Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 16:23
And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;)
23. after all thy wickedness ] The wickedness described in preceding verses as idolatries of Canaan; after this followed foreign idolatry. LXX. omits the words “woe, woe unto thee.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
23 34. Her infidelities with strangers from abroad, i.e. her alliances with idolatrous nations and adoption of their religious rites: Egypt ( Eze 16:23-27), Assyria ( Eze 16:28), and Chaldea ( Eze 16:29 seq.). Hosea already stigmatized foreign alliances as whoredoms; it is not, however, so much the political aspect of these alliances as their religious consequences that Ezekiel reprobates. Such alliances were followed by the fashions and worship of the nations with which they were formed (Isa 2:5 seq.). Naturally also when Israel became subject to the great eastern empires, the overwhelming influence of these states, with their customs and religions, was widely felt. The gods which had given them universal empire were introduced and worshipped. There appears to have been a great invasion of foreign idolatry in Judah in the declining years of the state, and the kingdom sank to a level in this respect to which the North had never fallen.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
After all … – Besides these things, there was the introduction of other idolatrous rites from the nations with whom Israel had contact.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
It came to pass; it shall come to pass; so the Hebrew may be read, and then this verse will be a dreadful threat of misery to come upon the Jews for all their wickednesses; when they have filled up the measure of their sins, God will fill them with his judgments, and bring one woe after another upon them, as they proceeded from one wickedness to another. But as we read the words, they are an introduction to a further declaring of this peoples multiplied wickedness, with a dreadful menace introduced somewhat abruptly to express Gods great displeasure against them: the threat is doubled, because it is certainly coming, and will be great when come.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. woe, woe unto thee, &c.Thisparenthetical exclamation has an awful effect coming like a lightningflash of judgment amidst the black clouds of Israel’s guilt.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it came to pass after all thy wickedness,…. This refers either to what goes before, so Kimchi; and the sense is, it shall be again as it was at first, after and because of all the above wickedness committed, thou shalt be left naked and bare, and destitute of all that is good: or rather to what follows in the next clause; and the meaning is, to all this wickedness before mentioned, which was so great that it might be thought nothing more could be added to it; and yet the following things were, as building an eminent place, and high places, in all streets and heads of ways:
woe, woe unto thee, saith the Lord of hosts; which is repeated, to show the indignation of the Lord against all this wickedness; to arouse their attention to their sin and punishment, and to show the certainty of it; and it may be it denotes both their misery in this world, and in that to come. The Targum of the whole is,
“what shall be in thine end for all thy wickedness? the prophet said unto her, woe unto thee, because thou hast sinned; woe unto thee, because thou art not converted, saith the Lord God.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Extent and Magnitude of the Idolatry
Eze 16:23. And it came to pass after all thy wickedness – Woe, woe to thee! is the saying of the Lord Jehovah – Eze 16:24. Thou didst build thyself arches, and didst make thyself high places in all the streets. Eze 16:25. Thou didst build thy high places at every cross road, and didst disgrace thy beauty, and stretch open thy feet for every one that passed by, and didst increase thy whoredom. Eze 16:26. Thou didst commit fornication with the sons of Egypt thy neighbours, great in flesh, and didst increase thy whoredom to provoke me. Eze 16:27. And, behold, I stretched out my hand against thee, and diminished thine allowance, and gave thee up to the desire of those who hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of thy lewd way. Eze 16:28. And thou didst commit fornication with the sons of Asshur, because