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EZEKIEL AND DAl^IEL;
"WITH
N"OTES,
CRITICAL, EXPLANATORY, AND PRACTICAL,
DESIGNED FOR BOTH PASTORS AND PEOPLE.
BY y
REV. HENRY COWLES, D. D.
Understaudest thou what thou rcadest? And he said, IIow can I, except some
man should guide mo?"— Acts 8 : 30, 31.
NEW YORK :
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,
443 & 445 BROADWAY.
1867.
Eutcrcd, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by
REV. HENRY COWLES,
In the Clerk's Omce of tlie District Court of tlie United States, for tlio Northern
District* of Ohio.
PREFACE
This volume is a continuation of the series on all the
prophets which was commenced in the autumn of the last
year by the publication of "The Minor Prophets." The
preface and general introduction to the prophetic books,
prefixed to that volume, need not be repeated here, inas-
much as the greater part, at least, of the readers (^ this
volume may be suj)posed to have access to that. This pur-
sues the same general plan, aiming to be concise and yet
lucid, and to bring out the true and precise sense of the
original, with extended discussion only upon points of spe-
cial interest and difficulty.
The reader will notice that Italics are used in the text,
as in our English Bibles, to signify that there are no pre-
cisely corresponding words in the original Hebrew; but in
the notes they are used for emphasis.
It is hoped that the remaining volumes on the prophets,
viz., on Isaiah and on Jeremiah, will follow at no distant
day.
Obeelin, Ohio, July, 1867.
(3)
EZEKIEL.
INTRODUCTION.
The just interpretation of Ezekiel will turn very mucli
upon liis circumstances as a prophet. Hence tlie usual in-
troductory questions respecting the author, his date, his
residence, and his people, will, in his case, conduce greatly
to disclose the main purposes of his prophetic life, and con-
sequently the true sense of his prophecies. Let us then, in
the outset, give these points our careful attention. Of
the early history of Ezekiel we know only that he was the
son of Buzi, was a i^riest, aid was taken as a captive to
Chaldea in the second great deportation, which occurred in
the first year of Jehoiachin, B. C. 600. In what part of
Judea he had previously lived, under what circumstances
he received his early training, and at what age he was
made a captive, are points not on record. They can be
reached only by doubtful conjecture. The fact that he was
by birth and training a goriest accounts for the remarkable
type of the last nine chapters of his book. Such minute
detail as we find in that vision of the temple, its rituals
and surroundings, could by no means be expected in any
prophet who was not perfectly familiar with those matters.
The divine Spirit adapts himself to the prophets through
whom he speaks, evermore using terms, figures, and modes
(5)
6 EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION.
of illustration, with wliich each one severally may be con-
versant.
The date of his several prophecies is mostly given Avith
care and thus placed beyond reasonable doubt. The cap-
tivity of Jehoiachin (B. C. GOO) is his epoch. Prophesying
and writing with and for the Jews in captivity, this epoch
was for them altogether appropriate, and was doubtless
their own in current use. His book opens with another
epoch in the words, " In the thirtieth year," etc. This has
given rise to much speculation. I reject the three theories
following, viz. : that this refers to his own age ; that it dates
from the discovery of the book of the law in the reign of
Josiah; and that it dates from the last Jubilee. Either
of these theories is too capricious to be adopted. I accede
to the opinion that these words allude to the new Chaldean
epoch of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, which
dates from the fall of Nineveh, B. C, 625, and was the
great epoch of the profane historians of those and of sub-
sequent times. As Ezekiel wrote among the Chaldeans, it
was pertinent that he should make so much allusion to
their great national epoch. Yet since his prophecies were
intended chiefly for the use of the Jews, it w^as fitting that
after this brief allusion to th^ Chaldean epoch, he should
drop it, and in all other cases use only the epoch of his
own people. Such is the fact. Following this Jewish
epoch, his prophecies commence wdth the fifth year (chap.
1 : 2), and close (chap. 29 : 17) with the twenty-seventh.
The last nine chapters date in the twenty-fifth year. Be-
tween these extremes are a large number of definite dates,
to be noticed in their place.
. Ezekiel's residence in Chaldea is said to have been " by
the river of diehard Some commentators have identified
this river with the Chaboras of Upper Mesopotamia, which
falls into the Euphrates at Circesium, wdiile others have
sought traces of its name in the province of " Habor by
the river of Gozan" (2 Kings 17: 6), where the king of
EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION. 7
Assyria located some of his captives when he subverted the
kingdom of the ten tribes. I accept the more recent view,
which finds this " river of Chebar " in the royal canal built
by Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest of all those artificial
water-courses which were among the stupendous works of
his reign. The word Chebar implies something great and
long. The Hebrew orthography is not the same with that
of the word rendered Habor (2 Kings 17 : 6). The tes-
timony of all history, sacred and profane, locates these He-
brew captives near Babylon, and not in the remote districts
of Upper Mesopotamia. It scarcely admits of question that
the Jewish captives were employed in excavating these im-
mense canals, and hence would naturally have their homes
along their line. This view may explain that inimitable
ode (Ps. 137) : " By the rivers of Babylon there we sat
down; yea, we wept when we remembered Zion." Along
side of those artificial water-courses, the scenes of their
daily toil and weary tasks, how often had they* sat down,
exhausted and heart-sick, to weep as they thought of their
dear but desolate Zion ! It was among those exiles, and
in the midst of such surroundings, that Ezekiel spent his
prophetic life. His great mission from God was to bring
moral apj)liances to cooperate with physical for the regen-
eration of those exiles. The Lord had thrown them into
his crucible of sore affliction; he therefore sent Ezekiel
with truths divine — warnings, exhortations, counsels, and
promises, to perfect the v/ork of moral renovation for which
those afflictions were designed. Let it not be forgot-
ten that the great national sin of the Jews had long been
idolatry. The history of the rent kingdoms from Jeroboam
to Hoshea, and from Rehoboam to Zedekiah, coupled with
the testimony of the Lord's prophets during those ages,
shows this most conclusively. For this sin the people of
Judah were doomed to captivity in Babylon. To cure
them of this sin, the Lord first selected the better portion
to go into captivity, and let the baser portion fall by the
8 EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION.
sword, famine or pestilence, or remain in the land to go
down madly into Egypt to perisli miserably there.
Jer. 24 is a special prophecy indicating that this sifting
process lay distinctly in the plan of God. But to make
this plan successful, other agencies w^ere requisite besides
captivity in a foreign land.
Among these other agencies, the mission of Ezekiel was
prominent. The Lord sent him forth among those captives
to rebuke idolatry ; to keep vividly before them the enor-
mity of this national sin ; to show them how horribly cor-
rupt their brethren, yet remaining in Judah and Jerusalem,
had become ; and then (as in chaps. 8-11) to receive from
the Lord a great panoramic vision of those sins, and of
God's ministering and avenging angels, marking, and scourg-
ing, and slaying those hoary sinners ; and then, by report-
ing, reproduce it to the eyes of his fellow captives. This
was one striking method of making the judgments for
idolatry inflicted in Jerusalem available for moral warning
and impression upon the captives in Babylon. With a
kindred moral aim, the Lord sent by Ezekiel many a
tender, precious promise of mercy to the penitent, »and of
restoration to the faithful in the fullness of his own time.
Striking analogies appear between Ezekiel and Jere-
miah, and for the obvious reason that both had the same
idolatrous people to deal with; both were sent of God to
convict the people of the guilt of the same great national
sin ; both were God's instruments to supplement with moral
warnings and promises the influence which his providences
were exerting, yet needed those moral appliances for their
more sure interpretation and best efliciency. Thus the major
points in the life of these two prophets were analogous, yet
there were minor points of unlike character. Jeremiah
spent his prophetic life in Judea and in Egypt; Ezekiel,
his in Chaldea. Jeremiah's public labors spanned the last
eighteen years of Josiah's reign, the three months' reign of
Jehoahaz, the eleven years' reign of Jehoiakim, and five
EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION. 9
years into the captivity of Jelioiacliin, before Ezekiel began
his prophetic ministry ; while the twenty-two years of Eze-
kiel's prophetic life (named as its minimum length) probably
extended somewhat beyond the close of Jeremiah's.^ ■
Again, Jeremiah had to do with the mass of Jewish cor-
ruption— with the very worst class of her princes and people ;
while Ezekiel had only the better part — base, indeed, but
yet not the basest — the captivity having been made, under
God, itself a sifting process, to destroy and otherwise elim-
inate the vilest portion, and to save the more hopeful and
less contaminated. Jeremiah came constantly in contact
with kings on their thrones, the vv^icked and weak sons of
the good Josiah, and found his trials, intensified exceedingly
by these relations of prophetic messenger from Him who
fills the infinite throne of heaven to those base but proud
men who disgraced their little seats of power over God's
covenant people. Ezekiel's mission lay among the people
and their elders and head men, but no proud and morally
rotten thrones lay in his way. The Lord had broken down
that barrier to a spiritual reform of his peoj)le. Jeremiah
and Ezekiel both prophesy not of Jerusalem and the Jews
only, but of other and contiguous nations also, and each of
them for the same general reason. The Lord involved those .
other nations, to a greater or less extent, in the same fearful
calamities which subverted the Jewish kingdom. They had
been guilty of the same great national sins, and, therefore,
must needs share the same fearful doom. They had even
given the Jews their own idols, and must now bear the re-
sponsibility of this sin before the Most High God and before
mankind. Some of them had maliciously exulted over the
fall of Jerusalem, and had thus drawn down upon themselves
the vengeance of Israel's God ; and in general it was a time
of retribution on the guilty, idolatrous nations of the age.
Hence, vengeance having begun at the house of God, it
might fitly be asked, " Where shall the ungodly and the
sinner appear?" (1 Pet. 4: 17, 18.) They could not go
10 EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION.
altogether unpunished. (See Jer. 25 : 29, and 49 : 12.)
Hence, the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel both speak of
these fearful judgments on Ammon, Tyre, Edom, and EgyjDt,
to which list Jeremiah adds Babylon and many others.
The main objects of these projihecies seem to have been to
assure the Jews that their own God shaped the destinies of
all these heathen kingdoms, and that he had his own j)lans
in mind beforehand, and, therefore, could predict them
through his servants ; but especially to impress them with
a more deep and vivid sense of God's sure retribution on
guilty nations for their national sins. This sense of certain
retribution would be of the utmost moment in its bearings
on their own case.
No complaint lies against Ezekiel for any lack of order
and date in his several prophecies. His book may be com-
prehensively divided into two equal parts. Of his forty-
eight chapters, the first twenty-four bear to the same point
and treat of the same general theme, being addressed di-
rectly to the exiles, recounting their own sins and those of
their brethren in Judea, especially in the line of idolatry
and heart-apostasy from God. The second portion is
more miscellaneous, embracing prophecies against other
nations ; and then, in the line of God's jealousy for his own
insulted name, there shines forth his glorious purpose to
avenge himself upon his enemies, and to purify and save
his own people. The book closes with far-reaching, mag-
nificent prophecies of ultimate victory on Zion's side over
all his foes, and of unsurpassed efiiciency in the institutions,
the truth, and the Spirit of the living God, now become
gloriously present among his people. The subdivisions
of these parts will appear as we proceed.
Remarkably we find in Ezekiel all the varieties of style
that appear within the entire range of the Hebrew prophets.
He has pure visions, clearly indicated to be such by the lan-
guage which introduces or closes the record ; c. g., chaps. 1,
8-11, 37 and 40-48. He has symbolic actions, also indicated
EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION. 11
in the record itself; e. g., chap. 4, 5 and 12. He has simili-
tudes, as of the vine-tree, chaj). 15 ; of the watchman, chap.
33 ; and of the shepherd and his flock, chap. 35. He has
also parables, as in chap. 17 ; an elegiac song in highly
poetic costume in chap. 19 ; extended allegories in chaps.
23 and 24; and, finally, plain, unembellished prophecy
coupled with solemn admonition, or with tender, hope-in-
spirino; promise. His style does not often lack elegance ;
never, force. He has remarkable power in grouping a
mass of somewhat minute details in a way to heighten the
effect exceedingly. Witness his portrayal of the horrible
imj)urities of idolatry in Jerusalem and Samaria, chap. 23 ;
or his description of the commerce, the splendor, and the fall
of ancient Tyre, chaps. 27 and 28. His spirit and style
have elicited the admiration of able and learned critics.
Havernick speaks of him as "coming forward with all
abruptness and iron consistency in an age when prophecy
was most rare. Has he to contend with a people of brazen
front and unbending neck? He possessed, on his own part,
an unbending nature, opposing the evil with an unflinching
spirit of boldness and with words of consuming fire." " The
glow of divine indignation, the mighty rushing of the Spirit
of the Lord, and the holy majesty of Jehovah as the seer
beheld it, are remarkably reflected in his writings. The
lofty action, the torrent of his eloquence, rest on the same
combination of power and consistency — the one as unwea-
ried as the other is imposing." Hengstenberg also gives
his glowing testimony to the same points : " The Lord be-
gan to fulfill his good word, given to the exiles through
Jeremiah, by causing Ezekiel to aj^pear in the midst of
them, who raised his voice like a trumpet and showed to
Israel his misdeeds ; wdiose word, like a threshing machine,
passed over all those sweet hopes and purposes and ground
them to the dust ; whose whole manifestations furnished the
strongest proof that the Lord was still among his people ;
who was himself a temple of the Lord, before whom the
12 EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION.
apparent temple, wliich still stood at Jerusalem for a short
time sunk back into its own nothingness; a spiritual Sam-
son, who, with a strong arm, seized the pillars of the tem-
ple and dashed it to the ground; an energetic, gigantic
nature, who was thereby suited effectually to counteract
the Babylonish spirit of the time, which loved to manifest
itself in violent, gigantic, and grotesque forms; one who
stood alone, but was yet equal to a hundred of the schol-
ars of the prophets. The extent of his influence appears
from the fact that the oldest of the people were accustomed
to assemble in his house in order to hear the words of the
Lord through him — a sign of the public and formal ac-
knowledgment of his spiritual dignity in the colony." —
Christology, vol. 3, pp. 459, 460. The general style of
his symbols, especially in his first and tenth chapters, is
largely Chaldean, and, so far forth, is due to his Chaldean
surroundings. The Jews for whom he wrote, residing in
Chaldea, had become familiar there with these modes of
representation. The Chaldeans who might read his writ-
ings would readily appreciate the beauty and force of these
symbols. His own mind had felt their powder as presented
in Chaldean works of art. Hence the divine Spirit revealed
himself to the prophet's mind in these symbols because they
were, in that age and to that peoj)le, a readily intelligible
and even forcible mode of representation. They were almost
the language of the common peoj)le. If obscure to us, their
obscurity is mainly due to their being a foreign tongue — a
sort of symbolic speech which had its home in the valley
of the Euphrates, and in the age of proud Nineveh and
Babylon, but which has long since ceased to be a living
tongue. The recent disinterment of so many sculptures
and various works of art from the l-uins of those cities
affords us a pertinent key to the significance of these sym-
bols and an ample explanation of their appearance in the
prophecies of Ezekiel.*
-Those who have read Layard's Nineveh, or who have made them-
EZEKIEL— INTRODUCTION. 13
The style of representation in this first vision is, in part,
Jewish, and, in so far forth, will be illustrated in the notes.
selves familiar otherwise witli the modern discoveries in the ruins of
ancient Nineveh and Babylon, will readily recall those figures, either
sculptured or painted, of a composite character, made up of selected por-
tions of various animals; e. g. " winged, human-headed bulls (Layard,
p. 85) ; "gigantic winged bulls; " "small winged lions" (p. 32) ; a figure
" with the head of the lion, the body of a man, and the feet of'a bird"
(p. 229). Or, again, " a human body clothed in robes, with the head of an
eagle or a vulture ; a curved beak, half open, disclosing a narrow-pointed
tongue; over the shoulders, the usual curled, bushy hair of the Assyrian
images ; a comb of feathers rising on the top of the head ; two wings
springing from the back ; and in either hand was the usual square ves-
sel and the flr cone— the former supposed to be significant of gifts be-
stowed by the gods ; the latter, being specially inflammable, may have
symbolized fire— an element associated, in oriental minds, with the qual-
ities or the home of the gods." Layard suggests that " this effigy proba-
cy typified by its mystic forms the vmion of certain divine attributes "
(pp. 45-47). Again, on pp. 51, 52, is an extended description of a second
pair of winged, human-headed lions, the human shape continued to
the waist, with human arms and with the legs of a lion ; twelve feet in
height, and as many in length ; expanded wings sprang from the shoul-
der and spread over the back. A knotted girdle, ending in tassels, encir-
cled the loins. All was found in a state of perfect preservation. Of
these figures, Mr. Layard expresses his views and reflections thus : " I
used to contemplate for hours these mysterious emblems, and muse over
their intent and history. What more noble forms could have ushered
the people into the temple of their gods ? What more sublime images
could have been borrowed from nature by men who sought, unaided by
the light of revelation, to embody their conception of the wisdom, power,
and ubiquity of a Supi'eme Being? They could find no better type of
intellect and knowledge than the head of the man ; of strength, than the
body of a lion ; of ubiquity, than the wings of a bird. These winged,
human-headed lions were not idle creations, the ofispring of mere fancy;
their meaning was written upon them. They had awed and instructed
races which flourished three thousand years ago " (p. 52).
14 . EZEKIEL.— CHAP. I.
CHAPTER I.
The remarkable vision recorded in this chapter served to intro-
duce Ezekicl to his prophetic work. It was a species of theophany
analo<i;ous to that made to Isaiah, as recorded in his sixth chapter,
and to John, Ilev. 1 : 10-20. How admirably it was adapted to
prepare him for his mission will be better seen when we have cari3-
fully studied its import and in some i!;ood measure comprehended
its symbols. We shall find them richly significant.
1. Now it came to pass in the thirtieth- year, in the
fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among
the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were
opened, and I saw visions of God.
2. In the fifth day of the month, wliicli was the fifth
year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,
3. The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel
the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by
the river Chebar ; and the hand of the Lord was there upon
him.
As said above in the general introduction, I find this "thir-
tieth year" in the new Chaldean epoch of Nabopolassar, father of
Nebuchadnezzar, which reckoned its years from the fall of Nine-
veh, 13. C. 625. Every other theory is capricious and without ade-
quate foundation. This is natural, and meets all the conditions of
the case ; for the very brevity of the allusion shows that the epoch
must have been well known, and goes far to prove that it was the
common epoch of the place, the people, and the age — in other
words, that it was Chaldean. A prophecy written in Chaldea
should naturally, first of all, connect itself with the current Chal-
dean epoch. So much deference to their national history would
seem due to that people. Yet, since the prophecy was chiefly for
the Jews, no more than this brief connecting link could be de-
manded. This would enable the Chaldeans to compare Jewish
dates with their own, and thus locate each several message. For
his common epoch Ezekiel would manifestly prefer the JeAvish.
These captives are, of course, the Jewish exiles, located, as
shown in the introduction, along the royal canal of Nebuchadnez-
zar, the great and long river, as the word Chebar without much
doubt indicates. These "visions of God" are not merely visions
given by God through his revealing Spirit, but visions of God,
visions, the special purpose of which was to reveal God himself in
certain great aspects of his providential agency. The "fifth year
of king "Jehoiachin's captivity" follows the Jewish epoch, dating
from tiie captivity of Jehoiacliin, son of Jehoiakim, and last king
of Judah save one, his uncle Zcdekiah. This captivity occurred,
B. C. 600. Hence both this epoch and the Chaldean locafe this
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. I. " 15
first vision of Ezekiel B. C. 595. See 2 Chron. 36: 9, 10, and 2
Kings 24 : 1-16. The words " came expressly " translate the usual
emphatic Hebrew phrase which repeats the infinite absolute before
.the finite verb; "coming, it came, i. e., it certainly came; came
with the clearest demonstrations of its actuality. " The hand of
the Lord was there upon him," is the usual phrase to indicate the
special agency of the divine Spirit in revealing himself to his serv-
ants the prophets. See other cases of its use in chap. 3: 14-22,
and 37: 1, and in the same sense, though with various phrase, Jer.
1: 7, 10, and 20: 7.
4. And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came ont of
the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a
brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the
color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
Before I enter upon the particular description of this wonderful
vision, it may aid the reader if I state in few words what I take
to be its general import.
I do not regard it as an unm-eaning display of things magnificent,
grotesque, and marvelous, nor, strictly speaking, as an attempt to
represent by symbols the essential nature of the Infinite God ; but
I suppose it to be a symbolic representation of the moveable base of
the throne of God incarnate — this incarnate God being considered
as manifesting himself in his providential government of our world.
As here represented, his throne rests on a lofty, magnificent plat-
form Or solid floor, which floor itself reposes on the bodies and
wings of "the living creatures" that are so graphically portrayed
in this vision. The whole representation contemplates the varied
agencies of God's providence as combining the utmost energy, wis-
dom, celerity, efficiency, and grandeur, and is designed to show
how He moves among the nations of men, lifting up and casting
down at his will, scourging for sin, and purifying by discipline,
evermore just and righteous, and making his movements conspire
to the exalted and worthy ends of his own glory and of human sal-
vation. Let us now look carefully into the several features of this
delineation. The vision opens with surpassing grandeur. A
whirlwind rolls up from the north with a great cloud and a fire which
perpetually takes hold of itself (so the Heb.), making one vast con-
tinuous sheet of flame. A brightness invests .the whole, of the
color of "amber," or, as many modern critics prefer, of "burnished
brass." All the ideas of that age seem to have located the home
of the gods in the north — a sentiment due perhaps to the Aurora
Borealis, which they seem to have thought of as the occasional il-
lumination of the palace halls of the gods. Thus Isaiah (14: 13)
makes his proud Lucifer (the great monarch of Babylon) say, "I
will exalt my throne above the stars of God ; I will sit also upon
the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the norths Perhaps
it was with some reference to those ideas that this magnificent
vision of Jehovah's movinfi; throne comes forth from the north.
16" EZEKIEL.— CHAP. I.
5. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four
living creatures. And this was their appearance ; they had
the likeness of a man.
6. And every one had four faces, and every one had four
wings.
7. And their feet were straight feet; the sole of their
feet was like the sole of a calf's foot ; and they sparkled like
the color of burnished brass.
8. And they had the hands of a man under their wings
on their four sides ; and they four had their faces and their
wings.
9. Their wings were joined one to another ; they turned
not when they went ; they went every one straight forv»' ard.
Now there came forth from the blaze of this effulgence what
seemed like four living creatures in whom the human form pre-
dominates. Yet each one had four faces and also four wings.
Their feet, moreover, were not those, of a man, but of a calf or ox,
yet sparkling with radiance like that of burnished brass. They
had also the hand of a man under their wings. Two of these wings,
making one pair, were joined together. Remarkably they made
no turn in their movements, but went in straight lines, evermore
straight forward. Probably this fact takes its significance from
that law of mind which associates moral perversity with turning
from a right line. The path of right and duty is thought of' as
being straight, but never crooked. God's providential agencies
are evermore true and righteous altogether. It may indicate that
in both discipline and retribution God moves straight on to his
purposed end. The symbol of the calf or ox may have a place
here to indicate the solid, massive strength requisite to suj^port so
vast a structure as the throne of the Almighty. The reader will
note that many of these symbols appeared to the Jews in actual
life in the vast "molten sea" connected with Solomon's temple.
This sea stood on twelve oxen, and, morever, had in its ornamental
work sculptured lions, oxen, and cherubim, coupled also with
wheels as in this vision of Ezekiel. See 1 Kings 7: 23-33. In
some respects, therefore, this grouping of symbols was Hebraic,
while in others it was Chaldean. The grouping of diverse animal
figures in one nondescript S3'mbol is very common, as above
shown, in the Clialdean monuments of that age.
10. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the
face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side : and
they four had the fiice of an ox on the left side ; they four
also had the face of an eagle.
11. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched
upward ; two wings of every one were joined one to 'another,
and two covered their bodies.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. I. 17
12. And they went every one straight forward : whither
the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when
they went.
This account of the location of the several faces is not quite
explicit, but there can scarcely be a doubt that these four diverse
faces looked each in its several direction, the human face in front,
the lion face to the right, the face like the ox to the left, and that
of the eagle backward to the rear. Of their four wings, two were
joined and stretched upward, while the other two fell and covered
their bodies. Somewhat like this were the wings of the cherubim
as seen by Isaiah (chap. 6 : 2). They had each six wings : one pair
covering the face, one the feet, and the other used for flight. Here
again we may note that all movement is straight forward, with no
turning. They go as the spirit in them impels ; this whole repre-
sentation being designed to show that the magnificent agencies
of God's universal providence are every-where and for evermore
permeated and controlled by his ovrn ever-present will — the one
Infinite Mind guiding and ruling all.
13. As for the likeness of the living -creatures, their ap-
pearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the ap-
pearance of lamps : it went up and down among the living
creatures ; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went
forth lightning.
14. And the living creatures ran and returned as the ap-
pearance of a flash of lightning.
To heighten the grandeur of this magnificent portrayal, these
living creatures now seem to have the appearance of coals of fire
that burn like lamps. One clause seems to say that this fire shoots
and darts among these living creatures — a fire invested with a
glorious radiance out of which lightnings flashed ; while another
clause has it that the living creatures themselves ran and returned
like flashes of lightning. Probably he meant to say both these
things; probably both were seen in the vision. How grand. and
sublime must that scene have been !
15. Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one
wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, v/ith his four
faces.
16. The appearance of *the wheels and their work was
like unto the color of a beryl : and they four had one like-
ness : and their appearance and their work was as it were a
wheel in the middle of a wheel.
17. When they went, they went upon their four sides;
and they turned not when they went.
Wheels are an expressive syml^ol of power and rapid motion.
18 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. I.
As to the number of wheels in this combination of symbols, v. 15,
seems to indicate but one; but vs. 16 and 18 both speak of four,
and so also docs the coordinate description in chap. 10: 9, 10.
These wheels were sparkling and brilliant, shining like polished
gems. But the most remarkable feature was their combination,
said to be "as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel." Accor-
ding to this description, they might be concentric and in the same
plane, or they might be concentric and yet in different planes,
say at right angles. From the account of their motion in any di-
rection without turning, the latter seems to have been their form.
This is the view of the ablest modern commentators. AVe need
not trouble ourselves with the fact that no axletree could be made
to work in two such concentric double wheels, so that they could
run in planes at right angles to each other. For this moveable base
for the throne of God was seen in prophetic vision, and not in
the actual world ; was constituted to be seen — not to run in the
buniness of real life; and had for its object a certain impression
on the mind of the prophet, and not any particular result in the
mechanical world.
18. As for their rings, they were so high that they were
dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about
them four.
"Rings," as used here, mean the rims, the periphery, or felloes
of the wheels. Their height, so great that they seemed "dreadful,"
represents the wheels as of immense size, towering aloft in the air
with magnificence fearfully sublime. Then the periphery of these
wheels was full of eyes all round about, indicating perfect intel-
ligence, and giving the impression of piercing thought and most
vivid expressiveness.
19. And when the living creatures .went, the wheels went
by them : and when the living creatures were lifted up from
the earth, the wheels w^ere lifted up.
20. Whithersoever the spirit Avas to go, they went, thither
was their spirit to go; and the wheels w^ere lifted up over
against them : for the spirit of the living creature w^as in
the wheels.
21. AVhen those went, these went ; and when those stood,
these stood ; and when those were lifted up from the earth,
the wheels were lifted up over against them : for the spirit
of the living creature was in the wheels.
Next we have the same elements of life and self-acting inspira-
tion in these wheels as in the living creatures themselves. The
wheels constantly attend the living creatures as if moved by one
common impulse and will. This was one of the most striking
features in this wonderful combination of symbols. It could not
EZEKIEL— CHAP. I. 10
signify less or other than that God's providences always have a
meaning; always aim at some wise purpose; are evermore guided
by one and the same supreme and all-pervading divine will.
22. And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of
the living creature was, as the color of the terrible crystal,
stretched forth over tlieir heads above.
23. And under the firmament were their wings straight,
the one toward the other : every one had tw^o, which cov-
ered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on
that side, their bodies. •
Here we begin to reach the purpose and work of this remarkable
combination of symbols. These living creatures bear upon their
heads and upon their straight wings, a firmament, {. e., a solid
expanse, platform, or elevated floor. Its appearance was in color
"like the terrible crystal" — so brilliant and dazzling as to be even
fearful to behold. Upon this base, as we shall soon see, reposed
the throne of the incarnate God. The prophet again refers to
the position of the two sets of wings, one set straight and joined
together, assisting to support the firmament, somewhat like the
wings of the cherubim in the most holy place. When the living
creatures stood, the other set fell gracefully down and protected
their bodies.
24. And when they went, I heard the noise of their
wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the
Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host;
when they stood, they let down their wings.
25. And there was a voice from the firmament that was
over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their
wings.
As if to combine every element of grandeur and sublimity, and
appeal to every sense, the sound of their wings, when in motion,
was as the roar of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty
God himself In the clause, "The voice of speech as the noise of
an host," the Hebrew does not imply the utterance of articulate
words, but should rather be rendered, " The sound of their noise
was as the sound of an host," i, e., of an army rushing to battle.
There may have been the voice of articulate words from above the
firmament, {. e., from the glorious personage who sat on the throne;
V. 25 seems to imply this. The reader will readily recall the
manifestations made by the "Alpha and Omega," by Him who is
both the first and the last, to John, the Revelator, as in Rev. 1 :
10-16, "His voice was as the sound of many waters, and his face
as the sun when he shineth in his strength."
26. And above the firmament that was over their heads
was the likeness of a throne, as the apj^earance of a sapphire
20 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. I.
stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness
as the appearance of a man above it.
27. And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance
of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his
loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins
even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and
it had brightness round about.
The vital points in this description are plain, and they are also
richly significant and sublime. Here is the throne, for the sake
of supporting wRich, and of moving it also, we have seen a won-
derful combination of living creatures, wings and wheels, witli
various accompanying symbols of intelligence, energy, splendor,
and majesty. Here also — more really sublime than all the rest —
is the appearance of a man upon this throne. From his loins up-
ward, and from his loins downward, he seemed as one begirt with
fire — the brightness of fire, and the effulgence of the most mag-
nificent pearls and gems, combining to invest him with ineffable
glory. This personage can be no other than the incarnate Son
of God, the great Lord of universal providence, appearing in this
majestic form to his servant Ezekiel, much as the same personage
appeared to Isaiah (chap. 6), of which case, John in his Gospel
(chap. 12: 41) tells us that Isaiah then and there "saw the glory
of Jesus and spake of him." Numerous proofs might be adduced
to show that repeatedly, during the course of the Old Testament
age, Jesus Christ anticipated his incarnation by appearing in
human form to his people. He appeared thus to Manoah and his
wife (Judges 13: 2-23), giving them his name, "Wonderful" (not
"secret"), using the identical word which Isaiah gives as one of
his names (Isa. 9: 6), ^^ Wonde7'fui, Counsellor, the Mighty God,"
etc. "This is also He who was with his church in the wilder-
ness," as Stephen affirms (Acts 7 : 38), and as the narrative (Ex.
23 : 20-23) most plainly indicates. It was therefore only a sub-
sequent appearance of the same glorious personage which was
vouchsafed to John in Patmos with a luster and effulgence of
glories closely analogous to what we have here.
28. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in
the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness
round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of
the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my
face, and I heard the voice of one that spake.
The final touch to this inimitable representation compares it to
the radiance of the " bow in the cloud in the day of rain." Such
was the brightness and glory that invested the incarnate Deity.
Thus the Shechinah revealed himself to Ezekiel to impress his
Boul with the magnificence, the energy, and the glory of Him
whose work he was now to undertake, whose mission as a prophet
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. I. 21
he was to fulfill, whose words he was to hear and then to bear to
his people. What an installation this into his prophetic work !
No wonder he fell on his face as one overwhelmed with reverence
and awe ! Let it be noted yet further that this portrayal was
specially pertinent in view of the fact that God's providential
agencies were then intensely active among the nations, and espe-
cially toward the Jews in both discipline and judgment — the dis-
cipline that chastened to reclaim, and the judgments that scourged
in stern and awful retribution. Into the midst of these agencies
Ezekiel was thrown. He was commissioned as a prophet of God
to cooperate by the use of moral agencies with those providential
agencies of the Almighty, He was to interpret the significance
of those judgments. He was to warn the people to repent, as
they would escape such inflictions. He was to press them to re-
pentance by the promise of pardoning mercy. In every appropri-
ate way he was to supplement those agencies of providence with
the concurrent influences of God's revealed truth. Hence nothing
could be more vital than to impress upon his mind the qualities
of that fearfully glorious and energetic divine providence which iu
its intensified forms was now being manifested toward the chosen
people. Moreover, nothing could have been better adapted to
impart to him a baptism of reverence, docility, energy, and self-
sacrificing devotion. Under the influence of such views of the
glorious Being whose behestp he is commissioned to bear to the
people, how could he falter before hardship or danger? How
could he fail to carry with him through life a sense of the glory
of his Divine Master, saying evermore : • ^^ I serve the ineffably glo-
rious incarnate God; and I must be true and faithful !"
Some minds will naturally ask. What proof do you give your
readers that your interpretation of this chapter is the true one ?
To such I answer briefly: The fact that it meets all the conditions
of the case. It fits every circumstance. It is pertinent to an in-
auguration of Ezekiel to his prophetic office, as it should be ; it fits
his relations as a prophet to the captives at Babylon ; fits their re-
lutions to the Omnipresent and then specially active agencies of
God's providence over nations ; fits the style of illustrating the at-
tributes of God which prevailed in Chaldea, and also that which
was developed to some extent in the Jewish temple ; in short, this
construction fits in all possible points, and therefore must be the
true one. Out of a dozen trial keys, that one which enters the
lock, moves without obstruction and with the least possible friction
through its wards, and throws its bolt readily, must be the right
one. No rational man ever doubts such proof.
22 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. II.
CHAPTER II.
The glorious personage brought to view in the previous chapter
here gives the prophet his commission and instructions.
1. And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy
feet, and I will speak unto thee.
2. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto
me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake
unto me.
The overwhelming impressions of solemnity and awe under
which the prophet sank to the ground, and also the kind words
and imparted spirit which set him upon his feet again and restored
calmness to his soul, are noted here with entire simplicity. Th?^
case is closely analogous to that of Isaiah as in his sixth chapter,
and that of Daniel, "(chap. 10: 15-19,) or of the revelator John
(chap. 1 : 17). It can not surprise us that John should say,
"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead;" or that Daniel
should testify, "0 my Lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned
upon me, and I have retained no strength, neither is any breath
left in me." In each of these cases, as in this case of Ezekiel,
the Lord kindly renewed their strength and prepared them to hear
his words.
3. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to
the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath re-
belled against me ; they and their fathers have transgressed
against me, even unto this very day.
4. For they are impudent children and stiff-hearted. I
do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them,
Thus saith the Lord God.
5. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they
will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know
that there hath been a prophet among them.
"Impudent," in v. 4, is in the original hard-faced. The pro])het
is to assure them that he brings them a message, not from him-
self, but from the Lord God. "Will forbear," means will refuse
to hear. The Lord intimates that they will have occasion to know
that he has certainly sent his prophet among them. His judg-
ments would verify the prophet's commission and leave the people
no room to doubt this appalling truth. This introduction shows
that the exiles in Chaldea, though less hardened and hopeless than
their brethren in Judca, were yet exceedingly stul)born and per-
verse. It was a great and very difficult work for Ezekiel to ac-
complish, to impress upon them the fear of the Lord and to recall
them to repentance and a new life.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. II. 23
6. And thou, sou of man, be not afraid of them, neither
be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns he with
thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions : be not afraid
of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they
he a rebellious house.
7. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether
they will hear, or whether they will forbear ; for they are
most rebellious.
The clause, "Though briers and thorns be with thee," Gcsenius
prefers to render, "though they be rebels and thorns toward thee."
Maurer, favoring greater congruity between the two words, makes
the sense "nettles and thorns." The general sense is clear.
Though they are hostile, malign, severe, and even savage toward
thee, yet be thou firm and fearless before them, and do thy duty.
The Lord would have him anticipate stern opposition and a pain-
fully trying life, and gird his soul to meet it. So evermore, he
who will live godly in Christ Jesus and/o?* Christ Jesus must suf-
fer more or less persecution. Let him expect it and seek grace to
meet it with Christian fortitude.
8. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee;
Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house : open thy
mouth, and eat that I give thee.
9. And when I looked, behold, a hand ivas sent unto
me; and,.lo, a roll of a book ims therein;
10. And he spread it before me : and it ivas written within
and without : and there ivas written therein lamentations,
and mourning, and woe.
This eating was in vision, and not done in the actual world.
As a thing of vision, it was admirably significant, implying that
he must take the messages of God to his heart and shrink not from
any service for God which they might involve. This roll, like the
ancient book, was a long strip of parchment, fitted to roll up,
which was written upon both sides ("within and without"). Its
contents, the matters therein written, were wholly of "lamentation,
and mourning, and woe" — all mournful exposures of guilt and
crime ; messages of swift judgment and of awful doom ! How sad to
Ezekiel must have been this preintimation of his painfully trying
work! Must his messages to his own people testify only to their
guilt and shame ; speak but rarely of promise and hope, and mainly
of judgment without mercy and of woe "too wide to see beyond! "
If so, may he have grace to be true to his God and true to the
souls of the guilty people ; for it were a fearful thing for mortal
man to falter in duty where the destiny of souls is at stake !
24 EZEKIEL.— CHAr. IIL
CHAPTER III.
This chapter continues and completes -what pertains properly to
Ezekiel's introduction to his prophetic work. The Lord explains
and defines his commission; warns him of the opposition he has
to encounter, and girds him with the requisite firmness and energy
to meet it; discloses the great responsibilities, of his work as bear-
ing on the life or death of souls; and finally signifies to him that
he is not to speak on his own motion, but only as the Lord shall
give him a message from himself for the people. •
1. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou
findest ; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
2. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that
roll.
3. And he said unto me. Son of man, cause thy belly to
eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee.
Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for
SAveetness.
As already indicated in the notes on chap. 2: 8, the eating of
this roll, done only in vision, signified that he should take the
messages of God home to his very heart, give them his most solemn
attention, make himself thoroughly master of their contents, and
hold himself at God's command to deliver them faithfully as di-
rected. ^That they were in his mouth as honey for sweetness,
implied his joy in accepting his prophetic mission, showing that
at least his jirst impressions in receiving this honor were those of
willing and cheerful obedience, and the consequent joy of yielding
to the will of God. He does not say here in explicit terms as
John does (Rev. 10: 9, 10), "As soon as I had eaten it, my belly
was bitter;." yet v. 14 seems to imply this : "I went in bitterness,
in the heat of my spirit." There would be sore trials to the flesh,
trials to his human sensibilities, in the painful service of bearing
such messages to a people so dear to him and yet so guilty and
refractory 'toAvard God.— — So evermore the faithful Christian life
on earth Avill blend the joy of pleasing God with the pain of com-
ing in contact with sin in the case of those who stand in relations
near and dear to our hearts.
4. And he said unto me. Son of man, go, get thee unto
the house of Israel, and speak Avith my words unto them.
5. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech
and of an hard language, hut to the house of Israel ;
6. Not to many people of a strange speech and of an
hard language, Avhose Avords thou canst not understand.
Surely, had I sent thee to them, they Avould have heark-
ened unto thee.
■ I
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. III. 25
7. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee;
for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of
Israel are impudent and hard-hearted.
"Strange," as usual, means foreign. The Lord says to his
prophet, "'I send thee only to the house of Israel; not to a foreign
nation of an unknown language ; not to many tribes or people of
unknown tongue. If I had sent thee to such a people, they would
have hearkened to thee, for such perverseness and obduracy of
heart could be found nowhere among the heathen. Underneath
this statement lies a great law of human sinning. It is only by
the long abuse of great light and of rich mercies that men reach
such a degree of moral hardihood and such depths of intense de-
pravity. It is appalling to think of the influence of resisted light,
of mercies abused, of obligations seen yet repelled and finally
scorned ! With what fearful rapidity, especially in the later
stages, do such sinners become seven-fold more the children of
hell than before ! Our Savior met and fully recognized this law
of human sinning in his intercourse with the Jews of his time.
See Mat. 11: 20-24, John 9: 39, 41, and 15: 22, 24.
8. Behold, I have made thy face strong against their
faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
9. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy
forehead : fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks,
though they he a rebellious house.
These are bold figures, but are readily understood. The Lord
was preparing his servant to confront the most brazen-faced sinners
with firm unflinching heart. This is said with a double purpose —
to forewarn and to forearm ; to signify to him what he must expect,
and to gird his soul to meet it.
10. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my Tvords
that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear
with thine ears.
11. And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the
children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them,
Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or
whether they will forbear.
V. 10 seems to express without a figure what the act of eating
the roll implies. The expressive clause, "whether they will
hear or not hear" ("will forbear"), seems to be not merely a part
of the Lord's instructions to his prophet, but a part also of his
message to the people. The prophet must give them to understand
that God lays on them the fearful responsibility of deciding
whether they would hear or would not. They must determine
this question for themselves and bear its consequences.
2
26 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. III.
12. Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me
a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed he the glory of
the Lord from his place.
This beini; "taken up by the Spirit" was done in vision only.
It seems to be bearing him away from the scenes described in the
first chapter. Hence he receives his last impressions from these
sounds behind him as he is leaving. The great rush corresponds
to the account in chap. 1 : 24, the sound of the wings of flying
cherubim and of their voices, here praising God and celebrating
his glories as revealed from the place of these manifestations.
13. I heard also the noise of the wings of the living
creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the
wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.
In the phrase, "the wings that touched one another," the He-
brew has the beautiful figure, " wings that kissed each that of her
sister."
14. So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I
went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand
of the Lord was strong upon me.
This scene must have been immensely exciting to the youthful
prophet. Probably he begins to appreciate the responsibihties
and trials of the work now devolved upon him, and hence feels
pangs of bitterness in his soul, and a sense as of intense heat in
his spirit. But the hand of the Lord is strong upon him, and he
can not withstand the summons to painful duty, and would not if
he could. The experiences of Jeremiah were much the same.
See notes on Jer. 20 : 7-9.
15. Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib,
that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat w^here they
sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
Here we pass from scenes of prophetic vision to scenes not visional
but purely in the actual world. He comes to the exiles, and soon
begins to speak to them from the Lord his God. As they were in
the real world only, and not at all in prophetic vision, so must his
words and acts, relating to them, be understood as in the actual
and not the ideal world. Tel-abib (corn-hill) was the residence
of a large body of these exiles, and probably of the prophet him-
self The 'first Hebrew verb of the phrase, "I sat where they
sat," is variously read and translated by the best critics. Our
Euf^llsh translation follows the vowel points of the Hebrew text
and not the consonants, and is not generally approved as the most
reliable reading. Gcsenius prefers a reading of the original,
which means, "I saw them sitting there, and I sat down with
them astonished seven days." Maurer, preferring another root,
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. III. 27
renders, "I turned aside where they were sitting, and sat doAvn with
them." As the verb rendered ^^remai7ied," is precisely the usual
Hebrew verb to sit, our received translation repeats itself; "I sat
where they sat, and sat astonished ; " which is scarcely admissible.
But no important sentiment is involved in these diversities of
reading. "Seven days," a round indefinite number, meaning a
considerable time. See the same usage under somewhat similar
circumstances in the case of Job's three friends (Job 2: 13).
16. And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that
the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
17. Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the
house of Israel : therefore hear the word at my mouth, and
give them warning from me.
18. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die ;
and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the
wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same
wicked maji shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I
require at thy hand.
19. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from
his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in
his iniquity ; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
20. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his
righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-
block before him, he shall die : because thou hast not given
him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness
which he hath done shall not be remembered ; but his blood
will I require at thy hand.
21. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that
the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely
live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy
soul.
These words were specially addressed by the T^ord to his prophet.
They may or may not have been announced by the prophet to the
people. Essentially the same ideas are drawn out somewhat more
fully in chap. 33. There, they are rehearsed to the people. Their
intensely solemn import is plain. The watchman or sentinel
stands guard in war to give notice of impending danger. If he
does his duty faithfully, and the people disregard his warnings, his
hands are clear of their blood : they perish in their own folly. If
he neglects his duty and the people perish unwarned, they perish
indeed, but their blood is required at his hand. So of the prophet.
So of all Christian ministers, and indeed of all Christians in every
sphere in their relations to the people among whom the Lord in his
providence may place them. They must admonish those who are
in their sins of their danger, as they would free themselves from
28 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. III.
blood-i^uiltincss in the death of unwarned souls. The case of a
riii;hteous man apostatizing from a pious life falls under the same
law. Every good and true servant of God is bound to admonish
him of his peril, else his blood may be required of those who have
neglected to give him such warning. The "stumbling-block"
spoken of here (v. 20) is not a temptation to sin, but a means of
destruction, an agency employed of God to destroy the sinner.
22. And the hand of the Lord was there upon me ; and
he said unto rae, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will
there talk with thee.
23. Then I arose, and -went forth into the plain: and,
behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory
which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my
face.
This "plain" or valley stands contrasted with the hill (Tell
Abib) where the people resided. The spirit of the call is, Go
down to a retired place; I have another personal charge to give
thee in private. The prophet obeyed; and there he saw again
the same manifestation of the glory of the Lord which he had seen
by the river Chebar. Here also, as there, he falls prostrate on his
face. This going to the valley seems to have been done in the
external world. What followed there was said and shown to him
in prophetic vision.
24. Then the spirit' entered into me, and set me upon my
feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thy-
self within thy house.
25. But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put
bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou
slialt not go out among them:
26. And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of
thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to
them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.
27. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth,
and thou shalt say unto them. Thus saith the Lord God;
He that heareth, let him hear : and he that forbeareth, let
him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.
I take the general import of these instructions to be this: Thy
mission, Ezekiel, is simply and only to speak the words of God ;
not thine own words. Shut up thyself, therefore, in thine own
house, and remain there till the Spirit of God shall lead thee forth.
The people will withstand thee ; but let not their opposition insti-
gate thee to any rash Avords of thine own. Wait in silence till the
Lord shall give thee his own message to deliver to them. How-
ever much the greatness or the guilt of their sins may fire thy
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. IV. 29
soul with indignation, take care to say only what the Lord shall
give thee to say. Restrict thyself absolutely to the messages that
are given thee of the Lord thy God. When 1 open thy mouth, then
speak and fear nothing. Till then be silent.
CHAPTER IV.
Tub object of the symbolic transactions recorded in this chap-
ter was to impress the exiles with the facts that Jerusalem was
soon to be besieged; that this siege would be exceedingly severe,
involving great famine and distress ; and that it was to come upon
the city and the people for their great sins. The date of the
prophecies in chaps. 4-7, can not be much later than the fifth year
of Jehoiachin's captivity, since no new date appears between
chaps. 1 : 2, and 8 : 1. The latter was the sixth year and sixth month.
Zedekiah's reign began very soon after the captivity of Jehoiachin.
The siege of Jerusalem commenced in the tenth month of his ninth
year. (Jer. 52: 4.) Hence this prophecy preceded the beginning
of the siege by some four or four and a half years only. The
two significant symbolic transactions recorded in this chapter are
closely related to each other — are indeed parts of the same whole ;
viz. (1.) The delineation of the city of Jerusalem on a tile, and
formally laying siege to it: and, (2.) The prophet's lying on his
left side three hundred and ninety days, and on his right, forty,
and taking his bread and water by measure during those periods —
to indicate both the straitness of the siege and its moral causes in
the nation's great sins. .
1. Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it be-
fore thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem :
2. And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it,
and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it,
and set battering rams against it round about.
3. Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it
for a wall of iron between thee and the city : and set thy
face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay
siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
The ruins of Nineveh and of Babylon have furnished the world
during the present century large quantities of "^i7<?," sun-baked or
kiln-burnt brick, covered with inscriptions. Hence this symbol was
perfectly familiar to Ezekiel and to his fellow-exiles. To portray
a city on a tile and let it represent Jerusalem was altogether in
harmony with the usages of the Chaldean people. This sym-
bolic transaction was throughout in keeping with the modes of
ancient warflire. Towers were built, mounds raised, often to the
30 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. IV.
full height of the walls of the besieged city; a camp was fitted up;
battering rams provided. Then, to protect the besiegors, strong
ramparts were raised between them and the city, indicated in this
transaction by the "iron pan." All this was for a "5?^h" to the
house of Israel, a thoroughly symbolic process, to signify the siege
of their beloved city. There can be no reasonable doubt that
this was really done as here stated, and not merely seen in vision
without being done in fact. For the record has none of the usual
intimations of a vision, e. g., "I looked;" "I saw;" "the Lord
showed me;" "I was in the spirit and saw," etc., etc. On the
contrary, the prophet is simply commanded to do precisely this
thing, and the Lord said it should be a "^e^n," a visible, significant
symbol, to the people.
4. Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity
of the house of Israel upon it : according to the number of
the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their
iniquity.
5. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity,
according to the number of the days, three hundred and
ninety days : so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house
of Israel.
6. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on
thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house
of Judah forty days : I have appointed thee each day for a
year.
This also we must interpret as an actual transaction, symbolic
of course in its purpose, but not an unreal vision. It proceeds in
the same strain as the previous symbol, a simple command to do.
Manifestly this lying on either side, as well as the preparation
and eating of his food, were to be done " in the sight of the people "
(see V. 12). Now, since the people are in the external world only,
and not in prophetic vision, this must have been an actual pro-
ceeding, and not a thing of mere vision. It can not be supposed
that this lying on one side was absolutely continuous and un-
broken by any rising up during the entire thirteen months in the
former case and one and one-third months in the latter. For,
according to the record, the prophet prepared his own food and
ate it from time to time. The necessities of his physical being
were therefore to be provided for as an exception to the general
law of his fixed position.
It will meet all the conditions of the case if we suppose that
his lying on his side was so public as to be well known, and so
continuous as to fill out the greater part of the time and as to in-
volve great hardship and suffering. So much we must admit, else
it would not forcibly symbolize his bearing of the iniquities of
Israel and Judah, and the sore straitness of the besieged city and
its people. The restraint which the Lord put upon him (v. 8) pro
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. IV. 31
vented his turning from side to side to relieve himself, but did not
prevent his preparing and eating his necessary food. These
periods of time (three hundred and ninety days, and forty) were
not capricious. They were sufficiently long to involve much dis-
comfort and even suffering. There was probably some special sig-
nificance in both periods. Critics have generally agreed that the
long period looks to the interval from the revolt under Jeroboam to
the destruction of the city, which the common chronology makes
three hundred and eighty-eight years — in round numbers three
hundred and ninety. During this period the two nations had
been relapsing into idolatry — a fact which would itself give ample
significance to the symbol of lying three hundred and ninety days
on his left side to bear the iniquities of Israel. The special
significance of the number forty for the years of Judah is less ob-
vious. Rosenmueller and Maurer agree in commencing it with
the twelfth year of Josiah when his great reform was inaugurated,
and in closing it with the destruction of the city — this period be-
ginning hopefully but closing wofully with horrible apostasy — the
bitter disappointment of fondly cherished hopes of national re-
form, and the aggravated guilt of broken covenants and of light
rejected. There was manifestly good reason why the special
attention of the Jews should be called to the more aggravated
course of their nation within these last forty years. This ex-
planation is on the whole to be preferred to any other that has
been before me. The forty years' wandering in the wilderness is
too remote in time, and not sufficiently pertinent to the present
case. 1 doubt if any other special significance pertains to the
distinction between Israel and Judah except what is readily seen
in the historic circumstances as above indicated. The three hun-
dred and ninety years of Israel began with the revolt of Jeroboam.
In that revolt, Israel as distinct from Judah was prominent.
There, in her revolt, and in the idolatrous decree of the golden
calves, the terrible relapse of the whole nation into idolatry began.
On the other hand the forty years' period, as above explained,
related specially to Judah, marking the period of her last guilty
relapse from God, and suggesting the great light she had sinned
against. That God's special appointment should make each day's
lying by the prophet on his side, symbolic of one year, need oc-
casion no surprise or difficulty. Once indicated, the significance
was clear and unmistakable. But, that interpreters of prophecy
should find here authority for the theory that in all prophetic
notations of time, "day" means "year," and "year" means three
hundred and sixty years, is in the last degree capricious and un-
founded. How can those who embrace this theory fail to see that
throughout this passage the words "day" and "year" are used
evermore in their ordinary and common sense, and not at all with
the special extension or rather multiplication which they claim
for them ? Did the prophet lie on his left side three hundred and
ninety years, and on his right side forty years ? That would be
simply monstrous, yet not more so than the theory that the word
32 EZEEIEL.— CHAP. IV.
"day" in prophecy means "year," In the present case the only
reason why each day's confined posture on the side represents a
year lies in the symbol (not in the word day), and is there by
special divine arrangement. It is not at all in the sense of the
words "day" and "year." The Lord told the prophet and also
the people that his lyin<j; a certain number of days -^n either side
should remind the people of so many years of their national sin.
This is all. That Israel was indicated by the prophet's left side
may look to the fact that geographically, that kingdom lay on
their left, since in locating the points of compass, the Orientals
stood with their faces to the east. Note also chap. 16: 46, "Thine
elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy
left hand."
7. Therefore tliou shalt set thy face toward the siege of
Jerusalem, and thine arm shall he uncovered, and tliou
siialt prophesy against it.
8. And behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou
shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast
ended the days of thy siege.
This is a remarkable combination of symbols — a man lying
prostrate on one side to signify that he bears the iniquity of the
house of Israel ; yet setting his face toward his tile, which repre-
sents Jerusalem, to indicate that he is (in symbol) besieging the
city, and having his arm bare and his loins girded to show that
the assailing party is alert and unimpeded in his assault. Making
bare the arm by girding the loins is one of the most common,
well defined, and expressive symbols of oriental life. See Isa. 52 :
10. "Thou shalt prophesy against," may include in its mean-
ing these significant symbols which would themselves speak with
no doubtful voice. But very probably he added explanatory
words. The "bands that God laid upon him," seem to have
restrained him from turning from side to side, to relieve himself,
but manifestly did not prevent his rising to prepare and take his
food.
9. Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans,
and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one
vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the num-
ber of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side; three
hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.
10. And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall he by
weight, twenty shekels a day : from time to time shalt thou
eat it.
11. Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth
part of a hin : from time to time shalt thou drink.
Directions as to his food, and the quantity of bread and water
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. IV 33
allowed him. Tlie reader will notice that our translators (un-
like ourselves) make no broad distinction between "bread" and
"meat." What is "bread" in v. 9 is "meat" in v. 10. The
Hebrew word in v. 10 comprehends every thing eaten. Our trans-
lators seem to have used the word "meat" in this comprehensive
sense. A shekel is equal to half an ounce. Consequently
twenty shekels are ten ounces — a light ration of mere vegetables,
and designed to represent the extreme scarcity in the besieged
city. A hin, according to Gesenius, is five English quarts. One-
sixth part of it consequently is five-sixths of a quart.
12. And thou slialt eat it as barley cakes, and thou slialt
bake it with dung that cometli out of man, in their sight.
13. And the Lord said. Even thus shall the children of
Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither
I will drive them.
14. Then said I, Ah Lord God ! behold, my soul hath
not been polluted : for from my youth up even till now
have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in
pieces ; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
15. Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's
dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread
therewith.
Under the gf^neral scarcity of other fuel in the unwooded
regions of the East, the offal of domestic animals is much used
for fuel, even in cooking. Ezekiel manifestly regarded the use of
human offal for this purpose as not only offensive but ceremonially
polluting. He therefore pleads for some relief from this injunc-
tion. It was kindly granted him. The Lord wished to show
by this symbol that the Jews were doomed to eat defiled bread in
their captivity among the heathen.
16. Moreover he said unto me. Son of man, behold, I will
break the staflf of bread in Jerusalem : and they shall eat
bread by weight, and with care ; and they shall drink water
by measure, and with astonishment :
17. That they may want bread and water, and be aston-
ished one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.
The phrase, "to eat bread with care," should take the stronger
sense of extreme anxiety, dreadful apprehension. Famine and
terror should consume them — a fearful doom! Before we pass
from this chapter let us note the fact that the scenes it describes
filled out (at 365 days per year) one year, two months and a frac-
tion of five days over, while the interval between the dates in
chap. 1: 1, 2, and in chap. 8: 1, is one year and two months.
As the numbers in chap. 4 are obviously round numbers, it can
Bcarcely be doubted that the two periods are identically the same.
34 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. V.
That is, the symbolic transaction, representing the sie2;e of Jeru-
salem and the bearing of the iniquities of Israel and Judah, filled
up the first stage of his prophetic life — the entire interval between
his call Avith the vision accompanying it, and the second great
vision recorded, chaps. 8-11. This symbolical scene, therefore,
was properly his introduction before the people in his new charac-
ter as a prophet. As such, it Avas adapted to make strong impres-
sions on their minds. They could not but observe the strangeness
of the scene and say, "Verily, here is a prophet of the Lord among
us, and it behooves us to mark his words and his no less signifi-
cant deeds." Let us also note that these symbolic transactions
recorded in this chap. 4 arc the text for the sermon Avhich fills
chapters 5, 6, and 7. These latter chapters for the most part drop
all symbol and announce in plain but terrible words, the judg-
ments of siege, conquest and destruction, then Avithin four or five
years of being realized upon the long guilty and doomed city of
the Jews. These lessons Avere full of terrible significance to their
captive brethren noAV in Chaldea, as we shall see.
CHAPTER V.
This chapter presents a new symbol, but continues the same
course of thought. Manifestly, the destiny of the doomed city and
people of Jerusalem is the theme illustrated here by the prophet's
cutting off the hairs of his head and of his beard, dividing the
mass into three equal parts, and then by a triple process destroy-
ing them. The body of the chapter explains this symbolic trans-
action and unfolds in various forms this revealed destiny of ruin
to the people and the city.
1. And thou, son of man, take tliee a sharp knife, take
thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thy head
and upon thy beard : then take thee balances to weigh, and
divide the hair.
2. Thou shalt burn with fire- a third part in the midst
of the city, Avhen the days of the siege are fulfilled ; and
thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it Avith a
knife : and a third part thou shalt scatter in the Avind ; and
I will draAV out a SAVord after them.
Cutting off the hair of the head, and especially of the beard,
indicated sometimes the highest indignity, but usually extreme
calamity. The feeling of the Orientals toAvard their beard and
hair involved strong affection, sometimes rising to real A'cneration.
Hence it became a most expressive token of bitter grief to tear
out the hair, and a symbol of mourning over great calamity to cut
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. V. 35
it off. Comp. 2 Sam. 10: 4, 5, and Jer. 41 : 5, and 48: 37. -r— This
cutting of the prophet's hair was a real transaction, having a sym-
bolic impQrt to the people. The balances were to divide the hair
into three equal parts, each of which was to have its own peculiar
mode of destruction. "The days of the siege" form a connect-
ing link between this chapter and the preceding one. V. 12 is
God's own interpretation of this symbol. One third part of the
people are to die with pestilence and famine in the city ; another
third by the sword in the siege and capture ; and the remain-
ing third were to be scattered to every wind of heaven, and the
sword of the Lord would pursue even these to their destruction.
3. Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and
bind them in thy skirts.
4. Then take of them again, and cast them into the
midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire: for thereof
shall a fire come fi3rth into all the house of Israel.
A small remnant wore to be gathered carefully and bound up in
his skirts, yet even of them some would be cast into the fire, and
a fire go forth from them into all the house of Israel. If this has
special reference to any particular portion of the Jewish people,
it would naturally be to that small remnant who remained in the
land, but were either cut off with Gedaliah, or went down into
Egypt to perish there. The general sense is, manifestly, that only
tlie smallest part of a small remnant should survive these sweep-
ing calamities. A better remnant were saved out of the exiles
in Chaldea — this revelation of exterminating judgments on those
who remained in Judah being one of the divinely ordained means
for their moral culture and restoration to piety and to their own
land.
5. Thus saith the Lord God ; This is Jerusalem : I have
set it in the midst of the nations and countries that ar6
round about her.
Here the interpretation of the symbols begins. This represents
the doom of Jerusalem — -the long-loved and honored city of the
exiles in Chaldea, to whom Ezekiel is prophesying. He is setting
before them the judgments about to fall on her — long and richly
due for her great sins. That she is "in the midst of the nations
and countries about her," looks t© her central position among the
nations of Western Asia and Northeastern Africa, and to her
prominence before all those nations as a people governed and
judged by the only living God.
6. And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness
more than the nations, and my statutes more than the
countries that are round about her : for they have refused
36 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. V.
my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in
them.
The Heb. verb rendered "chan;^ed," which our translators de-
rived from moor, modern critics with good reason take from marah,
and so render it, "And she hath impiously resisted my judg-
ments"— i. c.jWith perverse and bitter spirit hath discarded them,
more than the heathen nations. This comparison of the Jews with
the heathen about them refers to the common moralities of the
laAvs of nature. The Jews had outraged these laws more than the
heathen had done.
7. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye mul-
tiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and
have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judg-
ments, neither have done according to the judgments of the
nations that are round about you ;
The phrase, "multiplied more than the nations" is not explicit,
since it does not necessarily involve moral wroag. The original
gives it a better turn, and makes it clear. ''Because ye have
been tumultuous, outbreaking in sin, more than those contiguous
nations." Compare the same word in Ps. 2: 1, "Why do the
heathen rage,'' etc. She had been violent, reckless, desperate.
8. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even
I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst
of thee in the sight of the nations.
9. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and
whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all
thine abominations.
10. Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst
of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers ; and I will ex-
ecute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee
will I scatter into all the winds.
The Lord would show most clearly that he was against that
guilty city. The language puts this idea in the most emphatic
form. Stress is laid also on the thought that judgment on Jeru-
salem would be inflicted in the sight of all the nations. It had a
lesson for them. Moreover this prediction was adapted to humble
the national pride of the Jews, and might thus be salutary.
That the fathers should eat the sons, and the sons the fathers,
probably refers here, not to the eating of human flesh in the strait-
ness of the siege, but to civil war — terrible feuds which should
array fathers against son* and sous against fathers.
11. Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God ; Surely,
because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detest'
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. V. 37
able things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will
I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye sj^are, neither
will I have any pity.
In this verse the word "diminish" gives a sense too feeble for
the demands of the case. The original verb means to withhold or
withdraw; to which we must subjoin as the object either the word
eye^ ox the word myself. In the former case the word "eye" is
put forward from the clause that immediately follows, giving the
sense, I will not look upon or heed thy bitterest woes. In the lat-
ter case with substantially the same sense, I will withhold myself
from compassion. I will suppress all the impulses of pity and let
judgment take its course without mercy. In either case it is a
threat of awful import, yet had its just occasion in the outrageous
sin of defiling his sanctuary with idol gods and with pollutions too
horrid to name.
12. A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence,
and with famine shall they be consnmed in the midst of
thee : and a third part shall fall by the sword round about
thee ; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and
I will draw out a sword after them.
As already said, this verse is the Lord's interpretation of the
symbol with which the chapter opens.
13. Thus shall, mine anger be accomplished, and I will
cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted:
and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my
zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.
14. Moreover I will make thee w^aste, arui a reproach
among the nations that a7'e round about thee, in the sight
of all that pass by.
15. So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction
and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about
thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and
in fury and in furious rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it.
16. When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of fam-
ine, which shall be for tJieii^ destruction, and which I will
send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon
you, and will break your staff of bread :
17. So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and
they shall bereave thee ; and pestilence and blood shall pass
through thee ; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the
Lord have spoken it.
These verses expand and reiterate the thought that these judg-
ments are the stern demand of divine justice and the outburst of
38 ' EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VI.
irrepressible indignation, designed not only as a fearful retribution
upon the guilty Jews, but as a lesson of solemn instruction and
admonition to all surrounding nations. This assumes that the
principles on which God dealt with the Jewish nation were not
unique and special, but general, and applicable, therefore, to all
nations of every age and clime, and hence to our oioyi nation and
people. This fact deserves to be seriously pondered. In the case
of the Jews, God has taught us how he will judge and punish
every other guilty nation, including, of course, our own. In v. 15,
the phrase, "•furious rebukes," involves the two ideas of infliction
and of ivrath; as IlosenmuUer fitly suggests, "not castigation as
of sons, but vengeance as against enemies." Yet let no one doubt
that these appalling judgments on the guilty Jews and their pol-
luted city were really demanded by the largest benevolence and
the truest wisdom. For the Infinite Sovereign must maintain the
honor of his throne; must frown fearfully upon such horrible in-
sults and outrages upon his house and worship; must impress the
nations with a salutary fear of sinning; — else would the universe
go down before the powers of sin and hell, and its well-being be
forever blasted. If it be asked. Why such threatenings against
Jerusalem and the Jews of Judea, in the prophecies of JEzekiel,
borne only to the exiles in Chaldea ? The answer is at hand.
Those Jews in their native land were their own brethren and
.fathers; that city was their own loved home. These judgments,
therefore, appealed to their tenderest sympathies, and were brought
thus vividly before their mind for their moral good. The Divine
hope and purpose were to impress them with God's abhorrence of
idolatry, to open their eyes to its guilt, and turn their heart effec-
tually from this great national sin.
CHAPTER VI.
This chapter is in the same strain with chapters 4, 5, and 7 —
predicting fearful judgments on the land and people of Judah —
this strain being broken only by a brief reference to a remnant
that should survive and repent (vs. 8, 9).
1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Is-
rael, and prophesy against them,
3. And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of
the Lord God : Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains,
and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys ; Behold,
I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy
your high places.
4. And your altars shall be desolate, and your images
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VI. 39
shall be broken : and I will cast down your slain men be-
fore your idols.
5. And I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of
Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones
round about your altars.
6. In all your dwelling-places the cities shall be laid
waste, and the high places shall be desolate ; that your al-
tars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols
may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut
down, and your works may be abolished.
7. And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye
shall know that I am the Lord.
With a bold personification, the mountains, hills, ravines and
valleys, desecrated by the horrid rites of idolatry, are here ad-
dressed as if intelligent and conscious of guilt and danger. The
Lord threatens to bring the sword upon those desecrated places,
and to cut down the guilty idolaters so that their dead bodies shall
lie unburied around their altars and before their idols. Carrying
out this bold personification to the letter, the Lord closes — "Ye"
(the mountains, hills and valleys) " shall yourselves know that I
am the Lord;" {. e.^ when ye shall see the slain idolaters fallen on
every side of the altars of the idol gods they had wickedly wor-
shiped there. In v. 4, the Hebrew rendered "your images,"
implies that they were images in honor of the sun; probably used
in the worship of Baal. In v. 6, the last word, rendered "abol-
ished," has the strong sense of loiped out, obliterated; implying that
Grod would wash the land clean of these abominations.
8. Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some
that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye
shall be scattered through the countries.
9. And they that escaj^e of you shall remember me
among the nations whither they shall be carried captives,
because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath
departed from me, and with their eyes which go a whoring
after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves for the
evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
10. And they shall know that I am the Lord, and that I
have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
The destruction of the covenant people will not be universal and
utter. A small remnant of the captives will be spared and ulti-
mately brought to repentance. This precious truth is interposed
here for the comfort of those who still retained some fear of God,
and for the encouragement of those who could be moved to serious
thought toward repentance. In the middle clause of v. 9, the
course of thought is more natural and easy if we read, not " Be-
40 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VI.
cause I am broken," etc., but, ^^When I shall have broken their
whorish heart and [subdued to tears] those ejes that went
a whoring after their idols," etc. The form of the Hebrew verb
fully admits this construction. The precise sense would be, When
1 shall have broken /or viysclf^ for my own glory — the Xiphal con-
jugation having here the sense of the Greek middle voice. Thus
the sentiment corresponds with that in Ezek. 36: 31, 32; "Then
shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were
not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your
iniquities and for all your abominations. Not for your sakes do
i this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you : be ashamed and
confounded for your own Avays, O house of Israel ! " " Shall re-
member me" — shall recall to mind their obligations to me, their
sins against me, and the love I have shown them. This is the
main antecedent step to repentance. "I thought on my ways, and
turned my feet to thy testimonies." So Ezek. 36 : 31 (above cited),
and Zech. 10: 9, "They shall remember me in far countries, and
they shall live with their children, and turn again."
11. Thus saitli the Lord God; Smite with thy hand,
and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas, for all the evil
abominations of the house of Israel ! for they shall fall by
the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
12. He that is far oif shall die of the pestilence; and he
that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth
and is besieged shall die by the famine : thus will I accom-
plish my fury uj)on them.
13. Then shall ye know that I am the Lord, when their
slain men shall be among their idols round about their
altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mount-
ains, and under every green tree, and under every thick
oak, the place where they did offer sweet savor to all their
idols.
Ezekiel is usually very emphatic and demonstrative — here, by
special divine direction. These strong gestures would bespeak
the earnestness of his soul, or rather, of God's own heart in the
utterance of these solemn warnings. The people would have
convincing proof that God had spoken these words of doom when
they should see the idol-worshipers lying dead among their idols
and around their altars in every place where they had made ofier-
ings to idol gods. In v. 12, the word rendered "besieged" de-
mands the good sense — who has been preserved^ kept, i. c, from the
sword. He, though saved from the sword, shall die of famine.
14. So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make
the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the Avilderness.
toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall
know that I ain the Lord.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VII. 41
The strength of critical testimony is decidedly in favor of
Riblah, rather than "Diblath" — the whole clause to he rendered,
•'desolate from the wilderness unto Riblah," ?, e., throughout its
whole extent, since "the wilderness" is probably that which lay
on the south of Judah, and lliblah was just outside their northern
border. This city became prominent in Jewish history as the
head-quarters of the king of Babylon when Jerusalem fell before
his arms.
CHAPTER VII.
This chapter continues and closes this particular message, and
announces the fearful doom of the guilty Jews and of their city.
The points made specially prominent are — that this day of judg-
ment is very near^ and that the ruin it shall bring upon the city,
the land and the people, shall be extreme and utter.
1. Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God unto
the land of Israel ; An end, the end is come upon the four
corners of the land.
3. Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine
anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways,
and will recompense u^ion thee all thine abominations.
4. And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have
pity : but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine
abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall
know that I am the Lord.
A terrible emphasis is laid upon the oft repeated words, '''■the
end is come!^ The land is to be made utterly desolate. Its beauty
and glory will go down in the darkness of night. God will pour
out his wrath upon them and requite them for all their abominable
idolatries. " Thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee,"
implies that they will be there, not as sins being committed and
enjoyed, but as sins calling loudly for retribution and bringing it
down terribly uj)on the long sinning people.
5. Thus saith the Lord God; An evil, an only evil, be-
hold, is come.
6. An end is come, the end is come : it watcheth for thee ;
behold, it is come.
In V. 5, "an only evil" — literally, a one evil, I understand to
mean, not strictly a pure, unmixed evil, but rather, one all-com-
prehensive calamity, which at one fell blow should smite down all
their happiness and well-being. In v. 6, "the end" is the pro-
42 EZEKIEL.— CHAP, VII.
destined, long predicted and deserved end. In the next clause I
prefer to read, not "it watcheth for thee;" but it awaketh and
riseth up against thee — as if it had been a slumbering giant, but
now starts from its slumbers and puts itself on the alert to do its
work,
7. The morning is come upon thee, O tliou that dwellest
in the land : the time is come, the day of trouble is near ;
and not the sounding again of the mountains.
The sense of the first word is not morning^ as of the opening of
the predicted day; but cycle; the cycle has come ro\md to thee; the
fixed divine order which brings judgment after and upon great
sin. The Hebrew word here is not the usual one for morning.
The last clause, " and not the sounding again of the mountains,"
contains an allusion not patent to the casual reader, and not easily
traced without the aid of the original. The word here rendered
" sounding again" is a shorter form of the word which is used either
for the shouting of those who tread grapes, or for the shouts of
victory in battle. Isaiah plays upon this twofold use of the word
when he says of Moab (chap. 16 : 9, 10), "I will water thee with
my tears, because upon thy summer fruits and thy harvests, the war-
shout" (not the grape-treaders' shout) "has fallen." By an anal-
ogous play upon the two current senses of this word, this prophet,
alluding to the outcries common in the orgies of idol-worship on
the hills, says, There shall be no more such shouts of idol-wor-
shipers on your high places, but instead of it, the battle-cry of
thy conquerors. The latter is rather implied than expressed ; but
is manifestly involved by the force of prophetic usage in this
special play on the word. Jeremiah (51 : 14) has the same usage,
The reference to "the mountains" looks to the passages
(Ezek, 6 : 2, 3, 13) which locate their idol-worship on the high
pfaces.
8. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and
accomplish mine anger upon thee : and I will judge thee
according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all
thine abominations.
9. And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have
pity : T will recompense thee according to thy ways, and
thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye
shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth.
10. Behold the day, behold, it is come; the morning is
gone forth ; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.
11. Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness : none
of them shall remahiy nor of their multitude, nor of any of
theirs : neither shall there he wailing for them.
In v, 10 the word "morning" is the same as in v, 7, and in the
same sense. The cycle of the divine order brings thee thy day of
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VII. 43
doom. " The Tod hath blossomed " — the rod for thy scourging
hath developed itself and is in readiness for service ; the pride
of thy conquerors flowers out, i. e., into action and life, impelling
them on to war and destruction against thee. The figure in re-
gard to pride follows the previous figure of the rod. Violence
becomes a rod to scourge and punish thy wickedness. Critics
disagree somewhat in the interpretation of the middle clause of
V. 11, where our translators have supplied the words, "shall re-
main." Yet it can not well be doubted that the general sense is,
This violence shall bring upon the Jews a sweeping unsparing
destruction, one which nothing shall survive. The precise render-
ing of the original may be, "There shall be nothing of them^ nor
of their multitude, nor of their wealth." The Hebrew presents a
striking paranomasia in these three leading words here italicized.
The last clause Gesenius renders, "Nor shall aught splendid
remain among them." This is in better harmony with the scope
of the verse than the sense given in the English translation, which
follows the ancient Jewish interpreters.
12. The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the
buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn : for wrath is upon all
the multitude thereof.
13. For the seller shall not return to that which is sold,
although they were yet alive : for the vision is touching the
whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither
shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.
The customary business transactions of life will cease, and with
them the consequent feelings of joy or sorrow Avhich they occa-
sion. Let not the buyer rejoice in his purchase and new acquisi-
tion; it shall avail him nothing. Let not the seller mourn as one
compelled to part with things of fond endearment; it is all the
same to him, for none can retain the choice things they prize most.
The wrath of Grod is upon all the people, to poison all the enjoy-
ments of life. To see the force of this passage, one needs to
bear in mind the wide distinction between the business dealings
of oriental and Hebrew life, and those of our own age and country.
Selling, especially of real estate, was then not a business, but a
necessity. Men sold only when poverty or necessity compelled
them. Hence the presumption that the seller would mourn and
the buyer rejoice. The seller's returning to what he has sold
contemplates that provision of the Hebrew law by which real
estate, having been sold, returned to its former owner at the Jubi-
lee. (Lev. 25: 23.) The prophet says that although the seller
should live to the next Jubilee, yet the country would then be
desolate; there would be no returning to the possession of land
sold. This prophetic vision relates to the whole people, and not
one shall escape this visitation of judgment and doom. It could
avail nothing for any man to make himself strong in his iniquity.
44 EZEKIEL.— CIIAr. VII.
He could by no means withstand the terrible foes whom God was
about to bring down upon the land.
14. They have bloAvn the trumpet, even to make all
ready ; but none goeth to the battle : for my >vrath is upon
all the multitude thereof.
15. The sword is without, and the pestilence and the
famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the
sword; and he that is in the city^ famine and pestilence
shall devour him.
The thought continues from the previous verses. The power of
the Jews to withstand their enemies avails nothing. They blow
the trumpet to call forth the people to war; but none go forth.
They are powerless against those enemies because God's wrath is
upon the whole nation; and what can men do in self-protection
when the mighty God arises in wrath for their destruction ?
16. But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall
be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them
mourning, every one for his iniquity.
Here, as often elsewhere, amid the most terrific threatenings of
universal doom, there breaks forth a glimmering ray of hope for
a very small remnant — a fcAV who shall (as said here) be mourn-
ing over their great sins, even as doves of the valley are noted for
mourning the loss of their mates. Blessed hope ! that some will
repent in bitterness for their sin and return to God sorrowing, to
become the nucleus of the future Zion.
17. All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be
weak as water.
18. They shall also gird themselves wdth sackcloth, and
horror shall cover them : and shame shall be upon all faces,
and baldness upon all their heads.
The discourse returns to its former theme — the fearful retribu-
tions coming on Judah and her people for their great sins. " All
knees shall be weak as water;" the original puts in the bolder
form, "All knees shidljlow with water;" become liquid and weak
as if they were only water. V. 18 groups together the customary
tokens of intense grief and mourning. Horror invests them, be-
coming like' an outside garment, apparent on every face and in
every act and motion.
19. They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their
gold shall be removed : their silver and their gold shall not
be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord :
they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels:
because it is the stumbling-block of their iniquity.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VII. 45
20. As for the beauty of liis ornament, he set it in maj-
esty: but they made the images of their abominations and
of their detestable things therein : therefore have I set it
far from them.
In a day of such calamity, their silver and gold would be of no
account. They would cast their silver down in the public streets,
and throw away their gold as a thing loathed and abominated, for
such is the sense of the Hebrew word rendered '■'■removecV — this
word, as used by our translators, covering an allusion to a special
form of uncleanness, which the original fully sustains. Compare
Ezek. 36 : 17. Gold and silver will not avail them to withstand
the wrath of God or to satisfy their personal wants, because it has
been their temptation — in this sense " the stumbling-block of their
iniquity" — an occasion of their falling into sin. 1 understand
v. 20 to say. The people made use of their beautiful ornaments for
purposes of pride and display. They also made their images of
idols and abominations out of this gold and silver (as in Ex. 32),
and therefore God made this wealth a thing loathed, abhorred and
cast away. Thus God is wont to send judgments so plainly in
the line of men's sins as to remind them perpetually of the sins
which they were sent to scourge.
21. And I will give it into. the hands of the strangers for
a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil ; and they
shall pollute it.
22. My face will I turn also from them, and they shall
pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it,
and defile it.
God will turn his face away from his nominal people, hearing
their prayer and granting them aid no more. Consequently their
enemies shall pollute the Lord's secret place, his inner sanctuary.
the " holy of holies," where his glory had long dwelt. "Robbers'
are men of notorious violence; here, the Chaldean armies.
23. Make a chain : for the land is full of bloody crimes,
and the city is full of violence.
24. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and
they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp
of the strong to cease, and their holy places shall be defiled.
"Make a chain," a new symbol, as if the very land was to be
bound and delivered over a culprit into tlxe hands of the officers of
justice. Their bloody crimes, crimes worthy of death, deserved
such retribution. The passage indicates that atrocious immoralities
filled the land — the natural fruit of such extreme apostasy from
God and of such debasing and polluting idolatry. The word
rendered, "their holy places," may mean tlieir priests^ the class who
by profession consecrated the people to God. Even this sacred order
46 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VII.
of men will be dishonored, treated with extreme indignity and vio-
lence. So the pomp of the strong and the sanctity of the holy ones
should alike fail to screen and save them; should rather conduct
down upon their heads the vengeance of God for their great sins.
25. Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and
there shall he none.
Instead of "destruction," I prefer ^^ horror,''^ as more close to the
sense of the Hebrew and in better keeping with the context. When
a horror of great fear shall fall on them, they shall seek peace, but
in vain.
26. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumor shall
be upon rumor ; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet ;
but the laAV shall perish from the priest, and counsel from
the ancients.
27. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed
with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land
shall be troubled : I will do unto them after their way, and
according to their deserts will I judge them, and they shall
know that I am the Lord.
Like king Saul when the Lord had forsaken him, they shall seek
some vision from the Lord, but he shall make them no reply. He shuts
his ear and gives them no counsel in the day of their imploring cry.
So he said (Prov. 1 : 28), " Then shall they caU upon me, but I will
not answer; they shall seek me early [earnestly], but they shall not
find me." ^Even the king is not too high in station or too much
above the reach of calamity, to come dovra in the dust as a bitter
mourner. These terrible judgments would reach the throne and
carry terror and woe to all hearts. Then the nations abroad, and
the Jewish people no less, will know that the Lord Jehovah is indeed
the Lord — the King of nations and the righteous Judge and Avenger
of the guilty.
Thus closes this section of Ezekiel's prophecies, including chap-
ters 4—7, freighted with threatenings of terrific judgments upon
Jerusalem and Judah for their grievous idolatries and utter apostasy
from their own God. Let us bear in mind that these announce-
ments are made to the Jewish exiles in Chaldea, now only some five
years out from their dear native land, and up to this moment, doubt-
less, full of hope for the future of their country, and very probably,
with high anticipations of themselves returning at no distant day
to enjoy peace and goo4 there. Over these fond hopes, such pre-
dictions must have passed rough-shod like the terrible threshing
sledge of oriental times, crushing them down into shapeless ruin.
Yet this bitter wreck of their cherished hopes was kindly purposed
on God's part to give them a new sense of the awful sin of idolatry
and to open their eyes to the wrath of God against their nation for
this great national sin. It was the Lord's thought of mercy to re-
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VIII. 47
claim arfd save a remnant out of these captives, and it was vital to
its realization that precisely this portrayal of their nation's guilt and
doom should be set vividly before their eyes, that so the moral power
of what was being done in Judah might come with force undimin-
ished by distance upon the hearts of the exiles in Chaldea. We,
too, may fitly pause over these chapters and say. Thus the Lord
shows his high and holy displeasure against sin in his apostate peo-
ple. It is true of him that he abhors sin, and that, after long for-
bearance, the hour of judgment without mercy will surely come.
When it does come, alas ! there will be a fearfulness in the doom
of the guilty before which the stoutest hearts are appalled with ter-
ror ! Verily, it can not be well for sinners to provoke the Almighty
to vengeance ! When God says, " Mine eye shall not spare, neither
will I have pity," woe be to the guilty and helpless sinner ! Why
did he not take the kind forewarning and avert that wrath which
no heart can endure ?
CHAPTER VIII.
This chapter opens a very extraordinary vision, the details of
which fill four chapters (8-11). It has its well-defined date — pre-
cisely two years and two months later than his first vision (chap. 1),
which brought to him the Lord's call into his prophetic office. As
already shown in the notes near the close of chapter 4, the sym-
bolic transaction of besieging Jerusalem and bearing the iniquities
of Israel and Judah, filled up the interval between that vision and
this, and was now just closed. That the transactions recorded in
these four chapters were all seen in vision and not done in the ex-
ternal world, is made abundantly clear by the language which re-
cords them. "The hand of the Lord fell upon me;" ''I saw a like-
ness;" "He put forth the form of a hand and took me by a lock of
mine head," and "the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the
heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem." There
he saw the Shekinah — the visible manifestation of the glory of the
Lord. The scene closes with the statement (chap. 11 : 24, 25),
" After that, the Spirit took me up and brought me bach in a vision
by the Spirit of God into Chaldea to them of the captivity. So the
vision that I had seen went up from me. Then I spake unto them
of the captivity all the things that the Lord had showed me." All
this is perfectly explicit to the point that the scene here is purely
prophetic vision. Xone of his fellow-captives saw it. It was shown
to the prophet only. When it closed, he reported it to them entire.
Every feature in this description conspires to make a clear and un-
questionable case of a pure prophetic vision. The great moral
purposes of this vision are obvious. The Lord aimed to reveal to
his prophet and through him to the exiles, (1.) The horrible abom-
48 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VIII.
inations of iclol worship in various forms as they existed ih Jerusa-
lem and within the very temple of Jehovah: and (2.) The discrimi-
nating judfcments by which the Lord would assuredly sift out and
cut down in his unsparinpi; ven_i:;eance all the guilty idolaters among
his people. These points it was of the utmost consequence to the
captives in Chaldea to understand. As hearing on their own moral
state, it was vital that they should know how deeply guilty the
masses of the people in their native land had become; how much
the elders and the priests were involved in this guilt as indeed the
prime leaders in it by their position and example ; and how terribly
the Lord would destroy them for such horrible apostasy and deprav-
ity. These things would show the exiles that they had no occasion
to sympathize with their suffering brethren as if punished too
severely in the terrible calamities of sie^^e and ruin then closely
impending. They would also be a forcible and most pertinent
warning to themselves to turn away from those same sins as they
would escape a like terrible vengeance.
1. And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth
month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house,
and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the
Lord God fell there upon me.
2. Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of
fije : from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire ;
and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of
brightness, as the color of amber.
3. And he put forth the form of a hand, and took me by
a lock of my head ; and the spirit lifted me up between the
earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God
to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh to-
w^ard the north; where was the seat of the image of jeal-
ousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
As already shown, the days of his lying on his side (chap. 4)
have just closed. He is now at home, sitting quietly in his own
house. The elders of Judah are sitting there before him, deeply
impressed (we may suppose) by the strangeness of that scene, by
its fearful significance, and by the threatenings of judgment on the
guilty city which we have been reading in chapters 5-7. The Lord
proceeds now to another method of presenting, first to the prophet
and then through him to the people, essentially the same ideas — the
sin and the doom of the Jews yet remaining in Jerusalem. The
method of presenting these truths is obviously varied in the hope of
more effectually securing thereby the desired moral impression.
Let us note that this method of presenting to the prophet and to
his fellow-exiles the sin and doom of Jerusalem, reveals not any
human view of those points, but emphatically and precisely God's
vieio of them. The fiicts are shown from (lod's own stand-point.
The observer sees them only and wholly as seen and shown by God
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VIII. 49
himself. Hence this vision teaches us how God looks upon Such
sins as those, among his own covenant people, within his very sanc-
tuary, and also how he discriminatCfS between the innocent and the
guilty ; by what marks he knows and points out the innocent, and
with'^what unsparing vengeance he punishes and* even exterminates
all save those who bear his mark. The glorious personage, pres-
ent to the mind's eye of the prophet in this vision, is the same who
was seen on the movable throne in chap. 1, bearing essentially the
same description as in chap. 1 : 26-2<S, all begirt with fire, and with
a resplendent radiance as of polished brass; the word rendered
''the color of amber," being the same as in chap. 1: 4. The im-
pression of being transported through the air is not unknown in the
phenomena of dreams. How closely analogous this case of pro-
phetic vision may be to the experience of dreams, it is impossible
for any to say save the prophets themselves. Let it suffice us to
rest in the fact that He who made the mind of man must have
ample means for making any impression upon it which he may wish
to make. "The door of the inner gate that looketh toward the
north" IS the temple. This "image of jealousy" is an idol
image which provoked the jealousy of Almighty God. The thought
looks toward the second command, " Thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image," etc. — "thou shalt not bow down thyself to them
nor serve them, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God." In
the last clause of verse 3, the Heb. for the last word is supposed by
Gesenius to mean, "which sells the nation into bondage." Our
translators supposed the word to be only another form of the verb
for being jealous. Neither sense is bad. Some of the ablest modern
critics still adhere to the view of our translators.
4. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there,
according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
5. Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes
now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes
the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate
of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
6. He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou
what they do? even the great abominations that the house
of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my
sanctuary? But turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see
greater abominations.
The "vision seen in the plain" refers to chap. 3: 22, 23. Here
he meets again the same glorious personage as there, in the form of
the ancient Shekinah. This personage speaks to him and leads
him on through the scenes of this vision. Standing in the temple
at Jerusalem and looking toward the north, he sees at the temple
gate, near the great altar of burnt-offering, this idol-image which
provoked the God of Israel to jealousy. His divine Guide calls his
special attention to this first abomination. The clause, " That I
3
60 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VIII.
should go far off from my sanctuary," speaks of those abominations
as compeUlng him to abandon his temple and give it up to destruc-
tion. This was a vital point — the more so because the Jews pre-
si:mptuously assumed that God could not let the city be destroyed
so long as his temple stood there, but must protect the city for his
tcmpies sake. See Notes on Jer. 7: 4. It seems never to have
occurred to them that such abominations would compel the Lord to
abandon his temple and give up both city and temple to destruction.
7. And he brought me to the door of the court ; and when
1 looked, behold a hole in the wall.
8. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the
wall : and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.
9. And he said unto me. Go in, and behold the wicked
abominations that they do here.
10. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of
creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of
the house of Israel, portrayed upon the w^all round about.
11. And there stood before them seventy men of the an-
cients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood
Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer
in his hand ; and a thick cloud of incense w^ent up.
12. Then said he unto me. Son of man, hast thou seen
what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark,
every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say,
The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
There is now opened to the prophet's view a secret "chamber of
imagery," the walls of which are covered with delineations of all
unclean beasts and insects, portrayed here as objects of idolatrous
worship. This species of idols and the manner of delineating them
were obviously Egyptian, borrowed from that laud where almost
every known animal was included among their objects of reverence
and worship. It would seem that this base form of idolatry was
kept somewhat back from public view, in the secret chambers
of the temple. These seventy men of the ancients of the house
of Israel were obviously the Jewish Sanhedrim, the well-known su-
preme council of the nation, always chosen from the elders of the
people. It was their sacred duty to suppress all idolatry; yet here
they are in their retired chambers with every man his censer in his
hand to burn incense to toads and snakes — to every base and abom-
inable creature ! To aggravate the case yet more, there stood in the
midst of them, probably as president of the council, Jaazaniah, the
son of Shaphan. This Shaphan appears in the history of Josiah's
great reformation as a true and noble man ; also in the life of Jere-
miah as the father of Ahikam, that prophet's powerful friend. See
2 Kings 22, and Jer. 26 : 21. If Jaazaniah was now at the head of
the Sanhedrim, and if he was also the son (and not the grandson)
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. VIII. 51
of Shaphan, he must on both grounds have been at this time far
advanced in years, and for this reason his sin in this idol worship
was the greater and the more appalling. Shaphan was somewhat
advanced in years when he appears prominently in Josiah's reforma-
tion; i. e.i in this king's eighteenth year; full thirty years before this
vision. It was, therefore, for many reasons a strong case that Jaaz-
aniah, the son of the good Shaphan and now the president of the
Sanhedrim, hoary with years and perhaps trembling on the brink
of the grave, should be leading on his younger brethren of this great
council in these most base and debasing idolatries. Alas ! how were
the noble fallen ! And how manifestly hopeless of reform must the
nation have become ! The Lord saw their deeds of darkness and
revealed them in vision to his prophet. "Son of man, hast thou
seen?" Take note of it, for it testifies to the deep and hopeless
corruption of the whole people ! Observe what they say. " The
Lord seetli us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth." This was at
least the language of their heart — that inner thought with which
they cast off all fear of God and all just sense of his presence. Per-
haps the Lord does not mean to say that they openly taught this
doctrine to others, or even publicly avowed it ; yet even this would
not be incredible, and if true, would only evince their confirmed
moral hardihood and infatuation. RosenmuUer cites from Am-
mianus Marcellinus, a Latin historian, to the efiect that the Egyp-
tians practiced precisely this form of idol worship in subterranean
recesses, sculpturing on house-walls many kinds of fowls and of
wild beasts which they designated with hieroglyphic characters.
13. He said also unto me, turn thee yet again, and thou
slialt see greater abominations that they do.
14. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the
Lord's house, which ivas toward the north ; and behold, there
sat women weeping for Tammuz.
15. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen tJiis, O son of
man? Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater
abominations than these.
This form of idolatry was Syrian, Tammuz being probably the
celebrated youthful Adonis, over whose untimely (supposed) death,
the Syrian damsels held an annual mourning. As the legend runs,
Adonis was subsequently found alive, or restored from the dead,
whereupon their mourning turns to exuberant joy. Foul and
licentious practices followed. "The finding again was the com-
mencement of a ivake, accompanied by all the usages which in the
East attend such a ceremony — prostitution, cutting off the hair,
cutting the breast with knives, and playing on pipes." (Smith's
Bible Dictionary.)
16. And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's
house, and behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord,
between the porch and the altar, ivere about five and twenty
52 EZEIKEL.— CHAP. VIII.
•
men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and
tlieir faces toward the east; and they worshijied the sun
toward the east.
17. Then he said unto me. Hast thou seen this, O son of
man ? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they
commit the abominations which they commit here ? for they
have filled the land with violence, and have returned to
provoke me to anger: and lo, they put the branch to their
nose.
18. Therefore will I also deal in fury ; mine eye shall not
si^are, neither wdll I have pity: and though they cry in
mine ears with a loud voice, yet w^ill I not hear them.
Here are twenty-five men, their backs to the temple of the Lord,
and their faces eastward, worshiping the sun. As the other
special forms of idolatry were Egyptian and Syrian in their origin,
this is nationally Persian, yet was in most ancient times wide-
spread, and very probably was the earliest form of idolatry. Job
refers to it, chap. 31 : 26-28, "If I beheld the sun when it shined,
or the moon, walking in brightness, and my heart hath been
secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand ; this also were
an iniquity to be punished by the judge; for I should have denied
the God above." The revealing personage now appeals to the
prophet to say if such base idolatries can be accounted a small
thing. Especially considered as practiced by the house of Judah,
the ancient covenant people of the living God, ought He not to
be jealous for his holy name, and take vengeance on such sinners?
Nor was their sin limited to idol worship. Under the influ-
ence of idolatry, the people had become grossly immoral. They
had "filled the land with violence" — the usual phrase to indicate
assaults and murders. Idolatry is the legitimate mother of extreme
immorality. It discards the fear of God, and breaks down all the
restraints that come upon the minds of men from just views of the
great, the pure and the ever-glorious Jehovah. Thus it opens the
floodgates of human depravity. "Putting the branch to the
nose" is thought to refer to a Persian ceremony, practiced in
their worship of the sun and of its symbol, fire. For all these
gi-ievous sins, the Lord will surely scourge and punish his apostate
people ; he will not spare ; and however imploring their cry, he will
not hear! There is a time for prayer; but, that time once past,
there comes another hour which is not the time for prayer. Woe
to the sinner who waits till then ere he lifts up his beseeching cry
for mercy! As bearing on the fearful doom of the incorrigibly
wicked in the future world, this testimony from God himself is
fearfully in point to show that there is a time when cries for mercy
will be unavailing. If there come such hours in tlia lighter judg-
ments of time, what must we not expect amid the fir sorer judg-
ments of eternity!
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. IX. 53
CHAPTER IX.
This chapter continues the subject of the chapter preceding.
The prophet is shown in vision how the Lord discriminates between
his friends and his enemies, to spare the one and to slay the other
without mercj.
1. He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying,
Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near,
even every man ivith his destroying weapon in his hand.
2. And behold, six men came from the w^ay of the higher
gate, Avhicli lietli toward the north, and every man a slaugh-
ter-weapon in his hand ; and one man . among them was
clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side : and
they went in and stood beside the brazen altar.
These men represent the executive agents or ministers of the
Lord's providential government over the city. The object of this
vision is to set before the eye of the prophet the fact of God's retrib-
utive judgments upon the city, and the manner in which his
agents perform their mission. The "man clothed with linen"
is not attired for slaughter. Linen, so commonly worn by the
priests, would have been out of place on the men who bore the
"slaughter-weapons." It was the custom of official scribes to
attach their inkhorn to their girdles. The executioners take their
stand first beside the brazen altar, to begin their work at the point
which best indicated the great sin of the people — the desecration of
God's holy altar.
3. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from
the cherub, w^hereupon he was, to the threshold of the
house. And he called to the man clothed with linen,
which had the writer's inkhorn by his side.
4. And the Lord said unto him. Go through the midst
of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark
upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for
all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
This "glory of the God of Israel" I take to be the Shekinah
of the Mosaic economy (see Ex. 29: 43, and 40: 34, 35, and 1 Kings
8 : 11). Its resting-place was over and upon the cherubim whose
outspread wings covejed the mercy-seat or lid of the ark of testi-
mony. This removal to the threshold seems to have the twofold
object; (1) of indicating that he was soon to withdraw from this
desecrated and doomed temple; and (2) of placing himself in nearer
proximity to the executioners of his vengeance as if to supervise and
direct their movements. Chap. 10 • 18 notes the return of this
Shekinah to his usual position. The godly men of the city must
first be discriminated and marked before the wicked are slain. So
54 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. IX.
in tlie end of the world : " lie shall separate them one from another
as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the j^oats, and he shall set
the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left" (Mat.
25 : 32, 33). Judgment can never proceed till this separation is first
provided for. The Ijearcr of the writer's inkhorn knows his men
by their tears and sighs. It is assumed to be impossible that any
one can be truly the friend of God and not be agonized in view of
the abominations done in the holy city.
This then is the sole criterion for the discrimination. The man
with the inkhorn asks for no one's professions, or claims, or hopes.
He asks only for these most reliable tests of the heart — the tears
and outcries of bitter grief by which those whose hearts were really
with God must indicate the anguish they feel in view of such awful
abominations. Man may look on the outward appearance; God
looks on the heart.
5. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye
after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye
spare, neither have ye pity :
6. Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little
children, and women: but come not near any man upon
whom is the mark ; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they
began at the ancient men which loere before the house.
7. And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the
courts vv^ith the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth,
and slew in the city.
The destroyers followed — did not precede — the man with the ink-
horn. But they followed close behind him. They spared every
man who bore the mark, but none other. Whoever was not for
God^ decidedly, strongly, with his real heart — was adjudged to be
against him, and was cut down accordingly. There was no recog-
nition of any neutral class. The commissions given respectively to
the man who marked and to the men who slew, utterly precluded
the possil)ility of any neutrality in the case. The men who did not
care for the honor of God, and who had no tears to shed over these
abominations, were at once cut down as God's enemies. No matter
how civil and quiet they may have l)een ; no matter how much they
may have consulted their ease or their personal standing and in-
fluence, or any other form of personal consideration; if they did
not sigh and cry over the utter desecration of Jehovali's name and
temple, law and worship, they were accounted his enemies and met
their doom with the wicked. "Begin at my sanctuary" — tliere
where the nation's sin had culminated and assumed its most out-
rageous and horrid forms, — there let judgment begin. Those ''an-
cient men" were obviously the Jewish Council. See 8: 11.
Some might think that God would spare his temple the defilement
of this scene of slaughter. No, indeed. The guilty Jews have des-
ecrated it with their al)ominations : let it be cleansed with their
blood. The Lord accounts it no defilement, but rather a cleansing
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. IX. * 55
by means of righteous retribution, to fill the courts of the temple
with mangled corpses and fresh gore.
8. And it came to pass while they were slaying them,
and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and
said, Ah, Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of
Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem ?
9. Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of
Israel and Judali is exceeding great, and the land is full
of blood, and the city full of perverseness : for they say,
The Lord hath forsaken the earth ; and the Lord seeth not.
10. And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither
will I have pity, but I will recompense their way uj)on
their head.
The impulses of the prophet's humanity and love for his country
and people stand out here with beautiful simplicity. Seeming to
himself to stand almost alone, one living man among the heaps of
dead, his natural thought and utterance are, "Ali, my God! Wilt
thou destroy the whole nation ? In this scene of retribution on the
guilty Jews, are there none at all to be spared?" The Lord
answers that their iniquity is exceeding great ; that the land is full
of the blood of personal violence, outrages and murders; and the
city full of perverseness — the wresting of judgment, the violation of
every personal and sacred right — these sinners practically saying,
"There is no God here; he does not see us; he has gone up from
the earth." See 8: 12. Because of these outrages and horrible
abominations and immoralities, the Lord must give scope to judg-
ment without mercy. He can not pardon; he must not spare.
11. And behold, the man clothed with linen, which had
the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have
done as thou hast commanded me.
The man with the inkliorn reports the fulfillment of his com-
mission. It is not intimated that the men with slaughter-weapons
made any report. The difierence in the two cases indicates the
special interest felt by the Lord in the men Avho are to be saved
and in the faithful execution of his commission in their behalf.
Judgment, here as ever, is his strange work; mercy, his delight.
The spirit of vengeance does not for one moment eclipse his love for
his people, or abate from his wakeful and never-waning interest in
their welfare. The moral force of this entire scene is of the very
highest order, and is scarcely surpassed by any thing found in the
sacred scriptures. The Jerusalem of that age represents the cor*
rupt church of God — the case of his chosen people when fearfully
apostate from God, so utterly corrupt indeed that the Lord can spare
no longer, but turns to terrible judgment. One of the points of
most vital significance (as already shown) is the principle on which
the discrimination is made between God's friends and his enemies.
56 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. X.
This can not be studied too carefully or with too much close and
thorough self-application. How many on this principle would be
spared in our church or community? Should 1 be among them?
Judged by the test of my licart's real and expressed sympathy,
should 1 have my place with God's friends or his foes?
CHAPTER X.
This chapter is a continuation of the same vision. The scene
presented here is substantially a reappearance of that recorded in
chap. 1. The glorious iShckinah, the cherubim, their wings, bodies,
the wheels attending them, the common inspiration that moved them
all, and the same law of their motion directly forward without turn-
ing; these are the leading features here and also there. This de-
scription differs from that in a few minor points. The word " cherub "
here answers for the most part to the word "living creature" there.
Here the entire number of cherubim seem to constitute one " living
creature" (vs. 15, 20). The "throne" is named here, only in v. 1.
In other cases the "living creature" appears directly under the God
of Israel (vs. 4, 19, 20). While these symbols have the same ob-
jects as those of chap. 1, viz., to impress the prophet's mind with
the unutterable majesty and glory of the God of Israel, especially
as developed in his providential agencies for the government of na-
tions and for judgment on the guilty, they have each their specific
differences. The scenes of chap. 1 were specially adapted to the
inauguration of the prophet into his work. Those of chap. 10 were
adapted to the purposes of this vision (chaps. 8-11), particularly to
show that the consuming fire, cast upon the guilty city came forth
from underneath the throne of God, wielded by the omnipotent
agencies which underlie that moving throne; and further, to show
also that the manifested presence of the glory of God "was preparing
to leave his long occupied place in the sacred temple. These
general remarks comprise most of the explanations which this chap-
ter requires.
1. Then I looked, and behold, in the firmament that ivas
above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them
as it were a sapphire stone, and the appearance of the like-
ness of a throne.
I understand this passage to say that Avhat seemed to be a throne
was brilliant like a sappliire stone and rested on the firmament which
itself reposed on the heads of the cherubim.
2. And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and
said. Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and
fill thy hand with coals of lire from between the cherubims,
•EZEKIEL.— CHAP. X. 57
and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my
sight.
The throne before spoken of inplied the presence of the king
who sat upon it, who now accosts the man clothed in linen. As
already intimated, this fire taken from between the wheels under-
neath the cherubim, to be cast upon the guilty city, indicated that
terrific judgments from the agencies of God's providence were about
to consume it. It is a significant fact that the executive agent here
should be the man in linen who in chap. 9 has no other function
save to mark in their foreheads the men who bewailed the abomi-
nations of the guilty people. But God has no class of servants too
holy or sacred to act as his agents, if need be, in the execution of
his righteous judgments. It certainly corresponds with his arrange-
ments in this loorld to use them in representing, symbolizing and
setting before the minds of the people, these most fearful judgments.
The gospel minister who wears holy linen in God's temple must not
shrink from proclaiming to the wicked both their guilt and their
fiery doom.
3. Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the
honse, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the
inner court.
4. Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub,
and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house
was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the
brightness of the Lord's glory.
5. And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even
to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when
he speaketh.
That the Shekinah removed from his usual place over the mercy-
seat and stood over the threshold indicates (as said in notes on chap.
9: 3) that he was preparing to depart from that polluted temple.
It may also have been a more appropriate i^osition from which to
direct and observe the movements then at hand. The sublime
and impressive sound of the wings of the cherubims when they
moved was profiiihent in the vision of chap. 1. See chap. 1 : 24, 25,
6. And it came to pass, tliat when he had commanded
the man clothed with linen, saying. Take fire from between
the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in
and stood beside the wheels.
7. And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between
the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims,
and took thereof, and put it into the hands of liim that ivas
clothed with linen: w^ho took it, and went out.
8. And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a
man's hand under their wings.
58 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. X!
That a man clothed with linen should take both hands full of fire,
unharmed, would be a most impressive symbol. Nothint!; is incon-
gruous in dreams. The symbol, however, has none the less force
because the thing would be impossible in real life.
9. And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the
cherubims, one Avheel by one cherub, and another wheel by
another cherub : and the appearance of the Avheels tvas as
the color of beryl stone.
10. And as for their appearances, they four had one like-
ness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a w^heel.
11. When they went, they went vipon their four sides;
they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the
head looked they followed it ; they turned not as they went.
12. And their whole body, and their backs, and their
hands, and their wings, and tlie w^heels, were full of eyes
round about, even the wheels that they four had.
13. As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hear-
ing, O wheel!
14. And every one had four faces : the first face ivas the
face of a cherub, and the second face ivas the face of a man,
and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of
an eagle.
15. And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living
creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.
The points made here were mostly presented in chap. 1. The
cry, "0 wheel!" seems intended to reco^iinize them as inspired with
intelligence and consciousness — the Spirit of God dwelling within
them and energizing all their activities. This view is given also in
chapter 1. The clause (vs. 1, 5), "This is the living creature that
I saw by the river Chebar," refers to the scenes of the first chapter.
16. And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by
them: and when the cherubims lifted up their wrings to
mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not
from beside them.
17. When they stood, these stood; and when they were
lifted up, these lifted up themselves also : for the sj)irit of
the living creature was in them.
18. Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the
threshold of the house and stood over the cherubims.
19. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted
up from the earth in my sight: when they w^nt out, the
wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the
door of the east gate of the Lord's house ; and the glory of
the God of Israel was over them above.
EZEKIEL— CHAP. XI.
r)9
20. This is the living creature that I saw under the God
of Israel by the river of Chebar ; and I knew that they were
the cherubims.
21. Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four
wings ; and the likeness of the hands of a man luas under
their wings.
22. And the likeness of their faces luas the same faces
which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and
themselves : they went every one straight forward.
These points have been before us. It only remains to suggest
that these symbols are repeated in this vision of judgments on Jeru-
salem to show that the agencies for its destruction were precisely
those which were symbolized by the wonderful phenomena of the
moving throne of God, In his government over the nations of men,
God wields the agencies of judgment and retribution at his pleasure,
with resources ineffably vast and glorious. 0, if we might only see
them with unveiled eye, it might befall us as it befell the servant of
EHsha when his master prayed, "Lord, open his eyes that he may
see." "And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he
saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of
fire round about Elislia" (2 Kings 6: 17).
CHAPTER XL
This chapter continues the same vision and brings it to its close.
While the prophet is in vision at Jerusalem, he sees some of
the princes of leading influence in wickedness and is directed to
prophesy to them. While doing so, one of them, Pelatiah, falls
dead. From this point, the strain of the vision changes. In answer
to the prophet's expostulation, the Lord shows him that although the
Jews in Jerusalem are proud, exclusive, and hopelessly hardened,
yet it is his purpose to save a precious remnant from among the ex-
iles and give them wholly a new spirit and a tender heart. With
this, the \-ision closes.
1. Moreover, the spirit lifted me up, and brought me
unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh east-
ward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty
men ; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and
Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
2. Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men
that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city :
3. Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this
city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.
60 . EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XI.
A new scene opens. The divine Spirit puts the prophet into a
new position at the east .iiatc of the temple where he sees twenty-
five men of leading influence, among whom he recognizes and names
two who were princes among the people. These are the men who
had seduced the people into deeper sin, perpetually counteracting
the labors of the Lord's faithful prophets. V. 3 quotes some of their
language. The English version of the first clause, "It is not near;
let us build houses," means, The judgments threatened against us
are yet far remote ; let us go on as usual in the pursuits of peaceful
life. The original, however, presents some rather serious difficulties
in this construction, particularly in the form of the verl> rendered,
"Let us build," which is the infinitive construct. A different view
is, therefore, proposed, thus : " The time for building houses is not
near; we have war upon us, or near impending; this is a time of
calamity. Let us meet it with whatever sacrifices of the common
comforts of life may be necessary. We need not fear being ousted
from the city. This city is to us the caldron — the pot in which flesh
is boiled. We are the flesh. As the flesh remains in the pot as
its place and home, so shall we remain in this city." The latter
of these two constructions, I, on the whole, prefer. The figure of
the pot or caldron appears again somewhat amplified in chap. 24.
So far as its significance is developed here, it obviously meant one
thing as used by the princes, and another as used by the prophet.
As indicated above, they used it only in a good sense — the pot mak-
ing a home for the flesh put therein, as the city was in their view to
be the home for its population, in contradistinction to being driven
out into exile. The prophet, by a quick turn, plays on the figure
and gives it a new significance. The city is indeed (he would say)
your caldron, and ye are flesh, in it, but not flesh in the sense of
living men sheltered in a peaceful home, but in a sense more in
keeping with the figure — dead flesh put into the pot to be boiled
thoroughly and then brought forth for another form of destruction !
4. Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of
man.
5. And the spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto
me, Speak ; Thus saith the Lord ; Thus have ye said, O
house of Israel : for I know the things that come into your
mind, every one of them.
In the clause, "The things that come up into your mind," the
prominent Hebrew word seems rather to mean, the aspirations ; the
high and raised hopes of your souls. God knew how full they were,
of vain self-confidence.
6. Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have
filled the streets thereof with the slain.
7. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Your slain Avhom
ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XI. *61
city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the
midst of it.
8. Ye have feared the sAVord; and I will bring a sword
upon you, saith the Lord God.
9. And I will . bring you out of the midst thereof, and
deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute
judgments among you.
10. Ye shall fall by the sword ; I will judge you in the
border of Israel ; and ye shall knoAV that I am the Lord.
11. This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye
be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in
the border of Israel:
12. And ye shall know that I am the Lord : for ye have
not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments,
but have done after the manners of the heathen that are
round about you.
It fe supposable that this slaughter was then yet future but near
and thought of as certain, and as the legitimate fruit of their per-
nicious influence. Hence they might well be charged with the
responsible guilt of it. The prophet turns their figure to a terri-
ble significance. The heaps of slaughtered men, soon to fill this
city, are to be the flesh, held by this city as a caldron holds animal
flesh. The living God will bring them forth out of this city into a
bitter exile. "The hands of strangers" will bear them far away.
When the Lord said (v. 11), "This city shall 7iot be your cal-
dron," etc., he meant, it shall not be so in your sense of that figure.
For they would surely be driven out of their city and land. " I
will judge you in the border of Israel," implies that they shall be
removed from the city, and shall meet some of their judgments
on the borders of their land. This may allude to the fact that
Zedekiah and many of his princes were brought to trial at Eiblah,
just on the northern border of Israel, and there received their sen-
tence and doom (Jer. 52: 8-11, 2G, 27). The reason for this ter-
rible doom is fitly stated: "For ye have not walked in my statutes,
neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manner of
the heathen."
13. And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah
the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face,
and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord God ! wilt
thou make a full end of- the remnant of Israel ?
In order to confirm this prophecy to the people, and not least, to
give the prophet himself an impressive sense of the terrible sig-
nificance of the things now shown to him and announced by him,
all suddenly while heis speaking, Pelatiah falls dead ! The prophet
falls on his face and cries out, "Ah, Lord God, wilt thou make a
full end of the remnant of Israel?" Shall none be left? Are the
62 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XL
people of God to Ije exterminated and no seed be left to replant the
land, and rebuild the Zion of the Lord ? The shock of such an
appalling death impresses him with this painful fear, to which the
Lord kindly responds in the verses following.
14. Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
15. Sou of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men
of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly are they
unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said. Get you
from the Lord : unto us is this land given in possession.
16. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Although I
have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I
have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to
them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall
come.
The import of v. 15 I take to be this: The people now remaining
in Jerusalem, in their proud exclusiveness and vain self-confidence,
are saying to yourself, to your relatives, and to all the house of
Israel who are with you in your present exile in Chaldea, '■''Be
gone ! The Lord has cast you out of his city and far away from his
presence. You shall have no part any more in this city or in the
God of your fathers. The city and land are- given to us for our
permanent possession." To which the Lord replies; "Although
I have cast out the people who are with you into exile, yet I will
surely befriend them ; will bless to them this very exile ; and will
be their sanctuary in the sense of refuge in the countries where
they shall be." 1 prefer to construe the word '■'■little^' not as
meaning small applied to sanctuary^ but as meaning short in refer-
ence to time^ indicating that for a little time he will reveal himself
as their refuge and help in this foreign land. The exile ^should be
short. Through its brief duration God would be their sanctuary.
Although they were cast forth from the outward sanctuary at Jeru-
salem, yet God would be their real sanctuary in their exile. His
presence was infinitely more and better than the temple walls reared
by Solomon. Shortly afterward, the prophet sees the Lord leav-
ing the earthly temple (v. 23).
17. Therefore say. Thus saith the Lord God ; I will even
gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the
countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you
the land of Israel.
18. And they shall come thither, and they shall take
away all the detestable things thereof and all the abomina-
tions thereof from thence.
19. And I -will give them one heart, and I will put a new
spirit within you ; and I will take the stony heart out of
their flesh, and will give thein an heart of flesh :
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XI. 63
20. That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine
ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and
I will be their God.
The Lord will bring this remnant home to their native land.
They shall exterminate every vestige of idolatry and put away all
those abominations which had been the ruin of their nation; and
to crown all, God will give them "one heart'' — not a heart di-
vided between God and Satan — the holy temple and abominable
idols; but one hearty true and pure; and "a new spirit," all
unlike what they had before. These precious promises, clothed
in strong but plain words, reappear somewhat amplified in chap. 36.
Their rich and precious significance lies in the point that the Lord
will put his own hand to the work of their thorough reformation ;
that he will reach their very hearts ; that he will radically cure their
horrible propensity to idolatry, and will turn their heart wholly to
himself. So turned and so renewed in heart and spirit, they will
walk in his statutes and keep his ordinances with a willing, loving
heart. They will be truly the Lord's people, and the Lord himself
will be their God. Let us bless the God of love for such prom-
ises, and pray that their fullness of meaning may be granted in
glorious measure to his Zion of these latter days. As these words
stand here, their first installment of realization must be assigned to
the restoration under Zerubbabel; — their first, but not their last.
For, beyond a question, these promises in their ample range are
Messianic, and pertain to the gospel age, and preeminently to those
latter times of tliis age when " all shall know the Lord from the least
to the greatest."
21. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart
of their detestable things and their abominations, I will
recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord
God.
Some will repel the divine mercy, and will still walk after their
detestable idols. All such must receive the terribly fearful but just
retribution of God upon their guilty heads. It was of the utmost
importance for its moral bearings that ^is statement should be
made, fastening on every man his own responsibility for his own
moral conduct. Even this great baptism of regenerating mercy and
power does* not shut off the personal agency of the people. Those
who thrust God away and vrill "always resist the Holy Ghost,"
giving their heart still to their abominations, must perish in their
sins.
22. Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the
wheels beside them; and the glory. of the God of Israel was
over them above.
23. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst
64 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XII.
of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the
cast side of the city.
The visible divine glory now leaves the city and rests on the
moifntain toward the east, Mount Olivet; indicating that he is soon
to depart and leave the city to its doom.
24. Afterward the S2:)irit took me up, and brought me in
a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the
captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
25. Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the
things that the Lord had shewed me.
The scenes of the vision have closed ; the prophet is consciously
brought back to Chaldea; and now rehearses to the people in exile
there, all that the Lord had shown him. It Avas the main purpose
in placing these matters in vision before the prophet that he might
present them to the people then in exile. The points made in the
various scenes of this one vision were all of them intensely vital to
their moral position — adapted to dissipate their vain hopes in regard
to the permanence of the city, to impress them with a sense of its
horrid guilt, and to show them that God had designs of mercy to-
ward themselves, if only they would turn from their idols and give
him their heart undivided.
CHAPTER Xn.
In this chapter the prophet by divine direction makes himself a
suggestive sign of the people going into captivity, vs. 1-16 ; cats his
bread with trembling to denote the terror of the inhabitants of Jeru-
salem and Israel, vs. 17-20; and rebukes their presumption in
assuming that the predictions of judgments borne to them by the
prophets referred only to some far-distant time, vs. 21-28.
1. The word of the Lord also came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious
house, which have eyes to see, and see not ; they have cars
to hear, and hear not : for they are a rebellious house.
It is implied here that the spirit of rebellion blinded the people,
becoming a perpetual temptation to them to shut their eyes and re-
fuse to see God and their duty — to hear his warnings and their
doom. They might see, but would not. This is the precise sense
of having eyes to see, but yet seeing not. Compare Isa. 6 : 9, and
42: 20; Mat. 13: 13-15, and Acts 28: 25-27. This propensity to
eelf-blindness is adduced here as a reason for one more effort to put
the near impending captivity of Judah and Jerusalem palpably before
the eyes of the exiles in Chaldea, in the hope that so they will b©
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XII. 65
made to see and apprehend it as true. It is well here to note
definitely how the subject matter of this chapter stands related on
the one hand to the exiles among whom Ezekiel was living, and on
the other, to the people yet remaining in Judah and Jerusalem to
whom those prophecies referred more or less directly. We must
assume the closest sympathy between the exiles and their brethren
yet in their native land. The exiles clung to the belief that the city
and the nation were safe, and that they themselves were soon to
return. Now there was practically no hope of their being brought
to repentance till these illusions were dispelled. Hence these varied
and persistent efforts of the Lord through Ezekiel to impress the
exiles with a sense of the incorrigible wickedness, the damning
guilt, and the certain and near impending doom of the holy city
and of the people of Judah. Here "the rebellious house" (v. 2)
is primarily the body of the exiles among whom the prophet then
lived. This significant symbol of removing into captivity was placed
before them in order to make a strong impression on their mind.
The captivity referred to was that of Zedekiah, then king of Judah.
In like manner, the prophet (vs. 17-20) eats his bread with
trembling to give the exiles a more impressive sense of the condition
of the people of Jerusalem in the approaching siege. The proverb
referred to (v. 22) was in vogue "in the land of Israel;'' but its re-
buke and refutation were immensely needed for the exiles in Chal-
dea. These points are important toward a clear apprehension of
the scope of this chapter.
3. Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for re-
moving, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt
remove from thy place to another place in their sight ; it
may be they "will consider, though they he a rebellious
house.
4. Then shalt thou bring forth' thy stuif by day in their
sight, as stuff for removing : and thou shalt go forth at even
in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.
5. Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry
out thereby.
6. In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders,
and carry it forth in the twilight : thou shalt cover thy face,
that thou see not the ground : for I have set thee for a sign
unto the house of Israel.
7. And I did so as I was commanded : I brought forth
my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I
digged through the wall w4th my hand ; I brought it forth
in the twilight, and I bare it upon my shoulder in their
sight.
This is not a thing seen in vision, but a thing done in fact. For
the prophet is commanded to do it, and to do it " in the sight" of the
66 EZEKlEL.— CHAP. XII.
people ; and he testifies that he did do it. Its symbolic import wag
to represent the going forth of the prince and people of Jerusalem
from their city into captivity. The special points of the representa-
tion were, (1.) Providing for himself the requisite apparatus for
carrying a few indispensable things — his knapsack or traveling
bag — for this is the meaning of the Hebrew word rendered ^'' stuff ^'
which is not his baggage, but his bag — that in v^diich he carried his
baggage. ^-(2.) He was to go out of his house, not through the
door, but through a hole which he dug in the wall. This repre-
sented the mode of Zedekiah's escape from the city, as given by
Jeremiah (chap. 39: 4); "And when Zedekiah the king of Judah
saw them (the Chaldean ofl&cers) and all the men of war {i. e., saw
them to be really within the city) then they fled and went forth
out of the city by night by the way of the king's garden, between
the two walls (a private exit), and he went out the way of the
plain." This corresponded to digging through the wall of one's
house instead of going out at the door. Compare also Jer. 52 : 7,
and 2 Kings 25: 4-6. (3.) He was to go out by night, bearing
his valuables on his shoulder. This corresponds also with the time
of Zedekiah's flight. (4.) He covered his face so as not to see
the ground, to indicate the bitter grief of the king and of his people
when at last their hopes were crushed and they were compelled to
leave — he his throne and they their city and homes — for the doubt-
ful chances of escape, and the probable doom of death or captivity.
So David, fleeing from Absalom, " went weeping and with his head
covered" (2 Sam. 15 : 30). This may also have referred to the fiict
that Zedekiah had his eyes put out at Riblah and was taken blind
as well as bound to Babylon (Jer. 39 : 7).
8. And in tlie morning came the word of the Lord unto
me, saying,
9. Son of man, liath not the house of Israel, the rebell-
ious house, said unto thee. What doest thou ?
10. Say thou unto them. Thus saith the Lord God, This
burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the
house of Israel that are among them.
11. Say I am your sign : like as I have done, so sliall it
be done unto them : they sliall remove and go into captivity.
Has this symbolic and strange transaction failed to excite the
attention of this stupid, self-blinded people? This seems to be the
implication in this question v. 9. But if so, let ns still persist in
the effort to get this truth into their mind. Go therefore and say
unto them, "This burden" ^alwa3'S a prediction of calamity) "refers
to the king in Jerusalem' (Zedekiah) "and to all the house of
Israel that are among them" — the house of Israel being the people
of the city, and the wo.id ^'' them" among whom they were, referring
perhaps to the army largely drawn from other parts of the country.
It therefore related especially to the king and his army, not exclud-
ing the people of the city yet surviving. Ezekicl is accustomed to
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XII. 67
call the king by this name, "the prince." (See chap. 7: 27, and
21 : 25. jBay also, "I am your sign." The Lord directed me to
do this thing to represent to you the doom of Jerusalem, and of its
king and people. They are destined to go into captivity.
12. And the prince that is among them shall bear upon
his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth : they shall
dig through the wall to carry out thereby : he shall cover
his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes.
13. My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be
taken in my snare : and I Avill bring him to Babylon to the
land of the Chaldeans, yet shall he not see it, though he
shall die there.
14. And I will scatter toward every wind all that are
about him to help him and all his bands ; and I will draw
out the sword after them.
15. And they shall know that I am the Lord, v/hen I
shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in
the countries.
