Albert Barnes Commentary Ezekiel 17
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezekiel 17
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezekiel 17
"And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying," — Ezekiel 17:1 (ASV)
Ezekiel, after figuratively describing the circumstances and conditions of the Jews and Zedekiah, the vassal of the Assyrian monarch, warns them of the deceptive nature of their hopes for help from Egypt, protests against the treachery that must accompany such an alliance, and points out that the restoration of God's people will be accomplished by a very different son of David. The close of this chapter is a striking prediction of the kingdom of the Messiah.
"and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:" — Ezekiel 17:3 (ASV)
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 , and was an Assyrian emblem.
With great wings, longwinged - literally, “great of wing, long of pinion,” because he has swept victoriously over widely distant lands—of diverse 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.
"he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it unto a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants." — Ezekiel 17:4 (ASV)
A land of commerce - The land of Babylon.
"He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow-tree." — Ezekiel 17:5 (ASV)
He took also of the seed of the land - Zedekiah the king’s uncle, not a Babylonian satrap, was made king.
"And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs." — Ezekiel 17:6 (ASV)
Spreading - On the ground, not trained to a pole, so that it might have no other prop but Nebuchadnezzar. As a vine it was less majestic than a cedar (Ezekiel 17:3); but compare (Psalms 80:10).
Whose branches ... - Rather, so that her branches should turn to him, and that her roots should be under him.
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