Ezekiel 25 commentary

EZEKIEL 25 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
A Prophecy Against Ammon
1 The word of the Lord came to me:
BARNES 1-3, "It was a distinct part of scriptural prophecy to address pagan nations.
In Isaiah Isa. 13–19, Jeremiah Jer. 46–51, and here Ezek. 25–32, one section is specially
devoted to a collection of such prophecies. Every such prediction had the general
purpose of exhibiting the conflict ever waging between the servants of God and the
powers of the world, the struggle in which the Church of Christ has still to wrestle
against her foes Eph_6:12, but in which she will surely prevail.
It was a distinct part of scriptural prophecy to address pagan nations. In Isaiah Isa.
13–19, Jeremiah Jer. 46–51, and here Ezek. 25–32, one section is specially devoted to a
collection of such prophecies. Every such prediction had the general purpose of
exhibiting the conflict ever waging between the servants of God and the powers of the
world, the struggle in which the Church of Christ has still to wrestle against her foes
Eph_6:12, but in which she will surely prevail.
This series of prophecies, with one exception, was delivered at the time of the fall of
Jerusalem; some shortly before, and some shortly after, the capture of the city. They
were collected together to illustrate their original purpose of warning the nations not to
exult in their neighbor’s fall. Seven nations are addressed, which have had most contact
with the children of Israel - on their eastern borders Moab and Ammon, to the south,
Edom, on the south-west Philistia, northward Tyre (the merchant city) and the more
ancient Sidon, and lastly Egypt, alternately the scourge and the false stay of the chosen
people. The number “seven” is symbolic of completeness. “Seven” prophecies against
Egypt the chief of “seven” nations, denote the completeness of the overthrow of the
pagan power, the antagonist of the kingdom of God. While other prophets hold out to
these pagan nations some prospect of future mercy (e. g., Isa_16:14; Jer_49:6, Jer_
49:11), Ezekiel speaks of their complete ruin. He was contemplating “national” ruin. In
the case of Jerusalem there would be national restoration, but in the case of the pagan
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no such recovery. The “national” ruin was irretrievable; the remnant to whom the other
prophets hold out hopes of mercy were to find it as individuals gathered into God’s
Church, not as nations to be again set up. Ezekiel does not, like other prophets, prophesy
against Babylon; it was his mission to show that for the moment, Babylon was the
righteous instrument of the divine wrath, doing God’s work in punishing His foes. In
prophesying against foreign nations, Ezekiel often adopts the language of those who
preceded him.
In Ezek. 25, the four nations most closely connected with one another by geographical
position and by contact, are addressed in a few brief sentences concluding with the same
refrain - “Ye shall know that I am the Lord” (e. g. Eze_25:5). This prophecy was
delivered immediately after the capture of the city by Nebuchadnezzar, and so is later, in
point of time, than some of the prophecies that follow it.
The Ammonites were inveterate foes of the descendants of Abraham.
CLARKE, "The word of the Lord - The chronological order of this chapter is after
Eze_33:21, etc. See Abp. Newcome.
GILL, "The word of the Lord came unto me,.... After he had done prophesying to
the Jews, he is bid to prophesy against the Gentiles, the nations that lay nearest the
Jews:
HENRY 1-7, "Here, I. The prophet is ordered to address himself to the Ammonites,
in the name of the Lord Jehovah the God of Israel, who is also the God of the whole
earth. But what can Chemosh, the god of the children of Ammon, say, in answer to it? He
is bidden to set his face against the Ammonites, for he is God's representative as a
prophet, and thus he must signify that God set his face against them, for the face of the
Lord is against those that do evil, Psa_34:16. He must speak with boldness and
assurance, as one that knew whose errand he went upon, and that he should be borne
out in delivering it. He must therefore set his face as a flint, Isa_1:7. He must show his
displeasure against these proud enemies of Israel, and face them down, though they
were very impudent, and thus must show that, though he had prophesied so much and
so long against Israel, yet still he was for Israel, and, while he witnessed against their
corruptions, he adhered to and gloried in God's covenant with them. Note, Those are
miserable that have the preaching and praying of God's prophets against them, against
whom their faces are set.
II. He is directed what to say to them. Ezekiel is now a captive in Babylon, and has
been so many years, and knows little of the state of his own nation, much less of the
nations that were about it; but God tells him both what they were doing and what he was
about to do with them. And thus by the spirit of prophecy he is enabled to speak as
pertinently to their case as if he had been among them.
1. He must upbraid the Ammonites with their insolent and barbarous triumphs over
the people of Israel in their calamities, Eze_25:3. The Ammonites said, when all went
against the Jews, Aha! so would we have it. They were glad to see, (1.) The temple
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burned, the sanctuary profaned by the victorious Chaldeans. This is put first, to
intimate what was the cause of the controversy; they had an enmity to the Jews for the
sake of their religion, though it was only some poor remains of the profession of it that
were to be found among them. (2.) The nation ruined. They rejoiced when the land of
Israel was made desolate, the cities burnt, the country wasted, and both depopulated,
and when the house of Judah went into captivity. When they had not power to oppress
God's Israel themselves they were pleased to see the Chaldeans oppress them, partly
because they envied their wealth and the good land they enjoyed, partly because they
feared their growing power, and partly because they hated their religion and the divine
oracles they were favoured with. It is repeated again (Eze_25:6): They clapped with
their hands, to irritate the rage of the Chaldeans, and to set them on as dogs upon the
game; or they clapped their hands in triumph, attended this tragedy with their Plaudite -
Give us your applause, thinking it well acted; never was there any thing more diverting
or entertaining to them. They stamped with their feet, ready to leap and dance for joy
upon this occasion; they not only rejoiced in heart, but they could not forbear showing
it, though every one that had any sense of honour and humanity would cry shame upon
them for it, especially considering that they rejoiced thus, not for any thing they got by
Israel's fall (if so, they would have been the more excusable: most people are for
themselves); but this as purely from a principle of malice and enmity: Thou hast rejoiced
in heart with all thy despite (which signifies both scorn and hatred) against the land of
Israel. Note, The people of God have always had a great deal of ill-will borne them by
this wicked world; and their calamities have been their neighbours' entertainments. See
to what unnatural instances of malice the enmity that is in the seed of the serpent
against the seed of the woman will carry them. The Ammonites, of all people, should not
have rejoiced in Jerusalem's ruin, but should rather have trembled, because they
themselves had such a narrow escape at the same time; it was but “cross or pile” [the
toss of a halfpenny] which should be besieged first, Rabbath or Jerusalem, Eze_21:20.
And they had reason to think that the king of Babylon would set upon them next. But
thus were their hearts hardened to their ruin, and their insolence against Jerusalem was
to them an evident token of perdition, Phi_1:28. It is a very wicked thing to be glad at
the calamities of any, especially of God's people, and a sin that God will surely reckon
for; such delight has God in showing mercy, and so backward is he to punish, that
nothing is more pleasing to him than to be stopped in the ways of his judgments by
intercessions, not any thing more provoking than to help forward the affliction when he
is but a little displeased, Zec_1:15.
2. He must threaten the Ammonites with utter ruin for this insolence which they were
guilty of. God turns away his wrath from Israel against them, as is said, Pro_24:17, Pro_
24:18. God is jealous for his people's honour, because his own is so nearly interested in
it. And therefore those that touch that shall be made to know that they touch the apple of
his eye. He had before predicted the destruction of the Ammonites, Eze_21:28. Had they
repented, that would have been revoked; but now it is ratified. (1.) A destroying enemy is
brought against them: I will deliver thee to the men of the east, first to the Chaldeans,
who came from the north-east, and whose army, under the command of
Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the country of the Ammonites, about five years after the
destruction of Jerusalem (as Josephus relates, Antiq. 10.181), and then to the Arabians,
who were properly the children of the east, who, when the Chaldeans had made the
country desolate, and quitted it, came and took possession of it for themselves, probably
with the consent of the conquerors. Shepherds' tents were their palaces; these they set
up in the country of the Ammonites; there they made their dwellings, Eze_25:4. They
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enjoyed the products of the country: They shall eat thy fruit and drink thy milk; and the
milk from the cattle is the fruit of the ground at second-hand. They made use even of the
royal city for their cattle (Eze_25:5): I will make Rabbath, that was a nice and splendid
city, to be a stable for camels; for its new masters, whose wealth lies all in cattle, will not
think they can put the palaces of Rabbath to a better use. Rabbath had been a habitation
of brutish men; justly therefore is it now made a stable for camels and the country a
couching-lace for flocks, more innocent beasts than those with which it had been before
replenished. (2.) God himself acts as an enemy to them (Eze_25:7): I will stretch out my
hand upon thee, a hand that will reach far and strike home, which there is no resisting
the blow of, for it is a mighty hand, nor bearing the weight of, for it is a heavy hand.
God's hand stretched out against the Ammonites will not only deliver them for a spoil to
the heathen, so that all their neighbours shall prey upon them, but will cut them off from
the people and made them perish out of the countries, so that there shall be no remains
of them in that place. Compare with this, Jer_49:1, etc. What can sound more terrible
than that resolution (Eze_25:7), I will destroy thee? For the almighty God is able both to
save and to destroy, and it is a fearful thing to fall into his hands. Both the threatenings
here (Eze_25:5 and Eze_25:7) conclude with this, You shall know that I am the Lord.
For, [1.] Thus God will maintain his own honour, and will make it appear that he is the
God of Israel, though he suffers them for a time to be captives in Babylon. [2.] Thus he
will bring those that were strangers to him into an acquaintance with him, and it will be
a blessed effect of their calamities. Better know God and be poor than be rich and
ignorant of him.
