17<\/strong>. Is it a light thing<\/em> ] Probably: is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit that they have filled: cf. Isa 49:6<\/span>; ch. Eze 9:9<\/span>.<\/p>\n the branch to their nose<\/em> ] This is supposed to be part of the ceremonies of their sun-worship. It is said that the Persian sun-worshippers held before them a branch or bunch of date, pomegranate or tamarisk tree, or according to some of the Homa tree, probably that their breath might not contaminate the glory of the rising deity. The word “nose” might mean face (Gen 3:19<\/span>), but why not “mouth?” And this distinctively Persian rite is hardly probable at so early a date in Israel. Also the reference to idolatry seemed concluded, for it is asked whether these idolatries were not enough, that they had also filled the land with blood. LXX. has given a general sense, “and behold these are as mockers,” probably regarding the words as a proverbial phrase.<\/p>\n Violence represents sin against man, abominations sins against God. These went hand in hand in Jerusalem.<\/P> And have returned – <\/B>After the reformation effected for a time by Josiahs zeal, they have gone back to their old state.<\/P> They put the branch to their nose – <\/B>An allusion to a then familiar practice, of which we find no clear traces elsewhere. Ezekiel is describing the attitude usual in such devotions, the branch held before the mouth, but wishing to represent it in contemptuous and derogatory terms, he substitutes the word nose for mouth.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 17<\/span>. They put the branch to their nose.<\/B><\/I>] This is supposed to mean some branch or branches, which they carried in succession in honour of the idol, and with which they covered their faces, or from which they inhaled a pleasant smell, the branches being odoriferous. That the heathens carried branches of trees in their sacred ceremonies is well known to all persons acquainted with classic antiquity; and it is probable that the heathen borrowed those from the use of such branches in the Jewish feast of tabernacles. There are many strange, and some filthy, interpretations given of this clause; but the former are not worth repeating, and I abominate the latter too much to submit to defile my paper with them. Probably the Brahminic Linga<\/I> is here intended.<\/P> <\/P> It really seems that at this time the Jews had incorporated every species of idolatry in their impure worship, – Phoenician,<\/I> Egyptian<\/I>, and Persian<\/I>. I might add that some imagine the image of<\/I> jealousy<\/I> to be a personification of idolatry<\/I> itself.<\/P> <\/p>\n Then; <\/B>after the prophet had seen all, and had time to consider all he saw. <\/P> He said unto me; <\/B>God appeals to the prophet. Doth the house of Judah think these no sins, or but little sins, or that I account not those provocations to anger? Do they so sottishly undervalue me and my law and ordinances, &c.? These idolaters, as others of the same stamp, are great oppressors; every where their oppressions may be found in great and high degrees. <\/P> Violence; <\/B>all injustice is here meant towards all sorts of men, whom they first despise, and next destroy. <\/P> Have returned; <\/B>from injustice against man, they return to impiety against God. <\/P> They put the branch to their nose; <\/B>consecrate first these branches in the sun, and then next prize them, as what had touched the idol, and was bettered by it. Or, perhaps, took some branches out of the garland, wherewith they decked the idol, the altar, the victim, or themselves; and as the Orgyasts, i.e. worshippers of Bacchus, did wave their Thyrsus, the stalk or stem wreathed with ivy about it, carrying it in their hands whilst they danced, bowed their bodies, and often kissed the branches, so did these idolatrous Jews. <\/P> <\/p>\n 17. put . . . branch to . . .nose<\/B>proverbial, for “they turn up the nose in scorn,”expressing their insolent security [Septuagint<\/I>]. Not contentwith outraging “with their violence” the second table ofthe law, namely, that of duty towards one’s neighbor, “they havereturned” (that is, they turn back afresh) to provoke Me byviolations of the first table [CALVIN].Rather, they held up a branch or bundle of tamarisk (called barsom<\/I>)to their nose at daybreak, while singing hymns to the rising sun[STRABO, 1.15, p. 733].Sacred trees were frequent symbols in idol-worship. CALVINtranslates, “to their own ruin,” literally, “to theirnose,” that is, with the effect of rousing My anger<\/I> (ofwhich the Hebrew<\/I> is “nose”) to their ruin.