thou art never satisfied; and didst commit fornication with them, and wast also not satisfied. Eze 16:29. And thou didst increase thy whoredom to Canaan’s land, Chaldaea, and even thereby wast not satisfied. Eze 16:30. How languishing is thy heart! is the saying of the Lord Jehovah, that thou doest all this, the doings of a dissolute prostitute. Eze 16:31. When thou buildest thy arches at every cross road, and madest thy high places in every road, thou wast not like the harlot, since thou despisedst payment. Eze 16:32. The adulterous wife taketh strangers instead of her husband. Eze 16:33. Men give presents to all prostitutes; but thou gavest thy presents to all thy suitors, and didst reward them for coming to thee from all sides, for fornication with thee. Eze 16:34. And there was in thee the very opposite of the women in thy whoredom, that men did not go whoring after thee. In that thou givest payment, and payment was not given to thee, thou wast the very opposite. – By , the picture of the wide spread of idolatry, commenced in Eze 16:22, is placed in the relation of chronological sequence to the description already given of the idolatry itself. For all sin, all evil, must first exist before it can spread. The spreading of idolatry was at the same time an increase of apostasy from God. This is not to be sought, however, in the face that Israel forsook the sanctuary, which God had appointed for it as the scene of His gracious presence, and built itself idol-temples (Kliefoth). It consisted rather in this, that it erected idolatrous altars and little temples at all street-corners and cross-roads (Eze 16:24, Eze 16:25), and committed adultery with all heathen nations (Eze 16:26, Eze 16:28, Eze 16:29), and could not be induced to relinquish idolatry either by the chastisements of God (Eze 16:27), or by the uselessness of such conduct (Eze 16:32-34). is the whole of the apostasy from the Lord depicted in Eze 16:15-22, which prevailed more and more as idolatry spread. The picture of this extension of idolatry is introduced with woe! woe! to indicate at the outset the fearful judgment which Jerusalem was bringing upon itself thereby. The exclamation of woe is inserted parenthetically; for (Eze 16:24) forms the apodosis to in Eze 16:23. and are to be taken as general terms; but, as the singular with the plural in Eze 16:39 plainly shows, is a collective word. Hvernick has very properly called attention to the analogy between and in Num 25:8, which is used there to denote an apartment furnished or used for the service of Baal-peor. As , from , signifies literally that which is arched, a vault; so , from , is literally that which is curved or arched, a hump or back, and hence is used here for buildings erected for idolatrous purposes, small temples built on heights, which were probably so called to distinguish them as chapels for fornication. The ancient translations suggest this, viz.: lxx and , which Polychron. explains thus: ; Vulg.: lupanar and prostibulum . signifies artificial heights, i.e., altars built upon eminences, commonly called bamoth . The word ramah is probably chosen here with an allusion to the primary signification, height, as Jerome has said: quod excelsus sit ut volentibus fornicari procul appareat fornicationis locus et non necesse sit quaeri .
The increase of the whoredom, i.e., of the idolatry and illicit intercourse with heathenish ways, is individualized in Eze 16:26-29 by a specification of historical facts. We cannot agree with Hitzig in restricting the illicit intercourse with Egypt (Eze 16:26), Asshur (Eze 16:28), and Chaldaea (Eze 16:29) to political apostasy, as distinguished from the religious apostasy already depicted. There is nothing to indicate any such distinction. Under the figure of whoredom, both in what precedes and what follows, the inclination of Israel to heathen ways in all its extent, both religious and political, is embraced. Egypt stands first; for the apostasy of Israel from the Lord commenced with the worship of the golden calf, and the longing in the wilderness for the fleshpots of Egypt. From time immemorial Egypt was most deeply sunken in the heathenish worship of nature. The sons of Egypt as therefore described, in accordance with the allegory, as , magni carne ( bazar , a euphemism; cf. Eze 23:20), i.e., according to the correct explanation of Theodoret: . The way in which God punished this erring conduct was, that, like a husband