Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 7:2
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.
2. Eze 7:2 might read: unto the land of Israel an end! the end is come upon, &c. Cf. Amo 8:2.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 2. An end, the end is come] Instead of kets ba hakkets, one MS. of Kennicott’s, one of De Rossi’s, and one of my own, read kets ba, ba hakkets, “The end cometh, come is the end.” This reading is supported by all the ancient Versions, and is undoubtedly genuine. The end COMETH: the termination of the Jewish state is coming, and while I am speaking, it is come. The destruction is at the door. The later hand, who put the vowel points to the ancient MS. that has the above reading, did not put the points to the flrst ba, but struck his pen gently across it, and by a mark in the margin intimated that it should be blotted out. All my ancient MSS. were without the points originally; but they have been added by modern hands, with a different ink; and they have in multitudes of instances corrected, or rather changed, important readings, to make them quadrate with the masora. But the original reading, in almost every case, is discernible.
The end is come upon the four corners of the land.] This is not a partial calamity; it shall cover and sweep the whole land. The cup of your iniquity is full, and my forbearing is at an end. This whole chapter is poetical.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Unto the land; the inhabitants who had sinned, and also to the land wherein they sinned.
An end, end of Gods patience, of the peace and welfare of the people, and of the plenty, beauty, and desirableness of the land itself, is come, or is near at hand.
The end; that dreadful end I threatened against you, and which you will find in the execution of the menaces pronounced against you by the former and latter prophets.
Upon the four corners; it is an overflowing misery, that spreads over all the land.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. An end, the endTheindefinite “an” expresses the general fact of God bringingHis long-suffering towards the whole of Judea to an end; “the,”following, marks it as more definitely fixed (Am8:2).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel,…. The inhabitants of it; not the ten tribes, who were already carried captive; but the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and those that were with them, who dwelt in the land. The mountains, hills, rivers, and valleys, were before addressed; now the land itself: what the Lord by the prophet said unto the land, or the people of it, follows:
an end: for here a colon is to be placed; that is, the end of God’s patience and forbearance; he would bear with them no longer, at least but a very little while; the time of vengeance was coming upon them, and an utter consumption should be made of them; see La 4:18;
the end is come upon the four corners of the earth, or “land”; for not the whole world, and the end of that, as in Mt 24:3, are meant; but the land of Judea and the destruction of it, which should be general; upon the four wings of it, as in the Hebrew text; that is, in all parts of it, east, west, north, and south. The Targum is,
“the punishment of the end, or the punishment determined to come upon the four winds of the earth;”
see Re 7:1; and this punishment was just going to be inflicted on them; for this prophecy was in the sixth year of King Zedekiah; and in the ninth year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem; and in the eleventh year took it, 2Ki 25:1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(2) The four corners.A frequent Scriptural phrase for every part. (Comp. Isa. 11:12; Rev. 7:1.) The origin of the expression is to be sought, not in any supposed popular belief that the earth was square, but in the fact that so many common things had just four sides or four corners (see Exo. 25:12; Exo. 27:2; Job. 1:19; Act. 10:11, &c), that the phrase came naturally to be a common expression of universality. An end, the end, is a repetition for the sake of emphasis. It occurs again in Eze. 7:6, and, in varied words, also in Eze. 7:10; Eze. 7:12; Eze. 7:26.
Eze. 7:3-4 are repeated almost exactly in Eze. 7:8-9. The frequent repetitions of this chapter are designed, and give great force to the denunciation of woe. Thine abominations are in the midst of thee, in the sense of calling down punishment upon them, as appears from the parallel in Eze. 7:9.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2, 3. The time for repentance is quickly passing or is already past. The end is at hand. Jehovah’s righteous anger will be followed quickly with judgment, and the sins of the people will be their rod of punishment; “I will put upon thee all thine abominations.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And you, son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the land of Israel. ‘An end, the end has come on the four corners of the land. Now is the end on you, and I will send my anger on you, and will judge you according to your ways. And I will bring on you all your abominations. And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will bring your ways on you, and your abominations will be in the midst of you, and you will know that I am Yahweh.’ ”
Yahweh now confirmed that ‘the end’ had come, the end of Judah and Jerusalem, and of all Israel. The whole land was to be affected. Three times He stressed it, the number of certain completion, and each time it grew in intensity. ‘An end, the end, — now is the end on you.’ His anger against their sinfulness would be revealed, His judgments would be revealed against their behaviour, and all the abominable things that they had done would be brought upon them. And once again this was so that they may know ‘that I am Yahweh’. God was determined to press home what He is.
Amos had declared the same thing on Israel before the destruction of Samaria and the northern kingdom, ‘the end is come upon My people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more’ (Eze 8:2). And it had happened. Now the same was to happen to Judah. Judah was doomed.
