Ezekiel 39:2

And I will turn thee back,.... Not from the land of Israel; for thither it is said in the latter part of the text he would bring him; but the meaning is, that he would "turn him about", as the word w signifies, in his own land, and lead him about at his pleasure, and bring him out of it, unto the land of Israel; signifying hereby that the providence of God would be greatly concerned in this affair; and in which much glory would be brought unto him by the destruction of such a potent enemy of his people; which is the design of bringing him out;

Ezekiel 38:4:

and leave but a sixth part of thee; meaning, not that a sixth part only should escape the vengeance of God, and all but a sixth part be destroyed in the land of Israel; for it looks as if the whole army would be utterly destroyed, and none left; but that, when he should come out of his own country upon this expedition, a sixth part of his subjects only should be left behind; five out of six should accompany him; so numerous should his army be, and so drained his country by this enterprise of his. Some render the words, "will draw thee out with an hook of six teeth" x; that is, out of his own land; and this clause stands in the same place and order as the phrase and "put hooks into thy jaws" does in Ezekiel 38:4 and so may be thought to explain one another, and agrees with what follows: for, as for the sense of it given by Joseph Kimchi and others,

"I will judge thee with six judgments y, Ezekiel 38:12, pestilence, blood, an overflowing rain, hailstones, fire, and brimstone,''

it must be rejected; seeing as yet the account of his punishment is not come to; only an account is given how and by what means he shall be drawn out of his own land; wherefore much better is the Targum,

"I will persuade thee, and I will seduce thee;''

so Jarchi seems to understand it: and the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "I will lead thee", agreeably to what follows:

and will cause thee to come up from the north parts;

Ezekiel 38:15

and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel; not to inherit them, but to fall upon them, as in Ezekiel 39:4.

w שבבתיך "circumducam te", Piscator; "circumagam", Grotius. x ששאתיך "harpagone sextuplici extraham te", Vinarienses apud Starckius. So Buxtorf. y "Sex poenis, [sive] plagis afficiam te", Munster, Tigurine version.