who endeavours by means of chastisement to induce his faithless wife to return, He diminished the supply of food, clothing, etc. ( chog , as in Pro 30:8), intended for the wife (for the fact compare Hos 2:9-10); this He did by “not allowing Israel to attain to the glory and power which would otherwise have been conferred upon it; that is to say, by not permitting it to acquire the undisturbed and undivided possession of Canaan, but giving it up to the power and scorn of the princes of the Philistines” (Kliefoth). , to give any one up to the desire of another. The daughters of the Philistines are the Philistian states, corresponding to the representation of Israel as an adulterous wife. The Philistines are mentioned as the principal foes, because Israel fell completely into their power at the end of the period of the Judges (cf. Judg 13-16; 1Sa 4:1); and they are referred to here, for the deeper humiliation of Israel, as having been ashamed of the licentious conduct of the Israelites, because they adhered to their gods, and did not exchange them for others as Israel had done (compare Jer 2:10-11). (v. 27) is in apposition to : thy way, which is zimmah . Zimmah is applied to the sin of profligacy, as in Lev 18:17. – But Israel was not improved by this chastisement. It committed adultery with Asshur also from the times of Ahaz, who sought help from the Assyrians (2Ki 16:7.); and even with this it was not satisfied; that is to say, the serious consequences brought upon the kingdom of Judah by seeking the friendship of Assyria did not sober it, so as to lead it to give up seeking for help from the heathen and their gods. In Eze 16:28, is distinguished from ( , with accus.). The former denotes the immoral pursuit of a person for the purpose of procuring his favour; the latter, adulterous intercourse with him, when his favour has been secured. The thought of the verse is this: Israel sought the favour of Assyria, because it was not satisfied with illicit intercourse with Egypt, and continued to cultivate it; yet it did not find satisfaction or sufficiency even in this, but increased its adultery , to the Canaan’s-land Chaldaea. is not the proper name of the land of Canaan here, but an appellative designation applied to Chaldaea ( Kasdim ) or Babylonia, as in Eze 17:4 (Raschi). The explanation of the words, as signifying the land of Canaan, is precluded by the fact that an allusion to Canaanitish idolatry and intercourse after the mention of Asshur would be out of place, and would not coincide with the historical order of things; since it cannot be shown that “a more general diffusion of the religious customs of Canaan took place after the Assyrian era.” And it is still more decidedly precluded by the introduction of the word , which cannot possibly mean as far as, or unto, Chaldaea, and can only be a more precise definition of . The only thing about which a question can be raised, is the reason why the epithet should have been applied to Chaldaea; whether it merely related to the commercial spirit, in which Babylon was by no means behind the Canaanitish Tyre and Sidon, or whether allusion was also made to the idolatry and immorality of Canaan. The former is by no means to be excluded, as we find that in Eze 17:4 “the land of Canaan” is designated “a city of merchants” ( rokh e lim ). But we must not exclude the latter either, inasmuch as in the Belus- and Mylitta-worship of Babylon the voluptuous character of the Baal- and Astarte-worship of Canaan had degenerated into shameless unchastity (cf. Herodotus, i. 199).
In Eze 16:30, the contents of Eze 16:16-29 are summed up in the verdict which the Lord pronounces upon the harlot and adulteress: “yet how languishing is thy heart!” (as a participle Kal . . .; since the verb only occurs elsewhere in the Pual, and that in the sense of faded or pining away) can only signify a morbid pining or languishing, or the craving of immodest desire, which has grown into a disease. The form is also . . .; but it is analogous to the plural .
(Note: Hitzig objects to the two forms, which do not occur elsewhere; and with the help of the Sept. rendering , which is a mere guess founded upon the false reading , he adopts the conjectural reading , “what hope is there for thy daughter?” by which he enriches the Hebrew language with a new word ( ), and the prophecy contained in this chapter with a thought which is completely foreign to it, and altogether unsuitable.)
