John Gill Commentary Ezekiel 9

He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice
That is, the glory of the Lord God of Israel, whom the prophet saw in the temple, and who directed him from place to place, and showed him all the abominations committed there: this loud voice of the Lord was not so much to excite the attention of the prophet, as to call together the ministers of his vengeance; and to show the greatness of his indignation, and the vehemence of his wrath, which was stirred up by the sins of the people:

saying, cause them that have the charge over the city to draw near ; or, "who were appointed over the city," as the Targum; that is, the city of Jerusalem; by whom are meant either the ministering angels, who had been the guardians of it, but now were to be employed another way; or the princes of the Chaldean army, who had a charge against the city to destroy it; see (Isaiah 10:6) (Jeremiah 34:21) . The Syriac version is, "draw near, you avengers of the city"; and the Septuagint and Arabic versions are "the vengeance of the city draws nigh":

even every man [with] his destroying weapon in his hand ; weapons of war, as bows and arrows, sword and spear; see (Jeremiah 6:22Jeremiah 6:23) .

And, behold, six men Either angels the form of men; or the generals of Nebuchadnezzar's army, as Kimchi interprets it; whose names are, Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, (Jeremiah 39:3) ; these six executioners of God's vengeance are, in the Talmud ^F14 , called "wrath, anger, fury, destruction, breach, and consumption:"

came from the way of the higher gate Kimchi observes, from the Rabbins, that this is the eastern gate called the higher or upper gate, because it was above the court of the Israelites. Maimonides ^F15 says, the upper gate is the gate Nicanor; and why is it called the upper gate? because it was above the court of the women; see (2 Kings 15:35) ;

which lieth toward the north : where were the image of jealousy, and the women weeping for Tammuz, and other idolatrous practices were committed; which were the cause of the coming of these destroyers: moreover, the Chaldean army with its generals came out of the north; for Babylon lay north or northeast of Jerusalem; and so this gate, as Kimchi says, was northeast; and he adds, and Babylon was northeast of the land of Israel; see (Jeremiah 1:13Jeremiah 1:14) (Jeremiah 4:6Jeremiah 4:7) ;

and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand ; as ordered, (Ezekiel 9:1) , a different word is here used; it signifies a hammer, with which rocks are broken in pieces, as the above mentioned Jewish writer observes. The Septuagint render it an axe or hatchet:

and one man among them ; not one of the six, but who made a seventh. The Jews say this was Gabriel ^F16 ; but this was not a created angel, as they; nor the Holy Spirit as Cocceius; but the Son of God, in a human form; he was among the six, at the head of them, as their leader and commander; he was but one, they six; one Saviour, and six destroyers:

[was] clothed with linen ; not in the habit of a warrior, but of a priest; who, as such, has made atonement for the sins of his people, and intercession for them; and this may also denote the purity of his human nature, and his unspotted righteousness, the fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of the saints:

and with a writer's inkhorn by his side ; or "at his loins" ^F17 ; nor a slaughter weapon, as the rest; but a writer's inkhorn; hence Kimchi takes him to be the king of Babylon's scribe; but a greater is here meant; even he who took down the names of God's elect in the book of life; and who takes an account, and keeps a book of the words, and even thoughts, of his people and also of their sighs, groans, and tears; see (Malachi 3:16) (Psalms 56:8) ; but now his business was to mark his people, and distinguish them from others, in a providential way; and keep and preserve them from the general ruin and destruction that was coming upon Jerusalem:

or, "a girdle on his lions", as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it; and so was prepared and fit for business; which sense of the word is approved of by Castel ^F18 ; and he asks, what has an inkhorn to do at a man's loins?

but it should be observed, that it was the custom of the eastern people to carry inkhorns at their sides, and particularly in their girdles, as the Turks do now; who not only fix their knives and poniards in them, as Dr. Shaw ^F19 relates; but the "hojias", that is, the writers and secretaries, hang their inkhorns in them; and by whom it is observed, that that part of these inkhorns which passes between the girdle and the tunic, and holds their pens, is long and flat; but the vessel for the ink, which rests upon the girdle, is square, with a lid to clasp over it:

and they went in ; to the temple, all seven: and stood beside the brasen altar ; the altar of burnt offering, so called to distinguish it from the altar of incense, which was of gold; here they stood not to offer sacrifice, but waiting for their orders, to take vengeance for the sins committed in the temple, and at this altar; near to which stood the image of jealousy, (Ezekiel 8:5) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F14: T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 55. 1.
• F15: Hilchot Cele Hamikdash, c. 7. sect. 6.
• F16: T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 77. 1. & Gloss. in ib.
• F17: (wyntmb) "in lumbis suis", Pagninus, Montanus
• F18: Lexic. Polyglott. col. 3393.
• F19: Travels, p. 227. Ed. 2.

