The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 137

EXPOSITION. everywhere (see note on eh. xiii. 5), the CHAPTER XXX. words stand for any time in which the Di- Ver. 1.-The word of the Lord oame vine judgments manifest themselves in the again, etc. The section that follows, ending world's history. Of it Ezekiel s11.ys, follow- with ver. 18, is exceptional as standing with- ing in the footsteps of Joel (ii. 2), that it out e. date. It may be either (1) a con- shall be a day of oloud, i.e. of darkness and tinuation of the prophecy in eh. nix. 17- trouble; a day of the heathen, i.e. o. time 21, and so belong to the latest years of in which the heathen who bad exulted in Ezekiel's work; or (2) that prophecy me.y the punishment of Israel should know that be regarded ~ standing by itself-a paren- the Lord was their Judge also, that be had thesis inserted e.t a later date, so that we his "day" appointed for them. go back to the earlier word of the Lord Ver. 4.-Gi·eat pain ohall be in Ethiopia. in eh. x:rix. 1-16. Jerome, Hii.vemick, The words point to the extension of the Hitzig, Rosenmiiller, Kliefotb, and others invasion of Egypt-by Nebuchadnezzar in are in favour of the former view, cbielly on the first instance, and afterwards by other the ground that ver. 3 speaks of the nearness conquerors-to the upper valley of the Nile, of the coming judgment. That the day of They shall take away her multitude. 'fhe the Lord should he "near" is, l1owever, too word is to.ken by Keil, Smend, and others vague e.nd relative a term to be decisive. of things rather than persons, the multitude On the whole, the question must be left as of possessions. Hengstenbcrg renders "tu- one which we have no sufficient de.ta for mult" in the sense of the stir of a crowded solving. The close p11rallelism with eh. city. The foundations are probably to be xxix. seems to me slightly in favour of tlie to.ken figuratively of the bases of the pros- second view. perity of Egypt, its allies o.nd mercenaries, Ver. 2.-Howl ye. The words read like rather than of o.ctual buildings (comp. Ps. au echo of Isa. xiii. 6, and find e parallel xi. 3; lxxxii. 5). also in Joel i 11, 13; Zeph. i. 7, 14. Woe Ver. 5.-Libya. Here the Authorized Ver- worth the day! It may be well to note that sion gives (rightly enough, though inconsis- the familiar phrase is a 61lrvival of the tently) the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew A11:;lo-Sax:on verb u,eorthan (German 1Der• Pliut, which is reproduced in the ReviseJ de11), "to becomet so that its exact meaning Version. The Lydian,, in like manner, i• '' Woe be to the day I " stand for Lud; but we have to remember, na V~r. 8,-,-The day of the Lord. Here, as before (eh. xxvii. 10), that they are I.he OB. xxx. 1-26.] THE BOOK OF 'l'HE PROPHET EZEKIEL. Hl