Ezekiel 2:9

And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; A ROLL - the form in which ancient books were made up....

Now the Prophet more fully explains what we have just dwelt upon. He narrates how a _volume of a book was offered to him: _that is, a book in the form of a roll was offered to him. For the noun which he uses, מגלת, _megleth, _comes from גלל, _gelel, _to roll, as the word _volume _among the Latins. For they were formerly accustomed to write on rolls, that is, they had not the form of books so compact and well arranged as we now use, but they had volumes, which barbarians call rolls. Ancient documents were written in this way, for there is nothing ancient in the archives of princes which is not written on rolls. Hence the phrase, “In the volume of the book it is written of me,” etc. (Psalms 40:8; Hebrews 10:7.) Now the Prophet says, such a volume was offered to me that I mig

6-10 Those who will do any thing to purpose in the service of God, must not fear men. Wicked men are as briers and thorns; but they are nigh unto cursing, and their end is to be burned. The prophet must be faithful to the souls of those to whom he was sent. All who speak from God to others, must obey his voice. The discoveries of sin, and the warnings of wrath, should be matter of lamentation. And those acquainted with the word of God, will clearly perceive it is filled with woe to impenitent sinners; and that all the precious promises of the gospel are for the repenting, believing servants of the Lord....

Verse Ezekiel 2:9. _A HAND WAS SENT_] Here the _hand_ signifies not only the instrument of conveyance, but an _emblem_ of the Divine _power_, which the _hand of God_ always signifies. _A ROLL OF A BOOK_] מגלת שפר _megillath sepher_. All ancient books were written so as to be _rolled up_; hence _volumen_, a _volume_, from _volvo, I roll_....

WAS SENT - Rather, was put forth. A ROLL OF A BOOK - The book was one of the ancient kind written on skins rolled up together. Hence, our English volume Psalms 40:7. The writing was usually on one side, but in this case it was written within and without, on both sides, the writing as it were running over, to express the abundance of the calamities in store for the devoted people. To eat the book signifies to be thoroughly possessed with its contents (compare Ezekiel 3:10; Jeremiah 15:16). There should be no break between Ezekiel 2:10 and...

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 2:1 SON OF MAN, etc. It is noticeable that the phrase (_ben adam_)_, _as addressed to a prophet, occurs only in Ezekiel, in whom we find it not less than eighty times, and in Daniel 8:17. As used elsewhere, _e.g._ in Numbers 23:19; Psalms 8:4; Job 25:6; Isaiah 51:12; Isaiah 56:2, and in Ezekiel's use of it, it is p

AND WHEN I LOOKED, BEHOLD, AN HAND [WAS] SENT UNTO ME,.... Not of an angel, but of Christ himself, in a visionary way; for this was not a real hand, but the likeness of one, as in Ezekiel 8:3; and so the Targum here, "and I saw, and behold, the likeness of a hand stretched out on the side to me.'' This symbol was to show that his prophecy, that he was sent to deliver, was from heaven and came from Christ; and that hand that delivered it to him would protect and defend him: AND, LO A ROLL OF A BOOK [WAS] THEREIN; held in it, and held forth by it, to the prophet. Books were frequently written on parchment or vellum, and rolled about a stick, in form of a cylinder; and hence they were called volumes or rolls, Psalms 40:7. This roll was a symbol of the prophecy of this boo

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. PREDICTIONS BEFORE THE FALL OF JERUSALEM A. judgment Predictions Concerning Jerusalem (1-24) Chapter S 1:1-3:14 The Vision of Glory and the Call of the Prophet _ 1. The introduction (Ezekiel 1:1) _ 2. The vision of glory (Ezekiel 1:4) 3. Ezekiel's call and commission (Ezekiel 2:1) 4. The roll eaten and the repeated commission (Ezekiel 2:9; Ezekiel 3:1) Ezekiel 1:1. The introductory words give

EZEKIEL 2:8 TO EZEKIEL 3:15. His inspiration is suggestively described by the symbolical swallowing of a book-roll. In Jer. (Jeremiah 1:9) it is more immediately conceived as due to the touch of the Divine Hand upon the prophet's lips: but by the publication of Dt. thirty years before (621 B.C.) the book had begun to hold a place in the religion of Israel which it had never held before (p. 90), and it is significant, not to say ominous, that Ezekiel is represented as owing his message and his inspiration to a book. The lamentations, mourning, and woe (Ezekiel 2:10) inscribed in the visionary book do, in point of fact, faithfully describe the gene

BEHOLD... LO. Fig, _Asterismos._ App-6. A ROLL OF. BOOK. a scroll. Compare Jeremiah 36:2.Psalms 40....