Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 21:19
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.
19. appoint thee two ways ] Or, make thee. The prophet is to make a representation of a way branching into two ways, i.e. the way from Babylon, which at a certain point parts into two, there being two possibilities before the king, either Rabbah or Jerusalem. Naturally the action was not performed in reality by the prophet.
choose thou a place ] and grave a hand, at the head of the way to the (each) city grave it. The “hand” is the pointer or sign-post indicating direction. LXX. reads somewhat differently.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 19. Appoint thee two ways] Set off from Babylon, and lay down two ways, either of which thou mayest take; that to the right, which leads to Jerusalem; or that to the left, which leads to Rabbath of the Ammonites, Eze 21:20. But why against the Ammonites? Because both they and the Moabites were united with Zedekiah against the Chaldeans, (see Jer 27:3,) though they afterwards fought against Judea, Eze 12:6.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Appoint; paint, mark out, or describe on the or tablet, as Eze 4:1, two roads, and set it before thy countrymen in Babylon, and let them know that the arms and sword of Nebuchadnezzar are designed for exploits, where those ways lead them. Thus typically Ezekiel foretells the invasion the king of Babylon would make.
Both twain; the ways, though two in the course they lead, as stream that divide and multiply, yet must take their rise from one and the same land, that is, Babylon; there the prophet must begin to mark out the way which is to he drawn out: till it divide into two. And pitch on some convenience place, where thou mayst place Nebuchadnezzars army, he and his council of war consulting where this one way divides into two, which was on the edge of the desert of Arabia, as Nebuchadnezzar pursued his march from Babylon.
At the head of the way; either where the way begins, at Babylon; or rather at the head where each distinct way runs out, toward either Rabbath of the Ammonites, of Jerusalem; for there Nebuchadnezzar will cast lots.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. two waysThe king comingfrom Babylon is represented in the graphic style of Ezekiel asreaching the point where the road branched off in two ways, oneleading by the south, by Tadmor or Palmyra, to Rabbath of Ammon, eastof Jordan; the other by the north, by Riblah in Syria, toJerusalemand hesitating which way to take. Ezekiel is told to”appoint the two ways” (as in Eze4:1); for Nebuchadnezzar, though knowing no other control but hisown will and superstition, had really this path “appointed”for him by the all-ruling God.
out of one landnamely,Babylon.
choose . . . aplaceliterally, “a hand.” So it is translated byFAIRBAIRN, “make afinger-post,” namely, at the head of the two ways, thehand post pointing Nebuchadnezzar to the way to Jerusalem as the wayhe should select. But MAURERrightly supports English Version. Ezekiel is told to “choosethe place” where Nebuchadnezzar should do as is described inEze 21:20; Eze 21:21;so entirely does God order by the prophet every particular of placeand time in the movements of the invader.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Also thou, son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come,…. Describe or draw out upon a table or tile, as in Eze 4:1, or on the ground, two roads, such as are described in maps; which it may be supposed the king of Babylon would take, either the one or the other, in order to make war against some king or another:
both twain shall come forth out of one land; both ways must be drawn as coming from one country, even Babylon;
and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city; fix upon some spacious place, where Nebuchadnezzar may be supposed to bring his army, as a proper rendezvous for them to muster them in; and let be where two ways meet, that lead to cities, one to one city, and another to another: and it seems that upon the desert of Arabia, through which the king of Babylon came, there was such a place, where two ways met, and one led to Jerusalem, and the other to Rabbath; and this is the place the prophet was to describe, and where in fact Nebuchadnezzar came.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(19) Appoint thee two ways.Or, set before thee. The prophet is directed to represent Nebuchadnezzar as about to go forth with his armies, and hesitating whether he should take first the road to Jerusalem or to the capital of the Ammonites. His choice of the former is determined, as he supposes, by his divinations, but really by the overruling hand of the Lord, who thus shows beforehand what it shall be. The whole is set forth in the vivid and concrete imagery so characteristic of Ezekiel; but it is impossible that the scene in real life was to be thus determined by the prophets open interference. The whole is a vision, in which life and action is conveyed by this manner of describing the course of future events as actually taking place before the eyes of his hearers. The two ways come forth out of one land; their starting-point is the same. Babylon, and they diverge towards different destinations.
