Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 23:40
And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger [was] sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,
40. that ye have sent ] Perhaps: and furthermore they sent. The change of person occurs later. The word “they sent” is wanting in LXX.
wash thyself] i.e. bathe thyself.
paintedst thy eyes ] This refers to the practice of colouring the edges of the eyelids with a dark powder (stibium), which made the eye itself appear large and brilliant, 2Ki 9:30; Jer 4:30. The word kahal is Arab., and the root of Alcohol; the Heb. is pch (Isa 54:11); Job’s daughter bore the name Keren-hap-puch, horn of paint.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
40 44. These verses hardly refer to political alliances merely; Eze 23:41 suggests idolatrous worship. As the foreign gods came in, however, through intercourse with the nations which served them they are spoken of as being sent for by messengers (cf. Eze 23:16). The whole is presented under the figure of an harlot receiving men from all quarters. The passage has great resemblance to Isa 57:9 seq.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The figure is that of a woman decked in all her beauty, sitting on a couch (not bed) at a banquet prepared for those whom she has invited. This further offence is not one of idolatry, but that of courting alliances with other powers which were not less readily made than broken.
Eze 23:40
That ye have sent – Better, they (i. e., Israel and Judah) sent.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 40. Thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments.] This is exactly the way in which a loose female in Bengal adorns herself to receive guests. She first bathes, then rubs black paint around her eyes, and then covers her body with ornaments.-WARD’S Customs.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Sent for men: see Eze 23:16.
From far; from Chaldea.
A messenger was sent; an embassy from the king of Judah, with advice of his princes, no doubt.
They came: see Eze 23:17.
Wash thyself; after the manner of harlots, gottest all fine, clean, and delicate against thy paramours came; so idol temples built, altars beautified, sacrifices prepared, all to commend thyself to their alliance and help.
Paintedst thy eyes; like a decayed harlot, madest up thy defects with paint.
Deckedst thyself with ornaments; puttest on the rich clothing I gave thee, and with thy Husbands bounty allured adulterers to thy bed; so Eze 16:13,14; thus was God abused and provoked.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
40. messenger was sentnamely,by Judah (Eze 23:16; Isa 57:9).
paintedst . . . eyes(2Ki 9:30, Margin; Jer4:30). Black paint was spread on the eyelids of beauties to makethe white of the eye more attractive by the contrast, so Judah leftno seductive art untried.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far,…. From Egypt, Assyria, and Chaldea, to treat with them, and enter into alliances and confederacies with them, and to join them in their idolatrous practices; these Heathen nations did not send to the Jews, but the Jews to them; they did not court their friendship and alliance, but the Jews courted theirs:
unto whom a messenger was sent; to court their favour, and solicit a confederacy, and to desire that ambassadors might be sent to reside among them:
and, lo, they came; these Heathen courts listened to the proposal, and accordingly sent their plenipotentiaries and ambassadors to them, who came in their masters’ name, and with their credentials; and for the reception of whom great preparations were made, as follows:
for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments; just as harlots do to make themselves agreeable to their lovers; who use washes and paint, as Jezebel did, and dress themselves in their best clothes, and adorn themselves in the best manner they can. Harlots had their particular attire, by which they were known, Pr 7:10 and they not only used bagnios or baths, but washes for their face, to make them look beautiful; and particularly painted their eyes, to make them look larger; for large eyes in women, in some nations, were reckoned very handsome, particularly among the Greeks: hence Juno, in Homer d, is called
the ox eyed, as some translate it; or rather the large eyed Juno: and the Grecian women, in order to make their eyes large, made use of a powder mixed with their washes, which shrunk their eyebrows, and caused their eyes to stand out, and look fuller and larger; and such was the paint which Pliny, e calls stibium, and says, it was by some named “platyophthalmon”, because in the beautiful eyebrows of women it dilated the eyes; and it seems that painting with something of this nature was used by the Jewish women, in imitation of the Heathens, for the same purpose, especially by harlots; hence the phrase of rending the face, or rather the eyes, with paint, Jer 4:30, so the Moorish women now, as Dr. Shaw f relates, to add a gracefulness to their complexions, tinge their eye lids with “alkahol”, the powder of lead ore; and this is performed by first dipping into this powder a small wooden bodkin, of the thickness of a quill, and then drawing it afterwards through the eyelids, over the ball of the eye; and which is properly a rending the eyes indeed, as the prophet calls it, with powder of “pouk”, or lead ore: so, for the gratifying these idolatrous ambassadors, idols were set up, altars built, and sacrifices prepared; and, in order to their public entry, and to show how acceptable they were, palaces were fitted up for them; and the streets through which they passed decorated, and all public marks of esteem and affection given them; to this the Targum seems to have respect, paraphrasing the words thus,
“and, lo, they came to the place thou hadst prepared; thou hast adorned the streets, and appointed palaces.”
d Iliad. 1. l. 550. e Nat. Hist. l. 33. c. 6. f Travels, p. 229. Ed. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(40) Paintedst thine eyes.The figure is that of a lewd woman preparing herself for her paramour, and awaiting his arrival. Painting the eyes, or rather the lids and lashes, was an ancient custom, still preserved in the East. (Comp. 2Ki. 9:30.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
In His Anger God Then Speaks Directly to Samaria and Jerusalem.