JAMISON, "Eze_25:1-17. Appropriately in the interval of silence as to the Jews in
the eight chapters, (twenty-fifth through thirty-second) Ezekiel denounces judgments
on the heathen world kingdoms.
If Israel was not spared, much less the heathen utterly corrupt, and having no mixture
of truth, such as Israel in its worst state possessed (1Pe_4:17, 1Pe_4:18). Their ruin was
to be utter: Israel’s but temporary (Jer_46:28). The nations denounced are seven, the
perfect number; implying that God’s judgments would visit, not merely these, but the
whole round of the heathen foes of God. Babylon is excepted, because she is now for the
present viewed as the rod of God’s retributive justice, a view too much then lost sight of
by those who fretted against her universal supremacy.
K&D 1-7, "Against the Ammonites
Eze_25:1. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze_25:2. Son of man, direct
thy face towards the sons of Ammon, and prophesy against them, Eze_25:3. And say to
the sons of Ammon, Hear ye the word of the Lord Jehovah! Thus saith the Lord
Jehovah, Because thou sayest, Aha! concerning my sanctuary, that it is profaned; and
concerning the land of Israel, that it is laid waste; and concerning the house of Judah,
that they have gone into captivity; Eze_25:4. Therefore, behold, I will give thee to the
sons of the east for a possession, that they may pitch their tent-villages in thee, and
erect their dwellings in thee; they shall eat thy fruits, and they shall drink thy milk.
Eze_25:5. And Rabbah will I make a camel-ground, and the sons of Ammon a resting-
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place for flocks; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. Eze_25:6. For thus saith the
Lord Jehovah, Because thou hast clapped thy hand, and stamped with thy foot, and
hast rejoiced in soul with all thy contempt concerning the house of Israel, Eze_25:7.
Therefore, behold, I will stretch out my hand against thee, and give thee to the nations
for booty, and cut thee off from the peoples, and exterminate thee from the lands; I will
destroy thee, that thou mayst learn that I am Jehovah. - In Eze_21:28., when predicting
the expedition of Nebuchadnezzar against Jerusalem, Ezekiel had already foretold the
destruction of the Ammonites, so that these verses are simply a resumption and
confirmation of the earlier prophecy. In the passage referred to, Ezekiel, like Zephaniah
before him (Zep_2:8, Zep_2:10), mentions their reviling of the people of God as the sin
for which they are to be punished with destruction. This reviling, in which their hatred
of the divine calling of Israel found vent, was the radical sin of Ammon. On the occasion
of Judah's fall, it rose even to contemptuous and malicious joy at the profanation of the
sanctuary of Jehovah by the destruction of the temple (a comparison with Eze_24:21
will show that this is the sense in which ‫ל‬ ַ‫ח‬ִ‫נ‬ is to be understood), at the devastation of
the land of Israel, and at the captivity of Judah, - in other words, at the destruction of the
religious and political existence of Israel as the people of God. The profanation of the
sanctuary is mentioned first, to intimate that the hostility to Israel, manifested by the
Ammonites on every occasion that presented itself (for proofs, see the comm. on Zep_
2:8), had its roots not so much in national antipathies, as in antagonism to the sacred
calling of Israel. As a punishment for this, they are not only to lose their land (Eze_25:4
and Eze_25:5), but to be cut off from the number of the nations (Eze_25:6 and Eze_
25:7). The Lord will give up their land, with its productions, for a possession to the sons
of the east, i.e., according to Gen_25:13-18, to the Arabs, the Bedouins (for ‫ֵי‬‫נ‬ ְ‫בּ‬ ‫ם‬ ֶ‫ד‬ ֶ‫,ק‬ see
the comm. on Jdg_6:3 and Job_1:3). The Piel ‫בוּ‬ ְ‫שּׁ‬ִ‫,י‬ although only occurring here, is not
to be rejected as critically suspicious, and to be changed into Kal, as Hitzig proposes.
The Kal would be unsuitable, because the subject of the sentence can only be ‫ֵי‬‫נ‬ ְ‫בּ‬ ‫ם‬ ֶ‫ד‬ ֶ‫,ק‬
and not ‫ם‬ ֶ‫יה‬ ֵ‫ת‬ ‫יר‬ ִ‫;ט‬ and ‫ב‬ַ‫ָשׁ‬‫י‬ in the Kal has an intransitive sense. For ‫ת‬ ‫יר‬ ִ‫,ט‬ tent-villages
of nomads, see the comm. on Gen_25:16. ‫ים‬ִ‫נ‬ָ‫כּ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫,מ‬ dwellings, are the separate tents of
the shepherds. In the last clauses of Eze_25:4, ‫ה‬ ָ‫מּ‬ ֵ‫ה‬ is repeated for the sake of emphasis;
and Hitzig's opinion, that the first ‫ה‬ ָ‫מּ‬ ֵ‫ה‬ corresponds to the subject in the clause '‫בוּ‬ ְ‫שּׁ‬ִ‫י‬ ְ‫ו‬
‫,וגו‬ the second to that in ‫נוּ‬ ְ‫ָת‬‫נ‬ ְ‫,ו‬ is to be rejected as a marvellous flight of imagination,
which approaches absurdity in the assertion that ‫י‬ ִ‫ר‬ ְ‫פּ‬ ‫ץ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ָ‫א‬ ָ‫ה‬ signifies the folds, i.e., the
animals, of the land. Along with the fruit of the land, i.e., the produce of the soil, milk is
also mentioned as a production of pastoral life, and the principal food of nomads. On the
wealth of the Ammonites in flocks and herds, see Jdg_6:5. The words are addressed to
Ammon, as a land or kingdom, and hence the feminine suffix. The capital will also share
the fate of the land. Rabbah (see the comm. on Deu_3:11) will become a camel-ground, a
waste spot where camels lie down and feed. This has been almost literally fulfilled. The
ruins of Ammân are deserted by men, and Seetzen found Arabs with their camels not far
off (vid., von Raumer, Palestine, p. 268). In the parallel clause, the sons of Ammon, i.e.,
the Ammonites, are mentioned instead of their land.
In Eze_25:6 and Eze_25:7, the Lord announces to the nation of the Ammonites the
destruction that awaits them, and reiterates with still stronger emphasis the sin which
occasioned it, namely, the malicious delight they had manifested at Israel's fall. ‫ל־‬ָ‫כ‬ ְ‫בּ‬
ְ‫אט‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ is strengthened by ‫שׁ‬ֶ‫ֶפ‬‫נ‬ ְ‫:בּ‬ with all thy contempt in the soul, i.e., with all the
5

contempt which thy soul could cherish. In Eze_25:7 the ἁπ λεγ.. ‫ג‬ ַ‫ב‬ ְ‫ל‬ occasions some
difficulty. The Keri has substituted ‫ז‬ ַ‫ב‬ ְ‫,ל‬ for booty for the nations (cf. Eze_26:5); and all
the ancient versions have adopted this. Consequently ‫ג‬ ַ‫בּ‬ might be a copyist's error for ‫ז‬ ַ‫;בּ‬
and in support of this the circumstance might be adduced, that in Eze_47:13, where ‫ֵה‬‫גּ‬
stands for ‫ֶה‬‫ז‬, we have unquestionably a substitution of ‫ג‬ for ‫.ז‬ But if the Chetib ‫בז‬ be
correct, the word is to be explained - as it has been by Benfey (Die Montasnamen, p.
194) and Gildemeister (in Lassen's Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, iv. 1, p.
213ff.) - from the Sanscrit bha=ga, pars, portio, and has passed into the Semitic languages
from the Aryan, like the Syriac bagaa', esca, which P. Boetticher (Horae aram. p. 21) has
correctly traced to the Sanscrit bhaj, conquere. - The executors of the judgment are not
named; for the threat that God will give up the land of the Ammonites to the Bedouins
for their possession, does not imply that they are to exterminate the Ammonites. On the
contrary, a comparison of this passage with Amo_1:13-15 and Jer_49:1-5, where the
Ammonites are threatened not only with the devastation of their land, but also with
transportation into exile, will show that the Chaldeans are to be thought of as executing
the judgment. (See the comm. on Eze_25:11.)
COFFMAN, "Verse 1
PART II; ORACLES AGAINST THE NATIONS
(EZEKIEL 25-32)
ORACLES AGAINST AMMON; MOAB; EDOM; AND PHILISTIA
In our commentaries upon four dozen Biblical books, we have already commented
upon the Divine Oracles against these four nations. For those who are interested in a
more detailed study of these, reference is here made to: (1) the prophecies against
Ammon: (Vol. 1 of Minor Prophets, pp. 92-94, Vol. 3 of Minor Prophets, p. 151, and
Vol. 2, Major prophets, pp. 511-514); (2) the prophecies against Moab: (Vol. 1,
Minor Prophets, pp. 97-99); (3) the prophecies against Edom: (Vol. 1 of Major
Prophets, all of Isaiah 34, pp. 309-314, Vol. 2, Major Prophets, pp. 514-519, Vol. 2,
Minor Prophets, the whole Book of Obadiah, pp. 247-263); and (4) the prophecies
against Philistia: (Vol. 4, Minor Prophets, pp. 134,135, Vol. 1, Minor Prophets, pp.
6

87-90, and Vol. 2, Major Prophets, all of chapter 47, pp. 491-495).
Because of extensive comments we have already made on oracles against these
nations, our treatment of the subject here will be somewhat abbreviated.