Choose thou a place.Literally, make a hand or, as we say, a finger-post. The verb here used never means choose, nor does the noun ever mean place but the verb is often used both in the sense of to make and to engrave, and hand frequently occurs in the sense of a pillar, and occasionally in that of a guide post. (See 1Sa. 15:12; 2Sa. 18:18; Isa. 56:5.) The prophet in vision sets up this guide-post to direct the king on his march. The roads to Rabbah and to Jerusalem from Babylon would be the same for many hundred miles. It is impossible, therefore, to suppose that Ezekiel actually stood at their parting.
Head of the way, called more poetically in Eze. 21:21 mother of the way, is the point where the road forks. From this point the road to Jerusalem would lie on the right, that to Rabbah, the capital of the Ammonites, on the left.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. Appoint thee Rather, make thee.
Choose thou a place Rather, engrave thee a signpost (literally, hand). This signpost was placed “at the head of the way to each city.” Such engravings or outline maps were not at all uncommon in Babylon and Egypt in Ezekiel’s day or a thousand years earlier. (See Eze 4:1-3.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 21:19-20. Appoint thee two ways, &c. Appoint thee two roads for the king of Babylon’s sword to come by: Let both go forth out of one land; and choose thou a way-mark: Choose it at the head of the road towards the city. Eze 21:20. Point out a road for the sword to go to Rabbath, &c. Instead of To Judah in Jerusalem, the defenced; Houbigant reads, To Judah in Jerusalem, that he may besiege it.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 21:19 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.
Ver. 19. Appoint thee two wags. ] Pinge duas vias, ut Eze 4:1 ; by prophetic action draw out two ways, by either of which Nebuehadnezzar may march against Egypt, his present aim, as the great Turk’s now is Italy.
Choose it at the head of the wag to the city.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
that the sword . . . may come = for the sword to come.
both twain = the two ways.
choose thou a place = grave a hand: i.e. set up a
sign = post.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eze 4:1-3, Eze 5:1-17, Jer 1:10
Reciprocal: Isa 28:19 – the time Jer 4:7 – destroyer Eze 21:3 – will draw Eze 21:11 – to give Eze 23:23 – Babylonians
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 21:19-20. Appoint thee two ways So as to represent them to the eyes of thy countrymen: see Eze 4:1; Designa in tabella, lapide, aut terra. Mark on a map, a stone, or on the earth. Vatablus. That the sword of the king of Babylon may come Dr. Waterland translates this, Appoint thee two roads for the king of Babylons sword to come by; let both go forth out of one land; and choose thou a way-mark; choose it at the head of the road toward the city: Eze 21:20, Point out a road for the sword to go to Rabbath, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. Instead of the defenced, Houbigant reads, that he may besiege it. God here foreshows his prophet, that when the king of Babylon should come with his army into Syria, and find the Ammonites had entered into a confederacy with Egypt as well as Zedekiah, he would be in doubt against which of the two people he should first make war, and would commit the decision of the matter to his arts of divination, described Eze 21:21; and that God should direct the divination to be for taking the road that leads to Jerusalem. The words, Let both go forth out of one land, seem to mean, that the single way should divide itself into two, leading to different places. This, as appears from what follows, was the road coming out of Arabia, which afterward parted into two, one leading to Rabbath, and the other to Jerusalem.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
21:19 Also, thou son of man, mark {o} two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both [ways] shall come forth from one land: and choose thou a place, choose [it] at the head of the way to the city.
(o) This was spoken because when Nebuchadnezzar came against Judah his purpose was also to go against the Ammonites, but doubting in the way which enterprise to undertake first he consulted with his soothsayers and so went against Judah.