead of

In

vers.

6 and 7, the

Lord announces

to the

nation of the

Ammonites
still

the destruction that awaits them, and

reiterates with
it,

stronger emphasis the sin which occasioned

Israel's

namely, the malicious delight they had manifested at

^pXk?'"b33
soul,
i.e.

fall.

is

strengthened by t'2:3
all

with

all

thy contempt

in the
cherish.

with

the contempt which thy soul could

In

ver. 7 the arr. Xe<y. J3p occasions

some

difficulty.
(cf. ch.

The Keri
xxvi. 5)
;

has substituted np, for booty to the nations

and

all

the ancient versions have adopted this.

Con-

sequently i? might be a copyist's error for I?; and in support

of this the circumstance might be adduced, that in ch. xlvii. 13,

where
of
i

na stands for HT^

T.

we have unquestionably a

substitution
is

for

But
it

if

the Chelib

be correct, the word

to be

explained

as

has been by Benfey (Vie Montasnamen,

(in
1,

p.

194)
des

and Gildemeister
Morgenlandes,
iv.

Lassen's Zeitschrift fur die

p.

Kunde

213

sqq.)

from

the Sanscrit hhdga,

CHAP. XXV.

8-11.

363

pars, portio, and has passed into the Semitic languages from

the Aryan, like the Syriac Li^^? ^sca, which P. Boetticher

(Horae aram.
coquere.

p.

21) has correctly traced to the Sanscrit hhaj,

of the

The executors
God

judgment are not named

for

the threat that

will give

up the land of the Ammonites

to

the Bedouins for their possession, does not imply that they are
to exterminate the

Ammonites.

On

the contrary, a comparison

xlix.

of this passage with

Amos

i.

13-15 and Jer.

1-5, where

the

Ammonites

are threatened not only with the devastation of

their land, but also with transportation into exile, will

show

that the Chaldeans are

to

be thought of as executing the

judgment.

(See the comm. on ver. 11.)

Vers. 8-11.
the
all

Against the Moabites.

Moah,
like

Ver.
:

8.

Thus

saith

Lord

Jeliovah, Because

Seir, saith, Behold, like

other nations is the house of

Judah

Ver.

9.

Therefore,

behold,
cities

I icill

open the shoulder of

last, the

Moah from

the cities,

from

its

even to the

ornament of the land, Beth-hayeshimoth,

Baal-meon, and as far as Kiryaihaim, Ver. 10. To the sons of

Ammon, and will give it for a p>ossession, that the sons of Ammon may no more he rememVer. 11. Ujyoii Moah xvill 1 execute bered among the nations. learn that I am Jehovah. Moab has judgments; and they shall
the east, together loith the sons of

become guilty
God,
as

of the

same

sin against

Judah, the people of

Ammon,

namely, of misunderstanding and despising

the divine election of Israel.

Ammon
all

gave expression

to this,

when Judah was overthrown, the house of Judah was like

is

in the malicious assertion that

the heathen nations,

that

to say,

had no pre-eminence over them, and shared the same

fate as they.
Seir,
i.e.

There

is

something remarkable

in the allusion to

reference

Edom, in connection with Moab, inasmuch as no is made to it in the threat contained in vers. 9-11
12, 13, there follows a separate prediction con-

and

in vers.

cerning Edom.

Hitzig therefore proposes to follow the example

364
of the

THE PROPHECIES OF EZCKIEL.

LXX.,

and erase

it

from the

text as a gloss, but without

beiDc able in the smallest degree to

show

in

what way

it

is

probable that such a gloss could

obviously
unsuitable
place.

have found admission into an

is

Seir

mentioned along with

Moab

to

mark

the feeling expressed in the words of

Moab

as

springing, like the enmity of

Edom
As

towards Israel, from hatred

i.e.

and envy of the

spiritual birthright of Israel,

of

its

peculiar

prerogatives in sacred history.

a punishment for this,

to the

Moab

was

to be given up, like

Amnion,
nations.

Bedouins for their

possession,

and the people of the Moabites were to disappear

Vers. 9 and 10 form one
in ver. 9.

from the number of the

period, Dli?
*?.??

in ver.

10 being governed by nnb

is

The
had

shoulder of

Moab

the side of the Moabitish land.

In
is

the application of the word 1^3 to lands or provinces, regard

to the

position of the shoulder in relation to the whole

district.

body, but without reference to the elevation of the

We

find an analogy to this in the use of ^ins in connection with

the sides of a building.

In

'ii1

D'''}V'!!"?,

the i? cannot be taken,

in a privative sense, for rivnrp

for neither the article 2^")yn, nor

the more emphatic I^Vi^p

direction, "

"l''"]^^?

allows this; but

jt?

indicates the

from the

cities

onwards," " from

its cities

onwards,

reckoning to the very

in^'i^p,

last,"

that

is

to say, in its

whole extent.
is

as in Isa.
all

Ivi.

11,

Gen.

xix. 4, etc.

This tract of land

first

of

designated as a glorious land, with reference to

its

its

worth as a possession on account of the excellence of

for the rearing of cattle (see the comni. on

soil

Num.

xxxii. 4),

and

then defined with geographical minuteness by the introduction

of the
Detli-IIayesldmotli, i.e. names of some of its cities. house of wastes (see the comm. on Num. xxii. 1), has probably

been preserved

in

the ruins of Siialme, which F. de Saulcy

discovered on the north-eastern border of the

farther inland
p. 315).

Dead

Sea, a

little
t.
i.

{vid.

Voyage en

terre sainte, Paris

1865,

Baal-Meon,
17),

when

written fully,

Bcth-Baal-Meon
in Jer. xlviii, 23,

(Josh.
is

xiii.

contracted into

Beth-Meon

to

be sought for

to the south-east of this, in the ruins of

cnAP. XXV.

8-11.

365

Myun, three-quarters of an hour's journey to the south of Heshbon (see the comm. on Num. xxxii. 38). Kiryathaim was still farther south, probably on the site of the ruins of El

Teym (see the coinni. on Gen. xiv. 5 and Num. xxxii. 37). The CJietih nonnp is based upon the form Cinn*), a secondary
form of
vi.
D:n;")i?,

like

\rp\^

a secondary form of pni, in 2 Kings

situated to the north of the

13.

The

cities

named were

Arnon,

in that portion of the

tlie

Moabitish land which had been

taken from

Moabites by the Amorites before the entrance

of the Israelites into

Canaan (Num.
its

xxi.

13, 26),

and was

given to the tribe of Reuben for

inheritance after the defeat

still

of the Amoritish kings by the Israelites; and then,

later,

when
by

the tribes beyond the Jordan were carried into captivity the Assyrians, came into the possession of the Moabites
is

again, as

evident from Isa. xv. and xvi., and Jer.

cities are

xlviii. 1,

23, of

where these

mentioned once more amono- the

will explain

cities

the Moabites.

This

not only the namino- of this

particular district of the Moabitish country, but the definition, " from its cities." For the fact upon which the
in the passage before us
is,

stress is laid

that the land in question rightfully

belonged

to

the Israelites, according to

xii. 2, 3, xiii.

Num.

xxxii.

37 38,

it was therefore unlawfully usurped by the Moabites after the deportation of the trans-Jordanic tribes; and the thought is this, that the judgment would burst upon Moab from this land and these

xxxiii. 49,

Josh.

20, 21,

and that

and they would thereby be destroyed (Htivernick and Kliefoth). lisr'.^S ^V, not " over the sons of Amnion," but "in addition to the sons of Ammon." They, that is to say, their
cities,

land, liad already been promised to the sons of the east (ver. 4). In addition to this, they are now to receive Moab for their possession (Hitzig and Kliefoth). Thus will the Lord

execute

judgments upon Moab.

Ver. 11 sums up what

is

affirmed

concerning Moab in vers. 9 and 10, in the one idea of the judgments of God upon this people. The execution of these judgments commenced with the subjugation of the

Ammonites

366

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

five years after
A7itt. x.
9.

and Moabltes by Nebuchadnezzar,

tion of

the destruc-

Jerusalem
Gesch.

{vid.

Josephus,
etc.,

7,

and

^I.

von
the

Niebuhr,

Assurs,

p.

215).

Nevertheless

Ammonites
them
of
^

continued to exist as a nation for a long time after

the captivity, so that Judas the INIaccabaean

(1

waged war against

Mucc.

v. 6,

30-43)

and even Justin Martyr speaks

AfifiavLTOiv vvv TToKv ttXtJ^o? (^Dial. Tri/ph. p. 272).

their land in the general

But
it

Origen includes

name

of Arabia (lib.
to

i.

The name of the Moabites appears in Job). After the extinct at a much earlier period.
only in Ezra
ix. 1,

have become
is

captivity,

Neh.

xiii.

1,

and Dan.

xi.

41, that
is

we

find

any notice of them

Josephus
Jud.
iii.

as a people.
xiii.

Their land

mentioned by
in the Dell.

in

the Antiq.

14. 2,

and xv.

4,

and

3. 3.

A further fulfilment by the Messianic judgment,

ii.

which

is

referred to in Zeph.
;

10,

is

not indicated in these

words of Ezekiel

but judging from the prophecy concerning

the Edomites (see the

comm. on

ver.

14),

it

is

not to be

excluded.

Vers. 12-14.
the

Against the Edomites.

Ver.

12.

Thus

saith

Lord Jehovah, Because Edom

acteth revenrjefally

toivards

of Judah^ and hath been very guilty in avenijing itself upon them, Ver. 13. Therefore, thus saith the T^ord Jehovah, I
the house
ivill stretch

out

my hand
it

over

Edom, and

cut off

man and

beast

from
they

it,

and make

a desert from Teman, and unto Dedan

my

Ver. 14. And I ivill inflict Edom by the hand of my people Israel, that they may do to Edom according to my anger and my icrath ; and they shall experience my vengeance, is the saying
shall fall

hy the sivord.

vengeance upon

of the Lord Jehovah. AVhilst the Ammonites and the Moabites are charged with nothing more than malicious pleasure at the
fall of Israel,

and disregard of

its

divine calling, the Edomites

are reproached with revengeful acts of hostility towards the

house of Judah, and threatened with extermination in consequence.

The

nib'J?,

doing or acting of Edom,

is

more pre-

CHAP. XXV. 12-14.

0ipJ3,

367

cisely defined as

'lJ1

i.e.

as consisting in the taking of

lO^'X'.

vengeance, and designated as very guilty, CiD'X

followed by 3 with an infinitive, as in ch. xvii. 17.

nby,

Edom had
so that
in

sought every opportunity of acting thus revengefully towards

Israel
{vid.

Obad.

vers.

11 sqq,

Amos

i.

11),

ch. XXXV. 5 Ezekiel speaks of the "eternal

enmity" of

Edom

against Israel.

For

this

reason

we must

not restrict the

reproach in ver. 12 to particular outbreaks of this revenge at

the time of the devastation and destruction of

Judah by

the

Chaldeans, of which
for

the Psalmist complains in Ps. cxxxvii.,

and

which he invokes the vengeance of

to

and beast are

be cut

off

from

land to become a desert from

God upon Edom. Man Edom in consequence, and the Teman to Dedan. These names
Teman
is
i.

denote not
of

cities,

but

districts.

the southern portion

Idumaea

(see

the comm. on

Amos
x. 7,

12); and Dedan

is

is

therefore the northern district.

Dedan

probably not the

Cushite tribe mentioned in Gen.

but the tribe of the same

name which sprang from

(Gen. XXV.
3),

the sons of
is

Abraham by Keturah
xlix.

and which

also

mentioned in Jer.

8 in

connection with

Edom.
is

ninT has n local with Seghol instead

of Kametz, probably on account of the preceding a (vid. Ewald,

216c).

There

no necessity

to

connect

J9"'^P

with the

following clause, as Hitzig and Kliefoth have done, in opposition to the accents.

The two

geographical names, which are

used as a periphrasis for Idumaea as a whole, are distributed

equally through the parallelismiis

memhrorum between
is

the two

clauses of the sentence, so that they belong to both clauses, so

far as the sense
is

concerned.

Edom
its

to

become a desert

from Teman

to

Dedan, and

inhabitants from

Teman
The

to

Dedan
will

are to fall

by the sword.

This judgment of vengeance

people Israel.
fulfil-

be executed by
of this threat,

God through His

;

ment

no doubt, commenced with the subjugation

but
it
is

of the Edomites

by the Maccabees

not to be limited

to that event, as Rosenmiiller,

Kliefoth, and others suppose,

although the foundation was thereby laid for the disappearance

368

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

of the national existence of

this limitation to
peojjle Israel."

Edom.

For

it

is

impossible with

do justice to the

emphatic expression, "

my

On

the ground, therefore, of the prophecies in

sqq., that the people of

Amos
David

ix.

12 and Obad. vers. 17

God

are to take possession of

is

Edom, when
i.e.

the fallen tabernacle of

raised

up

again,

in the Messianic times,

which

prophecies point back to that of

Balaam

in

Num.

xxiv. 18,

and
con-

have their
cernins;

roots, as this also lias, in the

promise of

God

the

twin sons of Isaac, " the elder shall serve the

23),

younger" (Gen. xxv.

we must

seek for

the

complete
all

fulfilment in the victories of the people of

foes,

God

over

their

among whom Edom from time immemorial had taken the leading place, at the time when the kingdom of God is perfected.

For even here

Edom

is

not introduced merely as a

single nation that

was peculiarly
God,

hostile to

Judah, but

also as

a type of the implacable enmity of the heathen world towards

the people and

etc.

kingdom

of

as in ch. xxxv., Isa. xxxiv. 63,

The

vengeance, answering to the anger and wrath of

Israel,

Jehovah, which

as the people of

Gud,

is

to

execute

upon Edom,

consists not

merely in the annihilation of the

carried into

national existence of
effect

Edom, which John Hyrcanus

xxiv.

by compelling the subjugated Edomites

to adopt

circum-

cision (see the

comm. on Num.

18), but chiefly in the

wrathful judgment which Israel will execute in the person of

Christ upon the arch-enemy of the

kingdom

of

God by

its

complete extinction.

Vers. 15-17.
saith the

Against the Philistines.

%vit]i

Ver.
to

15.

Thus

Lord

Jehovah, Because the Philistines act contempt in the soul

ivith revenge,

and avenge
everlasting

themselves

destroy in
the

enmity,

Ver. 16.

Therefore

thus

saith

Lord

Jehovah, Behold,

will stretch out

my hand
the

over the I^hilistines,

and

cut ojf the Cretans^

and destroy
icill

remnant hy

the sea-

shore.

Ver. 17.

And I

execute

great vengeance
they shall

upon
that

them through chastisements of

icrath,

and

hnow

CHAP. XXV. 15-17.

3G9
upon
them.

/ am
The

Jeliovah,

lohen

bring viy

vengeance

in

Philistines resembled

the Edomites

and Ammonites

their disposition towards the covenant nation,

the former in

their thirst for revenge, the latter in their malicious rejoicing

at Israel's fall.

For

this reason tliey

had already been classed

Amnion as enemies, who would be successfully attacked and overcome by Israel, when the Lord had gathered it again from its dispersion. In
(xi.

by Isaiah

14) with Edom, Moab, and

the description of

its sin

towards Israel we have a combination

of elements taken from the conduct of

(vers.

Edom

and Amnion

12 and

6).

They
and
this

execute revenge with contempt in the

destroy

soul

("C'DJn DXi^*,

as in ver. 6), with the intention to

(ir'nt^'Dp)

Israel

revenge springs from eternal, neverwill

ending

hostility.

The Lord

cut off the whole of the

Q"'J]'?3,

people of the Philistines for

this.

Cretans, originally a

branch of the Philistian people, settled in the south-west of Canaan. The name is used by Ezekiel for the people, as it

had already been by Zephauiah

paronomasia with
''^l^n.

(ii.

5), for

the sake of the

The

origin of the

name

is

involved

in obscurity, as the current derivation

from Creta

rests

upon a
sqq.).

very doubtful combination

(cf. Stark,

Gaza, pp. QQ and 99

i.e.

By

the " remnant of the sea-coast,"

the remnant of the

inhabitants of the coast of the Mediterranean, in other words,

of the Philistines, the destruction of

which had already been

30),

predicted by
(xlvii,4),
last

Amos
that

(i.

8),

Isaiah

(xiv.

and Jeremiah

we
all
i.

are to understand the whole nation to the very

man,

was

still

on

in which Gaza was attacked by Pharaoh, and, judging from Jer. xlvii., the whole of Philistia was laid waste by the Chaldeans (see the fuller comments on
this in the exposition of Jer. xlvii.).

Amos God began

8).

The execution

left of the Philistines (see the

of the vengeance threatened

comm. by

in the

Chaldean period,

But

the ultimate fulfil-

ment

will take place in the case of Philistia also, throuo-h the

in the

Messianic judgment,
tary on Zeph.
ii.

manner described

in the

commenA

10.

EZEK.

I.

370

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

CHAP. XXVI.-XXVIII.AGAINST TYRE AXD SIDON.

The

greater portion of these three chapters

is

occupied with

the propliecy concerning Tyre, whicii extends from ch. xxvi. 1

to ch. xxviii. 19.

ch. xxviii. 20-26.

The prophecy against Sidon The reason for this is, that

is

limited to

the grandeur

and importance of Phoenicia were concentrated

at that time in

the power and rule of Tyre, to wiiich Sidon had been obliged
to relinquish the

hegemony, which

it

had formerly possessed

over Phoenicia.

The prophecy
first

against

Tyre

consists of four

words of God, of which the

of

(ch. xxvi.) contains the threat

state

destruction

to

the city and

of Tyre

the second the

third

(ch.. xxvii.),

a lamentation over this destruction;

(ch. xxviii.

1-10), the threat against the king of Tyre; the

fall.

fourth (ch. xxviii. 11-19), a lamentation over his

CHAP. XXVI. THE FALL OF TYRE.

In four
sections,

commencing with the formula, " thus

is

saith

the Lord," Tyre, the mistress of the sea,

destruction.

threatened with
is

In the

first

strophe (vers. 2-6) there

a general

threat of

its

destruction by a host of nations.

In the second

(vers. 7-14), the

enemy
;

is

mentioned by name, and designated

as a powerful

one

and the conquest and destruction emanating

In the third
(vers.

from him are circumstantially described.

15-18), the impression which this event would produce upon

the inhabitants of the islands and coast-lands
in the fourth (vers.
is

depicted.

And

19-21), the threat

is

is

repeated in an energetic
off.
its

manner, and the prophecy

This word of

thereby rounded

God

bears in the introduction the date of

delivery to the prophet and enunciation by him.

Ver.

1. Jt

came
the

to

pass in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, that

word of Jehovah came to me, saying. The eleventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin was the year of the conquest and destruction of Jerusalem (Jer. lii. 6, 12), the occurrence of which

CHAP. XXVI.

2-6.

371

is

presupposed in ver. 2

also.

There

is

something striking in the

number of the month both here and in ch. xxxii. month is given. The attempt to discover in the words ^'}pd "^^^^ an indication of the number of the month, by understanding ^"[np as signifying the first month of the year: "on the first as regards the month," equivalent to, "in
omission of the
17, as the day of the

the

first

month, on the
is

first

day of

it"

(LXX., Luther,

Kliefoth,

and

others),

as forced
is

and untenable

as the notion that that

particular

month

intended which had peculiar significance

for Ezekiel, namely, the

month

in

which Jerusalem was conexplanation

is

quered and destroyed.

erroneous by ver.
2,

The

first

proved to be

where the destruction of Jerusalem, which

occurred in the

fifth

have already happened.

month of the year named, is assumed to The second view is open to the objecJerusalem happened in the fourth
fifth (Jer.
lii.

tion that tlie conquest of

month, and the destruction in the

it

and 12)

and

cannot be affirmed that the conquest was of

less

importance to

Ezekiel than the destruction.

sion, therefore, that the

We

cannot escape the conclu-

number of
text,

the

month has been dropped

in

through a corruption of the

but in that case

which has occurred

all

copying
to de-

we must

give up

hope of being able

termine what the month really was.

The
last

conjecture offered

by Evvald and Hitzig, that one of the

is

months of the year

intended, because Ezekiel could not have

known

before then

what impression the conquest of Jerusalem had made upon

Tyre, stands or
falls

with the naturalistic view entertained by

these writers with regard to prophecy.

