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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 8:7-12

We have here a further discovery of the abominations that were committed at Jerusalem, and within the confines of the temple, too. Now observe, I. How this discovery is made. God, in vision, brought Ezekiel to the door of the court, the outer court, along the sides of which the priests? lodgings were. God could have introduced him at first into the chambers of imagery, but he brings him to them by degrees, partly to employ his own industry in searching out these mysteries of iniquity, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 8:11

And there stood before them ,.... Before the pictures, as the Vulgate Latin version expresses it, praying, sacrificing, and offering incense unto them: seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel ; the whole sanhedrim, or great court of judicature among the Jews, as Kimchi; or at least there is an allusion to that number, which were appointed in Moses' time to be officers over the people, and govern and direct them, Numbers 11:16 ; which shows how sadly depraved and corrupted... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 8:12

Then said he unto me, son of man, hast thou seen ,.... Here should be a stop, as the accent "segolta" shows; hast thou taken notice of, hast thou considered, what thou hast seen, the amazing shocking abominations committed by these men? it follows, and the question is to be repeated, "hast thou seen" what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark ? their deeds being evil, such as will not bear the light, of which they had reason to be ashamed before men; and which they imagined... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 8:11

Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan - Shaphan was a scribe, or what some call comptroller of the temple, in the days of Josiah; and Jaazaniah his son probably succeeded him in this office. He was at the head of this band of idolaters. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 8:11

Verse 11 He says also, that seventy elders of the house of Israel made incense for their idols I do not think that the seventy who were chosen for ruling the people are referred to here, though I suppose the Prophet to allude to this number. For we know that from the beginning seventy were set over the people, and were chosen from each tribe, and were united together. But with regard to this place, I think the number seventy is used of those whom, although they were not prefects, they called... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 8:12

Verse 12 Again God questions his servant: we have explained the reason — that he may pass sentence as a judge on his own people, whence it may be more clearly evident that those who had provoked God were unworthy of any pardon. Thou seest, says he, what the elders do? Through a feeling of honor he does not here name these elders of the house of Israel, but rather reproves their ingratitude, because they so drive others with them into alliance with their impiety. For elders ought to show the way... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 8:1-16

Gradual disclosure of human sin. The prophet notes the exact date of the vision, so that, if any doubt arose, the circumstance could be verified, so long as any one of these elders survived. These details of day and month may seem to many readers needless and tedious; yet, in an earlier day, they probably served an important purpose, and may be again useful in a future age. Even now they demonstrate with what diligent care the prophet preserved the records of Divine manifestations. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 8:7-13

The chambers of imagery; or, secret sins. "And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall," etc. In the case of "the image of jealousy" the idolatry of the Israelites was open; in this case it is secret. In that the abominations were committed by the house of Israel; in this by the elders of the house of israel. The paragraph suggests several observations on secret sins. I. THE MOST HEINOUS SINS ARE GENERALLY COMMITTED IN ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 8:11

Seventy men , etc. The number was probably chosen with reference to the "elders" who had seen the Divine glory in Exodus 24:9 , Exodus 24:10 . The Sanhedrin, or council of seventy, did not exist till after the Captivity. The number can scarcely have been accidental, and may imply that the elders were formally representative. Another Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah, appears in Jeremiah 35:3 ; yet another, the son of Azur, in Ezekiel 11:1 . If the Shaphan mentioned is the scribe, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 8:12

Every man, etc. And this, after all, was but a sample of the prevalence of the Egyptian influence. Other elders had, in the dark , a like adytum, a like chamber of imagery, like the Latin lararium, filled. with a like cloud of incense. And though the name of the leader of the band might have warned them that the Lord was listening, they boasted, in their blindness, that Jehovah did not see them; he had forsaken the temple, and had fiche elsewhere. They thought of Jehovah as of a local... read more

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