<\/P><\/p>\n Then he said unto me, hast thou seen [this], O son of man<\/strong>?…. Took notice of and considered this piece of idolatry, worshipping the sun toward the east:<\/p>\n is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here<\/strong>? could these things, which are such dreadful abominations, committed here in the temple, be reckoned light things by them, as surely they cannot? yet these are not all that they have done:<\/p>\n for they have filled the land with violence<\/strong>; with rapine and oppression; doing injury to the poor and needy, the widow and the fatherless, in all places:<\/p>\n and have returned to provoke me to anger<\/strong>; by other instances of idolatry:<\/p>\n and, lo, they put the branch to their nose<\/strong>; a laurel, or olive, or vine branch, which idolaters carried in their hands, and put to their nose, in honour of the idol they worshipped; in like manner as they kissed their hand at the sight of the sun, Job 31:26<\/span>; and which the Jews did in imitation of the Heathen. This is one of the eighteen places in which there is “tikkun sopherim”, or a “correction of the scribes”; who, instead of “my nose”, direct to read “their nose”; hence the words are differently interpreted by the Jewish commentators; who, by , rendered “branch”, think an ill smell is meant; arising either from their posteriors, their back being towards the temple; or from the incense which they offered up to their idols; so Kimchi and Menachem in Jarchi; agreeably to which Fortunatus Scacchus k understands this, not of any branch used by idolaters, which they put to the nose of their idol, or their own, for the honour of that; but of the censer which the Israelites used, contrary to the command of God, and which they put to their nose to enjoy a forbidden smell; see Eze 16:18<\/span>; but Gussetius l gives another sense of the words, rendering them, “they send forth a branch to their anger”; the Israelites are compared to a vine, as in Isa 5:1<\/span>; sending forth bad branches, idolatrous actions, as here in this chapter; and to these bad branches they sent forth or added another, even anger against God, the prophets, true believers, and right worshippers of God; and therefore he also would deal in fury and wrath, as in Eze 8:18<\/span>; so Dr. Lightfoot m renders it,<\/p>\n “”they send the branch to my wrath”, or “to their own wrath”; that is, to what they have deserved; as if it was said, in the same manner that anyone puts wood to the fire, the branch of the wild vine, that it may the more quickly be burnt; so do these put the branch to my wrath, that it may burn the more fiercely; hence it follows, “therefore will I also deal in fury”, c.”<\/p>\n The Targum is,<\/p>\n “and, lo, they bring shame (or confusion) to their faces”<\/p>\n what they do turns to their own ruin and destruction; as follows:<\/p>\n k Sacror. Eleaochr. Myrothec. l. 2. p. 536. l Ebr. Comment. p. 231. m Heb. & Talmud. Exercitat. in Johan. xv. 6.<\/p>\n God complains as formerly of the wickedness of the people, especially of their perfidious and wicked revolt, because they so defiled the temple which ought to be sacred to God alone. He adds besides another complaint, that they were not content in their wickedness, which tended to violate human society and common rights, and the pursuit of mutual equity, unless even religion should be weakened by them. For under the word חמס , chemes, is comprehended whatever is contrary to the second table of the law. There is, therefore, a use of the figure a part for the whole, in this word חמס, chemes, violence, as if he had said, they were addicted to frauds, rapine, slaughter, cruelty, perjuries, spoliations. Since, therefore, they abstained from no injustice, says God, they manifestly provoke me also: as if he had said, after being unjust towards men, they now dare to erect their horns against me. We know that God’s law was comprehended in the two tables. As to the former table, it prescribes what the true and pure worship of God is. The Jews had violated the second table, since they neglected all the duties of charity, and neither equity nor uprightness flourished among them. After they had filled the land with iniquity; this was their intolerable ungodliness, that after despising men they attacked God himself. We see now the reason of the context, Is this a light thing? says