Vers. 26. Tyre shall be broken and utterly destroyed.

Ver.

2.

Son of man^ because

Ti/re saith concerning Jerusalem,

is

" Aha, the door of the nations

broken

it

tuimeth to

me ; I
thee,

shall become full; she is laid icaste ;" Ver. 3.

saith
the

Therefore thus

Lord Jehovah^ Behold, I

will bring
its

will

come upon

Tyre,

and

up against
Ver.
4.

thee

many

nations, as the sea

bringing up

waves.

They
;

will destroy the loalls

of Tyre, and throw down her

toivers

and I

icill

sweep away

372
Iter

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

dust from her,

and make her a hare

the spreading the saying

rock.

Ver.

5.

She shall

become a place for

of nets in the midst of the sea,

for

have spoken

it, is

of

the

Lord Jehovah
6.

and she

shall become booty for the nations.

Ver.
slain

And
the

her daughters
sicord;
iu

which are
they
shall

in

the

land shall

be

with

and

learn that

I am

Jehovah. Tyi;e,
is

as

the pro-

phecy of Isaiah
the mainlandj
rj

(ch. xxiii.),
rrrdXaL

not

tlie city

of that

name upon
(as

Tvpa

or TIa\aiTvpo<;,

Old Tyre, which

and Eichhorn

was taken by Shahnaneser and destroyed by Alexander

Perizon.,

Marsh, Vitringa, J. D.

!Michaelis,

supposed),

but Insular Tyre, which was three-quarters of a

mile farther north, and only 1200 paces from the land, being
built

upon a small

island,

and separated from the mainland by a

{vid.

strait of

no great depth

Movers, Phoenizier,

II. p.

288

sqq.).

This Insular Tyre had successfully resisted the Assy(Josephus, Anit.

;

rians

ix.

14. 2),

and was
day

at that time the

it

market of the nations

and

in Ezekiel's

had reached the

summit of
the

its

greatness as mistress of the sea and the centre of

of the world.
is

commerce

That
is

it

is

against this

Tyre that

our prophecy

chiefly directed,
is

evident from vers. 5 and 14,

in the midst
"T^'kp?,

according to which Tyre

of the sea,

to

become a bare rock

and from the

allusion to the daughter cities,

(in ver.
6),

in

the

field, i.e.

on the mainland

as contrasted with

the position occupied by Tyre upon a rocky island in the sea

and, lastly, from the description given in ch. xxvii. of the mari-

time trade of Tyre with

attained,
I.e.

all

nations, to

which Old Tyre never

inasmuch as
This

it

possessed no harbour (vid. Movers,

p. 17G).

may

easily be reconciled with such passages

as vers. 6, 8,

and

ch. xxvii., xxviii., in

which reference

is

also
is

made

to

the continental Tyre, and the conquest of Tyre

depicted as the conquest of a land-city (see the exposition of

these verses).

The

threat against

Tyre commences,

as in the

case of the nations threatened in ch. xxv., with a brief description of

its

sin.

Tyre ^ave expression

it

to its joy at the fall of

Jerusalem, because

hoped

to derive profit

therefrom through

CHAP. XXVI.

2-C.

373
its

the

extension

of

its

commerce and increase of

"

wealth.

Different explanations have been given of the

meaning of the
of the nations

words put into the mouth of Tyre.

is

The door

broken

in pieces."

The

plural ninpT indicates the folding

its

doors which formed the gate, and are mentioned in

stead.

Jerusalem

is

the door of the nations, and

is

so called according
it

to the current opinion of expositors, because

was the centre of

the

commerce of the
is

nations,

i.e.

as a place of trade.

But

nothing

known

to

warrant the idea that Jerusalem was ever

able to enter into rivalry with

Tyre

as

a commercial

city.

The

importance of Jerusalem with regard to other nations was to

be found, not in

its

commerce, nor

in the favourable situation

which

it

occupied for trade, in support of which Hiivernick

iii.

refers to Herodotus,

5,

and Hitzig

to Ezekiel xxiii. 40, 41,

it

but in

its

sanctuary, or the sacred calling which

had received

for the whole world of nations.

in favour of the following

Kliefoth has therefore decided

is

view: That Jerusalem

it

called a
to

gate of the nations, not because

had hitherto been open

the nations for free and manifold intercourse, but for the very
opposite reason, namely, because the gate of Jerusalem

had
and

hitherto been closed and barred against the nations, but was

now broken

in pieces through the destruction of the city,

thereby opened to the nations.

Consequently the nations, and

notably Tyre, would be able to enter

now

and from
view

this fact

the Tyrians hoped to derive advantage, so far as their com-

mercial interests were

concerned.

But

this
is

is

not

in

harmony with the

broken in
pieces,

text.

Although a gate

opened by being
into a

and one may force an entrance

house

by breaking the door (Gen.

xix. 9), yet the expression

all

" door of

the nations " cannot signify a door which bars

entrance on

the part of the nations, inasmuch as doors and gates are not

made
of

to secure houses

and

cities

against the forcible entrance

men and
in.

and
is

nations, but to render it possible for them to go out Moreover, the supposition that " door of the nations"
is

equivalent to shutting against the nations,

not in

harmony

374
with the words

THE PBOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

v?>*

"^203 wliich follow.

it

The

expression "

it

has
it

turned

to

me," or

is

turned to me, has no meaning unless

signifies that

through the breaking of the door the stream of the

nations would, turn

away from Jerusalem

had turned

to Tyre,
to

and theren2D3

fore that hitherto the nations

is

Jerusalem.

the 3d pers. perf. Niplial of 33D, for

etc.

"^303,

formed after the

is

analogy of 003^

The

missing subject to naps

It
is

to

be found

ad sensum

in

D'tp^'n ninp"i.

not the door

itself,

but the

entrance and streaming in of the nations, which had previously

been directed towards Jerusalem, and would now turn to Tyre.

There

is

no necessity, therefore, for Hitzig's conjecture, that

nx^?3X should be altered into ^^^t?,

subject.

and the

latter taken as the

Consequently we must understand the words of the

tliey liad
i.e.

Tyrians as signifying that

the nations to Jerusalem,

regarded the drawing of

attraction

the force of

which

Jerusalem had

hitherto exerted

upon the

nations, as the seat of

the divine revelation of mercy, or of the law and judgment of

the Lord, as interfering with their endeavour to draw
to themselves
all

nations

and gain them

over to their purposes, and that

they rejoiced at the destruction of Jerusalem, Jbecause they

hoped that henceforth they would be able

to

to attract the nations

themselves and enrich themselves with their possessions.

This does not require that we should accredit the Tyrians with any such insight into the spiritual calling of Jerusalem as would
lie

beyond their heathen point of view.

The

simple circumrelation to

stance, that the position occupied

by Jerusalem iu

the world apparently interfered with the mercantile interests of

the Tyrians, would be quite sufficient to excite a malignant

pleasure at the
fall

of the city of

God,

as the worship of

God
The
itself

and the worship of

Mammon

are irreconcilably opposed.

source from which the envy and the enmity manifesting

in this malicious pleasure took their rise,
is

indicated in the last

is

words:

"I
est,

shall

fill

myself, she (Jerusalem)

laid
:

waste,"
ilia

which Jerome has correctly linked together

deserta
idcirco ego implehor.
^5^'f^',

tinis

quia

to be filled with

mer-

CHAP. XXVI.

7-14.

375

cliandise

and wealth, as in

ch. xxvii. 25.

On

account of

this

disposition toward the kingdom of God, which led Tyre to

expect an increase of power and wealth from

the

its

destruction,

Lord God would smite it with ruin and annihilation, "'^^n Jer. 1. 31 Tl'^y, behold, I will come upon thee, as in ch. xiii. 8 Nah. iii. 5. God will lead a powerful army against Tyre, which
;

shall destroy its walls

and towers.

Instead of the army, "

is

many

rations" are mentioned, because Tyre

hoping

to

attract

more nations
Jerusalem.

to itself in consequence of

the destruction of
in a different

This hope

is to

be

fulfilled,

though

sense from that which Tyre intended.

The comparison
is

of the
is

advancing army
significant

to

the advancing waves of the sea

very

when

the situation of

Tyre
is

considered.
f

D*^ is the

subject to ni^yniij and the Hiphil

construed with

instead of

the accusative (compare Ewald,

to Arrian,
ii.

292c with
12,

277g).
3. 13,

AccordInsular

18. 3,

and Curtius,

iv. 2. 9,

and

Tyre was

fortified all

round with lofty walls and towers, which

Nebuchadnezzar's time.
('^"^SV)

were certainly

in existence as early as

Even

the dust of the demolished buildings

("'J}''???,

God would

sweep away
the city,
i.e.

cltt.

Xey., with
it

a play upon

innK^), so that

the

site

on which
C"''?V

had

stood,

would become a

bare and barren rock (V?p

as in ch. xxiv. 7), a place

to dry.

where

fishermen would spread out their nets

also, that is to say,
field," i.e.

"

Her daughters "

the towns dependent upon Tyre, " on the

the open country,

would
In
of

in other words, their inhabitants,

carried
still

be slain with the sword.

vers.

7-14 the threat

the hing

is

further.

Ver.

7.

For
king

thus saith the

Lord Jehovah,
and
8.

Behold^

loill

bring against Tyre

nortli, the

Nebuchadnezzar^

of Babylon^ from the

kings, loith horses,

chariots,

and horsemen, and a multitude and

of much people.
wiili the sioord,

Ver.

Thy

daughters in the field he will slay

siege-towers against thee,

and he

tvill erect

throw up a rampart against

thee,

and

set

up

shields against thee,

Ver.

9.

And

direct his

hattering-rams against thy walls,

and

throw down thy towers with his swords.

Ver. 10. Frotn the

376

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

ivill

multitude of his horses their dust

cover thee

from

the noise

of the horsemen, wheels, and

chariots, thy walls will shake

when

he shall enter into thy gates, as they enter a city broken open.

Ver. 11. With the hoofs of his horses he will tread down
streets
;

all thy
rilorions

thy people he

loill

slay loith the sxcord,

and thy

pillars will fall to the ground.

Ver. 12. They will make booty

destroy thy loalls,

of thy

possessions,

and plunder thy merchandise,

Ver. 13.

and throw down thy splendid mansions, and

xoood,
to the

sink thy stones, thy

and

thy dust in the icater.

will put

an end

sound of thy songs, and the music of thy liavps shall be

Ver. 14.

heard no more.
shalt

will

make

thee

a bare rock; thou

be
;

a p)lace for the spreading of

spoken
it,

nets,
is

and be
saying

built

no

more

for 1 Jehovah have

the

of the

Lord Jehovah.

Nebuchadnezzar,
meaning of the

the great king of Babylon,

this

is

the
will

rhetorical description in these

(ver. 7), smite with

verses,

come with a powerful army

the sword the inland cities dependent upon

Tyre

(ver. 8,

comits

pare ver. 6), then

walls
in

commence
86 and

the siege of Tyre, destroy

9), enter with his

and towers

(vers.

army

the city
to

which breaches have been made, put the inhabitants

death

(vers.

10 and 11), plunder the treasures, destroy walls and buildand

cast the ruins into the sea (ver. 12).

ings,

Nebuchadrezzar,
2

or Nebuchadnezzar (for the

xxiv. 1),
is

name

see the

comm. on

Kings

called king of kings, as the

supreme ruler of the

Babylonian empire, because the kings of conquered provinces

and lands were subject

Isa. X. 8).

to

him

as vassals (see the

comm. on

His army

consists of war-chariots,

and cavalry, and

a great multitude of infantry. far as the rhetorical style

is

2ycj?l ^ni? are co-ordinate, so

is

concerned; but in reality syoV

subordinate to

''^i^,

as in ch. xxiii. 21,

inasmuch

as the

'''^i^

con-

sisted of 3"J'2y.

On

the siege-works mentioned in ver. 86, see

"^^y D'^pn signifies

the

comm. on

ch. iv. 2.

the construction of

a roof with shields, by which the besiegers were accustomed to

defend themselves from the missiles of the defenders of the

city wall while

pursuing their labours.

Herodotus repeatedly

CHAP. XXVI.

7-14.

377
(ix.

mentions such shield-roofs as used by the Persians

61. 99,

102), though, according to Layard, they are uot to be found

upon the Assyrian monuments

There
is

(see the

comm. on Nah.

ii.

6).

no doubt that

i^3p^ ''no

signifies

the battering-ram,
is

called 13 in ch. xxi. 27,

though the meaning of the words

thrusting or smiting,
i^^p^

disputed,

'np, literally,

vip, from

?3'P,

to

be pointed either

i'?3p

or

(the
is

form

i?3p^

adopted by

v. d.

Hooght and
rules), has

J.

H. Michaelis
which

opposed to the grammatical

been explained by Gesenius and others as signifying

is

res opposita, that

opposite

hence

l^ap

"Ti^D,

the thrust-

ing or demolishing of that which stands opposite.

opinion of others, P3p
is

In the

an instrument employed in besieging

but there

is

nothing in the usage of the language to sustain

either this explanation or that adopted

tion of his defence."
1''^U')n,

by Havernick, "destruc-

his swords, used figuratively for

his

weapons or instruments of war, "his

it.

irons," as

Ewald has
is

very aptly rendered

bolical.

The
of

description in ver. 10
is

hyper-

The number

horses
it

so

great,

that

on their

entering the city they cover

with dust, and the walls shake

'30
"T'y

with the noise of the horsemen and chariots.

literally, as

''Xnp3,

the marchings into a broken city,

i.e.

a city taken by

storm, generally are.

The
march

simile

may
It

be explained from the

peculiar situation of Insular Tyre.

will

means

that the

enemy
that

enter

it

as they

into a land-fortress into

which a

breach has been made by force.

the besieger has

The words presuppose

memorial
pillars of

made a road
"^^V

to the city

by throwing up an
thy

embankment

or dam.

nusfD, the

might, and the pillars dedicated to Baal, two of which are

mentioned by Herodotus

(ii.

44) as standing in the temple of

;

Hercules at Tyre, one of gold, the other of emerald

of gods, but pillars, as symbols of Baal.

not images
fall to

These sink or

the ground before the overwhelming might of the foe (compare

Isa. xlvi. 1, xxi. 9,

and 1 Sam.

v. 3).

After the slaughter of

the inhabitants and the fall of the gods, the plunderino- of the
treasures begins, and then follows the destruction of the city.

378
Tion
'<r\3

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

are not pleasure-houses (" pleasure-towers, or garden-

houses of the wealthy merchants," as

Ewald

supposes), for there

was not space enough upon the

2. 23),

island for gardens (Strabo, xvi.

but the lofty, magnificent houses of the city, the palaces

Isa.
xxiii.

mentioned in

13.

Yea, the whole city

shall

be

destroyed, and that so completely that they will sweep stones,

wood, and rubbish into the

sea.

Thus

will

the

Lord put an
;

end

to

the exultation and rejoicing in Tyre (ver. 13

compare

Isa. xiv. this

11 and

Amos

v. 23).

The picture of the destruction of

shall

powerful city closes with the repetition of the thought from

ver. 5, that

Tyre

shall

be turned into a bare rock, and

never be built again.

Vers. 15-18.

The

tidings of the destruction

all

of

Tyre

will

produce great commotion in

connected with her.
Tyre,

her colonies and the islands

saith the

Ver. 15.

Thus

Lord Jehovah

to

Will not the islands tremble at the noise of thy fall, at the
?

groaning of the tcounded, at the slaughter in the midst of thee

Ver. IG.

And

all

the princes

of the sea will come doion from

their thrones,

and

will lay aside their robes

and

take off their

embroidered
earth,
thee.

clothes,
tuill

and dress themselves in

terrors, sit

upon

the

and

they

tremble every moment, and be astonished at

thee,

Ver. 17. They will raise a lamentation for

:

and say

to thee

How

hast thou perished, thou

out of the sea, thou renowned city, she

sea, she

who wast inhabited from who was mighty upon the

and her
!

inhabitants, tvho inspired all her inhabitants ivith

fear of her

Ver. 18.
the

Now

do the islands tremble on the day

the sea are

of thy

fall,

and
^"^.^

islands vn

confounded at thy

departure.

nonne, has the

fall,

force of a direct affirmation.

n73D

?ip,

the noise of the

stands for the tidings of the

noise, since the noise itself could not be

heard upon the islands.

The

fall takes place, as

is

added for the purpose of depicting

the terrible nature of the event, at or amidst the groaning of

the wounded, and the slaughter in the midst of thee.

J"?.i^3

is

the infinitive Niphal, with the accent drawn back on account of

the following Milel, and should be pointed J^n?.

The word


CHAP. XXVI.
C^Vj islands,
15-18.

o y
i

is

frequently used so as to embrace the coast lands

of the Mediterranean

Sea

we have

therefore to understand

it

here as applied to the Phoenician colonies on the islands and

coasts of that sea.

The

" princes of the sea " are not kings of

the islands, but, according to Isa. xxiii. 8, the merchants presiding over the colonies of Tyre,

who resembled

princes.
13, etc.

riisp3^

not royal thrones, but chairs, as in 1 Sam.

picture of their
it is

iv.

The
iii.

mourning

recalls the description in

is

Jonah

not derived from that passage, however, but

an indepen-

dent description of the mourning customs which commonly

prevailed

among
:

princes.

The

antithesis introduced

is

a very

striking one

clothing themselves in terrors, putting on terrors

in the place of the robes of state

which they have

laid aside

(see the similar trope in ch.

still

vii.

27).

The thought

is

rendered
:

more

forcible

by the closing sentences of the verse

i.e.

they

tremble

D''V^"}?j

by moments,

as the

moments

return,

actually, therefore, " every

moment "

{vid. Isa. xxvii. 3).

In
by

the lamentation which they raise (ver. 17), they give pro-

minence

to the alarming revolution of all things, occasioned

the fact that the mistress of the seas, once so renowned, has

now become an
to

object

of

horror and
is

alarm.

ti''Bl'0

nzC'ii,

inhabited from the seas.

This

not to be taken as equivalent

"as

far as the seas," in the sense of, whose inhabitants

spread over the seas and settle there, as Gesenius (^Thes.) and
Hiivernick suppose
;

for being inhabited

is

the very opposite of

to be taken in the

sending the inhabitants abroad.

If

I??

were

geographical sense of direction or locality, the meaning of the

expression could only be, whose inhabitants spring from the
seas, or

have migrated thither from

all

seas

but

this

would

not apply to the population of Tyre, which did not consist of

men
had

of all nations

under heaven. from the

Hitzig has given the correct

sea, or

interpretation, namely,
as
it

out of the seas, which

city out of the

were ascended as an inhabited

It
is

bosom
17

of the sea.

not easy to explain the

last clause of ver.

who

inspired

all

her inhabitants with their terror, or with terror

380
of

THE mOPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

(of themselves)

them

for if the relative

H''?^',

iti'N

is

taken in

connection with the preceding

inhabitants of

the thought arises that the

inhabitants,
i.e.

Tyre inspired her

themselves,

with their terror, or terror of themselves.

miiller,

Kimchi, Eosen-

Ewald, Kliefoth, and

others,
rr'ac'i''

have therefore proposed

as referrintj to D'n
all

to take the suffix in the second

the
to

inhabitants of the sea,

i.e. all

her colonies.
is

But

this is

open

the objection, that not only

it is

DJ of the

masculine gender, but

extremely harsh to take the same suffix attached to the two

as referring to different subjects.
"IK'X

n"'3K'^

We

must therefore

take the relative

to
\}''^P'')

and the
its

suffix in DTT'nn as both referrinji

^^<}

the city with

population inspired

all its

several

inhabitants with fear of

itself.

This

is

not to be understood,

however, as signifying that the inhabitants of Tyre kept one

another in a state of terror and alarm
its
;

but that the city with

sea, inspired all

population, through

its

power upon the

its

the

several inhabitants with fear of this

distinction

might, inasmuch as the

of the city

and

its

population was reflected upon

is

every individual citizen.

This explanation of the words

con-

firmed by the parallel passages in ch. xxxii. 24 and 26.

city

This

had come

to

so

appalling an end, that

all

the islands

trembled thereat.