The symbol was to have its precise fulfillment in Zedekiah who
should in like manner bear away his little parcel of valuables ; dig
through the wall for a private exit, and go away in the sadness ot
his grief as one whose face is covered and who sees not the
ground. Kemarkably Ezekiel makes no mention of Zedekiah' s
loss of his eyes, and gives no clue to explain the apparent enigma
of his being brought to Babylon and dying there, yet never seeing
it. Jeremiah solves this enigma by recording that the king of
Babylon put out his eyes at Kiblah, and afterward bound him with
chains to carry him to Babylon (Jer. 39 : 7). Ezekiel had no
solicitude to make out the truth of his own predictions by showing
their fulfillment. To this fact of his not seeing Babylon, the
prophet's going forth with his face so covered that he saw not the
ground, seems to have had a somewhat special reference. God
did scatter his army widely, first over the country of Judah and
ultimately into E^ypt and elsewhere. (See Jer. 39 : 4, 5, and 40 :
7-10, and 41 : 11-18, and chap. 42 : 44.
16. But I will leave a few men of them from the sword,
from the famine, and from the pestilence ; that they may
declare all their abominations among the heathen whither
they come ; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
One purpose in sparing a small remnant was that they might
testify among the heathen nations that the destruction of Jerusalem
and Judah was a judgment from God for their great sins of idol-
worship. They might bear this testimony either orally and pur-
posely; or indirectly and without purpose, by what was apparent
in their life and in their doom.
68 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XII.
17. Moreover the word of the Lord come to me, saying,
18. Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink
thy water with trembling and with carefulness ;
19. And say unto the peojole of the land. Thus saith the
Lord God of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land
of Israel ; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and
drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be
desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of
all them that dwell therein.
20. And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste,
and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I
am the Lord.
This too was a symbolic act. The prophet was to eat his bread
and drink his water with manifest perturbation, as one trembling
in dread of some dire calamity. This the Lord himself applies to
the people of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel. It indicated
the terror they were doomed to feel. The comprehensive thing
here named as the moral cause of this terror is, "the violence of
all" the people in the land. So God sent the flood because "the
earth was full of violence." Assaults, assassinations, murders,
were rife — testifying how utterly men had lost the fear of God and
cast off the restraints of even common morality. But here, as
ever, men shall know that the Lord is truly God, the fearful Judge
and Destroyer of the wicked.
21. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
22. Son of man, what is that j)roverb that ye have in the
land of Israel, saying. The days are prolonged, and every
vision faileth?
23. Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord God : I will
make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it
as a proverb in Israel ; but say unto them. The days are at
hand, and the effect of every vision.
24. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flat-
tering divination within the house of Israel.
25. For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that
I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more pro-
longed : for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the
word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God.
"Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,
therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do
evil" (Ec. 8: 11). In those days also, "there were scoffers who
said, Where is the promise of his coming?" This presumption
manifested itself in the Israel of that age. It had even passed into
a proverb — so commonly AA%as it said and so persistently was this
delusion cherished — that the days of predicted evil had been post-
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XII. 69
poned far into the future, and every vision was failing as to any
practical application to the generation then living. The prophet
is commanded to confront this delusion and assure the people that
the days were near at hand, and that the real thing predicted in every
vision would soon be fulfilled. The word "effect" does not so pre-
cisely express the Hebrew as event — i. e., the fact predicted to take
place. The Lord would soon put an end to the flattering and
false predictions of the prophets by astounding the people with the
judgments he had long since foretold. He says, I will speak and
the thing shall be speedily done and no more "prolonged," i. e.,
postponed or delayed.- iSo it often happens that wicked m«n cut
short the period of God's forbearance, and hasten up the day of
swift, inexorable retribution by their scofl&ng and their abuse of his
long forbearance and delay. Ah, how terribly must those judg-
ments fall which the wicked thus madly pluck down on their own
guilty heads ! As if they were weary of waiting through the long
period in which God waits in long-suflering mercy for them to
repent! Their bold and scoffing impiety contemns the Almighty
and compels him to close the period of his sparing mercy suddenly,
and bid Justice do its work!
26. Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
27. Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say,
The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he
prophesieth of the times that are far off.
28. Therefore say unto them. Thus saith the Lord God ;
There shall none of my wor^s be prolonged any more, but
the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord
God.
Essentially the same thought is here repeated. They say, The
prophet's visions are ofttimes far remote; but God responds; None
of my words are to be long deferred ; what I have said shall be
done speedily. Let no man trifle with the threatened judgments
of the Almighty! That doom which overhangs all the wicked in
the world to come may break all suddenly, and O, how fearfully, on
the head of any one of the proud sinners who to-day are presuming
it will come only in the far distant future, and joerhaps never!
Such presumption often cuts short the day of grace which God
would fain prolong.
70 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIII.
CHAPTER Xm.
In this chapter the Lord rebukes the false prophets, vs. 1-16, and
the false prophetesses vs. 17-23, denouncing wars and judgments
upon thcni, and pledging himself to deliver his people from their
pernicious influence.
1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel
that -prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out
of their own hearts. Hear ye the word of the Lord ;
3. Thus saith the Lord God ; Wo unto the foolish proph-
ets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
False prophets were a fearful curse to the people in this corrupt
age. Jeremiah had occasion to expose and rebuke their devices re-
peatedly. See Jer. 14: 13-16, and 23: 9-40, and 27 and 28. It
appears, even in Jeremiah, that there were false prophets not in
Judea only, but among the exiles in Chaldea. See Jer. 29 : 15-32
and notes there. Consequently, they withstood Ezekiel's influence
in Chaldea as they had Jeremiah's in Judea. The Lord, therefore,
most pertinently sends them, by his prophet, this caustic and scath-
ing message. They are here described forcibly and truly as those
who prophesied out of their own heart and not from God ; following
their own spirit, and not the Spirit of the Lord ; foolish in the sense
of lying and impious ; men who pretended to have seen visions from
God, but who had seen nothing.
4. O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
5. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up
the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in
the day of the Lord.
False prophets are pertinently compared to foxes, since Israel was
the Lord's vine, and "the little foxes spoiled the vines" (Cant. 2: 5);
and because they came in through the breaches in the garden Avail,
and the rents in the inclosing hedge, and thus djd the more mis-
chief because of these weak points in the gardener's means of pro-
tection. They never set themselves to repair these breaches, as
God's true shepherds would have done; but they either perpetrate
the more mischief, or slink away into the desert, reckless of all re-
sponsibility for repairing the vineyard walls and hedges. See Ezek.
22: 30. "And I sought for a man among them, that should make
up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I
should not destroy it: but I found none." In v. 5 there seems to
be a double figure; a breach in the inclosure of the vineyard as
above explained ; and a breach in the city walls through which the
enemy are forcing their way in battle in the day of the Lord's
vengeance upon the city. In the latter emergency, all true patriots
rush to the breach, to repair it if possible, or at least to confront the
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIII. 71
foe at this point of chief peril. These false prophets had no such
patriotism. A change of person as from "they," addressed to
"Israel," in v. 4, to "ye," the false prophets in v. 5, is by no means
uncommon in the HebrcAV writers.
6. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying,
The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and
they have made others to hope that they would confirm the
word.
7. Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not
spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say. The Lord saith
it ; albeit I have not spoken ?
"Vanity," here, (as usual) in the sense of Msehood. They
claimed to be sent of God, and made use of the established formula
of prophecy, "the Lord saith;" when in fact the Lord had said
nothing to them at all. Yet they made some of the people believe
them, or at least hope that their words would prove true. In v. 7
the interrogative repeats the thought in a stronger form, appealing
to themselves to say if this charge of lying were not true.
8. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have
spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against
you, saith the Lord God.
9. And my hand shall be upon the prophets that see van-
ity, and that divine lies : they shall not be in the assembly
of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing
of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land
of Israel ; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.
Because of this great sin, the Lord declares himself committed
against them for their destruction. They shall not be counted in
the assemblies of God's people, but shall be excommunicated, cut
off utterly, never more to have any portion in the land of the
Lord. "Written in the writing of the house of Israel," means,
having their names stand in the register of his people, with allusion
to the early Hebrew practice of keeping a genealogical list of all the
tribes, families, and souls, that belonged to the nation. Extracts
from this register appear repeatedly, e. g.^1 Chron. chapters 1-9.
When God should fulfill this threatening, they would know that he is
truly God, faithful to his word and mighty in resources to fulfill all
he ever threatens.
10. Because, even because they have seduced my people,
saying, Peace ; and there was no peace : and one built up a
wall, and lo, others daubed it with unterapered mortar:
11. Say unto them which daub it with untempered mor-
tar-, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower;
and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind
shall rend it.
72 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIII.
12. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto
you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it^
13. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will even rend
it with a stormy wind in my fury ; and there shall be an
overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in
my fury to consume it
14. So will I break down the Avail that ye have daubed
with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground,
so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it
shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof:
and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
15. Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and
upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar,
and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they
that daubed it;
16. To ivit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy con-
cerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her,
and there is no peace, saith the Lord' God.
The false prophets seduced the people by promising them peace
from God when God had not promised peace, but had predicted
ruin. The figure of a wall, built up and plastered with Avorthless
mortar, looks somewhat to the similar allusion in v. 5. The false
prophets did not rush into the deadly breach and breast the foe
there, nor did they labor to close up the rent hedge; but they did
build up a miserable wall of protection for the people and plaster it
with mortar that had no cohesive power ; in other Avords, their lies
allayed those fears of the people which God sought to arouse, and
also inspired hopes of peace which God sought to dispel, that he
might press them to look to himself alone for refuge. ^A "wall"
should naturally be a symbol of strength and protection — here,
against the judgments with which God had threatened the nation.
The figure of the worthless wall and its treacherous mortar is car-
ried out fully. It shall surely fall. The Lord Avill overAvhelm it
with terrific showers, great hailstones, and a furious Avind ; its very
foundations shall be laid bare, and its builders (even all these false
prophets) shall be utterly consumed under its iniins — for v, 16 is en-
tirely explicit in applying this figure.
17. Likewise, thou son of man, set thy fiicc against the
daughters of thy people, Avhich prophesy out of their OAvn
hear.t ; and prophesy thou against them,
18. And say, Thus saith the Lord God ; Woe to the women
that sew pilloAVS to all arm-holes, and make kerchiefs upon
the head of every stature to hunt souls ! Will ye hunt the
souls of my people, and Avill ye save the souls alive that
come unto you ?
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIII. 73
19. And will ye pollute me among my people for hand-
fuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that
should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not
live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies ?
Some Tvomen also as well as men were guilty of this horrible sin
of lying prophecy to deceive souls to their ruin. To such the re-
mainder of the chapter relates. The figures which represent
their seductive influence belong to their sex, being drawn from
thfcgs which women manufacture. The male prophets are builders of
walls ; the female sew pillows, cushions, quilts ; providing every lux-
ury in that line to allure people away from God and into deeper sin.
The word rendered " arm-holes ' clearly means the finger-joints.
Pillows for the head are not deemed extravagant; but cushions for
the elbows savor of luxury, and much more pillows for every finger-
joint. The prophet intended to make a strong case of effeminacy.
"The head of every stature" means the heads of people of
every height, boys and men of all ages. By "kerchiefs" our trans-
lators probably meant head-coverings. The original word favors the
sense of quilt, mattress, or spread. In the clause rendered " upon
the head," perhaps the thought may be that they are large and long
enough to cover the entire person, however tall, even to the head.
The general sense is, who provide luxuries for the tastes of the
people and use their feminine skill to ensnare souls. By yet an-
other special figure, they are thought of as hunters of game, mean-
ing however, hunters of human souls, to kill those whom they should
let live, and to promise life to those whom God woald destroy.
In the last clause of v. 18, the words "that come" have no cor-
responding words in the original. The sense of the clause seems to
be, Will ye save souls alive for yourselves — for the sake merely of
your own personal interests? V. 19 shows that they dishonored
God and recklessly profaned his name and word (this is the sense
of the Hebrew word for "pollute") for the sake of gifts and bribes
of barley and bread. For a consideration so small and so purely
selfish, they would predict ruin to the righteous, but life to the
wicked. For they are said to slay or to spare those whom their in-
fluence tended or their purpose sought to slay or to spare. See the
same use of language Jer. 1 : 10.
20. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am
against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to
make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and
will let the souls go, even the souls- that ye hunt to make
iJiem fly.
21. Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my peo-
ple out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your
hand to be hunted ; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
22. Because with lies ye have made the heart of the
righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strength-
4
74 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIV.
en eel the hands of the wicked, that he should not return
from his wicked way, hy promising him life :
23. Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine div-
inations : for I will deliver my people out of your hand :
and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
God is utterly against these female deceivers also, and dooms
them to ruin and their efforts to failure, in terms adapted to their
sex and to their influence. In the clause v. 20, "hunt souls to
make them fly," Gcsenius gives the sense, "hunt souls after the
manner of hunting birds — as men hunt the flying ones. This re-
lieves the incongruity of the idea of hunting animals to make them
fly. V. 22 interprets the figures above used into literal language.
These prophetesses had made the heart of the righteous sad, as God
did not, and as they should not; and on the other hand, they had
strengthened the heart of the wicked in his sins by promising him
life however wicked — as God would not, never does, and can not
bear to have lying prophetesses do. A word of warning to men
who fail to discriminate between those who serve God and those
who serve him not — to men who promise peace to the wicked for
whom God has no pfiace here or hereafter. It is indeed a fearful
crime against both God and man to mar the thrcatenings of his holy
word and fritter away their solemn significance ! AYhen God in in-
finite love would fain warn the wicked of his danger and press him
to escape for his life from the doom that awaits him, it is awful that
men or women either should interpose their lies to foster hopes that
God would fain destroy, and to comfort souls in sin whom God
would arouse by fear of damnation to flee from the wrath to come I
It was a fearfully solemn responsibility assumed by those h'ifig
men and women in Ezekiel's day, when they sought thus to thwart
the benevolent efforts of the great and holy God. No less solemn
to-day is the responsibility assumed by men who abate from the
doom threatened against all persistent sinners and encourage men
to make the most of sinful pleasures while they can, till the day of
mercy ends aU suddenly in the night of eternal death !
CHAPTER XIV.
Again certain of the elders of Israel come and sit before the
prophet, and the Lord gives him another message in continuation
of the subject of the previous chapter. The Lord will not let men
come to him asking favors, with their idols enthroned in their
hearts. If they do, he will answer them according to their idols
and abominations. If they seduce a prophet to inquire of the Lord
for them, God will let that prophet be deceived and then deceive
those who try in this way to make use of his prophetic functions.
The only right thing a guilty people can do is to repent of their sina
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIV. 75
and put away all their abominations. Another turn is given to
this leading thought in vs. 12-21. If, for the great v^^ickedness of
the land, God shall send upon them his sore judgments, he will not
be entreated in their behalf. Though even those great and good
men, distinguished as intercessors high in favor with God, Noah,
Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should save their own souls only.
Their prayers or their presence could not save so wicked a people.
Such is the scope of the chapter.
1. Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and
sat before me.
2. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
3. Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their
heart, and put the stumbling-block of their iniquity before
their face : should I be inquired of at all by them ?
"Then came," etc. This seems to have been shortly after the
prophecy narrated in the previous chapter. This chapter and that
are closely connected in thought. That denunciation of the false
prophets may have made some impression upon certain of the elders,
and they may have been consequently in an attitude to listen to
something further on the same and kindred points. The language,
"these men," etc., somewhat strongly implies a reference to the
elders then before him. "To set up their idols in their hearts,"
is precisely to enthrone them there — to give them a standing, a
fixed position in their very heart as in a temple prepared for the
purpose. "Stumbling-block" is used here in the sense of temp-
tation to sin, put directly before their own face, so that it shall have
its greatest power to ensnare and thus destroy their own souls.
"WTiile they are in this moral state, God asks, " Shall I be inquired
of at all by them?" Of course he will not be.
4. Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus
saith the Lord God ; Every man of the house of Israel
that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stum-
bling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the
prophet ; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according
to the multitude of his idols.
5. That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart,
because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
If such a man shall go to a prophet to engage him to intercede for
himself with God, God will answer him through that prophet accord-
ing to his sins; that is, will give him no such answer as he de-
sires; but will let him be deceived to his ruin. In v. 5, "That I
may take,'' etc., means, that I may take hold violently and effectually
of their heart ; i. e. , by spurning them away and visiting them with
sore judgments, grasping their heart so that they shall feel it — tak-
ing hold, not to restore or to comfort, but to chasten or punish.
76 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIV.
This construction, both the general sense of the verb and the de-
mands of the context combine to require and sustain.
6. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the
Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols ; and
turn away your faces from all your abominations.
"Therefore say" this — that there is no evading this manifest and
imperative duty of repentance. Seeking God with your abomina-
tions still in power in your hearts can be of no avail save to curse
you the more fearfully. The eflbrt to reach God through his proph-
ets by seducing them to your aid will only involve those wicked
prophets as well as yourself in deception and calamity. " Therefore
say to the house of Israel, Repent and turn from all your idols;"
"turn away your faces from all your abominations.' This last
phrase refers to vs. 3, 4, where they are said to have set their idols
in their heart and before their face — of course With their face to-
ward those idols. This is one application of the universal truth
that sinners can never find any relief or real good save through re-
pentance.
7. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger
tliat sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me,
and settetli up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stum-
bling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a
prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will
answer him by myself:
8. And I will set my face against that man, and will
make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from
the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the
Lord.
The meaning of these verses is plain and has been already
brought out. Whether the inquirer be an Israelite or a foreigner,
if he sever himself from God and give his heart to idols, and then
shall go to a prophet to learn something respecting God, or to gain
some favor from God {e. g.^ like king Saul in his distress), God "will
answer him in his own way and for his own righteous ends. In
V. 8, the Hebrew verb rendered '"'■loill make" "him a sigTi and a
proverb," involves a critical question respecting the true" reading.
Our translators adopted the more easy reading, which certainly har-
monizes well with the context and with the usual phraseology of the
prophet. Others, in deference to the rule, " Follow the more diffi-
cult reading," make it from another root, in the sense, "I will
destroy him for a sign and a proverb." The ultimate meaning is
essentially the same — as happens in a great majority of cases where
the original text is doubtful.
9. And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a
tiling, I the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIV. 77
stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from
the midst of my people Israel.
10. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity :
the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the jDunish-
ment of him that seeketh unto him;
11. That the house of Israel may go no more astray from
me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgres-
sions ; but that they may be my people, and I may be their
God, saith the Lord God.
What is said here afifords no good reason for impugning the jus-
tice or even the goodness of God. All candid minds" will see this
if they carefully consider and duly appreciate these three points :
( 1 . ) That the case supposed is that of a wicked man, seducing and
bribing a prophet to give him a favorable answer from God, while
he yet cleaves to his sins. God declares that he will not be tam-
pered with by a wicked man for so vile a purpose. He will let both
the prophet and the sinner who tries to bribe him be deceived and
ruined. (2.) No other form of divine agency need be implied
here than what is properly permissive. God will let that prophet be
deceived. He will leave him to make mistakes — leave him in the
darkness of his own perverse heart. God will not reveal truth to
his mind; will not help him carry out the wicfeed purpose and de-
sire of the sinner who has bribed him to try to extort something
from God for his own selfish advantage. The usage of all Scripture,
and indeed of all human language, sustains this construction. God
is said to do what he only suffers or permits to be done. And in this
case, who can say that God does not most righteously and justly
leave the sinner to be frustrated in his impious purpose ? (3. ) The
divine intent in this proceeding is infinitely wise and good. As de-
clared by himself in this very connection, it is "that the house of
Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more
with all their transgressions ; but that they may be my people, and
I may be their God." The Lord frustrates the counsels of the
wicked and bafiles their vile schemes to overreach himself, for the
very purpose of reducing to the lowest possible amount the good
they may find in sin, that so he may press them with the strongest
possible motives to repent and seek their good in the Lord their
God. And who shall say that this is not altogether right; nay
more, infinitely good and glorious ? How else should the Lord deal
with the wicked in a world of moral probation like this ? Hoav bet-
ter than so could he restrain them in their wickedness and press
them to turn to obedience ?
12. The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,
13. Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by
trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out my hand upon
it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send
famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it.
78 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIV.
14. Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were
in it, they should deliver hut their own souls by their right-
eousness, saith the Lord God.
15. If I cau>^e noisome beasts to pass through the land,
and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may
pass through because of the beasts :
16. Though these three men u'ere in it, as I live, saith
the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daugh-
ters ; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be
desolate.
17. Or ifl bring a sword upon that land, and say. Sword,
go through the land ; so that I cut off man and beast from
it:
18. Though these three men ivere in it, as I live, saith
the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daugh-
ters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.
19. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour
out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and
beast :
20. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, icere in it, as I live,
saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor
daughter ; they shall but deliver their own souls by their
righteousness.
21. For thus saith the Lord God; How much more when
I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword,
and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence,
to cut off from it man and beast?
The fearful truth involved here is that when the sins of a people
imperatively demand the visitations of divine judgment, God will
not hear the intercessory prayer of even good men in their behalf
and so reverse his purpose of judgment The points of this case
aro made entirely phiin. It is presented for the most part as a case
supposed in a hypothetical way. //any kind should become grievously
Avicked, beyond the divine endurance, then would I scourge them
with my four great and sore judgments: famine; destructive beasts;
the sword of war; and pestilence; — and then, though these three
men, preeminent for tlieir availing intercession, viz., Noah, Daniel,
and Job, were in that land, they should save themselves only; they
could not save that land from my judgments. Tliey could not save
from any one of these forms of judgment coming singly: — how much
less from all combined? Of the godly men named here, the
reader will recall in the case of Noah the fact that God forewarned
him of the flood one hundred and twenty years before it came,
during which time we may suppose that his prayers were unceas-
ing that the Lord would defer this judgment and spare the guilty
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIV. 79
race. So far, "the long.-suifermg of God did wait in the days of
Noah" (1 Pet. 3 : 20), and, no doubt, in answer to his prayer. Good
men in such circumstances always pray. Job prayed for his
three friends, and the Lord accepted his prayer and blessed both
them and him therefor. Job 42: 8, 10. Daniel's remarkable
prayer for the restoration of his people as recorded chap. 9 had
not yet transpired ; but Daniel was already a praying man ; already
bore his people continually on his heart; was known to God as a
prominent intercessor, and probably was known in that respect
among the exiles in Chaldea. His influence among them became
great at a very early period of his life and of their exile. If we
date this prophecy in the sixth year of Jehoiachin's captivity,
Daniel had then been in Chaldea fully fourteen years, and in
power at the court of the king, thirteen. This reference to him
was not necessarily prophetic — in anticipation of his future devel-
opments.
Let us turn to the broad fact that the sins of the Jewish people
had become such that God could not pardon, but must punish. So
he had said of the sins of Manasseh (2 Kings 24 : 4). Kepeatedly
through Jeremiah the Lord had signified that he could not hear
prayer in their behalf to turn from his purposed judgments. See
Jer. 7: 16, and 11: 14, and 14: 11, 12, and not least, 15: 1.
"Though Moses and Samuel stood before me" {i. e., as interces-
sors), "yet my mind could not be toward this people; cast them
out of my sight and let them go forth." Fearful is the doom
that awaits either a nation or an individual when the point is
reached where prayer avails nothing! Let the guilty who are
thoughtlessly hardening their heart in sin consider and take warn-
ing ! There is a limit beyond which men abuse the mercy of God
to their certain destruction. It can not be well to reach and pass
that limit. The only safe course is to desist from sin and turn to
God at once while yet mercy is possible.
22. Yet behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall
be brought forth, both sons and daughters : behold, they shall
come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their
doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that
I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I
have brought upon it.
23. And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways
and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done
without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord
God.
The thought here is that God would yet save a remnant out of
this last final wreck of the nation at the fiill of Jerusalem, and
that this remnant should be brought, captives, to Babylon, and
there join the captives previously brought out, among whom Ezek-
iel was then living and prophesying. He says to these elders now
80 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XV.
before him ; When ye see this last company of captives, and learn
from personal observation the horrible corruption of their hearts
and lives, ye will be comforted concerning the evil which God has
brought on Jerusalem, for ye will see that it must have been richly
deserved, and that God did not scourge that city to its utter de-
struction without good cause. If they had felt any misgiving in
view of a judgment so terrible, they would surely see in the char-
acter of the captives that God had amply justifying cause for the
severity of those judgments. It is a comfort to the people of
God to see that his most terrible judgments are not excessive or in
any wise unduly severe. The Lord is careful to show his confiding
people 'that whatever else he may do, he never can punish too se-
verely. He may punish less than man's- iniquities deserve; but
never, more.
CHAPTER XV.
1. And the Avord of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man. What is the vine-tree more than any tree,
or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest ?
3. Shall Avood be taken thereof to do any work ? or will
men take a j)in of it to hang any vessel thereon ?
4. Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel ; the fire de-
voureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned.
Is it meet for amj work?
5. Behold, when it w^as whole, it was meet for no work :
how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the
fire hath devoured it, and it is burned ?
6. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As the vine-tree
among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire
for fuel, so wdll I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
7. And I will set my face against them ; they shall go out
from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye
shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against
them.
8. And I will make the land desolate, because they have
committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.
This short chapter makes but one point and makes that plainly.
Jerusalem and Israel had often been thought and spoken of as a
vine under the culture of their own God. See Isa. 5 : 1-7, and 27 : 2,
and Jer. 2: 21, and Ps. 80: 8-lG. But now she has altogether
ceased to bring forth grapes, h^he bears no fruits of holiness ; ren-
ders to God no acceptable service. The phrase (v. 8), " commit-
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI. 81
ted a trespass," is not said of some trivial sin, but of des])erate
wickedness ; most grievous sin. The phrase means, they have been
shamefully treacherous. Wliat then is she good for? What is
a vine-tree good for when it has ceased to bring forth grapes ? Can
the wood of it be wrought into any work of utility or of art ? Is it
even fit to make a pin, i. e., a peg to hang vessels upon? The
oriental tent made great use of these projecting pegs for hanging
up household utensils. See Isa. 22 : 23-25 where the same Hebrew
word used here is rendered "nail." The wood of the vine was too
slender for tent -nails or pins. It might, however, answer to burn
for fuel. It was used for this purpose, and was fit for nothing else.
So of the people of Jerusalem. They might serve as an example. to
illustrate God's justice in punishing the incorrigibly guilty. They
might answer some useful purpose to burn up. To this purpose the
Lord would consign them and would lay their land utterly deso-
late. A fearfurtruth is this, as applied to all sinners who will
bear no fruit of obedience and love to God ; from whom he can ex-
tract no other service in his universe save to make them an ex-
ample of his righteous justice in their damnation! Actively, of
their free will and honest intent, they will do nothing for God, or
for his creatures and the general good: hence, passively, by sufier-
ing, and against their will, the Lord will turn them to the only
good account possible in their case, and make them fuel for his jus-
tice to burn — a living, eternal testimony before the universe to his
holy and intense abhorrence of rebellion. They shall know, and
all intelligent beings in God's kingdom shall learn in their case that
he is the Lord God' Omnipotent, holy and righteous for evermore !
CHAPTER XVI.
- This chapter embraces one general theme — the idolatry of Jeru-
salem, set forth in vivid, glaring, appalling colors under the figure
common to the prophets, by which idolatry is thought of as adul-
tery. The key-note is struck in v. 2 : " Cause Jerusalem to know
her abominations." Set them before her eyes in forms and figures
so expressive that she can not but see them, and so sickening that,
seeing, she can not fiiil to loathe and abhor herself for all she
has done. ^Let us also bear in mind that this expose of Jerusa-
lem is made before the exiles in Chaldea to show them how right-
eously that city is about to suffer utter destruction; to impress them
with the enormity of their great national sin, in which themselves
were deeply guilty; and to urge them to deep self-condemnation and
bitter repentance.
1. Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abomina-
tions,
82 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI.
»
3. And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem;
Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan ; thy
father ivas an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite.
No one will take this allusion to her "birth and nativity" in the
literal sense. Men and nations are spoken of as the children of
those whose ways they follow, as our Lord accosted the Pharisees;
"Ye generation of vipers" (Matt. 23: 33), and "Ye are of your
father the devil" (John 8: 44). Isaiah (chap. 1: 10) addresses the
Jews as "rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah." This was
the more caustic and cutting because of the haughty scorn with
which the Jews looked on those Canaanites, and especially the Am-
orite and the Hittite. They are not unfrequently named as chief in
guilt and baseness. See Gen. 15 : 16, and 24: 3, and 26: 34, 35, and
27: 46; Amos 2: 9; 1 Kings 21: 26, and 2 Kings 21: 11. ITie
general contempt felt by the Jews for the Canaanites, may be seen
in such passages as Hos. 12: 7 and Zech. 14: 21. In the New
Testament age, Jew scorned Galilean with the same national feeling.
Hence the pungency of the rebuke, " Thy father was an Amorite
and thy mother a Hittite. Thy spirit shows thy parentage to be
utterly base.
4. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born
thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water
to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled
at all.
5. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to
have compassion upon thee; but thou -svast cast out in the
open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that
thou wast born.
This is the early history of the Hebrews as they were pass-
ing from a small family to a populous nation, specially in their
Egyptian life. Outcast, friendless, as an infant cast forth uucared
for upon the cold, waste world — so Avas Israel in that age. The
word rendered "supple," the older critics read, "to cleanse;" the
modern (Gesenius) "to make tit to be seen;" to prepare for pre-
sentation to parents and friends; from a verb which means, to
see. "To the loathing of thy person," Gesenius reads, "To the
loathing of thyself;" "to thine own self-loathing" — virtually drop-
{ling the figure of the infant. Others, bettor; to be an object of
oathing to all; as our received translation implies.
6. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in
thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou ivast in thy
blood, Live ; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy
blood. Live.
7. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field,
and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI. 83
to excellent ornaments : thy breasts are fashioned, and thy
hair is grown, whereas thou ivast naked and bare.
8. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon th-ee, be-
hold, thy time ivas the time of love ; and I spread my skirt
over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto
thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord
God, and thou becamest mine.
9. Then washed I thee with water: yea, I thoroughly
washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with
oil.
10. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee
with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen,
and I covered thee with silk.
11. I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets
uj)on thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
12. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and ear-rings in
thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
13. Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver ; and thy
raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered w^ork ; thou
didst eat fine flour and honey, and oil : and thou wast ex-
ceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
14. And thy renown went forth among the heathen for
thy beauty : for it was perfect through my comeliness, which
I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.
These figures are plain and refer manifestly to the early develop-
ment of the religious life and of the national strength and wealth
of the Hebrew people in the wilderness and in Canaan. God's first
interposition broke the yoke of Pharaoh and brought them forth
from their national bondage. Then he entered into the solemn mar-
riage covenant with them, and they became truly and avowedly his
own people. The entire book of Exodus is a special comment on
these verses. In v. 6 the original word is not precisely "pol-
luted," but rather trodden under foot — indicating their state in
Egypt. The announcement, "Live," is solemnly repeated for
emphasis. It was this majestic and paternal voice which restored
their national life, when else they had died nationally under Egyp-
tian servitude. The reader will not fail to note that this setting
forth of God's loving kindness to the nation in its birth and youth
is intended to show (and does) how deeply indebted the Hebrew
nation were to their own covenant God, and hence, how intensely
flagrant, mean and wicked was their apostasy from their own God
to idols ; their spiritual adultery.
15. But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst
the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy for-
nications on every one that passed by ; his it was.
84 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI.
The clause, "playedst the harlot because of thy renown," was sup-
posed by our translators to mean that under the influence of national
pride, the Hebrews departed from God and fell into idolatry. But
the original may (perhaps better) be read. Thou didst commit
whoredom against or despite of thy name; i. e., the name of thy
husband, the living God. Despite of thy solemn marriage covenant
with Jehovah in which thou didst assume the name, the people of
God, thou didst give up thy heart and thyself to idols.
16. And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst
thy high places with divers colors,- and playedst the harlot
thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it
be so.
17. Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and
of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself
images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them.
18. And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst
them : and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before
them.
19. My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil,
and honey, ivhereivith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before
them for a sweet savor: and thus it was, saith the Lord
God.
The wealth and abundance, but especially the gold and silver
which God had given them, they had used in the manufacture of
idols ; to deck them also with ornaments and provide costly offerings
at their shrines. See the same thought in Hos. 2 : 8, 13. This
is the very thing that wicked men do in all ages — take the good
gifts of God's providence and make them into idol gods for their
own hearts to love and to trust ; let the earthly good Avhich God
gives them be a power, not to lead their hearts to God in grateful
love, trust, and obedience, but to lead their hearts utterly nwnj froin
God into loAver sensual gratifications, utter forgetfulness of God, and
more reckless sinning.
20. Moreover, thou hast taken thy sons and thy daugh-
ters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou
sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whore-
doms a small matter,
21. That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them
to cause them to pass through the fire for them?
Was this crime of thy whoredom in making and serving other
gods too small a thing to satisfy thy wicked heart, that thou
shouldst needs go on to more horrid guilt, and burn thine own sons
and daughters in the fire to these cruel idols ? With equal force
and beauty, the Lord says, "Thou hast slain nv/ children" — as if
his parental heart yearned over the innocent little ones hurled bj
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI. 85
their unnatural fathers and mothers into the deadly fire to Moloch
and Saturn!
22. And in all thine abominations and thy Avhoredoms
thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou
wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.
It had aggravated her guilt all along that she would not suitably
remember the goodness of her God manifested toward her in the
early days of her national life. In this chapter (vs. 4-14) the Lord
has been pressing this urgently upon her attention. This was the
burden of many an earnest exhortation from the Lord through
Moses and the prophets. See Deut. 8 : 2, and 5 : 15, and 15 : 15,
and 16: 12, and 24: 18, 22. She did not love to remember how
abject and forlorn she was in the day when the mercy of the Lord
met her in Egypt. So sinners are slow and reluctant to remem-
ber the special favors shown them by that Great Benefactor whose
name they revile, whose law they discard, and whose love to them
they will not think of requiting with responsive love in return.
23. And it came to pass, after all thy wickedness, (woe,
woe unto thee ! saitli the Lord God,)
24. That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place,
and hast made thee a high place in every street.
25. Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the
way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast
opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied
thy whoredoms.
The reader will the better appreciate the force of this description
of the painfully loathsome abominations of Jerusalem, if it be sug-
gested that the word used by Ezekiel for ' eminent place " (vs. 24,
31) means a brothel. "High places" look to the general fact
that high grounds were selected for the rites of idolatry. Without
discussing the propriety of such minute allusions and "great plain-
ness of speech" in regard to lewdness as we find in this chapter
and elsewhere in the Scriptures, let it suffice to say; (1.) That the
taste of oriental writers and readers must not be judged by our
standard: and (2.) That in deference to the sensibilities of our own
times, in which both the writer and his readers are presumed to
participate, he will feel himself excused from minute comment, and
will explain only so far as may be requisite to give the ultimate
moral bearing of the chapter.
26. Thou hast also committed fornications with the Egyp-
tians thy neighbors, great of flesh; and hast increased thy
whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.
27. Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over
thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered
86 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI.
thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of
the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.
28. Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians,
because thou wast unsatiable ; yea, thou hast played the har-
lot with them, and yet couldst not be satisfied.
29. Thou hast moreover multi2)lied thy fornication in the
land of Canaan unto Chaldea ; and yet thou wast not satis-
fied herewith.
In fact the Jews had sought, borrowed, and worshiped the idol
gods of Egypt, of Assyria, and even of Chaldea. Her spirit of idol-
atry seemed indeed insatiable.
30. How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord God, seeing
thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish
woman ;
31. In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head
of every way, and makest thy high place in every street;
and hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest hire;
32. But as a wife that committeth adultery ivhich taketh
strangers instead of her husband !
33. They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy
gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come
unto thee on every side for thy wdioredom.
34. And the contrary is in thee from other w^omen in thy
whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whore-
doms : and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is
given unto thee; therefore thou art contrary.
"How weak is thine heart" as to any stamina of womanly char-
acter— any thing noble, dignified, worthy of an intelligent being!
The depth of her debasement is measured by the fact that in-
stead of receiving the Avages of prostitution, she gives them to her
paramours ! She had gone abroad to seek after idol gods, taking
up greedily the meanest and vilest objects ever worshiped by the
heathen. The prophet assumes it to be the custom of harlots to
"scorn hire," yet not in the sense of being above its meanness,
but in the sense of decrying the offered wages as a bid for higher!
Even this disgusting, inefiable meanness was entirely a])ove the
harlot-life of Jerusalem! She had sunk indefinitely lower!
35. Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord :
36. Thus saith the Lord God; Because thy filthiness
was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy
whoredoms with thy lovers, and wdth all the idols of thy
abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou
didst give unto them ;
37. Behold therefore, I will gather all thy lovers, with
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI 87
whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou
hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated ; I will even
gather them round about against thee, and will discover
thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy naked-
ness.
38. And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock
and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in
fury and jealousy.
39. And I will also give thee into their hand, and they
shall throw down thine eminent j^lace, and shall break down
thy high places ; they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and
shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.
40. They shall also bring up a company against thee, and
they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through
with their swords.
41. And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and exe-
cute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women : and
I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou
also shalt give no hire any more.
The Hebrew law had stringent penalties for the crime of adultery.
See Deut. 22: 22-24 — the stoning of both the guilty parties, in the
public "gate of the city." \Vith rare exceptions, all nations,
civilized or savage, punish this crime severely. Indeed, human
society can not exist without some respect, free or forced, for the
seventh commandment. Where there is no such respect, society is
already rotten, and decomposing ; nations are dying ; men are too cor-
rupt to live. In this passage, v. 38 alludes with terrible power
to the jealousy and fury with which men often avenge the crime
of adultery when their own hearts are torn and their own homes
ruined by it. So God will shed the blood of Jerusalem in his
fury and jealousy ! What could be more fearfully expressive ! He
will make an example of her before many cities and nations, as
the adulteress suffered her deserved doom " in the sight of many
women."
42. So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my
jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and
will be no more angry.
43. Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy
youth, but has fretted me in all these things; behold there-
fore, I also will recompense thy way upon thy head, saith the
Lord God : and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above
all thine abominations.
" Will make my fury toward thee to rest," assumes that this
appalling execution of judgment would satisfy God's sense of jus-
tice and ease his heart from the painful burden of its demands.
88 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI.
In V. 43 is a renewed mention of the sin of " not remembering the
days of her youth" to be moved thereby to a better life. See v. 22
and notes there. In the phrase, "hast fretted me," the original
scarcely bears the transitive sense in this form of the verb. Better
thus: "Thou hast raged against me"-:^hast been violent and out-
breaking in thy wickedness. The same verb appears in Gen. 45 :
24, there rendered, " See that je fall not out by the way." Also Prov.
29 : 9 ; and much in point, 2 Kings 19 : 27, 28 ; God saying to the
proud Assyrian monarch; "I know thy rage against me." The
last clause means. Thy lewdness, not " above," but in addition to
all thine other abominations; implying that Jerusalem was guilty
of gross immoralities besides her lewdness, i. e., idolatry. There
are references to violence — sins against personal safety and life —
which show that common morality had sunk fearfully low — as it
might be said, below the living point.
44. Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this
proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her
daughter.
45. Thou art thy mother's daughter, that loatheth her
husband and her children ; and thou art the sister of thy
sisters, which loathed their husbands and their children ;
your mother ivas an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
See V. 3, and notes there. Jerusalem has imitated and even
surpassed the immoralities and crimes of the debased nations of
Canaan.
46. And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daugh-
ters that dwell at thy left hand : and thy younger sister,
that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
47. Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done
after their abominations: but as if that were a very little
thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.
To humble the national pride of Jerusalem and set forth her
monstrous guilt, she is compared to Samaria as her sister on the
left hand, and to Sodom, her sister on the right. Jerusalem sits
geographically between these two cities with her face to the cast.
" Slie did not walk after their ways," for she had done indefi-
nitely worse than they. So utterly had her crimes surpassed theirs,
as to throw them quite into the shade. — = — In v. 47, the original
word rendered, " a very little thing," means a thing of disgust, as if
it disgusted her as too small sinning. Jerusalem piques herself upon
sinning on a grander scale, with more daring, horrible impiety !
48. As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath
not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou
and thy daughters.
49. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom,
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI. 89
pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in
her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the
hand of the poor and needy.
50. And they were haughty and committed abomination
before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
This comparison with Sodom is full of intense significance and
power. There stood the history of Sodom and her fearful doom
before the very eyes of the Jewish people. The record of it lifts
lip its columns of smoke and flame before the generations of history,
standing on their own sacred page, and it would seem that they
must have learned from their childhood to abhor such crimes and
dread such a doom ! Yet here the burning tongue of their prophet
puts it to them that their own guilt is indefinitely greater ! The
clause rendered, "abundance of idleness," seems more strictly to
mean, the most perfect quiet; exemption from all fear of national
disaster. Like Moab, she was " settled on her lees, and had not
been emptied from vessel to vessel." See Jer. 48: 11. It seems
to be assumed here that national calamity checked the growth of
national depravity and crime. In the last clause of v. 50, the
word good is without authority. The original seems- to mean,
"When I saw it," alluding to Gen. 18: 20, 21, "I will go 'down
now and see if they have done altogether according to the cry that
is come unto me."
51. Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins ;
but thou hast multiplied thijie abominations more than
they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations
which thou hast done.
52. Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine
own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more
abominable than they : they are more righteous than thou :
yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that
thou hast justified thy sisters.
Jerusalem in her abominations had justified Samaria only in
the sense that her greater crimes made the sins of Samaria appear
to be almost virtues. V. 52 might be translated, "Bear thou
(Jerusalem) that disgrace which thou hast adjudged to thy sisters,
for thy sins in which thou hast been more abominable than they,"
etc. Jerusalem had condemned her sisters, Sodom and Samaria,
adjudging to them deep disgrace. Let her bear all tliis herself
and more, for her greater abominations.
53. When I shall bring again their captivity, the captiv-
ity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Sam-
aria and her daughters, then ivlll I bring again the captiv-
ity of thy captives in the midst of them :
54. That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and maycst
90 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI.
be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art
a comfort unto them.
55. When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall
return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters
shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy
daughters shall return to your former estate.
This also must have been acutely mortifying to the pride of
Jerusalem. Sodom and Samaria shall stand before thee, or at least
fully up with thee, in the matter of being restored in mercy from
their captivity. Only when they shall return from their captivity
canst thou hope to return from thine ! [The restoration of
Sodom literally from her captivity being quite impossible, this
passage can not be taken as a prophecy of such restoration. With
almost equal certainty may the same be said of the ten tribes
(Samaria), those tribes being obviously lost to history so that no
possible restoration could ever be identified. The phrase therefore,
"Bring again tlieir captivity," must be taken as figurative, equiv-
alent to "returning to their former estate," as virtually explained
in V. 55. The statements are put in this shape because the Lord
had occasion to speak of restoring Judah again from her captivity,
and meant to say that her guilt so much surpassed that of Sodom
and Samaria that these latter would be as soon restored to their
former estate as Judah to hers.]
56. For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth
in the day of thy pride,
57. Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time
of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are
round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which
despise thee round about.
58. Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abomina-
tions, saith the Lord.
59. For thus saith the Lord God ; I will even deal wdth
thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in
breaking the covenant.
Jerusalem was too proud and felt herself too much above Sodom
to take that name into her lips. V. 57 applies this remark to
her pride befoi'e the guilt and consequent weakness of Jerusalem
were disclosed by the victories gained over her by the Syrians.
This refers probably to victories gained over Ahaz in consequence
of his fearful strides into idolatry. See 2 Kin^s 15 : 37. In v.
58 the sense seems to be, Tliou hast borne and shalt yet bear the
punishment for thy lewdness, etc. The tense of the verb looks to
the nearer future as well as to the past. ller ^uilt in despising
her oath and breaking her covenant witli her God was that espec-
ially which so greatly surpassed the guilt of Sodom and Samaria, and
which made her doom so dreadful. She had sinned against great
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI. 91
light and lufinite obligations. " If I had not come and spoken to
them, they had not had sin ; but now they have no cloak for their sin."
60. Nevertheless I Avill remember my covenant with thee
in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee
an everlasting covenant.
61. Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed,
when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy
younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters,
but not by thy covenant.
62. And I will establish my covenant with thee ; and
thou shalt know that I am the Lord :
63. That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and
never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when
I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith
the Lord God.
What unutterable compassion and forgiving love are in these
words ! Thou, Jerusalem, wilt not remember the days of thy youth
and of my mercy to thee then; — but I will remember my covenant
with thee, made in those days of thy youth, and I will establish it
with thee for an everlasting covenant ! Is not such love as
this sovereign — a love that owes nothing to antecedent love on the
part of his people, but lifts itself high above the mountains of
sin and spans the deep abysses of guilt and the sinks of human
abominations to find subjects on which loving-kindness and divine
compassion may rest! O indeed this is the loving-kindness of the
ever-blessed God ! Well may it be said, " The Lord is pitiful and of
tender mercy. He hath not dealt with us after our sins nor re-
warded us according to our iniquities." Fitly docs the Lord him-
self testify, " For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and
my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isa. 55 : 8, 9). In that day
such manifestations of mercy and compassion will melt the hardest
heart. Jerusalem shall remember her ways and be ashamed and
confounded and never open her mouth any more (in the way of
her old pride) because of her shame for her abominations. It
will heighten both her shame for her own sins and her sense of
divine mercy that God will give her for sisters, both Sodom and
Samaria, yet not on the strength of her fidelity to her covenant.
So the conversion of Gentile nations should rather deepen the
humility than flatter the pride of God's people, since it comes not
of her self-moved fidelity but of God's self-moved mercy. In the
close of V. 63 "pacified" stands for the usual Hebrew word to de-
note pardon — the covering of sins from the sight of the Lord
through an atonement. So all salvation comes through atoning
blood. The deep apostasies of God's professed sons and daughters
find mercy there and there only.
92 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVII.
CHAPTER XVIT.
The riddle or parable -which constitutes the subject throughout
this chapter is explained in the chapter itself vs. 11-21. This ex-
planation makes the significance entirely clear and certain. The
first eagle (v. 3-6) is Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon: the second (v. 7)
is Pharaoh of Egypt. The highest branch of the cedar cropped by
the first eagle and carried to a land of traffic, etc., (vs. 3, 4) was
Jehoiachin, taken from the throne of Judah into captivity to Baby-
lon. Then "the seed of the land, planted in a fruitful field, by
great waters, and becoming a spreading vine of low stature (vs. 5,
6) was Zedekiah, made king by Nebuchadnezzar over the remnant
left in the land. He was, of course, bound by solemn covenant to
a faithful allegiance to his conqueror and sovereign. Turning
toward Egypt to solicit help thence that he might maintain him-
self in breaking faith with the king of Babylon, was base treach-
ery and rebellion, which God abhorred, and here declares that he
will punish. This is the general scope of the chapter. The his-
torical facts which are the basis of this parable may be seen in
2 Kings 24: 8-20, and 2 Chron. 36: 9-13, and Jer. 52: 1-7.
1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable
unto the house of Israel ;
3. And say. Thus saitli the Lord God ; A great eagle with
great wings, long-winged, full of feathers, which had divers
colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of
the cedar :
4. He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried
it into a land of traffic ; he set it in a city of merchants.
This representation partakes of the nature of both the riddle and
the parable. In its points of analogy it is a parable : in its enig-
ma— in the fact that its significance is somewhat recondite and
obscure; it is a riddle. The eagle, king of birds, not unfitly
represents the kings of Chaldea and Egypt. So, also a tree,
whether the cedar or the vine-tree, with its magnificent foliage and
abundant fruit, making homes and furnishing food for whole fam-
ilies of birds, not unai)tly represents a great king, the father of his
people. This figure was not altogether foreign to Chaldea, for wo
find it applied beautifully to Nebuchadnezzar in Dan. 4,
5. He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in
a fruitful field ; he placed it by great waters, and set it as
a willow tree.
6. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of Ioav st^it-
ure, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVII. 93
thereof were under him : so it became a vine, and brought
forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
This eagle, (Nebuchadnezzar) now takes of the seed of the land,
a scion of the royal family of Judah, and plants it under fiivorable
auspices in a fruitful field and by abundant waters, where it might
become, — not indeed a great cedar, but a humble yet useful vine.
If Zedekiah had remained true to his sovereign, and especially, if
true also to God, he and his people might have enjoyed a career
of honor and prosperity. His comparatively humble condition —
a vine of low stature — looks to the fact that all the chief princes
and the more active, intelligent and useful citizens, had been
taken to Babylon as captives. See 2 Kings 24 : 14-16, and Jer. 24,
7. There was also another great eagle with great wings
and many feathers: and behold, this vine did bend her
roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him,
that he might water it by the furrows of her j)lantation.
8. It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it
might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit,
that it might be a goodly vine.
The historical facts represented here are simply that Zedekiah
rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and sent ambassadors to Egypt
for aid. This policy the Lord by his prophet sharply condemned.
It was the burden of repeated remonstrances through Jeremiah.
9. Say thou. Thus saith the Lord God; Shall it prosper?
shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit
thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of
her spring, even without great power, or many people to
pluck it up by the roots thereof.
10. Yea, behold, heing planted, shall it prosper? shall it
not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it ? it shall
wither in the furrows where it grew. "
The Lord now begins to make the moral application of this par-
able. Shall such treachery prosper? Can such ingratitude and
baseness result well in the end? Will not the first great eagle
(Nebuchadnezzar) take revenge upon this vine (Zedekiah) ; tear it
up by its roots and leave it to wither and die ? The passage
intimates that this will be done easily. Judah was now greatly
reduced in military strength by the loss of her citizens already
taken captive; by her immoralities; and not least, by God's wrath
against her. The king of Babylon could easily punish her "with-
out great power or many people to pluck her up by her roots."
11. Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, say-
12. Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what
94 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVII.
these things mean? Tell them, Behold, the king of Baby-
Ion is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof,
and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon ;
13. And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a cov-
enant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath
also taken the mighty of the land:
14. That the kingdom might be base, that it might not
lift itself up, hut that by keeping of his covenant it might
stand.
15. But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassa-
dors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much
people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such
things f or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?
16. As I live, saith the Lord God, surely in the place
where the king divelleth that made him king, whose oath he
despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in
the midst of Babylon he shall die.
This explanation is itself plain and most amply unfolds the
meaning of this riddle or parable. The great facts of Zedekiah's
treachery were just about transpiring now in the sixth year of his
reign. It was essential that the exiles in Chaldea should know
these facts, and should see the justice of God's wrath a<i;ainst Zede-
kiah and his people for this rebellion against the king of Babylon.
Hence this representation held a vitally important place in Ezekiel's
prophecies to his captive brethren. V. 16 disclosed to them the
pertinent prophecy that King Zedekiah should be brought to the
place where his real sovereign lived, under the power of the king
against whom he had perjured himself and whose covenant he had
broken, and should die there in Babylon. This announcement
must have sufficed to crush out any fond hopes they might have
had as to the reign of Zedekiah.
17. Neither shall Pharaoh, with his mighty army and
great company, make for him in the war, by casting up
mounts, and building forts, to cut ofi' many persons:
18. Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the cove-
nant, when lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all
these things, he shall not escape.
19. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely
mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he
hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.
20. And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be
taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and
will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath
trespassed against me.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVII. 95
21. And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by
the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward
all winds : and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.
The help of Egypt, though promised him, should avail nothing.
Deservedly this passage lays stress upon the base treachery and
rebellion of Zedekiah as the ground of the Lord's last judgments on
himself, his family and his throne. So true and right it is that
God holds even kings to the morality of good faith in their solemn
compacts. Why should he not? Why should kings be privileged to
perjure themselves with impunity? Could the influence of such
an example on whole masses of people be endured under the gov-
ernment of God ? Need it be said that this principle applies to
all rulers under every form of human government? Or that the
curse of God against national bad faith is not a whit lessened but
is greatly aggravated by the weakness of the party to whom the
nation's faith is pledged? What must God think and what ought
the wide world to say of the violation of American treaties with
the feeble Indian tribes ? And what if the good faith of the na-
tion should be broken with the Anglo-African race after they have
saved the nation by their fidelity and bravery in arms under the
national guarantee of freedom and protection ?
22. Thus saith the Lord God, I will also take of the high-
est branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop
off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will
plant it upon a high mountain and eminent :
23. In the mountain of the height of Israel wall I plant
it : and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be
a goodly cedar : and under it shall dwell all fowl of every
wing ; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell,
24. And all the trees of the field shall know that I the
Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the
low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the
dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have
done it.
The tone of this chapter thus far might naturally be depressing
to the exiles, adapted to extinguish their hopes for all the future of
God's kingdom and cause on earth. Hence the special fitness of
this beautiful closing prophecy. It not only counteracted their
discouragement, but it laid the foundation for sweet and glorious
hope. ^Is the eagle able to pluck the highest branch of the proud
cedar, and set it where he will ? So God — a loftier monarch than
he of Babylon — will pluck a tender scion from his high cedar and
will set it in his high and holy mountain — the ever honored tem-
ple mountain in Jerusalem, for this must be "the mountain in the
height of Israel." Compare such passages as Isa. 2: 2-4, Micah
96 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVIII.
4: 1-3, and in Ezekiel himself, chap. 20: 40: "For in mine holy
mountain, in the mountain of the heijiht of Israel, there shall all
the house of Israel serve me ; there will I accept them and there
will I require your oiferings," etc. See also chap. 34: 14. To
the glory of this goodly cedar, there shall be no eclipse. No
decay shall ever reach it, neither shall violence pluck it up;
there shall be no limit to the blessings it shall diffuse. " Under
it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the
branch thereof shall they dwell." It shall forever illustrate the
sovereign power of God who takes down the loftiest monarchs of
earth at his pleasure, and lifts up the lowest; who "withers the
green tree and makes the dry tree flourish," and who, according to
this promise of his love, will cast down all opposing thrones and
will establish the one universal throne of his own glorious Son that
" the kingdoms of this world may become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever." There
can be no good reason to doubt the application of these verses to
the then future Messiah. AH the kings of David's line were in
the succession of promise between him and his greater Son. Hence
the sad fall of the two last prior to the captivity afforded a pertinent
occasion for thus alluding to the greater glories — never to be des-
paired of — that were sure to the future Zion in her blessed King.
The hopes of God's people need not go down in the eclipse that
came over the royal house of David through the crimes, the cap-
tivity, and the death, of these two kings. Their doom forcibly
suggested the contrasted destiny of " the Righteous Branch" that
should reign and prosper" and fill the earth with his blessings.
The Lord could not forego such an opportunity for promises so
timely, so refreshing, so inspiring to his true people in all ages.
CHAPTER XVIII
Tiiis chapter refutes the implication of injustice in God, involved
in the use of the proverb, " The fixthers have eaten sour grapes and
the children's teeth are set on edge." The whole subject de-
mands careful attention and candid, intelligent discriminations.
For it should be remembered that in the standard moral law em-
braced in the ten commandments the Lord appends to the penal-
ties of the second commandment, forbidding idolatry, these words :
" Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation of those that hate me;" and further,
that the prophets had declared that God would and did send the
Jews into captivity for the sins of Manasseh; — e. g.^ 2 Kini^s
24: 3, 4, and 23: 26, 27, and 21 : 11-16. But these judgments fell,
not on Manasseh himself, but on his sons of the third and fourth
e;eneration — Josiah being in the second; his sons Jehoiakim and
Zedekiah in the third, and Jehoiachin in the fourth. It need not
I
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVIII. 97
surprise us therefore that this proverb should come to the lips of
men who sought to justify themselves in their sins, and who Avere
gratified to have even the least apology for arraigning the justice
of God and for persisting in their sins, refusing to repent. The
chapter will show us how the Lord meets this implication and how
he enforces upon the people their personal duty.
1. The word of the Lord came unto. me again, saying,
2. What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning
the land of Israel,' saying, The fathers have eaten sour
grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?
3. As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occa-
sion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
The original rendered — " What mean ye ? " demands rather the
reason than the meaning. The sense is, Whi/ should ye thus im-
plicate the justice of God? and not merely this; What precisely do
you mean by this proverb ? The Hebrew would read literally ;
"What is it to you who are using this proverb?" etc.; equal to,
Whi/ do ye use this proverb ? Nearly the same phrase has occurred
chap. 12 : 22 ; " What to you is that proverb concerning the land
of Israel?" i. e., What business have you to use it? For what
reason ?— = — In v. 3 the word " occasion," supplied by our translat-
ors with no corresponding word in the original, should not by any
means be construed so as to imply that the Jews previously had
good reason for using this proverb, but should have it no longer.
The original simply affirms, " There shall not be to you any more
the using of this proverb;" which naturally means, Ye shall no
more use it. The Lord would set the case in a light so clear that
they must see the injustice of the implication which it involved.
It does not by any means appear that the Lord proposes to change
his policy, i. e., either his principles or his practice in his govern-
ment, so that henceforth there should be no more occasion for
using this proverb, while previously there may have been occasion.
The phrase, " Set on edge," is in common use for that peculiar
sensation and effect produced sometimes by using acid fruit. It is
singular that while this phrase seems most naturally to mean sharp-
ened^ the original Hebrew means to malce dull. The sensation best
explains itself Its meaning as a proverb is simply. The fathers
sin and the children suffer its penalty.
4. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father,
so also the soul of the son is mine: tlie soul that sinneth,
it shall die.
This is the first point of the Lord's reply. The affirmation, " ara
mine" implies not only ownership but parental care and responsi-
bility, and especially the governmental responsibility of dealing
with them according to justice and never in violation of justice.
The Infinite Father who has given existence to all human souls
5
98 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVIII.
affirms of himself that he holds the solemn trust of administering
his moral government over them all — over fathers and sons alike —
on such principles as can never involve any injustice. The sinning
soul and he only shall die. He dies for his own sins and not for
another's. The same Lord is equally just to all. Bound to be just
toward the son as truly as toward the father — loving the son as he
loves the father — how can he visit upon the son the proper penalty
of the sin of which the father only is guilty? He never can.
The Hebrew phrase rendered " are mine," occurs elsewhere, chap.
29: 3, where Pharaoh says of the Nile, "My river is miyie own; I
have made it for myself" Also Exod. 13: 2, where the Lord says
of every first-born in Israel, " Ji! is mine;'' and Ps. 50: 10, where
the same is affirmed of " every beast of the forest and of the cattle
on a thousand hills." The ownership which God claims in human
souls involves higher responsibilities than his 0"svnership of the
beasts of the field because they have nobler powers and sustain
higher relations. The words "die" and "death" are used in
the Scriptures in at least three diverse senses: (1.) For the well-
known dissolution of soul and body — natural death. (2.) For a
state of heart in which sin has absolute dominion and the soul is
committed to sinning past all hope of recovery by its own exer-
tions— a state often called spiritual death. (3.) For the penalty of
the divine law for sin — an amount of suffering and evil thought of
as indefinitely great, and called death because this word stands for
the greatest earthly evil — the ultimate infliction possible for man
to inflict on his fellow-man. The two former are not to be
thought of in this connection. Only the third meets the conditions
of the case. See the term used in the same sense by Jeremiah
(chap. 31 : 30) in the same connection as here, rebuking the people
for using this same proverb. Also by Ezekiel (chap. 3: 18-20),
and by Hosea (chap. 13: 1); "When Ephraim offended in the
matter of Baal, he died; and now they sin more and more," etc. —
implying that the terrible penalty of death was in their case still
suspended. It should be noted that those principles — " all souls
are mine;" and "the sinning soul shall die" — are immutable and
eternal. They had not been adopted si^ice the Jews had begun to
use this proverb and in consequence of this use. They had not
come into existence as a modification of the Lord's recent course
toward the Jewish nation. The possible implication which our re-
ceived translation ("shall not have occasion any more") might be
thought to favor, finds no support in this first grand point made in
the reply of the Lord.
5. But if a man fee just, and do that which is lawful and
right,
6. And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath
lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither
hath defiled his neighbor's wife, neither hath come near to
a menstruous woman.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVIII. • 99
7. And hatli not oppressed any, hut hath restored to the
debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given
his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with
a garment ;
8. He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath
taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from in-
iquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
9. Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judg-
ments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith
the Lord God.
This is a description of a good man, drawn for those times, in
view of the morals and immoralities of that age, and also of the
precepts and prohibitions of the Mosaic law. " Eaten upon the
mountains," means, eaten at idol feasts, of flesh offered to idols
and in their honor. ''High places" were chosen as sites for
idol temples and worship. "Restored to the debtor his pledge."
The Hebrew law, protecting the poor debtor, prescribed very
specific rules in regard to receiving and restoring pledges -given for
the payment of debts. See Ex. 22: 25-27 and Deut. 24: 6, 10-13.
The main points were that raiment taken in pledge must be re-
stored before sunset so that the debtor might use it for his bed-
covering; that neither the upper nor nether mill-stone might be
taken at all — this being a necessity for every family, however poor ;
and that the creditor must not go into the debtor's house to get his
pledge, but must "stand abroad" and wait for the poor man to
t)ring it out. With such jealous care did the gracious Lord protect
the rights and interests of the poor against the not infrequent inhu-
manities of the rich. The law against loaning upon usury and
taking increase, rested on the same principle — the protection of
the poor and unfortunate — who in those ages were the borrowers
contemplated in these laws. Using other people's money to make
more money was quite unknown in legitimate Hebrew life. In
circumstances where such business is legitimate and useful, it can
not be inferred from the Hebrew law that it would be wrong to
take interest for the use of money. Of this just man, thus de-
scribed in detail, the Lord declares, "Ae shall surely live ;" i e., he
shall not die in the sense of death as used in this chapter. He
shall have the favor and blessing of God, and not his Irown and
curse. The point of the affirmation is that God deals with indi-
vidual men on principles that never violate simple justice.
Here let us carefully note that while the Lord conducts his defense
and states the policy of his moral government by means of hypo-
thetical cases — ^^ If a man" — any man — do so and so, such and such
shall be the result; yet his supposed cases would naturally suggest
the names of various kings well known in their recent history.
Thus, e. g.^ under this hypothetical case (vs. 5-9) they might nat-
urally write the names of Hezekiah and Josiah. They were good
men. They shall live and not die. The hypothetical form would
100 - EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVIII.
apply the principle to every good man: the character living in their
thought and prominent in the recent history of their kings, would
give it vitality and force.
10. If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood,
and that doeth the like to any one of these things,
11. And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath
eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbor's wife,
12. Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by
violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up
his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
13. Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken in-
crease : shall he then live ? he shall not live : he hath done
all these abominations ; he shall surely die ; his blood shall
be upon him.
The case here supposed is that of an apostate and recreant son
of this just and good father. He is wicked — all the more so for
the light of a godly and just example which he perpetually sins
against. In v. 10, last clause, the Hebrew makes prominent the
word "brother," which our translators construed rather harshly,
thus ; — " Who doeth deeds that are brother to robbery and blood-
shedding." Usage scarcely sustains this construction, and v. 18 — a
renewed mention of the same case — forbids it. Better thus ; Who
doeth such deeds as robbery and murder to his hrother ; i. e., prob-
ably to his brother-man — to those whom he is bound to account as
his brethren — a thought which puts his sin in a most aggravated
light. Shall this man live ? Nay, verily ; by no means. He
shall not live because his father was so good a man. For this very
reason is his guilt the greater, and therefore for this reason all the
more shall he die. His blood shall be on his own head. This is
justice, and thus God evinces himself just.—. — Of this case also
there were royal examples painfully recent and fresh in every
mind. The good Josiah had three wicked sons and one wicked
grandson who filled the throne after him till their crimes sank that
throne and kingdom in ruin. Did they live in the favor of God for
their good father's sake? Utterly far from it. For his goodness,
all the greater was their sin and all the more terrible their doom !
Manasseh for a long time ran the same career, and but for his
late repentance, would have been another illustration of this case.
14. Now lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's
sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not
such like,
15. That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath
lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath
not defiled his neighbor's wife,
16. Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the
pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, bat hath given his
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVIII. 101
bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a
garment,
17. That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath
not received usury nor inrecase, hath executed my judg-
ments, hath walked in my statutes ; he shall not die for the
iniquity of his father, he .shall surely live.
Here this wicked son becomes a father, and has a son who sees,
abhors, and forsakes his father's sins. This case came directly to
the main point of the proverb. The father has eaten sour grapes :
shall the son's teeth be blunted thereb}^? Shall the upright son die .
for the sins of his wicked father? Nay, verily. His virtue is
really the greater because of the unpropitious circumstances under
which and despite of which it has been developed. "That hath
taken off his hand from the poor," means, hath taken off a hard
hand — one that is overbearing, oppressive. Here let us specially
note that the Lord confronts the implication of the proverb by ex-
plicitly affirming that he always, sooner or later, deals with indi-
vidual men according to their own personal guilt or innocence.
From this just principle he never deviates. This is what justice
demands — is what the just God invariably does. The royal
family furnished examples to fill this case. Hezekiah succeeded
the wicked Ahaz ; Josiah, the wicked Amon; but neither followed
his father's crimes. Each turned away from the wicked course of
his father and did what was lawful and right; and each lived
thereby.
18. As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed,
spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not
good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
To make the application of this case to the proverb the more
palpable, the prophet recurs again to the ungodly father, described
fully vs. 10-13. He, being a wicked man, must die in his iniquity.
His own sins demand this terrible doom! His doom is in no sense
mitigated by his having a godly son. Ahaz and Amon were none
the more favored of God for having such sons as Hezekiah and
Josiah.
19. Yet say ye. Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity
of the father? When the son hath done that ^^lich is law-
ful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done
them, he shall surely live.
20. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall
not bear the iniquity of the father,, neither shall the father
bear the iniquity of the son : the righteousness of the right-
eous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked
shall be upon him.
The prophet here supposes the people to reaffirm their position,
102 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVIII.
though somewhat modestly, and in the form only of a question.
]3ut after all you have said, is it not true that sons bear the iniquity
of their fathers f The Lord answers ; When the son, even of a
wicked father, does right, he shall live. The soul that sinneth
(and he oiiIt/) shall die. Tlie son shall not bear the iniquity of the
father, nor the father, the iniquity of the son. The righteousness
of the righteous shall determine his destiny: the wickedness of the
Avicked shall decide his doom.
21. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he
hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that
which is law^ful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not
die.
22. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they
shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that
he hath done he shall live.
The people doubtless made use of this proverb and of its un-
just implication of wrong on God's part, to relieve their Conscience
from the pressure of obligation to repent. Hence the tone of these
and the following verses bears directly to the point of counteract-
ing this influence and of persuading them to repent. Though you
have sinned, yet if you will turn from all your sin and do only
right, you shall live and not die. All your transgressions shall be
forgiven and not be mentioned any more against you. Because of
the new moral course unto which ye turn, ye shall live. It was vital
to the best moral results that the people should see that repent-
ance brings salvation, even to the chief of sinners. Here came
in the strong case of Manasseh, who, after many years of awfully
wicked life, repented, humbled himself greatly, was brought back
from his captivity in Babylon, and found mercy of God. See the
record 2 Chron. 33: 11-13, 18, 19. 'It was this repentance that
averted the divine judgments from himself and gave a ncAV lease
of life to the nation. Because of this repentance, the national
ruin was delayed for yet another great effort toward their salvation.
23. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should
die? saith the Lord God : and not that he should return
from his w ays, and live ?
Is it any pleasure to me that the wicked man should die? Is it
not rather my supreme pleasure that he should turn from his
wicked ways and so should live ? The people may have thought
otherwise. It may have seemed to them that God took delight in
visiting the penalties of an awful death on the wicked. If they
had thought so, they did not know the heart of (Jod ; they had en-
tirely misapprchend(Kl his nature ; they had never seen and appre-
ciated his deep eternal love ! For, the most glorious, most blessed
truth ever revealed of God to this sinning world is here — that God
has compassion toward even very guilty sinners; is pained and not
pleased when he must punish ; is delighted, even to infinite joy,
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVIII. 103
when the sinner turns from his wicked ways and lives. Out of
this loving compassion came the scheme of atonement through the
incarnation and death of his OAvn beloved Son, making pardon safe
4o his kingdom — possible without peril to the vital interests of his
government. For all this, let the heavens rejoice and let the earth
be glad !
24. But when the righteous turnetli away from his right-
eousness, and conimitteth iniquity, and doeth according to
all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he
live? All his righteousness that lie hath done shall not be
mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in
his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Still another phase of the general question requires notice. Sup-
pose a man has lived righteously a long time and has accumulated
what might be accounted a stock of righteousness. If then he
turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, shall he live?
By no means. All his stock of accumulated righteousness goes for
nothing — "shall not be mentioned;" in his sins he must die. So
men must abandon all hope of God's favor on the ground of having
once done right — if they turn from that righteousness and commit
iniquity.
25. Yet ye say. The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear
now, O house of Israel ; Is not my way equal ? are not your
ways unequal?
26. When a righteous man turnetli away from his right-
eousness, and committeth iniquity, and dietli in them ; for
his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27. Again, when the wicked man turnetli away from his
wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which
is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28. Because he considereth, and turnetli away from all
his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely
live, he shall not die.
Here the implication, tacitly involved in the proverb, is brought
out palpably — a charge of injustice in God. They say the course
of God's moral administration is not equitable. It violates justice.
This is the charge of the people against God. To this the Lord
replies, squarely asserting the perfect justice of his own ways, and
the injustice of theirs. It is your ways that are unequal : mine are
always equal. The points of argument made here are these two :
(1.) That a righteous man, turning from his righteousness and do-
ing wrong, shall die for his iniquity: (2.) That a wicked man,
considering his ways and turning from his wickedness, shall surely
live and not die. These great features of God's moral administra-
tion over a sinning world are so obviously equitable; they so
104 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVIII.
plainly cover the whole ground of justice and of mercy, and so
commend themselves to every man's conscience and moral sense
as intrinsically rii!;ht and good, that they are naturally the end of
all argument. More is superfluous. ,
29. Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord
is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal?
are not your ways unequal ?
30. Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every
one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Kepent,
and turn yourselves from all your transgressions ; so iniquity
shall not be your ruin.
31. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby
ye have transgressed ; and make you a new heart and a new
spirit : for why will ye die, O house of Israel ?
32. For I have no pleasure in the death of him that
dieth, saith the Lord God : wherefore turn yourselves, and
live ye.
Yet the people arc supposed to reiterate their charge of injustice
against God. The Lord reaffirms his perfect justice in the same
terms as before, v. 25 ; declares that he will judge them every one
according to his ways ; and exhorts them therefore to repent and
turn from all their transgressions : else iniquity must be their
ruin. So doing, it shall not be. "Casting away all trangres-
sion," is here essentially equivalent to "making to themselves a
new heart and a new spirit." The putting away of sin supposes
sin to be abhorred, supposes that the heart turns to God to obey
and to love him supremely. This and nothing less than this, God
implies in this exhortation ; this and nothing less God demands of
every sinner, and demands it with infinite reason. This reason-
able duty God presses here as the only alternative to the doom of
death. IJo this — for why will ye die, O house of Israel ? Do this
— else you must die., past all mercy, past all possibility of salvation.
And lohy should you choose death ? Why doom yourselves to so
dire an end when life is before you, and when God so earnestly
longs to see you turning from your sins to accept and insure it
for evermore ! And this is truly the attitude and this the
language of the All-glorious Father to every sinner ! No one need
say; "Huch mercy can never apply to me; such words are too good
to be said of me ! " " Whosoever will, let him take the water of
life freely ! "
Before we pass on from this great discussion, vindicating the
justice of God, let us turn our attention yet more distinctly to the
circumstances which probably gave rise to the proverb and note
also the method in which the Lord rebuts its implication of injus-
tice. In those ages, idolatry was the great national sin of the
Jews — the special cause of the judgments of God on their city and
land. In the second command of the decalogue, the recital of
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVIII. 105
penalty has these words; "Visiting the iniquity of the Withers upon
the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate
me." Ex. 20: 5. As shown above, this special statement was pre-
cisely fulj&lled in the fact that the sins of Manasseh are repeatedly
represented to be those which the Lord "could not pardon" and
must punish ; while yet the punishment in the form of dethrone-
ment, captivity, and a violent death, fell upon his children of the
third and fourth generation. Now it was probably in view of
these facts that the people brought into current use this proverb —
cited also by Jeremiah (chap. 31 : 29, 30) and rebutted there in
the same way as here. Hoio does the Lord reply and rebut this
allegation ? Not by any attempt, even the least, to explain the
philosophy of the penalty attached to the second commandment;
not by showing why he governs nations with much long-suffering
and waits through many generations of individual men, far down in
the nation's life, still pressing his agencies for reform and laboring
to save the whole people from the ruin toward which they are tend-
ing. Not thus does he condescend to debate this matter, although
he might have done so; — but he makes his response directly and
squarely practical^ to the heart and conscience of the people. He
says to them virtually. There is no need just now that ye concern
yourselves with the policy of God in his government of nations as
such. Suffice it for you that ye personally stand or fall before God
on your individual life. With every individual man, whether king
or subject, I deal in perfect equity, never punishing any one sin-
ner for the guilt of another sinner; never the son for the sins of
his father. Do right and you live : but persist in sinning, turn
from righteousness to sin, and you surely die. I have no pleasure
in your death; I long to see you repenting and living righteously
with a new heart and a new spirit. So shall my heart be cheered
and gladdened in your eternal peace and life. This was the
vital thing that needed to be said. This was all that the case re-
ally demanded. This rebutted the allegation of injustice on God's
part, and brought the greatest possible pressure upon the heart and
conscience toward repentance and salvation. It was doubtless
wise in God to omit all philosophical discussion upon the further
question of his policy toward nations as such^ and to hold their
attention simply and closely to the one far greater theme — their
own personal responsibilities, perils, and possibilities of life.
But as already hinted, the Lord might have replied by expounding
the philosophy of that remarkable penalty attached to the second
commandment. He might have said — Nations are not precisely the
same as individuals. A nation's life runs through a period which
includes the lifetime of many individual generations. Why may I
not exercise long-suffering toward a nation as well as toward an in-
dividual ? And hence, what can forbid my bearing with a nation
through several generations of fathers and sons, plying every moral
agency to turn them from their sins to righteousness? Especially,
he might have said; What principle of justice is violated, provided
that always and every-whcre, sooner or later, I deal with every in-
106 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIX.
dividual sinner in that nation, king or subject, according to his per-
sonal deserts? The retribution of nations as such is not closed
up and exhausted each successive day nor each year, nor in each
generation. It waits far into the nation's life for its fullness of
time, much as God waits upon some one individual sinner past
many sins, through many months or years it may be of his sinning,
yet never loses sight of his case; 'never fails to administer perfect
justice in the end. Thus are the ways of the Lord true and
righteous altogether. Thus the laws of his moral administration
over nations are in some respects peculiar and unique, resting on
their own good reasons, and having evermore due regard to what is
peculiar in the life of nations as such in this world. Still further,
let us recur again to the fact that the sins of Manasseh were made
prominent as involving the nation in guilt which the Lord could not
pardon ; also, that in the event the national ruin fell on his children
of the third and fourth generation; and that this fact may have
had some influence to bring into vogue the proverb which leads the
discussion in this chapter. Here then note that this discussion
brings out the very principle on which the Lord spared Manasseh.
He repented ; broke of his si7is by righteousyicss ; and found mercy.
The case was one of exceedingly great and rich moral power as an
encouragement to the vilest of sinners to return to the Lord their
God. Was it not, at least mainly, for the sake of affording scope
for the influence of this example that the Lord delayed the infliction
of his judgments upon the nation, and yet prolonged their space for
repentance! In this point the Lord has the same policy with
nations as with individuals, suddenly arresting his judgments at the
very moment when they are ready to smite the guilty, if any new
circumstances inspire fresh hope or develop some yet untried influ-
ence which may possibly lead to repentance. Manasseh' s long-con-
tinued wickedness had depraved and almost sunk the nation; his
late repentance cast a gleam of hope athwart the darkness; and God
therefore not only spared him, but postponed his annihilating judg-
ments for the sake of one other earnest eflPort to reclaim and save a
guilty people.
CHAPTER XIX.
This chapter sets before the exiles the fall of the royal house of
Judah and ultimately of the nation. AVitli liigh poetic beauty this
is done by conceiving of the whole people as " thy mother;" of this
mother as first a lioness who puts her young lions one after another
on the throne: and next, as a vine whose strong shoots become
scepters for her kings, but which is finally itself plucked up in
fury, dried by the cast wind, and burned in the fire. 80 perish
the kings of Judah, the people also, and the whole frame of organ-
ized society and government — a cluster of painful facts taken up
here for a lamentation among the exiles of Chaldea. Some of
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIX. 107
these events had already transpired : the rest of them were near at
band. There was no hope of saving these exiles morally and spir-
itually without bringing to bear upon them the entire moral power
of those judgments with Avhich God was scourging and wasting
their mother people and country. Hence these topics appear in
Ezekiel "line upon line," reiterated with wonderful variety of rep-
resentation, and we might say, in forms which exhaust the entire
wealth of sj^mbols and figures known to Hebrew or Chaldean lit-
• erature.
1. Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the j)i*inces
of Israel,
2. And say, What is thy mother ? A lioness : she lay
down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young
lions.
"Take up," in the sense of prepare and present to the exiles;
announce and record it, for their moral instruction. Since the
theme is one of bitter sorrow, let it be an ekg^/, to be used in pub-
lic lamentation over the fall of their mother country. " For the
princes of Israel," refers to the kings on the throne of David.
Ezekiel currently uses the word "prince" for those kings. The
term "Israel" looks not to the kingdom of the ten tribes, now ex-
tinct, but rather, back to David, to indicate the fall of the last
kings in his line. Naturally, "mother" represents the people, as
"daughter" often does the chief cities, especially Jerusalem.
The lion, king of beasts, fitly represents a king in the nation. The
figure was at home in Chaldea, as is shown by their abundant use
of it, evinced at this day in the ruins of their cities and temples.
3. And she brought up one of her whelps : it became a
young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured
men.
4. The nations also heard of him ; he was taken in their
pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of
Egypt.
This first young lion-king was Jehoahaz, recognized by three
marks: — (1.) He was the first among the sons of Josiah to succeed
him on his throne, and is the first in order here: (2.) He was put
on the throne by the people, as the history specially affirms, 2 Kings
23: 30, and 2 Chron. 36: 1 : (3.) He and he only, having been
deposed by Pharoah Necho, was carried (as here stated) to Egypt
and died there. The figure is carried out to the life. This
young lion caught the ways of lion-kings ; he " learned to catch the
prey and devoured men." Even the original word for " chain "keeps
up the figure, denoting the hook or ring fixed in the nose of wild
animals to control them.
5. Now, when she saw that she had Avaited, and her hope
108 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XIX.
was lost, she took another of her whelps, and made him a
young lion.
6. And he went up and down among the lions, he be-
came a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and 'de-
voured men.
7. And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste
their cities ; and the land was desolate, and the fullness
thereof, by the noise of his roaring.
8. Then the nations set against him on every side from
the provinces, and spread their net over him : he was taken
in their pit.
9. And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him
to the king of Babylon : they brought him into holds, that
his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of
Israel.
This second young lion is not Jehoiakim, tlie immediate successor
of Jehoahaz, but is Jehoiachin, his son. For the former (the
father) was put on the throne, not by the people, but l)y the king
of Babylon; and he seems not to have been carried to Babylon,
but to have died in disgrace at Jerusalem. See Jer. 22: 18, 19
and 36 : 30. On the other hand, Jehoiachin was in favor with the
people, and for aught that appears was put on the throne by them ;
was taken captive to Babylon and remained there in captivity at
least thirty-seven years ; and finally his fall was specially afflictive
to the exiles. They had many fond hopes of his restoration. See
Lam. 4 : 20. The people hoped that Jehoahaz might be restored
to them, till this hope perished (v. 5). In v. 7 the word rendered
"desolate palaces," stands in our Hebrew text, widows. If this
reading be accepted, the word "knew" must mean violated, giving
us a dark view of his moral purity.
10. Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by
the waters : she was fruitful and full of branches by reason
of many waters.
11. And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that
bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick
branches, and she appeared in her height with the multi-
tude of her branches.
12. But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down
to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit : her
strong rods were broken and withered ; the fire consumed
them.
13. And now she is planted in the Avilderness, in a dry
and thirsty ground.
14. And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches,
which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX. 109
rod to he a scepter to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall
be for a lamentation.
By a sudden change of figure the Jewish people become a vine-^
a figure of somewhat frequent occurrence in the Scriptures and
recently used by Ezekiel himself See chap. 15 : 6 and 17:6. See
also Isa. 5: 1-7 and 27: 2-7; Ps. 80: 8-16 and Jer. 2: 21.
Her strong shoots are scepters for kings, and virtually in the fig-
ure, represent kings themselves. She rose to prominence among
the nations, but she was suddenly plucked up by the fury of the
Almighty. The east wind — terribly withering in that climate —
dried up her roots : her strong rods (scepters) were broken, and
the fires of divine judgments consumed both kings and people.
A few of her people had been taken into captivity — a fact repre-
sented here by her being transplanted to a wilderness and set in
a dry and thirsty ground. Her last king, Zedekiah, by his treach-
ery to the king of Babylon, had brought down the final stroke of
vengeance — corresponding to a fire going out from one of the rods
(scepters) of her foliage, which devoured her fruit, so that she had
no successor for her throne. The royal house is utterly broken
down. The throne of Judah is in ruins. To the Hebrew exiles,
this was and should still be "for a lamentation." In v. 10 the
word translated "in thy blood," involves great critical difficulties.
Probably the reading is not correct. What it should be, it is per-
haps impossible to determine with certainty. Fortunately no sen-
timent of special importance is involved in the question. Gesenius
says, most probably thus; — "like a vine of thy vineyard." Others
variously.
CHAPTER XX.
This chapter, with a new date, has its special occasion — the
coming of certain elders of Israel to inquire of the Lord through
the prophet. It has also its special strain of reply — essentially a
resume or historical review of the great trials which the Lord
experienced with the Hebrew people on the point of their pro-
pensity to idolatry, showing that, over and over again, he had for-
l3idden them to worship idols, had solemly sworn that he would
exterminate them with his judgments for this sin, but had spared
them for his great mercy's sake. As a historical sketch, the
chapter corresponds somewhat closely with Neh. 9 ; Ps. 78 ; and
the speech of Stephen in Ac. 7. Here preeminently the historical
facts cited bear on the great points now present and prominent —
viz., that the people were strangely infatuated toAvard idolatry;
that they had been on the verge of national ruin repeatedly for
this sin; and that they had been spared only through the great
mercy of God and to save the honor of his throne before the hea-
then ; and not at all for their own sake or merit.
110 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX.
1. And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth
month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders
of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me.
This new date is about eleven months later than the last named
— (8: 1). It is obvious both from the strain of the chapter and
from the relation of these exiles to their fatherland that they came
to inquire of the Lord, not specially for themselves, but for their
nation and their beloved but now doomed city. The Lord's reply
is not this: "I can not hear you in the thing you ask for your-
selves;" but, "I can not spare that guilty nation!" They came
and sat before the prophet to confer with him in the matter, and
probably to enlist his sympathies with iheir own if they could.
2. Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,
3. Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say
unto them. Thus saith the Lord God ; Are ye come to in-
quire of me ? As 1 live, saith the Lord God, I will not be
inquired of by you.
The Lord understood their thought before their words had dis-
closed it and promptly replied with a most solemn refusal. The
doom of the guilty people and city was fixed and no prayer could
reverse it. txod "would not pardon." See 2 Kings 24: 4, Ezek.
14, and Jer. 15, and 7: 16, and 11: 14, and 14:^11. On the
clause, "I will not be inquired of by you," Jerome has this fine
comment : " To the holy and to those who ask for right things, the
promise is given ; ' While they are yet speaking, I will say — Here
I am.' But to sinners, such as these elders of Israel were, and as
those whose sins the prophet proceeds to describe, no answer is
given, but only a fierce rebuke for their sins, to which He adds
his oath; 'As I live,' to strengthen his solemn refusal."
4. AVilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge
themf cause them to know the abominations of their fa-
thers :
This question, "Wilt thou judge them?" can not be taken as
implying that he ought not to do" it, thus ; Wilt thou do a thing
so wrong as to judge them? On the contrary, it manifestly implies
an aflirmative and enjoins the duty of judging them. The Hebrew
interrogative particle used here sometimes implies a negative particle
with it; e. g.^ Jer. 31 : 20 — "Is {i. e., is 7iot) Ephraim my dear son?"
Is he (not) a pleasant child?" Also Job 20: 4: "Knowest thou
(not) this of old that the triumphing of the wicked is short?"
"Judge," is here used in the forensic sense — bring them to trial;
prefer charges against them; recite the catalogue of their crimes;
and, as the parallel clause has it, show them the abominable sins
of their fathers. This v. 4 indicates the course of thought
throughout vs. 5-32. Instead of allowing himself to be inquired
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX. Ill
of in prayer to avert his threatened judgments against the Jews,
the Lord directs the prophet to set before these elders the lon<r
record of their national sins and provocations.
5. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; In the
day when I chose Israel, and lifted up my hand unto the
seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto
them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up my hand unto
them, saying, I a7n the Lord your God ;
6. In the day that I lifted up my hand unto them, to
bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I
had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, Avhich is
the glory of all lands:
7. Then said I unto them. Cast ye away every man the
abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the
idols of Egypt : I a7n the Lord your God.
" Chose Israel." See Deut. 7: 6-8 and 14: 2. " For thou art an
holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord hath chosen thee to
be a special people unto himself above all people that are upon the
face of the earth," etc. "Lifted up mine hands," i. e., in the sol-
emn oath, as in Deut. 32: 40, "For I lift up my hand to heaven
and say, 'I live forever:' " or Dan. 12: 7 and Rev. 10: 5. "Had
espied," i. e., explored and selected. In these verses and in their
context, it is implied that while yet the people were in Egypt, the
Lord solemnly admonished them against idolatry, but they would
not hear. The Scripture narrative omits this, except in so far as
it may be implied in the proposal to go out from Egypt into the
desert to offer sacrifice unto the Lord their God. Yet there can
be no doubt of the fact that even there in Egypt the Lord admon-
ished his people against being seduced into the worship of their
idols.
8. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken
unto me: they did not every man cast away the abomina-
tions of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of
Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them,
to accomplish mine anger against them in the midst of the
land of Egypt.
9. But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not
be polluted before the heathen, among whom they ivere, in
whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing
them forth out of the land of Egypt.
They would not hearken to the Lord: hence while they were
in Egypt, the Lord solemnly threatened to pour out his fury and
to exhaust ("accomplish") his anger upon them. But he spared
and saved his people then for his name's sake, that the heathen
might not reproach him as unable to save his own people.
112 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX.
10. Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land.
of Egypt, and brought them into the wiklerness.
11. And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my
judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.
"Do and live," looks to that stubborn and stringent alternative put
by the Lord through Moses, Dcut. 30: 15-20, "See, I have set before
thee this day life and good — death and evil." "I call heaven and
earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life
and death, blessing and cursing," etc. The ancient Chaldee para-
phrast expands the last clause of v. 11; "He shall live in them tvith
eternal life." This represents the current theology held by the Jews
on this point before and near the Christian era, and hence has an
important bearing on the interpretation of our Savior's language on
this subject. It shows in what sense his language must have been
understood, and hence in what sense he must have used it. '
12. Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign
between me and them, that they might know that I am the
Lord that sanctify them.
This verse is specially important because of its supposed and real
bearings on the nature and perpetuity of the Sabbath. Why is
the term here in the plural form, " Sabbaths 1 " Does it include other
festal days than those enjoined in the fourth commandment?
Under some circumstances it might; for God did enjoin upon the
Jews other seasons of rest from labor, e. g., during the three great
feasts; on the great day of atonement, etc. But the reference in
this passage to Exo. 31 : 13-17 is so manifest that we must allow
that passage to interpret this. There we read, " Verily my sab-
baths" (plural) " shall ye keep;" yet the plural refers to many suc-
cessive sabbaths — each seventh day — fifty-two in each year; and
not to various days of required rest, other than this seventh day.
Hence our passage in Ezekiel probably speaks only of the day en-
joined in the fourth command. In what sense did the Lord give
the Jews the seventh-day sabbath " as a sign f The passage in
Exodus reads; "Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign
between me and you throughout your generations, that ye may
know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." "Wherefore
the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sab-
bath throughout their generations for a perpetual covenant. It is
a sign between me and the children of Israel forever ; for in six
days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he
rested and was refreshed." In this passage the word '■'■sign' man-
ifestly means a standing memorial and witness of his relations to
his people. It witnessed that he would have them imitate himself
in his sevenlh-day rest after the six days' work of creation, and
that he was devoting himself to their sanctification as his peo-
ple ; — " that ye may knoAV that I am the Lord that doth sanctify
you." God gave them the Sabbath to indicate these relations: they
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX. 113
should observe it as a means of recognizing these relations on
their part and of responding to them in observing the duties they
involved.
We may now come to the question of more special interest in our
age. Does this passage thus expounded, or indeed on any just ex-
position, teach that the Sabbath is exclusively a Jewish institution ?
Was it Mosaic or even Hebraic in such a sense that its obligations
ceased with the expiration of that system and have no binding force
in the Christian age? 1 reply; the fact that God enjoined it
upon the Hebrew people is no reason why he should not enjoin it
also upon all mankind. On the contrary, if his revealed purposes
and objects in enjoining it upon them are of a general nature, ap-
plicable in the main to all mankind, then his enjoining it upon
them proves it to be binding universally on the race. Now it
admits of ample proof that the reasons given of God for enjoining
the observance of the Sabbath — given specially in the fourth com-
mand itself, and in the passage Exodus 31 : 13-17, which is specially
under Ezekiel's eye in our text — are of universal application. The
Great Father of the race wrought six days in the creation and
rested the seventh. He puts his own example, not before Israel
only, but before the race, and invites — nay more, commands them
to follow it. He signifies to them that he ivould he remembered as
their Creator and Father, and would have them set apart time for
an object so vital. Then Ex. 31: 13-17 (cited above) develops yet
more fully the thought that in the Sabbath God aims to sanctify his
people and to make it a visible sign of a special relationship be-
tween himself and them. Yet here let it be carefully noted, it is
his relation to them not as Hebrews, but as his children, his peo-
ple. All these points are general, not special; good for the race,
not restricted and of value to the Hebrews only. Indeed they
show the Sabbath to be a glorious boon which no tribe or nation or
age can afford to forego. Thus far the discussion of this great
question respecting the universal obligation of the Sabbath as a
divine institution comes fairly within the province of the expositor
of Ezekiel because it is legitimately involved in the sense of his
words. Other points bearing on the question, e. g.^ its institution
in Eden; the traces of it in the seven-day periods during the deluge;
its existence among the Hebrews prior to its announcement from
Sinai (see Exod. 16 : 22-30), and the proofs of its reindorscment
in the beginning of the Christian age, must be omitted as not gcr-
main to the scope of this commentary.
13. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the
wilderness : they walked not in my statutes, and they de-
spised my judgments, which ij a man do, he shall even live
in them ; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted : then I
said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilder-
ness, to consume them.
14. But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not
1X4 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX.
be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought
them out.
15. Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wil-
derness, that I w^ould not bring them into the land which
I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is
the glory of all lands ;
16. Because they despised my judgments, and walked not
in my statutes, but joolluted my sabbaths: for their heart
went after their idols.
17. Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying
them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilder-
ness.
This brief reference to the wilderness-life of the children of Is-
rael is most abundantly confirmed in the Pentateuch, especially in
the history of the golden calf, Ex. 32 and 33, and in the unbelief
and murmuring consequent on the report of the spies, Num. 13
and 14. Sec also Ps. 78 and 95. That stage of Hebrew life was
a mournful illustration of human depravity, and especially of the
corrupting influence exerted upon the fathers during their long
residence in Egypt and long familiarity with idol-worship there.
18. But I said unto their children in the wilderness,
Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither ob-
serve their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:
19. I am the Lord your God; w^alk in my statutes, and
keep my judgments, and do them ;
20. And hallow my sabbaths ; and they shall be a sign
between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord
your God.
21. Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me:
they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments
to do them, wdiich if a man do, he shall even live in them :
they polluted my sabbaths : then I said, I would pour out
my fury upon them, to accomplish mine anger against them
in the wilderness.
22. Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and wrought for
my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight
of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.
It was indeed most true that the Lord reiterated his admoni-
tions, warnings and thrcatenings, continually during the forty years'
life of the nation in the wilderness. It was one constant scene of
moral labor to train and reform the people. It availed in great
measure to save the children and youth — those who were under
twenty years of age when they came out of Egypt; but seems to
have mostly failed to reclaim those more advanced in years and
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX. 115
more confirmed in their habits of thought and of life. The
strain of this chapter is that the Lord's patience was repeatedly
tried to the utmost, so that he was often on the point of extermi-
nating the guilty people by his swift judgments; but restrained
himself through his great mercy, and to save his holy name from
reproach before the heathen in whose sight he had brought them
forth from Egypt and adopted them as his own peculiar people.
This view of their national history was eminently pertinent and
forcible for Ezekiel's time and for the circumstances of both the
exiles and their brethren then just on the brink of exterminating
ruin in their native land.
23. I lifted up my hand unto them also in the wilder-
ness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and
disperse them through the countries ;
24. Because they had not executed my judgments, but
had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths,
and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.
25. Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not
good, and judgments whereby they should not live;
26. And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they
caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb,
that I might make them desolate, to the end that they
might know that I am the Lord.
The points specially requiring attention here stand in vs. 25, 26.
What statutes and judgments are here referred to ? In what sense
did God "give them?" And for what purpose? The laws of lan-
guage compel us to take the words, "Statutes and judgments" in
a sense similar and analogous to that in ■v\^ich they are used else-
where throughout this chapter; e. g.^ in vs. 11, 13, 16, 18, 19, 21,
24, — yet not as referring to precisely and identically the same stat-
utes and judgments, for it was because they did not execute those
judgments but despised them (v. 24), that God says (v. 25), "There-
fore I gave them also statutes not good," etc. Hence the latter were
somewliat yet not altogether different from the former. These
conditions are met in "the Statutes of Omri," (See Mic. 6 : 16, where
the same word is used as here by Ezekiel), and in the decree of
Jeroboam (1 Kin^-s 12: 28-33). These were royal statutes and
judgments establishing idol-worship by public authority. In
what sense did God give the people these statutes? Only in
the sense of suffering their wicked kings to enjoin them. Not
unfrequently God is said in the Scriptures to do what he only
permits to be done. He was said to harden Pharaoh's heart, when,
in fact, according to the record, he only suffered him to harden his
owTi heart, and when the most direct agency which he exerted
toward that result was in removing the plagues under which that
proud king quailed and relented. So far as the Scriptures explain
hoio his heart was hardened, they attribute it in small part to the
116 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX.
influence of his own magicians, but in large part, to the divine
mercy in lifting the plagues from him and from his land. See the
former in Ex. 7: 10-13, 22, and the latter, in Ex. 8: 15, 32, ai^d
9 : 34, 35, and 10 : 19, 20. According to the doctrine of the
Scriptures, God's agencies in some form reach all events. Some
events he brings to pass without the intermediate agency of his
creatures ; some, with such intermediate agency. In the latter
class, his own work is often only jjermissive — suffering these in-
termediate agents to do what they choose to do. In this case the
Lord is said sometimes to do them. It remains to inquire — For
ivhat purpose in this case did the Lord give the people "statutes
not good and judgments whereby they should not live?" The
passage itself supplies the answer. Because they did not execute
his judgments but despised his statutes, polluted his Sabbaths and
set their eyes on their fathers' idols, therefore God suffered them
to be ensnared into deeper idolatry by the royal influence of Jero-
boam, Ahab, Omri, and Manasseh. It was a divine judgment upon
them for their persistent love of idols. The Lord gave them their
way to let them see and to let all the world in coming ages see
what idolatry is; what it leads to; how fearfully it curses a peo-
ple of itself, and how terribly God will punish it. On the same
principle God gave up the heathen nations to idolatry and to deep
moral corruption. So Paul affirms Rom. 1: 21, 24, 26, 28, in the
language; "Because that when they knew God, they glorified him
not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imag-
inations, and their foolish heart was darkened:" ^^ Wherefore^ i. e.,
for this reason, God gave them up to uncleanness," etc. "For this
cause God gave them up to vile affections." "And even as they did
not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to
a reprobate mind." Paul also develops the same law of God's
moral administration in* 2 Thess. 2: 11; "And for this cause God
shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie." So
far as we can know, this may be a necessary measure of policy in a
moral government, to give some persistent sinners a larger range for
possible sin and less restraint, that they may exemplify for the warn-
ing of others the fearful power of sin on the soul and its terrible and
certain curse in the lino both of natural conseqences and of divine
judgments therefor. Hence no reasonable objection can lie against
the All-wise and All-good Ruler of the moral universe for this pol-
icy. The scope of this passage, v. 25, appears also in v. 39.
V. 2G bears the same interpretation and sustains it. I suffered
them to become more and more polluted in their gifts at the shrine
of their idols even to the extent of burning to death all their first-
born sons and daughters, consecrating them to ]\loloch and Saturn
and not to God. 1 did this in order that I might bring utter des-
olation on their land, under which desolation both they themselves
and all men should learn that I am the Lord. An evil so horrible
as this virus of idolatry must be suftercd to ripen and develop it-
self into its legitimate fruits before its punishment could have the
highest and best moral effects.
I
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX. 117
27. Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel,
^nd say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; Yet in this
your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have com-
mitted a trespass against me.
28. For when I had brought them into the land, for the
which I lifted up my hand to give it to them, then they
saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered
there their sacrifices, and there they presented the j)rovoca-
tion of their offering: there also they made their sweet
savor, and poured out there their drink-offerings.
29. Then I said unto them, What is the high place
whereunto ye go ? And the nam^ thereof is called Bamah
unto this day.
"Yet in this" same idol-worship, your fathers have blasphemed
me — provoked and insulted me exceedingly; for when I brought
them into the goodly land of Canaan, they sought out every beau-
tiful location, every high hill and thick grove, and located their idol-
worship there. Then I said to them. Why go ye to those high
places rather than to the temple, the "one place" which God had
ordained? What special attraction draws you thither? But they
answer only by persisting in their custom, and by giving those high
places a distinguished name unto this day. The significance of
this V. 29, seems to be that God protested against those locaHties for
worship ; but the people insisted and still kept up the usage under
that name well known among themselves and deeply offensive and
odious to their God. In harmony with this the Psalmist says (78 :
58), "For they provoked him to anger with their high places."
30. Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith
the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your
fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abomina-
tions ?
31. For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons
to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your
idols, even unto this day: and shall I be inquired of by
you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I
will not be inquired of by you.
Are not ye of this generation as deeply polluted as your fathers
ever were? And now, shall I be inquired of by you? By no
means.
32. And that which cometh into your mind shall not be
at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the fam-
ilies of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
33. As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty
118 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX.
hand, and with a stretchcd-out arm, and with fury poured
out, will I rule over you :
34. And I will bring you out from the people, and will
gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered,
with a mighty hand, and with a stretched-out arm, and wuth
fury poured out.
35. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peo-
ple, and there will I plead with you face to face.
36. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness
of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the
Lord God.
37. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I
will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
38. And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and
them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth
out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not
enter into the land of Israel : and ye shall know that I am
the Lord.
Here the tone changes to exhortation and promise. The Lord
will yet put forth his mighty hand to redeem a remnant and re-
store them to piety and to consequent prosperity. The temptation
to be like the heathen must be withstood and its very thought re-
pelled. Verses 35, 36 are a beautiful analogy between this process
of discipline and that by which the Lord sifted, proved, and tried
his people in the wilderness of Sinai. So also in Hos. 2: 14-23.
The cases are not only analogous in the principle involved but in
the means used and even partially in the minute point of a wilder-
ness life, for these exiles were led forth through a long wilderness
route from Canaan to Chaldea. "I will cause you to pass under
the rod," looks to the usage of shepherds in numbering their flocks,
perhaps nightly as they entered the fold, or after a purchase, to
verify the number. So God will bring his dear people carefully
into his fold, taking pains to see that all are there, and consecrating
them to himself. The sifting processes of his providence will expel
the rebels of unsubdued heart. They will never return to his land.
39. As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord
God ; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter
also, if ye will not hearken unto me : but pollute ye my
holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
40. For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the
height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the
house of Israel, all of thcra in the land, serve me: there
will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings,
and the first fruits of your oblations, with all your holy
things.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX. 119
41. I will accept you witli your sweet savor, when I
bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the
countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be
sanctified in you before the heathen.
42. And ye shall know that I awi the Lord, when I shall
bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the
which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers.
43. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your
doings wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe
yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have
committed.
44. And ye shall know that I ain the Lord, when I have
wrought w^ith you for my name's sake, not according to
your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O
ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.
The scope of v. 39, I take to be — Play the hypocrite with me no
longer. If ye will persist in serving idols, go on ; but cease to mix
up the worship of idols with the worship of the living God ! No
more pollute me, my name and my temple, with your gifts and idols.
For lo, in my holy mountain there shall be none but pure hearts
and true lives. Hypocrites can have no place there. There I will
accept the honest and faithful Avorshipers ; they shall penitently
loathe and forsake their abominations, and shall know in their
own blessed experience that I am the Lord their Savior and Ke-
deemer. This strain of promise is eminently precious after so
long and so terrible a recital of God's holy displeasure against his
apostate people, his grievous heart-trials with them, and his fearful
judgments upon them. ^At this point, our Hebrew Bibles close
this chapter. It is manifestly the close of this special theme and
strain. The remaining verses (45-49) belong properly to the next
chapter.
45. Moreover the w^ord of the Lord came unto me, saying,
46. Son of man, set thy face tow^ard the south, and drop
thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest
of the south field ;
47. And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of
the Lord ; Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I will kindle
a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee,
and every dry tree : the flaming flame shall not be quenched,
and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned
therein.
48. And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled
it : it shall not be quenched.
Remarkably the prophets set the face toward the country or the
people to whom their prophecies were addressed. See chap. 6 : 2,
120 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX.
and 13: 17, etc. "The south," and "the forest of the south field,"
as here used, are manifestly Jerusalem and Judah, thought of as
"the south" for the same reason that Babylon — Ezekiel's residence
then — was "the north." Hee Jer. 1: 14-15. Ezek. 21: 2, 3 con-
firms this reference to Judah. "Drop thy word" — let thy speech
distil — fall in drops (such is the figure). It occurs elsewhere : Job
29 : 22 and Amos 7 : 16. Judah and Jerusalem are thought of
as a forest which is combiistible — fit material for the fires of Jeho-
vah's judgments. A terrible figure of a ruin before which nothing
can stand !
49. Then said I, Ah, Lord God ! they say of me, Doth
he not speak parables?
A feeling of sad discouragement comes over the prophet as he
thinks of delivering this message (vs. 46-48), for he remembers
how the people received his threatenings from the Lord before,
when they were clothed in strongly figurative language. Hence he
cries out, " Alas ! alas ! O Lord God ; they are saying of me (this is
the precise tense of his language); they have been saying and doubt-
less they will say again of me — "Does he not use strong figures?
Must we not make large allowance for his vivid imagination? Have
his words much meaning after all ? So I understand their question,
"Doth he not speak parables?" For to suppose they simply ask;
What rhetorical terms, according to the best authorities, should be
applied to such forms of expression? is to misapprehend entirely
both their feelings and his. Rosenmueller, however, gives it this
turn; Does he not talk very blindly, confusedly, with dark figures
that w^e can not understand? But if this had been their meaning
the prophet would have understood it, and then, instead of groaning
deeply oveV their perverseness, he would have said — Brethren, this
matter can readily be made clear, and it shall he ! The case ex-
emplifies both the spirit and the manner in which perverse sinners
who are annoyed by what the Bible says of an eternal hell seek to
fritter away its meaning and evade its force. Is it not altogether
figurative, say they ? How then can we know much about its real
meaning? Does not the whole description bear the aspect of great
exaggeration ? To questions like these, it may be replied briefly
but most truthfully; Figures of speech arc used in every human
language, in all ages of time. They come nearer to the idea of a
universal language^ clearly intelligible to all, than any other form or
mode of speech. To the popular mind, nothing can better or more
accurately describe suffering tlmn the language used in the Bible of
hell. Who docs not know the effect of fire on human flesh ? Who
does not understand fire as an agency of ruin among the works of
men? How utterly infotuated then must the man be who decries
all Avholesomc fear of hell and of the wrath of God because the ap-
peal to such fear comes to us from our divine Father, clothed in
figurative language ? Alas for the madness of men when they will
sin on. to their own damnation, and loill choose such delusions to
Bmooth their pathway thither !
EZEKIEL.— CHAR XXI. 121
CHAPTER XXI.
In this description of judgments from God upon Jerusalem vs.
1-25, and upon Ammon vs. 28-32, the sword is made signally prom-
inent— drawn out from the Lord's scabbard, sharpened, polished,
gleaming, flashing, and coming down fearfully for its work of
slaughter ! It is the chapter of the sword. If we may suppose
a tacit connection with the closing words of the chapter previous,
we shall see a special pertinence in this figure. The people are
saying; These figures and symbols, parables and things of that
sort ; — who can tell how much they mean ? To which the Lord
replies ; " Ye must certainly know what the sword means : ye have
seen and heard of the sword ; let the sword therefore be the figure —
yet scarcely a figure so much as a terrible reality — in the prophet's
foretelling of your doom!"
1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop
thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the
land of Israel,
3. And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord ;
Behold I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword
out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous
and the wicked.
4. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous
and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of
his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north.
5. That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn
forth my sword out of his sheath : it shall not return any
more.
Set thy face toward the city to which the predicted judgments
pertain, as in v. 46, and elsewhere. The destruction must be
general, embracing both the righteous and the wicked. Since no
discrimination is made on the ground of moral character, there
can be no discrimination whatever (vs. 4, 5), but the sword shall cut
down all the living from south to north in the land. The Lord's
sword is drawn, and will not return to its scabbard till this work
is done.
6. Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of
thy loins ; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
7. And it shall be, when they say say unto thee. Where-
fore sighest thou ? that thou shall answer, for the tidings ;
because it cometh ; and every heart shall melt, and all hands
shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees
6
122 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXI.
shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be
brought to pass, saith the Lord God.
To make the deeper impression on the heart of the people, the
prophet is commanded to sigh and groan bitterly in their presence
with his hands upon his loins as one under intense and crushing
grief. When the attention of the people should be arrested and
they should inquire the cause, he must answer; "Because of what
I hear, for it cometh"- — not the tidings merely come, but the thing
itself, the calamity/ is near at hand. The Hebrew is, "All knees
shall flow with water," i, e., become water, having no more firm-
ness than water.
8. Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9. Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord ;
Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished :
10. It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter: it is fur-
bished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it
contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.
In this extended description of the sword (vs. 9-23), we shall
find several clauses in which modern criticism has furnished the
means of improving somewhat the received translation. Thus, in
the last clause of v. 10, this translation brings out no intelligible
sense in harmony with the context. But, guided by the Septuagint,
a very slight change is made in two Hebrew letters, one in each
of two words, whereby we read cl for oy, and nasee for nasces,
and then we translate the entire verse thus ; " It is sharpened to
make a great slaughter; it is polished that it may have the flash
as of lightning against the jyrince of the tribes of my son (my people)
who scorn all loooden rods;" i. e., who are thoroughly hardened
against the lighter scourging with saplings, and must needs be
scourged, slain, with my glittering sword. The prince represents
the people, so that the sword upon him falls upon the whole
people.
11. And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be
handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to
give it into the hand of the slayer.
Is made sharp and bright that it may pass into the hand of God's
destroying angel, " the slayer."
12. Cry and howl, son of man : for it shall be upon my
people, it shall he upon all the princes of Israel : terrors by
reason of the sword shall be upon my people : smite there-
fore upon thy thigh.
In the middle clause, better — " Upon all the princes of Israel
who are consigned over to the sword along with my people;" — i. e.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXI. 123
all the princes as well as all the people are delivered over to the
sword. Therefore smite upon thy thigh in bitter grief.
13. Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn
even the rod ? it shall be no more, saith the Lord God.
The literal rendering here is impressive, "For it" (the sword)
"has been proved," {i. g., on other people), "and what if even this
scornful tribe" (Israel) "shall be no more" (shall be utterly anni-
hilated), " saith the Lord God."
14. Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy
hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time,
the sword of the slain : it is the sword of the great meri that
are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.
"Let the sword be doubled," in the sense of doubling its blow;
"let it smite the third time," etc. " The sword of the great men
that are slain," is the sword that has slain the great men. I would
not read, " Which entereth into their privy chambers ;" but, " which
besieges, begirts them round about as the walls of a chamber in-
close its occupants; — i. e., the sword is on every side of them, so
that none can possibly escape.
15. I have set the point of the sword against all their
gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be mul-
tiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped uj) for the
slaughter.
The word rendered, " point" of the sword, occurs in Hebrew only
here. Hence naturally the precise meaning is doubtful. Yet the
general sense is clear. Gesenius says, "The turning of the sword,"
meaning that the sword's point is turned toward all her gates;
" or more probably by a change in one letter, the slaughter of the
sword." "Wrapped up for slaughter," should doubtless be, made
smooth^ polished for use in slaughter. This translation assumes a
different root from that supposed in the received version.
16. Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand,
or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
This verse is an address to the sword. Critics suggest that
the form of this address is that of military command : " Close up
ranks, right: to your post, left," The first verb means stand as one.
By a bold personification, the sword becomes an armed host, now
being marshaled for battle and ordered to be in readiness for a
charge.
17. I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause
my fury to rest: I the Lord have said it.
This seems to be the language of God, spoken of himself.
"Cause my fury to rest," as above chap. 5: 13, and 16: 42, and
124 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXI.
below chap. 24: 13. The sense seems to be, to aUde, remain long,
and not be evanescent.
18. The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
19. Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that
the sword of the king of Babylon may come : both twain
shall come forth out of one land : and choose thou a place,
choose it at the head of the way to the city.
20. Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rab-
batli of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the
defensed.
The object here seems to be to indicate the process by which the
king of Babylon would decide by a sort of lot which course to take
first, whether toward Ammon or toward Jerusalem. The statements
imply that the prophet was to go through the usual ceremonies sym-
bolically, to make a stronger impression of the facts upon the peo-
ple. Taking his position at the head of the way leading to the
city, he marked out one way leading to Jerusalem; another, to the
country of Ammon. Both led out from the one land of Babylon.
In the last part of the verse the sense is better given by read-
ing or instead of '■'■ayul;" "To Rabbatli of the Ammonites, or to
Judah in Jerusalem."
21. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the
way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he
made Ms arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked
in the liver.
22. At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem,
to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter,
to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams
against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.
This refers to ancient customs of learning the will of the gods
(as supposed) by various forms of divination. Three forms are
here. (1.) Not, "making the arrows bright," but shaking the
arrows (previously labeled) in a bag, and then drawinij; out one,
the label of which would give the desired answer. Nos. 2 and
3 are noticed frequently in the old classic authors; consulting im-
ages of the gods, and examining the liver of an animal slain for
the purpose. If the indications led toward the right hand, then
the king of Babylon would (not "appoint captains" but) "put up
battering rams" — the same word which the last clause renders in
this way. He would also give command for slaughter, or, perhaps,
open the mouth in outcry. (So Gesenius.)
23. And it shall be unto them as a false divination in
their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will
call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXL 125
24. Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Because ye have
made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your trans-
gressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your
sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remem-
brance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
I understand these verses to mean that this divination, taken by
the king of Babylon and directing him to besiege Jerusalem, would
be held by the Jews as false and of no account because they had
been in sworn allegiance to that king and assumed that they could
have peace with him on easy terms again. But that king remem-
bers their iniquity in violating those oaths, and this exasperates
him to sterner vengeance. It should be borne in mind that this
very king placed Zedekiah on his throne (2 Chron. 36: 10, 13, and
Jer. 52 : 3, and Ezek. 17 : 15, 18) under a solemn oath of fideHty
to himself as his liege lord.
25. And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose
day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,
26. Thus saith the Lord God ; Kemove the diadem, and
take off the crown': this shall not he the same: exalt him
that is low, and abase him that is high.
27. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall
be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I wdll
give it him.
From a view of the intense depravity and horrible idolatry of the
king and his people, now culminating in perjury against the king of
Babylon, the course of thought passes suddenly to direct address to
the guilty king now to be slain and of course deposed and stripped
of his crown. The passage might be translated, almost literally,
thus: "And thou, most wicked prince of Israel; pierced through
with the sword, whose day has come in the time of fatal sin : Thus
saith the Lord God; The sacred headband is removed; the regal
crown is taken off; this shall be no longer this (what it has been) ;
the lowly is exalted ; the lofty is brought down : I will utterly over-
turn, and even then it shall not be permanent until he comes to
whom it belongs ; then I will give it to him." In Zedekiah' s utter
fall, the crown of Judah is vilely cast away: the ancient throne of
David seems to be fearfully subverted :— but the Lord's hand is in
these revolutions : he will push them on for his own purposes until
the greater Prince of David's line shall come to Avhom the eternal
promise of David's throne stands sure. Then God will give him
that crown and kingdom. The word rendered "profane " should
be rendered, " pierced through," both because this is the usual
sense of the word, and because the scope of the chapter, so full of
the swo7-d, contemplates him as smitten fatally thereby, and thus
dethroned and his kingdom destroyed. Dr. Hengstenberg insists
that pierced through^ slain, is the only admissible, well-established,
126 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXI.
sense of this Hebrew Avord. Ue supposes it used here with some lat-
itude of meaning, indicating not certainly that he died from a sword-
thrust, but that he fell by violence; his nation and himself over-
powered by the arms of the king of Babylon. "When iniquity
shall have an end," is literally, "in the time of the sin of the
end" — meaning, in the time of the last, the fatal, the damning sin
for which there can be no pardon, and the vengeance for which can
be delayed no longer. The word rendered "diadem," is used in
this precise form only for the sacred fillet of the High Priest, e. g.^
Ex. 28 : 4, 37, 39 and 29 : G and 39: 28, 31 and Lev. 8 : 9 and 16 : 4.
It was specially appropriate that this prophecy should indicate the
suspension of the functions of the high priest as well as those of the
king. Remarkably both were restored by special promise ac-
cording to the prophecies of Zechariah (chap. 4: 14 and 6: 13) after
the return from captivity. Both were united under one head and
given to the great Messiah when he ultimately came. Both went
down together in this fearful judgment upon the nation for its sin.
Both returned together when, through the repentance of the people
and the divine mercy, they returned again to become the Lord's.
"This shall not be the same" — (literall}^, "this shall not be this")
obviously means that all is changed; nothing of the old remains.
As said in the next clause, "the low is made high;" "the high is
made low." These verbs are in the infiijitive, not the imperative,
to indicate simply the action in general without defining it specific-
ally. The repetition, " I will make it a thing overturned, over-
turned, overturned," is a common Hebrew mode of strong emphasis,
meaning — I will overturn utterly. He to whom " the judgment,"
or the right is, can be none other than the great Messiah. The
idea of his ^'■coming' may tacitly refer to Gen. 49: 10, " Until Shiloh
shall comey The term ^^ come' is in Hebrew use to designate the
Messiah as "Ae that should come;" e. g. "Art thou he that should
come, or look we for another? Matt. 11 : 3. Onkelos, the best of
the Chaldee paraphrasts, gives us his paraphrase of Gen. 49 : 10,
with his eye on our passage; "Until Messiah come whose is the
kingdom." Thus the prediction of fearful ruin on Jerusalem and
her king and high priest, suggests the consummation of the king-
dom of God on earth under that great Personage, both King and
Priest, who fills the throne of David forever — a glorious priest on
his throne for the joyful salvation of his redeemed people. From
the ashes of ruin a I'henix arises, surpassing all the strangeness of
things fabled, glorious like the loving purposes of its Infinite Au-
thor. This passage is rich in its suggestive resources; — e. g.,
that none need fear the results of the revolutions of earthly thrones,
determined in the providence of God : that the helm of universal
dominion is in hands equal to every emergency, guided by a far-
seeing Avisdom and evermore evolving events toward the sublime
and blessed consummation of God's great purposes of human re-
demption. These lessons bear toward a peaceful, joyful trust in
our divine Father and Lord, and bid us Avait on him in faith and
prayer, and with such labor as we may, till he bring fortli his right-
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXI. 127
*•
eousness as the light, and his faithfulness in promise as the noon-
day!
28. And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith
the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning
their reproach; even say thou. The sword, the sword is
drawn : for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because
of the glittering ;
29. While they see vanity unto thee, w^hile they divine
a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that
are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their in-
iquity shall have an end.
30. Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will
judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land
of thy nativity.
31. And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee; I
will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver
thee into the hand of brutish men, and skillful to destroy.
32. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire ; thy blood shall be
in the midst of the land ; thou shalt be no more remembered :
for I the Lord have spoken it.
It was indicated (vs. 19-22) that the king of Babylon sought divi-
nation to determine which city to attack first in order, Jerusalem, or
Ammon. Both were in his plan and in God's plan. The one being
finished, the other follows as here. Perhaps it stands in this con-
nection with the fall of Jerusalem to show that the Lord tenderly re-
members his true people; that he resents the reproaches cast on
them by the heathen under their great calamities ; and that it is only
as apostates that God scourges his own city and nation ; while his
sympathies are none the less against the wicked heathen nations
round about them and with his own chosen people. Another
prophecy against Ammon, similar in its general tone, appears chap.
25 : 1-7. In form, this passage is legitimately a continuation of
the sword-chapter, the figure of the devouring sword being promi-
nent throughout. In v. 28, "their reproach" is that which they
cast on the suffering Jews. See the same idea more fully drawn
out, chap. 25 : 3-7. Verse 29 implies that in Ammon also, as vrell
as in Jerusalem, false prophets and diviners were gainsaying the
word of the Lord and misleading the people to their destruction —
the results of which would be to bring down the prophet, armed
with the Lord's glittering, devouring sword, upon the necks of their
slain in the day of their fatal damning sin. The phraseology here
looks back to the case of Jerusalem, vs. 14, 23, 25, In v. 30, the
form of the Hebrew verb "return" is imperative. I prefer to trans-
late it thus and apply it to the sword of the Ammonites, admonish-
ing them to abstain from all resistance of the Chaldean arms.
Thus: "Put it (the sword) back into its scabbard. In the place
128 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXII.
*
where thou wast created, in thy birth-place will I judge thee;" and
hence it can be of no avail to withstand the Almighty. The first
clause gives no intimation of being a question, nor of being in the
first person. The scope of the passage denounces fearful and
even exterminating judgments on Aiimon.
CHAPTER XXII.
The word of the Lord in this chapter sets forth the varied and
enormous wickedness of Jerusalem and of Judah. It shows that
they were guilty of other sins besides idolatry — indeed, of every
other sin named in the decalogue or known in this depraved
world. Here let us bear in mind that this rehearsal and expose
of the sins of the Jews still resident in Jerusalem and Judah and
now on the eve of their destruction are made before the exiles in
Chaldea for the sake specially of the resulting moral influence to-
ward the reformation of those exiles. God would have them under-
stand why those terrible judgments were sent on their brethren and
fathers and on the city and land of their early homes and early love.
He would have them feel the full moral impression of those judg-
ments as his own terribly earnest admonition against sin and per-
suasive to obedience. His heart was set on reclaiming those exiles
to a new life. Hence the mission of Ezekiel, and hence these perti-
nent appliances of truth, bearing mightily upon their sympathies,
their conscience and their hearts.
1. Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge the bloody
city? yea, thou slialt shew her all her abominations.
"Judge," must be taken here in the same sense as in chap. 20:
4. See notes there.^ "The bloody city," so called because stained
with crimes of personal violence, innocent blood, rudely and wick-
edly shed.
3. Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord God; The city
sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come,
and maketh idols against herself to defile herself.
4. Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast
shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou
hast made ; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near,
and art come even unto thy years ; therefore liave I made
thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all
countries.
5. Thoae ihat he near, and tlioi<e that he far from thee,
shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXII. 129
The city sheddeth blood to hasten her time of destruction — this
• being the result of such bloody violence. In the same sense is v.
4; "Thou hast caused thy days" {i. e., of vengeance from God) "to
draw near." The last words of v. 5 would read literally; "defiled
in name and great in tumult; " i. e., in social disorders, commotions.
Society was practically broken up by the explosive force of out-
breaking wickedness.
6. Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee
to their power to shed blood.
This seems to mean that even the princes who ought to have set
a virtuous example were really using their great influence toward
brutal violence and murder, doing all they could to excite the peo-
ple to outrages and bloody crimes.
7. In thee have they set light by father and mother: in
the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the
stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the
widow. ,
8. Thou hast despised my holy things, and hast j)rofaned
my sabbaths.
9. In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and
in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee
they commit lewdness.
10. In thee have they discovered their fathers' naked-
ness : in thee have they humbled her that was set apart
for pollution.
11. And one hath committed abomination with his neigh-
bor's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-
in-law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his
father's daughter.
12. In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou
hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily
gained of thy neighbors by extortion, and hast forgotten
me, saith the Lord God.
This is a sad, appalling catalogue of the foulest immoralities.
"To carry tales to shed blood" is to get up false accusations and
retail slanders against the life of their fellow-citizens. Lewdness,
here, is to be taken in its literal, not its figurative sense.
13. Behold, therefore I have smitten my hand at thy
dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood
which hath been in the midst of thee.
14. Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong,
in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have
spoken it, and will do it
130 EZEKIEL,— CHAP. XXII.
15. And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and dis-
perse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness
out of thee.
" Smitten my hand at thy dishonest gain," is a significant gesture,
indicating his purpose to scatter those gains to the winds of heaven
and to make solemn requisition for that blood. It was God's own
intimation that he would call her to account for those horrible sins.
When the hour of her judgment should come, "Could her heart
endure or her hands be strong" against the Infinite Godf Alas,
she would find that God never lacks agencies and resources for
terrific punishment! How vain for frail, weak creatures to stand
up against the Almighty! How surely will sinners learn this to
their unutterable consternation when the wrath of God shall fall
on them to the uttermost!
16. And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in
the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am
the Lord.
" Thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the
heathen," fails to give any pertinent sense in harmony with the
context. The verb should be taken not from the root yiahal, but
from the root halal, in the sense, to violate, to profane. Thou shalt
be dishonored, abused, treated as profane before the heathen. This
word occurs in the same sense in chap. 7 : 24.
17. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
18. Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become
dross : all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and* lead, in
the midst of the furnace ; they are even the dross of silver.
19. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are
all become dross, behold, therefore I wdll gather you into
the midst of Jerusalem.
20. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead,
and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon
it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in
my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.
21. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the
fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst
thereof
22. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so
shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know
that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you.
By a new and expressive figure, the people are all said to be
mere dross; not gold and silver, l)ut only iho; refuse matter which
is mixed with those precious metals and requires to be expelled by
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXII. 131
intense heat in the furnace. So the Lord would gather this -wicked
people, put them into his great furnace, blow upon them in the
fierceness of his wrath, and expel all the impure, worthless matter.
In the last clause of v. 20 the verb rendered, "leave you
there," is better translated, "ca^i you in' — i. e., to the furnace to
melt you there. Literally, to cause you to rest there; put you in
to stay permanently. This figure is intensely expressive.
23. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
24. Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is
not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.
By yet another figure, the land of Judah is like a field not
cleansed of its briars, thorns and weeds, which are fatal to the
production of useful plants, — nor had it been rained upon. Of
course it can be only barren.
25. There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst
thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey ; they have
devoured souls ; they have taken the treasure and precious
things ; they have made her many widows in the midst
thereof.
26. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned
my holy things; they have put no difference between the
holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference be-
tween the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes
from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
27. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves
ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to
get dishonest gain.
Her prophets, priests and princes — ^the three islasses of leading
influence — are successively arraigned as each horribly guilty of
corruption in their respective offices and of most flagrant immoral-
ities. They mislead and ruin souls, wielding their great influence,
not to save men from sin and death, but to destroy.
28. And her prophets have daubed them with untem-
pered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them,
saying. Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not
spoken.
29. The people of the land have used oppression, and
exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy :
yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
The worst class of all in their influence call for renewed remark.
False prophets were the most terrible curse; no other influence
could be so bad as theirs. They threw it solid against the true
prophets to break down the confidence of the people in the real
132 EiZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIII.
word of the Lord and to win their confidence to their own lies.
See this tiirure — ''untempered mortar" — exphiincd chap. 13: 10-16.
"Kobbery and oppression of the poor," invariably appear fore-
most amon<^ the sins of a people so deeply corrupt in general morals.
It is one of the terrible manifestations of human depravity and un-
curbed selfishness.
30. And I sought for a man among them, that should
make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the
land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
31. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon
them ; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath :
their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith
the Lord God.
See the figure of the "hedge and the gap" in chap 13: 5. The
hedge here seems to be a wall built up to withstand the judgments
of God, No man is found in the land to rush into the breach, re-
build the broken wall, or stand against the foe at the point of
deadly peril. The moral power of the people to recover themselves
from their horrible corruptions is prostrate; there is no recupera-
tive force left. Not a man appeared to stem the torrent of this
corruption. If the Lord could have found one such strong man to
work with himself for the salvation of the people, he would at least
have deferred this final outpouring of his wrath in exterminating
judgments. But he found none, and hence their ruin was inevita-
ble, and no reason existed for its being longer delayed.
CHAPTER XXin.
In this chapter, the figure by which the Lord represents the
idolatry of his people as adultery assumes a bolder form than usual,
and is carried out Avith very great minuteness both in respect to the
sin and its punishment. The whole representation is intensely
keen and caustic, setting forth in a most revolting light the great
crimes of the Jewish people in the line of idolatry, and adapted to
fill them with a sense of shame and self-loathing. In a few passages
our translation fails to give the full strength of the original, but the
nature of the sul)ject ought perhaps to excuse the omission of any
more amplifying details. The ultimate sense of the whole is
plain. Samaria and Jerusalem are called "Aholah" and " Aholi-
bah." As harlots, they ])ogan their harlot life with Egypt; continued
it with Assyria, the Chaldeans and the ]H^iple of the desert; pushed
their idolatry even to the extent of burning alive their children,
God's own sons and daughters, and of desecrating his very sanc-
tuary with their idols : and then, being put on trial under Hebrew
law before righteous men, they sutler the doom of adulteresses, on
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIII. 133
whose hands is the hlood of murder also : — they are stoned with
stones and their houses burned with fire. Thus the land is
cleansed of the abominations of its spiritual whoredom; it bears
the sins of its idols, and Desolation sits upon the ruins of those
cities — a living memorial of God's righteous jealousy against his
apostate people !
1. The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, there were two women, the daughters
of one mother :
3. And they committed whoredoms in Egypt ; they com-
mitted whoredoms in their youth : there w^ere their breasts
pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
4. And the names of them ivere Aholah the elder, and
Aholibah her sister : and they were mine, and they bare
sons and daughters. Thus ivere their names ; Samaria is
Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
5. And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine ;
and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians, her neigh-
bors,
6. WliicJi were clothed Avitli blue, captains and rulers, and
all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon
horses.
7. Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with
all them that ivere the chosen men of Assyria, and with all
on whom she doted ; with all their idols she defiled herself.
Her young Assyrian neighbors are presented in these forms of
beauty and splendor to indicate the strong attractions of taste, art,
and sensual pleasure, thrown around idol-worship in that age. It
has always been the policy of Satan to invest idolatry with every
attraction possible — beautiful sites, charming groves, gorgeous tem-
ples, luxurious feasts, and enchanting music — to say nothing of the
charms of dress and of female beauty, or of the baser passions of
lasciviousness and lust. Syria is probably included under the
comprehensive term, "Assyria." There is abundant historical evi-
dence that, in Syria, during the period of the revolt, idolatry was
invested with strong artistic and sensual attractions. Sec 2 Kings
IG: 10, and 2 Chron. 28: 2-4, 23-25.
8. Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt :
for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the
breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon
her.
9. Wherefore, I have delivered her into the hand of her
lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she
doted.
134 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIII.
10. These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons
and her daugliters and slew her with the sword : and she
became famous among women; for they had executed judg-
ment upon her.
Samaria, the elder sister, is put foremost as having led off in this
great sin. The reference is to Jeroboam and his successors.
11. And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more
corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whore-
doms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
12. She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbors, cap-
tains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding
upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
Jerusalem was worse than Samaria as having sinned against
greater light, more sacred vows and obligations, and especially, in
the presence of the very temple of the holy God !
13. Then I saw that she was defiled, that they tooh both
one way :
14. And that she increased her wdioredoms : for when she
saw men portrayed uj)on the wall, the images of the Chal-
deans portrayed with vermilion,
15. Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in
dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to,
after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land
of their nativity :
46. And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she
doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into
Chaldea.
17. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of
love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was
polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.
18. So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her
nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as
my mind was alienated from her sister.
19. Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to
remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had
played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20. For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh w as
the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21. Thus thou calledst to memory the lewdness of thy
youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps
of thy youth.
The reader will notice the reference to the attractions which art
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIII. 135
had thrown around the idol-worship of Chaldea. On this subject
the historical portions of Daniel give additional light. The portrayal
of idol images on the walls of her temples corresponds entirely with
the testimony recently brought to light from the ruins of Nineveh
and Babylon. This representation was specially pertinent from
the lips of Ezekiel to the Jewish exiles then in Chaldea, being well
adapted to make them abhor these seductive temptations which ad-
dressed themselves not unfrequently (we must suppose) to their
eyes.
22. Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord God;
Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom
thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee
on every side;
23. The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and
Slioa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians wdth them : all of
them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords
and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.
24. And they shall come against thee with chariots, wag-
ons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, tvhieh
shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round
about : and I will set judgment before them, and they shall
judge thee according to their judgments.
In V. 23, "Pekod" "Shoa," and "Koa" were taken by our trans-
lators as proper nouns — names of either cities or countries. Mod-
ern critics take them to be common nouns, descriptive of office or
class; — "pekod," the overseer; "shoa," the rich; "koa," literally,
the male camel, but here the princes. This corresponds with what
immediately follows — " all of them desirable young men, captains
and rulers, ' etc. In the last clause of v. 24, the sense of " set-
ting judgment before them" is, I will commit the judgment upon
your case into their hands.
25. And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they
shall deal furiously with thee : they shall take aAvay thy
nose and thine ears ; and thy remnant shall fall by the
sword : they shall take thy sons and thy daughters ; and
thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
26. They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take
away thy fair jewels.
27. Thus I will make thy lewdness to cease from thee,
and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt : so that
thou shalt not lift uj) thine eyes unto them, nor remember
Egypt any more.
28. For thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I will deliver*
thee into the hand of them wdiom thou hatest, into the hand
of them from whom thy mind is alienated :
136 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIII.
29. And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall
take aAvay all thy labor, and shall leave thee naked and
bare : and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be dis-
covered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
30. I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast
gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art
polluted with their idols.
Jealousy is the very feeling which is wont to manifest itself most
fearfully in the punishment of adultery. So here. Cutting off the
nose and ears was the punishment of adultery in Egypt. ^In v.
29, "hatefully" means with intense hatred — with a sense of the
loathsomeness of the crimes and with personal hatred of the
otFender.
31. Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister ; therefore
will I give her cu]) into thy hand.
32. Thus saith the Lord God ; Thou shalt drink of thy
sister's cup deep and large : thou shalt be laughed to scorn
and had in derision ; it containeth much.
33. Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,
with the cup of astonishment and desolation, wdth the cup
of thy sister Samaria.
34. Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou
shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own
breasts : for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
Jerusalem drinks from the same cup as Samaria — drinks it to the
dregs and even sucks every drop that adheres to the broken sherds
of that cup. In her drunkenness and misery she tears her own
breasts — one of the extreme indications of wretchedness.
35. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou
hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore
bear thou also thy lewdness and thy wdioredoms.
36. The Lord said moreover unto me ; Son of man, wilt
thou judge Aholah and Aholibah ? yea, declare unto them
their abominations ;
37. That they have committed adultery, and blood is in
their hands, and with their idols have they committed adul-
tery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto
me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.
38. Moreover this they liave done unto me : they have
defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned
my sabbaths.
39. For when they had slain their children to their idols,
then they came the same day into my sanctuary to pro-
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIII. 137
fane it ; and lo, thus have they done in the midst of my
house.
The fif!;ure is here in part dropped and hteral statements appear,
perhaps because no possible turn of the figure could adequately
represent the enormity of burning their own children in the fire,
or of desecrating the very temple of the living God with their
idols. The view given of the dreadful guilt of the Jews is height-
ened by the repeated statement that after burning their own chil-
dren to idol gods, they went on the same clay into God's holy temple
with their bloody hands and there profaned his sanctuary, as if they
had no sense of God's abhorrence of their unnatural and bloody
crimes !
40. And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come
from far, unto whom a messenger loas sent ; and lo, they
came : for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy
eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,
41. And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared
before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine
oil.
42. And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with
her : and with the men of the common sort were brought
Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their
hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
43. Then said I unto her that luas old in adulteries, Will
they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them f
44. Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a
woman that playeth the harlot : so went they in unto Aho-
lah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.
In V. 42, the word "Sabeans" is probably a common and not a
proper noun — meaning drunkards^ and not the Sabean people. The
prophet represents them as the basest of men, the very lowest of the
human race, to show that nothing was too low or mean for this de-
based and guilty people to do in the line of idolatry.
45. And the righteous men, they shall judge them after
the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women
that shed blood ; because they are adulteresses, and blood is
in their hands.
46. For thus saith the Lord God ; I will bring uj) a com-
pany upon them, and will give them to be removed and
spoiled.
47. And the company shall stone them with stones, and
dispatch them with their swords ; they shall slay their sons
and daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
48. Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land,
138 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIV.
that all women may be taught not to do after your lewd-
ness.
49. And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you,
and ye shall bear the sins of your idols : and ye shall know
that I am the Lord God.
The judgment, administered by righteous men in its awful se-
verity upon adulteresses, polluted with life-long crime and standing
f3eforc the court with their bloody hands — closes this appalling
scene. Abating the intensely revolting nature of this description
and the repugnance of its details to our sense of delicacy, the whole
description is pungent and thrilling, and must have been full of
moral power upon the heart and conscience of the men to whom it
was originally spoken. One may well suppose it would make their
ears tingle and their cheeks crimson with a sense of shame for their
people and their beloved city. We naturally incline to pass by
such a chapter unread; yet let us not forget that to the Jewish
exiles of Ezekiel's day its features that are revolting to us would
be scarcely if at all objectionable, and then that its caustic and ter-
ribly truthful severity must have made its testimony against the
guilt of Jerusalem burn itself into the very heart and soul of the
people. Let us hope that this chapter was greatly blessed of God
to open their dull eyes to the enormity of their national sin and to a
sense of the justice of that dreadful doom which was ready even
then to fall with crushing, annihilating force on the doomed city.
The siege was within a few months of its commencement. These
were the last words of the prophet prior to his announcement that
the siege had begun.
CHAPTER XXIV.
This chapter bears a new date, viz., the very day in which Neb-
uchadnezzar commenced the siege of Jerusalem, and two years and
five months later than the last preceding date (20: 1.) It is in two
parts — the first part (vs. 3-14) presenting the confirmed wickedness
of Jerusalem and God's eflPorts to cleanse it out, under the figure of
a' pot foul with rust, yet not cleansed by use, and incapable of being
cleansed till it is set empty upon a hot fire and the very brass itself
thoroughly heated and burned. In the second part (vs. 15-27)
the prophet's wife suddenly dies; he is forbidden to manifest his
grief in the usual modes, showing the people thus that the calami-
tics of their nation will be too great to admit of the common public
manifestations of mourning.
1. Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the
tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto
me, saying.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIV. 139
2. Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of
I this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against
Jerusalem this same day.
The precise day on which the siege of Jerusalem commenced is
on record 2 Kings 25 : 1, and Jer. 52: 4; precisely as here. Omit-
ting only the day of the month, the same date appears in Jer. 39: 1.
Of course this was one of the ever-memorable days of Jewish his-
tory, long observed as a day of fasting. See Zech. 8 : 19. It was
an impressive fact to the exiles. They must have seen in it new
proof of the failure of their long-cherished hopes.
3. And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say
unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; Set on a pot, set it on,
and also pour water into it :
4. Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece,
the thigh, and the shoulder ; fill it with the choice bones.
5. Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones
under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the
bones of it therein.
Inasmuch as this is distinctly declared to be a parable, we can not
suppose it to have been a real symbolic transaction performed before
the eyes of the people, nor yet a vision shown to the prophet by the
divine Spirit. It is rather a supposed transaction, designed to repre-
sent certain analogous points in the case of the city of Jerusalem,
its people and its pollutions. The pot of brass represents the city ;
its contents of flesh and bones are the inhabitants; and the rust
("scum") and foulness of the pot stand for the abominations of the
city, the deep pollutions of society which had hardened and become
incrusted upon the inner surface of the pot, and could be removed by
no ordinary process. The first step in the operation is described in
these verses. Fill it with water, flesh, and bones ; set it over a hot
fire, and boil it thoroughly. See what discipline will do toward re-
form.
6. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God ; Wo to the bloody
city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is
not gone out of it ! bring it out piece by piece ; let no lot
fall upon it.
7. For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon
the top of a rock ; she poured it not upon the ground, to
cover it with dust ;
8. That it might cause fury to come up to take ven-
geance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that
it should not be covered.
9. Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Wo to the bloody
city ! I will even make the pile for fire great.
140 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIV.
10. Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and
spice it well, and let the bones be burned.
New points in the process are blended here with explanations of
its moral significance. The pot is shown to mean the city. Its filth
and rust represent the blood of the city which has not been poured
out upon the earth to be absorbed, but thrown upon the sunny sur-
face of a rock, where it would only dry down and remain — a stand-
ing witness of crime — a defilement removable only with the utmost
labor. The Lord would push this boiling process with the utmost
energy to see what can be done toward cleansing the pot from its
filth and rust. Vs. 6 and 11 intimate that after the failure of this
effort, the pot is entirely emptied of its flesh and bones — i. e., the
city is emptied of its people, and then the city itself (the pot) is sub-
jected to intense heat, to burn off its pollutions.
11. Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the
brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness
of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be con-
sumed.
12. She hath wearied /lerse/f with lies, and her great scum
went not forth out of her : her scum shall be in the fire.
13. In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged
thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged
from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to
rest upon thee.
14. I the Lord have spoken it : it shall come to pass, and
I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither
will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy
doings, shall they judge thee, saitli the Lord God.
Now tlie last effort is made to cleanse the pot by means of the
fierce ordeal of fire upon it when empty. The aim is to reduce its
filth to a molten state, and thus consume its rust ("scum.")
V. 12 should rather be read, "It," the pot, "has wearied itself, not
with "lies," but with its great "/aior" — i. e., to cleanse itself of its
rust and filth; — "but its great filth will not go forth from it, not
even Ijy the fire. This verse aims to say that this long protracted
and varied effort of CJod in his providence to reform the people and
cleanse the city had been in vain. So v. 13 teaches. "In thy
filthiness is purposed wickedness (so the Hebrew implies) — the deep.
persistent, malign purpose to push madly on ii\ rebellion, liecause
1 have sought to purge thee, yet with no success, I shall make no
further effort till 1 pour out my wrath on thee to abide upon thee.
through a long captivity. CJod has spoken and will do it! This
is the outcome of the "parable." The Lord despairs of cleansing
the city from its fixed incrustations of corruption — the residuum of
crime hardened on at the bottom of society, and conseqnontly leav-
ening the whole mass with its pollution ; and withal adhering so
I
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIV. 141
tenaciously that no ordinary heat and no other possible appliances
will remove it and cleanse the vessel. So the city must he emptied
of all its inhabitants and then be thoroughly burned to the ground.
15. Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
16. Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the de-
sire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou
mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
17. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind
the tire of thy head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon
thy feet, and cover not thy lip)s, and eat not the bread of
men.
18. So I spake unto the people in the morning : and at
even my wife died ; and I did in the morning as I was com-
manded.
This beautiful descriptive epithet, "the desire of thine eyes," is
shpwn (v. 18) to mean his vrife — an object ever grateful to the
eye and dear to the heart. The Lord says, I am about to take her
away at one stroke, and you must refrain from all the usual mani-
festations of grief. The shock of a sore calamity is sometimes too
great for tears, too overwhelming to allow one thought upon the
forms and manifestations of sorrow. When men die by tens of
thousands on the field of battle, who finds time or thought for sighs
or for the draperj;- of woe ! So, in the destruction of the temple
and the fall of the great city of their iathers' sepulchers, in the
slaughter by thousands of their own fathers, brothers, sisters — they
might well spare the habiliments of grief and omit all its usual sym-
bols. Such seems to have been the lesson intended in this start-
ling, appalling scene. V. 17 defines and forbids the usual indica-
tions of public mournino;. "Forbear to cry; smother thy sighs;
literally, "506; he silent;' push back the tears. "Bind the tiara
upon thine head," for in grief, this was removed and the hair suf-
fered to stream out dishevelled. "Put thy shoes on thy feet;" for
the mourner removed his shoes and walked barefoot. " Cover not
thy mustache," which the mourner was wont to do; and "eat not
the bread furnished by other men;" according to the custom of
friends to furnish bread for the mourners. See Jer. 16: 5-8 and
notes there. " So I spake to the people in the morning," rehears-
ing to them this fearful word from the Lord ; " at even my wife died,"
and I did in the morning [of the next day] as I was commanded."
Since it was to be done before the people for a sigii to them, the
morning of the ensuing day would be the earliest time possible and
the proper time for obeying this divine command.
19. And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us
what these things are to us, that thou doest so?
20. Then I answered them. The word of the Lord came
unto me, saying,
142 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIV.
21. Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord
God ; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency
of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which
your soul pitieth ; and your sons and your daughters whom
ye have left shall fall by the sword.
22. And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover
your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
23. And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your
shoes upon your feet : ye shall not mourn nor w^eep ; but ye
shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward
another.
The attention of the people is arrested, and they inquire what all
this signifies to themselves. The answer is definite. Eemarkably it
makes special account of the destruction of the temple and of the
slaughter of their own sons and daughters left behind in their father-
land. They had fondly cherished the temple in their hearts, ac-
counting it both the glory and the strength of their nation, so re-
garding it especially because they deemed it a guaranty of the
presence and favor of Almighty God. This was to them what
Ezekiel's wife was to him; *'The desire of their eyes;" the object
of their heart's tenderest, deepest sympathy; "what thy soul pities."
No doubt it was literally true that the fall of the city involved the
slaughter of many of their own sons and daughters. Under this ter-
rible stroke, which fell on them suddenly like the blow which smote
down the prophet's wife, they were forbidden to mourn in public,
but would pine away in their iniquity, i. e. , under this terrible in-
fliction fi5r their sin, and might silently groan ("mourn") "one to
another."
24. Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign : according to all that
he hath done shall ye do : and when this cometh, ye shall
know that I am the Lord God.
"A sign unto you;" a visible, significant symbol of what is to
befall you and of what you must do and also of what you may 7iot
do, under an infliction of calamity analogous to his. This word
rendered " sign"* implies something specially striking, astounding,
often rendered, "a wonder."
25. Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when
I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the
desire of their eyes, and that wdiercupon they set their
minds, their sons and their daughters,
26. That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto
thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?
* Not niXi which is the more common word in such connections, but
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIV. 143
27. In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which
is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb:
and thou shalt be a sign unto them ; and they shall know
that I am the Lord.
When the city shall fall and the glorious temple go down under the
general ruin, and this great calamity shall overwhelm the exiles with
grief, then shall there not come to thee a messenger escaping from
the city to announce these heavy tidings in thine ears ? Then thy
mouth shall be opened to him ; thou shalt speak thenceforth freely
and be no more dumb ; and the significance of this sign shall be-
come obvious to all the people, so that they also shall at last know
that I am the Lord. In view of this case of the death of the
prophet's wife, let us not omit to note that the Lord spared no
pains and shrunk fr^m no sacrifices to make deep and solemn im-
pressions on the minds of the exiles. A death so sudden as this;
predicted in the morning ; occurring by one swift blow in the even-
ing; falling on the beloved wife of the venerable man who had
stood before them as the messenger of God ; the suppression of his
tears and sighs ; the withholding of every usual token of grief; and
then the interpretation of these scenes as referring to the fall of
their ovni beloved temple and the slaughter of their own sons and
daughters in that land of their tenderest love — constitute a com-
bination of circumstances at once startling and solemnly impressive.
Truly mi^ht the Lord say, " What could I have done more to my
vineyard, (my people) "that I have not done" to bring home to
their heart the full sense of my wrath against them for their sins ?
What shall we think of this divinely commissioned prophet?
How did he feel ? What did he say in the whisperings of his un-
uttered thought ? Did he shudder and recoil, inwardly saying. This
costs me too much ! Must I be a sign to the people at such awful
expense, at the cost of such harrowing grief? And then, as if to
lose my dear wife at one blow were not enough, that God should
not let me shed one tear! nor breathe out one audible sigh!
With joy let us note that this record gives not the slightest hint of
one thought of this sort. So far as appears, he bowed himself in
the dust and said — "It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him
good." We may presume that he had human sensibilities; but wo
may also presume that grace given him of God brought him such
moral strength that his spirit was sweetly submissive and unmur-
muring, and his soul placid under this sorest of trials ever known
to the human heart. What can not the grace of God do for his
trusting, obedient people !
At this point, the first part of Ezekiel's prophecies ends and the
second begins. He closes a long series of messages, varied in their
forms and modes of revealing truth, but scarcely varying at all in
their grand theme and purpose, viz., to set before the exiles the
enormity of their national sin, the great wickedness and the deep
corruption of Judah and Jerusalem; the certainty that the Lord
would abandon his temple, city and people there to destruction, and
144 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXV.
the terribleness of that doom. The ' manifest purpose of God in
these revelations to the exiles was to convince them of his justice
in those judgments; to give them a full sense of those sins, and to
lead them to personal and sincere repentance and radical reforma-
tion, until they should themselves be ashamed and confounded,
and never open their mouth any more for shame for their own
sins and those of their people and land. So a remnant are to
be reclaimed and made the nucleus in future years for replanting
the land of promise, and for restoring both their political and relig-
ious institutions.
CHAPTER XXV.
Exterminating judgments are announced against Ammon, vs. 1-
7; against Moab, vs. 8-11; against Edom, vs. 12-14; and against
Philistia, vs. 15-17 — uniformly for the same national sin, viz., proud
exultation over the fall of Judah and Jerusalem, and reproach cast
on the name of Israel's God by reason of their fall. Obadiah,
nearly at the same time, wrote in the same strain against Edom.
Ezek. 35 expands this prophecy against Edom. Jeremiah prophe
sied against the same four neighboring powers, yet with a somewhat
broader view of their national sins and especially of their pride ;
viz., against Ammon, chap. 49: 1-6; Moab, chap. 48; Edom, chap.
49 : 7-22 ; and Philistia, chap. 47. So also Isaiah and some of the
Minor Prophets. The scope of these prophecies is designedly
consolatory to the true people of God, assuring them that he still
remembered Zion with tender affection, regarded her true interests
as his own; and therefore would avenge her upon her proud and
scornful foes. In this point of light, these prophecies hold an im-
portant place among the messages sent of God by Ezekiel to the
exiled Jews in Chaldea, Their city in ruins, their nationality
prostrate, and themselves in exile and under circumstances of the
deepest national discouragement, they needed precisely such assur-
ances of the Lord's tender mercy and of his identity of interest
and sympathy with their people as still bearing his name and yet
to bear it before all the nations of the earth. All the more did
they need such words from Ezekiel, because thus far his messages
had spoken of little else than national sin, judgments, and ruin.
From this point their subject and tone change. Henceforward,
with scarce an exception, his messages are encouraging and con-
solatory to all whose hearts were still true to their God.
1. The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and
prophesy against them ;
3. And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the
Lord God ; Thus saith the Lord God ; Because thou saidst,
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXV. 145
Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned ; and
against the land of Israel, when it was desolate ; and against
the house of Judah, when they went into captivity ;
4. Behold, therefore, I will deliver thee to the men of the
east for a posssesion, and they shall set their palaces in thee,
and make their dwellings in thee : they shall eat thy fruit,
and they shall drink thy milk.
5. And I will make Kabbah a stable for camels, and the
Ammonites a couching-place for flocks: and ye shall know
that I a7n the Lord.
The sin for which Ammon is doomed is here made very definite —
exulting triumph over God's polluted temple, desolate land, and
captive people. Why should not the Lord frown fearfully on such
manifestations of proud hostility against himself and his people,
and make such enemies an example of his righteous justice before
all the nations of men in all time ? There the record stands,
equally in prophecy and in their history, witnessing thai the Lord
Almighty will let no people, however powerful or however proud,
contemn his name with impunity. "The men of the East" —
God's executioners of vengeance upon Ammon — were the Chaldeans,
raised up in his providence for judgment, not on Judah and Jeru-
salem alone, but on those contiguous nations which had long been
deeply sunk in the same forms of debasing idolatry, and had now
filled up the cup of their national sin by malign hostility against
Israel and scornful exultation over her fall. They would seize the
whole country of Ammon and make her proud capital a stable for
camels — significant of an utter overthrow of her nationality.
6. For thus saith the Lord God ; Because thou hast
clapped thy hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced
in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel ;
7. Behold, therefore I will stretch out my hand upon
thee,' and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen ; and
I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee
to perish out of the countries : I will destroy thee ; and
thou shalt know that I a7n the Lord.
Her exultation manifests itself in these violent gestures. " With
all thy despite," means with all thy pride, in the form of the utmost
proud and haughty scorn. For these sins the Lord would cut them
off from being a nation and blot out their very name ; — a prophecy
which had its first fulfillment in the sweep of ruin brou2;ht over
their land by the Chaldean power shortly after the fall of Jerusa-
lem. It was consummated in subsequent ages.
8. Thus saith the Lord God ; Because that Moab and
Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the
heathen ; ,j
146 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXV.
9. Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from
the cities, from his cities tvhich are on his frontiers, the
glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiria-
thaim.
10. Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and
Avill give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not
be remembered among the nations.
11. And I will execute judgments upon Moab ; and they
shall know that I am the Lord.
The spirit of Moab and Seir is essentially the same with that of
Ammon. They exult over Judah as being like all the nations in
having a patron God no mightier than their own gods, and hence
as being, at least equally with themselves, subject to defeat, cap-
tivity, and national ruin. This was dishonor and even contempt
toward the Infinite God. Therefore the Lord will open the side of
Moab to the assaults of foreign enemies in the very point where
she had imagined her chief strength lay, viz., in those great citiea
on her frontiers which had been her reliance and her glory.
The men of the east who subdued Ammon subdued her. "With
the Ammonites," does not mean that the men of the east had them
as allies in this invasion, but that they subdued Moab z'n addition to
the Ammonites.
12. Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Edom hath
dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and
hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them ;
13. Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; I will also
stretch out my hand upon Edom, and will cut off man
and beast from it ; and I will make it desolate from Teman ;
and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.
14. And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the
hand of my people Israel : and they shall do in Edom ac-
cording to mine anger and according to my fury ; and they
shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God.
Special stress is laid on the spirit of retaliation and revenge man-
ifest against Israel in Edom. Of all the nations adjacent to Israel,
none seem to have cherished a deeper animosity or a meaner re-
venge than the descendants of Esau. It was a national spirit, and
was specially offensive to God because of their early relationship.
Moreover as a (h-eat Father of nations, bound to promote fraternal
relations between them, he could not but frown on this unnatural,
supremely selfish and hateful spirit. Let it stand and be under-
stood as God's rebuke against this spirit, whether in nations, fami-
lies, or individuals. " Cutting off man and beast from it," leaves
it an utter desolation, as it is this day and has been for many
ages. The last clause should probably read, "And even to De
dan they shall fall by the sword;' i. c, from Teman on the south to
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVI. 147
Dedan on the north, the whole country shall be laid in ruins.
V. 14 states that this vengeance on Edom is to be executed in part
at least "by the hand of God's people Israel." So history shows.
The final destruction of their nationality was effected by the Jews
under John Hyrcanus, B. C. 128. Josephus (Ant. 13: 9: 1) gives
a brief account of this subjugation, adding that Hyrcanus com-
pelled them to accept circumcision, and thus destroyed their nation-
ality and merged them into the Jewish community.
15. Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines
have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a
despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred ;
16. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will
stretch out my hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut
off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea-
coast.
17. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with
furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord,
when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.
The fatal sin of the Philistines also was their spirit of revenge,
animosity, and proud disdain toward Israel. "Cherethim" is
nearly synonymous with ''Philistines" — the two words being at
least sometimes used for the same people. See 1 Sam. 30: 14, 16,
and Zeph. 2: 5. They occupied the country of the sea-coast, i. e.,
along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. In the fulfillment
of this prophecy, the Lord's vengeance was visited upon them first
by the hands of the Chaldeans. Prom this devastation they never
rose again to power.
CHAPTER XXVI.
From Ezekiel's stand-point of view at Babylon, the great nations
of the West and South-west were Tyre and Egypt ; — Tyre, the mis-
tress of the seas, the great emporium of commerce for the civilized
world of that age ; and Egypt, then as through all ancient time,
the powerful sovereignty of North-eastern Africa, sitting upon her
fertile Nile, and enjoying a civilization even at that time hoary with
the lapse of centuries. Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the Philistines
were subordinate powers, closely contiguous to Palestine indeed,
but far less formidable to the great central power at Babylon.
Hence a very few words only sufficed to note their fortunes and
their fall; while the prophecies against Tyre and Egypt are ex-
panded with very considerable detail — three chapters being devoted
to Tyre and four to Egypt. Territorially, Tyre had little more
than a foothold upon the soil of Western Asia. The city was the
empire; but that city, built partly on the main land yet mostly on
148 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVI.
a small island which it completely covered, was exceedingly strong
by its maritime position; strong by its absolute control over the
waters which embosomed it; sti-ong in its vast wealth and conse-
quent ability to hire soldiers and maintain a large army without
drawing upon its own population. It must have been strong also
through its commercial and intimate relations, e. g.^ with Carthage,
a colony of its own citizens, and with Tartessus in Spain, another
of its great trading outposts. Convincing proof of the great strength
of Tyre lies in the fact that she withstood the assaults of Nebuchad-
nezzar during a siege of thirteen years.
1. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first
day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying.
Comparing this date with that of the fall of Jerusalem, as in Jer.
42 : 6, and 39 : 2, it will be seen that this was within the same year.
Here, the month is not given ; yet partly for this reason it is sup-
posed to have been the first, since if it had been any other, the
month would have been named. Jerusalem was " broken up" and
burned in the fourth month and ninth day in the same year. At
the date here given, the city had not yet fallen, but its speedy fall
was morally certain.
2. Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against
Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the
people : she is turned unto me : I shall be replenished, noiu
she is laid waste:
Tyre regarded Jerusalem as her rival in commerce, in magnifi-
cence, and in population. She was the "gate of the people" in
the sense of a place of concourse for masses of people. Hence
when she was broken down, Tyre exulted in her proud selfishness,
confident that the fall of her rival would conduce to her own ad-
vantage, saying, Her wealth, trade, and population will come round
to augment mine; "1 shall be replenished" by her being laid
waste.
3. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am
against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come
up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.
4. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break
down her towers : I will also scrape her dust from her, and
make her like the top of a rock.
5. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst
of the sea : for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God : and it
shall become a spoil to the nations.
6. And her daughters which are in the fields shall be
slain by the sword ; and they shall know that I am the
Lord.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVI. 149
The great King of nations must hold them, even the proudest
of them^ to a just standard of national morality. Hence he could
not let proud Tyre go on fostering such intense and mean selfish-
ness with impunity. "For this sin, saith the Lord, I am against
thee, 0 Tyrus." God would bring up many nations against her,
even as the great sea heaves up its mighty waves a<;ainst the
bulwarks that feeble men rear. This maritime figure is entirely
in place in a prophecy against Tyre. The island city was built
on the top of a huge rock. When the city became utterly deso-
late, and all its vast walls, forts and structures were demolished,
the surface of this rock was laid bare and became precisely a
place for fishermen to spread and dry their nets. This prophecy
has long since been literally fulfilled. Her great wealth, accumu-
lated during ages of lucrative commerce, became a spoil to the
nations.
7. For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring
upon Tyrus Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of
kings from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and
with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
8. He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the
field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a
mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.
9. And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and
with his axes he shall break down thy towers.
10. By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust
shall cover thee : thy walls shall shake at the noise of the
horsemen, and of the w^heels, and of the chariots, when he
shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein
is made a breach.
11. With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all
thy streets : he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy
strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.
12. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make
a prey of thy merchandise : and they shall break down thy
walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses : and they shall lay
thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the
water.
This passage predicts the celebrated siege of Tyre by Nebuchad-
nezzar which occurred not long after. Josephus refers to it in two
distinct passages (Ant. 10: 11 : 1, and against Apion 1 : 21); in the
former, citing Philostratus as saying that " this king ])csieged Tyro
thirteen years while Ethbaal reigned at Tyre;" and in the latter,
quoting in general from the records of the^Pheuicians to the same
effect. Precisely how this siege of Tyre terminated, whether
with its absolute subjugation, or by capitulation, or by the with-
drawal of the besiegers, is still in dispute among antiquarians
150 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVI.
The testimony of Jerome, in his commentary on Ezek. 29 : 8, is
quite explicit to the point that Nebuchadnezzar did capture the
city, but found nothing of any account within it because the
Tyrians had previously removed every thing valuable in their
ships. There can be no reasonable doubt that a thirteen years'
siege laid and left the city mainly in ruins. It was a stern and
terrible siege, as Ezekiel's o^vn statements (29: 18) abundantly
attest. "Nebuchadnezzar caused his army to serve a great service
against Tyrus ; every head was made bald and every shoulder was
peeled." In v. 9, the effect of a battering ram is described in
place of giving its distinctive name. " He shall bring against thy
walls the stroke of what is over against." Was this mode adopted
because Ezekiel and his readers were not familiar with an appro-
priate name for this engine? In the last clause of v. 11, instead
of reading, "strong garrison," read — "The statues of the gods,"
in which lay their supposed strength. Down went those statues,
significant of the utter prostration of their political and military
power. That "her stones, timber and dust went into the midst
of the waters" resulted from her location upon an island, built out
to the very water's edge.
13. And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease ; and
the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.
14. And I will make thee like the top of a rock : thou
shalt be a place to spread nets upon : thou shalt be built no
more : for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
Her "songs" and "harps" indicate that music was in a some-
what advanced stage of cultivation. " Thou shalt be built no
more," i. e., with like magnificence and strength. The city rose
again — to be besieged more than two centuries later by Alexan-
der— after which it never regained its independence, nor its former
magnificence.
15. Thus saith the Lord God to Tyrus ; Shall not the
isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry,
when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee ?
16. Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from
their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put olf their
broidered . garments : they shall clothe themselves with
trembling : they shall sit upon the ground, and shall trem-
ble at ever]) moment, and be astonished at thee.
17. And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and
say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that ivast inhabited of
seafaring men, the renowned city, which was strong in the
sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be
on all that haunt it !
18. Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall ;
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVI. 151
yea^ the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy
departure.
The term " isles " as usual stands for all maritime countries
reached by sea, and here has special reference to Cnrthage, Tar-
tessus, and all those regions of Northern Africa and ISouthern Eu-
rope which had sustained close commercial relations with Tyre.
At the sound of her fall those isles would shake; their princes
would come down from their thrones, lay oif their robes, and put ou
trembling, and sit on the ground as men brought down, despite of
all their honor, to their mother dust ! Their mourning comes to us
in the life-like form of the very words of their bitter wail over her
fall : " How art thou destroyed whose inhabitants were from the
seas — a city renoAvned, which was strong, she and her people, in
the sea; impressing her terror on all its dwellers!" The isles
of the sea may have been troubled at her departure through fear
that the same enemy might come down upon themselves next!
19. For thus saith the Lord God; When I shall make
thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited;
when I shall bring uj) the deep upon thee, and great waters
shall cover thee ;
20. AVhen I shall bring thee down with them that de-
scend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall
set thee in the low j)arts of the earth, in places desolate of
old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not in-
habited ; and I shall set glory in the land of the living ;
21. I wilt make thee a terror, and thou shall be no 7?iore:
though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found
again, saith the Lord God.
I prefer to read v. 20 as the apodosis, i. e., the corresponding
second part of the sentence, thus ; " When I shall make thee des-
olate," etc., (v. 19); '■'Then (v. 20) I will bring thee down with
those that descend into the pit to the ancient people, and will make
thee dwell in the under-world — in the everlasting desolations — to
the end that thou shalt be inhabited no more, {i. e., upon this
earth); "but I will set glory in the land of the living" — the land
of my own people Israel over whose fall thou hast exulted. The
idea is that Tyre goes down to the under-world, to live no more
among the nations of this fair earth, while the Lord will raise up
Judah and make her again the glory of all lands. The word
"glory" here is the same as in chap. 20: 6, 15, and elsewhere,
Dan. 8: 9, and 11: 16, 41. This conception of the grave or pit
as an under-world where the ancient dead have their long abode,
is applied here beautifully to cities and kingdoms which go down
to ruin to rise no more. Over against this doom of Tyre, thus
perished and gone, never to rise in her glory again, the Lord
promises to make the land of his own people Israel once more the
152 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVII.
glory of the earth. So perish the nations and the people that set
themselves proudly and defiantly against the mighty God, while to
his people, there ariseth new joy out of their gi'ief; new light from
their darkness ; and from every eclipse, a new radiance of glory !
Who shall say it is not well to take one's lot with the oft-
despised people of God ! Why should men fear the trials and the
darkness that may be for a moment when their eternal future is so
sure and so ineffably glorious !
CHAPTER XXVn.
This remarkable chapter is a sort of inventory of the wealth,
greatness, and glory of ancient Tyre, showing the sources whence
she drew her materials and men for the commerce and the carry-
ing trade of the world. No ancient historian has ever approxi-
mated toward a statement so full and complete as this of the busi-
ness relations which existed in that age among the nations of the
world. Here is Tyre, the commercial center of the world, reach-
ing forth her arms in every direction to make every land contribute
its best products in men, in wisdom, martial prowess, nautical skill,
and in every sort of material to stock her markets, or to minister to
her facilities for transportation. It is a wonderful description ; yet
it stands here, not to give us the barren facts of so much commerce
and so much splendor in the arts, but to show liow much human
greatness and glory went down in one fearful fall when the Al-
mighty arose in his wrath to smite her bulwarks and sink all her
glory in the depths of ruin. By how much the more sublime the
height of her glory, by so much the more astounding was the crash
of her fall ! The revelator John had his eye on this chapter in
his magnificent description of the fall of Babylon the Great (Rev.
1. The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
2. Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for
Tyrus ;
3. And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the
entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for
many isles. Thus saitli the Lord God ; O Tyrus, thou hast
said, I am of perfect beauty.
Tyre was proud of lier wealth and splendor. This was her na-
tional sin, and wrought her ruin. She gloried in her perfect
beauty, and so became reckless of the claims of God and regardless
of the obligations of common humanity and morality. The mean
seltishness in which she gloated over the fall of Jerusalem is made
prominent in the previous chapter (26 : 2). The prophet Amos
(1 : *J) gives yet another telling fact; viz., that she sold all her cap-
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVII. 153
tives taken in war into slavery in Edom — as if any thing were right
in trade and for gain! V. 13 refers to her skive-trade. "At the
entry of the sea." Tyre was the commercial port for the whole
eastern shore of the Mediterranean. This vast body of water was
practically in those times what its name indicates, the midland sea
of the nations, begirt on every side with the civilization, the in-
dustry, and the wealth of the known world. The word rendered
"merchant" implies that she had the carrying trade of the world,
transporting the commodities of the great East to the West, and of
the great West to the East.
4. Thy borders are in tlie midst of the seas, thy builders,
have perfected thy beauty.
5. They have made all thy s/t?j9-boards of fir-trees of Se-
nir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts
for thee.
6. Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the
company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory,
brougJit out of the isles of Chittim.
7. Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that
which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail ; blue and purple
from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee.
In V. 5, " Senir" is used for a part or the whole of Mt. Hermon in
the country of Ammon. These "ship-boards" were ship-decks^
made double, as the dual number of the noun indicates. In v. 6
Gesenius translates, not — "the company of the Ashurites" — but,
"thy benches "(for the rowers to sit upon) "were of ivory inlaid
in the Sherbin cedar:" literally, "were of ivory, the daughter of
the Sherbin cedar." The statement illustrates the magnificence
and finish of her appointments for her carrying trade. This cedar,
noted for being straight and tall, came from the Island of Cyprus.
"Fine hnen of Egypt was spread for her flag^ her banners —
not her "sail" — for the sails would require strength rather than
beauty. "Elishah" is probably Elis, a district of Peloponnesus,
in Greece.
8. The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mari-
ners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy
pilots.
9. The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were
in thee thy calkers : all the ships of the sea with their mar-
iners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.
10. They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine
army, thy men of war : they hanged the shield and helmet
in thee ; they set forth thy comeliness.
11. The men of Arvad with thine army ivere upon thy
walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers :
154 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVII.
they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about ; they
made thy beauty perfect.
In V. 8 the word for " mariners " means rowers^ indicating the
great fact of that age, viz., that human muscle was the chief reli-
ance for propelling power. The application of steam power was
then unknown and skill in the use of sails was in its infancy.
The word for "pilots" bears the wider sense of seamen.
"Calkers;" literally, men to make the joints strong, water-tight.
The last clause of v. 9 means, not precisely to "occupy thy
merchandise, but rather, to exchange thy commodities; to do the
business of traffic, barter, commerce. She hired her soldiers
from Persia, in the far east ; and from Lud and Phut, countries of
northern Africa, lying west of Egypt, descendants of Ham.
Shields and helmets were hung up when not in immediate use.
These men were perhaps her standing army on garrison duty for
home defense. They heightened her splendor (" comeliness)."
In V. 11, "Gammadim" is a common (not a proper) noun, meaning
(by etymology) the brave warriors who cut down the enemy as the
woodman fells trees.
12. Tarshish ivas thy merchant by reason of the multi-
tude of all kind of riches ; with silver, iron, tin, and lead,
they traded in thy fairs.
13. Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants:
they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy
market.
14. They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs
with horses and horsemen and mules.
15. The men of Dedan n'ere thy merchants; many isles
were the merchandise of thy hand : they brought thee for a
present, horns of ivory and ebony.
16. Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude
of the w^ares of thy making : they occupied in thy fairs with
emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and
coral, and agate.
"Tarshish," Tartessus in Spain, supplied largely the minerals
most used in the arts. So ancient history testifies. The last
clause means; They replenished thy markets with these commodi-
ties. "Javan," strictly ancient Ionia; " Tubal and Meshech," also
countries of Asia Minor, sold slaves in her market. "Togarmah"
was a region yet farther north, supposed to be Armenia, peopled
with descendants of Gomer throus^h Torgom. They abounded in
horses. Dedan on the Persian Gulf, far in the south, is supposed
to have been an ancient Phcnician colony. The maritime places
adjacent are referred to here as the " many isles " which supplied
merchandise to the hand of Tyre. Ivory, and ebony (literally
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVII. 155
stone-wood for its hardness), were their products. Syria was pre-
eminently the manufacturing country.
17. Jiidah, and the land of Israel, they were thy mer-
chants; tliey traded in thy market wheat of Minnith and
Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.
18. Damascus ivas thy merchant in the multitude of the
wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches ; in the
wine of Helbon, and white wool.
19. Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy
fairs : bright iron, cassia, and calamus, w^ere in thy market.
20. Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for
chariots.
Judah and Israel supplied the staple articles of food. " Min-
nith" was a place in the land of Ammon Avhence choice wheat
came. "Pannag" is probably a common noun, meaning sweet
cahe. The same view as to the nature of the trade between Tyre
and Israel appears in the negotiations between Hiram and Solomon
(1 Kings 5: 9-11). Hiram said, "Thou shalt accomplish my de-
sire in giving food for my household." " vSolomon gave Hiram
twenty thousand measures of wheat for food for his household and
twenty measures of pure oil year by year." Damascus was even
then celebrated for her manufactures. Her skill in fine cloths and
especially in silks has given the term " Damasks" an enduring place
in human language. In v. 19 Gesenius reads, not " Dan also,"
but Yedan — making the first letter a component part of the proper
name. This was a city of Arabia, said to have produced anciently
these very commodities. "Javan," in this verse, he supposes to
have been also an Arabian city, as well as Dedan. The word ren-
dered, "going to and fro," is thought to refer to sjnnning ; so that
the clause means, "they set out spun-work in thy fairs."
21. Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied
with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats : in these were they
thy merchants.
22. The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy
merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all
spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.
23. Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of
Sheba, Assliur, and Chilmad, ivere thy merchants.
24. These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in
blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich ap-
parel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy
merchandise.
That herds and flocks were the commodities of Arabia and Ke-
dar is in harmony with all antiquity. Isaiah sang of " the flocks
of Kedar " (chap. 60: 7), and in the same connection, of " the gold
156 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVII.
and incense of Sheba" (chap. GO: 6). This Raamah lay in
south-east Arabia, associated naturally Avith Sheba. So in Gen. 10 :
7, and 1 Chron. 1 : 9. V. 23 groups several points in ancient As-
syria ; Ilaran, known in the early history of Abraham ; Canneh,
probably the " Calno" of Isaiah's time, (chap. 10: 9) and the Ctesi-
phon of the Greeks; Eden and Chilmad are not well known.
The general showing is to the effect that the whole civilized world
brought their commodities to one grand emporium in ancient Tyre.
25. The ships of Tarshish did sing of tliee in thy market ;
and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the
midst of the seas.
The original seems to mean; not, "did sing of thee," etc., but
were carriers of thy merchandise. So Gesenius and Maurer. This
completes the category.
26. Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters : the
east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.
27. Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mar-
iners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy
merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and
in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall
into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.
Here the discourse turns from her glory and greatness to her
fall. It was as if her rowers had brought her into great waters,
to be sunk there with all her wealth by the mighty east winds of
that inland sea. Then by how much the greater her freight of
wealth, merchandise, mariners, mercenary soldiers, men of all
business and population of every sort; by so much the more ter-
rible the fearful fall that would engulf her in the mighty deep to
rise no more !
28. The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of
thy pilots.
29. And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all
the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships,
they shall stand upon the land ; •
30. And shall cause their voice to be licard against thee,
and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their
heads ; they shall wallow themselves in the ashes :
31. And they shall nuike themselves utterly bald for
thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for
for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter Availing.
32. And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation
for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What citij is like
Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea ?
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVIII. 157
This is the mourning and the wailing over her fall. The prophet
groups together all the usual oriental symbols and modes of ex-
pressing the most intense grief. The last clause of v. 32 is spe-
cially expressive, where instead of, "like the destroyed," etc., I
would read, " as one hushed to dead silence in the midst of the sea,"
in contrast with the hum and noise of her busy commerce and the
myriad sounds of a great city of trade.
33. AVlien thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou
filledst many people ; tliou didst enrich the kings of the
earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchan-
dise.
34. In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in
the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all thy com-
pany in the midst of thee shall fall.
35. All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at
thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be
troubled in their countenance.
36. The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee ;
thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.
Once so great, enriching kings from thy stores of wealth; now
broken, impoverished; the isles astonished at thy fall; the kings
of the earth appalled before such retribution and the merchants
of the earth, once joyous in thy traffic, now hissing contemptuously
over thy ruin : — what a scene is this ! How fraught with impres-
sive lessons on the frailty of human wealth and grandeur, and the
folly of human pride ! Let those who give their hearts to the
attractions of wealth and splendor, or to the charms of business
and gain, pause over this lesson and ask, What wisdom is here for
us? Let the nations that are treading in the steps of ancient
Tyre think of her sins and of her consequent doom ! No securi-
ties are too substantial to be utterly broken down. No guaranty
for the permanence of wealth and glory will stand when God arises
to call men to their moral account !
CHAPTER XXVIII.
In this chapter judgments on Tyre continue throu«Th vs. 1-19 ;
then on Zidon through vs. 20-26. The judgments against Tyre are
specially directed to "the prince of T5a-us," (v. 2,) and to "the
king " (v. 12), for his great pride. The king is probably a repre-
sentative man ; first, the embodiment of the nation's pride ; then,
the symbol of her doom.
1. The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
158 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVIIL
2. Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith
the Lord God ; Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou
hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst
of the seas ; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou
set thy heart as the heart of God :
3. Behold, thou ar^ wiser than Daniel ; there is no secret
that they can hide from thee :
4. With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou
hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into
thy treasures :
5. By thy great wisdom and by thy traffic hast thou in-
creased thy riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of
thy riches.
The latter part of v. 2 I would translate thus : " Because thou
hast said, I am God ; I sit in the seat of God in the midst of the
seas; — but thou art man and not God, and yet thou dost set thy
heart as the heart of God." " Man " here is frail man, of dust. The
special point of the affirmation is that, being only frail and mortal —
nothing but man in his weak estate — he should yet most unreas-
onably, proudly and wickedly, assume to be God and think of
himself and bear himself as the Almighty Lord of all. The
words, "Thou art wiser than Daniel," give not the view of God
but the view of this prince of Tyre. So he thinks of himself
Tyre had manifested worldly wisdom in her business and trade,
and becoming rich thereby had also become excessively proud — no
uncommon result of that business capacity which insures wealth.
The Lord intends to make her case an admonition to every
man of like wisdom and of similar success, against a similar pride
and a like fearful doom.
6. Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Because thou hast
set thy heart as the heart of God ;
7. Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee,
the terrible of the nations : and they shall draw their swords
against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy
brightness.
8. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt
die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the
seas.
9. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am
God ? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of
him that slayeth thee.
10. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by
the hand of strangers : for I have spoken it, saith the Lord
God.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVIII. 159
. These "strangers," "the terrible of the nations," arc primarily
the Chaldeans, whose fearful onslaught and siege of thirteen years'
duration brought death to multitudes of her sons and daufhters
and ruin over her fair city. " Against the beauty of thy wis-
dom," is beauty in the arts, such as manifests peculiar skill, " wis-
dom." In V. 8 the sense is. Thou Tyrus, although in the midst
of the seas, and therefore supposing thyself safe, shalt yet die the
death of those who are pierced through with the sword. "In the
midst of the seas," gives, not the manner of being slain, but the
reason why she deemed herself secure. Then and there, in the
very presence of those stalwart arms and drawn swords, wilt thou
proudly say, I am God ? Thy doom shall show that thou art only
frail man and not God. "Thou shalt die the death of the uncir-
cumcised" — the profane and impious whom God dooms to perish.
11. Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
12. Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of
Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God ; Thou
sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every
precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the
diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire,
the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold : the workmanship
of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the
day that thou wast created.
These verses are not so much God's admission of what is true
of Tyre as his representation of what she thinks of herself.
"Thou sealest up the sum," seems to mean; Thou hast filled thine
own idea of perfection, as when any required sum is fully made
up, it is sealed to indicate that nothing more need be added.
"Eden, the garden of God," man's primeval paradise, fills the con-
ception of beauty. Such in her own esteem was the state of Tyre
when she sat proudly, enriched with the wealth of the nations and
shining in their concentrated splendor. This accumulation of
terms for gems and precious stones shows at least that a great
variety of them were well known and much valued as objects of
enduring beauty. In the last clause of v. 13, the words ren-
dered "tabrets" and "pipes" seem not to refer to musical instru-
ments, but to the bezel or cavity into which gems were set. The
general idea is. Thou wast ordained to this wealth and splendor
from the day when thou wast founded as a city and nation. Tyre .
had always been a great mart of commerce and a home for its
wealth and glory.
14. Thou art the anointed clierub that covereth; and I
have set thee so : thou wast upon the holy mountain of God ;
thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of
fire.
160 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVIII.
15. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou
wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
"Anointed" is probably not the idea, but rather — "the cherub
of expanded wing" — with allusion to the cherubim in the most holy
place, whose wings were extended over the mercy-seat. The origi-
nal verb represents the two correlated ideas, (1.) of moving the
hands outward from the person and from each other as in expand-
ing; and (2.) of anointing by a similar use of the hands. Here we
have the primary idea. The allusion to the cherubim in the tem-
ple is still further carried out in the phrase, " the holy mountain of
God," that on which the temple stood, as in Isa. 11: 9; "in all my
holy mountain;" and also Isa. 56 : 7; " them will I bring to my holy
mountain," etc. "The stones of fire" are those precious stones,
gems, that sparkle and flash as if they were stones of fire. Up and
down amid these the king of Tyre had walked. In all his ways
this monarch had enjoyed the perfection of earthly glory and splen-
dor from the very foundation of the city and kingdom until iniquity
was found in him and the hand of the Almighty came down upon
him in righteous judgment.
16. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled
the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned : there-
fore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God :
and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst
of the stones of fire.
17. Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty ; thou
hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness : I
will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings,
that they may behold thee.
18. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of
thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic ; therefore will
I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour
thee ; and I will bring thee to ashes lipon the earth in the
sight of all of them that behold thee. '
19. All they that know thee among the people shall be
astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt
thou he any more.
In the midst of this great traffic and by consequence of it, Tyre
had become "full of violence" — the usual phrase to denote viola-
tions of person, assaults, bloodshed, insecurity of life. "And so,"
or "and then thou didst sin^' in the emphatic sense; become aban-
doned and outbreaking in thine immoralities. The language
which describes her doom is transferred from the account of her
previous splendor. Once a cherub, sitting in glory in the holy
mount of God amid gems sparkling with luster ; now the Lord will
cast her as a profane thing down from his own holy mount and
destroy her. Beauty and wisdom had been her snare, and now
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVIII. 161
become her curse. "The iniquity of thy traffic (v. 18) I take to
be the corrupting influence of thy trade — the moral perversity be-
gotten by the arts of trade. The original impHes this. "Therefore
I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee that shall devour
thee," intimates that sin works out its own doom — generates the
causes that bring retribution upon the sinner. The judgments on
Tyre should fill the nations with amazement ; should become a ter-
ror to the wicked who would fear a like doom for their own sins.
"And never shalt thou be any more." The full measure of
this doom did not come with the siege by Nebuchadnezzar, for Tyre
recovered in some degree from this first blow. Another blow fell
on her from the hand of Alexander, two hundred and fifty years
later. Saracen and Turk have finished the work of her destruction.
She has come at last to be only a naked rock on which fishermen
dry their nets, as the prophet said.
20. Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
21. Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy
against it,
22. And say. Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am
against thee, O Zidon ; and I will be glorified in the midst
of thee : and they shall know that I cmi the Lord, when I
shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sancti-
fied in her.
23. For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into
her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst
of her by the sword upon her on every side ; and they shall
know that I am the Lord.
24. And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the
house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round
about them, that despised them ; and they shall know that
I am the Lord God.
Zidon, the subject of this prophecy, lying but twenty miles north
of Tyre ; herself like Tyre situated on the Mediterranean, yet never
like Tyre distinguished for trade but rather for skill in manufac-
tures— was the more ancient, appearing in Bible history. Gen. 10:
15, 19, and Josh. 11: 8, and 19: 28 — in these two latter cases as
"Great Zidon." The references to it in Judg. 1: 31,\and 18: 28,
indicate its military strength. This prophecy against Zidon is
brief; does not specify her sins particularly, but declares that God
will he glorified and sanctified in his judgments upon her.*
These contiguous powers which had been as pricking briers and
painful thorns to Israel and which had contemptuously despised
her, should be utterly destroyed and be no more. They should be
made to know that Jehovah is the living God.
'■' In V. 23 the verb rendered, " shall he judged in the midst of her by the
sword," should rather read; shcdl fall— the root of the verb being not
S^3> as our translators assumed, but ^21-
162 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIX.
25. Thus saith the Lord God; "When I shall have gath-
ered the house of Israel from the people among whom they
are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight
of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I
have given to my servant Jacob.
26. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build
houses, and plant vineyards ; yea, they shall dwell with con-
fidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that
desj)ise them round about them; and they shall know^ that
I am the Lord their God.
From these particular cases, the Lord advances to the general
truth — "No weapon formed against Zion shall prosper." When
the Lord shall gather his people home from their dispersions and
shall be sanctified in them before all the heathen, they shall dwell in
safety from all their foes. The Lord will surely execute exterminat-
ing judgments on all their determined enemies. So true is it that God
stands with and for his people, and will surely prove himself their
Redeemer and Savior. The world shall yet know his power to save
his trusting children, befriend his own cause, and fill all the earth
with his glory.
CHAPTER XXIX.
With this chapter commences a series of prophecies against
Egypt, filling four chapters. The first begins with the date of "the
tenth year, tenth month," etc., one month and eighteen days earlier
than the date of the preceding prophecy against Tyre. Both fall
within the period of the siege of Jerusalem. Y&. 17-21 consti-
tute a second part of this chapter, of later date by a fraction over
sixteen years. Manifestly this was given to the prophet after the
thirteen years' siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar had terminated.
Since the years of Zedekiah's reign correspond very nearly with
the years of Jehoiachin's captivity (the Epoch of Ezekiel) and
shice the siege of Jerusalem closed in the eleventh year and fourth
month of Zedekiah (Jer. 52: 5, 6) the interval between the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem and the date of this prophecy is fifteen and two-
thirds years. If we may assume that this prophecy (v. 17-21)
bears date soon after this "long and hard service" closed, then the
famous siege of Tyre must have commenced some two years after
the cloye of the siege of Jerusalem. The grounds assigned for
these judgments upon Pharaoh and Egypt are — (1.) That he had
been very proud, had practically disowned (^od, and put himself
in his place: — (2.) That he and his people had been a frail, treach-
erous staff of help to the Jews — enticinii; them away from their
sworn allegiance to the Chaldeans, to their own ruin; and (3.) To
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIX. 163
reward Nebuchadnezzar for his unpaid service for the Lord against
Tyre.
1. In the tenth year, in the tenth months in the twelfth
day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying,
2. Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of
Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt:
3. Speak, and say. Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I
am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon
that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said. My
river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
The "great dragon" is the crocodile — almost a speciahty to the
Nile. But the crocodile of course represents here Egypt's proud
king who lies basking in the midst of his rivers, as this animal is
wont to do. It scarcely needs be said that the Nile makes
Egypt — is the source of all its fertility ; the channel for all its com-
merce; the fountain of all its wealth and subsistence. Without
the Nile Egypt were only a desert. Its waters by their annual in-
undation and by their abundant use in artificial irrigation, beat
back the encroaching sands of the desert and insure astonishing
fertility. Hence the temptation to Egypt's king to glory in the
Nile, and, in the folly of his pride, to claim it as his own, even by
creation ! Strange folly, and no less strange impiety ! By a
striking coincidence Herodotus wrote of this same Pharaoh Hophra
(Smith 2; 818) "It is said that Apries," [another form of "Hoph-
ra,"] "believed that there was not a god who could cast him down
from his eminence, so firmly did he think he bad established him-
self in his kingdom."
4. But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the
fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales ; and I will bring
thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of
thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.
5. And I will leave thee throiun into the Avilderness, thea
and all the fish of thy rivers : thou shalt fall upon the open
fields ; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered : I
have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to
the fowls of the heaven.
Crocodiles were customarily caught with strong fish-hooks, which
being skilfully baited,-the animal swallowed. The Lord takes this
figure from actual life to indicate how he will seize this proud king
and drag him and his princes and the chief of his people who are
to stick to his scales, out of his river ; cast them abroad upon
the dry desert where no fish could live; and there leave them for
food to beasts and fowls. This must signify that they are subdued
by their enemies, taken captive and brought to a dishonored
164 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIX.
death. To be left unburicd to be devoured by vultures and hyenas
fills the oriental and ancient idea of w^hatever is awful and hor-
rible in death. The classic authors of Greece and Home are full
of this sentiment.
6. And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I
am the Lord, because they have been a staff of reed to the
house of Israel.
7. When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst
break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned
upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at
a stand.
"A staff of reed" — a symbol of what is slender and frail — for a
nation to lean upon. When Judah leaned on this staff, it brake ;
and as they had leaned with their full weight upon it, failincr, it
rent all their shoulder and made all their loins to shake. This
seems to be the thought in the last verb, rendered, to "be at a
stand."*
8. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will
bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of
thee.
9. And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste;
and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath
said. The river is mine, and I have made it.
Of the visible grounds for these fearful judgments, pride was
manifestly the chief; here adduced as the only ground ; " Because
he hath said. The river is mine, and I have made it." How
odious to the Great God must such pride be, and how justly does
it evoke judgments such in form and in severity as shall make men,
even the proudest of them, Jcnoio that he is God alone !
10. Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy
rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste
ajid desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border
of Ethiopia.
11. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of
beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited
forty years.
12. And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the
midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among
the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years :
*Tho case has its critical clifficultios; but the usual sense, to cau.9e to
stand firmly, is the rever.se of what the context requires. Hence there is
probably ii play upon the Avoid wltli rofenMico to another verb of tho
Kaiue radical letters h\\^ tho two first traiis])osed. This other verb haa
tho sense, to shake. The change is from -\'QV ^o stand— to ^ya to shake.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIX. 165
and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and
will disperse them through the countries.
Sjene is not (as the reader might suppose) at one extremity of
Egypt and "the border of Ethiopia" at the other and opposite; but
both are on its southern limit. Syene is on the Nile, on the south-
ern boundary of Egypt. The original reads, "From the tower of
Syene, and unto the border of Ethiopia." The enemy came from
the north. Of course the northern portion of the country would be
laid waste. It was only needful therefore to say that it should be
desolated even to its southern border ; and to make this border very
definite, two points in it are specified. The description shows that
this desolation was to be fearful and general. There can be no
reasonable doubt that it was efiected by the Chaldean forces under
Nebuchadnezzar. See vs. 17-20, and chap. 30: 24, 25, and also
Jer. 44: 30, and 46: 25, 26. Only the most scanty notices of
these events have reached us in the channels of profane history.
Berosus, the great Chaldean historian, has a fragment which has
come down through Josephus (Against Apion 1 : 19) to the effect
that "Nebuchadnezzar conquered Egypt, Syria, Phenicia, and
Arabia, and exceeded in his exploits all that had reigned before
him in Babylon and Chaldea." The duration of this desolate
condition (" forty years") would reach forward into the wane of the
Chaldean empire, some years later than the death of Nebuchad-
nezzar, whose reign began with the fourth year of Jehoiakim and
continued forty-three years. But this subjugation of Egypt if it
followed the fall of Tyre, must have been past the middle point of
his reign.
13. Yet thus saith the Lord God; At the end of forty
years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither
they were scattered:
14. And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and
will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into
the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a
base kingdom.
15. It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall
it exalt itself any more above the nations : for I will di-
minish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.
16. And it shall be no more the confidence of the house
of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance,
when they shall look after them : but they shall know that
I am the Lord God.
At the end of forty years, her captivity would cease, and her
population return; but her former glory she should never regain.
A just doom for her impiety and pride ! " The land of their
habitation" is rather (from the original), "the land of their nativ-
ity;" the same word used Chap. 16: 3. V. 16 might be para-
166 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIX.
phrased, Egypt shall be no more the confidence of the house
of Israel which confidence brings to mind their iniquity in their
treachery and perjury toward the king of Ba))ylon when they
turned from him to the Egyptians* for help, etc. What is said
here of the "baseness of this kingdom" as contrasted with its for-
mer greatness and glory, and also in chap. 30: 13; "there shall
be no more a prince of the land of Egypt;" has its fulfillment in
history in the fact that " from the second Persian conquest, more
than two thousand years ago, until our own days, not one native
ruler has occupied the throne." See Smith's Bible Dictionary 1 :
512. When the prophet wrote, Egypt had been a first-class power
from the days of Abraham. Since the fulfillment of this prophecy
it has been preeminently "a base kingdom" — for long ages past,
scarcely knoAvn in the world's history as a kingdom at all. What
a testimony is this, not to the truth of prophecy alone, but to the
fearfulness of God's judgments against kings and nations for their
proud impiety in disowning their great Creator and Eang !
17. And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year,
in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word
of the Lord came unto me, saying,
18. Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused
his army to serve a great service against Tyrus : every head
was made bald, and every shoulder loas peeled : yet had he
no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he
had served against it:
19. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will
give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Baby-
lon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil,
and take her prey ; and it shall be the wages for his army.
20. I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor
wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for
me, saith the Lord God.
The points made here have been mostly discussed in the notes
on the prophecies against Tyre, and in the remarks introductory
to this chapter. It is still an unsettled question whether the
siege of Tyre closed with its absolute subjugation; or by a capit-
ulation which spared to the people their treasures ; or by their
removing all their valuables in their ships. The latter is not im-
probable, and has in its support the testimony (such as it is) of
Jerome in his commentary on Ezekiel. The "hard service" in
which "every head was made bald and every shoulder peeled," is
accounted for by the manner in which the work was done; viz., by
building an immense causeway or road from the main land to the
island on which the city stood in order to bring his battering
rams and assaulting works close to the city walls. In the state of
the arts at that time, the transportation of stone and earth for
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXX. 167
building this causeway was done on the heads and shoulders of
men — reason enough why "every head should be made bald" and
the skin of "every shoulder be peeled" and worn. Kemarkably
the Lord speaks of this service as being done for himself — quite in
keeping with those passages in which he calls Nebuchadnezzar
"my servant:" see Jer. 25: 9, and 27: 6, and 43: 10. The Lord
wished the Jews to understand that he had important ends to an-
swer by this great king of Babylon, as was indeed the case. He
was God's instrument for a fearful retribution, not on Judea and
Jerusalem alone, but on all the nations of Western Asia and upon
Egypt.
21. In that day will I cause the horn of the house of
Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of
the mouth in the midst of them ; and they shall know that
I am the Lord.
"Horn" and "bud" blend two distinct and not altogether homo-
geneous figures. The "horn" is eminently a symbol of power;
while the "budding" and development of vegetables implies growth
and beauty. The hopes of Israel would revive, the germ of its
nationality would shoot forth afresh at the period here referred to,
which would be in the latter years of the captivity in Babylon. As
Egypt should go down, Israel should rise. The results of divine
discipline would begin to develop themselves in the revived piety
of the people, and (we must suppose) in the disappearance of the
spirit and practice of idolatry. The passage seems to refer prima-
rily to a period within the lifetime of the prophet, since it is implied
that he would be encouraged and emboldened to speak without
restraint and with great freedom and, we may hope, unction and
success. The captive Jews would see fresh and convincing evi-
dence that their God is truly the Lord Jehovah of Hosts.
CHAPTER XXX.
In this chapter the one theme is judgment on Egypt, yet there
are two messages of diverse date; the first comprising vs. 1-19;
the second, vs. 20-26. The date of the latter is given definitely
(in V. 20) ; probably that the reader might locate it shortly after the
defeat of Pharaoh Hophra when he approached to aid his Jewish
friends by an efibrt to raise the siege of their city, then in progress
by the army of Nebuchadnezzar. Critics are not agreed as to the
date of the first portion, some connecting it in time with the message
chap. 29: 1-16, viz., in the tenth year and tenth month, etc. ; others
connecting it with the message chap..29: 17-21, viz., in the twenty-
seventh year. I prefer the latter, both because it follows directly
with no notice of a different date, and yet more because it repre-
168 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXX.
sents the final consummation of these fearful judgments as then
very near at hand (v. 3). The historical facts are, that the crush-
ino; blow from the Chaldean arms fell on Egypt after the siege of
Tyre had closed, and hence shortly after the prophecy (chap. 29 :
17-21) was delivered. Consequently this portion (chap. 30: 1-19)
must be assigned to the same date as the five verses next preceding.
1. The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord
God ; Howl ye. Wo worth the day !
3. For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near,
a cloudy day ; it shall be the time of the heathen.
The passage in v. 2, "Howl ye," etc., means, Cry aloud in wail-
ing tones, "Wo to the day!" or "Alas, the day!" The former is
the literal translation. "A cloudy day." Darkness is a well-
known symbol of calamity. "The time of the heathen," in the
sense of being their day of triumph. The nations hostile to Egypt
have their time of vengeance upon her.
4. The sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall
be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they
shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be
broken down.
5. Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled
people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league,
shall fall with them by the sword.
Not Egypt alone but her allies, those powers on the South and
West that had been usually associated with her in her great con-
flicts with the Asiatic powers, now suffer in her fall. Ethiopia on
her southern border; Libya and Lydia on her western, are well
known as her ancient allies. Doubt rests on the word "Chub,"
which occurs in the Scriptures here only. .Opinions are divided
between Cohen, a part of Ethiopia; Coba or Chobat, a city of Mau-
ritania; and making a slight change in the first letter so as to read
it, Nubia. A dearth of the necessary geographical knowledge for-
bids absolute certainty. The general sense is clear; some city or
people of Africa, in alliance with Egypt.
6. Thus saith the Lord ; they also that uphold Egypt shall
fall ; and the pride of her power shall come down : from the
tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the
Lord God.
7. And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries
that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst hi the
cities that are wasted.
8. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXX. 169
set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be de-
stroyed.
Stress is laid on the utter ruin of her helpers, those powerful
alhes, so long accustomed to make common cause with her against
their great and common enemies from the regions of the Euphrates.
9. In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships
to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall
come upon them as in the day of Egypt : for lo, it cometh.
The ships referred to were the light-boats that ran far up the
Nile to bear the fearful tidings to the Ethiopians, living in fancied
security. These tidings would thrill them with terror even as they
had the Egyptians when the crash of invasion fell on them.
10. Thus saith the Lord God; I will also make the mul-
titude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon.
11. He and his people with him, the terrible of the na-
tions, shall be brought to destroy the land : and they shall
draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the
slain.
12. And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into
the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste,
and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers : I the Lord
have spoken it
The dense population of Egypt would perish by the hand of the
king of Babylon. "I will make the rivers dry," is taken by some
figuratively in the sense of destroying her resources, which her
great river and its numerous canals, cut for irrigation, might well
represent. But there is no special objection to taking the words in
their literal though modified sense — her rivers becoming so low as
to forbid irrigation, and consequently, to insure famine. The Nile
is subject to such failures, as e. g. in the days of Joseph.
13. Thus saith the Lord God; I will also destroy the
idols, and I will cause ilieiv images to cease out of Noph ;
and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt :
and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.
14. And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire
in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.
15. And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of
Egypt ; and I will cut off* the multitude of No.
16. And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great
pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall ham
distresses daily.
8
170 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXX.
17. The young men of Avon, and of Pi-beseth shall fall
by the sword : and these cities shall go into captivity.
From general statements, the prophet comes to particulars, speci-
fying the several cities that are to feel the weight of this crushing
calamity. This is designed and well adapted to strengthen the
impression of the fearful facts. The principal cities of Egypt
are here enumerated. They are known by other names also — ■
Greek or Egyptian. These are mostly Hebrew. Hence the follow-
ing statements may be useful. "Noph" is also called Memphis;
the great city of Lower Egypt, near the Pyramids. "No," or No-
Ammon, is Thebes or Diospolis; the great city of Upper Egypt, cel-
ebrated for its hundred gates, and even now great in the ruins of
its magnificent temples of Luxor, Karnac, etc. "Pathros" is the
Egyptian name for Upper Egypt, as Mizraim was sometimes for
the lower province. "Zoan" is known in Greek as Tanis, one of
the cities of Lower Egypt. " Sin," known by the Greeks as Pelu-
sium, was in the north-eastern extremity of Egypt, the point where
their Asiatic enemies would naturally strike first. Hence it was
fortified so as to become "the strength of Egypt." Its Hebrew name
means a marsh, and such it was, and perhaps the stronger therefor.
"Aven," doubtless the city "On" of Gen. 41: 45, 50, from vrhich
word it differs only in its vowel points, received this form from the
Hebrews in contempt for its idols, nothings, or vanities — which is
the significance of the word thus pronounced. The Greeks called
it Heliopolis, city of the sun, which the Hebrews sometimes trans-
lated into Bethshemeth, house of the sun. "Pi-beseth," by the
Greeks, Bubastis, was on the lower Avaters of the Nile. Tehaphne-
hes, the Daphne of the Greeks, was near Pelusium, and seems to
have been in these times the residence of the king and his court.
See Jer. 43 : 8-13. Jeremiah has a prophecy (chap. 46) some-
what analogous to this of Ezekiel. For the fulfillment of this
prophecy, " there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt,"
see notes on chap. 29: 14, 15. In v. 16, the doom of Noph
means, "distress by day," as opposed to the night. Her enemies
shall come upon her fearlessly in open day as if perfect masters of
their position. Even the proudest cities and the strongest shall be
readily subdued with no aid from darkness or surprise.
18. At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened,
when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the
pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud
shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19. Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they
shall know that I am the Lord.
The eclipse of Egypt's glory is well represented as falling on the
royal city. The darkening ot^ the day and a covering of cloud are
analogous figures for extreme calamity. The "pomp of Egypt's
strength" would naturally be concentrated about the throne.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXX. 171
The "yokes of Egypt," if the Hebrew word for yoke is to be re-
tained, must mean her power to enslave her captives, or to hold in
subjection foreign tribes or peoples. But the context strongly favors
a slight change in the vowels which would make the word mean
rods^ or scepters. In this way the sense of the clause would be, the
breaking down of regal power in the land. Remarkably the an-
cient versions give this sense.
20. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the
first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word
of the Lord came unto me, saying,
21. Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king
of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed,
to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the
sword.
22. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am
against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms,
the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause
the sword to fall out of his hand.
23. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations,
and will disperse them through the countries.
24. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Bab-
ylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break
Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the
groanings of a deadly wounded man.
25. But I w^ill strengthen the arms of the king of Baby-
lon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they
shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall put my sword
into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch
it out upon the land of Egypt.
26. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations,
and disperse them among the countries; and they shall
know that I am the Lord.
As said above in the introduction to this chapter, this prophecy
was probably suggested by the defeat of Pharaoh Hophra when he
attempted to force Nebuchadnezzar to raise the siege of Jerusalem.
See Jer. 44: 30: "I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into
the hands of his enemies and into the hands of them that seek his
life, as I gave Zedekiah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar," etc.
Suggested by this defeat, it probably followed it closely in time.
This was only some three months before the fall of the city of Jeru-
salem— the latter event being in the eleventh year and fourth month
and ninth day (Jer. 52: 5, 6), and this, in the eleventh year, first
month and seventh day. The breaking of Pharaoh's sword-arm
first, hopelessly past cure ; then the breaking of both his arms, and
the strengthening of the arms of Nebuchadnezzar and putting the
172 EZEKIEL— CHAP. XXXL
eword into it for the execution of God"^ judgments — are the leading
figures of this passage. Some critics interpret the two arms of
Egypt's king to be two portions of his territory; others, two royal
families : but the general sense, his military power, his means of
resisting his great Chaldean enemy — is more natural and probable.
The sword is the appropriate emblem of military strength.
Here, as often elsewhere, we have the king of Babylon " the serv-
ant of the Lord." The curse of Egypt includes a great slaughter
of her people and their dispersion into foreign lands.
CHAPTER XXXI.
This chapter is one distinct and entire message, presenting under
the figure of a cedar of Lebanon the case of Assyria, as a lesson
of warning to Egypt. If Assyria, so splendid and magnificent in
her greatness, yet went down with a crash that astounded the na-
tions, what, 0 Pharaoh, shall be thy doom ? Be not so vain as to
imagine that thy greatness and glory, so obviously less than those
of Assyria, can insure thee against a like terrible fall ! This mes-
sage dates only one month and a fraction before the fall of Jeru-
salem. The fall of Assyria, referred to here as a fact of past his-
tory, occurred B. C. 625; i. e., thirty-seven years before the date of
this message. Hence it was still fresh in the minds of Ezekiel's
readers. The figure which is finely sustained throughout the
chapter is one of exquisite beauty. The Assyrian power was a
noble cedar of Lebanon, lofty and fair, of far outspreading mag-
nificent foliage; his roots reaching out to living waters; all the
fowls of heaven nestled in his boughs ; all the beasts of the field
made their homes under his shade; — but he became proud, and
God laid him low, and brought him down to the under-world, even
as mortals die and go down to the shades beneath.— — Art thou, O
Egypt, great like this Assyrian cedar ? If in thy vanity thou hast
compared thyself to proud Assyria, think whether for thy pride
thou shalt not suffer an equally terrible fall! The reader will
recall the similar figure (chap. 17) wliere the king of Judah ap
pears as a young cedar ; also in Dan. 4, where a vast, magnificent
tree represents the greatness and glory of Nebuchadnezzar. The
latter case suffices to show that this figure is Chaldean, and hence
entirely appropriate for Ezekiel to use in addressing his brethren
residing there,
1. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third
month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the
Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and
to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXI. 173
3. Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair
branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high
stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
" Whom art thou Uke in thy greatness ?" " Behold ;" look at this
case of the Assyrian power, well known to Egypt; for ages her
great rival and military antagonist. Is thy greatness more than
hers ? He then proceeds to set forth the splendors of the great
Assyrian empire. In v. 3, "with a shadowing shroud," means
with foliage casting a deep shade. In the clause, " his top among
the thick boughs," the word for top means the woolly iiift, crown-
ing the summit of its foliage. Hengstenberg claims that the word
rendered ^^ thick boughs" means ^^ the clouds;" his tuft lay among
the clouds. The same clause occurs elsewhere only in vs. 10, 14,
and chap. 19: 11, To say only that his top was among the thick
boughs implies equality in height with other trees, and not superi-
ority, and consequently does not meet the demands of the context.
Hence, "among the clouds," is better.
4. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on
high with her rivers running round about his plants, and
sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
5. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees
of the field, and his boughs w^ere multiplied, and his
branches became long because of the multitude of waters,
when he shot forth.
6. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs,
and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring
forth their young, and under his shadow dVelt all great
nations.
7. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his
branches: for his root was by great waters.
A supply of water in that climate insured exuberant fertility.
In a few instances the prophet drops his figure and gives his
thought in literal terms; e. g., "under his shadow dwelt all great
nations," i. e., enjoying his military protection and paying him
tribute. This was the relation sustained in those ages by the
smaller powers to the great central one. Assyria, Clialdea, and
Persia, were successively such central powers.
8. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him:
the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut
trees were not like his branches; not any tree in the gar-
den of God was like unto him in his beauty.
9. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches:
so that all the trees of Eden, that ivere in the garden of
God, envied him.
174 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXI.
The prophet thinks of Eden, the o;arden of God, as a model of
superlative fertility and beauty. This and similar allusions {e. g.,
chap. 28: 13) show that the Jews of that age had some knowledge
of the primeval state of man, doubtless as much as has come down
to us in the account given by Moses in Genesis. It is safe to as-
sume that they had this. " These cedars in the garden of God
could not hide him," in the sense of overshadowing and surpassing
him in their beauty and their shade. " Chestnut," Gesenius ren-
ders— the " plane-tree."
10. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou
hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top
among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his
height ;
11. I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the
mighty one of the heathen ; he shall surely deal with him :
I have driven him out for his wickedness.
12. And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut
him off, and have left him : upon the mountains and in all
the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are
broken by all the rivers of the land ; and all the people of
the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left
him.
13. Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven re-
main, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his
branches :
14. To the end that none of all the trees by the waters
exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top
among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their
height, all that drink Avater : for they are all delivered unto
death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the
children of men, with them that go down to the pit.
Here again the prophet blends literal with figurative language ;
e. g.^ "his heart is lifted up in his height," v. 10; also in v. 11, and
part of v. 12. The change of person from "thou" to "he" is not
uncommon in Hebrew and does not necessarily involve any change
in the personage whose pride is here described. This terrible
example of ruin had for its moral purpose to admonish all other
great trees of like magnificence tliat they be not proud and vain,
for they are all doomed to die. The greatest and proudest nations
must go down, like frail mortal men, to the under-world, the pit.
The phrase, "the nether parts of the earth," is more strictly, the
" under- world," according to the opinions of the ancients that this
was the locality of the dead.
15. Thus saith the Lord God ; In the day when he -went
down to the grave I caused a mourning, I covered the deep
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXI. 175
for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great
waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for
hifla, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.
This is graphic and beautiful. In the day when this proud
cedar fell, I the Lord shrouded the deep in mourning for him (the
deep with its great waters had set him up on high, v. 4), and I re-
strained its waters, and made Lebanon mourn over the loss of her
preeminent glory. The trees of the field were languid, faint of
heart, in view of his fall, thinking of their own possible, perhaps
probable, doom!
16. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall,
when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into
the pit : and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of
Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the
nether parts of the earth.
17. They also went down into hell with him unto them
that be slain with the sword ; and they that were his arm, that
dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
The trees of Eden are " comforted," probably in the sense of a
satisfaction to their envious feelings (v. 9); a sort of revenge upon
him for his great pride, like the feeling which Isaiah (14: 9-16)
imputes to the kings of the nations in the under-world when they
see great Lucifer coming down to their land of weakness and
shade; "Art thou become weak as we?" In v, 17, "they that
were his arm," his military strength — allied or tributary nations,
who had dwelt under his shadow — now go down with him to the pit
of destruction.
18. To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness
among the trees of Eden ? yet shalt thou be brought down
with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts (f£ the earth:
thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them
that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his
multitude, saith the Lord God.
In this question — "To' whom art thoji thus like," etc., I under-
stand the prophet to turn from the Assyrian cedar to bis Egyptian
rival. Art thou as great as this proud Assyrian, or greater? Know
thou that if thy pride is great like his, thy doom must needs be fear-
fully appalling no less than his. The mighty God before whom
great Assyria could not stand is equally able to bring do"svn thy
greatness, paralyze thy power, and cast thoe into tliat under-world
where the silence of death reigns supreme ! >^o puny are the
mightiest nations when they measure arms with the (ireat God!
So vain it is for any of them, even the most magnificent in splen-
dor, to lift themselves up against their Infinite Maker and Lord 1
176 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXII.
OHAPTER XXXII.
This chapter in hro distinct messages, viz., vs. 1-16 and vs. 17-
32, with each its distinct date, completes the prophecy concerning
the fall of Egypt before the arms of Nebuchadnezzar. The date
of the first portion is seven months and a fraction after the fall of
Jerusalem; the second portion is still fifteen days later; for the
month not being mentioned, we must assume it to be the same as
in V. 1. The danger to Egyj^t from the Chaldean arms was man-
ifestly greater and more obvious after the fall of Jerusalem than
at any time before. Whether the Chaldeans invaded Egypt near
this time and before their long siege of Tyre, remains in some
doubt. Profane history at this period affords only the most scanty
records. That they swept over Egypt with terrible devastation
after their work on Tyre was finished, admits of no doubt. It is
not improl)able that they made a raid upon their old enemy before
they invested Tyre.
1. And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth
month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the
Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king
of Egyj^t, and say unto him. Thou art like a young lion
of the nations, and thou art as a w^hale in the seas; and
thou earnest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the
waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
"Take up a lamentation" — ^prepare a mourning elegy which
may be sung as a dirge over his fall. It was appropriate in such
a dirge to celebrate the valor and recount the great deeds of the
dead. In the present case the prophet is not excessively eulogistic.
God loves truth. Kings often compare themselves and are com-
pared to a lioti — first in power and terror among the beasts of the
wilderness. Solomon says, " The king's wrath is as the roaring
of a lion (Prov. 19 : 12). Isaiah has the same figure (chap. 5 : 29,
30). A second figure makes him " a whale in the sea, ' as our
translators have it; but they have rendered the same Hebrew Avord
(chap. 29: 3) "the great tj^-agon." In both cases, we must think
of the crocodile — the speciality of the Nile. "Thou earnest forth,"
has the strong sense, thou didst rush forth as an armed host to the
battle, breaking out from thy rivers. Pharaoh and his multitude
are thought of asfoxdiyig the Nile and its disparted mouths and nu-
merous canals with their feet — perhaps in the sense of abusing the
blessings God had given them in that noble river.
3. Thus saith the Lord God ; I will therefore spread out
my net over thee with a company of many people; and
they shall bring thee up in my net.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXII. 177
4. Then will I leave tliee upon tlie land, I will cast thee
forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of
the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts
of the whole earth with thee.
5. And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill
the valleys with thy height:
6. I will also water with thy blood the land wherein
thou swimmest, even to the mountains ; and the rivers
shall be full of thee.
Consequently, with the aid of many people (the Chaldeans), the
Lord will take up this monster crocodile, Pharaoh, in his net, and
leave him cast out upon the land in the open field, meat for fowls
and beasts. ''Fill the valley with thy height^' is rather, with the
heaps of thy dead, for the doom of Pharaoh involves the destruction
of his people. Gesenius and Maurer suggest a slight change in
the vowels by which the word would mean, worms that would feed
on the carcasses of the slain Egyptians. " The land wherein
thou swimmest" is literally the land of thine inundations — the
region inundated by the Nile, which having been the great object
of their pride (see chap. 29 : 3) should be made prominent in God's
judgments. Hence the Lord said, "I will make this whole land
even to the mountain-tops drink thy blood," and the river of which
thou hast been so proud shall be filled with it.
7. And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven,
and make the stars thereof dark ; I will cover the sun with
a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
8. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over
thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saitli the Lord God.
The figure changes. Calamity is here represented by darkness,
perhaps with a tacit reference to the plague of darkness (Ex. 10 :
21-23). "When I shall put them out;" meaning, extinguish them
from being a light among the nations. Cloud and eclipse combine
to shut off the lights of heaven and to doom the land to thick dark-
ness. This figure appears frequently in the poetic portions of the
Bible, sometimes in the strong form of '" turning the sun into dark-
ness and the moon into blood." See Isa. 13: 10, and Joel 2: 10,
30, 31, and 3: 15. The general sense is the same throughout all
these variations of the figure, viz., exceeding great calamity, fearful
ruin. Light is a natural emblem. of joy and prosperity; darkness,
of whatever is fearful and appalling.
9. I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall
bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries
which thou hast not known.
10. Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and
their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, wdien I shall
178 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXII.
brandish my sword before them ; and they shall tremble at
every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy
fall.
This is the effect of Pharaoh's fall upon other nations, even those
whom he had little known, lying out beyond the range of his influ-
ence. This reference implies that the fall of Egypt would impress
the fear of the Chaldean arms upon remote nations. " When I
shall bring thy destruction among the nations," i. e.^ shall cause the
report of it to go forth to them. They shall fear exceedingly for
their own lives.
11. For thus saitli the Lord God; The sword of the king
of Babylon shall come upon thee.
12. By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multi-
tude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them : and
they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude
thereof shall be destroyed.
The prophecy is here entirely definite. The conquering, wasting
power is the Chaldean. They shall spoil the glory of Egypt, waste
her treasures, pillage her cities, break down her national strength,
and lay her land for the time quite desolate.
13. I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside
the great waters ; neither shall the foot of man trouble them
any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14. Then will I make their waters deej), and cause their
rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord God.
15. When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and
the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full,
when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall
they know that I am the Lord.
The cattle for which Egypt was celebrated, and of which she
thought so much that the cow was the highest object of her wor-
ship, came under this sweeping curse. We shall see the force of
the language if we consider how their want of water would bring
them to the rivers and canals to drink, and how they would poach
the banks and foul the waters with their feet. But God would so
completely destroy them that no foot of beast or of man should foul
those waters any more. "Then will I" (v. 14) make their wat-
ers, not "deep, but quiet^ causing them to subside and lie undis-
turbed, so that they would run freely and clear as oil.
16. This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament
her ; the daughters of the nations shall lament her : they
shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multi-
tude, saith the Lord God.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXII. 179
" The daughters of th» nations." Women in oriental life were
the professional mourners. See Jer. 9 : 17-21,
17. It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth
day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying,
18. Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast
them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous na-
tions, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go
down into the pit.
19. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be
thou laid with the uncircumcised.
20. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by
the sword : she is delivered to the sword : draw her and all
her multitudes.
This entire second message commencing here constitutes another
elegy over the fall of Egypt. In v. 18, " cast them do^vn," means
— predict their fall ; the prophets being said to do what they simply
predict as to be done. So Jer. 1 : 10, and elsewhere. These al-
lusions to the under-world as in chap. 26 : 20, are based on the
popular view that the dead go at death to subterranean regions.
Nations are thought of here as going to the same under- world when
they fall. David thought of his enemies as going there (Ps. 63 : 9),
and the writer of Ps. 88 : 4-6, seems to have used this conception
to represent an extreme prostration, yet short of actual death. But
the leading passage, specially in the mind of our prophet, is doubt-
less Isa. 14. "Whom dost thou pass [surpass] in beauty ?" No
matter how much thou mayest have surpassed the wealthiest and
proudest nations of thy time : thine end is to go down to that under-
world of darkness and gloom, to be laid with the uncircumcised
heathen nations for Avhom God has no special favor. The clause,
"She is delivered to the sword," may better be read; "the sword
is delivered," i. e., to thine, enemies — put into their hand for thy
destruction. "Drag her out" — bring her forth from her strong-
holds, and slay her utterly.
21. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out
of the midst of hell with them that help him : they are gone
down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
The sense is, The strongest of his mighty ones shall accost him
and his helpers, from the midst of hell. They have already gone
down and are lying there, the uncircumcised, slain with the sword.
The reference here to Isa. 14 is obvious. " Hell from beneath
is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the
dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised
up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All tlie}^ shall
speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? Art
thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the
180 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXII.
grave, and the noise of thy viols: the woftn is spread under thee,
and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the morning ! how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations ! "
22. Asshur is there and all her company : his graves are
about him : all of them slain, fallen by the sword :
23. Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her
company is round about her grave : all of them slain, fallen
by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.
The general statement, " the strong among the mighty," here be-
comes specific, and first names Assyria, the ancient rival and enemy
of Egypt. She has been destroyed already and lies there with her
hosts. "In the sides of the pit;" the deep recesses, the lowest
depths. In Jer. 6: 22, "The sides of the earth" are the most re-
mote regions. So also Jer. 25 : 32. The same word is used for the
inner part of a house or a ship, 1 Kings 6 : 16, Amos 6 : 10, and
Jon. 1 : 15. In her day Assyria was mighty on the earth and
smote the hearts of the nations with terror. Now " none so poor
to do her reverence." Let Egypt take warning!
24. There is Elam and all her multitude round about her
grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone
down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which
caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they
borne their shame wdtli them that go down to the pit.
25. They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain witb
all her multitude : her graves are round about him : all of
them uncircumcised, slain by the sword : though their terror
was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne
their shame with them that go down to the pit : he is put
in the midst of them that be slain.
Elam has suffered overthrow: her nationality has been smitten.
Let her be added to the list of the great nations in the under-world,
ready to meet Egypt when she comes down to the same abode.
Elam has had her day of power, a terror to the living nations ; hut
she also hears the shame of those who go down to a dishonored
national grave.
26. There is Mesheck, Tubal, and all her multitude : her
graves are round about him : all of them uncircumcised,
slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the
land of the living.
27. And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fiillcn
of the uncircumcised, that are gone down to hell with their
weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXII. 181
their heads ; but their iniquities shall be upou their bones,
though they ivere the terror of the mighty in the land of the
living.
28. Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncir-
cumcised, and shalt lie down with them that are slain by the
sword.
For "Mesheck and Tubal/^ see chap. 27: 13. V. 27 should
obviously commence with an interrogation ; Shall not all these lie
with the mighty ? There is no apparent reason why the negative
sense should be taken here in opposition to the general strain of
the entire context. It was one of the honors paid to conquerors
to bury their Aveapons of war in the same grave with themselves.
So Alexander the Great was buried with his sword. This usage
suggests to the prophet that their iniquities also lie upon their
bones — those iniquities for which God has doomed them to such an
extermination from the land of the living.
29. There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which
with their might are laid by them that iverx slain by the
sword : they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them
that go down to the pit.
30. There be the princes of the north, all of them, and
all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain : with
their terror they are ashamed of their might ; and they lie
uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear
their shame with them that go down to the pit.
Edom, with the nations of the north, including the Zidonians, fill
out the catalogue. Essentially the same points arc made in regard
to each and all. They have been subdued and broken; their na-
tionality eclipsed if not extinguished under the righteous judgments
of the Almighty, and they lie in the under-world ready to greet
Egypt's proud king, representing her fallen nationality, when he
shall come to join them. In the middle clause of v. 30, "with
their terror they are ashamed of their might," I understand to mean
that despite of their terrihlcness once among the nations of men, they
are now ashamed of their might — thoroughly weak and powerless.
31. Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over
all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by
the sword, saith the Lord God.
32. For I have caused my terror in the land of the liv-
ing : and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised
with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and
all his multitude, saith the Lord God.
Pharaoh shall have the comfort of whatever sympathy the fellow-
ship in shame and defeat of such nations as these may afiford.
182 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIII.
V. 32 may be translated, "For I have made him a terror [to other
nations] in the land of the living; but novi' [prospectively] he is
laid out .[in his narrow bed] in the midst of the uncircumcised,"
etc. The prophet marks the contrast between the terror he once
impressed on the nations, and his utter powerlessness now in his
final house in the under-world. This poetic drapery thrown round
the idea of an extinct nationality — a nation itself dying out from
among the powers of the earth under the righteous judgments of
God^s grand and impressive. Its lessons belong to all time. The
nations of our own age who become great in military power, mag-
nificent in their wealth and splendor, and then forget God, disown
his authority, and plant their foot upon his higher law and oppress
his sufi'ering poor, have ample cause for fear and trembling. Are
they mighty against the Great God ? Can they evade the search of
his eye and cope with the might of his arm? Or can they bring
his views of right and justice down to their own? Or will they
scoff at the very idea of his rule over the nations of men? Let
them ponder the lessons he has given them in his holy word, con-
firmations of which are written also on all the face of the world's
history since nations began to be, to this hour. Can there be a
greater madness than to dare Jehovah's wrath?
CHAPTER XXXIII.
This chapter has a manifest unity of purpose throughout, its aim
considered as a series of revelations from God to the prophet being
first to impress his own mind with a just sense of his responsibility
for the souls of the people, and then to give him certain messages
which demanded precisely this conscious sense of responsibility,
and this true fidelity in their deliverance to the people. The
messages to be borne to the people were, (1.) An earnest rebuke and
refutation of the charge against God of crushing the people down
under his judgments in a way to crush out all hope from their souls
(vs. 10-20.): (2.) A message respecting the survivors in the land
of Judah, designed to slay their fiilse hopes and open their eyes
both to their own sins and to the certain ruin of their own land :
and (3.) A rebuke of the heartless but nicely-critical hearing of
the people in exile. In a moral and spiritual point of view, the
chapter is one of the highest interest and value, bearing with im-
mense power on the spiritual life of the people among whom Eze-
kiel labored, and applying with equal force to the spiritual state of
multitudes in every gospel land.
1. Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and
say unto them. When I bring the sword upon a land, if the
people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him
for their watchman :
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIII. 183
3. If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he
blow the trumpet, and warn the people ;
4. Then, whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet,
and taketh not warning ; if the sword come and take him
away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not
warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh
warning shall deliver his soul.
6. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow
not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the
sword come, and take any person from among them, he is
taken away in his iniquity ; but his blood will I require at
the watchman's hand.
In view of the predatory and nomadic habits of that age and
country, the business of the watchman is drawn here to the life.
He does not stand on some lofty tower or battlement of the walled
city; but he is a scout, far out on the borders of the land, on the
mountain tops, where his practiced eye will command a sweep of
the great traveled routes which an invading foe must take. Then,
trumpet in hand, he is ready to give the shrill and long notes of
danger when he sees the sword of some invading foe approaching.
The received translation of v. 2, "A man of their coasts; " im-
plies that the watchman would be chosen from those who resided
on the borders of the land. A slightly different sense of the He-
brew word rendered "coasts" is admissible and preferable, viz., a
man of their lohole number — one of their men. This word is so used
in Gen. 47: 2; "He took five out of the whole number of his breth-
ren." Also Num. 22: 41. "Balak brought Balaam up into the
high places of Baal that there he might see the utmost part of the
people " — the whole mass. Literally it means, to the very end of
them; which implies seeing them all. The same illustration of
the moral duty and responsibility of the Lord's prophets and indeed
of all his ministering servants appears chap. 3 : 17-21. The case
supposed and its application are entirely clear. When it is made
a man's special duty to give warning of danger, when the life of a
nation depends on his faithfulness, he has but one course to think
of; he must be on the alert to mark approaching danger, and must
be faithful to make it known to his people. Else the blood of souls
will be required of him. If he does this duty faithfully, and the
people, duly warned, give no heed to his warnings, their blood will
be on their own head. He has done his duty and they die in their
folly and under their own righteous curse. — —So every minister of
the gospel, and indeed every Christian man or woman, each in their
own sphere, bear responsibilities for others' souls. If they see others
in sin, exposed to perdition, they are solemnly bound to give them
warning of this most fearful of all possible dangers. In love to
their souls, under the bonds of our broad comprehensive relation-
184 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIII.
ship as fellow-travelers onward to a world of eternal retribution,
there can be no exemption from this responsibility. Special cir-
cumstances may intensify it, but no possible circumstances can
exempt any human being, intelligent of obligation, from the duty
of warning faithfully whomsoever he may see in this danger. It
is a responsibility too solemn to be trifled with ; too momentous in
its results to be treated with indifference ; too positive and pressing
to be safely evaded. Alas ! that so few are found faithful !
7. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman
unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the
word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
8. When I say unto the wicked, O Avicked man, thou
shalt surely die ; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked
from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity;
but his blood will I require at thy hand.
9. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to
turn from it ; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die
in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
The Lord himself makes the application of this case of the watch-
man. It needs no further explanation. The analogy is full of
pertinence and force.
10. Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house
of Israel ; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and
our sins he upon us, and we pine away in them, how should
we then live?
" Therefore," implies that the prophet's responsibilities come into
play at once as a watchman in rebuking this slanderous imputation
upon the justice and goodness of God. Since you arc such a
watchman over my people Israel, note the spirit of this saying of
theirs, sift its meaning and its implications to the bottom, and then
solemnly warn the people not to delude themselves and not to im-
pugn the goodness and justice of God by this implied charge.
"If our transgressions and our sins be upon us' — made fast and
pressing us down hopelessly — "and we pine away in them" —
doomed to waste away to utter ruin under their crushing weight —
"how should we then live?" Where is the hope for us? What
can we do but lie down and die ? Doomed to become waste and
desolate for the sins of the nation, what hope can we have of life ?
Twice the Lord had used the same word of the doom of the
people that is here rendered, ^^pine mooi/," viz., chap. 4: 17 — ren-
dered, "consume away for their iniquities;" and chap. 24: 23, in
precisely the same words; " Ye shall pine away in your iniquities."
Hence the occasion (not the justification, but only the occasion) for
this plea of a hopeless doom, which assumed that God was heart-
lessly severe and which ignored his repeated promise of mercy to
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIII. 185
the penitent. Hence the Lord replies as one abused and wronged
bj an unjust implication.
11. Say unto them, As I live saitli the Lord God, I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; but that the wicked
turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your
evil ways ; for w^hy Avill ye die, O house of Israel ?
This implied charge touched the character and the heart of God
in a tender point. Nothing could be so cruelly unjust! Had not
their OAvn God and Father loved them and borne with them in all
long-suffering and with exceedingly great compassion? Had he
ever said or done any thing which could with any fairness be con-
strued to imply that he had pleasure in the death of the wicked ?
Never! On the contrary he had always shown that his heart was
with the penitent, and his highest joy in those who turned, sorrow-
ing for their sins, to implore his merey. Had he not ]3esought
them to turn from their wicked ways and live? Had not* his heart
and hand labored for this result? Had he ever turned coldly away
from those who humbly sought his mercy ? Never. So he declares
here, under the solemnities of his oath, ajffirming his innocence of
the cruel charge which the people had by implication brought
against him, and again placing the issue between themselves and
him on its true merits — himself entreating them to turn and live,
and manifesting his most tender solicitude to secure their obedience
and life, so that he shall not be compelled to enforce his fearful
judgments in retribution unto their swift destruction. "Why
will ye die?" puts the issue where it truly lies — in the free choice
of responsible moral agents. Every exhortation and entreaty from
the Lord had fully implied their power as rational and moral ])e-
ings to see their sins and God's righteous claims, and to yield their
heart to the force of his appeals. This question rests the case on
their OAvn free purpose and choice. If ye die under my earnest
entreaties that ye turn and live, it will be because ye loill die ! It
will not be because I have doomed you to a hopeless death despite
of any efforts you may make toward life. It will not be because
I have any pleasure in your death and feel no interest in your re-
pentance unto life. It will be only and wholly because, with life
and death both before you for your own free choice, you will choose
death !
12. Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of
thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not
deliver him in the day of his transgression : as for the
wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the
day that he turneth from his w^ickedness ; neither shall the
righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day
that he sinneth.
13. AVlien I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely
live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity,
186 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIII.
all his righteousness shall not be remembered ; but for his
iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
14. Again, when I say unto the wicked. Thou shalt
surely die ; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is
lawful and right;
15. If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he
had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without commit-
ting iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
16. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be
mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful
and right ; he shall surely live.
17. Yet the children of thy people say. The way of the
Lord is not equal : but as for them, their way is not equal.
18. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness,
and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
19. But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do
that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
20. Yet ye say. The way of the Lord is not equal. O
ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his
ways.
See chap. 18, where the same points are made with even greater
fullness and more ample repetition. The bearing of these state-
ments to the point now in hand is obvious. The Lord insists that
he holds the door most fully open for the repentance of every
sinner. If he will turn from his wickedness to cordial obedience,
he shall surely live. If he turns from a just and upright life to
sin, he shall certainly die. If the people charge their God Avith
injustice in his ways, he denies the charge, and avers that their
ways are utterly unjust and unequal toward himself His judg-
ments of them will evermore be precisely according to their ways.
21. And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our cap-
tivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month,
that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me,
saying. The city is smitten.
22. Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the even-
ing, before he that was escaped came; and had opened my
mouth, until he came to me in the morning ; and my
mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.
The most obvious mode of reckoning makes this period about
one and a half years after the fall of the city. Consequently
some have supposed there must be an error in the text, since they
assume that tlie news of that event must have reached the prophet
and his brethren in Chaldea long ere this. Yet this may possibly
have been his first intelligence of the fall of the city, delayed so
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIIL 187
long by causes unknown to us. It should be noted that the word
revealed from the Lord (vs. 24-29) came to meet a feeling among
tlie scattered remnant in Judea which developed itself some time
subsequent to the fall of the city. Hence the date as here given
i§ doubtless correct. V. 22 implies that during the evening and
night previous to the arrival of this messenger, the Lord had re-
markably opened his mouth to speak — perhaps by impressing his
own solemn responsibilities as a prophet-watchman, in the line of
the thought in vs. 1-9; and perhaps also in anticipation of the
effect of these tidings upon the people. The fall of the city could
scarcely fail to make solemn impressions on the exiles. It would
create a crisis, demanding the most urgent pressure of truth upon
their heart and conscience. Many of their cherished worldly hopes
were thereby utterly blasted; could they be brought now to aban-
don all such hopes and seek their good in the Lord alone ? Such
crises occur in the life of communities, and of individuals also, in
which if the servants of God are in true communion with him they
will find their souls deeply moved with zeal and love, and their
mouths opened to press the truth of God upon men for their salva-
tion. The philosophy of revivals of religion turns on this great
law of the divine administration in providence and grace.
^&'
23. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, sayinj^
24. Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the
land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he in-
herited the land : but we are many ; the land is given us
for inheritance.
Those who were then " inhabiting the wastes of the land of Israel "
were the small remnant of poor men that survived the fall of the
city. Jeremiah has given their history in chaps. 40-44. They are
seen here deluding themselves with the hope that the land was
given them for their permanent inheritance. Their argument ran
thus : Abraham was but one man ; yet God gave him this whole
land by promise, and all he could use, in fact. We are many;
certainly he will give it to us to re-people and to restore to its former
greatness. Ah, how could they overlook the contrast between
Abraham's faith in God and their unbelief; Abraham's conscien-
tious, consistent, most exemplary piety, and their persistent, deep-
rooted, and unutterably loathsome iniquity ! They seem not to have
had the slightest sense of the moral grounds on which God gave
Abraham the land of Canaan.
25. Wherefore say unto them. Thus saith the Lord God ;
Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your
idols, and shed blood : and shall ye possess the land ?
26. Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination,
and ye defile every one his neighbor's wife: and shall ye
possess the land?
188 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIII.
27. Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ;
As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the
sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the
beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in
the caves shall die of the pestilence.
28. For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp
of her strength shall cease ; and the mountains of Israel
shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.
29. Then shall they know that I am the Lord, when I
have laid the land most desolate because of all their abom-
inations which they have committed.
The Lord's reply is in two parts: (1.) To show them their sin
and appeal to their moral sense whether they could or ought to
possess the land (vs. 25, 26;) and (2.) To declare most solemnly
that he would give them to the sword and the land to utter desola-
tion, until they should know that he is the Lord, the righteous
Ruler and Judge of his apostate people (vs. 27-29). In v. 25,
"to eat with the blood" is to eat animal flesh with its own blood —
forbidden most explicitly (Gen. 9 : 4), and especially in the law by
Moses (Lev. 7: 26, and 17: 10, 14, and 19: 26). To "lift up the
eyes toward idols" is to regard them with reverence and worship.
" Shedding blood " is of course taking human life by violence. " Ye
stand upon your sword" means. Ye rely upon it, in place of rely-
ing upon God. Shall men guilty of such crimes inherit the land
of the Lord? Sooner would he make it as Sodom. In v. 27,
the word rendered "forts" is strongholds — sometimes artificial, i. e.,
castles, fortresses; and sometimes places of great natural strength.
Coupled here with " caves," the latter is doubtless the sense. In
its wild mountain districts, Judea abounded with such caves and
fastnesses. The books of Samuel refer to them {e. g., 1 Sam. 13 : 6 ;)
so does Josephus. God will find out these wicked men in those
apparently secure retreats, and will smite them with pestilence.
So vain it must ever be to expect good from the Lord's hand while
living in sin, or to hope to escape his threatened judgments other-
wise than by turning heartily from one's iniquities. We look with
surprise mingled with pity and shame upon the infatuation and de-
lusion of that last remnant of wicked Jews in Judea. How happy
if their case did not exemplify a like delusion, and folly equally sad
and equally amazing, among myriads of sinners in gospel lands !
30. Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still
are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the
houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother,
saying. Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that
Cometh forth from the Lord.
31. And they come unto thee ^s the people cometh, and
they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words,
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIII. 189
but they will not do them : for with their mouth they shew
much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
32. And lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of
one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an in-
strument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
33. And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then
shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
Here is an inside view of the moral life of the people among
whom Ezekiel lived and prophesied in Chaldea, showing how they
talked about him between themselves and behind his back; how
they sat and heard his messages ; how they enjoyed his rich, lively,
highly cultivated and finely poetic style, and said very compli-
mentary things about it and about him, but never thought of doin^
the things which the Lord through him enjoined as their duty, and
only let their heart press on recklessly after their unrighteous gain.
The whole description is beautifully graphic and finely drawn, but in
its moral showing is exceedingly painful, revealing among that people
an intense depravity, and suggesting the fearful truth that other
myriads in gospel lands are using the preaching of the gospel in
the same way, for the same ends of amusement, the same gratifi-
cation of literary taste, and the same pride in displaying their crit-
ical skill in making comments on sermons. Ezekiel was a
prophet of rare literary merit. With astonishing variety in his
modes of illustration ; with great wealth of dramatic representation
and of poetic imagery, and with a style always rich and fervid, he
must have been eminently popular' in our modern sense of the term.
No wonder the people admired his genius and his culture, and
came to hear him as men go to hear a lovely song of one who hath
a pleasant voice and can play well on a fine instrument. But they
failed to notice that God sent Ezekiel with these engaging qualities
and encouraged him in their use, not to amuse their "itching
ears," and not even to gratify the universal sensibility to this sort
of pleasure, but for objects far higher than these; viz., to arrest
their attention and to make on their souls a deeper impression of the
great and solemn truths on which their temporal life and eternal
well-being depended. These were the ends that God and his
prophet had in view. Alas, that they should fail through the guilty
perversion of the hearers ! Alas, that these hearers should have
sought their own present low gratification, and should not have had
the moral sense and the sober thought to say. This tells us of our
own sin and peril — of our own God and duty — of our ovra. present
responsibility and future doom ! One tear of sympathy for Ezekiel.
How he must have felt under this strange and sad revelation of the
hearts of his hearers! Ah, (he must have said). Is this the only
outcome of all my expostulations and tears ; of all my domestic be-
reavements, my personal discomforts, my torturing solicitudes, my
daily prayers, the agony of my sympathy with a people bent on
ruin! Does it all end in this, that they hear me for their own
amusement and make my discourses the topics of their keen or
190 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIV.
their applauding criticism; but not a man of them thinks of saving
his own soul; not a man cares to turn from his sins that he may
live? Did not the good man's heart sink within him? Did he
not say, Ah me, how can I endure such flattery or such dispraise
(all the same), when the only real fruit for the great eventful
future is to be the deeper guilt* and the more awful doom of these
heartless hearers ! It is remarkable that this expose of the spirit
of Ezekiel's hearers should stand in such juxtaposition with the
Lord's admonition to him to do his duty faithfully as their spiritual
watchman. Let us hope that the quickened sense of this responsi-
bility more than counterbalanced the chilling influence naturally
resulting from such disclosures as were made in these last verses.
He might still have the joy of feeling that he had sought to please
God and to be faithful to their souls. The manner in which the
Lord meets this manifestation in the people should be noticed.
When my judgments shall break forth upon them (as they surely
must soon), " then shall they know that a prophet has been among
them!" a prophet, forewarning them from God of their impending
doom, and not a mere poet, stage-actor, or singer; to afford them
amusement and help them murder time, stifle conviction of truth,
and smooth their way to perdition!
CHAPTER XXXIV.
In this chapter the Lord's people appear as his "^ocA-." The
figure of the shepherd and his sheep is maintained throughout.
The corrupt priests, false prophets, and wicked princes of Israel
and Judah stand here as the shepherds who have long had the care
of the Lord's flock. They are denounced; their wicked and ruinous
policy is portrayed ; and they receive their doom. The Lord him-
self assumes the care of his flock ; will raise up his servant David
to be their Shepherd and their Prince ; and so the highest prosperity
shall ensue. As to date, it must be assumed that this prophecy
follows the period named chap. 33: 21; i. e., follows the arrival of
the tidings that the city of Jerusalem is smitten. . Probably it was
brought out immediately afl:er. Remarkably in both Jeremiah and
Ezekiel, the strain of prophecy is that of warning and denunciation
before the fall of the city, but of consolation and promise after that
fall. The reason of this is obvious. Before, the people were vainly
self-confident: after, they were desponding. Before, they needed
stern rebuke; after, the inspirations of promise and of hope. So
God is wont to deal with his people.
1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,
prophesy, and say unto them. Thus saith the Lord God unto
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIV. 191
the shepherds; Woe he to the shepherds of Israel that do
feed themselves ! should not the shepherds feed the flocks ?
3. Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill
them that are fed : but ye feed not the flock.
4. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye
healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that
which ivas broken, neither have ye brought again that which
was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was
lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd :
and they became meat to all the beasts of the field when
they were scattered.
6. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and
upon every high hill : yea, my flock was scattered upon all
the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after
them.
Shepherd life was familiar in all the East. Whole tribes and na-
tions subsisted mainly upon their flocks and herds. No wonder
therefore that it appears as a figure to illustrate the spiritual care
of the Lord's people. Jer. 23 : 1-4 gives the outlines of this en-
tire chapter of Ezekiel. The reader will readily recall the frequent
allusions to the shepherd and his flock in the discourses of our Lord,
especially in John 10. Nothing else in human life could furnish
illustrations of this thing at once so simple, so beautiful, and so per-
tinent. Those men of leading influence in the Jewish State — the
priests, the false prophets, and the princes — (for all these are in-
cluded here) had fed themselves only and never the flock. Selfish
men, they had sought only their own aggrandizement and not at all
the spiritual good of the people, or the honor of the God of Israel.
The case of the flock affords many apposite illustrations of this self-
ishness. A bad shepherd neglects the feeble, the sick, the maimed,
and the wandering; and appropriates the fat and well-conditioned
for his personal use. So had these vile men utterly neglected the
spiritual culture of the people and sought only their own personal
self-indulgence.
7. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord ;
8. As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock
became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast
of the field, because there ivas no shepherd, neither did my
shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed them-
selves, and fed not my flock ;
9. Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord ;
10. Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the
shepherds ; and I will require my flock at their hand, and
cause them to cease from feeding the flock ; neither shall
192 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIV,
the shepherds feed themselves any more ; for I will deliver my
flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
11. For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will
both search my sheep, and seek them out.
12. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that
he is among his sheep that are scattered ; so will I seek out
my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they
have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
The two great points made here are (1.) That God is against
those vile shepherds and will hold them to a strict accountability;
and (2.) That he will depose them from their place and assume the
service himself. He will do this work faithfully. He will seek out
the wandering and the lost. Be his name praised for this promise !
'"Scattered in the cloudy and dark day," looks to the scenes
of sore calamity through which the nation passed. As sheep would
very naturally scatter and become missing in a day of deep eclipse,
so the people of the Lord needed to be specially sought out after
those scenes of great national calamity,
13. And I wall bring them out from the j^eople, and
gather them from the countries, and wdll bring to their own
land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the
rivers, and in all the inhaited places of the country.
14. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high
mountains of Israel shall their fold be : there shall they lie
in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the
mountains of Israel.
15. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie
down, saith the Lord God.
16. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that
which was driven away, and will bind uj) that ivhieh was
broken, and will strengthen that which was sick : but I will
destroy the fat and the strong ; I will feed them with judg-
ment.
Of course the language and figures used in conveying divine promise
to the Jews must be Jeivish, familiarly known. Scattered now in
exile, the first promise is restoration to their land. This is natural.
And it was true in its literal sense. The Lord did promise to re-
store them to their mother-land, — and fuljillcd it. But he promises
here more than he fulfilled then and there in the restoration under
Zerubabbel. This will appear more fully when we compare other
prophecies of Ezekiel parallel Avith this; e. g., chap. 3G: 24-38, and
37 : 15-28. See notes on these passages for a more full discussion of
the points involved. In the close of v. 16 a new fact appears — the
curse of God upon " the fat and the strong." Fatness of flesh is a
Hebrew symbol for hardness of heart. " Jeshurun" [the upright]
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIV. 193
" waxed fat and kicked : thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick,
thou art covered Avith fatness : then he forsook God who made him
and lightly esteemed the Rock of his Salvation." (Deut. 32 : 15)!
The "heart waxed gross" [fat] always indicated moral obtuseness.
See Ac. 28 : 27. Hence these terms refer here to the morally hard-
ened among the people, perhaps including the priests and false
prophets, though they appear previously as bad shepherds. The
sense is, all the hopelessly wicked.
17. And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord
God ; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, betAveen
the rams and the he-goats.
This is a discrimination between the morally good and the mor-
ally bad. The radical distinction between sheepand goats in their
temper and in their habits suggests the discrimination as to moral
character which the Lord will bring to light in his judgment.
Is not this passage the foundation of that remarkable language of
our Lord in reference to the final judgment (Mat. 25: 31-33)?
" Before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate
them one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the
18. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up
the good pasture, but ye must tread down Avith your feet
the residue of your pastures ? and to have drunk of the
deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet ?
19. And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have
trodden with your feet ; and they drink that which ye have
fouled with your feet.
Here appears yet another illustration of the spirit and ways of
the vile shepherds who are now the he-goats, leaders of the flock,
or the fat ones, leading the lean. They not only eat up the good
pasture themselves, but trample down all they do not eat, reserving
nothing good for the feeble ; and they drink of the deep, placid and
pure waters, and then foul the rest with their feet — so that they
leave for the Lord's flock no grass but what they have trodden
down, and no water save what they have made foul. Was this a
small thing ? Was it not more than merely mean f Was it not
supremely wicked ?
20. Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them ; Be-
hold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and be-
tween the lean cattle.
21. Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder,
and pushed all the diseased wdth your horns, till ye have
scattered them abroad;
22. Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no
more be a prey ; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
9
194 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIV.
The vile shepherds appear as the fat cattle, thrusting the feeble
and diseased with side and shoulder and pushing* them with the
horn. God will bring them to account and will save his flock from
such abuse.
23. And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and he
shall feed them, even my servant David ; he shall feed them,
and he shall be their shepherd.
24. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant
David a prince among them ; I the Lord have spoken it
This " one shepherd, the Lord's " servant David," is the promised
Messiah. He can be no other. No other exposition of this promise
is possible, in harmony with the scope of the context, and the de-
mands of parallel passages. King David was the great model shep-
herd-king, walking in the main after the very heart of God, and,
therefore, of all the kings of the chosen people, the best representa-
tive and model of the great Messiah. This fact stands out with
freat prominence in numerous prophecies. See 2 Sam. 7 : 12-29,
's. 2 and 110, Isa. 9: 2-7 and 11: 1-10 and 42: 1-4, Jer. 23 : 5,
6, and 33: 14-22, Ezek. 37: 21-28, Hos. 3: 5, and Mic. 5: 2, 3.
This hst does not exhaust the prophecies that refer to the Messiah.
It aims only to group together some of those in which he appears
as specially related to David.' He is one shepherd over all the
people^ with reference to the sad disruption of the nation by Jero-
boam. They are all to be united under him, as in chap. 37 : 15-28,
and Isa. 11: 13. He is called a '■'■prince among them" rather
than a king, pcrhnps in keeping with the usage of Ezekiel who ap-
plies this word ''p^-ince" to the Jewish kings; or perhaps with ref-
erence to 1 Kings 11: 34; "I will not take the whole kingdom out
of his" [Eohoboam's] "hand, but I will make him. prince all the
days of his life," etc. The Lord has solemnly spoken this and
will perform it — an indication of the momentous value of this
promise.
25. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and
will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land : and they
shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
26. And I will make them and the places round about
my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come
down in his season ; there shall be showers of blessing.
27. And the tree of -the field shall yield her fruit, and
the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in
their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have
bi'oken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of
the hand of those that served themselves of them.
28. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen,
neither shall the beasts of the land devour them ; but they
shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.
f
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIV. 195
The figure of the flock is still kept up with great beauty and force.
God will make with them a covenant of peace, binding the wild
beasts [outside enemies] to keep the peace with them and do them
no harm. So the flock will be safe anywhere, in the wilderness or
the forests. "None shall hurt or destroy in all God's holy mount-
ain." 1 will make both them and the environs of my hill [Zion]
a blessing, causing them not only to enjoy good themselves, but to
impart good to others. By the "environs" (the "places round
about my hill") are meant the heathen nations, converted to the
living God. See the same figure Jer. 31 : 38-40, to which Ezekiel
may perhaps allude. The last part of v. 26 should read, "I will
bring down the great rain in its time ; floods of blessing shall it
be." The' Hebrew word used here always means a great rain. The
figure of rain as a symbol and pledge of all divine blessings appears
in full in Lev. 26 : 3-6, 19, 20. See also Deut. 11 : 14, 15. In Pal-
estine, rain was eminently appropriate to denote the gi-eat central
blessing on which all other blessings depended inasmuch as in that
climate rain stood in precisely this relation to all vegetable growth,
animal subsistence, and external beauty. If they had ample and
timely rains they had every thing else. If they failed of this, they
failed of all. In vs. 27, 28, the figure is dropped and the literal
conception appears. The political bands of the people are broken ;
the exiles return safely to their country and their homes, no more a
prey to the heathen, but dwelling safely in their own loved land.
29. And I will raise up for them a Plant of renown, and
they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land,
neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.
Our translators seem to have taken the word rendered " Plant "
in the same sense in which we have the word "Branch" (Zech. 3:
8, and 6 : 12) — a special name for the Messiah. It is doubtful
whether the original can bear this sense. The context does not
favor it. The word means Oi plantation. It occurs Ezek. 17: 7, and
Isa. 61 : 3 and 60: 21, but in none of these cases, in the sense^of a
plant. The word rendered "raise up" readily bears the sense of
establish : made firm and strong. The reference is probably to the
Garden of Eden. It promises that the Zion of the Lord shall be a
second Eden in beauty, fertility, and glory. The idea of renoAvn,
a good name, stands opposed to "the shame of the heathen" which
they shall bear no more. They shall be no more reproached as a
broken dov^Ti nationality, nor shall the name of the Lord be any
more blasphemed on their account. The fertility of this plantation
will sustain a great people and a strong nation; its splendor and
beauty will lift them high above the reproach of the heathen.
30. Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am
with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my
people, saitli the Lord God.
31. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men,
and I am your God, saith the Lord God.
196 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXV.
This done, they will know that their own God is a glorious Pres-
ence among them, and that they themselves are the recognized peo-
ple of the Lord Jehovah. They will experience the blessedness of
being truly his flock, walking themselves in trustful obedience and
love, and evermore owned and protected of God, their Great Shep-
herd and King. Blessed state ! Let it be our joy that such a
future for the Zion of our God stands fixed in his changeless coun-
sels, never to be forgotten, but to be amply fulfilled in his own time !
CHAPTER XXXV.
This chapter records a prophecy of judgments on Mt, Seir and
the people of Edom. Of all the contiguous nations none seem to
have cherished more intense and inveterate hatred against Israel
than Edom. Hence the prophecy against her, put in brief terms
before (chap. 25 : 12-14) is resumed and amplified here, manifestly
in part for the interesting purpose of bringing into connection with
it the greater mercies which God had in store for his own Israel.
The next chapter (36) develops the nature and the force of this
connection, showing how the jealousy of the Lord was enkindled
against the ancient enemies of his people, and how his soul was
aroused . to great achievements in their behalf out of regard for
the glory of his name which Zion's enemies had blasphemed.
1. Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and
prophesy against it,
3. And say unto it. Thus saith the Lord God; Behold,
O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out
my hand against thee, and I will make thee most deso-
late.
4. I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate,
and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
The fearful word, "I am against thee," forewarns her of the
direst possible doom, for what doom can be more terrible than to
have God for one's enemy and his infinite resources committed to
scourge and destroy !
5. Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast
shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the
sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their
iniquity had an end :
6. Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will pre-
pare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee : since
thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXV. 197
The personal ill-feeling of Esau toward his brother Jacob seems
to have become the inheritance of his posterity age after age with
scarce any perceptible abatement. The second clause of v. 5,
in w^hich the received translation supplies the word ''^fooof" would
be more close to the original, if rendered thus; "And because thou
didst deliver the children of Israel over to the force of the sword
in the time of their calamity." It refers to the day wdien the Chal-
deans broke up their city, and the people fled for their lives. Oba-
diah (vs. 10-15) implies that in this day of chief calamity upon
the Jews, Edom was bitter and revengeful as even the proud Chal-
deans; looked exultingly upon the fall of his brother as of an old
enemy; "spake of them proudly in the day of their distress;"
"entered into their gates in that day of their calamity" for pillage
and exultant joy; "stood in the crossways to cut off those that
were escaping," and "delivered them up" to their Chaldean foes.
To this great, damning sin the last clause refers as " the end-
sin'' — that crowning iniquity which God could bear no longer, but
must punish with exemplary severity — the last sin in the series,
and lying next beyond all those which God could bear in the sense
of long-suffering delay to punish. This one he could not ^'•beary
The received translation does not give the true sense quite accu-
rately. It is not that iniquity then had an end, but that they had
reached the time of their end-sin — next beyond the last wdiich God
could allow them to commit, and yet delay its punishment. In
V. 6 "I will prepare thee unto blood," is better read; "I will ap-
point or destine thee for blood." Edom had not been averse to
blood in the day of his brother's calamity : now let him have his
fill of it. Let it pursue him, even as his greedy sword thirsted for
the blood of his Jewish brother, and chased him down to drink it !
7. Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut
off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth.
8. And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in
thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall
they fall that are slain with the s^vord.
9. I Avill make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities
shall not return : and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
"Him that passeth out and him that returneth," is the usual
Hebrew phrase for the travel incident to traffic in those ages.
This prophecy is the more noticeable because Edom, and its great
capital, Petra, had been for ages the great thoroughfare of com-
mercial travel between Central and Southern Asia on the East, and
Egypt and North Africa on the South-west. Her capital had
amassed great wealth and had risen to splendor by means of trade
and travel; yet under the curse denounced in this prophecy, no
spot on this wide earth ever trod by human foot is less frequented
to-day than this same Petra! Desolation has made her deepest
imprints of ruin there. The sparse Aral) population that assume
to control the country is of the most savage, ferocious character,
198 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXV.
so that only a very few travelers are willing to confront at once
the utter desolation of the land and the savage barbarity of the
people for the sake of exploring those truly grand and magnificent
ruins.
10. Because thou hast said, These two nations and these
two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it ; whereas
the Lord was there :
11. Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will even
do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy
which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them ; and
I will make myself known among them, when I have
judged thee.
12. And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, and that I
have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken
against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid des-
olate, and they are given us to consume.
13. Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me,
and have multiplied your words against me : I have heard
them.
"Two nations and countries;" Judah and Israel. "When these
were successively smitten in war, and the people taken into cap-
tivity, Edom gloated in the selfish confidence of having those coun-
tries as her own. Ah, she did not take into her view that God loas
there I Therefore God will visit upon Edom according to her hatred
and anger against his people. "I will make myself known
amoni; them " (my ancient people) " when I shall have judged thee "
(Edom).
14. Thus saith the Lord God; When the whole earth
rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.
15. As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house
of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee:
thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea,
even all of it : and they shall know that I am the Lord.
It would be a double calamity on Edom to be made desolate
precisely when the whole earth should be joyful in its prosperity.
The primary reference here is probably to the period when the
Chaldean supremacy in Western Asia should be broken, and many
of those nations whom they had subjugated should regain their
former prosperity. Then Edom should be an exception. A still
further installment of the same doom came on Edom near the Chris-
tian Era — a time of general prosperity to the nations of that region,
but of almost utter national extinction to Edom. Because she
had rejoiced with proud and selfish exultation over the captivity of
the house of Israel, God would lay her desolate. Such national
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVI. 199
Bins demand of the Great Ruler of nations condign and exemplary
punishment. The nations of men must be made to know that Je-
hovah is Ruler and Lord of all, evermore administering his rule
over nations with a just and righteous retribution.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The central idea of this chapter is that God's people having
brought reproach on his name before the heathen, he will retrieve
it from this disgrace. For the sake of his own glory he will restore
his people to their land, renew the fertility of its soil, rebuild its
long-time wasted cities, and (more and better than all) will renew
the hearts of his people, taking away the stone and giving flesh
instead; "putting his own Spirit within them, and causing them
henceforth to walk in his statutes and do them." Yet lying
back of this idea of interposing to retrieve his name from reproach
before the heathen is doubtless the more fundamental one — the
divine purpose and promise of salvation to his p)eople ; — that in his own
eternal counsels he had purposed to have a people saved unto holi-
ness, and therefore could not and would not be frustrated in his pur-
pose by their waywardness and sin, but would press the agencies of
discipline and the yet mightier agencies of his Spirit to rechiim, re-
new, and save. Thus he would show his people that he is really the
very God, ever faithful to his promise, ever abiding in his love for
his people. The honor of the divine name before the heathen is
fully seen only when we take into view the current sentiment of
all heathen nations respecting their national divinities, viz., that
those divinities were essentially the patrons and protectors of the
people who accepted and worshiped them in that capacity. Now,
it was well known among them that Israel claimed to be the people
of Jehovah, the Lord God of Hosts. He was known as the God of
Israel. Hence when their nationality was broken down, their king
slain or taken captive, their great city and the Lord's temple de-
stroyed, and the people who survived were all in exile, the heathen
would say that either their God was unfaithful to liis promises and
therefore untruthful and unreliable ; or was short of power to save
and therefore unfit to be trusted as the patron God of any nation.
It is in this point of view that God's jealousy for his holy name
becomes so prominent as a reason or occasion for his interposition
to restore and save his people. Remarkably in the first portion
of this chapter, (vs. 1-15) the Lord addresses " the mountains of
Israel;" while in the second portion, (vs. 16-38) he addresses the
prophet, yet announcing great truths especially for the people then
m exile, but richly applicable to God's people in all ages.
1. Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains
200 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVI.
of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word
of the Lord :
2. Thus saith the Lord God ; Because tlie enemy hath
said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours
in possession :
3. Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God ;
Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you
up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the
residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of
talkers, and are an infamy of the people :
4. Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the
Lord God ; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and
to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate
wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a
prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are
round about ;
5. Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Surely in the fire
of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the
heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my
land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with
despiteful minds to cast it out for a prey.
The reader will notice the bold personification by which this
prophecy addresses "the mountains of Israel." The very land it-
self is thought of as intelligent and conscious, sensible of the re-
proach under which it has lain, and sympathizing with the grief
and shame under which its exiled population are now suflering.
In the previous chapter (vs. 10, 12, 15) we saw that the Edom-
ites had fixed their covetous eyes on Palestine, hoping to secure it
to themselves for a permanent possession. This thought leads the
course of remark here. Edom " is the enemy who has said against
you," ye mountains, " Aha ! even those ancient high places are ours
in possession." In v. 3 the relation of cause or occasion is made
emphatic in the original by repetition; "Because, 3'ca because they
have made you desolate,' etc. V. 5 shows that while other
heathen nations were implicated, Idumea (Edom) is prominent.
"Appointed my land into their |x»ssession," is in l[el)rew, given
or assigned my land to themselves for a }X)ssession' — "with the joy
of their whole heart and with soul-pantings;" a. e., with a most
eager desire, longing to clutch it as their prey. " Despiteful mind,"
does not exactly express the original. "To cast it out," should
rather be, to spoil it as their prey; to pillaiie it at their pleasure.
6. Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and
say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and
to the valleys. Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I have
spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have
borne the shame of the heathen :
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVI. 201
7. Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; I have lifted up
my hand: surely the heathen that are about you, they
shall bear their shame.
8. But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth
your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel ;
for they are at hand to come.
9. For behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you,
and ye shall be tilled and sown :
10. And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of
Israel, even all of it : and the cities shall be inhabited, and
the w^astes shall be builded :
11. And I will multiply upon you man and beast : and
they shall increase and bring fruit : and I will settle you
after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at
your beginnings : and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
Ye mountains and hills that have borne shame from the heathen,
shall bear it no lon2;er. The heathen shall bear their own shame ;
i. e., shall themselves be ashamed and confounded before the mighty
God of Israel. Ye mountains shall again become productive, bear-
ing fruit for my people Israel, for they are coming back soon;
("they are at hand to come.") In v. 11 "settle you after your
old estates" does not mean that the family estates should return to
the heirs of their former owners, but only in general; "I will cause
you, ye mountains, to be inhabited as of old and I will do you good
more than in your beginning" — first settlement. "And ye shall
know that I am the Lord," still keeps up the conception of con-
scious intelligence in these mountains of Israel. They would them-
selves have the evidence that the Lord is truly God.
12. Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, eveii my
people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt
be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth
bereave them of men.
13. Thus saith the Lord God; Because they say unto
you. Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy
nations ;
14. Therefore, thou shalt devour men no more, neither
bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord God.
15. Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame
of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the re-
proach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause
thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord God.
In the current sentiment of the Jewish people, no calamity to a
family was so great as being bereaved of children. They would
have the same view of a state, bereaved of its population. " In
202 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVI.
the multitude of people is the king's honor; but in the want of
people is the destruction of the prince" (Prov. 14: 28). It seems
to be tacitly assumed here that the mountains and the hills, the
country itself, might inflict this calamity, i. e., might itself bereave
the state of its sons and daughters — might eat up its own popula-
tion. But God promises that the mountains of Israel shall no more
bereave the state of its loved people. In these four verses, two
verbs are used for this leading idea, viz., the common word for be-
ing bereaved of children and another with the same radicals, yet
with the first two transposed, meaning in the form here used, to
cause to fall. This is so rendered in the last clause of v. 15. This
play upon these two words is one of the nicer beauties of style.
The general thought is that the land will be depopulated no more.
But the real fulfillment of this promise appears only in its
spiritual significance as relating to the true Zion of the living God.
For Palestine has long been forsaken of the seed of Abraham and
has long since ceased to be the local home of the organized people,
worship, and institutions of God. But God's true Zion lives; has
not been depopulated, but has been exceedingly multiplied even
already, and doubtless is yet to be far more. Compare Isa. 54:
1-8.
16. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, say-
17. Son of man, Avlien the house of Israel dwelt in their
own land, they defiled it by their own way. and by their
doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a
removed woman.
18. Wherefore, I poured my fury upon tliem for the
blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols
wherewith they had polluted it:
19. And I scattered them among the heathen, and they
were dispersed through the countries: according to their
way and according to their doings I judged them.
Here the Lord addresses the prophet, and through him his own
people. By the worship of idols and by all the abominations of
murder and lust and of dishonor cast on God which are involved
in such idolatry, the people had utterly defiled their own land.
Therefore the Lord poure(l out his fury upon them, scattered them
among the heathen, and judged them thoroughly according to their
ways.
20. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither
they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to
them. These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth
out of his land.
21. But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVI. 203
of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they
went.
The remarks introductory to this chapter will show the signifi-
cance of these ideas of profaning God's name before the heathen.
It was currently said among them, "These are the people of Je-
hovah, God of Israel, and they are set adrift, borne away captive
from his land. What can this signify? Either that God is weak
or is untrue. So in either case their conclusion was reproachful
to the God of Israel. Therefore the Lord had pity for his holy
name's sake. It would be only disastrous to his reputation before
the world to leave such inferences to be dravna and to stand with-
out refutation. Cases illustrating the same holy and jealous re-
gard for his own great name may be seen in the early history of
the nation, Exod. 32 — tlie sin of the golden calf— and in Num. 14, —
the sin of unbelief; and in Deut. 9 — a sort of resume of these cases.
22. Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith
the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of
Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which ye have pro-
faned among the heathen, whither ye went.
23. And I will sanctify my great name, which was pro-
faned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the
midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the
Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in
you before their eyes.
It was \atal to the best moral impression upon the people that
they should see that this interposition of God to deliver them from
their captivity and restore them to their land was not done for their
sake — had none of its causes or grounds in their goodness or merits;
but was done entirely for his OAvn holy name's sake, to redeem his
character and throne from dishonor before the nations. These
statements uniformly rest the case here, although (as suggested
above) we may well go deeper, even to the eternal love of God for
lost men and to his glorious purpose of redeeming a people unto
himself. It was for tlie sake of these highest ends that he deemed
it so important to retrieve his name before the heathen, for his great
thoughts of salvation embraced the gathermg yet of myriads from
among the heathen to fear, love, and adore their own Maker and
Father. "When I shall be sanctified in yni before rheir eyes,"
develops the morally vital idea that God's glory before tiie heathen
turns on the holiness of his people. When he shall have made
them radically holy in heart, then the nations will sec in them an
illustration of w^at holiness is in God. God will stand forth before
the heathen as the Holy One, his holiness being illustrated and re-
flected in the holiness of his people.
24. For I will take you from among the heathen, and
204 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVI.
gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into
your own land.
Then and there, under those circumstances, the honor of God
demanded that his people should be brought back to their own
land of covenant promise. Hence a literal restoration was then a
necessity. Consequently the Lord met this necessity by causing
them to return literally and rebuild the temple and restore the in-
stitutions of Moses. But this by no means implies that the same
sort of restoration must be reenacted, either now or at any time yet
future. The necessity of a literal return ceased when the people
had once been literally restored. Besides, if a literal restoration
were to take place at any point during the Christian age in order
to fulfill the legitimate sense of this and subsequent prophecies of
Ezekiel, then certainly Judaism must be restored as xoell. The
Christian system must give way and disappear, and the Mosaic
system take its place. But this whole subject will be resumed
and fully discussed when we come to the closing chapters (40-48).
25. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye
shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your
idols, will I cleanse you.
The conception of cleansing by sprinkling clean water comes
from the Mosaic ceremonial system. See especially Num. 19:
17-19, and also Ps. 51 : 9. The former passage — the case of a man
rendered unclean by contact with a dead body — is forcibly trans-
lated by Hengstenberg, thus: — "And they take for the unclean
from the ashes of the burnt sin-offering and put thereon living water
in a vessel, and they take h^'ssop, and a clean man dips it in the
water, sprinkles the tent and all the vessels and the souls which are
there, and the clean sprinkles it upon the unclean and sanctifies
him." In every age and among all nations, water is both the
prime agent for cleansing, and the fii'st and main symbol to denote
it. Hence it is used here with equal beauty, fitness, and force of
tlie moral cleansing which the Lord was to effect in the hearts of
his people. As looking to the case (then present) of the Jewish
exiles in Chaldea, to be restored to Canaan, it makes prominent
the filthiness and abominations of idolatry. From these the Lord
■would effectually cleanse them. This became a great historic fact.
The nation as such were cured of idolatry, at least during several
generations. But this promise is good against all the filthiness
and all the aboiuinations of human hearts. The gracious promise
of the Lord covers all. And there is a wealth of blessedness in
this })road, magnificent promise ! By what power performed and
how applied, the Lord proceeds to show. ^
26. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit
will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart
out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
27. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVI. 205
to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments,
and do them.
Compare chap. 11 : 17-20, where in briefer statements, the same
general ideas appear. The "heart" and the "spirit" represent
what is most radical in human character — what is farthest removed
from hypocrisy or from the merely external life. Comprehensively
they embody man's deepest purposes and intentions — the governing
will that animates his whole activities, and morally constitutes the
man. To make these wholly new is to breathe into the soul of man
a new moral life. It changes the great drift and aim of his en-
deavors; gives him a new object to live for; inspires his soul with
new motives, and brings him under new influences. It is made
prominent here that this change is wrought by the Spirit of God;
" I will put my Spirit within you, and (so) will cause you to walk
in my statutes," etc. God himself becomes a controlling power in
the hearts of men unto a holy life. This is the great doctrine of
the New Testament, taught forcibly by our Lord himself in his state-
ments respecting the new birth (Jn. 3 : 3-8), and every-where pre-
sented as preeminently the work of the Spirit of God. The heart
of stone, contrasted with the heart of flesh, is forcible imagery, yet
wonderfully true to human consciousness. Its significance applies
appositely to the sensibilities — cold and dead, apart from the living,
quickening power of God in the soul — but tender, flowing and free
when the Spirit touches the soul and even makes his abode there.
And yet we must not restrict the Spirit's work to the sensibilities.
The intellect also — the mind's apprehension of divine truth — is by
no means unaffected in this great change from stone to flesh. The
dullness of apprehension, the resistance to truth, which appears
where God is not in the heart, may fitly be called "^^ony/" while
the sharpened thought, the quick apprehension, and the genial wel-
come of truth, attach the qualities of living flesh even to the intel-
lect, Yet these terms were never intended to be acutely meta-
physical. They address the popular mind. Considered as so
addressed, they are exceedingly forcible and happy. 1 can not
forbear to add that they reveal a most blessed, glorious truth, viz.,
that God himself becomes an effective power in the souls of men unto
real holiness. While all merely external agencies forever fail, this
divine agency is forever efiicacious. It does for man the very thing
he needs. His own unaided endeavors, his firmest resolutions,
prove unavailing. Under his bitter experience of their failure, this
promise comes to his soul as the dawn of day upon the thickest
darkness. When God says, " I will put my Spirit within you and
will cause you to walk in my statutes," his heart responds. That
meets my soul's great want. It is enough. If God will grant me
that efi'ective spiritual aid under which I shall wholly obey and
please him, I can ask nothing better ; I aspire to nothing higher and
nobler. As already suggested, this is the go.spcl. These are the
provisions of gospel grace for the regeneration and sanctification of
unholy men. They lire large promises. Nothing larger, broader.
206 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVI.
or richer, appears in the whole New Testament. In their compre-
hensive reach and scope they must be taken to embrace the gospel
scheme and the gospel age. Hence we can not think of their fulfill-
ment as being exhausted in the time of Zerubbabel, or at any period
anterior to the coming of Christ. In fact, since our Lord represents
the Spirit as coming with preeminent fullness only after his own
ascension, we must assign the more ample fulfillment of this great
promise to the Christian age. No doubt its richest and most glori-
ous fulfillment is reserved for the latter days of even this Christian
age — the era when " all shall know the Lord from the least to the
greatest." See Jer. 31: 34, and Isa. 11: 9.
28. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your
fathers ; and ye shall be my j^eople, and I will be your
God.
That they should "dwell in the land promised to their fathers,"
applied specially to the exiles in captivity. The primary bearing
of these promises was for them. What was in the letter as distinct
from the spirit — what related to the very land of Palestine in dis-
tinction from what belongs to God's spiritual Zion, we naturally and
fitly assign to the exiles to whom these words were first spoken.
29. I "wfll also save you from all your uncleannesses : and
I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no fam-
ine upon you.
30. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the in-
crease of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach
of famine among the heathen.
The land would become fertile again, and abundant prosperity
would wipe away the scandal and reproach resting on the name
and the land of the Lord their God.
31. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and
your doings that ivere not good, and shall loathe yourselves
in your own sight for your iniquities, and for your abomi-
nations.
32. Not for your sakes do I this, saitli the Lord God, be
it known unto you : be ashamed and confounded for your
own ways, O house of Israel.
The restored people would indeed have most ample reason to be
ashamed and confounded as they should think of their moral abom-
inations, and of the exceeding great compassion and loving kind-
ness of the Lord their God. They must see and deeply feel that
they owed every thing to the self-moved interposition of their own
God to save ; nothing to themselves as having wrought out, or in
any way deserved, their own salvation.
33. Thus saitli the Lord God ; In the day that I shall
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVI. 207
have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause
you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.
34. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay
desolate in the sight of all that passed by.
35. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is
become like the garden of Eden ; and the waste and deso-
late and ruined cities are become fenced, mid are inhabited.
36. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall
know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant
that that was desolate : I the Lord have spoken itj and I'
will do it.
In these verses, the temporal side (so to speak) of these promises
stands forth prominently. They needed to have a temporal side for
the special encouragement of the exiles in Chaldea, and perhaps I
might add, for the verification of the promises themselves. But the
spiritual side furnishes the richer installments and stands guaran-
teed to us by the fulfillment, already past, of the* temporal part in
the restoration from Babylon, and in the external prosperity which
succeeded that great event.
37. Thus saith the Lord God ; I will yet for this be in-
quired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them ; I will
increase them with men like a flock.
38. As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her
solemn feasts ; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks
of men : and they shall know that I am the Lord.
In the clause, "I will yet for this be inquired of," etc., the pre-
cise force of the word rendered "ye^" becomes an important question.
Does it mean that although I have made this full promise, yet I will
be inquired of in prayer before I shall do it for them? Or does it
mean that having previously declared that I would not be inquired
of by this people, I now announce that I will yet again be inquired
of — opening again the long-closed door for prevailing intercession,
and inviting the people again to seek their God in prayer? The
proper sense of the original word, as well as the historical facts,
seem to decide in favor of the latter view. The normal sense
of the Hebrew word is yet agaiii, said properly of that which co7nes
round a second time. Historically, the Tact that God had closed'
the door against prayer was of immense significance. See chap.
14: 3, and 20: 3, 31, and Jer. 14: 11, and 7: IG, and 11 : 14. It
was altogether pertinent for the Lord to apprise the people that the
day of mercy had opened upon them once more and that prayer
would be accepted yet again. No doubt it is fully implied in this
passage that the people were to pray for the great blessing just now
promised, and none the less because it was promised so implicitly.
This point is one of great moral significance. Definite promise
should encourage prayer and never supersede it — never be held to
208 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVII.
relieve God's people from the duty, or exclude them from the privi-
lci!;e. But while this is implied here as often elsewhere, the precise
thino; affirmed in the text is that the previous prohibition of prayer
for Jerusalem is now removed, and God is again accessible "to be
inquired of by the house of Israel." In the words that follow
stress is laid upon the great increase of population as being the
central thing. It was central among the temporal blessings here
promised. The word "flock" comes from the previous figure
which accounts the people as the Lord's sheep and himself as their
shepherd. The population would crowd the cities densely, as the
throng filled Jerusalem in the great national feasts.
The question will arise ; Are not the temporal blessings promised
in this. passage, especially in vs. 29, 35, 38, too great to have received
their fulfillment in the time of Zerubbabel, or indeed at any period
before Christ ? I answer, doubtless they are too great to have been
received both in kind and in their full measure. But we may as-
sume that in this and in other similar prophecies, the distinction
between the temporal and the spiritual is not sharply drawn; that
the corn, the wine' and the oil as here put, are (like Canaan itself)
to some extent representative blessings, named rather as indications
of the divine favor than as defining precisely ih.Q form which that
favor would assume. They may be taken as pledges of good, put
in this form in order that the people may appreciate them as a
great good ; and yet it may not have been the thought of God to tie
himself down to corn and wine, or even to a dense "flock of men"
as filling out and exhausting the good here promised. The general
import is ; You may rest assured it is in the heart of your God to
do great and glorious things for his cause and people. If he names
Canaan and corn and hosts of men, let it be that he thereby conde-
scends to an earthly condition of things then present — to a style of
wants then pressing and uppermost — ])ut really means not these
things alone, but things far purer, higher and better. See also
Amos 9: 13-15.
CHAPTER XXXVn.
'l"'he strain of rich and glorious promise still continues, looking
primarily to the immediate case of the exiles to whom the message
first came, but stretching its view fiir onward into the great sub-
lime future of the Zion of the liord our God. As to its figures
and symbols, the chapter is in two parts. The first (vs. 1-14) is a
vision of dry bones brought back to life, vigor, and beauty — to rep-
resent the restored nationality of the captive, dispirited Jews and
their renewed spiritual life: while the second part (vs. 15-20) gives
us ])y a figure the enduring union of the two kingdoms, Israel and
Juduh. Then vs. 21-2S expand into a rich promise of the future
peace and purity of Messiah's kingdom. The first section is
prophetic vision and not symbolic transaction in real life. But the
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVII. 209
second section is manifestly a real transaction, of a symbolic char-
acter.
1. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me
out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the
midst of the valley w^hicii was full of bones,
"The hand of the Lord upon me;" "bearing me out abroad in
the Spirit of the Lord; " "setting me down," etc., all indicate most
conclusively that this is purely a prophetic vision. " The valley,"
with the definite article, must refer to the well-known valley in
which other prophetic visions had been located; e. g.^ chap. 3 ; 22,
23, where the Hebrew word is the same though rendered in our
received version, "the plain." This valley was seen to be full
of bones.
2. And caused me to pass by them round about: and,
behold, tliere ivere very many in the open valley; and, lo,
they were very dry.
"In the open valley," is in the Hebrew on the face of the valley^
the sense being, on the surface of the ground, and not covered with
earth as bones should be.
3. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones
live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
The prophet's answer seems to say, How can I tell? How can
I understand the import of this scene until thou shalt reveal it?
0 Lord, thou only knowest.
4. Again he said unto me. Prophesy upon these bones,
and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the Avord of the
Lord.
5. Thus saitli the Lord God unto these bones; Behold,
1 will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.
6. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up
flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath
in you, and ye shall live : and ye shall know that I am the
Lord.
The pertinence of prophesying to dry bones becomes fully appar-
ent when we get the true idea of their significance in this vision.
These dead and dry bones, according to the Lord's own intepreta-
tion (v. 11), "are the whole house of Israel," as they lay in their
TjaiDtivity. They were saying, "Our bones are dried and our hope
is lost; as for us, we are utterly cut off," i. e., from being a nation;
we are nationally annihilated. So the hearts of the exiles had
sunk into despair of ever returning to their native land and becom-
ing again a nation enjoying the favor of God there. Now, de-
spondency does not preclude reasoning, although real death does.
Despondency does not shut off preaching — does not make it absurd
210 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVII.
to proclaim the word of the Lord. These exiled Jews were dead
only in figure ; they were dry bones only in the sense of being ut-
I terly discouraged, and of having lost heart and hope in their nation's
j future. Preaching and prophesying to them the word of the Lord
/ was the legitimate remedy. It might perhaps have the aspect of an
' absurdity while they are thought of only as dead and dry bones.
The absurdity comes of forcing the figure, not of understanding
the fact it represents. A special interpretation has been some-
times put upon this entire vision whereby these bones are spirit-
ually dead sinners, and their resurrection is regeneration by the
Spirit of the Lord. In this view of it, the prophet (gospel minis-
ter) prophesies (preaches) to sinners void of spiritual life, only
because he is commanded to do so, and not because there is any
natural adaptation of the means to the end proposed — their resus-
citation to life. When this view of the sinner's death is pushed
to the extreme of denying to him intelligence to understand God's
truth and conscience to feel its force, the absurdity becomes glar-
t ing. Yet the thing to be said here of these views is that what-
\ ever may or may not be true in regard to them, they are entirely
foreign from the doctrine of this vision. Any effort to make this
passage teach the laws of regeneration is altogether, gratuitous.
The Lord should be alloAved to put his own interpretation upon the
visions which he gives. When he has done this, we have but one
duty; viz., to abide by it, and resist all abuse and perversion of
God's word.
7. So I prophesied as I was commanded : and as I proj)h-
esied there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones
came, together, bone to his bone.
8. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came
up upon them, and the skin covered them above : but there
was no breath in them.
9. Then said he unto me. Prophesy unto the wind, proph-
esy, son of man, and say to the wdnd, Thus saith the Lord
God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe
upon these slain, that they may live.
10. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath
came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their
feet, an exceeding great army.
In V. 9, the Hebrew reader would notice that the original words
rendered -'iwind " and "breath" are the same. This fact lookrTo-
ward the ancient notion that the living animal soul inheres in the
breath — comes into the body and goes forth from the bodv, with
and in the breath. Virgil's account of the death of Dido (iEneid
Bk. IV) assumes this doctrine.
11. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVI. 211
the wliole house of Israel : behold they say, Our bones are
dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12. Therefore proj^hesy and say unto them. Thus saith the
Lord God ; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves,
and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring
you into the land of Israel.
13. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have
opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out
of your graves,
14. And shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live,
and T shall place you in your own land : then shall ye
know that I the Lord have Spoken it, and performed it,
saith the Lord.
We have real occasion for gratitude to our divine Teacher that
he explains his visions whenever their significance might otherwise
be unintelligible or even uncertain. The first concern of those who
find dark or doubtful passages in the Word of God should be, to
mark God's own interpretation of them and regard that as abso-
lutely decisive ; discarding all speculations of their own at variance
with God's explanations. "O my people," breathes the tone of
kind, parental recognition. Compare chap. 13: 17, where, as if
God would disown them, he calls them, not ?wy people, but " thi/
people." The change from thy to my betokens the tenderness of
returning love. It indicates that deep spiritual blessings are in-
volved in this promised revivification and restoration of their own
land. The reader will notice with interest that this vision as-
sumes the doctrine of a resurrection of the dead from their graves.
It is based precisely on this great idea. The figure is drawn from
the fact of a resurrection, and of ^urse assumes not merely that
the resurrection of the body is a truth, yet to become reality, but
that this doctrine was currently known by the Jews of Ezekiel's
time. Figures, legitimately used, always draw their analogies from
things known. Else they would only make darkness yet more dark.
There is no law of language more rational, universal, and fixed
than this ; that figures of speech are legitimate and useful only
when drawn from things palpable and visible, or from facts under-
stood and believed. The thing we would explain or set in yet
stronger light, we compare with something better known than itself;
else our figures and analogies avail nothing. In the case before
us, it should be borne in mind that the resurrection is not a doc-
trine of nature. Nature never has taught it, and it never can. It
comes to men only through revelation. The Jews had this reve-
lation ; else Ezekiel in these allusions to it would have been as one
who speaks in an unknown tongue. Suppose that, instead of this
allusion to the resurrection,, he had represented the reanimated,
encouraged people as mounting upward and flying to the moon.
The people would have thought him insane, just because they had
no faith in such flying. On the other hand, if he had compared
212 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXX VII.
the attractive force of their faith and love tov^ard God, to the law
of f]^ravitation, holding the planets in their orhits round the sun, and
had clearly shown that he regarded this influence of gravitation as
the same which brings to the ground the apple detached from its
bough, this illustration Avould be accepted by all as proof that he
and his readers were familiar with the law of gravitation. Hence
this reference to the resurrection irresistibly implies the general
belief in that doctrine among the Jews at that time. A similar
use of this figure appears in Isaiah (chap. 26 : 14, 19), applied first
to the godless nations; "They are dead; they shall not live; de-
ceased ; they shall not rise : because thou hast visited and destroyed
them and made all their memory to perish." Next he applies it to
the penitent and trustful nation; " Thy dead shall live; being my
own dead body, they shall arise : awake and sing, ye dwellers in
dust, for thy dew is the dew of herbs " (fertilizing and life-inspir-
ing), " and on the earth, on the dead. Thou wilt cause it to fall."
Hence the doctrine of the resurrection was certainly current among
the .Tews in the time of Isaiah. The great point revealed to the
exiled Jews in this prophecy was that God would burst the bars of
their captivity, and despite of their present despondency, bring
them forth, restore them to their land, call back to life their appa-
rently extinct nationality, and bring their hearts back to a living
trust and to an earnest love toward the Lord their (lod. Then they
would know that he is the Lord^ the real Jehovah, immutable, faith-
ful, never failing to fulfill his words of promise.
15. The word of the Lord came again unto me, say-
ing.
16. Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and
write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel
his companions : then take another stick, and write upon
it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house
of Israel his companions :
17. And join them one to another into one stick; and
they shall become one in thy hand.
18. And when the children of thy people shall speak
unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shcAV us what thou mean-
est by these?
19. Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold,
I will take the stick of Josei^Ji, which is in the hand of
Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put
them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make
them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand.
20. And the sticks whereon thou Avritest shall be in thy
hand before their eyes.
21. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Be-
hold, I will take the children of Israel from among the
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVII. 213
heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on
every side, and bring them into their own land :
22. And I will make them one nation in the land upon
the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to
them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither
shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
As said above, this scene is a real transaction. These "sticks"
were rather rods than tablets, yet such rods that a name might be
written upon them. This use of rods may have a tacit reference
to the scenes described Num. 17, where, twelve rods being taken,
the names of the tribes were written severally upon them, and
Aaron's rod alone budded, to show the Lord's choice of him for
the priesthood. The import of this transaction is fully explained
in vs. 21, 22, viz., the perfect and enduring union of the two king-
doms, Ephraim and Judah, in one. The revolt under Jeroboam was
one of the saddest facts of Hebrew history. It occasioned terrible
and destructive wars; it mainly severed the ten tribes from the
sanctuary and from the entire Mosaic institutions, and precipitated
first that northern kingdom, and ultimately the southern as well,
into the depths of a most guilty and debasing idolatry. It then led
on by natural result and rapid step to the national ruin of both
kingdoms, and to the captivity of the masses who survived the r
shock under which the nations fell. Hence most naturally that 1
rending asunder became a symbol of the sorest calamity; and in i
like manner the reunion of the two kingdoms into one became the \
symbol of the best, the largest, most enduring prosperity. So the ^
figure is to be taken here — not so much a prediction of the gather-
ing up of the scattered ten tribes, their literal restoration and
actual reunion with Judah, as a general symbol of the greatest
and best prosperity. History gives but meager evidence of any
restoration of the ten tribes ever, after they were taken off by the
Assyrians into their remote colonies. There is nothing in the his-
tory of the restoration under Zerubbabel to prove that the ten tribes
in any appreciable numbers were there. On the contrary the show-
ing is all the other way. The genealogies in the record (e. g.)
prove that the returning exiles Avere of the tribe and kingdom of
Judah. Hence we are shut up to the general in distinction from
the closely specific sense of this prophecy. In v. 16 the phrase,
"his companions," means his associates; in the first case, "for
Judah and for the sons of Israel who have been associated with
him," i. e., who, through their love for the God and the institutions
of their fathers, chose to cast in their lot with Judah: and in the
second case, for all out of the various ten tribes who had afiiliated
with Ephraim in her distinct nationality. The "one kin^ to
them all" — the best part of the promise — looks onward to tlieir
great King and Messiah, as the context clearly, show's.
23. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with
their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any
214 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVII.
of their transgressions : but I will save them out of all
their dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will
cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be
their God.
24. And David my servant shall he king over them;
and they all shall have one shepherd : they shall also walk
in my judgments, and observe my statutes,' and do them.
25. And they shall dwell in tlie land that I have given
unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt,
and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children,
and their children's children forever : and my servant David
sliall he their prince forever.
26. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with
them ; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them : and
I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my
sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27. My tabernacle also shall be with them : yea, I will
be their God, and they shall be my people.
28. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do
sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst
of them for evermore.
That this passage is Messianic, looking far down, not only to but
into the Gospel age, can admit of no question. " David my serv-
ant," is here, as in chap. 34: 23, 24, and Jer. 30: 9, and Hos. 3: 5,
the greater Son of David to whom "the Lord God will give the
throne of his father David." So the inspired angel explained and
applied these prophecies in Luke 1 : 32, 33. The designation, "my
servant," identifies him fully and beautifully. Compare Isa. 42: 1,
and 49: 3, G, and 52: 13, and 53: 11. The most precious fact
of his reign is the moral purity of his people under his redeeming,
sanctifying power. They shall defile themselves no more with their
idols, nor with any of their transgressions! Blessed fruition!
How glorious this state of moral purity shall be can be best appre-
ciated by those who have most deeply deplored their own proclivi-
ties to sin and their agonizing relapses under the power of tempta-
tion, and who have most fervently and with most irrepressible
longings sought for a pure and perfect heart toward the Lord
their God. Let us not fail to notice the forceful repetition of
the idea that God diuells among his j-ieople in these latter days.
"I will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore;"
"my tabernacle also shall be with them;" "the heathen shall
know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel when my sanctuary
shall be in the midf*t of them for evermore." Ezekiel had seen
the visible glory of God go up from the midst of the city as if to
depart from the temple (chap. 11 : 23). AVith the fall of that tem-
ple, this symbol of his presence had of course disappeared from
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVII. 215
among them. Bat here the Lord pledges himself to return and
indeed to dwell with his people in forms and manifestations far
more rich, eftective and perfect than ever before. The ancient
Shekinah was rather a symbol than itself a power. It prophesied
of the glorious presence of God by his Spirit in the future days of
Zion. But here those days are drawn up near the eye for a more<^
distinct and impressive view. Christian hearts become the temple
of the living God. Here are the germs of those precious thoughts
which our Lord unfolded so richly when he opened his mouth to
speak of the Comforter (Jn. chaps. 12-16), and which Paul grasped
with so clear a view of their spiritual power in his letter to the
brethren at Corinth (2 Cor. 6: 16-18, and 7: 1). "For ye are the
temple of the living God ; as God hath said ; 1 will dwell in them
and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people," etc. The reader should not fail to notice that this very
blessing — God dwelling with and in his people, making his presence
manifest as a power unto their holiness and blessedness — is the
great comprehensive promise of both the Old Testament dispensa-
tion and the New. It had the Shekinah in the most holy place
as its symbol under the Old Dispensation : it was embodied in the
promise and gift of the Holy Ghost in the Gospel age. To Moses
the Lord said (Ex. 29: 45, 46) "I will dwell among the children of
Israel and will be their God; and they shall know that I am the
Lord their God who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt
that I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God." And
again (Lev. 26 : 3, 11, 12); "If ye walk in my statutes and keep my
commandments and do them I will set my tabernacle
among you, and my soul shall not abhor you, and I will walk among
you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people." These are
specimen passages from the records of the ancient economy. As
to the Gospel age it may suffice to refer to the promises of our
Lord ; " He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will
love him and ivill manifest myself unto hi7n." "If a man love me,
he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we loill
come unto him and make our abode with Imn." "It is expedient for
you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not
come ; but if I depart, I will send him unto you," " He shaU teach
you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatso-
ever I have said unto you." "He shall testify of me." "He will
guide you into all truth. He shall take of mine and shall show it
unto you," etc. John 14: 21, 23, 26, and 15 : 26, and 16 : 7-15.—
From Paul come these expressive words, "Know ye not that
ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth
in you?" " Kaow ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost which is in you which ye have of God, and ye are not
your own?" "And what agreement hath the temple of God with
idols? For ye are the temple of the living God," etc. 1 Cor. 3:
16, and 6 : 19, and 2 Cor. 6 : 16. " In whom" (Christ) ye are builded
together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Eph. 2: 22).
Paul speaks of this doctrine as specially well known — one of the
216 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVII.
obvious and fundaitoptal truths of the Goepel system. In its very
nature it must be. — ^The exiles needed precisely the encouragement
and the inspiration which such promises bore to their hearts. The
time then present was the great crisis in their moral renovation.
V^The fierce judgments of the Almighty had smitten down the city and
/*' temple of their fathers. Would they, the children, now turn from
their idol-worship ; open their eyes to the spiritual mercies which the
Lord was so gloriously revealing ; abandon all their carnal trust in
the external things of Judaism, and seek the new heart and the new
spirit which the Lord so kindly promised ? If so, this revelation
^^^^ of a glorious future for the true Israel and Zion would be most per-
tinent and most welcome. " Save them out of all their dwelling-
places wherein they have sinned," is a remarkable expression,
tacitly implying that the very localities of their sin had become a
power, under the laws of association, toward continued sinning,
from which they needed to be saved. Was it for this reason that
the Lord sent otf the better and hopeful portion of the people into
exile till he could burn the land over with the fires of war and
desolation, and efiace the last vestige of its old pollutions, and
break up forever those impure associations which ages of idol-wor-
ship had impressed on its hills and groves and its valley of Hin-
nom ? And is there any thing analogous to this in the Christian
life of God's people whereby he crucifies the power of old sins, and
smites down the influence of their mental associations so as to undo
effectually the mischief which years of sin have wrought? Other
questions, somewhat less vital intrinsically, yet important and vari-
ously held, demand notice; e. g., Wheyi are these prophecies to be
fulfilled ? Do they not assume the yet future restoration of the Jews
to Canaan and make that land the locality, the place, of their ful-
fillment? Briefly, my views of these chapters of Ezekiel (34, 36,
37) are these: They are general, not specific; comprehensive rather
<;^ than minute. Their gentral thought is promise — the assurance of
^ God's love and faithfulness to his Zion, especially in his pledge
of his presence as a power unto her sanctification. "I will be
with you to sanctify and to save you from all your sins," is the
■^ elementary and precious truth which they bear. Now let it be
carefully noted: — jThis great central truth applied under the old dis-
pensation while it lasted, in harmony loith the genius of that dispen-
sation. It applies under the new, in harmony with its genius and
spirit. Under the old, it promised restoration to the literal Ca-
naan and the reestablishment of the Mosaic ritual system. It
came to the exiles with these cheering promises and hopes, in
terms which they could not misunderstand. To them these prom-
ises in this sense were the very thing they needed, for the Zion
and kingdom of God had not yet cast oft' the forms of the Mosaic
system. But for the gospel age, under the New Testament dis-
pensation, these same promises had a new and different specific
sense. Their general sense was and is still the same; but their
external, specific sense has changed. To explain this change and
to bring the practical views and the actual Christian life of the
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVII. 217
church into harmony with it were the great struggle and labor of
the Apostolic age. To induce converted Jews to let go the ritual
and joyfully accept the spiritual; to forego what was exclusive and
national in Judaism, and still retain all that its symbols signified
and its promises pledged, cost the Apostles whole years of intensest
labor. That labor should suffice to give us the clew to the inter-
pretation of these prophecies as applied to the Gospel age. That
part of their significance which yet remained to be fulfilled after
the death of Christ — no small part surely — must be seen in the
light of New Testament ideas. It would be the greatest and
grossest of mistakes to ignore the immense work wrought by Christ
and his Apostles toward the just interpretation of the Mosaic ritual
system and of the whole Hebrew economy, with all its gospel
promise and gospel prophecy, in their application to the Christian
age. We have this gospel idea in a nutshell in the passages al-
ready quoted from Paul. Comparing Paul (2 Cor. 6: 16) with
Ezekiel in the passage before us, we shall see it, Ezekiel reads,
"I will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forever more;" "My
tabernacle shall be with them ; yea, I will be their God and they
shall be my people," etc. Now, in the old dispensation, this sanc-
tuary was God's temple of wood and stone ; his residence in it was
through the \asible glory over the ark of the covenant. What
form does his presence assume in the new dispensation ? Let Paul
answer. " Ye are the temple of the living God ; as God hath said
{e. (/., Ezek. 37: 26, 28 and elsewhere) "I will dwell in them and
walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
Every Christian becomes " a temple of the living God;" " an habita-
tion of God through the Spirit." Consequently in the Christian
age we look no longer for the restriction of worship to the one
place, the holy temple at Jerusalem. Our Lord decided this very
question in his discourse with the woman of Samaria (Jn. 4: 20-
24). Hence we look for no reoccupancy of Canaan by the covenant
people, for the covenant people are now the Christian men and
women of every nation under the whole heaven, and the Canaan
where they oflfer accepted worship is any place whatever in the
wide world where they please to worship God in spirit and in
truth. To bring back the Jews to Palestine in times yet future
under this promise carries with it the return to Judaism and the
rebuilding of the material temple, and goes back from the accepted
worship every-where of all pious hearts through faith in the Re-
deemer's blood — goes back from the glorious gospel idea that the
Holy Ghost makes every Christian heart his temple; — f^-oes back
to reestablish that ancient system which in the age of Paul had
already "waxed old and was vanishing away." (lleb, 8: 13).
The position to which I adhere is that the church is now and
henceforward in the Christian age and not in the Jewish ; that she
has passed by the Jewish, and that God does not intend she shall re-
turn to it again ; that the Jewish in its peculiar form and symbolic
significance has done its work and will never do it over again ; and
that it behooves us to be satisfied with the Christian system, make
10
218 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVIII.
the most of it, develop its inherent energies to their utmost extent,
and thus, through the resources of the Spirit's power, cause, it to
"become mi.iihty through God to convert the nations to Christ and
reoienerate the world.
CHAPTERS XXXVIII AND XXXIX.
These two chapters are essentially one in their subject-matter
and aim, and are closely connected with chaps. 34, 36, and 37 pre-
ceding, and with chaps. 40-48 following. They are manifestly part
of the series of prophecies recorded in the three preceding chap-
ters— refer to the same great future of Zion, and are in the same
sense general rather than specific in their ultimate meaning. The
one great truth which they teach is expressed forcibly by Isaiah
(54: 17, 15). "No w^eapon that is formed against thee shall pros-
per." "Behold, they shall gather together {i. e., against thee) but
not bi/ me; whosoever shairgathor together against thee shall fall
for thy sake." The manner of presenting this great truth — the
costume of the prophecy — sets forth that in the remote future, after
Israel had been a long time at rest and in peace in their own land,
and had become wealthy, a vast horde of northern barbarians
should fall upon their land for purposes of plunder ; but God calls
for a sword against them. Indignant at this outrage, and jealous
for his holy name, he interposes with terrific judgments upon
them, cuts them off with immense slaughter, and forever exalts his
name before all the heathen as the Deliverer and Savior of his
people. It is assumed with a fair degree of probability that
Ezekiel names these supposed enemies of Israel with his eye on a
vast marauding expedition of Scythians, in which they swept over
Western Asia about the time of the fall of Nineveh {i. d, B. C.
625), and were not thoroughly driven back short of about twenty-
eight years. Gesenius (in his Thesaurus) says ; " There is scarcely
a doubt that for the most part those nations are meant here whom
the Greeks comprehended under the name Scythians, whoso vast
expedition against Egypt in the very age of Ezekiel seems to have
given that prophet the occasion for this reference — the handle for
such a prophecy." The writer of the article on Magog in Smith's
Bible Dictionary represents them as at this time a formidable power
throughout Western Asia ; as having been crowded from their orig-
inal homes, north of the Caucasian mountains, by the inroads of
the Massagetac ; as then forcing their way into Asia Minor in war
writers as expert with the bow, famous as mounted bowmen, and
notorious for their rapacious and cruel habits. The memory of
these events being yet fresh in the minds, of his readers, Ezekiel
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVIII. 219
(i. e.j God through him) selected these Scythians as the symbol of
earthly violence arrayed against the people of God, but meeting a
signal and utter overthrow.
1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of
Magog, the chief prince of Meshecli and Tubal, and proph-
esy against him,
3. And say. Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am
against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshecli and
Tubal :
4. And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy
jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army,
horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of
minor, even a great company with bucklers and shields,
all of them handling swords :
5. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them ; all of them
with shield and helmet:
6. Gomer, and all his bands ; the house of Togarmah of
the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people
with thee.
"Magog" is here the name of the king; "Gog" the name of his
country. The word rendered "chief," in the clause, "chief
prince," etc., is not an adjective as our translators supposed, but a
proper noun. The word is JRosch, and is supposed to be the ear-
liest historical allusion to the people afterward known as the
Russians. "Meshech and Tubal," the countries of the Moschi
and the Tibareni, lay on the south of the Caspian, the home of the
people known by the ancient Greeks as the Scythians. Josephus,
(Antiquities 1: 6: 1) says that "Magog, second son of Japheth,
(Gen. 10 : 2) founded those who were called by the Greeks Scyth-
ians." "Gomer," named first of the sons of Japheth (Gen. 10:
2), probably the father and founder of the Cimmerians, helped to
swell the great Scythian horde. " Tagarmah" was a kindred tribe,
thought by some to be the Armenians. ^Persia, Ethiopia, and
Libya are named here with them to fill out the representation of
an immense and countless horde. These names do not occur
again. In v. 4 the original phrase rendered, " clothed with all
sorts of armor," seems not to refer to military armor^ but to gor-
geous apparel. Their armor, offensive and defensive, is spoken of
subsequently.
7. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and
all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou
a guard unto them.
8. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter
years thou shalt come into the land that ia brought back
220 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVIII.
from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against
the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste:
but it is bl'ought forth out of the nations, and they shall
dwell safely all of them.
9. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt
be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands,
and many people with thee.
"Be thou prepared;" "prepare for thyself;" are not to be taken
as commanding in serious earnest, but as daring and challenging
in irony. Since so you will, do it if you dare ! So through Isaiah,
(chap. 8: 9, 10) the Lord accosts the proud Assyrians and others;
"Associate yourselves, O ye nations, and ye shall be broken to pieces ;
gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken to pieces. Take counsel
together, and it shall come to naught," etc. "Be thou a guard
unto them," means rather, Take the lead of them; head the grand
enterprise, 0 Gog! In v. 8, "Thou shalt be visited," means —
not, thou shalt be punished^ but thou shalt muster thy forces and
become their leader, making all ready for the great expedition
against Israel. The prediction of his punishment comes in later, in
v. 18. This verse describes the land of Israel as having passed
through the scenes of the Chaldean captivity and desolation; as
having been long waste, but as repeopled, reclaimed from its waste
condition, and now for a long time prosperous. I paraphrase the
latter part of the verse thus: "The mountains of Israel which have
long lain waste — the same which have been resettled by returning
exiles brought forth from the nations, and who have now long dwelt
in safety and prosperity." Against this people, Gog and his hosts
came down like a storm to sweep and a cloud to cover the land.
10. Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass,
that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and
thou shalt think an evil thought:
11. And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of un-
walled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that
dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and hav-
ing neither bars nor gates,
12. To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thy hand
upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon
the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have
gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
God knew and here describes how the thought of plundering a
people, unprotected and off their guard, excited his rapacity and
put him upon this expedition. The last clause of f. 12 means
not precisely " in the midst of the land," but on the height of the
land. The Jews thought of their country, Palestine, as not only
the glory of all lands, but also as the crown, the height of the
world. This is the sense of the rare word here used by the prophet.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVIII. 221
V
It occurs elsewhere, Judg. 9 : 37 ; there rendered, " the middle of
the land," but better, " down from the height of the land."
13. Slieba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish,
with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art
thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy com-
l^any to take a prey ? to carry aAvay silver and gold, to
take aw^ay cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
Sheba and Dedan, prominent districts of Arabia, and Tarshish
of Spain, famed for its trade with the Phenician cities, appear
suddenly and for the moment only in this drama. Their question
might under some circumstances be taken as a rebuke ; but in this
case probably it is one of sympathy, as much as to say. You are
in, it seems, for a grand scene of plunder : let us have a share ! For
these people also are to be thought of as enemies of God's children,
and as introduced here to amplify the description and set forth that
all the nations of the earth, outside of Palestine, are in arms
against her for one combined and fearful onslaught.
14. Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog,
Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of
Israel dwelleth safely," shalt thou not know it f
15. And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north
parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding
upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16. And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel,
as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days,
and I w^ill bring thee against my land, that the heathen
may know me, when I shall be sanctified iii thee, O Gog,
before their eyes.
17. Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I
have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of
Israel, which prophesied in those days many years, that I
would bring thee against them?
The points made here are not intricate. Shall not these com-
bined nations know their time for assault on my defenseless peo-
ple ? They will. They are to come from the northern parts, anal-
ogous to the avalanche from northern Europe that overran tlie old
and eficte Roman empire ; or in later times, the sweep of the Tartar
hordes under Tamerlane. It should be "in the latter days" —
here quite indefinite and very probably referring in part, perhaps in
large part, to events yet future. V. 17 intimates that this on-
slaught upon the kingdom and people of God is the same which his
prophets had predicted in years then past. Since no prophet up to
that time had named precisely these enemies, we are compelled (as
above indicated) to give these names a general and not specific
sense, accounting them to represent not those nations in particular,
222 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVIII.
•
but any and every form of hostility to the kingdom of God. Only
in this sense could it he said to have been the burden of previous
prophecv. In the clause, "In those days many years," tlie word
^'■many' is superfluous, the sense being, "in those days and years."
18. And it shall come to pass at the same time when
Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord
God, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have
I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking
in the land of Israel ;
20. So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the
heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things
that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon
the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the
mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall
fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21. And I will call for a sword against him throughout
all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword
shall be against his brother.
22. And I will plead against him with pestilence and
with blood; and I will rain upon him and upon his bands,
and upon the many people that are with him, an overflow-
ing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
23. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself;
and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and
they shall know that I am the Lord.
"My fury shall come up in my face," refers to the usual mani-
festations of intense excitement — a flushed countenance, the blood
rushing to the head and imprinting the marks of strong feeling
upon the face. The indignation of the Almighty is intensely
aroused against these heathen hosts who are combined to pillage
and destroy his people. A great shaking follows, a terrible earth-
quake, felt by all who dwell in the vast deep, by every fowl of the
heavens and every beast of the field, before which the mountains
are thrown down, and every wall built of man, however deep-laid
its foundations, shall fall to the ground. Tlie mighty God calls for
a sword against this huge host throughout all his mountains ; every
man's sword is against his brother. These enemies of God's peo-
j>le become fheir own destroyers. Ah truly, evermore the liOrd
knows how to make the wrath of man praise himself and to gird
about him the extremest wrath of men as his own sword for their
destruction. The last clause of this significant passage (Ps. 76 ; 10)
announces the very principle or law developed in this predicted
slaughter. The Almiglity God girds on the extremest wrath of
these wicked men and makes it his own sword for their universal
destruction. The description here is graphic and fearful. "I
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIX. 223
■will plead against him with pestilence and with blood" — the plague
combining with the sword to cut short the lives of myriads and
strew the land with mountain heaps of the slain. "I will rain
upon him and upon his bands and upon the many people that are
with him, an overflowing rain and great hailstones, fire and brim-
stone"— in which description all the great and destructive agencies
of the physical world combine to fill out the picture and make up
a scene of appalling slaughter. So the Psalmist; ".Upon the
wicked, God will rain snares, fire and brimstone and an horrible
tempest; this shall be the portion of their cup (Ps. 11: 6). The
fire on Sodom (Gen. 19 : 24, 25) and Isaiah's smitten Idumea (chap.
34) are in the same strain of appalling grandeur and of fearful de-
struction! The exalted purpose of God in these judgments is
shown, viz., to magnify his power; to make his name great; to
vindicate his holiness and his righteous justice, and to make aU
the nations know that he is the Lord, the glorious Ruler of all
kingdoms, and the no less glorious Deliverer of his people.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
This chapter continues and closes the subject of the preceding
one, expanding its descriptions and reiterating its momentous
truths.
1. Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,
and say, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I am against
thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal :
2. And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth
part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the
north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of
Israel :
3. And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and
will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou,
and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee : I will
give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the
beasts of the fiield, to be devoured.
5. Thou shalt fall upon the open field : for I have spoken
it, saith the Lord God.
6. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them
that dwell carelessly in the isles : and they shall know that
I am the Lord.
7. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of
my people Israel ; and I will not let them pollute my holy
224 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIX.
name any more : and the heathen shall know that I am
the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
In the first clause of v. 2 the ablest modern critics read, not '' 1
will leave but a sixth part of thee ; " but, " I will bring thee out, and
lead or urge thee on," etc. — in harmony with the latter part of the
verse and describing yet further God's permissive agency in suffer-
ing this vast combination of his enemies. The prophet proceeds
soon to speak of their destruction; but docs not touch that subject
in this second verse. In general these verses repeat the points
made in the previous chapter, and in the subsequent parts of
this.
8. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord
God ; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
This verse corresponds with chap. 38 : 17, to the point that this
invasion represents the hostility of God's enemies against his cause
and people, and had even then been already spoken of by the
prophets.
9. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go
forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the
shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the
hand-staves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with
fire seven years :
10. So that they shall take no w^ood out of the field,
neither cut down any out of the forests ; for they shall
burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that
spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the
Lord God.
To measure the vastncss of this grand armament and give the
reader some conception of its magnitude, their weapons of war are
said to have supplied fuel for all Israel seven years. Now is the
time for Israel to rob and plunder those who have long robbed and
plundered her. These '■^ivcapons" made thus prominent remind
us of Isaiah's words; "No weapon that is formed against thee shall
prosper."
11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will
give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley
of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop
the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog
and all his multitude : and they shall call it The valley of
Hamon-gog.
12. And seven months shall the house of Israel be bury-
ing of them, that they may cleanse the land.
13. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them : and
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIX. 225
it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall' be glori-
fied, saith the Lord God.
14. And they shall sever ont men of continual employ-
ment passing through the land to bury with the passengers
those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it:
after the end of seven months shall they search.
15. And the passengers that pass through the land, w^hen
any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till
the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog.
16. And also the name of the city shall he Hamonah.
Thus shall they cleanse the land.
Still further to aid the mind to conceive the vastness of this
slaughter, the prophet describes the burial of their dead. It occu-
pied seven months — seven, the round number occurring here again
in its long, indefinite sense. At first ail the people of the land
seem to have been engaged in this work. Ultimately they set apart
"men of continual employment" to prosecute the work as their
regular and constant business. Even they had the aid of all trav-
elers who were passing through the land. If any of these saw an
unburied body or bone, they set a pillar to mark the spot, till the
force detailed for this purpose had buried all. In v. 11 the word
"?zo5C5," in italics, should be omitted and the passage be read; "It"
(the place of graves for Gog) "shall stop the way of passengers " —
shall block their passage. Located in a great thoroughfare along
the eastern shore of the sea, it would obstruct travel by its masses
of slaughtered dead. In v. 14, "bury with the passengers," is
with the aid of the passengers, as the next verse explains, and does
not imply that the passengers are buried with the slain enemies of
God. The valley of Hamon-gog is the valley of the multitude or
hosts of Gog. In V. 14, " shall they search," means they shall glean
thoroughly; shall make a very special and final exploration. The
kingdom of God must be purified with the utmost care. The Mo-
saic law accounted defilement by a dead body more -polluting than
any other. And of all dead bodies, these of their heathen foes
would be most polluting.
17. And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God ;
Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the
field. Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on
every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a
great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may
eat flesh, and drink blood.
18. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the
blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of
goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood
226 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIX.
till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed
for you.
20. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and
chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith
the Lord God.
Here is another of the usual features in a description of great
slaughter — a summons to every beast and fowl ; to the hyenas and
vultures that delight in human flesh; to gather to this great feast
prepared of God for them. Of course, this aims to fill out and
heighten the description of an immense slaughter.
21. And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all
the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed,
and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord
their God from that day and forward.
Sublimely will the Lord Jehovah "set his glory before all the
heathen" by means of this appalling destruction of their armed
hosts. They shall know that this is the work of his hand, and
shall see that indeed he is mighty to save his people and to avenge
them on their proudest foes. The house of Israel too shall see
and know God s hand. This grand display of it will suffice from
this time forward and for evermore ! They will never again have
occasion to doubt whether God loves Zion and will defend her
against whatever may assail.
23. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel
went into captivity for their iniquity : because they tres-
passed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and
gave them into the hand of their enemies : so fell they all
by the sword.
24. According to their uncleanness, and according to their
transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from
them.
Most pertinently the Lord declares that now the heathen shall
understand why he seemed to abandon his people and leave them
to go into captivity. It was not (as tliey would fain suppose) be-
cause his arm was too short to save them; neither was it that he
had utterly forsaken them and given them over to hopeless ruin:
but it was because of their apostasy and transgression, and hence
as a discipline to reclaim, and not as a judgment that should ex-
terminate.
25. Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Now will I bring-
again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the
whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy
name;
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXIX. 227
26. After that they have borue their shame, and all their
trespasses whei^eby they have trespassed against me, when
they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.
27. When I have brought them again from the people,
and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am
sanctified in them in the sight of many nations ;
28. Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God,
which caused them to be led into caj)tivity among the
heathen : but I have gathered them unto their own land,
and have left none of them any more there.
29. Neither will I hide my face any more from them : for
I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith
the Lord God.
The nearer fulfillment of vs. 25, 26 — the first installment of bless-
ings— came in the restoration from Babylon under Zerubbabel. Its
subsequent installments belong chiefly or wholly to the gospel age,
and take the form peculiar to this age — gospel blessings. That
great restoration was a pledge and symbol of all future deliverances
tiiat God would achieve for his people. In its light they might see
that their own God is almighty to save, and will certainly fulfill
every good word he has spoken. The perpetuity of his fovor and
love is insured by the mission and work of his Spirit ; for the pros-
perity of God's people is forever sure, provided only that their
hearts are kept pure before the Lord. Given, a sanctified people,
and there will also be a prosperous and happy people. Zion has
nothing to fear, provided only that she walks humbly and softly ]je-
fore God. " For I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of
Israel," is therefore the unfailing guaranty and pledge of abiding
and glorious prosperity to Zion. Of course this promise looks
down into the gospel age, of which age the mission of the Com-
forter is the grand, distinctive characteristic. Jesus spake by an-
ticipation of this mission and of its fruits when " in the last day,
that great day of the feast" (Jn. 7: 37-39) "he stood and cried,
'If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink.' He that be-
lieveth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water; — for he spake this of the Spirit which they
that believe on him should receive when the Holy Ghost should be
given" — which time then was not yet because that Jesus was not
yet glorified.
As to the general scope of these two chapters, treating of a great
invasion of Israel by the hosts of Gog, there can be no reasonable
doubt. They depict the intense antagonism of the powers of sin
and hell in this world against the church and kingdom of God. In
costume Jewish, to make it readily intelligible to the people for
whom Ezekiel wrote, it is yet in thought and bearing, mainly
Christian, belonging to the latter days of the reign of Satan. It
does not show that the land of Israel (Palestine proper) shall bo
the battle-ground ; it does not teach that this malign onset shall be
228 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XL.
with bows and spears and horsemen; it does not even show that
Zion's enemies shall come out of "the north parts:" — all these are
features of costume, drapery, representation. The real truth lies
under all these features and should he carefully kept distinct from
them all. This truth is that sin and Satan will assail (lod in the
form of an assault upon his truth and his people. The conflict
will be terrible. What precise form it shall assume, this passage
did not aim to show. The forms of Hatan's onsets change from
age to age. Their name is legion. It is quite in vain to speculate
beforehand as to the form they will assume in any given age, pres-
ent or future. It rather behooves us to study all his wiles and
never be ignorant of his devices ; but especially, to rally round the
banner of our King and accept his leadership in the mighty con-
flict. So fighting and so trusting, victory is sure to Zion, for the
mouth of the Lord hath spoken it!
CHAPTER XL.
The remaining nine chapters constitute one vision, given to the
prophet in the twenty-fifth year of the captivity, i. e., ahout four-
teen years after the fall of Jerusalem. It is entirely unique in its
cliaractcr, yet closely connected in its leading thought and pilrpose
with chapters 36-39, immediately preceding. 1 propose to state
first in general and briefly, my view of its meaning and purpose ;
then pass over the. whole with explanations of special passages;
and then finally, give my reasons for my system of interpretation.
I. I regard this vision as an ideal representation of the glorious
future of Messiah's kingdom. The 7node of representing it corres-
ponds with the external character of Christ's church and kingdom
under the Mosaic economy. This correspondence is natural and
should be expected. Ezekiel and his people, the exiles in Chaldea,
were familiar Avith no other form of divine worship and Avith no
other organization — no other external life, for the people of God.
Hence there Avas the same reason for using this class of symbols
to represent the future kingdom of Christ as for using the Hebrew
language in speaking to them, rather than the Greek,' the Latin, or
the English — viz,, the fitness of using figures and symbols as Avell
as words Avhich the prophet and his people Avould readily under-
stand. Let it be borne in mind that Ezekiel Avas by birtli, train-
ing and profession, a priest. Of course he Avas perfectly at home
in all that pertained to the temple, the priesthood, and the pre-
scribed forms of Mosaic AA'orship. In the Avorld of symlxils, there-
fore, this Avas his vernacular tongue. Approximately and in gen-
eral, the same may be said of the Jcavs of his time, his captive
brethren. In the next place let it be remembered that the peo-
ple had now been in exile twenty-five years, and their beloved city
in ruins fourteen ; — long enough to awaken anxious fears lest their
EZEKIEL.— CHAr. XL. 229
people should never return, the temple never be rebuilt, and lest
the Zion of their God should never rise again from its ruins.
These fears are amply indicated in chap. 37: 11. To meet pre-
cisely this great fear and to inspire a precious confidence in a future
for Zion far more glorious than its past had ever been, this vision
came. It describes with great minuteness (chaps. 40-43) the new
temple yet to be; then the return of the glorious Shekinah to fix
his abode once more in this temple, henceforward to be there per-
petually (chap. 43); next the altar and its laws of worship; then,
regulations for the prince and for the priests (chap. 44) ; then the
assignment of territory for the temple, the priests, the Levites, and
the adjacent city (chap. 45). Next, various ordinances for the
people, and for the prince (chap. 46); then a vision of holy waters
issuing from the sanctuary, and of the blessings they bear where
they go; then the boundaries of their land (chap. 47); and finally
the apportionment of territory to the several trilxjs, together with
a great reservation for sacred purposes — for the temple, the priests,
the Levites, and the prince — all- culminating in the one comprehen-
sive fact, embodied in the name of the city, ^^ Jehovah jShammah;"
''''the Lord is therey
As to the meaning of this very full and minute vision, I reject the
literal sense most decidedly. It may be understood to assume a res-
toration from their then present captivity, but certainly it does not
relate specially to this nearer restoration under Zerubbabel and
does not minutely describe it. Nor does it teach that at some period
in the Christian age the Jews shall be restored to their former land,
and then their temple be rebuilt, their ceremonial worship be re-
stored, and this modified form of the Mosaic system be developed
into actual life. As already indicated, I shall reserve my argu-
ment against this view till the whole passage is before us. Then it
will be more in place and better understood. At this stage it may
suffice to say that I regard this vision as a magnificent panorama,
thoroughly symbolical, and setting forth in Jewish costume and
drapery the future pro^erity, the order, beauty, and moral power of
the church in those days when God shall dwell forever with his
people by his Holy Spirit, a power unto holiness in their hearts
and lives, making the institutions and agencies of the gospel ex-
ceedingly efiective for evangelizing the world and bringing the na-
tions to know the Lord.
1. In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the
beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the
fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the self-
same day the hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought
me thither.
2. In the visions of God brought he me into the land of
Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was
as the frame of a city on the south.
3. And he brought me thither, and behold, there was a
230 EZEKIEL.— CUAP. XL.
man, whose appearance ivas like the appearance of brass,
with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed ; and
he stood in the gate,
4. And the man said unto me. Son of man, behold with
thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thy heart upon
all that I shall shew thee ; for to the intent that I might
shew them unto thee art thou brought hither : declare all that
thou seest to the house of Israel.
In these verses we have the date of this vision, as already ex-
plained in my introduction to these chapters. Then the account
proceeds to show that this was truly a vision^ the prophet being
transported to the land of Israel and there shown the frame of a
city and a man bearing the instruments for its measurement. The
prophet is directed to note with very special care all he shall see,
that he may declare it to his people.
5. And behold a wall on the outside of the house round
about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits
long by the cubit and a hand-breadth : so he measured the
breadth of the building, one reed : and the height, one reed.
6. Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the
east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the thresh-
old of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other
threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad.
7. And every little chamber ivas one reed long, and one
reed broad ; and between the little chambers were Ave cubits ;
and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate
within ivas one reed.
8. He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed.
9. Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits ;
and the posts thereof, two cubits ; and the porch of the gate
ivas inward.
10. And the little chambers of the gate eastward ivcrc
three on this side, and three on that side; they three ivere
of one measure : and the posts had one measure on this side
and on that side.
11. And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate,
ten cubits ; and the entry of the gate, thirteen cubits.
12. The space also before the little chambers ivas one cu-
bit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side : and
the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits
on that side.
13. He measured then the gate from the roof of one little
chamber to the roof of another: the breadth ivas five, and
twenty cubits, door against door.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XL. 231
14. He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto
the post of the court round about the gate.
15. And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto
the face of the porch of the inner gate ivere fifty cubits.
16. And there were narrow windows to the little chambers,
and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise
to the arches : and windows were round about inward : and
upon each post were palm-trees.
17. Then brought he me into the outward court, and lo,
there ivere chambers, and a pavement made for the court
round about : thirty chambers were upon the pavement.
18. And the pavement by the side of the gates, over
against the length of the gates ims the lower pavement.
19. Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of
the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without,
a hundred cubits eastward and northward.
20. And the gate of the outward court that looked toward
the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth
thereof
21. And the little chambers thereof were three on this side
and three on that side ; and the posts thereof and the arches
thereof were after the measure of the first gate : the length
thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty
cubits.
22. And their windows, and their arches, and their palm-
trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward
the east : and they went up unto it by seven steps ; and the
arches thereof were before them.
23. And the gate of the inner court ivas over against the
gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he meas-
ured from gate to gate a hundred cubits.
24. After that he brought me toward the south, and be-
hold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts
thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures.
25. And there ivere windows in it and in the arches thereof
round about, like those windows : the length ims fifty cubits,
and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
26. And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the
arches thereof toere before them : and it had palm-trees, one
on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof.
27. And there was a gate in the inner court toward the
south : and he measured from gate to gate toward the south
a hundred cubits.
28. And he brought me to the inner court by the south-
232 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XL.
gate: and he measured the south-gate accordmg to these
measures :
29. And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof,
and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and
there were windows in it and in the arches round about : it
was fifty cubits long and five and twenty cubits Inroad.
30. And the arches round about ivere five and twenty cu-
bits long, and five cubits broad.
31. And the arches thereof ivere toward the outer court;
and palm-trees wey^e uj)on the posts thereof, and the going
up to it had eight steps.
32. And he brought me into the inner court toward the
the east: and he measured the gate according to these
measures.
33. And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof,
and the arches thereof, were according to these measures:
and there ivere windows therein and in the arches thereof
round about: it ivas fifty cubits long, and five and twenty
cubits broad.
34. And the arches thereof were toward the outward court ;
and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and
on that side : and the going up to it had eight steps.
35. And he brought me to the north gate, and measured
it according to these measures ;
36. The little "chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the
arclies thereof, and the windows to it round about : the length
ivas fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
37. And the posts thereof were toward the outer court;
and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and
on that side : and the going up to it had eight steps.
38. And the chambers and the entries thereof iver^e by
the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt-ofiering.
39. And in the porch of the gate ivere two tables on this
side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt-
otfcring, and the sin-oftering, land the trespass-oftering.
40. And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry
of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side,
Avliich was at the porch of the gate, were two tables.
41. Four tables ivere on this side, and four tables on tliat
vsidc, by the side of the gate; eiglit tables, whereupon they
slew their sacrifices.
42. And the four tables ivere of hewn stone for the burnt-
offering, of a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half
broaJ, and one cubit high : whereupon also they laid the
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLI. 233
instruments wherewith they slew the burnt-offering and the
sacrifice.
43. And within loere hooks, a hand broad, fastened round
about : and upon the tables icas the flesh of the offering.
44. And without the inner gate were the chambers of the
singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north
gate ; and their prospect ivas toAvard the south : one at the
side of the east gate having the prospect tOAvard the north.
45. And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect
is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the
charge of the house.
46. And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north
is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar:
these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which
come near to the Lord to minister unto him.
47. So he measured the court, a hundred cubits long, and
a hundred cubits broad, four-square; and the altar that ivas
before the house.
48. And he brought me to the porch of the house, and
measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and
five cubits on that side : and the breadth of the gate ivas
three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.
49. The length of the porch ic'as twenty cubits, and the
breadth eleven cubits ; and he brought me by the steps whereby
they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one
on this side, and another on that side.
There seems to be no occasion for extended comments on this
description of the temple. Let it suffice to suggest to the reader the
remarkable regiilarity and uniformity of dimensions that prevailed
throughout, indicating, we must suppose, the beautiful order that
shall prevail under the final triumph of the gospel in our world.
Then every thing will be in its place : whatever is shapeless, rude,
uncouth, will be discarded ; all Avill be morally right, and the whole
external world will be in beautiful harmony with the perfect moral
order and purity that will then rule in human hearts and in all
society.
CHAPTER XLI.
This continued description embraces the most holy place ; the
chambers also, and the altar, pointed out to the prophet particularly
as the table of the Lord, with frequent allusions to the ornamenta-
tion of these apartments and walls by means of engraving upon them
234 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLI.
figures of palm-trees and cherubim. ^The same wonderful regu-
larity obtains hero as in the previous chapter, and with the same
significance.
1. Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured
the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits
broad on the other side, n^hich ivas the breadth of the tab-
ernacle.
2. And the breadth of the door ivas ten cubits ; and the
sides of the door luere five cubits on the one side, and five
cubits on the other side : and he measured the length
thereof, fi^rty cubits : and the breadth, tw^enty cubits.
3. Then went he inward, and measured the j^ost of the
door, two cubits ; and the door, six cubits ; and the breadth
of the door, seven cubits.
4. So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits ; and
the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said
unto me. This is the most holy place.
5. After, he measured the wall of the house six cubits ;
and the breadth of every side-chamber, four cubits, round
about the house on every side.
6. And the side-chambers ivere three, one over another,
and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall, which
^vas of the house for the side-chambers round about, that
they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall
of the house.
7. And there ivas an enlarging and winding about still
upAvard to the side-chambers : for the winding about of the
house went still upward round about the house; therefore
the breadth of the house ivas still upward, and so increased
from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.
8. I saw also the height of the house round about: the
foundations of the side-chambers ivere a full reed of six
great cubits.
9. The thickness of the wall, which was for the side-
Chamber without, ivas five cubits: and that which was left
tvas the place of the side-chambers that were within.
10. And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty
cubits round about the house on every side.
11. And the doors of the side-chambers ■ were toward the
place that tvas left, one door toward the north, and another
door toward the south : and the breadth of the place that
was left was five cubits round about.
12. Now the building that was before the separate place
at the end toward the west, was seventy cubits bf oad ; and
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLI. 235
the wall of the building ivas five cubits thick round about,
and the length thereof ninety cubits.
13. So he measured the house, a hundred cubits long;
and the separate place, and the building, with the walls
thereof, a hundred cubits long;
14. Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of
the separate place toward the east, a hundred cubits.
15. And he measured the length of the building over
against the separate place which was behind it, and the
galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, a
hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of
the court;
16. The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the
galleries round about on their three stories, over against
the door, ceiled with wood round about, and from the
ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered ;
17. To that above the door, even unto the inner house
and without, and by all the wall round about within and
without, by measure.
18. And it was made w^ith cherubims and palm-trees, so
that a palm-tree was between a cherub and a cherub ; and
every cherub had two faces ;
19. So that the face of a man ^vas toward the palm-tree
on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the
palm-tree on the other side : it ivas made through all the
house round about.
20. From the ground unto above the door i^ere cheru-
bims and palm-trees made, and on the wall of the temple.
21. The posts of the temple were squared, and the face
of the sanctuary ; the appearance of the one as the appear-
ance of the other.
22. The altar of wood ivas three cubits high, and the
length thereof two cubits ; and the corners thereof, and the
length thereof, and the walls thereof, ivere of wood: and
he said unto me, This is the table that is before the Lord.
23. And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
24. And the doors had two leaves ajiiece, two turning
leaves ; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the
other door.
25. And there ivere made on them, on the doors of the
temple, cherubims and palm-trees, like as ivere made upon
the walls ; and there were thick planks upon the face of the
porch without.
26. And there ivere narrow windows and palm-trees on
236 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLII.
the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the
porch, and \ipon the side chambers of the house, and thick
planks.
In many respects this temple resembles that l)uilt by Solomon,
These respects niiiiht be indicated; but could not be specially inter-
esting or profitable to the reader.
CHAPTER XLII.
This chapter closes the description of the temple proper.
1. Then he brought me forth into the outer court, the
way toward the north : and he brought me into the cham-
ber that ivas over against the separate place, and which ivas
before the building toward the north.
2. Before the length of a hundred cubits was the north
door, and the breadth tvas fifty cubits.
3. Over against the twenty cubits which %vcre for the
inner court, and over against the i^avement which was for
.the outer court, was gallery against gallery in three stories.
4. And before the chambers luas a walk of ten cubits
breadth inward, a way of one cubit ; and their doors toward
the north.
5. Now the upper chambers were shorter; for the galleries
were higher than these, than the lower, and than the mid-
dlemost of the building.
6. For they were in three stories, but had not pillars as
the pillars of the courts : therefore the huilding was strait-
ened more than the lowest and the middlemost from the
ground.
7. And the wall that was without over against the cham-
bers, toward the outer court on the forepart of the cham-
bers, the length thereof %ms fifty cubits.
8. For the length of the chambers that were in the outer
court was fifty cubits: and lo, before the temple ivcre a
hundred cubits.
9. And from under these chambers tms the entry on the
east side, as one goeth into them from the outer court.
10. The chambers ivere in the thickness of the wall of
the court toward the cast, over against the separate place,
and over against the building.
11. And the way before them \ms like the appearance
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLII. 237
of the chambers which were toward the north, as long as
they, and as broad as they: and all their goings out loere
both according to their fashions, and according to their
doors.
12. And according to the doors of the chambers that were
toward the south was a door in the head of the way, even
the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one
entereth into them.
13. Then said he unto me. The north chambers and the
south chambers which are before the separate place, they
be holy chambers, where the priests that approach unto the
Lord shall eat the most holy things, and the meat-offering,
and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering ; for the place
is holy.
14. When the priests enter therein, then shall they not go
out of the holy place into the outer court, but there they shall
lay their garments w^herein they minister; for they are
holy ; and shall put on other garments, and shall approach
to those tilings which are for the people.
15. Now when he had made an end of measuring the
inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose
prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about.
16. He measured the east side with the measuring reed,
five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about.
17. He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with
the measuring reed round about.
18. He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with
the measuring reed.
19. He turned about to the west side, and measured five
hundred reeds, with the measuring reed.
20. He measured it by the four sides : it had a wall
round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred
broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the
profane place.
The point of chief and special interest in this part of the descrip-
tion is the manifest care taken and the arrangements made to iso-
late holy things from profane, as if to guard henceforward forever
against debasing the worship of God and against all contamination
of God's people by contact with sin and its temptations. Thus
(vs. 13, 14) the priests have special chambers where none but them-
selves may eat the most holy things. Their sacred ministrations
are to be performed in holy garments, to be laid off when they
come before the people, ^Vs. 15-20 describe an area outside the
holy place inclosed by a wall designed to " make a separation be-
238 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLIII.
tween the sanctuary and the profane place." It may fitly be
noticed that while the temple proper corresponded precisely in
dimensions with that built by Solomon, this wall-inclosed area was
vastly larger, viz., a square q^ Jive hundred reeds or nearly one
English mile on each side; — "considerably larger than the whole
area of the city of Jerusalem, its temple included!" This fact
goes far to show that this temple and its surroundings were simply
ideal; seen in vision only, and never designed to be developed into
actual reality. Taken ideally, its significance is obvious and perti-
nent, and is forcibly expressed. So carefully and jealously will
God guard his church in the future days against being contami-
nated with sin. Once redeemed and sanctified unto Christ and
holiness, they will be " kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation," Blessed truth! Obylously in the nature of the
case, this must be one of the grand features of the Millennial age —
the church preserved from relapsing into worldliness and kept near to
God. What is indispensable in the nature of the case to a glorious
millennial state, it is pleasant to find specially indicated here in
this figurative vision.
CHAPTER XLIII
The visible glory of God returns to dwell in this new temple
(vs. 1-4) ; the Lord states to the people the conditions on which he
will dwell with them (vs. 5-11); the altar is measured and its
ordinances of worship described (vs. 12-27).
1. Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate
that looketli toward the east:
2. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from
the way of the east : and his voice %vas like a noise of many
waters : and the earth shined with his glory.
3. And it ivas according to the appearance of the vision
which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when
I came to destroy the city: and the visions ')ucre like the
vision that I saw by the river Chebar ; and I fell upon my
face.
4. And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the
way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
The prophet is careful to say that this is the same Shekinah,
the same visible glory of the Lord, which he had seen before, both
in the temple and also withdrawing from it. Compare chap. 1: 1, and
3: 23, and 10: 4, and especially 11: 22, 23. In v, 3, "when I
ne to destroy the city, means, when I c
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLIII. 239
struction, as (e. g.^) in chaps. 8-11. The prophetsare often said
to do what they only predict as to he done. Thus in chap. 32: 18
the Loi-d directs the prophet not only to "wail for the multitude of
Egypt," but to " cast them down unto the nether parts of the earth,"
although his hand had never reached them, and he only predicted
their fall. Jacob, predicting the future life of Simeon and Levi
(Gen. 49 : 7), said, "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in
Israel; " yet he did this only in the sense o^ predicting it. See also
Isa. 6 : 10, and Jer. 1 : 10.
5. So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner
court ; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.
6. And I heard liim speaking unto me out of the house ;
and the man stood by me.
7. And he said unto me. Son of man, the place of my
throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell
in the midst of the children of Israel forever, and my holy
name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they,
nor their kings, by their whoredoms, nor by the carcasses of
their kings in their high places.
8. In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds,
and their post by my. posts, and the wall between me and
them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abom-
inations that they have committed : wherefore I have con-
sumed them in mine anger.
9. Now, let them put away their whoredoni, and the car-
casses of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the
midst of them forever.
10. Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of
Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities : and
let them measure the pattern.
11. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done,
shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof,
and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and
all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all
the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in
their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and
all the ordinances thereof, and do them.
The allusion to the "place of his throne" (vs. 7, 8) and to
their kings as having defiled God's sanctuary by setting up
idol gods there looks to Manasseh. See 2 Kings 21 :_ 4-7. These
verses are specially valuable as revealing the conditions on which
alone the Lord would return and continue to dwell_ among his peo-
ple. They must — absolutely must put away their sins and bo
ashamed of their iniquities. If they consented heartily to these
240 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLIII.
conditions, the pi'ophet was to show them the form of the house,
and all that the Lord had revealed of this new temple, and of its
ordinances of worship as a pledge of his own restoring mercy and
his return to dwell among them. This was specially pertinent to
the exiles among whom the prophet lived, and shows that the Lord
designed this vision to bear vigorously upon the hearts of that peo-
ple then and there.
12. This is the law of the house ; Upon the top of the
mountain, the whole limit thereof round about shall be most
holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
This temple stood on a mountain. So did that of Solomon,
though this appears to have been the loftier one. The whole area
of this mountain top was most holy as being the place where the
Lord Jehovah truly dwelt. The subsequent verses of this chap-
ter describe the great altar, and give the ordinances to regulate the
sacrilices upon it.
13. And these m^e the measures of the altar after the
cubits : The cubit is a cubit and a hand-breadth ; even the
bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the
border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a
span : and this shall be the higher place of the altar.
14. And from the bottom upon the ground even to the
lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit ;
and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be
four cubits, and the breadth one cubit.
15. So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar
and upward shall be four horns.
16. And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve
'broad, square in the four squares thereof.
17. And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and four-
teen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border
about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall
be a cubit about ; and the stairs shall look tOAvard the east.
18. And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the
Lord God ; These are the ordinances of the altar in the
day when they shall make it, to offer burnt-offerings there-
on, and to sprinkle blood thereon.
19. And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that
be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to min-
ister unto me, saith the Lord God, a young bullock for a
sin-offering.
20. And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on
the four liorns of it, and on the* four corners of the settle,
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLIV. 241
and upon the border round about : thus shalt thou cleanse
and purge it.
21. Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin-offering,
and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house,
without the sanctuary.
22. And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the
goats without blemish for a sin-offering; and they shall
cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock.
23. AVhen thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou
shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram of
the flock without blemish.
24. And thou shalt offer them before the Lord, and the
priests shalt cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them
up /o?' a burnt-offering unto the Lord.
25. Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for
a sin-offering : they shall also prepare a young bullock,
and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.
26. Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it;
and they shall consecrate themselves.
27. And when these days are expired, it shall be, that
upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make
your burnt-offerings upon the altar, and your peace-offer-
ings : and I will accept you, saith the Lord God. .
CHAPTER XLIV.
After a single direction for the prince, briefly stated (vs. 1-3),
this chapter proceeds to define the ceremonial laws and regulations
for the priests.
1. Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the
outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it
was shut.
2. Then said the Lord unto me : This gate shall be shut,
it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it ; be-
cause the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in by it,
therefore it shall be shut.
3. If is for the prince ; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat
bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the
porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.
Through this eastern gate, now seen shut, the visible glory of
Jehovah had passed when he entered this temple. (See chap. 43 :
11
242 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLIV.
1-4). Consequently no man might enter by this gate save the
prince. In chap. 46: 2, 12, is a renewed allusion to this special
rule, opening this gate to the prince for his entrance to worship,
but to none other. The case indicates that an extraordinary sanc-
tity attached to the prince. Does not this look toward the exalted
character of the future Prince of the Lord's people — the Great Ln-
manuel ?
4. Then brought he me the way of the nortli-gate before
the house : and I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord
filled the house of the Lord : and I fell upon my face.
5. And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, mark well,
and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all
that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the
house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; and mark well
the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the
sanctuary ;
Again, approaching from the north, the prophet in vision is im-
pressed with a sense of the glory of Jehovah as filling his temple,
and he falls upon his fiice in profound adoration. This case antic-
ipates the great* truth brought out so distinctively at the close of
this entire vision, which indeed is the central thought throughout,
viz., that God dwells among his ]->eople hy his spiritual presence and
glory. The name of the whole city shall be, " The Lord is there.''
This being chief in importance gave name to the city. Now
the Lord solemnly charges the prophet to mark well ("set his heart
upon") all he was about to say in respect to the modes of worship
in this temple and in respect to entering and leaving it.
6. And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house
of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; O ye house of Israel,
let it sufiice you of all your abominations ;
7. In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers,
uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in
my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, wdien ye ofier
my bread, the fixt and the blood, and they have broken my
covenant because of all your abominations.
8. And ye have not kept the charge of my holy things :
but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for
yourselves.
Let your past abominations suffice ; let them be deemed enough ;
let there be no more I Ye have brought into my temple to officiate
there, men of impure heart — a thing that God can not endure! Ye
have pleased yourselves and not me ; ye have made your own laws
and have not kept mine in your choice of priests and in your
rules for their service. Iliis, which I ta^e to bo the sense of v. 8,
may look historically to Jeroboam, who (1 Kings 12: 31-33) "made
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLIV. 243
Eriests of the lowest of the people who were not of the sons of
levi." The case admonishes the people of God to guard most
vigilantly against the introduction of ungodly men into the sacred
office of the gospel ministry. The future prosperity and purity of
Zion turn upon this to an extent not easily overestimated.
9. Thus saith the Lord God; No stranger, uncircumcised
in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my
sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of
Israel.
10. And the Levites that are gone away far from me,
when Israel went astray, w^hich went astray away from me
after their idols ; they shall even bear their iniquity.
11. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having
charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the
house : they shall slay the burnt-offering and the sacrifice
for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister
unto them.
12. Because they ministered unto them before their idols,
and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity ; there-
fore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord
God, and they shall bear their iniquity.
13. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the
office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my
holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear
their shame, and their abominations wdiicli they have com-
mitted.
14. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the
house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be
done therein.
15. But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that
kept the charge of my sanctuary w^lien the children of Israel
went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister
unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the
fat and the blood, saith the Lord God :
16. They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall
come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall
keep my charge.
Strangers residing in Israel, but of uncircumcised heart, must by
no means be permitted to enter the Lord's sanctuary. The Levites
who had apostatized into idolatry must bear the punishment of this
great iniquity. They were forbidden to come near before the Lord,
but were assigned to the more remote and less hallowed and hon-
ored services of the sanctuary. They were to minister in the pres-
ence of their more favored brethren, the priests, as their servants ;
244 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLIV.
but might not come specially near to the Lord. To the sons of
Zadok who had not thus apostatized was assigned the distinguished
honor of coming near to minister before the very presence of the
divine majesty. This discrimination had a most significant and
earnest moral bearing. "Holiness becometh God's house forever."
The favored ones there are the men of lowly heart who live near to
God, walking softly before him.
17. And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at
the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed -with linen
garments; and no wool shall come upon them, while they
minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.
18. They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and
shall have linen breeches upon their loins ; they shall not
gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.
19. And when they go forth into the outer court, even
into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their
garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy
chambers, and they shall put on other garments ; and they
shall not sanctify the people with their garments.
Outward purity symbolizes inward; the purity of the person, that
of the heart. Hence linen rather than woolen garments were pre-
scribed. Sweat as indicating impurity must be avoided. Special
garments were assigned to be worn exclusively before the Lord, to
be exchanged for others when they came before the people. The
last clause of v. 19 means, they shall not sanctify the people minis-
tering in their ordinary garments, but only while wearing their
sacred vestments.
20. Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their
locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.
In respect to the hair of their head, they must take a medium
course, not shaving it close, nor wearing it long and dishevelled
without cutting. A decent propriety befits God's" house.
21. Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter
into the inner court.
The priest must not drink wine when about to enter into the
inner court of the temple. The excitement of wine, even though
falling much short of intoxication, ministers often to manifold im-
proprieties which are by no means becoming in the near presence
of .lehovah. The case should solemnly admonish gospel minis-
ters to abjure even the least alcoholic stimulus, both when they are
preparing to preach and when they are preaching in the name of
the Lord. No doul)t it is wise fur them never to drink wine as a
beverage, and never at all unless in rare cases of sickness.
22. Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor
her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLIV. 245
seed of the house of Israel, or a Avidow that had a priest
before.
Under the law of Moses (Lev. 21 : 13, 14) similar restrictions —
the same excepting that in the last clause — were applied to the hi_ij;li-
priest. Here they apply to all priests. The difference indicates tlic
increased care and caution to be used under the great Messiah's
reign to keep his servants morally pure.
23. And they shall teach my people the difference between
the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between
the unclean and the clean.
Under the ancient economy, the ceremonial distinction between
the holy and the profane, the clean and the unclean, had the high
moral purpose of training the mind to recognize the distinction be-
tween holiness and sin. This same distinction it must be the great
duty of God's servants in the millennial age to teach and to enforce.
24. And in controversy they shall stand in judgment;
and they shall judge it according to my judgments : and
they shall keep my law^s and my statutes in all mine assem-
blies ; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.
Under the law given through Moses, the distinction recognized
in modern times between civil and religious statutes was scarcely
known. The priests and Levitos were then judges of civil cases.
See Deut, 17: 8-13, and 2 Chron. 19: 8-11. Hence naturally the
same system obtains here. "In controversy," means not a verbal
dispute but a legal prosecution — a case in court. I translate; "In
cases of trial at law, they (the priests) shall stand for judgment"
{i. e., shall perform the functions of judge), "and they shall
judge them (the people) according to my statutes," etc.
25. And they shall come at no dead person to defile
themselves : but for father, or for mother, or for son, or
for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no
husband, they may defile themselves.
26. And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him
seven days.
27. And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary,
unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall
offer his sin-offering, saith the Lord God.
No form of ceremonial unclcanncss was accounted more flagrant
than that which comes from contact with a dead body or near ap-
proach to one. Hence promiscuous mourning for the dead and at-
tendance upon these funeral solemnities were strictly forbidden to
the priests, the law defining by name the near relatives for whom
they might mourn. The same reason is here, to indicate the moral
purity which will characterize the future kingdom of the Messiah.
246 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLV.
28. And it shall be unto them for an inheritance : I am
their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in
Israel : I am their possession.
29. They shall eat the meat-offering, and the sin-oifering,
and the trespass-offering; and every dedicated thing in
Israel shall be theirs.
30. And the first of all the first-fruits of all things, and
every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall
be the priest's : ye shall also give unto the priest the first
of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in
thy house.
31. The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead
of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
In V. 28, " it shall be to' them for an inheritance," means that
their service in the temple of God and in his institutions shall be
their portion, their estate, their living and their wealth. They
were to have subsistence from the altar and from the tithes which
the law prescribed. Beyond this they had no inheritance. From
landed estates the Lord purposely debarred them. This was also
the doctrine of the ancient Mosaic system.
CHAPTER XLV.
The TiOrd sets apart a large and well-defined portion of the land
for specially sacred uses (vs. 1-8) ; admonishes the princes against
unjust exactions from the people and provides a system of weights
and measures (vs. 9-1:2); and specifies certain religious ceremonial
observances (vs. 13-25).
1. Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for
inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the Lord, a
holy portion of the land : the length shall he the length
of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall he
ten thousand. This shall he holy in all the borders thereof
round about.
2. Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred
in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about;
and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof
3. And of this measure shalt thou measure the length
of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thou-
sand : and in it shall be th» sanctuary and the most holy
place.
4. The holy ])ortlon of the laud shall be for the priests,
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLV. 247
the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to
minister unto the Lord: and it shall be a place for their
houses, and a holy place for the sanctuary.
5. And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the
ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the minis-
ters of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for
twenty chambers.
6. And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five
thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over
against the oblation of the holy ijortion : it shall be for the
whole house of Israel.
7. And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side
and on the other s±de of the oblation of the holy portion,
and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the
holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from
the west side westward, and from the east side eastward:
and the length shall he over against one of the portions,
from the west border unto the east border.
8. In the land shall be his possession in Israel : and my
princes shall no more oppress my people ; and the rest of
the land shall they give to the house of Israel according
to their tribes.
In full harmony with the genius though varying from the forms
of the Mosaic system, we have here the extraordinary feature of a
very large portion of the whole land, a little less than half of it,
set apart for public uses, more or less sacred, the object apparently
being to wall in the sacred institutions of religion so effectually as
to shut off from the church the corrupting influences of the world.
As to the dimensions of this vast reserved square of tAVcnty-
five thousand reeds in length and breadth, I shall assume, in the
absence of any Hebrew term for it, that this ^^reed" (v. 1) corre-
sponds with that defined in chap. 40: 5 ; viz., six cubits and a hand
breadth; i. e.^ proximately ten and a half feet in length. This may
be assumed with the greater confidence because both the measur-
ing reed and the man who bore it are made very prominent in the
opening of this vision (chap. 40: 3, 5). There can scarcely be a
douljt that the same standard of measure obtains throughout this
entire vision. By this standard, the "oblation" will be a square
of forty-nine and seventy-one hundredths miles on each side, vary-
ing only a small fraction from the average breadth of Palestine
proper from, the Mediterranean sea to the Jordan valley. Antici-
pating here from chapter 48 the geographical location of the tribes,
the entire allotment of the territory may be readily seen from the
following diagram copied from Rosenmueller and supposed to bo
proximately correct. The reader will be struck with the perfect
regularity which rules throughout. The entire territory is sup-
248
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLV.
D I A a K A M
OF riiK
HOLY LAND AND THE SACKED PLAGES,
ACCORDING TO EZEKIEL.
(FEOM KOSENMUELLEK.)
3<roE/m3:.
Dan.
Aslier.
Naphtali.
Manasseh.
Epbraim.
Reuben.
Juclali.
Beniamin.
Simeon.
Issachar.
Zebulon.
Gad.
1
Levites.
1
Priests.
rricsts.
P
o
t
o
Temple.
o
1
fu
Laborei-s of
the city.
City.
SOTJTIi.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLV. 2-19
posed to be of uniform width; twenty-five thousand reeds (about
fifty miles) ; each tribe has its o\Yn narrow belt, stretching across
the entire Avidth. Beginning at the north end, seven tribes have
their portion north of the "holy oblation" or reserve; then the
Levites have a very ample territor}'- twenty miles Avide on the
northern part of this reserve ; and the city Avith its laboring popu-
lation, half as much — ten miles wide — on its southern border;
inclosing between thepi the territory of the priests, twenty miles
wide, in the middle of which stood the temple. Spacious territory
is assigned to the prince at each end of this sacred reserve.
Under the Mosaic economy and in the distribution of the land of
Canaan by Joshua, no proA'ision whatever was specially made for
the king or "prince." It Avould then have been premature. Here
it is timely and is made prominent. The "prince" is a prominent
character in this new regime. The prophecies of Zechariah also
foreshadow this prominence. With him, however, royalty and
priesthood reside in the same glorious personage. He shall not
only build the temple of the Lord, but "shall bear glory" (pre-
eminent glory), and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and shall
be a priest on his throne, and be croAvned as both king and
priest (Zech. 6 : 12, 13). This millennial state being the result of
the glorious reign of the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, its strong
points could not be presented without giving great prominence to
" the j:9nn(7g."
9. Thus saith the Lord God ; Let it suflfice you, O princes
of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment
and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith
the Lord Grod,
10. Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a
just bath.
11. The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that
the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the
ephah the tenth part of a homer : the measure thereof shall
be after the homer.
12. And the shekel shall he tA\'enty gerahs: tAventy shekels,
five and tAventy shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh.
" "With an eye to the human relations of this prince and as if
mindful of such oppressive exactions as that of Ahab from Naboth,
and of Jehoiakim from his people (Jer. 22: 13-19) and to forestall
the temptations to this sin, the Lord specially provides lor the prince
an ample territory and solemnly admonishes him against exacting
from the people their land. See also chap. 48: 18. A complete sys-
tem of standard weights and measures is exceedingly A-aluable as a
check on human selfishness and a means of securing exact justice
in trade and exchange. It is not specially important that we should
be able to compare those weights and measures Avith our own, or
knoAV their absolute quantities. It is both the less important and
250 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLV.
the more difficult to settle these points because we can not assume
that this system was the same as the ancient Jewish one. Probably it
is purely ideal, never to be actual ; hence I pass it. Let it suffice us
to learn from this passa,i^e that in the bette^ times of the tjospel age,
religion will not be in anywise divorced from morality, but Christians,
however high in power, will hold themselves closely and conscien-
tiously to fair and just dealings in business with all men. No man
will be accounted religious who is not j\ist. No amount of piouc
feeling or religious profession will atone for the lack of intrinsic
honesty.
13. This is the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth \)^Yi
of an ephah of a homer of wheat, and ye shall give the
sixth jxirt of an ej^hah of a homer of barley ;
14. Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, yc
shall offer the tenth part of a bath ont of the cor, ivhich is
a homer of ten baths : for ten baths are a homer :
15. And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred,
out of the fat pastures of Israel ; for a meat-offering, and for
a burnt-offering, and for peace-offerings, to make reconcilia-
tion for them, saith the Lord God.
16. All the peoj^le of the land shall give this oblation for
the prince in Israel.
17. And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt-offerings,
and meat-offerings, and drink-offerings, in the feasts, and in
the new-moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the
house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin-offering, and the
meat-offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace-offer-
ings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.
18. Thus saith the Lord God; In the first month, in the
first dcuj of the month, thou slialt take a young bullock
without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary:
19. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-
offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon
the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts
of the gate of the inner court.
20. And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month
for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall
ye reconcile the house.
21. In the first month in the fourteenth day of the month,
ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened
bread shall be eaten.
22. And upon that day shall the prince prepare for him-
self and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin-
offering.
I
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVI. 251
23. And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt-
offering to the Lord, seven bullocks and seven rams without
blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily
joT a sin-offering.
24. And he shall prepare a meat-offering of an ephah for
a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for
an ephah.
25. In the seventh months in the fifteenth day of the
month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days,
according to the sin-offering, according to the burnt-offering,
and according to the meat-offering, and according to the oil.
The "meat-offerings" (so called) were of flour, not of flesh.
"Meat" is one of those words which time has changed so that the
"meat-offering" of ancient times had no meat in our modern sense
in it. In vs. 17, 20, the word rendered, " to make reconciliation;"
"to reconcile the house;" is the precise word most used for making
atonement for sin — covering it from the view, the reprobation and the
curse, of a just God. The prince is to be specially active in the
religious sacrifices of these times; a leader of the people in their
public worship. Isaiah had already said in the same strain;
"Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing
mothers;" also; "I will make thy officers peace and thine exactors
righteousness " (chap. 49 : 23 and 60 : 17.) Among these specially
sacred seasons the reader will recognise the "new moon" (vs. 18,
19), the Passover (vs. 21-24) and the feast of tabernacles (vs. 25).
CHAPTEE XLVI.
Here arc special ordinances prescribing who may pass through
the glorious eastern gate, through which the Shckinah had passed ;
also when and how (vs. 1-3, 12); how the people may enter the
temple (vs. 9, 10); various ordinances in respect to "meat-offerings"
to accompany the bloody sacrifices; how the prince may entail his
real estate (vs. 16-18); and the provision of apartments for cooking
(vs. 19-24).
1. Thus saith the Lord God ; The gate of the inner court
that lookcth toward the east, shall be shut the six working
days ; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day
of the new-moon it shall be opened.
2. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of
that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate,
and the priests shall prepare his burnt-offering and his
peace-offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the
252 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVI.
gate : then he shall go forth ; but the gate shall not be shut
until the evening.
3. Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the
door of this gate before the Lord in the sabbaths and in the
new-moons.
Very special sacrcdness attached to this eastern gate since through
this gate the visible glory of the Lord entered into the most holy
place. See chap. 44: 1-4. Through this gate the prince and ho
only might enter (vs. 2, 12). It was to be opened only on the Sab-
bath ; on the days of new moon ; and when the prince had occasion
to present a voluntary (not specially prescribed) offering (v. 12).
The significance of these points looks toward the special sacredness
of the prince as one near to God, and was also intended to impress
the people with the great central truth of this entire vision, viz.,
that in this new, holy and beautiful state of the church, the Lord
God would dwell among his people with preeminent manifestations
of his presence. The place of his feet would be sublimely glorious.
4. And the burnt-offering that the prince shall offer unto
the Lord in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without
blemish, and a ram without blemish.
5. And the meat-offering shall he an ephah for a ram, and
the meat-offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give,
and a hin of oil to an ephah.
6. And in the day of the new-moon it shall be a young
bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram : they
shall be without blemish.
7. And he shall jDrepare a meat-offering, an ephah for a
•bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs accord-
ing as his hand shall attain unto, and a hin of oil to an
ephah.
These special directions for the offerings made by the prince do
not appear in the old Levitical law, and hence have a special sig-
nificance here in respect to the sacredness of his person and relations.
As already suggested, the prince is a new character, appearing first
in this special economy.
8. And wdicn the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the
way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the
way thereof.
9. But when the people of the land shall come before the
Lord in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way
of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the
south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south
gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XL VI. 253
not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but
shall go forth over against it.
10. And the prince in the midst of them, when they go
in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth.
The prince having but one gate for himself might enter by it;
then turn about and retire through the same eastern gate. But the
people were not permitted to turn about to go out by the same gate
through which they entered. If they came in by the north gate,
they must go out by the south one, and vice versa. The reason
of this rule is not stated. We may suppose it to have been analo-
gous to the law of movement which obtained respecting "the living
creature," as given chap. 1, viz. : that turning about is associated
with moral obliquity — with turning away from God. No other
reason suggests itself to my mind. Remarkably the prince was
to enter the temple when the people did, and withdraw from it when
they did — an ever attending presence with the people, reminding us
of the promise, " Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
world." Since in certain aspects of his character and relations
this "prince" was a foreshadowing type of the Messiah, we may
accept this law of his attendance with the people as implying that
the/ should approach God's holy presence only with and in and
through their great mediator, Christ Jesus.
11. And in the feasts, and in the solemnities, the meat-
offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a
ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and a bin of
oil to an ephah.
12. Now, when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt-
offering or peace-offerings voluntarily unto the Lord, one shall
then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he
shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings as he
did on the sabbath day : then he shall go forth ; and after
his going forth one shall shut the gate.
This remarkable law for the prince when he made a free-will
offering and passed through the eastern gate, has been noticed
already.
13. Thou shalt daily prepare a burnt-offering unto the
Lord of a lamb of the first year without blemish : thou shalt
prepare it every morning.
14. And thou shall prepare a meat-offering for it every
morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a
bin of oil, to temper with the fine flour ; a meat-offering con-
tinually by a perpetual ordinance unto the Lord.
15. Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meat-
offering, and the oil, every morning, for a continual burnt-
offerino;.
254 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. LXVI.
These rules for the daily offerings differ slightly from those given
through Moses (Num. 28 : 3-8). By the ancient law there were
two lambs offered daily, one in the morning and the other in the
evening. Here is but one, offered each morning. May it l)e sup-
posed that this looks especially to the one Lamb that was slain for
us — the " one offering whereby he hath perfected forever them that
are sanctified" (Heb. 10: 14)? The meat-offering to accompany it
was, in Moses, the tenth part of an ephah of flour with the fourth
part of a hin of oil; while here in Ezekiel the quantities are the
sixth part of an ephah and the third part of a hin. The diversity
shows that this new system is not an exact copy of the old; while
yet in its general features it is quite analogous.
16. Thus saitli the Lord God ; If the i)rince give a gift
unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his
sons' ; it shall be their possession by inheritance.
17. But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his
servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty ; after, it
shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his
sons' for them.
18. Moreover, the prince shall not take of the people's
inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their posses-
sion; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own
possession : that my people be not scattered every man from
his possession.
For the thought in v. 18, compare chap. 45: 8, 9. The prince
must not abuse his power to thrust his people from their estates.
Nor might he alienate his lands from his own family. His sons
may inherit it permanently, but his servants only till the next Jubi-
lee, here called "the year of liberty," as that in which landed
estates reverted back to their lineal owners. See Lev. 25: 10.
19. After, he brought me through the entry, which was
at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests,
which looked toward the north: and behold, there was a
place on the two sides westward.
20. Then said he unto me. This is the place where the
priests shall- boil the trespass-offering and the sin- offering,
where they shall bake the meat-offering; that they bear them
not out into the outer court, to sanctify the people.
21. Then he brought me forth into the outer court, and
caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and
behold, in every corner of the court there ivas a court.
22. In the four corners of the court theix ivere courts
joined of forty cubits kmg and thirty broad: these four cor-
ners were of one measure.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVIL 255
23. And there ivas a row of building round about in them,
round abo.it them four, and it was made with boiling places
under the rows round about.
24. Then said he unto me, These are the places of them
that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the
sacrifice of the people.
To impress more deeply the idea of sanctity In this temple, and
all its surroundings, special provision is made for the culinary ope-
rations. The cooking is all to be done in special apartments pro-
vided for that purpose. So carefully docs the Lord guard in this
new representative dispensation against whatever might lessen the
sacredness of divine service and worship.
CHAPTEE XLYII.
In this chapter vs. 1-12 record a precious vision of waters com-
ing forth from under the temple : vs. 13-20 give the boundaries of
the land; and vs. 21-23 provide for strangers who would fain affil-
iate with the people of God. In commenting upon the first por-
tion, I propose first to explain the words and phrases that seem to
need explanation, and then speak of its general significance.
1. Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the
house ; and behold, Avaters issued out from under the thresh-
old of the house eastward : for the forefront of the house
stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under
from the right side of the house, at the south side of the
altar.
"Brought me again," etc., i. e., from the outer court where we left
him in the previous chapter. "The house" is of course the tem-
ple. The waters issue forth from under the temple as if the tem-
ple itself had become a living fountain.
2. Then brought he me out of the w^ay of the gate north-
ward, and led me about the way without unto the outer gate
by the way that looketh eastward ; and behold, there ran out
waters on the right side.
His angel-guide now leads him to the outer gate — i. <?., of the wall
which inclosed the court of the temple. Here the same waters
appear issuing forth on the right side of the eastern gate. The He-
brew word in the last clause, rendered "ran out,^' means — they
distilled^ came in drops, oozed forth. The amount of water at this
point — the distance of the first half-mile — seems therefore to have
appeared small.
256 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVII.
3. And when the man that had the line in his hand went
forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he
brought me through Ihe waters ; the waters ivere to the
ankles.
4. Again' he measured a thousand, and brought me
through the w^aters; and the waters ivere to the knees.
Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through;
the waters ivere to the loins.
5. Afterward he measured a thousand ; and it ivas a river
that I could not pass over : for the waters were risen, waters
to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
The remarkable fact shown here is the rapid increase in the vol-
ume of these waters. At the distance of one thousand cubits by
measure, the prophet is led through the waters and finds them only
to the soles of his feet^ which is the sense of the word rendered
"ankles;" at the distance of the second thousand cubits, they have
risen to his knees ; at the third thousand, to his loins ; and at the
fourth, they have become a great river — waters to swim in — which
he can not ford.
6. And he said unto me. Son of man, hast thou seen tliis f
Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink
of the river.
7. Now, when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the
river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
The angel-guide says, Hast thou carefully noted the wonderful
increase oiE" these waters ? Do not lose sight of this fact while we
pass on to other scenes. Then he returns to observe that all along
the bank of the river on either side were very many trees, flourish-
ing in verdure and beauty, being fertilized by these living waters.
The llevelator John has the same symbols of surpassing beauty
and verdure in his paradise (Kev. 22: 1, 2).
8. Then said he unto me. These waters issue out toward
the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into
the sea : which being brought forth into the sea, the waters
shall be healed.
9. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth,
which moveth whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live:
and there shall be a very groat nudtitudc of fish, because
these waters shall come thither : for tliey shall be healed ;
and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
10. And it shall come to pass that the fishers shall stand
upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim ; they shall be a
place to spread forth nets: tlieir fish shall be according to
their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVII. 257
The next special feature is that these waters flow off eastward
"toward the east country and go down into the desert" — ^more prop-
erly the great valley of the Jordan and its continuation in the Dead
Sea. Falling into the Dead Sea, where ordinarily no fish or other
animal can live, those waters are healed — made salubrious and
healthful, so that the sea becomes full of fish, even like the Mediter-
ranean, "the great sea" of v. 10. The passage 2 Kings 2: 20-22,
uses the same words to describe the change whereby water from
])eing poisonous, or at least, insalubrious, becomes salubrious.
Fishermen line the whole shore from En-gedi to En-eglaim — its
northern to its southern extremity. Every thing betokens life, pros-
perity and abundance. The Dead Sea is full of animal life.
11. But the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof
shall not be healed ; they shall be given to salt.
But there are still marshy, miry places, given up to salt — doomed
to sterility.
12. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side
and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf
shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed :
it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, be-
cause their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and
the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for
medicine.
Returning to note again the trees on either bank, he sees them
in great variety — "all trees for food" — L e., fruit-trees of every
sort; their leaves never fade, but are sustained in perpetual ver-
dure; and their fruit ne\cv fails. This is the sense of the word
rendered "consumed," which does not mean that this fruit is not
used, but that the trees never fail to bear; never fail to yield an
abundant supply. In fact they ripen their fruit promptly every
month because the waters that feed their fertility issue from under
the sanctuary. The fruit affords not only delicious food, but re-
storing medicine. What symbols are these of ever-varied and untold
blessings ! Now as to the general significance of these symbols
as seen in this vision, there can be no ground for reasonable doubt.
Water is the well-established symbol for the cleansing, life-renew-
ing work of the Spirit of God on human hearts. Even David has
it; "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow; renew a right
spirit within me; take not thy Holy Spirit from me" (Ps. 51 : 7,
11). Isaiah also; "Fear not, O Jacob my servant, for 1 will pour
water on him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground : I will
pour my Spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine ofl>;pring"
(chap. 44: 2, 3). Joel also; "I will jyoiir out my Spirit (as if it were
water) upon all flesh," and "all the rivers of Judah shall flow with
water and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord,
and shall water the valley of Shittim," or of the acacias (a plant
at home in the sterile desert)," for I will cleanse their blood that I
258 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVII.
have not cleansed ; for the Lord dwellcth in Zion." The reader
will notice the striking analogy between this passage of Joel and
Ezokiel as in our text. In both, waters are the symbol of God's
gift of his Spirit; in both, the fountain is in the temple where God
of old dwelt among his people ; in both, these waters are freighted
with ])lessings wherever they go. As we have already seen, Eze-
kiel himself has the same figure in chap. 36 : 25-27, a case the
more in point because in the same writer. And finally, Zecha-
riah (14: 8) has a passage closely analagous; "And it shall be in
that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of
them toward the former" (front) "sea, and half of them toward
the hinder sea" (the Mediterranean); "in summer and in winter
shall it be." The peculiar feature here of a division in these
waters, making two rivers ; one running eastward to the Dead Sea ;
the other westward to the Mediterranean; serves to show that these
rivers are only symbols, and were never thought of as actual rivers
in real life. As symbols, it matters not whether they run in both
directions or only in one. Some of the ancient Jewish interpret-
ers {e. g., the Chaldoe paraphrast) supposed that Ezekiel's language
implies two rivers ; but obviously it does not. The whole description
shows that his river falls into the Dead Sea only. It scarcely
needs to be said that this symbol of water to represent the agencies
of the Spirit appears throughout the New Testament, especially in
such passages as Jn. 3: 5, "Born of water and of the Spirit;" and
Jn. 7: 37-39, and Ac. 2: 17, 33; also in the Christian rite -of
baptism. \^"I hold therefore most fully that this vision looks to
the glorious effusions of the Spirit in the latter days. That these
waters proceed from under the temple develops a great central
truth in the Christian economy, viz., that the divine Spirit attends
and blesses human agencies when these agencies work in the line
of his appointed gospel institutions and instrumentalities. Human
hands build God's temples; God himself fills them with his pres-
ence and makes them living fountains of water to fertilize the great
deserts long wasted by sin; to restore life and life-giving qualities
to the dead seas of human depravity, and so to cleanse and clothe
with beauty the moral face of all the earth. The figures here
are exceedingly beautiful and expressive. There, almost within
sight of Jerusalem, lay the dark, black, lurid Sea of Death. There
it had lain for ages, covering the smoking, seething ruins of the
doomed cities of the plain — a sad and solemn memorial of God's
wrath against sin and of the remediless doom of fatally hardened
sinners — "set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eter-
nal fire" (.hide 7). Will the gospel ever avail to regenerate this
sin-cursed earth? If so, no symbol of tliis fact could be more in
point than this — waters froni under tho temple where God dwells
present among his poopl(% flowing forth, a growing, mighty river,
and reehiiming to life that Sea of Deatli — clothing with beauty,
health and glory that long desolate and dismal vale. Here let
us note more particularly the significance of the rapid increase of
these waters. The manner of the statement does not properly
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVII. 259
indicate that the stream as it came from the temple enlarged in
volume with the lapse of time — the temple itself sonding^ forth a
rapidly increasing supply. It is rather that the river grew as it
ran — became broader and deeper as it progressed outward from
the fountain. This is certainly a very remarkable feature, and (it
would seem) should have some special and noteworthy significance.
For, rivers in Palestine are wont often to lessen as they run^ rather
than increase in volume, being made up mainly or wholly from one
fountain in the dry season, and then losing their waters in the
sands, or the fissures of the rocks. Hence this feature is the more
striking. Furthermore, under the ancient Jewish regime, re-
ligious influences, emanating from a common center at the temple,
naturally lessened as the distance from that center increased. Their
normal law would be ; strongest at the center, and strength elsewhere
inversely as the distance from that center. In remote lands their
power would become inappreciable. The stream from the temple
would be absorbed in the desert sands and be lost. Now bearing
in mind this law of the old economy, what could the Lord mean
here less or other than that this new economy should precisely re-
verse the law of the old ? Under the gospel system the moral power
of the cross would grow as it traveled outward; difi"usion and ex-
pansion, involving an intensified activity, become the law of its
growth; that the divine purpose is to develop in the Christian sys-
tem a moral power that will really pervade the wide earth, not only
with no waste as it diffuses itself abroad, but actually with ever-
increasing force — in this respect precisely reversing the law of the
ancient Jewish economy! Has not our Lord a kindred truth in
his eye in his parable of the mustard-seed ? This is indeed " the
least of all seeds, yet it becomes a great tree, so that the fowls of
the air lodge in the branches thereof" So is to be the gospel king-
dom in its law of unparalleled growth and glorious expansion ! See
Matt. 13: 31, 32. A blessed truth is this; and yet no truth could
well be put in clearer symbol or in stronger form. Let our hearts
hail it with befitting joy and gratitude ! Blessed be the God of all
grace and love for such great thoughts of mercy for our lost world !
One other feature remains to be noticed. There were some
marshy, miry districts that no waters could restore. They are
doomed to miasms, sterility, and death. So there wiU be some
human souls, possibly some localities, never blessed by the gospel.
Having ears to hear, they hear not; having the gospel brought to
their door and pressed on their heart, they repel it and doom them-
selves to eternal reprobation ! A few isolated spots of this sort
enforce the moral lessons of human responsibility, and serve to
reaffirm the freedom of man in all his voluntary activities, even
under the most powerful agencies of God's Spirit. Let sinners
beware how they trifle with the offered grace of the gospel. Let
them see to it that in whatever day the Lord comes near to bless
them, they spurn not his call to life lest he turn himself away and
leave them to their own infatuation!
260 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVII.
13. Thus saith the Lord God; Tliis shall he the border,
whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve
tribes of Israel : Joseph shall have two portions.
14. And ye shall inherit it one as well as another: con-
cerning the Avhich I lifted up my hand to give it unto
your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for in-
heritance.
Before proceeding to define the boundaries of the land geograph-
ically, the revealing angel premises these points; viz., that they
were to inherit as the original twelve tribes; that since Levi had
his portion in the sacred reserve, adjacent to the great section
which inclosed the temple, Joseph should count two (Ephraim and
^Manasseh) to fill out the twelve ; that the portions for each several
tribe should be equal, this being the precise sense of the first clause
in V. 14; "Ye shall inherit it" (the land) " each one as his brother T
and finally that this is the land which the Lord bound himself by
oath to the tribes to give them for their inheritance. Remark-
ably the uniform law of Messianic prophecy is to promise the future
Canaan not to Judah alone, but to the twelve tribes — to Ephraim
and the lost ten tribes as truly as to Judah and Benjamin, the two
tri])es which so long constituted the southern kingdom. It would
seem that the Spirit of inspiration overlooked the foct of the revolt
under Jeroboam; started at a point much farther back, even with
the promise made to the patriarchs and specially renewed to David,
and built upon that basis the whole structure of their glorious fu-
ture. We may notice this remarkable feature of Messianic proph-
ecy in both Jeremiah (chap. 3: 12, 18, and 23: 2, 6-8, and 31: I,
9, 23, 33) and in Ezekiel (chap 36: 1, 8, 12, 32, 37, and 37: 11,
12, 28, and 39: 25). The question whether the ten tribes did in
fact return in any considerable numbers under Zerubbabel has
been much mooted, and with various conclusions. I have had oc-
casion heretofore to say that the evidence for the affirmative from
the records in Ezra and Nehemiah is exceedingly weak. Indeed
the inquirer who has no foregone conclusion to sustain would not
suspect that those records refer to the ten tribes at all. The histo-
rian who notes the captivity of the two and a half tribes on the
east of Jordan (1 Chron. 5: 26) explicitly denies their restoration
at any period prior to his own times. — —The question whether the
ten tribes (Ephraim) or the two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) will
in any future day return to Palestine to rebuild their old nation-
ality, Avill be in place for consideration soon, i. <\, at the close of
my special explanation of the words and phrases throughout chap-
ters 40-48.
15. And this shall be the border of the land toward the
north side, from the great sea,- the way of Hethlou, as men
go to Zcdad :
16. Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the
I
' EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVII. 261
border of Damascus and the border of Hamatli ; Hazar-hat-
ticon,. which is by the coast of Hauran.
17. And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan,
the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the
border of Hamath. And this is the north side.
18. And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran,
and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land
of Israel bif Jordan, from the border unto the east sea.
And this is the east side.
19. And the south side southward, from Tamar even to
the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea.
And this is the south side southward.
20. The west side also shall be the great sea from the
border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the
west side.
21. So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the
tribes of Israel.
These boundaries differ in no important respect from the ancient
boundaries of the land as given by the Lord through Moses, Num.
34: 1-12. This passage is not a copy of that. The description
commences in each at different points; that in Numbers with the
southern border, and this in Ezekiel with the northern. As we
shall see in the next chapter, the location of the several tribes
differs widely from that made by Joshua, and assumes a very dif-
ferently shaped territory to be divided.
22. And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by
lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that
sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you:
and they shall be unto you as born in the country among
the children of Israel : they shall have inheritance with you
among the tribes of Israel.
23. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the
stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance,
saith the Lord God.
Inasmuch as enlargement by the accession of Gentiles proselyted
to the Jewish faith was a cherished feature of the ancient economy
and afforded a choice symbol of the great and glorious ingathering
of the Gentiles in the Christian age, it was every way fitting that
sp3cial provision should be made here for the location and natural-
ization of strangers who might choose to cast in their lot with
Israel. Here it stands.
262 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVIII.
CHAPTER XLVm.
This vision closes legitimately with a definite geographical loca-
tion of the several tribes (vs. i-7, 23-28); a more expanded de-
scription of the sacred reserve (vs. 8-22) resumed from chap. 45 :
1-7; and a description of the gates of the great city (vs. 29-35).
1. Now these are the names of the tribes. From the
north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth
to Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward,
to the coast of Hamath ; for these are his sides east and
west ; a portion for Dan.
2. And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the
•west side, a portion for Asher.