, powerful, commanding; as an epithet applied to zonah , one who knows no limit to her actions, unrestrained; hence in Arabic, insolent, shameless. Eze 16:31 contains an independent sentence, which facilitates the transition to the thought expanded in Eze 16:32-34, namely, that Jerusalem had surpassed all other harlots in her whoredoms. If we take Eze 16:31 as dependent upon the protasis in Eze 16:30, we not only get a very dragging style of expression, but the new thought expressed in Eze 16:31 is reduced to a merely secondary idea; whereas the expansion of it in Eze 16:32. shows that it introduces a new feature into the address. And if this is the case, cannot be taken as co-ordinate with htiw e t anidro-oc , but must be construed as the apodosis: “in thy building of rooms…thou wast not like the (ordinary) harlot, since thou disdainest payment.” For the plural suffix attached to , see the commentary on Eze 6:8. The infinitive answers to the Latin gerund in ndo (vid., Ewald, 237 c and 280 d), indicating wherein, or in what respect, the harlot Jerusalem differed from an ordinary prostitute; namely, in the fact that she disdained to receive payment for her prostitution. That this is the meaning of the words, is rendered indisputable by Eze 16:32-34. But the majority of expositors have taken as indicating the point of comparison between Israel and other harlots, i.e., as defining in what respect Israel resembled other prostitutes; and then, as this thought is at variance with what follows, have attempted to remove the discrepancy by various untenable explanations. Most of them resort to the explanation: thou wast not like the other prostitutes, who disdain to receive their payment offered for their prostitution, in the hope of thereby obtaining still more,
(Note: Jerome adopts this rendering: non facta es quasi meretrix fastidio augens pretium , and gives the following explanation: “thou hast not imitated the cunning prostitutes, who are accustomed to raise the price of lust by increasing the difficulties, and in this way to excite their lovers to greater frenzy.” Rosenmller and Maurer have adopted a similar explanation: “thou differest greatly from other harlots, who despise the payment offered them by their lovers, that they may get still more; for thou acceptest any reward, being content with the lowest payment; yea, thou dost even offer a price to thine own lovers.”)
an explanation which imports into the words a thought that has no existence in them at all. Hvernick seeks to fix upon , by means of the Aramaean, the meaning to cry out (crying out payment), in opposition to the ordinary meaning of , to disdain, or ridicule, in which sense Ezekiel also uses the noun in Eze 22:4. Hitzig falls back upon the handy method of altering the text; and finally, Kliefoth gives to the imaginary meaning “so far as,” i.e., “to such a degree that,” which cannot be defended either through Exo 39:19 or from Deu 24:5.
With the loose way in which the infinitive construct with is used, we grant that the words are ambiguous, and might have the meaning which the majority of the commentators have discovered in them; but this view is by no means necessary, inasmuch as the subordinate idea introduced by may refer quite as well to the subject of the sentence, “ thou,” as to the zonah with whom the subject is compared. Only in the latter case the would apply to other harlots as well as to Israel; whereas in the former it applies to Israel alone, and shows in what it was that Israel did not resemble ordinary prostitutes. But the explanation which followed was a sufficient safeguard against mistake. In this explanation adulteresses are mentioned first (v. 32), and then common prostitutes (vv. 33, 34). V. 32 must not be taken, as it has been by the majority of commentators, as an exclamation, or a reproof addressed to the adulteress Jerusalem: O thou adulterous wife, that taketh strangers instead of her husband! Such an exclamation as this does not suit the connection at all. But the verse is not to be struck out on that account, as Hitzig proposes. It has simply to be construed in another way, and taken as a statement of what adulteresses do (Kliefoth). They take strangers instead of their husband, and seek their recompense in the simple change, and the pleasure of being with other men. , lit., under her husband, i.e., as a wife subject to her husband, as in the connection with in Eze 23:5 and Hos 4:12 (see the comm. on Num 5:19). – Eze 16:33, Eze 16:34. Common prostitutes give themselves up for presents; but Israel, on the contrary, gave presents to its lovers, so that it did the very opposite to all other harlots, and the practice of ordinary prostitutes was left far behind by that of Israel. The change of forms and (a present) is probably to be explained simply on the ground that the form was lengthened into with a consonant as the termination, because the suffix could be attached more easily to the other. , the reverse, the opposite, i.e., with the present context, something unheard of, which never occurred in the case of any other harlot. – Ezekiel has thus fulfilled the task appointed him in Eze 16:2, to charge Jerusalem with her abominations. The address now turns to an announcement of the punishment.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
The first verse is variously explained. Some read the clause separately, ויהי אחרי כל רעתך, vihi achri kel regnethek — it was after all thy wickedness: and they think that God threatens the Jews here as he did in Hosea, (Hos 2:9.) For after God had there complained that his wool and his flax had been taken away, and offered as gifts to idols, he afterwards adds, I will demand all things back again, and then all thy beauty shall be taken from thee, and thy nakedness shall be laid bare, so that you shall be deservedly ashamed. Thus then they explain these words, that the condition of the Jews should be as it formerly was; as if he had said in one word, I will so avenge myself, that whether you will or not, you shall be compelled to feel the disgrace of your nakedness, since I will manifest it again. But this sense seems forced; therefore I unite it with the remainder of the verse which follows it. Thus then the language of the Prophet flows on: and it was after all thy wickedness that you built a high place for thyself — you made for thyself a lofty place in every street: there are two different words, but the sense is the same: you did set up thy high places in all the principal ways, and so, says he, thy beauty became abominable. But this is inserted by way of parenthesis, Alas! alas for thee! This exclamation is abruptly interposed. But, at the same time, I have no doubt that these things all adhere together, since the Jews added sin to sin, and never made an end of sinning. He says, therefore, after they had been perfidious and ungrateful to God, after they had basely devoted all they had to perverse worship, then this new crime was added, that they had erected high places in every street and in every path.
