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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comKeil and Delitzsch Commentary - Ezekiel 19:10 - 19:10
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Destruction of the Kingdom, and Banishment of the People
Eze 19:10. Thy mother was like a vine, planted by the water in thy repose; it became a fruitful and rich in tendrils from many waters. Eze 19:11. And it had strong shoots for rulers' sceptres; and its growth ascended among the clouds, and was visible in its height in the multitude of its branches. Eze 19:12. Then it was torn up in fury, cast to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit; its strong shoots were broken off, and withered; fire devoured them. Eze 19:13. And now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land. Eze 19:14. There goeth out fire from the shoot of its branches, devoureth its fruit, so that there is no more a strong shoot upon it, a sceptre for ruling. - A lamentation it is, and it will be for lamentation. - From the lamentable fate of the princes transported to Egypt and Babylon, the ode passes to a description of the fate, which the lion-like rapacity of the princes is preparing for the kingdom and people. Israel resembled a vine planted by the water. The difficult word בְּדָֽמְךָ we agree with Hävernick and Kliefoth in tracing to the verb דָּמָה, to rest (Jer 14:17), and regard it as synonymous with בִּדְמִי in Isa 38:10 : “in thy repose,” i.e., in the time of peaceful, undisturbed prosperity. For neither of the other renderings, “in thy blood” and “in thy likeness,” yields a suitable meaning. The latter explanation, which originated with Raschi and Kimchi, is precluded by the fact that Ezekiel always uses the word דְּמוּת to express the idea of resemblance. - For the figure of the vine, compare Psa 80:9. This vine sent out strong shoots for rulers' sceptres; that is to say, it brought forth powerful kings, and grew up to a great height, even into the clouds. עֲבֹתִים signifies “cloud,” lit., thicket of clouds, not only here, but in Eze 31:3, Eze 31:10,Eze 31:14. The rendering “branches” or “thicket of foliage” is not suitable in any of these passages. The form of the word is not to be taken as that of a new plural of עָבֹות, the plural of עָב, which occurs in 2Sa 23:4 and Psa 77:18; but is the plural of עָבֹות, an interlacing or thicket of foliage, and is simply transferred to the interlacing or piling up of the clouds. The clause 'וַיֵּרָא וגו, and it appeared, was seen, or became visible, simply serves to depict still further the glorious and vigorous growth, and needs no such alteration as Hitzig proposes. This picture is followed in Eze 19:12., without any particle of transition, by a description of the destruction of this vine. It was torn up in fury by the wrath of God, cast down to the ground, so that its fruit withered (compare the similar figures in Eze 17:10). מַטֵּה עֻזָּהּ is used collectively, as equivalent to מַטֹּות עֹז (Eze 19:11); and the suffix in אֲכָלָתְהוּ is written in the singular on account of this collective use of מַטֵּה. 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 land is Babylon, so described as being a barren soil in which the kingdom of God could not flourish. According to Eze 19:14, this catastrophe is occasioned by the princes. The fire, which devours the fruit of the vine so that it cannot send out any more branches, emanates מִמָּטֵּה בַדֶּיהָ, from the shoot of its branches, i.e., from its branches, which are so prolific in shoots. מַטֶּה 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 (Eze 17:15) led to the overthrow of the kingdom and of the earthly monarchy. The picture from Eze 19:12 onwards is prophetic. The tearing up of the vine, and its transplantation into a dry land, had already commenced with the carrying away of Jeconiah; but it was not completed till the destruction of Jerusalem and the carrying away of Zedekiah, which were still in the future at the time when these words were uttered. - The clause 'קִינָה הִיא does not contain a concluding historical notice, as Hävernick supposes, but simply the finale of the lamentation, indicating the credibility of the prediction which it contains. וַתְּהִי is prophetic, like the perfects from וַתֻּתַּשׁ in Eze 19:12 onwards; and the meaning is this: A lamentation forms the substance of the whole chapter; and it will lead to lamentation, when it is fulfilled.