CHAPTER XLIV _This chapter gives an account of the glory of God having_ _returned to the temple_, 14. _The Jews reproved for suffering idolatrous priests to pollute_ _it with their ministrations_, 5-8. _Ordinances respecting the conduct of the priests, and the_ _maintenance due to them_, 9-31.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 44:2. _THIS GATE SHALL BE SHUT_] It was not to be opened on _ordinary occasions_, nor at all on the _week days_: but only on the _Sabbaths_ and the _new moons_. See the account of the _gates_ (4) in the explanation of the plan. Ezekiel 48:35. This verse has been adduced by the Roman C... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 44:5. _MARK WELL, AND BEHOLD_] Take notice of every thing; register all so fully that thou shalt be able to give the most minute information to the children of Israel.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 44:7. _THE FAT AND THE BLOOD_] These never went into common use; they were wholly offered to God. The _blood_ was poured out; the _fat_ consumed. _BECAUSE OF ALL YOUR ABOMINATIONS._] Several MSS. of _Kennicott's_ and _De Rossi's_ read _their abominations_, referring to the strangers m... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 44:10. _AND THE LEVITES THAT ARE GONE AWAY FAR FROM ME_] This refers to the schism of Jeroboam, who, when he set up a new worship, got as many of the priests and Levites to join him in his idolatry as he could. These, on the return from the captivity, should not be permitted to perform... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 44:16. _COME NEAR TO MY TABLE_] To place the _shew-bread_ there, and to burn incense on the golden altar in the holy of holies.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 44:17. _NO WOOL SHALL COME UPON THEM_] The reason is plain; wool is more apt than _linen_ to contract _dirt_ and breed _insects_; linen breeds none; besides, this is a _vegetable_, and the other an _animal_ substance. It was an ancient maxim, that whatever was taken from a _dead body_... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 44:20. _NEITHER SHALL THEY SHAVE THEIR HEADS_] The priests of _Isis_ shaved their heads close to the skin; the priests of _Budhoo_ do so still, their ordinances oblige them to shave their heads every _tenth day_. To let the hair grow _long_ would have been improper; therefore the Lord... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 44:22. _NEITHER SHALL THEY TAKE FOR THEIR WIVES A WIDOW_] This was prohibited to the _high priest_ only, by Moses, Leviticus 21:13-3.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 44:25. _AND THEY SHALL COME AT NO DEAD PERSON TO DEFILE_ _THEMSELVES_] Touching the dead defiles a _Hindoo_ now, as it formerly did a _Jew_; and they must bathe to become clean again.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 44:28. _I_ AM _THEIR INHERITANCE_] Those who affect to form their ecclesiastical matters on the model of the Jewish Church have with one consent left this out of the question. They will not live on the _free-will offerings of the people_; but must have vast revenues, and these secured... [ Continue Reading ]