Ezekiel 25:1-7
"And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward
the children of Ammon, and prophesy against them: and say unto the children of
Ammon. Hear the word of the Lord Jehovah, Because thou saidest, Aha, against my
sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was made
desolate, and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity: therefore,
behold, I will deliver thee to the children of the east for a possession, and they shall
set their encampments in thee, and make their dwellings in thee; they shall eat thy
fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels,
and the children of Ammon a couching-place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am
Jehovah. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: because thou hast clapped with thy
hands, and stamped with thy feet, and rejoiced with all the despite of thy soul
against the land of Israel; therefore, behold, 1have stretched out my hand upon thee,
and will deliver thee for a spoil to the nations; and I will cut thee off from the
peoples, and will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee, and
thou shalt know that I am Jehovah."
PROPHECY AGAINST AMMON
The history of Ammon began with the drunken and incestuous conduct of Lot; and
the entire record of the Ammonites and Moabites, both of which began on that same
occasion (Genesis 19), was one of rebellion against God and hatred of their kinsmen,
the posterity of Abraham. The most recent example of their perfidy is recorded in
Jeremiah, where the Ammonites arranged for the murder of Gedaliah the Jew,
whom Nebuchadnezzar had appointed governor of Judah.
7

Some have misunderstood the reasons that God gave here for his judgment of
Ammon, namely, because Ammon had said "Aha!" and had rejoiced over the ruin
of Judah and Jerusalem, and the profanation of God's sanctuary. Serious as such
offenses indeed were, Bruce pointed out that there was something else behind their
conduct. "The Ammonites, along with the other nations, imagined that the collapse
of the Judean monarchy also meant the eclipse of the God of Israel."[1]
It was no doubt this very result of God's severe punishment of Israel which had
delayed God's actions for such a long time. now, that God had done it, or was in the
process of doing it, the mistaken notion that God was no longer able to protect
Israel, on the part of the surrounding nations, absolutely necessitated the
destruction of those nations. After all, they were guilty of the very sins that had
mined Israel; and it was absolutely impossible for God to have allowed them to
escape. We believe this is the reason for the inclusion here of the prophecies against
the seven nations (four of them in this chapter). Furthermore, as Keil pointed out,
"These seven nations selected for the oracles here may be understood as
representative of all the heathen nations, indicating thereby that the judgments
predicted will be executed and completed upon the whole heathen world."[2] The
omission of Babylon from the list gives weight to Keil's understanding of the
chapter.
"I will make Rabbah a stable for camels ..." (Ezekiel 25:5). This infamous
stronghold is now the modern Amman. In Roman times, Ptolemy rebuilt the place
and called it Philadelphia (after himself); and in the times of David, it was
remembered as the fortress where David contrived the brutal murder of Uriah, the
husband of Bathsheba.
Both Cooke and May have written of the radical differences in style between this
chapter and the following, suggesting that perhaps this chapter was not written by
Ezekiel; and although Cooke admitted that the differences may be explained
otherwise, it remained for Thompson to demonstrate convincingly that this chapter,
no less than the others, is absolutely in keeping with Ezekiel's style.[3]
"Because thou hast clapped thy hands ... and rejoiced ..." (Ezekiel 25:6). "Because
8

Ammon has rejoiced at the grief of others, she herself shall be brought to grief. In
such actions, God reveals that behind all human events, there stands the Author and
Finisher of history, who is the judge of all men and nations."[4]
Regarding the date of this chapter, McFadyen believed that none of it was written
until after the fall of Jerusalem; but some disagree with this. It seems to us that the
question demands little, if any priority. Of course, the "captivity" is mentioned in
this oracle as an event already accomplished; but there were three phases of the
captivity; and therefore the mention of it can have no weight at all in determining
the date.
ELLICOTT, "Prophecies concerning heathen nations, from the time of Balaam
down, mark every period of Scripture history. Sometimes, as in the case of Jonah,
Obadiah, and Nahum, the utterance of the seer is against a single nation; sometimes,
as in the case of Joel, and possibly also in that of Amos, the prophecies against the
heathen are merely incidental and subsidiary to those concerning Israel; and
sometimes, as in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, they are collected in a special
portion of the book. Balaam, Jonah, and to some extent Daniel, addressed their
warnings directly to the nations concerned; but in most of the other instances it
seems unlikely that the prophecies were ever communicated to the people to whom
they directly related. In all cases they appear to have been given by God for the sake
of His Church as well as for that of its enemies; even that of Jonah was given to
Nineveh probably but a little time before the conquest of Israel, and must have
impressed upon its haughty monarchs some respect for the God whose people they
were soon to make captive; while those of Daniel were given to kings who already
held the chosen people in captivity, and who were thereby compelled to make some
acknowledgment of the reverence due to the God of Israel.
The reasons for the more general prophecies against the heathen must be sought in
the special circumstances of each case in which they were uttered. In the present
instance these reasons are not far to seek, for both the nations mentioned and the
one omitted suggest a common purpose in the prophecy. Those mentioned are seven
in number—Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon, and Egypt. All these were
so far allies of Judah that they were in common hostility to Babylon; and it appears
from Jeremiah 27:1-3 that an attempt had been made in the reign of Jehoiakim to
unite five of them in a league against Babylon, while Egypt was continually looked
9

to by the disobedient Jews for aid against their common enemy. It was, therefore,
necessary for Israel to know that there was no help to be found against Babylon in
any earthly power; all the enemies of Chaldæa were to fall alike. Moreover, it was
important to show by these prophecies that the judgment about to come upon the
surrounding heathen was from God, since it is thus made clear that all events are of
His ordering, and hence that the punishment of His people also must be from His
own hand. This was especially the place for the prophet to speak of these judgments
when he had just finished his denunciations of wrath upon Israel, and when these
denunciations were about to be fulfilled. Besides these general reasons, there were
other special ones in the case of each nation. Egypt had been a broken reed piercing
the hand of Judah as often as she leaned upon it; while of Ammon, Moab, Edom,
Philistia, and Tyre it is mentioned that they had exulted in the profanation of the
Temple and the captivity of the people, and this especially from their hostility to the
religion of Israel. It would help Israel to know that, while they were themselves
punished for their unfaithfulness to their religion, those who altogether hated and
rejected it were to suffer still more severely. It is remarkable that there is no
prophecy in Ezekiel against Babylon, as there is in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others; for
Babylon appears throughout this book as the executor of God’s judgments upon His
people, and the effect of this would have been marred by the mention of her own
ultimate punishment. For the present, all her enemies are to be overthrown, and she
remains in strength; although she also would be punished for her sins when she
should have accomplished the Divine purposes, yet it would have been worse than
useless for the thoughts of Israel to be occupied with this now.
The number of seven nations against whom prophecies are uttered has been thought
by many to be significant. It is made up by separating Zidon from Tyre, for which
there were probably special reasons at the time. Zidon had long since lost its
importance, and the prophecy against it is very short, (Ezekiel 28:21-24); yet its
ancient enmity to God was not to be forgotten, as it might appear to be if left
without distinct mention.
The prophecy against Edom is greatly expanded in Ezekiel 35, and there are other
prophecies against foreign nations in Ezekiel 38, 39; but these have so much the
nature of promises to Israel that they are more appropriately placed where they are
than they would have been in this connection. Even here the prophecy against Zidon
(Ezekiel 28:25-26) and that of the latest date against Egypt (Ezekiel 29:21) end with
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promises to Israel.
The utterances against the various nations are very unequal in fulness. Those
concerning Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia are all included together in a single
prophecy, occupying only one chapter (Ezekiel 25); Tyre is the subject of four
separate prophecies, filling nearly three chapters (Ezekiel 26:1 to Eze_28:19); Zidon
is disposed of in the few following verses; while Egypt has seven distinct prophecies,
filling chapters 29-32. The relative importance of these various nations is
represented in this proportion.
The prophecies of Ezekiel concerning these nations had been anticipated by the
older prophets, especially Isaiah and Amos, and similar predictions also abound in
the contemporary Jeremiah, but with this marked difference: Ezekiel foretells their
utter overthrow, while other prophets look forward to a period of restoration and
blessing after their punishment. Thus Isaiah (Isaiah 23:15-18) says that after a
period of seventy years Tyre shall again rejoice, and shall ultimately be converted to
the Lord; Jeremiah says of the Moabites, “I will bring again the captivity of Moab
in the latter day, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 48:47), and the same thing of the
Ammonites (Jeremiah 49:6); and of Egypt, that after its temporary subjection to
Nebuchadnezzar, “afterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old” (Jeremiah
46:26); Isaiah also describes the time when “Israel shall be the third with Egypt and
Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land” (Isaiah 19:24-25). Yet it has
generally been recognised that there is no inconsistency in these prophecies. Isaiah
foretells a temporary resuscitation of Tyre, at the same time with Judah, in
connection with the Medo-Persian conquest of Babylon; but Ezekiel’s prophecies
look beyond this, to the final destruction of the Tyrian power. On the other hand,
these various prophecies speak of an ultimate gathering of a remnant of the
descendants of these nations into the Church of God; while Ezekiel speaks of them
only as political powers, and foretells that utter desolation of them which has been
so strikingly fulfilled in the course of history.
TRAPP, "Ezekiel 25:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Ver. 1. The word of the Lord.] Contra gentes; against those nations chiefly that
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molested the Jews after their overthrow by the Babylonians. Sins they had enough
besides, but for none did they suffer more deeply than for their malignity towards
God’s poor afflicted. The Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, and Philistines are here
more briefly threatened; the Tyrians and Egyptians more at large, because it
seemed impossible that they should be brought down.