3. And by the border of Asher, from the east side even
•unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4. And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto
the west side, a p)ortionfor Manasseh.
5. And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side
unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
6. And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even
unto the west side, a p)ortion for Keuben.
7. And by the border of Keuben, from the east side unto
the west side, a portion for Judah.
The best view of this assignment of the tribes will be obtained
from the diagram, page 248, It will be seen there at a glance
that the territory of each tribe extended entirely across the country
from west to east, and of equal width. The actual sinuosities and
irregularities of the western bojder and of the eastern also, are
overlooked, as well as the narrowing of the real Palestine from its
greatest width at its southern extremity to its least at the northern.
The location of the tribes differs in other respects widely from that
made by Joshua. The latter was every way irregular ; the former
is a model of perfect mathematical regularity. Doubtless the con-
sideration of order ruled in this arrangement Every thing about
it indicates that it was and is only ideal — a thing of vision only,
and never to be a thing of fact; shaped for its suggestive and sym-
l)olic bearings rather than with any reference to the territory to bo
divided or the adaptation of its parts to the several tribes.
8. And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto
the west side, shall be the oflering which ye shall offer of
five and twenty thousand rccd^i in breadth, and in length as
one of the other parts, from the cast side unto the west side :
and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9. The oblation that ye shall offer unto the Lord shall be
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVIII. 263
of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand
in breadth.
10. And for them, even for the priests,- shall be this holy-
oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in
length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and
toward the east ten thousand in breadth, aijd toward the
south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctu-
ary of the Lord shall be in the midst thereof.
11. It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the
sons of Zadok; w^hich have kept my charge, which went not
astray Avhen the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites
went astray.
12. And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be
unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
13. And over against the l3order of the priests the Levites
shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thou-
sand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty
thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14. And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor
alienate the first fruits of the land: for it is holy unto the
Lord.
15. And the five thousand, that are left in 'the breadth
over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a pro-
fane p/ace for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs, and
the city shall be in the midst thereof.
16. And these shall be the measures thereof; the north
side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side
four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four
thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand
and five hundred.
17. And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north
two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred
and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and
toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18. And the residue in length over against the oblation
of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten
thousand westward ; and it shall be over against the oblation
of the holy x>ortion; and the increase thereof shall be for
food unto them that serve the city.
19. And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all
the tribes of Israel.
20. All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by
five and twenty thousand: ye shall ofier the holy oblation
four-square, with the possession of the city.
264 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVIII.
21. And the residue shall he for the prince, on the one
side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the pos-
session of the city, over against the five and t^yenty thousand
of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over
against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border,
over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the
holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall he in
the midst thereof.
22. Moreover, from the possession of the Levites, and from
the possession of the city, heing in the midst of that which
is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border
of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
This is the sacred reserve, "the holy oblation," first brought to
view chap. 45 : 1-7 ; but here taken up again, repeated, and some-
what expanded. The diagram (p. 248) will give the best view
of these apportionments. As said in the notes on chap. 45 : 1-7,
the purpose of this reserve is obviously to carry out the great
idea of the ancient economy in its extreme form — seclusion of the
holy from the profane and earthly — the broadest possible distinction
between things sacred and things common every-where kept up in
order to cultivate a critical habit of moral discrimination between
holiness and sin, and to impress a sense of the obligation of moral
purity. This moral discipline is above all price in value. But we
should quite mistake the genius of the gospel dispensation if we
were to assume that God proposes to develop its future and higher
stages by returning to the modes and forms of Judaism. Xo ; his
thought is rather to carry the culture obtained by the aid of that
ancient regime, out into the world-wide fields of human society, and
train men to "live holily, justly, and unblamably m this present
world i'^ not to shut themselves out of it for the sake of the holiness
of the cloister. ^We may fitly notice that the Lord makes ample
provision for the support of his Levito servants as well as for the
priests and for those who serve in the city, taken from all the tribes
of Israel. The ministers who labor and serve under this new regime
are thoughtfully provided for as if specially worthy of their hire.
The implication is that only loith such provision can they be expected
to hold on, true to their work, kept above the torturing power of
poverty to seduce them from their sacred functions.
23. As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto
the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
24. And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side
unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
25. And by the border of Simeon, from the east ^ide unto
the west side, Issachar a j^ortlon.
26. And by the border of Issachar, from the cast side
unto the west side, Zebulun a ptortlon.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVIII. 265
27. And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side
unto the west side, Gad a portion.
28. And by the border of Gad, at the south side south-
ward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters
of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
29. This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the
tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions,
saith the Lord God.
30. And these are the goings out of the city on the north
side, four thousand and five hundred measures.
31. And the gates of the city shall he after the names of
the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of
Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
32. And at the east side four thousand and five hundred :
and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Ben-
jamin, oue gate of Dan.
33. And at the south side four thousand and five hundred
measures : and three gates ; one gate of Simeon, one gate of
Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34. At the west side four thousand and five hundred, \dtli
their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one
gate of Naphtali.
35. It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and
the name of the city from that day shall he, The Lord is
there.
This great city, a model of method and order — each tribe repre-
sented in its twelve gates — is imitated by the Revelator John in
his city of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21: 10-21). John however
was farther advanced in the light of the new dispensation, for in
his city is "no temple," while here the temple is the central fact.
But the glory of the whole scene is brought out here in the signifi-
cant name- of the city which was to stand from that day onward;
"Jehovah ShammahJ" The Lord is there I ! It is the place of Je-
hovah's dwelling in the midst of his people. Every thing is shaped
according to Mosaic ideas, for the perpetual dwelling of Jehovah
among his people. The entire arrangements, including the sacred
reserve, its special localities for the Levites, for the priests, for the
more menial servants of the sanctuary; for the prince also and for
all the ti-ibes : all, every several thing, provides for the great central
fact, and adjusts itself around that living truth — Jehovah dwelling
forever, and forever manifesting himself among his chosen ; he their
God, and they, his people. Prophetically, it'^looks down into the
Christian age to its great central truth — the Lord by his divine
Spirit making his abode through all ages in the hearts of his chil-
dren. " Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world."
"I will send you the Comforter;" he will guide you into all truth;"
. 12
266 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVIII.
"he shall glorify mc; for he shall take of mine and shall show it
unto you."
It now remains to present with somewhat more ^method and
fullness than heretofore my reasons for the general system of inter-
pretation which 1 have applied to these closing chapters of Ezckiel
(40-48). Let it then be premised that they refer mainly and
properly to the Messianic times — to the Christian age of the world.
It might be claimed with reason that these chapters would natur-
ally inspire in the hearts of the pious Jews then around the prophet,
the hope of returning to their own land and of rebuilding their
city and temple. Granted, This may have been an incidental
and minor purpose of these visions. But they assume rather than
assert this. Or perhaps there would be no objection to saying that
this nearer restoration under Zerubbabel was a first installment — a
sort of earnest and pledge of the far greater blessings yet in the
remote future. But no sound interpreter would venture to say that
the significance of these chapters is exhausted in the events of that
first restoration, or at any time before Christ. Let this be consid-
ered as settled. They look onward into the gospel age for their
main fulfillment. This point is so clear as to call for no argument.
Hence the question now at issue becomes simple and definite.
The choice lies between two systems of interpretation; the literal,
and the figurative — otherwise called the symbolic. The literal in-
terpretation would teach that the Jews at some time yet future are to
be restored to their own native land ; that this land is to be divided
among them as here directed; the "holy oblation" or sacred re-
serve, set off as here described; the temple and city rebuilt; the
Mosaic ritual with feasts, bloody sacrifices and attendant meat-
offerings, all restored in manner and form as here detailed. The
holy waters from under the sanctuary are real waters, and flowing
into the actual Dead Sea, will purify it and thus supply fish in
abundance for the restored people; — while along its banks will
cluster beautiful trees for shade and fruit and for medicine.
The literal interpretation is exceedingly easy because the state-
ments are entirely plain and definite, so that if this system is the
right one, the significance of the entire vision is as pjain as the
English alphabet. Let it be said also that on every just prin-
ciple of construction, if the literal system is adopted, it should be
carried honestly through. There is as much reason for making
every part of this vision literal as for making any part of it so.
There can be no valid reason for mixing up the literal and the
figurative methods, making one line or verse in the same passage
literal and the next figurative. Such changes can be nothing else
than purely capricious. They can never bo justified on any sound
law of interpretation. If the return of the Jews to Talostine to
restore their nationality there be literal, then the ritual worship
described here is literal also; for it is part of the same vision —
part of the same state of things, and should therefore be inter-
preted by the same laws of language.
EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVIII. 267
I plead for the figurative interpretation and against the literal,
and draw my arguments,
1. From ike Neio Testament;
2. From the Old, and especially from these prophecies themselves
in their relation to the writer and his first readers.
3. From the nature of the case — especially as creating an in-
tensely strong probability against the literal and in favor of the
figurative interpretation.
1. The literal system of interpretation must be rejected because
it is absolutely precluded and forbidden by the New Testament.
The entire spirit and genius of the gospel dispensation as unfolded by
Christ and his inspired apostles is utterly, squarely, fatally against
it. For, the literal system must hold that according to this vision,
Judaism will yet be fully restored — restored with more than all
its ancient surroundings, and in more than its ancient fullness.
l>ut according to the New Testament, Judaism is dead. It had
done its great work when Jesus died as the Lamb of God and
thenceforth it ceased to exist under divine authority. In the age
of the epistle to the Hebrews, it had already "decayed, waxed old,
and was ready to vanish away." Paul declared repeatedly and in
many various forms that Christ had "broken down the middle
wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles " by setting aside
whatever was peculiar to the Jew; that he "had abolished in his
flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in
ordinances," etc. (Eph. 2: 14, 15) ; that he had "blotted out the
handwriting of ordinances that was against us" (Gentiles), "which
was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross" (Col 2: 14), This was the end of the Mosaic system. And
yet more if possible to this point, the burden of Paul's epistle to
the Galatians is, that relapsing from Christianity to Judaism is
not only a folly (chap. 3: 1, 3) "but a sin, and essentially an apos-
tasy from Christ. He declares, " There is neither Jew nor Greek"
(Judaism being defunct), "for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
" But now, after that ye have known God, how turn ye again to
the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be
in bondage?" "Ye observe [Jewish] da3^s and months and times
and years. I am afraid of you lest I have bestowed upon you labor
in vain" (Gal. 4: 9-11). "I, Paul, say unto you that if ye be
circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing; for I testify again to
every man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole
law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are
justified by the law: ye are fallen from grace" (Gal. 5: 2-4).
That is; circumcision and the whole ritual system has no farther
mission, has no longer any binding force. Before Christ came, it
led toward and imto Christ; after'his coming, it leads away from
Christ; forces itself in as a substitute for Christ, and therefore
must be rejected and denounced as ruinous to souls. With ad-
mirable and wise forbearance the Lord allowed the converted Jews
time on this great change from Judaism to a pure Christianity; but
yet gave unmistakable indications of his will to rule Judaism
268 EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XLVIII.
proper out of existence as a thing that had done it3 work and could
never be used in his kini;;doni any more. And now is it cred-
ible that this wall of partition is going up again ? that '' ordinances,"
bloody sacrifices, all and more than all that the Mosaic system
ever had, shall be restored ? If it were to be restored according to
the literal construction of Ezekiel 40-48 chapters, what would it
mean? Would it point to another Christ, another atoning Lamb,
another great High Priest to make intercession for us ? If our
present New Testament be accepted as authority, a return to Ju-
daism is forever foreclosed. The testimony of Jesus and his apos-
tles on this point could not be made stronger than it is. Our
Lord spake on this vital question in decisive terms. Standing in
view of Mt. Gerizim, with the long mooted question before him
whether that mount or Jerusalem were the one prescribed locality
for all acceptable worship, he plainly signified that this question
had ceased to be a practical one ; that the whole system of restrict-
ing special forms of worship to one place was now passing by. To
the Avoman of Samaria he solemnly averred (Jn. 4: 21-24); "Wo-
man, believe me ; the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this
mountain nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. The hour
cometh and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth," implying that nothing else should
be requisite for acceptance with God. So long as sacrifices, altars,
and a visible glory in the most holy place were of divine appoint-
ment, some one place for this worship would be a necessity. If
these prophecies of Ezekiel are literal, that necessity must return
again, and the words of our Lord to the woman of Samaria must
cease to have force. The hour must arrive — with the literal fulfill-
ment of Ezekiel — when men must worship God as of old in the
one prescribed place, and not merely in spirit and in truth, but in all
the forms of ancient Judaism as well. Did Christ anticipate
this supposed change back to Judaism? Had he himself inspired
Ezekiel to predict it? The question is its own answer ! There can
be no return to the old regime of one only place of acceptable wor-
ship; and that, in the forms of a dead Judaism! Under the gospel
economy, every pious heart is God's temple, and the wide world is
open to the ofi'ering of each heart's truthful homage to God. This gos-
pel economy can never in any future age give place to Judaism.
Yet again. The inspired apostles were in all vital points inspired
interpreters of Old Testament prophecy. In all that affects the
great elementary features of the old system and of the new, this
position must be valid, else their inspiration becomes practically
of no account. Inquiring now for their inspired interpretation
of those prophecies which speak of the Christian age, we may fitly
begin with asking what place and what significance they assign to
the temple of God in these gospel days. rro)-)hecy speaks of a
temple of God in the JNlessiah's age ; what do the apostles under-
stand it to mean ? They answer that in this age Christians are
themselves the temple of the living God, and that "God dwells in
them and walks in them," "Know ye not," (said Paul, 1 Cor. 3-
EZEKIEL.— CHAPS. XL-XLVIII. 269
10,) "that yc are the temple of God and that the Sph-it of God
dwelleth in you?" "What! know ye not that your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you?" (1 Cor. G: 19.) And
then as if to clinch this argument, Paul cites the Old Testament
prophecy in which God said, "I will dwell in them and walk in
them," and finds its fulfillment in the new gospel fact; "Ye are the
temple of the living God." See 2 Cor. 6 : 16. Further, ask the
apostle James how he understands the prophecy of Amos (chap. 9 :
11, 12) about rebuilding the fallen tabernacle of David. He replies
that it refers to the conversion of the Gentiles, and to their being
gathered into the Christian Church. He gives not a hint of the lit-
eral rebuilding of the old temple. See Acts 15: 13-18. And this
was the doctrine of the whole Church in council assembled then
and there. Or ask the Apostle Paul whether he connects the
future conversion of the Jews with their restoration to their own
land. Ask him if he assumes that these two events will be coinci-
dent, and their restoration a necessary means to their conversion.
He answers that he knows nothing about such restoration. Their
conversion to Christ he believes in, rejoices in exultingly; but he
has not the first hint of their returning to their own land — much
less of their rebuilding the temple of wood and stone. Examine
his words, Rom. 11 : 11-36. Finally the old system and the now
have too many vital points of dissimilarity, not to say antagonism,
to admit of being amalgamated, or in any way compounded together.
The genius of the old was restrictive, exclusive, and put itself on
the defensive. The genius of the new is expansive, aggressive,
framed to grasp the whole world. The former walls itself in to shut
oiF idolatry and all contamination from the world without : the lat-
ter faces and assails the idolatry and sin of the world every-where
under the one grand behest ; " Go ye into all the world, and preach
the Gospel to every creature." How can these two systems amal-
gamate? And how can it be supposed that the world is to be
converted by going back to the centralized forms of Judaism ?
2. The evidence from the Old Testament, i. e., from these prophe-
cies themselves, considered in view of the circumstances of their
authors and first readers, has been frequently referred to in these
notes, and hence may be presented with the more brevity here,
In a word, then, these prophets were Jews, of Jewish educa-
tion, with only Jewish conceptions of the kingdom of God, and with
only Jewish terms, phrases, figures and symbols for expressing
these conceptions. The same is true of their first readers, to whom
of necessity they must adapt their writings. If any should suggest
here that the Lord himself is the speaker and revealer, still the case
remains the same; for the Lord speaks to Jews, whether prophets
or people, and only in Jewish language and figures. Hence the
future kingdom of Christ must be revealed to the prophets and to the
Jewish people in words and symbols drawn from the existing econ-
omy. This necessity is absolute, if the Lord aimed to reveal any
thing — if he aimed to speak so as to be understood. T'his prin-
ciple is introduced here, not precisely to prove that these prophecies
270 EZEKIEL.— CHAPS. XL-XLVIII.
reveal c;ospel blessings, but to account for their phraseology and
their symljols. The proof that they teach the gloriously converting
power of the Gospel and of the Spirit of God in the latter days
comes from the facts, (1.) That they refer to gospel times. (2.)
That they must therefore be construed of gospel blessings, and not
of Mosaic forms and ritualities: and (3.) That the nature and mag-
nitude of these symbols demand a most magnificent fulfillment
and. can be satisfied with nothing less."^
3. It remains to show in a few closing.words that in the nature of
the case the literal system is for every reason intensely improbable.
Thus ; That the ten tribes, thoroughly lost to all reliable history since
their captivity tAvo thousand five hundred and eighty-seven years
ago, should appear again ; produce their unbroken and distinct gene-
alogies ; prove their identity, and file into their places in the allot-
ment of tribes as given in Ezek. 48, is violently improbable, f
That the natural boundaries of Palestine should be miraculously
changed so as to make it a perfect rectangle ; that the great river
from the sanctuary should flow, with a growth so unprecedented, into
the Dead Sea, and make its waters salubrious, fill them with fish,
etc., all in the literal sense, is very improbable. That the better
times of the gospel age ; its one period of most perfect beauty, purity
and glory, should be brought about by receding from the genius of
* This subject is discussed somewhat fully in my notes on Zech. 12.
t Tlie restoration of the lost ten tribes should be considered in the light
of Bible history. Thus: 2 Kings 17 shows that the ten tribes had for-
saken the God of Israel, and were therefore utterly i-ejected with no
qualifying promise of restoration (vs. 17-20) : that their captivity, so far
as known to the sacred historian, was final (vs. 2o, 8f, 41) ; that the
change of population then made was entire, the A.ssyrian king taking
away all the Hebrew people, and filling their homes and country with
colonists from Assyria, sendin"; back only one priest to teach them the
worship of the former God of tlie land. The Samaritan community had
scarcely the least tinge of Isi-aelite blood. -Next, note that 1 Chron. 5:
25, 20 certifies respecting the two and a half tribes tlmt they were cnrriod
away captive ''unto this dai/;" i. e., up to the date of the last fiuish-
ing toucli of this genealogical history, which, as the reader will see by
comparing 1 Chron. 9 with Neh. 11, comes down to a period many (13(j)
years later than the first return of the Jews with Zerubbabel. Nehemi-
ah's latest date is B. C. 400, and his genealogies correspond with those of
1 Chron. 9, so that the testimony which pieclu<les the restoration of the
two and a half tribes "down to this (hxy " reaches long after the return
of the Jews to Palestine in B. C. r):'>(M 1 1. And finally the book of Ezra
shows (chap. 1 : 5} that the returning captives were " the fathei-s of Judah
and Benjamin ; '' in chap. 2, that special regard was had to the point of
genealogy, since tho.se are named who could not make out their record
(vs. r)9-G.)) ; that Ezra gives his own record can^uUy (7: 1-5), and also that
of his company (8: 1-14), and of the Lcvites (S: l()-2(i); but gives not tho
least hint of the ten triljcs. Further, his )K)ok shows that tlie taking of
strange [heathen] wives was 1 he bi-setting sin of the people (chaps. 9 and
10), which the testimony of Nehemiah confirms (chap. 18: 2;i-30). If this
sin needed such stringent measures to withstand it among the Jews
proper, even wiiile residing in their own land, how much more must tho
ten tribes have lost their distinct nationality by its power over them in
that remote land of Assyria? Thus stands the historical evidence of
Scripture in reference to the restoration of the ten tri))e.s— utterly and
strongly against it. In the light ot Scripture, tlie supposition is unhis-
torical, every way improbable, and in nowise credible. Hence tho
restoration of these lost tribes, in any yet future age, becomes intensely
improbable— virtually impossible.
F
EZEKIEL— CIIArS. XL-XLVIII. 271
New Testament Christianity to the genius of Judaism, is preemi-
nently improbable. That the Lord should subject his Gentile
churches to the same terrible contest with Judaism which cost so
much martyr-blood in the first and second centuries, is improbable.
That he should subject the Jews themselves to those temptations to
bigotry, exclusiveness, and uncharitableness, which in the first
Christian age often proved too stubborn for even the grace of the
gospel, is improbable. That he should expose them to the power
of the old national spirit of reliance upon ritual forms and ceremo-
nies, or to the national pride in which they accounted themselves
the only favored people of God, is utterly improbable. And finally,
that the Lord shouW give his Church in the future age a system in
which the spirit of love, purity and peace is lost in the letter of
forms and ceremonies; in which (as e. g. in Ezek. 47: 1-12) you
have, instead of the unexampled glory and power of the Divine
Spirit, only a beautiful river and plenty of good fish, and fruit-trees
in abundance for sensual delights ; in short, that God should lead
the church and the world backward from a spiritual gospel to a sen-
sual paradise — is utterly improbable and even incredible. For
one, 1 rejoice that it is. I rejoice that the instincts of our Christian
nature revolt against this view of these prophecies. - I rejoice that
there is no trustworthy evidence to sustain the literal interpreta-
tion, and that the figurative view is amply supported by evidence,
unfolding glorious truth in harmony with the whole tenor of Old
Testament prophecy and of New Testament interpretation of it, and
revealing a sublimely grand and auspicious future for the kingdom
of our divine Redeemer. Amex.
DANIEL.
PREFACE.
The best of commentators have interpreted the prophe-
cies of Daniel variously. It is only natural that joeople
"who read commentaries should think as variously, save that
some nlay lose confidence in any of the j^roposed systems of
interpretation — not to say, confidence that any reliable sys-
tem can be found. Consequently a new commentary on
"Daniel, by whomsoever put forth, or however able, must
fail to meet the j)revious view^s of all its possible readers.
In the outset, therefore, let me say that in this book
I dissent from some worthy critics, not through any lack of
deference or respect for them, but through the force of my
own convictions. I have labored upon these prophecies —
not to harmonize the conflicting opinions of others; not to
select the most worthy and follow them; not to meet some
foregone and favorite scheme of fulfillment; — but simply
and only to apply what I deem just 2:)rinciples of interpre-
tation, and thus arrive at the truth. I have sought to ap-
ply to these prophetic words and symbols those great j^rin-
ciples of interpretation which legitimately determine the
sense of all language. These principles, as they should
apj)ly to Daniel, I have briefly presented near the close of
my General Introduction. I submit that this method of
reaching the truth and this only is entitled to confidence.
-My earliest views of these prophecies were taken from
Dr. Scott and Bishop Newton — accepted without dissent,
and indeed, without rigorous questioning. But being called
(some twenty-eight years since) to the responsibility of con-
ducting theological students through these jorophecies, I was
put upon a rigorous investigation of their meaning. It was
in the study of the eleventh chapter that I first saw that
their system palpably violated the laws of philology. It
was impossible to break the bonds of connection which held
the entire passage (chap. 11 : 21-45) to one individual, and
this one a king — the well-know^n " king of the north," An-
tiochus Epiphanes. In chap. 8, the force of God's own
interpretation compelled me to discard the Roman theory,
(273)
274 DANIEL.— niEFACE.
and apply ^vliat is said of the "little horn" to Antiochus.
In the same way, the interpretation given by God himself,
coupled with the metes and bounds within which the fulfill-
ment is located, constrained me to recast my former system
of Dan. 7. Then the proofs of general parallelism through-
out his four great prophecies attracted my attention, and
being found' invincible, could not be ignored. Thus through
repeated investigations, renewed from time to time during
tsventy-five years, laboring to get the full and exact sense
of all that Daniel had seen and said — laboring also to make
myself master of his stand-point of view, and to enter as
fully as possible into his relations both of sympathy and of
personal and public ministry for his people, the Jews ; I
have gradually matured the system herein presented. Each .
successive examination has contributed to clear up difficult
points ; to bring out new aspects of these visions ; to sug-
gest new views of their fitness and force ; and to settle more
firmly my conviction that in the main the interpretation
here presented will stand the test of candid scrutiny, how-
ever searching, and approve itself as based upon sound
principles of interpreting prophecy. Somewhat early in
the course of these studies, a fresh impulse was given them
by the appearance (1841-43) of the views of Mr. William
Miller on the Second Advent. It is only on rare occasions
that such a stimulus comes to quicken prophetic investiga-
tion. The student of prophecy can aftbrd to express his
obligation (on the score solely of stimulus and suggestion)
to the very crude and wild sentiments but very quickening
impulses of that extraordinary movement. Mr. Miller and
his associates made a vigorous but not legitimate use of
various errors which had been admitted into the interpreta-
tion of this book. See a brief Dissertation U2)on his sys-
tem at the close of this volume.
These words, personal to myself, reluctantly admitted
here, will show how I have reached my present views and
why I hold and express them so strongly. I have made
these allusions to the rise and growth of the scheme of in-
terpreting Daniel herein presented, with no wish to influ-
ence any reader's mind, save by the force of argument, yet
as a sort of apology for inviting all readers, of every shade
of opinion, to give these pages a candid and careful exam-
ination.
•
Oberlix, 0., Aug., 18G7.
DANIEL.
GENERAL .INTRODUCTION.
I. The questions of personal history appropriate to an introduc-
tion are, for the most part, readily answered from the book itself.
Daniel comes first to view, a Jewish youth of the royal family,^
taken captive to Babylon in the first deportation of captives, in the
third year of Jehoiakim, B. C. 606 or 607 ; and is soon after selected
with others for his wisdom, eSiciency and agreeable person, to be
trained in the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans, for service
under the king. This custom of taking young men of the finest
parts from a captive or subject race to fill responsible positions
about the king, has prevailed in many despotic governments, and is
essentially the usage of the Turkish empire to this day. It finds its
motives, (l.)In the fact that such monarchs need men about them
of the very first abilities; (2.) In the difiiculty they would experience
in getting young men of such ability from among their osvn people
who might not, by virtue of their social position or connections, be-
come dangerous to the throne. We are then to think of Daniel as
educated thoroughly in the language, literature, and general culture
of the Chaldeans (this term being used here for the learned, sacerdo-
tal and scientific class, and not for the mass of the people), but yet
as adhering with noble firmness to the religious faith of his fathers.
In this position, he developed extraordinary capacities in the line of
wisdom, fidelity and efiiciency, and consequently rose to the rank
of prime minister under the Chaldean sovereigns, Nebuchadnezzar
and Belshazzar, and remarkably, attained and held an equally ex-
alted position in the succeeding dynasty, the Medo-Persian, under
Darius the Median and Cyrus. .
Daniel must have lived and retained his vigor to a great age.
The period during which he appears before us in this book, from
the beginning of the captivity to the very end of it, was seventy
years, and we may reasonably suppose him from sixteen to twenty
years of age at the beginning of this period, and of course almost
ninety at its close. Yet his heart appears full of earnest life and
power in his memorable prayer for his people, given us in chap. 9,
juBt on the eve of the restoration. Tradition holds that he was the
special instrument under God of obtaining from Cyrus the decree
* Josephus says that Daniel was of the seed of Zcdekiah. Aut. Jud. X :
10. The text says only " of the king's seed and of the princes." Chap
1:3.
(275)
27 G DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
for the restoration of his people to their own land — no small
achievement for the physical stamina of a patriarch of ninety !
Temperate habits through the whole of life, and a soul evermore
steadfastly stayed on God, are eminently congenial to length of
days and to freshness and vigor of days as well.
II. The reader will recall some points of close analogy between
Daniel and Joseph. Both were captives ; each rose in a foreign king-
dom to the same rank of prime minister, by the same qualities of
personal character — sterling integrity, unselfish devotion to their
work, great business capacity, and unfaltering faith in God. Each
became, under God, it patron and protector to his suffering people.
To each was given of God extraordinary prophetic powers whicli
served to raise him to general notice and confidence, and mani-
festly in the case of Daniel, served to exalt the God of the Hebrew-
race highly in the convictions of the monarchs under whom he
served. " Each was able to distance and confound all the pretend-
ers to supernatural knowledge, of whom there were many both in
Egypt and in Babylon.
"111. Here it may be well to notice carefully the critical objections
made in modern times against the entire book by those icho dcyiy its
genuineness and imjmgn its historic veracity. First in time by Por-
phyry, a prominent infidel of the third century, but most ably by a
considerable body of recent German critics, it has been gravely and
confidently denied that the book Avas written by that Daniel whose
name it bears, whose history it gives, and who is referred to by Ezek-
iel (chap. 44; 14, 20, and 28: 3) and also by our Lord himself (Mat.
24: 15, IG). They also impugn the general veracity of its historical
accounts, and attempt to sustain their main position by a variety of
critical objections. They claim that the book was not wi'itten until
after the death of Antiochus Epiphanes (B. C. 163); that it was writ-
ten shortly after that event; and of course that it is a forgery and
contains no prophecy whatever, being wi-itten after the minute events
wdiich its pretended visions of an assumed early date gave forth as
prophecy. Their central point is the denial of its genuineness and
date; i. e., they deny that it was written by that Daniel who lived
during the captivity, or by any one else at that time. As collat-
eral, yet altogether minor points, they say that the book contains some
Greek and some Persian words, which evince a date later than the
captivity; that part of it is written in Chaldee and part in Hebrew;
tiiat the tone of the composition is peculiar, unlike that of the
other prophets; that its miracles are grotesque; that its doctrines
respecting angels, the Messiah, and an ascetic life, indicate a later
age; and iinally that Daniel speaks too well of himself and was too
young to stand so high as he appears in Ezekiel. These minor
points shall receive due attention in their place; the main one should
cume first in order. To meet their central and main dogma some
what fundamentally, I maintain — 1. That the Daniel of the age of the
ca[)tivity was a very prominent man in Jewish history. Even King
David was scarcely more so. He was a city set on a hill, known to all
intelli'j;ent Jews of that age and onward into later times. Far above
DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 277
all other Jews of his time, he was the distinguished man — prime
minister in the courts successively of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius,
and promoted to the very highest rank by Bclshazzar just on the
eve of kis final fall. Obviously not the doings only of such a man
but his writings must be matters of public notoriety. By how much
the more pronjinent the man, and by how much the more highly
esteemed among his countrymen, by so much the greater would be
the difficulty of putting forth forgeries 'in his name successfully
during his lifetime, or at any period while his name would be
worth using in a forged production; and hence by so much the
greater would be the certainty that written documents purporting
to be from him would be genuine.
2. This book of Daniel, in both its historic and prophetic parts,
is closely interwoven with his actual life. It is not easy to con-
ceive how any book could be more so. Both the outer and the inner
life of the man stand out in his writings with remarkable distinct-
ness. There is not a word in the whole book that does not fit nat-
urally and closely to the life, to the heart, and to the whole charac-
ter of this prominent man — Daniel of the captivity. Hence the
assumption that this book is a forgery, gotten up three hundred and
seventy years after the latest record of his life, is violently improb-
able— not to say, utterly incredible.
3. The languages iii which the book is written determine its age,
proving that it must have been written during, or very near, the
captivity, and completely disproving the fiction of Porphyry. The
facts are that the portion, chaps. 2 : 4 — 7 : 28, is in Ohaldee ; all
the rest in Hebrew. Now the period of the captivity is the only
one during the whole range of Jewish history in Avhich one of the
Jewish sacred books could have been wi-itten thus, a part in each
tongue. For, all scripture was Avi-itten for the common people and
primarily for the people then living. This was the only period in
the entire national history of the Jews in which they understood
both these lang-uages. Again, this was the only period in which
the Chaldee portion could have been reasonably written, for the
benefit of the Chaldean people. Let any man intelligent in history,
think of the Chaldee portion of Daniel as ^vritten for the Chaldean
people in the age of Antiochus Epiphanes ! The idea is simply
absurd. Babylon had then almost ceased to be. Its relations to
Nebuchadnezzar were all forgotten by its population. In the
book of Ezra, chap. 5 throughout, portions of chaps. 4, 6, and 7, are
in Chaldee, and a verse or too in Jeremiah; but these prophets
were substantially in the same age with Daniel.
4. Some of the salient points in the history found in this book are
referred to in subsequent Jewish history, prior to the death of Antio-
chus Epiphanes, in a way which renders it nearly certain that the
book itself was then extant In 1 Mac. 2: 51-60, the venerable Mat-
tathias of Moden, himself then near death, exhorts his squs to " call
to remembrance what acts their fathers did in their time ; " alludes
successively to Abraham, Joseph, Phincas, Joshua, Caleb, David
and Elijah; and then adds: "Ananias, Azarias and Misacl, by be-
278 DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
licving, wcro saved out of the flame. Daniel, for liis innoccncy
was saved from the mouth of lions." These words were spoken ]jy
^lattathias before the date fixed by these German critics for the
writing of the book of Daniel. I maintain that there is the strong-
est presumption for the existence of this book long before the death
of Epiphanes, even as there is of the other histories drawn from
in this same speech. Furthermore, the second book of Macca-
bees (chap. 7 : 9, 14, 36) speaks of the resurrection in a way not
easily accounted for otherwise than as an allusion to Dan. 12 : 2, 3.
'Jlie presumption is certainly very strong that the dying martyrs
Avhose words are there quoted must have had this twelfth chapter
in their hands. Compare what Daniel says with what they say.
Daniel thus : " Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake ; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt: and they that be wise shall s-hine as the brightness of the
firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars
forever and ever." The martyrs referred to say; "Thou like a fury
takest us out of the present life, but the King of the world shall
raise up us who have died for his laws, unto everlasting life." "It
is good being put to death by men, to look for the hopes that are
of (xod, to be raised up again by him ; but for thee there shall bo
no resurrection unto life." "For now our brethren, after enduring
brief pain, have fallen under God's covenant of everlasting life; but
thou, under God's judgment, shall receive the just punishment for
thy pride." And yet further, there can scarcely bo a doubt that
these visions of Daniel, especially the last (chaps. 10-12) inspired
the faith, zeal, and hope of the li£roic Maccabees through their
terrific struggle. Their words and deeds evince the power of such
inspirations; the truths taught in Daniel were adapted (must we not
say designed) of God for such results.
5. Josephus is a valuable Jewish witness. A man of eminent
learning, in very high repute among his countrymen, the author of
a full and very elaljorate history of the Jewish nation fron\ Abra-
ham down to the destruction of their city by the Romans (A. D. 70) ;
born A. D. 37 and publishing his works in the latter part of the first
century; his testimony to the current opinions of his nation can not
be impeached, lie speaks (Ant. Xll: 7: 0) of the prophecies of
Daniel as being "uttered four hundred and eight years before;" i. e.
before the events in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. lie also
says (Ant. X: 11: 7), "All these things, he (Daniel) left in writing,
God exhibiting them to him, so that those avIio read, observant of
the events, must needs look on Daniel with wonder on account of
the honor done to him by God." The fiction of these modern
(ierman critics is squarely confronted by this testimony of Josephus.
They say Daniel did not write the book which bears his name;
Josephus says he did. They deny the fact of any real prophecy in
this book; Josephus specially allirms it, and dix-lares it to be of the
most extraordinary and unquestionable character.
0. Yet again, we have the testimony of .losephns that this very
book of Daniel was shown by the High l*riest Jaddua to Alexander
DANIEL.— GENERAL INTllODUCTION. 279
the Great in the jear B. C. 332. The circumstances stronn;ly con-
firm this statement, to this extent at least; for Alexander certainly
spared the Jews and their city ; took them into fiivor, and exempted
them from the tribute which it was his custom to impose on subject
nations. This was sixty-six years before the earliest date allowed
by these critics for the existence of this book of Daniel.
7. There can be scarcely a doubt that the book of Daniel was
translated into the Septuagint one hundred years before the German
skeptics admit it to have existed. Some points in respect to the
authors of this celebrated version and to its production remain con-
siderably obscure; but there is no ground for doubt that it was
made within the reigns of the first two Ptolemies in the Greek
Egyptian dynasty, and at the request and with the aid of these two
kings. Their reigns fill the period B. C. 323-246. The Pentateuch
was brought out first, and about B. C. 285. It might be difficult to
show when the whole work was completed, or when the translation
of Daniel was made. But the whole was manifestly c«"ried through
in the same general movement, for the same common purposes and
objects, and hence, in all probability, without unnecessary delay.
The book of Daniel was in that version. It must, therefore, with the
highest probability, have been translated before A. D. 163. It is
not conceivable that one hundred and twenty years could have been
occupied in completing this work.
8. The book of Daniel was brought into the accepted canon of
the Old Testament scriptures not later than the close of the reign
of Artaxerxes Longimanus (B. C. 474-424); i. e., not far from three
hundred years before the death of Epiphanes. Here Josephus is a
competent witness. He says: "We have not a countless number
01 books, discordant and arrayed against each other, but only twenty-
two books; which are justly accredited as divine." Of these, five
are the books of Moses : " four contain hymns to God and rules of
life for men." [This leaves thirteen which were historical and pro-
phetical. In our modern arrangement as compared with that given
by Josephus, several are subdivided. The thirteen included all the
did Testament, not embraced in the two other portions.] Of this
body of thirteen, Josephus says ; " From the death of INloses to the
reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia after Xerxes, the prophets who
fi^llowed Moses have described the things which were done during
the age of each one respectively. From the time of Artaxerxes
until our present period, all occurrences have been written down,
but they are not regarded as entitled to the like credit icith those which
preceded them because there was no certain sticcession of prophets .''
Hence the canon of books accepted as inspired comes down througli
the reign of Artaxerxes but no further. The twenty-two books of
our accepted Old Testament — Daniel included — were all written,
according; to. Josephus, before that reign closed; i. e., say at least
before BT C. 400.
9. It is remarkable that the time assigned by these German critics
for the writing of this book of Daniel was one in which the leading
Jews knew they had no prophet among them — knew they had not
280 DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
had one for many years past — and could not expect one for many
years to come. That is, the existing state of opinion was thoroughly
adverse both to the writing and to the reception of such a forgery
as they claim this book to be. IJut it requires a peculiarly facile
state of public feeling toward the main purpose and scope of a for-
gery to admit of its success. Against strong public convictions, it
never could succeed. What was the state of the public mind
here ? The author of the first book of Maccabees (writing about
B. C. 135), describing the calamities that came upon Judea in con-
sequence of the death of Judas Maccabeus {B. C. 161), says, "that
there was great affliction in Israel, such as had not been since the
last prophet appeared among them." He manifestly implies that
this had been a long time. It was then about two hundred and
seventy years since the latest reliable date for the prophet Mala-
chi. Again, according to 1 Mac. 4: 16, the Jews laid away the
polluted stones of the altar set up by Antiochus Epiphanes in their
holy temple, " until the coming of some prophet to decide respecting
them." And further according to I.Mac. 14: 41, "Simon was
constituted leader and high priest forever ['eis ton aiona'] until
some faithful prophet should arise " — a passage which manifestly
looks to the Messiah, and indicates that they expected no prophet
till he should come. These indications of current public senti-
ment existing among the Jews both at the period shortly after the
death of Antiochus (just when these critics would bring out this
prophecy of Daniel) and also at the time when the first book of
Maccabees was written (full thirty years later), go far to show that
their theory paid not the least regard to the existing state of the
public mind at the time fixed for its appearance. They did not
look to see whether it could have been written then, or whether,
if written, it could have been imposed upon and wi'ought into the
confidence of the people. Were ever great critics so uncritical !
The arguments thus far adduced against the great central position
of the critics in question have designedly been of that historical and
critical sort which those who impugn Daniel usually delight to
honor. It seemed well first of all to meet them on their OAvn
ground. -It remains to adduce yet one argument which those
who recognize the divine mission of Jesus Christ as the great
Teacher sent from God, will surely honor. Our divine Lord him-
self refers (Mat. 24; 15, 16) to Daniel and to this bot>k of his, in
these words; " AVhen ye shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso
readeth let him understand) ; Then let them which be in Judea
flee into the mountains." Here note distinctly, — (1.) That our
Lord recognizes Daniel as "a prophet." (2.) (^)uotes some of his
written prophecies; i e., from Dan. 9: 27. (3). Hence he witnesses
that Daniel wrote his own pro])hecies — specially this book that
bears his name; (4.) And finally that this book of his should be
read and accepted as a part of the inspired Jewish sacred scrip-
tures. In view of such testimony, those who honor Jesus Christ
will regard the question of the genuineness and veracity of thia
DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 281
book of Daniel as settled. r«ut it will bo asked, AVhat do these
skeptical critics say in support of their positions? 1. To sup-
port their main, central position, they begin with denying the fact
of any inspired prophecy either here or elsewhere, and resolving all
predictions of future events into human sagacity or unfounded an-
ticipations. But inasmuch as this book of Daniel records as proph-
ecy a long series of very minute historic events far in the future
(e. g., in chaps. 11 and 8), as well as the general succession of great
dynasties — too much to be attributed to human sagacity — they in-
sist that the book must have been written after these events took
place. This they maintain is the common law of historical criticism.
If an ancient book of history should come to light, all critics would
settle the question of its date on the assumption that it was written
later than the events it records.
I reply, This is very true of what is merely human history ; not
at all true of divinely-inspired prophecy. The fact of a really di-
vine inspiration constitutes a bold exception. The plausibility
of this modern plea against Daniel lies in its tacitly ignoring this
distinction.
(2.) All the other points made in the attack upon Daniel are
trivial; e. g., as above stated, that the book contains some Greek
words and some Persian ; that part of it is written in Chaldee and
part in Hebrew; that the tone (5f the composition is peculiar — un-
like that of the other prophets ; that its miracles are grotesque, and
its ideas respecting angels, the Messiah, and an ascetic life, indicate
unmistakably a late age; and finally that Daniel speaks too well
of himself, and was too young to stand so high as he appears in
Ezekiel.
The candid and intelligent reader will readily see that these
points are trivial. For there are not more Greek or Persian words
here than ought to be expected in an author living and writing in
the great commercial and political center of the known world. For
this known world at that time practically embraced both Greece
and Persia. There were the best of reasons for writing some
portions in Chaldee; viz., the special benefit of the Chaldean peo-
ple. If the book had been written wholly in Hebrew, a much
stronger objection could be raised against it, as scarcely credible
in view of the author's relations to the Chaldean people, govern-
ment, and language. On the other hand there were some good
reasons for writing some of it in Hebrew. Further, the cast of
the book is unobjectionable. True, it is part history and part
prophecy; but it is all the more useful for this; was all needed
at the time, and needed from this author. True, he uses s^pn-
hols; but so did Ezekiel and Zechariah — prophets nearest his age
and of most similar surroundings : and (what is not less worthy
of note) his symbols arc remarkably Chaldean^ as recent discoveries
most abundantly attest. Yet further, its miracles, so far from
being "grotesque," arc morally grand and solemnly impressive.
Note how the salvation of those three men in the furnace and of
Daniel in the den of lions affected in each case the king on his
282 DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
throne. As to its doctrines respecting angels and the Messiah,
why should there not be some advance in ideas on these points, as
compared ^\ith those of previous prophets ? And who can say that
the advance manifest in Daniel is too great for the period of the
captivity and for the extraordinary piety and prominence of the
man? The charge of being prematurely ascetic looks toward
Daniel's refusing the dainties of the king's table — for which, how-
ever, ample reasons may be supposed, entirely apart from ascet-
icism. Or, perhaps, toward a special case in which he " ate no
pleasant bread, flesh or wine, for three weeks" (chap. 10: 2, 3) —
a form and degree of abstinence due to his extraordinary state of
mind at a time when God came inefiiibly near to reveal to him
"what should befall his people in the latter days." As to Dan-
iel's speaking of his own wisdom and being too young to have
attained such a reputation as Ezekiel's references to him imply,
let it be noted that in the main passage in question (chap. 1:17,
19, 20) Daniel speaks not of himself alone but of all the four Jew-
ish youth, saying only what was doubtless true ; and that he speci-
fies of himself in particular only that he had " understanding in all
visions and dreams." This is one of the most prominent facts of
the history, and for this reason deserved mention. In the detailed
record, Daniel bears himself Avith extraordinary modesty and Chris-
tian humility. Daniel may have been young when Uod by Eze-
kiel spake in high terms of his wisdom. If the history in the book
is true, Daniel rose to distinction, not slowly, but by one bound, in
the second year of the king and of his own captivity. He was
therefore very great while very young. Why should not God speak
of men according to truth? Such great capacity so early in life
is not altogether without precedent. Though rare, it is possible,
and therefore not incredible. William Pitt became prime minister
of England at the age of twenty-four. Charles XII and Napoleon
evinced their transcendent military genius at a yet earlier age.
That Daniel was so young yet so exalted in position and in rep-
utation at the court, served to make his name the more notable
among both Jews and Chaldeans. It will be found that the
more thoroughly all these critical o])jcctions against the book of
Daniel are examined, the more they serve to bring out and brighten
the evidence of its being written at the time, and by the veritable
Daniel of that age.
Having indicated thus very briefly the special points of these
critical objections, and alluded in few words to their uncritical na-
ture and to their entire lack of force, I proceed to strengthen the
whole argument for the genuineness of this book and for its historic
credibility by adducing collateral evidence that the historical no-
tices found here are strictly correct; that they evince a most ac-
curate acquaintance with Chaldean life, and are verified most
abundantly by all that is known of those times through profane
sources ancient or recent; and therefore can not have been loritten
(as is claimed) /ok?- hundred years after the ago of the cajytivity.
This argument from collateral history, coming up from entirely in-
DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 283
dependent sources, embraces a considerable number of distinct
points.
(a.) The captivity and deportation of tlie Jews to Babylon under-
lies the entire history of this book. Now, this great fact in the
history of that people is not only confirmed by the prophecies of
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many of the minor prophets ; by the his-
tories of the books of Kings and Chronicles ; of Ezra and of Xehe-
miah; but also by ample heathen testimonies. Indeed it was a
permanent feature in the policy of the Assyrian, Chaldean, and
rersian governments for the subjugation of conquered countries,
especially the restive and refractory, to remove them from their
own to other and remote lands, and thus uproot the love of home
and country, and sever the social bonds that might else make them
dangerous to the great central power. In addition to the ample
evidence to this general feature of their policy, there is the special
testimony of Berosus, the great Chaldean historian, who wrote in
the age of Alexander the Great. In a passage which describes the
expedition of Nebuchadnezzar, then crown prince and general of
the army, against the Egyptians, Syrians and Phenicians in revolt,
in which he fought and won the great battle of Carchemish, he
says; "Not long after, Nebuchadnezzar, having heard of the death
of his father (the king) when he had settled the affairs of Egypt and
the adjacent regions, and had arranged with certain of his friends
to bring to Babylon the captives of the Jews . . . came himself with
great haste and v/ith a small company through the wilderness to
Babylon. There, assuming the administration of affairs ... he suc-
ceeded to all his father's dominions; and when the captives arrived,
he appointed colonies for them in the most suitable parts of Baby-
lonia.'
(6.) The personal history, character and achievements of Nebu-
chadnezzar stand out prominently in this book of Daniel. He is
here a monarch of great energy, of indomitable will, ruling a vast
empire, and especially building, or more strictly, ?-c-building and
greatly enlarging, Babylon. His insanity for seven years ; his re-
moval from the management of public affairs during this period,
and his restoration again first to reason and then to power, consti-
tute very peculiar features of his history as it appears in this book.
That he was an idolater and that he worshiped some one god in
particular is also manifest. See for the latter point chap.l : 2; "to
the house of his god;" "into the treasure-house of his god;" and
chap. 4: 8, "according to the name of my god." Moreover, we
read much of images of gold. ^The length of his 1re?»ien is not
definitely given in Daniel, but the general cast of the history im-
plies that it was long. The books of Kings, Chronicles, and Jere-
miah give the desired data. Jehoiakim reigned about eleven years ;
in his fourth year, the first large deportation of captives took place.
Daniel was among them. Nebuchadnezzar was then just ascend-
ing his throne. Johoiachin, the son, succeeded; reigned three
months, was then carried captive to Babylon, kept there in prison
at least thirty-six full years, and in his thirty-seventh was taken
284 DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
out of prison by Evil-Merodach, the immediate successor of Nebu-
chadnezzar, and in the first year of his reign. Hence, Nebuchad-
nezzar's reign is measured thus; about seven years contemporary
Avith Jchoiakim, one-fourth of a year with Jehoiachin reigning;
thirty-six with Jehoiachin a prisoner, equal to forty-three.
Let us now turn to confirmations from profane history. And
first on this last mentioned point ; profane history makes his reign
precisely forty three years. This is the language of Berosus : " Now
Nebuchadnezzar, just as he began to build the aforesaid wall, fell
sick and died, after having reigned forty-three years." The cele-
brated canon of Ptolemy (an ofiicial register of the kings of Assyria
and Babylon) assigns him forty-three years; viz., from B. C. G04: to
B. C. 561. A clay tablet, discovered recently, almost proves the same
thing. These tablets are mostly orders on the imperial treasury,
dated in the current year of the reigning monarch. The one referred
to dates in his forty-second year. Of course his reign can not have
been less than this; may have been more. That all profane
history makes him a great king, great in war, but greater in peace,
is well known. That he was the great rebuilder of Babylon is
affirmed by Berosus thus; "Nebuchadnezzar repaired the city
which had existed from the first, and added another to it; and in
order that besiegers might not again be able, by turning aside the
course of the river, to get possession of the city, he built three
courses of walls around the inner city and as many around the
outer. ' But the most remarkably confirming fact is of recent de-
velopment, viz., that nine-tenths of the inscribed bricks from the site
of ancient Babylon are stamped with the name of Nebuchadnez-
zar ! Concerning the extraordinary fact of his temporary insanity
and removal from his throne, we might naturally be inquisitive to
see what the public records of the realm would say and what ver-
sion of it would pass into current and future history. Bearing in
mind that the strong moral impression which extorted such an ac-
knowledgment of the one true God as we find in chap. 4 : 34-o7,
was obviously not abiding; at least was not, in the Christian sense,
converting ; and considering also that he lived to modify the public
records at his own pleasure, we can not expect a very frank con-
fession of the whole case. Now as to the facts : Berosus makes
no decisive allusion to this event. But on what is known as "the
Standard Inscription of Nebuchadnezzar," the following passage
occurs. The first clause is defective, some words being illegible;
but the statements as a whole are remarkably negative^ and silent
as to the causes. "Four years . . . the seat of my kingdom in the
city . . . which . . . did not rejoice my heart. In all my dominions,
1 did not build a high place of power; the precious treasures of
my kingdom I did not lay up. In Babylon, buildings for myself
and for the honor of my kingdom, I did not lay out. In the wor-
ship of Merodach, my lord, the joy of my heart, in Babylon, the
city of his sovereignty and the seat of my empire, I did not sing
his praises and I did not furnish his altars [with victims], nor did 1
clear out the canals." iSo much could not well be ignored on the
DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 285
public records. What was more than this, human pride prevailed
against unwelcome truth to suppress. Mr. Kawlinson remarks
that " the whole range of cuneiform literature presents no similar
instance of a king putting on record his own inaction." It is in
human nature that kings should chronicle and send down to future
ages what they have done^ not what they have left undone.
Yet further; according to the Scriptures Nebuchadnezzar only
of all the heathen monarchs there referred to, had revelations of
the future in visions. Correspondingly, this remarkable record
comes do^sTi to us from the ancient historian Abydenus, as quoted
by Eusebius; somewhat inaccurate as to the facts and apparently
ascribing to Nebuchadnezzar in part what pertains to Belshazzar.
"Afterward, as is said by the Chaldeans, he went up into his
palace, when he was seized by some divine influence, and uttered
these words; — 'O Babylonians, I, Nebuchadnezzar, announce to you
this future calamity. There shall come a Persian mule, using our
divinities as allies : he shall bring us into bondage : leagued with
him shall be the Mede, the boast of Assyria.' Having uttered these
predictions, he immediately disappeared." His devotion to his
own god Merodach, (akin to the planet Jupiter) may be noticed in
the extract above given from his standard inscription. It appears
every-where in the monumental records of Nebuchadnezzar. Kaw-
linson states that " the inscriptions (of this king) always terminate
with a prayer to Merodach, invoking the favor of the god for the
protection of the king's throne and empire, and for its continuance
through all ages to the end of time." Remarkably, Nebuchadnez-
zar, though living in an age of polytheism, seems to have concen-
trated his reverence, worship, and trust, mainly upon this one god.-
His language on his inscriptions runs thus; "Merodach, the great
lord, has appointed me to the empire of the world, and has confided
to my care the far-spread people of the earth;" "Merodach, the
gi-eat lord, the senior of the gods, the most ancient, has given all
nations and people to my care:" "Merodach, the great lord, has
established me in strength." This, it will be seen harmonizes
with the repeated references in Daniel, to "his own god." It
should be noted that the full name of this god is Bel-Merodach;
that it was originally Bel; and hence probably Merodach was first
appended, and then came to be used often alone.- Of Daniel, Neb-
uchadnezzar remarks (chap. 4: 18), "whose name was Belteshaz-
zar, according to the name of my god" — said with reference to the
leading syllable, " BeV Again, Daniel represents " gods of gold "
as common in Babylon. See chap. 3 : I, and 5 : 4. The historic
facts are that Nebuchadnezzar made some extensive conquests im-
mediately before he ascended the throne and others shortly after-
ward ; that plunder of all most valuable things, or enormous tribute,
was the law of conquest in that age ; and that gold was especially
devoted to the service of the gods and wrought into their images.
Kawlinson considers it proven that " the statue of Jupiter Belus,
described by Herodotus, is the same as the great idol of Merodach,
which was made of silver by an earlier king, but was overlaid with
28G DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
plates of gold by Nebuchadnezzar." These points of corre-
spondence between sacred history and profane, out of the life of
Nebuchadnezzar, must suffice.
(c.) The history of IJelshazzar affords another point of striking
confirmation. Until recently, critics have been greatly perplexed
with the question — Who was the Belshazzar of Daniel ? The canon
of Ptolemy fails to give his name among the kings in the line be-
tween Nebuchadnezzar' and the subversion of the empire by Cyrus.
Of the three who fill this chasm in the canon of Ptolemy — usually
known by the names of Evil-Merodach, Nergal-sharezer, and Na-
bonned, alias Labynetus, each one in his turn has been supposed
to be the Belshazzar of Daniel. But no satisfactory explanation-
could be given of the diversity in name. Besides, Berosus had said
that the last king of Babylon, instead of being slain in the capture
of the city, had previously retired to Borsippa, was besieged there,
surrendered, was treated with clemency, and had estates assigned
him by Cyrus in Carmania, where he lived till his natural death.
These apparent discrepancies between the sacred records and
the profane were (as usual) put to their utmost account by skepti-
cal critics. A slight circumstance has relieved all these difficulties.
In the year 1854, Sir Henry Rawlinson deciphered the inscriptions
found on some ancient cylinders among the ruins of Um Queer,
(the ancient "Ur of the Chaldees") wdiere he found it stated that
Nabonned admitted his son Belsharezcr (Belshazzar) to share the
government with him, with the title of king. This son, the prince
royal, was obviously left in charge of the city while his father took
the field. The son was slain.
{d. ) The subversion of the dynasty and kingdom by a Medo-Per-
sian army is another boldly outstanding point in the history of this
book. It is not less prominent in proflme history. Greek historians
have long since wrought the leading facts of this subversion into the
warp of universal history.
(e.) I close this series of coincidences with the duration of the
captivity and the date of the restoration. Daniel 9: 1, 2, shows
that he. estimated the seventy j'^ears of Jeremiah's prophecy (chap.
25: 11, 12) to be near their close in the first year of Darius the
Mede. Of course he would count from the first great deportation
of captives among whom he himself came, which mostly fell within
the year before Nebuchadnezzar ascended the throne. Then at
least three ancient historians (Berosus, Polyhistor and Ptolemy)
make the reign of Nebuchadnezzar forty-three years. His four
Chaldean successors reigned respectively 2; 3]; f; and 17 years.
Then counting one for Darius, we have about sixty-eight — which
brings us near to the determined number in Jeremiah's prophecy.'^
The thoughtful reader will appreciate the importance of these
points of historic criticism, and hence will not account this invcs-
* For inost of these points of more recent investigation, I am indebted
to tlio " 3rJ istorical Evidences " of Geori^e llawlinson ; to liis Herodotus ;
and to various articies in Smitli's Bible Dictionary, all which evince
learning, research and sound judgment on the arclieology of Assyria
and Cbaldea.
DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 287
tigation excessively minute or protracted. For, evidently, if this
book is not reliably accurate as history, there is a somewhat strong
presumption in favor of its being written at a later date. If it be
a forgery of later date, written by some unknown hand and after
the fulfillment of its apparent prophecies, its religious value to us
becomes nothing, and painful doubts are thrown upon the reliabil-
ity of other canonical scriptures. But if this book is historically
true, then it was no doubt written by the Daniel of the captivity.
If written by him, it contains most wonderful prophecy and becomes
its own witness to its divine inspiration. Thus the general truth
of its history confirms its genuineness and authenticity, rescues it
from the ruthless hands of mistaken critics, and gives it jjack to the
church and to mankind, its proofs brightened and its reliability
confirmed by the ordeal of this fiery furnace of hypercriticism.
When this book of Daniel becomes fully and justly known, it will
appear that in respect to both its history and its prophecy it intei*-
lac^es itself so perfectly, not only with the scriptures of the Old
Testament and the New, but with all contemporary and subsequent
history at least down to the Christian era, that no violence can
wrench it away. Its position is such among the pillars of the great
temple of truth that none* can pluck it down without laying the
temple itself in ruins. If there be any reliable history of the ages,
then is this book reliable. Its prophecies have mostly become his-
tory : itself came forth from the Spirit of God. 1 must advance
now to other points appropriate to an introduction.
IV. Let us note with care the peculiar position of Daniel as a
prophet of the Lord with reference both to the covenant people and
to the heathen kings and courts with whom he lived.
(1.) The providence of God raised him to a station of great re-
sponsibility and influence. The jealousy manifested toward him in
the Medo-Persian court testifies to his high standing and influence.
— — (2.) He used his influence most wisely and devotedly for God
and righteousness. Of this the record gives us several noble ex-
amples. (3.) As he testified for God fearlessly, even at the risk
of the greatest personal peril, so God testified for him in forms of
surpassing grandeur and in a way that illustrates God's loving care
of his people, and that must have made strong impressions upon the
heathen minds about him. (4.) He was therefore in a situation
to act as the Patron and Guardian of his people". A measure of
the esteem accorded to him would naturally pass over to his coun-
trymen, arid serve to ameliorate their condition as captives. It can
scarcely be questioned that he obtained for them some favors from
Nebuchadnezzar. Tradition affirms that shortly after the accession
of Cyrus to the throne, Daniel obtained from him the decree for the
restoration of his people, and that for this purpose he brought to
his notice the prophecies of Isaiah (chap. 44 : 23-28, and 45 : 1-4)
in which Cyrus is mentioned by name. The decree itself which
comes down to us in Ezra 1 : 1-4, and 2 Chron. 36 : 22, 23, is such
as at least to favor the credibility of this tradition.— — (5.) It is
pleasant to note that his influence was great, not only in the courts
288 DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
of Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus, but in the court of Heaven. His
prayers to God for mercy to his people and for their restoration to
their own land, as they stand recorded in chap. 9, are among the
most signal examples on record of prevailing intercession.
(6.) His religious influence with his people, the Jews, must have
been very great, especially in the line of withstanding firmly all
temptations to idolatry and heathen supei-stitions, and also of wait-
ing on God in assured hope for the day of national deliverance.
Nor was his influence small toward the requisite antecedent repent-
ance, confession, humiliation and prayer. (7.) These points
bring us to one conclusion of prime importance in the interpreta-
tion of Daniel's prophecies, viz., that they may safely he presumed to
bear very directly upon the religious coyidiiion of his coimtryyjicn in the
age then present and in the nearer future. In behalf of these genera-
tions Daniel felt most intensely ; for these he lived, prayed, planned
and labored ; upon these generations therefore his prophecies must
be presumed especially to bear. This is the common law of pro-
phetic life and labor. The prophets devoted their lives, delivering
their messages orally, or in writing as the Lord might lead them, but
always with reference more or less to the moral and religious wel-
fare of the generation then living. Theliigher their responsibilities
for their own people, the more direct and exclusive, other things
being equal, would be the reference of their messages io the case
of those people. Daniel bore preeminent responsibilities for the
Jewish nation : they lay heavily both on his hands and on his heart ;
and hence with the greater force is it inferred that his prophecies
will respect the present and the nearer future of the Jews. And
here it should be distinctly noted as greatly confirming this opinion,
that Daniel accounts the Jews to be his oion people; that God re-
peatedly recognizes them as such; and in the last prophecy (chap-
ters 10-12) he explicitly declares, "I am come to make thee
understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days" (chap.
10: 14). That they are Daniel's own people, may be seen also in
his prayer for them (chap. 9: 20): "I was confessing the sin of
•my people Israel;" and in the answer of the Lord; "Seventy weeks
are determined upon thy people :" and in chap. 12: 1; "for the
children of thy people ;'' "at that time thy people shall be delivered,"
etc. Thus manifest is it, both from the tenor of the book and
from the known position of Daniel, that he was the father and
patron of the captive Jews during their captivity, ministering to
their f\iith in God, and sustaining their hope and spirit, despite of
tlieir subjection to a foreign yoke. It was no small part of his
mission to assure them that the Lord could easily break this yoke;
that the scepters and thrones of all earthly kings were in his hand ;
and that he had f idly purposed to control the course of empire^ casting
down one, and setting up another in its stead, and making all these
revolutions subserve the present good of his people, and hasten the
coming reign of their own Messiah. This great idea is central in
the prophecies of Daniel and gives the clew to their interpretation.
No greater violence was ever done to the genius of prophecy than
DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 289
has been inflicted upon Daniel by the assumption that he occupied
himself with the minute details of European or Asiatic history dur-
ing; the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries of the Christian era !
V . It is well here to note the points of difference between Daniel
and other Jewish prophets in regard to his general course of thought
and manner of presenting it. (1.) In his prophetic portionshe
makes but few allusions to Jerusalem ; none to the great national
sin of the Jews, idolatry. He never employs that peculiar Jewish
costume under which Isaiah, Zechariah, and others represent all
the Gentile nations as coming up to Jerusalem to build in her tem-
ple, etc. This is as we should naturally expect in one who flour-
ished during the captivity, who lived remote from Judea, and came
but very little in contact with the elements out of which those Jew-
ish conceptions were formed. His education and training were
never thoroughly Jewish. (2.) On the other hand, he deals al-
most exclusively with the rise and fixll of the great kingdoms of the
earth within a given period. The grand succession of supreme
dominion from hand to hand, and the bearing of these changes
upon the planting, growth, and triumph of Messiah's kingdom, are
his great themes. It is easy to see that this grows out of his
surroundin;gs. These were precisely the things with which his
whole public life was most familiar. No other Jewish prophet is
like him in this respect. The course of divine providence schooled
him in courts and cabinets, and kept before his mind the rise and
fall of dynasties. Both his education and his long and active life
were full of this theme. This correspondence between the cast
of his life and the cast of his prophetic themes, symbols, and phrase-
ology, constitutes a strong point of internal evidence of genuineness.
The man who should do what modern German skeptics claim for
the pseudo-Daniel in the Maccabean age must have been specially
inspired, to have thought of this and then to have carried it out so
perfectly! (3.) In this line of thought, let it be noted that the
New Testament phrases, "kingdom of God," and "kingdom of
heaven," are specially taken from Daniel. In his first prophetic
vision, the series of world-wide kingdoms closes thus: "In the days
of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which
shall never be destroyed" (chap. 2: 44). Being set up by the God
of heaven, it is called interchangeably, "The kingdom of God," and
" The kingdom of heaven." The second vision (chap. 7: 13, 14,
27) gives the inauguration of its king, and also the extent and du-
ration of his reign. This, for Daniel, is a perfectly natural con-
ception of the cause and interest, of the work and sway of the j\Ies-
siah upon this earth. He, more exclusively than any other Jewish
prophet, would think of the Messiah as a king, and more still, as
supplanting and succeeding those universal world-monarchs with
whom he was so intimately conversant. David, being himself a
king, sees in the Messiah his successor in royalty and dominion,
and even grasps the idea of his supreme dominion : " I have set my
king upon my holy hill of Zion." " I will give thee the heathen for
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of tlie earth for thy pos-
13
290 DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
session." Ps. 2 : 6, 8. But the Messiah's succession in the series
of universal empires stands out much more distinctly in Daniel than
in David. The same idea of Christ as king may be found in yet
other prophets, but less prominently and by no means so exclu-
sively. Ilemarkably the prophetic spirit foils in with the cast of
each prophet's mind, and uses those illustrations Avith which each
was most familiar. To Ezekicl, a priest, though like Daniel a cap-
tive in Chaldea, the future of the Messiah's work on earth is pre-
sented in a costume that is intensely Mosaic and Levitical. The
land of Judea is repeopled ; the temple rebuilt and refurnished ; all
and more than all its old rituals are reestablished. The whole pre-
sentation is -^vondcrfuUy full, minute, and graphic, culminating in
this one thought; "The name of the city from that day shall be,
" The Lord is there ! " We should look in vain to find such a pas-
sage as Ezek. (chaps. 40-48) in any prophet not himself a priest.
So, to the mind of Amos, called out from the herdmen of Tekoa
and at home among plowmen, reapers, and vineyards, the glories
of the Messianic age stand out in yet other symbols. " The plow-
man shall overtake the reaper, and the trij^der of grapes him that
soweth seed; the mountains shall drop new wine," etc. (chap. 9:
13). But Daniel sees the Messiah succeeding and gloriously eclips-
ing those great, overshadowing monarchies in the midst of which
his life-experiences were cast. This fact is one of no trivial im-
portance in the interpretation of his prophecies. (4.) In the
point of symbolic vision, Daniel resembles the other prophets of his
age — i. e., during and after the captivity, especially Ezekiel and
Zechariah ; but he is very unlike all the rest. This is traceable to
his Chaldean education. During the last half century, the ruins of
Nineveh have disclosed the same general modes of thought and
forms of imaginative pictorial representation. Indeed they are
shown to belong specially to that age and people. It is safe to
assume that in points of this sort Nineveh well represents the
Babylon of Daniel's time. Indeed, Babylon was only a new edi-
tion of Nineveh. (5.) Daniel is remarkable for the repetition of
his leading themes — his four great prophecies being manifestly,
in the main, parallel in their general scope and purpose. This
point will be examined more fully in its proper place.
VI. The deep interest that has been felt in Daniel's prophecies,
especially at particular periods ; the great abuse to which they have
been subjected; the strange, wild, visionary interpretations often
put upon them — render it proper for me here to state briefly the
principles of interpretation that will guide me in my exposition of
his prophecies, and especially of his four great parallel visions, viz.,
chap. 2: 31-45; chap. 7; chap. 8, and chapters 10-12.
(1.) God's own interpretation of the symbols must be accepted
as of supreme authority. So far as it applies directly, every candid
mind must and will admit this principle. Its indirect application
has also important uses.
(2.) The fact of parallelism in these four visions above named
having been substantiated, an interpretation given on divine author-
DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 291
ity in any one of them must be admitted to have great influence
over the interpretation of analogous points in either of the others.
(3.) The same general principles and methods of interpretation
should be carried through the same vision. There should be a
close analogy betAveen the portions that are explained by the Lord
himself, and other portions not so explained. It may be safely as-
sumed that the same general cast of thought and representation will
obtain through the latter as through the former portions of the same
vision. If the former part be explained and not the latter, the Lord
would certainly expect us to learn from the part explained how to
explain the rest.
(4.) Important use may be made of the liynits — the termini —
within which the events predicted must fall; — i. e., the point of
time where they begin and the point where they must close.
Wherever these points can be ascertained on substantial author-
ity, they must have an influence upon the interpretation, always
great and indeed decisive.
(5.) Regard should be had to Daniel's known circumstances and
relations to his people. From these relations it may safely be in-
ferred that his prophecies had at the time, a present moral bearing
upon their religious life ; their hopes and fears, their faith and
piety. Apart from any direct statement to this effect, it should be
presumed that his prophecies would have special relation to the
future history of that people. How much more must this be as-
sumed now, since we have this explicit afiirmation in respect to
the last of the four great parallel visions — one which certainly
comes down as far into the period then future as any one of the
four; — "I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy
people in the latter days" (chap. 10: 14). Moreover, Daniel's
personal relations to the great monarchies of Chaldea and Medo-
Persia would naturally insure some predictions of the rise and
growth of Messiah's kingdom as the only real world-monarchy.
We might expect him to show his people that their own king
Messiah would surely supplant and then immeasurably surpass
in glory all human kingdoms. What could minister more effect-
ively than this to their faith and courage ? On the other hand,
it must be very unreasonable to look here for minute prophecies
respecting the political events of our own times which it could
scarcely be of the least imaginable consequence for the Jews of
that age to understand. Is it probable that the Lord would press
on Daniel's attention the history of the Papal power in the nine-
teenth century of the Christian era when Daniel might so perti-
nently reply : " Lord, I have a whole nation on my heart already.
My soul is burdened with their case and with their destinies.
Why should I turn my mind from these things and try to under-
stand those remote events which are so foreign from my responsi-
bilities, from my heart, and from the case of my people?"
(6.) Fulfillment, after it has taken place, may be legitimately
used to verify the interpretation given, provided always that it be
done judiciously, with good common sense. But it has been tho
292 DANIEL.— GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
besetting sin of interpreters of Daniel to make this the chief and
almost the only criterion for determining his meaning. Conse-
quently, there has been no limit to the fancies and vagaries that
have been put forth as commentary and interpretation of this book.
Disregarding the great principles of interpretation above suggested,
and throwing a loose rein upon their imagination, and moreover
straining the facts of history often rudely, commentators would
seem to have exhausted the possibilities of human fancy, not to
say of absurdity, in their speculations upon the prophecies of
Daniel.
(7.) It is of the utmost consequence that interpreters of this
book should relieve their minds of all prejudice, in the sense of
preconceived opinions, and especially of that most fruitful source
of mischief — the passion for finding here the great events of ones
own time. During the last hundred years there have been numer-
ous efforts to find European history anticipated in Daniel — to trace
out in his prophecies the latest moves on the chess-board of Euro-
pean politics — the career of Napoleon the Great, or of Napoleon
the less; of the Turk or Pasha; or of the Emperor of all the Kussias.
No author was ever stretched or cut to a Procrustean bed with
more recklessness than this same sensible and excellent DanieL
The sad record of his experiences at the hands of expositors of
prophecy should admonish us to approach his writings with a docile
spirit, to ask him what he meant to say, and not to bring to him a
set of ideas, and then torture him and his words till they can be
made to indorse them. And finally, in view of the solemn respon-
sibility of interpreting these immortal words of Daniel in harmony
wuth the mind of the inditing Spirit, let us reverently bow at his
feet, and implore his, guiding hand to lead our thought and to
shape our judgment evermore in all our inquiries after the great
and blessed truths borne to us in this book of Daniel the prophet.
DANIEL.— CHAP. I. 293
CHAPTER I.
This chapter introduces Daniel ; gives his early personal history
and that of his three youn"; friends. They refuse the delicacies
of the king's table, and at their own request are proved on purely
vegetable food — successfully (vs. 8-16). They appear before the
Chaldean king and are approved (vs. 17-21).
1. In the third year of the reis^n of Jehoiakim king of
Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusa-
lem, and besieged it.
This first attack upon Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, said here
to have been in the third year of Jehoiakim, appears to be as-
signed by Jeremiah (chap. 25: 1, and 46: 2) to his fourth year.
For he makes the fourth year of Jehoiakim coincide (at least in
part) Avith the first year of Nebuchadnezzar. In the introduction
(p. 283) it vp^as shown on the authority of Berosus that Nebuchad-
nezzar smote Pharaoh Necho and his army of Egyptians and allies
at Carchemish, and wrested from their hand Jerusalem and the
sovereignty of Judah immediately before he ascended the throne.
Probably the latter part of this series of events occurred in the
fourth year of Jehoiakim and the former part in his third. The
Jewish captives might have left Jerusalem before the close of Je-
hoiakim's third year, and have arrived in Babylon in the early part
of his fourth. Often such small discrepancies may be explained by
reference to the Jewish usage of counting a fraction of a year in
the number of years. Moreover Daniel may have followed Chal-
dean usage as to the time of beginning his year, while Jeremiah
followed the Jewish. ^A discrepancy of this sort would scarcely
call for explanation were it not that captious critics have sought
by means of it to impeach the historical accuracy of Daniel.
2. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into
his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God,
which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of
his god ; and he brought the vessels into the treasure-house
of his god.
Daniel is careful to say (with historical accuracy) that at this
time the king of Babylon took away only a part of the vessels of
the temple. Many more were taken during the short reign of
Jeconiah (see 2 Kings 24: 13) and yet some were left behind then,
to be taken at the final destruction of the city in the reign of Zed-
ekiah. Of the latter, special mention is made by Jeremiah (chap.
27 : 19-22). This matter of the sacred vessels of the temple was
to the Jews of the utmost moment. This heathen king carried
these sacred vessels into the house of his god as trophies of victory
gained by the favor of his idol over the Cod of Israel. It was
common for heathen kings to honor their own gods in this way.
291 DANIEL.— CHAP. 1.
3. And tlic king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his
cunuclis, that he should bring certain of the children of Is-
rael, and of the king's seed, and of the princes ;
4. Children in ^vhom ^uas no blemish, but well favored,
and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and
understanding science, and such as had ability in them to
stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the
learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
In respect to this custom of training executive officers for the
king's service, see the Introduction to Daniel. They were taught
the literature as well as the language of the Chaldeans. The origi-
nal word rendered "learning" means "book."
5. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the
king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourish-
ing them three years, that at the end thereof they might
stand before the king.
The king assigned them a daily allowance from his own table.
The word rendered " king's-meat," implies, his delicacies, his choice
and rich diet.
6. Now, among these were of the children of Judah, Dan-
iel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah;
7. Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names:
for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar ; and to
Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and
to Azariah, of Abed-nego.
Of these four Jewish names it may be noted that they are all
compounded with the names of the true God; El being wrought
into Daniel, (meaning judge for God) and into INIishael (who is what
(Jod is?), while the last syllable of Jehovah appears in Ilananiah
(whom Jehovah has graciously given) and Azariah (one helped of
God). The new names expunge all recognition of the true God,
and honor the Chaldean gods instead; Daniel having Bel wi'ought
into his, Belteshazzar, which means a j^rince of Bel. This change
of name must have been to them a sore trial.
8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not
defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with
the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the
prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Plainly one of Daniel's objects was to avoid ceremonial defile-
ment, as determined by the Mosaic law. At the same time it ap-
pears from what follows that on physiological grounds he was sure
of better health on a simple, plain diet. The case evinces both bis
DANIEL.— CHAP. I. 295
conscientiousness in reference to the law of his God, and his noble
self-control in the matter of appetite. He held his appetite in lirm
subjection to the dictates of enlightened judgment and experience
as to what was best for his health and physical vigor. These are
among the first and most vital elements in the formation of a char-
acter of the highest promise for efficiency and usefulness.
9. Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender
love with the prince of the eunuchs.
10. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I
fear my lord the king, w^ho hath appointed your meat and
your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking
than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye
make 7ne endanger my head to the king.
"Why should he see your faces worse liking?" etc., means prac-
tically, ^^ wo7-se looking." The original means "more depressed," as
by sadness or low spirits. "Than the children of your sort" means,
those of your circle; of your age and circumstances. This prince
assumed that high living is quite essential to fair flesh and fine
health — a capital though not uncommon mistake.
11. Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the
eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah,
12. Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days ; and
let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
13. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee,
and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion
of the king's meat : and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.
Melzar, having the article in the original (the Melzar) is not a
proper name, but means " the chief butler." Daniel had a safe
proposal ready. Let them try us on our vegetable diet and pure
water, ten days. "Pulse" means vegetables in general, plants
grown Trom seed-sowing.
14. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved
them ten days.
15. And at the end of ten days their countenances ap-
peared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which
did eat the portion of the king's meat.
16. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and
the wine that they should drink ; and gave them pulse.
The experiment being triumphantly successful, Daniel and his
friends are relieved of both the ceremonial defilement and the
physical mischiefs incidental to the king's diet.
17. As for these four children, God gave them knowdedge
296 DANIEL.— CHAP. II.
and skill in all learning and wisdom : and Daniel had un-
derstanding in all visions and dreams.
While wisdom and learning were common to all the four, Daniel
had special "understanding; in all visions and dreams." The divine
purpose in this gift to Daniel was to qualify him for transcendent
influence in that heathen court and country, and to make him a
prophet of high order among his own people.
18. Now at the end of the days that the king had said
he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs
brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
19. And the king communed with them: and among them
all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah : therefore stood they before the king.
20. And in all matters of wisdom a7id understanding, that
the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better
than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his
realm.
"The end of days" is the expiration of the three years fixed by
the king and referred to v. 5. The king "communed with them"
for the purpose of sounding their depth and testing their adaptation
to his wants. He became abundantly satisfied. Hence they took
their position; they "stood before the king," awaiting orders and
ready for his service. This is tlie usual phrase for servants in at-
tendance upon their superiors. 8o angels are said to " stand before
God." "Ten times better," is a definite phrase in the sense of
an indefinite.
21. And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king
Cyrus.
It is not said that Daniel continued no longer, but only that he
continued to tliat time. Probably this closed his official life. This
book gives no notice of the time or the circumstances of lii» deatli.
CHAPTER II.
Nebuchadnezzar is greatly troubled by a dream which he can
not recall: his Chaldean ]\lagi can not help him to it; but Daniel
reveals to the king his dream and its interpretation. Thereupon
the king acknowledges the great superiority of the God of Daniel,
and promotes him and his three friends to high positions of trust
in the state. This dream or vision is the first in a series of four
to which very special attention must be given in the proper place.
1. And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnez-
DANIEL.— CHAP. II. 297
zar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit
was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
Dreams are usually the mere fancies of the mind durinn; sleep,
and of no account as indicating future events. But the (iod who
made us is able to reach our minds no less while we sleep than
while we are awake ; and hence can determine our dreams as truly
and perfectly as the succession and character of our waking
thoughts. Hence he was wont in ancient times to manifest him-
self to men in their dreams — as here in the case of this Chaldean
king. This dream troubled him and made sleep impossible. It
left his mind painfully anxious as if it foreboded some great
calamity; while- yet he could not recall the particular points of the
dream. Much less could he reach its prophetic significance.
2. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and
the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to
shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before
the king.
In this emergency, the king called in the aid of those classes of
men who professed skill in the occult sciences and in auguries of
future events. Most if not all of the unevangelized nations of all. his-
tory have had such men, often known as a special class, under some
distinctive name. Here are four different terms of designation.
The word rendered "magicians" means sacred scribes — priests of
religion. The original Hebrew word from which it is derived
means a graving tool — the very instrument used in that age for
writing on stone, and probably too on bricks while in their plastic
state. Babylonian documents are found in immense numbers writ-
ten on both these sorts of material. The next term rendered
"astrologers," is several times translated "magoi," (magi) in the
Septuagint. The magoi are the "wise men" who came from the
east (Mat. 2: 1) to inquire for the new-born Messiah whose star
they had seen, and therefore came to worship him. The second
and the third terms imply in the original Hebrew, the use of occult
arts, secret practices, by which their authors pretended to have
communication with invisible powers or agencies, and to learn from
them what no unaided human mind could attain. The term
Chaldean as used in this connection can not denote the whole peo-
ple of the country, Chaldea, but a learned class, who retained the
language and the wisdom of the ancient Kaldi people. The latter
were of the Cushite family, allied to the Ethiopians. While the
great body of the people inhabiting Chaldea used a Semitic lan-
guage, closely related to the Hebrew, and known variously as
Byriac, Aramaic, Chaldee ; this learned class retained for their
religious and probably scientific purposes another language which
testifies to their connection with the ancient Cushite or Ethiopian
family. Tliey are sometimes spoken of also as a Scythio race. The
authority for these views of their ethnic relations is found in the
298 DANIEL.— CHAP. 11.
language used in ancient inscriptions. ^Thesc brief explanations
may suffice to show in general that these classes combined with
much real learning and science, more or less claim to communion
with superhuman beings or agencies by which they sought to in-
terpret dreams and to foretell future events. They came at the
king's call and stood before him.
3. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a
dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
The king is specially anxious to know, not the dream only, but
its interpretation — its true significance.
4. Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac, O
king, live forever : tell thy servants the dream, and we will
shew the inter j)retation.
The Chaldeans spoke to the king "in Syriac" — the usual lan-
guage of the country. From this point to the end of chap. 7, the
author of this book wrote in this dialect, here called " Syriac ;" but
in the original, "Aramaic;" and more generally known as the
Chaldee language. It differs altogether in the forms of its letters
and somewhat in its grammatical forms and words, from the Syriac
of the earlier ages of the Christian era. Daniefs reasons for
this use of the Chaldee tongue are obvious. The subject-matter
of these chapters was of the utmost interest and moment to the
Chaldean people. It related to their own monarchs and to great
events of their own national history. It bore repeated testimonies
to the supreme power, wisdom and glory, of the Great God — testi-
monies that came from their own monarchs. Wisely therefore did
Daniel afford them the requisite facilities for reading these testi-
monies in their own tongue. This dialect would be readily under-
stood by the captive Jews.
5. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The
thing is gone from me: if ye ^\i\\ not make known unto
me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be
cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill :
G. But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation
thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great
honor : therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation
thereof.
The Chaldean wise men steadily demand that the king shall tell
his dream. The king has lost it, and hence demands no less per-
sistently that they shall give him botli his dream and its interpreta-
tion. Feeling intensely anxious to know it, ho resorts to the utmost
terr(/r of his supreme power of life and death over his subjects, and
threatens them the most terrible and disgraceful death if they fail,
backing up this penalty by the promise of immense rewards if they
are successful, it is plain that God is shaping this matter to test
DANIEL.— CHAP. 11. 299
the intrinsic futility of their pretensions to superhuman knowledge,
and to bring out in the most public manner his own infinite superi-
ority over them all.
7. They answered again and said, Let the king tell his
servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation
of it. ^
8. The king answered and said, I know of certainty that
ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone
from me.
9. But if ye will not make known unto me the dream,
there is but one decree for you : for ye have prepared lying
and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be
changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know
that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof
To their renewed request for the dream, the king, yet more ex-
cited, replies, charging them w^ith seeking to stave off this profes-
sional duty of theirs (as he deems it) by delay. The king seems
to assume that in their view, lapse of time will divert his attention,
or lessen his interest in the matter, so that he would at least relax
the severity of his decree, if not, indeed, forget, or reverse it.
Hence he meets this point with characteristic rigor and sternness.
The whole bearing of the king in this case shows what an earnest,
self-reliant man becomes under the reacting influence of absolute
power over the destiny and life of his fellow-beings.
10. The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said.
There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's
matter : therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler that asked
such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and
there is none other that can shew it before the king, except
the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
Forced upon impossibilities as the sole condition of life, the Chal-
deans are emboldened to speak out plainly even before this absolute
and terribly stern monarch. They assure him that the thing he
demands is beyond all human skill, and that no reasonable king
ever before made such demands as this upon men of their profes-
sion. The word rendered ''rare" in the phrase, "it is a rare
thing," means usually, "hard," "difficult;" and here, manifestly,
"impossible" — a thing entirely above the range of mortal knowl-
edge; such a thing as none can reveal but the gods who dwell not
in human flesh. This admission was of the utmost importance in
its bearing upon Daniel and Daniel's God. It shows moreover that
they had a distinct conception of a higher Intelligence — some Great
Mind or Minds, possessed of knowledge and forecast far beyond
that of men.
300 DANIEL.— CHAP. II.
12. For this cause the king was angry and very iurious,
and commanded to destroy all the wise 7nen of Babylon.
13. And the decree went forth that the wise men should
be slain ; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be
slain.
Here is absolutism, under inflamed passion. The king will bear
no implication that he is unreasonable, and will mot consent to be
balHed in his cherished purpose to get back the lost dream and find
its meaning. Daniel and his three associates, ("fellows") seem
not to have been present among the magicians, astrologers, etc., who
were summoned before the king, and hence knew nothing of this
transaction. But now that death is the doom of all the wise men,
they are less disposed to count out Daniel and his three friends.
All this, whether well or ill intended on their part, was of the Lord,
who is wont to make the wrath of man work out his own praise.
14. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to
Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone
forth to slay the wise men of Babylon :
15. He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain.
Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch
made the thing known to Daniel.
Arioch, captain of the king's guard, was really, as the margin in-
timates, " chief of the executioners" — the two sorts of service, viz.,
commanding the body-guard of the king and serving as public ex-
ecutioner to take the life of persons condemned by the king to
death — ^being naturally performed by tlie same officer. Daniel
spoke prudently to this oificer: and yet the original word he used,
rendered " hasty " (" why is the decree of the king sojiasty ? ") means
"stern," "severe," — standing related to justice and common human-
ity, and not merely to thne.
16. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that
he would give him time, and that he would shew the king
the interpretation.
It is noticeable that the king does not object to giving Daniel
reasonable time, though he had been so violent against his magi-
cians when he thought they meant to evade his demands by gaining
time. He saw in Daniel the marks of an honest man. Moreover,
we need not be slow to recognize a divine hand, giving Daniel favor
before the king.
17. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing
known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his com-
panions :
18. That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven
DANIEL.— CHAP. II. 301
concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should
not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
It was eminently fitting that this case should be borne to God in
special prayer, and that Daniel should invite the sympathy and
help of his three friends in supplication befo'5:e God. The results
purposed of God are to be signally honorable to all these men.
First, then, let them humbly and earnestly seek God in prayer.
This is the order of both providence and grace. Asking comes be-
fore receiving. Moreover, the results are to be momentous upon
the political condition of the captive Jews and upon their faith in
the God of their fathers. How appropriate then, for every reason,
that this divine mercy needed by l)aniel should be earnestly sought
in prayer by all his pious friends !
19. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night
vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of
God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
21. And he chaugeth the times and the seasons; he re-
moveth kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto
the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding :
22. He revealeth the deep and secret things : he knoweth
what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
23. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my
fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast
made known unto me now wdiat we desired of thee : for
thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.
The revelation was made to Daniel forthwith, in the manner of a
vision by night. He is at once conscious that God has given him
the secret prayed for and so much desired, and hence he breaks
out in grateful praise for this blessing. The expressions, "wis-
dom and might are his;" "he changeth the times and the seasons;"
"he removeth kings and setteth up kings;" are evidently suggested
by the subject-matter of the king's dream which is now both re-
vealed and expounded to Daniel. The central idea of that dream
is (as we shall see), the changing course of empire and the divine
agency in casting down one great world-ruling dynasty and setting
up another in its stead. In most sublime strains, Daniel celebrates
also the omniscience and foreknowledge of Jehovah : " He revealeth
the deep and secret things," such as no mortal eye can reach; "He
knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him."
Dwelling himself in light unapproachaljle and full of glory, nothing
present, past, or future, can be dark to his all-searching eye.
24. Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the
king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon : he
went and said thus unto him : Destroy not the wdse men of
302 DANIEL.~CHAP. II.
Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto
the king the interpretation.
25. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in
haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the
captives of Judah,*that will make known unto the king the
interpretation.
No time is to be lost. Daniel reports himself as ready now to
meet the king and is accordingly brought into his presence.
26. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name
was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me
the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
27. Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and
said, The secret which the king hath demanded can not the
wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the sooth-sayers,
shew unto the king ;
28. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets,
and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall
be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy
head upon thy bed, are these ;
29. As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind
upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he
that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall
come to 23ass.
30. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for
any wisdom that I. have more than any living, but for their
sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king,
and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
The king's question, "Art thou able?" etc., brings out Daniel's
genuine humility and his hearty recognition of all bis special power
in this line as from the Great God of heaven. He therefore re-
marks first (v. 27) that none of the wise men of Babylon, and by
implication, no wise men on the face of the earth, can reveal this
secret ; and then that the God of heaven, and he alone and only,
has made this revelation. Remarkal)ly, he begins (v. 28) as if he
would go on at once to recite the dream; but checks himself and
returns to say again, as to the king, that, through the hand of God,
his thoughts upon his bed were of what should take place there-
after; and as to himself, that this secret was not revealed to him
because of any special wisdom of his above other men, but for the
sake of making the interpretation known to the king. In this
latter clause, the marginal reading gives the sense more accurately
than the text. Jt should not read, "for their sakes who should
make this thing know^n," as if there were certain other parties to
be used in revealing this matter to the king, and it was revealed
to Daniel for their sakes. This is not the sense, but rather simply,
DANIEL.— CHAP. II. 303
that God revealed it to Daniel in order that it might be made
known to the king. Daniel's humble disclaimer of personal
merit may remind us of the same thing in Joseph ; " Do not inter-
pretations belong to God?" Gen. 40: 8; also, "Joseph answered
Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me; God shall give Pharaoh an an-
swer of peace" (Gen. 41: 16). Also, of the divine law, "Them
that honor me, I will honor" (1 Sam. 2: 30). The reference
made here and elsewhere to the time when the events signified by
this dream -should take place are altogether indefinite. Thus,
"what shall be in the latter days" (v. 28); "what shall come to
pass" (v. 29), and "what shall come to pass hereafter" (v. 45),
give us no certain clue to the precise period. So far as these
phrases are concerned, the events might come sooner or later;
might spread over the centuries before the Christian era, or lie in
the future beyond it. We look in vain to these phrases to find
definite marks of future time.
31. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image.
This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood
before thee ; and the form thereof teas terrible.
32. This image's head ivas of fine gold, his breast and
his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
33. His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of
clay.
34. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without
hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of
iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver,
and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like
the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind
carried them a^vay, that no place was found for them :
and the stone that smote the image became a great mount-
ain, and filled the whole earth.
• 36. This is the dream ; and we will tell the interpretation
thereof before the king.
37. Thou, O king, art a king of kings : for the God of
heaven hath given thee a kingdom, powxr, and strength,
and glory.
38. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the
beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he
given into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them
all. Thou art this head of gold.
39. And after thee shall rise another kingdom inferior
to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall
bear rule over all the earth.
40. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron : for-
304 DANIEL.— CHAP. II.
asmuch as iron breakcth in pieces and subdueth all tilings :
and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces
and bruise.
41. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of
potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be di-
vided ; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron,
forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with the miry-
clay.
42. And as the toes of the feet ivere part of iron, and
part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and
partly broken.
43. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay,
they shall mingle themselves Avith the seed of men : but
they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not
mixed with clay.
44. And in the days of these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, hut it
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and
it shall stand forever.
45. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut
out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake
in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the
gold ; the great God hath made known to the king what
shall come to pass hereafter : and the dream is certain, and
the interpretation thereof sure.
This passage is in t\YO parts; — the dream (vs. 31-35); and its
interpretation (vs. 37-45). The dream is symbolic; — one con-
nected, compact series of symbols; — the interpretation renders
these symbols into literal language. The symbols scarcely
need any comment. The language itself is plain. Here is one
hup;e image of the human form, the head of gold being the first
part; the breast and arms of silver, the second; the belly and
thighs of brass, the third ; the legs, feet and toes, part iron and
part clay, the fourth. Then a stone cut from the mountain with-
out hands, smites the image upon its feet, but breaks in pieces the
vphole image and scatters it to the winds of heaven ; and then itself
becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth. A stone is a
proper symbol of an agency that comes to l)reak a huge metal image.
That it is "cut from the mountain without hands" indicates that
the Messiah was born and brouglit fortli before the world as King
of nations by divine rather than human agencies ; while his smiting
the great image to its destruction denotes the power of God in his
providential government, overturning guilty nations. The inter-
pretation shows that the central idea of the dream is the course of
empire; the rapid succession of great world-monarchies. The
DANIEL.— CHAP. II. 305
reader should nofc fail to note that while these symbols, standing
unexplained, would he obscure and might greatly perplex all com-
mentators, yet the interpretation malies their meaning definite and
certain. For in the first place an inspired interpretation is perfect
authority. When God himself interprets, and we get his meaning,
it is the end of all uncertainty, and should be the end of all doubt.
And as to the proljlem of getting his meaning, it is safe to infer
that if God professes to interpret, he intends to make himself un-
derstood. Hence he will use plain language and use it according
.to the laws of human speech, so that due candor, care and dili-
gence, with the divine blessing, will surely lead men into all the
important truth that God has sought to teach. Guided especially
by this inspired interpretation, let us now search out the truth
taught by this vision. As above suggested, the central idea is
the course of empire — the succession of great, universal monarchies.
Of these the first four are of the earth, earthly — mere human king-
doms. The fifth is in some respects peculiar, being '''set up by the
God of heaven." The points affirmed here of this fifth kingdom
are that it first destroys and then supersedes all the other king-
doms ; that it shall not pass over into the hands of other races and
people, as those that preceded it had done ; that it shall not be tran-
sient, like them, but enduring; and finally it shall be in a higher
sense than they, universal in extent, filling all the earth. As to
the first four, the interpretation makes it absolutely certain that
the head of gold representing the first kingdom is the Chaldean
empire, specially embodied in its one gTeat monarch — the author
mainly of its splendor and greatness — Nebuchadnezzar. "Thou art
this head of gold." It is scarcely less certain that the second —
the silver breast and arms — is the kingdom actually next in the
order of time. "Arising after thee and inferior to thee," it must
be the Medo-Persian, of which Cyrus was the great central repre-
sentative. On this point interpreters agree. Equally clear is it
that the third — the belly and thighs of brass ; that " shall bear rule
over all the earth;" is the Grecian empire whose one sole repre-
sentative was Alexander. His place in the series is so well defined
by the description and by the historic facts, as to leave no room
for rational doubt. The identity of the fourth kingdom is the
great question of this prophecy. The two conflicting opinions be-
tween which commentators have been divided for ages are; (1)
That it is the Roman power; (2) That it is the broken, divided em-
pire that in fact next succeeded Alexander, knoAvn in history as
the "Empire of Alexander's successors." The portions with which
the Jews came specially in contact were the Syrian kingdom,
founded by Seleucus Nicator, and the Egyptian, founded by Ptol-
emy Lagus. In point of time, these powers fill the two or three
centuries that immediately followed the death of Alexander, B. C
323. It is impossible to do justice to the prophecies of Daniel
without a very careful and thorough investigation of this radical
question. Let it be our aim to advance cautiously, witli candor
and patience, endeavoring to embrace all the elements that bear
306 DANIEL.— CHAP. II.
upon this question and giving to each its due weight in the final
decision.
In regard to this fifth kingdom, specially described in v, 44, ob-
serve that in the opinion of all intelligent commentators, our divine
Lord and his forerunner John the liaptist take their current and
oft-used phrases, "Kingdom of God," and "Kingdom of heaven,"
from this passage. Daniel says, " The God of heaven shall set up
a kingdom." Hence it might be called either, "The kingdom of
God," or, "The kingdom of heaven." In fact both these designa-
tions are used frequently. John began his preaching, saying,
"llepent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand". (Mat. 3: 2).
Jesus began with the same text (see Mat. 4 : 17). According to
Mark (chap. 1 : 15) Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel
of the kingdom of God and saying, " The time is fulfilled and th'e
kingdom of God is at hand." Luke has it, " The kingdom of God"
(chap. 4: 43, and 8:1). "I must preach the kingdom of God to
other cities also." " Showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of
God." 1 quote only a part of these numerous cases, yet enough
to show (1.) that Daniel's fifth kingdom is precisely the gospel
kingdom of the New Testament, our divine Lord himself being the
highest authority for this identity; and (2.) that its time was then
"fulfilled;" it was "at hand" and was set up during that genera-
tion. (The proof of this last point will be adduced more fully in
my notes on Dan. 7.) This identification of the fifth kingdom is a
point of the greatest importance. Especially should it be noted
that both Jesus Christ and his inspired apostles, by taking up these
words of Daniel and applying them to the reign of Christ, become
themselves so far forth the interpreters of Daniel's prophecy, certify-
ing to us that in their view the Spirit who spake by Daniel meant
by this fifth kingdom that of the gospel age whose king was Jesus
the Messiah. Let it be borne in mind that of these five king-
doms, four are in point of origin earthly; the fifth heavenly: four
are of this world; the fifth is "not of this world:" four are of the
sort well known to profane history ; the fifth is of the sort little
knoAvn, except in sacred history — a kingdom whose defined purpose
is "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." Though
eminently spiritual, it yet none the less controls the external life —
unto universal righteousness.
I call special attention to yet another point. In a definite series
of prophetic events — a series which has a well-defined commence-
ment and a well-defined close — it is of the utmost consequence to
note well where it begins and where it closes. What are techni-
cally called the termini — the "terminus a qvio," the starting-point
from which the series begins : and the " terminus ad quem," the
closing point down to which it comes but no farther — are beyond
measure important to be carefully ascertained. They are the great
landmarks of prophetic interpretation. For these symbols do not
mean every thing. They must not be wrested to mean any and every
sort of thing that the fancy of any interpreter or any reader may sug-
gest. Their meaning is shut up within these ascertained termini;
DANIEL.-^CHAP. II. 307
between the point where the series begins and the point where it
closes. In the present case, the series begins with Nebuchad-
nezzar. " Thou art this head of gold." The fourth kingdom ends
not later than the point where the fifth begins ; for plainly the fifth
succeeds the fourth as the second docs the first, and the third the
second, and the fourth the third. So the symbols imply. The
stone while yet a stone, and before it has grown into a mountain,
smites the whole image — legs, feet, and toes, as truly as head,
breast, belly und thighs — and breaks all in pieces. In fact, the
smiting blow is specially said to have been upon the feet. Hence
the natural sense of the symbol is that the fourth kingdom (as really
as the first three) is demolished before the fifth is inaugurated as
a visible kingdom among men. But here special attention should
be given to the corresponding interpretation (v. 44). "In the days
of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom." On this
passage two important questions arise ; (a. ) What kings are meant ?
(b.) In what sense does the God of heaven set up his kingdom in
their days ? (a.) As to the first point, some interpreters assume that
the kings referred to are the toes of the image. But this view can
not be sustained. The language, " these kings," implies that they
have been distinctly brought to view already. But there has been
no hint that the toes are kings. Other kings have been before the
mind; Nebuchadnezzar especially and first — leading the analogy
of the vision. The nest kingdom had its equally prominent repre-
sentative king — Cyrus. The third was embodied in its one great
monarch — practically its first and its last — Alexander. Analogy
would suggest that the fourth had also its great kings, one or
more. To these, then, we must suppose reference is made in the
phrase, "In the days of these kings," and not to the toes of the
image specially, and much less exclusively, (b.) To the question.
In what sense was Messiah's kingdom set up in the days of those
kings? I answer: Only in the sense of preparatory work, done
by the agencies of divine providence. The demohtion of those
kingdoms prepared the way for the formal, visible inauguration of
Messiah's kingdom. This visible inauguration and setting up fol-
lowed that demolition, and was not strictly simultaneous. The
language which is very general, certainly admits this construction ;
the sense of the symbols seems to require it; and yet further, the
genius of the entire vision sustains it — this genius or scope being,
in the words of Ezekiel (chap. 21: 27), "I will overturn, overturn,
overturn it; and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it
is : and I will give it him." But a more thorough and extended
investigation of this point, and indeed of many other points, will be
due when we reach the seventh chapter. That vision of successive
beasts is beyond all question parallel to this vision of the great
image. It goes over the same line of thought ; gives the same series
of four great empires, followed by the fifth — that of Alessiah and
of his people ; and scarcely differs from this in any respect, save that
it presents a new set of symbols and gives much more detail on two
important points; viz., (1.) The work and the doom of the fourth
308 DANIEL.— CHAP. II.
beast and of his little horn: and (2.) The precise order of succes-
sion between the fourth and the fifth kingdoms ; the destruction of the
fourth beast and all his horns, preceding and followed by the inaug-
uration both in heaven and in earth of this fifth king and kingdom.
1 propose therefore to defer the full and exhaustive discussion of
the significance of the fourth kingdom till we come to chap. 7.
Enough has been adduced however already to show that the fourth
kingdom must l^e that of Alexander's successors and not the lioman
empire. For, consider the field where we are to* look for this
fourth kingdom. Chronologically^ its whole history must lie be-
tween the death of Alexander, B. C. 323, and the birth of Christ.
Home is not there : the fragments of Alexander's empire under his
successors are there. Territorially^ it should be sought in West-
ern Asia, not in Europe ; in general, on the same territory where
the first, second, and third kingdoms stood. Politically^ it should
be the immediate successor of Alexander's empire, recasting much
of the same materials; in general, changing the dynasty, but not
the nations and tribes composing the elements of its population and
power. This law obtains in respect to the first three kingdoms;
Mdiy should it not in respect to the fourth as well ? Analogy re-
quires it. In this point, therefore, analogy shuts off Kome and
points to the kingdoms of Alexander's successors. Yet again, as
to general character; this fourth kingdom, according to the symbol
and its interpretation, is mixed, composite, brittle, inadhesive, not
unified and consolidated into one firm power. These are strong
points of its character. In all these points the description fits
the fragmentary empire that immcdiatel}' follows Alexander ; while
for this period (B. C. 332-0) it does not iit Rome at all. No human
kingdom was ever more unlike this description than Rome was in
the early ages of history; or say during two centuries after the
death of Alexander. Finally, the first three kingdoms were of
special interest to the Jews, because their own nation bore the
closest political relations to each of them; either in captive subjec-
tion or under friendly protection, or exposed more or less to hostile
collision. The powers that next succeeded Alexander, filling
these relations to the Jews, were first and most, the Greek-Syrian;
and next the Greek-Egyptian. It was not till very near the close
of this period that the Romans came into any political relations
whatever toward the Jews. Or, to put this thought in another
form : These four kingdoms have a place in Jewish prophecy be-
cause of their relations to the Jewish state and to the kingdom of
God. as embosomed in its undeveloped germ among that people. It
was really for the sake of revealing to Daniel and to Daniel's peo-
ple what should "befall them in the latter days" (chap. 10: 14),
all along down to the coming of their ^lessiah, that these prophe-
cies were revealed. They touch the political history of the king-
doms of this world only because those particular kingdoms sustained
very special relations to the great kingdom that is not of this Avorld,
which lay in embryo in the Jewish state, yet nursed and guarded
there under the perfect eye of God, till the time was fulfilled and
DANIEL.— CHAP. II. 309
the kingdom of God truly came — i. e., came forth visibly before all
the world. That is to say, it is not the genius of Daniel" s prophecy
to teach universal history, nor to teach profane history at all,
apart from its relations to Christ's kingdom before his coming and
doAvn to that coming. His great central idea is — The invisible arm
of King Messiah, defending his unborn kingdom (lying in embryo
in the Jewish state) against four great worldly powers in succes-
sion, overturning one, and another, and yet another, and thus giv-
ing visible birth and development to Messiah's kingdom, to super-
cede them all, and surpass them all in its world-wide sway.
liome has no place in this programme. Universal history, in its
scientific point of view, or as related to what we are wont to ac-
count the march of the great civilizations of mankind, was never
the governing purpose of Daniel's prophecy. If it be yet main-
tained that the fourth kingdom must be the Roman because of its
iron strength, I answer, (1.) Here was strength and weakness
blended — a fact which harmonizes with the brittle character of the
kingdoms of Alexander's successors, but does not by any means
harmonize with the Roman power of this age; — and (2.) Daniel
could not fail to see and measure the strength of these kingdoms
from his stand-point of paternal care for his own people. Those
powers would be seen strong and terrible,- which were in fact for-
midable or destructive to the Jews. Of this more will be said in
the notes upon chap. 7. These points of reply by no means in-
clude all the objections to the Roman theory. They only touch the
special plea for it, on the score of its assumed iron strength.
46. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face,
and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should
offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him.
47. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it
is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and
a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
Profoundly impressed with the greatness of Daniel and of
Daniel's God, and quite too oblivious of Daniel's personal dis-
claimer ("not for any wisdom that I have more than any living,")
the king fell prostrate before him and gave command that an obla-
tion and sweet odors should be offered to him. This must be as-
cribed to his heathen ideas. Still it did not preclude from his
mind a strong conviction of the supremacy of the God of Daniel.
His profession of faith on this point is (for the time) very strong.
We have to deplore that it was so transient, or, at least, so ineffi-
cacious in the line of its proper antagonism to his notions of idol
gods and of image worship.
48. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave
him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole
province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all
the wdse men of Babylon.
310 DANIEL.— CHAP. III.
49. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shad-
rach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the prov-
ince of Bab}don : but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
Promotion followed, and Daniel is advanced to the position of
prime minister for the province of Babylon and head-man over the
whole fraternity of magicians, soothsayers, priests of religion and
of science. At his request his three friends also are promoted to
important trusts. Daniel's place in the gate of the king put him
next the royal person as his first counsellor — a position of the very
highest trust and influence. Such were the first and immediate
results of the divine favor to Daniel in revealing the secret of the
king's dream.
CHAPTER III.
The king makes a huge golden image, sets it up, and convenes
the officers of every grade in his kingdom to attend its dedication
and join in its worship. .Daniel's three friends refuse, and are ca.st
into a furnace of fire : God preserves them from all harm, and the
king by decree dooms to death all who shall speak against their
God.
1. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold,
whose height ivas threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof
six cubits : he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province
of Babylon.
Assuming the cubit to be about eighteen inches in length, this
image of gold was ninety feet high and nine broad. In view of
the facts adduced in the general introduction respecting this king's
devotion to his own God, Bel-Merodach, there can be no rational
doubt that he intended this image to represent the great power,
majesty, and excellence of this god. Was the idea of it suggested
by his wonderful dream of a great image? That image Avas
"great," "its brightness was excellent," and "the form thereof was
terrible." It is not specially surprising, therefore, that in a mind
thoroughly imbued with the notions of idol and image worship, the
huge image seen in his dream should suggest the construction of
this great image of gold to represent his view of the greatness and
excellent glory of his god. The consummate art of Satan's master-
mind was in it also, the managing spirit in the whole realm of idol-
atry. He held and led the mind of this heathen king. Alas,
that a mind of such decision and energy should so utterly lack the
just idea of the spiritual being of the Great God, and of his tran-
sccndant moral perfections I
2. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together
DANIEL.— CHAP. III. 31 J
the princes, the governors, arid the captains, the judges, the
treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of
the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which
Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
3. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the
judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all
the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto
the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king
had set up: and they stood before the image that Nebu-
chadnezzar had set up.
The king could not convene all the people of his vast dominions.
The next thing to it was to convene all the officers of every name
and grade. These would be the strong and influential men of his
realm. Hence this convocation would send its influence for idol-
atry down through the whole political frame^work of his kingdom
and reach its entire population. The great number of grades of
officers indicates a high degree of system and order in the consti-
tution of this government. Of the eight several officers grouped in
this summons, the first is the highest grade, a sort of viceroy. The
second is the class of deputies. The third is commonly rendered
"governor," and is used repeatedly by Ezra, Nehemiah, and others ;
indeed, it is identically the Pasha. The fourth class are the chief
judges; the fifth the royal treasurers; the sixth were persons skilled
in the law and might be either counsellors or judges ; the seventh
term seems to bo essentially the same as the sixth, lawyers ; and
the last comprehends all other officers in the province. All these
were summoned to come to the dedication of the great image.
4. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O
people, nations, and languages,
5. Tliat at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet,
flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of
music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that
Nebudchadnezzar the king hath set up.
6. And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, shall
the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery
furnace.
7. Therefore, at that time,*when all the people heard the
sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all
kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the lan-
guages, fell down mid worshiped the golden image that
Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
The signal for simultaneous worship by prostration of the body
before the great image was to be given by this grand orchestra,
which seems to have combined all sorts of musical instruments
312 DANIEL.— CHAP. III.
known in that age — another case in proof that the controlling
spirit in all systems of idolatry seizes on every attraction of art,
and not least, upon external beauty and upon music as important
auxiliaries of power. The precise character of these various in-
struments can be reached in this age only proximately. The first
was a horn. The third is the word "cithera" in Hebrew letters.
The "sackbut" is thought to have been a trombone — an instru-
ment which secures a wide range of tone by being constructed with
a slide by which its length and volume may be changed at pleas-
ure. The word "psaltery" is the same in Ilebrew and in (jreek.
The last specified kind is in the Chaldee, "symphony;" perhaps
resembling our keyed instruments which perform two or more parts
in harmony. Burning to death in a furnace of fire was one mode
of capital punishment. Its horrid cruelty testifies that the age had
scarcely begun to emerge from barbarism.
8. Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near,
and accused the Jews.
9. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O
king, live forever.
10. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man
that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut,
psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall
down and worship the golden image :
11. And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, that
he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
12. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the
affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego : these men, O kmg, have not regarded thee :
they serve not -thy gods, nor worship the golden image which
thou hast set up.
This accusation might be due to their jealousy of the high honor
enjoyed by those Jews, or to their zeal for idol-worship and for
universal obedience to the king — in the present case mostly to the
former. They put the case as one involving both contempt of the
king and of his gods. The original words rendered "accused"
are singularly expressive; "They ate up the pieces of the Jews" —
ate them up piecemeal^ — indicating savage and even cannibal fe-
rocity. In more than one oriental language this is a current con-
ception of slander and the way of expressing it.
13. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury com-
manded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
Then they brought these men before the king.
14. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them. Is it true,
O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my
gods, nor worship the golden image wdiicli I have set up?
DANIEL.— CHAP. III. 313
15. Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the
sound of the corliet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dul-
cimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the
image which I have made, well: but if ye worship not, ye
shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning
fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you
out of my hands ?
The king orders these offenders before him ; states the case ; and
gives them one more trial to test their obedience. His last words,
"Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hand?" shows
that as yet he has practically no just sense of the power of the Su-
preme Being, or indeed of any god higher than mortal man.
16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and
said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to
answer thee in this matter.
17. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver
us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out
of thy hand, O king.
18. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we
will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which
thou hast set up.
The original word rendered "careful," in the phrase, "We are
not careful to answer thee," is specially forcible. It means, "We
have no need to answer thee," we are in no straits; are not pressed
by any stringent necessity as men who tremble in fear for their
lives ; for if thou shouldest do thy worst — cast us into the fiery fur-
nace— our Grod is able to deliver us ; and if he should not, we are
ready for the result, let come what may. Be it known to thee,
therefore, we will not serve thy gods nor worship thy golden image !
This was moral heroism and devoted piety, both of the higliesfc
order.
19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form
of his visage was changed against Shadrach, ]\Ieshach, and
Abed-nego : therefore he spake, and commanded that they
should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was
wont to be heated.
20. And he commanded the most mighty men that icero
in the army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,
and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
21. Then these men were bound in their coats, their
hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were
cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
22. Therefore because the king's commandment was ur-
14
314 DANIEL.— CHAP. III.
gent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire
slew those men that took up Shadrach, Me'shach, and Abed-
nego.
23. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-
nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery
furnace.
The king of Babylon had never met such heroic men before.
His will had perhaps never been so squarely resisted. Hence his
wrath is wrought up intensely. His order to heat the furnace
sevenfold above its usual point only evinced his own heated and
almost maddening passion, for no man in his cool reason would
think the killing any more sure with sevenfold heat than with the
usual amount. Such wrath of man, however, is very sure to work
out God's praise, as it did here. The miracle of protection was the
more signal ; the rebuke to the king was the more pungent and the
more widely known ; and the reaction from the death of the execu-
tioners served still to heighten the good moral impression. The
writer states carefully that the men were bound with all their
usual clothing on. The special reason for noting this with care
was to show "that the fire was restrained from harming not their
persons only, but their clothes also. The precise sense of the
words rendered, "Their coats, their hosen, and their hats," is of
relatively small consequence to us; yet it may be worth the
space required to say briefly, that in the original the first word
means (probably) their mantles, the usual outer garment ; the sec-
ond, either the tunic, the usual undergarment coming down to the
knees, or as some suppose, wide and loose trowscrs. The latter
was the view of our English translators in the word " hosen," which
at that time was used to denote trowsers and not stockings. The
last word seems to mean a garment girded on about the person, and
not a "hat."
24. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and
rose up in haste, ami spake, and said unto his counsellors.
Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire ?
They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
25. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose,
walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt:
and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Then, Avhcn the king heard the result, he became greatly excited
with new and strange emotions, far unlike those of his previous
passion. The thought flashes upon him that he has come into con-
flict here with a new and unknown Power ! He has cast three men
into liis furnace of fire sevenfold heated, and lo, the fire does not
touch them! And more fearful, if possible, than even this — there
is a fourth personage there, and the glory of his form strikes him
as that of a Son of Ood! It is altogether' unearthly! The word
DANIEL.— CHAP. III. 315
"Son" in the phrase "Son of God' is without the article. The
expression therefore does not imply any knowledge of the Son of
God in the New Testament, sense, but only indicates that he thought
this personage divine.
26. Then Nebucliadnezzar came near to the mouth of the
burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Me-
shach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God,
come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
27. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the
king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men,
upon wdiose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair
of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor
the smell of fire had passed on them.
The king knows now that the great God is with those men and
that they are his servants. So he accosts them ; " Ye servants of
tlie most High God, come forth and come hither." He does not
question their power though bound, to come forth at their own
option. The miracle was vsTOught in the most puljlic manner.
The king's high officers were called together. They could see the
sevenfold heated furnace. They knew those three men were cast
in there, bound; they saw them come out unharmed — not a hair
singed — not even the smell of fire on their clothing. Verily, this
was the finger of God and they all were witnesses.
28. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed he the
God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent
his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him,
and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies,
that they might not serve nor w^orship any god, excej^t their
own God.
It is worthy of notice that the king began now to appreciate the
consistency and moral heroism of these men who so firmly refused
to worship any other God than their own. The very qualities which
so stirred his wrath before, command his profoundest admiration
now. He really finds that the God of these Hebrew youth is able
to protect them in the midst of the hottest furnace, and hence he
concludes that the exclusive worship of such a God will pay. The
things he specially notes as done by them are — that they " trusted
in their God" (he had never seen such trust before !); that they
^^ changecV in the sense of disregarding and finally reversing the
king's mandate; and that they "yielded tlieir bodies" to be burned
if the Lord should not be pleased to protect them. These were
new developments for Babylon! When in all the foregone ages
had such things been seen in that proud city ?
316 DANIEL.— CHAP. III.
29. Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation,
and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God
of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces,
and their houses shall be made a dunghill : because there is
no other god that can deliver after this sort.
One important result of these events is a special decree, for"l)id-
ding the people of his entire realm to say aught amiss against the
God of these Hebrews. Apparently, the reason assigned went forth
with the decree — viz., "Because there is no other God that can de-
liver after this sort" — a distinct recognition of the God of Israel as
higher and mightier than all the gods of the heathen. This decree
went over all his realm, a grand manifesto, setting forth the convic-
tion of this autocrat on his throne in favor of the great Jehovah.
Naturally it would carry with it an account more or less full of the
circumstances which had called it forth. Officers of government
from his whole realm were its witnesses. Hence these events must
have sown broadcast some ideas of the true God among the thousands
and probably millions of his subjects. Verily the hand of God was
gloriously manifested in this ! Its moral effect must have been
all the greater because this was the final outcome of a public con-
flict between the king's heathen god and Jehovah of Hosts. Nor
let us fail to note that here as usual, an unseen hand made the
wrath of man work out the praise of God. By how much the more
the proud king manifested his wrath against those Hebrew youth,
by so much the more signally did God bring forth his own glory in
protecting them and confounding all those idol-worshipers! In
what emergency never so difficult have the resources of the Al-
mighty failed to overmaster the wit and the might of mortals and
make his own glory shine the more by reason of their most fierce
and mad endeavors 1
30. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.
The word rendered "promoted," means to put forward rapidly to
higher positions of trust. Why Daniel was not a party with his
three brethren, both in their noble resistance to this wicked man-
date, and in their furnace experience, does not appear. We may
be very sure he never obeyed that mandate! Very probably his
position shielded him from prosecution. His sympathies would be
wholly with his brethren.
DANIEL.— CHAP. IV. 317
CHAPTER IV.
Nebuchednezzar has a second drcfam, predicting his own insanity ;
his magicians and Chaldeans can not give him its interpretation.
Daniel gives it ; it takes place at the end of twelve months. The king
is deposed from his throne and continues insane seven years. His
reason then returns ; he resumes his scepter, and ascribes honor and
glory to the Most High God.
1. Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and
languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied
unto you.
2. I thought it good to shew the signs and -wonders that
the high God hath w^rought toward me.
3. How great are his signs ! and how mighty are his won-
ders ! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his domin-
ion is from generation to generation.
This entire chapter is in its nature a royal manifesto or proclama-
tion, announcing to all the world the extraordinary ways of the
great God in his providences toward the king. By "signs and
wonders" he means the supernatural dreams; the predicted in-
sanity ; the moral ends which the Lord sought to gain by it ; and
the actual results. These terms are usually employed in the scrip-
tures to denote the supernatural works of God — those which are
unlike the common course of natural events, and such as men are
wont to conceive of therefore as above nature — supernatural. It
is noticeable that the introduction to this manifesto recognizes "the
High God" as the Supreme and Eternal Ruler, at the head of a
kingdom which endures forever, and swaying a dominion which
does not, lik^ those of mortal men, pass away with the lapse of
human generations, but holds on, unaffected by time, from genera-
tion to generation. This manifesto is addressed, not to the people
of his own vast realui alone, but to " all people, nations and lan-
guages that dwell in all the earth." This universality, coupled with
the moral fitness and force of the document, render it truly magnifi-
cent and sublime. Think of it as translated into every spoken
language throughout all the tribes of earth's entire population and
sent to them from the once proud king^ of great Babylon and of the
vast Chaldean empire! A humble testimony that, great as this
monarch of Babylon had been, the most High God is immeasurably
greater; that glorious and powerful as his empire had been in the
eyes of men, the kingdom of the great God is mightier far and ex-
alted in far higher glory!
4. I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in my house, and flour-
ishing in my palace :
318 DANIEL.— CHAP. IV.
5. I saw a dream ^vhicli made me afraid, and the thoughts
upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
It was while he was at rest in his magnificent palace and at the
height of his prosperity that suddenly this dream hefel him, and
rudely broke up his peace and rest. When did it ever happen that
a stream of mere earthly pleasure ran long without disturbance
or waning? The joys of those that forget God have no living
fountain.
6. Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise
men of Babylon before me, that they might make known
unto me the interpretation of the dream.
7. Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chal-
deans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before
them ; but they did not make known unto me the interj)re-
tation thereof.
As usual, and as before (chap. 2 : 2), the king calls in the wise
men of Bal)ylon — the professional interpreters of dreams — to make
known to him the significance of this dream. In the present case
(unlike the former) he had retained the dream, and could readily
relate it; but even so, the magicians could not give its interpreta-
tion. The failure was for this reason the more humiliating. Be-
fore they could say. Give us the dream and we will interpret.
Mow they can not say this. Their extraordinary pretensions react
upon them to their deep disgrace.
8. But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name
was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in
whom is the spirit of the holy gods : and before him I told
the dream, saying,
9. O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I
know that the spirit of the holy gods is in tl^ce, and no
secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that
I have seen, and the interj)retation thereof.
Here the king's manifesto introduces Daniel, properly referring
to his new Chaldean name, Belteshazzar, ])y which he seems to
have been known in the king's court, and proba])ly to foreign
powers as well. It specially recognizes him as having in himself
" the spirit of the holy gods," and as obtaining his surpassing
skill from this truly divine source. No distinctive feature, not even
that of almighty power, more fitly discriminates between Jehovah
and all the I'alse gods of the heathen, than this quality of infinite
holiness. For those gods are utterly impure and vile ; arc rQ,cognized
by their worshipers as sharing in common with men the basest pas-
sions of depraved human nature; as quarrelsome, envious, and jeal-
ous; as sensual and utterly selfish — infinitely unlike the holy God
above, in every moral quality of character. The king well un-
DANIEL.— CHAP. IV. 319
derstands that no secret troubles Daniel, for his God is omniscient,
and omniscience is never perplexed with any thin";, ho^Yever deep
and dark to mortal vision. He therefore came with confidence to
Daniel for the interpretation of his dream,
10. Thus were the visions of my head in my bed; I
saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the
height thereof was great.
11. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof
reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all
the earth :
12. The leaves thereof icere fair, and the fruit thereof
mucli, and in it loas meat for all: the beasts of the field
had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in
the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.
13.1 saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and be-
hold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven ;
14. He cried aloud, and said thus. Hew down the tree,
and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter
his fruit: let tlie beasts get away from under it, and the
foAvls from his branches.
15. Nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the
earth, even witli a band of iron and brass, in the tender
grass of the field ; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven,
and let his portion he with the beasts in the grass of the
earth.
16. Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's
heart be given unto him ; and let seven times pass over
'him.
17. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the
demand by the word of the holy ones : to the intent that
the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the king-
dom of men, and giveth it to w^homsoever he will, and set-
teth up over it the basest of men.
The dream is really in two parts: one part presented to the eye;
the other to the ear: the first part a great tree which the king saw;
the second, an oral declaration made hy an angel from heaven,
which he heard. The first part (vs. 10-12) describes the tree —
exceeding great, tall, strong, visible to the ends of the earth ; of im-
mense foliage and most abundant fruit. The beasts repose under
its shade; the fowls of heaven dwell amid its branches, and all
flesh is fed from its stores of fruit. The second part (vs. 13-17)
recites the audible proclamation. The king sees a glorious person-
age, hero described as "a watcher, even. a holy one, coming down
from heaven." He is a watcher, one of God's unsleeping angels
320 DANIEL.— CHAP. IV.
whom he puts in charge over portions of the vast providential
agencies of his universe. The term angel, contcmphites this order
of beings as sent forth on some mission, "angel" meaning a mes-
senger. But the term "watcher" expresses their work equally
well. "Are they not all ministering spirits?" (lleb. 1 : 14). Some
are sent specially to minister to the heirs of" salvation: others, as
the book of Daniel teaches (see chap. 10: and 11: 1, and 12: 1),
are put in charge over the kingdoms of men — the great agents of
the Most High in the execution of his providential purposes and
government. In this case, "tlie watcher, an holy one," came
down to finish out the dream by announcing the destiny of the tree.
