First act of the divine judgment, slaughter of the inhabitants of the city Ch. 8 presented a picture of the enormities practised by the inhabitants of the land and of the city, their religious debasement in contrast with the glory of Jehovah. The description was meant to lead up to the conclusion e... [ Continue Reading ]
_that have charge over the city_ Lit. either the "oversights" (overseers), or the "visitations" (visitants) of the city. The latter is most natural, "visitations" being said for "those who visit," that is, the executioners (Jeremiah 52:11). Cf. Isaiah 60:17 (officers). The verb may be rendered as A.... [ Continue Reading ]
_six men_ The symbolism represents the judgment of God as executed by supernatural agents, immediately under his command. These agents are called "men," having the human form to the eyes of the prophet (cf. ch. Ezekiel 40:3; Ezekiel 43:6). Six of the men had instruments of destruction in their hands... [ Continue Reading ]
_from the cherub_ See at the end of ch. 10.... [ Continue Reading ]
Command to seal those to be spared, and to slay without distinction all others 4. _set a mark_ The word is _Tav_, the last letter of the alphabet, the old form of which was a cross. The term is used here as in Job 31:35, of a mark in general, though perhaps the Tav or cross was the simplest form th... [ Continue Reading ]
The other executioners were to follow the footsteps of the seventh man, and slay without discrimination all not marked by him.... [ Continue Reading ]
_begin at my sanctuary_ Judgment begins at the house of God. The Lord had returned for a moment to the place of his abode in the temple, and from there the judgment went forth; Amos 1:2, "The Lord shall roar out of Zion and give forth his voice from Jerusalem." There he was most present, there most... [ Continue Reading ]
_Defile the house_ The "house" embraces the temple house and its precincts, including the courts. The presence of dead in the courts defiled the whole.... [ Continue Reading ]
Ezekiel 9:8. Intercession of the Prophet _and I_was _left_ The executioners passed out of the inner court, leaving only dead behind them, and the prophet was left alone (Isaiah 49:21. The anomalous form is to be read impf.). The terrible outbreak of the Divine wrath seemed to forebode the extinction... [ Continue Reading ]
_full of perverseness_ As marg., _wresting of judgment_, or turning the innocent out of the way (Amos 2:7). The Divine answer is inexorable. Two evils are stated, and the deeper cause of them: violence unto bloodshed, and the perversion of justice, the cause of both being the feeling that Jehovah ha... [ Continue Reading ]
Cf. ch. Ezekiel 5:11; Ezekiel 7:4; Ezekiel 8:18.... [ Continue Reading ]
The man clad in linen returns, announcing the execution of Jehovah's commands.... [ Continue Reading ]