Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 23:6
[Which were] clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
6. captains and rulers ] Or, governors and satraps, cf. Neh 4:14; Neh 5:15.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The army of the Assyrians is described. War-horses formed an important part in the armies of Assyria and Egypt; Israel was deficient in this respect Isa 36:8.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. Clothed with blue] The purple dye was highly valued among the ancients, and at first was only used by kings, at last it was used among the military, particularly by officers of high rank in the country.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Clothed with blue; richly apparelled, and, as the humour of that nation, in rich and beautiful blue, very magnificent to the eye.
Captains; daring, valiant men, and fit for wars, who might defend the Jews in time of danger.
Rulers; worthy of authority, and fit to govern in times of peace.
Desirable young men; young and vigorous, full of beauty and strength to commend them to the desire and choice.
Horsemen riding upon horses; skilful in riding, and well furnished with choice horses, on which these deluded apostatizing Israelites relied for help, as appears, Hos 14:3.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. bluerather, “purple”[FAIRBAIRN]. As a lustfulwoman’s passions are fired by showy dress and youthful appearance inmen, so Israel was seduced by the pomp and power of Assyria (compareIsa 10:8).
horsemencavaliers.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Which were clothed with blue,…. A colour the Assyrians were fond of, and clothed their soldiers in, and was taking to the eye; and is mentioned, because that men, finely clothed find beautifully arrayed, are more engaging to women, who are fond of dress:
captains and rulers; men of power and authority in military and civil affairs, either in the camp, or in the court; officers either in the army, or in the king’s palace; and which was a recommendation of them:
desirable young men; for their youth, strength, beauty, and honourable employments and offices:
horsemen riding upon horses: of which there was a scarcity in Judea; wherefore such were the more desirable to them, as appearing more grand, and being more serviceable and helpful to them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(6) Horsemen.The Assyrians, like the Egyptians, made large use of cavalry, as was necessary to a warlike nation; the multiplication of horses had on this account been forbidden to the Israelites (Deu. 17:16).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Captains and rulers Rather, prefects and governors, Toy. (See Neh 4:14; Neh 5:15).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 23:6 [Which were] clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
Ver. 6. Which were clothed with blue. ] With rich and gorgeous attire. Vestis luxuriae nidus.
Eze 23:6-10
Eze 23:6-10
“And Oholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, the Assyrians her neighbors, who were clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. And she bestowed her whoredoms upon them, the choicest men of Assyria, all of them; and upon whomsoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither hath she left her whoredoms since the days of Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they handled the bosom of her virginity.; and they poured out their whoredoms upon her. Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters; and her they slew with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for they executed judgment upon her.”
That Oholah should be judged and executed by her lovers verified one of the strange mysteries of wickedness, the classical example of which is that of Amnon (2 Samuel 13), who forced his sister Tamar. Afterward, the Scriptures record that, “Then Amnon hated Tamar with exceeding great hatred; for the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her (2Sa 13:15 ff).”
“Assyrians, clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all desirable young men …” (Eze 23:6). “This verse indicates symbolically the embracing of all of Assyria’s pagan gods. Oholah, true to her corrupt self, merely superimposed upon the ancient pagan gods of Egypt, the gods of Assyria, producing a syncretistic blend of pagan worship. The most shameful thing of all was that Jehovah was also called upon, right along with the whole pantheon of pagan deities.
The temptation to Israel lay in this: they were terrified by the universal reputation of the terrible Assyrians, known throughout all the world of that period as, The Breakers. “The paramour here, on whose account Israel forsook her God, is Assyria itself, not Assyria’s gods, although, no doubt, through fear of the people, Israel endeavored to make friends of the gods also. Thus the `adultery’ here was not so much religious as political. We agree that the text here clearly indicates that Israel, although terrified by Assyria, nevertheless admired the beauty of the young men in the armies of their enemies, and also lusted after them. This did not justify their actions, but it affords an explanation of what they did.
Keil also noted that, it was Israel’s efforts to avoid damage to themselves that motivated their efforts to form alliances with powerful nations. Also, had not Israel’s most glorious king, Solomon himself, done exactly the same thing in his seven hundred marriages with foreign wives, and his honoring all of their gods with special shrines, high places, and other considerations?
The result of Israel’s disobedience in this matter, contrary to the admonition of all of her holy prophets, was not their protection at all, but their ultimate destruction as a nation, the sack of their capital city Samaria, and the deportation to Assyria of many thousands of the people. It is simply amazing that Judah apparently never learned anything from the experience of her sinful sister Oholah.
all of: Eze 23:12-15
Reciprocal: Gen 39:7 – cast Eze 23:23 – desirable Rev 9:16 – horsemen
Eze 23:6. Aholah was attracted by the fine appearance of the men in the strangers’ camp. Many a wife has been lured away from her husband by the showy appearance of another man.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary