Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 8:7
And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.
7 12. The secret idolatry of the Elders
7. the door of the court ] i.e. the outside entrance of the gateway into the inner court. Placed at first near the entrance the prophet is now brought to the gateway itself, either unto some chamber within it or some building attached to it, cf. Eze 40:44. In the wall of this building he observed a hole, through which he dug and entered a chamber, on the walls of which were portrayed all manner of creatures, and in the chamber were seventy elders offering incense to the imagery on the walls.
behold a hole ] The symbolism is not very clear. The “hole” is meant to suggest that entrance into the chamber was obtained secretly by those who practised their rites there. The words are wanting in LXX.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The door of the court – The seer is brought to another spot. In Ezekiels time there were various buildings on the space around the inner court which formed a court or courts, not improbably enclosed by a wall. The idolatries here were viewed as taking place in secret, and it is more in accordance with the temple arrangements to suppose that such chambers as would give room for those rites should belong to the outer than to the inner court. The seer is now outside the wall of the outer court, by the door which leads from it out of the temple-boundary. By breaking through the wall he enters into a chamber which stands in the outer court against the wall near the gate.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. A hole in the wall.] This we find was not large enough to see what was doing within; and the prophet is directed to dig, and make it larger, Eze 8:8; and when he had done so and entered, he says,-
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The door; the second door, for there were two in the north side.
The court; Eze 8:3. Some say it was the court into which the Levites only, not the people, might enter, and round about which were the chambers of the priests.
When I looked; probably being at the door of the court, he might espy such a hole in the opposite wall that was toward the temple, whereon were built the treasury chamber, and chambers for tithes, and for other necessaries about the temple worship, and for the priests lodgings, in which these abominations were acted.
A hole in the wall, or little blind window, through which he might see somewhat, though not much, of what was done within.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. door of the courtthat is,of the inner court (Eze 8:3);the court of the priests and Levites, into which now others wereadmitted in violation of the law [GROTIUS].
hole in . . . wallthatis, an aperture or window in the wall of the priests’ chambers,through which he could see into the various apartments, wherein wasthe idolatrous shrine.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he brought me to the door of the court,…. Of the inner court, the court of the priests and Levites. Dr. Lightfoot x says this was the east gate, and most common way of entrance; and in that gate the sanhedrim used to sit in these times; and there the prophet sees their council chamber painted about with imagery:
and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall; of one of the chambers of the priests and Levites, where they lay.
x Prospect of the Temple, c. 28. p. 2018.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Second Abomination: Worship of Beasts
Eze 8:7. And He brought me to the entrance of the court, and I saw, and behold there was a hole in the wall. Eze 8:8. And He said to me, Son of man, break through the wall: and I broke through the wall, and behold there was a door. Eze 8:9. And He said to me, Come and see the wicked abominations which they are doing here. Eze 8:10. And I came and saw, and behold there were all kinds of figures of reptiles, and beasts, abominations, and all kinds of idols of the house of Israel, drawn on the wall round about. Eze 8:11. And seventy men of the leaders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, stood in front, every man with his censer in his hand; and the smell of a cloud of incense arose. Eze 8:12. And He said to me, Seest thou, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every one in his image-chambers? For they say: Jehovah doth not see us; Jehovah hath forsaken the land. – The entrance of the court to which Ezekiel was now transported cannot be the principal entrance to the outer court towards the east (Ewald). This would be at variance with the context, as we not only find the prophet at the northern entrance in Eze 8:3 and Eze 8:5, but at Eze 8:14 we find him there still. If he had been taken to the eastern gate in the meantime, this would certainly have been mentioned. As that is not the case, the reference must be to that entrance to the court which lay between the entrance-gate of the inner court (Eze 8:3) and the northern entrance-gate to the house of Jehovah (Eze 8:14), or northern gate of the outer court, in other words, the northern entrance into the outer court. Thus the prophet was conducted out of the inner court through its northern gate into the outer court, and placed in front of the northern gate, which led out into the open air. There he saw a hole in the wall, and on breaking through the wall, by the command of God, he saw a door, and having entered it, he saw all kinds of figures of animals engraved on the wall round about, in front of which seventy of the elders of Israel were standing and paying reverence to the images of beasts with burning incense. According to Eze 8:12, the prophet was thereby shown what the elders of Israel did in the dark, every one in his image-chamber. From this explanation on the part of God concerning the picture shown to the prophet, it is very evident that it had no reference to any idolatrous worship practised by the elders in one or more of the cells of the outer court of the temple. For even though the objection raised by Kliefoth to this view, namely, that it cannot be proved that there were halls with recesses in the outer court, is neither valid nor correct, since the existence of such halls is placed beyond the reach of doubt by Jer 35:4; 2Ki 23:11, and 1Ch 28:12; such a supposition is decidedly precluded by the fact, that the cells and recesses at the gates cannot have been large enough to allow of seventy-one men taking part in a festive idolatrous service. The supposition that the seventy-one men were distributed in different chambers is at variance with the distinct words of the text. The prophet not only sees the seventy elders standing along with Jaazaniah, but he could not look through one door into a number of chambers at once, and see the pictures draw all round upon their walls. The assembling of the seventy elders in a secret cell by the northern gate of the outer temple to worship the idolatrous images engraved on the walls of the cell, is one feature in the visionary form given to the revelation of what the elders of the people were doing secretly throughout the whole land. To bring out more strikingly the secrecy of this idolatrous worship, the cell is so completely hidden in the wall, that the prophet is obliged to enlarge the hole by breaking through the wall before he can see the door which leads to the cell and gain a view of them and of the things it contains, and the things that are done therein.