The two

hemistichs in ver. 18 are synonyto ver. 15.

mous, and the thought returns by way of conclusion

r*X has the

Aramaean form
destruction.

of the plural, which

(t-u?.

is

sometimes
nsv,

met with even

departure,
i.e.

in the earlier poetry

Ewald,

177a).

Vers. 19-21. Thus will Tyre, covered by the waves of the

sea, sink into the region of the dead,

and vanish for ever from

the earth,

Ver. 19.
thee,

For

tJius

saith the

Lord Jehovah, When I

which are no longer in-

make

thee a desolate city,

like the

cities

habited,

when I cause

the deep to rise over thee, so that the

to

many

waters cover

Ver. 20. / cast thee down

to the

those

who have

gone into the grave,

people of olden time, and cause thee to

dwell in the land of the lower regions, in the ruins from the olden
time, loith those

who have gone

into the grave, that thou

mayest he

CHAP. XXVI. 19-21.

881
is

no longer inhaMteJ, and I create that which

land of the
art
living.

glorious in the

Ver. 21.

/ make
thee,

thee

terror^

and thou

and find thee no more for ever, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. Not only will ruin and desolation come upon Tyre, but it will sink for ever into

no more; they will seek

the region of the

dead.

In

this

concluding

thought the
19

whole threat

is

summed

up.

The

infinitive clauses of ver.

recapitulate the leading thoughts of the previous strophes, for

the purpose of appending the closing thought of banishment to the under-world. By the rising of the deep we are to understand, according to ver. 12, that the city in
its

ruins will be

sunk

into the depths of the sea.

"ii3

"''i-ii'',

those

who go down
still

into the pit or grave, are the dead.

They
all

are described

further as oHy nv, not " those

who

are sleeping the long sleep

of death," or the generation of old

whom

must join

but the
5),

people of the "old world" before the flood (2 Pet.

ii.

who

were buried by the waters of the

flood,

in

accordance with

Job

xxii. 15,

where

a?)]}

denotes the generations of the primeval

D^iJ?

world,
xliv.
7,

and after the analogy of the use of

to

oy in Isa.

describe the

human

race
this,

as

existing

from time

immemorial.

In harmony with

D^iyo

^^^"JP are the ruins

of the primeval world wdiich perished in the flood.

As

D^iy

Dy

adds emphasis to the idea of

to that of rii'rinn

in

niv, so also does D^iyo ni2nn3

ps.

Tyre

shall not only

descend to the dead

in Sheol, but be thrust

down

to the people of the dead,

who

were sunk into the depths of the earth by the waters of the flood, and shall there receive its everlasting dwelling-place

among
ni'rinn,

the ruins of the primeval world which was destroyed

the

by

the flood, beside that godless race of

olden time.
18, 24),

pX
is

land of the lowest places

(cf. ch. xxxii.

periphrasis for Sheol, the region of the dead (compare

iv. 9,

Eph.

" the lower parts of the earth ").

:

On
" If

'iJI

^ny

^ririJl

Hitzig

has observed with perfect correctness

we

retain the point-

ing as the

first

person, with which the place assigned to the

Athnach (*)

coincides,

we must

at

any rate not

ren-ard

the

382
clause as
still

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

dependent .upon
iV^r',

and the force of the

iih

as

continued.

We

should then have to take the clause as inde-

pendent and affirmative, as the accentuators and the

Targum
""iiiri:

have done."

But

as this

would give

rise

to

a discrepancy
to alter

between the two halves of the verse, Hitzig proposes

into the second person
^nri31,

so that the clause

would

still

be

governed by

N''

lypp.

But

the want of agreement between the

two halves of the verse does not warrant an alteration of the

text,

especially if

it

lead to nothing better than the forced

rendering adopted by Hitzig, " and thou no longer shinest with

glory in the land of the living," which there
is

nothing in the

language

to justify.

And

even the explanation proposed by

Hiivernick and Kliefoth, " that I no longer produce anything

glorious

from thee (Tyre) in the land of the

" from thee"
is

living,"

is

open to

this objection, that

arbitrarily interpolated into

the text; and

if this

were what Ezekiel meant, he would either

^""JiiriJ.

have added
person
is

"H^

or written

Moreover, the change of

""rinj

a sufficient objection to our taking

as

dependent
con-

upon

tyi??,

and supplying
^''^?*^'i'^\

N?.

^^^^I is evidently a simple

tinuation of
tions should

And

nothing but the weightiest objec-

lead

us to give up a view which so naturally

objections exist.

suggests

itself.

But no such

Neither the
verse, nor the

want of harmony between the two halves of the

context,

according to which Tyre and

its

destruction are

referred to both before and immediately after,

forces

us to

the adoption of explanations at variance with the simple mean-

ing of the words.

We

therefore adhere to the natural inter-

pretation of the words, " and I set (establish) glory in the land

of the living

"

and understand by the land of the

living, not

the theocracy especially, but the earth, in contrast to the region

of the dead.

The words

contain the general thought, that on

and

after the overthrow of the glory of the

ungodly power of

the world.
to

He

will create that

;

which

is

glorious on the earth

endure for ever

and

this

He

really does

by the establishing

of

His kiogdom.

Tyre, on the contrary, shall become, through

CHAP. XXVII. 1-11.

383

its fate,

an object of terror, or an example of sudden destrucall

its

tion,

and pass away with

glory,

not leaving a trace

behind.
"ll'ipanij

For

ver. 21b,

compare

Isa. xli.

12 and Ps. xxxvii. 36.

imperf. Pual, has Chateph-patach between the two u, to

is

indicate empliatically that the syllable

only a very loosely

closed one (yid. Ewald, 315, p. 95).

CHAP. XXVII. LAMENTATION OVER THE FALL OF TYRE.

The lamentation commences with

the city of Tyre,
its

a picture of the glory of

situation, its architectural beauty, its miliits

tary strength and defences (vers. 3-11), and

wide-spread

commercial relations

(vers.

12-25); and then passes into mourn26-36).

ful lamentation over the ruin of all this glory (vers.

Vers. 1-11. Introduction and description of the glory and

might of Tyre.
saying, Ver. 2.

Ver.

1.

And

the icord

over Tyre, Ver. 3.

And do thou, And say to

of JeliovaU came to me, son of man, raise a lamentation

Tyre,

Thou

loho dioellest at the

to

approaches of the sea, jnerchant of the nations

thus saith the
beauty.

many

islands,

Lord Jehovah,
4.

Tyre, thou sayest,

I am

perfect in
;

Ver.

In

the heart

of the seas

is

thy territory
5.
;

thy

builders have

made

thy beauty perfect.

Ver.

Out of cypresses
they took cedars

of Senir they
of Lebanon

built all double-plank-icorJc for thee

to

make a mast npon

thee.

Ver. 6. They made thine

oars of oaks of Bashan, thy benches they

made of ivory
Ver.
7.

set in

box

from
blue

the islands of

the

Chittaeans.

Byssus in embanner
;

broidery

from Egypt was

thy

sail, to

serve thee for a

teas thine
loere thy

and red purple from

8.

the islands

ofElishah

awning.
rowers
;

Ver.

The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad

The elders of Gebal and
;

thy skilful men,

Tyre, ivere in thee, they luere thy

its

sailoi^s.

Ver.

9.

skilful

men

ivere loith thee to

repair thy leaks

all the ship)s

of the sea and their mariners

ivere

in thee to barter thy goods.

Ver. 10. Persian and Lydian and

;

Libyan
hung up

ivere in thine

army, thy men of ivar

shield

and helmet they

in thee; they gave brilliancy to thee.

Ver. 11. The sons

384

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

of Arvad and thine army icere upon tliy walls round about, and brave men loere upon thy towers ; they hung up their shields

upon thy walls round about

they have

made

thy beauty perfect.

The
its

lamentation commences with an address to Tyre, in which

favourable situation for purposes of trade, and the perfect

beauty of which she was conscious, are placed in the fore-

ground

(ver. 3).
D^

of the sea.

Tyre is sitting, or dwelling, at the approaches nxUD, approaches or entrances of the sea, are
sail

harbours into which ships

as
i''i'n

and from which they depart,

is

just
exit.

J<i2p,

the gate of the city,

both entrance and

This description does not point

to the city

on the mainland, or

Old Tyre, but answers exactly

harbours.^
'''^?'^\

to Insular
?',

Tyre with
is

its

two

with the connecting

which

apparently
%

confounded here after the Aramaean fashion with the

feminine pronoun, and has therefore
!Masora as superfluous {vid. Ewald,
of
ri?3"i

of the

been

marked by the

2116).

The combination
thou

with

'i

Q''^^5

7X

may

be accounted for from the primary

meaning
go

of ^T\i to travel about as a

merchant

who

didst

to the nations

on

many
is

shores to carry on thy trade.

Tyre

itself

considers that she

perfect in her beauty, partly on

sea,

account of her strong position in the

her splendid
edifices.^

and partly because of

this

In the description which follows of

harbours,

Insular Tyre

possessed two
it

a northern one called the

was on the Sidonian side, and one on the opposite or south-eastern side, which was called the Egyptian harbour from the direcThe Sidoiiian was the more celebrated of the tion iu which it pointed. two, and consisted of an inner harbour, situated within the wall of the city, and an outer one, formed by a row of rocks, svhich lay at a distance of about three hundred paces to the north-west of the island, and ran parallel to the opposite coast of the mainland, so as to form a roadstead in which
Sidouian, because
shijis

harbour

Strabo, xvi. 2. 2;)). Tliis northern whereas the Egyptian harbour with the south-eastern portion of the island has been buried by the sand driven against the coasts by the south winds, so that even the writers of the Middle Ages make no allusion to it. (See Movers, Phmxzier, II. 1,

could anchor {vid. Arriau,

is still

ii.

20

held

by the

city of Nh/-,

pp. 214 sqq.) Curtius, iv. 2

''

Tyrus

et claritats ct

magitUudlne ante omues urbcs Syriae

Phocnicesqne mcmorahilis.

(Cf. Strabo, xvi. 2. 22.)

CHAP. XXVil.

1-11.

3S5
is

beauty and gloiy,

from

ver.

4 onwards, Tyre

depicted

allegorically as a beautiful ship, splendidly built

and equipped

throughout, and

its

destruction

is

afterwards represented as a

shipwreck occasioned by the east wind (vers. 26 sqq.).^ The words, " in the heart of the seas is thy territory " (ver. 4a), are
equally applicable to the city of Tyre and to a ship, the build-

ing of which

is

Tyre

to a ship

described in what follows. The comparison of was very naturally suggested by the situation of

the city in the midst of the sea, completely surrounded

water.

by

As

a ship,

it

must of necessity be

built of

wood.

The

shipbuilders selected the finest kinds of

wood

for the purpose

cypresses of Antilibanus for double planks, which formed the

sides of the vessel,

and cedar of Lebanon

iii.

for the mast.

S'lw,

according to Dent.

9,

was the Amoritish name of Hermon

or Antilibanus, whereas the Sidonians called it Sirion. On the other hand, S'nir occurs in 1 Chron. v. 23, and Sh^nir in Sonoof Sol. iv. 8, in connection with Hermon, where they are used
to denote separate portions of Antilibanus.

Ezekiel evidently

uses S>enir as a foreign name, which had been retained to his

time, whereas Sirion had possibly become obsolete, as the names had both the same meaning (see the comm. on Deut. iii. 9). The naming of the places from which the several

own

materials were obtained for the fitting out of the ship, serve to

heighten the glory of

ter to the picture.

its

construction and give an ideal charac-

All lands have contributed their productions to complete the glory and might of Tyre. Cypress-wood

was frequently used by the ancients for buildings and (according to Virgil, Georg. ii. 443) also for ships, because it was
1

Jerome recognised

follows: "

He

this allegory, and has explained it correctly as (the prophet) speaks rpoTriKug, as though addressing a ship,

and points out its beauty and the abundance of everything. Then, after having depicted all its supplies, he announces that a storm will rise, and the south wind (mister) will blow, by which great waves will be gathered
up, and the vessel will be wrecked. In all this he is referring to the overthrow of the city by King Nabuchodonosor, " etc. Easchi and others give the same explanation.

EZEK.

T.

2 B

386

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

exempt from the attacks of worms, and was almost imperishable,

and yet very
xvi. 79).
lii:;ht

(Theophr. Hist, plant,

v.

Plinii Hist. nat.

D^nri^,

a dual form, like D";nbn in 2

Kings xxv.

4,

Isa. xxii. 11, double-planks, used for the

ship.
tiitro

two side-walls of the

as well as

For oars they chose oaks

in ver.

of

Bash an (pSUD

29 from \2W, to row), and the rowing benches (or

tJ'^P

deck) were of ivory inlaid in box.

is

used in Ex. xxvi.

15 sqq. for the boards or planks of the wooden walls of the

tabernacle
;

here

it is

employed

in a collective sense, either for

the rowing benches, of which there were at least two, and

sometimes three rows in a

vessel,

one above another, or more This was made

is

properly, for the deck of the vessel (Kitzig).

of shen, or ivory, inlaid in wood.

as the most valuable material of

The
the

ivory
K'jP,

mentioned

first

the object being

to picture the ship as possessing all

possible splendour.

The

expression CiU'XTia occasions some difficulty, partly on account

of the use of the

word 02, and partly

although so
is

in connection with the

meaning

of

2"'"}ti'>?,

much may

be inferred from the

inlaid with

context, that the allusion

ivory,

to

some kind of wood

and the custom of inlaying wood with ivory for the

is

purpose of decoration

attested

by

Virgil, Aeii. x. 137

" Vel quale per artem

Iiicliisum buxo, aut Oricia terehintho

Lucet

ehur.^^

But the use of riz does not harmonize with the relation of the wood to the ivory inserted in wood; nor can it be defended by the fact that in Lam. iii. 3 an arrow is designated " the son of
the quiver."

According

to

this

analogy, the ivory ought to

is

have been called the son of the Ashurim, because the ivory
inserted in the wood, and not the

wood

in the ivory

.^

We

must
two

therefore adopt the solution proposed by R.

Salomo and

others,

namely,
words
^

that the Masoretic division

of D^"i:^S~n3 into
it

is

founded upon a mistake, and that

it

should be read as

The Targiim has paraphrased

"C'2,
>-e.

in this

way

J^C'MD pyna'J'Nl PET

^'jl

planks of box or pine inlaid with ivory.

CHAP. XXVII.

1-11.

387
either

one word

D"'nu'xn3j

ivory in

D''"!U'xrij

i.e.

sherbin-cedar

(according to more recent expositors), or box-wood, for which

Bochart {Phal. III. 5) has decided.

Ix.

The

fact that in Isa.

13 the iiD'xn

is

mentioned among the trees growing upon

Q^")if'J>'il

Lebanon, whereas here the

from

are described as

coming

the islands of the 0>ri3, does not furnish a decisive arguto the

ment

contrary.
is

AVe cannot determine with certainty

referred
to,

wliat species of tree

and therefore
alone,

it

cannot be

affirmed that the tree

grew upon Lebanon

D''ii3

and not upon

the islands of the Mediterranean.

inhabitants of the port of

are the Ktrtet?, the

;

Kinov
in

in

Cyprus
ii.

then the Cyprians

generally
D^'na

and here,

as

Jer.

10,

where

D'^^X

of the

are mentioned, in
islands

still

broader sense, inhabitants of

Cyprus and other

In 1 Mace.
i.

and coast-lands of the Mediterranean.

5,

and

viii.

even Macedonia

is

reckoned as

belonging to the 7^ XeTreieL/u, or

place from which the
2^1t^'5<Jii

KnUav.

Consequently the

were brought does not furnish

is

any conclusive proof that the Cyprian pine

referred

to,
is

although this was frequently used for ship-building.

just as

There

much ground
in

for thinking of the box, as Bochart does,

and we may appeal

to Theophrastus,

support of this to the fact that, according

is

there

no place

in

which

it

grows more
case, Ezekiel

vigorously than on the island of Corsica.

In any
;

mentions

it

as a very valuable kind of

wood

though we canrefers, either

not determine with certainty to what

wood he

from the place where

it

grew or from the accounts of the

ancients concerning the kinds of

wood that

ship-builders used.

The

reason for

this, how^ever, is

a very simple one,

namely,

that the whole description has an ideal character, and, as Hitzig

has correctly observed, " the application of the several kinds

of

wood

to the different parts of the ship

is

evidently only

poetical."

The same may be

to ver. 7, the sails

said of the materials of which, according

and awning of the ship were made.

('^'^'I?'!;

Byssus
i.e.

in party-coloured

work

see

comm. on Ex.

xxvi. 36),

388

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

In

woven

mixed colours, probably not merely in stripes, but woven with figures and flowers.^ " From Egypt ;" the byssus-

weaving of Egypt was celebrated

linen formed one of the principal
ut supra, pp.

in

antiquity, so that byssus-

articles of export (vid.

Movers,

317

sqq.).

^"^Sipj literally,

spreading out, evidently

signifies the sail,

which we expect

to find

mentioned here, and

with which the following clause, " to serve thee for a banner,"

can be reconciled, inasmuch as

the sails also served for a
actual
flag,

it

may

be assumed either that

banner, because the ships had no

like

those

in

Wilkinson's engraving, or
is

that

the flag (Dp) being also extended

cyisrp

included under the term

i.e.

(Hitzig).

The covering of
(J^^?'!'

the ship,

the

awning which

was put up above the deck

sun, consisted of purple

for protection

from the heat of the

see the

and

i^?"?^,
i.e.

comm. on Ex.
so highly

XXV. 4) from the islands oi Elishah,

nesus, which naturally suggests the

of the Grecian Pelopon-

Laconian purple
its

valued in antiquity on account of

Hist. nat.
ix.

splendid colour (Plin.

of the building of the
its

36, xxi. 8).

The account

ship

is

followed by the manning, and the attention paid to

The words of ver. 8a may be taken as referring quite as much to the ship as to the city, which was in possession The reference of ships, and is mentioned by name in ver. Sb.
condition.
to the Sidonians

and Arvad,

i.e.

to the inhabitants of
is

Aradus, a

rocky island

to the
;

north of Tripolis, as rowers,

is

not at variance

with the latter

since there

no need

to

understand by the

rowers either slaves or servants employed to row, and the

Tyrians certainly drew their rowers from the whole of the

Phoenician population, whereas the chief
See Wilkinson, Manners and Customs,

men

in

command

of

'

III. PI. xvi.,

where engravings are

given of Egyptian state-ships with embroidered sails. On one ship a large square sail is displayed in purple-red and purple-blue checks, surrounded

by a gold border. The vessel of Antony and Cleopatra in the battle of Actium had also purple sails and in this case the purple sails were the sign of the admiral's ship, just as in Ezekiel they serve as a mark of distinction (d:). See Movers, II. 3, p. 165, where the accounts of ancient
;

writers concerning such state-ships are collected together.

CHAP. XXVII. 1-11.

389

the ships, the captain and pilot (Cpnn), were no doubt as a

rule citizens of Tyre.

The

introduction of the inhabitants of

Gehal,

i.e.

the Byllos of the Greeks, the present Jehail, between

(see the

Tripolis

and Berytus

comm. on Josh.

xiii. 5),

who were

noted even in Solomon's time as skilful architects (1 Kings

V. 32), as repairers

of the leak, decidedly favours the supposiis

still

tion that the idea of the ship

kept in the foreground

and by the naming of those who took charge of the piloting and condition of the
the
cities

vessel, the

thought

is

expressed that

all

of Phoenicia assisted to maintain the might and glory

of Tyre, since
ver.

Tyre was supreme

allegory falls into

in Phoenicia.

It

is

not

till

96 that the

the background.

Tyre now

appears no longer as a ship, but as a maritime city, into whicli

all

the ships of the sea

sail,

to carry

on and improve her com-

merce.
for
its

Vers. 10, 11.

defence.
It

Tyre had

also

made

the best provision

maintained an army of mercenary troops

to

from foreign countries

settlements,
to fighting

protect

its

colonies

and extend

its

and entrusted the guarding of the walls of the

city

men

of Phoenicia.
Pliaras,

The

hired

troops
DlS
is

specially

named

in ver.

