John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 17

In this chapter, the Prophet shows that the Jews were utterly foolish in thinking themselves safe, since they had God as their adversary. At the end of the chapter, he indeed promises the restoration of the Church and heralds the kingdom of Christ. However, the principal part of the chapter is primarily concerned with this teaching: that the Jews were utterly foolish in promising themselves safety for the city, the temple, and their kingdom, for, as was now evident, they had violated the covenant of God, and He had rejected them.

When deprived of God’s help, what could they do? This was egregious folly to hope for a prosperous state of their kingdom when their power was diminished and cut off, and they were reduced almost to the most dire straits. But since the Prophet’s discourse cannot be fully understood without a knowledge of the history, I will therefore begin there: When Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah king, he also made him tributary to himself.

He was made king at the will, or rather by the capricious desire, of the king of Babylon, when Jeconiah was led captive (2 Kings 24:15–17; 2 Chronicles 36:10; Jeremiah 37:1). Jeconiah had not sinned greatly, but when he saw himself unable to resist, he surrendered himself with his mother and children. He was carried away to Babylon and there was treated humanely and even splendidly, although not royally.

Nebuchadnezzar, foreseeing much trouble if he set any of his satraps over Judea and fearing daily tumults, appointed Mattaniah king, to whom he gave the name Zedekiah. This was the last king. Already, as I have said, the royal dignity was greatly diminished: it was tributary to Nebuchadnezzar, and Zedekiah’s authority was only precarious.

His position depended on the will of his conqueror, and the one who placed him on the throne could remove him as often as he pleased. A short time later, when he saw that Nebuchadnezzar was at a distance, he made an agreement with the king of Egypt and thought he would have sufficient help if Nebuchadnezzar should return with an army.

And the Egyptians, as we have said elsewhere, were quite eager for this treaty. For they saw the Babylonian monarchy gradually increasing, and it was probable that, when the Jews were utterly subdued, Nebuchadnezzar would not be content with those boundaries but would attack Egypt similarly and absorb that kingdom, as he had done others.

Thus, a reason for their entering into the treaty was clear, since the king of Egypt thought that Judea would be a defense if Nebuchadnezzar should come down with his army; and certainly, the Jews would have to receive the assault first. Be that as it may, Zedekiah, by despising his oath, as we will see, revolted to the Egyptians. When Nebuchadnezzar later demanded tribute, Zedekiah refused, relying on the covenant he had made with the Egyptians.

We now see how foolish the Jews were in being carelessly complacent in that miserable state to which they had been reduced. For when their power was unbroken, they could not sustain the attack of the king of Babylon; their king was then merely a figurehead, nothing but a shadow. Yet they indulged in pride not only against Nebuchadnezzar but also against the Prophets and God Himself, as if they were flourishing in wealth, power, and complete prosperity.

Therefore, Ezekiel now refutes and rebukes this arrogance. He shows how easy it was for the Babylonians to overthrow them again, since when they had previously attacked them, the Jews were easily subdued and compelled to surrender.

But I come to the words Son of man, set forth in enigma. The noun and the verb correspond to each other; therefore, if one wishes, one could render the Prophet’s words by saying, “enigmatize an enigma.” For the Prophet here speaks of allegorical language; חידה (chideh) signifies the same as “allegory,” where the words are different from the meaning—that is, where the meaning is wrapped up in obscure complexities. We know, however, that God sometimes spoke enigmatically when unwilling to be understood by the impious and disbelieving.

But here the obscurity of the sentence has another purpose: namely, that the Jews should be awakened, and this prophecy should penetrate their minds. We know their extreme stubbornness, and therefore, if the Prophet had spoken simply and in his accustomed language, they would not have been so attentive. This, therefore, is the reason God orders him to speak enigmatically.

He now adds, משל ומשל (vemeshel meshel). We know that meshel is a remarkable sentence and is the word used by Solomon as the title of his proverbs. משל (meshel), then, means the same as a maxim; but it is sometimes understood as likeness. In this place, God denounces destruction upon the Israelites in an allegory in such a way as to illustrate His language with a comparison, since otherwise it would have been obscure.

Be this as it may, God prefaced His address in such a way that the Jews might acknowledge the message to be no common one, but that it should affect them seriously. The usual reason for speaking enigmatically—namely, that the Jews were unworthy of the doctrine of salvation—does not apply here, since the Prophet will very shortly explain what he had previously uttered in figure and allegory.

It is indeed true that Christ spoke in parables to the people because the disciples alone were capable of direct and clear teaching. Of unbelievers, also, Isaiah says, Prophecy shall be to you a sealed book. Hence I will speak with this people in a strange and barbarous tongue, and they shall not proceed beyond the rudiments (Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8; Isaiah 29:11–12).

But, as I have said, the obscurity of this teaching was only a preparation, so that the people would pay close attention to the subject set before them here.

Here the Prophet reasons from the greater to the less. For if Nebuchadnezzar was able to subdue the whole kingdom with ease when the Jews were still untouched, how much more readily would he overthrow them when they were wretched and almost ruined? Nothing remained that was not threatened with ruin; and this is the Prophet's meaning.

But he compares King Nebuchadnezzar to an eagle, whom he says was great, and then with large or extended wings. There is no doubt that by wings, feathers, and plumes, he means the regions and peoples over which Nebuchadnezzar presided, for we know that the Chaldeans possessed the monarchy of the East.

Since, therefore, so many regions and people obeyed Nebuchadnezzar’s sway, it is not surprising that the Prophet calls him a great eagle, with ample wings and numerous feathers or plumes. For where he now says, מלא הנוצה, mela henotzeh, full of feathers, he will shortly say, רב נוצה, reb notzeh, many feathers, when speaking of the king of Egypt.

