Ezekiel 20:37

to pass under the rod According to the usage of the language (Leviticus 27:32, cf. Jeremiah 33:13) the rod or staff here is that of the shepherd, which he uses in counting his flock. "The shepherds carried a staff (Psalms 23:4; Micah 7:4; Zechariah 11:7) and used it in counting when they brought the beasts forth from the place where they were kept or made them go into it. It was customary to count the beasts every day (Jeremiah 33:23), usually at evening when they came home (Theocr. Ezekiel 8:16; Virg. Georg. iv. 436), sometimes twice, morning and evening (Virg. Ecl. iii. 34)," Dillm. on Leviticus 27:32.

bond of the covenant The word "bond" is otherwise unknown. LXX. reads: and I will cause you to go in by number, i.e. probably in special or precise tale (Isa 40:26; 1 Chronicles 9:28; Ezra 8:34). This carries on the figure of passing under the staff, and is amplified in Ezekiel 20:38. The word "covenant" is possibly a duplicate of the next word "purge" (Ezekiel 20:38). The expression "byor, in number" hardly of itself means few(cf. ch. Ezekiel 5:3), neither is the idea of fewness suitable here. Cf. Jeremiah 3:14.