Chapter Nineteen
A Lament over the Princes of Israel
The fate of Jerusalem, as shown by the prophet up to now, is determined and its destruction is inevitable. He can now already sing a funeral song, and since the independent existence of the state is marked by an independent royal power, this song is offered in the form of a lament over the princes, the kings of Jerusalem. Thus this chapter becomes a fine conclusion to section XII–XIX: to this series of extensive discussions about the inevitable destruction of Jerusalem this artistic and deeply felt lament stands in pleasant contrast.
Ezekiel 19:1. And you, raise a lamentation over the princes of Israel “Over the princes of Israel,” that is, as is evident from what follows, over two Judahite kings, most likely Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin. The kings of Judah, in particular Zedekiah, Ezekiel calls “princes” throughout, except in 1:2; he calls them “of Israel” here because after the fall of the northern ten-tribe kingdom Judah appeared as the sole representative of Israel. The Greek text – singular form τον αρχοντα, probably meaning Zedekiah, to whom the lamentation was as it were addressed.
Ezekiel 19:2. And say: What a lioness was your mother! She lay down among lions; among young lions she raised her cubs. “What a lioness is your mother?”. Slavonic: “why is your mother a lioness”. Hebrew literally: “what is your mother? a lioness,” that is, what could one compare your mother to? – with a lioness. By the mother compared to a lioness, people usually understand the Judahite kingdom or Jerusalem, supposing that the prophet had in view Jacob’s comparison of Judah with a lion cub (Gen 49:9) and Isa 29:1. But others understand by the lioness a queen, the mother of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, Hamutal, since under the two lion cubs in verses 3 and 5 one can understand only such two Judahite kings as one should be contemporary with Ezekiel and the other his brother, and such can only be Jehoahaz and Zedekiah. “The queen-mother held an extraordinarily honored and influential position at court, as is shown already by her title of empress (2 Sam 10:13): she occupied a place at the king’s right hand (1 Sam 2:19) and so forth. Correctly understood, this chapter may give perhaps a very valuable new key to the explanation of several obscure points in the history of the Judahite kingdom in its last decades. How did it happen that after the death of Josiah not the eldest son ascended the throne – Jehoiakim, son of Zebidah – but Jehoahaz, two years younger? Why did Nebuchadnezzar choose from among Judahite princes precisely Mattaniah – Zedekiah – as successor to Jehoiachin? Was not both the work of the influential and ambitious Hamutal, as in its time Bathsheba acted in the elevation of Solomon to the throne?” (1 Sam 1. Kraetzschmar). – “Among lions,” that is, surrounding mighty kingdoms, to which Judah consequently did not yield in power. – “Her cubs” – the kings.
Ezekiel 19:3. And she reared one of her cubs; he became a young lion and learned to hunt prey; he devoured humans. “Reared.” Slavonic: “sprang forth,” απεπηδησε, left the mother, no longer needing her nursing. – “One of her cubs.” Under the first cub of the lioness – the Jews or the Judahite queen – interpreters unanimously understand Jehoahaz, led captive to Egypt (verse 4) after a reign of three months. – “He became a young lion” – a king. – “Learned to hunt prey, devoured humans.” In these words there may be no characterization or condemnation of Jehoahaz’s reign (though in 2 Sam 23:32 it is condemned) but simply a development of the picture being described.
Ezekiel 19:4. The nations heard of him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. “Caught in their pit.” The usual method of hunting beasts in the East. Slavonic: “was taken in destruction,” that is, wounded, as in the Vulgate: non absque vulneribus. – “With hooks” – literally “on rings,” which were passed through the nostrils, Slavonic: “with a bridle.” – “To Egypt.” Of the Judahite kings only Jehoahaz was led captive to Egypt – by Pharaoh Necho (2 Sam 23:33).
Ezekiel 19:5. And when she saw that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion. “She saw that her hope was lost” – the hope which Judah held for the return of Jehoahaz from Egyptian captivity. – “Another of her cubs.” Some understand by the second cub the prophet to mean Jehoiachin, others – Zedekiah. Both were led captive to Babylon (verse 9); consequently both could be meant here. Not Jehoiakim, for he died in Judah. Of the two kings Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, the prophet more likely had in view Jehoiachin here, for he was led into captivity with him and he placed great hopes on his descendants (Ezek 17:22-24); according to Ezek 17 Jehoiachin was truly an Israelite last king, whereas Zedekiah was only a Babylonian vassal. On the other hand, if by the lioness is understood Hamutal, the mother of Jehoahaz, then by the second cub can be understood only her other son – Zedekiah; the description in verse 9 also more applies to Zedekiah. Whether Zedekiah or Jehoiachin is meant by the second cub, the question arises why Jehoiakim is omitted. The prophet had no intention to give a complete historical survey but wanted to point to Zedekiah in the number of his predecessors as a warning example. The prophet could hardly have combined in the image of the first cub the fate of Josiah (death in battle at Megiddo) and Jehoahaz (both suffered from the Pharaoh), and in the second the fate of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin (suffered from Nebuchadnezzar. Smend): 3b does not fit Josiah. – “And made him a young lion” – a king.
