Ezechiele 19:12 Commento

The scope of this chapter is much the same with that of the 17th, to foretel and lament the ruin of the house of David, the royal family of Judah, in the calamitous exit of the four sons and grandsons of Josiah - Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah, in whom that illustrious line of kings was cut off, which the prophet is here ordered to lament (Eze 19:1). And he does it by similitudes. I. The kingdom of Judah and house of David are here compared to a lioness, and those princes to lions, that were fierce and ravenous, but were hunted down and taken in nets (Eze 19:2-9). II. That kingdom and that house are here compared to a vine, and these princes to branches, which had been strong and flourishing, but were now broken off and burnt (Eze 19:10-14). This ruin of that monarchy was now in the doing, and this lamentation of it was intended to affect the people with it, that they might not flatter themselves with vain hopes of the lengthening out of their tranquility.

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 19 The subject matter of this chapter is a lamentation for the princes and people of the Jews, on account of what had already befallen them, and what was yet to come, Eze 19:1. The mother of the princes is compared to a lioness, and they to lions; who, one after another, were taken and carried captive, Eze 19:2; again, their mother is compared to a vine, and they to branches and rods for sceptres, destroyed by an east wind, and consumed by fire, Eze 19:10.

But she was plucked up in fury,.... This vine being turned into a degenerate plant of a strange vine; or the people of the Jews becoming wicked, disobedient to God, and disregarding his laws and ordinances, the wrath of God came upon them, and let in the Assyrians among them, who carried off ten tribes at once; and the tribes of Judah and Benjamin not taking warning hereby, but continuing and increasing in sinful courses, great part of them were carried captive into Babylon, with their king Jeconiah, who succeeded Jehoiakim before mentioned; when the kingdom seemed to be utterly ruined and destroyed, and is what is here referred to: she was cast down to the ground; a phrase expressive of, he entire overthrow of the nation; for a vine, though plucked up, yet, if immediately planted again, might grow; but being plucked up, and left on the ground, and there lie, there is no hope of it; so that this denotes the desperate case of this people at this time, being in captivity. So the Targum paraphrases both clauses, "and it was rooted up with strength out of the land of the house of the Shechinah, and translated into another land;'' and the east wind dried up her fruit; Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and the Chaldean army, compared to an east wind, because hurtful and pernicious, as that is to trees and fruit, and because Babylon lay northeast of Judea; the people of, he land are meant by the fruit of the vine, with their wealth and riches, which were seized upon and wasted, or carried into Babylon. So the Targum, "and a king strong as the east wind slew her people;'' her strong rods were broken and withered; or, "strong rod"; the singular for the plural; which may design King Jeconiah particularly, who with his mother, wives, princes, and officers, and the mighty of the land, even all the mighty men of valour, with the craftsmen and smiths, were taken and carried captive, Kg2 24:14; the fire consumed them; the wrath of God, which is often compared to fire, the same with fury in the beginning of the verse; which shows that it was for sin, which had provoked the Lord to wrath and anger, that all this ruin came upon the Jewish nation. The Targum is, "her strong governors removed, and were carried captive; and the people which are strong, as fire consumed them.''

