Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 28:24
And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor [any] grieving thorn of all [that are] round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I [am] the Lord GOD.
24. “Brier” is “thorn” ch. Eze 2:6 (slightly different form). The term “pricking” is used of the leprosy (Lev 13:51, fretting).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 24. There shall be no more a pricking brier] Nothing to excite Israel to idolatry when restored from their captivity. Perhaps there is an allusion to Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon, and wife to Ahab, king of Israel, who was the greatest curse to Israel, and the universal restorer of idolatry in the land, see 1Kg 16:31. Sidon being destroyed, there would come no encourager of idolatry from that quarter.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
No more; the time intended here is, when, after seventy years captivity, loathing themselves for their iniquities, and repenting, they return and settle in their own land. Pricking brier, grieving thorn: by these two metaphors the prophet points out the troublesome neighbours of the Jews.
Of all that are round about them; such as Moab, Ammon, Edom, Tyre, and this Zidon, which on all occasions did grieve, wound, and reproach the Jews, and triumph in the fall of the Jews, and were ever ready, being near.
That despised them; contemning both in word and carriage the Jews, their religion, manners, laws, and their God. They shall know that I am the Lord: see Eze 28:22.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. no more . . . brier . . . unto .. . Israelas the idolatrous nations left in Canaan (amongwhich Zidon is expressly specified in the limits of Asher, Jud1:31) had been (Num 33:55;Jos 23:13). “A brier,”first ensnaring the Israelites in sin, and then being made theinstrument of punishing them.
prickingliterally,”causing bitterness.” The same Hebrew istranslated “fretting” (Lev 13:51;Lev 13:52). The wicked are oftencalled “thorns” (2Sa23:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And there shall be no more a pricking brier to the house of Israel,…. To the church of God, Jews or Gentiles, particularly to the Jews, who will now be converted; all the enemies of Christ and his people will now be destroyed, who have been very grievous and distressing to them by their furious persecutions; the pope and Turk will be no more, nor any of the antichristian powers; the beast and false prophet will be taken and cast into the lake of fire; and there will be none to hurt and destroy in all the holy mountain,
Re 19:20:
nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them that despised them; the same thing in other words as before; wicked men, especially tyrannical princes, furious persecutors of the saints, are like thorns and briers, not only unfruitful, useless, and unprofitable, but pricking, grieving, and hurtful to good men, by their persecutions, revilings, and reproaches, and whose end is to be burned. The Targum of the whole is,
“and there shall be no more to the house of Israel a king that doth evil (or hurt), or a governor that oppresses all round about them that spoil them:”
and they shall know that I am the Lord; the house of Israel, the Jews now converted, they shall know the Lord Christ, and acknowledge him to be their Lord and King.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
FUTURE GLORY IN ISRAEL
Verses 24-26:
Verse 24 assures hope for Israel when there shall be no more a pricking briar, or piercing thorn to cause her grief round about. There shall be no more neighbors to despise them in a grander, dawning day, Num 33:55; Jos 23:13. The term “pricking” is used in Leviticus where it refers to “fretting leprosy,” a condition that is aggravating, unclean, and will not go away, much as the Sidonian briar had fretted and nettled Israel, Lev 13:51-52; Lev 14:44; Jdg 2:3; Jer 12:14; Mic 7:4; 2Co 12:7.
Verse 25 declares that the day would come that the covenant God would regather His people Israel from Babylon, and among the heathen where He had scattered and dispersed them in judgment, and ultimately be sanctified in them, in His land that He had given by covenant to the house of Jacob, Eze 11:17; Eze 20:41; Eze 34:13; Eze 37:21; Isa 11:12; Hos 1:11.
Verse 26 certifies that they shall reside safely in that covenant land in their restoration, building houses and planting vineyards, Isa 65:21; Amo 9:14. They shall dwell in confidence, free of fear in that day when the Lord shall have executed judgment upon all the gentiles who have despised them round about, until both Israel and the heathen shall recognize that the Lord is God, besides whom there exists none other, Exo 20:1-5; Eze 36:28; Jer 23:6; Jer 31:5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(24) A pricking brier.The language refers back to the threat of Num. 33:55, of the reality of which Israel had long had such bitter experience. Nothing is said of the special sins of Zidon, and very little of the detail of her overthrow; these were already sufficiently known, or else included in what has been said of Tyre. It is noticeable that no such utter desolation is foretold as in the former case.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
24. A pricking brier Rather, fretting thorn (Eze 2:6; Lev 13:51, compare Num 33:55).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And there will be no more a pricking brier to the house of Israel, nor a grieving thorn from any that are round about them, who did them harm. And they will know that I am Yahweh.”
This general statement applies to Zidon, but it also applies to all the nations yet mentioned. All had constantly at various times tormented Israel, picture vividly in terms of prickly bushes and thorns (compare Numbers 13:55; Jos 23:13). Soon they would do so no more. So Israel too, along with them, will know that He is Yahweh.
A Promise of Restoration for His people (Eze 28:25-26).
