Ezekiel 1 - Introduction
_THE TIME OF EZEKIEL'S PROPHESY AT CHEBAR: HIS VISION OF FOUR CHERUBIMS, OF THE FOUR WHEELS, AND OF THE GLORY OF GOD._ _Before Christ 595._... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE TIME OF EZEKIEL'S PROPHESY AT CHEBAR: HIS VISION OF FOUR CHERUBIMS, OF THE FOUR WHEELS, AND OF THE GLORY OF GOD._ _Before Christ 595._... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE THIRTIETH YEAR, &C.— Archbishop Usher, Prideaux, Calmet, and others, are of opinion, that these thirty years are to be reckoned from the time when Josiah, and all the people of Judah, entered into that solemn covenant mentioned Exodus 23:3 which was in the 18th year of Josiah; from which time... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I LOOKED, &C.— God's anger and judgments are frequently compared to a _whirlwind;_ and this whirlwind is represented as coming out of the _north,_ to denote Nebuchadnezzar, who was to come from that quarter to destroy Jerusalem. Though Ezekiel was in Mesopotamia, God represented objects to him a... [ Continue Reading ]
EVERY ONE HAD FOUR WINGS— In the most ancient hieroglyphic writings, a supreme governor was designed by a man with four wings, and his lieutenants or princes by a man with two: and their being out-stretched signified action or design. So the other particulars of the straightness of their feet, the b... [ Continue Reading ]
——JOINED ONE TO ANOTHER— Of the two in front, and of the two behind, the right wing of one reached to the left wing of the other; the extremities of the expanded inner wings forming an arch. _THEY TURNED NOT_— This circumstance is repeated Ezekiel 1:12; Ezekiel 1:17 ch. Ezekiel 10:11.: and is explai... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY FOUR—AND THEY FOUR— Milton had a right notion of this hieroglyphic, when he says of the cherubic shapes, "Four faces each had wondrous;" and afterwards calls them "The fourfold-visaged four." Par. Lost. vi. 753. 845.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEIR WINGS WERE STRETCHED UPWARD— _And the wings of every one were parted above_ (in the act of flying): _two wings of every one were joined, and two covered their bodies._... [ Continue Reading ]
WHITHER THE SPIRIT WAS TO GO, THEY WENT— _Whither the wind_ or _tempest bore them, they were borne:_ that great whirlwind spoken of in the fourth verse, which bore this magnificent chariot of the Lord.... [ Continue Reading ]
LIKE THE APPEARANCE, &C.— _Like the appearance of lamps which went up and down among the living creatures._ That is, the fire moved itself up and down. Milton's expression is, "And careering fires between:" that is, fires which ran swiftly, and as it were tilted at each other.See Par. Lost, vi. 756.... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD ONE WHEEL UPON THE EARTH— The prophet now proceeds to describe the wheels of this chariot borne by the living creatures. "Now, as I _contemplated_ these living creatures (says he) _there appeared upon the ground a wheel, near each of them by their four faces;_ each living creature had his whe... [ Continue Reading ]
BERYL—WHEEL IN THE MIDDLE OF A WHEEL— _Chrysolite—wheel put cross within another wheel._... [ Continue Reading ]
RETURNED NOT— _Turned not._... [ Continue Reading ]
RINGS—RINGS— _Strakes._... [ Continue Reading ]
BY THEM— _Beside them;_ and so in Ezekiel 1:20 instead of _over-against them._... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LIKENESS OF THE FIRMAMENT, &C.— Over the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of a _clear sky_ or _firmament,_ where the Son of Man appears in divine glory, as upon a throne: see Ezekiel 1:26. By _terrible crystal_ is meant such as dazzles the eyes with its lustre. It may be rendered,... [ Continue Reading ]
THEIR WINGS STRAIGHT, &C.— _Their wings stretched out,_ &c. Houbigant.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN THEY WENT, &C.— To denote the terribleness of the judgments which they were to execute upon Jerusalem and the whole Jewish nation. See chap. Ezekiel 43:2 where the prophet foretels the return of the God of Israel in such a manner, as strongly confirms the interpretation that we have given o... [ Continue Reading ]
AND UPON THE LIKENESS OF THE THRONE— After having particularly described the chariot and throne of the Almighty, the prophet proceeds to speak of him who sat upon the throne, who was undoubtedly no other than the Son of God, as he was represented in the holy of holies, prefiguring his gracious incar... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS WAS THE APPEARANCE— Houbigant observes upon this vision in general; _First,_ That it seems most probably to adumbrate the state of the Jews, who were soon to be subdued by Nebuchadrezzar and carried into captivity; and that book mentioned in the next chapter, Ezekiel 1:9 wherein Lamentations we... [ Continue Reading ]