Ezequiel 17

XVII.

This chapter contains a “riddle” or “parable “(Ezequiel 17:3), with its explanation (Ezequiel 17:11), closing with a clear Messianic prophecy couched in language taken from the parable (Ezequiel 17:22). While it is a distinct communication, it belongs to the same series of prophecies which began with the vision of Ezekiel 8-11, and is continued through Ezequiel 19. The meaning of the parable is made entirely clear by the explanation the first eagle (Ezequiel 17:3) is Nebuchadnezzar; “the top of his young twigs” is Jehoiachin, carried to Babylon; the “vine of low stature” is Zedekiah; the second eagle is Pharaoh (Ezequiel 17:7). The historical facts on which the parable is based are recorded in 2 Reis 24:8; 2 Crônicas 36:9; Jeremias 37 and Jeremias 52:1.