Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 28:13
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.
13. Thou host been ] thou wast in Eden. The term rendered “covering” does not occur again. Possibly “emerald” and “carbuncle” should be transposed. These precious stones are mentioned in sets of three, being nine in number, to which LXX. adds three more, the ligure, the agate and the amethyst, as in the high-priest’s breastplate (Exo 28:19), while Syr. reduces the number to eight. Possibly the original number may have been very much smaller.
thy tabrets and of thy pipes ] It is obvious that timbrels and pipes are out of place here. It is also probable that the preceding words and gold should be disjoined from the list of precious stones. Render: and of gold was the workmanship of thy sockets and grooves. Reference is unmistakeably to the setting of precious stones, and while possibly a person might be supposed to be covered or clothed with the jewels mentioned, the phrase “thy sockets” seems to recall the figure of the ring. The phrase “was prepared” is wanting in LXX. and the last words “in the day that thou wast created” should probably go to the next verse.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Eze 28:13-14
Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God.
In the garden of God
1. History, it is clear, may be written as poetry; and that, too, without any evaporation of its facts. Ezekiels figure gives us the essential spirit of a great age. We see its successes; we feel its pride; we thrill with its joys. Thou hast exploited life–thou hast had days of heaven upon the earth–thou hast been in the garden of God. What testimony this is to Gods long-suffering! Tyre did not want Him, though He wanted Tyre. There was no reciprocity; Tyre sang and revelled along its wealthy way, and would not so much as lift its eyes to Heaven, where God sorrowed. She revolted from the pure deep heavens, and vilely dug her gods out of, the hillsides. To have clipped her wings, to have pruned her glories down to lifes bare necessities would have seemed the kindliest discipline. Instead, God gives ages of blandishments for ages of contempt. Till the hour of doom comes.
2. It is not impossible to write much modern history in the same brilliant, revelatory style. The Englishman is as the Tyrian. Life in the cities of our empire is full, splendid with colour, seething with joys. We have been, and are, in Eden. We have had our griefs, but he is a bold man who denies our delights. We have been born amid roses, reared amid songs, and there are hours when we are drunken with the rapture of living.
Life is a golden cup; God filled it.
3. He who saunters up through the leafy ways of the Sydenham Palace will come at length to a commanding terrace where, upon its lofty pedestal, rises the bold head of Sir Joseph Paxton. The fruit of Paxtons genius stretches around him. His ideal was captivating–a palace of light in a paradise of flowers. And now from his high place he looks out upon his gift to his fellows. He looks upon the rosaries, with their crimson and pink buds; upon lawns and bowers; upon fountains and statuary; upon spreading cedars and majestic oaks; upon sunny glades and shady ways, where the white petals of the syringa drop gently to the grass and the mavis sings from the thorn. With garlanded brow the worker stands in the midst of his work, the creator at the heart of his creation. God, the Bountiful One, has given us Eden; have we found a place for Him in the garden? What, then, is Gods place in mans Eden? Beware lest thine heart be lifted up, and thou catch the trick of the Tyrians, and imagine thyself in the seat of God, It is true, thou art the anointed cherub. In the eyes of inert thou shinest like a visitant from heaven. Thou dwellest amid stones of fire, amid stones that flame with rainbow lights. Thou hast made a robe for thyself of diamonds and gold. Burma and Brazil and Kimberley are upon thy gleaming arms and throat. Thou hast mastered the art of amazing by display. The highways of the earth are full of the stir and noise of those who travel to see thy splendours. There is dazzling of eyes and aching of heart when they behold thee. In good sooth, thou art the anointed cherub. Well for thee if thou art content in thy cherubic beauty to lay thy heart low before the Giver of every good and perfect gift, for He hath set thee so.