10 are

Lud, and Phut.

no doubt

an African

tribe, in

Coptic Phaiat, the Libyans of the ancients,

who had
far as

spread themselves over the whole of North Africa as

x.

Mauretania (see the comm. on Gen.

6).

1^7 is

not

the Semitic people of that name, the Lydians (Gen. x. 22),

but here, as in ch. xxx.

5,

Isa. Ixvi.
x. 13),

19,

and Jer.

xlvi.

9,

the

Hamitic people

of D''1v

(Gen.

probably a general
since
in

name

for the whole of the

Moorish
9)

tribes,

l6

(ch.

xxx. 5)

and
213

D^l^''

(Jer.

xliv.

are

mentioned

connection with
is

as auxiliaries in the

Egyptian army.
D"]3,

There

something

striking in

the reference to

the Persians.

Havernick

points to the early intercourse carried on

by the Phoenicians
mercenary
tribes as

with Persia through the Persian Gulf, through which the

former would no doubt be able

for

to obtain

soldiers,

which

it

was

a general rule to select

this,

remote as
is

possible.

Hitzig objects to

on the ground that there

no

390

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

proof that this intercourse with Persia through the Persian

Gulf was carried on

it

in Ezekiel's time,

and that even

if it

were,

does not follow that there were any Persian mercenaries.

therefore proposes to understand by

He

ma, Persians who had

this settlement can-

settled in Africa in the olden time.

But

not be inferred with sufficient certainty either froum Sallust,

Jug.

c.

18, or

from the occurrence of the African MuKat of

175, along with the Asiatic (Ptol.
vi.

Herodotus,
to take
it

iv.

7.

14),
ch.

as

an

explanation of
is

D"i3.

If

we compare

xxxviii. 5,

where Paras

mentioned

in

connection with Cush

and PImt, Gomer and Togarmah,

as auxiliaries in the

army

of

Gog^ there can be no doubt that Asiatic Persians are intended

there.

And we

have to take the word in the same sense here

for Hitzifj's objections consist of pure conjectures which have no

conclusive force.
of
tribes

Ezekiel evidently intends to give the names

far-off
east,

from the

west,

and south, who were

enlisted as mercenaries in the military service of

T3

re.

Hangits

ing the shields

and helmets

in the cirv, to

ornament

walls,

appears to have been a Phoenician custom, which Solomon also

introduced into Judah (1 Kings x. 16, 17; Song of Sol.

iv. 4),

and which
(1

is

mentioned again
57).

in the times of the ^Maccabees

is

Mace.

iv.

A
The

distinction

drawn

in ver. 11

between

the mercenary troops on the one hand, and the

A radians,

and

^^^Hj thine

army, the military corps consisting of Tyrlans,

latter

on the other.

appear upon the walls of Tyre,

because native troops were employed to watch and defend the

city, whilst

the mercenaries had to

march

into the field.

The

air.

Xey.

Ci'l'Sa

(Gammddim)

signifies

brave men, as Rocdiger has

in his

conclusively

shown from the Syrian usage,

It is therefore

Addenda

to

Gesenius' T/ies. p. 70 seq.

native troops of Tyre.

an epitheton of the

With the words, " they (the troops) comTyre

is

pleted thy beauty," the picture of the glory of

off,

rounded

returning to

its

starting-point in vers. 4 and 5.

is

Vers. 12-25. Tliis

followed by a description of the comnations,

merce of Tyre with

all

who

delivered their productions

CHAP. XXVII.
in the

12-25.

391

market of

this metropolis of the

commerce

of the world,

and received the wares and manufactures of

this city in return.

Ver.
of
sales.

12.

Tarshish traded with thee for the multitude of goods

;

all hinds

ivith silver,

iron,

tin,

and

lead they paid for thy

loere thy

Ver. 13. Juvan, Tubal, and Meshech, they

;

merthy

chants
barter.

ivith

souls

of men and brazen

the house

vessels

they

made

Ver. 14.

From

of Togarmah they paid horses, Ver. 15. The sons of

riding-horses,

and mules for

;

thy sales.

Dedan were
commerce
Ver. 16.
tions
;

thy merchants

many

islands were at thy

hand for

ivory horns

and ebony

they brought thee in payment,

Aram

traded with thee for the multitude of thy produc-

ivith carbuncle,

red purple, and embroidery, and byssus,

they

and

corals,

and rubies

paid for thy

sales.

Ver. 17. Judah

and

the

land of Israel, they were thy merchants; with wheat of

oil,

Minnith and confectionery, and honey and

and balsam they

ivith thee

made

thy

barter.

Ver. 18. Damascus traded

in the

multitude of thy productions, for the multitude of goods of all

kinds, with loine

of Chelbon and white wool.

Ver. 19. Vedan

;

and Javan from Uzal gave wrought

and calamus were
for thy barter.

iron for thy sales

cassia

Ver. 20. Vedan was thy merVer. 21. Arabia and

all the

chant in cloths spread for riding.

princes of Kedar, they were at thy hand for commerce; lambs

and rams and

he-goats, in these they traded with thee.

Ver. 22.

The

mercliants of Sheba

and Ragmali,

they were thy merchants

with all kinds of costly spices and with all kinds of precious
stones

and gold

they

paid for thy

sales.

Ver. 23. Haran, and

Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, Chilmad,

were thy mercliants

splendid
clothes,

Ver. 24. purple

They were thy merchants

robes,

in

in

and embroidered

and

in

treasures of twisted yarn, in

wound and
and
glorious

strong

cords for thy

wares.
trade,
seas.

Ver. 25. The ships of larshish were thy caravans, thy

and thou wast

filled

in

the

heart of the

The

enumeration of the different peoples, lands, and

cities,

which carried on trade with Tyre, commences with

Tarshish (Tartessus) in the extreme west, then turns to the

392

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

north, passes through the different lands of Anterior Asia and

the Mediterranean to the remotest north-east,

and ends by
list.

mentioning Tarshish again, to round

lands

off

the
in

Bat

the

and peoples,

which are mentioned

vers.

5-11 as

furnishing produce and manufactures for the building of Tyre,

viz.

Egypt and the

tribes of

Northern Africa, are

left out.

To
the

avoid wearisome uniformity in the enumeration, Ezekiel has

used interchangeably the synonymous words which the language

possessed for trade, besides endeavouring to give
description
life to

by a variety of turns of
18), ^'pno (ver. 21),

expression.

Thus

'nr'1'!'^

(vers. 12, 16,

T}.1
'''}.^^

and

TJT nnhtp (ver.

?Iv3'"i

15), or

(ver.

21), are interchanged with

(vers. 13, 15,

17, 22, 24), qn!'?! (vers. 20, 23),

and ^rb^y

(ver.

24)

and,

again, T?i^lV

i"?

(vers.

12,

14,

22)

or ^l^inTya im (vers. IG,

n^^i7

19) with ^?^J?o

Tlisr'S n^K'n

inj (vers.

13, 17),

and

^?"iJ?03 (ver. 19),

"ino,

and and

(ver. 15).

The words

inb, participle of

73^,

from

?3^,

signify merchants, traders,

who
^'}^^,

travel through
literally,

different

lands for purposes of trade.

;

the

female trader

and

i^y^P, literally, trade

then used as abstract

?3'"i,

for concrete, the

tradesman or merchant.

the travelling

n)erchant.

J^^9"'j

^^^ female trader, a city carrying on trade.

^??'V?, trade or a place of trade, a

commercial town.

Q^i^Ty

(pluralet.) does not

mean
;

a place of trade, market, and profits

its

(Gesenius and others)

3Ty, to leave,

but according to

derivation from

relinquish, literally, leaving or giving up,

it,

and

as

Gusset, has correctly explained

" that which you leave with

another in the place of something else which he has given up

to

you."

Evvald, in accordance with

this

explanation, has
sale.
1^3

adopted the very appropriate rendering Absatz, or

i]^3i3Ty,

with

3,

or with a double accusative, literally, to

i.e.

make

thy sale with something,

to

pay or
;

to give,
jrij,

i.e.

pay, some-

thing as an equivalent for the sale

for

'3Ty3

to give

something

the

sale,

or the goods to be sold,

inj, to

^nyo, barter, goods

bartered with
barter.

give bartered goods, or carry on trade by


CHAP. XXVII.
12-25.

893
:

The

following are the countries and peoples enumerated

Tyrian colony of Tarshish or Tariessus, in Hispaiiia Baetica, which was celebrated for its wealth in silver (Jer.
X. 9), and,

C'^ann^ the

according to the passage before us, also supplied

(vid. Plin. Hist. nat.
v. 38).

iron, tin,

and lead
;

xxxiv. 14 (41)

Diod. Sic.

3 (4), xxxiii. 6 (31), Further particulars coniii.

cerning Tarshish are to be found in Movers, Phoeniz. II.

pp. 588 sqq.,

2,

and

II. 3, p.

2>Q.Javan,

i.e.

Jania, Greece or

Tubal and Meshech are the Tibareni and Moschi of the ancients between the Black and Caspian Seas (see the
Greeks.

comm. on Gen.
and things

x. 2).

in brass.

They supplied souls of men, i.e. slaves, The slave trade was carried on most

vigorously by the lonians and Greeks (see Joel iv. 6, from which we learn that the Phoenicians sold prisoners of war to them) and both Greeks and Eomans drew their largest sup;

lies

and the best slaves from the Pontus

3, pp.

(for proofs of this, see

Movers, II.

81

seq.).

It

is

probable that the principal

supplies of brazen articles were furnished

by the Tibareni and

Moschi, as the Colchian mountains

quantity of copper.
in

still

contain an inexhaustible

Euhoea alone
Movers,

In Greece, copper was found and wrought and the only other rich mines were in Cyprus

{vid.

II. 3, pp. 66, 67).

Ver. 14.

From

the house

of

Togarmah they Togarmah

paid,"

i.e.

they of the house of Tocrarmah

paid.

is

the

comm. on Gen. wealth of Armenia

(i.

x. 3)

one of the names of the Armenians (see and Strabo (XI. 14. 9) mentions the ;
is

in horses, whilst that in asses

attested

by

Herodotus
were also

sons of Dedan, or the Dedanites, are, no doubt, the Dedanites mentioned in Gen. x. 7 as descendants of Cush, who conducted the carrying trade

we may bred there. Ver. 15. The

194), so that

safely infer that mules

between the Persian Gulf and Tyre, and whose caravans are mentioned in Isa. xxi. 13. Their relation to the Semitic
Dedanites,

who

are evidently intended in ver. 20, and

in connection with

by the
in

inhabitants of
ch. sxv. 13

Dedan mentioned
xlix. 8, is

Edom

and Jer.

involved in obscurity (see the

394

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

comm. on Gen. x. 7). The combination with D'^^n D''>N and the articles of commerce which they brought to Tyre, point to a
people of southern Arabia settled in the neighbourhood of the

Persian Gulf.

The many

D''|'X

are the islands and coasts of

T]T niriD,

Arabia on the Persian Gulf and Erythraean Sea.^

the commerce of thy hand,
i.e.

as abst7\

pro
\^

concr,, those

who
on

were ready to thy hand as merchants.

This
is

riij"}!?,

ivory horns.
(slien)

the

term

applied to the elephants' tusks

account of their shape and resemblance to horns, just as Pliny

{Hist. nat. xviii. 1) also speaks of coriiua elephanti, although he
says, in viii. 3 (4), that

an elephant's weapons, which Juba

calls

cormiaj are
D"':2inj

more

correctly to be called denies.^

signifies
e/Sevo'i,

The

air.

\ey.

Keri

^''^r'^,

hebenum,

ebony.

The
i.

ancients obtained both productions partly from India, partly

from Ethiopia (Plin.

xii.

(8)).

According

to Dioscor.

130,

the Ethiopian ebony was preferred to the Indian.

to return

"iS^l'S

y^^,
1(5,

payment

(see the

comm. on

Ps.

Ixxii. 10).

In
it
is

ver.

J.

D.

Michaelis, Ewald, Hitzig, and others read DIX for D^X,

after the

LXX. and Pesh., because Aram did not lie in

D"'>N

the road

from Dedan and the

to Israel (ver. 17),

and

not

till

ver. 18 that Ezekiel reaches

P"iK

Aram.
the

Moreover, the corruption

readily

for

DHN

could arise

all

more

from the simple

fact that the defective

form DIN only occurs

in Ezekiel (xxv. 14),

and

is

altogether an extraordinary one.

;

These reasons are unthey are not conclusive,

doubtedly worthy of consideration

still

since the enumeration does not follow a strictly geographical

> Movers (II. 3, pp. 303 sqq.) adduces still further evidence in addition to that given above, namely, that " unquestionable traces of the ancient

name have been

preserved in the region in which the ancient Dedanites

names Allana, Attene, which have been modified according to well-known laws, the former, a comiQcrcial town on the Persian Gulf, visited by Roman naerchants (Plin.
are represented as living, partly on the coast in the

vi. 32,

147)

the

latter, a tract of

(Plin.
2

I.e.

49),

and partly

in the islands of the Persian

country opposite to the island of Tylos Gulf " (p. 304).

nage,
i.e.

The Ethiopians
it is

also call ivory

Kama

co7-7iu

elephanti,

and
(vid.

suppose that

from horns, and not from tusks, that ivory comes

I. c.

Iliob Ludolph, Hist. Aeth.

10)


CHAP. XXVII.
12-25.

395

order,

inasmuch

as

Damascus

is

followed in vers. 19 sqq. by

many
stand,

of the tribes of Southern Arabia, so that

as

Aram

might

Haveniick supposes, for Mesopotamian Aram, for

articles

which the

mentioned in ver. 16 would be quite as

chief city Petra

suitable as for

EJom, whose

was an important
T.^J?*? ^^j

place of

commerce and eniporium

for goods.

the

multitude of thy works, thy manufactures.

Of

the articles of

commerce delivered by
J*13

D"^5:5.,

the red purple, embroidery, and

(the

Aramaean name

for byssus,

which appears, according

to

Movers, to have originally denoted a species of cotton),

favour Aram, particularly Babylonia, rather than Edom.

the

For

woven

fabrics

of

Babylonia were celebrated

II. 3, pp.

from the

earliest times (vid.

Movers,

260

sqq.)

and Babylon

was

also the oldest

and most important market for precious

^^j
is

stones (vid. Movers, p. 266).

the carbuncle

(see the
;

comm. on Ex.
ni?:)X"ij

xxviii.

18).

"'S*!?,

probably the ruby

splendour

in

any

case, a precious stone of brilliant

(vid. Isa. liv. 12).

corals or pearls (vid. Delitzsch

on Job

xxviii. 18).
i.e.

Judah

(ver. 17) delivered to

Tyre wheat
miles from

of Minnith,

according to

Judg.

xi.

33, an

Ammonitish

place, situated, according to the

Onomast., four
Philadelphia.

Roman

Heshbon

in the direction of

That Ammonitis abounded

xxvii. 5,

in wheat,

is

evident

from 2 Chron.

although the land of Israel also sup(1

The meaning of the dir. Xey. 333 cannot be definitely ascertained. The rendering confectionery is founded upon the Aramaean p3S), deliciari,
plied the Tyrians with

wheat

Kings

v. 25).

and the Chaldee

chius, TO,

translation, ^vip^

i.e.

KoXla, according to

Hesy-

e/c fjueXtTO'i

rpwydXia, or sweetmeats made from honey.

/xvpcov of the

Jerome renders
and

it

balsamum, after the

LXX.
a

in Hitzig's opinion,

Pannaga

(literally, a

snake)

is

name

used in Sanscrit for a sweet-scented wood, which was employed

in

medicine as a cooling and strengthening drug

oil

(?).

Honey

(from bees) and

'i>* is

are well-known productions of Palestine.

balsam

whether resina or the true balsam grown in

it is

gardens about Jericho (opohalsamion)^

impossible to decide

396
(see

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

my Bill.

Archdol.

I. p.

38,

and Movers,

II. 3, pp.

220

sqq.).
still

Damascus supplied Tyre with wine of

exists in the village of

Chelbon.

psj'n

Helbon, a place with

many

ruins, three

hours and a half to the north of Damascus, in the midst of a

valley of the
it

same name, which

is

planted with vines wherever

costly

is

practicable,

from whose grapes the best and most

is

wine of the country

made

(yid.

Robinson, Biblical Researches).

that, accord-

Even

in ancient times this

wine was so celebrated,

i.

ing to Posidonius (in Atlien. Deipnos.

22), the kings

of

Persia drank only Chalybonian wine from Damascus iny i^y, wool of dazzling whiteness Strabo, XV. 3. 22).

(vid.
;

or,

according to others, wool of Zachar, for which the Septuagint

has epLa ck MlXtitov, Milesian wool.^
nations have been given of the
altered into p"n, as
it

Ver.

19. Various explaT}] is

first

three words.

not to be

has been by Ewald, both arbitrarily and

;

unsuitably with ver. 20 immediately following

nor

is

it

to be

rendered " and Dan.'^

It

is

a decisive objection to

this,

that

throughout the whole enumeration not a single land or people

is

introduced with the copula

i.

Vedan, which

may be commentioned

pared with the Vaheb of

only once,
is

Num.

xxi. 14, a place also

the

name
it

of a tribe and tract of land not

men302)

jtioned elsewhere in

the
is

Old Testament.

Movers
of

(p.

conjectures

that

the celebrated city

Adeii

(^;Ar).
;

Javan

is

also the

name

of an Arabian place or tribe

it

and,

according to a notice in the Kamus,

is

a place in

Yemen.

Tuch

(Genesis, p.

210) supposes

it

to be a

Greek (Ionian)
Southern Arabia.

settlement, the founders of which

prising spirit to cross the land of

had been led by their enter-

Egypt
this
it

into

For the purpose of distinguishing

Greece
1

Arabian Javan from

precisely,

itself,

or in order to define

more
is

7W0

is

According to Movers
:

(II.

3, p.

269),

nnv

the Sicharia of Aethicus

quae postea Nabathaea, nuncvpatur, silan earlier name for the land of the vestris valde, ubi Ismaelilae eminnx, Nabathaeans, who dwelt in olden time between Palestine and the

(Cosm. 108)

Sicharia

regio,

Euphrates, and were celebrated for their wealth in flocks of sheep.


CHAP. XXVII. 12-25.

397

appended, which
proper name.

all

the older translators have taken to be a

to the Masoretic pointing ^f ^9> *^
i'l^,

According
to

word
that

is,

no doubt,

be regarded as a participle Paal of

h\^, to spin.

in

the sense of spun, from

it

But

apart from the fact

would be a surprising thing

to find

spun goods men-

tioned in connection with the trade of the Arabian tribes, the

explanation
lanffuao-e
;

itself

could not be sustained from the usage of the

is

for there
is

nothing in the dialects to confirm the

bw-,

idea that brx

all b^V

a softened form of

inasmuch as they have

occurs

(Aram.) and Jji (Arab.), and the Talmudic ^TN*, texere^ first of all in the Gemara, and may possibly have been
first

derived in the

instance from the Rabbinical rendering of

our !?nso by "spun."

with Shurek
is

Even

the fact that the

word

is

written

against this explanation rather than in

to

its

favour

and

in all probability its origin is

be traced to the simple

circumstance, that in vers. 12, 14, 16 the articles of commerce

are always mentioned before ^l^UTy
=i3ri3,

and

in this verse they

would

appear to be omitted altogether, unless they are covered

But we can very properly take the followby the word ^nxo. ing words niry ^na as the object of the first hemistich, since
the Masoretic accentuation
is is

founded upon the idea that 7nso

to

be taken as the object here.

We therefore regard
?r\i^

?nNO as

the only admissible pointing, and take

as in

as a proper

name,

Gen.

x.

27

" from

Uzal," the ancient

name

of Sanaa,

the subsequent capital of

Yemen.

The

productions mentioned

bear this out.

p.

Forged or wrought

iron,

by which Tuch

(I.e.

260) supposes that sword-blades from

Yemen

are chiefly

intended, which were celebrated the Indian.

among

the Arabs as

much

as

Cassia and calamus (see the

as

comm. on Ex.

xxx.

23 and 24), two Indian productions,

India from the very earliest times.

Yemen

traded with

Dedan

(ver.

20)

is

the

inland people of that name, living in the neighbourhood of

Edora

(cf.

ch. XXV. 13; see the

ti'Sh njli,

comm. on

ver.

