Ezekiel 39:12-15

12-15. It shall take seven months to gather up all the bones which defile the holy soil (compare Ezekiel 19:11-12; Ezekiel 32:19; Ezekiel 36:33) and bury them, and they shall get for themselves great “renown,” not only because of this victory of Jehovah, but because of their holy zeal in cleansing the land.

Men shall be chosen who shall do nothing else than “to bury them that pass through the land,” that is, probably the invaders (A.V., passengers, Ezekiel 39:14). Modern commentators generally suppose that the special search party (Ezekiel 39:14) was divided into two parts, one to find the bones and the other to bury them; but this is very unnatural and is not suggested by the amended text of Ezekiel 39:14. The search party was authorized also “to bury” the unburied (Ezekiel 39:14), and certainly when “a man’s bone” was found it would have taken longer to set up (Hebrews, build) a sign by it (Ezekiel 39:15)

than to bury the bone! It is easy to see, however, that the ordinary Israelite, who would hesitate to touch one of the bones, but who was now zealous for the land’s purification (Ezekiel 39:13), would be very likely to set up such a sign. “They that pass through the land” (R.V.) may therefore refer to “passengers” (A.V.), who did not belong to the official burial party. Toy repudiates R.V. and translates the passengers (Ezekiel 39:15) as searchers, declaring there were two parties, and that the expression “those who pass through” cannot be understood of the invaders. For Hamon-gog see Ezekiel 39:11.