Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 17:2
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
2. a riddle ] As requiring interpretation; the passage is also called a “parable,” as containing a similitude or comparison. The eagle is Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Conquerors are often compared to the eagle, Deu 28:49; Isa 46:11; Jer 4:13; Jer 48:40; Hos 8:1; Lam 4:19.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 2. Son of man, put forth a riddle] Riddle, [Anglo-Saxon] or [A.S.], Anglo-Saxon, from [A.S.] to divine; a thing that must be curiously investigated and sifted, to find out the meaning; and hence, riddle, a sort of coarse sieve to clean corn, to separate coarse chaff and straws from the pure grain. An instrument formerly used for divination. This is not far removed from the Hebrew chidah, from chad, to penetrate; not that which penetrates the mind, but which we must penetrate to find out the sense.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
These two verses are preface to what follows in the chapter.
A riddle; a dark saying, which calls for thorough consideration to understand and apply it, because the meaning is different to the sound of the words.
A parable; the same thing redoubled in different words. And it is likely the prophet is commanded to use a parable, because those Eastern people were much used to and taken with this kind of discourse.
The house of Israel, i.e. the remainders of the house of Israel, whether of the ten tribes, or of the two tribes.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. riddlea continuedallegory, expressed enigmatically, requiring more than common acumenand serious thought. The Hebrew is derived from a root,”sharp,” that is, calculated to stimulate attention andwhet the intellect. Distinct from “fable,” in that itteaches not fiction, but fact. Not like the ordinary riddle, designedto puzzle, but to instruct. The “riddle” is here identicalwith the “parable,” only that the former refers to theobscurity, the latter to the likeness of the figure to the thingcompared.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Son of man, put forth a riddle,…. A dark saying, but a smart one: “whet a whetting” k, as in the Hebrew; something at first sight difficult to be understood, yet amusing and entertaining; and, when solved, very useful and instructive:
and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; or, “concerning the house of Israel” l; as the Targum and Syriac version; something relating to them, and what would aptly describe and represent their case; for the prophet was bid to take such a method, not to hide things from them, but rather the more strongly to represent them to them; seeing hereby their attention would be excited, and things would be more fixed in their memories, and they would be put upon studying the meaning of them; and when explained to them, and understood, which was quickly done, they might be the more affected with them.
k , Heb. “acue acumen”, Piscator. l “de domo Israelis”, Junius & Tremellius, Polanus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But I come to the words Son of man, set forth in enigma: the noun and the verb mutually answer to each other, hence any one may if he please render the Prophet’s words, by saying enigmatize an enigma: for the Prophet here speaks of allegorical language, חידה, chideh, signifies the same as “allegory,” where the words are different from the sense, that is, where the sense is wrapped up in obscure involutions: but we know that God sometimes spoke enigmatically when unwilling to be understood by the impious and disbelieving. But here the obscurity of the sentence has another meaning, namely, that the Jews should be waked up, and this prophecy should penetrate their minds: we know their extreme hardness, and hence if the Prophet had spoken simply and in his accustomed language, they had not been so attentive. This therefore is the reason why, God orders him to speak enigmatically. He now adds, משל ומשל, vemeshel meshel. We know that meshel is a remarkable sentence, and is the word used by Solomon as the title of his proverbs: משל, meshel, then, means the same as apothegm: but it is sometimes taken for likeness: and in this place God so denounces destruction upon the Israelites in an allegory, as to illustrate his language by a comparison, since otherwise it would have been obscure. Be this as it may, God so prefaced his address, that the Jews might acknowledge the message to be no common one, but that it ought to affect them seriously. The usual reason for speaking enigmatically does not hold good here, namely, that the Jews were unworthy of the doctrine of salvation, since the Prophet will very shortly explain what he had hitherto uttered in figure and allegory. It is indeed true, that Christ spoke in parables to the people, because the disciples alone were capable of familiar and pure teaching. Of unbelievers, also, Isaiah says, Prophecy shall be to you a sealed book. Hence I will speak with this people in a strange and barbarous tongue, and they shall not proceed beyond the rudiments. (Mat 13:0.) But, as I have said, the obscurity of this teaching was only a preparation, that the people should strictly attend to the subject here set before them.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) A riddle . . . a parable.What the prophet has to say is called a riddle as well as a parable, because there is something in it recondite and obscuresomething which, until it is explained, should excite the minds of the people to guess its meaning.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“Son of man, put forth a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel.”
What was to follow was a riddle to be solved and a parable, here a story with a hidden meaning (but which was to be explained), with an important message for the people of Israel.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 17:2. Put forth a riddle That is to say, a continued metaphor, or figurative speech; an allegory. The prophets frequently offer their instruction under this kind of enigmatical parables. Our Saviour complied with this taste of the easterns in his Gospel. See Calmet.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
Ver. 2. Son of man, put forth a riddle. ] Acue acumen, sharpen a sharpening, or whet a whetting. The prophet might have expressed God’s mind in fewer words; but then it would not have taken so deep an impression. Parents must whet God’s word upon their children, Deu 6:7 ministers upon their people, and Christians upon one another for the increase of love and good works. Heb 10:24 Riddles exercise the wit, and parables help the memory, and excite both attention and affection.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Son of man. See note on Eze 2:1.
riddle = enigma. Hebrew. chidah = a difficult or per plexing problem put forth for solution. Occurs in Jdg 14:1 Jdg 14:2, Jdg 14:13, Jdg 14:14, Jdg 14:15, Jdg 14:16, Jdg 14:17, Jdg 14:18, Jdg 14:19 (= riddle). Num 12:8. 1Ki 10:5. 2Ch 9:1 (= dark sayings). Psa 49:4. Pro 1:6, &c. Distinct from a “parable”. Compare Psa 78:2 (= dark sayings). Dan 8:23. Hab 2:6 (= “proverb”).
parable = the comparing of one thing with another. Not the same as “riddle” (enigma).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eze 20:49, Jdg 9:8-15, Jdg 14:12-19, 2Sa 12:1-4, Hos 12:10, Mat 13:13, Mat 13:14, Mat 13:35, Mar 4:33, Mar 4:34, 1Co 13:12
Reciprocal: Num 12:8 – dark speeches Num 23:7 – he took Jer 23:5 – Branch Eze 2:1 – Son Eze 24:3 – utter Mat 13:24 – put Mar 12:15 – Why Luk 14:7 – put
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 17:2. Son of man, put forth a riddle A continued metaphor or figurative speech: an allegory. The prophets frequently delivered their instructions in this way, as being well calculated both to engage the attention of their hearers or readers, and to make a deep and lasting impression on their minds. It was a mode of teaching peculiarly adapted to the eastern people, and therefore often adopted by their instructers, whether inspired or uninspired. It is well known that our Lord frequently used it in preaching his gospel.