Him that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
4. Let us live up to our Eden. He who lives in the garden of God should have the paradise spirit. Hear St. Paul: Walk worthy of God, who hath called you to His Kingdom and glory. A keen observer has told us of the splendid landscape gardening that encircles many a country mansion; he tells us how the lobelia and the verbena and the peony blow, how the thrushes whistle in the trees and feed upon the lawns, and how, from under a covert of blue and scarlet blossoms, the stoat will spring upon the birds. Savage beast and lovely flowers in one bed! This is a parable of human life. The goodness of God makes a paradise about us. Broad spaces are rich with bloom and beauty. And there, amid the flowers His love has planted, crouch human passions. How few are touched by the shocking antithesis. Rodway says that in Guiana he has often scared centipedes and tarantulas that were hiding in the thick of rare and gorgeous orchids. It is to be feared that the underworld in the garden of God is often far from attractive. God gives grace; we supply sin. The one thing needed to perfect our Eden is that Christ should cleanse our hearts and fill them with the light of His love. And if we would live up to our Eden, let us note and live by the true purpose of the paradise. God giveth us all things richly to enjoy. The worlds honest laughter does not bore nor offend Him. He reckons it among His pleasures; it goes with the ripple of the tide, the music of the spheres, and the angels song. He who makes Eden about us can hardly object to our delighting in it. Yet let us remember what we are Let us not discard our intelligence. Who does not know that joy is not for enjoyments sake only? Enjoyment is for refreshing, and refreshing is for service. The hour you elect to live only for the pleasures of Eden, that hour the light of your paradise begins to fade. Lastly, let none but Christ enlarge your fair garden. The devil is forever seeking to draw you out to new ground. He is forever saying he will extend your Eden. Be careful that you annex nothing at his suggestion. Pick no flower he praises. He is a liar from the beginning. He covers his foul meaning with fair advertisements. His object is not delectation, but death. Scorn satanic paradises. Grant Allen says there are some flowers that smell like raw meat, that they may attract blue-bottles. The devils garden is prepared for flesh flies. Keep a critical eye on your gratifications. (James Dunk.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. Thou hast been in Eden] This also is a strong irony. Thou art like Adam, when in his innocence and excellence he was in the garden of Eden!
Every precious stone was thy covering] For a description of these stones See Clarke on Ex 28:17.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thou hast been; thou hast dwelt and reigned.
In Eden; in the midst of all delights; and though nature made thy lot a very barren rock, thy art and industry, added to that of thy progenitors, have made it as pleasant, rich, and beautiful as Eden, that place of all desirable enjoyments.
The garden of God: this is explicative of the former; a garden is a place of delight, and men have made some delightful to a wonder, but none ever like that God planted: this of Tyre came as near as any, and yet ungrateful and atheistical Tyre dreams of Divine power and stability, forgetting human frailty and uncertainty.
Every precious stone; every sort of rich stones.
Thy covering, bought to adorn thy crown, thy robes, thy bed, &c.
The sardius; of a red, and by some said to be the ruby.
Topaz; of a yellowish green.
The diamond; of clear, waterish, sparkling colour.
The beryl; of a sea-green colour, the best.
The onyx resembles the whiteness of the nail of a mans hand.
The jasper; of divers colours, but the best green.
The sapphire; of sky colour, or blue.
The emerald; green interspersed with golden spots.
The carbuncle; of flame colour.
Gold; beside the abundance of which in their public treasures, much was used about the clothes and robes of this proud prince; it is like these precious stones were set in gold, that they might the safer be put upon his garments. This was the accoutrement of solemnities, especially of the coronation, as appears in the close of the verse.
The workmanship of thy tabrets, & c: now the prophet notes their joys, music and songs; both to wind or loud music, and to softer music, as the lute and tabret, in the day of their kings coronation, and all this music on instruments of most exquisite make, and of their own artists work too; in this they exceeded as in the other.
Wast created; either born, for the birth of princes hath been celebrated with great joys; or rather in the day of this kings coronation, or investiture in the kingdom and royal dignity.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. in EdenThe king of Tyreis represented in his former high state (contrasted with hissubsequent downfall), under images drawn from the primeval man inEden, the type of humanity in its most Godlike form.
garden of Godthe modelof ideal loveliness (Eze 31:8;Eze 31:9; Eze 36:35).In the person of the king of Tyre a new trial was made of humanitywith the greatest earthly advantages. But as in the case of Adam, thegood gifts of God were only turned into ministers to pride and self.