(Note: “Because the whole is exhibited pictorially and figuratively, he says that he saw one hole in a wall, and was directed to dig through and make it larger, that he might enter as if through an open door, and see the things which he could not possibly have seen while stationed outside.” – Jerome.)
And the number of the persons assembled there suggests the idea of a symbolical representation, as well as the secrecy of the cell. The seventy elders represent the whole nation; and the number is taken from Exo 24:1. and Num 11:16; Num 24:25, where Moses, by the command of God, chooses seventy of the elders to represent the whole congregation at the making of the covenant, and afterwards to support his authority. This representation of the congregation was not a permanent institution, as we may see from the fact that in Num 11 seventy other men are said to have been chosen for the purpose named. The high council, consisting of seventy members, the so-called Sanhedrim, was formed after the captivity on the basis of these Mosaic types. In the midst of the seventy was Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, a different man therefore from the Jaazaniah mentioned in Eze 11:1. Shaphan is probably the person mentioned as a man of distinction in 2Ki 22:3.; Jer 29:3; Jer 36:10; Jer 39:14. It is impossible to decide on what ground Jaazaniah is specially mentioned by name; but it can hardly be on account of the meaning of the name he bore, “Jehovah heard,” as Hvernick supposes. It is probable that he held a prominent position among the elders of the nation, so that he is mentioned here by name as the leader of this national representation.
On the wall of the chamber round about there were drawn all kinds of figures of , reptiles and quadrupeds (see Gen 1:24). is in apposition not only to , but also to , and therefore, as belonging to both, is not to be connected with in the construct state. The drawing of reptiles and quadrupeds became a sheqetz , or abomination, from the fact that the pictures had been drawn for the purpose of religious worship. The following clause, “and all the idols of the house of Israel,” is co-ordinate with ‘ . Besides the animals drawn on the walls, there were idols of other kinds in the chamber. The drawing of reptiles and quadrupeds naturally suggests the thought of the animal-worship of Egypt. We must not limit the words to this, however, since the worship of animals is met with in the nature-worship of other heathen nations, and the expression , “all kinds of figures,” as well as the clause, “all kinds of idols of the house of Israel,” points to every possible form of idol-worship as spread abroad in Israel. , according to the Aramaean usage, signifies suffimentum , perfume, , in the dark, i.e., in secret, like in 2Sa 12:12; not in the sacred darkness of the cloud of incense (Hvernick). , image-chambers, is the term applied to the rooms or closets in the dwelling-houses of the people in which idolatrous images were set up and secretly worshipped. signifies idolatrous figures, as in Lev 26:1 and Num 33:52. This idolatry was justified by the elders, under the delusion that “Jehovah seeth us not;” that is to say, not: “He does not trouble Himself about us,” but He does not see what we do, because He is not omniscient (cf. Isa 29:15); and He has forsaken the land, withdrawn His presence and His help. Thus they deny both the omniscience and omnipresence of God (cf. Eze 9:9).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Secret Abominations Discovered; The Chambers of Imagery. | B. C. 593. |
7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. 8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. 9 And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. 10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. 11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.
