Ezekiel 17:3

And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: A GREAT EAGLE - the king of birds. The literal Hebrew is, 'the great eagle.' The symbol of the Assyrian supreme god, Nisroch [akin to the Hebrew 'eagle,' nesher (H5404)]; so applied to 'the great king' of Babylon, his vicegerent on earth (Jeremiah 48:40; Jeremiah 49:22). WITH GREAT WINGS - his "wings" are his great forces. Such symbols were familiar to the Jews, who saw them pourtrayed on the great buildings of Babylon; such as are now seen in the Assyrian remains....

Here the Prophet reasons from the greater to the less: for if Nebuchadnezzar was able to subdue the whole kingdom with ease, when as yet the Jews were untouched, how much more readily would he overthrow them when wretched and all but ruined: for nothing remained which was not threatened with ruin; and this is the meaning of the Prophet. But he compares King Nebuchadnezzar to an eagle, _whom he says was great_, and then with large or extended _wings_. There is no doubt that _by wings, feathers, and plumes_, he means the regions and peoples over which Nebuchadnezzar presided; for we know that the Chaldaeans possessed the monarchy of the East. Since, therefore, so many regions and people obeyed Nebuchadnezzar’s sway, it is not surprising that the Prophet calls him a great eagle, with ample wings, and with numerous feathers or plumes; for where he now says, מלא הנוצה, _mela henotzeh_, full o...

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 17:3. _A GREAT EAGLE_] Nebuchadnezzar. See Jeremiah 48:40; Jeremiah 49:22; Daniel 7:4. And see here, Ezekiel 17:12, where it is so applied. _GREAT WINGS_] Extensive empire. _LONG-WINGED_] Rapid in his conquests. _FULL OF FEATHERS_] Having multitudes of subjects. _DIVERS COLOURS_] People of various nations. _CAME UNTO LEBANON_] Came against Judea. The highest branch

A GREAT EAGLE ... - Probably the golden eagle, whose plumage has the variety of color here depicted. The eagle (the king of birds) is a natural representative of monarchs (compare, Jeremiah 48:40), and was an Assyrian emblem. WITH GREAT WINGS, IONGWINGED - literally, “great of wing, long of pinion,” because he has swept victoriously over widely distant lands - of divers colors, because his subjects are of various races and tongues. Jerusalem is here called “Lebanon” because Lebanon is the proper home of the cedar. The “highest branch” or “topshoot” is Jeconiah, the rightful king of Jerusalem, the “young twigs” are his children and the princes carried by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon....

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

AND SAY, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD,.... The riddle is not the prophet's, nor the parable his, but the Lord God's; and exceeding beautiful and apt it is, to signify the things designed by it; the wisdom of God is greatly displayed in it: A GREAT EAGLE; which is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, as it is explained, Ezekiel 17:12; who is compared to an eagle for his power and authority, that being the king of birds, and for his swiftness and voracity in conquering and subduing kingdoms; see Jeremiah 48:40; WITH GREAT WINGS; so the Babylonish monarchy is signified by a lion with eagle's wings, Daniel 7:4; and the two parts of the Roman empire, into which it was divided at the death of Theodo

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

THE LORD GOD. Hebrew. _Adonai Jehovah_. See note on Ezekiel 2:4. A GREAT EAGLE. Tho king of Babylon. LONGWINGED. long-pinioned, as in Ezekiel 17:7. FEATHERS. plumage. THE HIGHEST BRANCH. Jeleoiachin (i.e. Jeconiah, or Coniah). See Ezekiel 17:12. find Jeremiah 22:23; Jeremiah 22:24....