15).

They
v. 10.

furnished

tapetes

sfraguli,

cloths for spreading out,

most

likely costly riding-cloths, like the

middim of Judg.


398
3'^V

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

and
y}\>,

represent the

nomad

tribes of Central Arabia,

the

Bedouins.

For

3"]^ is
;

never used in the Old Testament for the

its

whole of Arabia

but, according to

derivation from

"^"JV,

steppe or desert, simply for the tribes living as

desert (as in Isa.
xiii.

nomads

in the

20

Jer.

iii.

cf.

Ewald, Grammat.

Arab.

I. p. 5).

Kedar, descended from Ishmael, an Arabian

nomad

tribe, living in the desert

between Arabia Petraea and

Babylonia, the Cedrei of Pliny (see the comm. on Gen. xxv. 13).

They

supplied lambs, rams, and he-goats, from the abundance

of their flocks, in return for the goods obtained from Tyre.

Ver. 22. Next to these the merchants of Sheha and Rarjmah

{p^V')) are

mentioned.

(Gen.

X. 7) in

They were Arabs of Cushite for "^^Vl, south-eastern Arabia {Oman)

;

descent
'Pey/xa,

was

in the
in

modern province

of

Oman

in the

bay of the same

all

name
spices,

the Persian Gulf.

Their goods were

kinds of

precious stones, and gold, in which southern Arabia

0?r*^'<'3 t^N"),
tj/xi,

abounded.
this use of
iv.

the chief or best of

all
;

perfumes (on

see the
likely the

comm. on Ex.

xxx. 23

Song
in

of Sol.

14),

is

most

genuine balsam, which grew

iii.

Yemen

{Arabia

felix),

according to Diod. Sic.

still
;

45, along with other

costly spices,

and grows there

for Forskal found a shrub

between Mecca and Medina, called

to be the true balsam,

Abu sham, which

he believed

and of which he has given a botanical

account in his Flora Aeg. pp. 79, 80 (as Amyris opobalsamum),

as well as of

two other kinds.

Precious stones,
still

viz. onyx-stones,

rubies. ao;ates,

and cornelians, are

;

found in the mountains

of

Hadramaut

and

in

Yemen

also jaspers, crystals,

p.

and many

good rubies

(yid.

Niebuhr, Descript.

125, and Seetzen in

lastly,

Zach's Monatl. Corresp. xix. p. 339).

And,

the wealth of
to

Yemen

in gold is too strongly attested

by ancient writers

be

called in question (cf. Bochart, Fhal. II. 28), although this

precious metal

is

not found there now.

is

In

vers. 23,

24 the on

trade with Mesopotamia

mentioned.

J^^n^

the Carrhae of the

Romans
Gen,
xi.

in

north-western Mesopotamia (see the comm.

31),

was

situated at the crossing of the caravan-roads

CHAP. XXVII. 12-25.

399
at this point that the

wliicli intersect

Mesopotamia

for

it

was

two caravan routes from Babylonia and the

Delta of the

Persian Gulf joined the old military and commercial road to

Canaan (Movers,
Tigris,

p. 247).

The
It
is

eastern route ran along the

where Calneh, the

later Ktesiphon,

was the most im-

portant commercial city.

tracted from njps (see the

here called n33 (Canneh), conx.

comm. on Gen.

10;

Amos

vi. 2).

The western
mentioned

route ran along the Euphrates, past the cities

H?^ is

in ver. 23i.

not the Syrian, but the Mesopo;

tamian Eden (2 Kings

xix.

12

Isa. xxxvii. 12), the situation

of which has not yet been determined, though

Movers

(p.

257)

has sought for

it

in the Delta of the

Euphrates and Tigris.

The
be

singular circumstance that the merchants of Sheba should

localities

mentioned in connection with

in

Mesopotamia,

w^hich has given rise both to arbitrary alterations of the text

and

to

various forced
(p.

explanations, has
p.

been explained by

Movers

247 compared with

xii.

139) from a notice of Juba

in Pliny's Hist. nat.

17 (40), namely, that the Sabaeans,

the inhabitants of the spice country,

came with

their goods

from the Persian

yearly

Gulf

to

Carrhae, where they held their

to

markets,

and from which they were accustomed

in Phoenicia)

proceed to

Gabba (Gabala

and Palestinian Syria.

Consequently the merchants of Sabaea are mentioned as those

who

carried

on the trade between Mesopotamia and Tyre, and

seats of trade

are not unsuitably placed in the centre of those locaHties which

formed the most important

on the two great

commercial roads of Mesopotamia.

Asshiir and Chilmad, as

we have

already observed, were on the western road which ran

*1?3

along the Euphrates.

has already been discovered by

Bochart (Phal.
i.

I.

18) in the Charmande of

Xenophon (Anab.

5. 10),

and Sophaenetus

(see Steph. Byz. s.v. Xapfiavhrj), a

large and wealthy city in a desert region " beyond the river

Euphrates."

The Asshur mentioned along with Chilmad,

cities,

in the

midst of purely commercial

cannot be the land of Assyria,

p. 252), the

bat must be the emporium Sitra (Movers,

present

400
Essuriehy

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

which stands upon the bank on
tliis

side of

the

Euphrates above Thapsacus and on the caravan route, which

runs from Palmyra past Rusapha (Rezeph, Isa. xxxvii. 12
;

2 KintTsxix. 12) to Nicephorium or Rakka, then in a northerly

direction to

Haran, and bending southwards, runs along the

bank

of the river in the direction of

Chilmad or Charmande
articles of

(Ritter,

ErJk. XI. pp. 1081

sqq.).

The

commerce

from these emporia, which were brought

caravans, consisted of
either
state-dresses

to

Tyre by Sabaean
of perfect beauty,

C''^^3D, literally, articles

(cf.

"p^^p,

ch. xxiii. 12

and xxxiv.

4), or

more

generally, costly works of art (Havernick).

1

The

omis-

sion of the copula

before
infer

''^'^^^^

is

decisive in favour of the

former, as

we may

from
to

this

that

7J3

is

intended as
^pi?3,

an explanatory apposition
(Di^a

C^^?)?.

nDip"ii

n^an

cloaks

connected with

')(kafivs.)

of hyacinth-purple and embroi(for proofs of this,

dery, for which Babylonia

see Movers, pp. 258
sqq.).

was celebrated

The words which

All that
is

follow cannot be
is,

explained with certainty.

'isi 'an is
is

evident

that Ci^ana
'iil

appended

to

Ci''pii^

7?n without

a copula, as

^^v33

to C^^^DIi in the

first

hemistich, and therefore, like the latter,

is

intended as an explanatory apposition.

Dyan does not mean

Cp'^n
i.e.

either cloths or threads, but lines or cords.

literally

signifies

bound or wound up

probably twisted,
;

formed
firm,
733

of several threads

wound
to

together or spun

and

2''^^.,

compact, from
'Ul n"'pii3

\J\,

be drawn together.

Consequently

can hardly have any other meaning than treasures of

the most valuable yarns formed of different " treasures " is the only meaning which can be For
i.e.

spun yarns,
threads.

assi<nied to 0^33 with

D'niia,

from

D"!3,

A^y,

any certainty on philological grounds, and contorsit, is either yarn spun from

several or various threads, or cloth

woven from such

I3'f>3n.

threads.
(II. 3,

But

the latter would not harmonize with

Movers

adduces evipp. 263 sqq.) adopts a similar conclusion, and dence that silk yarn, bombyx, and cotton came to Tyre

CHAP. XXVII. 26-36.

401

tlirougli tlie

Mesopotamian

trade,

and were there dyed in the

into cloths, or brought for

splendid Tyrian purples, and

sale

woven

with the dyeing complete.

All the other explanations

difficult

which have been given of these

and untenable
viz. chests of
;

words are arbitrary

D''??i"iii
''TJ3,

not only the Rabbinical rendering of

damask, but that of Ewald, " pockets of damask,"

others, viz.

and that proposed by Hartmann, Havernick, and

girdles of various colours, ^wvai (XKKoraL
scription
is

In

ver.

25 the de-

rounded

off

with a notice of the lever of this world-

wide trade,

nh^' cannot

mean

" walls " in this instance, as in

xxiv. 11, because the ships,

Jer. V. 10, and like nhVk^ in

Job

through which Tyre became so

rich, could not

be called walls.
(Isa.
Ivii.

The word

signifies

" caravans," after '\W =jLj

i^yj^.
^?"jy'?
:

9),

corresponding to the Aramaean

as an accusative of

might be regarded
caravans, with reit is

more

precise definition

gard

to (for)

thy bartering trade.

At

the same time

:

more

rhetorical to take "ilTl^p as a second predicate

trade,
i.e.

they were thy

the carriers of thy trade.

What

the caravans were

for the emporia of trade

on the mainland, the ships of Tarshish

were for Tyre, and these on the largest sea-going ships are
mentioned instar omnium.

By means

of these vessels
i.e.

Tyre
rich

was
and

filled

with goods, and rendered weighty (1???),

glorious.

But

a tempest from the east would destroy

Tyre with
Vers.

all its

glory.

26-36. Destruction of Tyre.

:

Ver.
and

26.

Thi/ roicers

brought thee into great loaters

heart of the seas.
tering wares, thy

the east ivind broke thee

up

in the

Ver. 27.

Thy
and

riches

thy sales, thy bar-

seamen and thy

sailors, the repairers

of thy leaks
in thee,

and

the traders in thy wares,

all thy fighting

men

together loith all the midtitude of people in thee, fell into the heart

of the seas in the day of thy fall.

cry of thy sailors the places tremble.

Ver. 28.

At

the noise

of

the

Ver. 29.

And

out of their

ships come all the oarsmen, seamen, all the sailors of the sea; they come

upon

the land,

Ver. 30.

And make

their voice

heard

over thee,

and cry
I.

bitterly,

and

p^it

dust upon their heads,

and

EZEK.

2 C

402

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

;

cover themselves with ashes

Ver. 31. A7id shave themselves bald

on thy account, and gird on sackcloth, and weep for thee in anguish
of soul a
bitter ivailing.

Ver. 32. They raise over thee in their

thee:

grief a lamentation,
like the

and lament over

Wlio
!

is

like

Tyre!

destroyed one in the midst of the sea

Ver. 33.

When

thy sales

nations

came forth out of the seas, thou didst satisfy many with the abundance of thy goods and thy ivares thou
Ver. 34. Noio that thou art

didst enrich kings of the earth.

wrecked away from the seas in the depths of the water, thy

wares and
the

all

thy

company are fallen

in thee.

Ver. 35. All

thee,

inhabitants

of the islands are amazed at

;

and

their

kings shudder greatly

their faces quiver.

;

Ver. 36. The traders

among
and
to

the

nations hiss over thee

thou hast become a terror,

art gone for ever.

The

allusion to the ships of Tarshish,

which

Tyre was indebted

to

for
ver.
is

its

glory,

serves

as

an
of

introduction
vers.
(cf.

a
is

renewal

in

26

of

the

allegory

5 9a
Ps.
is

Tyre

a ship, which

wrecked by the east wind

xlviii. 8).

In Palestine (Arabia and Syria) the east

;

wind

characterized by continued gusts

it

and

if

it

rises into

tempest,

generally causes great

damage on account
in pieces

of the

violence of the gusts (see Wetzstein in Delitzsch's

commentary
by the storm,

on Job xxvii.

1).
its
D^'?!

Like a ship broken

Tyre with
repetition

all

glory sinks into the depths of the sea.

The

of

3^3 in vers. 26 and 27 forms an effective

;

contrast to ver. 25
sions of Tyre,

just as the enumeration of all the possesfall

which

with the ship into the heart of the sea,

cargo, " the seamen,"
also

does to the wealth and glory in ver. 25b.

the ship also perish with the
rowers,
repairers of

Tiiey

who manned
i.e.

sailors,

leaks

(calkers),

the

merchants on
its

board, and the fighting

men who defended

the ship and

goods against pirates,

in the ship.

the whole qdhdl, or gathering of people,

expression rpr\\>-7^2 can only be taken
"iB'N
:

The difficult

as an explanatory apposition to ^3

all

the

men who

are in

thee, namely, in the

multitude of people in thee.

Ver. 28.

When

the vessel

is

wrecked, the managers of the ship raise

CHAP. XXVII, 26-36.

403
tnjo
is

such a cry that the migresTiolh tremble,

used in
cities,

Num.
which
Ezek.
city.

XXXV. 2 for the precincts around the Levitical

were

set apart as pasture

ground for the

flocks;

and

in

xlv. 2, xlviii. 17, for

the

ground surrounding the holy

Consequently

Hi'j'njD

cannot mean the suburbs of Tyre in the

passage before us, but must signify the open places on the

mainland belonging
the fields and

to Tyre,

i.e.

the whole of

its

territory,

with

villages contained therein.

The rendering

"fleet,"

which Evvald follows the Vulgate

support
it.

in adopting, has nothing to

Vers. 29

sqq.

The

ruin of this wealthy and power-

ful metropolis of the

commerce of the world produces the

greatest consternation

among
if

all

who

sail

upon the
fall of

sea, so that

they forsake their ships, as

they were no longer safe in them,

and leaving them for the land, bewail the

deepest lamentation.
XV. 19, etc.
y''Pt^'^

Tyre with
;

with

?ip^, as in

Ps. xxvi. 7

Chron.

For the purpose

of depicting the lamentation as

all

great and bitter in the extreme, Ezekiel groups together

the
viz.

things that were generally done under such circumstances,

covering the head with dust

(cf.

Josh.

vii.

6; 1 Sam.

iv.

12;

and Job
not to

ii.

12) and ashes

:

(ti'^'SH'?,

to strew, or cover oneself,

i.

roll oneself

see the

comm. on Mic.
weeping

10)

shaving a
i.

bald place

(see ch. vii. 18

;

and the comm. on Mic.

(K'S3 "ic^a, as

16)

putting on sackcloth
vii.

loud, bitter

in

Job

11 and
in
ch.

x. 1)

and singing a mournful dirge

"'J

(vers.

32 sqq.).

Dn''33,

lamento eorum ;
ii.

contracted from

''H?

(Jer. ix. 17, 18

cf.

""n,

10).

The reading adopted by the LXX.,

(on\3ii)
is

Theodot.,'
is

Syr.,

and eleven Codd.

unsuitable, as there

no

allusion to sons, but the seamen themselves raise the lamentation.

The

correction proposed

by Hitzig,

Q^fpii, is

altogether
is

inappropriate.

The

exclamation.

Who

is

like

Tyre!

more
Kings

precisely defined by ^^7?? ''ke the destroyed one in the midst

of the sea.
ii.

HQ"!, participle

Pual, with the

JD

dropt, as in 2

10, etc. {yid. Ges. 52. 2,

Anm.

0).
I'l^'n

It is quite superfluous

to
'3Ty

assume that there was a noun

signifying destruction.
:

ns>3 has been aptly explained by Hitzig

" inasmuch as

404

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

sea, like

thy wares sprang out of the

the plants and field-fruits

out of the soil" (the selection of the word ^V2,^<} also suggested
this simile);

"not

as

being manufactured at Tyre, and there-

fore in the sea, but because the sea floated the goods to land
for the people in the ships,

and they

satisfied the desire of the

purchasers."
its

Tyre

satisfied peoples

and enriched kings

witii

wares, not only by purchasing from

them and paying

for

their productions with

tliat

money
still

or barter, but also by the fact

the Tyrians gave a

higher value to the raw material

"^I'^in

by the labour which they bestowed upon them.

plural
is

in the
its

only met with here.

its

Ver. 34.
34
ny into

But now Tyre with

treasures and

inhabitants has sunk in the depths of the sea.

The

antithesis in

which

ver.
Tn^'C'i

really stands to ver.

Jp.'^^^

33 does

not warrant our altering

^V, as

Ewald and
xvi.

Hitzig propose, or adopting a different division of the second

hemistich,
ri^
is

an adverbial accusative, as in ch.

57

" at the time of the broken one away from the seas into the
depth of the waters, thy wares and thy people have
perished."
Hia'^'J

fallen,

i.e. is

W,

temiDore quo fracta

as

es.

^'^l^ ^"l^f^
"^

intentionally selected
xxvi. 17.

an antithesis

to

DVli^tt ^9'^'^^

ch.

Ver. 35. All the inhabitants of the islands and their

kings,

i.e.

the inhabitants of the (coast of the) Mediterranean

and

its
;

islands, will

be thrown into consternation at the

fall
i.e.

of

Tyre

and

(ver.

36) the merchants among the nations,

the

foreign nations, the rivals of

Tyre

in trade, will hiss thereat;

DOK', to

in other words, give utterance to malicious joy.

be

laid waste, or thrown into perturbation with terror and amaze-

ment.
so

D'';JQ

Dyn, to tremble or quiver in the face,

i.e.

to

tremble

much
36^>>

that the terror shows itself in the countenance.

In

ver.

Ezekiel brings the lamentation to a close in a similar

to the threat contained in ch. xxvi. (vid. ch. xxvi. 21).

manner

CHAP, zxv;

I.

1-10.

405

CHAP. XXVITI.

1-19.

AGAINST THE rr.INCE OF TYRE.

first

As

the city of

Tyre was

of all threatened with destruction

(eh. xxvi.),

and then her

fall

was confirmed by

a lamentation
all

(eh. xxvii.), so here the prince of

Tyre

is first

of

forewarned

of his approaching death (vers. 1-10),

is

and then a lamentation

composed thereon

(vers.

11-19).

Vers. 1-10.
the

Fall of the Prince of Tyre.

to

Ver.
God,

1.

And
thy

word of Jehovah came

me, sayitig, Yer. 2. Son of man, say

to the

prince of Tyre, Thus saith the

Lord Jehovah, Because

"

heart has lifted itself up,

and thou say est,

of the

J am a

I sit upon
3.
to

a seat of Gods,

irt

the heart

seas,^^

when thou art a man

and

not God,

and

cherishest a

mind

like

a God's mind, Ver.

is

Behold, thou art loiser than Daniel; nothing secret

thee
;

obscure

Ver. 4. Through thy wisdom and thy understanding hast

thou acquired might, and put gold and silver in thy treasuries

Ver.

5.

Through

the greatness

of thy wisdom hast thou increased

thy might by thy trade,

and

thy heart has lifted itself

up on account

of thy might, Ver. 6. Therefore thus saith the

Because thou cherishest a mind
fore, behold,
like

Lord Jehovah,
7.

a God^s mind, Ver.

Therethe

will bring foreigners

upon

thee, violent

men of

nations

they

loill

draio their swords against the beauty of thy

wisdom, and pollute thy splendour.

Ver.

8.

They

will cast thee

down

into the pit, that thou

mayest die the death of the slain in the

Wilt thou indeed say,
thee,

heart of the seas.

the face

Ver.

9.

of him that slayeth

when thou

art a

I am a God, in man and not God

ivilt

in the

hand of him

that killeth thee ?

Ver. 10. Thozt

;

die the

death of the uncircumcised at the hand of foreigners

for

I have

spoken

it, is

the saying

of the Lord Jehovah.

This threat of judgas those addressed to

is

ment

follows in general the

same course

other nations (compare

especially ch. xxv.), namely, that the sin

mentioned

first (vers.

2-5), and then the punishment consequent

upon the
T'JJ,

sin (vers. 6-10).

In ver. 12 ^?0
I^JJ

is

used instead of

dux.

In the use of the term

to designate the king,

406

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

Kliefotli detects an indication of the peculiar position occupied

by the prince in the commercial

state of

Tyre, which had been

as

reared upon municipal foundations;

so

inasmuch

he was not

much
is

a monarch, comparable to the rulers of Babylon or to

the Pharaohs, as the head of the great mercantile aristocracy.

This

in

harmony with the use

David
for example,

of the

word

^*33

for the prince

of Israel,

whom God
;

chose and anointed

to be the ndg'id over

His people

in other words, to

be the leader

of the tribes,
(vid. 1

who
xiii.
is

also

formed an independent commonwealth

vii.

Sam.

14; 2 Sam.

8, etc.).

The

pride of the

prince of Tyre

described in ver. 2 as consisting in the fact

that he regarded himself as a God, and his seat in the island of

Tyre

as a God's seat.