We have here a further discovery of the abominations that were committed at Jerusalem, and within the confines of the temple, too. Now observe,
I. How this discovery is made. God, in vision, brought Ezekiel to the door of the court, the outer court, along the sides of which the priests’ lodgings were. God could have introduced him at first into the chambers of imagery, but he brings him to them by degrees, partly to employ his own industry in searching out these mysteries of iniquity, and partly to make him sensible with what care and caution those idolaters concealed their idolatries. Before the priests’ apartments they had run up a wall, to make them the more private, that they might not lie open to the observation of those who passed by–a shrewd sign that they did something which they had reason to be ashamed of. He that doth evil hates the light. They were not willing that those who saw them in God’s house should see them in their own, lest they should see them contradict themselves and undo in private what they did in public. But, behold, a hole in the wall, (v. 7), a spy-hole, by which you might see that which would give cause to suspect them. When hypocrites screen themselves behind the wall of an external profession, and with it think to conceal their wickedness from the eye of the world and carry on their designs the more successfully, it is hard for them to manage it with so much art by that there is some hole or other left in the wall, something that betrays them, to those who look diligently, not to be what they pretend to be. The ass’s ears in the fable appeared from under the lion’s skin. This hole in the wall Ezekiel made wider, and behold a door, v. 8. This door he goes in by into the treasury, or some of the apartments of the priests, and sees the wicked abominations that they do there, v. 9. Note, Those that would discover the mystery of iniquity in others, or in themselves, must accomplish a diligent search; for Satan has his wiles, and depths, and devices, which we should not be ignorant of, and the heart is deceitful above all things; in the examining of it therefore we are concerned to be very strict.
II. What the discovery is. It is a very melancholy one. 1. He sees a chamber set round with idolatrous pictures (v. 10): All the idols of the house of Israel, which they had borrowed from the neighbouring nations, were portrayed upon the wall round about, even the vilest of them, the forms of creeping things, which they worshipped, and beasts, even abominable ones, which are poisonous and venomous; at least they were abominable when they were worshipped. This was a sort of pantheon, a collection of all the idols together which they paid their devotions to. Though the second commandment, in the letter of it, forbids only graven images, yet painted ones are as bad and as dangerous. 2. He sees this chamber filled with idolatrous worshippers (v. 11): There were seventy men of the elders of Israel offering incense to these painted idols. Here was a great number of idolaters strengthening one another’s hands in this wickedness; though it was in a private chamber, and the meeting industriously concealed, yet here were seventy men engaged in it. I doubt these elders were many more than those in Babylon that sat before the prophet in his house, v. 1. They were seventy men, the number of the great Sanhedrim, or chief council of the nation, and, we have reason to fear, the same men; for they were the ancients of the house of Israel, not only in age, but in office, who were bound, by the duty of their place, to restrain and punish idolatry and to destroy and abolish all superstitious images wherever they found them; yet these were those that did themselves worship them in private, so undermining that religion which in public they professed to own and promote only because by it they held their preferments. They had every man his censer in his hand; so fond were they of the idolatrous service that they would all be their own priests, and very prodigal they were of their perfumes in honour of these images, for a thick cloud of incense went up, that filled the room. O that the zeal of these idolaters might shame the worshippers of the true God out of their indifference to his service! The prophet took particular notice of one whom he knew, who stood in the midst of these idolaters, as chief among them, being perhaps president of the great council at this time or most forward in this wickedness. No wonder the people were corrupt when the elders were so. The sins of leaders are leading sins.