every precious stonesoin Eden (Ge 2:12), “gold,bdellium, and the onyx stone.” So the king of Tyre was arrayedin jewel-bespangled robes after the fashion of Oriental monarchs. Thenine precious stones here mentioned answer to nine of the twelve(representing the twelve tribes) in the high priest’s breastplate(Exo 39:10-13; Rev 21:14;Rev 21:19-21). Of the fourrows of three in each, the third is omitted in the Hebrew, butis supplied in the Septuagint. In this, too, there is anulterior reference to Antichrist, who is blasphemously to arrogatethe office of our divine High Priest (Zec6:13).
tabretstambourines.
pipesliterally,”holes” in musical pipes or flutes.
createdthat is, in theday of thine accession to the throne. Tambourines and all themarks of joy were ready prepared for thee (“in thee,” thatis, “with and for thee”). Thou hadst not, like others, towork thy way to the throne through arduous struggles. No soonercreated than, like Adam, thou wast surrounded with the gratificationsof Eden. FAIRBAIRN, for”pipes,” translates, “females” (having referenceto Ge 1:27), that is,musician-women. MAURERexplains the Hebrew not as to music, but as to the settingand mounting of the gems previously mentioned.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God,…. Not only in Eden, but in the garden which was in Eden, and was of the Lord’s immediate planting; and therefore called the garden of God, as well as because of its excellency, fragrancy, and delight; not that the king of Tyre was literally there, or ever dwelt in it; but his situation in Tyre was as safe, and as pleasant and delightful, as Adam’s was in the garden of Eden, at least in his own imagination. So the Targum,
“thou delightest thyself with plenty of all good things and delectable ones, as if thou dwellest in the garden of God;”
in the mystical sense, this designs the church of God, which is an Eden, a garden, a paradise; see So 4:12 and where antichrist first appeared, and took his seat, and seated himself as if he was God, 2Th 2:4:
every precious stone was thy covering; not only the covering of his head, his crown, was decked with jewels and precious stones of all sorts; but his clothes, the covering of his body, were adorned with them. So the Targum,
“all precious stones were set in order upon thy garments.”
Kimchi renders it “thine hedge”, or “fence” o; and takes it to be an hyperbole, as if his house, or garden, or vineyard, were fenced with precious stones. This fitly describes the whore of Rome arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones,
Re 17:4. The pope’s triple crown is stuck with them, and a cross of precious stones is upon his slipper, when he holds out his toe to be kissed:
the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold. Writers differ very much about these stones; and it is difficult to say what answer to the Hebrew words here used. The stone “sardius”, or the sardine stone, is of a blood colour, commonly called a cornelian, and is found in Sardis and Sardinia, from whence some say it has its name. The “topaz” is a hard transparent stone, said to be of a beautiful yellow or gold colour by those who confound it with the chrysolite; otherwise the true topaz is of a fine green colour, as Pliny p and Isidore q; the best is what is found in Ethopia, Job 28:19. The “diamond” is a precious stone, the first in rank, value, hardness and lustre; the most perfect colour is the white. The “beryl” is a stone of a pale green colour, thought to be the diamond of the ancients: the word is “tarshish”, and thought by some the “chrysolite”. The “onyx” resembles a man’s nail, from whence it has its name: the word “shoham” here used is supposed to mean the “sardonyx”, a compound of the “sardian” and “onyx” stones. The “jasper” is a stone of various colours and spots, variegated like a panther; hence the Targum here renders it “pantherin”; the most valuable is the green spotted with red or purple. The “sapphire” is a stone of an azure colour or sky blue, exceeding hard and transparent. The “emerald” is of an exceeding fine green colour, very bright, and clear, and delightful to the eye; but is rather intended by the next word, as the “carbuncle” by this, which is a stone of the ruby kind, and very rare; see Isa 54:12. “Gold” is mentioned along with them, and last of all, as being less valuable; but chiefly because these stones were set in gold, as the Targum paraphrases it; these are nine of the stones which were in the breastplate of the Jewish high priest r, whom the king of Tyre might have knowledge of and imitate, as it is certain the pope of Rome does in some things:
the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created; either born into the world; or made a crowned king; against which time, drums, and pipes, and such like instruments of music, were prepared in Tyre, and at them made use of by way of rejoicing: and as this was literally true of the king of Tyre at his coronation, so of the bishop of Rome at his creation and inauguration, which is attended with bells ringing, drums beating, trumpets sounding; and so in mystical Babylon is heard, though the time is coming when it will not be heard, the voice of harpers, musicians, pipers, and trumpeters, Re 18:22.