He

calls his seat ^^^f. 3*^'iD, not " be-

cause his capital stood out from the sea, like the palace of

God

from the ocean of heaven" (Ps.

for, apart

civ. 3), as

Hitzig supposes;

from any other ground,

this does not suit the subse-

quent description of his seat as God's mountain (ver. 16), and

God's holy mountain

(ver.

14).

The God's
its

seat

and God's

mountain are not the palace of the king of Tyre, but Tyre as
u state, and that not because of
firm position
vijo-oq,

upon a rocky
is

island, but as a holy island {a<yLa

as

Tyre

called in

Sanchun.
glorified

ed. Orelli, p. 36), the

founding of which has been

I.

by myths

(vid.

Movers, Flioenizier,

pp. 637 sqq.).

The words which Ezekiel puts into the mouth of the king of
Tyre may be explained,
as

Kliefoth has well

all

expressed
natural

it,

" from the notion lying at the foundation of

iiions,

reliits

according to which every

state,

as the production of

physical factors and bases personified as the native deities of

house and
gods."

state, is

regarded as a work and sanctuary of the

political develop-

In Tyre especially the national and

in

ment went hand

religion.
its

hand with the spread and propagation

state

of

its

"

The Tyrian
seat
;

was the production and seat of

this divine

gods.

He, the prince of Tyre, presided over and divine

creation

therefore he, the prince, was himself

its

a god, a manifestation of the deity, having

work and home

CHAP. XXVIII. 1-10.

in the state of

407

Tyre."
;

All heatlien rulers looked upon them-

selves in this light

so that the king of

Isa. xiv. 13, 14.
;

Babylon

is

addressed in
is

a similar

manner

in

This self-deification
is

shown

to be a delusion in ver. 2b

He who

only a

man makes
as

his heart like a

God's heart,

i.e.

cherishes the

same thought

the Gods.
nations,
still
is

3?,

the heart, as the seat of the thoughts and imagiinstead of the disposition.

named
this

This

is

carried out

further in vers. 3-5 by a description of the various sources

from which

imagination sprang.

He

cherishes a God's

mind, because he attributes to himself superhuman wisdom,

through which he has created the greatness, and might, and

wealth of Tyre.

The

words,

''

behold, thou art wiser," etc.

(ver. 3), are not to be taken as a question, " art

thou indeed

wiser?" as they have been by the

nor are they
taken
ironical, as

LXX.,

Syriac, and others;

;

Havernick supposes

but they are to be

waf;

literally,

namely, inasmuch as the prince of Tyre

serious in attributing to himself supernatural

and divine wisdom.

Thou

art, i.e.

thou regardest thyself as being, wiser than Daniel.

is

No

hidden thing

obscure to thee

(2'?V>

^ later word akin to

the Aramaean, " to be obscure").

The comparison
his
ability

with Daniel

refers to the fact that Daniel surpassed all the

magi and wise

to interpret

men

of Babylon in

wisdom through

dreams, since

God gave him an

insight into the nature

and

development of the power of the world, such as no human

sagacity could have secured.

The wisdom

of the prince of

Tyre, on the other hand, consisted in the cleverness of the

children of this world, which

knows how

to get possession of all

the good things of the earth.

Through such wisdom

riches.
'?\n^

as this

had the Tyrian prince acquired power and

possessions in the broader sense
;

might,

not merely riches, but the whole

of the might of the commercial state of Tyre, which was founded

upon

riches

and treasures got by

trade.

In ver. 5 ^n^p"i3

is

in apposition to l^onn nha, and

is

introduced as explanatory.

The

fulness of
in

its

wisdom showed
it

itself in its

manner

which

conducted

it,

commerce and the whereby Tyre had become

408
rich

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

It
is

and powerful.

not

till

we reach
|y^

ver.

6 that we meet

with the apodosis answering to 'w naa

in ver. 2,

which has

been pushed so far back by the intervening parenthetical sentences in vers. 2b-5.

For

this reason the sin of the prince of

]Vl

Tyre
'lJl

in deifying himself is briefly reiterated in the clause

^rin (ver. Qb,

compare
is

ver. 2b), after

which the announce-

ment

of the

punishment

introduced with a repetition of p? in

ver. 7.

Wild
all

foes approaching with barbarous violence will

destroy

the king's resplendent glory, slay the king himself

with the sword, and hurl him

down
D^ia

into the pit as a godless

man.

The enemies

are called

peoples,

that

is

to say, the wild hordes

TIV? violent ones of the composing the Chaldean

" against
i.e.

army

(cf. ch.

xxx. 11, xxxi. 12).

They drew the sword

""^1)

the beauty

(^B^.,

the construct state of

of thy wisdom,"

the beauty produced by thy wisdom, the beautiful

Tyre

itself,
;

with

all

that

it

contains (ch. xxvi. 3, 4).

nyDl^
it

splendour

it is

only here and in ver. 17 that

we meet with

as a noun.

The

king himself they hurl down into the

nether world,
tially
''^n

pit, i.e.

the grave, or the

"nioD, the death of a pierced one, substan-

the same as n'by^ >niD.

The

plural 'nioo

and

'niD here

and
on

Jer. xvi.

4 (mortes)

is

a pluralis exaggerativuSj a death so

painful as to be equivalent to dying

Isa.
liii.

many

times (see the

comm.

9).

In ver. 9 Ezekiel uses the Plel

^})^'^i

^?n?p in the

place of the Poel

as 7^^ in the Plel occurs elsewhere only

in the sense of profanare,

and

in Isa.

11.

9 the Poel

is

used for

piercing.

But

there

is

no necessity

to alter the pointing in in ch.

consequence, as
xxxii.

we

also find the

Paal used by Ezekiel

Isa.
liii.

26 in the place of the Poal of

is

5.

of the uncircumcised
violent death.

such a death as godless

of Tyre,

The death men die

The king

who

looks upon himself as a

god, shall perish by the sword like a godless man.

At

the same

time, the whole of this threat applies, not to the one king,
Ithobal,

who was

reigning at the time of the siege of Tyre by

the Chaldeans, but to the king as the founder and creator of

the might of Tyre (vers. 3-5),

i.e.

to the supporter of that

CHAP. XXVIII.

11-19.

409
itself.

royalty which was to perish along with

Tyre

It

is

to the

king, as the representative of the might

and glory of

Tj're,

and

not merely to the existing possessor of the regal dignity, that

the following lamentation over his
fall refers.

Vers. 11-19.

Lamentation over the King of Tyre.

word of Jehovah came
to

Ver. 11.

And

the

me, saying, Ver. 12.

Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Thou seal of a well-measured
building, full of

wisdom and ferfect

in beauty.

Ver. 13. In

Eden,

the

garden of God, wast thou

; all kinds

of precious stones
chrysolit",
the

were thy covering, cornelian, topaz, and diamond,

beryl,

and jasper, sapphire,

of thy timbrels

carbuncle,

and emerald, and gold:

thee
;

service

and of thy women was with

were prepared.

on the

day

that thou wast created, they

Ver. 14. Thou

wast a cherub of anointing, lohich covered, and

it; thou

I made

thee

for

wast on a holy mountain of

God ;

thou didst walk in the

tliy

midst of fiery stones.

Ver. 15. Thou wast innocent in

ivays

from

the

day on which thou wast created, until iniquity

%oas

found

in thee.

Ver. 16. On account of the multitude of thy commerce,

thine inside

was

filled,

with icrong, and thou didst sin

I
;

loill

therefore profane thee

away from

the

mountain of

God

and

destroy

thee,

covering cherub,

away from

the fiery stones

Ver. 17. Thy heart has

lifted itself

up because of thy beauty,

thou hast corrupted thy loisdom together ivith thy splendour:

cast thee to the ground,

I give

thee

up for a

spectacle before kings.

Ver. 18. Through the midtitude of thy sins in thine unrighteous

trade thou hast profaned thy holy places
;

therefore cause
thee,

f re

to proceed from the midst of thee, which shall devour

and make
see thee.

thee into ashes tipon the earth before the eyes of all

who

Ver. 19. All icho knoio

thee
:

thee

among

the peoples are

amazed
ever.

thou hast

become a terror,

and

art

gone for

at

The lamentation over

the fall of the king of Tyre

commences

with a picture of the super-terrestrial glory of his position, so

as to correspond to his self-deification as depicted in the fore-

410

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL

In ver. 12 he
artistically
is is

going word of God.

addressed as

ri'33ri

cnn.

This does not mean, "

wrought signet-ring
a participle of

;" for

Dnh
seal.

does not stand for Dnhj but

Dnrij to

There

is all

the more reason for adliering firmly to this mean-9) ^^ altogether inap-

ing, that the following predicate, ^9?'?

plicable to a signet-ring, though Hitzig once more scents a

corruption of the text in consequence.

ri'':2ri,

from

pri,

to

weigh, or measure

off,

does not

mean

perfection

(Ewald),
;

beauty (Ges.), fa^on (Hitzig), or symmetry (Hiivernick)

just as
in
it

but
it

cli.

xliii.

10, the only

other passage in which

occurs,

denotes the measured and well-arranged building of

it

the temple, so here

signifies a

well-measured and
in

artistically
its

arranged building, namely, the Tyrian state

artistic

combination of well-measured institutions (Kliefoth).

building
is

This
to the

sealed

by the

prince,

inasmuch as he imparts

state firmness, stability,

and long duration, when he possesses

These are mentioned
after-

the qualities requisite for a ruler.

wards, namely, " full of wisdom, perfect in beauty."

If the

prince answers to his position, the wisdom and beauty manifest

in the institutions of the state are simply the impress received

from the wisdom and beauty of

a

his

own mind.

The
is

prince of
as

Tyre possessed such a mind, and therefore regarded himself

God

(ver.

2).

His place of abode, which

to his

described in

vers.

13 and 14, corresponded

position.

Ezekiel here

coinpares the situation of the prince of Tyre with that of the

first

man

in Paradise;

and then,
fall

in vers.
fall

15 and 16, draws a

of

comparison between his

first

and the

Adam.
in

As

the

man was placed

ny
is

in the

garden of God,
in

Eden,

so also

was the prince of Tyre placed

glory,

the midst of paradisaical

D^'7^X
)3,

shown, by the apposition

of Paradise
;

to be

used as

the proper

name

and

this

view

is

not to be upset

by the captious objection of Hitzig, that Eden was not the

garden of God, but that
this

was

situated in

Eden (Gen.
in

ii.

8).

The

fact that Ezekiel calls Paradise

W'W

ch. xxxvi. 35,

proves nothing more than that the terms Eden and Garden of

CHAP. XXVIII.

11-19.

411

God do

not cover precisely the same ground, inasmuch as the

garden of

God

only occupied one portion of Eden.

But

not-

withstanding this difference, Ezekiel could use the two expressions as

synonymous, just as well as Isaiah

(Isa.

li.

3).

And
it

even

if

any one should

persist in pressing the

difference,

would not follow that

ni'3

was corrupt
D'Tli^X

in

this

passage, as

Hitzig fancies, but simply that

ny more
in

precisely

p defined the idea of

it

in other words, restricted

is,

to the

garden

of Paradise.

There

however, another point to be observed

connection with this expression, namely, that the epithet

is

Wrb^ p

used here and in ch. xxxi.

is

8,

whereas, in other

places. Paradise

called nin^ p (und. Isa.

li.

Gen.

xiii.

10).

Ezekiel has chosen Elohim instead of Jehovah, because Paradise

is

brought into comparison, not on account of the

historical

significance

which

it

bears to the

human

race in relation to the

all

plan of salvation, but simply as the most glorious land in

the earthly creation.

The

prince of Tyre, placed in the plea-

sant land, was also adorned with the greatest earthly glory.

Costly jewels were his coverings, that

is

to say, they

formed the

ornaments of
tion is taken

his attire.

This feature

in the pictorial descrip-

from the splendour with which Oriental rulers are

to appear,

accustomed

namely, in robes covered with precious

'"^S??,

stones, pearls,

and gold.

as a

noun

air. Xey., signifies

a
is

covering.

In the enumeration of the precious stones, there

to the breastplate of the high priest.

no reference
first

For, in the
;

place,

the order of the stones

is

a different one here

secondly, there are only nine stones

named

instead of twelve;

and

lastly,

there would be no intelligible sense in such a refer-

ence, so far as

we can

perceive.

Both precious stones and

gold are included in the glories of

Eden

{vid.

Gen.

ii.

11, 12).

For the names

Ex.
xxviii.

of the several stones, see the

commentary on
the

17-20.

The words
to Hitzig

'Ul

T^n nsx^O which even

early translators have entirely misunderstood,

and which the

commentators down
attempts to explain

and Ewald have made marvellous

present no peculiar difficulty, apart from

412
^

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

is

the plural ^^3p3, which

only met with

is

liere.

As

the

meaning
D'QJ^,

timbrels, tambourins {adxiffa),

in 1

well established for

and

Sam.

x.

5 and Isa.
it

v.

12 flutes are mentioned along with

D^3i^?

the timbrels,

has been supposed by some that

must

But there is nothing to support such a rendering either in the Hebrew or in the other Semitic dialects. On the other hand, the meaning pala gemmarmn (Vulgate), or
signify flutes here.
nno;-casket, has been quite arbitrarily forced

upon the word by

Jerome, Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, and

with Hiivernlck in regarding
Q"'3i^3

many

others.

We

agree

as a plural of nnpj (foeminae),

D'K^j,

formed, like a masculine, after the analogy of

Cl^J??, etc.,

and account for the choice of this expression from the allusion
to

the history of

the creation (Gen.

i.

27).

The

service

(n3S?0j performance, as in Gen. xxxix. 11, etc.) of the

is

women

the leading of the circular dances by the odalisks

who beat
This was
not his

the timbrels: "the

harem-pomp

of Oriental kings."

made
his

ready for the king on the day of his creation,

i.e.

birthday, but the day on which he

reign,

became king, or commenced

when

the

harem

of his predecessor

came

into his

possession with

all its

accompaniments.

Ezekiel calls this the

day of

his creation, with special reference to the fact that it

was God who appointed him king, and with an allusion to the parallel, underlying the whole description, between the position
of the prince of

Tyre and that of

is

Adam
;

in Paradise.^
^l^5 is

The

next verse (ver. 14)

tion of

J;^^?,

more

difficult one.
xl.

an abbrevia(see

nns, as in

Num.
Xey.

15

Deut.

v.

24

Ewald,
in

184a).

The

utt.

n^'DD has

been explained

very

different ways, but mostly according to the Vulgate rendering,

Havernick has very appropriately which the following " Strato, statement occurs with reference to Strato, the Sidouian king: with flute- girls, and female harpers and players on the cithara, made preparations for the festivities, and sent for a large number of hctaerae from
1

In explanation of the fact alluded

to,

called attention to a passage of Athen. (xii. 8, p. 531), in

the Peloponnesus, and many singing-girls from Ionia, and young hetaerae See also other from the whole of Greece, both singers and dancers."

passages in Brissonius, de regio Pcrs. princ. pp. 14:2-3.

CHAP. XXVIII. U-19.

413

tu

Cheruh extenius

et 'protegens,

as signifying spreading out or

excension, in the sense of

"with outspread wings" (Gesenius

and many
to anoint
vii.

others).

But

nB'O does not

mean

either to spread
is

out or to extend.
;

The

general meaning of the word

nrit'p

simply

and judging from

and

'T^K'b, portioy
off,

Lev.

35 and

Num.

xviii. 8, also to

measure

from which the

Consequently

idea of extension cannot possibly be derived.

the meaning "anointing"

is

the only one that can be estab-

lished with certainty in the case of the

word n^DO.

So

far as

the form

is

concerned,

ni'^pp

might be

in the construct state

but the connection with

'^?iS'],

anointing, or anointed one, of

the covering one, does not yield any admissible sense.

A comshow

parison with ver. 16, where ^3iDn

nna occurs

again, will

that the H'J'OPj which stands between these two words in the

verse before us, must contain a more precise definition of ^ns^

and therefore
state
:

is

to be

connected with 3ii3 in the construct

i.e.

cherub of anointing,

anointed cherub.

This

is

the

rendering adopted by Kliefoth, the only commentator who has

given the true explanation of the verse,

nc'bjp is

the older

form, which has only been retained in a few words, such as

DO"i in Isa. x. 6, together with the tone-lengthened a (vid.

Ewald,

160a).

cherub, as

The prince of Tyre is called an anointed Ephraem Syrus has observed, because he was a
'H^iti'O

king even though he had not been anointed.

abstract noun, either here or in
this

is

not an
;

Nah.

ii.

6,

but a participle

and

predicate
(D"'33iD)

points back to Ex.

xxv. 20, " the cherubim

is

covered

the capporeth with their wings," and

to

be
is

explained accordingly.

Consequently the king of Tyre

called a cherub, because, as an anointed king, he covered or

overshadowed a sanctuary,
the covenant.

like the

cherubim upon the ark of

is

What

this

sanctuary was

evident from the

remarks already made

the king.
sat, is to

at ver. 2

concerning the divine seat of

If the " seat of

God," upon which the king of Tyre

be understood as signifying the state of Tyre, then

the sanctuary which he covered or overshadowed as a cherub

414
will also

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

be the Tyrian
state,

with
T'rinj^

its
is

holy places and sacred

to be

things.

In the next clause,

taken by

itself

according to the accents, "

and I

liave

made

thee (so)," and

not to be connected with tnp ins.

We
God "

are precluded

from

adopting the combination which some propose

viz.

" I set thee

upon a holy mountain

of
first

thou wast a

by the incongruity
as a cherub,
as,

of

all

describing the prince of

Tyre

and

then immediately afterwards as a God, inasmuch

to the Biblical view, the cherub, as

according
is

an angelic being,

simply

a creature and not a

God; and

the fanciful delusion of the

prince of Tyre, that he was an

El

(ver. 2), could not furnish

the least ground for his being addressed as Eloldm by Ezekiel.

And

still more are we precluded from taking the words in this manner by the declaration contained in ver. 16, that Jehovah will cast him out " from the mountain of Elohim," from which

we may
har^

see that in the present verse also

in ver. 16,

Elohim belongs
is

to

and that

where the mountain of God

men-

tioned again, the predicate

of brevity, just as of
^3iD[i 3^">3.
nL*''pjp is

^p

is

simply omitted for the sake

afterwards omitted on the repetition

actual object to
clause,
^'i^i^i

The missing but

can

easily be supplied

from the preceding

namely,

this, i.e.

an overshadowing cherub, had

as king in paradisaical glory.

God made
The

him, by placing him

words, " thou wast upon a

holy mountain of God," are not to be interpreted in the sense

suggested by Isa. xiv. 13, namely, that Ezekiel was thinking of

the mountain of the gods (Alborj) met with in Asiatic mytholof^v,

because

it

was there that the cherub had

;

its

home, as

Hitzig and others suppose

is

for the Biblical idea of the. cherub

griffin

entirely different

from the heathen notion of the

It
is

keeping guard over gold.

true that

God
The

placed the

cherub as guardian of Paradise, but Paradise was not a mountain of

God, nor even a mountainous land.

idea of a holy

mountain of God, as being the seat of the king of Tyre, was founded partly upon the natural situation of Tyre itself, built
as
it

was upon one or two rocky

islands of

the Mediterranean,

CHAP. XXVIII.

11-19.

415
this

and partly upon the heathen notion of the sacredness of

island as the seat of the Deity, to

which the Tyrians attributed

this

the grandeur of their state.

reference to

To

we may probably add a

For

Mount

Zion, upon which was the sanctuary, where

the presence of God.

the cherub covered the seat of

although the comparison of the prince of Tyre to a cherub

was primarily suggested by the description of

his

abode as

Paradise, the epithet ^^isn shows that the place of the cherub
in the sanctuary

was

also present to the prophet's

mind.

same time, we must not understand by

itself.

^p

"^^

At the Mount Zion

midst of
It is ad-

The

last

clause,

" thou didst walk

in

the

(among)

fiery stones," is
all

very

difficult to explain.

mitted by nearly
of
fire

the

more recent commentators, that " stones

"

cannot be taken as equivalent to " every precious

stone " (ver. 13), both because the precious stones could hardly

be called stones of

fire

on account of their

brilliant splendour,
is

and

also being covered with precious stones

not walking in

the midst of them.