“And furthermore you sent for men who came from far, to whom a messenger was sent, and lo, they came. For whom you washed yourself, and painted your eyes, and decked yourselves with ornaments, and sat on a stately bed with a table prepared before it, on which you set my incense and my oil.”
Their actions had been deliberate and voluntary. In the first case these ‘men’ had not come unwanted, they had been invited. They had sent messengers to them, like a prostitute might send messages to her lovers, as they entered into alliances with other nations. It had begun with Solomon in his later years, for the number of his wives indicated matches made for treaty purposes (1Ki 11:1-8). It continued when Asa sought aid from the king of Syria (1Ki 15:18-20), and when Ahab entered into marriage treaty with Zidon (1Ki 16:31-33). We know from the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III that Jehu of Israel was tributary to Assyria, and 2Ki 16:7; 2Ch 28:16 also describe the first contact of Ahaz of Judah with Assyria, when he sought Assyria’s assistance. From then on Judah was officially tributary to Assyria. Hezekiah also foolishly accepted the messengers from Babylon (2Ki 20:12-13), whether he had sought them we do not know, but it is likely. They would not have come without some invitation. So their invitations had voluntarily gone out.
These earlier involvements then resulted in necessary later treaties. Manasseh’s behaviour suggests treaty obligation to Assyria (2Ki 21:3-5). Jehoiakin made a treaty with Pharaoh and Egypt (2Ki 23:35), and then with Babylon (2Ki 24:1). And all these treaties also resulted in involvement with those nation’s gods ( 1Ki 11:4-5 ; 1Ki 16:32; 2Ki 16:10-15; 2Ki 21:3-5). (For other treaty situations see also 2Ki 15:19 ; 2Ki 16:5; 2Ki 17:3-4).
And they had prepared themselves so that they would appear attractive and desirable, with the offer of gifts and pleasure to those who came. They had taken what was God’s and dispensed it to them and to their idols. The incense and oil of the sanctuary were especially sacred but they had been offered to other gods. All done because they were seeking their aid and their friendship when they should have looked to God. They had prostituted themselves to the nations.
The sudden change from plural ‘you’ to the singular indicates that God is now speaking to each ‘woman’ as individual (a return to the plural occurs in Eze 23:42; Eze 23:44) to emphasise that each chose their own way.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 23:40. And furthermore But when they had called in those men who came from far, and to whom they had sent messengers, lo! they came to her, who had washed herself, had painted her eyes [with stibium], and decked herself with ornaments. Eze 23:41. She sat upon a stately bed, &c. Houbigant. See 2Ki 9:30. This is spoken of Aholibah only, to whom the Assyrians came principally, after they had seduced Aholah. The times of Ahaz are alluded to, who called in the Assyrians to assist him against the kings of Assyria and Israel; for in those times Aholibah or Judah revolted to the gods of the Assyrians. By the stately bed and table placed before Aholibah, seems to be meant the altar which Ahaz raised after the similitude of that which he had seen at Damascus. See Houbigant’s note.
Paintedst thy eyes See Bishop Lowth on Isa 3:16. The syrma is a black impalpable powder, and so volatile as to spread itself like down upon a small brass wire fixed in the cork of the bottle which contains it. The extremity of the wire is applied to the interior corner of the eye, resting itupon the eyelids, and drawing it softly towards the temples, in order to leave within the eyelids two black streaks.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 23:40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger [was] sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,
Ver. 40. Ye have sent for men. ] Ye have trusted to foreign forces and carnal combinations.
For whom thou didst wash thyself.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 23:40-42
40Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and lo, they camefor whom you bathed, painted your eyes and decorated yourselves with ornaments; 41and you sat on a splendid couch with a table arranged before it on which you had set My incense and My oil. 42The sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and drunkards were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort. And they put bracelets on the hands of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.
Eze 23:40 Israel and Judah decorated themselves for the idolatrous meals (cf. Eze 23:41) with foreign gods (i.e., political alliances).
1. bathed, BDB 934
2. painted their eyes, cf. 2Ki 9:30; Jer 4:30 (usually black or blue around the eyes to highlight them)
3. decorated themselves with ornaments, BDB 725, cf. Eze 16:13-16; Isa 3:18-23
Eze 23:42 b seems to describe presents brought by the foreign officials.
1. bracelets, BDB 855, cf. Eze 16:11-12; Gen 24:22; Gen 24:30; Gen 24:47; Isa 3:19
2. crowns, BDB 742, this action may be mimicking YHWH’s actions in Eze 16:9-14. The crown can refer to royalty or a wedding crown (cf. Son 3:11)
Eze 23:42-43 These verses are difficult to translate and, therefore, difficult to interpret. The context helps, but does not reveal the specifics related to the lovers of Eze 23:42.
