Ezekiel 17:1-10

IV. THE KING: A LOWLY VINE 17:1-21

In chapter 17 Ezekiel turns his attention to King Zedekiah back in Jerusalem. This vassal king had committed an act of treachery against Nebuchadnezzar by breaking his solemn oath of allegiance to Babylon in seeking military aid from Egypt. In this oracle delivered shortly before 587 B.C. Ezekiel predicts the extinction of Zedekiah's dynasty and the fall of Jerusalem. He first presents his parable (Ezekiel 17:1-10) and then makes an application of what he has said (Ezekiel 17:11-21).

A. The Parable of the Two Eagles Presented 17:1-10

TRANSLATION

(1) And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, Put forth a riddle and speak a parable unto the house of Israel, (3) and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers of various colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar. (4) He broke off the topmost of its twigs, and carried it unto a land of commerce; he set it in a city of merchants. (5) Moreover he took from the seed of the land and set it in a fruitful field; he set it as a stalk[325] alongside many waters, as a willow. (6) And it sprouted and became a spreading vine of low stature whose tendrils turned toward him, and whose roots were under him; so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and put forth sprigs. (7) And there was another great eagle, with great wings and many feathers; and behold this vine bent its roots unto him, and put forth its tendrils toward him to water it from the beds of its plantation. (8) In a good field, by many waters it was planted that it might produce branches and bear fruit, that it might be a glorious vine. (9) Say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit that it wither, that it wither in all its sprouting leaves? Neither shall great power nor many people be at hand when it is plucked up by its roots. (10) And behold, being planted, shall it prosper? When the east wind touches it, shall it not utterly wither? In the beds where it sprouted it shall wither.

[325] The Hebrew is difficult. The Rabbinic understanding of the verse has been followed here.

COMMENTS

Ten prominent features of this parable need discussion:
1. The great eagle is the mighty King Nebuchadnezzar who is king of kings, even as the eagle is the king of birds. Like the eagle Nebuchadnezzar swooped down upon his prey to plunder and destroy.[326] His great wings enabled him to fly long distances and extend his influence over vast territories. The various colors (Ezekiel 17:3) of this great bird may represent the many different nations who were subject to Nebuchadnezzar and who contributed to his military might.

[326] Cf. Isaiah 46:11; Jeremiah 48:40; Hosea 8:1.

2. Lebanon (Ezekiel 17:3) represents the land of Israel and especially the kingdom of Judah.

3. The cedar (Ezekiel 17:3) represents Jerusalem.

4. The top of the cedar (Ezekiel 17:3) stands for the nobility of the city, especially the princes of the house of David.

5. The topmost of its twigs (Ezekiel 17:4) would be the youthful King Jehoiachin who was carried off by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C. to a land of commerce (Chaldea) and a city of merchants (Babylon).

6. The seed of the land (Ezekiel 17:5) is a member of the royal family, Zedekiah, who was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar as king of Judah in the place of Jehoiachin.

7. The fruitful field (Ezekiel 17:5) in which the seed was planted must be Judah.

8. Beside many waters (Ezekiel 17:5) is probably a reference to Babylon (cf. Jeremiah 51:13). Although Nebuchadnezzar put Zedekiah on the throne, he was dependent on Babylon like a stalk is de pendent on the moisture of a near-by stream.

9. The spreading vine of low stature (Ezekiel 17:6) must depict the Judaean vassal state administered by Zedekiah. The tendrils of this vine turned toward, and the roots were under, the eagle (Nebuchadnezzar). Zedekiah was given only limited and local authority. But as long as the vine maintained this posture it prospered, at least in a measure.

10. The second great eagle (Ezekiel 17:7) is Pharaoh Hophra to whom the vine (Zedekiah) turned for military aid in an attempt to free itself from the influence of the first eagle (Nebuchadnezzar). This spreading toward the direction of the second eagle (Egypt) was unnatural and unnecessary. The vine should have prospered and even could have produced fruit children of Zedekiah to carry on the royal succession (Ezekiel 17:8).

How could the vine (Zedekiah) prosper when it had tried to spread beyond its prescribed domain? The first great eagle would uproot the vine, cut off its fruit so that it would completely wither and die, Zedekiah's reign would be terminated, all the heirs to the throne would be killed and the nobles of Judah would perish. No great power or army of soldiers would be at hand to thwart the great eagle in his vengeful attack (Ezekiel 17:9). That Judaean vine would utterly wither right in the spot where it was planted when the scorching east wind (Babylonian empire) began to blow against it (Ezekiel 17:10).