Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
The Wliorcdoins of EZEKIEL XXIII. Aholah and Aholibah.
Its punishment, tliey were mine—previous to apostasy under Jeroboam, Samaria (Israel, or the ten tribes), equally with Judah, worshipped the true God. God theredanger of suf Tering the memory to dwell on the pleasure felt in past sins. 20. their paramours—i. e., her paramours among them (the Egyptians) ; she doted upon their persons as her paramours {v. 5, 12, 16). flesh—the membrum virile (very large in the ass), as Leviticus 15. 2, Margin; Ezekiel 16. 26. issue of horses — the seminal fore never renounced the right over Israel, but sent prophets, as Elijah and Elisha, to declare His will to thera.
5. wlieii . . . mine lit., "under me," i.e., subject to me ns her lawful husband, nelglibours—on the north-east issue. The horse was made by the Egyptians the hieroglyphic for a lustful person. 31. calledst to remembrance —"didst repeat." [Maurek.] in braising—in suflering ... to be bruised. 23. lovers . . . alienated — {v. 17.)
'.lie kingdom of Israel bordered on that of Assyria; for the latter liad occupied much of Syria. Their neighbourhood in locality was emblematical of their being near in corruption of morals and worship. The alliances of Israel with Assyria, which are the chief subject of reprobation here, tended to this (2 Kings 15. 19; 16. 7, 9; 17. 3; Hosea 8.
Illicit love, soon or late, ends in open hatred (2 Samuel 13.
15). The Babylonians, the objects formerly of their Godforgetting love, but now, with characteristic fickleness, objects of their hatred, shall be made by God the instruments of their punishment. 23. Pekod, &c.—(Jeremiah
H). 6. blue—rather, "purple." [Fairbairn.] As a lustful woman's passions are fired by showy dress and youthful appearance in men, so Israel was seduced by the pomp and power of Assyria (cf. Isaiah 10. 8). horsemen—cava-
50. 21.) Not a geographical name, but descriptive of Babylon. " Visitation," peculiarly the land of "judgment ;" in a double sense: actively, the inflicter of judgment on Judah; passively, as about to be afterwards herself the object of judgment. Shoa . . . Koa— "rich . . . noble," descriptive of Babylon in her prosperity . . . having all the world's wealth and dignity at her disposal. Mauker suggests that as descriptive appellatives are subjoined to the proper name, "all the Assyrians" in the second hemistich of the verse (as the verse ought to be divid<!d at " Koa"), so Pekod, Shoa, and Koa must be appellatives descriptive of "The Babylonians and . . . Chaldeans" iu the first hemistich; "Pekod" meaning Prefects; Shoa . .
liers. 7. all tlieir idols—there was nothing that she refused to her lovers. 8. whoredoms brought from Egypt —the calves set up in Dan and Bethel by Jeroboam, answering to the Egyptian bull-formed idol Apis. Her alUancp-1 with E<:ypt po KtieaUy are also meant (Isaiah 30. 2,
3; 31. 1). The ten tribes probably resumed the Egyptian rites, in order to enlist the Egyptians against Jvidah (2 Chronicles 12. 2-4). 9. God, in righteous retribution, turned their objects of trust into the instruments of their punishment : Pal, Tiglatii-pileser, Esar-haddou, and Shalmaneser (2 Kings 15. 19, 29; 17. 3, 6, 2-1; Ezra 4. 2, 10). "It was their sin to have sought after such lovers, and it was
Koa, " rich . . . princely." desirable young men—strong irony; alluding to v. 12, these "desirable young men" whom thou didst so "dote upon" for their manly vigour of appearance, shall by that very vigour be the better able to chastise thee. 24r. with chariots— or, "with armaments:" .soLXX. ; "axes" [Maurer]; or, joining it with "wagons," translate, "with scythe - armed wagons," or "chariots." [Grotius.] wheels—the unusual height of these increased their formidable appearance (ch. 1. 16-20). tlieir Judgments — which awarded barbarously severe punishments (Jeremiah 52. 9; 29. 22). 25. take away thy nose . . . ears—adulteresses were punished so among the Egyptians and Chaldeans. Oriental beauties wore ornaments in the ear and nose. Howjust the retribution, that the features most bejewelled should be mutilated ! So, allegorically as to Judah, the spiritual adulteress. 26. strip lobe their punishment that these lovers should become their destroyers." [Fairbairn.] 10. became famous lit., "she became a name," i.e., as notorious by her punishment as she liad been by her sins, so as to be quoted as a icarninrj to others, women—i. e., neighbouring peoples. 