Eze 20:47 | KD | STEP | A fire kindled by the Lord will burn the forest of the south (Eze. 20:45-48). This figurative announcement is explained in what follows, in order that the divine threat may make an impression upon the people (ver. 49). The Lord will draw His sword from its scabbard, and cut off from Jerusalem and the land of Israel both righteous and wicked ( ) ; that is to say, the king of Babylon will draw his sword against Jerusalem and the sons of Ammon, and will, first of all, put an end to the kingdom of Judah, and then destroy the Ammonites (vers. 18-32). The prophecy divides itself accordingly into three parts : viz. (1) the prediction of the destruction of the kingdom of Judah ; (2) the explanation of this prediction by the threat that the sword of the Lord will smite all the inhabitants of Judah, which threat is divisible into three sections, Eze 21. 1-7, 8-13, and 14-17 ; (3) the application of what is said with regard to the sword to Nebuchadnezzar's expedition against Jerusalem and the Ammonites, which may also be divided into three sections, — viz. (a) the general announcement of Nebuchadnezzar's design (vers. 18-23) and its execution ; (b) by his expedition against Jerusalem, to destroy the king-dom of Judah (vers. 24-27) ; and (c) by his expedition against the Ammonites (vers. 28-32). — The first four or five verses are taken by many in connection with chap. xx.; and Kliefoth still maintains that they should be separated from what follows, and attached to that chapter as a second word of God. But neither ch. xx. 49 nor the formula in ch. xxi. 1, “the word of Jehovah came to, me,” warrants our separating the parabolic prediction in ch. xx. 45-48 from the interpretation in vers. 1-17. And the third part is also connected with what precedes, so as to form one single discourse, by the allusion to the sword in vers. 19 and 28, and by the fact that the figure of the fire is resumed in vers. 31 and 32. And there is all the less ground for taking the formula, " and the word of Jehovah came to me," as determining the division of the several portions in this particular instance, from the circumstance that the section (vers. 1-17) in which it occurs both at the commencement and in the middle (vers. 1 and 8), is obviously divided into the minor sections or turns by the threefold occurrence of the verb snani (« and prophesy : vers. 2, 9, and 14). Eze 20:45. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 20:46. Son of man, direct thy face toward the south, and trickle down towards the south, and prophesy concerning the forest of the field in the south land; Eze 20:47. And say to the forest of the south land, Hear the word of Jehovah; Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I kindle a fire in thee, which will consume in thee every green tree, and every dry tree: the blazing flame will not be extinguished, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned thereby. Eze 20:48. And all flesh shall see that I, Jehovah, have kindled it: it shall not be extinguished. Eze 20:49. And I said, Ah, Lord Jehovah! they say of me, Does he not speak in parables? - The prophet is to turn his face toward the south, and prophesy concerning the forest of the field there. הטּיף is used for prophesying, as in and Mic 2:6, Mic 2:11. The distinction between the three epithets applied to the south is the following: תּימן is literally that which lies on the right hand, hence the south is a particular quarter of the heavens; דּרום, which only occurs in Ezekiel and Ecclesiastes, with the exception of and , is derived from דּרר, to shine or emit streams of light, and probably signifies the brilliant quarter; נגב, the dry, parched land, is a standing epithet for the southern district of Palestine and the land of Judah (see the comm. on ). - The forest of the field in the south is a figure denoting the kingdom of Judah (נגב is in apposition to השּׂדה, and is appended to it as a more precise definition). שׂדה is not used here for a field, as distinguished from a city or a garden; but for the fields in the sense of country or territory, as in and Gen 32:3. In , יער , forest of the south land, is the expression applied to the same object (הנגב, with the article, is a geographical term for the southern portion of Palestine). The forest is a figure signifying the population, or the mass of people. Individual men are trees. The green tree is a figurative representation of the righteous man, and the dry tree of the ungodly ( , compare ). The fire which Jehovah kindles is the fire of war. The combination of the synonyms להבת שׁלהבת, flame of the flaming brightness, serves to strengthen the expression, and is equivalent to the strongest possible flame, the blazing fire. כּל־פּנים, all faces are not human faces or persons, in which case the prophet would have dropped the figure; but pânim denotes generally the outside of things, which is the first to feel the force of the flame. “All the faces” of the forest are every single thing in the forest, which is caught at once by the flame. In , kŏl - pânim (all faces) is interpreted by kŏl̇ - bâsar (all flesh). From south to north, i.e., through the whole length of the land. From the terrible fierceness of the fire, which cannot be extinguished, every one will know that God has kindled it, that it has been sent in judgment. The words of the prophet himself, in , presuppose that he has uttered these parabolic words in the hearing of the people, and that they have ridiculed them as obscure ( mâshâl is used here in the sense of obscure language, words difficult to understand, as παραβολή also is in ). At the same time, it contains within itself request that they may be explained. This request is granted; and the simile is first of all interpreted in , and then still further expanded in Eze 21:8.

‏ Ezekiel 20:47

CHAP. XX. 45 TO CHAP. XXI. 32 (HEB. CHAP. XXI. ^{▼▼In the Hebrew Bible the previous chapter closes at ver. 44, and ch. 21 commences there. Keil has adhered to this division of chapters ; but for the sake of convenience we have followed the arrangement adopted in the English authorized version. — Tr.}). PROPHECY OF THE BURNING FOREST AND THE SWORD OF THE LORD.

