Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 24:17
Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not [thy] lips, and eat not the bread of men.
17. Forbear to cry ] sigh in silence; lit. sigh, be silent.
mourning for the dead ] Another order was to be expected; two accus. must be assumed.
the tire of thine head ] The “tire” is not necessarily the priestly tiara, but the ordinary headdress ( Eze 24:23), which would probably be white. Putting off the shoes was a sign of calamity, 2Sa 15:31, and also covering the lower part of the face up to the upper lip. Mic 3:7; Lev 13:45.
the bread of men ] Jer 16:7, “Neither shall men break bread for them to comfort them for the dead, neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 17. Make no mourning] As a priest, he could make no public mourning, Le 21:1, c.
Bind the tire of thine head] This seems to refer to the high priest’s bonnet or perhaps, one worn by the ordinary priests: it might have been a black veil to cover the head.
Put on thy shoes upon thy feet] Walking barefoot was a sign of grief.
Cover not thy lips] Mourners covered the under part of the face, from the nose to the bottom of the chin.
Eat not the bread of men.] lechem anashim, “the bread of miserable men,” i.e., mourners; probably, the funeral banquet.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Forbear to cry; restrain and curb thy sorrows, neither sigh nor lament.
Make no mourning for the dead; when thou carriest her out to burial, make no mourning for her.
Bind the tire of thine head; adorn and trim up thy head, as thou wast used to do; go not bare-headed, as Lev 10:6; 21:10, a mourner.
Put on thy shoes upon thy feet: in great mournings the Jews went bare-looted, 2Sa 15:30; Isa 47:2, but do not thou so, put on thy shoes.
Cover not thy lips: it was a custom among them to cover either the upper lip, or mustaches, as the leper did, Lev 13:45, and as Mic 3:7; and this also is forbidden the prophet.
Eat not the bread of men; either of mourners, or rather of thy neighbours and friends, who were wont to visit and feast their mourning friends, and sent in both choice and abundance of provision to their houses, Jer 16:7; and this was a custom with Scythians, Grecians, Athenians, and Romans. Eat thou thine own, as if no mourning occasion in thy family.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. Forbear to cryor, “Lamentin silence”; not forbidding sorrow, but the loud expressionof it [GROTIUS].
no mourningtypical ofthe universality of the ruin of Jerusalem, which would precludemourning, such as is usual where calamity is but partial. “Thedead” is purposely put in the plural, as referringultimately to the dead who should perish at the taking ofJerusalem; though the singular might have been expected, asEzekiel’s wife was the immediate subject referred to: “make nomourning,” such as is usual, “for the dead,and such as shall be hereafter in Jerusalem” (Jer16:5-7).
tire of thine headthyheaddress [FAIRBAIRN].JEROME explains, “Thoushalt retain the hair which is usually cut in mourning.” Thefillet, binding the hair about the temples like a chaplet, was laidaside at such times. Uncovering the head was an ordinary sign ofmourning in priests; whereas others covered their heads in mourning(2Sa 15:30). The reason was,the priests had their headdress of fine twined linen given them forornament, and as a badge of office. The high priest, as having on hishead the holy anointing oil, was forbidden in any case to layaside his headdress. But the priests might do so in the case of thedeath of the nearest relatives (Lev 21:2;Lev 21:3; Lev 21:10).They then put on inferior attire, sprinkling also on their heads dustand ashes (compare Lev 10:6;Lev 10:7).
shoes upon thy feetwhereasmourners went “barefoot” (2Sa15:30).
cover not . . . lipsrather,the “upper lip,” with the moustache (Lev 13:45;Mic 3:7).