11. Judah, the southern kingdom, though having the "warning" {Note, ti. 10) of the northern kingdom before her eyes, instead of profiting by it, went to even greater lengths in corruption than Israel. Her greater spiritual privileges made her guilt the greater (ch. 16. 47, 51; Jeremiah 3.11). 1^. (Ver. 6, 23.) vaost ^orgeov Lsly—lU., to perfection. Grotius translates, " wearing a crown," or " chaplet," .such as lovers wore in visiting their mistresses. 13. one way— botli alike forsaking God for heathen confidences. 1*. vermilion-the peculiar colour of the Chaldeans, as purple was of the Assyrians. In striking agreement witli this verse is the fact that the Assyrian sculptures lately discovered have painted and coloured bas-reliefs, red, blue, and black. The Jews (for instance Jehoiakim, Jeremiah 22. 14) copied these (cf. ch. 8. 10). 13. exceeding in dyed attire—rather, " in ample dyed tttrbftns ;" lit., "redundant with dyed turbans." The Assyrians delighted in ample, flowing, and richly-coloured tunics, scarfs, girdles, and head-dresses or turbans,varying In ornaments according to the rank. Chnldea . . . land of their i»atlvlty—between the Black and Caspian Seas {Note, Isaiah 2.3. 13). "Princes;" lit., a first-rate military class that fouglit by threes in the chariots, one guiding the. . . of . . . clothes—whereby she attracted her paramours
(ch. 16. 39). 27. Thus . . . make . . . lewdness to cease—The captivity has made the Jews ever since abhor Idolatry, not only on their return from Babylon, but for the last eighteen centuries of their dispersion, as foretold (Hosea 3. 4). 38. (Ver. 17, 18; ch. 16. 37.) 29. take away . . . thy labour i. e., the fruits of thy labour, leave thee naked —as captive females are treated. 31. her cup—of punishment (Psalm 11. 6; 75. 8; Jeremiah 25. 15, Ac). Thy guilt and that of Israel being alike, your punishment shall be alike. 34. break . . . sherds—so greedily shalt thou suck out every drop like one drinking to madness (the effect invariably ascribed to drinking God's cup of wratii, Jeremiah 51. 7; Habakkuk 2. 16) that thou shalt craunch the very shreds of it, i. e., there shall be no evil left which thou shalt not taste, pluck ofl' thine own breasts—enraged against them as the ministers to thine adultery.
horses, tlie other two fighting. 16. sent messengers . . . into Chaldea—(Ch. 16. 29.) It was she tliat .solicited tlie Chaldeans, not they her. Probably the occasion was when Judah sought to strengthen herself by a Chaldean alliance against a menaced attack by Egypt (cf. 2 Kings 23. 29-
3.'j. forgotten me—(Jeremiah 2. 32; 13. 25.) cast me behind tliy back—(1 Kings 14. 9; Nehemiah 9. 26.) bear . . . tliy lewdness—i. e., its penal consequences (Proverbs 1.
.3.5; 24. 1-7). God made the object of their sinful desire the instrument of their punishment. .Jehoiakim, probably by a stipulation of tribute, enlisted Nebuchadnezzar against
31). 36-414r. A summing up of the sins of the two sisters, especially tjiose of Judah. 36. Wilt thou (not) Judge {Note, ch. 20. 4). 38. the same day—on the very day that they had burned their children to Molech In the valley of Gehenna, they shamelessly and hypocritically presented themselves as worshippers In Jehovah's temple (.Jeremiah 7. 9, 10). 40. messenger waa sent viz., by Judah {v. 16; Isaiah 57. 9). paintedst . . . eyes—(2 Kings
Pharaoh, whose tributary he previously had been; failing to keep his stipulation, he brought on himself Nebuchadnezzar's vengeance. 17. alienated from them viz., from the Chaldeans: turning again to the Egyptians {v. 19), trying by their help to throw of Ther solemn engagements to Babylon (cf. Jeremiah 37. 5,7; 2 Kings 24.7). 18. my mind was alienated from her lit., ivas broken off from her. Just retribution for "her mind being alienated {broken off) from the Chaldeans" (v. 17), to whom she had sworn fealty (ch. 17. 12-19). "Discovered" implies the open shamelessness of her apostasy. 19. Israel first "called"
9. 30, Margin; Jeremiah 4. 30). Black paint was spread on the eyelids of beauties to make the white of the eye more attractive by the contrast, so Judah left no seductive art untried. 41. bed—divan. Whilst men reclined at table, women sat, as It seemed indelicate for them to lie down. (Amos 6. 4.) [Grotius.] table—i. e., the idolatrous altar.