III. What the remark is that made upon it (v. 12): “Son of man, hast thou seen this? Couldst thou have imagined that there was such wickedness committed?” It is here observed concerning it, 1. That it was done in the dark; for sinful works are works of darkness. They concealed it, lest they should lose their places, or at least their credit. There is a great deal of secret wickedness in the world, which the day will declare, the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. 2. That this one idolatrous chapel was but a specimen of many the like. Here they met together, to worship their images in concert, but, it should seem, they had every man the chamber of his imagery besides, a room in his own house for this purpose, in which every man gratified his own fancy with such pictures as he liked best. Idolaters had their household gods, and their family worship of them in private, which is a shame to those who call themselves Christians and yet have no church in their house, no worship of God in their family. Had they chambers of imagery, and shall not we have chambers of devotion? 3. That atheism was at the bottom of their idolatry. They worship images in the dark, the images of the gods of other nations, and they say, “Jehovah, the God of Israel, whom we should serve, seeth us not. Jehovah hath forsaken the earth, and we may worship what God we will; he regards us not.” (1.) They think themselves out of God’s sight: They say, The Lord seeth us not. They imagined, because the matter was carried on so closely that men could not discover it, nor did any of their neighbours suspect them to be idolaters, that therefore it was hidden from the eye of God; as if there were any darkness, or shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. Note, A practical disbelief of God’s omniscience is at the bottom of our treacherous departures from him; but the church argues justly, as to this very sin of idolatry (Psa 44:20; Psa 44:21), If we have forgotten the name of our God, and stretched forth our hand to a strange god, will not God search this out? No doubt he will. (2.) They think themselves out of God’s care: “The Lord has forsaken the earth, and looks not after the affairs of it; and then we may as well worship any other god as him.” Or, “He has forsaken our land, and left it to be a prey to its enemies; and therefore it is time for us to look out for some other god, to whom to commit the protection of it. Our one God cannot, or will not, deliver us; and therefore let us have many.” This was a blasphemous reflection upon God, as if he had forsaken them first, else they would not have forsaken him. Note, Those are ripe indeed for ruin who have arrived at such a pitch of impudence as to lay the blame of their sins upon God himself.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Here now the Prophet is brought to another place, where another kind of abomination is shown. If an idol had been erected in some recess of the temple only, even that impiety when joined with sacrilege could not have been borne. But when all parts of the temple were contaminated with such filth, hence we collect that the people was utterly desperate. For the Prophet says, that he was led into a more secret place, and since there was a hole there, he dug it by God’s command, so that it became a door by which he could enter. This only ought to be understood of a vision. For the Prophet had brought nothing with him with which he could so dig a wall, but when he could only behold that hidden abomination through a chink, God opened the wall. But the Prophet seems to himself to make a door of entrance by his own hand. But he says, there were painted birds, reptiles, and animals: then he adds, an abomination and all the idols of the house of Israel We see that there was not only one idol, but a great number. And in truth as soon as the true worship of God is neglected, men place no bounds to themselves: they are not content with one or two errors, but they heap to themselves numberless delusions. So the children of Israel fell away from one idol to a great multitude. Meanwhile it must be remarked, that the idol which he has mentioned was detestable beyond all others. For it was not called a provocative of jealousy without reason, since it inflamed God to jealousy. It is therefore probable that this idol was more noble than others, and held in greater price and veneration, since the unbelievers had greater and lesser deities. But now the Prophet refers to common idols, of which there was a great abundance, but not such great honor. For he says, that part of the temple was full of pictures all around It is indeed certain, that the use of painting was always plentiful, but God wished his temple to be pure from images, lest men, being taken with such enticements, should turn aside directly to superstition. For if we see a man or an animal painted in a profane place, a religious feeling does not creep into our minds: for all acknowledge it as a painting: nay idols themselves as long as they are in taverns or workshops, are not worshipped. If the painter’s workshop is full of pictures, all pass them by, and if they are delighted with the view of them they do not show any sign of reverence to the paintings. But as soon as the picture is carried to another place, its sacredness blinds men and so stupifies them, that they do not remember that they had already seen that picture in a profane dwelling. This therefore is the reason why God did not admit any pictures into his temple, and surely when the place is consecrated, it must happen that the painting will astonish men just as if some secret divinity belonged to it. Although the Prophet here does not say simply that the walls were full of pictures, yet he says, that an abomination and the idols of the house of Israel were there We see therefore not only that the walls were so decorated for the sake of ornament, but because the people desired to celebrate all the deities whose names it knew to be famous among the profane nations.