As so often Ezekiel again reminds Israel that God has yet a future for them (Eze 11:17-20; Eze 14:11; Eze 16:60-63; Eze 18:30-31; Eze 20:41-44). In all that is happening He has not deserted them, indeed in the final analysis He only purposes good for them. There is no mention of judgment. This is now seen as technically accomplished, and He looks beyond to future blessing.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 28:24. And there shall be no more a prickling briar Nor shall the house of Israel have any more in all her neighbours who despise her, a pricking briar, or tormenting thorn. Houbigant. That is to say, “My people shall dwell quietly and securely in their own land, when the rest of their wicked neighbours are destroyed, who continually vexed them, and were as so many thorns in their sides.” The following verse shews, that this promise relates chiefly to the general restoration of the Jews, when all the enemies of truth and of the church of the Almighty are vanquished. See Lowth and Calmet.
REFLECTIONS.1st, The prince of Tyre is next the subject of the prophetic word. Distinct from the general ruin of his country, a particular warning is given to him.
1. His pride was excessive. His heart was lifted up in high conceit of his own excellence, as if he could rival the monarch of the universe: he said, I am a god; boasted himself as a deity, and perhaps expected divine honours should be paid him. His throne seemed to be fixed firm as that of the Most High, and as glorious in the midst of the seas, which owned his sovereign sway. But he is told, Thou art a man, and not God, a poor, dependent, dying worm; though thou set thine heart as the heart of God, thinking his wisdom and dominion great as those of the eternal Jehovah, and himself as worthy to be feared, obeyed, and worshipped. Two things particularly he valued himself upon. [1.] His wisdom. Thou art wiser than Daniel, in his own opinion at least. The fame of Daniel had perhaps reached even to Tyre, as the most remarkable person for wisdom of all the wise men of the East: but the king of Tyre fancied that he far excelled him, and, with penetration approaching omniscience, would have it believed, there was no secret that could be hid from him. Thus often do we see knowledge puffed up, and the most precious gifts of God perverted to his dishonour. [2.] His wealth. By his wisdom he planned his schemes of commerce, and, riches flowing in as a river upon him, every acquisition filled his mind with loftier imaginations of his own importance: he ascribed his gains, not to God’s providence, but his own prudence; and fancied himself thereby exalted above all danger. The boasts of antichrist, 2Th 2:4 are expressed nearly in the same language, of whom the prince of Tyre is the type and figure.
2. His doom is read. He boasted himself a god, but he must die as a man. The Chaldeans, the terrible of the nations, from a strange land shall come, and with drawn swords demolish the force of Tyre, defile her beauty, and lay all her proud palaces in the dust; and this vain prince, far from finding respect shewn to that majesty which he counted sacred, shall go to an ignominious grave, like those who are in a sea-fight slain and cast overboard without ceremony, a prey for fishes; and, worse still, he shall die under the curse of God, the deaths of the uncircumcised, eternally undone and lost. And sure is the doom pronounced, since the God of truth hath spoken it.
3. This will silence his arrogant pretensions. Such vengeance executed upon him will prove his frailty and vanity; and his boasts of godlike power and wisdom will vanish, when, in the hands of his murderers, he shall be found a weak and helpless worm. Note; Death, at farthest, will make the proudest know that they are but men.
2nd, We have a lamentation over the prince of Tyrus.
1. He was, to appearance, raised to the highest pitch of human prosperity. Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty, complete in every accomplishment of mind and person, and great as the wealth of this world could make him. Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God, as happy, in appearance, as Adam in the delicious mansions prepared for him in the days of his innocence. Every precious stone adorned him, studded his crown, and glittered on his royal robes. The most curious and exquisite instruments of music were prepared to celebrate his birth or coronation day. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; alluding perhaps to the golden cherubim that covered the mercy-seat, or to the cherubim which guarded the tree of life in Eden, or rather to the angelic host (see the Notes): so beautiful he seemed, and so mighty to protect his people from every foe. And I have set thee so: to God he owed his advancement, and all the greatness that he possessed. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God, thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire, adorned with jewels, as God’s high-priest when he put on the precious breastplate. Which some interpret of antichrist, assuming infallible wisdom, seated on high in the church of God, dressed in most costly apparel, pretending the authority of Christ to be the head and protector of the church, the mount of God, and usurping authority over the people of God, the stones of fire, who shine bright in all holy conversation.
