Eze 38:3, 5, 12, 17 | JFB | STEP | 3. His high-sounding titles are repeated to imply the haughty self-confidence of the invader as if invincible.

‏ Ezekiel 38:3

3. His high-sounding titles are repeated to imply the haughty self-confidence of the invader as if invincible.

‏ Ezekiel 38:5

5. Persia ... Libya--expressly specified by Appian as supplying the ranks of Antiochus' army.

‏ Ezekiel 38:12

12. midst of the land--literally, "the navel" of the land (Jud 9:37, Margin). So, in Eze 5:5, Israel is said to be set "in the midst of the nations"; not physically, but morally, a central position for being a blessing to the world: so (as the favored or "beloved city," Re 20:9) an object of envy. Grotius translates, "In the height of the land" (so Eze 38:8), "the mountains of Israel," Israel being morally elevated above the rest of the world.

‏ Ezekiel 38:17

17. thou he of whom I have spoken in old time--Gog, &c. are here identified with the enemies spoken of in other prophecies (Nu 24:17-24; Is 27:1; compare Is 26:20, 21; Jr 30:23, 24; Joe 3:1; Mi 5:5, 6; Is 14:12-14; 59:19). God is represented as addressing Gog at the time of his assault; therefore, the "old time" is the time long prior, when Ezekiel uttered these prophecies; so, he also, as well as Daniel (Da 11:1-45) and Zechariah (Zec 14:1-21) are included among "the prophets of Israel" here.

many years--ago.