Now as to the Prophet’s being ordered to dig through the wall, we gather from this that superstitions are sometimes so hidden in secret places, that they escape our eyes even while we look at them. For such is the weakness of the human mind, that it does not easily perceive how abominable it is to vitiate the worship of God. Thus the Prophet only looked through a chink, so that he could not form a correct judgment concerning those pollutions; hence he is ordered to dig through the wall, just as if God assured him that a thin and obscure view was not sufficient, but that a door must be opened by which he should look in and thoroughly consider what would otherwise be concealed beneath those coverings. Now he says that he entered and saw the likeness of everything, and we must remember what I have lately touched upon, that the Jews are here condemned for heaping to themselves a multitude of gods: for it was very disgraceful to worship reptiles and brutes. The worship of a human figure has a specious pretext, for the Greeks, who always seemed to themselves wise above others, and thought the rest of the world barbarians, were deceived in idols referring to the human figure, but it was too base and gross for them to worship an ox, a dog, or an ass, as a god. We see therefore how basely the Jews were blinded who mingled brutes and reptiles for gods. But it is no wonder that they were so deluded, because Egypt was near, where we know that dogs and oxen, and even cats, were considered deities: nay they worshipped all kinds of herbs. Since therefore the Egyptians imagined that the deity resided in reptiles and unclean animals, as well as in herbs, it is no wonder that the Jews were drawn into these delusions through neighborhood. But since heavenly teaching had shown them the way, such blindness was inexcusable, because they could not err so basely without suffocating and so extinguishing the light which had been set before their eyes. But we see how men’s audacity breaks forth, when they do not restrain themselves within obedience to God’s teaching. He says that pictures were painted all round on the wall, which again confirms our observation, that the Jews were inflamed with such desires that they left no space empty, because they wished their eyes to fall upon those figures, which more and more inflamed their superstition.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) To the door of the court.This is clearly a different place from that in which the prophet had hitherto been in his vision, and yet is not so described that its locality can be certainly fixed. He had been inside the inner court near its north gate; in Eze. 8:14 he is taken to the north gate of the outer enclosure of the temple precincts. It is probable, therefore, that this was between them. We do not know from the description of Solomons temple that there were any other than the inner and the outer courts; but as there were others in the temple of Herod built upon the same area, it is altogether likely that there was a further division, and that it was to such a dividing wall, with chambers attached, that the prophet was now brought. Here he finds a hole, or window, too small for entrance, and is directed to enlarge it that he may go in. Having done so, he finds a door which he is told to enter. The object of this part of the vision is to show the extreme secrecy of what he is now to seea, secrecy made necessary by the connection of this idolatry with Egypt, the foe of Chalda. Any question in regard to the way the idolaters themselves entered is out of place, as all is only in vision.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. The door of the court He could see this gate before (Eze 8:5) and had probably come through it; he now returns and looks within, and discovers a secret entrance.
A hole in the wall The gates were wide. This may have been a hole in the gate or in a chamber opening from it (xliv, 4). That the entrance was effected through a hole rather than a door symbolizes the secrecy of the worship; but it also shows antagonism to the God to whom the gateway was sacred. These idolatrous worshipers would have been afraid to enter the consecrated doors of the temple. Even the doors of oriental houses can be left unlocked with impunity. The threshold is sacred, protected by the god of the house. No thief will go through the door. (See Trumbull, Blood Covenant.) These adherents to the secret mysteries do not dare to openly defy the God of Israel by boldly crossing his threshold; they come in stealthily, like thieves.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he brought me to the door of the court, and when I looked behold a hole in the wall. Then he said to me, “Son of man, now dig in the wall.” And when I had dug in the wall, behold there was a door. And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations that they do here.” ’
‘The door of the court.’ A vague description which us to us conveys little information. Thus we do not know which wall it would be.
But Ezekiel was still in vision. These were visionary activities. Whether there really was a large secret chamber (holding at least seventy men) connected with the Temple court, or whether it was simply depicting the idea of secret and abominable behaviour throughout Jerusalem, which was in vision here seen as connected with the Temple because these men did also pretend to worship Yahweh in the temple (see Eze 8:12), we cannot be certain.
‘A hole in the wall.’ Possibly a breaking down of the fabric of the building which humanly speaking sparked off the thoughts in Ezekiel’s mind, or possibly simply a visionary hole.
‘Then he said to me, “Son of man, now dig in the wall.” And when I had dug in the wall, behold there was a door.’ We would not expect to find a door hidden behind masonry, although the hole in the wall may suggest that the door was there and had been hidden behind a covering of stone and earth. If it was so, the fact that it was so hidden would point to the degradation taking place in the room behind in that it had to be kept secret even from the debased worshippers in the Temple, and was possibly only used at night (‘in the dark’ – Eze 8:12). But the secret activities may have taken place in secret chambers elsewhere in Jerusalem (Eze 8:12) and be connected with the Temple simply in a visionary way for Ezekiel’s benefit.
