Ezekiel 37:9

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 37:1-14

Here is, I. The vision of a resurrection from death to life, and it is a glorious resurrection. This is a thing so utterly unknown to nature, and so contrary to its principles (a privatione ad habitum non datur regressus?from privation to possession there is no return), that we could have no thought of it but by the word of the Lord; and that it is certain by that word that there shall be a general resurrection of the dead some have urged from this vision, ?For? (say they) ?otherwise it would... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 37:9

Then said he unto me, prophesy unto the wind ,.... Before he had been prophesying to the bones, and over them; and something was done, but not to purpose, breath being wanting; wherefore he is bid to prophesy a second time, and that not to bones, but to the "wind", afterwards rendered "breath"; and may allude to the soul or breath of man reentering the body, as at a resurrection, which causes it to live: it signifies the "spirit" F24 הרוח "ad spiritum", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 37:9

Prophesy unto the wind - רוח ruach . Address thyself to the soul, and command it to enter into these well-organized bodies, that they may live. Come from the four winds - Souls, come frown all parts where ye are scattered; and reanimate these bodies from; which ye have been so long separated. The four winds signify all parts - in every direction. Literally it is, "Souls, come from the four souls;" "Breath, come from the four breaths;" or, "Wind, come from the four winds." But here ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 37:1-12

From death to life. The primary reference Of this prophecy is placed beyond all doubt by the passage itself (see Ezekiel 37:12 ). 1. Israel was in a forlorn and hopeless condition in her dispersion and captivity; she seemed to be irrecoverably lost; as a nation she was as one dead, if not buried. 2. But God had a gracious purpose concerning her. He intended to exercise his Divine power on her behalf; the dead should be revived; the lost should be found; the scattered should be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 37:1-14

The valley of dry bones. I. A VISION OF RESTORATION . Undoubtedly, the restoration of Israel is the immediate thought in the mind of Ezekiel. He sees his people stricken to death. The nation is virtually dead. The exiled citizens of Jerusalem have lost all spirit and energy. But with the restoration will come a restored energy to the people. The nation also will once more rise up as from the dead. These resurrections of communities have been seen more than once in history; e . g... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 37:1-14

The vision of dry bones. As an architect, before erecting a mansion, sketches accurately all his plan on paper—a guide to himself and to his co-workers—so, prior to God's resuscitation of Israel, he sketches out his plan before the mental eye of Ezekiel. By a mighty influence from God, the prophet is borne away in spirit to a great valley in Chaldea, devoted to the burial of Israel's dead. The spot possibly was sadly familiar to the prophet's eye. The loose sand had been swept aside by... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 37:1-28

1. The view, that what the prophet beheld in vision was the final resurrection of mankind , though favored by Jerome, Calovius, and Kliefoth, must be abandoned, not because the doctrine of a general resurrection would not have been a powerful consolation to the pious-hearted in Israel, or because that doctrine was not then known, but because, in the prophet's own explanation, the bones are declared to be those, not of the whole family of man, but merely of the house of Israel. At the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 37:4-9

Prophesying to the dry bones and to the wind. I. PROPHESYING TO THE DRY BONES . Ezekiel beholds the dismal sight of a valley of dry bones. It is a scene of silent desolation. No picture of death could be more complete. The human remains are not even covered with flesh. He sees bones, not corpses. The bones are dry—the vultures have picked them clean, and they have been left to bleach in the sun. They are not even lying in their natural order as ranks of complete skeletons. They... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 37:9

The finishing stage began by the prophet receiving a command to prophesy unto the wind (better, breath , or spirit ), and to summon it from the four "breaths," or "winds" (in this case the preferable rendering), that it might breathe upon the slain. "Four winds" are mentioned, as in Ezekiel 40:20 , to indicate the four quarters of heaven (comp. Ezekiel 5:10 , Ezekiel 5:12 ; Ezekiel 12:14 ; Ezekiel 17:21 ), and perhaps also to suggest the immense quantity of vitalizing force... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ezekiel 37:9

The wind - Rather, as in the margin and as in Ezekiel 37:5. The bones are the bones of the “slain,” because the scene was one which was likely to occur in the time of the Chaldaean invasion, and the fact of violent death reminded the prophet of the miserable condition of the people. read more

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