Ezekiel 38:17

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 38:1-23

Invasion by the armies of Gog (38:1-23)To the Jews of Ezekiel’s day, the nations referred to here would represent the most distant regions of the world - ‘the four corners of the earth’. They are led by a man called Gog, who lives to the north in the land of Magog and who is ruler of the joint kingdom of Meshech-Tubal (38:1-3). He will lead an attack on Israel and will be helped by other countries from the east (Persia), from the south (Cush and Put, meaning probably Ethiopia and Libya), and... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Ezekiel 38:17

"Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Art thou he of whom I spake in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, that prophesied in those days, that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass in that day when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah, that my wrath shall come up into my nostrils. For in my jealousy, and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken. Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; so that the fishes of the... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ezekiel 38:17

Ezekiel 38:17. Of whom I have spoken in old time?— It is doubtful by what prophets God foretold the irruption of Magog; but though nothing of this kind is found in the prophets that remain, it is clear, that Ezekiel was not the first who foretold these things. Many of the sacred pages are lost, which might probably be extant when Ezekiel delivered this prophesy. Houbigant; who renders the last clause thus, That I would bring thee against them in those days and years. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 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 (Numbers 24:17-24 Isaiah 27:1; compare Isaiah 26:20; Isaiah 26:21; Jeremiah 30:23; Jeremiah 30:24; Joel 3:1; Micah 5:5; Micah 5:6; Isaiah 14:12-14; Isaiah 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 (Isaiah 59:19- :) and... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ezekiel 38:17

The Lord asked rhetorically if it was Gog about whom He had spoken through His other servants the prophets many years earlier. "Are you he of whom the prophets spoke?" Yes, he was. This was not the first revelation of a powerful enemy whom God would bring against the Israelites (cf. Deuteronomy 31:17; Psalms 2:1-3; Isaiah 14:24-25; Isaiah 26:20-21; Isaiah 29:1-8; Jeremiah 4:5; Jeremiah 6:26; Jeremiah 30:18-24; Joel 2:20; Joel 3:9-21; Zephaniah 1:14-18; Zephaniah 3:8; Zephaniah 3:15-20;... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ezekiel 38:17-23

Yahweh’s judgment of the enemy 38:17-23 read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 38:1-23

2. Gog, the land of Magog] RV ’Gog, of the land of Magog.’ The exact reference of the names is unknown. Magog is the land ruled over by Gog. The conjecture that ’Magog’ (Mgg = Ggm = Bbl) is a cryptogram for ’Babel’ (Babylon) has no probability. Gog in any case is the representative of remote heathendorn, and is located in the far N. (Ezekiel 38:6, Ezekiel 38:15; Ezekiel 39:2), while he has allies in the distant S. (Ezekiel 38:5).Chief prince of Meshech, etc.] RV ’Prince of Rosh, Meshech,’ etc.,... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 38:1-29

God’s Final Victory over the HeathenEzekiel’s earlier group of prophecies against the nations (Ezekiel 25-32) was concerned with Israel’s nearer neighbours, which had interfered more or less in former times with her prosperity; and their humiliation was regarded as a necessary condition of Israel’s peaceful and happy future. Ezekiel, however, contemplated a wider extension of God’s glory than these prophecies involved. This is described under the form of an invasion of the restored Israel by... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Ezekiel 38:17

(17) Of whom I have spoken in old time.—This is put in that interrogative form which is often used for emphatic assurance. The word many before “years” is not in the original, but is correctly inserted to mark the accusative of duration. The statement is then an emphatic one, that God had of old and for a long time foretold by His prophets this attack of Gog. But the name of Gog is not mentioned in any earlier prophecy now extant, nor is it likely that any such, far less that any long series of... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 38:1-23

JEHOVAH’S FINAL VICTORYEzekiel 38:1-23; Ezekiel 39:1-29THESE chapters give the impression of having been intended to stand at the close of the book of Ezekiel. Their present position is best explained on the supposition that the original collection of Ezekiel’s prophecies actually ended here, and that the remaining chapters (40-48) form an appendix, added at a later period without disturbing the plan on which the book had been arranged. In chronological order, at all events, the oracle on Gog... read more

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