Ezekiel 17:2

Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; PUT FORTH A RIDDLE - a continued allegory, expressed enigmatically, requiring more than common acumen and serious thought. The Hebrew, [ chiydaah (H2420)] is derived from a root [chaadad] 'to be sharp' - i:e., calculated to stimulate the attention and whet the intellect. Distinct from 'fable,' in that it teaches not fiction but fact. Not like the ordinary riddle, designed to puzzle, but to instruct. The "riddle" is here identical with the "parable" [ maashaal (H4912)], only that the former refers to the obscurity, the latter to the likeness of the figure to the thing compared....

But I come to the words _Son of man, set forth in enigma_: the noun and the verb mutually answer to each other, hence any one may if he please render the Prophet’s words, by saying enigmatize an enigma: for the Prophet here speaks of allegorical language, חידה, _chideh_, signifies the same as “allegory,” where the words are different from the sense, that is, where the sense is wrapped up in obscure involutions: but we know that God sometimes spoke enigmatically when unwilling to be understood by the impious and disbelieving. But here the obscurity of the sentence has another meaning, namely, that the Jews should be waked up, and this prophecy should penetrate their minds: we know their extreme hardness, and hence if the Prophet had spoken simply and in his accustomed language, they had not been so attentive. This therefore is the reason why, God orders him to speak enigmatically. He now...

1-10 Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal confidence for another, and never will prosper....

Verse Ezekiel 17:2. _SON OF MAN, PUT FORTH A RIDDLE_] Riddle, [Anglo-Saxon] or [A.S.], Anglo-Saxon, from [A.S.] to _divine_; a thing that must be curiously _investigated_ and _sifted_, to find out the meaning; and hence, _riddle_, a sort of coarse sieve to clean corn, to separate coarse chaff and straws from the pure grain. An instrument formerly used for _divination_. This is not far removed from the Hebrew חידה _chidah_, from חד _chad_, to _penetrate_; not that which _penetrates the mind_, but which _we_ must _penetrate_ to find out the sense....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 17:2 PUT FORTH A RIDDLE, etc. Again there is an interval of silence, till another theme is suggested to the prophet's mind and worked out elaborately. This he describes as a "riddle" (same word as the "dark speeches" of Numbers 12:8, the "hard questions" of 1 Kings 10:1). It will task the ingenuity of his hearers or readers to interpret it, and so he subjoins (Ezekiel 17:12) the interpretation. That interpretation enables us to fix the occasion and the date of the prophecy. It was the time when Zedekiah was seeking to strengthen himself against Nebuchadnezzar by a

SON OF MAN, PUT FORTH A RIDDLE,.... A dark saying, but a smart one: "whet a whetting" k, as in the Hebrew; something at first sight difficult to be understood, yet amusing and entertaining; and, when solved, very useful and instructive: AND SPEAK A PARABLE UNTO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL; or, "concerning the house of Israel" l; as the Targum and Syriac version; something relating to them, and what would aptly describe and represent their case; for the prophet was bid to take such a method, not to hide things from them, but rather the more strongly to represent them to them; seeing hereby their attention would be excited, and things would be more fixed in their memories, and they would be put upon studying the meaning of them; and when explained to them, and understood, which was quickly done, they might be the more affected with them. k חוד חידה, Heb. "acue acumen", Piscator. l אל בית ישראל ...

Ezekiel 17:1. The great eagle mentioned first is Nebuchadnezzar. (See Jeremiah 48:40; Jeremiah 49:22). He came to Lebanon and took the highest branch of the cedar, the symbol of the house of David, which was conquered by this eagle. Nebuchadnezzar made the youngest son of Josiah king over Judah and called him Zedekiah. This action is described in verse 5. The other great eagle is Hophra, the king of Egypt. To him Zedekiah turned for help. The interpretation and application of this parable is given in Ezekiel 17:11. The following passages should be read as helpful to the understanding of these verses:...

EZEKIEL 17. THE PERFIDIOUS KING. Jerusalem, as we have seen, is to be punished for her guilty past and her perfidious people (Ezekiel 17:16), but no less for her guilty present and her perfidious king. This truth is driven home in another allegory, here called a riddle and parable, set forth in Ezekiel 17:1 and expounded in Ezekiel 17:11; and thus for the second time (Ezekiel 12:1) Ezekiel shatters the illusion of the stability of the king and the monarchy. For a second time, too, the figure of Israel as a vine is presented (Ezekiel 17:15) b

SON OF MAN. See note on Ezekiel 2:1. RIDDLE. enigma. Hebrew. _chidah. a_ difficult or per plexing problem put forth for solution. Occurs in Judges 14:1 Judges 14:2; Judges 14:13; Judges 14:14; Judges 14:15; Judges 14:16; Judges 14:17;...

The riddle of the great eagle (1) Ezekiel 17:1 introduction. The great, broadwinged, speckled eagle came to Lebanon, and broke off the top of the cedar, carrying it to the merchant-land, Babylon the captivity of Jehoiachin by Nebuchadnezzar. (2) Ezekiel 17:5. He took also of the seed of the land and planted it beside the waters that it might be a spreading vine, and might turn its branches towards him who had planted it the elevation to the throne by Nebuchadnezzar of Zedekiah as a feudatory monarch. (3) Ezekiel 17:7. There was another great eagle, and the vine bent its roots and sent out its branches towards him Zedekiah sought the alliance and protection of the king of Egypt. (4)...