Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 31:4
The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
4. set him up on high ] i.e. made him grow lofty. There is probably, however, the figure of a parent nourishing his offspring. The words “made great” and “set on high” are rendered “nourished and brought up” children, Isa 1:2; cf. Isa 23:4. The waters rear the tree as their child. The waters are those of Egypt.
with her rivers running ] The construction is anomalous, and with expresses accompaniment, not instrumentality. It is easiest to read (with LXX.): she (the deep) made her rivers to run round and sent out. Or possibly: as for her rivers, they ran, &c.
his plants ] Rather: her plantation, “her” referring to the “deep,” which nourished the plantation, though this is not quite natural.
her little rivers ] Marg. conduits, the small canals for irrigation. The plenteous waters nourished the great tree and the other trees alike.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 4. The waters made him great] Alluding to the fertility of Egypt by the overflowing of the Nile. But waters often mean peoples. By means of the different nations under the Egyptians, that government became very opulent. These nations are represented as fowls and beasts, taking shelter under the protection of this great political Egyptian tree, Eze 31:6.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
As cedars grow great by the watercourses, so did this kingdom by multitudes of people and convenience of trade; or by the plenty of the country, if no trade, for it was first planted in the fruitful fields among the sweet rivers, Euphrates, Tigris, Lycus, Diava, and others. The deep set him up on high; the sea sent out her waters, which gave being to the rivers that watered him and improved him; whereas, Egypt, thy rivers rise out of a lake, which, though great, is not to be compared with the deep. His plants; the provinces of this mighty kingdom, that are like plants about a great tree. Little rivers; beneficence, justice, protection, encouragements, that subjects need, and good princes disperse among them; so the deep filled this king, and he sent out his streams to all his subjects in his kingdom.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. waters . . . little riverstheTigris with its branches and “rivulets,” or “conduits”for irrigation, the source of Assyria’s fertility. “The deep”is the ever flowing water, never dry. Metaphorically, for Assyria’sresources, as the “conduits” are her colonies.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The waters made him great,…. The waters of the river Tigris, near to which stood the city of Nineveh, the metropolis of the Assyrian monarchy; the traffic brought by which river made it rich and great, and the whole empire, and the king of it:
the deep set him up on high, with her rivers running round about his plants; the vast trade by sea, the profits and commodities of which were conveyed through various rivers, which ran about the provinces of the empire, which were as plants in a field; and by which they were enriched, and the whole empire, and the king of it, were raised to a prodigious pitch of wealth and power:
and sent out little rivers to all the trees of the field; so that the common people, comparable to the trees of the field for their number and usefulness, all received profit and advantage hereby: or else by waters and the deep may be meant the multitude of people, as in
Re 17:15, which increased his kingdom, filled his provinces, supplied his colonies, and enlarged his power and riches. The Targum is,
“by the people he was multiplied; by his auxiliaries he became strong; he subjected kings under his government; and his governors he appointed over all the provinces of the earth.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(4) His plants.Should rather be, his plantation.
Sent out her little rivers.The thought is that the various surrounding and subordinate nations were nourished from the great stream of prosperity which swelled the power and wealth of Assyria.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. R.V., “The waters nourished him, the deep made him to grow: her rivers ran round about her plantation; and she sent out her channels,” etc. This could be said more naturally of Egypt than of any other country. (See note Eze 31:3.) The Nile and its canal created Egypt and made it great.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“The waters nourished him, the deep made him grow, her rivers ran round her plantations and she sent out her streams to all the trees of the field.”
The tree was well watered by many streams, by the Nile and its tributaries and channels, so that all the trees and growing things around benefited from their nourishment, resulting in an abundant population. They were in a good place provided by God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 31:4. Little rivers An allusion to the small artificial channels through which water was usually distributed in eastern gardens. See Bishop Lowth on Isa 1:30.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 31:4 The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
Ver. 4. The waters made him great. ] He had a confluence of all prosperities. Watered he was, non aquis sed abyssis; est autem abyssus, inexhausta felicitas et rerum affluentia. He overabounded with all outward happiness. In wealth, victories, and triumphs, he gave place to no man.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
waters . . . deep : i.e. the water = ways, and the Nile. Compare Eze 31:15.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
waters: Eze 17:5, Eze 17:8, Pro 14:28, Jer 51:36, Rev 17:1, Rev 17:15
made him great: or, nourished him
set: or, brought, little rivers. or, conduits.
Reciprocal: Num 24:6 – as cedar Isa 1:30 – garden Jer 17:8 – he shall
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 31:4. The king of Assyria had a strong background in the day of his greatness, growing with the roots in the waters. (See Psalms 1.) The reference to waters is made because Egypt (which is the aclual subject of this parable) depended upon the Nile with its canals and smaller channels.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
31:4 The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round his plants, and sent out her {c} little rivers to all the trees of the field.
(c) Many other nations were under their dominion.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Like Egypt, Assyria received much of its strength and power from the waters that surrounded it, the Nile in Egypt’s case and the Tigris in Assyria’s. The waters that nourished these nations enabled them to grow strong and to tower above many others. The network of supporting nations that surrounded both Assyria and Egypt contributed to their strength and growth in another way.