Ezekiel 19:6. And he became a young lion and prowled among lions and learned to hunt prey and devoured humans Ezekiel 19:7. and defiled their widows and laid waste their cities; the land and all it contained were desolate because of the roar of his power. The behavior of the second cub is described more in detail than that of the first: the entire verse 7 is added and in verse 6 “he prowled among lions,” that is, became a king like the others, engaged in politics, trade relations; perhaps alliances with neighboring peoples are meant. – “Defiled their widows.” None of the ancient translations convey this expression, which departs from the allegory (as the expression “laid waste their cities,” which a lion cannot do). Slavonic: “and fed in his ferocity.” Targum: “destroyed their palaces.” Vulgate: “made widows.” – “Laid waste their cities,” through violence and injustice, for example through exile and confiscation. – “And the land and all it contained were desolate.” More accurately, the Slavonic: “and its fullness,” that is, its inhabitants, livestock and natural wealth. – “From the roar of his power.” A return to allegory: the lion drives all animals far from him with its roar.
Ezekiel 19:8. Then the nations set against him from the provinces around him, and they spread their net over him; he was caught in their pit. “Nations from surrounding provinces” (literally “districts,” “satrapies”), which formed part of the Chaldean kingdom: but they could mean the Syrians, Ammonites, Moabites who fought against the Judahite kingdom at times (for example, under Jehoiakim). – “Spread their net” – a trap in the pit, which is mentioned in verse 4 and further here. The description of the second lion is generally more detailed because the events were fresh in memory.
Ezekiel 19:9. And they put him in a cage and brought him with hooks to the king of Babylon; they brought him into prison so that his roar would be heard no more on the mountains of Israel. “And they put him in a cage.” Cages for lions among the Assyrians, to judge from representations, were made of thick wooden beams and were movable. Although Jehoiachin surrendered voluntarily, this surrender was forced by the extreme circumstances in which he found himself. “Into prison” – a dungeon, located in a fortified city; designated for the most dangerous prisoners. Jehoiachin was freed from prison only by Evil-merodach. – “So that his roar would be heard no more,” – so that he would no longer terrify with his roar. – “On the mountains of Israel” – a frequent designation of Palestine in Ezekiel, all the more appropriate here because lions lurk in mountain caves there and because the speech concerns the mountainous Judea.
Ezekiel 19:10. Your mother was like a vine, planted by the water; fruitful and luxuriant she was because of abundant water. The comparison the prophet has used so far – Israel with a lioness – did not allow him to depict the further fate of Israel itself-the-lioness, and therefore he changes it to the comparison of chapter XV and XVII – with a vine. – “Your,” that is, Zedekiah’s or Jehoiachin’s. – “Mother” – Judah (or see explanation of verse 2 – Queen Hamutal). – “Like a vine.” Slavonic further: “and like the flower of pomegranate,” which is the translation of an extremely obscure Hebrew word standing after “vine,” and simply omitted in the Russian translation: “in your blood” (in your children in the very life force?); this word the LXX read with the change of one letter “like the flower of pomegranate.” – “Fruitful and luxuriant.” Reference to the wealth and success of the Judahite kingdom or to the strength and multitude of the royal dynasty.
Ezekiel 19:11. And she had strong branches that became rulers’ scepters, and her stem grew tall among the thick clouds; and she was seen in her height with the multitude of her branches. “Strong branches” – outstanding people or whole families, for example, the house of David. – “For rulers’ scepters” – capable of being kings. Slavonic singular: “and was to him a scepter of strength,” clearly meaning Zedekiah. – “And her stem grew tall among the thick clouds.” The stem probably means the then king Zedekiah. – “And she was seen in her height.” Slavonic: “and seeing her majesty” – admired herself.
Ezekiel 19:12. But she was uprooted in fury, cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit; her strong branches withered and fire consumed them. The fall of the Judahite kingdom. – “In fury” – of the vinedresser at her barrenness, about which the reason follows: “the east wind dried up her fruit.” – Rhetorical reversal – inverted order of thoughts. – “Cast down to the ground,” as unworthy of the vinedresser’s care – “The east wind,” as in Ezek 17:10 (sirocco), the Chaldean army. – “Her strong branches” – the kings (verse 11); Slavonic more accurately in singular: “the scepter of strength.” “Fire consumed them” – the heat of the east wind; the Chaldean war.
Ezekiel 19:13. And now she is transplanted into the wilderness, into a dry and thirsty land. Uprooted from its homeland, its natural place of origin, the people is transplanted as if into a wilderness where it cannot flourish. – “The wilderness dry and thirsty” – not fertile Chaldea is called thus but the hard conditions of captivity.
Ezekiel 19:14. And fire has gone out from a rod of her branches and consumed her fruit, so there remains in her no strong branch to be a ruler’s scepter. This is a lamentation and it shall remain for a lamentation. “And fire has gone out from a rod of her branches,” from the stem mentioned in verse 11, that is, from Zedekiah (see there). Fire, kindled by Zedekiah and consuming all the vine (Judah) – the treacherous policy of this king (toward Nebuchadnezzar), by which he himself brought final destruction upon Judah. – “So there remains in her no strong branch for a ruler’s scepter.” After Zedekiah there were no national kings in Judah until the coming of the Messiah. The Savior could compare Himself to a vine (John 15:1) not without relation to this chapter of Ezekiel, where the vine of the house of Judah is presented as withered and burned until His coming. “This is a lamentation.” The signature to the song. Slavonic: “a generation for a parable of lamentation is,” that is, the royal house of David became the subject of a model song of lamentation. The Hebrew words corresponding to the Russian “for a ruler’s scepter,” the LXX in verse 11 translated “over the elders of the people,” and here “a generation for a parable,” because “elder” and “parable” in Hebrew are identical in spelling and differ only in pronunciation – “And it shall remain for a lamentation.” With these words the prophet either designates his song for actual use among the people or expresses the thought that this lamentation will cause actual lamentation (Slavonic: “and there will be lamentation”) when the prophecy contained in it comes to pass.