POOLE, "God’s vengeance upon the Ammonites, Ezekiel 25:1-7, upon Moab and
Seir, Ezekiel 25:7-11, upon Edom, Ezekiel 25:12-14, and upon the Philistines, for
their declared malevolence to the Jews, Ezekiel 25:15-17.
Though he had order no more yet awhile to prophesy against the Jews, he was to be
dumb as to them, yet he hath commission to foretell sad tidings to other nations
round about the Jews.
PETT, "Introduction
Chapter 25-32 Oracles Against Foreign Nations.
The first question we must ask as we consider these chapters is as to why they are
included in a prophecy to Israel, and why they are placed here between the first
investment of Jerusalem by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 24:2),
and the later successful conclusion of the siege by him.
They do in fact present a remarkable message. Here was Jerusalem, surrounded by
enemies, about to be crushed, and Yahweh’s land was about to be taken from them.
Soon there would be no nation of Israel or Judah. Their surrounding neighbours
were already taking advantage of their situation, great Tyre to the north was
prospering and magnifying herself, partly at her expense, and Egypt was sitting
back after a vain effort at assistance, having fomented many of their problems, and
allowing them to be destroyed. Was not this therefore evidence that Yahweh had no
more time for His people, that His favour was rather being shown to her
neighbours? Did it not further mean that these nations would despise Israel’s God,
and see Him of little account?
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Ezekiel’s answer here is a resounding ‘No!’. Yahweh was also about to reveal His
power against these very nations. They too would come under His judgment
precisely because of their attitude towards Him and His people. And they would be
made to recognise that Yahweh was still powerful and at work by the judgments
which came on them. They would know that He is Yahweh (something constantly
reiterated throughout the section) as Egypt had known long before at the time of the
Exodus (Exodus 7:5; Exodus 7:17; Exodus 8:22; Exodus 14:4; Exodus 14:18). They
would learn a hard lesson.
This is why Babylon is not included among them. Babylon is as yet the instrument of
these judgments, and Nebuchadnezzar is acting under the constraint of Yahweh.
What is happening therefore is not disaster, it is the forwarding of His plans by the
hand of the supreme king Nebuchadnezzar who but unconsciously does His bidding.
Thus we must see a number of reasons for these oracles, all centred around the
above facts.
1) They demonstrated that in spite of their dire straits God had not forgotten His
people. He was still concerned about other nations’ behaviour towards them.
2) They demonstrated that in spite of the fall of Jerusalem Yahweh was still God
over the whole world. The fall of Jerusalem would not mean that Yahweh was
defeated. It would reveal that He was also controlling what was happening round
about. He controlled the destiny of nations.
3) They filled in a gap during a period when Ezekiel was silent towards Jerusalem,
when he had no word of Yahweh for them. Some of these prophecies, carefully
dated, specifically occurred during that period, and bring home the fact that at the
same time as there was no word from God through Ezekiel for Jerusalem and the
exiles, God was still speaking on her behalf, to the surrounding world. They
symbolised God’s final triumph over all things.
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4) They demonstrated the future decline of these foreign nations in contrast with the
future promises of restoration for Israel, emphasising the certainty of the final
triumph of God’s people.
5) They happened and affected Israel.
The oracles are split into a group of four which form a unity and follow a similar
pattern (chapter 25), and may well have been given at the same time, and then a
further three which are more expansive against Tyre, Sidon and Egypt.
Some of the oracles against the nations are dated and come before the fall of
Jerusalem, an oracle against Egypt in Ezekiel 29:1 onwards being in January 587
BC, oracles against Pharaoh in Ezekiel 30:20 onwards, and Ezekiel 31:1 onwards,
being in April and June 587/6 BC, while others are dated after the fall of Jerusalem
(Ezekiel 29:17; Ezekiel 32:1; Ezekiel 32:17). The oracle against Tyre in Ezekiel 26:1
onwards clearly comes after the siege by its content. We can tentatively date it in
February 586/5 BC. This depends on the date given to the fall of Jerusalem (587/6
BC) and the information about the arrival of the newsbearer in Ezekiel 33:21 where
there are variant readings (January 586/585 BC).
It is probably noteworthy that seven nations were selected against whom oracles
were uttered (Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon, Egypt). Aside from
Egypt they surrounded Israel in a clockwise direction commencing east of Jordan.
The number seven was considered significant throughout the whole of the Ancient
Near East as the number of divine perfection and completeness. They may thus in
one sense be seen as God’s word to the whole world. That they did not include
Babylon arises from the fact that Babylon was temporarily God’s agent (Ezekiel
17:20; Jeremiah 32:3-5), and Nebuchadnezzar temporarily His ‘servant’ (Jeremiah
25:9; Jeremiah 27:6) and ‘son’ (see on Ezekiel 21:10), although their final certain
punishment had also been declared elsewhere.
The first four oracles, against Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia, are stern and
brief and follow a similar pattern of ‘because -- therefore --’. Compare similar
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oracles of Amos 1:3 to Amos 2:3 in slightly different format but with a parallel idea.
They bear the mark of a prophetic denouncement. These were nations already on
the wane, as Israel seemed to be itself. The other three oracles are more colourful
and expanded. They were dealing with those thought of as more worthy of notice
and therefore deserving of wider treatment. Tyre appears to have been selected for
special treatment because, along with Egypt, it symbolised the height of blasphemy
against Yahweh, the claim to being divine.
Verses 1-3
‘And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face towards
the children of Ammon and prophesy against them, and say to the children of
Ammon, “Thus says the Lord Yahweh, because you said “Aha” against my
sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made
desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity.” ’
The opening phrase ‘the word of Yahweh came to me saying’ (compare Ezekiel
26:1; Ezekiel 27:1; Ezekiel 28:1; Ezekiel 28:11; Ezekiel 28:20; Ezekiel 29:1; Ezekiel
29:17; Ezekiel 30:1; Ezekiel 30:20; Ezekiel 31:1; Ezekiel 32:1; Ezekiel 32:17)
indicates the commencement of a new oracle. Thus the oracles against Ammon,
Moab, Edom and Philistia are as one oracle.
‘Son of man.’ This method of address to Ezekiel continues throughout the book. It is
a reminder to him that he is but an earthly man being approached by the God of
creation. It is a reminder of his weakness and creatureliness, a warning against
presumption. But it also contains within it in its frequency a sense of having been
chosen. He is that ‘son of man’ whom God has chosen out as His instrument and
mouthpiece and addresses personally. Thus it inculcates humility and loving
confidence and response.
‘Set your face.’ While this may be seen only as a general instruction, it may be that
Ezekiel did actually ‘set his face’ in that direction to indicate more directly the
power of the word of Yahweh going forth.
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Ezekiel 25:3 now introduces the ‘because --’, the charge laid against Ammon. At
first sight in context this may well be seen as referring to a time after the destruction
of Jerusalem when Ammon shook their heads knowingly because Yahweh had been
unable to protect His people and Jerusalem, and the temple lay in ashes and the
land lay desolate.
But it could equally apply to the period when Jerusalem was under siege, and the
Egyptians who came to offer aid had withdrawn, with the ‘wise’ Ammonites
realising that Jerusalem’s situation was hopeless and that Yahweh could no longer
help them, and standing aside, and doing nothing but say ‘Aha’.
The descriptions fit both situations. Ezekiel had spoken of the sanctuary as having
already been profaned before the final destruction (Ezekiel 23:39), along with
Yahweh’s holy things (Ezekiel 22:26), partly because the Jerusalemites had offered
their children through fire to Molech the god of these very Ammonites. This may
well have made the children of Ammon say ‘Aha’ as they saw their god triumphing
in Jerusalem.
And the land of Israel had been made desolate long before, at which point Ammon
had taken advantage of the situation and had been condemned for it (Jeremiah
49:1-6), and it had been made desolate again by Nebuchadnezzar’s approach to
Jerusalem. Furthermore the ‘house of Judah’ could be seen as having been taken
into captivity twice in previous invasions (2 Kings 24:13-15; 2 Chronicles 36:5-6
with Daniel 1:1-4), both times when Ammon might well have said ‘Aha’ as they
themselves took part, (certainly the first time), in the war on Babylon’s side (2 Kings
24:2).
Note in this regard that Ezekiel has up to this point only rarely used the phrase ‘the
house of Judah’, and then to specifically distinguish it from Israel in the north
(Ezekiel 4:6), and usually speaks of ‘the house of Israel’ to include both, seeing both
the Jerusalemites and the exiles and all Israel as the house of Israel. Thus the use
here may suggest that the previous captivities are in mind. The final captivity
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would, in Ezekiel’s mind, be ‘of Israel’.
So there are good reasons why this oracle may have been given while Jerusalem was
surrounded and before its final downfall.
Either way the point is that God has seen their attitude towards His people and will
punish them for it.
Verses 1-7
The Oracle Against Ammon (Ezekiel 25:1-7).
The Ammonites, while possibly having been joined with Judah and others in an
anti-Babylon alliance, were permanent enemies of Israel/Judah (see Judges 3:13;
Judges 10-11; 1 Samuel 11; 2 Samuel 10; 2 Kings 24:2; 2 Chronicles 20; Amos 1:13;
Zephaniah 2:8-9). They were excluded from becoming Israelites by adoption for ‘ten
generations’ (Deuteronomy 23:3). That they were part of an alliance with Jerusalem
is suggested by Ezekiel 21:18-22. But that did not prevent them from pouring scorn
on Jerusalem’s situation, which made their sin the worse. And later their king
would help to arrange the assassination of Gedaliah (Jeremiah 40:14 to Jeremiah
41:2) at the hand of Israelites who had fled to Ammon for protection against the
approaching Babylonian armies.
