Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 24

In the tenth day of the month. —Jehoiachin’s captivity (by which all these prophecies are dated) coincided with Zedekiah’s reign. The date here given is therefore the same as in Jeremiah 39:1; Jeremiah 52:4; 2 Kings 25:1, and was afterwards observed by the Jews as a fast (Zechariah 8:19). It was doubtless the day on which the investment of the city was completed.

Write you the name. —It is evident that special attention was to be called to the exact date, and a note made of it at the time. The words “has set himself against” would be more accurately rendered has fallen upon.

The supposition that the reference is to some point on his march from which Nebuchadnezzar advanced to the attack upon Jerusalem, and that news of this was brought to the prophet in the ordinary way, is quite inconsistent with the whole verse. It is plain that the prophet means to say, with special emphasis and distinctness, that he was informed of what was taking place at Jerusalem on the same day on which it happened.

Utter a parable. —What follows (Ezekiel 24:3–14) was not a symbolical action, but was simply a parable spoken to the people, although the language is just what would describe action.

Set on a pot. —Rather, the cauldron, the word being the same as in Ezekiel 11:3, and preceded by the definite article referring to that passage. Urgency is indicated by the repetition of the command set on. The people in Ezekiel 11:3 had called their city the cauldron; so let it be, the Divine word now says, and set that city upon the fire of the armies of my judgment, and gather into it for destruction the people who have boasted of it as their security.

The pieces of it. —Literally, its pieces, the pieces which pertain to the cauldron, the Jews, whose centre and capital is Jerusalem. This was the natural effect of Nebuchadnezzar’s campaign; the people from every side sought refuge in the city . The mention of the good piece, the choice bones, and the choice of the flock (Ezekiel 24:5), is not for the purpose of designating any particular class, but only to emphasise that all, even the best, are to be included.

Burn also the bones under it. —It is uncertain whether this is or is not the exact sense. The word for “burn” means, as is shown in the margin, heap, and is a noun. This is understood by many with an implied verb, in the sense of “make a heap of wood to burn the bones.” On the other hand, the sense of the text is that found in most ancient versions, and it is certain that bones, before the fat is extracted, may be used for fuel.

It is better, therefore, to translate quite literally, heap the bones under it, leaving the same ambiguity as in the original as to whether the bones are to be burned on the fuel or used as fuel themselves. In either case, the bones are those that are left after “the good pieces” have been put into the cauldron. No part of the people shall escape; the refuse and the choice alike are doomed to destruction.