Nor can we

explain the words, as Hiiver-

nick has done, from the account given by Herodotus (II. 44)
of the two emerald pillars in the temple of Hercules at Tyre,

which shone resplendently by night

night are not stones of
in the
fire,

for pillars shining

by

and the king of Tyre did not walk

pillars.

temple between these

The

explanation given by

Hofmann and
(Zech.
ii.

Kliefoth appears to be the correct one, namely,

of fire are to be regarded as a wall of fire

that the stones

9),

which rendered the cherubic king of Tyre unapcomparison of the prince of Tyre to
still

proachable upon his holy mountain.

In

ver. 15, the

is

Adam
his

in Paradise

brought out

more prominently.

As Adam

was created was found

sinless, so

was the prince of Tyre innocent in

his creation,

conduct in the day of

in him.

but only until perverseness

As Adam

forfeited

and

lost

the happiness

conferred upon

him through
him from

his fall, so did the

king of Tyre
sin,

forfeit his glorious position

through unrighteousness and

his

and

cause

God

to cast

eminence down to the ground.

416

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

fell into

He

perverseness in consequence of the abundance of

his trade (ver. 16a).

Because

his trade lifted

him up

to wealth

and power,

his heart
in

was

filled

with iniquity.
IK'J

i?0 for ^^f^, like

i^p for s<i^p

ch.

xli. 8,

and

for ISB'J in ch. xxxix. 26.

^3in
1^0,

is

not the subject, but the object to

vO

and the plural

chosen in the

with an indefinite subject, " they

filled," is

place of the passive construction, because in the Hebrew, as in

the Aramaean, active combinations are preferred to

passive

whenever
1286).
(ch.

it is

possible to adopt

them

(vid.

Ewald,

2946 and
fill"

{<?9 is

used by Ezekiel in the transitive sense "to

'H^H,

viii.

17 and xxx. 11).

the midst,

is

used for the

interior in a physical sense,

and not

in a spiritual

one

and the

expression

is

chosen with an evident allusion to the history of

sinned by eating the forbidden fruit of the
filling

the

fall.

As Adam

tree,

so did the king of Tyre sin by

himself with wicked-

ness in connection with trade (Hiivernick and Kliefoth).

God

would therefore put him away from the mountain of God, and
destroy him.
i'?n
i.e.

with IP

is

a pregnant expression

to desecrate

away from,
T|3X)
is

to divest of his glory and thrust

away from.

72c).

a contracted form for "ni^NXl (yid. Ewald,

232A and

Vers. 17 and 18 contain a comprehensive description

of the guilt of the prince of Tyre,

and the approaching judg''^

ment

is

still

further depicted.

'n^V?-

cannot mean,

"on

account of

thy splendour,"
it

for

this

yields

no appropriate
itself

thought, inasmuch as

was not the splendour

might of Tyre,

which

occasioned his overthrow, but the pride which corrupted the

wisdom

requisite to exalt the

to

in other words,

tempted the prince

increase his glory.

commit

iniquity in order to preserve

and

We
h]}

therefore follow the

in the sense of

LXX.,

Syr., Ros.,

and
niN"i

others, in taking
is

una cnm, together with.

though Ewald

an

infinitive form, like

it

nnnx

for niS">,

238e) regards

as so extraordinary that he proposes to alter

is

the text.

nXT with 2

used for looking upon a person with

^J??

malicious pleasure.
consisted (?)V
is

"^J???"!

shows in what the guilt (PV)

^JV)-

the construct state of

The

sanctuaries

CHAP. XXVIII.

11-19.

417

(miqddsJiim) which the king of Tyre desecrated

by the unrightThese the

eousness of his commerce, are not the city or the state of Tyre,

but the temples which

made Tyre

a holy island.

king desecrated by bringing about their destruction through his

own

sin.

Several of the codices and editions read T^"^?^ in

is

the singular, and this

the reading adopted by the Clialdee,

If this

Syriac, and Vulgate versions.

were the true reading,

the sanctuary referred to would be the holy mountain of

(vers.
its

God

14 and 16).
" I cause

But the reading

itself

apparently owes

origin simply to this interpretation of the words.

fire to issue

In the
^3inip is

clause,
to

from the midst of thee,"

"^?in in ver.

be understood in the same sense as

16.

The
fire

iniquity

which the king has taken into himself becomes a

issuing
ashes.

from him, by which he

All

is

consumed and burned

ch. xxvii. 36).

to

who know him among

the peoples will be astonished

at his terrible fall (ver. 19,

compare

If

we

proceed, in conclusion, to inquire into the fulfilment

of these prophecies concerning

Tyre and
divided.

its

king,

we

find the

opinions of

modern commentators

Some, for example

and
others,

Hengstenberg, Havernick, Drechsler (on

Isa. xxiii.),

assuming

that, after a thirteen years' siege,

Nebuchadnezzar
it;

conquered the strong Island Tyre, and destroyed

others

while

viz.

Gesenius, Winer, Hitzig,

at

etc.

deny the
it

conquest
;

by Nebuchadnezzar, or

any

rate call

in question

and

many
to

of the earlier commentators suppose the prophecy to refer

Old Tyre, which stood upon the mainland.

For the
sqq.;

history

of this dispute, see Hengstenberg,

Be

rebus Tyriorum comment.

(Berol. 1832); Havernick, OnEzekiel,

pp.420

and Movers,

Phoenizier, II. 1, pp. 427 sqq.

The

denial of the conquest of

Insular Tyre by the king of Babylon rests partly on the silence

which ancient

historians,
its

who mention
;

maintained as to

result

tained in Ezek. xxix. 17-20.

is

have and partly on the statement conitself,

the siege

All that Josephus (Antt. x. 11. 1)

is

able to quote from the ancient historians on this point

:

the

following

In the

first place,

he

states,

on the authority of the

EZEK.

I.

2d

418
third

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

book of the Chaldean history of Berosus, that when the father of Nebuchadnezzar, on account of his own age and consequent infirmity, had transferred to his son the conduct of
the

war against the rebellious satrap in Egypt, Coelesyria, and Phoenicia, Nebuchadnezzar defeated him, and brought the
whole country once more under his sway.

But

as the tidings

reached him of the death of his father just at the same time,
after arranging affairs in
Ids friends to lead into

Egypt, and giving orders

to

some of

Babylon the captives taken from among

the Judaeans, the Phoenicians, the Syrians, and the Egyptians, tof^ether with the heavy armed portion of the army, he himself

hastened through the desert to Babylon, with a small

of attendants, to assume the
states,

number

government

of the empire.

Secondly, he

on the authority of the Indian and Phoe-

nician histories of Philostratus, that

when

Ithobal was on the

throne, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre

for thirteen years.

The

accounts taken from Berosus are repeated by Josephus in his

c.

Apion

(i.

19),

where he
which

also adds ( 20), in confirmation of

their credibility, that there

were writings found in the archives

tallied

of the Phoenicians

with the statement made by

Berosus concerning the king of Chaldea (Nebuchadnezzar), viz. " that he conquered all Syria and Phoenicia " and that
;

Philostratus also agrees with this, since he mentions the siege

of

Tyre

in his histories to
this,

(fjie/xvr]fjievo<;

ri}?

Tvpov

iroXiopKLas:).

In
(c.

addition

for

synchronistic

purposes,

Josephus

Ap.

i.

21) also communicates a fragment from the Phoe-

nician history, containing not only the account of the thirteen

years' siege of

Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar
of the kings of

in the reign of Ithobal,

but also a

list

Tyre who followed

Ithobal,

down
^

to the time of

Cyrus

of Persia.^

The

siege of

Tyre

is

The passage

reads as follows:

"In

the reign of Ithobal the kiug,

Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for thirteen years. After him judges were Ecnibalus, the son of Baslachus, judged for two months; appointed. Ohelbes, the son of Abdaeus, for ten months Abbarus, the high priest, for three mouths; ^lyttonus and Gerasturtus, the sous of Abdelemus, for
;

CHAP. XXVIII.
therefore mentioned three times

11-19.

419

by Josephus, on the authority

of Phoenician histories

but he never says anything of the

of

conquest

and destruction

that

city

by Nebuchadnezzar.
said,

From
this

this
all

circumstance the conclusion has been drawn, that

was

he found there.

For

if, it

is

the siege had

terminated with the conquest of the

city, this glorious result of

the thirteen years' exertions could hardly have been passed

over in silence, inasmuch as in Antt.

foreign historians
is

x. 11. 1 the

testimony of

quoted to the effect that Nebuchadnezzar

was " an

active

man, and more fortunate than the kings that

were before him."

conclusive.
If

But the argument is more plausible than we bear in mind that Berosus simply relates the

account of a subjugation and devastation of the whole of Phoenicia,

without even mentioning the siege of Tyre, and that

is

it is

only in Phoenician writings therefore that the latter

to,

referred

we cannot by any means

conclude, from their silence as to

it

the result or termination of the siege, that

for the Tyrians

ended gloriously

and with humiliation

to

Nebuchadnezzar, or

that he

was obliged

to relinquish the attempt without success

after the strenuous exertions of thirteen years.

trary, considering

On

the con-

how

all

the historians of antiquity show the

same anxiety,

if

not to pass over in silence such events as were

all

unfavourable to their country, at

events to put them in as

favourable a light as possible, the fact that the Tyrian historians observe the deepest
silence

as

to

the result of

the

thirteen years' siege of

clusion that
it

Tyre would rather

to

force us to the con-

was very humiliating

if

Tyre.

And

this

could
at

only be the case

the end

Nebuchadnezzar
If he

really conquered

Tyre

of thirteen years.

had been obliged

to relinquish

the siege because he found himself unable to conquer so strong

a city, the

Tyrian historians would most assuredly have related

When he died, after wliom Balatorus reigned for one year. they sent for and fetched Merbalus from Babylon, and he reigned four years. At his death they sent for his brother Eiramus, who reigned twenty During his reign, Cyrus ruled over the Persians." years.
six years
;

420

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

strenuous exertions of

this termination of the thirteen years'

the great and mighty king of Babylon.

The
of

silence of the
is

Tyrian historians concerning the conquest

it

Tyre

no proof, therefore, that

xxix.

did not really take place.

But Ezek.

17-20 has

also

been quoted as containing posi;

tive evidence of the failure of the thirteen years' siege

in other

words, of the fact that the city was not taken.

this passage, that

We
to

read in

Nebuchadnezzar caused

his

army

perform

hard service against Tyre, and that neither he nor his army
received any recompense for
it.

Jehovah would therefore give

as

him Egypt
infer

to spoil

and plunder

wages for

this

work of

theirs

in the service of

Jehovah.
that

Gesenius and Hitzig (on

Isa. xxiii.)

from

this,

Nebuchadnezzar obtained no recompense

for the severe labour of the siege, because he did not succeed
in entering the
city.
this,

But Movers

{I.e.

p.

448) has already

urged in reply to

that " the passage before us does not

it it

imply that the city was not conquered any more than
the opposite, but simply lays stress upon the fact that
not 'plundered.

does

vms

For nothing can be

to

clearer in this connection

than that what we are

understand by the wages, which

Nebuchadnezzar did not

connected with his
;

receive, notwithstanding the exertions

many

years' siege,

is

simply the treasures of

Tyre " though Movers

certain

is

of opinion that the passage contains

an intimation that the siege was brought to an end with a

compromise which
stress

satisfied

the Tyrians, and infers,

from the fact of

plundering,

being laid exclusively upon the neglected

termination was of such a kind
that

that

the

plundering might easily have taken place, and therefore that

Tyre was

either actually conquered, but treated mildly

from

wise considerations, or else submitted to the Chaldeans upon

certain terms.

But

neither of these alternatives can

make

the

least pretension to probability.

In Ezek. xxix. 20

it is

expressly

stated

that

"

as wages, for whicli he

(Nebuchadnezzar) has

worked, I give him the land of Egypt, because they (Nebu-

chadnezzar and his army) have done

it

for

me

;"

in other words,

CHAP, xxviir.

11-10.

421

have done the work for me.

mises to give
for

When,

therefore,
as a

Jehovah proat Tyre, the

Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar the hard work which has been done

Tyre the task entrusted
to

reward or wages

for

Him

words presuppose that Nebuchadnezzar had really accomplished

against
to

him by God.
siege,

But God had

committed

him not merely the

but also the conquest

and destruction of Tyre.

Nebuchadnezzar must therefore

and

have executed the commission, though without receiving the

expected reward for the labour which he had bestowed
;

on that account

God would compensate him

the siege was terminated,
it

for his trouble

with the treasures of Egypt.

supposition that

This precludes not only the

or the city sur-

rendered, on the condition that

should not be plundered, but

also the idea that for wise reasons city leniently after

Nebuchadnezzar treated the

In either case
will of

he had taken possession.

Nebuchadnezzar would not have executed the

Jehovah

upon Tyre

in

such a manner as to be able to put in any claim

the hard

for compensation for

work performed.

The

only

thing that could warrant such a claim would be the circumstance, that after conquering

Tyre he found no

treasures to

plunder.

And

this is the explanation

which Jerome has given

of the passage

ad

litteram.

" Nebuchadnezzar," he says, " being

unable,

when

besieging Tyre, to bring up his battering-rams,

besieging towers, and vineae close to the walls, on account of the

city being surrounded

by the

sea,

employed a very large number

and piling up mounds
sea,

of

men from

his

army
fill

in collecting rocks

of earth, so as to

up the intervening

and make a constrait.

tinuous road to the island at the narrowest part of the

And when
plished,

the Tyrians saw that the task was actually accom-

and the foundations of the walls were being disturbed

in ships
articles of value the nobility possessed in gold, silver,

by the shocks from the battering-rams, they placed

whatever
clothing,
islands
;

and household furniture, and transported them

so that
to

to the

when

the city was

taken,
all

Nebuchadnezzar
his labour.

found nothing

compensate him for

And

422

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

because he had done the will of

after the conquest of Tyre,
It is true that

God

in

all

this,

some years

Egypt was given

to

him by God."^
from any other
inasmuch

we have no

historical testimony

quarter to support this interpretation.

it

But we could not expect

us,

in

any of the writings which have come down to

as the

Phoenician accounts extracted by Josephus simply con-

tain the fact of the thirteen years' siege,

and nothing

at all
is

concerning

its

progress and result.

At the same time, there

If

the greatest probability that this was the case.

Nebuchad-

nezzar really besieged the

island
in

city,

which was situated upon an

the sea, he could not have contented himself with

cutting off the supply of drinking water from the city simply

on the land
to

side,

as Shalmanezer, the king of Assyria,

is

said

have done

(vid.
fill

Josephus, Antt.
strait

ix.

14. 2), but

city

must have

taken steps to

up the

between the

and the main-

land with a mound, that he might construct a road for besieging

and assaulting the

did.

walls, as

Alexander of Macedonia afterwards

And

the words of Ezek. xxix. 18, according to which

every head was bald, and the skin rubbed off every shoulder with the severity of the
toil,

point indisputably to the under-

taking of some such works as these.

really carried out their operations

And

if

the Chaldeans

upon the

city in this

way, as

the siege-works advanced, the Tyrians would not neglect any

precaution to defend themselves as far as possible, in the event

of the capture of the city.
sessions

They would
city

certainly send the posinto the colonies,

and treasures of the

by ship
;

and thereby place them in security

Curtius,
iv. 3,

just as,

according to

they sent off their families to Carthage,

when

the city

was besieged by Alexander.

weight from the fragment

This view of the termination of the Chaldean siege of Tyre

receives a confirmation of no
of
in
is
*

little

Mcnander already
Tyre

given, relating to the succession of rulers

after the thirteen years' siege

by Nebuchadnezzar.

It

there stated that after Ithobal, Baal reigned for ten years,
Cyrill. Alex, gives the

same explanation

in his

commentary on

Isa. xxiii.

CHAP. XXVIII.
that judges

11-19.

423
all

{siiffetes)

were then appointed, nearly

;

of

whom
;

held office for a few months only

there was also a king Balatoriis,
after this,

that among the last judges who reigned for a year that

however, the Tyrians sent to Babylon, and brought

tlience Merhal,

and on

his death

Hiram,

as kings,

whose genuine

Tyrian names undoubtedly show that they were descendants

of the old native royal family.

This circumstance proves not

only that Tyi'e became a Chaldean dependency in consequence

of the thirteen years' siege

by Nebuchadnezzar, but

also that

the Chaldeans had led

away the

royal family to Babylonia,

if

which would hardly have been the case

to the
If,

Tyre had submitted

Chaldeans by a treaty of peace.

however, after what has been
said,

no well-founded doubt
that

can remain as to the conquest of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, our

prophecy was not so completely

fulfilled thereby,

Tyre
is

became a bare rock on which fishermen spread

threatened in ch. xxvi. 4,
destroyed
its

their nets, as

5,

14.

Even

if

Nebuchadnezzar

walls,

and

laid the city itself in ruins to a conit,

siderable extent, he did not totally destroy

restored.

so that

it

was not

On
find

the contrary, two hundred and fifty years after-

wards,
city, so

we

Tyre once more a splendid and powerful royal

strongly fortified, that Alexander the Great was not able

till

to take it

after a siege of seven months, carried on with extrafleet

ordinary exertions on the part of both the

latter attacking

and army, the

from the mainland by means of a mound of

difficulty
;

earth,

which had been thrown up with considerable

;

(Diod. Sic. xvii. 40 sqq.

iv.

Arrian, Alea;.
it

ii.

17 sqq.

Curtius,
into a

2-4).

Even

after this catastrophe

rose once

more

distinguished commercial city under the rule of the Seleucidae

and afterwards of the Romans, who made

Phoenicia.
It
is

it

the capital of

mentioned as such a
;

city in the

New

Testa-

ment (Matt.
describes
it

XV. 21

Acts

xxi. 3, 7)

and Strabo

(xvi. 2.

23)

as a

busy city with two harbours and very lofty

its

houses.

But Tyre never recovered

ancient grandeur.
it

In

the

first

centuries of the Christian era,

is

frequently men-

424

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

tioned as an aiclibishop's see.

From

a.d.

G36

to a.d.

1125

it

was under the rule of the Saracens, and was so strongly

tified,

for-

that

it

was not

till

after a siege of several months' duration

it.

that they succeeded in taking

visited

Benjamin
it

of Tudela,

who

Tyre

in the year 1060, describes

as a city of distin-

guished beauty, with a strongly fortified harbour, and surrounded

by

walls,

and with the best

glass

and earthenware

in the East.

" Saladin, the conqueror of Palestine, broke his head against

Tyre

in the year 1189.

But

after

Acre had been taken by

storm in the year 1291 by the Sultan El-Ashraf, on the day

following this conquest the city passed without resistance into
the hands of the same Egyptian king
;

the inhabitants having

forsaken Tyre by night, and fled by sea, that they might not
fall into the

power of such bloodthirsty

into the

soldiers "

(Van de Velde).
its

When

it

came

hands of the Saracens once more,

;

fortifications

were demolished
risen

and from that time forward

Moreover,
it

Tyre has never

piled up,

from

its

ruins again.

had

long ceased to be an insular

city.

The mound which Alexander

and firmer tongue of land
in
sea, so that the

grew

into a broader

consequence of
island

the sand washed up by the

to the
is

was joined

mainland, and turned into a peninsula.

The

present Sur

situated

upon

it,

a market town of three or

four thousand inhabitants, which does not deserve the

name

of

a city or town.

The houses

are for the most part nothing but

huts; and the streets are narrow^, crooked, and dirty lanes.
Tlie ruins of the old Phoenician capital cover the surrounding

country to the distance of more than half an hour's journey

from the present town gate. The harbour is so thoroughly choked up with sand, and filled with the ruins of innumerable
pillars

and building

stones,

that only small boats can enter.

The
of

sea has swallowed

;

up

a considerable part of the greatness

its

Tyre

and quite as large a portion of

in the earth.

splendid temples

and

fortifications lie buried

To
is

a depth of manysolid

feet the soil trodden at tlie present

day

one

mass of

building stones, shafts of

pillars,

and rubbish compused of

CHAP. XXVIII.

20-2G.