he. Thereafter he had spoken of the wickedness simply and by itself, as they say, he now amplifies by comparison when he says, before this they had filled the earth with violence, but now they have turned themselves to provoke me — behold these, he says, etc. The adverb of place must be noticed here, as I have before advised. For their impiety is the more detestable, since they broke into the temple to defile themselves with their idols. That place at least ought to remain pure and unpolluted, though the whole land had been infected with many defilements; but when not even the temple is spared, this is a sign of desperate and almost furious audacity. He, therefore, repeats the adverb which he had used before, and in the same sense. <\/p>\n As to the latter part of the verse, some, as I have said, take הזמורה, hez-moreh, for foulness: I know not why, for I am not aware that this noun is used elsewhere in this sense. But because nothing better occurred to them, they think it probable, and some have invented a foolish fable that they broke wind in honor of the sun, as if the noise of the belly was a grateful offering to the idol, since by this means they openly despised God. But these are conjectures. Others think more correctly who suppose this to be used metaphorically: for they were accustomed to burn incense to their idols; and so, according to them, God alludes to a pleasing and sweet odor when he names it a foul smell, as if he had said, even if the Jews pleased themselves in their superstitions, yet the incense sent forth a foetid odor and they should perceive it: for if he speaks of the nostrils it ought to be considered as a punishment. Some suppose that the relative of the third person is put for that of the first, as if God would say, to my nose or to my wrath: and they fabricate an insipid comment, that this place was changed by the Rabbins through reverence for God, as if forsooth there were not numberless passages where God pronounces in clearer words that he was disgracefully despised. But first, because this noun properly signifies a branch, and is taken in that sense in many places; then since the noun אפ, aph, may be explained as well passively as actively, the context will flow best if we say, they put forth a branch to their wrath — that is, to their destruction, because they provoked God. For what is the meaning of putting forth a branch, but that they heaped evil upon evil. They had violated, as I have said, the second table of the law, they were thieves, robbers, perjurers, and violent. Now at length their rage was directed against the former table of the law, so as to overthrow the whole worship of God. So therefore it will make good sense to say, that boughs were put forth — for the singular number is taken for the plural, as often happens. Since, therefore, they so put forth boughs or budded, God says, that this should be for their destruction, because at length when he had spared them a long time, after a fit time for their punishment arrived, he would consume them. Now, therefore, we understand what the Prophet means. But if any other conjecture pleases, every one may form his own opinion; I do not contest the point, but I show what I think most probable. It follows — <\/p>\n C. The Announcement of Judgment 8:1718<\/p>\n TRANSLATION<\/strong><\/p>\n (17) And He said unto me, Have you seen, son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they are doing abominations which they have done here? for they have filled the land with violence and they have provoked Me still more, and behold they are putting the branch to their nose. (18) Therefore also I will deal with them in fury; My eye will not have compassion nor will I take pity; when they cry in My ears with a loud voice I will not hear them.<\/p>\n COMMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n Judah was ripe for judgment. The abominations practiced throughout the land were viewed by most as a light thing. But to the Lord they were a provocation. Do you see this, son of man? suggests that Ezekiel was a little uncertain in his own mind as to the necessity of the judgment which he had been preaching (cf. Jer. 5:1-3<\/span>).<\/p>\n The breakdown in devotion to God led to social chaos. They had filled the land with violence. Proper theology must undergird proper morality. Such social injustice only provoked the Lord that much more. If the root of faith is severed, there can be no fruit of righteousness.[226]<\/p>\n [226] Blackwood, EPH, p. 76.