And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub ,
whereupon he was
That is, the glorious God of Israel; or the glorious Shechinah, and divine Majesty, which dwelt between the cherubim over the mercy seat in the most holy place, removed from thence, as a token of his being about to depart from the temple, which in a short time would be destroyed. The Targum is, ``the glory of the God of Israel departed in the cherub on which he dwelt, in the house of the holy of holies;'' the cherubim removed with him, and were his chariot in which he rode; see (Ezekiel 10:18) (11:22) ;

to the threshold of the house ;
of the holy of holies, as Jarchi interprets it; and so was nearer to the brasen altar, where the seven men stood, to give them their orders; of which an account follows:

and he called to the man clothed with linen, which [had] the writer's
inkhorn by his side ;
he, being the principal person, is called first; and his business being to preserve the Lord's people shows that this was the first care of God.

And the Lord said to him
This shows that a divine Person is meant by the glory of the God of Israel:

go through the midst of the city ;
that is, as it is next explained, through the midst of Jerusalem ;
the city the six men had the charge over or against, (Ezekiel 9:1) ; and set a mark upon the foreheads ;

not the Hebrew letter (t) , as some say, because in the form of a cross, and so signifying salvation by the cross of Christ; for this letter has no such form, neither in the characters used by the Jews, nor by the Samaritans, at least in the present character;

though Origen and Jerom on the place say that the letter "tau" had the form of a cross in the letters the Samaritans used in their time; and this is defended by Walton ^F20 , who observes, that Azariah in his Hebrew alphabet gives a double figure, one like that which is in present use, and another in the form of a cross, called St. Andrew's cross, and as it appears in some shekels;

and in the Vatican alphabet, which Angelus E Roccha published, the last letter has the form of a cross; as have the Ethiopic and Coptic alphabets, which, it is certain, sprung from the ancient Hebrew; and so Montfaucon says ^F21 , in some Samaritan coins, the letter "thau" has the form of a cross; which, if Scaliger had met with, he says he would never have opposed the testimonies of Origen and Jerom;

though, after all, it seems to be no other than the form of the Greek "x"; and so the Talmudists say ^F23 the high priest, was anointed on his forehead in the same form:

some think this letter was the mark, because it is the first letter of the word (hrwt) , "the law"; as if it pointed out such who were obedient to it; or of the word (hyxt) "you shall live".

It is a Rabbinical fancy, mentioned by Kimchi ^F24 , that Gabriel had orders to write the letter (t) in ink upon the foreheads of the righteous, and in blood upon the foreheads of the wicked; in the one it signified (hyxt) , "you shall live", and in the other (twmt) , "you shall die"; but, as Calvin observes, rather, if this letter could be thought to be meant, the reason of it was, because it is the last letter of the alphabet; and so may signify, that the Lord's people marked with it are the last among men, or the faith of the world; or that such who persevere to the end shall be saved:

but the word signifies, not a letter, but a mark or sign; and so it is interpreted in the Septuagint version, and by the Targum, Jarchi, Kimchi, and others; and denotes the distinction the Lord has made by his grace between them and others; and now by his power and providence in the protection of them; for the, Lord knows them that are his, and will preserve them.

The allusion is either to the marking of servants in their foreheads, by which they were known who they belonged to, (Revelation 7:3) ; or to the sprinkling of the posts of the Israelites' houses with blood, when the firstborn of Egypt were destroyed, (Exodus 12:22Exodus 12:23) ;

of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that are done
in the midst thereof ;

the abominations were those abominable idolatries mentioned in the preceding chapter, and those dreadful immoralities hinted at in (Ezekiel 9:9) ; all which were grieving and distressing to godly minds, because they were contrary to the nature and will of God; transgressions, of his righteous law; and on account of which his name was dishonoured, and his ways blasphemed and evil spoken of; for these they sighed and groaned in private, and mourned and lamented in public; bearing their testimony against them with bitter expressions of grief and sorrow, by groans, words, and tears; and such as these are taken notice of by the Lord; he comforts those that mourn in Zion, and preserves them.

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: Supplementum de Sicl. Formis, p. 37. 3. Prolegom. 3. de lingua Hebr. sect. 36.
• F21: Palaeograph. Graec. l. 2. c. 3.
• F23: T. Bab. Ceritot, c. 1. fol. 5. 2.
• F24: Vid. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 55. 1.

And, to the others he said in mine hearing To the other six men that had the slaughter weapons in their hands:

go ye after him through the city; that is, after the man clothed with linen; for he was sent out first to take care of the righteous, and preserve them; and the rest were not suffered to stir till he was gone; and then they are bid to go after him. The Syriac version is: ``to them that were with him he said to them before me, go through the city after me;'' as if these were the words of the man clothed with linen to the other six; and so the Arabic version; of it the other is the true reading, and gives the right sense, as the following words show:

and smite; the inhabitants of the city:

let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; not that the Chaldeans were inclined to mercy and pity, for they were a cruel and barbarous people; but this is said to show the resentment of God against the sins of the Jews; and that it was his will they should act the severe part they did.