o So R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 14. 2. p Nat. Hist. l. 38. c. 8. q Origin. l. 16. c. 7. r Vid. Braunium de Vestitu Sacerdot. Heb. l. 2. c. 12-19.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(13) Every precious stone.There is some uncertainty in regard to the names of some of these stones (as sardius may be carnelian, and beryl chrysolite), but the general fact is an allusion to the profuse use of precious stones as ornaments of their royal apparel by Oriental monarchs. The stones mentioned are the same with those in the breastplate of the high priest (Exo. 39:10), the third row being omitted; this is supplied in the Greek.
Thy pipes.The word occurs only here, and its most probable sense is females, those who played upon the tambourines. All these things did not need to be collected by the king of Tyre, but were ready prepared to his hand at the moment of his accession to the throne, just as everything was made ready for Adam in Eden.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. The king of Tyre seems to dwell in a paradise equal to that in which Adam was placed, and to wear jewels equal to those upon the breast of the high priest (Exodus 28). Toy makes the list of precious stones as follows: “ruby, topaz, and jasper, tarshish stone, onyx, and beryl, sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald.”
Tabrets pipes Possibly, settings, ouches, referring to the good workmanship of the jewels mentioned above. Perrot and Chipiez think the word translated “tabrets” and “pipes” to be technical terms for the wheels (drums) on which the lapidaries polished their stones and the drills with which they pierced them. Many jewels finely cut have been discovered in Phoenicia, among these a sardonyx seal ring of Abibal, the father of Hiram, king of Tyre ( Phoenicia and Cyprus, 1:231, 241). If the A. V. and R.V. are correct these are the jeweled musical instruments used at the king’s coronation in the day when he was created king (Eze 26:13; Isa 5:12; Dan 3:5).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 28:13. Thou hast been in Eden, &c. Thou wast as Eden, &c. Houbigant. “As thy situation was pleasant, so wast thou plentifully supplied with every thing which could contribute to render thy life agreeable.” A state of paradise, in the common acceptation, denotes a condition every way complete and happy. But this expression alludes to the felicity which Adam enjoyed in paradise before his fall. There is something, says Mr. Peters, in this prophesy of Ezekiel, which might incline one to think, that the garden of Eden, or paradise, was become by this time, with the Jews, the happy seat of good souls in their state of separation; for, describing the pride and vanity of the prince of Tyre, and his boasted happiness, he expresses it by this phrase, Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God; as blessed and happy in thine own imagination, as the first man, in paradise, shall we say?Or rather (for he seems to speak of it as a state of felicity still subsisting somewhere) as good souls in the regions of the blessed, the celestial paradise. This last seems the more probably to be the meaning, because the prophet ascends a step higher in the following verse, and places this ambitious prince where he had placed himself in his own thoughts, among the angels of God, and that in the superior orders. Thou art the anointed cherub, &c. Nay, we are told, Eze 28:2 that his heart was so lifted up as to say, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas. See Dissert. p. 399. Instead of, Prepared in thee, we may read, Prepared for thee.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 28:13 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.
Ver. 13. Thou hast been in Eden. ] As a bird of paradise, or as a tree growing there – a
“ D .” – Hom.
Thou art equal to Adam in the state of innocence; and thy Tyre is no whit inferior to the garden of God.
“ Flores in pratis fragrant, et purpura campis:
Gemma coloratis fulget speciosa lapillis. ”
Every precious stone was thy covering.
The sardius, topaz, and the diamond.
