Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 37:9

"Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." — Ezekiel 37:9 (ASV)

Upon these slain.— The word is used deliberately. The bones which Ezekiel had seen were those not merely of dead, but of slain men; and in this was their likeness to Israel: as desolated, and their nationality temporarily destroyed by their enemies.