If any one objects that this was not a greater crime than others, the answer is easy, that God does not speak of one high place only, or of one altar, but he comprehends all the signs of idolatry by which they had infected the land; for it was the height of impudence to erect everywhere the standard of their superstitions. For every high place and every altar was a testimony of their backsliding; just as if they had openly boasted that they would not magnify the worship of the law, and intended purposely to overthrow whatever God had prescribed. God therefore, not without cause, burns with wrath because the Jews had erected high places and altars everywhere. Now, then, we understand the Holy Spirit’s meaning as far as these words are concerned. It is added, after all thy wickedness, says he; that is, in addition to all thy crimes, this sin and impudence is added, that you have built not only one, but innumerable high places in every street, nay, in every pathway of importance, that is, in the most celebrated places. For the heads of the pathways are the most conspicuous places, and whatever is done there is more exposed to the eyes of all.
We must now notice the exclamation which is interposed. Alas! alas! for thee, says the Lord Jehovah. Since the Jews, through their sloth, were not at all attentive to the reproofs of the prophets, that God might waken them up, he here pronounces his curse twice. It is clear that they were not moved by it: but this vehemence tended to their severer condemnation, since, though they were drowned and sunk in deep sleep, yet they might be raised by this formidable voice. There is no doubt that they applauded themselves for their own superstitions; but it is on that account profitable to estimate the weight of these words of God. For we gather from hence, that when idolaters indulge in their own fictions, and think themselves entirely free from blame, the word of God is sufficient, by which he thunders against them, saying, alas! alas! for thee. Hence men cease to judge according to their own notions, and are rather attentive to the sentence of God, and acknowledge his curse passing on them when they think that they are rightly discharging the duty of piety in worshipping idols.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(23) After all thy wickedness.The sin and idolatry hitherto described had been derived by Israel chiefly from the Canaanites, the old inhabitants of the land; but now. in accordance with what was said in Eze. 16:15, the prophet goes on to speak of the other abundant idolatries adopted eagerly by the Israelites from foreign nations.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“And so it is after all your wickedness – woe, woe to you, says the Lord Yahweh – that you have built yourself an eminent place (or vaulted chamber) and have made yourself a lofty place on every street. You have built your lofty place at every head of the way, and have made your beauty an abomination, and have opened your feet to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your whoredom.”
The ‘eminent place’, and the ‘lofty places’ on every street, may refer to the brick pedestals used by cult prostitutes in Assyrian inscriptions and the cult elevations symbolising the sacred marriage of the fertility goddess. Their encouragement of cult prostitution was seen by Yahweh as portraying their own adultery.
Alternately they may be prominent roof top shrines indicating the availability of fertility rites in connection with Canaanite worship. They would then be the equivalent of religious brothels. Either way these proliferated and could be found in every street and especially at prominent places.