The workmanship of thy tabrets.
a . – Plato.
hast been = wast.
in Eden. Here is no evidence of a “legend”, but a reality. Satan, the Nachash or shining one, was there. See notes on Gen 3:1, and App-19. Eve was smitten with his beauty as “an angel of light” (2Co 11:14); and deferred to him as one possessing this “wisdom”, and believed his power to make good his promise. Reference to Pentateuch. No mention of Eden since Gen 4:16. Isa 51:3, till here; and none after till Eze 31:9, Eze 31:16, Eze 31:18; Eze 36:35. Isa 51:3. Joe 2:3. App-92.
the garden of and. This is added to leave us in no doubt as to what is meant by Eden, and to show that it was no mere “summer residence ‘of the “prince” of Tyre, but, the “garden” of Gen 2:8-15.
precious stone. Referring to Gen 2:11, Gen 2:12.
tabrets = drums. See note on “timbrel” (Exo 15:20), and compare note on 1Sa 10:5.
in the day. See App-18.
thou wart created. Not begotten by man, or born of woman. This can refer only to Satan.
in Eden: Eze 31:8, Eze 31:9, Eze 36:35, Gen 2:8, Gen 3:23, Gen 3:24, Gen 13:10, Isa 51:3, Joe 2:3, Rev 2:7
every: Eze 27:16, Eze 27:22, Gen 2:11, Gen 2:12, Exo 28:17-20, Exo 39:10-21, Isa 54:11, Isa 54:12, Rev 17:4, Rev 21:19, Rev 21:20
sardius: or, ruby
beryl: or, chrysolite
emerald: or, chrysoprase. the workmanship. Eze 26:13, Isa 14:11, Isa 23:16, Isa 30:32
thou wast: Eze 28:15, Eze 21:30
Reciprocal: Exo 28:9 – onyx Exo 28:18 – diamond Exo 39:6 – onyx stones Exo 39:11 – a diamond Job 28:5 – fire Job 28:16 – onyx Job 28:19 – topaz Isa 14:12 – How art thou fallen Isa 37:12 – Eden Jer 4:30 – Though Eze 28:14 – stones Eze 28:18 – defiled Amo 9:2 – climb Rev 2:1 – walketh Rev 4:3 – like a Rev 21:11 – her
Eze 28:13. A few verses will describe the high standing the king had while his heart was right. The reference to Eden and mention of precious stones and metal is largely figurative and said to explain the subject by comparison.
This king had been in Eden, the garden of God, or Ezekiel was comparing him to someone who had been there. Some authorities believe Ezekiel had Adam in view, but the comparison with Adam quickly breaks down in the passage. Much less likely are the views that the tower of Babel or the Flood is in view or that the prophet was thinking of an ideal man. Eden, the garden of God, is probably a figurative way of describing the blessing that this ruler had enjoyed at God’s hand (cf. 31:9; Gen 13:10). If we take the statement literally, this must refer to someone who was in the Garden of Eden, probably Satan. The description of this ruler covered with precious gems and gold indicates the extent of his wealth. The suggestion that Israel’s high priest is in view here because he bore such precious stones on his shoulders and breastpiece is farfetched. There are no other connections with the high priest in this passage. God had prepared this king for this privileged destiny from the time that He had created him (cf. Exo 9:16; Rom 9:17).
"The concept of the Garden of Eden presents one of the major difficulties in interpreting this section as Tyre’s literal human king. A possible solution may be found in understanding ancient Near Eastern temples. These ancient temples normally encompassed a large enclosure with a garden, not just a building (cf. van Dijk, p. 117). If the term for ’God’ in this phrase is understood as ’god,’ then perhaps ’Eden, a garden of a god,’ was an expression used metaphorically to describe the splendor of the temple complex of Melkart, the ’king of the city’ (which was the meaning of the god’s name), with whom Tyre’s human king was seeking identity. Though this interpretation is a hypothesis (as are all others), normal cultural hermeneutics may aid in the explanation of the text and should not be ignored. It is readily admitted that this phrase ’you were in Eden, the garden of God’ is the most difficult obstacle to the interpretation of the king of Tyre as the literal king of the city. The above, however, is certainly a plausible understanding of the phrase." [Note: Alexander, "Ezekiel," p. 883. His reference is to H. J. van Dijk, Ezekiel’s Prophecy on Tyre.]
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)