Ezekiel 24:16
Ver. 16. Son of man, behold,.... This is said to raise the attention of the prophet, something strange and unusual, interesting and affecting, being about to be delivered:
I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke; meaning his wife; who very probably was of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to; however, of an amiable disposition, and in her conjugal relation very agreeable to the prophet; and, no doubt, a truly religious woman, and upon all account's desirable to him. This lovely object of his affection the Lord, who is the sovereign disposer of all persons, signifies he would take away from him by death unto himself; that is, suddenly and at once; and so the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, "with a sudden stroke"; as sometimes persons are struck with death at once with an apoplexy or palsy. The Targum renders it, with the pestilence; it was what the Jews call death by the hand of heaven, by the immediate hand of God; and, it may be, without any intervening disease; or, however, without any train of disorders which lead on to death:yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep; on account of the dead; neither privately nor publicly, inwardly or outwardly, though so near and dear a relation; and though it would seem strange, and be charged with want of natural affection, and with a brutish insensibility:neither shall thy tears run down; his cheeks, by which vent would be given to his grief, and his mind somewhat eased; but all care was to be taken to prevent any gushing of them out of his eyes, and especially that they did not run down in any quantity on his cheeks, and to be seen; though they might seem to be but a proper tribute to the dead. Ezekiel 24:17Ver. 17. Forbear to cry,.... Groan or howl, or make any doleful noise: or, "be silent" {x}: which the Talmudists {y} interpret of not greeting any person:make no mourning for the dead; use none of those rites and ceremonies commonly observed for deceased relations and friends, particularly and especially for a wife; who is one of the seven persons for whom mourning is to be made, according to the Jewish canons {z}; and which the ties of nature, nearness of relation, and especially mutual and cordial affection, where that has taken place, require; and though a wife is not expressly mentioned among those, for whom a priest might defile himself by attending their funerals, yet must be included among those akin to him, if not solely designed, as Jarchi thinks; whose note on Le 21:2, is, there are none his kin but his wife; so that Ezekiel, though a priest, was not exempted from the observation of funeral rites, but obliged to them, had he not been forbid by a special order from the Lord: the particulars of which follow:bind the tire of thine head upon thee; cap or turban, wore on the head, as a covering of it, and ornament to it, as the word used signifies; and the priests' bonnets were for glory and beauty, Ex 28:40, and such was the tire about the prophet's head, since he was a priest; and which, in time of mourning, was taken off, and it was customary for mourners to be bare headed; and though the high priest might not uncover his head and rend his clothes for the dead, Le 21:10, yet other priests might, unless they had a particular and special prohibition, as Ezekiel here; see Le 10:6 and yet it seems, by some instances, particularly that of David's mourning for Absalom, that the head was covered at such a time, 2Sa 19:5 and Kimchi on the place expressly says, that it was the way and custom of mourners to cover themselves; and certain it is, that in later times, however, it has been the usage of the Jews to cover their heads in mourning; for this is one of the things expressly forbid in the Jewish canons, as Maimonides {a} says, to be used in mourning for the dead, namely, making bare the head; and covering the head is what mourners are obliged to {b}; this Gejerus {c} reconciles, by observing, that at the first of the mourning they used to take off of their heads what they wore for the sake of ornament, such as the tire, or bonnet here; but after a while covered themselves with veils when they went abroad, or others came to them. Jarchi interprets this of the "tephillim", or phylacteries the Jews wore about their heads; and so the Talmud {d}; and the Targum is,"let thy "totaphot" or frontlets be upon thee;''of which interpretation Jerom makes mention; but these things do not appear to be in use in Ezekiel's time:and put on thy shoes upon thy feet: which used to be taken off, and persons walked barefoot in times of mourning, 2Sa 15:30, and this custom continues with the Jews to this day; and which they say is confirmed by this passage. One of their canons {e} runs thus,"they do not rend garments, nor pluck off the shoe for any, until he is dead;''which supposes they do, and should do, when he is dead: and this is one of the things, their writers {f} say, is forbidden a mourner for the dead, namely, to put on his shoes; and they ask, from whence it appears that a mourner is forbid to put on his shoes? the answer is, from what is said to Ezekiel, "put on thy shoes upon thy feet": which shows that in common it was not right nor usual to do it; and it is their custom now for mourners, when they return from the grave, to sit seven days on the ground with their feet naked {g}:and cover not thy lips; as the leper did in the time of his separation and distress, who put a covering upon his upper lip, Le 13:45 and as mourners did, who put a veil upon their faces:and eat not the bread of men: of other men; or "of mourners" {h}, as the Targum; such as used to be sent to mourners by their friends, in order to refresh and revive their spirits; and who, they supposed, through their great grief, were not careful to provide food for themselves; and this they