If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. ‘If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. 21. p. 61. Ezekiel 3:22; Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 33:22; Ezekiel 37:1; Ezekiel 40:1. The two notices of the year in Ezekiel 1:1 and Ezekiel 1:2 are closely connected with the twofold introduction of the theophany. 10. But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. Here it is the manifestation of Jehovah's glory described in the following verses. And this shall be his uncleanness in regard to his discharge—whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. When they defile My tabernacle: None of these discharges made a man or a woman sinful, only ceremonially unclean. His vision of four cherubims, and four wheels, Eze 1:4-25, and of the glory of God above them, Eze 1:26-28. (4) Exposure of the particular sins prevalent in the several classes—priests, prophets, and princes (Eze 12:1-19:14). If a woman has a discharge: In the case of a bloody discharge from a woman (her normal menstruation), her ceremonial impurity could be spread through direct contact or through an object that she lay or sat upon. In the fifth day of the month; it was the third day of our July, probably it was the sabbath day, when the Jews would be free from labour, and at leisure to hear the prophet; and indeed such declarations of the will of God are an entertainment suitable to the consecration of the seventh day to God. The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. By designating himself expressly as "the priest" (Eze 1:3), and as having reached his thirtieth year (the regular year of priests commencing their office), he marks his office as the priest among the prophets. (Gen 15:9-11) Abram prepares to make a covenant with God. No trace, however, can elsewhere be pointed out of the existence of a chronology dating from these events. Inattention to this divine purpose has led the modern Jews so to magnify this obscurity as to ordain that no one shall read this book till he has passed his thirtieth year. Each of these visions has some of the outward signs or symbols here recorded. By the river; either there commanded to dwell, or thither retiring, that more freely they might lament their own sins, and Jerusalem's desolation: or what if it were to keep, as they might, their sabbath, in which the spiteful Babylonians interrupt them, and with scorn require them to sing a temple song, Psa 137:3. "Gold, sapphire, burnished brass," the "terrible crystal" are familiar images of majestic glory, "thunders, lightnings" and "the rushing storm" of awful power. 1. tom. (probably those used in Chaldaea). (c) 2020 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com. If she is cleansed: When the abnormal discharge ended, there was an additional seven days of ceremonial impurity. c. If he who has the discharge spits on him who is clean: The uncleanness could also be spread through saliva. His style is plain and simple. which God did make me to see. The fifth year from the commencement of Jehoiachin's captivity is the year 595 b.c. They were eager to return to Jerusalem, but he taught them that they must first return to their God. Because they were symbols not likenesses, they could yet be the same though their appearance was varied. b. These laws were meant to have both hygienic reasons and spiritual applications; they were never intended as the way to be right with God. Poetical parallelism is not found except in a few portions, as in the seventh, twenty-first, twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth through thirty-first chapters. If we examine these symbols we shall find them to fall readily into two classes, (1) Those which we employ in common with the writers of all ages and countries. Click on the different category headings to find out more. in the N. Repertor. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. (a) Geograph. Toggle navigation. Ezekiel chapter 3 KJV (King James Version) 1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. It might probably be somewhat like that which appeared to the proto-martyr Stephen, Act 7:56. But if not fruitful, it is worthless and useless, it is cast into the fire. This communication was in the next year, the fifth, and the fourth month of the same king (for Jehoiachin's captivity and Zedekiah's accession coincide in time), followed up by a prophet raised up among the captives themselves, the energetic Ezekiel. And the human type predominates over all, and gives character and unity to the four, who thus form one creation. Read Ezekiel commentary using Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete). (x) Scripture Chronology, p. 681. Every bed is unclean on which he who has the discharge lies, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. B. Thus man is capable of yielding a precious fruit, in living to God; this is the sole end of his existence; and if … Were opened; expressed thus in the passive to let us see that there was a supreme, sovereign, and Divine power and authority by which this was done; it is not said the heavens did open, but they were opened. i. The earlier portion, the first through the thirty-second chapters, which mainly treats of sin and judgment, is a key to interpret the latter portion, which is more hopeful and joyous, but remote in date. Ezekiel 18. thirtieth year—that is, counting from the beginning of the reign of Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar, the era of the Babylonian empire, 625 B.C., which epoch coincides with the eighteenth year of Josiah, that in which the book of the law was found, and the consequent reformation began [Scaliger]; or the thirtieth year of Ezekiel's life. Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth, Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. They shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening: In the case of an emission of semen, both the man and his wife needed to ceremonially cleanse themselves and respect a brief time of ceremonial impurity. l. 5. c. 18. 1. l. 1. c. 19. In the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign (Jer 51:59), Jeremiah sent by Seraiah a message to the captives (Jer 29:1-32) to submit themselves to God and lay aside their flattering hopes of a speedy restoration. As a priest, when sent into exile, his service was but transferred from the visible temple at Jerusalem to the spiritual temple in Chaldea. This is the law for one who has a discharge, and for him who emits semen and is unclean thereby, and for her who is indisposed because of her customary impurity, and for one who has a discharge, either man or woman, and for him who lies with her who is unclean.’”. ‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. b. It placed restrictions on them and required a ceremonial purification if and when the infection was gone. Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. ... involved in Exodus 20:5 and Jeremiah 15:4, are justified. Before the captivity the months were described not by proper names but by their order, "the first, the second," etc. Ezekiel 1:3. It also said that there is a significant aspect of our brokenness and impurity that is, in some way, connected to our sexuality. Thus Ezekiel's sphere of labor was one happier and less impeded by his countrymen than that of Jeremiah at home. His great aim was to stimulate the dormant minds of the Jews. b. ; the first month corresponding nearly with our "April." Daniel's predictions are mostly later than Ezekiel's but his piety and wisdom had become proverbial in the early part of Ezekiel's ministry (Eze 14:14, 16; 28:3). This general principle was completely reversed in the person and work of Jesus the Messiah. Therefore, it could be transmitted to a bed, to a place on which he sits, and by direct touch (he who touches). 15 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? III. Yet the Biblical idea if cherubim goes back much further. The fact that even normal and permitted sexual activity made a man ceremonially unclean was not God’s condemnation of sex. Other accounts omitted, you are left to your own thoughts which of these two latter are more probable; both have very weighty authority for them; and indeed they both concur and meet in the fifth year of the captivity, and so either computation may without mistake be followed. We also remember that Jesus is the One who makes us clean and fit for fellowship: You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you (John 15:3). Commentary for Ezekiel 15 . Of what are they symbolic? The vicinity of the river Chebar, which flows into the Euphrates near Circeslum, was the first scene of his prophecies (Eze 1:1). When they defile My tabernacle that is among them: This made an obvious separation between sex and the worship of God. Among the captives; in the midst of the captivity, so the Hebrew idiom; perhaps the prophet rather useth the abstract itself than the concrete, to express the grievousness of it: they were captive, nay, captivity rather, under extreme bondage; as darkness for dark. They were offered as a sin offering and as a burnt offering. i. The ungodly were willing to do anything to remain in their native land; whereas the godly believed the prophets and obeyed the first summons to surrender, as the only path of safety. You can check these in your browser security settings. For this end nothing was better suited than the use of mysterious symbols expressed in the plainest words. This was divinely ordered to satisfy the spiritual want felt by the people in the absence of the outward temple and its sacrifices. 2. i. “The reason offerings had to be made for these discharges and not for the discharges of semen and menstruation was because they were considered abnormal.” (Rooker), ‘Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them. In pagan religion sexual activity among worshipers was believed to activate the gods into fertilizing the soil with rain.” (Rooker). He continued to prophesy for at least twenty-two years, that is, to the twenty-seventh year of the captivity (Eze 29:17), and probably remained with the captives by the Chebar the rest of his life. The command forced the obedient Israeli man or woman to say “no” to their sexual desires in certain situations. b. i. So He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." The Arabic and Syriac versions read, "the vision of God". If any man has an emission of semen: When a man discharged semen (either accidentally or in sex), he had to cleanse himself and respect a brief time of ceremonial impurity. - If a vine be fruitful, it is valuable. She shall be set apart seven days: The woman’s ceremonial impurity lasted seven days. The man made unclean could spread his uncleanness through contact (every bed on which he lies shall be unclean). Ezekiel 19. They much resemble one another, especially in the visions and grotesque images. Mesopot. Ezekiel 1:1. Rabbi Hananias is said to have satisfactorily solved the difficulties (Mischna) which were alleged against its canonicity. But the era, in accordance with which this date is reckoned, is matter of dispute, and can no longer be ascertained with certainty. The effect of the one and the other would be chiefly performed under Christ, of whom in this book are many notable promises, and in whom the glory of the new temple would perfectly be restored. Or rather a river now called Giulap, arising out of the mountain Masius, and falls into Euphrates, somewhat below a city called by the same name, Giulap or Chaboras; as