A fire kindled by the Lord will burn the forest of the south (Eze. 20:45-48). This figurative announcement is explained in what follows, in order that the divine threat may make an impression upon the people (ver. 49). The Lord will draw His sword from its scabbard, and cut off from Jerusalem and the land of Israel both righteous and wicked (Eze 21:1-17) ; that is to say, the king of Babylon will draw his sword against Jerusalem and the sons of Ammon, and will, first of all, put an end to the kingdom of Judah, and then destroy the Ammonites (vers. 18-32). The prophecy divides itself accordingly into three parts : viz. (1) the prediction of the destruction of the kingdom of Judah ; (2) the explanation of this prediction by the threat that the sword of the Lord will smite all the inhabitants of Judah, which threat is divisible into three sections, Eze 21. 1-7, 8-13, and 14-17 ; (3) the application of what is said with regard to the sword to Nebuchadnezzar's expedition against Jerusalem and the Ammonites, which may also be divided into three sections, — viz. (a) the general announcement of Nebuchadnezzar's design (vers. 18-23) and its execution ; (b) by his expedition against Jerusalem, to destroy the king-dom of Judah (vers. 24-27) ; and (c) by his expedition against the Ammonites (vers. 28-32). — The first four or five verses are taken by many in connection with chap. xx.; and Kliefoth still maintains that they should be separated from what follows, and attached to that chapter as a second word of God. But neither ch. xx. 49 nor the formula in ch. xxi. 1, “the word of Jehovah came to, me,” warrants our separating the parabolic prediction in ch. xx. 45-48 from the interpretation in vers. 1-17. And the third part is also connected with what precedes, so as to form one single discourse, by the allusion to the sword in vers. 19 and 28, and by the fact that the figure of the fire is resumed in vers. 31 and 32. And there is all the less ground for taking the formula, " and the word of Jehovah came to me," as determining the division of the several portions in this particular instance, from the circumstance that the section (vers. 1-17) in which it occurs both at the commencement and in the middle (vers. 1 and 8), is obviously divided into the minor sections or turns by the threefold occurrence of the verb snani (« and prophesy : vers. 2, 9, and 14).

The Burning Forest

Eze 20:45. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 20:46. Son of man, direct thy face toward the south, and trickle down towards the south, and prophesy concerning the forest of the field in the south land; Eze 20:47. And say to the forest of the south land, Hear the word of Jehovah; Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I kindle a fire in thee, which will consume in thee every green tree, and every dry tree: the blazing flame will not be extinguished, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned thereby. Eze 20:48. And all flesh shall see that I, Jehovah, have kindled it: it shall not be extinguished. Eze 20:49. And I said, Ah, Lord Jehovah! they say of me, Does he not speak in parables? - The prophet is to turn his face toward the south, and prophesy concerning the forest of the field there. הטּיף is used for prophesying, as in Amo 7:16 and Mic 2:6, Mic 2:11. The distinction between the three epithets applied to the south is the following: תּימן is literally that which lies on the right hand, hence the south is a particular quarter of the heavens; דּרום, which only occurs in Ezekiel and Ecclesiastes, with the exception of Deu 33:23 and Job 37:17, is derived from דּרר, to shine or emit streams of light, and probably signifies the brilliant quarter; נגב, the dry, parched land, is a standing epithet for the southern district of Palestine and the land of Judah (see the comm. on Jos 15:21). - The forest of the field in the south is a figure denoting the kingdom of Judah (נגב is in apposition to השּׂדה, and is appended to it as a more precise definition). שׂדה is not used here for a field, as distinguished from a city or a garden; but for the fields in the sense of country or territory, as in Gen 14:7 and Gen 32:3. In Eze 20:47, יער , forest of the south land, is the expression applied to the same object (הנגב, with the article, is a geographical term for the southern portion of Palestine). The forest is a figure signifying the population, or the mass of people. Individual men are trees. The green tree is a figurative representation of the righteous man, and the dry tree of the ungodly (Eze 21:3, compare Luk 23:31). The fire which Jehovah kindles is the fire of war. The combination of the synonyms להבת שׁלהבת, flame of the flaming brightness, serves to strengthen the expression, and is equivalent to the strongest possible flame, the blazing fire. כּל־פּנים, all faces are not human faces or persons, in which case the prophet would have dropped the figure; but pânim denotes generally the outside of things, which is the first to feel the force of the flame. “All the faces” of the forest are every single thing in the forest, which is caught at once by the flame. In Eze 21:4, kŏl - pânim (all faces) is interpreted by kŏl̇ - bâsar (all flesh). From south to north, i.e., through the whole length of the land. From the terrible fierceness of the fire, which cannot be extinguished, every one will know that God has kindled it, that it has been sent in judgment. The words of the prophet himself, in Eze 20:49, presuppose that he has uttered these parabolic words in the hearing of the people, and that they have ridiculed them as obscure (mâshâl is used here in the sense of obscure language, words difficult to understand, as παραβολή also is in Mat 13:10). At the same time, it contains within itself request that they may be explained. This request is granted; and the simile is first of all interpreted in Eze 21:1-7, and then still further expanded in Eze 21:8.