Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 12:12
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.
12. shoulder in the twilight, and shall ] The balance of clauses requires: shall bear upon his shoulder; in the darkness shall he go forth (or, carry forth a slight change of reading, which obviates the unnatural and).
that he see not the ground ] Rather as R.V., because he shall not see the land.
with his eyes ] Lit. by eyesight himself. The language is unnatural. LXX. “that he may not be seen by eye, and he himself shall not see the land.” Whether original or not this rendering combines the two ideas expressed by “covering the face,” viz. that of disguise (Job 24:15), and that of inability to see (Job 9:24). The prophet clearly foresaw the fall of the city and the captivity of the king, and he may have threatened the king with a chastisement for his rebellion which, though barbarous, was not unusual in that age. If he did so it is still probable that afterwards when composing his Book he made the references to the putting out of the king’s eyes more distinct ( Eze 12:13).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The prince; Zedekiah.
Among them; in Jerusalem.
Shall bear upon his shoulder; disguised no doubt as a common ordinary servant, in hope so to escape; but to conceal himself he flees in a disguise, and chooseth the twilight as the time that would best favour his design; so 2Ki 25:4.
They shall dig through the wall; fulfilled when they broke down the wall to flee, as Jer 39:4; probably they had built up some slight wall to blind the enemy, which now they break to flee through.
He shall cover his face; partly out of grief, partly out of shame, partly prefiguring Zedekiahs future loss of his eyes, and his blindness which the insolency of Nebuchadnezzar afflicted him with; but Zedekiah did by this chiefly aim at concealing himself in disguise and covering his face.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. prince . . . amongthemliterally, “that is in the midst of them,” thatis, on whom the eyes of all are cast, and “under whose shadow”they hope to live (La 4:20).
shall bearnamely, his”stuff for removing”; his equipments for his journey.
cover his face, that he seenot the groundSee on Eze12:6; the symbol in Eze 12:6is explained in this verse. He shall muffle his face so as not to berecognized: a humiliation for a king!
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the prince that [is] among them,…. Zedekiah their king that reigned over them, in whom they trusted, and under whose government they thought themselves safe and secure:
shall bear upon [his] shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth; out of Jerusalem, where his palace and throne were, leaving the main of his riches behind him; only should carry away what he could on his shoulder, a bundle of his most valuable effects, or provisions for his flight: or, as Kimchi and Ben Melech think, his clothes, for lighter march, and more speedy haste:
they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby; it seems by this, that when the king, and his nobles and servants, made their escape, they not only went forth between two walls, but broke through one, in order to get away; which was done, not by the king himself, but by his servants; so the Targum,
“in a wall shall they dig to bring him out by it;”
and therefore the number is changed, not “he”, but “they, shall dig”, c. though in the following words the singular is again used:
he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with [his] eyes either through shame at leaving the city, his palace, and all his grandeur. The Targum is,
“he shall cover his face because he hath sinned:”
or that he might not be known and be discovered who he was; and so it was through fear of being betrayed by a false friend, or taken by the enemy: or else this may respect his having his eyes put out at Riblah, so that he could not see with them the land he was carried into; though it rather seems to refer to his first escape out of Jerusalem with a mask or vizor on him, which might hinder his seeing the ground he went upon; and which, in his fright, he could not attend to, looking out here and there, not being able to keep his eye long upon any place. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, render it, “that he may not be seen with the eye, and he shall not see the land”.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
We have said that two things were shown, both the people’s exile and their clandestine flight: the Prophet now speaks again about this trembling. He says therefore, that not only the vulgar and the dregs of the people would be so anxious that they would endeavor to escape secretly and carry their own baggage; but the prince himself, that is, their king would be subject to such ignominy: the prince himself, says he, shall carry on his shoulder. Many followed him, as we have seen, and at length he was seized with a great company, as the Prophet will shortly subjoin, and being’ caught in the desert of Jericho, he was dragged by the enemy before their king: but here mention is made of the king alone, because it was almost incredible that the enemy could not be reconciled. For surrender often appeases even the most hostile enemies; it often preserves kings, although an extended carnage may take place; and we know that kings are often preserved on account of their dignity, after they have been led in triumph. What therefore the Prophet pronounces concerning king Zedekiah does not imply any escape of the multitude from similar punishment: but because the king himself, together with his subjects in general, would be compelled to escape by stealth, and would be sure to fall into the hands of the enemy.
