Eze 28:22-23 | KD | STEP | The threatening word against Sidon is very brief, and couched in general terms, because as a matter of fact the prophecy against Tyre involved the announcement of the fall of Sidon, which was dependent upon it; and, as we have already observed, Sidon received a special word of God simply for the purpose of making up the number of the heathen nations mentioned to the significant number seven. The word of God against Sidon brings to a close the cycle of predictions of judgment directed against those heathen nations which had given expression to malicious pleasure at the overthrow of the kingdom of Judah. There is therefore appended a promise for Israel ( , ), which is really closely connected with the threatening words directed against the heathen nations, and for which the way is prepared by Eze 28:24. The correspondence of נקדּשׁתּי בהּ (I shall be sanctified in her) in to נקדּשׁתּי בם (I shall be sanctified in them) in , serves to place the future fate of Israel in antithesis not merely to the future fate of Sidon, but, as and clearly show, to that of all the heathen nations against which the previous threats have been directed. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 28:21. Son of man, direct thy face towards Sidon, and prophesy against it, Eze 28:22. And say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will be against thee, O Sidon, and will glorify myself in the midst of thee; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I execute judgments upon it, and sanctify myself upon it. Eze 28:23. I will send pestilence into it, and blood into its streets; slain will fall in the midst of it by the sword, which cometh upon it from every side; and they shall learn that I am Jehovah. Eze 28:24. And there shall be no more to the house of Israel a malignant thorn and smarting sting from all round about them, who despise them; but they shall learn that I am the Lord Jehovah. - Jehovah will glorify Himself as the Lord upon Sidon, as He did before upon Pharaoh (compare , , to which the word נכבּדתּי in , an unusual expression for Ezekiel, evidently points). The glorification is effected by judgments, through which He proves Himself to be holy upon the enemies of His people. He executes the judgments through pestilence and blood (vid., ; ), i.e., through disease and bloodshed occasioned by war, so that men fall, slain by the sword (cf. ). Instead of נפל we have the intensive form נפלל, which is regarded by Ewald and Hitzig as a copyist’s error, because it is only met with here. Through these judgments the Lord will liberate His people Israel from all round about, who increase its suffering by their contempt. These thoughts sum up in the design of God’s judgments upon all the neighbouring nations which are threatened in Ezekiel 25-28, and thus prepare the way for the concluding promise in and Eze 28:26. The figure of the sting and thorn points back to Num 33:55, where it is said that the Canaanites whom Israel failed to exterminate would become thorns in its eyes and stings in its sides. As Israel did not keep itself free from the Canaanitish nature of the heathen nations, God caused it to fell these stings of heathenism. Having been deeply hurt by them, it was now lying utterly prostrate with its wounds. The sins of Canaan, to which Israel had given itself up, had occasioned the destruction of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16). But Israel is not to succumb to its wounds. On the contrary, by destroying the heathen powers, the Lord will heal His people of the wounds which its heathen neighbours have inflicted upon it. סלּון, synonymous with סלּון in , a word only found in Ezekiel. ממאיר, on the contrary, is taken from and , where it is applied to malignant leprosy (see the comm. on the former passage).

‏ Ezekiel 28:22-23

Prophecy Against Sidon and Promise for Israel

The threatening word against Sidon is very brief, and couched in general terms, because as a matter of fact the prophecy against Tyre involved the announcement of the fall of Sidon, which was dependent upon it; and, as we have already observed, Sidon received a special word of God simply for the purpose of making up the number of the heathen nations mentioned to the significant number seven. The word of God against Sidon brings to a close the cycle of predictions of judgment directed against those heathen nations which had given expression to malicious pleasure at the overthrow of the kingdom of Judah. There is therefore appended a promise for Israel (Eze 28:25, Eze 28:26), which is really closely connected with the threatening words directed against the heathen nations, and for which the way is prepared by Eze 28:24. The correspondence of נקדּשׁתּי בהּ (I shall be sanctified in her) in Eze 28:22 to נקדּשׁתּי בם (I shall be sanctified in them) in Eze 28:25, serves to place the future fate of Israel in antithesis not merely to the future fate of Sidon, but, as Eze 28:24 and Eze 28:26 clearly show, to that of all the heathen nations against which the previous threats have been directed. Eze 28:20-24 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 28:21. Son of man, direct thy face towards Sidon, and prophesy against it, Eze 28:22. And say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will be against thee, O Sidon, and will glorify myself in the midst of thee; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I execute judgments upon it, and sanctify myself upon it. Eze 28:23. I will send pestilence into it, and blood into its streets; slain will fall in the midst of it by the sword, which cometh upon it from every side; and they shall learn that I am Jehovah. Eze 28:24. And there shall be no more to the house of Israel a malignant thorn and smarting sting from all round about them, who despise them; but they shall learn that I am the Lord Jehovah. - Jehovah will glorify Himself as the Lord upon Sidon, as He did before upon Pharaoh (compare Exo 14:4, Exo 14:16-17, to which the word נכבּדתּי in Eze 28:22, an unusual expression for Ezekiel, evidently points). The glorification is effected by judgments, through which He proves Himself to be holy upon the enemies of His people. He executes the judgments through pestilence and blood (vid., Eze 5:17; Eze 38:22), i.e., through disease and bloodshed occasioned by war, so that men fall, slain by the sword (cf. Eze 6:7). Instead of נפל we have the intensive form נפלל, which is regarded by Ewald and Hitzig as a copyist’s error, because it is only met with here. Through these judgments the Lord will liberate His people Israel from all round about, who increase its suffering by their contempt. These thoughts sum up in Eze 28:24 the design of God’s judgments upon all the neighbouring nations which are threatened in Ezekiel 25-28, and thus prepare the way for the concluding promise in Eze 28:25 and Eze 28:26. The figure of the sting and thorn points back to Num 33:55, where it is said that the Canaanites whom Israel failed to exterminate would become thorns in its eyes and stings in its sides. As Israel did not keep itself free from the Canaanitish nature of the heathen nations, God caused it to fell these stings of heathenism. Having been deeply hurt by them, it was now lying utterly prostrate with its wounds. The sins of Canaan, to which Israel had given itself up, had occasioned the destruction of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16). But Israel is not to succumb to its wounds. On the contrary, by destroying the heathen powers, the Lord will heal His people of the wounds which its heathen neighbours have inflicted upon it. סלּון, synonymous with סלּון in Eze 2:6, a word only found in Ezekiel. ממאיר, on the contrary, is taken from Lev 13:51 and Lev 14:44, where it is applied to malignant leprosy (see the comm. on the former passage). - For השּׁאטים אותם, see Eze 16:57 and Eze 25:6.