PULPIT, "The section on which we now enter—the great "parenthesis," as I have
called it, of Ezekiel's prophetic work—contains messages to the seven nations that
were most closely connected with the fortunes of Israel and Judah. These were
A prophet's work was hardly complete without such a survey of the Divine order of
the world so far as it came within the horizon of his thoughts; and Ezekiel had
before him the example of like groups of prophecies addressed to the heathen
nations with which Israel was brought into contact, in Isaiah 13-23. and Jeremiah
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46-51. It was natural that the two contemporary prophets should be led to address
their messages to the same nations, and so we find Ezekiel's seven named together
with others in Jeremiah 25:15-26, and five of them (Egypt and Philistia being
excepted) in Jeremiah 27:1-4; while we have fuller and special prophecies for Egypt
(Jeremiah 46:1-28.); Philistia (Jeremiah 47:1-7.); Moab (Jeremiah 48:1-47.);
Ammon (Jeremiah 49:1-6); Edom (Jeremiah 49:7-22), with the addition of
Damascus (Jeremiah 49:23-27); Kedar (Jeremiah 49:28-33); Elam (Jeremiah
49:34-39); Babylon (Jeremiah 1:1). What is remarkable in Ezekiel is that he has no
message for Babylon, which for Isaiah and Jeremiah was the leading representative
of the world-powers considered in their antagonism to the Divine kingdom. This
may, in part, be explained by supposing that he omitted it in order to keep to his
number of seven nations as the symbol of completeness; but a more probable
hypothesis is that he was led, as Jeremiah had at one time been (Jeremiah 29:1-7), to
see in the Chaldean monarchy the appointed minister of the Divine judgments on
Jerusalem and on the other nations. For his immediate purpose it was fitter that the
exiles for whom he wrote should "seek the peace" of the people among whom they
dwelt rather than that they should exult in its future downfall. He, like Jeremiah,
may have been personally favored by Nebuchadnezzar and his officials; and Daniel,
whom he mentions with honor (Ezekiel 14:14), and whom he may have known
personally, was the king's chief minister. There was, we may well believe, a
sufficient reason for this exceptional reticence.
BI 1-7, "Set thy face against the Ammonites.
Prophecies against foreign nations
At the outset it must be understood that prophecies of this kind form part of Jehovah’s
message to Israel. Although they are usually cast in the form of direct address to foreign
peoples, this must not lead us to imagine that they were intended for actual publication
in the countries to which they refer. A prophet’s real audience always consisted of his
own countrymen, whether his discourse was about themselves or about their
neighbours. And it is easy to see that it was impossible to declare the purpose of God
concerning Israel in words that came home to men’s business and bosoms, without
taking account of the state and the destiny of other nations. Just as it would not be
possible nowadays to forecast the future of Egypt without alluding to the fate of the
Ottoman Empire, so it was not possible then to describe the future of Israel in the
concrete manner characteristic of the prophets without indicating the place reserved for
those peoples with whom it had close intercourse. Besides this, a large part of the
national consciousness of Israel was made up of interests, friendly or the reverse, in
neighbouring states. We cannot read the utterances of the prophets with regard to any of
these nationalities without seeing that they often appeal to perceptions deeply lodged in
the popular mind, which could be utilised to convey the spiritual lessons which the
prophets desired to teach. It must not be supposed, however, that such prophecies are in
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any degree the expression of national vanity or jealousy. What the prophets aim at is to
elevate the thoughts of Israel to the sphere of eternal truths of the kingdom of God; and
it is only in so far as these can be made to touch the conscience of the nation at this point
that they appeal to what we may call its international sentiments. Now, the question we
have to ask is, What spiritual purpose for Israel is served by the announcements of the
destiny of the outlying heathen populations? Speaking generally, prophecies of this class
had a moral value for two reasons. In the first place, they re-echo and confirm the
sentence of judgment passed on Israel herself. They do this in two ways: they illustrate
the principle on which Jehovah deals with His own people, and His character as the
righteous judge of men. Wherever a “sinful kingdom” was found, whether in Israel or
elsewhere, that kingdom must be removed from its place among the nations. But again,
not only was the principle of the judgment emphasised, but the manner in which it was
to be carried out was more clearly exhibited. In all cases the pre-exilic prophets
announce that the overthrow of the Hebrew states was to be effected either by the
Assyrians or the Babylonians. These great world powers were in succession the
instruments fashioned and used by Jehovah for the performance of His great work in the
earth. Now it was manifest that if this anticipation was well founded, it involved the
overthrow of all the nations in immediate contact with Israel. The people of Israel or
Judah were thus taught to look on their fate as involved in a great scheme of Divine
providence, overturning all the existing relations which gave them a place among the
nations of the world, and preparing for a new development of the purpose of Jehovah in
the future. When we turn to that ideal future we find a second and more suggestive
aspect of these prophecies against the heathen. All the prophets teach that the destiny of
Israel is inseparably bound up with the future of God’s kingdom on earth. What men
needed to be taught then, and what we need to remember still, is that each nation holds
its position in subordination to the ends of God’s government; that no power or wisdom
or refinement will save a state from destruction when it ceases to serve the interests of
His kingdom. The foreign peoples that come under the survey of the prophets are as yet
strangers to the true God, and are therefore destitute of that which could secure them a
place in the reconstruction of political relationships of which Israel is to be the religious
centre. And whether any particular nation should survive to participate in the glories of
that latter day depends on the view taken of its present condition and its fitness for
incorporation in the universal empire of Jehovah soon to be established. We now know
that this was not the form in which Jehovah’s purpose of salvation was destined to be
realised in the history of the world. Since the coming of Christ the people of Israel has
lost its distinctive and central position as the bearer of the hopes and promises of the
true religion. In its place we have a spiritual kingdom of men united by faith in Jesus
Christ, and in the worship of one Father in spirit and in truth—a kingdom which from its
very nature can have no local centre or political organisation. Hence the conversion of
the heathen can no longer be conceived as national homage paid to the seat of Jehovah’s
sovereignty on Zion; nor is the unfolding of the Divine plan of universal salvation bound
up with the extinction of the nationalities which once symbolised the hostility of the
world to the kingdom of God. This fact has an important bearing on the question of the
fulfilment of the foreign prophecies of the Old Testament. As concrete embodiments of
the eternal principles exhibited in the rise and fall of nations, they have an abiding
significance for the Church in all ages; but the actual working out of these principles in
history could not, in the nature of things, be complete within the limits of the world
known to the inhabitants of Judaea. If we are to look for their ideal fulfilment, we shall
only find it in the progressive victory of Christianity over all forms of error and
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superstition, and in the dedication of all the resources of human civilisation—its wealth,
its commercial enterprise, its political power—to the advancement of the kingdom of our
God and His Christ. (John Skinner, M. A.)
2 “Son of man, set your face against the
Ammonites and prophesy against them.
CLARKE, "Set thy face against the Ammonites - We have already seen, Eze_
21:19, etc., that when Nebuchadnezzar left Babylon he was in doubt whether he should
besiege Riblath, the capital of the Ammonites, or Jerusalem, the capital of the Jews,
first: and having used his divination. he was determined, by the result, to attack
Jerusalem the first. He did so and the Ammonites, seeing the success of his arms, made
friends with him, and exulted in the ruin of the Jews. God resents this, and predicts their
downfall with that of Edom, Moab, and the Philistines. The fulfillment of this prediction
is not noted in Scripture: but Josephus tells us, that about five years after the taking of
Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar turned his arms against the Ammonites and Moabites, and
afterwards against Egypt; and having subdued those nations, he returned to Babylon.
Joseph. Antiq., 50 x., c. 2. Berosus states, as quoted by Josephus, contra App., that
Nebuchadnezzar subdued Syria, Arabia, Phoenicia, and Egypt: and consequently, that he
had brought under his dominion the Ammonites, Moabites, and Idumeans, who were
included among the Philistines. See Calmet.
GILL, "Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites,.... Who were of the
posterity of Lot, implacable enemies of the Jews; who hated their religion, and envied
their wealth and happiness; against these the prophet is bid to "set his face"; to look that
way where they lived, and to put on a frowning countenance, and a menacing aspect:
"strengthen thy face", as the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it; look boldly at
them:
and prophesy against them; deliver out the following prophecy concerning them.
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ELLICOTT, "Verse 2
(2) Set thy face against the Ammonites.—It has already been mentioned that the
utterances against the four contiguous nations of Ammon, Moab, Edom, and
Philistia are all contained in one prophecy, and that this prophecy was evidently
spoken after the fall of Jerusalem, and, consequently, after the date of Ezekiel 26:1.
The Ammonites, descended from Lot’s incest with his younger daughter, had been
for centuries persistent enemies of Israel. They had joined the Moabites in their
oppression of Israel under Eglon (Judges 3:13), and in a later attack had been
subdued by Jephthah (Judges 11:32-33); they fought with extreme cruelty and
insolence against Saul (1 Samuel 11:2-11); they insulted and warred against David
(2 Samuel 10:1-6), and were utterly crushed by him (2 Samuel 12:31); their
idolatries were favoured by Solomon (1 Kings 11:7); uniting with Moab and Edom,
they attacked Judah under Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:1-25), but utterly failed,
and were tributary to his descendant, Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:8); again they fought
with Jotham, and were reduced by him to heavy tribute (2 Chronicles 27:5); and not
long before this time they had occupied the vacant cities of Gad (Jeremiah 49:1).
