Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ezekiel 44:19
19. not sanctify the people with their garments—namely, those peculiarly priestly vestments in which they ministered in the sanctuary. read more
19. not sanctify the people with their garments—namely, those peculiarly priestly vestments in which they ministered in the sanctuary. read more
The Zadokite priests 44:15-31 read more
When the priests went into the outer court they would first have to change their clothes in the rooms designated for that purpose (Ezekiel 42:1-14) so they would not transmit what was holy to what was common (cf. Leviticus 6:11). Contact with holy things consecrated those things and brought them under the restrictions governing holy things (cf. Exodus 29:37; Exodus 30:29; Leviticus 6:27; Haggai 2:12). They were also to keep their hair trimmed, not let it grow long or shave it all off. Long hair... read more
§ 2. The Ordinances of the New Israel (Ezekiel 40-48)This concluding section of the book is dated in the twenty-fifth year of Ezekiel's captivity, i.e. the fourteenth year after the fall of Jerusalem (572 b.c.). It is therefore thirteen years later than the previous section (Ezekiel 33-39), and, with the exception of Ezekiel 29:17-21, forms the latest part of the book. It is in the form of a vision, which is the counterpart of that in Ezekiel 8-11. There God forsook the old Temple which had... read more
The Priests and the LevitesStanding at the inner northern gate Ezekiel again saw the glory of God filling the Temple and was again addressed by the divine voice (Ezekiel 44:4-5). The Speaker first rebuked the custom which had prevailed in the old Temple, of having foreigners as servants in the sanctuary (Ezekiel 44:6-8). He directed that in future their place should be taken by the Lévites who were not of the family of Zadok. These had formerly shared the priestly office, but for their... read more
(19) They shall put off their garments.—The requirement that the priests shall wear their official dress only when engaged in official duty, putting it on when they entered the inner court, and putting it off when they went out, which is only implied in Exodus and Leviticus, is here expressly enjoined. Utter here, as elsewhere, means outer. read more
Ezekiel 44:6 Still I delayed to scorn and leave the bliss of earthly things.... Wretched, most wretched, I had begged chastity from Thee in my early youth, crying, 'Give me chastity, only not yet'. For I feared lest Thou shouldest hear me soon, and cure me soon of the disease of concupiscence, which I wished to have satisfied rather than extinguished. Augustine, Confessions, viii. 7. Ezekiel 44:13-14 The comparison thought, that profit accrues to a life by the wise memory of its past... read more
PRINCE AND PEOPLEEzekiel 44:1-31; Ezekiel 45:1-25; Ezekiel 46:1-24, PASSIMIT was remarked in a previous chapter that the "prince" of the closing vision appears to occupy a less exalted position than the Messianic king of chapter 34 or chapter 37. The grounds on which this impression rests require, however, to be carefully considered, if we are not to carry away a thoroughly false conception of the theocratic state foreshadowed by Ezekiel. It must not be supposed that the prince is a personage... read more
CHAPTER 44 1. The outward eastern gate for the prince (Ezekiel 44:1-3 ) 2. The charge concerning the strangers and the rebellious tribes (Ezekiel 44:4-14 ) 3. The charge concerning the priests, the sons of Zadok (Ezekiel 44:15-27 ) 4. The inheritance of the priests (Ezekiel 44:28-31 ) read more
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ezekiel 44:19
Ezekiel 44:19. They shall not sanctify, &c.— By approaching them in these habits, by touching them when clad in their dress of ceremony; this would sanctify the people, and incapacitate them from discharging their ordinary occupations. The touching of holy things defiles those who touch them unworthily, and sanctifies those who approach them in a manner conformably to the laws. The sacred habits were only for the ministers of the Lord; the laity who touched them were obliged to purify... read more