(But we can certainly not rule out the idea that such a secret chamber did exist in Solomon’s Temple, known only to the few, possibly initially for use as a treasure room).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 8:7-12. He brought me to the door] The first inference which may be drawn from these words is, that the superstition here described was Egyptian. This appears from its objects being the gods peculiar to Egypt: every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, Eze 8:10 which in another verse the same prophet calls, with great propriety and elegance, the abominations of the eyes of the Israelites, chap. Eze 20:7-8. The second inference is, that they contain a very lively and circumstantial description of the celebrated mysteries of Isis and Osiris. For, 1. The rites are represented as performed in a secret subterraneous place, Eze 8:7-9. This secret place was, as the prophet tells us, in the temple: and such kind of places for this use the Egyptians had in their temples, as we learn from a similitude of Plutarch; “like the disposition,” says he, “and the ordonnance of their temples; which in one place enlarge and extend themselves in wings and fair and open isles; in another, sink into dark and secret subterraneous vestries, like the Adyta of the Thebans.” 2.These rites were celebrated by the Sanhedrim, or the elders, Eze 8:11. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel. Now it appears from the best accounts that we have of the Egyptian mysteries, that none but princes, rulers, and the wisest of the people, were admitted to their most secret celebrations. 3. The paintings and imagery on the walls of this subterraneous apartment answer exactly to the descriptions which the ancients have given us of the mystic cells of the Egyptians: Behold every form of creeping things, &c., Eze 8:11. There is a famous antique monument, once a consecrated utensil in the rites of Isis and Osiris, and now well known to the curious by the name of the Isiac, or Bembine tables; on which, as appears by the order of the several compartments, is pourtrayed all the imagery which adorned the walls of the mystic cell. Now, if we were to describe the engravings of that table, we could not find juster or more emphatical terms, than those which the prophet here employs. The third inference which may be drawn from this vision is, that the Egyptian superstition was that to which the Israelites were more particularly addicted. And thus much may be gathered from Eze 8:10. We have shewn this to have been a description of an Egyptian mystic cell, which certainly was adorned only with Egyptian gods; and yet these gods are here called, by way of distinction, all the idols of the house of Israel; which seems plainly to infer this people’s more particular attachment to them. But, the words house of Israel being used in a vision describing the idolatries of the house of Judah, we may take it for granted, that in this indefinite number of all the idols of Israel, were eminently included those two prime idols of the house of Israel, the calves of Dan and Beth-el; and the rather for that the original calves held a distinguishing station in the paintings of the mystic cell, as the reader may see by viewing the Bembine table. And this by the way will lead us to the reason of Jeroboam’s erecting two calves: for they were as we find worshipped in couples by the Egyptians, as representing Isis and Osiris. And what is remarkable, the calves were male and female, as appears from 2Ki 10:29 compared with Hos 10:5 where in one place the masculine, and in the other the feminine term is employed. But though the Egyptian gods are thus, by way of eminence, called the gods of the house of Israel, yet other idols they had besides, and of those good store, as will appear in the sequel; for this prophetic vision is employed in describing the three master-superstitions of this unhappy people, the Egyptian, the Phoenician, and the Persian. The Egyptian we have seen.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
What tended to aggravate those crying sins yet more was, that they were committed in the very sanctuary. And they had thrown up a wall to conceal from every eye, and none but his eye who seeth in secret could discover. Alas! when sin is made yet more exceeding sinful, both from the place and persons, where and by whom it is wrought, the evil riseth to a greater malignity. Lord! I pray thee give to me grace to recollect, that my secret sins are in the light of thy countenance; and all things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Psa 90:8 ; Heb 4:13 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Eze 8:7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.
Ver. 7. And he brought me. ] Mystagogus ille angelus. that angel who showed the sacred places.
To the door of the court.
A hole in the wall.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 8:7-13
7Then He brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. 8He said to me, Son of man, now dig through the wall. So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. 9And He said to me, Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here. 10So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping things and beasts and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. 11Standing in front of them were seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his censer in his hand and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising. 12Then He said to me, Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’ 13And He said to me, Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing.
Eze 8:7 a hole in the wall This implies that this particular idolatry was done in secret by the leaders of the people.
Eze 8:8 now dig through the wall This VERB (BDB 369, KB 365) is used twice.
1. Qal IMPERATIVE
2. Qal IMPERFECT
It is uncertain how the hole of Eze 8:7 is related to the new hole of Eze 8:8, dug by Ezekiel. The first may have been a secret entrance for the idolaters (cf. Eze 8:11-12) and the second an access hole for Ezekiel to view the abominations occurring there (cf. Eze 8:10-13).