licr lusts, practised when In Egypt, "to her (fond) remembrance," and then actually returned to them. Mark the 596
Vision of the Boiling Caldron, EZEKIEL XXIV. and of the Dealfiof EzelieTs Wij palpable. The blood of Abel, though the ground received mine Incense—which I had given thee, and which thou it, still cries to heaven for vengeance (Genesis 4. 10, Jl), much more blood shamelessly exposed on the bare rock, set her blood—she shall be paid back in kind (Matthew 7.
onehtest to liave offered to me (ch. 16. 18, 19; Hosea 2. 8; cf. Proverbs 7. 17). 43. Sabeans—Not content with the princely, handsome Assyrians, the sisters brought to themselves the rude robber hordes of Sabeans (Job 1. 15). The Kerl, or Margin, reads "drunkards." upon tlielr hands—upon the hands of the sisters, i. e., they allured
2). She openly shed blood, and her blood shall openly be shed. 9. the pile for fire—the hostile materials for the city's destruction. 10. spice it well—that the meat may be the more palatable, t. e., I will make the foe delight in garaaria and Judah to worship their gods. 43. Will Uiey, &c.—Is it possible that paramours will desire any longer to commit whoredoms with so worn-out an old adulteress? 45. the righteous men — the Chaldeans; the executioners of God's righteous vengeance (ch. Ifi. ;«), not that they were " righteous" in themselves (Habalikuk its destruction as much as one delights in well-seasoned, savoury meat. Grotius, needlessly departing from the obvious sense, translates, " Let it be boiled down to a compound." 11. set it empty . . . that . . . brass . . . may burn . , . that . . . scum . . . may be consumed—even the consumption of the contents is not enough ; tiie caldron itself which is infected by the poisonous scum must be destroyed, i. e., the city itself must be destroyed, not merely the inhabitants, just as the very house infected with leprosy was to be destroyed (Leviticus 14. 34-15). 12.
]. 3, 12, 13). 4fi. a company—properly, a council of judges passing sentence on a criminal. [Gkotius.] The "removal" and "spoiling" by the Chaldean army is the execution of the judicial sentence of God. 47. stones—the legal penalty of the adulteress (eh. 16. 40, 41 ; John 8. 5). Answering to the stones hurled bj' the Babylonians from engines in besieging Jerusalem, houses . . . fire—ful-
Tierse?/-rather, " she hatli wearied me out with lies;" or rather " with vain labours" on my part to purify her without being obliged to have recourse to judgments (cf. Isaiah 43. 24; Malachi 2. 17). [Mauker.] However, English Version gives a good sense (cf. Isaiah 47. 13; 57. 10). 13. lewdness—determined, deliberate wickedness; from a Hebrew root, "to purpose." I have purged thee—i. e., filled (2 Chronicles 36. 17, 19). 48. (Ver. 27.) that all . . . may be tanght not to do, &c.—(Deuteronomy 13. 11.) 49. bear the sins of your idols i. e., the punishment of your idolatrj-. know that I am the Lord God—i. e., know it to your cost . . . by bitter suffering.
I liave left nothing untried which would tend towards purging thee, by sending prophets to invite thee to repentance, by giving thee the law with all its promises, privileges, and tlireats. thou shalt not be purged . . . any more i. e., by my gracious interpositions ; thou shalt be left to thine own course, and to take its fatal consequences. 14. go back — desist; relax. [Fairbairn.] 15. Second part of the vision; announcement of the death of Ezekiel's wife, and prohibition of the usual signs of mourning. 16. desire of. . . eyes—his wife: representing tlie sanctuary iv. 21) in which the Jews so much gloried. The energy and subordination of Ezekiel's whole
CHAPTEE XXIV.