425
pillars

marble, porphyry, and granite.

costly verde aniiquo (green

Fragments of
lie

of the

marble) also

strewn about in
that
is

large quantities.
to-day,
is

The

crust,

which forms the

soil

trodden

merely the surface of this general heap of ruins. actually become " a bare rock, and a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of sea " and " the dwelling-

Thus has Tyre

places,

which are now erected upon a portion of

'

its

former

site,

are not at variance with the terrible decree,

thou shalt be built

no more'" (compare Robinson's

Travels).
fulfilled,

Palestine,

and Van de Velde's

Thus has
is

the prophecy of Ezekiel been completely

;

though not directly by Nebuchadnezzar

for

the
is

prophecy

not a bare prediction of historical details, but

pervaded by the idea of the judgment of God.

To

the prophet,

Nebuchadnezzar
of

is

the instrument of the punitive righteousness

God, and Tyre the representative of the ungodly commerce

Hence, as Hiivernick has already observed,
is

of the world.

Nebuchadnezzar's action
prophet's esteem.

more than an

isolated deed in the

" In his conquest of the city he sees the

whole of the ruin concentrated, which history places before us

as a closely connected chain.

The breaking
his

of the

power of

Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar stands out before

ably connected with
its

view as insepar-

utter destruction.

This was required

its

by the

internal theocratic signification of the fact in

relation

to the destruction of

Jerusalem."

Jerusalem

will rise airain to

new

glory out of

its

destruction through the covenant faithful-

ness of

God

(ch. xxviii. 25, 26).

is

But Tyre, the

city of the

world's commerce, which

will pass

rejoicing over the fall of Jerusalem,

away

for ever (ch. xxvi. 14, xsvii. 36).

CIIAr. XXVIII. 20-2G.

PROPHECY AGAINST SIDON AXD PROMISE FOR ISRAEL.

against

The

threatening word

Sidon

is

very brief, and

couched in general terms, because as a matter of fact the

prophecy against Tyre involved the announcement of the

fall

426

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

upon
it
;

of Sidon, which was dependent

and, as

we have ah'eady
simply for the

observed, Sidon received a special word of

God

purpose of making up the number of the heathen nations

mentioned
ao-ainst

to the significant

number

seven.

The word

of

God

Sidon brings to a close the cycle of predictions of judg-

ment

directed against those heathen nations

which had given

expression to malicious pleasure at the overthrow of the king-

dom

of

Judah.

There

is

therefore appended a promise for

is

Isx'ael

(vers.

25, 26),

which

really closely connected with

the threatening words directed against the heathen nations, and

for

which the way

is

prepared by ver. 24.

The

correspond-

ence of na "nC'TpJ- (I shall be sanctified in her) in ver. 22 to

D3

^"yl^'^i?3

(I shall

be sanctified in them) in ver. 25, serves to

place the future fate of Israel in antithesis not merely to the

future fate of Sidon, but, as vers. 24 and 26 clearly show, to

that of
all

the heathen nations against which

the

previous

threats have been directed.

Ver. 20. And the loord of Jehovah came to me, saying, Ver. 21. Son of man, direct thy face toicards Sidon, and prophesy
against
it,

Ver. 22. A7id say,

thee,

Thus

saith

the

Lord Jehovah,
Jehovah, when
it.

Behold, Iicill he against

the midst of thee
;

Sidon, and will glorify myself in

and
upon

they shall hioio that

it,

I am

execute judgments

and sanctify myself upon

and Hood

Ver. 23.

Twill send pestilence into

fall in the midst of every side
; it

it,

into its streets ; slain loill

it

by the sioord, xchich cometh upon

from

and

they shall learn that

T am

Jehovah.

Ver. 24.

And
thorn

there shall be

no more
sting

to the

house of Israel a malignant

and smarting
;

from

all

round about

them,

ivho

despise tliem

but they shall learn that

glorify

T am

the

Lord

Jehovah.

Jehovah

will

Himself as the Lord upon Sidon,

xiv. 4, 16, 17, to

as Pie did before

upon Pharaoh (compare Ex.

which the word

W??3

in ver. 22,

an unusual expression for

glorification
is

Ezekiel, evidently

points).

The

effected

by

judgments, through which

the enemies of His people.

He He executes the judgments through

proves Himself
to be holy

upon

CHAP. XXVIII.

25,

-IG.

427
through

pestilence

and blood

(yid. ch. v. 17, xxxviii. 22), i.e.

disease

and bloodshed occasioned by war,

(cf. ch. vi. 7).

so that
''S3

men

fall, slain

we have the intensive form ''r??, which is regarded by Ewald and Hitzig as a Through copyist's error, because it is only met with here. these judgments the Lord will liberate His people Israel from all round about, who increase its suffering by their contempt. These thoughts sum up in ver. 24 the design of God's judgments upon all the neighbouring nations which are threatened in ch. xxv.-xxviii., and thus prepare the way for the concluding promise in vers. 25 and 26. The figure of the sting and thorn
by the sword
Instead of
points back to

Canaanites
thorns in

Num. xxxiii. 55, where it is said that the whom Israel failed to exterminate would become
eyes and stings in
its

its

sides.

As

Israel did not

keep

itself

free from the Canaanitish nature of the heathen

nations,

God

caused

it

to

feel

these stings of
it

heathenism.

Having been deeply hurt by them,

prostrate with
Israel
its

was now lying utterly

Canaan, to which

wounds.

The

sins of

had given

itself

up, had occasioned the destruction of

Jerusalem (chap.

xvi.).

wounds.
the

On

the

But Israel is not to succumb to its contrary, by destroying the heathen powers,
its

Lord

will heal

His people of the wounds which

it.

heathen

neighbours have inflicted upon

\S'^P

P^p,

synonymous with
1''^5p^,

in ch.

ii.

6,

a word only found in Ezekiel.

xiii.

on
it

the contrary,
is

is

taken from Lev.

51 and

xiv. 44,

where

applied to malignant leprosy (see the comm. on the former

passage).

For DHiX
I

D'lpsCi'n,

see ch. xvi. 57

and xxv.

6.

Ver. 25. Thus saith

the house
scattered,

of Israel out

Lord Jehovah, When I shall gather of the peoples among whom they have been
the

shall sanctify myself

upon them before

the eyes

of

the

heathen nations, and they will dwell in their land ichich

given to
securely,

have

my

servant Jacob.

Ver. 26. Tliey will

dioell there
icill

and build houses and plant vineyards, and

dwell

securely ichen
those

execute jxidgments
;

upon

all icho despise

them of

round about them

and

they shall learn that

I Jehovah am

428
their

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL.

God.

Whilst
will

the heathen nations succumb to the judgto a

ments of God, Israel passes on

time of blessed peace.

The Lord

gather His people from their dispersion

among
to the

the heathen, bring

them

into the land

which lie gave

patriarch Jacob, His servant,

security,

and give them

in that land rest,

itself,

and true prosperity.

(For the fact

compare

ch. xi. 17, XX. 41, xxxvi. 22 sqq.)

E^D

OF VOL.

r.

MCRr.AT AND GIDB, EDINBlRCn, PKIMLho TO UKK MAJtallb srAlIuNLUr OFFICE


and

T,

T. Clark's Publications.

This day, in demy Suo, price

9s.,

A CHRONOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION TO

THE LIFE OF CHRIST.

By
C.

E.

CAS PAR
EVANS,
B.A.

I.

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN, WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES, BY

M.
J.

Ecbtscti 62

tije

^titljor.

The work is handy and well siiited for the use of the student. It gives him in veryreasonable compass, and in well digested forms, a great deal of information respecting the dates and outward circumstances of our Lord's life, and materials for forming a judgment upon the various disputed points arising out of them.' Guardian.
'

In this work the author affords us the results of many-sided study on one of the most important objects of theological inquiry, and on a knot of problems which have been so often treated and which arc of so complex a nature. The author is unquestionably right in supposing that the so-called outworks of the life of Jesus have their value, by no means to be lightly esteemed. Their examination must be returned to ever afresh, until the historic or uuhistoric character of the substance of the gospel narrative has been brought out as the result of scientific examination. ... In conclusion, we believe we can with full conviction characterise the whole work as a real gain to the scientific literature of the question and a great advance on previous investigations not doubting that the most important positions maintained by the author will in all essential points win the approbation of the student.' Jahrbucherfur Deutsche Theologie.
' ;

'A thoroughly scholarlike treatise, in which every point of criticism is weighed with the utmost exactness, every phase of doubt examined with the nicest precision, and every proof that can be furnished for the authenticity and truth of the gospel history, sought after and produced with unfaltering accuracy. ... No Bible student should fail to make this treatise his constant friend and companion, and no honest man can read, marlc, learn, and digest its contents, without being persuaded that its value is priceless.' BelVs Weekly Messenger.
The volume before us is to be regarded as an exceedingly valuable contribution to the extensive literature we already possess, and it combines the two advantages of large The fruits of this . chronological and typographical knowledge with careful exegesis. The transconscientious study are here stored in goodly abundance and ripeness. . lator deserves more than any ordinary word of commendation, for it is evident that he has entered upon his task con amore ; and has furnished us not only with a satisfactory rendering of the original, but also added some notes of great value.' English Independent.
' . . . .

Taking up the different events in the life of Christ, every incident is dwelt ujion in connection with the place and time of its occurrence ; and the student and the expounder of Scriptiu-e will find in these chapters a complete guide to the surroundings of the life Courant. cf Christ, and much that will throw a vivid light upon His words and actions.'
'

This is in every way a remarkable work, and one that cannot value to biblical students.' Rock.
'

fail to

prove of great


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THE TRIPARTITE NATURE OF MAN,

SPIRIT, SOUL,

AND BODY,
New
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Applied to Illustrate and Explain the Doctrines of Original Sin, the the Disembodied State, and the Spiritual Body.

By
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With an Appendix on the Fatherhood of God.

The anther has got a striking and consistent theory. Whether agreeing or disagreeing with that theory, it is a book which any student of the Bible may read with pleasure.'
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' valuable and interesting treatise on the " Tripartite Nature of Man," the first English theological work of any pretensions which has dealt with the subject in a methodical and systematic manner.' Dean of Norwich.
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VOICES OF THE PROPHETS.

Twelve Lectures Preached in the Chapel of Lincoln's Inn, in the Years 1870-74, on the Foundation of Bishop Warburton.

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GIFFORD,

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'The author has long ago attained high position as a scholar, a man of science, and a theologian, and in the volume before us he offers his readers some of the best fruits of these varied accomplishments.' Standard.
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PRINCIPLES
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NEW TESTAMENT QUOTATION

Estalilislied

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to Biblical Science.

By Rev. JAMES SCOTT,

New

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B.D.

'Mr. Scott's very exhaustive essay is quite a masterpiece of pithy compression. Theological students will find the book to be one of great value, not only for its direct help, but for its lucid example of method. It does not contaia a specific ci-iticism of every Old Testament citation found in the Testament, but deals with the whole question of quotation in general, and thus exhibits the principles of the Biblical quotation, and vindicates them with a masterly force.' English Churchman.
'

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is

service
'

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thoughtful, learned, conscientious, and painstaking, Bajjtist Magazine. to be heartily recognised.'

is

and performs a
Freeman.
.

The treatment throughout

reverent, scholarly, and satisfactory.'

thoughtful attempt to arrange and systematize the various forms of quotation in which the author has been highly successful.' Scotsman.
'

'

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'

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PARTICULARLY
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IN

GERMANY,
in connection witli

Fundamental Movement, and

the Religious, Moral, and Intellectual Life.

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAJ^T OF

Dr.
J.

A.

DORNER,

Professor of Theology, Berlin.

Translation by the Author.

With a Preface
'

to the

This work, which may be called a History of Modern Theology, is one of the most careful study important, interesting, and useful that Messrs. Clark have ever issued. In of it would systematize on the reader's mind the whole round of evangelical truth. fact, it is, in a certain sense, a comprehensive view of historical theology, written on a new plan not in the fonn of the tabulated summary, but as traced in the living history of those whose struggles won for us the truth, and whose science formulated it for London Quarterly Review. posterity.'

earnestly recommend this most valuable and important work to the attention of So great a mass of learning and thought so ably set forth has theological students. never before been presented to English readers, at least on this subject' Journal of Sacred Literature.

'We

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John the Author

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of the
'

Fourth Gospel.
of Christi-

Professor C. E. Lutiiardt, Author of

Fundamental Truths

anity,' etc.

Translated and the Literature enlarged by C. R. GrvEGORY,

'

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'

made

Johannine school of criticism, and a correspondingly complete establishment on which the unanimous testimony of the ancient Church is shown to rest.

In this work, from the pen of one of the greatest divines of Germany, the facts are to speak for themselves, and the result is a complete refutation of the Antiof the truth
. . .

Such a

work

as this

was much

needed.'

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Fourth
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The Fundamental Truths

The Antagonistic Views
Anomalies
^lan
; ;

of Christianity.
;

of the "World in their Historical

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of Existence

The Personal God

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Revelation History of Religion Judaism Christianity in History The Person of Jesus Christ.
; ;

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;

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The Nature
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The Trinity The Last Thmgs.

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Grace The God-Man The Work of Jesus Holy Scripture The Means of Grace
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Man The Christian, and the Christian of Christian Morality Virtues The Devotional Life of the Christian, and his Attitude towards The Christian Home The State and Christian Marriage the Church Culture and The Life of the Christian in the State Christianity Christianity Humanity and Christianity.
; ;
;

From Dr. Luthardt's exposition even the most learned theologians may derive invaluable criticism, and the most acute disputants supply themselves with more trenchaut and polished weapons than they have as yet been possessed of.' BelTs W'eekli/ Messenger. do not know any volumes so suitable in these times for young men entering on life, or, let us say, even for the library of a pastor called to deal with such, than the three commend the whole of them with the most cordial satisfaction. volumes of this series. They are altogetlier quite a specialty in our literature.'^ ll'ei-ty Review.
' '

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:

Kahnis,

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instructive

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suggestive.'

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Just published, Second Edition, in crown Svo, price 7s. 6d.,

DAVID, THE KING OF ISEAEL

A PORTRAIT

DRAWN FROM BIBLE HISTORY AND THE BOOK

OF PSALMS.
F.

By
'

W. KRUMMACHER,
Author
of
'

D.D.,

Elijah the Tishbite.'

Dr. Krummacher's work on David's life resembles that of his " Elijah " in its eloquence, graphic description, its devout and earnest spirit, and will be widely welcomed.' Evangelical Magazine.
its

At the close of two articles reviewing this work, the Chnstian Observer says: 'Our space will not permit us to consider more at large this very interesting work, but we cannot do less than cordially commend it to the attention of our readers. It affords such an insight into King David's character as is nowhere else to be met with it is therefore most instructive.'
;

This will be a pleasant household reading-book for man.

'

many

people.'

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In crown 8vo, Eighth Edition, price

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THE SUFFERING SAVIOUR;

OR,

MEDITATIONS ON THE LAST DAYS OF THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.

its eighth edition needs no introduction to the reading yet the very circumstance of its repfeated publication entitles it to is richness in these meditations which wins and warms the heart.' popularity. There a Nonconformist.

'A book which has reached

public.

And

John Bull. and practical character, and are eminently calculated to inform the mind and improve the heart. To the devout and earnest Christian the volume will be a treasure indeed.' Wesleyan Times. 'The work will be prized by experienced Christians throughout the world; and is destined, we trust, to as wide a circulation and as long a life as the gifted author's
' '

A book of inestimable value.'

The

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" Elijah." '

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In crown 8iw, price

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THE FOOTSTEPS OF CHRIST.

Translated from the
'

German of

A.

GASPERS.
find a considerable publicity

It is a book of solid thought and solid learning, in its English dress.' Nonconformist,

and should

'A very interesting and instructive book. Its style is quaint and antithetic; it abounds in bright thoughts, presents striking views of Scripture facts and doctrines, and is altogether eminently fitted to refresh and edify believers.' Family Treasury. Eminently evangelical, and distinguished also by great originality and terseness.'
'

Baptist Magazine.
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There

is

much

I do not always agree with his theology, Eev. C. H. Spuegeon. utterances.'

deeply experimental truth and precious spiritual love in Caspers' book. but I own myself much profited by his devout

2e


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Just published, in

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THE YEAR OF SALVATION.

WORDS
OF
LIFE

FOR

EVERY

DAY.

A BOOK OF HOUSEHOLD DEVOTION.

Br
A
J. J.

VAN

OOSTERZEE,

D.D.

' work of great value and interest. To the clergy these readings will be found full of suggestive hints for sermons and lectures; while for family reading or for private meditation they are most excellent. The whole tone of the work is thoroughly pi-actical, and never becomes controversial.' Church Bells.

The text is illustrated by apposite and thoughtful remarks, which will be found both convenient and profitable not only in the family circle, but also for private meditation.'
'

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very be^t religious exposition for every-day use that has ever fallen in our way.' Bell's Weekly Messenger.

The

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' This charming and practical book of household devotion will be welcomed on account of its rare intrinsic value, as one of the most practical devotional books ever published.'

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Massive of thought, persuasive, earnest, and eloquent.'

;

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Simple, terse, and practical by many.' Leeds Mercury.

'

and

will,

we

are sure, be read with profit

and pleasure

Every page breathes a

spirit of

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MOSES:
A BIBLICAL STUDY.
life

Our author has seized, as with the instinct of a master, the great salient points in the and work of Moses, and portrayed the various elements of his character with vividThe work will at once take its place among our ablest and most ness and skill. valuable expository and practical discourses.' Baptist Magazine.
'
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The

treatise is practical, not scientific

purposes. Review.

This

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the study is a study of character for spiritual conducted with much elaboration, judgment, and piety.' Daily
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INTRODUCTION
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THE PAULINE EPISTLES.

By PATON
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'

J.

GLOAG,

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tlie

Critical

and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of

Apostles.'

Those acquainted with the author's previous works will be prepared for something valuable in his present work and it will not disappoint expectation, but rather exceed it. The most recent literature of his subject is before him, and he handles it with ease and skill. ... It will be found a trustworthy guide, and raise its author's reputation in this important branch of biblical study.' British and Foreign Evangelical Review.
' ; '

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of

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and

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be of great value.'

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' It is a good defence of the It bears the stamp of study, and of calm, critical power. orthodox views, written in a style which combines dignity, strength, and clearness. It may be read with pleasure by any lover of theology, and will be a valuable addition to the book-shelf as a book of reference.' Glasgow Herald.

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THE APOCALYPSE
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' . . . . .
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The book
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of the

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DELIVERY AND DEVELOPMENT

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dTift]^

DOCTRINE.
Cunnmgj^am
%tctutti.

^tviti of

tijc

By ROBERT RAINY,
'

D.D.,
NEW
COLLEGE, EDINBURGH.

PRINCIPAL AXD PROFKSSOR OF DIVINITY AND CHURCH HISTORY,

acknowledge their high excellence and the extensive learning which they are able to the last degree and the author has in an unusual measure the power of acute and brilliant generalization. He handles his array of multifarious facts with ease and elegance and we must needs acknowledge (and we do it willingly) that the Lectures are a real contribution to the settlement of the vast and obscure question with which they are occupied.' Literary Churchman.
all display.

We gladly

They

and nutritious book throughout, and in temper and spirit beyond all and Foreign Evangelical Review. The subject is treated with a comprehensive grasp, keen logical power, clear analysis and learning, and in a devout spirit.' Evangelical Magazine.
'It is a rich
praise.'
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AIDS TO

THE STUDY
OF

GERMAN THEOLOGY.
By Rev.

GEORGE MATHESON,
MINISTER OF INNELLAN.

M.A., B.D.,

The writer of this treatise has formed to himself singularly clear conceptions, and he possesses in a remarkable degree the faculty of lucid exposition. Besides serving as an admirable introduction to the study of Grerman theology, this little volume will be valuable to the general reader, as furnishing an intelligible and interesting account of the principal phases which theological speculation has assumed in Germany in modern times.' Scotsman. This little volume is a valuable and instructive introduction to a department of theological literature that every student is now compelled to examine.' British Quarterly Review. helpful little volume helpful to the student of German theology, and not less so to the careful observer of the tendencies of English religious thought.' Freeman. The writer or compiler deserves high praise for the clear manner in which he has in a brief compass stated these opinions.' Christian Observer.
' . . .

'

'

'

'

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