‘The four corners of the land.’ Possibly north, south east and west, or perhaps north west and north east, south west and south east. They encompassed the whole land. The mountains of Israel had previously been addressed (Eze 6:2), now it is the whole land of Israel. None must be left out.
‘And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will bring your ways on you, and your abominations will be in the midst of you, and you will know that I am Yahweh.’
He wanted them to know that this time there would be no turning back. They had become so set in sin and idolatry that there was no other way. This time His eye would not spare them. They would receive no pity. It had happened before that He had spared them but they had still continually failed. So this time it would not happen. What they have sown in their sin and abominations they must reap. Thus will they finally become aware that He really is Yahweh, the holy God of the covenant Who demands faithfulness and righteousness.
This continual stress should bring home to us the awfulness of sin. We can begin to treat it so lightly as they did. But it is no light thing.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 7:2. Also, thou son of man, &c. Thou son of man shalt say these things; Thus saith the Lord God concerning the land of Israel. Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 7:2 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.
Ver. 2. An end, the end is come. ] Exitium et excidium. Great kingdoms have their times and their turns, their rise and their ruin. The wicked’s happiness will take its end, surely and swiftly.
Upon the four corners of the land.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
son of man. See note on Eze 2:1.
the Lord GOD = Adonai Jehovah. See note on Eze 2:4.
the land of Israel = the soil or ground of Israel. ‘Ad math Israel, not ‘eretz, as in the next clause. See note on Eze 11:17.
An end . . . the end . . . the end. The Figure of speech Repetitio for emphasis. Compare verses: Eze 2:3. See App-6.
the land. Hebrew. ‘eretz.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
unto: Eze 12:22, Eze 21:2, Eze 40:2, 2Ch 34:7
An end: Two or three manuscripts read ketz ba, ba hakketz “the end cometh, come is the end;” which is supported by all the ancient versions. Eze 7:3, Eze 7:5, Eze 7:6, Eze 11:13, Gen 6:13, Deu 32:20, Jer 5:31, Jer 51:13, Lam 1:9, Lam 4:18, Amo 8:2, Amo 8:10, Mat 24:6, Mat 24:13, Mat 24:14, 1Pe 4:7
Reciprocal: 1Ki 14:14 – but what Jer 12:4 – He Eze 2:1 – Son Eze 7:11 – none Eze 12:23 – The days Eze 18:2 – the land Eze 20:17 – neither Eze 21:4 – against Eze 21:7 – it cometh Eze 22:3 – that her Eze 39:8 – it is come Hos 9:7 – days of visitation Joe 1:15 – the day of Amo 7:8 – I will not Mat 24:33 – know Rev 7:1 – four angels Rev 14:7 – hour
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 7:2. Land is from a word that means literally the soil, but the application is to the people who inhabit it. It is a common way of referring to a land or country when the writer really means the people. It is true that if physical damage should be brought upon the soil it would bo a misfortune to the people who depend on it for a living. To threaten an end to the land means the end of its pro-ductiveness for the inhabitants. Such a fate awaited the land of Israel, for it was to he taken over by a foreign nation. Four corners is a figure of speech meaning the entire area.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 7:2-4. Thus saith the Lord unto the land of Israel Unto the inhabitants of the land. Israel is often put for Judah, after the captivity of the ten tribes; those that were left of these tribes joining themselves to the tribe of Judah. The whole country of Judea is here comprehended. An end An end of Gods patience, of the peace and welfare of the people, and of the plenty, beauty, and desirableness of the land itself; is come Or is near at hand; even that dreadful end threatened by Moses and the prophets, as the certain punishment of idolatry and other violations of Gods law: upon the four corners of the land Upon all parts of it. Now is the end come upon thee There shall be no more delays. I will judge thee according to thy ways I will punish thee according to thy deserts. Thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee The punishment of thy sins shall be upon thee everywhere throughout thy land.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Yahweh announced that He was bringing an end on the whole land of Israel and that it was coming soon. This judgment would come because the Lord was angry with His people for their abominable sins. He would not restrain His punishment but would bring the consequences of their sins on them. They would go into a land where the abominations they had lusted after would make them sick. Then they would know that Yahweh was the true God (cf. Eze 7:9; Eze 7:27; Eze 6:7; Eze 6:10; Eze 6:13-14). The recurrence of several identical words emphasizes the certainty of this coming judgment as well as its extent and basis.
"The fact that the message needed so much reiteration can only be understood against the background of popular belief in the inviolability of Jerusalem. Its destruction was inconceivable to the Israelite mind. As long as God was God, God’s Temple and God’s city would stand. This had been the message of Isaiah when kings of Judah had feared for the city’s safety and were toying with the idea of turning to heathen armies for assistance. But now the situation was different. Isaiah’s confidence could no longer be justified after 150 years of increasing apostasy. The people were living in the past, but God was judging the present. His verdict was that the end was imminent." [Note: Taylor, p. 92.]