Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 39:7
So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
7. will not let them pollute ] will not let my holy name be profaned, lit. I will not profane. Jehovah’s holy or divine name was profaned, his majesty and power were detracted from when Israel his people were subjected by the heathen and dispersed abroad from their own land (Eze 36:20). Israel’s sins constrained Jehovah to cast them out of his land, and thus to profane his holy name. Now they are another people, a new heart has been given them, and his signal protection of them in their defenceless condition (Eze 38:11) from so extreme a danger (Eze 38:4-6) will reveal both to Israel and the nations what Jehovah is, and what are the principles on which he rules his people ( Eze 39:23). Thus shall his name be sanctified he shall be known to be God alone, all powerful and righteous. While Isaiah says “Holy One of Israel,” Ezek. says in Israel, a usage which shews that the element “of Israel” forms no part of the conception of “holiness.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 7. In the midst of my people Israel] This defeat of Gog is to be in Israel: and it was there according to this prophecy, that the immense army of Antiochus was so completely defeated.
And I will not let them pollute my holy name any more] See on 1Macc 1:11, c., how Antiochus had profaned the temple, insulted Jehovah and his worship, &c. God permitted that as a scourge to his disobedient people but now the scourger shall be scourged, and he shall pollute the sanctuary no more.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In Eze 39:6, the judgments executed on Gog make God known in the midst of the heathen, here they make him known among his own people; in both glorious.
My holy name; the destruction threatened against the wicked for their enmity against holiness, being executed, manifest that God is holy, and the protection of such. Or, holy name, for that he does in his oath swear by his holiness.
So his faithfulness is here commended and illustrated. I will not let them pollute my holy name any more; will give them that new spirit, that due sense of my mercy; they shall not, as formerly, profane my name among the heathen, Eze 20:9. See Eze 38:23.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. not let them pollute my holynameby their sins bringing down judgments which made theheathen think that I was unable or unwilling to save My people.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel,…. That is, his perfections; his holiness and justice in punishing their enemies; his truth and faithfulness in fulfilling his promises to them; his power in inflicting judgments on Gog and his army; and his goodness in their preservation and protection:
and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: either the Heathens round about who before blasphemed it, saying that God was not able to deliver his people from such a potent enemy; but now their mouth will be stopped, and they will not dare to speak any more after this manner: or else the Israelites, who shall be so influenced by the grace and goodness of God unto them, as to fear the Lord and his goodness, and not dare to commit the sins they formerly did, whereby his name was polluted and blasphemed among the Heathens:
and the Heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel; they shall know, by these judgments and providences, that he is the true God, and they shall acknowledge and confess it; and that he is a holy and just God, and dwells in Israel, and grants his gracious as well as powerful presence to his people; nor shall they dare to molest them any more.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“And I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel, nor will I allow my holy name to be profaned any more. And the nations will know that I am Yahweh, the Holy One in Israel.”
God’s holy name, that is His own righteousness, purity and ‘otherness’ will by all this be made known to His people. They will recognise Him for what He is and that the cry of their hearts has been fulfilled, and that evil has been destroyed (compare Rev 6:10 – which was not so much a cry for vengeance as a longing for God’s righteous judgments to prevail). The nations brought to judgment will also recognise Who and What He is, ‘the Holy One in Israel’.
‘The Holy One in Israel’. That is the One set apart from, and above and beyond all others; unapproachable except to those He calls; unique, all-powerful, and essentially righteous in all His dealings see Isa 57:15). And Israel is His dwellingplace (compare Isa 60:14). They are His temple. We can compare here ‘the Holy One of Israel’ (2Ki 19:22; Psa 71:22; Psa 78:41; Psa 89:18; Isa 1:4; Isa 5:19; Isa 5:24; Isa 10:20; Isa 12:6; Isa 17:7; Isa 29:19; Isa 30:11-12; Isa 30:15; Isa 31:1; Isa 37:23; Isa 41:14; Isa 41:16; Isa 41:20; Isa 43:3; Isa 43:14; Isa 45:11; Isa 47:4; Isa 48:17; Isa 49:7; Isa 54:5; Isa 55:5; Isa 60:9; Isa 60:14; Jer 50:29; Jer 51:5) where the emphasis is on His might, His total superiority, and His purity and righteousness as judge.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Ver. 7. I will not let them pollute my holy name. ] As if I were less able to deliver my people, or less mindful of my promises.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 39:7-8
7My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8Behold, it is coming and it shall be done, declares the Lord GOD. That is the day of which I have spoken. 9Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them.