The ADJECTIVE worn out (BDB 115) is meant to express that Judah is an experienced prostitute, as a matter of fact, a prostitute used so often that she has become unattractive.
The MT Hebrew text offers a suggested change (i.e., Qere, what is read) to a VERB (BDB 275, KB 275, Qal IMPERFECT). The original unchanged text was Will they commit adultery with her now, and she with them? The emended text reads Will they now commit adultery with her when she is thus?
Eze 23:42
NASB, NRSVdrunkards
NKJV, REBSabeans
LXX, TEV,
NJB, JPSOAa crowd of men
PESHITTAmen who had come from Sheba
The MT has drunkards (BDB 685, Qere [it is read] the NOUN; BDB 684, KB 738, Qal PARTICIPLE, Kethibh [it is written]), whose only occurrence is here, so some change it to Sabeans, which is spelled exactly the same, but without the letter waw. Sheba is an ancestor of the Sabeans (i.e., raiders, cf. Gen 25:3), who lived in southwest Arabia.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
men. Plural of ‘mush. App-14.
wash thyself. Compare Rth 3:3.
paintedst, he. Compare 2Ki 9:30. Jer 4:30.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
ye have: Eze 23:13, Isa 57:9
to come: Heb. coming, 2Ki 20:13-15
thou didst: Rth 3:3, Est 2:12
paintedst: Kachalt aineych rendered by the LXX “thou didst paint thine eyes with stibium,” and Vulgate circumlinisti stibio oculos tuos “thou didst paint round thine eyes with stibium,” or lead ore; whence it is called in Arabic kochl and in Syriac kecholo and koochlo 2Ki 9:30, Jer 4:30
and deckedst: Eze 16:13-16, Pro 7:10, Isa 3:18-23
Reciprocal: Eze 23:16 – and sent Hos 2:5 – I will Hos 2:13 – she decked 1Pe 3:3 – that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 23:40, These unfaithful wives were worse than the usual cases, for they even sent messengers to strange men to solicit their intimacies. This item is commented upon more fully at verse 16. When the men answered the invitation with their presence they found (he women adorned with the make-up” of impure characters.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 23:40-42. And furthermore, ye have sent for men to come from far, &c. Here the same thing which was spoken of in the former part of the chapter, is mentioned again in other words, namely, their courting the alliances of foreign nations, by complying with their idolatries: and this is set forth under the representation of the several arts which harlots used to recommend themselves to new lovers: compare Isa 57:7; Isa 57:9. For whom thou didst wash thyself A custom generally practised by women in those countries, before they entertained their lovers. Paintedst thy eyes It seems to have been their fashion in those days to draw strokes about their eyes, or to colour their eye-brows with black lead. And sattest upon a stately bed Here the custom of sitting or lying upon beds, at the feasts made in honour of idols, or false gods, seems to be particularly spoken of, as may be inferred from the following words: whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil That is, whereupon thou hast offered up to idols that incense and oil which ought to have been offered up to me. It was usual, after a sacrifice to idols, for a table well spread to be placed before a couch, and a feast to be partaken of. The lectisternia of the Romans were borrowed from this eastern idolatrous rite, Livy, 5. 13. Houbigant thinks, that by the table here spoken of is meant the altar which Ahaz erected, after the similitude of that which he had seen at Damascus. And a voice of a multitude, &c. The noise of festivity, and of people assembled together in jollity, was heard all around. It seems their loose mirth, at their meetings in honour of some of their idols, is here particularly meant. And with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans, &c. The prophet proceeds in comparing the idolatries of the Jews to the practices of lewd women, who prostitute themselves to all comers, even those of the meanest condition. Such were the Sabeans that came from the wilderness, that is, from Arabia, called the desert, where dwelt the posterity of Seba, mentioned Gen 10:7. Which put bracelets upon their hands, &c. That is, upon the hands and heads of these two lewd women, Aholah and Aholibah. Bracelets and crowns were ornaments proper for brides, and were likewise presented by lovers to their mistresses: and therefore this may signify the compliance of the Jewish people with the grossest idolatries. Or the meaning may be, that Aholah and Aholibah, the inhabitants of Samaria and Jerusalem, put bracelets upon the hands, and beautiful crowns upon the heads, of such worthless idolaters as the Sabeans of the wilderness were; that is, courted their friendship and alliance with gifts.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
23:40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from {p} far, to whom a messenger [was] sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, didst paint thy eyes, and didst deck thyself with ornaments,
(p) They sent into other countries to have such as would teach the service of their idols.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
These daughters had sent to other nations and invited ambassadors to come to them to make treaties (cf. Deu 17:14-20). They had made themselves as attractive as possible, like a prostitute does for her lover. They even used the things that they should have used only for the worship of Yahweh to entice desert lovers (e.g. the Arabians, Moabites, and Edomites). The whole atmosphere of the reception was like that of a drunken orgy. The same Hebrew word, saba’im, can mean "Sabeans" and "drunkards" (Eze 23:42), and both meanings could have been intended (double entendre). These foreign lovers gave the Israelites the wages of a prostitute including bracelets and crowns.