Ver. 1-27. Vision of the Boiling Caldron, and of THE Death of Ezekiel's Wife. 1, 2. Ezekiel proves his Divine mission by announcing the very day (" this same day") of the beginning of the investment of the city by Nebuchadnezzar; "the ninth year," viz., of Jehoiachin's captivity, " the tenth day of the tenth month ;" though he was 300 miles away from Jerusalem among the captives at the Chebar (2 Kings 25. 1 ; Jeremiah 39. 1). set himself
.5ic"(/c/ "lay against." po<^-caldron. Alluding to the self-confident proverb used among the people, ch. 11. 3 life to ills proplietic ofllce is strikingly displayed in this narrative of his wife's death. It is the only memoi'able event of his personal history which he records, and this only in reference to his soul-absorbing work. His natural tenderness is shown by that graphic touch, "the desire of thine eyes." What amazing subjection, then, of his individual feeling to his prophetic duty Is manifested in the simple statement {v. 18), " So I spake ... in the morning; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded." stroke— a sudden visitation. The suddenness of it enhances the self-control of Ezekiel in so entirely merging individual feeling, which must have been especially acute under such trying circumstances, in the higher claims of duty to God. 17. Forbear to cry—
(see my Note), " This city is the caldron and we be the flesh ;" your proverb shall prove awfully true, but In a different sense from what you intend. So far from the city proving an iron caldron-like defence from the fire, it shall be as a caldron set on the fire, and the people as so many pieces of meat sulyected to boiling heat. See Jeremiah 1.
1.3. 4. pieces thereof—those which properly ftetonj; to it, as its own. every good piece . . . choice bones i. e., the most distinguisiied of the people. The " choice bones" in the pot have flesh adhering to them. The " bones" under the pot (v. 5) are those having no flesh and used as fuel, answering to the poorest who suffer first, and are put out of pain sooner than the rich who endure what answers to the slower process of boiling. 5. burn . . . bones—rather, or, "Lament in silence:" not forbidding sorrow, but the loud expression of it. [Grotius.] ho mourning—typical of the universality of the ruin of Jerusalem, which would preclude mourning, such as Is usual where calamity is but partial. "The dead" is purposely put in ihe plural, as referring ultimately to the dead who should perish at tiie taking of Jerusalem; though the singular might havb been expected, as Ezekiel's wife was the immediate sub
"pile tlie bones." Lit., "Let there be a round pile of the bones." herein— " in the midst of it." 6. scum—not ordinary, but poisonous scum, i. e., the people's all-pervading wickedness, bring it out piece by piece—"it," the contents of the pot; its flesh, i.e., "I will destroy the people of the city, not all at the same time, but by a series of successive attacks." Not as Fairbairn, "on its every piece let it (the poisonous scum) go forth." let no lot fall on It—t. e., no lot, such as is sometimes cast, to decide who are to be destroyed and who saved (2 Samuel 8.2; Joel 3. 3; Obadlah 11.; Nahuin .3. 10). In former carryings away of captives, lots were cast to settle who were to go, and who to stay, but now all alike are to be cast out without distinction of rank, age, or sex. 7. upon the top of rock—or, "the dry, bare, exposed rock," so as to be conspl<Hious to all. Blood poured on a rock is not so soon absorbed as l>loo<l poured on the earth. The law ordered the blood even of a beast or fowl to be "covered with the dust" (Leviticus 17. 13); but she was so shameless as to be ject referred to: "make no mourning" «uc7i as is usual " for the dead, and such as shall be hereafter In Jerusalem" (Jeremiah 16. 5-7). tire of thine head—thy headdress. [Fairbairn.] Jerome explains, "Tliou shalt retain the hair which is usually cut In mourning." The fillet, binding the hair about the temples like a chaplet, was laid aside at such times. Uncovering the head was an ordinary sign of mourning in priests; whereas others covered their heads in mourning (2 Samuel 15. 30). The reason was, the priests had their head-dress of fine twined linen given them for ornament, and as a badge of ofllce. The high priest, as having on his head the holy anointing at no pains to cover up the blood of Innocent men slain in her. Bloud, as the consummation of all sin, presupposes every otlicr form of guilt. 8. that It might cause —God purposely let her so sliamelessly pour the blood on the bare rock, "that it might" the more loudly and openly cry for vengeance from on high ; and that the connection be>.we(>u the guilt and the punishment might be the more oil, WHS forbidden in anj/ case to lay aside his head-dresw. But the priests might do so in the case of the death of the nearest relatives (Leviticus 21. 2, 3, 10); tiiey then put on inferior attire, sprinkling also on their heads dust, and ashes (cf. Leviticus 10. C, 7). shoes upon thy feet— whereas mourners went "barefoot" (2 Samuel 15.30), cover not . . . lips-rather, the upper lip, with tlie mous 697