Eze 39:7 This refers to Eze 36:22-23! YHWH wants His name (i.e., Himself) to be known to all the world.
the Holy One in Israel The title (Holy One of Israel) for YHWH is used often in Isaiah (cf. Isa 12:6; Isa 43:3; Isa 43:14; Isa 55:5; Isa 60:9; Isa 60:14) and probably is derived from the vision of Isaiah 6. YHWH as holy goes back to Lev 11:44-45; Lev 19:2; Lev 20:7; Lev 20:26. It is clearly stated in Jos 24:19. It speaks of His unique character (cf. 1Sa 2:2; Psa 22:3; Psa 99:3; Psa 99:5; Psa 99:9; Psa 111:9). YHWH the Holy One is also the creator of Israel (cf. Isa 43:15; Isa 45:11). For holy see Special Topic: The Holy One and Special Topic: Holy .
Eze 39:8 The concept of a final day of reckoning was crystalized in Amos’ day of the YHWH. See Special Topic: That Day .
Eze 39:9 This verse describes the huge number of the invading coalition army which was/will be totally defeated by YHWH (cf. Zechariah 12).
The number seven speaks of the symbolic nature of this context (as does the use of God and the remotest parts of the north).
Notice that the weapons take seven years to burn and the bodies seven months (cf. Eze 39:12) to bury. See Special Topic: Symbolic Numbers in Scripture . It is only western literalism that demands that eastern prophetic texts be interpreted as literal history! This is prophetic symbolism. It certainly reveals truth, but modern interpreters must be genre-sensitive and cognizant of Jewish number symbolism!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
holy. See note on Exo 3:5.
name. See note on Psa 20:1.
pollute = profane.
heathen = nations.
shall know, &c. See note on Eze 6:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
will I: Eze 39:22, Eze 38:16, Eze 38:23
and I will: Eze 20:9, Eze 20:14, Eze 20:39, Eze 36:20, Eze 36:21, Eze 36:36, Exo 20:7, Lev 18:21
the heathen: Eze 38:16, Eze 38:23
the Holy: Isa 12:6, Isa 43:3, Isa 43:14, Isa 55:5, Isa 60:9, Isa 60:14
Reciprocal: Exo 7:5 – Egyptians 1Ki 18:36 – let it 1Ki 20:28 – ye shall know Psa 59:13 – and let Isa 37:23 – the Holy One Isa 49:26 – and all Jer 34:16 – polluted Jer 46:25 – and all Eze 22:16 – thou shalt know Eze 26:20 – and I shall set Eze 35:15 – and they Eze 37:28 – the heathen Eze 43:7 – no more
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 39:7. The Lord now turns his attention to Ilis own people and the prophet will write some predictions concerning them. To clarify the matter so that the reader may find his “bearings as to the date, remember that Ezekiel writes this after the whole nation has been brought to Babylon and the greater part of the 70-year captivity is in the future. This explains the clause I will not let them pollute my holy name any more. It is a prediction of the cure from idolatry which was effected by the captivity. As a prediction he could say I will not let, etc. The way the Lord would pre-vent it was by holding them in captivity until every trace of love for idols was burned out.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Yahweh would also proclaim His holy reputation among the Israelites and the other nations. They would no longer regard Him as just another local deity but would recognize Him as the Holy One of Israel, the only true God who was Israel’s God. This day of judgment of which the Lord had formerly spoken would surely come and what He had predicted would indeed happen (cf. Eze 38:17).