did to comfort them, and let them know that, though they had lost a relation, there were others left, who had a cordial respect for them, and heartily sympathized with them: and, according to the traditions of the Jews {i}, a mourner might not eat of his own bread; but was obliged to eat the bread of others, at least his first meal, and on the first day of his mourning; though he might on the second, and on the following days; and this they endeavour to establish from this place of Scripture. What their friends used to send them at such a time were usually hard eggs and wine. Eggs, because round and spherical, and so a proper emblem of death, and might serve to put in mind of it, which goes round, is with one today, and with another tomorrow; and wine, to cheer their spirits, that they might forget their sorrow {k}. They also used to eat at such times a sort of pulse, called lentiles, to show by what sort of food they lost their birthright, or firstborn {l} And such like things were used by the Romans in their funeral feasts, as beans, parsley, lettuce, lentiles, eggs, &c. {m}, and as the Romans had their "parentalia", and the Greeks their paradeipna, so the Jews had also very sumptuous feasts on such occasions: not only great personages, as kings and nobles, made them; so Archelaus, made a magnificent one for the people, on the death of his father Herod {n}, after the custom of the country; but even the common people were very profuse and lavish in them; and which, as Josephus {o} observes, was the cause of great poverty among them; for so prevalent was the custom, that there was a necessity of doing it, or otherwise a man would not have been reckoned a holy man; see Jer 16:7.{x} Md "tace", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus. {y} T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 15. 1. {z} Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 2. sect. 1. Buxtorf. Jud. Synagog. c. 49. p. 708. {a} Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 5. sect. 1. {b} Schulchan Aruch, lib. Jore Dea, c. 380. sect. 1. c. 386. sect. 1, 2. {c} De luctu Ebr. c. 11. sect. 5. p. 250. {d} T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 11. 1. Moed Katon, fol. 15. 1. Succa, fol. 25. 2. {e} Messech, Semachot, c. 1. sect. 5. {f} Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 5. sect. 1. Schulchan Aruch, lib. Jore Dea, c. 380. sect. 1. 382. sect. 1, 2. {g} Buxtorf. Jud. Synagog. c. 49. p. 706. {h} T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 11. 1. Moed Katon, fol. 15. 1. Succa, fol. 25. 2. {i} T. Bab. Moed Katan, fol. 27. 2. Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 4. sect. 9. Schulchan Aruch, lib. Jore Dea, c. 378. sect. 1. {k} Buxtorf. Jud. Synagog. c. 49. p. 708. {l} Hieron. ad Paulam super obitu Blesillae, tom. 1. operam, fol. 54. L. {m} Vid. Kirchman. de Funer. Rom. l. 4. c. 7. p. 591. {n} Joesph Antiqu. l. 17. c. 8. sect. 4. {o} De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 1. sect. 1. Ezekiel 24:18Ver. 18. So I spake unto the people in the morning,.... Did the duty of his office as a prophet; exhorted and instructed the people, particularly informed them of what had been said to him by the Lord, the evening or night before, concerning the death of his wife, and how he was to behave under such a providence; which he told them of before hand, that, when it came to pass, they might have a further proof of his being a true prophet of the Lord:and at even my wife died; suddenly, as it was said she should; this shows who is meant by the desire of his eyes, and what by the taking it away;and I did in the morning as I was commanded; neither moaned, nor sighed, nor wept, nor shed a tear, nor used any of the common ceremonies of mourning, but dressed and ate as at other times, as he was ordered to do; this was the next morning after his wife died. So the Syriac version,"in the morning of the other day;''and the Arabic version,"in the morning of the following day.''Thus whatever the Lord commands is to be done, though ever so contrary to the customs of men, or to natural inclinations and affections. Ezekiel 24:19Ver. 19. And the people said unto me,.... Either seriously, as being desirous of knowing what was meant by all this; since they had reason to believe that it was not out of want of affection in Ezekiel to his wife that he so behaved; and therefore there must be some hidden meaning in it, which they should be glad to be informed of: or in a ludicrous manner, deriding the prophet for his conduct, and despising what he meant to instruct them in hereby:wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? for they suspected it vas not on his own account, but to signify something to them, that these things were done; and laughing at him, they say, to what purpose are these things done? if you do not tell us for what reason they are done, instruct us by words, and not by actions; these were his fellow captives in Babylon. Ezekiel 24:20Ver. 20. Then I answered them,.... And gave them an account of the design of the whole, and what was signified hereby:the word of the Lord came unto me, saying; ordering him to do all he did; for he did nothing of himself, but all according to the divine will; and who also directed him to say the following things to the people, by way of explanation. Ezekiel 24:21Ver. 21. Speak unto the house of Israel,.... By word of mouth, to those who were upon the spot with him in Chaldea: and by a messenger, or a letter, to them that were in Judea:thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, I will profane my sanctuary; the temple, built for him, and where he dwelt, and was worshipped; where duties performed and holy sacrifices offered up formerly; this he now says he would profane, that is, would bring the Chaldeans against Jerusalem, who should take it, and enter into the temple, and