CHAPTER X _The same august vision which appeared to the prophet at first,_ _is repeated here; and coals of fire are scattered over the city_ _to intimate that it was to be burned. The symbol of the Divine_ _presence is likewise represented as removing farther and_ _farther from the temple, to s... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 10:2. _COALS OF FIRE_] These were to signify the burning of the city by the Chaldeans. It seems that the space between the _four_ wheels, which was all on fire, was that from which those coals were taken.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 10:3. _ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE HOUSE_] The right hand always marked the _south_ among the Hebrews.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 10:4. _THE GLORY OF THE LORD WENT UP_] This is repeated from Ezekiel 9:3. _THE HOUSE WAS FILLED WITH THE CLOUD_] This is a fact similar to what occurred frequently at the _tabernacle_ in the wilderness, and in the _dedication of the temple_ by Solomon. What is mentioned here was the _... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 10:5. _AS THE VOICE OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD_] That is, as _thunder_; for this was called the _voice of God_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 10:8. _THE FORM OF A MAN'S HAND UNDER THEIR WINGS._] I am still of opinion that the _hands_ and _wings_ were not distinct. The _arms_ were _feathered like wings_, and the _hand_ terminated the arm; but as the long front feathers of the wings would extend much beyond the fingers, hence... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 10:9. _THE COLOUR OF A BERYL STONE._] אבן תרשיש _eben Tarshish_, "the stone of Tarshish." The _Vulgate_ translates it _chrysolith;_ _Symmachus_, the _jacinct_; the _Septuagint_, the _carbuncle_. In the parallel place, Ezekiel 1:16, it is כעין תרשיש _keeyn Tarshish_, "like the eye of T... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 10:10. _A WHEEL HAD BEEN IN THE MIDST OF A WHEEL._] It is difficult to comprehend this description. It is generally supposed to mean one wheel within another, cutting each other at right angles. This, in my opinion, will not account for the _motions_ attributed to these wheels; nor ca... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 10:13. _AS FOR THE WHEELS, IT WAS CRIED UNTO THEM - O WHEEL._] Never was there a more unfortunate and unmeaning translation. The word הגלגל _haggalgal_, may signify, simply, _the roller_, or _a_ _chariot_, or _roll on_, or _the swift roller_. _And he clepide ilke_ _wheelis volible, or... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 10:14. _THE FIRST _- WAS _THE FACE OF A CHERUB_] In Ezekiel 1:10, this is called the "face of an ox;" here, the "face of a cherub:" hence, a _cherub_ was in the likeness of an _ox_, at least, as to its _head_. כרוב kerub never occurs as a verb; and its meaning cannot be precisely ascer... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 10:20. _AND I KNEW THAT THEY_ WERE _THE CHERUBIMS._] This formation of the plural is quite improper. In general, Hebrew nouns of the masculine gender end in ים _im_, in the plural; the _s_, therefore, should never be added to such. _Cherub_ is singular; _cherubim_ is plural. The _s_ sh... [ Continue Reading ]