2. His iniquity brought him to destruction. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, prospered and wast successful, till iniquity was found in thee. [1.] There was iniquity in traffic. In the multitude of merchandize much fraud and violence were practised. For very hard it is to be engaged in a multiplicity of business with clean hands: the mystery of trade is too frequently a mystery of iniquity. [2.] He was proud and vain-glorious. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; and, gazing on his own excellencies, his wisdom became foolishness: for those who are proud of their attainments, corrupt and spoil what otherwise would be praiseworthy. [3.] Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by idolatrous worship, or the lewd actions commonly practised there. For which multitude of iniquities God threatens to destroy him, utterly to cast him down from his high estate, and cut him off from all his possessions as profane; having abused his station, he justly forfeits it: in the dust the kings shall behold him lie, and take warning by his fall, or exult over him. A fire of divine wrath shall be kindled, consume his city to ashes, and himself in the midst of it; and the beholders, with terror and astonishment, shall wonder at his fearful fall, from which he shall never recover. All which is most applicable to the man of sin, whose coffers are filled with the gainful trade of priestcraft, pardons and indulgences; proud of his dignity, corrupt in his worship, defiling the sanctuary with image-worship and superstition: for which his day of ruin will come, when all his glory will be tarnished, when he shall be cast down with divine judgments, and at last doomed to the lake which burneth with fire for ever and ever. Note; Let all the workers of iniquity tremble: the same sins will assuredly produce the same destruction
3rdly, Two ways God will glorify himself,
1. In the destruction of Zidon. God is her enemy, will execute his judgments upon her, and be sanctified, make his holiness and justice appear in her ruin. The depopulating scourge of pestilence shall be sent upon her, and the wounded shall fall on every side. Thus will God make himself known in the vengeance that he executes.
2. In the restoration and prosperity of his Israel. God will bring them again to their own land, and cause them to dwell safely: the nations around, who despised and vexed them, as briars and thorns, shall be no more; and he will be sanctified in the sight of the heathen, who will be made to own his hand evidently displayed in behalf of his people: and with comfort they shall know him to be the Lord, experiencing his mercy and proving his faithfulness. And this restoration seems to look farther than their return from Babylon, after which they were still frequently beset with enemies; and to have respect to their last recovery, when they shall be admitted into the church; and all the faithful among them shall enter into that eternal rest, where the wicked will cease from troubling, and every tear be for ever wiped from their eyes.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
These are very sweet promises to Israel with which the chapter closeth, and plainly refer to the restoration of the Lord’s ancient people. But how or when the Lord will gather them in; whether by instruments the Lord will work in the accomplishment, or by some miraculous interposition of his own; nothing in scripture authorizeth us to determine. Certain it is, that the call of – the Jews in the last day dispensation will be a glorious manifestation of God; and perhaps the work will be greater in the display of it, than the first bringing the Church out of Egypt, for then they were altogether, but now are scattered and dispersed over the whole earth. Lord! hasten in thine own time the mercy when the Redeemer shall rise out of Zion to turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Eze 28:24 And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor [any] grieving thorn of all [that are] round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I [am] the Lord GOD.
Ver. 24. And there shall be no more a pricking brier. ] For God will take away the Canaanite out of the land, Zec 14:21 omnem spinum dolorificum: he will by his judgments provide for his own glory, and for his people’s comfort.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
a pricking brier. Reference to Pentateuch (Num 33:55).
the house of Israel. See note on Ex. 16. a1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a pricking: Num 33:55, Jos 23:13, Jdg 2:3, Isa 35:9, Isa 55:13, Jer 12:14, Mic 7:4, 2Co 12:7, Rev 21:4
and they: Eze 28:23, Eze 28:26, Eze 36:36-38, Eze 39:28
Reciprocal: 2Sa 7:10 – neither Isa 14:3 – General Isa 49:17 – children Eze 30:8 – shall know Zec 9:8 – no Luk 16:26 – between
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 28:24. Pricking brier refers to the bitter opposition that the Zido- nians had waged against God’s people. Some of the early accounts of the persecutions brought by these people against the children of Israel are re-corded in Jdg 3:3. It is true God sponsored that oppression of His people to chastise them, but the Lord never would tolerate the personal motive the heathens entertained against them though they were carrying out the divine plan when they oppressed His people.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 28:24-26. There shall be no more a pricking brier There shall no more be any nation that shall injure, and be a vexation to the house of Israel; for all their troublesome neighbours, who had been as so many thorns in their sides, shall be destroyed or repressed, and in consequence thereof they shall dwell quietly and securely in their own land. This promise was in part fulfilled after their return from their captivity in Babylon; but the following verse shows that it chiefly relates to the general restoration of the Jews, when all the enemies of Gods church and truth shall be vanquished and subdued, often denoted in the prophetical writings by the name of Edom, Moab, and other neighbouring nations, who, upon all occasions, were wont to show their spite and ill-will against Gods ancient people. When I shall have gathered the house of Israel, &c. This seems to be a plain prophecy of the restoration of the Jews to their own land, as will appear to any one who will compare the words with the parallel texts referred to in the margin; and the rules laid down concerning the division of the land among the twelve tribes (chap. 47., 48.) do very much favour this interpretation: see note on Isa 11:12. And shall be sanctified in them See on Eze 28:22. And they shall dwell safely therein In comparison of what they have done formerly: they shall have peace, and freedom from the annoyance of enemies. And shall build houses, and plant vineyards Building and planting are commonly joined together. When I shall have executed judgments The prophets commonly conclude their threatenings against infidels with gracious promises to Gods people, implying that he will not make an utter destruction of them, as of other people, but preserve a remnant, to whom he may fulfil his promises made to their fathers.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The reason for this judgment was that Sidon had been a thorn in the side of God’s people by scorning them (cf. Gen 12:3). Again the Lord promised that onlookers would learn that He is God.