He says, the wings were of various colors. This is the same noun the Prophet used in the last chapter when he said that the people were dressed in precious garments, for this is how the Hebrews speak of Phrygian fabric. Therefore, he compares the wings of the king of Babylon to a woven garment, shining with various colors. Although Nebuchadnezzar held his throne in only one place, he had seized and subdued many tributaries on all sides. This, therefore, is the reason for this variety—but I cannot continue further at this time.

Grant, Almighty God, since You have treated us so liberally by opening the immense and inestimable treasures of Your grace, that being mindful of our condition we may always bewail it, and remember what we were when You desired to adopt us as sons, and how often and how variously we have provoked You and rendered Your covenant vain: Grant, also, that we may glorify You in our shame, and perpetually magnify Your name by our humility, until we become partakers of that glory which Your only-begotten Son has procured for us through His own blood. — Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We began yesterday to explain the saying of the Prophet, that an eagle came to Mount Lebanon, and there cropped off the top of a cedar, that is, the highest bough. Some interpreters seem to me to labor in vain about the word Lebanon. They think it means Jerusalem, and cite the passage in Zechariah where it is said, Open your gates, O Lebanon (Zechariah 11:1).

But Zechariah does not speak of the city here, but of the temple, because it was built of a great quantity of cedar. Here Ezekiel means the land. He names Lebanon rather than other places, not only because that mountain was the remarkable ornament of the region on account of its lofty cedars, balsam, and aromatic trees, but also because this was necessary to complete his allegory.

If he had said that an eagle had come to a city, it would have been absurd. Therefore, we see that the word Lebanon is taken for that part of Judea in which the most beautiful trees grow and flourish. But he says, that it plucked off a bough, from the top of the cedars, because Nebuchadnezzar, who is intended by the eagle, took away King Jeconiah as we mentioned yesterday.

Therefore, King Jeconiah is compared to a very lofty bough of a cedar, because at that time all thought that the kingdom was superior to every danger. The Jews boasted that they were under God’s protection and that the city was impregnable; therefore, that event was incredible.

Now the Prophet adds that the eagle plucked off the head or summit of the boughs, as the Hebrews call the tender shoots. Here the word means the tender branches. It signifies, as we shall see later, the elders who were dragged away into exile.

It took away the head into the land of the merchant. We said that this was a mere designation here, chnaan, because it follows a little later in the plural number: בציר רכלימ שמו, begnir-reklim shemo, in the city of merchants he set it. He says, then, that the boughs were placed in a city of merchants.

This name was given to Babylon, not only because it was a famous center of trade, but also because it was a secure place of confinement due to the large number of inhabitants, so it was not easy to rescue captives from it. For anyone could easily be rescued from a solitary place without resistance, but in a large crowd, it is not so easy to plan or attempt anything.

I do not doubt, therefore, that the Prophet means that the higher classes of the kingdom, together with Jeconiah, were held in secure confinement so that they should not escape.

After Ezekiel has narrated that Jehoiacin was carried away with his counselors and the choicest of all the people, and was so deprived of his native country as to be without hope of return, he now says, that the eagle took up the seed in Judea, and placed it in a fertile land; for he calls it a land of seed, since it was cultivated and produced fruit abundantly.

He says that the seed was afterwards hidden in the soil, that it grew immediately, and became a luxuriant vine. He also says, that its roots were irrigated, like a willow planted by a river’s bed. The Prophet later explains himself; therefore, it is sufficient to state briefly what he means.

The seed, then, which he means here is Zedekiah, the last king. It is said to have been planted beside the waters, for his condition was tolerable, since the royal name, dignity, and wealth were left to him. Although he was a tributary, the kindness Nebuchadnezzar showed him was not to be despised, since, by the right of war, Nebuchadnezzar could have led him captive along with his nephew; for Zedekiah was the uncle of Jeconiah or Jehoiacin.

But the Prophet said, that this vine, which sprang from a seed or germ, grew so that it was of low stature. By these words, as we will see later, the Prophet means that Zedekiah was not truly a king, in that he was restrained by a bridle from daring to rebel against the king of Babylon. Therefore, it is added, that its branches turned towards the eagle, and its roots were under him.

However, in the next clause, Ezekiel announces that it became a vine which set forth branches, and shot forth boughs. He repeats this so that Zedekiah’s ingratitude might appear greater, as Zedekiah, not content with his moderate confinement, perfidiously revolted from the king of Babylon, relying on the new treaty which we touched upon yesterday.

He now exposes, figuratively, the treachery of Zedekiah, since he very soon turned to the king of Egypt, and bent his roots and branches toward him, so that they might be watered. I do not disagree with the opinion of those who think that the Prophet alludes to an Egyptian custom; for we know that they dug furrows through which water flowed throughout the whole region, which explains the fruitfulness of the soil; and thus Egypt is elsewhere compared to a garden (Deuteronomy 11:10).

Whatever the precise meaning, the Prophet shows that Zedekiah was deceived by a foolish confidence when he thought himself safe under the protection of the king of Egypt. For he had said that the seed was so planted that the vine did not rise to a great height, but spread itself under the wings of the eagle. But Zedekiah despised the king of Babylon, thinking that he would improve his condition by entering into a treaty with the king of Egypt.

He exaggerates Zedekiah's ingratitude because, as we have said, the king of Babylon had treated him humanely. For Zedekiah had been only a private man until that time; he was elevated to a throne and to rule over the people beyond his expectation, and he had an avenger if anyone despised him.

For when he was a tributary to the king of Babylon, he would undoubtedly have been assisted by him in adversity. Therefore, his revolt was less excusable, since he had been treated liberally beyond all anticipation.

For this reason it is said, the vine was planted in a good soil, and near many waters, that it might put forth branches and bear fruit, so that it might be a goodly vine.