Ezekiel 5:1-4 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:1-4

A barber's razor. The coming siege and destruction of Jerusalem are described under the image of the prophet shaving his head and then disposing of his hair in various ways. The razor stands for the Divine judgment, the hair for the people, the different treatment of the hair for the difference in the doom of the people. I. DIVINE JUDGMENT IS KEEN AS A RAZOR . Some judgments crush, others cut. The latter do not dispose of their victims at a blow. More is reserved for the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:1-4

The prophetic office involves self-sacrifice. The prophet in every age has to be himself a sign. It is not so much what he says, not so much what he does, but what he is, that impresses others. In this enterprise character is everything. Ezekiel was a servant of God to the very core. He completely identified himself with the nation. Its misery became his misery. Thus he became a type and symbol of the Saviour; and, in his measure, suffered vicariously for the people. I. THE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:1-4

The sword of the Divine judgment. "And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor," etc. In this paragraph the prophet represents both Jehovah and the people. In taking the sharp sword he represents the former; and in having his hair shaved off, the latter. Notice— I. THE EXERCISE OF THE DIVINE JUDGMENT . "And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp sword, as a barber's razor thou shalt take it, and cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard."... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:2

Thou shalt burn with fire, etc. The symbolism receives its interpretation in Ezekiel 5:12 . A third part of the people (we need not expect numerical exactness) was to perish in the city of pestilence and famine, another to fall by the sword in their attempts to escape, yet another third was to be scattered to the far off land of their exile, and even there the sword was to follow them. The words, in the midst of the city, and the days of the siege , find their most natural explanation... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:3-4

Thou shalt also take, etc. The words may point read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ezekiel 5:1

Translate it: take thee a sharp sword, for a barber’s razor thou shalt take it thee. Even if the action were literal, the use of an actual sword would best enforce the symbolic meaning. The “head” represents the chief city, the “hair” the inhabitants - its ornament and glory - the “hair cut from the head” the exiles cast forth from their homes. It adds to the force of the representation that “to shave the head” was a token of mourning Job 1:20, and was forbidden to the priests Leviticus 21:5.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ezekiel 5:2

“The third part burnt in the midst of the city” represents those who perished within the city during the siege; “the third part smitten about it” (the city) “with” the sword, those who were killed about the city during the same period: “the third part scattered to the wind” those who after the siege were dispersed in foreign lands.In the midst of the city - The prophet is in exile, and is to do this in the midst of Jerusalem. His action being ideal is fitly assigned to the place which the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ezekiel 5:3-4

Of the third part a few are yet to be taken and kept in the fold of the garment (representing those still to remain in their native land), and yet even of those few some are to be cast into the fire. Such was the fate of those left behind after the destruction of Jerusalem Jeremiah 40:0; Jeremiah 41:0. The whole prophecy is one of denunciation.Ezekiel 5:4Thereof - Or, from thence, out of the midst of the fire. Omit “For.” read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ezekiel 5:1

Ezekiel 5:1. Take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber’s razor The latter expression explains the former; and cause it to pass upon thy head, &c. Hair being then accounted an ornament, and baldness a token of sorrow, therefore shaving denoted calamity or desolation. “Among the Arabs,” says Harmer, chap. 6. observ. 23, “there cannot be a greater stamp of infamy than to cut off any one’s beard: and many among them would prefer death to this kind of punishment. And as they would think... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ezekiel 5:2-4

Ezekiel 5:2-4. Thou shall burn a third part in the midst of the city In the midst of that portraiture of the city, which the prophet was commanded to make, chap. Ezekiel 4:1. This signified the destruction of the inhabitants within the city by famine and pestilence; for both famine and pestilence may be said to burn, as they make great havoc, and consume as fast as fire. Thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife To show that a third part of the inhabitants should be... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:3-4

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ezekiel 5:1

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ezekiel 5:2

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ezekiel 5:3-4

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ezekiel 5:1

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ezekiel 5:2-4

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