Ezekiel 8:11

And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. SEVENTY MEN - the 70 members composing the Sanhedrim, or great council of the nation, the origination of which we find in the 70 elders, representatives of the congregation, who went up with Moses to the mount to behold the glory of Yahweh, and to witness the secret transactions relating to the establishment of the covenant; also, in the 70 elders appointed to share the Burden of the people with Moses. How awfully it aggravates the national sin, that the 70, once admitted to the Lord's secret council (), should now, "in the dark," enter "the secret" of the wicked (), those judi...

He says also, _that seventy elders of the house of Israel made incense for their idols _I do not think that the seventy who were chosen for ruling the people are referred to here, though I suppose the Prophet to allude to this number. For we know that from the beginning seventy were set over the people, and were chosen from each tribe, and were united together. But with regard to this place, I think the number seventy is used of those whom, although they were not prefects, they called seniors in respect to their office, not through their age only. Meanwhile we must remember that the Prophet looks to that order, because from the beginning God had wished the seventy to bear rule and hold the government. (Numbers 11:16.) Thus the Prophet signifies that the leaders of the people, who ought to rule others by their counsel, were remarkable for corrupting the worship of God. He puts _Jezaniah,...

7-12 A secret place was, as it were, opened, where the prophet saw creatures painted on the walls, and a number of the elders of Israel worshipped before them. No superiority in worldly matters will preserve men from lust, or idolatries, when they are left to their own deceitful hearts; and those who are soon wearied in the service of God, often grudge no toil nor expense when following their superstitions. When hypocrites screen themselves behind the wall of an outward profession, there is some hole or other left in the wall, something that betrays them to those who look diligently. There is a great deal of secret wickedness in the world. They think themselves out of God's sight. But those are ripe indeed for ruin, who lay the blame of their sins upon the Lord....

Verse Ezekiel 8:11. _JAAZANIAH THE SON OF SHAPHAN_] Shaphan was a scribe, or what some call comptroller of the temple, in the days of Josiah; and _Jaazaniah_ his son probably succeeded him in this office. He was at the head of this band of idolaters....

SEVENTY MEN - Compare Exodus 24:9. The vision may have pointed to the contrast between the times. The number “seven” is symbolic of the covenant between Yahweh and His people, and so the “seventy” men exhibit forcibly the breach of the covenant. It is a figure of the covert idolatry of the whole people....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 8:1 AND IT CAME TO PASS, etc. We begin with a fresh date. One year and one month had passed since the vision of Chebar, and had been occupied partly by the acted, partly by the spoken, prophecies of the preceding chapters. In the mean time, things had gone from bad to worse in Jerusalem. In the absence of the higher priests, idolatry was more rampant, and had found its way even into the temple. It is probable that tidings of this had reached Ezekiel, as we know that frequent communications passed between the exiles and those they had left behind (Jeremiah 29:1, Jeremiah 29:9,...

AND THERE STOOD BEFORE THEM,.... Before the pictures, as the Vulgate Latin version expresses it, praying, sacrificing, and offering incense unto them: SEVENTY MEN OF THE ANCIENTS OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL; the whole sanhedrim, or great court of judicature among the Jews, as Kimchi; or at least there is an allusion to that number, which were appointed in Moses' time to be officers over the people, and govern and direct them, Numbers 11:16; which shows how sadly depraved and corrupted the state was, that not the common people only, but the civil magistrates, the chief rulers and governors, were given to idolatry; and those that should have taught the people the right way led them wrong; and it is still a further aggravation of their crime that they should do this in the chambers of the priests and Levites, where they ought not to have been: and in

CHAPTER S 8-11 Visions in Relation to Jerusalem _ 1. The vision of abomination in the temple (Ezekiel 8:1) _ 2. The vision of the linen-clothed man with the inkhorn (Ezekiel 9:1) 3. The vision of the coals of fire (Ezekiel 10:1) 4. The vision concerning the leaders: The glory departs (Ezekiel 11:1) Ezekiel 8:1. This vision shows the abomination which prevailed in the temple of Jehovah. In the visions of God, Ezekiel is brought to the door of the inner gate that looks to the north. Here was the image o

THE MYSTERY CULT. Next, through a hole in the Temple wall, Ezekiel saw seventy elders headed by Jaazaniah (son, perhaps, of that very Shaphan who had been associated with the reform of the worship thirty years before, 2 K. 228ff.) indulging in mysterious animal worship, which some trace to Egypt, others to Babylon, while others, with more probability, regard it as a recrudescence of ancient Canaanitish practice (possibly totemistic). But the explanation of this, as partly of the other practices, lies in this (Ezekiel 8:12), that they believe both themselves and their land to be forsaken by their God, Yahweh, and they are therefore driven to seek the support of other gods. (The meaning and the text of the phrase chambers of imagery in Ezekiel 8:12 are uncertain.)...

SEVENTY. The number of the elders. See Numbers 11:18; 2 Chronicles 19:8; Jeremiah 26:17, MEN. Hebrew. _'ish._ App-14. ANCIENTS. elders. Contrast Exodus 24:1, &c. JAAZANIAH. His father, Shaphan, had taken part in Josiah's reformation (2 Kings 22:8, &c.) Two of his sons were friendly to Jeremiah (_Ahikam,_ Jeremiah 26:24. and _Gemariah,_...