so profane it, and make it common, yea, utterly destroy it:the excellency of your strength, desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; all which is said of the temple; it was the pride and glory of the Jews, what they boasted of, and put their confidence in, and reckoned their strength and security; it was as dear and as desirable to them as Ezekiel's wife was to him, the emblem of it; the destruction and desolation of which would be pitied by them, and would sensibly affect them upon hearing of it, even in prophecy:and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword; whom they had left behind them in Judea, when they were carried captive with Jehoiakim, and to whom they hoped to return, as their false prophets had assured them; but so it should not be, for these should die by the sword of the Chaldeans, when the city of Jerusalem should be taken, and the temple profaned; and this should be the case of the sons and daughters of those who then should be carried captive, that should be left in the land; as was the case of Gedaliah, and those that were with him. Ezekiel 24:22Ver. 22. And ye shall do as I have done,.... When his wife died, and as he was ordered by the Lord; the meaning of Which they were now inquiring:ye shall not cover your lips; as a token of mourning; nor use any other of their country rites and ceremonies, for fear of provoking their enemies, in whose hands they shall be:nor eat the bread of men; or "of mourners", as the Targum; there shall be none to comfort them, or send bread to them; they shall all be alike mourners. Ezekiel 24:23Ver. 23. And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet..... As will be necessary while travelling, and when carrying captive to a foreign country, as now will be their case:ye shall not mourn nor weep; shall not dare to do it, because of their enemies; and, moreover, so great should be their miseries and calamities, that they should be struck dumb, and quite astonished and stupefied with them; that they should not be able to vent their sorrow by an outward act of mourning:but ye shall pine away for your iniquities; without any true sense of them, or godly sorrow for them, but in wretched hardness of heart, and black despair:and mourn one towards another; not to God, confessing their sins, being contrite and penitent; but to one another, fretting, murmuring, and complaining at the hand of God upon them: this seems to denote the private way of mourning they should use for fear of the enemy, when they could get together by themselves, as well as their disregard to God, against whom they had sinned. Ezekiel 24:24Ver. 24. Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign,.... These are the words of the prophet concerning himself; observing that in all the above things he was a sign to the Jews of what should befall them, and what should be their case:and according to all that he hath done shall ye do; however it might be then a matter of scorn and derision:and when this cometh: when this prophecy comes to pass, and all these calamities come upon the city and temple:ye shall know that I am the Lord God; omniscient, omnipotent, true, and faithful. Ezekiel 24:25Ver. 25. Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day,.... This question is to be answered in the affirmative:when I take from them their strength; their king and kingdom, their princes and nobles, their soldiers and men of might and war, their wealth and substance, their city and the inhabitants of it; or rather their temple, in which they placed their strong confidence: so the Targum,"in the day when I shall take from them the house of their sanctuary;''and which is called "the joy of their glory"; what they rejoiced and gloried in:the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their mind, their sons and their daughters; for to these may those phrases be applied; as well as to the temple; they being desirable to them, to be spared and continued, and on whom the affections of their hearts were set, and for whose welfare they were very solicitous. So some render it "the burden or care of their souls" {p}; though the Targum applies this, as the other to the temple, paraphrasing it,"and the delight of their eyes shall be taken from them, and the beloved of their souls, which is better to them than their sons and their daughters.''{p} Mvpn avm ta "onus animae eoram", Munster; "curam, [vel] solicitudinem"; so some in Vatablus. Ezekiel 24:26Ver. 26. That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee,.... That is, that one that should escape the hands of the Chaldeans, when the city should be taken, should directly make the best of his way to the prophet:to cause thee to hear it with thine ears; all the particulars of the destruction of the city and temple, as it had been represented to him in vision; when he would see the exact agreement between prophecy and facts; see Eze 33:21. Ezekiel 24:27Ver. 27. In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped,.... And shall freely converse with him about the several facts and circumstances of taking and burning the city and temple, and of the usage of the inhabitants:and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb; for from this time to the taking of Jerusalem, which was about eighteen months, the prophet had nothing to say to the people of the Jews, and so was dumb with respect to them; but was employed in prophesying against other nations, as the following chapters show, unto chapter thirty three, in which we have an account of the messenger that escaped to him; but after that his mouth was opened, and he prophesied to them again:and thou shalt be a sign unto them; as they will then own and acknowledge:and they shall own that I am the Lord; who have foretold these things, and accomplished them.
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