This he proclaims with a loud voice; "Hew down the tree, cut off
its branches," etc., but leave the stump of its roots in the earth,
firmly fixed there as if bound with a band of iron and brass.
From this point, the description slides insensibly from the figure to
the reality — from the stump of the tree to the king himself, shorn
of his glory. " Let it be wet with the dew of heaven," looks toward
the insane king, outcast from human society and from the homes of
men, taking his portion with the beasts of the earth. His heart
changed from man's and a beast's heart given to him, indicate the
utter loss for the time of his understanding and reason. He has
dropped down from the grade of thinking, reasoning man to that of
the unthinking, unreasoning beast. And this is to continue " until
seven times have passed over him." The word "times" refers to
the best known division of time, the year. It is (perhaps) a defi-
nite number for an indefinite — the real duration being possibly
somewhat less than seven full years. The manifest allusion to the
same event in the fragmentary record quoted in the General Intro-
duction, speaks of it as four years. This part of the inscription,
however, is so imperfect that no considerable reliance can be re-
posed upon it as defining the exact duration. In v. 17, "This
matter is by the decree of the watchers," etc., the preposition "^.y "
indicates rather the agents than the author ; the agents by whom
the decree is announced and executed, rather than the author of it
from whom it came and whose purpose it is commissioned to exe-
cute. (See v. 24.) God himself has ordained this infliction upon
the great king. He has done it for a special purpose here assigned,
viz., that the" living may know that the Most High ruleth in the
kingdoms of men, giving regal power to whom he will, and often
setting upon earthly thrones the basest of men. This last fact
should take down the pride of kings, since to be a king is to be one
of a class which has certainly included many of the meanest, wick-
edest men that have ever cursed and disgraced our world. The
great purpose of this insanity brought upon Nebuchadnezzar was
to humble his pride ; to teach him impressively that the Most High
ruleth over all earthly kings; and to make him and all others feel
that reason is his gift, and should be used in grateful recognition
of the Supreme Author of this and all other blessings.
18. Thia dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now
DANIEL.— CHAr. IV. 321
tliou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, for-
asmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able'to
make known unto me the interpretation : but thou art able ;
for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.
The king submits this dream to Daniel for him to interpret. He
is confident Daniel can do it, because "the spirit of the holy gods
is in him." This recognition of the great doctrine that God's
spiritual presence and power are with his people, that he can and
sometimes does reveal to them his own exclusively divine fore-
knowledge of events, is a remarkable testimony from the greatest
king and the master-mind of the age.
19. Then Daniel, (whose name ims Belteshazzar,) was
astonished for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The
king spake and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the
interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered
and said. My lord, the dream he to them that hate thee, and
the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
Daniel sees at once the significance of this dream, and feels both
personally afilicted and sorely tried. It is plain that he both re-
spected and loved his king, and hence felt this infliction upon him
as if it were a personal calamity on himself He might also have
thought of the perils incident to the kingdom and hence to the
people, consequent upon the insanity of the king. We do not need
to place among the causes of his distress any personal fear for his
own safety as affected by his giving such an interpretation. We
should do him injustice if we were to assume that he could be
capable of such fear. The other causes of grief and anxiety arc
all-sufficient to account for his manifest sorrow and perturbation.
The king quickly observes that he is troulded and be.iis him to
relieve his mind of all solicitude. Daniel nobly replies ; Would to
God the calamity it port^3nds were for those only that hate thee,
its terrible significance only for thine enemies !
20. The tree that thou saw^est, which grew, and was
strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight
thereof to all the earth ;
21. Whose leaves ivere fair, and the fruit thereof much,
and in it ims meat for all ; under which the beasts of the
field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the
heaven had their habitation;
22. It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong :
for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and
thy dominion to the end of the earth.
23. And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one
coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down,
and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in
322 DANIEL.— CHAP. IV.
the earth, even with a baud of iron and brass, in the tender
grass of the fiekl ; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven,
and let his portion he with the beasts of the fiekl, till seven
times pass over him ;
24. This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the de-
cree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the
king :
25. That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwell-
ing shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall
make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with
the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee,
till thou know that the Most High ruletli in the kingdom
of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
26. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of
the tree roots ; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after
that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.
Here is the interpretation. The great tree is no other than the
groat king. This description corresponds in most respects with
that given above (vs. 10-17) save only that here it is applied to the
king, and remarkably, the clause which referred most plainly to
his insanity, "Let his heart be changed from man's and let a
beast's heart be given him," is here omitted. In verses 25, 26, the
agents referred to, '■'•they shall drive thee from men;" '■'■they shall
make thee eat grass;" '''they shall wet thee with the dew of
heaven;" are apparently those angelic beings whom God employs
in his providential administration, controlling the activities of men
and bringing about the course of events in harmony with the divine
will. That tlic stump and roots are left living and strong in tho.
earth denoted that his kingdom should still remain sure to him
and should return to his hand after he should have fully seen and
heartily admitted that the God of heaven (for brevity's sake here
"the heavens") does rule. This preservation of the kingdom to
him by preventing any successor from ol)truding himself upon the
throne, may, not improbably, have been due to this known predic-
tion and to Daniel's personal influence. Daniel was in a position
to have almost unlimited control in this thing.
27. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto
thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine
iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor ; if it may be a
lengthening of thy tranquillity.
As the time of this calamity was not fixed, it might be postjDoned
by the king's repentance; indeed it might have been altogether
prevented if he had become truly penitent. Why not as really as
the destruction of Nineveh foretold by Jonah, the precise date of
which moreover was set to ninety days, llence the way is open
DANIEL.— CHAP. IV. 323
for Daniel to exhort his sovereign in all fidelity and love to " break
off his sins by righteousness, and his iniquities by showing mercy
to the poor," since thus he might, nay would, prolong this present
peace and prosperity. This noble example of manly and Christian
fidelity to his sovereign is worthy of all admiration, and of course
imitatio7i. Prompted by such manifest love and in manner so re-
spectful to the king, and yet with so much personal dignity, it must
have fallen upon the king's mind with great force. The sin spe-
cially indicated here, unrighteous oppression of the poor, looks very
probably toward the terrible exactions of labor imposed upon his
defenseless subjects (some of them captives of war) in those im-
mense public works w^iich were in the eyes of men, the glory of
his reign. The eye of man, dazzled with so much architectural
splendor, commonly fails to look down through to the crushed l3odies
and broken hearts, and to the hopeless, never-lifted pressure of woo
which such a mass of coerced labor always signifies. Human eyes
rarely see it; still more rarely make any account of it; but the Great
Father sees it and can never fail to take it into most solemn account.
28. All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
29. At the end of twelve months he walked in the j^al-
ace of the kingdom of Babylon.
30. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon,
that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the
might of my pow^er, and for the honor of my majesty ?
31. While the w^ord ivas in the king's mouth, there fell a
voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee
it is spoken ; The kingdom is departed from thee.
32. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwell-
ing shall he with the beasts of the field : they shall make
thee to Qat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over
thee, until thou knowest that the Most High ruleth in the
kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
33. The same hour Avas the thing fulfilled upon Nebu-
chadnezzar: and he w^as driven from men, -and did eat grass
as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till
his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like
birds' claws.
It may be supposed that Daniel's faithful exhortation had some
good moral influonco on the king for a season. The impending
calamity was deferred twelve months. But his goodness was as
the morning cloud. When his pride resumed its sway over his
heart, just while he was walking on the flat roof of his lofty pal-
ace, overlooking the splendor of that most splendid city, and say-
ing, " Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of
the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my
majesty" — at that moment there came another voice; it fell from
824 DANIEL.— CUAP. IV.
heaven: it made its pointed address to Chaldca's proud king by
name, and said, " The kingdom is departed from thee ! ^' The
dream is to be fulfilled ! It Avas ! That the execution of this
long impending decree should wait to smite the king at last in pre-
cisely this juncture was of set divine purpose, to indicate the more
unmistakaljly the sin for which this was the destined scourge. Ho
God is often wont to make the connection between the sin and the
infliction of chastisement or judgment for it, so palpable that there
shall need be no mistake in tracing it out.
34. And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted
up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned
unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and
honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an
everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation
to generation :
85. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as
nothing : and he doeth according to his will in the army
of heaven, and among the inhal3itants of the earth : and
none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
36. At the same time my reason returned unto me ; and
for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness
returned unto me : and my counsellors and my lords sought
unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and ex-
cellent majesty was added unto me.
37. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the
King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways
judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
His understanding seems now to return to him as a new-born
gift, fresh from the («od of heaven. With the utmost propriety he
makes his first use of it in this devout recognition of the glory and
majesty, the justice and righteousness too, of the Most High God,
It is a sublime testimony. In thought most appropriate ; in choice
of terms unexceptionable; in its whole expression majestic and elo-
quent, it is one of the grandest passages in English literature. If
we may suppose it to have gone forth from the throne of the re-
stored monarch to the millions of his people and to foreign lands
also, it must have produced a profound sensation. Its influence
may have been mostly evanescent; yet it was for the time a grand
testimony to the glory and majesty of the one Supreme God, and
a witness against the folly of paying even the least regard to the
gods of the heathen. How long or how deeply it alFocted the
heart of Nebuchadnezzar, we have no positive data for determining.
The sacred record leaves him here. It would be grateful to every
feeling of the heart to know that this king became under such in-
fluences a humble child and faithful servant of that Great God to
whose gloricB he bears witness in strains so sublime. But we lack
DANIEL.— CHAr. V. 325
the evidence to justify such a belief. Something more decisive to
this effect mi^ht be expected in the sacred record if such had been
the fact. The fi-agmentary record that has come down to our
times on "the Standard Inscription" .of this king (quoted in the
General Introduction, p. 284) shuts us up to the conclusion that the
temptations of royalty were too strong for^his moral nature to over-
come. Great men, as well as men not great, may come very near
the gate of heaven's kingdom, and yet never enter therein. When
King Herod heard John Baptist, " he did many things and heard
him gladly;" but alas ! Herod never turned heartily from all his sins
to God. His record stands, like this of Nebuchadnezzar, a solemn
admonition against coming short of doing one's whole duty when
God reveals it plainly, and conscience presses its demand, and the
Divine Spirit comes near for one last effort to save the soul.
The Lord had great purposes to answer by this Chaldean king, and
he accomplished those purposes, even though that king would not
bow his whole heart to truth and to God. He made all that king's
frailties as well as his nobler qualities of character subserve his own
glory and praise; drew from him reiterated testimonials to the
majesty, justice and glory of Jehovah, and gave them to the kings
and princes of all the earth to whom this revelation should ever
come, for their admonition and instruction. Here we leave this
greatest and perhaps best of all the sovereigns of the Chaldean
empire.
CHAPTER V.
This chapter presents Belshazzar in his revelries and blasphemy;
the awful hand that wrote his doom upon the palace-wall ; the utter
failure of his astrologers to read and interpret the writing; how
Daniel read and interpreted, and how it was fulfilled in that event-
ful night.
1. Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand
of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
2. Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to
bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebu-
chadnezzar had taken out of the temple which ^vas in Jeru-
salem ; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his
concubines, might drink therein.
3. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken
out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jeru-
salem ; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his
concubines, drank in them.
4. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and
of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
326 DANIEL.— CHAP. V.
On the question, Who was Belsliazzar? sec the general introduc-
tion to Daniel (page 2SG). Nebuchadnezzar is supposed to have
been the grandfather of lielshazzar on his mother's side. This lati-
tude in the use of the word "father" was not uncommon with the
Hebrews. As tlic city was already besieged, and the real king
Nabonned had gone into the field against the armies of the Medes and
Persians under Cyrus, the sense of security which this feast im-
plied must be accounted for by their confidence in the assumed
strength of the city. Plainly it was supposed to be absolutely im-
pregnable. It may be added that God had given up the king
and his princes to a blind infatuation, of such sort as usually pre-
cedes destruction. Drinking wine from the vessels taken out of
Jehovah's temple in Jerusalem was intended as an insult to his
majesty. In the current notions of the age, each nation's gods were
its patrons and defenders, so that victory over a nation was a tri-
umph over its gods. Chaldea, in the person of Belshazzar and his
lords, is now exulting over Jehovah as unable to protect his people
against the superior power of their idols. As they drank, " they
praised the gods of gold and of silver," as being mightier than the
God of the Hebrew people. Hence the time had fully come for the
Lord to vindicate his own glory and crush out this proud and blas-
phemous dynasty.
5. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand,
and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of
the wall of the king's palace : and the king saw the part of
the hand that wrote.
6. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his
thoughts troubled hijn, so that the joints of his loins were
loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
The precise location of this writing on the wall " over against the
candlestick," would make it very conspicuous amid the revelries of
those ban((ueting halls. It is an appalling scene when a sinning
mortal knows that the Great (lod has come to meet him in the very
midst of his sins ! IJclshazzar might well stand aghast to find him-
self thus confronted face to ftice with the dread Jehovah whom he
is purposely insulting! He has a sense of a present Power, more
than human, in that strange haiuL^ writing unknown words on his
palace-wall, and a guilty conscience helps him to forecast some
fearful doom ! The brightness of his countenance is gone (so the
original imports); his mind is fearfully agitated; his knees smite
against each other. How changed the scene from the glee of his
blasphemous revelry to this paleness of cheek, convulsion of frame,
remorse of conscience, and dread foreboding of doom ! Many a
sinner has had a like experience, and other thousands must have it!
7. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the
Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake and
said to the wise men of Babylon, Wlrosoevcr shall read this
DANIEL.— CHAr. V. 327
writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be
clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his
neck, and be the third ruler in the kingdom.
8. Then came in all the king's wise men : but they could
not read the writing, nor make known to the king the inter-
pretation thereof.
9. Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his
countenance was changed in him, and his lords were aston-
ished.
His first resort is to his professional expounders of all mysterious
thinc^s. He summons them to his aid, and presses them, by the
most winning promises, to expound this mysterious handwriting.
They fail him utterly, and he is only the more alarmed. •
10. Noio the queen, by reason of the words of the king
and his lords, came into the banquet-house : and the queen
spake and said, O king, live forever : let not thy thoughts
trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:
11. There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the
spirit of the holy gods ; and in the days of thy father,
light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of
the gods, was found in him; whom the king ISTebuchadnez-
zar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of
the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
12. Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge,
and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing
of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in
the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar : now
let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.
The "queen" in this passage is the queen-mother, as may be in-
ferred from the fact that the king's wives and concubines are with
him in his carousals while this woman was not ; and al^o from her
intimate acquaintance with Daniel and with the incidents of Ne-
buchadnezzar's life. She was probably the daughter of Nebuchad-
nezzar and the mother of Belshazzar.
13. Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And
the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Dan-
iel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah,
whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?
14. I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods
is in thee, and that light and .understanding and excellent
wisdom is found in thee.
15. And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been
brought in before me, that they should read this writing,
328 DANIEL.— CHAP. V.
and make known unto me the interpretation thereof; but
they could not shew the interpretation of the thing :
16. And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make in-
terpretations, and dissolve doubts : now if thou canst read
the writing, and make known to me the interpretation
thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a
chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler
in the kingdom.
The sacred record throws no light on the history of Daniel dur-
\n<^ the period since the death of Nebuchadnezzar, The fact that
Belshazzar knows him only by report and tradition implies that he
had retired from public office some years before ; very probably at
the death of Nebuchadnezzar. Evil-Merodach, his son and suc-
cessor, changed the policy of his father in some respects certainly ;
e. g.^ in taking Jehoiachin from prison to his favor and table. (See
2 Kings 25: 27-30, and Jer. 52: 31-34.) Berosus says of him,
" This man, having used his authority in a lawless and dissolute
manner, was slain by conspirators." He reigned but two years.
ISuch revolutions in government would naturally have the effect
of displacing Daniel.
17. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let
thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another;
yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known
to him the interpretation.
So far from having any sympathy with Belshazzar, Daniel could
feel only abhorrence and detestation of his revelry and blasphe-
mous insult of Jehovah. Hence he will not look at the king's
promised rewards, ))ut repels them with disdain. He seems to have
had much sincere respect for Nebuchadnezzar, but not the least
for his degenerate grandson. Yet for his satisfaction, and, withal,
his rebuke, he will read the writing and give the interpretation.
18. O tjiou king, the most high God gave Nebuchanez-
zar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and
honor :
19. And for the majesty that he gave him, all peoj^le,
nations, and languages, trcnibled and feared before him:
whom he would he slew ; and whom he would he kept
alive ; and whom he would he set up ; and whom he would
he put down.
20. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind
hardened in pride, he w^as deposed from his kingly throne,
and they took his glory from him :
21. And he was driven from the sons of men ; and his
heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling ims with
DANIEL.— CHAP. V. 329
the wild asses:, they fed him with grass like oxen, and his
body was wet with the dew of heaven ; till he knew that
the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that
he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
The language which describes the sin of Nebuchadnezzar is
specially pertinent and forcible. " When his heart was lifted up
and his mind hardened in pride," etc. The terrible influence of
power in the hands of depraved men, reacting on the heart, has
rarely been portrayed more justly. The perpetual incense of flat-
tery, coupled with the daily experience of being dependent on no
one and of having every one dependent on himself, tempts an ab-
solute monarch to feel Ifimsclf almost a god. Under such influ-
ences, the moral sensibilities become fearfully hardened against
all sense of obligation whether to God or to man. When any man
has reached this moral state, what can remain for him but a fall?
It is fully time for Almighty God to hurl such a hardened sinner
down! Such "pride goeth before destruction." In the clause
which states that his insanity continued ^^iill he hiew that the
Most High rules in the kingdoms of men, and appoints to this
power whomsoever he will," the word "knew" should be taken in
the sense of freely recognizing and of adjusting himself morally
to this knowledge, rather than in the closely intellectual sense of
having then first obtained this knowledge. For, his sin did not
lie in not knowing but in not duly regarding, and in not rightly
using the knowledge he actually had. "To him that knoweth to
do good and doetli it not, to him it is sin."
22. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled
thy heart, though thou kneAvest all this ;
23. But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven;
and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee,
and thou, and thy lords, thy ivives, and thy concubines,
have drunk wine in them ; and thou hast praised the gods
of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which
see not, nor hear, nor know : and the God in wdiose hand
thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not
glorified.
Having set before this recreant son the dealings of the Great
God with his father which the king had known and ought to have
regarded, Daniel now turns pointedly to him and sets his sins in
order before his eyes in the plainest style of honest and fearless
rebuke. He charges home upon his conscience his pride, although
he had well knoAvn how God afflicted his father for this very sin;
also, his defiant bearing toward the God of heaven in the matter
of desecrating the sacred vessels of his temple and honoring tho
gods of gold, "which see not, nor hear, nor know," adding, with
unsurpassed fitness and force — "And the God in whose hand thy
330 DANIEL.— CHAP. V.
breath is and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified."
The clause, " whose are all thy ways," follows in the same line of
thought with the preceding, "in whose hand thy breath is," and
affirms that all his goings, all that made up his life and destiny,
were dependent on God — a truth which this king had most wickedly
ignored. Not to glorify, is here to be taken with a strong em-
phasis on the negative, giving the clause the opposite sense ; whom
thou hast contemned and despised. Precisely this the king was
then doing. This usage of the negative is by no means uncommon.
24. Then was the part of the hand sent from him ; and
this writing was written.
25. And this is the writing, that Avas written; MENE,
MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God
hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it.
27. TEKEL ; Thou art w^eighed in the balances, and art
found wanting.
28. PERES ; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the
Medes and Persians.
" Then," is not here a particle of time, but of consequence. Con-
sequently^ because of this insult offered by the king to the great God,
was that part of a hand sent forth from him {i. c, from God) which
wrote upon the wall (v. 5). The wi'iting was done some consider-
able time before Daniel uttered these AYords, interpreting the Avriting
and announcing to the king his righteous doom. The literal
rendering of the words written on the wall is, ^'"Numbered ; 7mm-
bcrcd; weighed; and divided.'' Remarkably the last word is plural
as it stands in v. 25, but appears in its singular form in v. 28. It
is not clear that any special sense attaches to the plural. If so, it
should have been in the plural when repeated for the purpose of
being interpreted. The English reader would not readily see
that Upharsin is nearly identical with Peres. It is so, however.
The letter U translates the Chaldee prefix for and^ which, dropped
off, leaves Pharsiri. Then "m" is the plural termination, and the
rest of the difference is due to the change of vowels consequent
upon this plural termination. Pharsin is simply the plural form of
Peres. "Mcne" is repeated, apparently for the sake of intensity.
The days of thy kingdom arc certainly and precisely numbered, and
having now all past, the end has come. Tekcl, the first letter
being the character for jf/i, which is used in Chaldee for the He-
brcAV sh, is identical with shekel, which as a noun is a well known
standard weight; and as a verb, means to weigh. In the moral
sense, weighing puts one to the test, tries him by the divine standv
ard. So Job said (chap. 31: G), "Let me be weighed in an even
baliuice that God may know mine integrity." God had thrown Bel-
sliazzar upon his great scales of justice a)id righteousness and found
him utterly wanting, lie was not fit j;o reign longer. The
DANIEL.— CHAP. V. 331
"kingdom divided and given to the Medes and Persians" predicted
one of the great historic facts of the age — the fall of Babylon, and
the subversion of the Chaldean dynasty. It fell before Cyrus, at
the head of the combined armies of the Medes and Persians. Ile-
rodotus and Xenophon, the great Greek historians of their time,
have left detailed accounts of this transaction. Cyrus invested the
city, turned the current of the Euphrates, and marched his army
into the city by way of the river-channel. Jeremiah had foretold
this event with extraordinary minuteness (chaps. 50 and 51), giving,
among many other things, the names of their conquerors; "Prepare
against her the nations, the kings of the Medes" (chap. 51 : 28); the
drying up of her waters (51 : 36) ; and the drunken condition of her
princes at the time (chap. 51 : 39, 57). "In their heat, I will make
their feasts and I will make T;hem drunken, that they may rejoice,
and sleep' a perpetual sleep and not wake, saith the Lord.^'
29. Then commanded Belshazzar and tliey clothed Daniel
with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and
made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the
third ruler in the kingdom.
Belshazzar lived only long enough to fulfill this promise and give
Daniel these honors. But Daniel cared little for honors under such
a monarch at any time, and least of all, now, in these last hours of
the kingdom. These circumstances however may have been his
stepping-stone to an equally high position under the next dynasty,
and this seems to have been a part of the divine purpose. Re-
markably, under God's all-wise plans, single events have multiform,
results — bearings that ramify outward indefinitely.
The reader is referred to the introduction for an attempt to har-
monize the statements of Berosus respecting the last king of Babylon
with what is said here of Belshazzar. I can not say it is entirely
satisfactory, the main difficulty being that Belshazzar appears in
the Bible record as sole king, and not merely as crown prince with
the title of king. Yet this appearance is not such as to exclude
the possibility of the facts stated by that ancient and standard
historian.
30. In that niglit was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans
slain.
31. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about
threescore and two years old.
The effort to identify this Darius the Mede with certainty in the
various records of profime history has been thus fiir unsuccessful.
George Rawlinson remarks: "There still remains one historical diffi-
culty in the book of Daniel which modern research has not yet
solved, but of which Time, the Great Discoverer, will, perhaps, one
day bring the solution. At present we can only indulge conjectures
concerning Darius tho Mede," etc. Tho opinions of critics have
332 DANIEL.~CHAP. VI.
been divided between (1.) Astyages, the grandfather of Cyrus; (2.)
Cyaxares, a supposed son of this Astyages; and (;>.) Some deputy
bearing this name, unknown to profane history, whom Cyrus put in
charge over Babylonia. That he ^'^ took the kingdom" in the sense
of being a deputy and not a king in his own right, is involved in
the usage of the verb. In chap. 2: 6, it is used for receiving great
gifts; and in chap. 7: 18, of the saints of the Most High receiving
the kingdom." A renewed mention of Darius (chap. 9:1) speaks
of him as "made king over the realm of the Chaldeans." The
difficulties in identifying this Darius lie mainly if not entirely with
the profane historians themselves.
CHAPTER VI.
This chapter treats of the administration of Darius. Daniel is
promoted to the highest position next to the king; the other presi-
dents and all the princes, through en\y, plot his destruction by pro-
curing a law making it a capital crime to offer any petition to any
god or man, save unto the king, for thirty days : Daniel continues
to pray as aforetime; is therefore cast into the lion's den, but
comes forth unharmed ; v^hereupon the king by public decree calls
on all men to fear the God of Daniel.
1. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred
and twenty princes, which should be over the whole king-
dom;
2. And over these three presidents ; of whom Daniel was
first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and
the king should have no damage.
The kingdom as here spoken of is Babylonia proper, and not the
whole of that vast realm, embracing several distinct nationalities,
which was brought under the sway of Nebudchadnczzar. Darius
himself was a sort of deputy or viceroy under Cyrus, and Babylonia
was virtually a province in the great j\ledo-Persian empire. These
verses show how the executive department of the government was
organized.
3. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents
and princes, because an excellent spirit tvas in him ; and the
king thought to set him o'ver the whole realm.
Daniel was prc'cminent, not only in wisdom and executive abil-
ity, but in his disinterested devotion to the public weal. While the
other high officers, were selfish and corrupt men (as is usual), the
king could not but see that Daniel was thoroughly a good man,
devoted to the welfare of his country, and unsellislily true to the
DANIEL.— CHAP. VI. 333
interests of his king. Hence the king put him above all his other
officers, and had even thought to intrust the v^hole executive man-
agement of the kingdom in. his hands, i e., by making him sole
president instead of being simply the head man of the three.
4. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occa-
sion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they
could find none occasion nor fault ; forasmuch as he ivas faith-
ful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
Such a model of excellence, so far surpassing and so uncomfort-
ably eclipsing themselves, was keenly cutting to those corrupt offi-
cers, and aroused their bitterest hostility. So they sought to find
some fault in. his official life, but they sought there in vain. He
was both wise and faithful, and hence left them no ground of accu-
sation there.
5. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion
against this Daniel, except we find it concerning the law of
his God.
Abandoning all hope of finding any occasion even for slander
against Daniel in the line of his official conduct, they set them-
selves to make an occasion in the line of his religion. This is
avowedly their only hope. They know he is not an idolator, but
is a conscientious worshiper of the true God. They know him to
be a praying man.
6. Then these presidents and princes a'ssembled together
to the king, and said thus unto him. King Darius, live for-
ever.
7. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors and
the 23rinces, the counsellors and the captains, have consulted
together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm
decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or
man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast
into the den of lions.
8. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing,
that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes
and Persians, which alteretli not.
9. AVherefore king Darius signed the writing and the
decree.
With Satanic cunning, they shaped this proposed law to take
with the king by a bait for his low vanity, and to entrap Daniel
through his known decision and firmness in the worship of his God.
It was the best compliment they could pay to Daniel that they assumed
so confidently that ho would pray to God none the less for this mon-
strous law. It was the keenest reproach to their king that they
334 DANIEL.— CHAP. VI.
should anticipate his ready assent to such a law under the impulses
of his excessive vanity. Darius was a weak and vain king, utterly
unfit to wear a crown, else he would have asked, What can be the
motive of these men in proposing such a law? What! must no
child ask bread of his father for thirty days save under pain of
being cast to the lions? Must no friend ask favor of friend save
under such a penalty ? What can this proposal mean ? Who oan
bo the better for such a law? Plainly, the appended exception,
" Save of thee, O king," was so grateful to his vanity that it blinded
his dull eye to the monstrous nature and possible bearings of this
law. This point in the fundamental law of the Medo-Persian
realm, that no royal decree, once duly signed and sealed, should
ever be changed, was probably adopted for the purpose of forestall-
ing the caprice of monarchs and guarding against sudden and rash
changes. It was probably hoped that it would operate to lessen
the evils incident to arbitrary and absolute power. It was, how-
ever, a radically vicious principle. For why should not every man
be wiser to-day than he was yesterday ? Why should not the win-
dows be always kept open to admit new light on all subjects; and if
so, then, also, to adjust our activities to the demands of this new
light ? The present case shows that the original law, not less than
any proposed amendment, may be capricious and Avicked, and there-
fore may need to be changed. But the Medo-Persian constitution
seemed to pique itself upon this peculiarity.
10. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed,
he went into his house; and his windows being open in his
chamber toward * Jerusalem^ he kneeled upon his knees
three tunes a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his
God, as he did aforetime.
Daniel saw in an instant that this law was planned for his
destruction, yet without one moment's debate with his love of
life, or fear of lions, he said, I shall pray to God none the less but
all the more for that, and nonc^ the less openly. With the God
whom I serve I leave the whole question of my living or dying. I
know it is my duty and my right to pray. I can not know that it
is my duty to live. If the Lord sees fit to protect my life, he can
readily do so. I bear my case to him, and leave it in his hand.
With his heart thus full of firmness, prayer, and trust, he hastened
home to his house and to his accustomed chamber of prayer, and
there — his window open — not closed as if he would conceal his de-
votions— ^but open and toward Jerusalem as the place of God's visi-
ble glory and the locality of his earthly mercy-seat, he kneeled three
times a day with prayer and thanksgiving as aforetime. Blessed
man ! IIow quietly, how calmly, and how peacefully did thy heart
repose on the enduring love and faithfulness and the never-failing
power of thy fathers' God ! We love thee for thy firmness, and yet
more for thy precious faith in Ilim who is both thy God and ours.
And we thank the God of our fathers that he sustained thee so
DANIEL.— CHAP. VI. 335
graciously and made thy faith and firmness in duty an example so
inspiring to all who come after thee even down to the end of time !
11. Then these men assembled, and found Daniel pray-
ing and making supplication before his God.
These men assembled, all intensely eager to see if their scheme
was working well, and moreover apparently aware of his accus-
tomed hours of devotion. They find him praying; and now they
feel sure of his ruin.
12. Then they came near, and spake before the king con-
cerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree,
that every man that shall ask a petition of any god or man
within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into
the den of lions ? The king answered and said, The thing
is true, according to the 'law of the Medes and Persians,
which altereth not.
13. Then answered they and said before the king, That
Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah,
regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast
signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
They hasten to the king, and artfully begin with referring to the
decree, the standing law of the realm, for these thirty days. . When
the king had recognized it, they bring out the fact that Daniel has
broken it, putting this in the most offensive light possible even for
slander; "regardeth not thee, nor the decree which thou hast
signed." That same Daniel whom thou hast promoted so exces-
sively and so unwisely, has no proper regard for thee, O king ! Ho
prays to others as much as he pleases, despite of thine own law,
14. Then the king, when he heard tliese words, was sore
displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to de-
liver him : and he labored till the going down of the sun
to deliver him.
The king is chagrined and ashamed of himself that ho allowed
himself to be caught in this snare. Now for the first time he sees
the envious and mean spirit of his officers in obtaining from
him that decree, and bites his lips in shame that he could have
been so beguiled and entrapped. He labored to save Daniel^ till
the going down of the sun. No doubt he heartily esteemed Daniel
and proiiably loved him, and felt therefore the bitterest grief and
shame that he should be made unwittingly the author of his de-
struction.
15. Then these men assembled unto the king, and said
unto the king. Know, O king, that' the law of the Medes
and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king
establisheth may be changed.
336 DANIEL.— CHAP. VI.
All his efforts are unavailing. Those men come en masse and
press him with the great doctrine of their national constitution,
that by the laws of the Medes and Persians, no decree or statute,
once established by the king, can be changed.
16. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel,
and cast him into the den of lions. Noiu the king spake
and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continu-
ally, he will deliver thee.
The king at length yields and gives command that Daniel be cast
into the den of lions. He had however known enough of the one
Jehovah to feel assured that he would deliver his own servant from
the lions, and said this to Daniel.
17. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth
of the den ; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and
with the signet of his lords ; that the purpose might not be
changed concerning Daniel.
By this arrangement the miracle of divine protection was put be-
yond any suspicion of collusion and fraud.
18. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the
night fasting: neither w^ere instruments of music brought
before him : and his sleep went from him.
The king's heart is heavy with both grief and shame ; he eats not,
sleeps not. The word rendered " instruments of music," is sup-
posed by the ablest critics to mean concubines. Hence the clause
states that they were not admitted to his society.
19. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and
went in haste unto the den of lions.
20. And when he came to the den, he cried with a la-
mentable voice unto Daniel : and the king spake and said
to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God,
whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from
the lions?
With the dawn, in the first light, the king came to the den, with
trepidation as well as haste (so the word implies) and cries out with
a sad voice, indicating his grief and anxiety. Though he had ex-
pressed to Daniel his confidence that (Jlod would deliver him, yet
he still asks the question as one who would feel better assured by
the evidence of his senses.
21. Then said Daniel unto the king*, O king, live for-
ever.
22. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions'
DANIEL.— CHAP. VI. 337
mouths, that they have not hurt me ; forasmuch as before
him imiocency was found in me; and also before thee, O
king, have I done no hurt.
Daniel casts no severe reproach upon the king. Indeed, the
original rather expresses a genial and kindly feeling; Daniel
"talked with the king." With beautiful modesty, he ascribes his
deliverance to God's own hand alone through his angel, and very
properly asserts his innocence of any wrong in this matter, either
toward God or toward his king. He could not admit that he had
done any harm toward the king by oj&ering his prayer to the God
of heaven. A law so intrinsically wicked he could not obey — ought
not to obey — and was consciously guilty of no wrong against the
law-making power in disobeying. We may suppose Daniel to
have had a sweet sense of the presence of God by his angel while
spending the night in the den with those hungry lions. There they
were, their savage nature and clamoring appetites held in firm sub-
jection, and God's own hand in it visibly present to his eye and
consciously to his innermost soul. That was a night of mingled
prayer and praise. Is it not safe for all men to trust God in the
path of known duty, though it lead into a lion's den ? Nay, is it
not more than safe — even gloriously blessed, to live so near to God
and to see his angels present in such forms of power and glory for
the protection of his trusting people? Who would not welcome
such an experience as that of Daniel, and rejoice to make it his
own?
23. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and com-
manded that they should take Daniel up out of the den.
So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of
hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
The king is relieved and joyous to find that his valued friend is
safe and that no serious consequences have come from his wicked
law. The demands of the law having now been met, he orders
Daniel brought forth from the den. Not a scratch is on him, and
those heathen men know that this comes of his believing in his
God. They are witnesses to the saving power of Jehovah, God of
Israel.
24. And the king commanded, and they brought those
men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the
den of lions, them, their children, and their wives ; and the
lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in
pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
The great crime of Daniel's accusers now meets its righteous pun-
ishment. They had plotted his death; and though tliey had sought
to effect it by the forms of law, yet their malice and hence their
guilt were none the less for this reason. It was right and just that
15
338 DANIEL.— CHAP. VI.
they should be made a public example, and the king was fully pre-
pared to do it.
25. Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and
languages, that dwell in all the earth ; Peace be multiplied
unto you.
26. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my king-
dom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel : for
he is the living God, and steadfast forever, and his king-
dom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion
shall be even unto tlie end.
27. He delivereth and rescueth, and lie worketh signs
and wonders in lieaven and in earth, who hath delivered
Daniel from the power of the lions.
These proceedings culminate in a royal decree after the manner
of Nebuchadnezzar (chap. 3: 29), calling on all men of every tribe
and language in all the earth, to tremble and fear before the God
of Daniel, The logic of this decree is simple. God delivered
Daniel from the lions by his supernatural power. He whose power
is so manifestly above nature must be the God of nature — the Maker
and Lord of all. He alone is the object of all rightful worship and
of true reverence, homage, love and trust.
28. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and
in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Daniel's prosperity, his high position and commanding influence
in pulilic affairs, continued throughout the reign of Darius and into
the reign of Cyrus: — how far into the latter is not said. His last
recorded vision was in the third year of Cyrus. The reader will
scarcely need the suggestion that the character of Daniel, thus far
brought out fully under various and most trying circumstances,
shines only the more brilliantly by how much the fiercer the ordeal
through which it passes. He evinces the docility and modesty of
a child, coupled with superlative wisdom, great executive ability,
unswerving fidelity, and a firmness of principle that is above all
praise. His case presents the highest order of human qualities
of character, ennobled and exalted by the best type of true piety.
l>ohold in Daniel what the rich gifts of God's grace can make rf
tlie noblest of men! Let all who look toward office or any public
trust take note of Daniel, and account him one of the best models
of character for those who would hold well the trusts to which
they aspire.
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 339
CHAPTER VII.
This chapter gives the second of the four great prophecies of
Daniel — a vision obviously in very close analogy with that of chap.
2: 31-45, and in general parallel vrith that of chap: 8, and also that
of chaps. 10-12. The prophet sees in succession four great beasts,
the last of which has ten horns and ultimately an eleventh (vs. 2-8);
he then sees the fourth beast judged and slain (vs. 9-11); next "one
like a Son of man," receiving his eternal kingdom (vs. 13, 14);
finally, he asks and obtains an interpretation of tliis vision, especially
of the fourth beast and his horns (vs. 15-28).
In commenting upon this chapter, I propose to give, first, such
special expositions as the several clauses may seem to require, and
then discuss the great question at issue here — the real significance
of the fourth beast and his horns. This latter is the point on
which commentators differ; in all else, they mostly agree.
1. In the first year of Belsliazzar king of Babylonia Dan-
iel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed :
then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.
Any attempt to fix the date of this vision involves the identification
of 13elshazzar Avith some one of the monarchs of Babylon. (On
this subject, see the general introduction to Daniel, p. 286.) 1
do not find him in Evil-Merodach who reigned after the death of
his father Nebuchadnezzar, two years, B. C. 561-559; nor in Nerig-
lissar, his successor, reigning four years, B. C. 559-555; nor in
his son, Laborosoarchod who reigned but nine months, and whose
name therefore does not appear on the canon of Ptolemy; nor in
Nabonidus (shortened into Nabonned), known by the Greeks as
Labynetus, who reigned seventeen years, B. C. 555-538, which
brings us down to the subversion of the Chaldean empire by Cy-
rus. ^ But I do find him coincident with the last years of Nabo-
nidus, his .father, who took him into partnership with the title of
king, as is shown by an inscription recently discovered. How long
he stood in this relation, bearing the title of king, is not known.
The sacred record speaks (chap. 8: 1) of his third year. His
death occurred B. C. 538. In his first year Daniel had this
vision, and immediately committed to writing its main points, as
revealing matters of high moment.
2. Daniel spake and saicj, I saw in my vision by night,
and; behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the
great sea.
3. And four great beasts came up fi-om the sea, diverse
one from another.
The elements of nature are in great commotion, s3*mbolizing
convulsions in the political elements. These four great beasts
340 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
come forth from the agitated sea, manifestly 2?i succession, to de-
note succession in the order of time in the great empires of which
they are the symbols.
4. The first ivas like a lion, and had eagle's wings : I
beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was
lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon the feet
as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
This lion with eagle's wings is thoroughly a Chaldean concep-
tion. Layard's late work, entitled, " Discoveries in Nineveh,"
abounds with cases of this mongrel type, putting an eagle's wings
upon a lion, or, as the case may be, upon a bull. " Winged lions,"
"winged bulls," and even human figures, with wings extending
from the shoulders, have been disinterred in considerable numbers
from the ruins of Nineveh within the present century, affording
remarkable proof that these conceptions in this vision of Daniel,
and also in Ezckicl chap. 1, and plscwher.c, are fully in keeping
with the popular ideas and the artistic usages of the people living
in the valley of the Euphrates during the age of these prophets.
Moreover, the lion and the eagle were then as now, symbols
of royalty, figuring conspicuously in the memorial arms of sove-
reigns. Layard speaks of- the name and title of the Khorsabad
kings, accompanied by the figure of a lion. The reader will re-
call "the British lion," and "the American eagle." So this first
beast is a lion with eagle's wings. -^ — As Daniel continued to study
this beast, lo, a change comes over him. Ilis wings are plucked ;
he is lifted up to stand erect as a man, and a man's heart is given
him. This change is not from brutal to human intelligence, but
from the brute force and resistless ferocity of the lion and the
eagle, to the comparative physical weakness of the man. The
Chaldean empire is fast waning to its fall. Its glory has de-
parted; its pristine, vigor has gone. In saying Chaldea, I have
of course assumed this to be the meaning of the lion Avith eagle's
wings. On this point all commentators agree. There is no room
for doubt or difference of opinion. The series of great empires
begins at the point of time then present, even as it did in the
great image, chap. 2: 31-45.— Let it be distinctly noted also
that Daniel asks no explanation whatever of the first three of
these symbols; the lion, the bear, and the leopard. They corre-
spond so perfectly with the first three divisions of the great image —
the head ; the breast afid arms ; and the belly and thighs ; that he
has no occasion to raise any question for further explanation.
Moreover it is not distinctly aflirmed here that these beasts come
forward iji succession, each supplanting its predecessor. The idea
of succession and the manner of it, are not made so clear in this
chapter as in chap. 8, where the he-goat overpowers the ram, and
then succeeds to his empire. Yet it is very manifest that these
b(Mists do follow eacli other in regular succession. The first has
had great power, but is now seen shorn of it and ready to bo van-
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 341
quishcd. The second in its time is a devourer of nations ; to tho
third, "dominion is given." No other view can reasonably be
taken of these beasts considered as great national powers, except
that they SAvay the empire of the world successively — each being
for his time supreme on the field of their location.
5. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear,
and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in
the mouth of it between the teeth of it : and they said thus
unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
Of this second beast like a bear, our translation states that " it
raised up itself on one side." The original gives no sanction to this
reciprocal sense, raising one's-self up, but rather means that it was
made to stcoid, or simply arose and stood. Its " standing 07i one
side" should mean, either, on one side of the lion-power of v. 4,
viz., on the Xorth, or more closely N. N. E. ; or that it put forth its
aggressions en one direction, i. e., toward Chaldea, and the tribes of
Western Asia. Either sense is admissible in view both of the orig-
inal language and of the historic facts. Its "three ribs in the
mouth" indicate that it has been devouring flesh and still has these
three ribs not yet cranched and swallowed. I doubt if any special
significance attaches to the number of these ribs. The beast is com-
missioned to devour yet more. Of course this denotes the subjuga-
tion of yet other nationalities, and absorbing them into its own — an
accurate history so far of the Medo-Persian power.
6. After this, I beheld, and lo, another, like a leopard,
which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl : the
beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
This be'ast, all commentators agree, is the Grecian empire of
Alexander — ^winged to denote the velocity of its armies and the
rapidity of its conquests. "Dominion given to it," almost drops the
figure of a beast, to give us in literal phrase the history of this
power. Correspondingly the passage (chap. 2: 39), has it, "An-
other third kingdom of brass which shall bear rule over all the
earth." Its having four heads is altogether in harmony with the
peculiar style of com|^osite and compound forms which abounds in
the ruins of ancient Nineveh and Babylon. I doubt if any special
significance pertains to it; but, if any, it may be this — that the
Grecian empire of Alexander was distinguished (as was Greece her-
self) more by the power of thought than the power of brute force.
Among the great kingdoms of that ancient world, this was the em-
pire of brains.
7. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a
fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly ;
and it had great iron teeth : it devoured and brake in pieces,
and stamped the residue Avith the feet of it : and it luas di-
342 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
verse from all the beasts that ivere before it; and it had ten
horns.
8. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up
among them another little horn, before whom there were
three of the first horns plucked up by the roots : and be-
hold in this horn were ejes like the eyes of man, and a
mouth speaking great things.
Postponinf;; my full discussion of the identity of this fourth beast
until other points in the chapter shall have been considered, I wish
the reader to notice noAV (1.) That this beast is specially de-
scribed as strong!;, dreadful and terrible. (2). That according to
the interpretation (vs. 23, 24), this beast stands for the fourth
kingdom; and his ten horns are ten kings in this kingdom, and
the little horn is also a king in the same line. (3.) Ap-
parently, the terribleness of this fourth kingdom lies specially
(though not solely) in this little horn-king. In proof of this, I ad-
duce two facts: (a) that the detailed account of the devastations
wrought by this entire power ascribes them to the little horn (see
vs. 2i, 22): and {h) that the judgment Avhich comes down from
God upon this fourth beast is represented as invoked specially by
the spirit and the deeds of this little horn, (see vs. 11 and 2G). It
was " because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake,"
that " the beast was slain." And v. 26, also implies that the court
for judgment sat upon the case of the little horn, and took away
his dominion, to consume and destroy it utterly. That is, he was
king of the fourth kingdom at the time of this consuming judg-
ment. (4.) The terrible devastations effected by this little horn
manifestly fall upon the recognized people of God, his visible church;
and at a period when that church was Jewish, as is indicated by
this circumstance — that his aggressions upon their religion arc de-
scribed as a puqiose to "change times and laws" — a phrase by
which a Jewish Avriter would mean and Jewish readers would un-
derstand, the times and laws of the jNFosaic ritual service. [This
point Avill be amply confirmed when we reach the parallel account
of the little horn's aiiiiressions upon God's people as civen in chap.
8: 10-14, 23-25, and 11: 31-35.] (5.) . Hence 'it is entirely
legitimate to infer that this fourth beast is dreadful and terrible
to Daniel chiefly as seen from his Jeivish stand-pointy in the light
of his intense love for his own people, his sympathy with their
fortunes, and his responsibilities for their protection and welfare.
] infer this from considerations draAvn in part from the known
relations sustained by Daniel to iha Jewish people ; in part from
numerous testimonies throughout this entire book to the great
strength of these feelings of love, s_ym|)athv, and solicitude in his
heart for them; and in part from palpal)le indications in this
very vision as above shown. The jioiut is one of great importance
in determining the ultimate significance of this fourth beast and his
horns, since it shows that this beast is not seen as great and terrible
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 343
fdaiivdy to the, whole luorld^ and certainly not relatively to the great
European world, onward to the end of time, and quite apart from
any bearing upon the Jews while "they were the visible church and
kingdom of God ; but is seen as terrible to the Jews mainly, and to
them before the kingdom of God was taken from them and given to
the Gentiles. This kingdom, said repeatedly to be "diverse from
all the beasts that were before it" (v. 7); "diverse from all others"
(v. 19); "a kingdom diverse from all kingdoms" (v. 23) — may have
been diverse in this particular respect, viz., of hostile bearing against
the Jewish people and their religion. This would make that power
specially formidable to the Jews. In the absence of any specific
showing of the point wherein this diversity lies, this is obviously
the most probable supposition. The characteristics of the little
horn; "eyes as of a man and a mouth speaking great things," will
be unfolded more fully in the sequel. Suffice it to say here that
these symbols indicate keen intelligence, sharpened by a malign
spirit and purpose, and by blasphemous hostility against the true
God and his people. The plucking up of three of the first horns
is alluded to and in part explained in v. 20. This will be a matter
for future consideration.
9. I beheld till the thrones were cast do^vn, and the An-
cient of days did sit, Whose garment was Avhite as snow, and
the hair of his head like the pure wool : his throne ims
like the fiery flame, and his Avheels as burning fire.
10. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before
him : thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thou-
sand times ten thousand stood before him : the judgment
was set, and the books were opened.
11. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words
which the horn spake : I beheld even till the beast was slain,
and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
The vital question on this passage is ; Does it refer to the final
and general judgment; or to providential judgments in time^ for the
destruction of the fourth beast and his horns ? 1 adopt the latter
view and defend it on the following grounds. (1.) The general
final judgment is not in place here; would have no connection with
the subject in hand; is not indicated by any thing said in the con-
text, or by the nature of the subject. On the contrary, an al-
lusion to God's providential judgments upon guilty nations is in
'place here^ precisely so, being the very thing that such blasphemous
hostility to his kingdom and people calls for and should lead us to
expect. (2.) In the government of God over men, individuals
will bo judged at the end of this world, and punislied or rewarded
in the next ; but nations can be punished only in time — only in this
world, for the sufficient reason that they exist as nations only here.
They are not known as nations after tliis life. The awards made
at the final judgment are upon individuals only ; the retributions
344 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
of eternity arc on individuals alone. Ilcncc if this jud,o:ment falls
on the fourth beast and his horns, it must ]>c in this world; it can
not be at and after the end of it. (3.) The declared result and
outcome of this judgment is that this fourth beast " is destroyed,
and his body given to the burning flame" (v. 11). Conclusive to
the same point is v. 2G. "The judgment shall sit" (i. c, on the
little horn-king, then representing the fourth beast), " and they
shall take away his dominion to consume and destroy it" utterly.
What could be more decisive ? A nationality swept away ;
indeed the last one in a long series of Asiatic world-kingdoms;
kings cut down in their pride and rage against God, — these are
the declared results of this judgment. But if this were the judg-
ment scene of the last day, its result and outcome ought to be like
that of Mat. 25 : 31-46 — the assigning of the righteous and of the
wicked each to their eternal destinies — "these into everlasting pun-
ishment;" "those into life eternal." (4.) But further, the dis-
tinctive characteristics of the final judgment are not here. These
are, (a) That it takes place at the end of the world. (b) Is pre-
ceded by the general resurrection. (c) Embraces all the human
race from the beginning to the end of time ; and even the fallen
angels. ((/) That men are judged in it as individuals and not
as" nations. They are not known as nations there. There "Every
one of us shall give account of himself unto God." (e) In the
final judgment, Jesus Christ is to be the Judge. In this, the Judge
is "the Ancient of days," the Eternal Father. (See v. 13.) (/)
Its results are not transient, as these appear to be, but eternal,
even the eternal award of destiny to the righteous and to the
wicked. (g) The final ^ndgniant folloivs Christ's second advent;
this precedes his first advent. The latter statement, it will soon
be seen, must be true. The next verses (viz., 13, 14) describe
Christ's ascension and inauguration as King — events that follow
close after his resurrection — which itself belongs to his first, not
his second advent. All these points are characteristic features
of the final judgment. They are all wanting here. Their absence
forbids our interpreting this passage of the final judgment. Uence
we are shut up to the other alternative — a special providential
judgment, of such sort as God sends on guilty nations in time.
(5.) It can scarcely be necessary to adduce any other argument to
prove that this passage refers to God's providential judgments on
the fourth beast and his horns; yet it will interest the thoughtful
Biljle reader, and is entirely legitimate to the sphere of an expos-
itor, to add that the descri})tive points in this passage are fully in
analogy with those theophanies which occur somewhat frequently
in the Old Testament scriptures, in which (jod is seen enthroned,
or coming down in fire, often with attending angels, and perhaps
with the forms of a judicial tribunal, to visit retribution on guilty
nations. 'JMiat is to say, the antilogies of this passage are zvith
those which describe the judgments of God upon guilty nations in
time. Its main points and features are identical with this class of
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 345
passages, and therefore it belongs with them and denotes the same
class of judgments.
Taking the main points of this passage in the order in which
they stand, we have — (a) The Almighty God enthroned. Here,
" I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days
did sit." " Cast down," is not (as the Engli)?h reader might sup-
pose) overthrown, demolished, but means ^Vm(y sct.^ preparatory to
being used as a royal judgment-seat. Correspondingly in other
Hebrew theophanies ; Isaiah (6: 1) "saw the Lord sitting on a
throne, high and lifted up." Micaiah (1 Kings 22: 19) "saw the
Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by
him on his right hand and on his left." The Psalmist (11: 4, G)
writes, "The Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes behold, his eye-
lids try the children of men:" . . . "Upon the wicked he will
rain fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest," etc. "His
garments white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure
wool," has its analogy in the Apocalypse (1 : 14). "His head and
his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow." Age is vener-
able; its incidents are clustered upon this personage to bespeak
for him reverence and homage. He is " the Ancient of Days."
Ijut this feature does not point to the final judgment. {h) This
throne is on wheels, and has the aspect of fire and flame. So in
Ezek. 1. The visible glory of Jehovah appears upon a throne, which
itself reposes upon a "firmament" or elevated platform, supported
by four living creatures who are singularly connected with living
wheels. Here also is the aspect of fire. "As for the likeness of
the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire,
and like the appearance of lamps ; it went up and down among the
living creatures, and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went
forth lightning" (Ezek. 1: 13). It should be borne in mind that
Ezekiel and Daniel were both residents in Chaldea, and were there-
fore familiar with those very peculiar modes of representing the
divine attributes which appear in the ruins of Nineveh as exhumed
within the last thirty years. Also, that they were contemporary;
that Ezekiel wrote his first chapter B. C. 595 (see chap. 1 : 2), and
Daniel this chapter about B. C. 540; i. c, fifty-five years later; so
that Daniel might have had thp writings of his elder brother
before him many years. Hence perhaps their close resemblance.
(c) Fire issues forth from God to devour his enemies. Here
in Daniel, "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him."
So Ps. 50: 5, "Our God shall come . . . . a fire shall devour Tje-
fore him; it shall be very tempestuous round about him." And Ps.
97 : 3, "A fire goeth before him and burnetii up his enemies round
about." In David's glowing description of the Lord's coming to
his aid against his foes (Ps. 18: 8) we read; "There went up a
smoke out of his nostrils; fire out of his mouth devoured." So
also Moses (Deut. 5: 24), "For the Lord thy God is a consuming
fire, even a jealous God." So in Heb. 12: 29, "For our God is
a consuming fire." The fire sent on Sodom seems to have been a
standing type or model of God's judgments on corrupt nations and
346 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
to have supplied the figures of speech to express this idea. In Isa.
34: 9, 10, the alkision to that model is specially palpable. Of Idu-
mea, the prophet said, " The streams thereof shall be turned into
pitch and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof
shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor
day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever." Hence fire be-
came the usual symbol to denote the judgments which the Lord
in his providence brings upon guilty nations in time, of which fact
it may suffice to quote but one more passage (Isa. GG: 15, IG); "For
behold the Lord will come with fire and with his chariots like a
whirlwind, to render his anger with fury and his rebuke Avith
flames of fire; for by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead
with all flesh; and the slain of the Lord shall be many." The
reader may add Mai. 4:1, 3. {d) Thousands of attendant min-
istering angels. Here it stands ; " Thousand thousands ministered
unto him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood l)efore him." The
fjict that they ^ninistered to him shows them to be, not culprits at
his bar, but servants awaiting his command. To " stand before
him" is also the customary attitude of his attendant angels. Not
in the final judgment alone, but wherever the Lord appears in his
glory and majesty and lets men see the realities of the spiritual
world, angels are seen about him as his executive agents. Micaiah
saw all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and
on his left (1 Kings 22: 19). When on Sinai there "went forth
from the Lord's right hand a fiery law for them" (Deut. 33: 2),
"he came with ten thousand of saints," holy ones; said by the
Psalmist (G8 : 17) to have been "thousands of Angels." Zech. 14:
5, has the same feature ; " There comes the Lord my God ! All
the holy ones are with Thee." {e) The forms of a judicial tri-
bunal. The close analogy between the judicial proceedings of
human courts and of the divine, accounts most amply for these
allusions. Thus Daniel; "The judgment was set and the books
were opened;" and v. 2G, "The judgment shall sit." So else-
where in those cases where the Lord comes down for the judgment
of wicked nations. Ps. 50 is a case where the Lord " calls to the
heavens from above and to the earth, that he may judge his peo-
ple" . . . . "for God is judge himself" Joel 3 is wholly in this
strain. "Let the heathen be wakened and come up to the valley
of Jehoshaphat; for there Avill I sit to judge all the heathen round
about." 1 am not aware that any other Hebrew theophany save
this of Daniel introduces the symbol of " the books " as witnessing
records against the ungodly, but there is surely no reason for as-
suming that this symbol can be used of no other judgment than
that at the end of the world. All the rest of these sj-mbols are
used, elesewhere than in Daniel, to denote the visitations of divine
judgment on guilty nations in time. (/) It may seem to be su-
perfluous to argue this point further; yet in a word let me add that
this destruction of the fourth beast and his horns must correspond
with the stone smiting the great image upon his feet of iron and
clay (chap. 2: 34, 35). As this smiting was not the final judg-
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 347
ment, but a jud2;ment in time; so is the judgment in the verses
before us. As that of chap. 2 occurs before the New Testament
kingdom of heaven is set up; precisely so should this, and pre-
cisely so it does, as will be seen when we pass on from this judg-
ment (vs. 9-11), to the next act of the drama (vs. 13, 14). This
latter point is of itself an independent and most conclusive argu-
ment for the position I have taken in regard to the character of
this judgment scene. Succession in the several points of this vis-
ion indicates succession in time as to the events predicted. Hence
there can be no doubt that the Son of Man coming to the Ancient
of Days and receiving his kingdom follows the destruction of the
fourth beast and of the little horn. But this inauguration of the
Son of Man in earth and especially in heaven, occurred at his as-
cension, as will be shown when the passage comes under consider-
ation. It should be noted that the interpretation of this part of
the vision gives the same order of events ; first, the judgment of God
sits to destroy the little horn, and then the kingdom is given to the
saints of God (vs. 26, 27).
12. As concerning the rest of the beasts they had their
dominion taken aAvay: yet their lives were prolonged for a
season and time.
The "rest of the beasts" are the first threS. The thing said of
them here is that, although they lost their supreme dominion, the
scepter over the kingdoms of the East passing into other hands, yet
they had still for a season a sort of existence without sovereignty.
At least so much as this seems to be implied, viz., that the judg-
ments of God did not fall on them so terribly and with so sudden
devastation as on the fourth beast. It is plain that the first three
are contrasted with the fourth. V. 11 shows that the fourth beast
came to his fearful doom because of the blasphemies of the little
horn-king. It is fair to presume, therefore, that at the time this
judgment fell, this kingdom was represented by the little horn, and
hence that the terribleness of this judgment pertains especially to
him. This is the obvious sense of the entire passage, vs. 9-12, and
is fully confirmed by the inspired interpretation (v. 24-27), where
it is tiie little horn-king who is judged and slain, and then next in
order the kingdom is given to Messiah and his people.
13. I saw in tlie niglit visions, and, behold, one like tlic
Son of man came w4tli the clouds of heaven, and came to
the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before
him.
14. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and
a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should
serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not
be destroyed.
348 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
This passage has decisive bearings on the interpretation of this
vision. It should therefore be expounded with the utmost care.
Its vital question is, Does this event tahe place at the close of
Christ! s first advent^ or shortly after his second? Does this passage
describe his coming to set up his New Testament " Kingdom of
heaven;" or, on the contrary, some inauguration of Christ as King
after the universal resurrection and the general judgment? One or
the other it must be. 1 hold the former view most decidedly, for
the reasons that follow. (1.) This kingdom and this setting up
of it must be the same as that of chap. 2 : 44. There was a king-
dom which should "never be destroyed;" "should stand forever;"
should not pass over to other hands; should demolish and then
supersede all that had been named before it. Here is a kingdom
universal, everlasting, and never to pass over to other hands. This
is the fifth kingdom of this vision : that is the fifth in that. The
identity is complete. (2.) That kingdom and this too are, beyond
all question, the very "kingdom of God" (otherwise called "king-
dom of heaven"), of which so much is said in the New Testament.
The reader is referred to the argument on this point in the notes on
chap. 2 : 44. (3.) The NewTestament determines the precise point
of Christ' s inauguration over this kingdom to be at his ascension. For
when John Baptist and our Lord began to preach, they both said in the
same identical words, " The kingdom of heaven is at hand." During
Christ's public ministry, even down to his death, he continually speaks
of it as very near, on one occasion saying; "The time is fulfilled"
(]Mark 1 : 15). Immediately before his death, and also after it and
before his ascension, he speaks of this regal power as already given
him, although the public inauguration in heaven was yet really future,
saying in his prayer (Jn. 17: 2), "As thou hast given him power
over all flesh;" and to his disciples shortly before his ascension
(Mat. 28: 18), "All power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth." It need not surprise us that he should thus anticipate a
great event which was so near. After his ascension, the apostles
with one voice testify that Christ has now become really King and
Lord of all. They preached this with astonishing effect on the day
of Pentecost (Ac. 2 : 33-3G) : " This Jesus hath God raised up."
"Being by the right hand of God exalted," etc. "God hath made
that same Jesus whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ."
And subsequently (Ac. 5: 31); "Him hath God exalted with his
right hand to be a Prince and a Savior to give repentance to Is-
rael," etc. So in Peter's first Gentile sermon (Ac. 10: 3G); "He is
Lord of all." Further, the Epistles definitely locate this inaugura-
tion immediately after his resurrection and ascension; e. (/., Eph.
1 : 20-22, " When he raised him from the dead and set him at his
own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality
and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,-
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and hath
put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things
to the church," etc. And 1 Pet. 3: 22; "Who is gone into heaven
and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 349
bcin^ made subject unto him." Compare also Jn. 3 : 35, and Mat.
11: 27, and Rom. 14: 9, and Phil. 2: 9, 10, and Heb. 2: 9, and
1 : 3, and 12 : 2, and Rev. 3 : 21, and 17: 14. Even this list is not
exhaustive, but it is amply sufficient. Remarkably, the scrip-
tural record of our Lord's history is closely continuous from his
death on Calvary to his completed inauguration on the throne at
the right hand of the Father, New Testament history follows him
step by step through his successive manifestations to his disciples
during forty days, until at length he led them out to Bethany; the
last words were spoken; he lifted up his hands and blessed them;
and while they were beholding, he was taken up and a cloud re-
ceived him out of their sight. Here the New Testament history loses
sight of him for the moment, for their strained eyes can follow him
no farther; but the cloud and the glorious Personage whom it em-
bosomed were caught by the eye of Daniel in this night-vision;
"He saw and behold one like a Son of man came with the clouds
of heaven and came to the Ancient of Days ; and they brought him
near before him, and there was given him dominion and glory and
a kingdom" — universal, never to be transferred to other hands, and
never to be destroyed. The connection is complete; Jesus was in-
augurated as king and seated on his throne immediately upon his
ascension to heaven. Then and thenceforward the empire of this
world is his. He rules it in the interests of his church and people.
He rules it to convert the nations to himself He is head over all
things for the sake of his church — till this church shall embrace
the wide earth, and "the kingdoms of this world shall become the
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever
and ever."
Does the. question arise. Why should Christ have been inaugu-
rated then? Was he not "Lord of all" before? Were not- the
Avorlds made by him and ruled by him also as well ? And was not
all this known in heaven ? The answer is involved in the very
language of Daniel; "I saw one like a Son of Man coming in the
clouds of heaven," etc. Jesus, as incarnate., had not been in heaven
before. The man Jesus had not been visibly recognized there up
to that hour. The divine Lord of all appears there now in new re-
lations, and it was fitting that in these new relations he should be
publicly recognized and duly. inducted into his exalted station and
dignity. Hence the pertinence of Paul's logic; '■^ loherefore," (i. e.,
because Christ Jesus had so benevolently and sublimely "humbled
himself" — therefore) "God hath highly exalted him and given him
a name above every name" (Phil. 2: 9). (4). But yet further:
no such inauguration occurs at his second coming. It would be
superfluous to repeat its forms then; nay, more, worse than super-
fluous, since it would practically ignore this inauguration and im-
peach its validity — not to say deny its reality. But we are not left
to such reasonings however strong; the silence of the Bible as to
any such inauguration at that time is sufficient to explode the as-
sumption. There is not a word in the sacred Scriptures to show
any inauguration of Christ or setting up of his kingdom at his
350 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
second advent. Beyond all question, therefore, tins inauguration in
our passage must be (as above explained) that which immediately
followed his ascension and first advent. Consequently these
verses give us a definite limit over which the fourth l^east and his
horns (kings) can not pass ; — prior to which they must have their.life
and meet their destruction. This limit is what interpreters call tech-
nically the "terminus ad quem" — the point where the events of the
vision must close, and below which in time they can not extend. ■-
It is every thing gained for the just and sure interpretation of
prophecy when we are able to fix with unerring certainty this
■'terminus ad quem." It is fixed here by the complete identity
between tliis inauguration of the vSon of Man seen l)y Daniel, and
the same event located by the New Testament at his ascension,
connected with his first actvent. For it can not be reasonable to
evade this argument by dislocating the order of events in this vision.
This" order is closely consecutive. The inauguration (vs. 13, 14),
follows the destruction of the fourth beast (vs. 9-11) by the same
law by which the fourth beast himself follows the third; the third
the second; and the second the first. Nothing but capricious vio-
lence can sever this consecutive order. Moreover, the Angel-
interpreter (vs. 25-27) gives precisely the same order of succession
as the vision. The fourth beast develops itself into the little horn,
or rather the little horn was at the time of this judgment the
reigning king in this fourth kingdom. Ys. 24 and 25 give his sins ;
V. 26, iiis punishment; v. 27, the subsequent and consequent set-
ting up of Messiah's kingdom. The order of succession here is
un(|uestionable and gives its whole strength to confirm the same
closely consecutive order in the vision (vs. 9-11 and 13, 14). It is
pleasant to notice the law of mental association by which the mind
of the Spirit passes from the judgment and destruction of the fourth
beast and little horn to the setting up of Christ's kingdom and to
its glorious though somewhat remote triumphs. This law is quite
common in the prophetical writings. Under it Isaiah makes use
of the signal destruction of the invading hosts of Assyria, passing
over from that startling event to the far more grand and glorious
victories of King Messiah in the latter days. See Isa. 10: 28-34,
with chaps. 11 and 12. lie passes in the same way (chaps. 34 and
35) from the fall of Idumea to the victories of Messiah. So also
does Joel; and so indeed do all the prophets. The course of thought
is this : The Lord who works the lesser and nearer deliverance can
also work the greater and more remote. The poAver that can
achieve the one can achieve the other. The love and care for his
people that secure the one secure also the other. The will and
purpose to do the. one are therefore the pledge of a like will and
purpose to do the other. This is the real law of mental connec-
tion— the course of logical thought that links the latter event to the
former; yet the minds of most men leap from the former class of
events to the latter by spontaneous inference. Following this law
of mind, the Divine Spirit adapts his teachings to the natural course
of human thou<^ht.
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 351
"His love in time past
Forbids me to think
He '11 leave me at last
In trouble to sink."
So Zion cleaves to the record of God's marvelous works of power
and grace in her behalf in days of old, and builds thereon her faith
for more and greater works in exigencies yet to come. So the Lord
himself teaches his people.
15. I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my
body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and
asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made
me know the interpretation of the things.
Daniel has a painful sense of something sorely afflictive to the
people of God in this vision, and therefore seeks its interpretation
from an attendant angel. "Asked him the truth," etc., does not
imply that ho doubted God's veracity, but only that he was in doubt
what this truth might be. It was the substance and meaning, and
not the reliability, that he sought to learn. The angel kindly, ex-
plains.
17. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings,
which shall arise out of the earth.
18. But the saints of the Most High shall take the king-
dom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and
ever.
This first explanation is exceedingly brief — so brief that it dpes
not meet Daniel's felt Avants, and he therefore proceeds at once to
make his inquiries more specific. The word used here in ex-
plaining the meaning of the beasts is king, not kingdom. Yet the
more full and specific interpretation (vs. 23, 24) makes them defi-
nitely kingdoms and the horns kings. Beyond all question, the
whole course of Daniel's visions in chaps. 7 and 8 requires this con-
struction— the beasts, kingdoms, and the horns, kings. The more
full and precise statements must prevail over the one that is more
brief and general. The nature of the symbol also requires this.
The king finds his type in the horn, for the horn is the executive power
of the beast, but has no power apart from the beast. So of the king.
The beasts in these visions are nationalities, embracing many kings
in succession. — ■ — Two reasons may be assigned for this peculiar
use of "king" in this passage instead of kingdom. (1.) The very
l)revity of the statement. (2.) The fact that (in the case of the
first three especially) each kingdom was mainly 'embodied in one
several king; Chaldea in Nebuchadnezzar; the Medo-Persian em-
pire, in Cyrus; the Grecian, in Alexander. So far forth as these
successive dynasties afi"ected the ancient people of God, these kings
severally were every thing. To all practical purposes, they were
352 DANIEL.— CIIxVP. VII.
the khigdoms. And with nearly as much propriety may the same
be said of the fourth. So far as it affected the Jews, it was chiefly
embodied in Antiochus Epiphanes.
19. Then I w^ould know the truth of the fourth beast,
which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful,
whose teeth were oj iron, and his nails of brass ; iv'hich de-
voured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his
feet ;
20. And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of
the other which came up, and before whom three fell ; even
of that. horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very
great things, whose look ivas more stout than his fellows.
21. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints,
and prevailed against them ;
22. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was
given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came
that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Daniel here recites that part of the vision which he specially
wishes the angel to explain. It is that which relates to the fourth
beast, his ten horns, and more than all, that little horn. The
word rendered " stout," means impudent, arrogant. Daniel seems
already to understand somewhat more than is distinctly stated in
the vision as he gives it, (vs. 7, 8,) this for instance; that "the same
horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them." The
manner of introducing this: "I beheld," etc., seems to imply an-
other scene in the vision, in addition to those narrated vs. 2-14.
It Avill be noted also that he supposes this war to continue, with
success on the side of this horn, "until the Ancient of Days shall
come" (as stated vs. 9-10), and interpose his judgment on this little
horn-power to deliver his saints and give them the kingdom. This
shows Daniel's idea of the consecutive order of these events. It
seems to imply also that he expected this giving of the kingdom to
the saints would ensue very soon after the destruction of the little
horn. Yet it may be that this vision did not aim to give minutely the
intervals between great and somewhat remote events. Tliey may be
seen in vision in close connection because of their mutual relation as
cause and result, and not because of their close relation in time.
Or we might say, the interval between the destruction of the little
horn and the giving of the kingdom to Christ's people is passed in
silence and practically ignored as a time-interval because there was
nothing in it to be noticed ; none of that class of events which the
vision takes note' of. The series of great world-monarchies, sway-
ing the populations of Western Asia had utterly perished. The
Chaldean, the Medo-Persian, the Alexandrian-Greek, and everyone
of the four kingdoms that became his successors, are now dead.
They have gone down forever ; and on that territory, of that class of
powers, there is nothing to Buccccd them. Most fitly and beauti"
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII, o5o
fully therefore does the spirit of prophecy represent the kingdom
of the Messiah as coming next upon the stage and supplanting all
these world-monarchies, to stand forever. It comes next, for nothing
of the sort intervened before its development in the personal advent
of Christ and his triumphal inauguration as king at his ascension.
23. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth
kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all king-
doms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it
down, and break it in pieces.
24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings
that shall arise : and another shall rise after them ; and he
shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three
kings.
25. And he shall speake ^/rea^w^ords against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think
to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his
hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
This explanation is of prime importance in the interpretation of
this vision. The main points made in it are; that the beasts are
kingdoms : that the fourth is the fourth consecutive kingdom, diverse
from all the preceding probably in the respect of being more hostile
to the Jews while they are the recognized people of God; that it
should devour the whole earth, making widespread devastations;
that its ten horns are ten kings; that the little horn is yet another
king arising after them, diverse from the preceding ten; and here,
also, probably diverse in the point of more bitter hostility to God's
people : that he shall speak hano;hty and blasphemous words against
God; shall wage sore and wasting wars against the Jews and pur-
pose to subvert their religion — (for a Jewish prophet should use
this language in such a connection only of the Mosaic system, and
Jewish readers could understand by it nothing else;) and finally,
that they should be given into his hand so that he would effectually
arrest the established worship of the sanctuary during three and a
half years. This construction as to the duration of this period, " a
time, times and the dividing of time," follows Daniel's use of the
same word in his account of Nebuchadnezzar's insanity (chap. 4 :
IG, 23, 25, 32), where, beyond a doubt, a "time" means a year.
But this point will be resumed at a later stage of the discussion.
26. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away
his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness
of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to
the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve
and obey him.-
354 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
This "judgment" interprets the scene described vs. 9-11, and, as
already suggested, shows that it fell specially on the little horn
who ^Va8 largely the embodiment and impersonation of the fourth
kingdom. The fall of this fourth kingdom is soon followed by the
setting up of the Messiah's kingdom wliieli is represented as " given
to the people of the saints of the ^lost High " because they arc its
instrumental agents, and because its triumphs are identical with
their real success and prosperity.
28. Hitherto is the end of the mutter. As for me Dan-
iel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance
changed in me : but I kept the matter in my heart.
Here this vision and its interpretation close. Daniel is person-
ally very much affected. His great heart, ever intensely anxious
for "his people," feels keenly under the prophetic view of their
future trials, persecutions, and sufferings. lie thinks intently and
with troubled thought; but having no pious bosom friend near, he
"kept the matter in his heart."
Having now considered the sense of the several clauses in this
chapter, both in themselves and in their relations to each other, wc
are prepared to take up the great question of interpretation upon
which critics so widely differ, viz.. What is the fourth kingdom^ and
who is this little horjif Is this kingdom Rome Pagan, and this
horn Rome Papal? Or, is the fourth kingdom that of Alexan-
der's successors; and the little horn, Antiochus Epiphanes? ■
These are the only theories that speciall}'' claim attention. Hence
the question is narrowed down to a choice between these. 1
adopt the last-named theory, understanding by the fourth beast
those portions of the cleft empire of Alexander which lay geograph-
ically nearest the Jews, with whom politically they stood in close
and potential relations, and wdiich chronologically follow imme-
diately after the death of Alexander and continue very nearly down
to the coming of Christ. These were primarily and chiefly the
Syrian kingdom founded by Seleucus Nicator, B. C. 312, and much
less prominently the Egyptian, founded by Ptolemy Lagus, B. C
323. This theory assumes that in many respects the fourth
beast and all his horns are a unit. They arc so in being alike
portions of the great Grecian emj^ire of Alexander, also in the
respect of being Grecian in name, in language, in customs and in
\ national spirit; and more than all, in the point of sustaining the
! closest foreign relations with the Jews. This theory, with this
\ view of its import, I adopt,
I. Because this political power comes in the natural order of
succession. It hclds this place of natural order, (1.) Chronolog-
ically; (2.) Geographically; (3.) Politically; (4.) In respect to its
relations to the Jewish people.
(1.) Chronologically, Alexander's successors come next in time.
He died B. C. 323. The Greco-Egyptian kingdom was founded in
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 355
the same year. The Greco-Syrian — the result of long and bloody
wars, became settled only after eleven years of conflict. Then it
became the most potent foreign power in its relations to the Jews.
On the contrary, the Roman empire came into no important re-
lations to the Jews until the Christian era ; never disturbed their
repose effectually until A. D. 70 — nearly four hundred years after
Alexander's death, and bore no part among the foreign powers
controlling the fortunes of the Jews until they aided Herod to the
Jewish throne, B. C. 37; {. e., nearly three hundred years after the
death of Alexander. Such a chronological hiatus should not be
assumed without the most cogent reasons. It is "violently improb-
able." (2.) Geographically, the Syrian kingdom appears on the
same territory which had been the theater and home of the Chal-
dean, Medo-Persian, and essentially of the Grecian empires. But
Rome belonged to an entirely diffei'ent and then nearly unknown
part of the world. Rome never was Asiatic, never was Oriental;
never therefore was a legitimate successor of the first three of these
great empires. (3.) Politically, these kingdoms, Syria and Eg^^pt,
should be the fourth beast, especially Syria, because made up of
the same nationalities — the same tribes, nations, and peoples — that
composed successively the Chaldean, the Medo-Persian, and the
Grecian empires. As these successively were composed in large
measure of the same populations, only recast and clustering round
a ncAv political center, covering essentially the same territory; so
this fourth kingdom should be sought on the same territory, among
the same populations. Rome had the seat of her power and the
masses of her population in another and remote part of the world.
(4.) But especially should this complex power be the fourth
beast and kingdom of Daniel, l)ecause it stood in close proximity to
the Jews, in fact embosoming it on the south and on the north, and
constituting the foreign nations with which JewS stood in the closest
relations of war or peace. The genius and scope of this vision de-
mand that this fourth beast should represent such nations, and
utterly forbid us to think of a power far away in the recesses of
Europe, and which in the period in question, i. e., during the three
centuries ouAvard from B. C. 323, had absolutely nothing to do with
the fortunes of the Jewish people.
II. This theory follows the analogy of tRe first three kingdoms.
1 have already presented this as one of the laws by which
these visions should be interpreted; — the parts less fully explained
should follow the analogy of the parts more fully explained. The
fourth beast should follow the analogy of the first three. Since
there remains no doubt as to the meaning of the first three, let us
carefully gather up all ^xe can learn there and apply it to the inter-
pretation of the fourth. Why not? Now, the first three king-
doms stand in the closest political relations to the Jews. In fact,
they are here for this reason and no other. The great moral les-
sons which these four parallel visions address to Daniel's people
begin with and grow out of these historic facts; — The great k'mg-
donis xoh'ich successivelij overshadow your nationality^ -Under which you
356 DANIEL— CHAP. VIL
sigh in cajjiivity^ or live in dependent subjection, or against ivhich you
war for your very existence, or for the faith and worship of your
fathers, — sliall soon be subverted and swept away, and Messiah's
Icingdom take their place and fill all the earth. Con8C({ucntly the
lirst three kingdoms tare precisely those under which the Jews lived.
Analogy requires that the fourth should bear the same relations.
Again, of the first three, each follows closely upon his prede-
cessor, the ]\redo-rersian subverting and succeeding the Chaldean,
B. C. 538 ; the Grecian in like manner subverting and succeeding
the Medo-Pcrsian, B. C. 335-323. The powers that closely suc-
ceeded the death of Alexander, and were the persecutors, or, as the
case may be, the protectors, of the Jews, were the Egyptian, founded
in the same year, and the Syrian, which became established eleven
years later. These, then, must answer by analogy to the fourth
beast. — =— As those first three covered substantially the same terri-
tory, so by analogy should the fourth. On this theory it does.
But every point of this analogy forbids us to think of Rome Pagan
as the fourth beast, and much more, of Kome Papal as the little
horn.
III. The fourth beast, or rather the little horn, one of its kings,
assails the Jewish religion and aims to subvert it. This must be
the sense of the passage, " He shall wear out the saints of the
Most High and think to change times and laws." The only " times
and law" (the Chaldee is singular) known to Daniel and to his
first readers, were those of the Jewish ritual service. This lan-
fuage must therefore refer to Judaism. " The saints of the IMost
[igh," so sorely pressed and exhausted by this king, must have
been Jews — in the age before Christ. All just principles of inter-
pretation compel us to apply this language to an attack on Jews
and Judaism while the latter was in force ; and forbid us to apply
it to Papal Rome. The books of Maccabees constantly use the
phrase, "change the law," or "the laws," for the very change
which Antiochus sought to bring about.
IV. The more terrible beast is manifestly such mainly because
of his hostility against the people of Daniel and their divinely
authorized system of worship. This point has been already ad-
duced. In respect to malignity against the Jewish religion, he is
diverse from all the other l)easts. Especially is this true of the
little horn-king. Indeed, this horn is seen first in the fourth beast,
and subsequently developed out of it, and seen in his own individ-
uality. For his sins, the fourth beast is " destroyed and given to
the burning flame." On him specially the terrible judgments of
(Jod fell. All this, and specially its obvious relations to Judaism,
utterly fail of application to Papal Rome. Applied to Antiochus
Epiphanes, it is precisely his Jiistory — as will erelong be more
fully shown.
V. The application of the " terminus ad quern" is decisive. The
limit below which none of these beasts or their horns can be found,
is the ascension of Christ and his inauguration as king. All the
special, definite points embraced in this vision, not only all that
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 357
relate to the first three beasts, but also all that relate to the fourth
and to his horns, must precede this giving of the kingdom to Christ
and to his people. No part of this vision comes after that " giving,''
except the general facts of the eternal duration and universal sway
of this kingdom. Of the details given in the vision, no other occurs
subsequent to the ascension of Christ. ^It is, therefore, simply
impossible that the Koman theory can be true. It is undet the
sternest demands of the laws of interpretation thai the fourth beast
represents the dominion of Alexander's successors, and the little
horn, Antiochus Epiphanes.
VI. There are yet other arguments of no small weight. The two
remaining visions — that of chap. 8 and that of chaps. 10-12 — are yet
to be considered. In its place I intend to examine carefully the
indications that they are parallel to this, and therefore confirm the
interpretation given of this. Each of those visions gives a much
more full account than this of the vital point — the little horn-power.
We shall find on examination that every feature given of the little
horn here -is found there, only in general more fully expanded and
with additional but never with conflicting points. Nothing beyond
this can be reasonably asked to prove identity. But' this argument
need not be anticipated further in this place.
VII. It is altogether in favor of this Antiochean theory that it
requires no violation of the laws of prophetic language in respect
to notations of time. The "time, times, and dividing of time," I
simply make three and a half years, following Daniel's own use of
these words in chap. 4: 16, 23, 25, 32, How fitly this applies to
Antiochus Epiphanes, desecrating the sanctuary and holding it des-
olate three and a half years, will be shown in its place. In its
place also I shall call special attention to the baseless theory that
in prophecy all notations of time must be multiplied by three hun-
dred and sixty to get actual time. See Appendix A,
VIII. This theory adequately meets the demands of history. Its
complete fulfillment, proven without violence to the laws of inter-
pretation on the one hand, or to the facets of history on the other,
closes the argument in its support. Legitimately the argument
from historic fulfillment should always come last in order. The
full' sense of the prophecy should be obtained from other sources
than conjectural hypothetic fulfillment. This done, a facile, natu-
ral fulfillment comes in to close the argument and place it beyond
controversy or doubt. The capital vice in many interpretations of
these prophecies has lain in the violation of this rule. Some fore-
gone theory of fulfillment has superseded all other laws of inter-
pretation, and has been allowed to shape and fix the sense of words
and phrases, often in palpable violation of the laws of Hebrew
speech — not to say, of all speech. Hence an untold amount of
caprice, speculation, and palpable violation of very obvious laws
of language, But to our point. 1, Fulfillment verifies the
interpretation given above of the first three beasts. The Chaldean
kingdom under Nebuchadnezzar was, among the nations of the
East, a lion with eagle's wings. Under Bclshazzar, his wings were
858 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
plucked, his courage gone ; he had no longer the power to stand
before. a fierce northern bear. This is history. The Medo-Per-
sian power followed immediately, pushing its conquests westward
and southward, "devouring much llesh," supplanting and succeed-
ing the Chaldean empire, and especially, coming into the same
close political relations to the Jews, and sustaining them during
the period B. C. 53^-337. This too is history. The Grecian
empire of Alexander comes next, swiftly subverting the Medo-Per-
sian, and becoming during its short continuance the protector of
the Jews. So far history simply translates the obvious sense of
these prophetic symbols. 2. With equal facility, on the same
principles, in the same line of thought and course of analogy, his-
tory verifies the interpretation above given of the fourth beast. He
represents the powers that immediately followed Alexander and lay
contiguous to the Jews, standing toward them in close political re-
lations. Out of the cleft empire of Alexander the Great arose
two kingdoms, Egypt on the south, and Syria on the north of Pales-
tine, between whom the Jews alternated in their allegiance, greatly
dependent for their political welfare upon their relations of peace
or war with- these adjacent powers. Of these two, the Syrian,
founded by Seleucus Nicator B. C. 312, was the stronger and by
far the more terrible to the Jews. It is this kingdom that mainly
constitutes the fourth beast and fills out the prophetic description.
The kingdom of Egypt is qmte subordinate; yet because of its
close political relations to the Jews, but yet more, because it cer-
tainly appears in the more full predictions in chap. 11, it can not
be altogether excluded. Both were fragments of the great empire
of Alexander; both were among his successors; both were Grecian
in language, customs and general character. Each in turn were
in close relations of alliance and of protection or oppression as to
the Jews. The Syrians had long wars with them. These points
substantially constitute the conditions of the prophecy to which the
facts of history should and do correspond. The Syrian kingdom
was great, and terrible, relatively to the Jews ; and not only so, it
was great absolutely, and its founder was a great conqueror and a
terrible scourge upon the nations of the East. From the testimony
of Justin, Arrian, and Appian, it appears that he was called '' Nieafor "
(the conqueror) on account of his gaining so many great victories;
that he obtained the most extensive dominion and became the
greatest king after Alexander; and that he ruled over all Western
Asia from the Hellespont to India — those very countries which for
nearly three hundred years had been the seat of empire for the
three great prophetic dynasties before him. Further, Daniel
himself recognizes his greatness, using the very same language of
his dominion as of Alexander's. The latter " shall rule with great
dominion" (chap. 11: 3). Of the former, Seleucus Nicator, he says
(cliap. 11: 5), "His dominion shall be a great dominion." The
era of the Seleucidjx; dates from the beginning of his reign H. C.
312, or as some nations held it, B. C 311. These two kingdoms
and especially the Syrian, fill the right place for the fourth beast'
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 359
territorially, politically, chronologically, and in the line of special
relations to the Jews. They come in immediately after Alexander
and pass away before the Son of man receives his everlastiuo; king-
dom. So much for the fourth beast. But what of the ten
horns ? It is remarkable that very many interpreters seem to
have had no guide in searching for the horns of this fourth beast
save mere conjecture. The process has been tentative — to go forth
into the broad field of history, and find somewhere ten kings or
ten kingdoms that seem to cluster easily together, and conscript
them. into service to do duty on this beast of Daniel. Probably a
score of different expositions could be found among those who adopt
the Roman theory, who (by the way) universally make the horns king-
doms, not kings, and European kingdoms at that (utterly at variance
with God's own interpretation), some of them counting off their ten
kingdoms in the fifth century ; some finding other ten in the sixth ;
and some yet another ten at some point along the middle ages,
etc. Scarcely any two commentators fix upon the same set.
Another score could probably be found of those who adopt the
Grecian theory, who usually look for kings, not kingdoms — in so
far, following, and not disregarding the divine interpreter. Some
assume that they were contemporary, and look for them among the
rival claimants for the throne and dominion of Akxander the Great;
others think them consecutive, and look for them in the Syrian line
only, down to Antiochus Epiphanes ; others select out of the two
kingdoms, Egypt and Syria, the number of ten who bore the most
intimate relations to the Jews. It would be tedious to recite these
lists and could »ot be very profitable. In view of them all, I
have it to say, that if there were no better clew, I should adopt the
one last named as being most in harmony with the scope of the
vision; viz., select ten consecutive kings, falling betv/een the death
of Alexander and the rise of Antiochus Epiphanes who came most
into contact with the Jews, and who most fully represented the re-
lationship of the Jewish nation to foreign powers. But, there is
nO occasion to throw ourselves upon conjecture at all. There is no
occasion even to do the next best thing — take the clew just referred to
and trace out those kings of Egypt or Syria whose agency was most
vital for good or evil to the fortunes of the Jews. For the selec-
tion is substantially made ready to our hand in Daniel's last vision.
There, dropping all figure and symbol, he gives us the very kings
themselves. So clear is this description that the great body of com-
mentators have followed the same track of interpretation and name
these kings as they occur (chap. 11: 5-27) in precisely the same
way. The wonder is that \\^th so much agreement in respect to
these kings, no commentator within my knowledge seems to have
counted them or to have noticed that the kings of any prominence
in this narrative prophecy are ten. But such is the fact. In
this prophecy (chap. 11,) which bears from beginning to end the
appearance of being explanatory of the visions in chap. 7 and 8,
these ten kings lie in their order, filling precisely the interval be-
tween the death of Alexander and the rise of the little horn, An-
360 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
tiochus Epiphanes. How then can we doubt that these are the ten
kings (horns) of this fourth beast? They come to us named and
defined on the highest possible authority — that of the revealing
Spirit himself Let us accept them and so end the long contro-
versy, and invite to harmony and peace the immenscl}^ diversified
opinions of those who have sought to find these ten horns.
When 1 come to treat of chap. 11, it will be more in place to give
the history of these kings with some detail. Suffice it here to say
that five of them are k^ngs of the south, in the Greco-Egyptian
dynasty, viz., Ptolemy Lagus in v. 5; Ptolemy Philadelphus in v. 6;
Ptolemy Euergetcs in vs. 7-9: Ptolemy Philopater in vs. 11, 12,
and Ptolemy Philometer in vs. 25-27. Five of them are kings
of the north, in the Greek-Syrian dynasty; viz., Seleucus Nicator
in V. 5 ; Antiochus Theos in v. 6 ; Seleucus Callinicus in vs. 7, 8 ;
Antiochus the Great, vs. 10-19; and Seleucus Philopator in v. 20.
This brings us in the line of chap. 11, to Antiochus Epiphanes, the
little horn-king, making a perfect correspondence in respect to all
the vital points of the case between this vision of chap. 7 and that
of chap. 11. But this parallelism will be more fully brought out
when chap. 11 shall come under consideration in its order. Suffice
it to say here that these parallel prophecies of Daniel mutually sus-
tain each other, a fact which will become more abundantly mani-
fest hereafter. Moreover, as we proceed in developing this theory
of interpretation, every point is amply confirmed by the historic
facts. These ten kings sustained specially important relations to
the Jews. It was because of these relations that they find a place
in the eleventh chapter. As to the number of these kings com-
prised in both the Egyptian and Syrian kingdoms, from their foun-
dation down to Antiochus Epiphanes, the question will arise, Does
the prophecy (Dan. 11 : 5-27) touch them all, and were there actu-
ally but ten ? To this I answer : From the full list of those two
dynasties during the period specified, I omit one Egyptian king,
Ptolemy Epiphanes, put upon the throne at the age of five years,
and never any thing but a tool for others to use ; and two Syrian
kings; one, the second in the series, Antiochus Soter, he being in-
tentionally passed over in the prophecy which leaps a chasm of at
least thirty-two years by saying (chap. 11: C) "In the end of
years," etc. Here and thus the sketch passes unnoticed the entire
reign of Anti. Soter. I therefore omit him. The other Syrian king
omitted reigned but two years (Seleucus Ceraunus), and did noth-
ing to entitle him to notice in this prophecy. AVith these excep-
tions, the list of ten, as above named, includes not only all that are
spoken of in this prophetic sketch, but all that appear in the full
tables of those kings. Such omissions as these justify themselves.
The prophetic sketch touches only those whose exploits were worthy
of notice. These are ten in number. Yet it may wcll.be said that
ten is often a round number ; so that if there had been in fiict
cither nine or eleven, it should create no difficulty if the number
had been spoken of as ten. ^Thc little horn is Antiochus Epiph-
anes. Wo shall see much more of him in chap. 8 and chap. J 1,
DANIEL.— CIIxVP. VII. 361
and his history will be given more fully there. It may properly be
said here, in anticipation of its proof, that with one exception every
several feature of his character, exploits, and destiny, given here in
chap. 7, is brought out and consequently confirmed in the descrip-
tion given of him in chap. 8, and again yet more in chap. 11. The
points made here are expanded there, and some new points added,
but nothing is diverse ; not a line, not a shade of coloring appears
there that does not fit perfectly to the outline first drawn here in
chap. 7. So that the fact of parallelism will appear with such a
sort, variety, and amount of evidence as constitute complete demon-
stration. Let it also be said here (to be shown more fully here-
after) that history confirms all these points of his character, ex-
ploits, and destiny. He was a most bitter persecutor and deadly
foe of the Jewish nation ; he did assail their religion with the fell
purpose of uprooting it from the earth ; he did speak both blasphe-
mously and pi-oudly against Almighty God. He know he was fight-
ing against the God of Israel, and when at last he fell, the stings
of remorse in his awakened conscience bore their testimony that
God had conquered and that his own malign purposes were utterly
blasted. The special unfolding of these facts of his history should
naturally be reserved till we come to the more full prophetic detail
in chaps. 8 and 11. A few points however may be as well pre-
sented here. (1.) Tliree of the first horns removed before the little
horn. In his first account of the vision Daniel said (v. 8), " I
considered the horns and behold there came up among them a little
horn before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up
by the roots." Daniel inquired particularly respecting this feature,
"of the other that come up and before whom three fell" (v. 20).
The interpretation states (v. 24), '• and he shall subdue three kings."
He does not say in the most precise language, three of those ten
kings ; yet this is the more obvious meaning, and is required by
the language of the vision, " Three of the first horns Avere plucked
up." The original word rendered " subdue," means to humble, to
bring down. This is the point which I excepted from the gen-
eral statement that all the points made of the little horn in chap.
7, appear also in chaps. 8 and 11. This point is not in chap. 8. It
does appear, however, in a very peculiar way in chap. '11. This
vision (chap. 7) obviously means that three of the first horns were
in some special manner put out of the way of this little horn. Only
the last statement, "he shall subdue," etc., necessarily involves any
active agency of the little horn in their removal. Who are these
three kings ? Do they appear in history and in such a way as to
verify this minute statement? On this question commentators
have diflered widely — a natural result of their differing so widely
over the ten horns. As above explained, 1 find these ten horns
precisely in chap. 11 : 5-27. The little horn also is there, his his-
tory filling twenty-five verses, viz., vs. 21-45. But of the three
kings that he "subdued;" that "were plucked up," or that "fell
before him," the history of only one is given here so fully and
specifically as to show tliat this "vile kins;," alias the little horn,
16
362 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
had an active agency in subduinc!; him. This one is Ptolemy Phi-
lometor of Eg^^pt (vs. 25-27) of whom this passapje, after giving the
history of their conflicts and wars, says, ''he shall not stand"
{i. c, he shall fall) before Antiochiis. This very Ijrief historic
prophecy does speak, however, of the death of two others as being
somewhat peculiar and remarkable. Of Antiochiis the (ireat, it
records, "he shall stumble and fall and shall not be found." This
king was the. father of Autiochus Epiphanes. Of the next, his
brother Seleucus Philopator, " a raiser of taxes," and his imme-
diate predecessor on the throne, the record says; "But within a
few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger nor in battle."
l>ut in neither of these cases is it said that Antiochus Epiphanes
was in any way the cause of his death. Still the fact that the man-
ner of their death is hinted at in this somewhat enigmatic way,
taken in connection with the prophecy that before this little horn
three of the first horns should be plucked up by the roots," and
"should fall," is surely very noticeable. Does profane history
give any hint that Antiochus Epiphanes was concerned in the death
of either Antiochus the Great, his father, or of Seleucus Philo-
pator, his brother? It is stated in Poole's Synopsis that Anti-
ochus the Great came to his death in a drunken frolic, under
these circumstances : In a state of intoxication, he had abused
certain persons and thereby incurred their ill-will. His son, this
Antiochus Epiphanes, took advantage of their exasperated feel-
ings and instigated them to mob and murder his own father!
One ancient author, Aurelius Victor, states that he died in this
way. On the other hand Strabo and Justin concur in stating
that he fell in an attempt to pillage a rich temjjle of Belus in
Elymais. The weight of historic evidence is for this view.
Of his brother, Seleucus Philopator, Grotius states that he was slain
by Antiochus Epiphanes or by his order. It is said this vile king
caused him to be poisoned, hiyj and Appian, however, attribute his
murder by poison to Ileliodorus, who seems to have aspired to the
throne for himself. The weight of historical evidence seems to
exonerate Antiochus Epiphanes from direct participation in the
death of either his father or his elder brother. Yet this evidence
is somewhat conflicting, and perhaps can not be legarded as decisive.
Antiochus was artful enough to keep his active hand out of sight.
He was wicked enough for the most unnatural crimes, provided
only that they promised to favor his ambitious schemes. The fact
that he is called (chap. 11 : 21) "a vile person," in such close prox-
imity Avith the extraordinary deaths of the two kings next before
him on the Syrian throne, may be significant. Finally, the form
of the statement — three distinct horns ^^ plucked up before him" —
makes room for some diversity in the manner of the thing and par-
ticularly in the personal agency of the little horn in it. Indeed the
diverse statements in the prophecy (chnp. 7.) fiivor some diversity
in the historic facts as to an active agency of the little horn.
"Plucked up;" "fall;" arc intransitive or passive: "to subdue," in
the sense, to humble, is active. All those varieties find their ado-
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 3G3
quate fulfillment in the diversity of these three cases brought before
us in chap. 11. The two kings next preceding in the Syrian line
were certainly "plucked up," did certainly "fall," before him. The
one king in the Egyptian line he did certainly humble and "sub-
due." These three, therefore, I must account as the three horns
referred to in chap. 7: 8, 20, 24. (2.) "He thought to change
times and laws." The legitimate sense of these words, as written
by a Jew and for Jewish readers, can be nothing else than chang-
ing the religious institutions given by God through ^Moses. Every
writer should be presumed to use language in the sense in which
his readers must understand it. Prophecy is no exception to this
rule. ' The prophets wrote in order to be understood. If, to refute
this, it be said that Daniel as a prophet might look far down into
the Christian age and see another system of religious " times and
laws," the legitimate answer is that his readers were not prophets
even though he was; and he certainly wrote for their reading and
to their understanding. Let us now notice the historic fulfillment
of this clause. On this point the books of the Maccabees are the
best of testimony. The first book witnesseth thus ; " Moreover king
Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one peo-
ple, and every one should leave his laws; so all the heathen agreed
according to the commandment of jbhe king. Yea, many also of
the Israelites consented to his religion, and sacrificed unto idols,
and profaned the sabbath. For the king had sent letters by mes-
sengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, that they should
follow the strange laws of the land, and forbid burnt-offerings and
sacrifices and drink-offerings in the temple, and that they should
profane the sabbaths and festival days; and pollute the sanctuary
and holy people ; set up altars and groves, and chapels of idols, and
sacrifice swine's flesh and unclean boasts; that they should also
leave their children uncircumcised, and make their souls abominable
with all manner of uncleanness and profanation ; io the end they
might forget the law and change all the ordinances. And whosoever
would not do according to the commandment of the king, he said,
he should die. (chap. 1 : 41-50.) " Now the fifteenth day of the month
Casleu, in the hundred and forty-fifth year, they set up the abomi-
nation of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol-altars through-
out the cities of Judah on every side" (v. 34). The author of
the second book of Maccabees makes his statements thus : " Not
long after this the king sent an old man of Athens to compel the
Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers, and not to live after
the laws of God, and also to pollute the temple in Jerusalem and
to call it the temple of Jupiter Olympius The coming in of this
mischief was sore and grievous to the people; for the temple was
filled with riot and reveling by the Gentiles, who dallied with harlots
and had to do with women within the circuit of the holy places,
and besides that, brought in things that were not lawful. The altar
also was filled with profane things which the law forbiddcth.
Neither was it lawful for a man to keep sabbath days or ancient
feasts, or to profess himself at all to be a Jew. And in the day of
3G4 DANIEL.— CHAP. Vll.
the king's birth, every month they were brought by bitter constraint
to eat of the sacrifices ; and when the feast of Bacchus was kept,
the Jews Avcre compelled to go in procession to l^acchus, carrying
ivy" (2 ISlac. 6 : 1-7). These extracts from Jewish historians,
writing not long after the events, testify amply both to the fact and
to the intent. They also show that the language of Daniel, " change
times and laws," is perfectly Jewish^ and indeed could not be un-
derstood by them to mean any thing else than subverting the Mosaic
ritual service. (3.) "They shall be given into his hand until a
time, times, and dividing of time." Do the facts of history verify
this on the interpretation above given? They do most fully.
First, of the precise -sense of this clause. The proper antecedent
of "they," representing who or what shall be given into his hand,
is "times and laws." Hence the meaning must be that he will
have power to subvert the Mosaic rites of worship, or at least sus-
pend their observance, during the period specified. Or, if it be still
insisted that "they" refers to the saints, yet the sense must be
that they are given into his hand to this special extent and result,
viz., that he may suspend their "times and laws" — the same ulti-
mate significance as before. Consequently the period hereby limited
in time w^ith its contained events, is just that during which the little
horn-king was allowed of God*to suspend the ritual services of the
Jewish worship. The passage docs not say how long the little horn
shall live, nor how long he should make war upon the saints, nor
docs it put any thing else into this limitation of time except this
one thing — how long he shall be able to prevent the normal action
of those Jewish "times and laws." The facts of history on this
point are derived originally from Josephus and from the two books
of Maccabees. Of the latter, the first book has the reputation of
being very exact and reliable history. The second moralizes more
and confines itself less closely to history; j'et is regarded as in the
main reliable.' Josephus may be presumed to give us the traditions
of his countrymen as current in his day (A. D. 75-100). His Jew-
ish war was published about A. D. 75 ; his Antiquities, A. D. 93.
On the historic period now before us, Josephus states (Proem to his
Jewish War, sec. 7) that " Antiochus called Epiphanes seized Jeru-
salem and held it three years and six months." In the same work
(I: 1: 1.) of the same Epiphanes; "He caused the customary daily
sacrifice to cease three years and six months." But in his Antiqui-
ties (XH: 7: 6) he computes only three years, saying, "The temple,
desolated by.Antiochus, continued in this state three years." These
statements constitute precisely his testimony.
The testimony of the first book of Maccabees is entirely explicit
as to the point when the sanctuary was cleansed. It was on the
twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, i. e., Casleu, which was the
one hundred and forty-eighth A^ear of the era of the Seleucida;.
(See 1 Mac. 4: 52.) As this era usually counts from B. C. 312,
the one hundred and forty-eighth year would be B. C 1G4.
The point of commencing in these several statements is various.
This first book states (chap. 1 : 54) that, on the fifteenth day of
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 3Co
the month Caslcu, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year (B. C.
167), they set up the abomination of desohition upon the altar and
buildcd idol altars throughout the cities of Judah on every side."
This gives an interval, down to the cleansing of the sanctuary, of
three years and ten days. In the same connection (v. 59), he sin^s ;
'' On the twenty-fifth day of the month they sacrificed upon tlic
idol-altar which was upon the altar of God." The author of the
second hook of jMaccabees is unfortunately sparing of dates. On
the point now in hand, he only says (chap. 10: 5); " Kow upon
the same day that the strangers proftmed the temple, on the very
sivme day it was cleansed again, even the twenty-fifth day' of the
same month which is Casleu." These statements, though unlike,
are yet not seriously conflicting. Observe that while in all cases
the period they limit terminates at the same point, viz., the cleans-
ing of the sanctuary, yet it does not profess to begin at the
same. Thus the first book of Maccabees gives us first the day
when they set up the abomination upon the sacred altar, viz.,
the fifteenth day of Casleu; and next the day when they ofiercd
their first idol sacrifices upon it which was ten days after, on the
twenty-fifth of Casleu. -Josephus gives us in one passage the
period during which Antiochus held Jerusalem by military force
at three and a half years. Next, he makes the time during
which he caused the daily sacrifice to cease three and a half
years. In still another passage he says that the temple lay deso-
lated three years. The somewhat full history in the first chapter
of first Maccabees shows that the whole work of subduing the
Jewish force, getting possession of the temple, desecrating the holy
altar, setting up another for idol-offerings, and getting in readiness
to commence idol-worship, occupied no little time — not improbably
six months. The entire period, therefore, will be estimated vari-
ously according as the writer may commence at an earlier or a
later point, to take in more or less of the preliminary steps.
The reader will notice that the form of statement before us (in
chap. 7: 25, and with this also chap. 12: 7) should naturally be
the longer rather than the shorter period — the entire duration of
this horn's ascendant power over the city and the holy people, to
prevent their customary temple-worship, rather than the shorter
term in which idol sacrifices were offered in the temple. This
seems to me to be a fair and rational solution of this slight appar-
ent discrepancy. The marvel is not that the history should seem
to fail in the point of accurate dates ; but that in periods so short
and at a time so remote, it should be possible to obtain so much
accuracy. (4.) Another prominent point in respect to this little
horn-king is his destruction. As already suggested, vs. 11, 12,
plainly intimate that, being for the time the representative and em-
bodunent of the fourth beast, he falls by some striking form of judg-
ment. V. 26 certainly refers primarily to this king, and implies
also a special judgment ii-om God upon him — beyond question the
same which is described vs. 9-11. Correspondingly, chap. 8 : 25,
says; though "he shall stand up against the Prince of princes" (in
3G6 DANIEL^CHAP. VII.-
his pride and rage) "yet he shall be broken without hand." (For
this last expression, "broken without hand," compare Job 34: 20,
"The mi;:;;hty shall 1)0 taken away without hand.") By no human
arm, but by one invisible and divine, he shall be utterly broken.
So chap. 1 1 : 45 ; " Thoui;;h he shall plant his palace-like
tents between the great Sea" (the Mediterranean) ''and the glori-
ous holy mountain, yet he shall come to his end, and none shall
help him;" i. e., though he gained possession of ]\It. Zion and held
it as his fortress for several years, exceedingly afflicting the people
of God and long time desecrating his sanctuary, yet he shall come
down wonderfully, and "there shall be none to help him."
Such are the statements of Daniel's prophecy respecting the death
of this king. What are the facts of history ? The original
witnesses are mainly the first and second books of Maccabees.
The first book gives a clear, calm, orderly and trustworthy state-
ment, thus; "About that time King Antiochus, traveling through
the high countries, heard say that Elymais in the country of Persia
was a city greatly renoAvned for riches, silver and gold ; and that
there was in it a very rich temple, wherein were coverings of gold
and breast-plates and shields, which Alexander, son of Philip the
Macedonian king, who reigned first among the Grecians, had left
there. Wherefore he came and sought to take the city and to
spoil it; but he was not able, because they of the city, having had
warning thereof, rose up against him in battle ; so he fled, and de-
parted thence in great heaviness and returned to Babylon. More-
over there came one who brought him tidings into Persia, that the
armies, which went against the land of Judea, were put to flight;
and that Lysias who went forth first with a great force was driven
away of the Jews, and that they were made strong by the armor
and power and store of spoils Avhich they had gotten of the armies
whom they had destroyed; also that they had pulled down the
abomination which he had set up upon the altar in Jerusalem, and
that they had compassed about the sanctuary with high Avails as
before. Noav when the king heard these Avords, he was astonished
and sore moved; Avhereupon he laid himself doAvn upon his bed
and fell sick for grief because it had not befallen him as he looked
for. And there he continued many days; for his grief was CA'cr
more and more, and he made account that he should die. Where-
fore he called for all his friends and said unto them, ' The sleep
is gone from mine eyes and my heart faileth for very care. And
I thought Avith myself into Avhat tribulation am 1 come, and how
great a flood of misery is it AA^herein 1 noAV am ! for I AA'as bounti-
ful and beloved in my poAver. ButnoAv I remember the evils that
I did at Jerusalem, and that I took all the vessels of gold and
silver that "Avere therein, and sent to destroy the inhabitants of
Jiidca AvithoUt a cause. I perceive therefore that for this cause
these troubles are come upon me, and behold, I perish through
great grief in a strange land.' .... So King Antiochus died there
in t\iG hundred and forty-ninth year." (1 j\lac. 6: 1-13, 16.) ■
In the second book this narrative fills the ninth chapter, expanding
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 3G7
and commenting somewhat freely, and making the invisible hand
of God very prominent among the causes of his awful death. The.
outline of historic circumstances is much the same as in the first
book. Antiochus goes to a remote city of Persia to pillage a very
rich temple ; is driven off by the people ; on his way back, he hears
that his armies in Judea are defeated and the Jews enriched by
their spoil. Enraged to fury " he commands his charioteer to drive
without ceasing and to despatch the journey, the judgments of God
now following him. For he had spoken proudly in this sort that
he would come to Jerusalem and make it the common burying-
place of the Jews. But the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel,
smote him with an invisible and incurable plague, for as soon as
he had spoken these words, a pain of the bowels that was remedi-
less came upon him, and sore torments of the inner parts; and
that most justly ; for he had tormented other men's bowels with
many and strange torments. Howbeit he nothing at all ceased
from his bragging, but still was filled with pride, breathing out
fire in his rage against the Jews, and commanding to haste the
journey; but it came to pass that he fell do^vn from his chariot,
carried violently, so that having a sore fall, all the members of
his body were much pained. And thus he that a little afore thought
he might command the waves of the sea (so proud was he beyond
the condition of man) and weigh the high mountains in a balance,
was now cast on the ground, and carried in a horse-litter, showing
forth unto all the manifest power of God. So that the worms rose
up out of the body of this wicked man, and while he lived in sor-
row and pain, his flesh fell away, and the filthiness of his smell
was noisome to all his army." In short, convicted of his great
guilt, stung with remorse, appalled with fear of the Almighty
hand, he makes vows and promises to God, even to beautify the
temple he had despoiled, defray the cost of its sacrifices, and be-
come himself a Jew and go through all the world declaring the
power of God; "but for all this his pains would not cease, for the
just judgment of God was come upon him." . . . "Thus this mur-
derer and blasphemer, having sufiered most grievously, as he had
treated other men, so died he a miserable death in a strange coun-
try in the mountains." It is perhaps impossible to say whether
this account may not be somewhat exaggerated ; yet there can be
no reasonable doubt that in its main features it is correct. Assum-
ing this, the death of this impious blasphemer classes itself with
that of the Herod who murdered the elder James, and witnesses to
the fearfulncss of those special judgments from the Almighty Avhich
are designed to stand as his testimony and warning to those who
set at naught his power and defy his vengeance. Thus this point
of the prophetic description of the little horn as Antiochus Epiph-
ancs is amply verified by the historic facts.
At the cost of a little repetition, I proceed now to give a brief
summary of the grounds on which I am compelled to reject the
Roman theory in this seventh chapter. In general my plan of
commentary mostly excludes the presentation of oj)inion8 from
3G8 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
which I dissent. But the very extensive prevalence of this Roman
.theory induces mc to deviate in this case from my ijeneral ph\n.
Briefly then, I must reject the theory which makes the fourth
beast Home Pagan; the ten horns, some ten European kingdoms;
and the little horn Borne l*apal, 1. Because it is out of analogy
with the preceding beasts, this fourth considered as Borne, not being
in any proper sense, the successor to the other three; not located
in the same part of the world ; not composed mainly of the same
populations; not following in the same closely consecutive order of
time, but involving a huge chasm — for Pagan Bome, of four hund-
red years, and for Papal Bome as a great persecuting power near
six hundred more : and finally not standing in the same political
relations to the Jews, while yet they are the recognized people of
God. 2. It disregards the relation of these visions to Daniel's
own people and to his special circumstances as their patron, pro-
tector and father. 3. It overlooks the manifest indications that
the great conflict, the "war with the saints of the Most High," is
l)ctween this little horn and the Jews while they are yet the people
of God and while the Mosaic system is yet standing. 4. Both
the vision and its explanation assume that the fourth beast and its
little horn are in some vital respects a unit, or, at least stand in
the closest connection with each other; but the Boman theory
makes them utterly unlike — alike in nothing indeed but the name
Boman. The one is a Pagan, political empire ; the other is a nom-
inal church, and moreover far removed from each other in time.
5. Inasmuch as v. 11 shows that the fourth beast is destroyed
because of the sins of the little horn, this theory carries with it
the absurdity of destroying Pagan Bome for the sins of Papal
Bome — sins committed by an entirely different sot of sinners, and
several hundred years after the punishment had been inflicted and
the sufferers destroyed ! That is, because Papal Bome ivill drink
the blood of saints and martyrs in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, therefore let Pagan Bome be destroyed in the fourth and
fifth ! Of course neither of these parties are known in this vision
save as persecuting powers. This fact must guide us as to dates
and durations.- G. The ]?oman theory is absolutely set aside and
rendered impossible by the "terminus ad quem" of the fourth
beast and all his horns; i. c, by the fact that this kingdom and
all its kings are destroyed before the INIessiah's first advent. 7.
It is also set aside by the scope and significance of the undeniably
parallel visions of chap. 8 and of chap. 11. This will be shown
more fully in its place. 8. It must be rejected because it con-
flicts with the inspired explanation of the symbol of the horn. This
inspired explanation (v. 24) makes the ten horns ten kings^ and
the little horn also a king. Any system of interpretation muat be
false which disregards and overrides God's own interpretation,
especially in a point so fundamental as this. The proper signifi-
cance of a horn as a symbol might be elaborated in the light of its
natural relations. It might be urged that a horn is nothing apart
from the beast that wears it; that it is the beast's own instrument
DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. 360
of powe^, just as the king is the executive force of his kingdom;
that in every point of view the natural significance of the horn on
a beast is a king in his kingdom. But, waving this form of argu-
ment, I now put the case simply on the positive interpretation of
God himself, and insist that this ought to be respected. 9. In
reference to the little horn, the Roman theory must be rejected be-
cause it departs yet more widely from the inspired interpretation
inasmuch as it makes the little horn not even a kingdoyti in the
sense of this vision, but a great religious organization — a nominal
church. In view of the manifest drift and scope of this vision,
this interpretation of the little horn must be pronounced pure
caprice, having no support whatever in the vision itself 10. It
involves the inconsistency of making ten of these horns political
kingdoms, and the eleventh a great nominal church. 11, Fi-
nally, it must be rejected because it requires for its support the
utterly baseless theory of prophetic times which multiplies them by
three hundred and sixty to get actual time. See this theory exam-
ined in the Appendix, Dissertation A. It is hoped these reasons for
rejecting the Koman theory will be deemed satisfactory and sufficient.
It is still due to the advocates of the Roman theory to take re-
spectful notice of the grounds on Avhich mainly their theory is sup-
ported and the opposite one assailed. These are :
1. That on the theory I have presented, there is a want of unity
in the fourth beast and hence a want of natural analogy with the
three preceding beasts. On the contrary, I have urged and la-
bored to show that in reference to the main drift and purpose of
these visions, there is a high degree of unity in the fourth beast
and all his horns; that the vision and interpretation both conspire
to demand far more unity between the fourth beast and the little
horn than the Roman theory can possibly admit, and just such as
the Grecian theory affords ; and that in view of the real purport of
these visions, there is (as above presented) a close and abundant
analogy betvreen the first three beasts and the fourth. Moreover
those Avho make great account of the precise fitting of symbol to
historic fact may well take note that in the vision of the great im-
age, as the two arms happen to fit the double kingdom of the ]\Iedos
and Persians, so the two legs equally fit the two-fold Grecian king-
dom— Egyptian and Syrian^ and that the ten toes are found as ten
kings, five in one of these two kingdoms and five in the other.
2. It is urged that Rome is really the fourth universal kingdom,
and therefore must be the fourth beast. But here every thing
turns on the question whether Daniel is giving to the world univer-
sal history in genei'al, and this from a stand-point that has no
special reference to the Jews ; or whether he gives profane history
only because it connects itself with the fortunes of his own people,
the Jews, and only so far as it so connects itself 1 take the lat-
ter view most decidedly. I find it sustained by all the circum-
stances of Daniel's public life; by numerous indications throughout
his entire book as well as throughout these four parallel visions ;
and by the analogy of all the other prophets — not to say of all the
870 DANIEL.— CHAP. VII.
rest of the 13il)lc. The former view I regard as utterly unten-
able, and as the fundamental mistake underlying the failures so
often made in the interpretation of Daniel. If Daniel wrote uni-
versal history down to the millennium, why does ho not give us
America also as well as Europe? in my view Daniel, like every
other pro[)liet, had a present moral object in reference to his first
readers — the pco})lc among whom and for whom he Avrote. Of
course he wrote to be understood; he wrote what they could un-
derstand ; and therefore he did not write about European kingdoms,
and the American republic in particular. Certainly he said nothing
Avhich his readers would naturally apply to these countries and
powers, lie must needs have used far other language to give his
readers any just views of the ten European kingdoms of the lloman
theory, or of the American republic. The doctrine that prophecy
was not intended to be understood until very near or after its ful-
fillment is radically fallacious. Further, Daniel prophesied
nothing about the kingdoms of Europe or the governments of
America, because his people, prior to their rejection as the people
of God, sustained no relation to these powers, and had no interest
in these matters. Worldly kingdoms therefore are seen to be great
and formidable in Daniel's eye chiefly by virtue of their relations
to his people, and not because of their relations to each other or
to universal history.
3. It is felt that the description given of the little horn fits Papal
Kome too well to be set aside, and so well that it must be true.
I answer; (1.) Fitness, however much, does not settle the ques-
tion. Prophecy must not be interpreted to mean every thing or
any thing it may chance to fit and only because it fits. Suppose
God himself has explained it to mean something else ; or has given
limits of time within which the fulfillment must fall, and which
absolutely preclude its reference to those things which it fits so
well ! As already said, one of the worst mistakes made in the in-
terpretation of prophecy is the exclusive use of the criterion of
supposed fulfillment. (2.) Papal Rome is bad enough doubtless;
1 shall not seek to lessen the testimony of history to her crimes or
to her depravity. But this delineation in Daniel was not made for
her. This persecuting power lived and perished before the first
advent of Christ; vented its rage upon the Jews and upon their
ritual service, not on Christians in the middle ages ; and was lim-
ited in the duration of its special power over the saints and their
worship to three and a half years. These and kindred points put
the finger of this prophecy upon Antiochus Epiphanes, and forbid
its reference, in its primary and proper sense, to Papal Home. If
any choose to say that whatever Cod teaches of the doom of one
great Antichrist applies to every other Antichrist, very well. It
applies by parity of reason, not as written and primarily meant for
any other but the one Avho sat for the picture. Such a portraiture
has its solemn lessons for every self-hardened sinner. (3.) The
warmth of our interest in finding some prophecy that denounces
and dooms Papal Home should never be allowed to prejudice our
DANIEL.— CHAP. Vll. 371
interpretation of God's word. Truth loses every thing and gains
nothing by prejudiced interpretations.
4. It is urged that the setting up of tlie Messiah's kingdom and
giving it to the saints, must refer to the millennial times yet future.
Hence fitly it follows the fall of the great lloman Antichrist. ■
I reply; (1.) No special distinction can be made in this.prophecy
between setting up Christ's kingdom and giving it to his saints.
They are thought of as simultaneous and essentially the same.
(2.) The time of this setting up is fixed, as shown above, to the
ascension of Christ. (3.) Millennial times arc here in the course
of Christ's indefinitely long reign — in the remote, but not in the
nearer future. No specific date for Christ's Millennial triumphs
can be found here. Of course no special light is thrown by this
prophecy on the doings or the doom of Papal Kome.
5. It is claimed that the first vision (chap. 2 : 4-i) dates the set-
ting up of Christ's kingdom in the latter times of the great European
kingdoms denoted by the ten horns. " In the daj'-s of these kings
shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom," etc. To this I an-
swer; (1.) The ten horns can not be any ten European kingdoms,
for God has said they are ten kings^ and implies that he destroyed
them all before Christ's first coming. (2.) The passage "In the
days of these kin_,s shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,"
etc., (chap. 2: 44,) is general, and can not fix any dates in opposi-
tion to the much more full and specific statements of chap. 7.
(3.) The scope of the vision (chap. 2: 31-45) requires that the
stone (Jesus Christ) should smite and destroy all those heathen
powers, including those meant by the feet and toes, before he him-
self or his kingdom becomes the great mountain and fills all the
earth. It is therefore only in the general sense of the preparatory
work wrought by the agencies of divine providence that the Mes-
siah's kingdom is set up while yet those kings are living. But see
the notes on chap. 2 : 44.
G. Finally, it is felt that these prophecies lose most of their prac-
tical interest and value if they do not predict the fall of the great
Roman Antichrist and do not give the precise date of the millen-
nium. 1 reply ; If this were true, it is a calamity that can not
be helped. For, we must not, for the sake of greater interest, put
an interpretation on prophecy which is not true, and is not sus-
tained by sound, legitimate principles of interpretation. It is our
business to find, not make, the sense of prophecy. And it is no
part of our responsibility to interpret so as to get the greatest
amount of interest or sensation out of it. As to profit, God knows
best what will be profitable. Perhaps he thinks it best not to give
us precisely the date of the millennium, nor the date of Christ's
second coming, nor the date of the fall of Papal Kome. It may be
best in his view to leave the Church to do her work under the in-
spiration and impulse of only general and not specific promises as
to the world's conversion, assuring her of liis purpose to do it, but
not giving her the time when. Would it be strange if this should
be found at last to be the course of divine wisdom and of the facts
372 DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII.
of prophecy? May it not be really wise to make due account of
human free agency, and to shape prophecy so as to bear both
kindly and vigorously upon the free minds of men ? Has the world
had no illustrations of the mischiefs of making dates for Christ's
second advent which God never made, and "when he never meant
to reveal any date for it at all ?
CHAPTER VIII.
This chapter comprises one entire vision with its explanation —
the third in the series of Daniel's four essentially parallel prophe-
cies. It is naturally divided into three parts, of which the iirst is
purely symbolic — the ram with two horns; the he-goat with his
great horn; the four that came up subsequently, and the little one
(vs. 1-9.) The second part shades off froia the symbol of the horn
to the conception of a king, and gives his doings (vs. 9-14). The
third comprises the manner of giving the explanation, and the ex-
planation itself (vs. 15-27). As in chap. 7, so here, I propose
first, to comment upon the words and clauses, to educe their exact
sense; and then to inquire more fully into the prophetic signifi-
cance of the little horn — this being the only thing in this vision
upon which commentators have disagreed.
1. In the tliird year of the reign of king Belsliazzar a
vision appeared unto ine, even wito me Daniel, after tliat
wliicli appeared unto me at the first.
It is probably safe to assume that the third year of Belshazzar's
reign was also his last, or at least very near his last. If so, the
date of this vision is B. C. 539 or 538. The previous vision re-
ferred to is that of chap. 7, two years before.
2. And I saw in a vision ; (and it came to pass, when I
saw, that I ivcus at Shushan in the palace, which is in the
province of Elam ;) and I saw in a vision, and I was by the
river of Ulai.
The clause in parenthesis, beginning "And it came to pass," and
ending, " province of Elam," seems to have been designed to show
that he was actually at Shushan in the palace ef the Persian king
when he had this vision. Elam was one of the chief provinces of
Persia, embracing Susa, the capital. The Greeks gave this prov-
ince the name, Elymais. Elam is sometimes used as another name
for Persia. The name appears first among the children of Shem
((Jen. 10: 22). It was strictly in vision and only so that Daniel
was by the river Ulai; as one in a dream conceives himself to be
where he is not. It is only by this distinction between his actual
presence and his ideal presence that I account for these two state-
ments; as if Daniel would say, I was really when I had this vision
DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII. 373
at Shushan in the palace ; but when I came to see things in vision,
I seemed to be by the river Ulai. It is noticeable tliat his per-
sonal stand-point is Persia — the ppint where his historic vision be-
gins. Chaldea is so near extinction that it may well be dropped.
This vision is none the less truly parallel with that of chap. 2
and that of chap. 7, because, being shown him so near the extinc-
tion of the Chaldean dynasty, it drops off that as no longer of any
account,
3. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, there
stood before the river a ram which had two horns : and the
tivo horns iverx high ; but one was higher than the other,
and the higher came up last.
4. I saAV the ram pushing westward, and northward, and
southward; so that no beasts might stand before him,
neither tvas there any that could deliver out of his hand ;
but he did according to his will, and became great.