bread of menthe breadusually brought to mourners by friends in token of sympathy. So the”cup of consolation” brought (Jer16:7). “Of men” means such as is usually furnished bymen. So Isa 8:1, “aman’s pen”; Re 21:17,”the measure of a man.“
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Forbear to cry,…. Groan or howl, or make any doleful noise: or, “be silent” x: which the Talmudists y interpret of not greeting any person:
make no mourning for the dead; use none of those rites and ceremonies commonly observed for deceased relations and friends, particularly and especially for a wife; who is one of the seven persons for whom mourning is to be made, according to the Jewish canons z; and which the ties of nature, nearness of relation, and especially mutual and cordial affection, where that has taken place, require; and though a wife is not expressly mentioned among those, for whom a priest might defile himself by attending their funerals, yet must be included among those akin to him, if not solely designed, as Jarchi thinks; whose note on Le 21:2, is, there are none his kin but his wife; so that Ezekiel, though a priest, was not exempted from the observation of funeral rites, but obliged to them, had he not been forbid by a special order from the Lord: the particulars of which follow:
bind the tire of thine head upon thee; cap or turban, wore on the head, as a covering of it, and ornament to it, as the word used signifies; and the priests’ bonnets were for glory and beauty,
Ex 28:40, and such was the tire about the prophet’s head, since he was a priest; and which, in time of mourning, was taken off, and it was customary for mourners to be bare headed; and though the high priest might not uncover his head and rend his clothes for the dead,
Le 21:10, yet other priests might, unless they had a particular and special prohibition, as Ezekiel here; see Le 10:6 and yet it seems, by some instances, particularly that of David’s mourning for Absalom, that the head was covered at such a time, 2Sa 19:5 and Kimchi on the place expressly says, that it was the way and custom of mourners to cover themselves; and certain it is, that in later times, however, it has been the usage of the Jews to cover their heads in mourning; for this is one of the things expressly forbid in the Jewish canons, as Maimonides a says, to be used in mourning for the dead, namely, making bare the head; and covering the head is what mourners are obliged to b; this Gejerus c reconciles, by observing, that at the first of the mourning they used to take off of their heads what they wore for the sake of ornament, such as the tire, or bonnet here; but after a while covered themselves with veils when they went abroad, or others came to them. Jarchi interprets this of the “tephillim”, or phylacteries the Jews wore about their heads; and so the Talmud d; and the Targum is,
“let thy “totaphot” or frontlets be upon thee;”
of which interpretation Jerom makes mention; but these things do not appear to be in use in Ezekiel’s time:
and put on thy shoes upon thy feet: which used to be taken off, and persons walked barefoot in times of mourning, 2Sa 15:30, and this custom continues with the Jews to this day; and which they say is confirmed by this passage. One of their canons e runs thus,
“they do not rend garments, nor pluck off the shoe for any, until he is dead;”
which supposes they do, and should do, when he is dead: and this is one of the things, their writers f say, is forbidden a mourner for the dead, namely, to put on his shoes; and they ask, from whence it appears that a mourner is forbid to put on his shoes? the answer is, from what is said to Ezekiel, “put on thy shoes upon thy feet”: which shows that in common it was not right nor usual to do it; and it is their custom now for mourners, when they return from the grave, to sit seven days on the ground with their feet naked g:
and cover not thy lips; as the leper did in the time of his separation and distress, who put a covering upon his upper lip, Le 13:45 and as mourners did, who put a veil upon their faces:
and eat not the bread of men: of other men; or “of mourners” h, as the Targum; such as used to be sent to mourners by their friends, in order to refresh and revive their spirits; and who, they supposed, through their great grief, were not careful to provide food for themselves; and this they did to comfort them, and let them know that, though they had lost a relation, there were others left, who had a cordial respect for them, and heartily sympathized with them: and, according to the traditions of the Jews i, a mourner might not eat of his own bread; but was obliged to eat the bread of others, at least his first meal, and on the first day of his mourning; though he might on the second, and on the following days; and this they endeavour to establish from this place of Scripture. What their friends used to send them at such a time were usually hard eggs and wine. Eggs, because round and spherical, and so a proper emblem of death, and might serve to put in mind of it, which goes round, is with one today, and with another tomorrow; and wine, to cheer their spirits, that they might forget their sorrow k. They also used to eat at such times a sort of pulse, called lentiles, to show by what sort of food they lost their birthright, or firstborn l And such like things were used by the Romans in their funeral feasts, as beans, parsley, lettuce, lentiles, eggs, c. m, and as the Romans had their “parentalia”, and the Greeks their , so the Jews had also very sumptuous feasts on such occasions: not only great personages, as kings and nobles, made them so Archelaus, made a magnificent one for the people, on the death of his father Herod n, after the custom of the country; but even the common people were very profuse and lavish in them; and which, as Josephus o observes, was the cause of great poverty among them; for so prevalent was the custom, that there was a necessity of doing it, or otherwise a man would not have been reckoned a holy man; see Jer 16:7.
x “tace”, Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus. y T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 15. 1. z Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 2. sect. 1. Buxtorf. Jud. Synagog. c. 49. p. 708. a Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 5. sect. 1. b Schulchan Aruch, lib. Jore Dea, c. 380. sect. 1. c. 386. sect. 1, 2. c De luctu Ebr. c. 11. sect. 5. p. 250. d T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 11. 1. Moed Katon, fol. 15. 1. Succa, fol. 25. 2. e Messech, Semachot, c. 1. sect. 5. f Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 5. sect. 1. Schulchan Aruch, lib. Jore Dea, c. 380. sect. 1. 382. sect. 1, 2. g Buxtorf. Jud. Synagog. c. 49. p. 706. h T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 11. 1. Moed Katon, fol. 15. 1. Succa, fol. 25. 2. i T. Bab. Moed Katan, fol. 27. 2. Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 4. sect. 9. Schulchan Aruch, lib. Jore Dea, c. 378. sect. 1. k Buxtorf. Jud. Synagog. c. 49. p. 708. l Hieron. ad Paulam super obitu Blesillae, tom. 1. operam, fol. 54. L. m Vid. Kirchman. de Funer. Rom. l. 4. c. 7. p. 591. n Joesph Antiqu. l. 17. c. 8. sect. 4. o De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 1. sect. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(17) The tire of thine head.This might be either the covering for the head usually worn by the people (see Eze. 24:23), or the special mitre of fine linen (Exo. 39:28) provided for the priests; but as the peculiar priestly garments were worn only when the priests were on duty within the tabernacle (Lev. 6:10-11), it is not likely that Ezekiel used them in his captivity. The priests were expressly allowed to mourn for their nearest relations (Lev. 21:2-3), and Ezekiel is therefore here made an exception. Among the ordinary signs of mourning was the covering of the head (2Sa. 15:30; Jer. 14:3), the sprinkling of dust upon it (Eze. 27:30; 1Sa. 4:12; 2Sa. 15:32), going barefoot (1Sa. 15:30; Isa. 20:2), and covering the lips, or lower part of the face (Mic. 3:7). All these things are now forbidden to the prophet in his sorrow.