Eze 8:9 Go in and see These are both Qal IMPERATIVES.
1. BDB 97, KB 112, cf. Eze 8:10
2. BDB 906, KB 1157, cf. Eze 8:11
Eze 8:10 every form of creeping things and beasts and detestable things This may relate to the worship of animals as reflected in Egyptian idolatry (cf. Exodus 32, a golden calf, later copied at the temples in Bethel and Dan). For Israel, they were to make no image of these unclean (cf. Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14) animals (cf. Deu 4:18). These prohibitions were to isolate Israel from Canaanite worship. Much of the Levitical legislation is for this purpose.
were carved on the wall all around The VERB (BDB 348, KB 347, Pual PARTICIPLE) means to carve (cf. 1Ki 6:35 or scratch cf. Eze 4:1). In Eze 23:14 it may refer to wall painting.
Eze 8:11 seventy elders of the house of Israel The house of Israel parallels the house of Judah. It also shows the number 70 (cf. Exo 24:1; Num 11:16; Num 11:25) of the elders (cf. Eze 7:26) involved in this idolatry. This would symbolize all of Israel’s leadership. Seventy is a round number denoting fullness.
SPECIAL TOPIC: SYMBOLIC NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE
Jaazaniah the son of Shapan This shows the radical influence of idolatry when one of the well known leaders was involved in it (cf. Eze 11:1). Shapan is a name related to the court leaders of Josiah (cf. 2 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 34; Jeremiah 36), but the connection is uncertain. Possibly his name is meant to convey that the political leadership at the highest levels was involved.
Eze 8:11 each man with his censer in his hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising They were all personally involved in the idolatrous rituals.
NASB, NRSVfragrance of the cloud of incense rising
NKJVa thick cloud of incense went up
TEVsmoke was rising from the incense
NJB, REBrose a fragrant cloud of incense
The Hebrew term (BDB 801 II) is found only here in the OT. The same consonants mean (1) pray, (2) worshiper, (3) abundant, and (4) a place name in Jos 15:42. BDB suggests odor, but also possibly smoke (which is a symbol of prayer rising to God).
Eze 8:12 each man in a room with its carved images Not only were these leaders participating in cultic idolatry in the temple, but they had made local or individual shrines in their own homes (or alcoves of the temple). It is uncertain if this represents corporate worship or individual worship or both.
they say There is a series of excuses and words found in the book of Ezekiel (cf. Eze 8:12; Eze 9:9; Eze 11:3; Eze 11:15; Eze 12:22; Eze 12:27; Eze 18:2; Eze 18:25; Eze 33:10; Eze 33:24; Eze 33:30; Eze 35:12; Eze 37:11). This is similar to Paul’s use of diatribe in Romans.
The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land’ These comments cast aspersions on God’s knowledge and His covenant promises! They were repudiating the character of YHWH (cf. Gen 3:1-7)! These men had reacted theologically to the deportations of artisans and leaders from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 596 B.C.
Eze 8:13 yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing This becomes a repeated refrain (cf. Eze 8:15).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
a = one: i.e. a single, or certain; as though it were mysterious or remarkable.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eze 8:7-13
Eze 8:7-13
“And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold, a door. He said unto me, Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censor in his hand; and the odor of the cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark? every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Jehovah seeth us not; Jehovah hath forsaken the land. He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do.”
THE WORSHIP OF BEASTS;
REPTILES AND CREEPING THINGS
The best comment we have found on this is in Rom 1:22-23. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.”
That was Paul’s comment on what took place among the pre-Christian Gentiles; and here we find that ancient Israel had fallen into the same wickedness.
All of these animal figures, worshipped as idols, were derived from ancient Canaanite paganism, from Baylonian, and from Egyptian sources.
“Elders … censors … cloud of incense …” (Eze 8:11). It was unlawful for the elders to offer incense in the Temple, a function belonging only to the sons of Aaron; and even they were forbidden to offer the sacred incense to a pagan idol.
“Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan …” (Eze 8:11). There were a number of men of this name in the Bible, and one of them had aided in the reforms of Josiah. If this was the same man, he had failed to remain loyal to the Lord.
This vision of so many elders offering incense to pagan gods is thought by some to be a “Representation of the widespread guilt of the whole nation in their clandestine worship of pagan idols.” Nevertheless, it appears in this vision that the worship was taking place in the Temple.