<\/p>\n Commentators vie with one another in the ingenuity with which they attempt to explain the charge that they are puffing the branch to their nose (Eze. 8:17<\/span>). Is it some otherwise unattested idolatrous act? or is it some obscene gesture of contempt? The expression has not yet been satisfactorily explained. One proposal is that a bundle of Tamarisk branches was held up to the nose at daybreak, as hymns were sung to the rising sun.[227] Certainly some grossly offensive act is intended. Rabbinic tradition lists this phrase among the few deliberate emendations of the ancient scribes. The original reading was, They put the branch to MY nose.<\/p>\n [227] Such a custom is reported by Strabo (XV 3, 14) as being observed by the magi when engaged in prayer.<\/p>\n On the basis of the evidence presented in chapter 8 God had no alternative but to deal with these people in fury. Compassion and pity as far as the nation was concerned was out of the question. Prayer would be useless. No matter how loudly they cried He would not hear them (Eze. 8:18<\/span>). The day of grace was over; the day of wrath had come.<\/p>\n (17) For they have filled the land with violence.<\/strong>Corruption in religion here, as always, bore its proper fruit in moral deterioration. A people who go astray from their duty to God are always found to neglect also their duty to man. Israel had before fallen into great and grievous sins. Within the memory of those still living, the good king Josiah, supported by the prophet Jeremiah and many others, had made great effort at reformation, and had purged the Temple of its abominations; hence God says the people have returned <\/em>to provoke me to anger.<\/p>\n Put the branch to their nose.<\/strong>This is an obscure expression, on which the learning and ingenuity of commentators have been spent in vain. It is an allusion to some custom well known at the time, but now lost. The simplest explanation seems to be in a reference to the habit of the Parsees (mentioned by Strabo) in their worship to hold twigs of the tamarisk, palm, and the pomegranate before their mouths.<\/p>\n 17<\/strong>. <\/strong> They put the branch to their nose <\/strong> This seems to be the particularly objectionable feature connected with the sun worship just described, which may indicate that it was a debased and impure form of such worship. The gesture referred to is one common to ancient rituals and was the symbol of life and fructification. Flowers and trees played a great part in the religious symbolism of all ancient religions. (See Fraser’s Golden Bough.<\/em>) In the tombs of Egypt almost every deceased person and the mourning friends are represented smelling the lotus. Even to-day the lotus is the most favored religious emblem in Japan. Tell a Buddhist that his heart is corrupt and cannot be cleansed, and he will answer, “The lotus springs from the mud” ( Asiatic Quarterly Review, <\/em> viii, p. 441). The custom of holding a bundle of twigs to the nose by the Magi during prayer is reported by Strabo (xv, 3, 14). This is the beresma <\/em> of the Avesta, and is still done by the Parsi priests. Astarte-Aphrodite or Tammuz-Adonis is represented on an ancient vase in front of the Asherah tree with flowers in both hands, one bouquet of which is held to the nose. On the Assyrian monuments earlier than Ezekiel’s day the priests are represented carrying a spray in one hand, and in one case at least the priest is seen lifting the spray to his nose just before he offers sacrifice. This same gesture is seen in another representation of a priestess or goddess who stands before the symbol of the sun; it is common everywhere in the adoration of the flower god Tammuz-Adonis. Max Ohnefalsch-Richter points out that the smelling of a flower or a flowering branch or the holy tree itself was a most solemn ceremonial in the ancient ritual in Cyprus. In various statues the priest or worshiper is represented adoring the sun, while in his left hand he holds the flowering spray to his nose ( Kypros, Bible, and Homer, <\/em> 1893, p. 136, etc.). Perrot and Chipiez describe thus a Phoenician temple: “The air was full of perfume, of soft and caressing sounds the voluptuous cooing of the dove mingled with the rippling notes of the flute. Here sat the slaves of the goddess covered with jewels and dressed in rich stuffs with bright-colored fringes necklaces of gold, amber, and glass hung between their swelling breasts; with the pigeon, the emblem of fertility, in one hand and a flower or myrtle branch in the other, these women sat and waited” ( Phoenicia and Cyprus, <\/em> ii, pp. 108, 138, 332). A class of male prostitutes were connected with the Baal worship, and a class of priestess prostitutes ( Kadishti<\/em>) with the Ashtoreth, Ishtar, and Tammuz cults. “The recent revelations concerning the hideous meaning of this seemingly inoffensive symbol and the ritual connected with it perfectly explain the strong words contained in the Bible text. This ‘fills the cup!’ God is now determined to punish, and the following chapter brings before the eyes of the seer the judgment according to its various phases.” Orelli.<\/p>\n ‘Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations that they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger. And lo, they put the branch to their nose.” ’<\/p>\n God’s continual questioning of Ezekiel brings out His great concern over these things (see Eze 8:6<\/span>; Eze 8:12<\/span>; Eze 8:15<\/span>; Eze 8:17<\/span>). He wants Ezekiel to know that it is no light thing that has brought such severe judgment on His erstwhile people. Their behaviour has been outrageous. Does not Ezekiel agree?<\/p>\n ‘For they have filled the land with violence.’ This probably refers to the violence resulting from their idolatrous worship and its total lack of morality. They were ignoring God’s covenant requirements, and thus violence abounded. There was little restraint. Such is often the result when men turn from God to sin.<\/p>\n ‘And have turned again to provoke me to anger.’ That is have turned back to the old gods with their non-existent morals.<\/p>\n ‘And lo, they put the branch to their nose.’ Putting a slip or branch to the nose was possibly part of the ritual practise of sun worship. Pictorial designs on some Assyrian reliefs show people holding branches to their noses in reverence and worship. But the emphasis of its mention here suggests a little more than just an ordinary act of worship. It suggests something that could be seen as especially insulting to Yahweh. Possibly it suggested that the Sun god, and not Yahweh, was responsible for the benefits of creation and was the source of life. Compare how the ‘planting with pleasant plants and setting with strange slips’ is connected with the Asherim and sun-images in Isa 17:8<\/span>; Isa 17:10-11<\/span>.<\/p>\n Another suggestion is that zemora means ‘stench’ per early Jewish commentators and that the text be slightly altered to read ’appi (my nose) rather than ’appam. This would then make it read ‘they put forth a stench to My nose’ (compare Isa 65:5<\/span>). But both changes lack evidence.<\/p>\n Eze 8:17<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>For they have filled, <\/em><\/strong>&c.<\/strong> The last clause of this verse seems evidently misunderstood; the therefore <\/em>in the following verse plainly pointing out that sense which the LXX, and other versions, give it. They are those who mock me, <\/em>or publicly affront me. <\/em>Those commentators, however, who defend the present version, suppose that it alludes to some custom among the idolaters, of dedicating a branch of laurel or some other tree to the sun, and carrying it in their hands at the time of their worship; a rite which was called among the Greeks , , &c. See the lexicographers on those words, and Spencer de Leg. Heb. lib. 4: cap. 5. <\/p>\n REFLECTIONS.<\/strong>1st, The days seem now to have been expired, during which the prophet was to lie on his side; and a new vision is revealed to him, dated in the sixth year of Jehoiakin’s captivity. <\/p>\n 1. He sat in his house, and the elders of Judah before him. Probably it was a sabbath, and they were now assembled for the worship of God, or to consult the prophet in their present distressed circumstances: for affliction will often drive those to God’s prophets, who in their prosperity despised their admonitions. 3. The prophet is caught away in vision to Jerusalem. Swift as thought he passes through the air, and at the inner gate of the temple is let down to observe what is there transacted. This seems to have been entirely transacted in vision, and not any real or local removal of the prophet from Chaldea. <\/p>\n 4. He records what he saw there. [1.] He beheld the same glorious vision which had appeared to him before in the plain, chap. Eze 3:22-23<\/span>. God had not yet deserted his temple, though he was now about to do it, provoked by their daring profaneness, impiety, and base ingratitude. [2.] He beheld the image of jealously <\/em>set up close by the northern gate of the inner court, where stood the altar of burnt-offering. What this image was, we are not told; the major part of the commentators, I think, consider it as the idol Baal, 2Ki 21:7<\/span>. But nothing could be conceived more affronting to God; nor could they have contrived a more effectual method to provoke the eyes of his jealousy. Well, therefore, may he bid the prophet behold these abominations with wonder and detestation, and urge the justice of his departure from a people so desperately wicked! But greater abominations yet remained. Note; <\/em>(1.) When we set up the idols of pride, lust, and covetousness in our hearts, which should be the temples of the Holy Ghost, we become criminal like those who bowed to Baal. (2.) They who provoke God by their sins to depart from them, have only themselves to blame for the ruin which ensues. <\/p>\n 2nd, The farther the prophet goes, the more his indignation is moved. 2. A scene of shocking wickedness is here laid open. Behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts: <\/em>so immersed were they in idolatry, that even to the vilest reptiles, and the most odious and impure animals, they paid their adorations. On the walls around were pourtrayed all the idols of Israel; and seventy elders, the whole great sanhedrim, and in the midst of them Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, each with his censer, offered a cloud of incense to those hated deities; intimating, how entirely the whole nation was infected with idolatry, when the great men, princes and priests together, were so devoted. thereunto, and so liberal in their oblations. Note; <\/em>When, they who should be examples to restrain others, are themselves ringleaders in iniquity, the corruption of a nation must needs become general. <\/p>\n 3. God bids him observe these abominations, done indeed in the dark: <\/em>but what darkness or shadow of death can hide the workers of wickedness from his all-seeing eye? And they say, the Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth; <\/em>as if he had deserted them, would pay no regard to them in their distress, and therefore they had recourse to the gods of the nations for help. Note; <\/em>(1.) The heart of man is naturally like these chambers of imagery; abominations pass there, which the sun would blush to behold. (2.) The day will come, when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed: what a day of terror and confusion to the impenitent and unpardoned! (3.) All sin is at bottom practical atheism. (4.) They who embolden themselves in iniquity by the flattering hope that the Lord hath forsaken the earth, shall find, by the judgments that he will inflict, how near he is to vindicate his injured honour. <\/p>\n 3rdly, Farther abominations pass in review before the prophet. <\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Eze 8:17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen [this], O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Ver. 17. And, lo, they put the branch to their nose.<\/strong> ] In honour th the sun, whose heat produceth the mot redolent wines; or they might be branches of laurel dedicated to the sun. R. Solomon rendereth it, They put a stink to my nose, even ventris crepitum pro suffitu. Vah, vah, vah!<\/em> a<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n a<\/em> , , . – Septuag.<\/p>\n the. Some codices, with three early printed editions, read “all the”. <\/p>\n Lo. Figure of speech Asterismce. App-6. <\/p>\n the branch = the Asherah (App-42), represented by a branch out to a certain shape. <\/p>\n their. This is one of the eighteen emendations of the Sepherim (App-33), by which they record their change of’aphphi (My nostrils) of the primitive text, to’ aphpham (their nostrils), in order to remove what was thought to be an indelicate and derogatory Anthropomorphism. <\/p>\n Is it a light: etc. or, Is there anything lighter than to commit, etc <\/p>\n for: Eze 7:23, Eze 9:9, Eze 11:6, Gen 6:13, 2Ki 21:16, 2Ki 24:4, Jer 6:7, Jer 19:4, Jer 20:8, Amo 3:10, Amo 6:3, Mic 2:2, Mic 6:12, Zep 1:9 <\/p>\n they put: So the Vulgate has, applicant ramum ad nares suas “they apply the branch to their nose;” which Jerome explains by “a branch of the palm tree with which they adored the idols;” and it seems plainly to allude to the Magian fire-worshippers, who, Strabo