Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 31:17
They also went down into hell with him unto [them that be] slain with the sword; and [they that were] his arm, [that] dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
17. They also into hell ] These also are gone down into Shel, ref. being to the “trees of Eden,” Eze 31:16.
were his arm, that dwelt ] and his arm, that dwelt. His “arm” is his helpers (Eze 17:9). The construction is difficult (read probably cons. plur. of part. for “that dwelt;” om. of rel. improbable); cf. Eze 32:15. LXX. points “his seed” for “his arm,” but that “seed” could mean underwood (Corn.) has no probability.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Eze 31:17
They . . . that dwelt under His shadow in the midst of the heathen.
Under God’s shadow among the heathen
Whatever may be the primary meaning of these words, they have a very blessed application to those who have gone forth from so many Christian families into heathen lands. For no choice of their own, and simply in obedience to their King’s command, hundreds of our sons and daughters have gone forth to dwell in the midst of the heathen. They have taken up their home amid conditions which they would not have chosen had it not been for the constraining love of Christ, and the imperative need of dying men; and as fond relatives and friends regard their lot from a distance, they are often filled with anxious forebodings. May they not be involved in some sudden riot, and sacrificed to a frenzy of hate? May not the sanitary conditions and methods of life be seriously detrimental to their health or morals? “Oh, if only I could be there,” you sigh. Hush! Christ is there; as near them as He is to you, casting over them the shadow of His presence, beckoning them to His secret place. He is the shadow of a great Rock in a weary land; or like the canopy of cloud that hovered over the camp of Israel by day, screening it from the torrid glare. Do not fear to trust your loved ones to the immortal Lover, who fainteth not, neither is weary. The hand that would harm is arrested and paralysed when it attempts to penetrate that safe enclosure. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 17. They also went down into hell with him] Into remediless destruction.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They also; either his neighbour kings and princes, or those that were his own subjects, but rich and mighty.
Went down into hell; were broken and perished with him, and went to those God had slain for their pride and wickedness.
They that were his arm; his loyal and faithful subjects and friends abroad, who having been protected by him, remembered it, and adhered to him to support him; but all fell, are extinct, and gone down to the pit, where are many proud, but o pride; where all know themselves dust and ashes, and God glorious, holy, and just.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. his arm, that dwelt under hisshadowthose who were the helpers or tool of his tyranny, andtherefore enjoyed his protection (for example, Syria and herneighbors). These were sure to share her fate. Compare the samephrase as to the Jews living under the protection of their king (La4:20); both alike “making flesh their arm, and in heartdeparting from the Lord” (Jer17:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They also went down to hell with him,…. To the grave with him; many of his nobles, princes, generals, soldiers, and subjects:
unto them that be slain with the sword; to be buried and lie with them who had fallen by the sword, as a just punishment for their iniquities:
and they that were his arm; either that leaned on his arm, were dependents upon him; or his ministers, his instruments, whom he employed under him as his deputies, to govern the several provinces that belonged to him; or rather his allies and auxiliaries, who helped and assisted him on occasion:
that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the Heathen; in the midst of the nations subject to the Assyrian empire; such who put themselves under the protection of it, lived comfortably under it, and continued with it to the last; these shared the same fate as that did. The Targum is,
“his governors are broken, whom he strengthened in the midst of the kingdom.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
17. They that were his arm See note Eze 30:21.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 31:17. They also went down into hell, &c. For these also descended with him into hell, to those who had perished by the sword; and whoever among the heathen dwelt under his shadow have perished. Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 31:17 They also went down into hell with him unto [them that be] slain with the sword; and [they that were] his arm, [that] dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
Ver. 17. They also went down into hell with him. ] It was wont to be said that hell was paved with kings’ crests and shavelings’ bald pates. Henry VIII was told on his deathbed that he was now going to the place of kings. See Isa 30:33 . What a coil kept this Esarhaddon in his time, as being superstitibus terror, praemortuis laeitia, complicibus exitium, sui ipsius ruina! a
a Oecolamp.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
and they that were his arm. Septuagint and Syriac rend “and his seed”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
went: Eze 32:20-30, Psa 9:17, Isa 14:9
that were: Eze 30:6-8, Eze 30:21-25, Neh 3:17, Neh 3:18
dwelt: Eze 31:3, Eze 31:6, Eze 32:31, Lam 4:20, Dan 4:11, Dan 4:12, Mar 4:32
Reciprocal: Zec 11:2 – Howl Mat 11:23 – which art
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 31:17. They refers to the allies of Assyria as is Indicated by the words dwelt under his shadow. The Bible teaches that if one person associates with another who is evil, or if he sympathizes with and approves of his conduct, he Is held responsible and must share in his fate. (See Rom 1:32; 1Co 15:33.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Some other nations fell when Assyria did; this great tree fell on other trees and took them down with it. Some of them had even sustained Assyria and profited from Assyria’s greatness, but she fell on them.