Now they had joined Nebuchadnezzar’s army against Judah (2 Kings 24:2). From
Ezekiel 25:3 it appears that their hostility arose not only from national jealousy, but
from an especial hatred against the Jewish religion (comp. also Psalms 83:7). They
are the frequent subject of prophetic denunciation (Isaiah 11:14; Jeremiah 49:1-6;
Amos 1:13-15; Zephaniah 2:8-11).
TRAPP, "Ezekiel 25:2 Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and
prophesy against them;
Ver. 2. Set thy face against the Ammonites.] Look upon them firmo, torvo, et minaci
vultu, as if thou wouldst look through them; and having so lightened, thunder
accordingly.
Against the Ammonites.] Who have had their part already of threatenings, [Ezekiel
21:28] but not their full due.
POOLE, " Set thy face against: the phrase you have Ezekiel 20:46. It includeth
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anger, menaces, and intention of mind.
The Ammonites; the posterity of Lot by the younger daughter, near neighbours, but
bitter enemies to the Jews. Prophesy against them; leave recorded what heavy things
shall befall them in after-days.
WHEDON, " 2. Prophesy against them — Or, upon, that is, concerning them. The
same Hebrew particle is used when no threat is being pronounced.
The Ammonites — These were the hereditary enemies of Israel, and very cruel in
war. (See Ezekiel 21:28-32; 1 Samuel 11; 2 Samuel 10:1; 2 Samuel 10:11; 2 Samuel
10:14; 2 Kings 24:2; Psalms 83:7; Jeremiah 27:3; Jeremiah 40:14; Jeremiah 49:1;
Lamentations 2:15-16; Zephaniah 2:5; Zephaniah 2:11; Nehemiah 4:13.) These Beni
Ammon, “sons of Ammon” (Ezekiel 25:5), were quite probably the descendants of
the Katabani of South Arabia, who call themselves in a very ancient inscription
walad Amm, “children of Amm.” They are closely connected with the Moabites, not
only in many biblical passages, but in a very old Minaean text (South Arabia) in
which the female slaves of a temple are said to have been brought from Egypt,
Moab, Ammon, etc. (Glaser). In biblical times they seem to have possessed a settled
residence east of the Jordan, from which they declared the Israelites had driven
them (Judges 11:13); but their ancestors were doubtless of a wandering disposition,
probably being included with the Edomites and Moabites in the general term Menti,
or “shepherds,” who appear on the Egyptian monuments as inhabitants of the
Sinaitic peninsula fifteen hundred years or more before Abraham’s time. “They are
strange looking men, with hooked noses, rounded at the point, wide nostrils, and full
lips. The beard is long and the whiskers cover all the lower part of the cheek. The
type is Jewish rather than Bedouin, and recalls the profiles of the tribute bearers of
Jehu on the Assyrian black obelisk.” — Sayce, Races of the Old Testament.
3 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign
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Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Because you said “Aha!” over my sanctuary when
it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when
it was laid waste and over the people of Judah
when they went into exile,
GILL, "And say unto the Ammonites,.... Either to their ambassadors at Babylon, or
merchants there; or by letters to them, the prophet being in Chaldea, at a distance from
them:
hear the word of the Lord God; not Chemosh their idol, nor their lying oracles, but
the word of the true and living God; which is always accomplished, and is never
frustrated:
thus saith the Lord God, because thou saidst, aha, against my sanctuary,
when it was profaned; that is, expressed joy, as the Targum paraphrases it, at the
destruction of the temple, when it was burnt by Nebuchadnezzar; it was foreknown by
the Lord that they would do so, and are here threatened before hand; for as yet the
temple was not destroyed; a proof this of God's prescience of future contingencies:
and against the land of when it was desolate; the country of the ten tribes, which
had been desolate from the sixth year of Hezekiah, when the people of it were carried
captive by Shalmaneser king of Assyria; this also was matter of joy to the Ammonites:
and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; the two tribes
of Judah and Benjamin, who were carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar; part of which had
already been carried captive under Jeconiah, and the rest would be, and were, under
Zedekiah; which completed the destruction of Israel and Judah, and gave the utmost
pleasure to their enemies the Ammonites; who were so impious as to rejoice at the
destruction of their temple, the place of their religious worship, which they abhorred;
and so inhuman as to express the delight and satisfaction they had in the ruin of their
fellow creatures and neighbours, and who were originally related to them; this brutish
and barbarous behaviour of theirs is resented by the Lord.
JAMISON, "(Jer_49:1).
when ... profaned; ... when ... desolate; ... when ... captivity — rather, “for ...
for ... for”: the cause of the insolent exultation of Ammon over Jerusalem. They
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triumphed especially over the fall of the “sanctuary,” as the triumph of heathenism over
the rival claims of Jehovah. In Jehoshaphat’s time, when the eighty-third Psalm was
written (Psa_83:4, Psa_83:7, Psa_83:8, Psa_83:12, “Ammon ... holpen the children of
Lot,” who were, therefore, the leaders of the unholy conspiracy, “Let us take to ourselves
the houses of God in possession”), we see the same profane spirit. Now at last their
wicked wish seems accomplished in the fall of Jerusalem. Ammon, descended from Lot,
held the region east of Jordan, separated from the Amorites on the north by the river
Jabbok, and from Moab on the south by the Arnon. They were auxiliaries to Babylon in
the destruction of Jerusalem (2Ki_24:2).
COKE, "Verse 3
Ezekiel 25:3. Because, &c.— See ch. Ezekiel 21:28. The Ammonites, Moabites and
Edomites, though nearly related to the Jews, bore them a constant hatred, and took
all opportunities to shew it when they were under any distress; particularly, at the
time of the general captivity, and the destruction of their city and temple. We have
no distinct account of the accomplishment of these prophesies: the sacred writers
content themselves with predicting, without declaring the event. But we learn from
profane history, that Nebuchadrezzar subjected to his empire all Syria, Phoenicia,
Arabia, and Egypt, and, consequently, the people spoken of in this chapter. See
Calmet.
TRAPP, "Ezekiel 25:3 And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord
GOD Thus saith the Lord GOD Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary,
when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and
against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;
Ver. 3. Because thou saidst, Aha.] Insolently insulting over mine Israel when under
hatches; as when a tree is down, every man will be pulling at the branches, and
Leoni mortuo vd mus insultat. But it is ill meddling against God’s Church, be it but
by a frown or a trump, as here. An aha or an euge shall not escape unpunished.
[Psalms 35:21]
POOLE, " Say unto the Ammonites; either tell Ammonite merchants or travellers,
of which some might likely be in Babylon for trade or to see its state; or else, send by
24

letter to them of their nation who may serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s camp, which was
in that time a school of arms, that they may tell others; or else, so plainly declare it
that in time they may know this.
Hear the word of the Lord God; it is not the ambiguous or delusive oracle of your
idols, but the plain, and true, and unfailing word of the only true God, the God of
Israel, as Zephaniah 2:9. Because thou saidst, Aha; when thou shouldst have pitied,
and been sorry, thou didst rejoice, and proudly didst insult, magnified thyself, and
reproachedst my people, wert glad that so great calamities were come upon them.
Against my sanctuary; both the temple and the worship of God: it is like, in their
pride, they boasted their idols’ power to preserve their. temples, and blasphemed
God as unable to preserve his sacred rites and worship.
When it was profaned; when the heathen entered into, and when they burnt it.
Against the land of Israel; they insulted on the ten tribes, the kingdom of Israel,
when afflicted. When it was desolate; wasted by Pul and Tiglath-pileser, and
captivated by Shalmaneser.
Against the land of Judah; the two tribes, the kingdom of Judah.
When it went into captivity; first with Jehoiakim, then with Jeconiah, and, which
was worse than both these, when it was captivated with Zedekiah, and the city
burnt; a most mournful sight, and at which none but inhuman, barbarous men
could do less than weep, but these rejoice, and cry, Aha.
25

4 therefore I am going to give you to the people of
the East as a possession. They will set up their
camps and pitch their tents among you; they will
eat your fruit and drink your milk.
BARNES, "Eze_25:4
Men of the east - The wild wandering Arabs who should come in afterward upon the
ruined land. The name was a common term for the nomadic tribes of the desert.
Compare Isa_13:20.
Palaces - encampments. The tents and folds of nomadic tribes. After subjugation by
Nebuchadnezzar Eze_21:28, the land was subjected to various masters. The Graeco-
Egyptian kings founded a city on the site of Rabbah Eze_25:5, called Philadelphia, from
Ptolemy Philadelphus. In later times, Arabs from the east have completed the doom
pronounced against Rabbah.
CLARKE, "Will deliver thee to the men of the east - Probably the Scenite
Arabs, Ishmaelites, and people of Kedar, who seized upon the provinces of the
vanquished Ammonites, etc. The following description suits this people only, living on
fruits, the milk of their flocks, using camels, etc. Some think the people of the east mean
the Chaldeans.