tells us, held a little bunch of twigs in their hand, when praying before the fire. <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Gen 6:11 – filled 1Ki 14:9 – to provoke 1Ki 16:31 – as if it had been a light thing 2Ki 3:18 – a light 2Ki 23:19 – to provoke the Lord Job 41:10 – dare Ecc 7:17 – not Isa 1:15 – when Isa 3:8 – to provoke Isa 65:3 – A people Jer 7:19 – they provoke Jer 44:3 – of their Jer 51:5 – though Lam 1:5 – for Eze 8:6 – seest Eze 8:12 – hast Eze 16:20 – Is this Eze 16:47 – as if that were a very little thing Eze 18:12 – hath committed Eze 24:8 – it might Eze 28:16 – filled Eze 47:6 – hast thou Amo 8:2 – Amos Mic 6:16 – that<\/p>\n Eze 8:17. Having given Ezekiel a full and detailed vision of the evil conditions in Judah, the Lord “puts it up to him” to form a conclusion on the subject. However, God states his own conclusion and affirms (in question form) that what Judah is doing is no light thing-it is not something to be regarded lightly. Certain trees were considered sacred by idolaters, and these corrupt men of Judah were showing their insolent contempt for the true God by exhibiting a desire to smell of such trees in connection with their worship of the sun.<\/p>\n Eze 8:17-18. Then he said After the prophet had seen all, and had had time to consider all he saw, God appeals to him concerning the heinousness of their crimes. Is it a light thing to the house of Israel Who know and profess better things, and are dignified with so many privileges above other nations? Is it excusable in them, who have Gods oracles and ordinances, that they commit the abominations which they commit here? Do they not deserve to suffer who thus sin? Should not such abominations as these make desolate? For they have filled the land with violence All kinds of injustice are here meant, toward all sorts of men, whom they first despised and then defrauded, oppressed, or destroyed. And it is not strange if they who wrong their Creator make no conscience of injuring their fellow- creatures, and with all that is sacred, trample also on all that is just. And this wickedness of their conduct toward each other would have made their worship an abomination, even if it had been paid to the true God: see Isa 1:11, &c. And have returned to provoke me, &c. After having filled the land with violence, they return to the temple to practise their idolatries: from injustice against man they return to impiety against God, and thus, by fresh abominations, add new aggravations to their guilt. And lo, they put the branch to their nose This obscure clause is supposed by several commentators to relate to some custom among the idolaters of dedicating a branch of laurel, or of some other tree, to the honour of the sun, and carrying it in their hands at the time of their worship. And Spencer, De leg. Hebrews, lib. 4. cap. 5, observes, that the heathen, in the worship of their deities, held forth the branches of those trees which were dedicated to them: a rite which was called among the Greeks, , : that is, branch-bearing. And Lewis, in his Origines Hebr, vol. 3. p. 4, observes, that the most reasonable exposition is, that the worshipper, with a wand in his hand, was wont to touch the idol, and then apply the stick to his nose and mouth, in token of worship and adoration. The Jewish rabbins, however, reckon this among the texts which their wise men have corrected, and say the original reading was not , their nose, but , my nose, or face; according to which reading the sense will be, They put a stick to my face, namely, to mock, or exasperate me: or, taking to mean here, not a branch, but, as Buxtorf renders it, odor malus ventris, the words will mean, they put an offensive smell to my nose, that is, they put an open affront upon me, namely, by turning their back to me in the place dedicated to my worship. And to this sense the LXX. interpret it, reading , they are as those that mock me, or publicly affront me. The Vulgate, however, reads the clause as we do. Dr. Lightfoot renders the place, They put the branch to my wrath, or their wrath; that is, they add more fuel to my wrath, which will burst out like a flame to consume them: just as if one should lay a heap of dry sticks upon a fire. Therefore will I deal in fury, &c. Hebrew, in anger, or wrath. Mine eye shall not spare Their provocations are such, that my justice cannot be satisfied without bringing deserved punishment upon them; and though they cry, &c. Their sins cry louder for vengeance than their prayers cry for mercy. <\/p>\n 8:17 Then he said to me, Hast thou seen [this], O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the {p} branch to their nose.