Next, the prince who is in the midst of them Here the words, the midst of them, are taken in a different sense from that in which the Israelites were lately said to be in the midst of the people who inhabited Jerusalem, because they had been mixed with the Jews from the time when they had dwelt within their territories. But he says their prince was in the midst in another sense, because in truth the eyes of all were turned towards him, as if when a standard is erected, it is beheld by all, and retains the whole multitude in their ranks, so also the king was in the midst, that the people might not disperse, for a miserable dispersion follows when the head is taken away. But the intention of the Holy Spirit must be observed. For the Jews, as we have formerly seen, were hardened in their wickedness by the false pretense that God would always maintain his dwelling among them. For it had been said of the throne of David, that it should stand as long as the sun and moon should shine in the heavens. (Psa 89:36.) And hence Jeremiah’s lamentable complaint: the Christ, or anointed of God, in whose breath our life consisted. (Lam 4:20.) The Prophet does not speak there after the usual mode, and obtrusively remind God of his promise, as hypocrites do, but he has respect to God’s counsel. For David, since he was a type of Christ, was truly the soul of the people, even among the Gentiles, as he is there reckoned to be. For they not only looked to their king for safety while included within the city walls, but although dispersed among the nations, they still hoped to be safe under their monarch’s shadow. But their confidence was perverse, since they had impiously departed from the true worship of God. Hence the Prophet, to deprive them of that vain source of pride and boasting, says, now their king was in the midst of them: but it would not always be so, for God would drive him out, and even compel him to fly into secret hiding-places.
He afterwards adds, he shall hide his face, that he shall not see the ground with his eyes This also was accomplished, the sacred history narrates. For Zedekiah escaped through the gardens by subterraneous passages: he thought the enemy would be ignorant of his flight, but he was seized. (2Kg 25:4; and Jer 39:4.) We see, then, the meaning of this concealment of his face or countenance, namely, because Zedekiah distrusted any he might meet. But this was very bitter, and also base and disgraceful, for a king so to conceal himself, and not to dare to look upon the ground with his eyes. And now something far more disastrous follows.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) They shall dig through the wall.This circumstance is not mentioned in the history of Zedekiahs flight; yet it is not necessary to understand it figuratively, since such a breach in the walls at a place unwatched by the enemy might easily be arranged to secure secrecy, and as easily be passed over in the brevity of the historical account. (See Note on Eze. 12:6.)
Shall cover his face,This he would naturally do to avoid recognition; but the words were doubtless meant also as an intimation of what is more plainly hinted in the following verse.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. The prince shall bear upon his shoulder, etc. The king of Israel is represented as carrying upon his own shoulder all the load which his people carries and is there not also upon him the heavier “burden” of fulfilled prophecy? (See note Eze 12:6; Eze 12:10.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 12:12. Shall bear upon his shoulder Shall be carried upon shoulders, &c. They shall dig through the wall, and he shall go out thereby. Houbigant. Or rather, He shall dig. . Ar. Syr. For the fact, see Jer 39:4; Jer 52:7. 2Ki 25:4. It is probable, that the king and his companions fled through a breach made by themselves in the wall. Or, as Michaelis suggests, the gate through which they fled may have been walled up during the siege.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 12:12 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.
Ver. 12. And the prince that is among them. ] Zedekiah, that profane, wicked prince. Eze 21:25
Shall bear upon his shoulders in the twilight.
They shall dig through the wall.
He shall cover his face.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Eze 12:6, 2Ki 25:4, Jer 39:4, Jer 42:7
Reciprocal: Deu 28:36 – bring thee 2Ki 7:5 – in the twilight Job 24:16 – In the dark Jer 21:7 – I will Jer 24:8 – So will Jer 32:4 – General Jer 37:17 – thou shalt Jer 52:8 – General Lam 2:6 – the king Eze 12:4 – at even Eze 21:26 – Remove Amo 4:3 – ye shall go
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 12:12. The apparent secrecy that Ezekiel maintained would prove to have foreshadowed some of the actions of Zedekiah. He had been warned to be submissive to the king of Babylon since the whole transaction of the captivity was of the Lord, but he thought he could etude the enemy and escape. Dig through the wall is what Ezekiel actually did as a sign, but it is used figuratively of Zedekiah. However, he did attempt to escape by means of the wall, and did it in the twilight or night. The fulfillment of this is recorded in 2Ki 25:4 and Jer 39:4.