“The paganism visible in this vision does not appear to be any kind of blending of paganism with the true worship of God; but, on the other hand, “It was unalloyed idolatry practiced by the defectors from the true faith in God.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
1Ki 7:12, 2Ki 21:5
Reciprocal: Deu 27:15 – and putteth 2Ch 33:5 – in the two Eze 7:20 – but Eze 8:12 – in the Eze 40:14 – the court Rev 14:1 – I looked
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 8:7, The three forms of idolatry described at verse 6 are riot treated in the same order in this chapter, which is no important item. Their description is the main thing because no special preference was observed by the idolaters. Having pointed out the first one described, in verse 5, the third one will come next in the chapter beginning with the present verse. Hole is from OHOR which Strong defines, “A cavity, socket, den. This was a place in the wall through which one coutd see but not intended as an opening for entrance.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 8:7-11. And he brought me to the door of the court This, Dr. Lightfoot understands of the east gate of the inner court, called the gate of Nicanor, over which was the council chamber, where the sanhedrim used to meet, and in some of the rooms near it they secretly practised idolatry, as God discovered to the prophet, Eze 8:11. Behold a hole in the wall Through which I could look in, and see what abominations were committing there. Then he said, Dig now in the wall This, and what follows, was done only by vision, during the prophets trance or ecstasy, while the elders sat before him. And when I had digged in the wall, behold a door A private door, by which the elders entered into the chambers of their imagery, to perform idolatrous worship to the images. And he said unto me, Go in, &c. To give me the fullest conviction, I not only looked through the hole, mentioned Eze 8:7, but went into the very room where these idolatries were committed. Behold the abominations that they do here Hebrew, are doing here: even under the approach of judgments, and under the walls of my temple. So I went in, and behold every form of creeping things It is probable that they imitated the Egyptians in this kind of idolatry; for the Egyptians used to worship several kinds of beasts and reptiles. According to Diodorus Siculus, 50. 1. p. 59, edit. Wess., (referred to by Secker,) round the room in Thebes, where the body of King Osymanduas seemed to be buried, a multitude of chambers were built, which had elegant paintings of all the beasts sacred in Egypt. It is not unlikely they imagined they evaded the law against setting up any image to worship, by having them only portrayed, or painted, on the wall; or, at least, that it was not so great an offence; for the Jewish people in general seem to have had little regard to any thing but the strict letter of the law, not regarding the spirit of it. However, as to objects for worship, pictures were prohibited, as well as carved images, as appears from Num 33:52. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients, &c. Heads of the tribes or families, or, at least, principal men, (according to the number of the sanhedrim,) who ought to have been examples of true religion, not ringleaders in idolatry. By this the prophet was given to see, that it was not the vulgar, or the poor and ignorant only that were guilty of idolatry, but the leading men of the nation, and those of the greatest knowledge, power, and influence, who were superior to, and had the direction of the common people; so that it was properly a national guilt, and, as such, loudly called for national punishment. And in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah Probably a prince of the people; the son of Shaphan Mentioned 2Ki 22:9. Shaphan was forward in reforming under Josiah, and his son is as forward in corrupting the worship of God.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 8:7-13. The Mystery Cult.Next, through a hole in the Temple wall, Ezekiel saw seventy elders headed by Jaazaniah (son, perhaps, of that very Shaphan who had been associated with the reform of the worship thirty years before, 2 K. 228ff.) indulging in mysterious animal worship, which some trace to Egypt, others to Babylon, while others, with more probability, regard it as a recrudescence of ancient Canaanitish practice (possibly totemistic). But the explanation of this, as partly of the other practices, lies in this (Eze 8:12), that they believe both themselves and their land to be forsaken by their God, Yahweh, and they are therefore driven to seek the support of other gods. (The meaning and the text of the phrase chambers of imagery in Eze 8:12 are uncertain.)
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
The idolatry of the elders 8:7-13
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The Lord then brought Ezekiel, in his vision, to some entrance to the temple courtyard. There Ezekiel saw a hole in the wall. At the Lord’s command, Ezekiel dug in the wall and discovered an entrance.
There are no other references to a solid wall between the outer and inner courtyards of Solomon’s temple much less to a room or rooms within that wall. Visionary experiences frequently did not correspond to reality in every particular, and this may be one example of this phenomenon. Perhaps what Ezekiel saw was a wall of the temple proper.