<\/p>\n (p) Declaring that the censings and service of the idolaters are but infections and villany before God.<\/p>\n The Lord explained that not only had the Judahites committed all these abominations but they had also filled the land with violence and provoked Him repeatedly. Putting a twig to the nose was evidently part of the ritual practice of sun worship. [Note: See H. W. F. Saggs, "Notes and Studies: The Branch to the Nose," Journal of Theological Studies NS11 (October 1960):318-29.] <\/span> Another interpretation views this expression as describing some gross insult against God, something like creating a stench in God’s nose. [Note: Taylor, p. 100. See also Greenberg, pp. 172-73; Zimmerli, pp. 244-45; R. Gordis, "The Branch in the Nose," Journal of Theological Studies 37 (1936):284-85; and Block, The Book . . ., p. 299.] <\/span> Perhaps both meanings are correct.<\/p>\n "The Akkadian expression appa labana<\/span> denotes a gesture of worship involving both hand and nose. Sometimes the hand holds an object to the nose, as in the Bavian sculpture of Sennacherib worshiping the Assyrian gods, in which the object held by the king is perhaps a branch . . ." [Note: Allen, p. 146.] <\/span><\/p>\n Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen [this], O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 8:17”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20632\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
2. Then suddenly a divine extasy seized him, in the presence of the elders, and a glorious personage appeared, as fire from the loins downwards, and upwards bright and glittering: the same probably as chap. Eze 1:26-27<\/span> even the Lord Jesus, clothed with majesty and glory, burning with love towards his saints, and a consuming fire to his enemies. <\/p>\n
1. He is led to the court of the priests, and behold, a hole in the wall of one of their chambers, which he is commanded to enlarge, that he might see more distinctly what was done there; and when he had opened a passage, he came to a door, at which he is bid to enter, and observe what passed within. Note; <\/em>(1.) They who would know the mystery of iniquity within must dig deep into the hidden corners of their hearts. (2.) Hypocrites think often to hide their iniquities; but some unguarded place betrays their wickedness, and exposes their shame. (3.) Many make a fair shew in God’s house in public, who, if followed to the secret chambers, would be found sunk in abominations. <\/p>\n
1. At the north gate of the temple sat women weeping for Tammuz; probably the Adonis of the Grecians, beloved of Venus, according to the heathen fable, and slain by a wild boar. In honour, therefore, of this goddess, they observed the anniversary of his death with mourning and tears, and dared, even in the gate of the Lord’s house, to appear celebrating the shameful service.
2. In the inner court, the most sacred inclosure between the porch and the altar, where the priests ministered, there stood about five and twenty men, their backs turned to the temple, their faces to the east, adoring the rising sun.
3. God bids the prophet observe with wonder what he saw, and appeals to him concerning the aggravated guilt of this abandoned people. They made light of their dreadful provocations; and even there, <\/em>in God’s own house, performed their idolatrous rites. They filled the land <\/em>also with violence, <\/em>and then returned to provoke <\/em>God to anger; <\/em>for, while such wickedness was committed, their very sacrifices must needs be an abomination: and lo, they put the branch to their nose, <\/em>some nosegay perhaps of flowers, which they held forth or smelled to in honour of their idols; or, as some read the words, they put the branch to their wrath, <\/em>or his wrath, <\/em>or they are those who mock him, <\/em>adding fresh fuel to the fierceness of the divine wrath which burns against them. Therefore will I also deal in fury, <\/em>pouring on them the vengeance due to their iniquities, and judgment without mercy; which all their prayers and tears shall not be able to avert. When sinners have turned their backs on God, it is but just for him to turn his back on them, and be deaf to their cries in the day of their calamity. <\/p>\nFuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"