(Verse 10 and following) Your mother is like a vine planted over the water, your blood. Its fruits and branches grew abundantly from many waters. And solid rods became scepters of rulers for it, and its stature was elevated in its branches. And it saw its height in the multitude of its palm trees. And in anger, it was uprooted and thrown to the ground, and a scorching wind dried up its fruit. Its strong rods withered and dried up, and fire consumed it. And now she has been transplanted into a desert in an impassable land and thirsty. And fire went out from the rod of its branches, which consumed its fruit, and there was no strong branch in it, the scepter of rulers. It lamented, and it will be mourned. Your mother is like a vineyard, like a flower in a pomegranate tree planted in water. Its fruit and offspring came from much water. And a branch of strength was made for it among the tribes of leaders: and it was exalted in its greatness among its branches. And he saw his greatness in the multitude of his palm trees, and it was broken in fury: it was thrown to the ground, and a burning wind dried up its chosen ones. They were avenged, and the rod of his strength was dried up. Fire consumed it, and now they have planted it in a desert, in a land without water, and fire has come out from the rod of its chosen ones, and devoured it, and there was no rod of strength in it. It is a lamentation in three parts, and it will be a mourning. In different speeches, the same thing is said. And just as in previous readings we read that Jerusalem is compared to a beautiful woman, and again a lioness who nursed lions in her lair, now the vine or vineyard is compared to the most beautiful one, which was planted over the waters and therefore the branches, nourished by the moisture, have grown so much that one branch, which Scripture calls a very strong or mighty rod, has become the ruler's scepter. In order to translate the Septuagint into the language of the three leaders, so that kings would be made from it. But the vineyard itself was of such beauty that the splendor of its strength was equal to the flowers of the pomegranate, which in Hebrew is called a vineyard in your blood, compared to the redness of the flowers. Therefore, the lofty and upright vineyard was exalted. For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). It was uprooted in the anger of the Lord and thrown down to the ground, so that the ruins of Jerusalem would preserve the elegant translation of the vine. However beautiful the vineyard may be, and however far its branches extend, if you take away the poles and stakes, joined to the earth, it withers from the heat, especially if the burning wind, which the Greeks call καύσωμα, dries up its fruit, so that it withers and is consumed as if by the heat of fire. As for the addition in the Septuagint: They have been avenged, instead of what is written in Hebrew, they have withered, I cannot determine what significance it may have. Therefore, how is that vineyard of such fertility and abundance, and of such beauty, now transplanted into a desert, into a rough and thirsty land? However, it signifies the land of Babylon to which they were transplanted, or Egypt to which they fled, or the land of Judah itself, in which a few poor remained, of whom Godolias (also called Gotholias) was appointed governor to gather and govern the remnants of the people (2 Kings 25). Against whom he rose up from the royal stock, and from the branch of the vineyard of Ishmael, who slew him in Maspha (also called Masepha), and ate up all the fruit of the vineyard, and from thence was no strong rod to be left, nor a sceptre of great power (Jeremiah 40 and 41). For no king remained that might govern the people, but they all fled with Johanan the son of Careah into Egypt. Therefore bewail we and lament that the royal race which in Judea hath ceased no more till he come that is to be laid upon it: and he shall be the desire of nations (Genesis 49:10). From this it is clear, both from the previous passage, in which it is said: Why did your mother, a lioness, lie down among lions? and from this passage, in which it is written: Your mother, like a vine planted by the water, belonged to Jerusalem, which lost its lions and its branches, and the rod that would rise among the tribes or the scepter of those in power did not remain in it. For it begins with mourning and ends in mourning. Assume mourning over the leaders of Israel. This is, in the beginning and now at the end, a lamentation; and with lamentation and mourning, the royal line is to be pursued like a parable. Furthermore, according to the allegory, which others refer to heavenly Jerusalem, they say that from it many have fallen into this valley of tears, and kings have ceased to be, and the once beautiful vine has been dried up by the burning wind, so that no green shoots remain in it, which later Jeremiah laments under the form of the city; we understand (Matthew 24) this concerning the Church, because in the last times, with multiplied iniquity, the love of many will grow cold, so that even the chosen ones of God may be tested, and its princes may be caught in the snares of the devil, who is not content with capturing only one king, but hastens to capture kings and princes daily, according to what is written: His chosen food (Habakkuk 1:16). The branches of the Church, which not long ago were equal to flowers and the redness of blood, are now withered by the wind. This interpretation also corresponds to the parable of the Gospel, in which, when the sun rises, what had sprouted withers and dries up suddenly (Mk 4). So that hardly any of the branches remain that can rise up as a rod and become a worthy leader of the people. In other words, this is what Amos speaks of: 'I will send a famine upon the land: not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of God' (Amos 8:11). Where should we mourn and lament over the princes of Israel, through whose fault and pride Judaea was deserted and Jerusalem captured.

This chapter contains two beautiful examples of the parabolic kind of writing; the one lamenting the sad catastrophe of Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim, Eze 19:1-9, and the other describing the desolation and captivity of the whole people, Eze 19:10-14. In the first parable, the lioness is Jerusalem. The first of the young lions is Jehoahaz, deposed by the king of Egypt; and the second lion is Jehoiakim, whose rebellion drew on himself the vengeance of the king of Babylon. In the second parable the vine is the Jewish nation, which long prospered, its land being fertile, its princes powerful, and its people flourishing; but the judgments of God, in consequence of their guilt, had now destroyed a great part of the people, and doomed the rest to captivity.

But she was plucked up in fury - Jerusalem; taken after a violent and most destructive siege; Nebuchadnezzar being violently enraged against Zedekiah for breaking his oath to him. She was cast down to the ground - Jerusalem was totally ruined, by being burned to the ground. Her strong rods were broken - The children of Zedekiah were slain before his eyes, and after that his own eyes pulled out; and he was laden with chains, and carried into Babylon.

ELEGY OVER THE FALL OF DAVID'S HOUSE. (Eze 19:1-14) princes of Israel--that is, Judah, whose "princes" alone were recognized by prophecy; those of the ten tribes were, in respect to the theocracy, usurpers.

plucked up--not gradually withered. The sudden upturning of the state was designed to awaken the Jews out of their torpor to see the hand of God in the national judgment. east wind--(See on Eze 17:10).