This ram, according to the interpretation (v. 20) is the Medo-
Persian kingdom. His two horns are two kings, one of J^ledia,
viz., Darius or Astyages; and one of Persia, viz., Cyrus. These
kings, one from Media and the other from Persia, imply the union
of these two kingdoms, since the united realm draws its kings from
either. The higher of these two horns is Cyrus. He came up last
in point of time. These two kings, in a sort, represent the kingdoms
from which they severally came. This ram pushes his conquests
west, north, and south, omitting only the east. This is perfectly in
accordance with history. This INIedo-Persian power made no at-
tempts to push eastward; but did make great conquests in the
directions here specified. There was no power able to stand before
him ; none could pluck his prey from his grasp. Of course he be-
came great.
5. And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from
the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not
the ground : and the goat had a notable horn between his
eyes.
- No compend of history could draAV the outline of Alexander's
conquest of Asia better than this prophetic vision has done it. A
"rough" personage to deal with as a foe; coming from the west;
sweeping the breadth of the whole land; seeming for the rapidity
of his movements not to touch the earth, (like the leopard with
four wings, chap. 7: 6,) and with one notable horn between his
eyes — a horn specially noticeable and the prominent feature in this
now power; — such is the description, and such was Alexander and
his Grecian kingdom. Yet still the decisive evidence of identity is
the explicit affirmation of the revealing angel (v. 21), "The rough
goat is the king of Grecia, and the great horn is the first king."
This is absolute authority. Note here that Daniel and his read-
ers had nothing to do with Philip of Macedon, a vigorous king next
374 DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII.
before Alexander; for what were European kinii;s or kingdoms to
them ? It was only as an oriental empire, coming into special re-
lations to the Jews that Jewisb prophecy knew Greece; only as
such a monarch that it knew Alexander. Hence he is the first
Grecian king.
6. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I
had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the
fury of his poAver.
7. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was
moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and
brake his two horns : and there was no power in the ram
to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground,
and stamped upon him: and there was none that could
deliver the ram out of his hand.
Thus with fewest words, but words full of force, Daniel gives in
prophetic anticipation the history of the fall of Persia before the
arms of Alexander. Profane history verifies every point most per-
fectly. Greece had long been nursing her revenge for the invasion
of her soil by Xerxes. Alexander had the energy and the ambition
to 'lead her vigorous armies to this retaliation. . He came against
the ram "in the fury of his power." The last vision (11: 2, 3)
touches Xerxes and then glances from him to Alexander, as if the
spirit of inspiration grasped perfectly the springs of human action
which threw Greece upon Asia and made her one of the great
conquering powers of the East. It is well known history that
the Medo-Persian armies, now become eifeminate through luxury,
had no power to stand before Alexander and his Grecian forces.
He used up the armed hosts of Persia with amazing rapidity.
Twelve years sufficed him to master not Persia alone, but Tyre,
Egypt, and all the East, even deeper into India itself than the
ancient powers of Western Asia or of Europe ever went b'efore or
after,
8. Therefore, the he-goat waxed very great : and when he
was strong, the great horn was broken : and for it, came
up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
The he-goat became very great in the sweep of his absolute SAvay
over the eastern world; but he had scarcely reached the summit
of his power when the great horn was broken. Alexander died
suddenly at Babylon. Strong drink (as some say provoking fever
to its aid) smote him down. He whom none of the mighty warriors
of the East could overcome fell suddenly and basely before the in-
toxicating cup. In such near proximity came the glory of his
greatness and the shame of his fall \ " When he was strong, the
great horn was broken." That this great empire was cleft into
four parts is a well known fact of history. Thrace and Macedon
were the nucleus of the European and Western section; Asia Minor,
DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII. 375
stretching to the Euxine and the Caspian, lay on the extreme north ;
Syria, north as to Palestine, pushed its empire to India, and became
really the eastern and great Asiatic portion ; while Egypt became
the center for the southern section. " Toward the four winds o£
heaven" describes their location. Of these four the Jews stood
in close relations only to Egypt on the south and Syria on the
north. Hence the other sections are at once dropped from these
visions. The special exigencies of the symbol require these four
kingdoms to appear first as horns, inasmuch as they spring up on
account of the breaking of the great horn. Indeed, they are at
first only kings, but ultimately they secured for themselves king-
doms. Hence they stand in the vision as horns, but in the inter-
pretation as kingdoms. Consequently this case does not disprove
the position heretofore taken that the natural sense of the symbol'
of the horn is a king, and that this must certainly be its sense
ivhen inspiration affirms it to be.
9. And out of one of tliem came forth a little horn,
Avhich waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward
the east, and toward the pleasant land.
"Out of one of these" means, in the line of one of these king-
doms, viz., Syria. That he rose up as a king in one of these four
kingdoms is explicitly afiirmed in the inspired interjwetation (vs.
22, 23). He is a " little horn," compared with Alexander who
is a "great horn." Hence he should be, like Alexander, a king,
and not (as some suppose) a church, or a system of false religion.
Moreover, it is also implied that he is called "little" because he
was so at the first, and grew to more greatness by dint of personal
energy and effort. Our verse gives the geographical points toward
which he pushed his conquests, viz., "toward the south," Egypt;
" toward the east," 13abylonia and Persia ; and " toward the pleasant
land," where the original word is one which in Daniel's writings
always means Palestine. See chap. 11: 16, 41. Also Ezek. 20:
6, 15. Primarily it means the beauty or the glory, and hence would
naturally be used by the Hebrews of their own country, which they
accounted the glory of all lands. Such is the historical programme
of Antiochus Epiphanes. The reader will notice how the symbol
of a horn shades off at once into the reality of a king ; for this de-
scription paints, not the growth of a horn as such, but the enlarge-
ment of a kingdom by the efibrts of its king, pushing his con-
quests.
10. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven ; and
it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground,
and stamped upon them.
11. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the
host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the
place of his sanctuary was cast down.
376 DANIEL.— CHAr. VIII.
The word which mainly gives the clew to the sense of this pas-
sage is " host." It is often used for the soldiers of an army; some-
times for the stars, and all those apparently lesser bodies that seem
crowded closely together. I take it to be used here for the people
of God, considered as composing his militant church and kingdom
on earth, as in Josh. 5: 14; "Nay, but as captain of the Lord's
host am 1 now come." The qualifying words, "of heaven," in the
phrase "host of heaven," may come from Daniel's conception of
this kingdom as set up by "the God of heaven" (2: 44), and hence
properly called "the kingdom of heaven." This is precisely the
militant church on earth, warring for her Redeemer-King. ''It
cast doAvn some of the host, even of the stars, to the ground;"
where we must not think of the stars in the firmament of the sky,
but of the distinguished leaders in the sacramental host. "8tar"
is used by the Orientals in this sense, as in the "parable" of Ba-
laam; "There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall
rise out of Israel" — referring to David, a king wielding a human
scepter. (Num. 24:' 17.) Tlie sense of v. 10 is that this little
horn-king made war upon the people of God and destroyed some
of their distinguished leaders. V. 11 states that he dared to wage
war against the God of the Jews, the Immanuel who appeared to
Joshua as "the Prince of the host," (translated there "Captain,"
but it is the same word as here, Prince;) and consequently he
sacrilegiously broke up the established, divinely ordained, temple
sacrifices, and "cast down" the place of his manifested presence
and abode. The original Hebrew, rendered, "i?y him the daily
sacrifice was taken away," is peculiar. It means either that one
sent forth from and by him took aAvay the daily sacrifice ; or more
abstractly, that by reason of him — at his instance, one took away,
etc. It is remarkable that precisely the same expression is used
in stating the same fact (chap. 11 : 31); "From him or at his com-
mand, a military force ('arms') shall be organized and sent
forth." So I paraphrase the first clause of this verse — such being
obviously the sense of this clause, which is obscurely rendered,
"arms shall stand on his part." The prophet means to say that
this military force was sent from and by him, but was not led by
him in person. This is precisely the sense of his language, and
this too is the historic fact. Antiochus Epiphanes sent his chief
collector of tribute (1 Mac. 1 : 29) and he seized Jerusalem and
took away the daily sacrifice. The Hebrew for "the daily sacri-
fice " is but one word. This word means, " the perpetual ' — that
wliich occurs continually. It was in established use among the
Jews for their most constant and most frequently recurring sticri-
fice, that which was offered each morning and each evening. There
can be no question of the correctness of tliis rendering, " the daily
sacrifice," nor can there be a doul)t that it should be understood in
the Jewish sense. It is simply inqiossible that a Jewish writer
should use the phrase in any other sense, or that his Jewish read-
ers could think of any thing else than this. Naturally it carries
DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII. 377
\\-ith it all the other customary temple sacrifices. Not this alone
was taken away, but all. The implication is, If this, then aU.
12. And a host was given liim against the daily sacrifice
by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to
the ground; and it practiced and prospered.
The prophecy goes on still to say that "some of the host" {i. e.,
of God's people), "are given into his hand, in addition to the daily
sacrifice, by reason of sin;" for so, I translate the preposition which
stands before the word for daily sacrifice. Other cases of similar
usage occur, Ex. 35: 22; "And they came, the men in addition to
the women," etc.. Our English version has it, "both men and
women." Also Amos 3: 15; "I will smite the winter house in ad-
dition to the summer house;" not strictly one upon the other in the
same pile of ruins. So Hos. 10 : 14. This sense is confirmed by
the last clause of v. 13, which shows that the thing done was the
givinii; of both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot.
This was a judgment on the Jews for their sins, "by reason
of transgression." Both the authors of the books of Maccabees
assign the same cause, which seems to indicate a somewhat general,
perhaps national, sense of the relation between their sufferings un-
der God's judgments, and the sins for which he sent them. See 1
Maccabees iT 11-15, G4, and 2 Mac. 5: 17, and 6: 12. This
horn-power cast down the truth — its interests and cause — and for
a time seemed to have every thing his own way.
13. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint
said unto that certain saint wdiich spake, How long shall
he the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the trans-
gression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the
host to be trodden under foot ?
14. And he said unto me. Unto two thousand and three
hundred days ; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Daniel hears one of the holy ones (attendant angels) speaking as
if about to explain some point of the vision, when lo, another of
the angels led his mind to the question of ti7ne, asking how long
that part of the vision should be which refers to the daily sacrifice
and the sin that .works ruin, (referring to the sin brought forward
in V. 12, as the cause of this judgment,) and which involves giving
])oth the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot. Such 1
take to be the meaning of this question. The three Hebrew words
that next follow "vision," rendered, "the daily;" "the transgres-
sion;" "of desolation;" must have been added to limit it to a cer-
tain part of the whole. For the inquirer docs not ask or care to
know how long the dominion of the ram and of the he-goat should
continue. There being no special intimation that they will greatly
aftlict his people, he can pass over that point readily ; but he does
wish to know how long the daily sacrifice will be suspended and
378 DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII.
how lonf]; this sin of the covenant people will continue to call down
judj^ments from the Lord upon them. These are matters that lie
heavily on his heart. Moreover the last clause involves precisely
tliis limitation, viz., to that part of the vision which refers to giving
the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot. In the
clause rendered, '"the transgression of desolation," I understand the
word for transgression to refer to the same word in the first clause
of V. 12; "by reason of transgression^^' both because this word is
the same, and because it has here the article equivalent to, " that
transgression." It is called desolating (the sense of the participle)
because it is the occasion of these judgments from God upon his
apostate people. Daniel would know how long these judgments for
this sin will continue. It is vital to get precisely the sense of the
question as the first step toward the true answer. In v. 14 the
Hebrew rendered "days" is "evening morning." Yet the mean-
ing is no doubt merely day in the sense of twenty-four hours, the
time of one revolution of the earth on its axis. This peculiar ex-
pression may be chosen to denote full days, made up of the night
and the day. Did the Spirit of Inspiration intend by this expres-
sion to throw up a barrier against the absurdity of supposing that
one of these days means three hundred and sixty common days,
hinting to us that his day is one evening and one morning ? If so,
it is only the more sad to think of so much labor lost in guarding
prophecy against absurd and vicious interpretations. The He-
brew for "cleansed" means usually "justified," but here, "set
right," put into its proper condition for its appropriate use. Since
the evil to be remedied was its pollution and desecration by idol-
worship, "cleansed" well expresses the sense.
It remains to inquire into the historic fulfillment of these twenty-
three hundred days. As already suggested, the inquiry should
begin with a clear and just apprehension of the question. Let it be
carefully borne in mind that the important points made in the pas-
sage, vs. 10-12, are precisely two, viz., (I.) That this little horn-
king wickedly carriec} desolation into the "pleasant land," casting
to the ground and stamping down some of the distinguished leaders
of the Jews — "the host and the stars." (2.) That he took away
the daily sacrifice, and by implication all the other sacrifices as
well. The question, " How long ? " refers to these two points — none
other. As to these two, he would know their duration. The an-
swer may be expected to give this, at least proximately. It docs.
The chief historical authorities still extant are the two books
of Maccabees. Unfortunately these books, and especially the sec-
ond, rarely give exact dates. But the following points are well
established.^ The sanctuary was cleansed Dec. 25, 164 B. C. See
I Mac. 4 : 52, with I Mac. 1 : 54, 59. At this point the twenty-
three hundred days (== 6 years, 3 m. and 20 days) mu.st close.
From this point we go back three and a half 3^ears, spanning the
period during which the daily sacrifice was suspended, to June 25,
I()7 B. C. So long the altar-iires ceased to burn; the daily sacrifice
was not made. But six and a quarter years carry us back yet
DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII. 379
further. So also, the " treading down" of some of the host and of
the stars lies yet farther back. Just two years before this, viz., in
June, 169 13. C. Antiochus Epiphanes returned from his second mil-
itary expedition into Egypt, greatly enraged against the Jews be-
cause he had heard that they had been making great demonstra-
tions of joy over a report of his death. He fell upon the city with
the sword, making a terrific slaughter of "the host" of the Lord's
people. The first book of Maccabees says of this event ; " After
Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned in the one hundred and
forty-third year" (of the iSelcucidae, 13. C. 169) "and went up
against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude," etc. ; pillaged
the temple and city; then "went into' his own land, having made a
great massacre and spoken very proudly" (1 Mac. 1 : 20-24). "And
after two years fully expired., the_ king sent his chief collector of
tribute," etc. This was the expedition which bears date June, 167
B. C, and which desecrated the temple and suspended the sacri-
fices (1 Mac. 1 : 29). The second book of Maccabees is more in
detail on this point, but without very exact dates, connecting it,
however, with the second expedition of Antiochus into Egypt, and
showing further that immediately upon the receipt of the false
rumor of the king's death, Jason, one of his minions in Judea,
" took at least a thousand men and suddenly made an assault upon
the city, and slew his own citizens without mercy." Here some of
" the host" fell, at a period considerably earlier than June, 169 13. C.
His account of the massacre made by the king is full, showing it to
have been terrific. From what the king heard in Egypt, " he
thought Judea had revolted, whereupon removing out of Egypt in a
furious mind, he took the city by force of arms and commanded his
men of Avar not to spare such as they met, and to slay such as went
up upon the houses. Thus there was killing of young and old,
making away of men, women, and children ; slaying of virgins and
infants. And there were destroyed within three whole days four
score thousand, whereof forty thousand were slain in the conflict,
and no fewer sold than slain" (2 Mac. 5: 11-1-1). But the full
period of twenty-three hundred days runs back yet a fraction of a
year further. The onslaught of Jason was probably in May, 169
B. C The period named in our passage (six years, thVee months
and twenty days) should begin about Hept. 5, 170 B. C. The au-
thor of the second book of Maccabees, in his fourth chapter, imme-
diately preceding that quoted above, records the murder of the
good Onias, long time high priest, a "Star" of the first magnitude,
whose influence had long withstood the wickedness of the times;
the murder also of the three Jewish deputies who went to meet the
king at Tyre, and obtain his interposition against Men^laus. This
jSlenelaus was a vile apostate ; a minion of Antiochus, subserving
his interests by drawing the people into Grecian customs and idol-
atry. Indirectly, what he did in the way of persecuting the Jews
was done by Antiochus himself Hence these murders of four dis-
tinguished Jewish leaders should be set to the account of this little
horn. They all seem to have occurred in the year 170 B. C. More-
380 DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII.
over it was in the year B. C. 170 that Antiochus made his first ex-
pedition into E.uypt, in which he naturally passed through Judea.
It is not strange that a period intended to cover the whole time of
casting down "some of the host and of the stars," unto the " cleans-
ing of the sanctuary" should embrace the murder of Onias and of
the three deputies to Tyre, and also the period of his first military
expedition through their country. This is the amount of histor-
ical verification which I am able to ol)tain from any authentic
source at my command. ]t may fitly be added here that the ma-
terials for a full history of Antiochus Epiphanes, in the line of pro-
fane historians, are scanty. Jahn remarks that " the writings which
treat of this period by Callinicus Sutoricus, Diodorus Siculus, Ilier-
onymus the historian, Polybius Posidonius, Claudius Theon and
Andronicus Alypius, are all lost except a few fragments preserved
by other authors, and we have these only from the second or third
liand." Porphyry, a learned infidel of the third century, wrote
against the Christians in fifteen books, of which the twelfth was de-
voted to Daniel, to prove from the great accuracy of his pro})liecy
when applied to Antiochus Epiphanes and his times, that it must
have been written as history after the events. He drcAV largely from
the classic authors above named ; but unfortunately his work is lost,
except as quotations from it have come down to us in Jerome's com-
mentary on Daniel in reply to Porphyry. Three other Christian
writers replied to his work, but all these are lost except a few frag-
ments copied into other authors. Of these three, that by Apollina-
rius is much lamented, having the reputation of being very accurate.
This paucity of historic material is an ample apology for any
apparent deficiency in making out the precise historic verification
of this time-period which refers to events so remote, and which
gives lis periods so very minute as the number of days. And even
tliis number (2300) may be round and general, and not precise and
particular. Yet the approximation which is obtained, despite of
such dilliculties, will satisfy fair-minded readers.
15. And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had
seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then behold,
there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
16. And I heard a man's voice between the banks o/Ulai,
which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to under-
stand the vision.
17. So he came near where I stood : and when he came,
I was afraid, and fell upon my face : but he said unto me.
Understand, O son of man : for at the time of the end i>hall
he the vision.
18. Now as he was speaking Avith me, I was in a deep
sleep on my face toward the ground : but lie touched me,
and set me upright.
19. And he said. Behold, I will make thee know what
DANIEL.— CHAr. VIII. 381
shall be in the last end of the indignation : for at the time
appointed the end shall he.
This passage describes the way in which Daniel obtained from
the Angel Gal)riel an explanation of this vision. As bearing upon
the date of its fulfilhnent and the occasion of these calamites sent
on the Jews, the words (vs. 17 and 19) "at the time of the end
shall be the vision ; " " what shall be in the last end of tlie indig-
nation;" " for at the time appointed the end shall be;" should be
carefully considered. The same or similar expressions occur chap.
11: 27, 35, 36, 40, and 12: 4, 9. Other passages illustrative of
these, are Dan. 10 : 14, and 8 : 26. Whoever shall carefully exam-
ine these passages will see that they refer to the time when these
great persecutions and calamities upon the Jews will occur; that
they speak of it as a time of God's indignation against them for
their sins; and as determined in his divine counsels. Further-
more, they approximate toward the definite time for these events
by calling it, "the time of the end," or as chap. 10: 14, has it,
"In the latter days." The passage chap. 8: 17, rendered "at the
time of the end shall be the vision," I take to mean that this vis-
ion looks toward the time of the end for its fulfillment : it relates
to events which shall take place near "the time of the end." The
end here is manifestly, not the final end of all earthly things, but
the end of the age before Clirist. The Jews were accustomed to
speak of the times of the Messiah as "the last times;" the "last"
or the "latter days." Very naturally, therefore, the period before
his coming was definitely marked off by that coming, and it would
be the end of the previous age of the world. Now, we have already
seen in chap. 7 that these calamities must precede Christ's inaugu-
ration in his great kingdom ; but since they lie very near it, they
are near "the time of the end," Hence these expressions refer to
the cruel and bloody persecutions of the Jews by Antiochus Epiph-
anes and the long wars which, commenced by him, continued about
twenty-four years, inflicting great calamities upon the Jewish nation.
The period was specially one of God's indignation against the apos-
tate Jews for their fall into heathenism under the influences then
pervading the East. The revealing angel declares (v. 19); "I will
make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation,"
for this "end shall be at the time appointed." This implies that
the Lord had indignation toward the people for their general re-
lapse into idolatry, and had fully purposed to scourge them sorely
by the little horn-power for this great sin. As going to show
that there was at this time an amount of national degeneracy truly
alarming, and such as demanded from their divine Shepherd the
sternest methods of national discipline and judgment, let us pause
here a moment to look at the facts of their case in this respect.
Taking our stand-point at the commencement of the reign of
Antiochus Epiphanes (B. C. 175), it is now two hundred and
twenty-five years since the age of Malachi and Nehcmiah, when
we may remember that the last reformation recorded in Oli^ Testa-
382 DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII.
ment history found its main work to be to withstand the tendencies
to a dani^orously intimate association, social and commercial, with
the idolaters around them. These tendencies did not cease with
that reformation. It is more than three hundred and sixty years
since the age of Daniel, Cyrus and Zerubbabel, when this proph-
ecy was given, and when the great moral lessons of a seventy
years' captivity had for once impressed on the national mind a
solemn warning against idolatry. In the lapse of ten generations,
it is not strange that those lessons should have lost much of their
vividness and power. Yet further, note that it is now one hun-
dred and fifty years since the conquests of Alexander the Great,
sweeping over all Western Asia and Northern Africa, brought
with them all the great elements of Grecian life and civilization —
their literature, their manners, their public amusements, their
dress, and not least, their attractive idolatry. These 'new elements
fell upon the less vigorous and more susceptible Oriental mind
with the greater power because borne by the hand of the conquer-
ing people, and backed by the influence and authority of the ruling
class. To all these circumstances add yet further that ever since
the captivity, i. g,, during now five hundred and thirty years, the
Jews have been, not mainly concentrated as of old, in Palestine,
but more or less Avidely dispersed abroad among the various tribes
and peoples throughout Asia even to India, and in Egypt. It is
supposed that in the great restoration, full as many remained be-
hind as returned to Judea. And subsequently, even down to our
present stand-point, B. C. 175, colonization had drained many of
their families from their mother-land. The Jews were regarded as
desirable colonists. In point of industry, vigor, and especially of
fidelity to their friends, they stood far above any other Oriental
population. Hence it was no uncommon thing that kings, desiring
to build up strong cities and a substantial state, bid high for Jew-
ish colonists. By this means they became yet more widely dis-
persed, and more mingled with idolaters. And finally, let us
make due account of this fact that since the death of Alexander,
the frequent wars between Egypt on the south and Syria on the
north, caused Judea to be repeatedly traversed to and fro by for-
eign armies, which of course brought the people into various con-
tact with their heathen neighbors, and quite broke up that seclusion
which the genius of the Jewish theocracy fostered and needed for
its best working. Here then is a broad array of social and polit-
ical influences, all tending to weaken their piety and relax the tone
of their national feeling. Under these influences they were in im-
minent peril of being utterly swept away into Grecian heathenism.
Let us notice some of the indications of this fact in the books
of the Maccabees. Starting at precisely our stand-point, where
Antiochus Epiphancs began his reign, the author of the first book
says (1: 11-15); "In those days went there out of Israel wicked
men, who persuaded many, sa^^ing, Let us go and make a covenant
with the heathen that are round about us ; for since we departed
from tlgem we have had much sorrow. So this device pleased them
DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII. . 38,'^
well. Then certain of the people were so forward herein that they
went to the king, w^ho gave them license to do after the ordinances
of the heathen. Whereupon they built a place of exercise for the
Grecian athletic games at Jerusalem according to the customs of
the heathen, and made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook tlic
holy covenant and joined themselves to the heathen, and were sold
to do mischief" "Many of the Israelites consented to the king's
religion, sacrificed to idols and profaned the Sabbath." (V. 43.)
When the king sent overseers to enforce his own religious system,
" many of the Jewish people were gathered unto them, to-wit, every
one that forsook the law ; and so they committed evils in the land,
and drove the Israelites into secret places" (vs. 52, 53). The
author of the second book gives some telling details (as usual) to
the same point; how Jason, the apostate, "brought up new cus-
toms against the law, for he built gladly a place of exercise under
the tower itself, and brought the chief young men under his sub-
jection, and made them wear a hat. Now such was. the height of
Greek fashions and increase of heathenish manners through the
exceeding profaneness of Jason, that ungodly wretch and not high
priest, that the priests had no courage to serve any more at the altar,
but despising the temple and neglecting the sacrifices, hastened to
be partakers of the unlawful allowance in the place of exercise
after the game of Discus called them forth" (2 Mac. 4: 11-14).
He gives his views of these great afflictions permitted of God
to come upon his people, thus ; " Now I beseech those that read
this book that they be not discourftgcd for these calamities, but
that they judge those punishments not to be for. destruction, but
for a chastening of our nation. For it is a token of his great
goodness when wicked doers are not suffered any long time, but
forthwith punished. For not as with other nations whom the Lord
patiently forbeareth to punish till they be come to the fullness of
their sins; so dealeth he with us" (2 Mac. 6: 12-14). Smith's
Bible Dictionary (art. "Antiochus") presents similar views forci-
bly. " The reign of Antiochus was the last great crisis in the
history of the Jews before the coming of our Lord." " The con-
quest of Alexander had introduced the forces of Greek thought
and life into the Jewish nation, which was already prepared for
their operation. For more than a century and a half, these forces
had acted powerfully both upon the faith and upon the habits of
the people; and the time was come when an outward struggle
alone could decide whether Judaism was to be merged in a ration-
alized Paganism, or to rise not only victorious from the conflict,
but more vigorous and more pure. There were many symptoms
that betokened the approaching struggle. The position which
Judea occupied on the borders of the conflicting empires of Syria
and Egypt, exposed equally to the open miseries of war and the
treacherous favors of rival sovereigns, rendered its national condi-
tion precarious from the first, though these very circumstances were
favorable to the growth of freedom. The terrible crimes by which
"the wars of the north and the south" were stained must have
384 DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII.
alienated the mind of every faithful Jew from his Grecian lords,
even if persecution had not been superadded from Egypt first, and
then from Syria. Politically nothing was left for the people in the
reign of Antiochus but independence, or the abandonment of every
prophetic hope. Nor was their social position less perilons. The
influence of Greek literature, of foreign travel, of extended com-
merce, had made itself felt in daily life. At Jerusalem the mass
of the inhabitants seem to have desired to imitate the exercises
of the Greeks ; and a Jewish embassy attended the games of Her-
cules at Tyre (2 Mac. 4: 9-20), Even their religious feelings were
yielding ; and before the rising of the Maccabees no opposition was
offered to the execution of the king's decrees. Upon the first at-
tempt of Jason, the priests had no courage to serve at the altar,
and this not so much from willful apostasy as from a disregard to
the vital principles involved in the conflict. Thus it was necessary
that the final issues of a false Hellenism should be openly seen
that it might be discarded forever by those who cherished the
ancient faith of Israel." These views suffice to show the signifi-
cance of the allusion in our passage to " the last end of the indig-
nation," "at the time appointed," and why (as v. 23 indicates) this
scourge of God, Antiochus Epiphanes, was suffered to come down
on them precisely when "the transgressors were come to the full."
20. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the
kings of Media and Persia.
21. And the rough goat is- the king of Grecia : and the
great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
22. Now that. being broken, whereas four stood up for it,
four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in
his poAver.
This interpretation, given through Gabriel, the revealing angel,
definitely affirms and therefore proves that the ram with two horns
is the Medo-Persian empire, its composite character being indicated
by the two horns, each of which represents one of the original king-
doms. So also it shows that the goat is the Grecian power as de-
veloped in Alexander. It is not strange that the angel should say
first that the goat is (not the Icingdom^ but) the ^'' king of Grecia;^'
and next that " the great horn is the first king." For as seen in
the vision, it was not the kingdom Init the king. The one great
power was Alexander. As seen by Daniel there was yet virtually
no kingdom — certainly no Asiatic, oriental kingdom. It was only
a vigorous, conquering king, moving on to make a great kingdom.
When Alexander was suddenly broken down by death, four
new kingdoms arose out of the loose fragments of his great empire
— not in his power indeed, but entirely independent of any will of
his or of any influence growing out of any organization or arrange-
ment made by him wliilc he lived. No monarch so great ever left
so little behind him to determine the question of succession. AVhen
near deatli, and asked by his friends to wliom he would leave his
DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII. 385
vast empire, lie said only, " To the worthiest." In fact he left it
to be fought for with rivers of blood one quarter of a century.
The four powers have been already indicated in the notes on v. 8.
There they were four horns, yet really four kingdoms, located geo-
graphically toward the four cardinal points. Here they are defi-
nitely four kingdoms.
23. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the
transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce couute-
tenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
This verse explains v. 9. "Out of one of them" {i. e., one of
those four kingdoms) "came forth a little horn." Here tlie angel
interpreter has it; "In the latter time of their kingdom, a king
shall stand up." The horn there is a king here. It is of course
assumed here that he is a king in one of those four kingdoms.
The angel therefore proceeds to locate him yet more definitely in
point of time. "In the latter time of their kingdom," and "when
the transgressors" (the Jews) "have filled up the measure of their
sins," so that discipline and judgment from the Lord's hand must
needs come to save them. This king is Antiochus Epiphanes. He
fills the description in every particular : no other personage does
or can. As to his point of time in the Syrian line of kings, one
hundred and thirty-seven years had passed when he came to the
throne; about one hundred remained after his death. Moreover,
the kingdom had waned very much as compared with its extent
and vigor under its founder Seleucus Nicator; and hence in this
point of light might naturally be thought of as in its latter stages.
As the interpreter said, "in the latter time of their kingdom," it is
proper to note that two out of these four kingdoms had already
run their course and become extinct when Antiochus ascended his
throne. As a whole those kingdoms were manifestly " in their lat-
ter time." His "fierce countenance" here refers, probably, not
to his physique so much as to his character; i. e., to him as seen
in vision with his character written on his very face, rather than
as seen by merely human eyes in the flesh. It means therefore
that he was ferocious, passionate, cruel. Precisely the same ex-
pression is used, Deut. 28 : 50, of the people who should invade
and spoil the Jews for their sins — "A nation of fierce countenance
who shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the
young." That he "should understand dark sentences," intricate
matters, testifies to his resources for cunning, craft and policy, as
is indicated also v. 25 : " Through his policy he shall cause craft to
prosper in his hand."
24. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own
power : and he shall destroy -wonderfully, and shall prosper,
and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy
people.
" He shall be strong," but shall not obtain this power by legiti-
17
386 DANIEL.— CHAP. VIIL
mate means, sliall not be the rightful heir to the throne. Such is
the history of Antiochus. He was the youngest son of Antiochus
the Great. His elder brother, Selcucus Philopator, reigned eleven
years. Just before his death, he sent his only son, Demetrius, to
Koine as a hostage, thus exchanging and releasing his own brother,
Antiochus Epipliancs, who had been there in that capacity twelve
years. The king fell by poison at the hand of Heliodorus, who
sought to seize the kingdom. Antiochus heard of his brother's
death while at Athens on his way home, and immediately made
interest with powerful foreign parties to gain the kingdom for him-
self, and succeeded — ungratefully displacing the real heir to the
throne. Some have supposed that the phrase, "not by his own
power," looked to the agency of divine providence, since the Lord
had occasion to use him as his scourge upon his sinning people. I
incline to the former view. He shall make fearful havoc among
the nominal people of God, the Jews. iSo the reader of the books
of the Maccabees will see. The Jewish wars commenced by him
continued long after his death, in all about twenty-four years, re-
sulting at length in the independence of the Jewish nation B. C.
143, but at the cost of many thousands of Jewish lives.
25. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to
prosper in his hand ; and he shall magnify himself in his
heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand
up against the Prince of princes ; but he shall be broken
without hand.
The sense of the first clause is, that by means of cunning, keen-
eyed sagacity, he will make deception work successfully toward his
ends. The points made in the entire verse are — successful cun-
ning and deceit, unbounded pride and self-esteem ; destroying many
suddenly, in the midst of apparent tranquillity; daring to array
himself against the Almighty; and his utter fall before some
superhuman hand. This king's sharp-minded sagacity has been
noticed before; "understanding dark sentences." This feature of
his character, and his abundant and successful use of it stand out
with great prominence in chap. 11 : 21-32. "He comes in peace-
ably and obtains the kingdom by flatteries;" "works deceitfully;"
"enters peaceably" (not by force of arms) "upon the fiittest places
of the provinces;" "forecasts devices and corrupts the wicked Jews
by flatteries," etc.— ^ — History shows that he obtained the kingdom
by precisely such means, and also that he plied these arts in their
full strength upon the Jews, drawing many of them into apostasy
from their religion and from their country's cause, into cooperation
with himself "He shall have intelligence with them that for-
sake the holy covenant." His supreme pride and self-esteem
appear also in chap. 11. "The king shall do according to his
will;" "he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every
god;" "regarding neither the god of his fathers, nor the desire of
women, nor any god, he shall magnify himself above all." History
PANIEL.— CHAP. VIII. 387
gives him the same character. That he dared to fight against
the God of the Jews, even while he had sufficient means of know-
ing that He was the true and Almighty God, has been noted on v.
11, and stands out prominently in his history as given in the hooks
of ]\]iiccabees. It was perhaps specially manifest (as usual) in
that hour which most tries men's souls — the hour of impending
death. The author of second Maccabees, chap. 9, says; "Here,
therefore, being plagued, he began to leave off his great pride and
to come to the knowledge of himself by the scourge of God, his
pain increasing every moment. And when he could not abide his
own smell, he said; "It is meet to be subject unto God, and that a
man that is mortal should not proudly think of himself as if he
were God." Also in his distress and remorse, he vowed that if God
would spare him, he "would become a Jew himself and go through
all the world declaring the power of God." This shows that he
had arrayed himself against Jehovah God with his eyes open, stand-
ing up intelligently against the Prince of princes. No wonder
therefore that he Avas suddenly "broken without hand," or as in 11 :
45, that "he came to his end with none to help him;" or yet as in
7 : 26, that " the judgment did sit and they -took away his dominion
to consume and destroy it to the end." For the circumstances of
his sudden and horrible death, see notes on 7 : 26. Thus closes
this brief but somewhat specific and minute description of the little
horn-king.
26. And the vision of the evening and tlie morning which
was told is true : Avherefore shut thou up the vision ; for it
shall he for many days.
27. And I Daniel fainted, and wa,s sick certain days ;
afterward I rose up, and did the king's business ; and I was
astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
This vision is spoken of as " the vision of the evening and the
morning," with reference to the use of this phrase in the Hebrew
of V. 14 — "twenty-three hundred evening morning." There can be
no doubt that "the vision of the evening and the morning" in this
V. 26, is the vision of this eighth chapter, especially that part of it
in which this phrase occurs," and which shows how long the little
horn shall tread down "the sanctuary "and the sacramental "host."
The direction "to shut up this vision" indicates that its time
of ]nore special interest and value to its readers was yet somewhat
remote. When this day of trial should come, those heroic men
and women who fell martyrs to the faith of their fathers, or who
fought with lion-hearted courage and prowess against fearful odds,
would read these visions and dwell on these predictions of the fall
of their great foe with surpassing interest. The passage implies
that relaiivebi less interest would be felt in the vision at that time
and for some time to come. The Hebrew word rendered " I
fainted," is the pa!5sive form of the verb to he — a usage of a very
peculiar sort, somewhat idiomatic, as "I was done for;" "was gono
388 DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII.
up;" "it was all over -with me." The scene affected him so pow-
erfully as to disqualify him temporarily for any service. That he
afterward " rose up and did the king's business," seems to imply
that he was there as an embassador for the king of Babylon. This
accounts for his being at Shushan when he had the vision. — ^Thc
last clause may mean, "There was none to make me understaml
it" — this form of the verb (hiphil) being very often causative. The
statement would seem to imply that his mind was still " inquiring
and searching diligently what or what manner of time the reveal-
ing Spirit did signify." He greatly desired to know these mat-
ters yet more particularly than the Lord had yet revealed them.
"In the third year of Cyrus" this great desire was gratified. The
vision recorded, chap. 10-12, was amply specific to these very points.
In concluding this chapter, I must sunT up in few words my
reasons for finding the little horn and the king of fierce counte-
nance in Antiochus Epiphanes. The reader will have noticed
that neither Alexander, the "great horn," nor Antiochus, the
"little horn," is called by name. Only Media, Persia, and Grecia
are given by name. And yet these horns are described so precisely
that, with the history of those times before us, we can identify each
one as surely as if he had been actually called l)y name. Thus the
"great horn," the first king of the Asiatic Grecian empire, can not
possibly be any other than Alexander. The historical evidence is
perfect. He, and nobody else but he, was the first king. There
is the same sort of evidence; and an amount of it no less decisive,
to prove that the little horn is Antiochus Epiphanes. The descrip-
tion embraces many more points. Every one of these points, per-
taining to his historical place in the four kingdoms, his date, the
direction of his military exploits and successes — in short, the things
he did, the spirit and character of the man, and his final destiny —
every one of these minute points fit him perfectly, fit him in their
obvious, legitimate, and well-established significance. Even this
is not all. Of itself alone, this might not be absolutely decisive,
for it might still be said. Many of these points fit some other per-
sonage too ; possibly some of them may fit another as well as they
fit Antiochus Epiphanes. It is supposable (not at all probable)
that a score of definite particulars of this sort might fit each of two
or more kings. Hence we need yet another fact to make the
evidence absolutely decisive. We need to find points that fit An-
tiochus, and Jit no other mem; — points that never have been fulfilled
in any other and never can be. Then the proof will be complete.
Now, we have precisely this evidence. Here are some special
points that never have been met in any other man, and i\ever can
be. Go through all Jewish history from INIoses to Christ, i. e., from
the establishment of their religious ritual to its final abolishment,
and ask wliat persecuting heathen king caused the daily sacrifices
to be temporarily suspended. There is but one possible answer;
Antiochus Epiphanes. -^ Traverse the same history from beginning
to end, and ask for the celebrated event of " cleansing the sanctu-
ary " after a brief desecration — an event which never happened but
DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII. 389
once — the memory of which was celebrated quite down to the
times of our Lord's personal ministry among the Jews as "the
feast of dedication " Avhen "it was Avinter" {i. e., Dec. 25; see John
10: 23). Then ask, Who had been pollutin<!; the sanctuary? There
is but one possible answer; Antiochus Epiphanes. These great
fticts of Jewish history put their finger on this heathen king with
unmistakable precision. It is simply impossible that any other
king can fill these points of this description. It is, therefore, im-
possible that this little horn can be any one else than Antiochus
Epiphanes. Coupling, then, these two great lines of argument —
(1.) That a great number of very minute and specific points, half
a score or more, pertaining to this little horn-king, meet in him
when legitimately interpreted — meet naturally, easily, and precisely :
and (2.) That at least these two or more, last mentioned, can not
'possibly apply to any other personage^ we have ample demonstration.
Candid minds will be satisfied with it.
The general parallelism of Daniels four great visions has been
more than once alluded to. The present is a favorable point for
renewed attention to the evidence of this fact. 1 forbear to no-
tice yet the last vision, that of chap. 10-12, because it has not yet
come under our special consideration. I also omit the vision in chap.
2: 31-45, partly because, being undeniably parallel with chap. 7,
there is no need of giving special attention to it in our present in-
quiry; and partly because it gives us no details respecting the great
personage who becomes more and more prominent as the visions
advance — the little horn-king. Hence we have now to consider
only the parallelism of the vision chap. 7 with this of chap. 8.
Note, then, that chap. 8 omits Chaldea, for its course is already run;
its end is near; there is nothing more to say of it. Chap. 2:
31-45, began Avitli the reigning dynasty, in its glory, as it then was;
chap. 7, with the same reigning dynasty, already waning to its fall ;
chap. 8, with the dynasty just about to appear, prol)ably within a
twelve-month. In chap. 7 the Seer is present bodily in the king-
dom which is the starting point in the series. In chap. 8 the same
is true; he is bodily in Persia (at the capital), witli which kingdom
his visions begin. In chap. 7 he gives us the Medo-Persian
kingdom, and next the Grecian kingdom of Alexander. In chap.
8 the same, only making yet more prominent the manner in which
the latter smote and overpowered the former, and then succeeded
to his dominion. In chap. 7 the power next in order is the
fourth beast and his horns ; yet remarkably nothing is said of the
doings of the ten horns, and nothing distinctively of the terrible
fourth beast except as he appears in the little horn. The fearful-
ncss of this fourth beast ; his sins that call for the judgments of
(xod ; and the visitation of those judgments — all seem to belong to
him as represented in the little horn. So much is obviously apparent
in chap. 7. Correspondingly, in chap. 8, the fourth beast scarcely
appears at all in his distinctive character. The four kingdoms that
spring up on the breaking down of Alexander's are apparently in-
troduced only to fill up the historic links, and give us more defi-
390 DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII.
nitely the historical place and relations of the little horn. This
done, wo come at once to the great central personage — the little
horn; to his deeds, his spirit, and his doom. Hence, we have now
simply to comyiare the little horn of chap. 7 with the little horn of
chap. 8. If these are identical, the two visions are essentially par-
allel. Each bears the same distinctive name, " the little horn."
Whatever this name may mean, it is safe to assume that it means
the same in each vision. Such similarity of character and same-
ness of name go far to prove identity. Each is declared by the
angel-interpreter to be a "king" — another point toward identity.
— ^— Chap. 7 makes him sagacious, far-seeing, for this must be the
sense of eyes in a horn. Chap. 8 defines him to be a king "un--
derstanding dark sentences," and "by his policymaking craft to
prosper in his hand." Chap, 7 gives this horn " a mouth speak-
ing great things" (v. 8); "very great things" (v. 20); and "great
words against the Most High " (v. 25). Correspondingly, chap. 8
represents him as elated with pride and self-esteem, and as con-
fronting himself with horrible impiety against the true God and his
people. "He magnifies himself in his heart;" "he casts down the
truth to the ground;" "he stands up against the Prince of princes."
Chap. 7 makes a definite and prominent point of his persecu-
tion of the saints; "wearing them out." Chap. 8 makes the same
point not less definitely and prominently. " He casts down some
of the host and of the stars to the ground and stamps upon them;"
the " ho-it is given up" to his power; he "destroys the mighty and
the holy people;" and in the midst of apparent "peace, destroys
many." In chap. 7 the holy people whom he "wears out" are
Jews, for it is their "times and laws" that he "thinks to change."
In chap. 8 the same is true ; it is their ovv'n sanctuary that he casts
down;" their "daily sacrifice that he takes away." In chap. 7
it is declared that the Jewish institutions of worship shall be given
into his hand for a season, so that he will do his own will as to
them; i. c, change them for heathen, institutions and worship.
Chap. 8 says the same. Not the "host" only, but the daily sacri-
fice is given up to his power (v. 12); "the sanctuary and the host
are given him to be trodden under his feet" (v. 13). In chap. 7
the duration of this dominant control over Jewish institutions and
worship is set at three and a half years. In chap. 8 the period
defined includes more than simply the time of his suspending the
daily sacrifice. It embraces also the giving of the host, the Lord's
people, to be trodden under foot^ and therefore is extended to six
and one-third years. But the two periods are in no sense conflict-
ing. They are indeed essentially parallel, and apply to the same
series of historic facts respecting Antiochus Epiphanes. I do not
claim that one of these visions is an exact copy of the other. Gen-
eral parallelism does not require this. The two visions are truly
independent; but the same great historic personage is the central
figure in each. We proceed. in chap. 7 it is manifestly im-
plied throughout that he impiously sets himself against Almighty
God. Nut less so in chap. 8, " lie magnifies himself against the
DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII. 391
Prince of the host;" ''he stands up against the Prince of princes."
Finally, in chap. 7, special judgments from the Almighty cut
him down and put an end to his power against the saints. In chap.
8 he "is broken without" (human) "hand." So much for the
points of close and unquestionable analogy. They embrace almost
every special point made in chap. 7 — every one indeed of ,any
prominence except this, that the little horn-king there " subdues
three of the" former "kings" (v. 24), and they "fall before him"
(v. 20). On the other hand, chap. 8 makes some new points, as
might be expected from its more full descriptions. It gives (v. 9)
the direction of his conquests, viz., toward Egypt, Persia, and Pal-
estine. It intimates that he is made God's instrument for disci-
pline and judgment on apostate Jews; "When the transgressors
are come to the full" (v. 23); "In the last end of the indigna-
tion" (v. 19). It gives very definitely the historical point of "the
cleansing of the sanctuary " — one of the great facts of Jewish his-
tory, celebrated during several centuries by an annual "feast of
dedication," " in the winter." See John 10: 22. But these addi-
tional points by no means impair the evidence of real parallelism,
or of the actual identity of this little horn with that This evi-
dence seems to me to be conclusive. How can it be doubted that
the little horn of chap. 7 is also the little horn of chap. 8 — the
.same personage, standing in the same political relations to heathen
powers ; in the same relations also to the Jews ; breathing the same
spirit ; doing the same things ; coming to the same end '}
A few words are due here respecting the theory of interpreting
this chapter, which makes the little horn Papal Rome. This
little horn of chap. 8 can not be Papal Kome, 1. Because he is
Antiochus Epiphanes, as has been shown. 2. Because this horn
is a king, and therefore is yiot a church; is not a great religious
organization; is not even a kingdom. Let it be remembered
that this is put epsecially on the ground of God's own interpre-
tation. The current strain of the vision proper (vs. 9-14) most
fully implies that this horn is a king; but the interpretation (vs.
23-^25) affirms it, and so describes him throughout. This authority
ought to be respected. Of course it will be by those who admit
that he who presents thought to others, whether by symbols or
in ordinary speech, is the best interpreter of his own thought; and
that this universal law is preeminently appUcable to the Omniscient
God. He surely ought to know what he himself means, and ought
to be trusted to give his own meaning fairly. Consequently this
argument settles the question. More is really gratuitous — useful
mainly to show how many things seem to have been overlooked, or,
at least, unaccountably disposed of, that should have compelled
every student of these prophecies to reject the theory that makes
the little horn Papal Pome. 3. This king rises in one of the
four kingdoms into which Alexander's empire was cleft. Papal
Rome did not. In fact, Papal Rome could not, for the reason
that every one of these four kingdoms had ceased some time before
the Christian era; i. a, some seven hundred years before any his-
392 DANIEL.— CHAP. IX.
torian dates the rise of Pajml Rome. 4. He pushes his conquests
"toward the south," Egypt; "toward the cast," Persia; and "to-
ward tlie pleasant land," Palestine. But Papal Konie had on the
south the Mediterranean Sea; made no footing in Egypt or Africa;
had to give up the great East to the Greek Church; never made
any show in "the pleasant land" — all her crusades through two
fearful centuries of blood and toil becoming a magnificent failure.
Yet she did push her conquests in precisely every other direction —
thus reversing this description of the little horn. 5. This horn
persecuted the Jews while yet Judaism w^as in force and the Jews
were the only known people of God. This Papal Pome did not
do and could not, for the reason that they had ceased to be the
recognized "saints" of God, and Judaism had "waxed old and
vanished away" long before Papal Pome was born. 6. This
horn takes away the daily sacrifice — which Papal Rome never did,
for God had taken it -away forever, at least six hundred years be-
fore Papal Rome came into being. 7. After a definite period of
these persecutions and desecrations by the little horn, his power is
broken and " the sanctuary is cleansed" — in all which Papal Rome
was not, for the same very sufficient reason as above; she was not
yet in existence. 8. Finally, there is not one solitary point in this
description wdiich applies to Papal Rome so specifically as to define
her and distinguish her from any other persecuting power. Noth-
ing in this chapter applies to Papal Rome except those very general
features which must pertain to any persecutor of the church. The
Papal-Rome theory, therefore, violates all just principles of inter-
preting prophecy. Especially it goes in the very face of God's
own interpretation of this little horn as a king. Hence it can not
possihb/ be true. It has absolutely nothing in its support and
every tiling against it. From this position 1 infer that the little
horn of chap. 7 can not be Papal Rome, for that horn and this are
identical. As this can not be Papal Rome, neither can that.
This entire course of reasoning applies in every particular with equal
force against the theory that this little horn of chap. 8 is the jSIo-
hammedan power. There is not the first shade of an argument in
its support. It would not pay to go over the ground to refute it.
CHAPTER IX.
This chapter has a subject of its own, complete in itself, and
not connected with the two that precede, or the three that follow.
Its place here in the order of the chapters of this book is doter-
miiuMl ))y its date. It is here because it was written after the
eighth (proba]}ly not more than one j'ear after), and four years
before chapters 10-12. Its occasion is given definitely. Daniel
liad learned l^y reading the prophetries of Jeremiah that the cap-
tivity was limited to seventy years (Jer. 25 : II, 12). This period
DANIEL.— CHAP. IX. 393
was now near its close. It was this circumstance that moved him
to seek the face of the Lord with such earnest prayer that ho
Avould most fully and freely forgive the sins of his people ; rightly
judging that as the captivity was sent upon the people in judgment
for their sins, it could cease only upon condition of the most humljle
confession and repentance on the part of the people and their free
forgiveness on the part of God. In this. point of light, the whole
chapter yields the richest moral instruction, and legitimately awak-
ens the deepest interest. It is indeed an admirable model of inter-
cessory prayer, and may be applied equally to prayer for gviilty
nations or for guilty individuals. The manner in which God
was pleased to answer this prayer will call for our special atten-
tion, lie does not answer it by reaffirming what he had said by
Jeremiah, fixing the duration of the captivity at seventy years ;
does not give any additional particulars respecting the manner of
this restoration under the decree of Cyrus. Indeed, Daniel does
not ask to be infol-med or assured on these or kindred points. He
seems to have had no doubt but that the Lord would fulfill his
word, nor any fear lest he should not do it in the very best time
and way. In the spirit of one whose heart is full of sympathy with
God and his glory, his great burden is, the people's sins. Hence
his prayer scarcely touches any other point than this one — that the
Lord in his great mercy would forgive the people and wholly put
away their transgressions for his name's sake. With this point
distinctly in mind, the reader will readily see the entire fitness of the
answer which comes- by the hand of Gabriel from the loving heart of
God. It stands in the last four verses, and constitutes one of the richest
promises ever made to our lost world. I shall endeavor to develop
its specific import fully in its place. Suffice it to say here that it
is essentially the promise of an atoning Messiah, whose violent
death should provide amply for the free and full pardon of sin, and
for the mission of the Spirit to seal these blessings to "many." It
fixes the date of his coming; the duration of his public labors on
earth; the time of his death; and of those striking efiusions of the
Spirit which were designed to open and illustrate the genius of the
gospel age. The chapter is therefore properly in two parts; —
(1.) Daniel's prayer that God would forgive the sins of his people
(vs. 1-19); — (2.) The sending of Gabriel with the answer and the
answer itself (vs. 20-27).
1. In tlie first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of
the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm
of the Chaldeans ;
2. In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by-
hooks the number of the years, whereof the word of the
Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accom-
plish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
In reference to this Darius, see notes on Dan. 5 : 31. The
Ahasuerus named here is not the same who bears this name in the
394 DANIEL.— CHAP. IX.
book of Esther. This was a common name with the kings of Me-
dia and Persia, as Pharaoh was with the kings of Egypt. It is sup-
posed to signify, " ^Ae lion-king." Daniel understood " i?/ books,"
in tacit antithesis to other modes, e. g., dreams and visions, by
which he had come to understand many things otherwise unknown
to mortals. In this case he learned from the sacred books, the
written prophecies of Jeremiah which had been already incorpo-
rated into the canon of the Jewish scriptures. The plural, hooks,
does not imply that Jeremiah had written more than one prophetic
book, but docs imply that this one was already embraced with
others in one volume which was fitly spoken of therefore in the
plural, even as we use the appellation, "the scriptures." "Ac-
complish," is to fill out. The captivity was to continue until seventy
years were past, and the amount was in this sense '"''filled out" in the
desolations of Jerusalem. This specific prophecy is found Jer. 25 :
II, 12; "And this whole land shall be a desolation and an aston-
ishment ; and these nations shall serve the king o*f Babylon seventy
years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accom-
plished that I will punish the king of Babylon," etc. The pun-
ishment thus threatened on Babylon's king and nation had already
been meted out; so that if Daniel had needed such evidence to
assure him that God would fulfill his words of promise, it was here,
at hand. The work had already begun. But there is no hint that
Daniel's faith needed this support. This is a suitable place for
the suggestion, bearing upon the whole drift of this chapter, that
Daniel prayed none the less but rather the more because he was
so confident that the purpose of God was fixed to restore his people
from their captivity and to redeem the nation. He did not sympa-
thize with those who abuse the idea of God's agency in fixing future
events. He did not say, "Since this thing is certain to be, why
should I trouble myself to pray about it?" Not thus did he seek
to evade his moral responsibilities under the wise government of a
God who foreknows and determines all, and sometimes reveals the
future to his people. How much he reasoned upon this matter of
fate and freedom, or better, of man's duty under the reign of a
God who knows and determines all his own future acts, and virtu-
ally, all the actions of other beings throughout his universe — we
are not told. If he did reason upon it, he might fitly have said;
God's purposes reach the means and the antecedents as truly as
the ends and results, and by no means fix the latter, whether the
former occur or not. If he assigns some agency in these means
and antecedents to me or to any free agent, he gives us herein
duties to do, and we neglect them at our peril. I must sec to my
duty! God's promise to do is a summons to me to prepare the way
for that doing. Perhaps he did not give much thought to the
metaph3'sical aspects of this subject. He may have simply said,
Blessed be the God of my fathers that the time draws nigh for re-
deeming my people from this long and fearful captivity. He sent
this s(;ourge upon our nation for their sins: it came in all justice
and loving kindness. It can not pass away save upon our repent-
DANIEL.— CHAP. IX. 395
ance as a nation before God, our hearty confession of our sins, and
our earnest prayer for his mercy. My heart must lead the people
in this confession, penitence and prayer. Thus in the exercise of
a true sympathy with the God he loved and adored, he might have
approached this subject on its practical side only; and vrith this
common sense view, in the spirit of a sincere piety, he might have
set himself to penitence, confession and prayer, without one thought
of any complication in the subject growing out of the joint action of
human freedom and divine purpose. Is not his course in this thing,
an admirable — nay more, a perfect model ? The objection made
to prayer, as above referred to, "Why should I trouble myself to
pray when God has made the thing certain by special promise?"
should not be passed over without yet another remark; viz., that
tiie spirit which can make it is utterly foreign from the spirit of
true prayer. The heart in living sympathy with God loves to pray,
and goes forth in longings for the privilege and the opportunity;
but never into metaphysical subtleties for an excuse from praying.
Has God promised to do this great thing for his kingdom? Then
let me commune with him aliout it; let me thank him for the
promise; let me humbly ask if there be yet any thing for me to do
to hasten the result or to prepare the way for it: let me at least
have fellowship with him in trust and love and gratitude for this
great promise. When men labor to excuse themselves from
praying, their o\vn hearts are the witness that they have none of
the spirit of true prayer,
3. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by
prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and
ashes :
4. And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my
confession, and said, O Lord the great and dreadful God,
keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him,
and to them that keep his commandments ;
5. We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and
have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing
from thy precepts and from thy judgments :
6. Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the
prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our
princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
This language is beautifully expressive of true prayer; "I set
my face unto the Lord God to seek," etc. &!o true prayer turns
one's thought and desire to the Lord; looks to him for blessings.
Prayer makes direct application to God, bearing its petition at once
to him and laying its case before his throne. In harmony with
his state of mind, and as fitly expressive of his genuine humility
of soul, he fasted, put on sackcloth, and cast ashes on his head
and garments. The people of the East made more account of these
external manifestations of humility and grief than Europeans an^
396 DANIEL.— CHAP. IX.
Americans ore wont to do. The vital thing is that the heart be
humble and contrite. These manifestations were not with Daniel
mere forms, but rather were the natural and truthful expression of
his feelings. lie says, "J prayed and made my confession." Per-
sonally, Daniel had not worshiped idols, had not cast off the fear
of (jiod, had not involved himself in those great sins for which these
judgments were sent on the Jewish city and nation, and yet he
does not stand upon his exemption from these gross sins, and say,
"1 thank (iod that I am not as other men are." But we can not
suppose Daniel incapable of discriminating between such a life {e.
g.) as that of Manasseh and his own. lie could not confess him-
self guilty of the same sins that Manasseh had committed, and in
the same degree, for the good reason that to do so would not be
according to truth. Yet how far Daniel was conscious of heart-
sins before God, lying in this direction, none of us can say, nor how
much this confession was due to his intensely strong sympathy with
liis people, of such sort as seems to create a positive identity of con-
duct and culpability as well as of suffering and punishment. How-
ever this may be, this case of Daniel suggests that there is little
danger that the holiest of men will confess too much in reference
to their own personal sins. While on the one hand Daniel
thought of God as great and greatly to be feared, he did not forget
on the other hand that he evermore '' Kept covenant and mercy to
them that love him and keep his commandments." This sustained
his hope. God had shown great mercy in condescending ever to
enter into covenant with his people. His past mercy is good for
present faith. The reader will observe that Daniel said, ^'- Keep-
ing the covenant." The Hebrew has it also, '■'the mercy," with
manifest reference to the special covenant and the special mercy
which God had made and shown to his Sebrew people. Upon this
great fact, Daniel's faith took strong hold in this hour of his need.
In v. 5 the repetition is peculiarly expressive. As one whose
soul is full of the thouglit, Daniel groups together nearly or quite
all the different words known to the llcbrew language conveying
iha idea of sinning. This sin was greatly aggravated by the fact
that God had sent his prophets to rebuke the people and forewarn
them of impending judgments, but they had not hearkened to his
voice in these warnings.
7. O Lord, righteousness helongcth unto thee, but unto
us confusion of faces, tis at this day ; to the men of Judah,
and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel,
that arc near, and that are far off, through all the countries
whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass
that they have trespassed against thee.
8. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our
kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have
sinned against thee.
DANIEL.— CHAP. IX. 397
9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgive-
nesses, tlioiigli we have rebelled against him ;
10. Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our
God, to walk in his laws, Avhich he set before us by his
servants the prophets.
There is great force as well as fitness and beauty in the antithe-
sis between the righteousness and the mercies that belong to God,
and the shame and the sin that belong to his people. God had
been all right; they, all wrong. On God's side had been ever
abounding mercies and forgivenesses; on their side, only perpet-
ual rebellion and most ungrateful, abusive sinning. Alas, that
human life should almost perpetually bear precisely this record as
toward God! — that the millions live on and sin on just so; their
course toward God, perpetual sinning; his bearing toward them,
the most amazing patience, forbearance, long-suffering, forgiveness
and mercy, that seem to flow from a vast outgushing fountain, as
if they could not cease ! And if his hand has sometimes turned
to judgment, we must still say, "Righteousness belongeth unto
thee, O God, forever!"
11. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by
departing, that they might not obey thy voice ; therefore
the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written
in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have
sinned against him.
12. And he hath confirmed his words, which he S2:)ake
against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bring-
ing upon us a great evil : for under the whole heaven hath
not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
13. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is
come upon us : yet made we not our prayer before the
Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and
understand thy truth.
14. Therefore hath tile Lord watched upon the evil, and
brought it upon us : for the Lord our God is righteous in
all his works which he doeth : for we obeyed not his
voice.
The central thought in these verses is that God has been right-
eously visiting upon the nation the very judgments he had threat-
ened against them in the huv of Moses for precisely these sins, of
which they had been so greatly guilty. The reader will find these
passages in their impressive fullness, in Lev. 26 : 14-46, and in
Deut. chapters 28-30. It is there declared most distinctly that for
such sins, God would send them into captivity in a foreign land,
and would lay their city and homes desohite. Xow Daniel recog-
nizes the entire fulfillment of those fearful thrcatcnin'irs. The Lord
398 DANIEL.— CHAP. IX.
"had watched upon the evil and brought it upon them" as one who
has made positive thrcatenings, and for the honor of his truth as
well as for the support of his throne, can not forget them, but must
see to their timely execution. Daniel felt it to be a sore aggra-
vation of the people's sin that under this fearful scourge they had
not promptly turned to God with confession, penitence and prayer,
as they might and should have done, nor had they desisted from
their ways of sin,
15. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy
people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand,
and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have
sinned, we have done wickedly.
16. O Lord, according to all tliy righteousness, I be-
seech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away
from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain : because for
our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem
and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about
us.
17. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy
servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine
upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
The tone in these verses is that of imploring entreaty ; importu-
nate prayer for pardon, resting mainly on the pleas that God de-
lights in great mercies; that he has shown the nation such mercies
in delivering them from Egypt ; and that the honor of his name is
implicated before the nations of the earth since they are his cov-
enant people, now for a long time in the bonds of captivity, nation-
ally eclipsed, and according to the ideas of idolatrous nations, a
standing reproach to the God they worship as being unable to
redeem and save them.
18. O my God, incline thine car, and hear; open thine
eyes, iind behold our desolations, -and the city which is
called by thy name: for we do not present our supplica-
tions before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great
mercies.
19. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken
and do ; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God : for thy
city and thy peoj)le are called by thy name.
^ llcautifully he puts the contrast — we do not ask 'this for our
righteousness, but for thy great niercies. IIow true ! — true in their
case ; true in the case of every sinner who comes before God for
pardon and life ! The great points of his prayer, whether of
confession or of plea, being now fully brought out, Daniel pours
forth the full tides of liis soul's emotion and desire in most earnest
DANIEL.— CHAP. IX. 390
plcadlnfi; with God. He implores him to listen, to open his eyes
and look on the desolations of his people and of the city upon
both which he had called his own name. He begs that God will
not defer but will grant him an answer of peace and mercy now.
Such importunity may sometimes startle us as unbecoming,
obtrusive and almost irreverent — out of place and character for a
frail, sinful mortal before his Holy Sovereign! The thing to be
said of it is that on the one hand it should never be assumed for
form's sake; nor forced by working up one's own feelings for the
mere sake of reaching such a fervor and form of prayer; nor
should it ever be prompted by objects that are purely our own
and not identified with the honor and glory of God ; — ^]:)ut on the
other hand, when it is the spontaneous utterance of a heart in
deep sympathy with the honor and cause of God ; when it comes
of taking firm hold of his great love and of his unfailing promises ;
when one falls into it, being sweetly and mightily drawn by the
Spirit of God himself, then nothing can be more pleasing to him.
Ho lets us come very near to him to "order our cause before him
and to fill our mouth with arguments." "The Spirit itself maketh
intercession with our spirits." God never fails to answer such
prayer.
20. And while I was speaking, and praying, and con-
fessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and pre-
senting my supplication before the Lord my God for the
holy mountain of my God ;
21. Yea, while I ivas speaking in prayer, even the man
Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning,
being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of
the evening oblation.
22. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said,
O Daniel, I am now come forth to give tliee skill and un-
derstanding.
23. At the beginning of thy supplications the command-
ment came forth, and I am come to shev/ thee; for thou art
greatly beloved : therefore understand the matter,^ and con-
sider the vision.
"The sin of mi/ people Israel," indicates how exceedingly inti-
mate were the heart-relations sustained by Daniel toward tlie Jew-
ish people. He felt toward them as a father toward his children.
He bore them tenderly in his heart, as Paul did his Christian con-
verts; "Now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord" (1 Thess. 3: 8).
This intense devotion to his own people goes far to prove that his
four parallel visions have respect to the future fortunes — the strug-
gles, oppressions, persecutions and deliverances of this same people.
They put this point beyond rational doubt. In this passage we
have the preliminary steps for revealing to Daniel God's prophetic
answer to his prayer. He had only begun to pray when the divine
400 DANIEL.— CHAP. IX.
mandate came forth commissioning the angel CJaLriel — the same
whom he had seen in the last preceding vision (chap. 8 : IG), to go
and meet him at the hour of evening w^orship. This was doubtless
the season of this prayer, ahove recorded — this being with pious
Jews one of the usual seasons of daily prayer. ISee Acts 3:1, and
10: 3, 30. On the phrase rendered, "Being caused to fly swiftly,"
modern lexicographers raise grave doubts whether the sense be not
rather, "being wearied with a great weariness,"*' as one from a
long journey. The point is of no special importance. It might
seem at first sight to lessen our sense of the poAvers of an angel to
conceive of him as weary with the effort of transit from heaven to
earth; but really why should this be more improbable than that he
should yZy at all? In both cases we have figures of speech, used to
give us the conception of an angefs change of place. Of the real-
ity, what can we know beyond the mere fact of such change ? No
doubt the clause is introduced for the sake of showing that Gabriel
came from a far distant world to bring to Daniel an important an-
swer to his accepted prayer. It is very idle for us to speculate on
the manner and velocity of an angel's locomotion, or on its draft
upon his strength. "For thou art greatly beloved;" in the He-
brew, "a man of delights," i. e., as to God. It is a most affecting
thought that mortals may by grace come into a state of holiness in
heart and life, in which God can feel complacency toward them and
testify to his great love for them. Who would not aspire toward
such holiness and such favor Avith God, as infinitely before all
things else? "Therefore noAV, understand the matter and con-
sider the vision;" give attention to the revelations which I am about
to make. The vision referred to is, beyond a doubt, the same
which the angel has come to reveal, standing in vs. 24-27.
24. Seventy weeks are determined up>on thy people and
upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make
an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and
to bring .in everlasting right£K)usness, and to seal up the
vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
25. Know therefore and understand, thai from the going
forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusa-
lem unto the Messiah the Prince, 8\iall he seven weeks, and
threescore and two weeks : the street shall be built again,
and the wall, even in troublous times.
20. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be
cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince
that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary:
■:■ The question is one of etymology, viz., whether the two words
ny'3 rjj^3 come from, v\^^l^ to fly, or from nyt to be weary. The forms
favor, not to saj^ demaud, the latter.
DANIEL.— CHAP. IX. 401
find the end thereof shall he with a flood, find unto the end
of the war desolations are determined.
27. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for
one week : and in the midst of the week he shall cause the
sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspread-
ing of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until
the consummation, and that determined shall be poured
upon the desolate.
This passage requires and will reward a careful and thorough
study. I propose to give first a translation; then a paraphrase;
and finally such special comments as may seem necessary.
"Seventy sevens [of years] are determined in reference to thy peo-
ple and thy holy city, to shut up sin, to seal transgression, to cover
iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and
prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies. Know and understand :
From the going forth of a decree for restoring and rebuilding Jeru-
salem unto Messiah the Prince are seven sevens [of years] and
sixty-two sevens [of years] ; the streets shall be restored and built
again ; it is decided and shall be, though in distress of times.
And after sixty-two sevens [of yeaiis] Messiah shall be cut off and
there shall be nothing more to him. Then the people of a prince
that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; its end
shall be with that sweeping flood ; even unto the end of the war,
desolations are determined. One seven [years] shall make the
covenant efi'ective to many. The middle of the seven shall make
sacrifice and oSerings cease : then down upon the summit of the
abomination comes the desolator, even till a complete destruction,
determined, shall be poured upon the desolate."
Next, to give a partial explanation, blended with the translation,
I paraphrase thus: "Seventy sevens of years, equal to four hun-
dred and ninety years, are cut off from the course of future time,
for thy people and thy holy city, at the end of which provision shall
be made for the full pardon of sin and for putting it utterly out of
my sight, as a thing shut up, sealed and covered ; and to bring in
a system of everlasting righteousness whereby pardoned sinners
may both be accounted and may become righteous before me.
This, by amply fulfilling, will close up those visions of the prophets
which respect the Messiah to come. Then will I anoint my church,
the spiritual temple of the new dispensation, with the gracious
unction of the Holy Ghost. This in general. I will now repeat
and give more particulars. Know, then, and consider, that from the
issuing of the decree of Artaxcrxes for restoring and rebuilding
Jerusalem unto the public ministry of Messiah, the Prince, shall
be forty-nine years and four hundred and thirty-four years; i. e.,
forty-nine up to the point of completing the rebuilding of the city,
and four hundred and thirty -four fi'om that point till the Messiah
shall appear before the public, to commence his gospel ministry.
•This city shall be restored and rebuilt; the thing is settled in the
402 DANIEL.— CHAP. IX.
counsels of the Almiglitj, and shall be done, although in times of
much distress. After the four hundred and thirty-four years
shall have expired, the Messiah shall be cut off l)y a violent death ;
his relationship to his ancient covenant people will cease ; they will
reject him, and he will abandon them to their righteous doom.
Then the people of the Koman prince, coming from afar, shall de-
stroy the city and the sanctuary ; its end shall be with that sweep-
ing Hood of ruin ; even till the end of this war, there is a divine
decree for desolations. During one heptad of years the covenant
of God's mercy shall become effective to many: at the middle point
of this heptad, he will make sacrifice and offering cease by becom-
ing himself the one great atoning sacrifice, complete thenceforth
acgd forever, and superseding all the sacrifices of the Mosaic ritual.
Then dovrn upon the summit of the temple, now an abomination
before God for the apostasy of those that worship therein, comes
the desolator, the Koman legions — even until a complete, terrible,
and predetermined destruction shall have been poured forth upon
the desolate city."
Several points now demand a more particular explanation.
" Seventy iveeks." This English phrase suggests only the ordinary
week of seven days, making the Avhole duration four hundred and
ninety days. Inasmuch as ther fulfillment seems to require instead
four hundred and ninety years, it has been often assumed that this
passage at least must be admitted to be a case of a prophetic day
used for a year. A closer examination removes this case from the
list of those proofs, explaining the phrase in another and much
more reliable way. A Hebrew reader coming to this phrase,*
would say at once. This first word is not the usual form for weeks
of days. The word means a seven ; a heptad ; and is formed from
the numeral seven. The feminine plural is the form which is con-
stantly used to denote weeks of days. This is the masculine plu-
ral, indicating at least something different from a mere week of
seven days. There is no instance in the Hebrew Bible where this
masculine plural form is used alone for weeks of da^^s. In a few
cases, Avhere it means sevens of days, the word for days follows it
to make the sense clear, showing that of itself it would not be
taken in this sense of seven days. See these cases, Dan. 10 : 2, 3. In
Ezck. 45: 21, the feminine plural has the word dai/s after it, mean-
ing the feast of sevens of days, i. e., the Passover, which was held
seven days — a case which shows that the primary sense of even
the feminine plural is a heptad, and not properly a loeek. The use
of the feminine plural in the sense of our common week may be
seen in Ex. 34: 22; Num. 28: 26; Deut. IG: 9, 10, 16; 2 Chron.
8: 13; Jcr. 5: 24. Further; wheri any thoughtful reader should
meet the word sevens, ho would naturally ask, Sevens of what? Is
tliis sevens o^ dai/s, or sevens o^ years, or sevens oi centuries'? He
would expect to find the clew to his answer in the context. What
has the writer been saying? There must be something in what
he has said to give a definite clew to his meaning, for to say only
DANIEL.— CHAP. IX. 403
"sevens" is to leave his meanini:^ entirely indefinite. Pursuing
this train of inquiry, he would see in the present case a manifest
allusion to the seventy years of captivity which is so vividly before
DanieFs mind. It can not he overlooked that Daniel is praying
with the great thought of the seventy years' captivity before his
mind. When the Lord sends his answer by Gabriel, he too under-
stands that the seventy years of captivity are present to Daniefs
thought, and therefore he only needs to say, not that seventy 2/cars
are assigned before the next great event, but seventy sevens. Dan-
iel Avill supply '''' years !^ The talk and the thought are about years.
Years, therefore, is the word to be supplied after ^'-sevens'' On
the strength, then, of these two considerations, either of them suffi-
cient alone, and both together entirely decisive, I account this
period precisely seventy sevens of years., or four hundred and
ninety years. The same usage prevails throughout this passage
in the " seven weeks," the " sixty-two weeks," and the " one week"
The word heptad, transferred from the Greek language, pre-
cisely translates the original Hebrew. Or we might say a seven,
meaning a period of seven units, leaving the particular sense of the
unit to be learned from the context. Hence this is not by any
means a case of a day for a year. It is only a case of using a
Hebrew word meaning a seven, a heptad, a period of seven units,
selecting a form that does not suggest units of days but units of
years. The historic fulfillment of all these periods of time will
be considered in its place. "Are determined," etc., means in
the original precisely^ are cut of, i. e., from all future time. A
limit is set at the end of it, inside of which these events shall
occur. This cutting oif or determining has reference to "thy
people" and "thy holy city" — here again recognizing the very in-
timate relations which Daniel sustained to the Jews as their patron
and father. What shall be done at or near the end of this sev-
enty, heptads is next stated. The first two verbs in this series,
rendered in the received version, "to finish transgression," and "to
make an end of sins," present in the marginal Hebrew a slightly
different reading, which our English text follows, and the English
margin does not. I adopt the reading of the Hebrew text and
the English margin; to "shut up" or "restrain;" and to "seal."
Sins are thought of as shut up, sealed, covered — a climax of fig-
ures. Dr. Hengstenberg well remarks ; " Sin, which hitherto lay
naked <ind open before the eyes of a righteous God, is now by his
mercy shut up, sealed and covered, so that it can no more be re-
garded as existing — a frequent designation of the forgivenness of
sin, analogous to those where it is said ' to conceal the face from
sin and to cause it to pass away,' " etc. (Christology 2: 305).— ^ —
The last of these three verbs is the Levitical word for atonement —
a cover for sins to hide them from view. This gives us the cen-
tral thought of the passage — one which stands in the closest con-
nection with Daniel's prayer. No point stands out so prominently
and strongly in this prayer as the distress and solicitude he feels
in respect to the great sins of his people. The agonizing solicitude
404 DANIEL.— CHAP. IX.
of his heart centers upon this one question; How can this sin be
removed? llow can the Lord pass over and forgive it so that the
people can again come under his mercy and favor? It was there-
fore to meet precisely this main point of his distress and anxiety
that the Lord replies; After seventy heptads of years 1 Avill bring
forth a perfect provision to atone for sin. Then it will be seen
liow 1 can honorably and safely forgive the penitent sinner and re-
store him to fovor. "To bring in everlasting righteousness," is
only another form of stating the same thing. The sinner forgiven
an(i his sins all covered stands right before God. Christ is made
of (jlod unto him righteousness as well as redemption. On the
ground of what Christ is, and has suffered for him, he is accounted
righteous before God. This way of accounting sinners righteous
is ^'' everlasting^^ as contrasted with the transient duration of the
jNIosaic system, and the temporary effects of those frequent sacri-
fices required under that system, which indeed were only typical
at best, and "could never with those sacrifices Avhich they offered,
year by year, make the comers thereunto perfect" (Heb. 10: 1).
This new system is to stand through all time, and its blessed effects
will be enduring. "To seal up vision and prophet," is the literal
rendering of the original, and obviously refers to the fulfillment, and
hence, in this sense, to the closing up of those prophecies which for
many ages had predicted the Messiah, but which, having now done
their work of ministry to the faith of God's waiting people, may be
considered as sealed up and laid aside — superseded by the Mesr
siah's actual coming. " To anoint the most holy." The Hebrew
has it, "the holy of holies." In determining the sense of this
phrase, we have to choose between three possible or at least sup-
posable meanings: — {a.) The most holy place in the temple. — {b.)
The Messiah himself — {c.) The Christian Church. The first is
set aside by the fact that this very passage (v. 26) predicts the de-
struction of the sanctuary. The second is set aside by the fact
that the Old Testament never uses this phrase for the Messiah ; in-
deed, never for persons, but always for things. Also by the further
fact that if applied to the Messiah, it should relate to his baptism
and not to his death, and the exact fulfillment could not be made
out. {c). The third meaning suggested above has in its favor
both Old Testament usage and New. The Old Testament presents
the work of the Messiah in building up his kingdom under the
figure, "lie shall build the temple of the Lord" (Zech. G: ];2, 13).
The same figure runs through Isa. GO, and many kindred prophe-
cies. They make the great facts of the Mosaic dispensation the
ground-work of their portrayals of analogous things in the gospel
age. Hence the temple of the Old Testament economy becomes
the gospel church of the New. This becomes the current usage of
the New Testament writers. "Ye arc the temple of the living
God; as (Jod hath said, "I will dwell in them and walk in them,'*
etc., (2 Cor. G: IG). Hence there is ample authority in the line of
usage for taking the phrase, " the holy of holies," to mean in our
passage, the gospel church. Anointing is a common symbol of
DANIEL.— CHAP. IX. 405
the efiusions of the Spirit. Messianic prophecy has it; " The Spirit
of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach
good tidings," etc. (Isa. 61: I). The ISIessiah himself indorsed
this usage and accepted its application to himself (Luke 4: 18-21).
The Apostles use this figure freely. See Ac. 4: 27, and 10: 38 —
IJn. 2 : 20, 27. Hence the phrase, " to anoint the most holy," looks
toward those signal manifestations of the Holy Spirit's power which
were the preeminent glory of the great Pentecost, and which shed
their luster over the first few years of the gospel age. Let it
now be noted that v. 24 is a comprehensive and general statement
of most of the great points embraced in this prophetic answer to
Daniel's prayer. It omits the desolation brought on the holy city
and temple by the Roman arms under Titus, and this only. The
other points are mainly comprehended in general form in this first
verse of the passage. Then in the remaining verses the same topics
are restated with more specific details, especially as to dates. Let
us see. "Know, therefore, and understand," urges special atten-
tion to this more minute statement. Practically, these verbs must
be taken as imperatives, though in form the Hebrew has them Ijoth
in the future. The use of the future for the imperative is not un-
common.— r-^Vhat commandment or decree is this for restoring and
rebuilding Jerusalem? The reader might very naturally think
first of the nearer one by Cyrus, which appears in Ezra 1 : 1-4 and
2 Chron. 36: 22, 23, rather than the more remote one by Artax-
erxes referred to, Neh. I. Yet the latter is undoubtedly the one
intended, inasmuch as the description, which is rather minute, de-
scribes this and does not describe the decree by Cyrus. The de-
scription given here in this prophecy is that of a decree for restoring
and rebuilding Jerusalem — "the city and its streets," in the sense
probably of the buildings upon them. Precisely such is the decree
from Artaxerxes obtained by Nehemiah. The words of the decree
are not recorded by Nehemiah, but its subject-matter can be de-
termined no less clearly from what is said of it than if the docu-
ment itself were preserved. Look at the circumstances. Nehe-
miah hears that the wall of Jerusalem is broken doAvn and the
gates thereof burnt with fire (Neh. 1 : 3). He gives himself to
fasting, weeping, and mourning. The king inquires the cause of
his grief. He replies : Why should not my countenance be sad
when the city, the place of my father's sepulchers, lieth waste, and
the gates thereof are "consumed with fire?" (Neh. 2: 3). The
king says, "What is thy request?" He answers promptly: An
order from the king that I be "sent to the city of my father's sep-
ulchers that 1 77101/ build it." To this the king consented; so that
there can be no doubt as to the substance of this decree. It said
nothing about building the temple ; it began and ended with re-
building the city. The temple-building was already complete.
On the other hand, the decree by Cyrus said not a word of rebuild-
ing the city, but did speak expressly and only of " building an
house for God in Jerusalem," i. e., the temple. Hence all doubt is
removed as to the particular decree referred to. It must be that
406 DANIEL.— CHAP. IX.
sent forth by Artaxerxes, with Nehemiah, for rebuilding the city.
It might be added that the facts in the line of historic fulfill-
ment go entirely against the decree of Cyrus. For, taking this de-
cree of Cyrus for our starting point, our four hundred and ninety
years would expire before the Messiah came — this decree being
issued about B. C. 536. There is no occasion, however, to make
use of the argument from fulfillment for help in the interpre-
tation of this prophecy. And prophecy ought to have its mean.-
ing settled before we come to the question of fulfillment.
Dr. Hengstenberg gives this turn to the clause now before us:
" From tiie going forth of the commandment unto the restoring and
rebuilding of Jerusalem, and from that, unto the Messiah, shall be
seven sevens and sixty-two sevens" — i e., dividing the whole period
into two parts, the first period of seven sevens extends to the point
where the city is restored and rebuilt ; the second reaches from that
point to the Messiah, 1 fully concur in this division of the whole
period into these two portions, limited as above stated ; but I think
it better to read, "From the commandment /or restoring," etc.,
rather than, "From the commandment ^a^t^l the restoring," etc.
The latter is by no means a facile rendering. It leaves too much
to be grammatically supplied. The word rendered in our re-
ceived version, "the wall," I take to be a participle in the sense
of a verb; "it is determined," fully settled and decided on. For
the comfort of Daniel and of his pious Jewish readers, it is here
declared that this rebuilding of the city is firmly fixed in the coun-
sels of God and will be done, although the obstacles be great — in
great " straitness of times." The book of Nehemiah is a comment
on this clause. "After the sixty-two sevens shall Messiah be
cut of," L €., by a violent death. This is the current Jewish word
to denote a death by violence. "But not for himself," shows
that our translators supposed the original to mean that he died for
the sins of others and not for his own. This is undoubtedly a
truth, but it may not be the truth taught here. The original, ren-
dered closely, would give us tliis; "And nothing to him." The verb
of existence must be implied between "nothing" and "him," thus;
Nothing shall be to him, or he shall have nothing. The ellipsis
can not well be supplied with the next preceding verb, " cut off,"
in the sense, He shall not be cut off for him. "For him" can
not well mean for himself The Hebrews use other forms and not
this to express the reciprocal sense. Hence Ave must look for
another meaning here. 1 find it in the negation of all further re-,
lations between him and his ancient covenant people, the Jews, his
murderers. "There is nothing more to him" with them. They ig-
nore and repudiate him; He rejects them and gives them up to
their just doom. Zech. 11 : 8, treating of precisely the same sub-
ject, says; "My soul loathed them; and their soul abhorred me."
They said, "Away with him;" "crucify him;" "his blood be on
us and on our children." Ilis sad answer, fulfilled through tha
judgments of his righteous providence, was ; " Your house is left
unto you desolate." " O that thou liadst known, even tliou, at least
DANIEL.— CHAP. IX. 407
in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace; but now
they are hid from thine eyes." Thafc blood ye have so ruthlessly
invoked shall come on you in an avalanche of woes till your city is
in ruins, and your children are given to the slaughter. Further,
it is very much in favor of the interpretation above given to this
clause, that it makes a natural transition from the violent death of
Christ to the coming of that other Prince and his Roman legions
to destroy the city and sanctuary. The intermediate link between
these two great historic facts was the rejection by the Messiah of
his ancient covenant people. Without this link, the transition is
violent; with it, natural and easy. "The Prince that shall
come" is without doubt the Roman general Titus, and "the peo-
ple" are his armed legions. They came and did precisely this;
they "destroyed the city and the .sanctuary." "Its end was with
that flood," i. e., of ruin; This word, "flood," is a favorite one with
Daniel for the sweeping desolations of war. See 11: 22, 26, 40.
"And unto the end is war; a decree of ruins." This I take
to be the most exact and literal rendering of the last clause. The
sense is obvious. The Jewish and Roman war shall continue un-
til their city and nationality shall be completely broken down and
the site of their noble city shall become a pile of ruins. " He
shall confirm," etc. The grammatical construction here is obvi-
ously this. " One seven shall make the covenant effective to many"
— a case in which, for brevity's sake, the period of time is itself
said to do that which is done within it, as e. g., Mai. 4: 1; "The
day that cometh shall burn them up ; or Job 3 : 3, 7, 10, " The
night which said, A man-child is conceived." "Let that night be
solitary because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb."
The next clause has the same construction; The middle of the
seven shall cause sacrifice and oblation to cease." The sense
of this entire passage is that during the last seven years, the clos-
ing heptad, which embraces the three and a half years of our
Lord's public ministry, and the same length of time after his
death, there would be extraordinary efficiency in the sealing gifts
of the Spirit. God's gracious covenant with repenting sinners
would become strong and effective to many. Great numbers would
be savingly converted during our Lord's public ministry: so, also,
during an equal length of time after his resurrection, including
that blessed pentecostal season, prota-'acted through several years,
in which great multitudes were added to the Lord. At the middle
point of this seven-year period, the Lord himself would die on the
cross. In that death all further demand for sacrifice and oblation
would cease. Dying as himself the great atoning Sacrifice, he for-
ever superseded all other sacrifices. "And for the overspreading
of abominations he shall make it desolate." This translation seems
to be rather unusually wide of the literal one, though less wide of
the sense. The following is a closely literal rendering of the orig-
inal: "And upon the wing [or summit] of abominations is the
desolator." The difficulties involved in the quotation of this pas-
sage into Mat. 24: 14, and Mark 13: 13. seem to require a specially
408 DANIEL.— CHAP. IX.
careful explanation. ^The word which I render "wing," is very
common in Hebrew for the wing of a bird ; the wing of an army ;
the wing or corner of a garment; the wings (extreme corners) of
the land ; and, as here, the wing, highest point, pinnacle, of the
temple. As it stands here, it must be the wing of that which is
called an "abomination." This word, "abominations," is used
almost exclusively (more than a score of times) for idols or things
connected with idol worship, the idols being always thought of as
existing, loved and worshiped by God's professed people^ and for this
reason indefinitely more abominable and detestable to God. Pas-
sages specially significant and illustrative of the sense here are,
Jer. 7: 30 — "For the children of Judah have done evil in my
sight, saith the Lord; they have set their abominations in the
house which is called by my name to pollute it." Jer. 32: 34,
repeats the same idea. Also Ezek. 5 : II:'" Wherefore as I live,
saith the Lord God, because thou hast defiled nly sanctuary with
all thy detestable things and with all thine abominations ; there-
fore will I also diminish thee, neither shall mine eyes spare, neither
will 1 have any pity." These passages clearly indicate the reason
why the temple is called an abomination and is doomed to destruc-
tion. The word which I translate " the desolator," being a causa-
tive participle, one who causes desolation, can bear no other sense
than "^Ae desolator^'' conceived of as actually doing the deed.
Hence the sentence can scarcely bear any other construction than
this; "Then down upon the pinnacle of the temple" (made abom-
inable by the corruption of priests and people) " comes the deso-
lator " — as Avith the swoop of an eagle pouncing on his prey.
This is the prophecy to which our Lord refers in Mat. 2-4: 15, and
Mark 13: 14: "When ye shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place,"
("where it ought not;" Mark) then let them that be in Judca flee
into the mountains." This quotation is obviously made from the
Heptuagint version. The sense of the words there used, "abom-
ination of desolation," I take to be the abomination which, under
a righteous God, becomes the cause of desolation. This abomina-
tion is fundamentally the fearful religious corruption of the Jews,
because of which God sent on them the Komans as his scourge of
desolation. The Hebrew words used by Daniel seem to demand
this sense, and the Greek of both the ISeptuagint and of the Xew
Testament admits it. But precisely ichat indications of this moral
corruption, or of this approaching scourge, the disciples were to
look for, and were supposed to see, as aVarning to flee, it is by
no means easy to determine. On this point commentators difter
widely. It may perhaps suffice to put the case in the general
form; Any indication that God had given up the city to destruc-
tion by the Ixomans, whether it be in the horrible corruption of
the Jews or in the approach of the Koman legions, was to bo ac-
cepted as a warning to fly. In this general form no serious dif-
ficulties are encountered. When we attempt to desci-ibe the sign
precisely, we find thn data wanting. In coustruint!; the Avords
DANIEL.— CHAP. IX. -409
of Daniel, I have felt bound to follow the usual laws of language.
Quotations from the Septuagint of the Old Testament into the New
sometimes involve difficulties, as here. Luke makes no specific
reference to Daniel. He says, " When ye shall see Jerusalem en-
compassed with armies," etc. Of course he makes no allusion to
the sins of the Jews as causing this destruction. But this does
not prove that ^latthew and Mark make none. Our Lord may
have made the statements in both forms. Neither is at all incon-
sistent with the other.
It remains to look more closely into the designations of time in
this passage. ^xis we have seen, the seventy weeks are to be
counted from the decree of Artaxerxes, obtained by Xehemiah, as
appears Xeh. 1 and 2, in the twentieth year of that king. The
first point to be settled then is, the year in which Artaxerxes began
to reign. It has been common with chronologists to put this B. C.
464. But Dr. Hengstenberg (Christology 11, 394), by a most elab-
orate and conclusive examination, shows that it must have been B. C.
474, so tliat Xerxes his father reigned only eleven years instead of
twenty-one, and Artaxerxes the son fifty-one instead of forty-one.
Adopting his view, the case stands thus. The twentieth year of
Artaxerxes is B. C. 454. Sixty-nine sevens of years is four hundred
and eighty-three years. Deducting from this what precedes the birth
of Christ, we have 483 — 454=29, which is of course A. D. 29, the time
when our Lord began his public ministry. So this prophecy would
locate it. On the side of N. T. history, we have (e. g.^ Luke 3:1)
the commencement of John's ministry in the fifteenth year of Ti];e-
rius, I. e., in the year of Rome 782. The birth of Christ is usually
put in the year of Rome 753. But 782 — 753=29, which is A. D. 29.
This, then, would be about the time that John commenced his pulj-
lic ministry. There is good reason for supposing that Christ com-
menced his about six months later, when not far from thirty years
of age. Thus this great prophecy of Daniel's weeks fixes the
time of the Savior's appearing before the public within at farthest
one year of the best historic results. This prophecy also assumes
that Christ's public ministry continued three and one-half years, so
that his violent death fell in the middle of the last seven-year period.
That this was proximately the duration of his ministry is generally
admitted. The proof in brief may be made from the Gospel of
John thus. (1.) Jn. 2 : 13, gives us one passover, the first after his
ministry began, and manifestly not long after his first miracle, say
six months after he began to preach. (2.) John 5: 1, gives an-
other feast, which with almost a certainty Avas a passover. (3.)
John 6: 1, is certainly another and doubtless the next. (4.)
John 19: 16, is certainly another and the last; at which his death
occurred. This makes up three and one-half years. The only
point of uncertainty turns on John 5:1. This is not said in the
record to be a passover, yet that it. was is evident from the follow-
ing considerations. John 4 : 35, shows that eight months had already
elapsed since the previous passover. Of course the feast of Pente-
cost, fifty days after the passover, and the feast of Tabernacles,
18
410 DANIEL.— CHAP. X.
six months after, had both gone by. No "feast of the Jews" re-
mained for that year save the feast of Purim, one month before the
next passover. But this can not have been the feast of Purim, for
the temple is here filled Avith Jews (5 : 14) ; but they kept the feast
of Purim mostly l)y assemblinir, not in their temple, but in their
several homes. Moreover, this foast included a Sabbath (v. 9),
which the feast of Purim never did, because a divine institution
must never give way to one merely human.
This very brief view of the argument must suffice. Thus with
remarkable accuracy this wonderful prophecy brings out its dates
in harmony with the best authenticated facts of history.
CHAPTER X.
This entire chapter is introductory to the fourth and last of the
parallel visions, the vision proper occupying the two remaining
chapters. This introduction is very full on the points of the pro-
phet's overwhelming agitation, grief, and physical prostration; the
renewed ministries of his revealing angel to comfort and strengthen
him ; certain remarkable yet little known conflicts between the
angel-guardians of the Jews and other angels standing in perhaps
analogous relations toward other kingdoms — coupled with several
intimations that the matters to be revealed relate to long and
grievous wars, some of which would befall Daniel's people in future
years.
1. In tlie third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was
revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar ;
and the thing ivas true, but the time appointed was long:
and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the
vision.
The third year of Cyrus is the latest known date in the life of
Daniel. Chap. 1: 21, states that "he continued to the first year
of the reign of Cyrus;' but does not say he died then; does not
deny that he lived longer. That passage may mean only that
he continued so long in active pul)lic service. He is now far ad-
vanced in ago, it being not far from seventy-four years since he
was brought, a captive youth, from Jerusalem to Babylon. "A
thing was revealed;" in the Hebrew a "word," i. e., a matter, not
presented largely (as in the previous visions) by symbols, but
without symbols, in mere words. "The thing was true;" the
^^ word" again; the original being the same. ^In the phrase,
" the time appointed was long,"*our translators fail to give the pre-
cise sense of the original, which means, "and of great wars' or
warfare; i. c, the subject-matter of this prophecy pertains to
great wars — as the study of cliap. 11 will show. The original
DANIEL.— CHAP. X. 411
word, commonly rendered host is used for martial host, i. e., an
army, and for warfare; often of going out to loar^ as in Num. 31 : 27,
28, 3G, and Dcut. 24 : 5. " True is the word revealed, and great
the warfare" of Avhich it treats. "He understood the thing,"
the sense of which seems rather to be that he gave diligent heed
to it, bending the entire powers of his mind to it; for chap 12: 8,
implies that there were at least some things in it that he did not
understand.
2. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full w^eeks.
3. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine
in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three
whole weeks were fulfilled.
So deeply affected was he with the anticipation of these things,
even before they were definitely revealed. But it should be remem-
bered that he has had the same general subject before his mind in
at least two previous visions, those of chaps. 7 and 8. In both those
visions, the wars to be waged by the little horn against the saints
of the Most High had been the leading theme, an*d had manifestly
impressed his mind powerfully. Now, even before the details of
this vision commence, his mind again comes under the strong im-
pression of those scenes, and the deep fountains of his grief are
broken up. The statements as to time here; "three full weeks"
(v. 2), and " three whole weeks " (v. 3), are the same in the orig-
inal, and are literally, "three sevens" (or heptads) "as to days" —
the word "days" being added to exclude what otherwise a Hebrew
reader would think of — a week of years. The word for " seven" is
precisely the same in form that occurred repeatedly in the pas-
sage 9 : 24-27. This abstaining from pleasant food and from
anointing his person, were the usual indications of great grief.
4. And in the four and' twentieth day of the first month,
as I was by the side of the great river, wdiich is Hiddekel ;
5. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a
certain man clothed in linen, whose loins ivere girded with
fine gold of Uphaz :
6. His body also loas like the beryl, and his face as the
appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and
his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and
the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
The river Hiddekel is better known as the Tigris. The per-
sonage described here was his angel-interpretcr in human form,
and in his whole appearance, splendid, majestic, awe-inspiring. Of
the two usual Hebrew words for man, the one used here is that
which involves most dignity. The other suggests frailty and mor-
tality from the dust of the earth. " His body like the beryl,"
whore modern lexicogi*aphcrs say rather the topaz. The Hebrew
412 DANIEL.— CHAP. X.
is Tliarfihish, with reference to Spain whence it was brought. The
topaz is still found there.
7. And I Daniel alone saw the vision : for the men that
were with me saw not the vision ; hut a great quaking fell
upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
8. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision,
and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness
was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no
strength.
9. Yet heard I the voice of his words : and when I heard
the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my
face, and my face toward the ground.
10. And behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon
my knees and itpo7i the palms of my hands.
11. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly be-
loved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and
stand upright : for unto thee I am now sent. And when he
had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
Daniel does not mean that he was alone when he saw the vision,
but that he only saw it. His attendants did not see it, but were
impressed with a sense of something supernatural, and hence were
affrighted and fled to hide themselves. The seeing in this case
seems to have been, not with the eye of sense, but with the eye of
the spirit. Similar phenomena occurred in the conversion of Saul.
He heard audible words; his attendants heard a noise but no
words. The Spirit manifests himself to whom he will. Daniel
was powerfully affected. "My comeliness" is rather my strength,
my physical vigor, which now became mere weakness. In v. 10
the original gives a stronger sense than our received version. "And
lo, a hand touched me, and set me shaking upon my knees and the
palms of my hands." "Caused me to be shaking" is the precise
sense of the Hebrew.
12. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel : for from
the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand,
and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were
heard, and I am come for thy words.
13. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood
me one and twenty days: but lo, Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me ; and I remained there with the
kings of Persia.
From the first day of those three eventful weeks of fasting and
prayer (says the angel) thy words Avcre heard and I am come be-
cause of thy words. But I was hindered during the whole twenty-
one days. The Prince of the realm of Persia withstood me. I was
DANIEL.— CHAP. X. 413
detained till Michael, the archangel whose strength is with me and
with thy people (v. 21) came to help me. The last clause, "I re-
mained there with the kings of Persia," repeats the main idea of
the verse — his detention for twenty-one days because of the oppo-
sition experienced from that Prince of the realm of Persia. Tlie
subject here introduced is very extraordinary. Who is this Prince
of the kingdom of Persia? What are his functions? Whence his
power ? What is his moral character, and what are his relations to
(Jod? What had he to do to detain this angel who is specially
commissioned to comfort Daniel and to reveal to him future events ?
The same subject appears again in the last two verses of this
chapter, and will receive more attention there.
14. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall
bqiall thy people in the latter days ; for yet the vision is for
7na7iy days.
This statement is of prime importance as giving a clew to the in-
terpretation of this prophecy, and equally so, of those that arc par-
allel with it. It positively affirms that this prophecy (chap. 11 and
12) relates to the fortunes of the Jews, Daniel's own people, in
future times. How far down in the future can not be definitely
determined from this general expression, "in the latter days."
There are instances in which this phrase refers to the times of the
Messiah — the gospel age of the world; e. g., Isa. 2: 2, and Mich.
4: 1. But there are also other instances in which it refers to events
far less remote, e. g. Gen. 49 : 1, which looks to the various fortunes
of the tribes, mostly long prior to the gospel age. Also Xum. 24 :
14 — the outlook of Balaam, which primarily goes not beyond the
overthrow of Moab by David. So that the usage of this phrase
does not of necessity carry us into the latter times of the Messiah's
kingdom. In the present case it manifestly had its fulfillment prior
to the first advent of Christ. "For yet the vision is for days " —
not necessarily '■'■many days," for our translators supplied the word
"many" to meet their own views, and not because they found any
thing for it in the Hebrew text. .Some years must elapse before
these main events would transpire. It was in fact about three hun-
dred and sixty years to the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes — tho
"vile king" whose case occupies the greater part of this vision.
15. And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set
my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.
16. And behold, one like the similitude of the sons of
meri touched my lips : then I opened my mouth, and spake,
and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the
vision my soii'ows are turned upon me, and I have retained
no strength.
17. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with
this my lord ? for as for me, straightway there remained no
strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.
414 DANIEL.— CHAP. X.
Again Daniel becomes completely prostrate in point of physical
strength. Sorrows, wave after wave, come up and dash over him;
he loses his strength and almost his breath. How can he talk with
his angel-interpreter, or receive communications from him? This
great prostration may be due in part to his extreme age ; more, wo
must suppose, to the great depth of his sympathy and love for his
people.
18. Then there came again and touched me one like the
appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,
19. And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not : peace he
unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had
spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said. Let my lord
speak; for thou hast strengthened me.
The manner of introducing the angels (vs. 16, 18) may seem to
fiivor the opinion that these were severally distinct from each other
and from the one introduced in vs. 5, G. But the notice of the re-
vealing angel in vs. 20, 21, supports the view that he is one only,
and that these are his several manifestations. He now gives Daniel
strength, and the way is prepared to proceed with his revelations.
20. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto
thee? and now will I return to light with the prince of
Persia : and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia
shall come.
. 21. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scrip-
ture of truth: and there is none that holdeth wdth me in
these things, but Michael your prince.
Now he returns to renew the struggle with the prince of Persia.
TJie prince of Grecia will come in also — we must suppose in the
same relation of antagonism to God's revealing angel and to Michael
who '■''makes himself strong'' for the aid of this good angel-inter-
preter and of Daniel's people. What does all this import? Is
this prince of Persia a good angel, or an i3vil one ? in allegiance to
God, or to Satan ? If to God, why is he lighting with this good
angel sent of God to the prophet Daniel? Some of these ques-
tions are readily answered. The prince of Persia shows himself
an adversary to God and to God's people. In his efforts and hence
in his character, he is opposed to Michael who stands up for God
and for the interests of his kingdom. He must belong to that order
of beings commonly represented in Scripture l)y Satan, the great
adversary of God and of liis people. Satan often appears in Scrip-
ture, not as one alone in his rebellion among the higher orders of
created beings, but as having legions associated with him. They
are of various grades or orders. As good angels are put by their
Maker in charge over the nations of his people, nothing forbids
that these bad angels should in some sense be put in charge over
wicked nations by their chief who directs and inspires their antag-
DANIEL.— CHAP. XI. 415
onism to the living God. This view is fully in harmony with the
teachings of the New Testament. Traces of the opinion that the
heathen nations had each its own presiding angel are supposed to
appear in the Septuagint translation of Deut. 32 : 8. The Hebrew
of this passage should be translated, " When the Most Iligh in ap-
portioning the sons of men gave their inheritance to the nations, ho
fixed the bounds of the peoples with reference to the number of the
sons of Israel." But the Septuagint has the last clause, " according
to the number of the angels of God," i. e., so as to give one angel
to each several nation. This Septuagint translation was made
(as is supposed) about B. 0. 285, The allusions in the Scriptures
to ]Michacl suffice to show his relations to God and to his people
very clearly. See Dan. 12: 1; Judo 9, and Rev. 12: 7. "I
will show thee that which is noted (written) in the scripture of
truth," where by the scripture of truth we are not to understand
our Bible, as if the angel proposed only to make a quotation from
what we call the sacred Scriptures. lie thinks rather of the book
of God's eternal purposes, from which he is commissioned to make
an .extract, prophetically, for Daniel and his people, of what shall
befall them in future days. The introduction being now finished,
the next chapter proceeds to the prophecy.
CHAPTER XI.
As already intimated, this is precisely "a word," see 10: 1,
there called a "thing," but in Hebrew a "word." It is a word in
the sense of being revealed in ivords, and not at all in symbols, as
the previous visions on this general theme had been. Consequently
this may well be accounted as an interpretation of those. Like
the other visions, this starts with the time then present, or rather
it sets back some four or five years, i' e., from the third year of
Cyrus (10: 1) to the first year of Darius, his immediate predecessor,
who reigned two years. The revealing angel simply remarks that
in the first year of Darius he "stood to confirm and strengthen
him." The prophecy proper begins with v. 2, at the point then
present; "there shall stand up yet," etc., i. e., after Cyrus, then on
the throne. ^Then the course of prophetic thought in the chap-
ter is a rapid sketch of the Persian kings to Xerxes; then by a
natural transition to Alexander and his great kingdom; then its
four-fold division ; then the two of these four kingdoms, with which
alone the Jews were concerned; Egypt on the south, and Syria on
the north, running through the history of ten kings, five of the
former kingdom, and five of the latter, till he reaches Antiochus
Epiphanes in v. 21. He then gives his history througli the chapter
to his death (v. 45). In this, as in the other parallel visions, I
propose fii'st to give special comments on the words and phrases aa
416 DANIEL.— CHAP. XI.
may seem requisite, postponing till afterward any general discus-
sion in defense of my interpretation and against opposing views.
1. Also I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I,
stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
This passage seems to show that even heathen kings, when do-
ing service for the true God, were confirmed and strengthened by
good angels.
2. And noAV will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there
shall stand up yet three kings in Persia ; and the fourth
shall be far richer than they- all : and by his strength
through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm
of Grecia.
"Yet" (after Cyrus) there were in order these three kings of
Persia; viz., Cambyses, reigning seven and a half years; Smerdis,
the Magian, seven months ; Darius Ilystaspis, thirty-six years. Of
these there is no occasion here to give any details. fhe fourth
must be described more particularly, lie is Xerxes the Great;
distinguished for his riches. The exploits of his life are summed
up in precisely one thing — his great military expedition against
Greece. "He shall stir up all" — and truly it was all Western
Asia, organizing itself for war to come down upon the small terri-
tory, and relatively very insignificant numbers, of Greece. Uni-
versal history gives no reoord of a military expedition so vast and
so imposing, nor of any one which achieved a more signal failure.
Armed men and retainers — his host is estimated at five millions.
Uncounted wealth was lavished upon their outfit. All the prov-
inces of the east contributed to the s-plendor of this array and to
the mass of living mortality that pressed toward the shores of the
Hellespont to pour itself over the narrow fields of Greece. Re-
markably the revealing angel has not a word to say of the achieve-
ments of this martial host. " He stood up against the realm of
Greece " — that is all he says. And, historically, that was all. The
expedition came utterly to naught.
3. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule
with great dominion, and do according to his wdll.
4. And wdien he shall stand up, his kinc^lom shall be
broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of
heaven ; and not to his posterity, nor according to his do-
minion which he ruled : for his kingdom shall be plucked
up, even for others besides those.
Alexander comes next, reached not closely in the order of time,
but in the order of cause and effect. As already suggested in my
notes on 8 : 5-7, the Greeks never could forgive or forget the insult
and the wrong done them by this imposing though futile invasion
DANIEL.— CHAP. XI. 417
by Xerxes. Alexander became at length (after altont one hundred
and fifty years) God's instrument to avenge it. i'ropliecy, there-
fore, leaps over the intervening events as not to its })urpose, and
strikes next on this great conqueror of the decayed and cllete Per-
sian empire. "A mighty king stands up, ruling with great domin-
ion and doing according to his will." Who could, tell the history
of Alexander in fewer or more forcible words? When he had
gained this standing, and his great empire seemed established for
all time, it is suddenly broken by his death. It is then " divided
toward the four winds of heaven," as we have seen (chap. 8 : 8),
"but not to his posterity" (not a son of his ever gained any stand-
ing); "not according to the dominion which he ruled," but on en-
tirely other principles, and in a manner altogether foreign from
any plan or wish of his. His kingdom was plucked up and torn
into fragments for others to enjoy besides his own family. All
this is a condensed but accurate epitome of the history of those
times, of which the part relating to Xerxes has been given with
great minuteness by Herodotus and others; the part borne by Al-
exander, by Arrian, Plutarch and Diodorus.
5. And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of
his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have
dominion; his dominion shall he a great dominion.
Here begins a rapid sketch of the rise of the two kingdoms,
Egypt and Syria, glancing at the wars, intrigues, treaties, and per-
fidies that fill the interval down to Antiochus Epiphanes in v. 21.
it is remarkable that all the commentators of any celebrity concur
precisely in their interpretation of these verses. They find the
same kings, give them the same names, give the same sense to the
prophecy, and find the same historic facts for its fulfillment. Henco
there is little occasion for me to go minutely into arguments for
the defense of the interpretation given so harmoniously- to this
portion of the chapter. This fifth verse introduces the two kings
who respectively founded the new kingdoms of Egypt on the south
and Syria on the north. The king of the south is Ptolemy Lagus,
said by Jerome to be a man of very great wisdom, bravery, wealth,
and power. He was one of Alexander's generals. He founded his
kingdom of Egypt 13. C. 323. The last clause of the verse un-
questionably means, "but this one {I. <?., another) shall be stronger
than he and shall have dominion, and his shall be a great domin-
ion." This more powerful monarch is Seleucus Nicator, who
founded the Syrian kingdom 13. C. 312. His kingdom was indeed
very powerful, embracing almost all that Alexander ever held in
Asia. The angel uses the same language to describe his greatness
as that of Alexander. Each has great dominion. See notes on
Dan. 7: p. 358. ♦
6. And in the end of years they shall join themselves
together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come
•418 DANIEL.— CHAP. XI.
to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she
shall not retain the power of the arm : neither shall he
stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they
that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that
strengthened her in these times.
"In the end of years" indicates a considerable interval be-
tween these transactions and the founding of the two kingdoms as
stated in the fifth verse. Ptolemy reigned thirty-nine years; Scleu-
cus thirty-two. We pass over these reigns; also the entire reign
of the next Syrian king, Antiochus Soter (twenty years) into the
latter part of the reign of his successor, Antiochus Theos, who
reigned fifteen years. This Theos, after long and fruitless wars
with his Egyptian rjval, Ptolemy Philadeiphus, at last patched up
a compromise ("they joined themselves to<2;ether"), which being
utterly iniquitous, could not stand. The historical facts are these:
lie divorced his own wife, Laodice, and married Berenice, daughter
of Philadeiphus. Two years after, Philadeiphus, now aged, died.
Theos soon divorced his Egyptian wife and restored his Syrian.
Put the latter had lost confidence in her husband, and, stung by
his abuse, took him ofi" by poison. She then secured the kingdom
for her own son, Seleucus Callinicus, who managed to murder his
mother's rival, Berenice, with her son and servants. Thus the
compromise availed only to the ruin of both the guilty parties to
this infiimous marriage. Neither of them " retained the power of
the arm," the military power, not even to the extent of self-pro-
tection.
7. But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up
in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall
enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall
deal against them, and shall prevail :
8. And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods,
with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver
and of gold : and he shall continue more years than the
king of the north.
9. So the king of the south shall come into Ids kingdom,
and shall return into his own land.
Here arc tlie exploits of the third Ptolemy, brother of Berenice ;
" one out of the branch of her roots," in the sense of being from
the same parentage, lie gained great victories over Seleucus Cal-
linicus, the fourth Syrian king; swept over the great eastern por-
tion of the Syrian kingdom ; took immense spoil, not less than forty
thousand talents of silver, and, among the rest, recovered and took
back into E,tf;ypt tWenty-tive hundred idols, most of which Cambyses
had carried from Egypt into Persia nearly three hundred years
before. Vox- this service especially the Egyptians honored him
with the -title, " Eucrgetes," the Henefactor. He reigned twenty-
DANIEL.— CHAP. XL 419
live years; his rival but twenty. He thus "continued more years
than the king of the north." In v. 9, it seems better to modify
the translation, placing the phrase, "king of the south," imme-
diately after "kingdom of," as in the original; thus; "Then he"
(the king of the north just before spoken of) "marched into the
kingdom of the king of the south, but was compelled to return"
defeated "into his own land." The sense is better so, since there
was no occasion to say that the king of the south, after his suc-
cessful expedition, recorded vs. 7, 8, returned home again. What
else should he do? Moreover, by the reading I suggest, the rela-
tion of the pronouns to their antecedents is more easy, in the com-
mencement of both V. 9 and v. 10. The king of the north named
in the end of v. 8 is he that comes into the kingdom of the king
of the south with a vain effort to retrieve his losses; and " his sons "
(v. 10) are the sons of this Syrian king, Scleucus Callinicus, who
was compelled to return with shame to his own land. My brief
comments on vs. 10-19 may best take the form, for the most part,
of a paraphrase.
10. But his sons shall be stirred iij^, and shall assemble
a multitude of great forces : and one shall certainly come,
and overflow, and pass through : then shall he return, and
be stirred up, even to his fortress.
These are the two sons of Seleucus Callinicus, viz., Scleucus
Ceraunus, who reigned two years, and Antiochus the Great, who
reigned thirty-seven. They arouse themselves to prodigious efforts
and raise a vast army. Ceraunus soon dies, and leaves Antiochus
to prosecute these plans. He shall certainly come and sweep like
a flood and pass through the countries of Western Asia toward
Egypt. He shall make a second expedition ("return again") — the
first being that of v. 9, and shall push the war even to the fortress
which was the key to that kingdom.
11. And the king of the south shall be moved with
choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with
the king of the north : and he shall set forth a great multi-
tude ; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
Then the king of the south, Ptolemy Philopator, greatly exasper-
ated, rouses himself from his volu2:)tuous lethargy, and comes forth
to fight with Antiochus the Great, the king of the north ; and though
this king of the north had brought into tlie fiolrl an immense army,
yet in a great battle at Kaphia, near (Jaza (B. .C. 217), he was
utterly defeated, and the power passed into the hands of Philopa-
tor, king of Egypt.
12. And when he hath taken away the multitude, his
heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many
ten thousands : but he shall not be strengthened hy it
420 DANIEL.— CHAP. XL
By this great victory his heart is elated; he casts down many;
but is not permanently strengthened by it.
13. For tlie king of the north shall return, and shall set
forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall cer-
tainly come after certain years with a great army and with
much riches.
For the king of the north, Antiochus the Great, raises a greater
army than his former one, and comes again with great resources
for war.
14. And in those times there shall many stand up against
the king of the south : also the robbers of thy people shall
exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall
fall.
Philopator, the miserably effeminate and dissolute king, dies
(1>. C. 204), leaving as the heir to his throne, his son Ptolemy
Epiphancs, but five years old; whereupon Philip of Macedon, a
poAverful monarch, makes alliance with Antiochus against Egypt.
" Many shall stand np against the king of the south." Violent
men from among the people (the Jcavs) arouse themselves to cast
oif the Egy])tian yoke. In fact, they only established the vision,
for their object entirely failed; they only brought on themselves
disaster.
* 15. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a
mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of
the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people,
neither shall there he any strength to withstand.
Antiochus of the north successfully besieged Zidon, Gaza, and
other strong cities. The arms of Egypt could not stand before
him.
16. But he that cometh against him shall do according to
his own will, and none shall stand before him : and he shall
stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be con-
sumed.
The assailing party, still Antiochus the Great, coming against
his feeble opponent of Egypt, shall do according to his own will
and none shall stand before him. lie o]>tains footing even in Pal-
estine, "the glory of all lands," which under his power is fearfully
wasted, lie was obliged to ^pend a long time in besieging »Ieru-
salem, to wrest it from the Egyptian power, subsisting his army
meanwhile on Palestine, and thus wasting its supplies.
17. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength
of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus
DANIEL.— CHAP. XI. 421
shall lie do : and lie shall give him the daughter of ■svomen,
corrupting her : but she shall not stand on his side, neither
be for him.
He sets himself with resolute purpose and with all his strength
to invade Egypt; the Jews, even the better class, the "upright
ones," with him; but the Komans intervene to frustrate his plans.
He makes a treaty with Ptolemy and gives him his own daughter,
Cleopatra, in marriage, with the provinces of Phenicia as her dower
and hoping that she would subserve his interests. His eflbrts to
"corrupt her" to play into his hands and prove false to her hus-
band were unsuccessful. She abandoned her father's cause, was
true to her husband, and hence "did not stand on his (her father's)
side, nor be for him."
18. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and
shall take many : but a prince for his own behalf shall cause
the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own re-
proach he shall cause it to turn upon him.
Then to meet the Romans to better advantage, Antiochus the
Great carried the war into Greece; took several of the Grecian
islands; but the Roman Prince gained a great victory over him at
Thermopylee (B. C. 191), and another final one at Magnesia in
Lydia (B. C. 190), which completely broke down the power of An-
tiochus the Great. The glory of his former achievements was
turned into reproach. The Roman armies had no reverses; with
no reproaches on themselves, they turned all reproach upon the
vanquished Syrian king.
19. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his
ow^n land : but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
Compelled to relinquish all his possessions West of Mt. Taurus,
and to pay the entire expenses of the war, Antiochus found him-
self amerced in fifteen thousand talents, of which a large portion
was by installments of one thousand per annum — completely ex-
hausting his finances, subjecting his kingdom to immense taxes
and putting him upon that raid into Elymais for pillage which cost
him his life. In an attempt to plunder a rich temple he was re-
sisted by the exasperated people and slain. Some of the ancient
historians, however, assert that he was slain by his own men in a
drunken carousal. If so, the "vile" king — the little horn of chap-
ters 7 and 8, may have had some agency in " plucking him up by
the roots" and causing him to "fall." See notes on the three
kings, removed 'before the little horn-king, page 36G. This rapid
sketch of Antiochus the Great (vs. 10-19), is drawn so accurately
that commentators have almost universally agreed in the main as
to its exposition and application to all the points of his eventful
history. The revealing angel was in fact lurltlag history more than
three hundred years before its time.
422 DANIEL.— CHAP. XI.
»
20. Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in
the glory of the kingdom : but within few days he shall be
destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
"In his estate," means, in his place as king; upon his throne,
or in his stead. -"A raiser of taxes in the glory of his kini^dom,"
would be more closely and better rendered; "One who will send
tax-gatherers over all the glory, i. e., wealth, of his kingdom;" one
whose great work as a king will be to raise taxes to pay the enor-
mous sum of a thousand talents per year, pledged to the Romans.
This was Seleucus Philopator, eldest son of Antiochus the Great,
and heix to his throne. His reign of eleven years ended with his
sudden death by poison at the hand of Heliodorus ; his chief tax-
gatherer, "neither in anger nor in battle," but under the promptings
of ambition to mount the throne. We have now reached Anti-
ochus Epiphanes in the regular line of kings as sketched in this his-
toric prophecy. Let us pause here a moment to note the very extra-
ordinary character of this sketch of history given as prophecy
throughout this -chapter thus far (vs. 2-20). While it must be ad-
mitted that without the help of the actual history to guide us, some
few passages would be rather obscure, yet this obscurity is due to
its brevity; and even this quite disappears the moment you sup-
pose a tolerably fair acquaintance with the outlines of the history
in question. But such a case of history written out so definitely ;
history and nothing else ; history with no hint at the moral purpose
in view — is without a parallel elsewhere in the Scriptures. It is
not strange that- it should appear very extraordinary ; — perhaps I
might safely say, it is not strange that it should suggest the inquiry
whether its date is really antecedent to the events narrated; in
other words, whether it is real prophecy. But this investigation
brings back no reason for a doubt. It only certifies us the more
that Daniel had this vision when the book claims, viz., in the third
year of Cyrus, and that it is all real prophecy. Hence we fall
back upon the question. What can be the object of such a proph-
ecy, put in this straight-forward, purely historic form ? My an-
swer is ready. This entire vision is parallel (as will bo shown in
its place) to chap. 7, and this portion of it corresponds to the fourth
beast of that vision, " dreadful, terrible, and strong exceedingly,
with great iron teeth, devouring, breaking ip pieces, and stamping
the residue with his feet." What is the outcome of this historic
prophecy, beginning with Xerxes and ending with Seleucus Philo-
put«u* who made tax-gatherers pass over and consume the glory of
his kingdom? What are the achievements of Xerxes, Alexander,
Seleucus Xicator, Antiochus the Great, and all the rest, but the
robbery and murder of millions of human beings ; wars, unceasing
wars, continued through scores of years and even centuries, with
untold slaughter and no offset of resulting good; — and not wars
alone, but treacheries, bad faith, treaties made only to be broken;
compromises all iniquitous; divorces; deceptions; taxations; the
waste and destruction of human sustenance; poverty, unpaid toil,
DANIEL.— CHAP. XL 423
wretchedness, and starvation, and all with not the least resulting
good? This is human depravity working out its legitimate fruits
of crime and woe. It is a huge nondescript but horrible wild beast,
"dreadful, terrible, and strong," let loose among masses of living
men, women and children, to make his utmost havoc in their flesh
and blood. If we could gather the statistics of the human lives cut
ofl' in those centuries of war, and could add to that sum all the in-
cidental waste of life and treasure, the sum would appal us !
And will it still be asked, To what end is all this portrayed in this
historic prophecy ? The answer is that, in chap. 7, as that fourth
beast and kingdom stand next before the fifth, so they stand in tacit
yet strong and palpable antithesis with it. Things are seen better
in the light of contrast. Here is the rule and sway of human am-
bition over against the rule and sway of the gospel kingdom of
peace and love. It is war and ruin set off in contrast against uni-
versal peace and blessedness. ^And this historico-prophetic sketch
given by the revealing angel to Daniel and to us in chap. 11 : 2-20,
was intended to set before us with considerable detail the real sig-
fiificance of that fourth beast and his ten horns, so dreadful and
terrible to the weal of mankind. As already said, it expresses in
words what Dan. 7 : 7-27, sets forth in symbols. The nondescript
but dreadful wild beast there becomes the historic record of war,
crime, and death here. That is a symbolic scene given in prophetic
vision ; this is really its inspired explanation. Yet further as to
the purpose and the bearing of this delineation of the fourth beast.
Its horrid ravages on human well-being are not only designed to
stand in contrast with the next succeeding kingdom, one of univer-
sal peace and love, but also to indicate the reasons why God brought
down on that fourth beast a doom so dire and so completely ex-
terminating. When God sweeps a cluster and a series of great na-
tions into utter destruction, it is well that he should indicate clearly
why he does it. This is a case of the sort. From the age of Nim-
rod to the fsill of the Greek, Syrian, and Egyptian kingdoms, the
great empires of the world lay in Western Asia and North-eastern
Africa, for the most part making their centers of poAver in the val-
leys of the Euphrates, the Orontes, and the Nile. In the age of
Daniel, the Great Assyrian empire had recently passed away. His
merely human eye saw both the rise and the fall of Chaldea ; and
the rise of Medo-Persia. With the eye of an inspired seer, he
looked through to the end of this marvelous series of world-mon-
archies— the Mcdo-Persian ; the Greek empire of Alexander, and its
cleft fragments under his Greek successors. Those nationalities,
long time so magnificent, so proud, so mighty, so cruel, so trul;f tho
terror and the scourge of mankind, are now to bo utterly wiped out
from the face of the earth and their succession to cease forever.
AVIiy should not the justice of God in this4"earful scene of retribu-
tion be amply vindicated ? Why should not the visions of prophecy
Avhich foretold this doom set forth also the catalogue of appalling
crimes which preceded and demanded this fall of the great Asiatic
sovereignties, never to rise again?- Hence this ample unfolding
424 DANIEL.— CHAP. XL
of the long, bLack record of their crimes. They culminated in those
scenes of artful treachery, mad persecution, and terrible slaughter
of (jod's own people -which have consigned to infamy and abhor-
rence the name of Antiochus Epiphanes.
21. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to
whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom : but
he shall <;ome in peaceably, and obtain tlie kingdom by
flatteries.
Here we arrive at Antiochus Epiphanes, in his place in the line
of Syrian monarchs, and, as here described, meeting all the great
facts recorded of him in history. lie comes "into the estate"
of his elder brother, who had preceded him. He is "a vile per-
son," fit only to be despised, despicable, for so the original imports.
" To whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom." It
was not his by established right of succession, but belonged to the
eldest son of his deceased brother, just previously sent to Kome to
take his place and release him after thirteen years of hostage life
in the Eoman capital. Hence those whose business it was to see
that the succession was determined according to usage could not
give to him the honor of the kingdom. He ''came in peaceably
and obtained it by flatteries." He was at Athens, on his way home
from llome, when he heard of the death of his brother, and in-
stantly laid his plans* to obtain the kingdom for himself. ' He
forthwith secured the aid of Eumenes, king of Pergamos, and of
his brother Attains, and with this help expelled Heliodorus and
gained the crown. This king was preeminently "a vile person"
— vile, both in the sense of being wicked, and in the sense of be-
ing mean and despicable. So far from deserving his surname,
Epiphanes, the Illustrious, his merits seemed to justify the slight
change of his name, which reversed its meaning, " Epimanes, the
madman. He had a low passion for aping the foolish things he
had seen at Kome. He seemed to delight in playing the buffoon,
in getting half drunk, and then putting himself below the common
level of even tipsy, silly drunkards. It is hard to believe that a
king would rise from his dinner-table, heated with wine, strip him-
self utterly naked, and dance round the hall as one frantic, with
the lowest comedians. History can scarcely produce another like
case of a man wearing a crown who debased himself so low, and
made himself so vile as this same Antiochus Epipliancs.