Ferrarius and Hotoman observe. Witsii Miscel. Ezekiel 21. The former had prophesied for thirty-four years before Ezekiel, and continued to do so for six or seven years after him. The vision which follows was seen by Ezekiel only, and was probably vouchsafed to him in solitudes” The captives,” or rather, the captivity, as it is in the original, is the same word as is used of Jehoiachin in the next verse, and yet must be somewhat differently understood in the two cases. It was little more than thirty years after the close of his labors when the decree of the Jews' restoration was issued. The foul heart may vitiate the most natural functions.” (Meyer), iii. There is no coarse or inappropriate reference here. When this occurs, the man was to be somewhat isolated in order not to pass on the infection to anyone else. (2) We come to images to our minds strange and almost grotesque. His prophecies against foreign nations stand between these two great divisions, and were uttered in the interval between the intimation that Nebuchadnezzar was besieging Jerusalem and the arrival of the news that he had taken it (Eze 33:21). Havernick marks out nine sections:—(1) Ezekiel's call to prophesy (Eze 1:1-3:15). ‘If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening. He was contemporary with Jeremiah and Daniel. His call to prophesy was in the fifth year from the date of his being carried away with Jehoiachin (see 2Ki 24:11-15) by Nebuchadnezzar, 599 B.C. The second level was an object or person who came into contact with the afflicted one. Nothing, however, is know of any such era. The river כּבר, to be distinguished from חבור, the river of Gosan, which flows into the Tigris, see on 2 Kings 17:6, is the Mesopotamian Chabioras, ̓Αβορρας (Strabo, xvi. To the modern world this seems normal, but in the ancient world it was common to worship the gods by having sex with temple prostitutes. D. (u) Typus Doctrin. iii. And whomever the one who has the discharge touches, and has not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. sect. Bible Toggle Dropdown. Zeke Emanuel is a force of nature. (z) Vol. The oneness of tone throughout and the repetition of favorite expressions exclude the suspicion that separate portions are not genuine. And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean. It said that there is something broken and inherently impure in us, even in what comes from us normally. Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. The destruction of Jerusalem is the central point. a. He who sits on anything on which he who has the discharge sat shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. a. “This refers to an abnormal fluid that comes out of the male sexual organ as a result of some kind of sickness.” (Peter-Contesse), ii. He prophesied these things in Chaldea, at the same time that Jeremiah prophesied in Judah, and there began in the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity. a. “These laws, in addition to rendering the Israelites as a distinct nation, would undeniably provide a measure of good hygiene as well.” (Rooker). The vision must be compared with other manifestations of the divine glory Exodus 3; Exodus 24:10; Isaiah 6:1; Daniel 7:9; Revelation 4:2. Tel-Abib there (now Thallaba) was his place of residence (Eze 3:15), whither the elders used to come to inquire as to God's messages through him. It was not a dream of man's brain, it was a Divine vision, either corporeal or intellectual. She shall be unclean. God and His word deal with all manner of private and sexual matters, but do so in an appropriate, dignified way. Ezekiel 22. As the Lord was about to be a "little sanctuary" (Eze 11:16) to the exiles on the Chebar, so Ezekiel was to be the ministering priest; therefore he marks his priestly relation to God and the people at the outset; the close, which describes the future temple, thus answering to the beginning. Previous to this he calls to repentance and warns against blind confidence in Egypt (Eze 17:15-17; compare Jer 37:7) or other human stay. The vision in the opening chapter of Ezekiel is in the most general form - the manifestation of the glory of the living God. And yet their shapes were very different. The vessel of earth that he who has the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. Daniel was rather a seer than a prophet, for the spirit of prophecy was given him to qualify him, not for a spiritual office, but for disclosing future events. (7) Predictions against foreign nations during the interval of his silence towards his own people; if judgment begins at the house of God, much more will it visit the ungodly world (Eze 25:1-32:32). The superficial, volatile, and wilfully unbelieving would thereby be left to judicial blindness (Isa 6:10; Mt 13:11-13, &c.); whereas the better-disposed would be awakened to a deeper search into the things of God by the very obscurity of the symbols. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during the 22 years from 593 to 571 BC, although it is the product of a long and complex history and does not necessarily preserve the … This is the common method. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. iv. After a period of seven days (presumably without the discharge), there was a ceremonial cleansing. A treatise, falsely attributed to Epiphanius, states a tradition that he was killed at Babylon by a prince of his people whom he had reproved for idolatry. Ecclesiasticus 49:8 refers to it, and Josephus [Antiquities, 10.5.1]. Jonah 1:1, cf practices of the surrounding peoples useless, it is pure personal data like your address... Online using commentary on Ezekiel and more them future deliverance and restoration lasted seven days of impurity! 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