‘And have opened your feet to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your whoredom.’ This indicates the widespread participation in such rites, but it is also preparing for what follows. They had welcomed the Egyptians (Eze 16:26), had to tolerate the Philistines (Eze 16:27), and had opened their arms to the Assyrians (Eze 16:28) and the Babylonians (Eze 16:29). This refers to political intrigue, and the constant seeking of help from anyone but Yahweh. It resulted in the necessity for introducing the gods of these nations and giving them exalted status. But that did not excuse them taking them to their hearts and filling Jerusalem with them. The fact was that they did not just reluctantly tolerate them, they showed how depraved they were by welcoming them with opened legs, (a very vivid metaphor).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 16:23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;)
Ver. 23. Woe, woe unto thee, saith the Lord God. ] A double woe will fall very heavy here and hereafter; woe and alas for evermore.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 16:23-29
23Then it came about after all your wickedness (‘Woe, woe to you!’ declares the Lord GOD), 24that you built yourself a shrine and made yourself a high place in every square. 25You built yourself a high place at the top of every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by to multiply your harlotry. 26You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and multiplied your harlotry to make Me angry. 27Behold now, I have stretched out My hand against you and diminished your rations. And I delivered you up to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your lewd conduct. 28Moreover, you played the harlot with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. 29You also multiplied your harlotry with the land of merchants, Chaldea, yet even with this you were not satisfied.
Eze 16:23-29 This is a list of the nations with which Judea made political connections and, thereby, introduced their gods into its culture.
1. Egypt, Eze 16:26
2. Philistia, Eze 16:27
3. Assyria, Eze 16:28
4. Babylon, Eze 16:29
Eze 16:23 (Woe, woe to you!’ declares the Lord GOD) This interjection implies grief and despair to you (cf. Eze 24:6; Eze 24:9). It is used mostly by Jeremiah (cf. Jer 4:13; Jer 4:31; Jer 6:4; Jer 10:19; Jer 13:27; Jer 15:10; Jer 45:3; Jer 48:46). There are consequences of human choices! Infidelity brings a sharp response from a faithful, loving God! Judgment is painful for Judah and for YHWH!
Eze 16:24
NASB, NKJVa shrine. . .a high place
NRSVa platform. . .a lofty place
TEVplaces to worship
NJBa mound. . .a high place
These two terms denote a raised platform.
1. shrine, BDB 146, literally mound (in this sense only in this chapter, Eze 16:24; Eze 16:31; Eze 16:39)
2. high place, BDB 928, in this chapter (Eze 16:24-25; Eze 16:31; Eze 16:39) are the only occurrences of this term in the sense of a manmade, raised platform. It is used in 1Sa 22:6 as a natural height. These same Hebrew letters (BDB 941 II) form the VERB to deal treacherously (in Piel stem). This might be a wordplay.
Fertility worship was usually performed on hills, but Israel moved the worship onto man-made platforms in every town square.
Eze 16:25
NASByou spread your legs
NKJV, TEVyou offered yourself
NRSVoffering yourself
NJBopening your legs
The VERB (BDB 832, KB 979, Piel IMPERFECT) is used as a euphemism with feet (BDB 919) to refer to genitalia (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 1048).
1. male, Exo 4:25; Jdg 3:24; Rth 3:4; Rth 3:7; 1Sa 24:3; Isa 7:20
2. female, Deu 28:57; Eze 16:25
3. possibly angels (Seraphim), Isa 6:2
Eze 16:26
NASB, NKJV,
TEVyour lustful neighbors
NKJVyour very fleshly neighbors
NJByour big-membered neighbors
The Hebrew construct (BDB 152 and 142) literally means great of flesh, which in this context, would refer to aroused male genitalia.
to make Me angry The VERB (BDB 494, KB 491, Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT) is often used of the covenant community provoking YHWH by covenant infidelity, Eze 8:17; Jdg 2:12; 1Ki 14:9; 1Ki 14:15; 1Ki 16:33; 1 Kgs. 22:54; 2Ki 17:11; 2Ki 23:19; Isa 65:3; Jer 7:18-19; Jer 11:17; Jer 32:29; Jer 32:32; Jer 44:3. This is where the metaphor of YHWH as jealous begins (cf. Deu 32:16; Deu 32:21)! Idolatry is a violation of faithful love. It is personal and purposeful! Notice these emotional words.