22. And witli the arms of a Hood shall they be overflown
frorti before him, and shall be broken ; yea, also the prince
of the covenant.
The human arm i» a, favorite figure with Daniel for an army and
its military power. The sweep of such a host is also with him often
an inundation. It "overflows," bearing down and breaking away all
before it. So here. Though Antiochus began with flatteries and
a pacific bearing, yet as soon as the scepter was fairly in his grasp,
DANIEL.— CHAP. XI. 425
he was not slow to create an armed force and to wield it with cn-
er<;y. "The prince of the covenant" can he no other here than
the High Priest Onias — a most excellent and venerable man, who,
after withstanding the current of popular sentiment toward Grecian
life and idolatry, fell before the machinations of his apostate coun-
trymen.
23. And after the league made with him he shall Avork
deceitfully: for lie shall come up, and shall become strong
with a small people.
Continuing the same subject, this historic prophet touches the
league made between Antiochus and the apostate Jew whom he
constituted High-priest in place of the good Onias, and who took
the Grecian name of Jason. This Jason promised to pay Antiochus
large sums for his aid in obtaining the high-priesthood and for li-
cense to set up a Grecian gymnasium in Jerusalem and to institute
the Grecian idolatrous rites associated with it. For tliree years (1>.
C. 175-172) he labored assiduously to seduce the Jews into the
(xrecian life and religion. At length he sent his younger brother,
Menelaus, to carry to Antiochus the money he had promised for
his high-priesthood, when both Menelaus and Antiochus " worked
deceitfully;" the former, bidding higher for the priesthood than his
brother had done, the latter repudiated his previous contract with
Jason and gave the priesthood to him. Thus Antiochus gained a
foothold in Judea and l)ecame strong, though commencing ''with a
small people." This kingdom of Syria had been greatly reduced
in territory and also exhausted in its finances during the two pre-
vious reigns. Hence the frequent allusions to the small beginnings
of this little horn-king.
24. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest j)lace3
of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers
have not done, nor his fathers' fathers ; he shall scatter
among them the prey, and spoil, and riches : yea, and he
shall forecast his devices against the strongholds, even for
a time.
This verse is thought to refer to an expedition into Armenia, a
kingdom adjacent on the north, whose king, Artaxias, Antiochus
took captive. There he found rich booty and scattered it profusely
to whom he would, for few kings have surpassed him in the prodi-
gality with which he scattered his largesses of money upon cities
or individuals, as the Cjiprice might take him, apparently with no
other motive than the silly ambition of being more liberal than any
king ever was before him. This was a brief expedition, only " for
a time."
25. And he shall stir up his power and his courage
against the king of the south with a great army ; and the
king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very
426 DANIEL.— CHAP. XI.
great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they
shall forecast devices against him.
26. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall
destroy him, and his army shall overflow : and many shall
fall down slain.
27. And both these kings' hearts shall he to do mischief,
and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not
prosper: for yet the end shall he at the time appointed.
Here begins the prophetic record of the military expeditions of
Antiochus into Egypt, of which history gives account of at least
four in as many successive years, B. C. 170-1G7. The first was
short, involving but one great battle, the victory with Antiochus,
after which he wintered at Tyre, and marched on Egypt again
early in the ensuing spring. In this campaign he practically sub-
jugated the whole country; became the nominal protector of the
young king, Ptolemy Philometor; had precisely those intrigues
with him which v. 27 describes — both kings' hearts, being set on
mischief, and both speaking lies to one another at one table ; yet
in neither case availing to frustrate the great results which God in
his providence had in view, " for yet the end would surely be at
the time appointed." The Egyptian king was young and was im-
becile even for his youth. He was formally inaugurated at the age
of fourteen; had been kept in ignorance and inefficiency by the
artful management of his tutors, who loved and sought to retain
the regal power which his minority and incompetence gave them,
"They that fed of the portion of his meat destroyed him." So
closely does the prophetic description fit the historic facts. In
v. 26 it is the army of Antiochus that "overflows" victoriously,
and many of his Egyptian foes fall down, slain.
28. Then shall he return into his land with great riches ;
and his heart shall he against the holy covenant; and he
shall do exploits, and return to his own land.
It was in June, B. C. 169, that An,tiochus, having been entirely
successful in Egypt, returned toward his own land with great
riches. His return was hastened by a report that all Judea had
risen in revolt from his authority. A rumor had reached Jerusa-
lem that Antiochus was dead. Some public manifestations of joy
ensued, which being reported to Antiochus with no little exaggera-
tion, greatly exasperated him against the Jews. He hastened back
with his victorious army and at once assailed and took Jerusalem.
Of this terrific onslaught, the author of 2 Mac. says (5: 11-16);
"Removing out of Egypt in a furious mind, he took .the city by
force of arms, and commanded his men of war not to spare such
as they met and to slay such as went up upon the houses. Thus
there was killing of young and old, making away of men, women
and children, slaying of virgins and infants. And there were
destroyed within three whole days four-score thousand, whereof
DANIEL.— CHAP. XL 427
forty thousand were slain in the conflict; and no fewer sold than
slain. Yet was he not content with this, but presumed to go into
the most holy temple of all the world, Menclaus, that traitor to the
laws and to his own country, being his guide ; and taking the holy
vessels with polluted hands, and with profane hands pulling down
the things that were dedicated by other kings to the augmentation
and glory and honor of the place, he gave "them away,*' In this
scene of pillage and sacrilege, Antiochus found and took away
from the temple eighteen hundred talents of gold, and then offered
swine's flesh on the altar and sprinkled the whole temple with the
broth of this flesh. These things exasperated the Jews against
him exceedingly. They could regard him only as a monster of
cruelty and wickedness. After these exploits, he returned to his
own land.
29. At the time appointed he shall return, and come to-
ward the south ; but it shall not be as the former, or as the
latter.
30. For the ships of Chittim shall come against him:
therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indigna-
tion against the holy covenant : so shall he do ; he shall
even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake
the holy covenant.
The third expedition of Antiochus into Egypt (B. C. 1G8) is not
distinctly referred to, having in it nothing "that specially affected,
the fortunes of the Jews. He went there to depose Physcon, the
younger brother of Philometor, his protege — the Egyptians having
raised him to power because Philometor was practically under the
absolute control of Antiochus. He defeated the army of Physcon
in battle. Physcon and his party sought help from the Komans.
The next year (B. C. 167) Antiochus made his fourth expedi-
tion into Egypt, of which these verses give the substance. The
last clause of v. 29 means that this last expedition was not, like all
his former, successful. "Not as the former, so is the latter." The
reason of his failure was the intervention of the powerful Romans.
Chittim, in its more restricted sense, is a town on the island
of Cyprus, or the island itself; but in its^ larger sense, was used
for the northern and eastern islands and coasts of the Mediterra-
nean, including Greece and Rome. There is no doubt that Rome
is meant here. So Josephus and numerous other authorities affirm.
An embassy of three men from the Roman Senate met him
just as he was about to lay siege to Alexandria; told,him they had
taken young Physcon under their protection, and that he must de-
sist or have war with Rome. Antiochus indicating a wish to pro-
crastinate, Topilius drew a circle in the sand about his feet and
said, "Give me an answer before you cross that circle." He
yielded, and pledged himself to do all the Senate should require.
He dared not X)ffend the Roman power. . But he chafed like a tiger
428 DANIEL.— CIIAP. XL
under his chain, and came back to vent his rage on a fallen people,
the JeAvs. He Avas ^^ grieved" in this very selfish sense, and let
loose "his indignation against the holy covenant" and its people.
At this time, as for several years previous, he "had intelligence"
with Jewish apostates; kept up a mutual understanding and co-
operation with them; and made great use of their aid to further his
designs.
31. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall
pollute the sanctuary of si^rength, and shall take away the
daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that
maketli desolate.
He now sent out an army of 22,000, under Appollonius (June,
B. C. 1G7), who seized Jerusalem, took possession of the castle and
made it a stronghold; forcibly prevented the Jcavs from Avorship-
ing in their temple; desecrated the altar by erecting an idol-altar
directly upon it, and there offering sacrifices to idols ; and of course
entirely superseding and suspending the daily sacrifices of the
Jews. This was "the taking away of the daily sacrifice." The
original Avord, meaning the constant, the continuous, or, rather, the
regular, every-day routine, embraced really more than the morning
and the evening sacrifices. It included all the services of the
Mosaic ritual. (See note's on Dan. 8 : 11.) The last clause, ren-
dered, " the abomination that maketh desolate," may be translated
cither "the abomination that maketh desolate," or "the abom-
ination of the desolator" — the sense in either case being essen-
'tially the same, viz., that, instead of the sanctuary which was
a toAver of strength and symbolized the strength God gives to his
obedient people, this abominable idol-altar was the symbol of ruin
and desolation. It was set up by a force bent on desolating the
city and people of God; it Avas permitted of God in judgment
on his apostate people; it therefore carried with it only deso-
lation.
32. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall
he corrupt by flatteries : but the j^eople that do knoAV their
God shall be strong, and do exploits.
The books of Maccabees make the fact very prominent that in
these times many Jews Avere utterly apostate from the service and
worship of God. Of these, the first clause speaks. It might be
rendered, " the Avicked apostates of the covenant." These persons,
this vik) king "corru]>ts by his flatteries " — by his intrigues, bribes,
oncouragemen^s. On tlie other hand, " the people Avho knoAV
their God," in the sense of loving and approving both him and his
service, "shall be strong." These Avere at first the venerable Mat-
tathias of Modin and his sons — a most noble family, of extraordi-
nary faith and Christian heroism. Later, the company embraced
many others Avho joined them. No one can read their history as
recorded in the first book of Maccabees Avithout concurring in this
DANIEL.— CHAP. XL 429
brief but just testimony to their transcendent heroism, valor, and
energy. "They were strong and they performed exploits." The
zeal and courage of the aged Mattathias are inspiring. " And when
he saw the blasphemies that were committed in Judea and Jerusa-
lem, he said, AV^oe is me ! Wherefore was I born to see this misery
of my people and of the holy city and to dwell there when it was
delivered into the hand of the enemy and the sanctuary into the
hand of strangers ? ller temple is become as a man without glory.
Her glorious vessels are carried away into captivity, her infants
are slain in the streets, her young men with the sword of the en-
emy. Behold, our sanctuary, even our beauty and our glory, is laid
waste and the Gentiles have profaned it. To what end, therefore,
shall we live any longer? Then Mattathias and his sons rent their
clothes and put on sackcloth and mourned very sore." When
the king's officers came to Modin, and plied Mattathias with flattery
and with bribes, pressing him to be the first to fulfill the king's
command as all the heathen had done, he cried with a loud voice,
"Though all the nations that are under the king's dominion obey
him, and fall away every one from the religion of their fathers, and
give consent to his commandments, yet will I and my sons and
my brethren walk in the covenant of our fathers. God forbid that
we should forsake the law and the ordinances ! AVe will not
hearken to the king's words to go from our religion, either on the
right hand, or on the left." "Now when he had left speaking
these words, there came up a Jew in the sight of all, to sacrifice on
the altar at Modin, according to the king's commandment. Which
thing when Mattathias saw, he was inflamed with zeal, and his reins
trembled, neither could he forbear to show his anger according to
judgment; wherefore he ran and slew him upon the altar. Also
the king's commissioner, who compelled men to sacrifice, he killed
at that time, and the altar he pulled down. Then he cried through-
out the city. Whosoever is zealous of the law, and maintaineth the
covenant, let him follow me." 1 Mac. 2: 6-27. This small but
heroic band retired to the mountain fastnesses of Southern Pales-
tine; were pursued by their persecutors, were attacked upon the
Sabbath, and full one thousand of them were cut down unresisting.
They would not take up arms to resist on the Sabbath, but fell say-
.ing, "Let us die in all our innocency; heaven and earth shall tes-
tify for us that ye put us to death wrongfully." V. 37. The surviv-
ors, upon second thought, determined to defend their lives whenever
attacked. Others, fleeing from persecution, came in and were a
stay unto them. " So they joined their forces and smote sinful
men in their anger and wicked men in their wrath ; but the rest
fled to the heathen for succor. Then Mattathias and his friends
went round about and pulled down the altars; and what children
soever they found within the coast of Israel uncircumcised, they
circumcised valiantly. They pursued also after the proud men,
and the work prospered in their hand. So they recovered the law
out of the hand of the Gentiles and out of the hand of kings,
neither suffered they the sinner to triumph" (1 Mac. 2: 43—18).
480 DANIEL.— CHAP. XI.
Now when the time ^rew near that Mattathias should die, he said
unto his sons, Now hath pride and rebuke gotten strength, and the
time of destruction and the wrath of indignation [have come.] Now
therefore, my sons, be ye zealous for the law, and give your lives
for the covenant of your fathers. Call to remembrance what acts
our fathers did in their time; so shall ye receive great honor and
an everlasting name. Was not Abraham found faithful in tempta-
tion, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness ? Joseph, in
the time of his distress, kept the commandment, and was made
lord of Egypt. Phineas, our father, in being zealous and fervent,
obtained the covenant of an everlasting priesthood. Joshua, for
fulfilling the word, was made a judge in Israel. Caleb, for bearing
witness before the congregation, received the heritage of the land.
David, for being merciful, possessed the throne of an everlasting
kingdom. Elias, for being zealous and fervent for the law was
taken up into heaven. Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, by believing,
were saved out of the flame, Daniel, for his innocency, was deliv-
ered from the mouth of the lions. And thus consider ye throughout
all ages that none who put their trust in Him shall he overcome.
Fear not, then, the words of a sinful man, for his glory shall be
dung and worms. To-day he shall be lifted up, and to-morrow he
shall not be found, because he has returned into his dust, and his
thought is turned to nothing. Wherefore, my sons, be valiant and
show yourselves men in behalf of the law ; for by it ye shall obtain
glory" (1 Mac. 2: 49-64). So Mattathias closes his testimony.
His son Judas becomes military chieftain. His record is grand and
thrilling. " Then his son Judas, called Maccabeus, rose up in his
stead. And all his brethren helped him, and so did all they that
held with his father ; and they fought with cheerfulness the battle of
Israel. So he gat his people great honor, and put on a breast-plate
as a giant, and girt his warlike harness about him, and he made
battles, protecting the host with his sword. In his acts he was
like a lion, and like a lion's whelp roaring for his prey. For he
pursued the wicked and sought them out and burnt up those that
vexed his people. Wherefore the wicked shrunk for fear of him
and all the workers of iniquity were troubled, because salvation
prospered in his hand. He also grieved many kings, and made
Jacob glad with his acts, and his memorial is blessed forever.
Moreover he went through the cities of Juda, destroying the un-
godly out of them and turning away wrath from Israel, so that he
was renowned unto the utmost part of the earth, and he received
unto him such as were ready to perish" (1 Mac. 3: 1-9).
When the first great host of Syrians came down upon Judas, his
puny band said to him, " How shall we be able, so few, to fight
against so great a multitude and so strong, seeing we are ready to
faint with fasting all this day? To whom Judas answered; "it is
no hard matter for many to be shut up in the hands of a few, and
with the God of heaven it is all one to deliver with a great multi-
tude or a small company, for the victory of battle standeth not in
tlie multitude of a host, but strength cometh from heaven. They
DANIEL.— CHAP. XI. 431
come against us in much pride and iniquity to destroy us, and our
wiv^es and children, and to spoil us ; but we fight for our lives and
our laws. Wherefore the Lord himself will overthrow them before
our face; and as for you, be not afraid of them." "Now as soon
as he left off speaking, he leaped suddenly upon them, and so Se-
ron and his host were overthrown before him " (1 Mac. 3 : 17-23).
In those times the whole army sought the mighty God in
prayer. "How shall we be able to stand against them, unless
Thou, 0 God, be our help?" "Arm yourselves then, said Judas,
and be ready to fight with these nations who come against us to
destroy us and our sanctuary ; for it is better for us to die in bat-
tle than to behold the calamities of our people and our sanctuary.
Nevertheless as the will of God is in heaven, so let him do" (1
Mac. 3 : 53, 58-60). Truly these are the words and the deeds
of Christian heroes !
33. And they that understand among the people shall
instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by
flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
This first clause might be rendered either " the wise ones among
the people," or "the teachers of the people," with no great difier-
ence in the ultimate meaning. They devote themselves to teaching
the people the law and the claims of God. Yet, one after another,
they fall in war for many days. The venerable father Mattathias
first; after him, Jonathan, Eleazar, Judas, Simon — a noble band,
yet within the course of this twenty-four years' war with the Syri-
ans they fell.
34i Now when they shall fall, they shall be liolpen with
a little help : but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
Nevertheless God aided them with a little help. The results of
the war gradually worked toward their political independence,
which at length (B. C. 143) they achieved. This help was small
compared with that which the Lord gave his people in the days of
Joshua and of David. That " many clave to them with flatter-
ies" is a matter of history. Their cause suffered more than once
from treacherous friends.
35. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try
them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the
time of the end : because it is yet for a time appointed. •
Some of their wisest and best men fell — Jonathan, Judas and
others; God's purpose in this affliction being to chastise his people
the more thoroughly ; to make them cease from man and put their
trust in the Lord alone. This is in harmony with his usual course
of moral discipline in this world of trial. Such would be the
state of things "to the time of the end," until the period assigned
of God for tills scene of trial should close. All was " noted in his
Bcripture of truth" (chap. 10: 21); it should transpire accord-
432 DANIEL.— CHAP. XL
ingly. The Lord had certain ends to answer in respect to the
moral discipline of his people. These scenes of conflict and tnal
would continue until those ends were answered.
36. And the king sliall do according to his will ; and he
shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god,
and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods,
and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished : for
that that is determined shall be done.
37. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor
the desire of women, nor regard any god : for he shall mag-
nify himself above all.
38. But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces :
and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor wdth
gold, and silver, and wdth precious stones, and pleasant
things.
39. Thus shall he do in the most strongholds with a
strange god, wdiom he shall acknowledge and increase with
glory : and he shall cause them to rule over many, and
shall divide the land. for gain.
By all the established laws of lan,2;uage, this passage must treat
of the same king whose wars and whose persecutions of the saints
have been the subject of remark from v. 22 onward to this point.
He is the king — the same before spoken of, the Hebrew article be-
ing explicit testimony to this point. Further, the connection of
thought as well as of grammatical construction is close and deci-
sive; for this king is able to "do according to his will" only be-
cause the Lord has indignation against his apostate people, and
therefore sees fit to make use of this "vile king" as the rod of his
scourging and discipline. Hence he shall prosper till the indigna-
tion shall be accomplished, and the thing determined of God for
chastisement and reformation shall be done. This sort of logical
reference to the preceding context and to the reasons assigned in
the parallel vision (chap. 8 : 19) for the great power of this same
vile king constitutes the strongest possible connection between " the
king" of v. 36 and the king of the north, whose case fills the pas-
sage chap. 11: 21-35. His character, and his deeds as illustrat-
ive of character, are the subject in these verses. He is proud and
self-conceited ; thinks himself above every god ; speaks marvelous
things against the God of gods — things that excite the wonder of
mankind for their horrid blasphemy and pride. This is the proph-
ecy ; to which accords the history of Antiochus in the books of
the Maccabees. "Having spoken very proudly" (1 Mac. 1: 24).
Hee also 2 IMac. 9 throughout. In this chapter, the author, com
menting on his fall from his chariot, says; "Thus he who a little
afore thought he might command the waves of the sea (so proud
was ho above the condition of man) and weigh the high mountains
DANIEL.— CHAP. XL 433
in a balance, vs^as now cast on the ground and carried in a horse-
litter, showing unto all the manifest poAver of God." Also this;
*'The man who thought a little afore that he could reach to the
stars of heaven," etc. Throughout, the historical testimony to his
pride and self-conceit is remarkably in harmony A^ith this prophetic
portrayal. V. 37 shows that he had no reverence for the gods
of his fathers, but took license to change not his own religious
system alone, but the systems of every people throughout his great
empire. With this agrees chap. 7 : 25 : " Shall think to change
times and laws." His own will was supreme. By " the desire
of women," in this connection, must be meant some god or goddess
who was a favorite of the Syrian women ; perhaps Astarte or An-
aitis. V. 38 speaks of the god he did worship and put in the
place of the gods of his fathers. He is the "god ofjbrces," or
military fortresses — this being the sense of the original word here
used. Commentators differ as to the god specially intended, some
supposing him to be Jupiter; others, Hercules, who is known to
be of Syrian origin; and others. Mars, the Roman god of war.
In V. 39 the received translation does not make it plain Avho
is meant by ^^ them" whom "he" (the king) "will cause to rule
over many." The sense of the latter part of the verse would be
better expressed by this translation; "Whosoever will recognize
[his war-god, before spoken of,] he will greatly honor and give him
rule over many, and apportion to him the lands for reward." The
last words may mean either as a reward for his homage to the
war-god or for pay, i. e., for a money consideration to himself.
The former view is more in harmony with the previous context;
the latter, with the known avarice of this king. Probably the gen-
eral doctrine of the verse is that whoever will fall in with the
king's views as to his god he will pay him well for it. The first
clause of the verse is not altogether lucid. I take it to mean;
This is his policy in the matter of strong fortresses, with the aid
of his war-god; i. e., he carries on war and defends his strong-
holds by milking great account of his god of war; and he takes
care to draw his people into the same homage by amply rewarding
them.
40. And at the- time of the end shall the king of the
south push at him : and the king of the north shall come
against him like a w4iiiiwind, with chariots, and Avith horse-
men, and with many ships ; and he shall enter into the
countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many
countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out
of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the
children of Amnion.
42. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the coun-
tries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold
19
434 DANIEL.— CHAP. XI.
and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt :
and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall he at his steps.
44. But tidings out of the east and out of the north
shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great
fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.
45. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace be-
tween the seas in the glorious holy mountain : yet he shall
come to his end, and none shall help him.
The legitimate sense of the several words and phrases in this
passage is not difficult, but the general meaning of the whole, as
related to the subject of the chapter, does involve one very grave
and difficult question. We look first to the sense of the several
words and phrases. "The time of the end," must doubtless be
construed as in the cases where it has already occurred, e. g.^ v.
27, "For yet the end shall be at the time appointed;" and v. 35,
"even to the time of the end; because it is yet for a time ap-
pointed;" and essentially v. 36, "till the indignation be accom-
plished." Also in the parallel prophecy, chap. 8: 19, "I will make
thee know what shall be ia the last end of the indignation, for at
the time appointed the end shall be." It is not, therefore, the end
of the world in our modern sense, but is toward the end of the
first age, that is, before the Messiah, in the Jewish sense ; but yet
more particularly, the time of the end of God's visitations of judg-
ment on his apostate Jewish people by the hand especially of Anti-
ochus Epiphanes. So I have been compelled to explain it in the
passages M'here it has occurred already ; so I must explain it here.
"The king of the south" and "the king of the north" can be
no other than JPtolemy Philometor of Egypt, and Antiochus Epiph-
anes of Syria. They have been before us under these descriji-
tive names repeatedly, vs. 21-39 : they are here again. The king
of the south '^pushes" af his antagonist — the figure being taken
from the fighting of horned animals, e. (/., rams and bulls. The
fighting of the king of the north is compared to a storm, a whirlwind
coming down in its fury, and with its fierce blasts sweeping away
all before it. "The glorious land," here, as in chap. 8: 9, and
11: 16, 45, can mean nothing else than Palestine, the Hebrew
word being the same in each passage. See notes on chap. 8: 9.
" The chief of the children of Ammon," some take to mean
their princes, chief men; while others think it implies a degTce of
superiority in the Ammonites as a whole com|:)ared with the people
of-Edom and Moab; "and the superior children of Ammon.' The
diffiirence is not here of much importance. " He shall stretch
forth his hand upon the countries,' implies an eflbrt to get them
into his possession. "To put forth the hand," is used (Exod. 22:
8, 11) for one who steals or robs his neighhor's goods. "The
Ethiopians and Lybians at his steps," or at his feet, implies that
they go before him as his soldiers or servants, to march at his
orders and do his bidding. The analogous Hebrew phrase, " at
DANIEL.-^CHAP. XI. 435
his feet," occurs in this sense Exod, 11 : 8; Judg. 4: 10; and 2 Sam.
15 : 16, 17. " Tidings out of the east and out of the north shall
trouble him." While attempting to crush the heroic bands of
Judas Maccabeus, he heard of rebellion among the provinces
then tributary to him, viz., Persia and Armenia, on the north and
east, and was compelled to divide his army, leaving part under
Lysias to prosecute the war against Judas, and taking the other
part himself to subdue those insurgents. This new rebellion exas-
perated him greatly. It was occasioned by the same tyrannous
interference with their religion which had caused the Jewish war.
The Magians of the East were outraged by the mandates of Anti-
ochus, requiring every people in all his realm to renounce their
ancestral religion and adopt his Grecian idolatry. V. 45 may
be paraphrased thus : " And though he shall set up his palace-like
tents between the Mediterranean Sea" (used in the plural for the
sense of the superlative — the great sea) " and the glorious holy
mountain, yet he shall come to his end ingloriously, and there
shall be none to help him." The sense is. Though he impiously
pushed his assaults and conquests up to the very temple of Jeho-
vah, he shall fall like a mortal ]jian, and there be none to save.
Such I take to be the sense of the several words and phrases
in this passage, vs. 40-45.
It remains to inquire into its general sense as related to the pre-
vious context (vs. 21-39) and to the history of Antiochus Epiph-
anes. 1 defer for the present any notice of those interpretations
which find here some other Antichrist than Antiochus Epiphanes ;
Papal, Mussulman, or Turk. Of those who refer this passage to
Antiochus, one class see in it a fifth and last expedition into Egypt,
and in general a continuous narrative of new events down to his
death. Another class suppose it to be a recapitulation and sum-
ming up of his exploits. — ^ — In the former class Porphyry leads off,
first in time. I quote from Posenmueller on v. 40, thus ; " Tlie things
stated in this verse. Porphyry, as quoted in Jerome, rightly refers
to Antiochus Epiphanes — 'his military expedition in the eleventh
year of his reign against Ptolemy Philometer, his sister's son. The
latter, hearing that Antiochus was coming, assembled many thou-
sand soldiers. But Antiochus, like a fierce storm, swept over many
countries with chariots, horsemen, and a great fleet, and laid all
waste as he passed.' [The single quotation marks indicate Por-
phyry's statements.] Rosenmueller subjoins — 'Of this new ex-
pedition of Antiochus into Egypt we find nothing in the still extant
works of the Greek and Roman historians. But we are wliolly
destitute of any entire and continuous history of Antiochus, written
by a trustworthy author of his own age." I'hat the history of
those times was written, and that somewhat fully, may be inferred
from the following passage in Jerome's Commentary on Daniel.
" To understand the last portion of Daniel, the copious and various
histories of the Greeks are needed, e. g.^ Sutorius Callinicus, Diodo-
rus, Hieronymus, Polybius, Posidonius, Claudius Theon and An-
dronicus, surnamcd Alypius, whom Porphyry affirms that he has
■136 DANIEL.— CUAP. XI.
followed ; Josephus also, and those whom he quotes, and especially
our Livy and Trogus Pompcius and Justin, who wrote the entire
history of the last vision, and from Alexander to Augustus Cesar,
describes the wars of Syria and Egypt, i. e., of Seleucus and Anti-
ochus on the one part, and of the Ptolemies on the other. If at any
time we are compelled to appeal to secular history, it is not of our
choice, but as I may say, of our stern necessity, in order to pro\*e
that the things predicted many ages since by the holy prophets
have their fulfillment contained in the history as well of Greek
authors as Latin, and indeed of other nations also." But almost
the entire mass of those histories here referred to have perished,
past recovery, and we are left to make up the history of those times
as best we can with the scanty materials still preserved. The
testimony of Porphyry to a fifth expedition of Antiochus into Egypt
in his eleventh and last year would certainly be entitled to great
consideration, provided it did not conflict rather seriously with
other facts that seem well authenticated. One of these is that he
was headed and turned back from his fourth expedition (vs. 29, 30)
by the llomans. They positively forbade his interference with
Egyptian affairs, and themselveg assumed the protectorate of the
young king. Hence it is scarcely supposable that Antiochus at-
tempted another invasion of Egypt. Besides, the books of Macca-
bees are silent as to any such expedition in his eleventh and last
year. If it had occurred, it could scarcely have escaped some no-
tice from them. True, they devote themselves chiefly to Jewish in-
terests; but such an expedition must touch Jewish interests seri-
ously. And still further, they fill up his time quite thoroughly,
scarcely leaving him even a few weeks for such an expedition as
this. Hence after a somewhat careful examination, I give the pref-
erence to^ the latter of the two theories above named, and account
the last six verses of the chapter a recapitulation of the history of
Antiochus with some new incidents. The most serious difficulty
to be overcome in this view is the manner of introducing the pas-
sage, "at the time of the end," etc. But some latitude of meaning
may be given to this phrase. The reader is prone to think of it as
meaning, just at the end of the life of Antiochus. "Whether it docs
mean this in the present case is the vital question. For if it may
be so general as to take in the eleven years' reign of Antiochus, it
bears not at all against the construction of these last six verses as
a recapitulation of his public life. Now on this precise question,
the testimony of usage is perhaps not altogether uniform and de-
cisive. In chap. 12: 4, "Seal the book even to the time of the
end," the phrase obviously looks to the whole period of the life of
Antiochus; and indeed probably to the entire duration of this
Syrian war; about twenty-four years. In chap. 11 : 35, it looks
toward the closing period of this great war, obviously beyond the
death of Antiochus. "The time of the end," seems to be nearly or
qujte synonymous with " the last end of tho indignation " and the
"time appointed" as these phrases occur chap. 8;"l9, and in so far
may be understood to refer to the reign of Antiochus as a whole.
DANIEL.— CHAP. XI. 437
At best some difSculty still hangs over this verse, whichever of
the two constructions may be chosen. Yet we are clearly shut up
to one of those two; for every other theory, especially every one
which applies the passage to any other personage than Antiochus
Epiphanes, is involved in tenfold greater difficulty. As already
shown, his reign of eleven years was at the last end of God's in-
dignation toward the Jews. It was his "time appointed" for fear-
ful judgments upon them for their ' sins. In this broad view his
reign as a whole was "at the time of the end." Hence no violence
is done to the established sense of this expression when we para-
phrase the general scope and sense of the passage thus : Hav-
ing now spoken of the wars of Antiochus with Eg}'pt ; of his sacri-
legious assaults upon Jerusalem and its temple ; of his persecutions
of the pious Jews ; of the gods he did not worship and the gods he
did, it remains to sum up briefly his exploits and then record his
death. His first great exploit was his terrific onslaught upon
Egypt, given first in detail (vs. 25-30) and then in general, as here
(v. 40). Next, his invasion of "the glorious land," given in the
particulars, vs. 22, 23, 28, 30-35; and in the general^ vs. 41, 45.
Next in this recapitulation, the countries that did escape ; Edom,
Moab, Ammon, (which in fact sympathized with him and aided
him in his wars against the Jews and hence did not incur his
displeasure;) and the countries that did not escape; — Egypt, and
with her, the Lybians and Ethiopians ; and also Palestine. Next,
he was a great robber of the wealth of cities and nations. This is
referred to in detail (vs. 24, 28); in general statement (in v, 43).
Then appears a new fact in the propli(?cy. In the height of these
desolating conquests, he was somewhat seriously diverted by up-
risings against his authority in his Northern and Eastern prov-
inces— a fact fitly introduced here because so closely connected
with his death. [For the circumstances of this horrid death, see
notes on chap. 7.] Then naturally the chapter and the record of
this vile king close with his death, which is fitly put in a sort of
antithesis with his horrid impiety against the house and people of
the living God. Though he had the power and the hardihood to
pitch his magnificent tents upon God's holy 'mountain, yet he came
down wonderfully ; he came to his end and there was none to help.
Such I take to be the general drift and scope of these last six verses.
In addition to the points already made, the following considera-
tions strongly favor this theory of recapitulation. (1.) The state-
ments in this passage are for the most part general in their char-
acter, and not specific and minute as in the previous portion of this
prophetic history. Thus, "he shall enter into the countries" (v. 40);
"shall overthrow 7nani/ countries" {w 41); "he shall put forth his
hand" to pillage and plunder " the countries" (v. 42); "shall go
forth with great fury to destroy many" (v. 44). V. 45, in the
form of its statements, groups in antithesis with his death those
great deeds of impiety and blasphemy that huvc made his name
notorious with infamy. (2.) The history of Antiochus, so far as
known to us through any extant writings, had been already given
438 DANIEL.— CHAP. XL
in detail (vs. 21-39) ; while nearly all the statements in this closing
passa_if;e either allude to or st^itc the same great facts in a more
comprehensive and general form. (3.) Tlie order and method
of the prophetic narrative throughout vs. 21-39 is precisely such
as to bring the Avriter to a recapitulation here at the close. Thus
there is in the outset a hint at his general character; "a vile per-
son" and an artful ilattcrer (v. 21); then the way he gained the
crown; then his principal exploits in their chronological order
through vs. 22-35, viz., his interference with the Jewish priesthood
(vs. 22, 23); his expedition into Armenia (v. 24); several expedi-
tions into Egypt (vs. 25-30) ; his malign persecutions of the Jews ;
his wars against them ; his desecration of their temple and the
breaking up of its worship ; with their heroic endurance and earn-
est labors for the truth (vs. 28, 30-35) ; then, general views of his
character as self-conceited, proud, impious, contemning all the
established religions of his realm whether true or false, and assum-
ing to set up a new religion ; the gods he would not let men wor-
ship and the gods he would compel them to worship. This is a
rounded and complete view of his deeds and character, and fully
prepares the way for recapitulating the main points and general
features — to be closed with his death. (4.) The next chapter
bears very much the same character of recapitulation, coupled with
practical application both to the faithful Jews and to the unfiith-
ful. Very few additional facts are introduced. The scenes of the
history of Antiochus are the groundwork of the whole chapter.
All these facts, conspiring to one and the same point, coupled
with the arguments adduced above, render it at least strongly prob-
able that this closing passage of the chapter is chiefly a recapitula-
tion of the main events in the reign, and the salient points in the
character, of Antiochus Epiphanes.
The meaning and scope of this chapter having now been pre-
sented, two topics remain; first, its relations to the other visions
of Daniel; second, the diverse and opposing views of some inter-
preters.
1. Its parallelism with the other three visions. This ^^vile
king^' in chap. 11 is the '''' little Aorn" of chap. 7, and hence this
entire vision in chap. 11 is in general parallel with that of chap. 1.
In proof, 1 adduce the following points. (1.) The little horn-
power was the central point of interest there in chap. 7. It is so
Iiere in chap. 11. (2.) lie was a Avn^ there; and is also here.
(2.) He came forth there in the kingdom that next succeeded
Alexander; precisely so here. (4.) In addition to the little horn,
chap. 7 has ten other horns which are kings; all on the beast that
follows Alexander, and obviously all preceding the little horn, or
cotemporary with him. They are here in chap. 11 precisely in
their place and of the right number — so clearly defined that no
commentator hesitates to call their names respectively, and no one
dissents from the universal testimony which names and locates
them — ten horns which are ten kings between Alexander and the •
little horn. (5.) From before this little horn-king of chap. 7
DANIEL.— CHAP. XL 439
three of those ten were plucked up, or in some way removed or over-
thrown. 1'hey are here in chap. 11 two of them falling in a very
remarkable manner directly before he came to the throne, and the
third subdued and subjugated by his arms. (G.) In chap. 7 this
little horn-power Avas specially terrible because it fell grievously
upon the Jcavs while they were God's professed people. I're-
cisely so here, the passage chap. 10: 14, affirming, "1 am come to
make thee understand what shall befall thy j^eople ;'' and chap. 11:
22, 23, 28, 30-35, 45, all concurring to shoAv how terribly he har-
rassed the pious Jews ; desecrated their temple, broke up their
.worship, and murdered their sons and daughters. (7.) The per-
secutions which the little horn of chap. 7 brought on the Jew.s
afflicted Daniel most deeply. The same is manifest throughout
chaps. 10 and 12, in the near prospect of what is revealed in chap.
11. (8.) The great points of personal character made prominent
in the little horn of chap. 7 are keen sagacity, and daring, blas-
phemous hostility against God and his people. Identically the
same qualities of character and spirit appear in the vile king of
chap. 11. (9.) In chap. 7 his specified deeds arCj "wearing out the
saints of the Most High;" a purpose and effort to subvert their
religion and break up their worship, in the latter of which he was
successful for a limited specified time — three and one-half years.
The vile king of chap. 11 does the same things precisely; "his
heart is against the holy covenant;" "he has indignation against
the holy covenant;" "he pollutes the sanctuary;" "takes away the
daily sacrifice;" causes the righteous to "fall by the sword, by flame,
by captivity and by spoil many days;" and as to the length of time
during which they are given into his hand, chap. 12: 7, 11, corre-
sponds fully with chap. 7: 25. (10.) In chapter 7, this king dies
by the special judgments of God. Expressly so in chap. 11.
liere let it be noted that these are not merely incidental but are
7nain points. They are not culled, a few out of many, but embrace
every thing of any importance that appears in chap. 7, except that
there his judgment precedes the first advent, resurrection and ascen-
sion of Christ — a point which the history of the vile king of chap.
11 fully verifies, although the prophecy had nothing more to add on
that point. Chap. 11 makes several new points, that do not appear
in chap. 7, but not a line, not a feature, inconsistent with what is
said in chapter 7. Hence the evidence of identity between the
little horn-king of chap. 7 and the vile king of chaps. 11 and 12,
amounts to demonstration. Any additional proof wOuld ha quite
superfluous. If needful it might also be shown that both visions
have the same Persian poAver and the same Grecian Alexander.
The visions therefore as a whole are in the main parallel.
I now advance to a second main point in this question of parallelism.
This '■'■vile king '\ of chapter 11 is the same personage as the little
horyi-king of chapter 8 ; and hence there is a close analogy between this
entire vision of chapter 11 and that of chap. 8. The following points,
made very briefly, might be more expanded, but will suffice.
(1.) The little horn is the main theme in chap. 8, as the vilo king
410 DANIEL.— CHAP. XI.
is in chap. 11. (2.) He is a king incliap. 8, and so also in' chap.
11. (o.) He is reached in each chapter by the same .historic
thread, beginning in each case at the prophet's stand-point in time
and space; passing from the Persian line to Alexander; then in the
line of his successors to Antiochus Epiphanes. The track pursued
in each chapter is identically the same. (4.) Yet more definitely;
in chap. 8, the little horn comes up in one of the four kingdoms of
Alexander's cleft empire. Precisely so in chap. 11. (5.) In
chap. 8 he pushes his conquests to•^vard the south, the east, and the
pleasant land. The very same thing is brought out with much more
detail in chap. 11. (6.) The things he does against the Jews arid
their i\Iosaic ritual service and temple are given with considerable
detail in chap. 8 : 10-14, 24, 25. Suffice it to say tliat wc have the
same details in chap. 11. Compare "casting down some of the
host and of tlie stars" (chap. 8: 10) with chap. 11: 22, 33, 35; des-
ecrating the sanctuary (chap. 8: 11-13) with chap. 11: 31; daring
to confront the Almighty (chap. 8: 11, 25) with chap. 11: 28, 30,
3G. (7.) lie is successful against God's people and suspends their
established worship for a time. This is said in chap. 8: 12-14, and
is fully implied in chap. 11: 31-35. The designations of time are
not identical because chap. 8: 13, 14, covers more events than chap.
12: 7, or 12: 11. But even in this there is not the least discrep-
ancy. The diversity as to the amount of time embraced, really
streugthcns rather than weakens the argument for parallelism, since
it shows that the two visions are really independent statements of
the same grand series of events. Such statements will be undesign-
edl}'- coincident, as these are. (8.) The animus of this king and
of his persecutions is in each vision the same. In both he is utterly
vain, self-conceited, proud, arrogant and blasphemous toward Al-
mighty God. (9.) The main points of his character, as put in
chap. 8, make him cunning, wily, crafty and fearfully malignant
against God's people. So also in chap. 11 we have the same man
in every shade of his character. (10.) The references to God's
indignation toward his people for their apostasy and to "the time
of the end," are the same in both visions. See chap. 8: 17, 19, 26.
and also chap. 11: 27, 35, 36, 40, and chap. 12: 4. (H-) In each
chapter the manner of his death is essentially the same, even to the
minute point of an antithesis between his bold assault against the
Almighty, and his helpless fall. In chap. 8: 25, Though he shall
be impious enough to "stand np against the Prince of princes," yet
"he shall be broken without hand." In chap. 11: 45, Though he
shall have the hardihood and daring to " pitch his magnificent tents
in the glorious holy mountain, yet he shall come to his end and
none shall help him." These points might be amplified and per-
haps some others added. I have not attempted to make the com-
parison exhaustive. But it is surely sufficient. For here, as in the
former case, the points of comparison are not relatively small but
are main points. They are not a few out of many, but embrace all
that are ot" "any importance ; all that are needed to give a fair view
of the history and character of this personage. There can there-
DANIEL.— CHAP. XI. 441
fore i)e no manner of doubt of the absolute identity of the little
horn of chap. 8 with the vile king of chap. 11; and consequently
no doubt as to the general parallelism of that chapter with this.
I see no occasion here to speak further in respect to the first vision,
recorded chap. 2 : 31-45. It is very brief; very general in its state-
ments ; and by universal admission so manifestly parallel with chap.
7 as to require no additional remark here. Hence my argument for
the general parallelism of these four visions is now complete.
It is now in place to say that this point of parallelism, so abun-
dantly manifest, is of the utmost importance in the interpretation
of all these four parallel visions. For chajAers 11 and 12 now be-
come God's own interpretation in plain words of the S7/mbols that are
used in each of the other visions, and especially in chaps. 7 and 8.
This is God's own angel coming down to interpret for us no less
than for Daniel the full significance of those symbols, and especi-
ally, of that terrible little horn of chap. 7 and of chap. 8. This
prophecy in chap. 11 stands in the same relation to what is said
and to what is shown by symbols of the little horn in chap. 7: 8-
11, 21, 22, and also in chap. 8: 9-14, as the limited interpretations,
given in those two chapters bear to the portions which they profess-
edly explain. That is, we have here just so much additional expla-
nation of those symbols in plain English words. This is a fact of
the gravest importance and one which has often been strangely
overlooked. In view of this fact, I was for several 3^ears in the
habit, in my efibrts to instruct classes in the prophecies of Daniel,
of beginning with the last vision instead of the first, and indeed,
of reversing the order throughout. The fact that each successive
vision goes more and more into detail; and also shades olf more
and more from symbols into litei-al language, amply justifies this
arrangement. There is wisdom in beginning with what is most
.plain and eas}^, and so advancing to what is more difficult.
11. It remains to notice other and diverse interpretations of
chap: 11. As already said, all commentators agree with remark-
able unanimity throughout the first thirty verses. They all begin
with Cyrus and the Persian line to Xerxes; they all pass over
thence to Alexander and his successors of the Egyptian and Syrian
kingdoms, and keep company through the ten kings to Antiochus
Epiphanes, and without exception (among those of any note), they
find Antiochus in vs. 21-30. But here they begin to diverge, and
from this point they scatter indefinitely. Home break off at v. 31,
and find pagan Kome in vs. 31-35; then Papal Pome vs. 3G-40,
and some unknown yet still future xintichrist in vs. 40-45. Othei-s
apply the chapter to Antiochus up to v. 36, and then find tlie Mo-
hammedan system onward ; and perhaps the Turks in the last six
verses. Yet others make v. 40 the point of divergence from Anti-
ochus Epiphanes. Against all these, I maintain tliat Antiochus
is the great theme of this vision from v. 21 to the end of the chap-
ter; and that, to diverge from him at any one of the points named
or at any other point,* is to violate the laws of language and can not
be justified; can not give the true interpretation.
442 DANIEL.— CHAP. xr.
1. Antiochus can not he left at v. 31. (1.) Because there is not
the least occasion for it. The verses that follow apply to him as
naturally and are fulfilled in him as completely as the verses that
precede. Hence there is not the least occasion to diverge from
him,<and hence it can not be done except tlirough mere caprice
and through violence done to the laws of language. (2.) Because
the grammatical construction forbids it. Vs. 28-30 all speak of
Antiochus throughout. The pronouns, "he," "his," "him," all rep-
,'resent this king. It is he who "returns into his land;" whose
"heart is against the holy covenant;" against whom "the ships of
Chittim shall come," and who "has intelligence" (a secret under
standing) with those Jews that " forsake their holy covenant."
Now V. 31 refers to precisely this same man. The first clause
ought to be rendered, " And an armed force goes forth from him" —
the "him" referred to being Antiochus and no one else. Gram-
matically, it can be no other man. (3.) Antiochus can not be
dropped at the beginning of v. 31, and another person be intro-
duced here, because of the close connection of historic thought.
We see him in v. 28 enraged against God's covenant and people;
in V. 30 yet more enraged and mad against them, his naturally bad
temper being now exasperated by his being baffled in Egypt by the
Eomans ; — so he is nursing his wrath, preparing for an outbreak of
vengeance upon the feeble Jews. In v. 31 the storm-cloud bursts —
just as we might expect. But no ! these dissenting critics break
the thread of this continuous history at this very point. They tell
us that this vengeance is executed, not by Antiochus, but by Pagan
Ivome, from two hundred to five hundred years after Antiochus is
dead ! Such interpretation is simply monstrous ! To say that it
violates all ji>6t laws of language,, is only a moderate statement of
the facts. One might as well break the continuous thread of any
narrative, or history, or biography that can be written. At the ,
commencement of v. 31, Antiochus has just begun to afflict the
Jews. The writer has reached this point in his prophetic narra-
tive. Why should he not be allowed to finish what he would say ?
And more yet ; why shall he not be allowed to go deeper than the
mere fact of his outrages, persecutions, and profanations, to those
elements of character that lay at the foundation, as he does in vs.
30-39? And why not let him recapitulate this vile king's exploits,
and bring down the narrative in regular order to his striking, awful
death ? When an author makes his connections of thought so
close, he does all he can do to guard his writings against being ruth-
lessly rent into fragments, and those fragments assigned to parties
and subjects he never dreamed of! (4.) Of this chapter, the
p(n-tion Ijefore v. 31 and the portion after are closely related, inas-
much as on both sides of this line persecution rages against pre-
cisely the Jeivs. It is so in vs. 22, 28, 30; it is so also in vs. 31-35,
45. Hence a very strong probability that the persecution is
throughout identically the same. At all events, the persecution
vs. 31-35 can not possibly he that by pagan Home upon the primi-
tive church, for they were not God's ancient covenant people with
DANIEL.— CHAP. XI. 443
their sanctuary and ritual worship. Af>;ain to the same point;
the geographical location of the events in these two sections of the
chapter is the same. This king, returning from Egypt to ^^yria,
naturally passes through Palestine, and vs. 28, 30 imply that he is
there. On the other side of this line the events are also in Pales-
tine, where the sanctuary stands (v. 31) and where the daily sacri-
fice belongs. Vs. 41 and 45 each contains the usual distinctive
term in Daniel for Palestine, "the glorious land;" fixing the same
location for the events of the last portion of the chapter. But the
persecutions by pagan Eome or Papal Kome were not exclusively
or even chiefly done in Palestine. Therefore no portion of this
chapter can apply to those -persecutions. (5.) The portion before
this line and the portion after are connected in time. This is
shown by the use on both sides of this line of the phrases, " the
end," "the time appointed," as in v. 27, before it; and in vs. 35,
36, 40, after it. This test also is decisive. For it utterly precludes
the application of any part of the chapter to Kome, whether pagan
or Papal, or to Mohammed, or to any otlier personage or power
than Antiochus. It can not for a moment be supposed that these
alhisions to "the time of God's indignation" against the apostate
Jews; to "the time appointed" for these judgments; or to "the
time of the end" — mean nothing; or that, despite of their meaning,
we may go on to locate the events of this chapter, with no refer-
ence to them, anywhere along during the next two thousand years
after Antiochus lived and died! To do so would utterly ignore
God's own landmarks of time! (6.) The wresting of vs. 31-35
away from Antiochus is utterly forbidden, by the fact that the par-
allel prophecies of chaps. 7 and 8 ascribe to Antiochus precisely
the things here recorded. The proof of this has been given already.
Just what is said here of his deeds — c. g., that he polluted the sanc-
tuary; took away the daily sacrifice; made war upon the saints
and wore them out by persecution ; in short, had them very much
in his power for a limited time — constitute the substance of his
deeds as given in those parallel chapters, 7 and 8. Therefore these
verses, 31-35, must refer to Antiochus.
2. The thread can not be broken at v. 36, and only what precedes
be applied to Antiochus, and all that follows to Papal Rome or to
the Mohammedan power. Why not? (1.) Because this person-
age is not only a king but "z!/ic king" — the same before spoken of
and spoken of as a king in every verse since we saw him take his
throne in v. 21. His being a Icing forbids the application of these
verses to Papal Rome or to Mohammedanism. His being " the king "
forbids their application to any other king than Antiochus Epipha-
nes.— — (2.) Because this is the place to give a general view of his
character. Ilis deeds have been rehearsed ; now let tha revealing
angel go deeper than deeds, even to the elements of his character
out of which such deeds came. Why forbid him? Why torture
his words by wresting them from so fitting a theme and insisting
that they look toward Papal Rome? (3.) The character as here
drawn precisely accords with the deeds as narrated above. Hence
444 ^ DANIEL.— CHAP. XL
this view of his cliaractcr can not be severed from those deeds with-
out violence to the course of thoui^ht and the laws of hinguage.
(4.) The statement in v. 30, that this king shall "prosper until the
indignation shall )>e accomplished and the things determined shall
be done," shows that the same personage is spoken of and the same
series of events also as in v. 35, which limits those persecutions to
"the time appointed," and as in v. 27; and also as in the case of
the little horn-power of chap. 8. See chap. 8: 17, 19. This por-
tion, vs. 36-45, must certainly belong to the same history and the
same personage as the portion that precedes — Antiochus Epiphanes
being tlie grand persecutor throughout. Why he prospers at all,
and how long he prospers, are important data. They are the same
in the portion before this line and in the portion after it; therefore
this line is only a fiction. There can be no legitimate cutting asun-
der of the narrative here. (5.) As already shown, this prophecy
throughout the portion vs. 21-45 applies aptly to Antiochus Epipha-
nes. History confirms this application of the prophecy. The same
can not be shoAvn of any other person.
3. The thread of this prophetico-historic sketch can not be
cut at V. 40, and the portion, vs. 40-45, be applied to some other
person or power. AVliy not? (1.) Because the king of the north
must be the same here as before, this phrase being absolutely ap-
propriated throughout this chapter to the kings of Syria. So of the
king of the south, who has precisely this designation twice in v. 25.
(2.) "The time of the end" must be the same period repeatedly
referred to both in this chapter and in chap. 8. This phrase limits
the events to the same period of time. (3.) This passage is in
fact a resume — a recapitulation of the deeds of Antiochus; and
tliercfore can not be severed from the previous portions of this
projAecy repecting him without the utmost caprice and violence.
(4.) It is reasonable to expect some notice of the death of An-
tiochus;— the more so because the death of each of the two kings
next before him is noticed; and yet the more so because the pre-
vious and parallel visions (chap. 7: 9-11, 26, and cliap. 8: 25) show
that his death was extraordinary — ^by some superhuman agency, in-
volving special judgments from God. If we sever oil' this last por-
tion, we refer this striking account of his death (v. 45) to somebody
else — violently. (5.) We must have the same Antiochus in chap.
12, as will be seen when we reach it; therefore we can not legiti-
mately part company with him here at v. 40, and give the rest of
tliis chapter to some other person or power. Tliese points may
serve as a scries of hints at the dilliculties and the violations of
sound criticism which are involved in any and every attempt to
sever this portion (vs. 21-45) and to give any part of it to another
personage.
There is yet another modification of the same thing which
reiiuires a brief notice. Some are understood to hold that this
In-ophecy does indeed begin with Antiochus at v. 21, and go on with
lim a little way more or less ; and then shade off into some other
great Antichrist, losing sight at length of Antiochus altogether.
DANIEL.— CHAP. XI. 445
I can see no reason for such an interpretation. No such departure
from the obvious historic sense of such language should be allowed
save under the sternest demands of necessity ; e. e.^ because the his-
toric sense is obviously inadmissil)le throughout. But on what
ground is this construction given to the passage vs. 21-45, or to any
portion of it? Is it claimed that here are things that can not bo
applied to Antiochus Epiphanes ? If so, the claim is made without
reason. It is an entire mistake. Is it claimed that there are
clear intimations of this shading off into some unknown Antichrist ?
How can that be known if indeed this supposed Antichrist be yet
unknoivn and wholly in the future? And what are those indica-
tions? Where do we leave the veritable Antiochus, of flesh and
blood, and where does the unknown Antichrist begin to appear?
What signs herald his approach ? AVliat word or phrase indicates
the transition from the one to the other ? Such questions as these
should be answered somewhat definitely before we sacrifice the
laws of grammatical construction and the connecting bonds of his-
toric and logical thought, and ignore the strong proofs of precise
historic fulfillment in this great persecutor of the saints. If the
reference of this passage to some other Antichrist means only that
moral lessons may be drawn from the prophetic and the actual his-
tory of Antiochus Epiphanes and applied to some other great Anti-
christ, very well. This is a very harmless thing. Indeed it is better
than merely harmless : it may be made very useful. No doubt the
same God who put a hook in the nose of this great Antichrist will
do the same by every other. The same God who used him for the
discipline and purifying of his ancient church will use every other
as he may choose for the same ends, making the wi'atli of man work
out his own praise. And the same God who protected his chosen
people, then, through that fearful storm of persecution, and made
'those fires the salvation of his trustful children, will be no less wise
and no less good when the next great persecution shall be sent on
the same mission. He who loveth Zion will never, let the fires of
persecution burn too hotly or miss their intended result of purifica-
tion to his people and triumph to his kingdom. Before I pass
from the subject of diverse and opposing views upon this chapter,
I must say briefly that I recollect only tkree reasons assigned for
applying any portion of our passage (vs. 21-45) to any other than
Antiochus; viz.: (1.) That some of it docs not apply historically to
Antiochus; which I hold to be a mistake. (2.) That the course
of thought in the chapter must bring us down to the millennium,
or to the end of the world, because the resurrection comes in early
in the next chapter. The mistake of this assumption it will be
in place to show under chap. 12. (3.) And finally, that prophecy
in this same eleventh chapter makes a long stride from Xerxes to
Alexander, and therefore we are justified in making other historic
strides, wherever it may seem good to us to make them. To
which f answer ; That leap from Xerxes to Alexander has its own good
and sufficient reasons. Every other should have reasons equally
good. That was not indeed a chronological connection ; but it was
446 DANIEL.— CHAP. XII.
precisely logical — the relation of cause and effect, and therefore
by no means justifies chronological chasms except on like valid
grounds.
CHAPTER XII.
This chapter speaks of a time of extraordinary trouble, from
which, however, the people "written in the book of life" shall be
delivered (v. 1) ; alludes to the resurrection and to the eternal retri-
bution of the righteous and .the wicked (vs. 2, 3) ; directs Daniel
to seal up the vision against the time of the end (vs. 4, 9) ; gives
designations of time (vs. 5-12), and finally assures Daniel that he
shall have his lot with the righteous (v. 13).
Widely various opinions have been held as to the scope of this
chapter. Its true interpretation must turn very much upon the ques-
tion whether it is so connected with the previous chapter and with
the entire body of Daniel's four great parallel visions as to determine
its reference to the same series of events, and of course to the same
age of the world. A class of modern English expositors assume
that the close of chap. II brought us down to the latter part of
this nineteenth century; that in this twelfth chapter, we enter upon
the very last age of time ; reach the resurrection in its chronological
order, v. 2, and the glorified state of the righteous (most of them
would say iipon this earth) at " the time of the end " of these earthly
scenes. Whether this is, or is not, the true interpretation, will
turn (as above suggested) very much upon the sort of connection
which obtains between this chapter and the eleventh, and also the
other parallel visions. Let us then begin with examining this
point.
1. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great
prince which standeth for the children of thy people ; and
there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since
there was a nation even to that same time : and at that
time thy people shall be clelivered, every one that shall be
found written in the book.
2. And many of them that sleeji in the dust of the earth
shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame
and everlasting contempt.
3. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of
the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness
as the stars forever and ever.
4. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the
book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and
fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
5. Then I Daniel looked, and behold, there stood other
DANIEL. -CHAP. XII. 447
two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the
other on that side of the bank of the river.
6. And one said to the man clothed in linen, wliich was
upon the waters of the river. How long shall it he to the
end of these wonders ?
7. And I heard the man clothed in linen, which loas
upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right
hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that
liveth forever, that it shall he for a time, times, and a half ;
and when he shall haVe accomplished to scatter the power
of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
8. And I heard, but I understood not : then said I, O my
lord, what shall he the end of these things f
9. And he said. Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are
closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
10. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried ;
but the wicked shall do wickedly : and none of the wicked
shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
11. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be
taken away, and the abomination that maketli desolate set
up, there shall he a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
12. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thou-
sand three hundred and five and thirty days.
13. But go thou thy way till the end he: for thou shalt
rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
The very first verse begins with saying that these events occur
"a^ that time," i e., at the same time of which the previous chapter
speaks, especially the time when those scenes of violent persecution
of the Jews took place, noticed specially vs. 31-35. This alone
should go far to decide our main question. A time of great trouble
had been already indicated ; it is resumed and reaffirmed here for
the sake of further remark upon it. "Shall Michael stand up,"
etc. But this Michael has been already introduced to us, and in
precisely the same relations, "standing up for thy people" — the
Jewish nation, considered as the Lord's chosen ones, and also as
being somewhat under Daniel's care also. See chap. 10: 13, 21.
" Stand up," is a favorite phrase with Daniel in the sense of arous-
ing on-e's self to earnest help, often with military power, force of
arms. Hence the view of, some that this Michael is the Messiah,
must be wrong. At that time " thy people shall be delivered :" —
but ^'' till/ people" has become the established phrase for the Jews
considered as under the patronage of Daniel, and hence accounted
his people, yet none the less the chosen people of God. See chap.
10: 14 and 9: 24. In v. 3, "they that be wise" ["the mas-
chilim"] are plainly the same whom we saw in chap. 11: 33, 35,
there rendered, "they that understand;" "them of understanding;"
448 DANIEL.— CHAP. XII. .
but in tliG Hebrew precisely the same word, "the maschiliin."
111 V. 4 the direction to "shut up the words and to seal the book,"
reminds us that the same direction was given for the third vision
(chap. 8: 26), and that "the time of the end" has been repeatedly
before us (in chap. 8: 17, 19, and 11: 27, 35, 40), and practically
in chap. 11: 26 also, plainly showing that these events and those,
boini!; brought within the same limitations of time, are substantially
idcnFical.-^ — In v. 6 "these wonders" can be none other than
those which have been presented in the preceding parallel visions.
There are no other to which the phrase can refer. Chap. 8 : 24,
says "he shall destroy wonderfully" — the same Hebrew word as
liQi'Q, In V. 7 "the holy people," must be the same as before in
chap. 11: 32-35; the same as "the host and the stars" of chap.
8: 10-13, and "the mighty and the holy people" whom he "shall
destroy" (chap. 8: 24), and "the saints of the Most High " (chap. 7:
25). And the duration, three and a half years, is precisely the
same as in chap. 7: 25. In vs. 8, 9, Daniel says he does not yet
understand all he would of these things, just as he had said before,
chap. 8: 27. — ■. — The revealing angel speaks here also of "the time
of the end" — a phrase with which we are already entirely familiar,
and which connects these disclosures most perfectly with those of
the previous part of this vision and with those of the t)ther visions
parallel to this. The allusions in v. 10 to "the wise" carry us
to chap. 11 : 35, while the case of the wicked corresponds with the
view given of the apostates in chap. 11: 30, 32. In v. 11 "the
taking away of the daily sacrifice and the setting up of the abomi-
nation that maketh desolate," can not- possibly be separated from
the same thing put in the same words, chap. 11: 31, chap. 8: 11,
and also in suj)stance in chap. 7 : 25. There is therefore the most
alnindant evidence of the closest connection between this chapter,
on the one hand, and the eleventh, and also the parallel visions of
chaps. 7 and 8, on the other. The events referred to are the very
same ; the time of their occurrence is the same. The bonds of
pliilological connection are of the very strongest kind. It would
seem to be simply impossible for one accustomed to study, observe
and obey the laws of philology, and to interpret language in view
of 2vhai it is, to have even the least doubt on this point.
The way is now open for the special exposition of the chapter.
^I'o the first verse we have only to give the obvious sense,
already made plain by its manifest allusion to things previously in-
troduced. "At that time," must be near the time of the death of
Antiochus, with which the previous chapter closed. "Michael,"
we know already as the great archangel-protector of the Jewish
peo])le. " The children of thy people," have been sufficiently iden-
tified as the Jews — thought of in their peculiar relations to Daniel.
This "time of trouble" is the same terrible persecution which An-
tiochus waged against the pious Jews — as we saw in the vision of
the seventh chapter; also in that of the eighth, and in that of the
eleventh. Dut " at that time thy people shall be delivered, every
one found written in the book," i. e., of life — the book which records
DANIEL.— CHAP. XII. 449
those destined to life. This "book" appears in Ps. 69: 28, "Let
them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written
with the righteous." The earliest Scriptural reference to this " book "
is from Moses (Ex. 32: 32), "If not, blot me, I pray thee, out of
thy book which thou hast written." The thought seems to be of a
book of God's own purposes, in which he records the names of
those who live — this life being supposed to be a good from the
hand of God. This second verse I understand to allude to the
literal resurrection. But the manner and purpose of this alhision
should be closely studied. Negatively, the revealing angel does
not allude to it, because his prophetic narrative has reached the
literal resurrection in its chronological order; i. e., has brought
down the world's history to that point. This is simply impossible
in view of the manifest connection of this entire cliapter with the
previous parallel visions, and especially with chap. J.1. Nor does he
allude to it for the sake of teaching the doctrine of the general resur-
rection as a new truth. For he does not here affirm or even imply
a general universal resurrection. He does not say " all that are in
their graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth." It remained
for the great Author of the resurrection to make the first full an-
nouncement of the universal resurrection. All that is said here is
that '^mariT/," not all, but "many out of those that sleep in the dust
shall wake to a new life." Yet again, the an.gel does not affirm
that then, at thai time, many shall arise. He might have said this;
probably would if he had meant so. But he did not say this.
Positively; in my view the resurrection is suggested here because
of its relations to eternal retribution. So the last clause of this
verse and also v. 3 would indicate. This eternal retribution is sug-
gested by his thought of the noble Maccabean heroes, on the one
hand, and of the vile apostates from their Jewish faith and of the
eruel Syrian persecutors, on the other. To see holiness and sin in
such intensive forms ; to see some men so nobly good and others so
meanly and malignantly wicked, naturally leads the mind to eter-
nal retribution, llemember (the revealing angel would say), re-
member for your consolation and for the relief of your burdened
heart, that God is surely just, and that his justice will not sleep
forever. There will be a glorious reward for the righteous; and
prominent among these will be the righteous dead who " fell by the
sword, by flame, by captivity, and by spoil for mapy days" (chap.
11 : 33). There vnll also be a fearful doom of shame and everlast-
ing contempt for those guilty apostates and their cruel Syrian as-
sociates who inflict these sufferings on the faithful servants of God.
That this is the very thought of the revealing angel is made yet
more sure by v. 3, where he refers explicitly to those nolde JcAvish
martyrs; "they that be wise;" (in Ilcb. "the maschilim") the
very name given them in chap. 11 : 33, 35. Those who suffered so
heroically and labored so earnestly to turn their Jewish brethren
from idolatry to righteousness "shall shine as the brightness of the
'firmament and as the stars forever and ever." They stood and fell
us "stars" — distinguished servants of God. See chap. 8: 10.
450 DANIEL.— CHAP. XII.
Now their joyous reward shall be to shine as the stars in the
glorious lirmament of heaven forever and ever. This explanation
of a passage, usually accounted very difficult, seems to me to be
entirely satisfactory. The thought of final eternal retribution is
certainly altogether in place here in view of the circumstances.
It was legitimately reached through the resurrection. This great fact
of our being was neither new nor strange to the people of God in that
age. The allusion, in Isaiah 2G and Ezekicl 37 to the resurrection,
and especially the use made of it as a figure of speech, show that
the idea was by no means unknown — was even familiar. Hence
his casual allusion to it, with no effort to state the doctrine of a
universal resurrection in its full rounded form. Some may per-
haps ask, by way of objection to this construction. Why did not
the angel give a more just, clear, and full view of the general res-
urrection? The answer is simply, It was not his purpose to
teach this doctrine in its dogmatic form. He could not turn aside
from the subject before him to give theological lectures (may not I
say?) on the doctrine of the resurrection. . He wanted the thouglit
of it only for its relation to the subject he had iti hand, and he
therefore used it for this purpose and for this only. This is pre-
cisely as every waiter or speaker does whose mind is full of his
subject. Moreover, these views as presented and left by the
angel-interpreter must have been full of the richest consolation and
quickening as read by those Maccabean heroes while they were nobly
doing, daring, suffering, dying for the faith of their fathers' God.
They are good to be read even now by all who live, labor, and endure
unto the same high example of suffering afiliction and of patience.
In v. 4 the "shutting up and sealing of the book" until near the
time when the events should occur seems to imply that men will
have less interest in it during the intervening period, and a far
deeper interest when that time shall have come, so that it will be
read then; would be read but little before. Some have said
(with less probability). Men will misinterpret prophecy until the
near approaching or actually transpiring events shall shed their
light upon it; therefore shut it up "till the time of the end."
"Many shall run to and fro;" coursing through the book, travers-
ing it from point to point, comparing one vision with another (as
my aim has been in this commentary) to get a clear and just view
of it as a whole ; so, the knowledge of it shall be greatly increased.
The word for "knowledge" has the article in Hebrew, and seems
to refer to the knowledge of the contents of this prophecy. In
vs. 5-7 it will be noted that the manner of bringing out the point
to be revealed is by causing Daniel to hear a conversation between
two angels, standing remote from each other, one on either bank of
the river. The question, "How long to the end of these wonderful
things?" asks for the duration of the chief transactions; here man-
ifestly, as in chap. 7 : 25, the length of time during which the wor-
ship of God's people at the temple would be broken up by the
violence of this impious persecutor. In the answer, the phrase,
^' time, times, and a half," must be construed (as in chap. 7 : 25) to
DANIEL.— CHAP. XII. 451
be three and a half years. Then, Avhcn the power of the holy peo-
ple shall have been scattered and broken ; themselves humbled and
thrown upon God for help; shall these things be finished. See
notes on chap. 7 : 25. Daniel does not yet understand so defi-
nitely as he would, and therefore asks again what shall be the
end of these things. The form of his question and his choice of
words ( What rather than When) ; and his word rendered " end,"
the afiei' part, the result or conclusion, seem to indicate a some-
what wider range than simply the idea of duration. That is, he
asks not merely hoio long, but what shall be the issues ; including,
however, the length of time. Consequently the answer teaches
both points; first indicating that the words arc closed and sealed
up till the time of the end, and therefore will not be much known
till near that time ; next, that active agencies of moral discipline will
surely do their work, some being made better and some made worse
by these events of God's providence: also that "the wise," the stu-
dious, humble and docile, shall readily understand, but none of the
wicked, for their sin darkens their intellect while it sears their con-
science and hardens their heart. Next as to the time. It has
been twice put at three and one-half years, in obviously very gen-
eral terms — "a time, times, and the dividing of times," or "a half."
Hence in answer to a question for the more precise time, we may
expect greater precision. I therefore take this answer, twelve
hundred and ninety days, to be a more accurate stiitement of the
time. The terminus fro7n which this period dates is plain, viz :
" from the taking away of the daily sacrifice and the setting up of
the abomination that maketh desolate" — from either of these, and
if they difiered in time, from the earliest. The terminus down to
which the period comes and at which it closes should doubtless be
the point where the sanctuary was cleansed and the Mosaic sacri-
fices were resumed. The books of Maccabees give this latter date
Avith precision. Both 1 Mac. 4: 52-54, and 2 Mac. 1: 9, 18, and
10: 5, aflSrm that the cleansing of the sanctuary took place on the
twenty-fifth day of the month Casleu (corresponding to December)
in the one hundred and forty-eighth year of the Seleucida3, which
corresponds to B. C. 1G4. The other terminus from ivhich to count
is less distinctly marked. There is no doubt as to the time Avlicn
the idol-altar was set up on the sacred one, nor as to the time
when the heathen began to offer idol sacrifices upon it. The former
was Dec. 10, 167 B. C. ; the latter Dec. 25, following. But the
daily sacrifice must have been taken away a considerable time —
not less than six months — earlier. For it was very early in June,
167 B. C. that Antiochus returned from Egypt, and sent Apollonius
with a strong force into Judea. lie seized Jerusalem and put a stop
to the temple worship. Josephus distinctly states in two passages
that the daily sacrifices were suspended three and a half years.
See notes on Dan. 7. Now three and a half years include accu-
rately 1279 days, lacking only eleven of the number here given.
Possibly this number 1290 may l)e somewhat a round number; or
more probably the three and a half years is the less exact date and
452 DANIEL.— CHAP. XII.
this of 1290 days the more exact. The number may have been
precisely 1200 days; i. e.^ eleven days over three and a half years.
It should be remembered that Daniel has novv^here used the desi^i^-
nation, 12G0 days, and though it is common loosely to estimate the
year at 360 days, yet this is a round and not an exact number.
'J'iie years were then as long as they are now, and we very well
understand that we now find in the long run about 365|- days in
each year. Hence the above calculation. — — This reaches as high
a degree of accuracy as can be expected, under the general methods
of time-computation which prevailed in that age. In v. 12 still
another period is given, viz.: 1335 days; 45 days longer than the
preceding. There can be but little doubt that this dates from the
same point of time, and therefore runs over one month and a half
beyond the cleansing of the sanctuary, which would bring us
nearly to the middle of February, B. C. 163, Nor can there be any
doubt that it looks to the death of Antiochus as the joyful event
which then occurred. Both the first and tlie second books of
Maccabees give some details of his death ; but neither has given the
day. It is not strange that they omifc it. 1 Mac. 6 : 1-16, gives
the year, the one hundred and forty-ninth year of the Seleucidas;
equal to B. C. 163. It also gives us the means of estimating yet
more definitely the exact time, for it states that Antiochus, being
in the remote countries of Persia, heard of the victories of Judas
over his armies in Palestine, and of the cleansing of the sanctuary,
which occurred, as we may remember, Dec. 25, 164 B. C, and that
the Jews had compassed the sanctuary about with high walls as
before. These tidings aflected him greatly, and indeed induced
him to set off at once for home, and brought on the fall from his
chariot and the violent sickness of which he died. Now if we
allow a reasonable time for this news to reach him, and for the
journey, the fall and the sickness, which preceded his death, we
shall find that forty-five days is a fair estimate. The testimony of
the second book of Maccabees (chap. 9) corresponds with that of
the first book in these particulars, as far as it goes. Well might
the revealing angel say, "Blessed is he that waiteth" in patient
hope so long, for there would be great joy over the death of that
arch enemy of the people of God. V. 13, closing the vision,
directs Daniel to go on his accustomed path of life, and assures
him that he shall rest from his labors and share at last in the
blessed lot of the risen saints, as had been said vs. 2, 3 of the
martyrs of the Maccabean age. This Avill be the precise sense if
we take "stand in thy lot" to mean arise from the dead to thy re-
ward. Most of the commentators and lexicons give this sense to
the words in this passage. I account it the most probable sense.
But yet I find no other case in which this verb "stand" means to
rise from the dead. It may therefore mean only, Thou shalt be
in thy place (the intermediate place of departed saints) at the end
of these days of trouble upon thy people. In so far as a tacit al-
lusion to vs. 2, 3 is probable, the sense of resurrection becomes so.
DANIEL.— CHAP. XII. 453
Neither construction seems bad. Either corresponds with the
facts, and is pertinent to the closing scene of this vision.
It has been ah-eady intimated that this twelfth chapter is built
upon the eleventh, assuming the facts therein stated, and aiming
to make a practical application of those fa(;ts for the moral benelit
of the people specially interested. We shall best appreciate tjie
pertinence and force of this practical application, if we transfer
ourselves back to those times, and suppose ourselves to be among
and of the parties affected, or at least to be observers of its influ-
ence upon them. Let us then suppose ourselves to be there, " at
the time of the end." The book is unsealed ; the words long shut
up are now opened. Our Jewish brethren Avho have been looking
with alarm on the apostacy of such numbers of their people into
Grecian manners and idolatry, are now well assured that this is
the hand of Almighty God and this the time of his indignation,
and they tremble for the results. Alas! the sanctuary is dese-
crated ; that wicked persecutor is successful in his most wicked
schemes; thousands of their brethren have ftillen in battle already;
women have seen their children tortured and have themselves suf-
fered tortures worse than death; immense armies have swept
through their land and have made their own Zion-hill their strong-
hold. Now conceive how they read this twelfth chapter. "At that
time shall Michael stand up, the great prince that standeth for thy
people." Precious words ! God's help shall come ! " There
shall be a time of trouble such as never was before since there
Avas a nation " — a truth they well understand, for they have felt it
in the anguish of their souls. Judah and Jerusalem have never
l)efore passed through such an ordeal of fire and flame, of blood
and torture and desolation. But pause; What is this that comes
next? "At that time thy people shall be delivered," "every one that
shall be found written in the book." Blessed words are these!
Then this desolation shall cease erelong, and this fearful Persecutor
will not utterly blot out the name and memorial of God's people
from under heaven. The kingdom and people of the great God Avill
survive and will yet see better days ! And then these next words,
how much in point are they! Our martyrs dead are "not lost but
only gone before." Not one of them will lose his reward. How
will our good Mattathias and Eleazar shine as stars in the firma-
ment forever and ever ! And those apostates, too, are to have their
eternal reward — of shame and contempt ! They sought the glory
that comes from men. God gave them the disgrace that goes forth
with his unutterable reprobation ! And so they read on through
this subsequent record of dates, pondering deeply how long it shall
be to the end of tliese wonders. They arc glad the time can be
counted hij days. They rejoice to find that the time of thickest
darkness is only three and a half years. So long, they say, our suf-
fering people can hold out. Let us bless God that he gave us, cen-
turies ago, a prophet by whom he might tell us how long. " Jilessed
is he that waiteth and cometh to the one thousand three hundred
and thirty-five days ! " Ah, indeed ! and will our great persecutor
454 DANIEL.— CHAP. XII.
fall — that great king who vowed in his wrath to make Jerusalem
one vast burying-place for our nation — is he so soon to be cut down
in his horrid wickedness, and leave the land we love to breathe
again in freedom? So we may suppose this chapter to be read
and read again. So ii^n will course through and through its pre-
cious words, and here they will get more and more knowledge of
God and of their own eventful future. Verily, God has been mind-
ful of them in making his servant Daniel, long time before, his mes-
senger and scribe to convey and record such words of comfort and
strength against their time of so great need ! The prophecies of
Daniel in respect to this "wearing out of the saints of the Most
High," could not be complete without this closing chapter. The
people would need these timely, precious words, assuring them that
Michael, their great Prince, would stand up in their behalf; that
deliverance could not be long delayed ; that eternal glories would
wreathe the brows of their martyred dead, and equally immortal
shame would sink to infamy their guilty persecutors ; and that the
time of their sorest afflictions would be short. So they will come
to feel a tenfold assurance that the living God is the strength and
the hope of his people, and from their sorest chastenings will bring
them forth as gold seven times purified by the fires that eat its dross
away. And who can tell how much this very chapter may have
done to create such faith, courage, and heroism as that of the lion-
hearted Judas Maccabeus ! Who knows how much it sustained the
martyr-spirit of that mother who saw her seven sons murdered before
her eyes, and knew that her own torture was to follow if she would
not abjure her faith and her God ! Such doing, daring, and suffer-
ing need the ministry of words of cheer and hope like these. Did
not God prepare this ministry for those hours of need ?
Some special objections to the system of interpretation here
adopted should be briefly noticed. 1. That this system involves
too much repetition. What can be the use, it is said, of so much
repetition? (1.) I might answer; Why did the Lord double the
symbols to Pharaoh in his dreams of the seven years of plenty and
seven of famine, giving him both kine and corn ? The facts taught
in each were identically the same, with no shade of difference. Or
why did he reiterate so many fiicts respecting the Messiah and his
coming kingdom? Why does he ever "give line upon line and
precept upon precept?" (2.) Again I answer; Our great inquiry
should be after the fact rather than after the reasoyis of the fact.
The fact of repetition is the thing for us to decide. If it be a fact,
let us know it, and then, as humble learners, use it. The reason
of the fact is quite another matter, as to which we have very little
responsibility indeed. It would be very unwise for us to reject the
proofs of the fact because we can not determine satisfactorily to
ourselves the reasons of it. (3.) The fact that there is a consid-
erable degree of repetition, no sensible commentator, or even ordi-
nary reader, can doubt. In each of the four visions which I have
claimed to be in their great points parallel, who can doubt that wo
have the Medo-Persian kingdom, and in the last vision, some of its
DANIEL.— CHAP. XII. 455
particular kings ? Who has ever doubted that in each vision of
the four, we have the Grecian empire of Alexander, and as the
visions become much more specific toward the close, Alexander
himself? Who has ever doubted that in the first and second
visions we have the Chaldean power? There is some repetition,
then, manifestly, by the inevitable admission of all intelligent
readers. How much soever any one objects to the principle of
repetition in several successive prophecies, he can not deny that it
is here, at least to the extent just indicated. Through the first
three out of the four great kingdoms, there must be parallelism.
Hence it is no violation of the established analogy of these visions
to find essential parallelism in the remaining fourth kingdom.
Those who claim this have the manifest analogy of the first three
of the four in their favor. (4.) Furthermore, it should very much
abate the force of the objection on the score of repetition to note
that these visions were not originally given all in one night, nor
all written at one sitting, and published to the world at one and
the same time. The reader may perhaps unconsciously assume
this. He can now read them all at once, and grasp them all as
if they were all shown the prophet and his people at once. But
this is a simple mistake of ignorance, or, more mildly, inadvertence.
It comes of not observing the dates. These will show that full
seventy years lay between the first and the last — the first being in
the second year of Nebuchadnezzar ; and the last in the third year
of Cyrus. Here was ample time to note whether the great points
were adequately understood. The successive visions, involving a
great amount of repetition, coupled with more and more detail and
the addition each time of some new matter, show that the Lord
wished to have the whole subject understood more perfectly.
(5.) The reason which the Lord usually assigns for giving line upon
line is the dullness of men's hearts to apprehend the things taught
them. See Isa. 28. This may be in part his reason for repeating
the main points in those parallel visions. This supposition becomes
the more probable from the fact that as we advance in their order
they become more minute and definite on the great points that
would have most interest to Daniel and his people, viz. : the terrible
conflict which the Jewish faith and worship are to have with their
great assailant, Antiochus Epiphanes. In fact this law of progres-
sive clearness and definiteness is carried so far that in the last of
these visions, all symbol is dropped ; the whole vision becomes vir-
tually an explanation ; the usual forms of prophecy give way to the
literal statements of history, and we have a plain narrative (though
prophetic) of what the vile Idng would do, of his character and his
doom. We must conclude that the Lord meant to make these
points entirely plain to all that ancient Jewish people.
II. The second objection which I note lies really in the feelings
of the reader, rather than in his convictions. He says, "How can
I afibrd to give up my long-cherished views of these prophecies ?
How can I lose all I have been wont to find here in respect to the
doom of the Pope and indeed of all the great Antichrists of our
456 DANIEL.— CHAP. XII.
world, and in respect to the time of Christ's final triumph in the
great millennium?" 1 am quite well aware that some will feel
as men do when robbed of a cherished treasure, or outraged by
some theft which knows no rights of property. They can not feel
very kindly disposed toward tlie rough hand that would tear away
a cherished good. Those who have found here an epitome of the
conflicts of the church down to the millennium, and who have been
able (as tliey suppose) by some ingenuity to decipher the enigmas
of this book and bring out dates that locate the millennium and
almost or quite determine in what year or even day the Lord will
come, will find it hard to reconcile themselves to the idea that
those things are not here — not the first one of them! What can
I say to help this class of readers ?
1. Let the truth stand before all things else. Let us go where
legitimate evidence bears us, and leave the issues with God. It
can not be too deeply realized' that it does not devolve on us to
viahe prophecy for Daniel to say, but only to hiterjjret properly and
truly what he has said. What he never meant is no prophecy at
all. Nothing beyond the true meaning of his words — nothing
other than that — has a particle of additional value because it is
supposed or assumed to be in this book. The pages of Daniel are
not white paper, put before the speculating interpreter for him to
write therein what he will and call it the prophecy of Daniel. Nor
are these pages obscure dark words, upon which ingenious men can
put any foregone construction they will and call it Daniel's mean-
ing. In short, nothing but the very sense of his words which he
himself intended is his prophecy; and this must be ascertained
according to the usual laws by which all language is to be inter-
preted. 2. False theories of Daniel's prophecies are liable to do
indefinite mischief — of which the Millerism of our own age is both
an instance and an illustration. Such facts as lie in the history of
this sad delusion should be a caution to all interpreters of prophecy
to beware lest they unwittingly become the occasion of like evils
in future times. The genius of this system of Mr. IMiller and its
main points of argument, so far as they rest on Daniel, will be the
subject of a special dissertation found in the Appendix [^B.'] 3.
To those who cling to that interpretation of Daniel which fiuds pre-
cise dates for^great events supposed to be now near at hand, I have to
say, It may be that God saw fit not to give the church such definite
dates of the fall of Antichristian powers, of the millennium, and
of the second coming of Christ, as modern prophetic theories have
assumed. He may have seen that to reveal these groat facts with-
out revealing their dates would insure the best pressure of motive
for zeal and for faith, and would harmonize most kindly and effi-
ciently with human free agency. 1 state this here in a hypo-
thetical way ; He 7na)/ have seen that this course would be wisest
and best. A stronger form of statement might be safely made ; but
this will suffice for my present purpose. It is not well for men to
assume that God must have foretold the year of those great events
of our world; tlie fall of the last Antichrist; the ushering in of
DANIEL.— CHAP. XII. 457
millennial peace ; and the last coming of the Son of God. 1 do
not assume that God nevei' gives precise prophetic dates of any
future events, for here are such in Daniel, much more close and
near, when taken, as they say, " days," than when taken, as many
do, for years. But contemplating the entire field of Scripture
prophecy, precise dates are the exception and not the rule. Out of
scores of prophecies respecting the Messiah's first advent and his
earthly kingdom, it would be hard to find any single one that gives
us definite dates except that at the close of Dan. 9. 4. The four
great parallel visions of Daniel (as I understand and explain them)
show how God in ancient times made use of prophecy to sustain
and encourage snch servants of his as Daniel and such a people as
the Maccabean heroes. No doubt Daniel himself needed and felt
such cjuickening as these visions were adapted to impart. The
same was true of his people, especiall}'- in those times of fearful
trial. In this view they testify to the unceasing care of Jehovah
for his cause and people. 5. While this view of Daniel's prophe-
cies fails to gratify the curiosity of those who would pry into the
unrevealed times of God's purposed blessings, it does show us how
all human forces hostile to the church fall before his providential
judgments. These visions show how, from the fiery flame of the An-
cient of Days, these judgments came down on the fourth beast and
his little horn, before the first coming of the Messiah; — then how
this same glorious power was solemnly invested in the new King
Messiah, and he was inaugurated to do essentially what the Ancient
of Days had done before him to the great Grecian kingdom and its
blasphemous persecuting king ; aye, and to do also a spiritual work
on the hearts of men far greater and more glorious ! It also
assures us that in this new form the Messiah's kingdom will stand
forever ; will not be transferred to other hands ; that under it the
influence of Christianity will be unbounded over the vast popula-
tions of the earth, and God and his truth will triumph long and
gloriously. And here, amid the blaze of glory which invests this
final consummation, the vision resteth !
Yet ere we close, let us again revert to Daniel, at once the great
historian and the great prophet of his time ; who more than any
other man wrote contemporary history along with his prophecies
and future history m his prophecies; who wonderfully blended
his own present life with that future in which the Lord suffered him
to live so intensely ; who did so much for his people while he lived,
so much for the age in which he lived, and who yet, through his
wonderful prophecies, projected himself down into that most ter-
rible age of Jewish persecution, more terrible by far than any
other through which the Jewish church as such was ever called to
pass; — raised up of God for these special ends — to help the nation
first through the Babylonish captivity, and next, through the yet
more fierce and fiery ordeal of torture and blood to which they
were subjected in the age of the Maccabees; — a wonderful man!
endowed with wisdom almost superhuman, of marvelous capacities
for public business, for bearing great responsibilities, and for win-
20
458 DANIEL.— CHAP. XII.
ning the confidence of men who never loved his religion and never
worshiped his God, but who yet felt the presence of his piety and
the power of his intrinsic greatness and worth ; — such a man was
justly held in the highest esteem by his countrymen; nay, more;
such a man impresses us with a new sense of the wealth of resour-
ces at God's command for making great men for his own use on
great occasions. The beauty of his character shines in his pure
simplicity ; in his modesty and humility ; in the fact that he filled
a sphere of thought and purpose high above the seductions of hu-
man ambition; that he dwelt in communion Avith God and drew
his mighty impulses to goodness and even to greatness from the
very sanctuary of Jehovah's presence; — that hence his heart was
full to overflowing with the tenderest sympathies for his people, so
that he truly lived in their life, and felt borne down and crushed
in utter prostration by the views God gave him prophetically of
their future afflictions and perils. What did not the grace of God
do for this great and good man! Verily, God raised him up and
made him what he was for use among his own people ! This same
God is never short of fit instruments for great emergencies. Let
him be joyfully trusted to raise up other men no less great and
good, what time new and great emergencies shall occur to call
them forth !
DISSERTATION I.
ON THE THEORY THAT " DAY," IN PROPHECY, MEAN'S " YEAR."
Does the word "day" in prophecy mean a year? And on the
same principle, must other periods of time, e. g.^ months and years,
be multiplied by three hundred and sixty to get the real time in-
tended ? This is our question. Technically and in short, this
is often called the "day-for-a-y ear-theory;" but it is supposed to
apply not only to the usage of the word for day, but equally to the
'word for month and at least to the word "time," which Daniel
uses for a year. So that the broad principle is that prophetic no-
tations of time must be multiplied by three hundred and sixty to
get the real historic duration. 1 am compelled to discard this
theory as utterly baseless, false, and of course miscMevous and de-
lusive; for the following reasons: 1. All reasonable presump-
tion is utterly against it. For prophecy comes from God to men in
the common language of men. If it did not, it would reveal noth-
ing, without a special revelation to explain it — a new revelation to
teach the meaning of the new prophetic language. Symbols in
prophecy are no exception. For in the statements made respecting
these symbols, words are used in their well-known sense. The
word "lion" means a lion, and the word "bear" means a bear.
When a lion is seen in vision as a symbol, we fall back upon the
knoAvn qualities of the lion and his known relations to other ani-
mals to find the significance of the symbol. But this is in no way
peculiar to prophecy. We should do just the same in poetry, or in
common conversation. So that symbols in prophecy are no excep-
tion to the common law that prophecy comes to us in merely hu-
man language, using its words in their established and well-known
sense. Hence the presumption is entirely against this theory of
day for year. If God speaks to men, the presumption is wholly in
favor of his using the common language of men in its usual sense.
The Hebrews had suitable words for both day and year, and tliey
used them as correctly as we do ours. If God had occasion to
speak to them of time in the future, why should he not use their
language as they did? 2. No reason lying in the nature or ob-
jects of prophecy aflPords the least presumption in favor of this
theory. The only reason which I have ever heard of, or seen,
assigned for this usage of day fur year, is that God meant to make
(459)
4G0 DISSERTATION I.
his statements as to time unintcllipble until their fulfillment. That
is, he meant to lock up this part of the truth and hide the key.
I reply, 1. There is no evidence that God has intended or tried
to hide Avhat he seemed to reveal. There is no evidence of his re-
sorting to enigma lest prophecy should be understood too soon. It
docs not appear that he has been specially careful to hide the point
of duration loliilc professing to reveal it. When he chooses not to
reveal the time of events, he manifestly forbears to give it; this is
all-sufficient for that purpose. What would be gained by putting
his revelations in the form of a puzzle or riddle ? Kot to say here
that this would seem to be beneath the dignity of the great uod, I
still press this question ; Why should the Lord thus tantalize his
people and mock their desire to understand what he has said in
prophecy as to the time of predicted events? Where the Lord
sees fit to say nothing about the time,* we bow to his wisdom.
Where he has spoken of the time, why may we not try to under-
stand what he says ; and further, why should we not assume that
he has revealed these notations of time to he studied and understood
and not to puzzle and confound the honest inquirer ? Yet further :
the notion that God meant to put things in such a shape that the
real time should come to light only after the event, and only by
means of the event, is utterly without support; for there is no
prophecy in that ; it foretells nothing about the time ; of itself it
means nothing; and no good reason can be given why God should
in this way profess to communicate prophecy and yet communi-
cate nothing !
2. If this precise plan of day for year had been adopted, a
few well-authenticated facts would have brougltt the key to light,
and would have effectually frustrated the object of concealment.
For, after the key is found, it is a very simple matter to use
it. Nothing can be more simple or more certain in its results than
a process of multiplication in pure mathematics. Multiplying a
given period of time by three hundred and sixty is soon done and
done surely. The appearance of artifice in this scheme seems
to me beneath the dignity of the great and holy God. It is alto-
gether out of harmony with the rest of the Bible. All else is lucid,
honest, and manifestly said in order to be understood by the docile,
humble, diligent reader. Nor let it be thought that the case of
our Lord's speaking to the Jews in parables, and explaining them
only to his disciples, refutes my position. For that was judicial —
a judgment sent on self-hardened and self-blinded sinners because
of their chosen blindness. But this prophetic theory, if true, would
be a judgment on good men who love the truth, and vdi(T honestly
wish to learn all that God has been pleased to iM3veal.
3. This tlieory is entirely without foundation. It has no legiti-
mate evidence for its support. It is a castle built in the air.
There is not a single case of prophetic time, in which the fulfill-
ment has verified this principle of multiplying the prophetic time
by three hundred and sixty to get the actual time. It is thought
there arc some events yet future — almost ready to come — which
DISSERTATION I. 461
will be in point and will prove it to every body's satisfaction; but
they have not come yet ! On the contrary there are numerous
cases of prophetic time already fulfilled which prove that designa-
tions of time in prophecy mean what they say, and arc to be taken
in their usual sense. These statements should be carefully con-
sidered and well supported. Let us have patience to examine in suf-
ficient detail the alleged evidence that a prophetic day means year.
(1.) Appeal is made to Num. 14: 33, 34; "Your children shall
wander in the wilderness forty years. After the number of the
days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for
a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years." Is this a
case of the word day used for year ? or of the word day used for
only one three hundred and sixtieth part of the time really meant ?
By no means. Nothing of the sort. Throughout this passage, the
word day means a common day, — nothing more. The word year
needs no multiplying by three hundred and sixty to find the time
intended. The only prophecy in this passage — here in the form
of a denunciation, or threatened punishment — is, "Ye shall wander
forty years." But does this mean, Ye shall wander in the wilder-
ness three hundred and sixty times forty years; i. e., fourteen
thousand and four hundred years? Who can believe that? If
God had said, " Ye shall wander forty days,'' and the event had
proved that he truly meant forty years, using the word day to mean
year, the case would have been in point. But he did not say that,
and no good reason can be assigned why he should have said it.
Will the reader still ask. Does not the Lord say, "Each day for a
year ? " and is not that precisely what we claim ? 1 answer ; Those
are the words he uses , but their meaning is nothing like what you
claim. He means only that the years of their wandering shall
correspond to the days of their searching the land through their
committee, the twelve spies. The one purpose of the Lord in this
form of threatening was to make their punishment a perpetual re-
minder of their sin — a thing which he often does for the best of
moral reasons. All through their weary wanderings, they could
say; "Forty days our brethren searched out the land, and brought
back that unbelieving report; we heard it, and, indorsing all its
unbelief, we practically said, Save us from going there ! The Lord
gave us our prayer in judgment, and we have forty years before us
in this dreary wilderness !" This is all.
(2.) Another proof text very analagoug to the preceding is Ezek.
4 : 4-6. Ezekiel is commanded to lie on his right side forty days
and on his left three hundred and ninety days, before all Israel, to
indicate that he bears (in symbol) the iniquity of Judah forty
years, and of Israel three hundred and ninety. The language is ;
" For 1 have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity according to
the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days : — So shalt
thou bear the' iniquity of the house of Israel. Then lie again on
thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of Judah forty
days : — 1 have appointed thee each day for a year." But observe
throughout this passage that in every instance the word day is used
462 DISSERTATION I.
for a common day — never in the sense of year ; and the word year
means only one year; never three hundred and sixty years. True,
the symholic act of lying on one side forty days denoted that in this
symbolic, representative manner he bears their forty years of sin-
ning; but this extension of time from one day of symbol to one
year of sin lies not in any peculiar use of the word "day," for there
is no peculiar use of it here ; but it is in the symbol, and is there
only by special divine arrangement and statement. If the Lord
had said ''forty days^^ when he meant forty ycars^ it would be
somewhat to the point. But he did not use his words so. There
is no proof that he ever did. Certainly this case does not afford
the least particle of such proof.
(3.) Another somewhat analagous passage is 2 Pet. 3:8: "One
day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as
one day." Unfortunately if this means any thing to the purpose, it
means far too much. For if it applies to the case in hand, the
word day means, not one year only, but one thousand years ! And
then, further, one thousand years mean one day, and our long mil-
lennium is cut down wofully ! And then it would be impossible to
tell which way to work out this problem — whether we must multiply
by one thousand or divide by it! AYlio could tell us whether in
any given prophecy a day means one thousand years, or a thousand
years means one day? Happily that little word "a^^" relieves
us of all our perplexities, showing that the passage has nothing to
do with this theory that God says day when he means year.
(4.) jNIucli the most important passage ever thought of as proof
of the theory in question is Dan. 9 : 24-27 — the celebrated prophecy
of the "seventy weeks." But this has been already examined in
my commentary on the passage in its place, to which the reader
can refer. He will there find these main points made, viz. : that
the original word means in its singular number, a seven — a heptad ;
and this may be a seven of days or a seven of years : that the fem-
inine plural is currently used for heptads of days ; the masculine
plural (which we have here) never by itself for the common week
of days, but when a week of days is meant, the word days is ap-
pended, as in Dan. 10 : 2, 3 ; and finally that after a word and a
special form of a word which simply suggests the idea of a seven —
a seven of something, we must ask — a seven of what? and must
look for our answer in the context — in the thought already before
the mind. In the present case, there can be no doubt that this
thought is, the seventy years of captivity. Then seventy sevens of
years must be the sense of this phrase, and it involves no usage
of the word day to mean year — no usage of any current notations
of time in a way to need multiplying by three hundred and sixty
to get the actual time.
(5.) All individual proof texts failing, some will still fall back
upon the general idea that prophecy has a special fondness for
highly figurative language; — so that they seem to themselves to
make a pretty strong argument for tlieir theory when they call it
an instance of strong Jigurative lartgnage — such as abounds in
DISSERTATION I. 463
prophecy. But this is a simple fiillacj. Those who say this
fail altogether to notice what figures in rhetoric are. Perhaps they
confound figures in rhetoric with figures in mathematics — two
things most unlike in sense, however like in the word. If men
would only notice that there is no rhetoric and no scope for the im-
agination in a mathematical process; e. g.^ in multiplying by three
hundred and sixty, they might be disabused of this fallacy. Fig-
ures in language turn on some resemblances which only the im-
agination can recognize and appreciate. But figures in mathematics
raake no appeal to the imagination. This " day-for-a-year theory"
needs no function of the imagination to solve and apply it. It re-
quires only a short process in multiplication — in simple mathemat-
ics. Has this the least analogy with the use of the word "light"
for what is joyous and "darkness" for what is sad? Not the least
imaginable. The failure to note such distinctions may serve to
mislead and delude; it can sen-e no other purpose.
(6.) Of the proofs from usage for the theory in question, all the
rest, known to me, are in the class yet to be fulfilled and verified;
or rather, like Mr. Miller's Second Advent in 1843 — yet to be ex-
ploded. Those which assign the final fall of Romanism to A. D.
1SG6 are soon to follow Mr. Miller's. It will be soon enough to
believe this theory on the strength of fulfilled jwophccy when the
cases of suitable sort and in sufficient number do actually occur.
It is simply amazing that this theory has obtained so much
credence on absolutely not the least foundation. Against all rea-
sonable presumption — in the face of the strongest prima fiicie evi-
dence against it, there should be a very imposing array of substan-
tial argument for it before it gains any credence. How strange,
then, that it has gained so much without the first particle of reli-
able proof?
4. It still remains to assume the offensive against this theory
and show that fulfilled prophecy is all against it. So far as Bible
history gives us the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in which notations
of time are involved, the "usus loquendi" proves that words in
prophecy denoting time are used in their common, normal sense,
and never in the enigmatical, peculiar way affirmed by this theory.
Thus the Lord through Noah predicted the flood after one hun-
dred and twenty years (Gen. 6 : 3), Did it turn out to be 43,200
years, or only 120? Again in reference to this flood, the Lord
said to Noah (Gen, 7: 4), "Yet seven days and I will cause it to
rain forty days and forty nights." That would have been awful at
forty years, and Noah and his company all that time shut up in the
ark! To Abraham (Gen. 15 : 13) the Lord said, "Thy seed shall
be a stranger in a land not theirs " (Egypt), " and they shall afilict
them four hundred years." Does this need to be multiplied by
three hundred and sixty ? Was the actual time four hundred
years, or one hundred and forty-four thousand? In Num. 14:
34, the prophecy stands, "Your children shall wander in the wil-
derness forty years." Did it prove to be forty, or three hundred
and sixty times forty — i. e., fourteen thousand and four hundred?
464 DISSERTATION I.
In Isa. 7 : 8 is this prophecy : " Within sixty-five years shall
Ephraim be broken that it be not a people." Was this really sixty-
live, or was it prophetic time" (so called); i. e., twenty-three thou-
sand and four hundred years? Even sixty-five carries the end
several years beyond the end of the kingdom as destroyed by Shal-
manezer, B. C. 722, for the rci.irn of Aliaz, son of llemaliah, lay
y>. 0. 759-740. The prophet included a final crowning act by Esar-
haddon, filling the country with colonists from other countries, and
embraced this within the sixty-five years. Isaiah (16: 14) pre-
dicted of Moab, " Within three years as the years of a hireling,
shall the glory of Moab be contemned." Should this be accounted
as really three years, or as one thousand and eighty years ? I>ut
if this is three, why is not three and a half in Dan. 7: 25, and 12 :
7, just three and a half? In Jer. 25: 4 it is predicted, "These
nations (Judah included) shall serve the king of Babylon seventy
years." And Jer. 29: 10 reads, "After seventy years be accom-
plished at Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good words
toward you, in causing you to return to this place." Now it was
because these time-designations meant just what they said that
Daniel could "understand by books the number of the years" of
this captivity and adjust himself to it. It is plain that he had not
a particle of confidence in this theory of a day for a year, and of
one year named when three hundred and sixty years are really
meant. If he had believed this theory, he would have set the res-
toration twenty-five thousand and two hundred years after the cap-
tivity; i. e., 25,200— 60G=A. D. 24,594— and he must have de-
spaired of living in this world to see it! And now shall it bo
assumed that after having had such welcome j)roof that God means
just what he says Avhen he gives dates and numbers in prophecy,
he will himself darken his own dates by enigmas that none can
understand ? Or if it be replied. This was not Daniel but the re-
vealing angel, then I ask. Would not Daniel have protested against
it, saying, I have myself been exceedingly comforted, aided, and
blessed by being able to understand by books when the divine
numbers in prophecy would end ; but how of this ? Ko mortal can
ever understand it ! 0, if Daniel might only speak out of heaven
to those who so darken his ])lain words and so magnify his simple
numbers, would he not rebuke them ? It can scarcely be neces-
sary to refer to Ezek, 29: 11, 13, which predicts a temporary cap-
tivity of Egypt; forty years; not fourteen thousand and four hun-
dred years; nor to Jonah's prophecy against Nineveh; "Yet
forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown." It would have
changed the case very essentially if he had meant forty years. But
why in such a case should not the Lord say what he means, even as
he expects and requires men to do ? Is there any conceivable rea-
son why he should say day when he means year ? Is this accord-
ing to t7-uth? And what can be the use of it? One case yet,
more important than any other, is that of Daniel's own usage
(Dan. 4: IG, 23, 25, 32). In each of these four verses it is pre-
dicted that king Nebuchadnezzar's insanity would continue "until
DISSERTATION I. 4G5
seven times should have passed over him." So long he would be
with the beasts of the field, would eat grass as oxen, and be wet
with the dew of heaven. How long a period is this? The ad-
vocates of the theory in question maintain strenuously that
Daniel's "time, times, and the dividing of time," or "an half,"
(chap. 7: 25, and 12: 7,) equals three and a half years, and that
these being prophetic years are really twelve hundred and sixty
years. On no one point are they more united and strenuous than
on this. Now the same writer, in the same book, will use the same
word in the same sense. Unless there be some very great differ-
ence in the circumstances, this rule must hold good. No rule of
interpretation can be more vital or more reliable than this. But in
the present case no difference of circumstance can be shown. Both
are prophecy. Both use the sameVord; therefore it must be used
in both cases in the same sense. If three years and a half in
prophecy is really of actual time t^^^elve hundred and sixty years,
then " seven times," equal to seven years of prophetic time, becomes,
when converted into actual time, twenty-five hundred and twenty
years ! — a long time, truly, for one man to eat grass ! Some people
will think there must be something very special and even mysterious
in this word, " a time," when used for a year, and hence they read-
ily admit this theory of (so called) "prophetic time," when applied to
Daniel's word, a " thne." But the seven "times " [years] of the king's
insanity is just as truly prophetic time as the three and a half " times "
[years] of ascendency of Antiochus over the Mosaic institutions and
sacrifices — "times and laws." The cases above adduced are not
culled out — a few of this sort from amid many of the opposite.
There are none of the opposite sort. There is not one case in all
the Bible in which fulfilled prophecy shows that prophetic time is
estimated on the rule of a day for a year. The usage of the Bible
goes solid against this theory. When, from its nature, this theory
ought to have the very strongest support from Bible usage before it
can be reasonably accepted, it has not the first particle of proof in
its behalf, either from Bible usage or from any other source. As
we might rationally expect, all scriptural usage shows that when
God has given prophetic time, he meant to have it understood^ and
therefore used the language of men as men use it. One of his
special objects in giving prophetic time has been to afford to his
people the benefit of knowing the duration, or the era, as the case
may be, beforehand. Therefore, he could no more employ a myth
or a riddle to puzzle his people over his dates, than he could give
precepts and inculcate duty in so blind a way that none could un-
derstand him without a new revelation to reveal his meaning. Is
it not a marvel that interpreters of prophecy could so far ignore
the veracity and the sober honesty of the Holy One as to impute to
him such a use of language as this theory involves ?
5. There is yet one more objection to this theory, lying in the
fact that its advocates apply it only to the periods of Zion's calam-
ity and persecution: never, or almost never, to the period of her
prosperity. They apply it to the prophecies of the sway of Anti-
30
466 DISSERTATION I.
christ; never to the prophecies of the true Messiah's reign.
Scarcely a man within iny knowledge has applied this enormous
multiplier to the thousand years of Messiah's promised reign !
Now, it is bad enough to attemj^t to make capricious discriminations
at all as to the usage of words, and say in one set of prophecies day
means only day and year only year ; while in another set, day means
year, and one year means three hundred and sixty. This, 1 say,
is bad enough at the best. But it is ineffably bad to apply this
awful multiplier to the eras of antichristian rule and not to the dura-
tion of the Messiah's reign ! Look at the reason why this discrim-
ination is so revolting.- (1.) It assumes that God ai»is and plans
to hide from his people the actual duration of their calamities until
the time arrives ; or, rather — worse yet — he purports to reveal it ;
gives us the usual words for well-known periods of time ; but uses
them so that his people will see only one three hundred and six-
tieth part of the truth! He caHs the time a day when really it is
a year ; he calls it three years and a half when really it is twelve
hundred and sixty years ! Believe this of our God — who can ?
If he had seen fit not to disclose the duration of the church's
great calamit}^, very well. All his trustful children would bow
submissively to his wisdom, and would still trust his love. But
that he sliould profess to reveal it, and then state it at only one
three hundred and sixtieth part of the actual time — that is simply
horrible ! And then to cap the climax, that he should state the
duration of her prosperity in a way to make it seem all that it is, —
this sets off the other usage in a still more strange and revolting
light. (2.) A second reason why this discrimination is so ob-
jectionable is, that it makes the reign of Antichrist relatively long
and the reign of the real Christ relatively short. Antichrist tri-
umphs twelve hundred and sixty years ; Jesus Christ only one
thousand ! The eras of persecution, straitness and calamity, sur-
pass the era of peace, truth, righteousness and salvation ! I take
it this is incredible. I have a full conviction that the greatness of
God's mercy toward our world forbids it. The sure word of proph-
ecy is absolutely and mightily against it — as witness what the
Jjord said by Isaiah (54: 7, 8); "For a small moment have 1 for-
saken thee " (Zion) " but with great mercies will 1 gather thee. In
a little wrath 1 hid my face from thee /or a moment; but loith ever-
lasting kindness will I have mercy upon thee, saith the Lord thy
Kedeemer." Does a moment compare with everlasting duration,
as twelve hundred and sixty years to one thousand? These
points may, I trust, suffice to show why this theory never ought to
be true and never can be.
DISSEKTATION II. 467
DISSERTATION II.
ON THE DATA WHICH MR. MILLER CLAIMED TO FIND IN DANIEL FOR
THE DESTRUCTION OP THIS WORLD IN 1843.
About the year 1840, Mr, Win. Miller produced considerable
sensation among some portions of the American churches by his
views of the second advent of Christ. He taught that this great
event would occur precisely in 1843, at which time the world
would be burned up and cleansed by fire for the abode of the
risen righteous. He claimed, with the utmost assurance, that he
had found these dates in the prophecies of Daniel, viz., in chaps.
8 and 9. He professed, and indcisd seemed, to hold these opinions
with most entire confidence, virtually declaring that if any reliance
could be placed upon the word of the Lord, these calculations of
his must be true, and his conclusions as to the time of the end of
the world must be valid. A considerable number of apparently good
Christian peoj^le embraced his views with a degree of confidence
like his own. It served to strengthen the confidence of some of them
that they devoted themselves much to prayer, and indeed assumed
that the Lord, in answer to their prayers, taught them- by the im-
mediate inspiration of his Spirit how to interpret prophecy infalli-
bly. With their views of this divine teaching, they supposed they
could dispense with the natural means of ascertaining the sense
of a written prophecy, being lifted at once above the labor of
thought and study upon the laws of language and the principles
of interpretation. The confidence of presumption is often fearfully
strong. Mr. Miller and his followers, having fixed upon the
very day of Christ's coming, (in October, 1843,) it is easy to sec
that influences of great power were at work to rouse their minds
to the most intense pitch of excitement up to that decisive day, and
then subject them to a scarcely less terrible reaction when on that
day the sun rose and set as usual and other days folloAved it as of
old, and the established policy of God's plan of the world refused to
verify their prophetic calculations. Some went crazy under the strain
of this prodigious twofold excitement. Some set themselves to recast
the scheme and fix other dates, a little further ofi: A much greater
number sunk into a dark and often morose skepticism, their confi-
dence in prayer lost, and their faith in God's word shaken to its
very foundation. Several of their leading men soon fell victims to
a degree and sort of mental excitement too severe for even the
stoutest physical frame to bear. Mr. Miller, Kev. Charles Fitch,
and others, survived the failure of their hopes and pi-edictions but
a short time. In general the results followed the common law of
nature, that action and reaction are equal. By how much the greater
influence the system had gained in any community, by so much
the more fearful and calamitous was the reactionary influence when
468 DISSERTATION II.
the shock of disappointment came. Truth lost ground fearfully;
Error left on the minds of men its usual results of moral mischief
and desolation. Hence it may he for a warnini;- to future spec-
ulators in prophecy to put on record in this place the links of
Miller's chain of argument — the series of false and gi-oundlcss
assumptions by which he arrived with such confidence at a con-
clusion which was just as false in view of its principles before 1843
came as it was proved by the fiicts of history to be then. He
made these points: 1. The little horn of Dan. 8 is the Roman
Papal power. 2. The "daily sacrifice" wdiich the little horn
"took away" (chap. 8: 11-13) was the pagan worship of idols in
old Home. 3. The Papal power abolished this pagan idolatry in
A. D. -508 or A. D. 538. 4. The "sanctuary" which was
"cleansed" (chap. 8: 14) is this entire world, and its cleansing is
to be by fire in 1843. Now, to find the exact time of this great
conflagration and cleansing, he called in the aid of chap. 9 :
23-25.
Here he took the following positions: 1. The exhortation at the
close of chap. 9: 23; "Therefore, understand the matter and con-
sider the vision," refers to the vision in chap. 8; and hence what
follow^s is an explanation of the eighth chapter. 2. The tw^o
points in the vision of chap. 8 which Daniel did not understand ;
which he was very anxious to understand, and which the angel
now reveals to him were, (1.) The key to prophetic time, viz.: that
he must multiply it Iby three hundred and sixty, i. e., account each
day for a year. (2.) The starting point from which to count the
twenty-three hundred days, alias years. These two points, he
claimed, are clearly explained in these two verses (chap. 9 : 24, 25).
They showed Daniel that he must count a day to be a year, and
that he must begin to count his twenty-three hundred years from
the going forth of that certain decree for restoring and building
Jerusalem. This Mr. Miller fixed at B. 0. 467. Now his data
are all in readiness, for 2300 — 407=1843; that is, taking out from
2300 years, those. 407 years wdiich fell before Christ, you have re-
maining those that must come after Christ, viz., 1843; wdiich brings
you to "the cleansing of the sanctuary;" i. e., the purifying of this
entire world by fire for the abode of the risen saints at least one
"thousand years. 3. Then further, to make assurance doubly
sure, new confirmations are found in chaps. 7 and 12. For both
chap. 7 : 25, and chap. 12 : 7, fix the duration of the Papal poAver
at 1200 years. Historically this poAver began in A. D. 538
and ended in 1798. Then, since chap. 12: 12, pronounces him
blessed wdio waitcth and cometh to the 1335th day, there were
fortj'-five years more to be added — "the time of the end" — and
this brings u^ down to 1843 for the perfect blessedness of the
righteous. 4. Yet again; since chap. 12: 11, makes the duration
of the Papal power 1290 days, alias years, you have only to begin
to count from A. D. 508 and you bring up, as before, at 1798; and
if you add to this " the time of the end,' (45 years) wonderful to
tell, you have again the end of the world in 1843 ! Thus, with as-
DISSERTATION II. 469
tonishing facility, all tho mystic numbers of Daniel are found to
converge upon 1843, and combine their testimony to prove that the
world shall be burned up and cleansed by fire in this identical
year! The reader will notice that in general these successive
points are precisely links in a chain, all necessary to the conclusion,
.so that
" Whatever link you strike.
Tenth, or ten thousandth, breaks the chain alike. '
Thus, if you strike the day-for-a-year link, the whole system
vanishes into thin air. If you touch the little-horn-Papal-powcr
link, all goes down. If you show that the Jewiih sanctuary is not
this entire world, Miller's system has nothing left, and so of the
rest.
Let us now pass these successive points — the links of Miller's
chain — under a brief review, and see if there is even one sound
link in the entire chain. 1. The first is that the little horn of Dan-
iel^ and particularly of chap. 8, is Papal Rome. This can not be
true. As shown in the notes on that chapter, it is absolutely im-
possible. If we will believe God's own explanation,' we can not
believe this. 2. His second position is that " the daily sacrifice "
which the little horn "took away" was the pagan worship of idols
in Ancient Eome. Nothing can be more absurd than this;
nothing could be a grosser violation of the laws of language. Tho
"daily sacrifice" was a well-known Jewish phrase for their own
stated worship at their temple. It knows no other meaning in the
Hebrew Bible. Hence Mr. Miller might as well have said that it
refers to the carnivals in Milton's Pandemonium, as to say it means
the pagan idol-worship of the Koman empire. Such outrages upon
all just principles of interpretation can never be denounced too se-
verely. As we value the book of God ; as we prize its treasures of
blessed truth; we must frown down and reprobate the reckless,
ignorant, presumptuous trifling that throws ofl' such interpretations
under the solemn sanction of God's revealed truth ! 3. Mr.
Miller's third position is that the Papal power abolished this pagan
idolatry in A. D. 508 or 538. It will scarcely pay to follow out
historical statements so made at random as these are. Plainly, if
this was done at one of these dates, it was not done at the other.
In fact neither date is historically good for any thing. For, long
before any properly Papal power came into existence, primitive
Christianity had abolished paganism by permeating society with
its holy doctrines and spirit ; by the legislation of Constantine about
A. D. 325 ; and finally by the acts of Thcodosius, A. D. 3^0-395.
The usual date for the rise of the Papal poAver is about A. D. G06.
Be this as it may, however, it was never any thing distinctively
Papal that abolished paganism. If he had said that the Papal
power baptized paganism, and then smuggled it into the Christian
church and gave it thus a now lease of life for at least twelve
hundred years longer, he would have announced one of the start-
ling facts of veritable history. Note here that if the Papal power
is in Daniel at all, it is merely and only as an antichristian, per-
470 DISSERTATlOiN II.
sccuting power. Hence to maintain that, as such a poioer, it "took
away" and abolished the idol-worship of Pagan Kome, is simply
al)surd in idea and false in f\ict. .So that this link of Mr. Miller's
chain is not half so strong as a gossamer thread. 4. Mr. Miller's
fourth position is that "the sanctuary" which was "cleansed"
(chap. 8: 14) is this entire world. If Mr. Miller had read his.
Kible with common intelligence, he would have seen that " the
sanctuary," as spoken of by the Jews, always meant their own
temple. What plain, unprejudiced liible reader ever failed to sec
this? Further, the sanctuary cleansed (v. 14) should be the same
which the little horn-power had just previously desecrated by
"taking aAvay the daily sacrifice" and "casting down the place of
his sanctuary." According to Mr. Miller's holding, therefore, the
sanctuary to be cleansed should be the pagan shrines of old Home,
and not the whole world.
Uut let tlic reader note especially, that with Mr. Miller this world
is called God's sanctuary precisely ivhcn, and apparently because, it
has become so hopelessly rotten in its moral corruption as to be fit
only for conflagration ! That is, it is God's sanctuary, not as made
in innocence, wisdom, and beauty — "all very good;" not as having
some nobly good men in it, walking softly by faith and holding
communion with Jehovah ; not in either of these points of light, but
as utterly corrupt and ripe for the fires of remediless judgment!
Such a world, so considered, the Lord calls his sanctuary. The
same in principle as if he were to call hell itself his sanctuary !
Was such nonsense ever jDut into a system of prophetic inter-
pretation before ? And yet, with crimson check, I must admit that
there Avere men and women in enlightened America who believed
in Mr. Miller's interpretations of Daniel and in his argument. and
his dates for the burning of the world in 1843! Shall we follow
him now into chap. 9, and take note first of the logic by which lie
connects this chapter Avith chap. 8 ? -He says "that Daniel did
not understand the vision of chap. 8, but continued in great per-
plexity until the Jjord sent this new vision, recorded at'the close
of chap. 9, to explain it and to relieve his mind. Specially he
affirms that the last clause of v. 23, "Therefore understand the
matter and consider the vision," refers explicitly to tlie vision of
chap. 8. These statements of his are entirely without founda-
tion, and against all tlie evidence in the case. 1 admit that Daniel
did not fully understand all the points in the vision of chap. 8.
Hence chaps. 10-12 came at length in iurther explanation — real
explanation — as its parallelism and its additional light on the same
points abundantly show. Dut there is not the least hijit in chap.
9 which implies an allusion to the topics of chap. 8. Again, the
Hebrew of chap. 9: 23, is absolutely decisive against Mr.JMiller's
position. "At the beginning of thy supplications, a word came
forth and I have come to set it before thee; therefore understand
the word— -ihm same word which came forth at the beginning of thy
supplications, and not some other word, revealed years before, viz.,
in the third year of Dclshazzar. This same word, now sent you,
DISSERTATION II. 471
understand; and consider < Ad? vision, i. e., this vision. Yet fur-
ther, the vv^ord for "vision" here is "march," but in chap. 8: 1, it
is another Avord, "hhazon," which essentially forbids the assump-
tion that this vision of chap. 9 refers to that of chap. 8. These
two words for " vision " are not precisely synonymous ; that in chap.
8:1, being applied more properly to a vision in the sense of some-
thing seen ; this in chap. 9 : 23, to one in which something is merely
heard. Yet further, a little attention to the scope of chap. 9 will
show that the burden on Daniel's heart was not the dark points of
the vision of chap. 8, but Avas the great sins of his people which he
feared might stand in the way of their deliverance from their cap-
tivity in Babylon — the time for which, according to the word of the
Lord by Jeremiah, was now close at hand. It was precisely to lift
this burden from his heart that the Lord showed him here how at
the end of sixty-nine sevens of years, he would provide through
the death of the Messiah for the taking away of all sin and the ful-
filling of all his good words of prophecy and promise. So that Mr.
Miller has utterly failed to see the drift of this entire ninth chapter,
and Jias most erroneously assumed and affirmed a connection with
chap. 8 which never existed.
2. Yet further Daniel could not learn (as Mr. Miller claims)
from the, seventy weeks that the days in prophecy mean years; for,
as shown already, the passage teaches no such thing. Nor could
he learn that the twenty-three hundred days, at the end of which
the sanctuary should be cleansed, begin with the decree for re-
storing and rebuilding Jerusalem. There is no shadoAv of con-
nection between the one thing and the other. What had the
decree of-Artaxerxes to do with the beginning of that "vision con-
cerning the daily sacrifice aijd the transgression of desolation, and
the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under
foot?" Absolutely nothing. It is only a fancy, a mere dream of
Mr. Miller's. He might as well have fixed his starting-point at the
creation, or at the flood. It is remarkable that he utterly ignores
the question in chap. 8: 13, to which the twenty-three hundred
days of V. 14 is the answer. By what right does any man so dis-
tort and pervert the words of this holy book ?
3. Yet another remarkable ooniirmation is found by Mr. Miller
in the twelve hundred and sixty years of the Papal power which
(as he asserts) begins with A. D. 538 and ends with A. D. 1798.
Historically, Mr. Miller has first to show that the Papal power
began in A. D. 538. Was there any great event in that year which
brought into being the identical persecuting, antichristian Papal
power which figures so boldly in the world's history? Nothing
special; no more in that year than in many other years. But pass-
ing that, did Mr. Miller prove that the Papal power perished and
came to an utter end in A. D. 1798? Who does not know that
the Papal power as truly lives to-day as it lived in 1797, or at
any point of the eighteenth century? It is simply a great his-
torical falsehood to assert that the Papal power perished and
ceased from the earth in A. D. 1798 ! A man might just as well
472 DISSERTATION II.
say it ceased three hundred years ago. Let this examination of
Mr. Miller's chain of assumed proofs that the world must burn up
in 1843 suffice. Let that system stand as a fearful illustration of
the mischiefs of reckless tampering with prophetic interpretation —
a solemn warning to men avIio lack every quality of a safe inter-
preter, Avho have neither the learning, nor the judgment, nor the
plain common sense that are indispensable — that they refrain from
mangling and torturing the prophetic words of the Lord ! It was
not without good reason that through the last great revclator, the
Lord closed the last Bible prophecy with the terrible dcnounce-
_ ment: "1 testify to -every man that heareth the words of the proph-
ecy of this book; If any man shall add unto these things, God shall
add unto him the plagues that are written in this book ; and if any
man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take aAvay his part out of the book of life." Rev. 22 :
18, 19. Mr. Miller's system found some of the pillars of its
strength in the mistakes of previous interpreters, especially in these
two, viz., that days in prophecy mean years, and that the little horn
in Daniel's visions is the Koman papal power. The former of these
is entirely fundamental in all those schemes which attempt to fix
the time for the second advent of Christ, or the precise time for the
millennium to begin. The latter is beyond all questioji a mis-
take, a fallacy in tlie interpretation of Daniel, and one that can not
fail to be fraught with mischief Let the use made of these errors
by Mr. Miller be an admonition to the churches ! Of the day and
the year of Christ's second coming, no man will know till it comes.
At what time the great Roman Antichrist shall fall, no prophecy of
Daniel teaches, for the good reason that he says nothing on this
subject.. It is safer to conclude that it will fall when Evangelical
Protestant Christendom shall do h(?r duty, and through God's help
shall make the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,
mighty to cast down all the formalities, idolatries, and corruptions
of that great system of religious delusion. For even if God shall
some day send the fires of his judgment upon her to her destruc-
tion, he will first exhaust the force of his truth for her salvation —
till it shall prove itself in vain! This, as we have seen in the case
of American slavery, is the law of God's mercy toward great sys-
tems of iniquity. Try them with moral appliances first; these fail-
ing, his red thunderbolts fall when and where they must! ^lay
God hasten and bless tlie pressure of the gospel's power upon the
heart of the Papal Church! And may his people be content to be
workers together with God for her salvation rather than prophets
of her fall!
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