GILL, "Behold, therefore, I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a
possession,.... The Chaldeans and Syrians, which were on the east side, as Jarchi; or
the Medes and Persians, as Kimchi, which lay more eastward; or it may be the Arabians,
who are commonly called the men of the east; who were a part of Nebuchadnezzar's
army, and whom he might reward with this country, when taken by him; for this
prophecy, according to Josephus (q), was fulfilled five years after the destruction of
Jerusalem:
and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee; or,
"their camps and their tents" (r); and so the Syriac version renders it, their armies and
their tents; who should subdue them, and take possession of their cities and fields, and
enjoy what they found there:
they shall eat thy fruit, and drink thy milk; the fruit of their land, their vineyards
26

and fields, and the milk of their flocks and herds, which was commonly drank in those
countries; these are put for the whole of their substance. So the Targum,
"they shall eat the good of thy land, and spoil thy substance.''
JAMISON, "men of ... east — literally, “children of the East,” the nomad tribes of
Arabia-Deserta, east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea.
palaces — their nomadic encampments or folds, surrounded with mud walls, are so
called in irony. Where thy “palaces” once stood, there shall their very different “palaces”
stand. Fulfilled after the ravaging of their region by Nebuchadnezzar, shortly after the
destruction of Jerusalem (compare Eze_21:22; Jer_49:1-28).
COKE, "Verse 4
Ezekiel 25:4. I will deliver thee to the men of the east— That is, "To the Chaldeans,
whose country lay east of the Ammonites." See the preceding note. Some suppose
that the Arabians are meant. See Nehemiah 4:7-8 and the Observations, p. 51.
ELLICOTT, "Verse 4
(4) To the men of the east.—Literally, sons of the east, i.e., the various nomadic
tribes inhabiting the Eastern deserts, who occupy the country to this day. They are
described as its possessors, not its conquerors; the conquest was effected by
Nebuchadnezzar. In Ezekiel 21:20-23 he was represented as hesitating whether to
attack first Judah or Ammon, and determined to the former by the Divine direction;
in this attack some of the Ammonites joined his army, but he nevertheless
afterwards carried out his purpose and desolated their country. (See Ezekiel 21:28.)
Palaces.—The word properly means an enclosure for folding cattle. The same word
is used in connection with tribes of the desert in Genesis 25:16; Numbers 31:10, and
in both is translated castles, a singularly inappropriate sense. It afterwards came to
mean a dwelling-place of any kind. The Ammonites and Moabites appear to have
practically constituted one nation, the latter being, for the most part, the settled, and
the former the nomadic portion. After the conquest of Nebuchadnezzar the
Ammonites gradually dwindled away, until lost from history. The Ptolemies
founded the city Philadelphia on the site of Rabbah, and there are still extensive
ruins there belonging to the period of the Roman occupation; but the Ammonites
had no part in either of these successive cities. The place is now utterly without
27

inhabitants, and the most recent traveller says, “Lonely desolation in a rich country
was the striking characteristic.”
TRAPP, "Ezekiel 25:4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for
a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in
thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.
Ver. 4. I will deliver thee to the men of the east.] To the Arabians, Keturah’s
posterity, who were shepherds and camel masters.
They shall eat thy fruit and drink thy milk.] Sept., πιοτητα, Thy fatness. Est enim
adeps lac coagulatum. The Ammonites, as now the Flemmings, were γαλακτοφαγοι,
butter boxes, as we say, and lived much upon dairy products; so do we. Let us use
our plenty to God’s glory, lest we lose all.
POOLE, " I, the God whom thou hast despised, whose people thou hast reproached,
whose worship thou hast vilified, I will avenge myself, and deliver time up.
To the men of the East; the Medes and Persians, say some; the Babylonians, say
others, but this suits not well with geography; Arabians, say others, associates of
Nehuchadnezzar, who, it is likely, recompensed their labour and service with giving
them this country when it was conquered, as it was five years after the desolation of
Jerusalem.
For a possession; they shall settle on it, as a very convenient country for their sheep
and camels, and possess it, as their inheritance.
Set their palaces in thee: the word palaces seems little to agree with Arabians, who
dwelt in tents, but this manner of dwelling many of them would be ready to change,
where they might to so great advantage, as in that country, which was fruitful, as
this was; besides, the word signifieth, what is fenced, as Isaiah 2:15, and is
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paraphrased by camp, and Arabians had their munitions and fortified camps, and
these they shall set here while they stay. And I add this also, that the next words
explain these.
Make their dwellings in thee; they shall set up their tents, as the word properly;
their tents and habitations they would fortify in some manner or other, that in their
camp they might be safe, if they did not build cities in the country.
Eat thy fruit; the fruit of that land was once thine, of the trees thou plantedst.
Drink thy milk; which in so fruitful land and rich pastures they had in abundance
from the multitude of their kine, and it was a drink that well suited with those hot
regions.
WHEDON, " 4. Men of the east — Hebrews, children of the east. The wandering
tribes which were always near neighbors of Ammon and Israel (Judges 6:3; Judges
6:33; Judges 7:12; Judges 8:11; Job 1:3).
Palaces — R.V., “encampments.”
PETT, "Verse 4-5
“Therefore, behold, I will deliver you to the children of the east for a possession, and
they will set their encampments in you, and make their dwellings in you. They will
eat your fruit and they will drink your milk. And I will make Rabbah a pasturage
for camels, and the children of Ammon a fold for flocks, and you will know that I
am Yahweh.”
Their punishment was to be that their country would be taken over by the very
people whom they probably despised the most, the desert nomads, the ‘children of
the east’, who would simply use their capital city and their land as a pasturage and
29

sheepfold. Civilisation would cease. Ammon would be no more (Ezekiel 21:32). It
would be total humiliation.
Ammon itself was a wilder country than the more civilised and sophisticated
Moabites, but none feel their status more than those who feel the superiority of
having risen above their even wilder desert neighbours. The thought that their
country, and their proud cities, which had been theirs for centuries, and which
distinguished them from their desert neighbours, would become mere pasturage and
sheepfolds for such desert-dwellers would have appalled them.
PULPIT, "Ezekiel 25:4, Ezekiel 25:5
The men of the east; Hebrew, children of the east. The name is applied in Genesis
29:1; 1 Kings 4:30; Job 1:3; 6:3, 6:33; 7:12; 8:10, to the nomadic tribes, Midianites
and others, which roamed to and fro in the wilderness east of Ammon and Moab,
after the manner of the modem Bedouins, with their sheep and camels, and were
looked upon as descendants of Ishmael. Palaces; better, with the Revised Version,
encampments, or tent-villages. The word is found, in this sense, in Genesis 25:16;
Psalms 69:25; Numbers 31:10. This was, probably, the immediate result of
Nebuchadnezzar's march. Rabbah was left undefended, and became a stable for the
camels of the Midianites and other tribes ( 6:5). The prediction has been slowly
fulfilled. Under the Greece-Egyptian rule the city revived, was named after Ptolemy
Philadel-phus, and was flourishing under the Roman Empire. Remains of temples,
theatres, houses, are still found on its site, but its present desolate condition agrees
with the picture drawn here by Ezekiel and in Jeremiah 49:2. The language of
Jeremiah 49:6 implies captivity and a partial return from it.
5 I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and
Ammon into a resting place for sheep. Then you
will know that I am the Lord.
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GILL, "And I will make Rabbath a stable for camels,.... Creatures much used by
the eastern nations, especially the Arabians; who pitching their tents about Rabbath, the
royal city, the metropolis of the children of Ammon, would convert the houses, and even
palaces in it, into stables for their camels. This city, in Jerom's time, as he says, was
called Philadelphia, from Ptolemy Philadelphus, who rebuilt it.
And the Ammonites a couching place for flocks; that is, the land of the
Ammonites should be made a place for flocks of sheep to lie down in, which the Arabians
would bring and feed upon it:
and ye shall know that I am the Lord; omniscient, and sees and observes all your
insults upon the children of Israel and Judah; and omnipotent, able to perform all that is
threatened; and immutable, bringing about all that is here prophesied of.
JAMISON, "Rabbah — meaning “the Great,” Ammon’s metropolis. Under the
Ptolemies it was rebuilt under the name Philadelphia; the ruins are called Amman now,
but there is no dwelling inhabited.
Ammonites — that is, the Ammonite region is to be a “couching place for flocks,”
namely of the Arabs. The “camels,” being the chief beast of burden of the Chaldeans, are
put first, as their invasion was to prepare the Ammonite land for the Arab “flocks.”
Instead of busy men, there shall be “still and couching flocks.”
TRAPP, "Ezekiel 25:5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the
Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.
Ver. 5. And I will make Rabbah.] The metropolis of the Ammonites. It signifieth
that great city; and was afterwards rebuilt by Ptolemy Philadelph, and called
Philadelphia.
“ Valet ima summis
Mutare, et insignem attenuat Deus
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Obseura premens, ”& c.
- Hor., lib. i. Od. 34.
POOLE, " Rabbah; the royal city, and seat of the kings of Ammon, called since
Philadelphia, from Ptolemaeus Philadelphus, king of Egypt, who built it.
A stable; turn it from a royal palace to be a receptacle of camels, and their drivers.
Camels; wherewith not the Chaldeans and Bactrians, but the Arabians also, were
well stored; all the men of the East, as appears in Job, using them for conveying
merchandise, and for travels.
The Ammonites; the people, for the land they dwelt in.
Ye shall know; then shall you know I was as able to have defended my own people,
house, and worship, as I was able to destroy your gods, your cities, and your people.