Eat not the bread of meni.e., the bread furnished by other men. It was customary for friends and neighbours to send food to the house of mourning, a custom which seems to be alluded to in Deu. 26:14; Jer. 16:7; Hos. 9:4; and out of this custom the habit of funeral feasts appears to have grown in later times.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. Forbear to cry R.V., “sigh, but not aloud.” There could be no funeral dirge, as is so common in all oriental countries, nor were even the universal outward expressions of sorrow in dress permitted to him, nor the funeral feast, the “bread of men.” (See Jer 16:5; Jer 16:7.) He could only”groan and be still” (Targum). For funeral customs see note Eze 27:30-31.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 24:17. Forbear, &c. Groan silently; make no funeral mourning. This translation is agreeable to the famous saying of the poet,
Curae leves loquuntur, graviores silent.*
* Light cares are talkative; heavier cares are silent.
Instead of the bread of men, Houbigant, in agreement with several of the versions, and many commentators, reads the bread of mourners. See Jer 16:7.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 24:17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not [thy] lips, and eat not the bread of men.
Ver. 17. Forbear to cry. ] Heb., Be silent, and so suffocate thy sorrows; Ne plangas, ne plores. Not as if the dead were not to be lamented – tears are the dues of the dead, a Mors mea ne careat lachrymis – or that it were unbeseeming a prophet to bewail his dead comfort, but to set forth by this figure the greatness of their ensuing sorrow, bigger than any tears; for, Curae leves loquuntur ingentes stupent.
Bind the tire of thy head upon thee.
a P : .
b Singultus devorat.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
bind, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Lev 10:6; Lev 13:45; Lev 21:10). cover not thy lips. Compare Mic 3:7.
the bread of men : i.e. the bread or food brought to the house of mourners. Compare Jer 16:5-7. Hos 9:4,
men. Hebrew, plural of ‘enosh. App-14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Forbear to cry: Heb. Be silent, Psa 37:7, *marg. Psa 39:9, Psa 46:10, Amo 8:3, Hab 2:20
make: Jer 16:4-7
bind: Eze 24:23, Lev 10:6, Lev 21:10
put: 2Sa 15:30
cover: Eze 24:22, Lev 13:45, Mic 3:7
lips: Heb. upper lip, and so Eze 24:22
eat: Hos 9:4
the bread of men: Lechem anoshim not “the bread of mourners,” as some render, but “the bread of other men,” i.e., such as was commonly sent to mourners on such occasions by their friends. Jer 16:7
Reciprocal: Exo 33:4 – and no Lev 21:4 – General Deu 26:14 – the dead 2Sa 3:35 – cause 2Ki 9:30 – tired Isa 20:2 – put
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 24:17. Make no mourning for the dead did not mean he was not allowed to have any feeling of grief, but that he was to make no outcry over it. In that sense he was to be dumb; not that he could not speak if occasion required. The closing expressions of the verse means he was to conduct himself in a normal manner and not act like one in mourning. Bat net the bread, of wen. When death enters a home it is customary for neighbors to relieve the family of the burden and worry of household tasks by coming in and providing the meals. Ezekiel was restricted from aocepting any such favors, because that would be an outward demonstration of mourning.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
24:17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind thy turban upon thee, {p} and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not [thy] lips, and eat {q} not the bread of men.
(p) For in mourning they went bare headed and barefooted and also covered their lips.
(q) That is, which the neighbours sent to them that mourned.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Ezekiel would have to sorrow inwardly; he was not to do so outwardly. It was customary for relatives of a dead loved one to wail long and loud with family, friends, and even paid mourners (cf. 2Sa 1:17; 2Sa 11:26; Mic 1:8). But Ezekiel was to observe none of the customary acts of mourning over the death of his loved one, which included throwing dust on his head, going barefoot, covering his mustache, and eating a modest meal after a day of fasting (cf. 2Sa 1:12; 2Sa 3:35; Jer 16:7; Hos 9:4). [Note: See Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions, pp. 59-61.] Mourning was not appropriate in cases of capital punishment.