1. wrath, Eze 16:38; Eze 16:42; (BDB 404)
2. jealousy, Eze 16:38; Eze 16:42 (BDB 888)
3. enraged, Eze 16:43 (BDB 919, KB 1182)
See Special Topic: Anthropomorphic Language Used to Describe God at Eze 1:3.
Eze 16:27 I have stretched out My hand This is an idiom for action.
who are ashamed of your lewd conduct Even the pagans were ashamed (i.e., humiliated, BDB 483, KB 480, Niphal PARTICIPLE) by Judah’s idolatry, cf. Eze 16:57; Eze 5:14-15; Eze 22:4. Instead of being a light to the nations Judah was a stumbling block.
The term lewd (BDB 273) is a term used several times in Leviticus to denote improper sexual partners (cf. Eze 18:17; Ezek. 19:29; Eze 22:11). This lewdness would result in exile from the Promised Land (cf. Lev 18:24-30; Lev 20:22-23). Ezekiel uses this priestly terminology (i.e., he was a priest of the line of Zadok) to shock Judah about their sins (cf. Eze 16:27; Eze 16:43; Eze 16:58; Eze 22:9; Eze 22:11; Eze 23:21; Eze 23:27; Eze 23:29; Eze 23:35; Eze 23:44; Eze 23:48[twice], Eze 23:49; Eze 24:13; see NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 1113).
Eze 16:29
NASB, NRSV,
TEV, NJBmerchants
NKJVtraders
This term (BDB 488) is related to the term Canaan or Canaanite (BDB 489). Its basic meaning was trader (cf. Eze 17:4). However, in the OT it has a negative connotation because of the idolatries of the ten tribes of Palestine (see notes at Eze 16:3).
When God’s people act like unfair traders, they are characterized as Canaanites (cf. Hos 12:8).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
wickedness. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44.
woe, woe. Note the Figures of speech Cataplace and Epiaeuxie (App-6), for emphasis.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eze 16:23-29
Eze 16:23-29
“And it is come to pass after all thy wickedness, woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord Jehovah, that thou hast built unto thee a vaulted place, and hast made unto thee a lofty place in every street. Thou hast built thy lofty place at the head of every way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians, thy neighbors, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy whoredoms to provoke me to anger. Behold therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way. Thou hast played the harlot with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied. Thou hast moreover multiplied thy whoredom unto the land of traffic, unto Chaldea, and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.”
“At the head of every way …” (Eze 16:25). “The meaning here, as noted also in the LXX, clearly indicates that these were used for prostitution. Such places of prostitution were found in the `high places’ of Judah.” The amazing charge here is that there was one of these on “every street,” or at the head of every way.
The aggravation of Israel’s guilt was especially seen in their worship of the gods of their sworn enemies. This paragraph mentions the Egyptians (Eze 16:28), the Philistines (Eze 16:27), the Assyrians (Eze 16:28), and the Chaldeans (Eze 16:29), All of which, at one time or another, had oppressed Israel.
“Thou hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms …” (Eze 16:25). The meaning is that Israel, like an insatiable whore, had spread her legs apart for anyone who would have her. An example of this, as applied in the political sector of Israel’s behavior, is found in Zedekiah’s attempt to form political alliances with such countries as Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon (Jer 27:1-4).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
woe: Eze 2:10, Eze 13:3, Eze 13:18, Eze 24:6, Jer 13:27, Zep 3:1, Mat 11:21, Mat 23:13-29, Rev 8:13, Rev 12:12
Reciprocal: Isa 2:8 – is full Hos 7:13 – Woe
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 16:23. This wronged husband was deeply affected by the wickedness of his unfaithful wife. In the midst of
tile figurative parable the prophet injected a tew words of direct significance from the Lord, to warn the unfaithful wife (Jtidah) that great woe was in store for her.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
On top of all this wickedness, Jerusalem multiplied shrines to idols everywhere. For this Yahweh pronounced a lament of horror on her (cf. 1Sa 4:8; Pro 23:29; Isa 3:9). She became a militant advocate of idolatry, not just a practitioner of it. She also made her beauty abominable by prostituting herself to every passerby. She pursued foreign alliances as well as foreign gods.