WHEDON, "5. Rabbah a stable for camels — Rabbah “the great.” “Stable” may be
rendered “habitation” or “pasture land.” This doubtless occurred during
Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion, and although afterward rebuilt, it never reached its
former glory. Remains of houses and temples still mark the site of this once
populous city, but not an inhabitant remains. The ruins are now used as a pasture
for sheep and camels. Lord Lindsay writes, “The valley stinks with dead camels, one
of which was rolling in the stream; and although we saw none among the ruins they
were absolutely covered in every direction with their dung.” (For this and many
other testimonials see Pulpit Commentary.)
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6 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Because you have clapped your hands and
stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of
your heart against the land of Israel,
GILL, "For thus saith the Lord God,.... Their sin and punishment are further
enlarged upon:
because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with thy feet: gestures
expressive of joy and gladness, Isa_55:12, the Ammonites clapped their hands together,
and leaped and skipped for joy, when they heard of the calamities of the Jews; who yet
had more reason to be sorrowful, since they might expect their turn would be next; for
the king of Babylon had a design against them, at the same time he came against
Jerusalem, and was in doubt for a while which he should attack first; see Eze_21:20,
and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; they had a
secret joy in their heart, which they expressed by gestures, in the most spiteful and
scornful manner they were capable of; which showed the wretched malignity of their
dispositions against the children of Israel; they hated them with a perfect hatred.
JAMISON 6-7, "“Because thou hast clapped thine hands,” exulting over the downfall
of Jerusalem, “I also will stretch out Mine hand upon thee” (to which Eze_21:17 also may
refer, “I will smite Mine hands together”).
hands ... feet ... heart — with the whole inward feeling, and with every outward
indication. Stamping with the foot means dancing for joy.
TRAPP, "Verse 6
Ezekiel 25:6 For thus saith the Lord GOD Because thou hast clapped [thine] hands,
and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land
of Israel;
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Ver. 6. Because thou hast clapped thine hands.] Manibus plaudis, pedibus
complodis, &c. God is very sensible of the least indignity and injury, affront or
offence, done to his poor people, by words, looks, gestures, &c. Cavete. Beware.
POOLE, " Clapped thine hands; expressed thy joy in that insolent manner.
And stamped with the feet; and added this sign of more than ordinary joy at this.
Rejoiced in heart; it was that which affected thy heart with gladness, thy soul and
mind were in this thy rejoicing.
Despite; hatred and contempt; thou wast heartily glad such vile people, as thou
countedst them, were made, what thou thoughtest they best deserved, slaves.
beggars, and captives.
The land, for the people. Israel; either the ten tribes, or rather the two tribes, with
the small remnant of the others that kept to the house of David.
PETT, "Verse 6-7
‘For thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Because you have clapped your hands, and
stamped with the feet, and rejoiced with all the malice of your heart against the land
of Israel, therefore behold I have stretched out my hand on you, and will deliver you
for a spoil to the nations, and I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause
you to perish from among the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I
am Yahweh.” ’
The charge is extended to the fact that they had not only said the knowing ‘Aha’ but
had actually shown great glee and delight in Jerusalem’s misery. Indeed their malice
34

is stressed. And this was against the people of Yahweh, and therefore a slight on
Yahweh Himself. Thus Yahweh, Who deals righteously with all nations, would
stretch out His hand and hand them over as spoil to the nations, and would have
them removed for ever from the list of nations. As this occurred to them they would
then know that He is Yahweh, and that they were wrong to say ‘Aha’ at what they
thought was His defeat. It would now be His turn to say ‘Aha’.
According to Josephus it was an historical fact that Ammon no longer existed as a
nation after Nebuchadnezzar had first destroyed it, and then the Bedouins from the
east had plundered it and taken it over. The ‘bringing again’ of the captivity of the
children of Ammon (Jeremiah 49:6) may refer to the Persian period (Nehemiah
2:10; Nehemiah 2:19; Nehemiah 4:7), but more probably it is God’s way of saying
that finally none of these nations go beyond His purview even in their extremity.
When God reaches out to the new Israel, the ‘Israel of God’ (Galatians 6:16), with
the Gospel (Isaiah 61:1-2), it will include many from all these countries.
7 therefore I will stretch out my hand against you
and give you as plunder to the nations. I will wipe
you out from among the nations and exterminate
you from the countries. I will destroy you, and
you will know that I am the Lord.’”
CLARKE, "I will cause thee to perish - Except in history, the name of the
Ammonites does not now exist.
GILL, "Behold, therefore, I will stretch out mine hand upon thee,.... In just
35

retaliation for clapping their hands against his people; and which hand of the Lord they
would find to be a heavy one, and which they would not be able either to resist or bear.
The Targum is,
"I will lift up the stroke of my power upon thee:''
and will deliver thee for a spoil to the Heathen; to the Chaldeans first, and then
to the Arabians, to be spoiled and plundered by them of their wealth and substance:
some render it, "for meat" (s) unto them; to be devoured and consumed by them:
and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of
the countries; so as to be no more a people and a country; or be reckoned among the
people and countries; or have any alliance with them, or help from them:
I will destroy thee, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; who has said and
done all this; See Gill on Eze_25:5.
JAMISON, "a spoil — so the Hebrew Margin, or Keri, for the text or Chetib, “meat”
(so Eze_26:5; Eze_34:28). Their goods were to be a “spoil to the foe”; their state was to
be “cut off,” so as to be no more a “people”; and they were as individuals, for the most
part, to be “destroyed.”
ELLICOTT, " (7) For a spoil.—This is the sense of the margin of the Hebrew; its
text is represented by our margin, meat or food. The word in the text occurs only
here, but a compound of it is found in Daniel 1:5; Dan_11:26. The figure seems to be
the same as that which speaks of devouring the people.
Shalt know that I am the Lord.—This frequent close of the denunciatory prophecies
against Israel in the former chapters is here also used at the close of each message in
this chapter, and of many of the other prophecies against foreign nations. It refers
not to a penitent recognition of the Lord, but to an experience of His wrath so plain
that they can no longer refuse to acknowledge His power (see Ezekiel 25:14).
TRAPP, "Ezekiel 25:7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and
will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people,
and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou
shalt know that I [am] the LORD.
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Ver. 7. Behold, therefore I will stretch out my hand upon thee.] God loveth to
retaliate.
I will cause thee to perish out of the country.] So little a distance is there again, saith
Seneca, between a great city and no city.
“ Ludit in humanis divina potentia rebus:
Et certam praesens vix habet hora fidem. ”
POOLE, " Thou stretchedst out thy hand in joy,
I will stretch out mine in wrath; thou, against my people, I, against thee.
For a spoil; for a prey, or for meat, so the word will bear. The greedy, covetous
soldier shall make thy wealth his prey; the hungry enemy shall eat thee up.
The heathen; Babylonians, and their confederates.
I will cut thee off; explained by that follows; Ammon, thou shalt no more be
accounted among the nations, but cease from being a people. I will destroy thee; so
shalt thou be destroyed.
Thou shalt know: see Ezekiel 25:5.
WHEDON, " 7. Heathen — R.V., “nations.”
37

People — R.V., “peoples.”
Thou shalt know — The aim of Jehovah in the destruction of the capital of Ammon
was the same as in the destruction of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 22:22; Ezekiel 24:13).
PULPIT, "Ezekiel 25:7
A spoil to the heathen. The noun for "spoil" is not found elsewhere, but probably
means "food." The Hebrew Keri, i.e. its marginal reading, gives the same word as
that rendered "spoil" in Ezekiel 27:5. The meaning is substantially the same
whichever word we choose. Ezekiel, it will be noticed, says nothing about the return
of the Ammonites, but contemplates, as in Ezekiel 21:32, entire destruction. The
moaning of Rabbah ("great" or "populous"), the mother-city of Ammon, gives
greater force to the prophecy of desolation.
A Prophecy Against Moab
8 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because
Moab and Seir said, “Look, Judah has become
like all the other nations,”
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BARNES, "Prophecies against Moab which lay south of Ammon, and shared
Ammon’s implacable hostility to the children of Israel.
Seir was close to Moab. Edom is identified with Mount “Seir” in Eze_35:1-15; and
“Seir” is therefore probably coupled with “Moab” here because, being near neighbors
closely leagued together, they expressed a common exultation at Jerusalem’s fall.
CLARKE, "Moab and Seir do say - Seir means the Idumeans. It appears that both
these, with the Ammonites, had made a league with Zedekiah, Jer_27:3, which they did
not keep; and it is supposed that they even joined with the Chaldeans.
GILL, "Thus saith the Lord God,.... By his servant the prophet, to whom the word of
the Lord came; as concerning the Ammonites, so likewise concerning the Moabites, as
follows:
because that Moab and Seir do say; that is, the Moabites, and the Edomites, which
latter are meant by Seir, that being the seat of them; these lived near one another, and
bore a like enmity to the Israelites and Jews, and had the same sentiments concerning
them, and said the same things of them: only Moab is mentioned in the Septuagint and
Arabic versions: the Moabites are first prophesied of, and then the Edomites, who both
joined in saying, behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the Heathen; it fares no
better with them than with the rest of the nations, who do not profess and serve the
same God they do; they are fallen into the hands of the king of Babylon, as well as
others; and have no more security against him, nor protection from him, than other
people; they pretend to serve and worship the one only living and true God, and to be his
covenant people, and to be favoured with privileges above all other nations; and yet are
brought into the same miserable circumstances, and left in them, as others are; where is
the God they boast of, and their superior excellence to the rest of the world? thus
blasphemously, as well as wickedly, did they insult them, which was provoking to the
Lord. The Targum renders it interrogatively,
in what do the house of Judah differ from all people?''
and so the Septuagint,
"behold, are not the house of Israel and Judah in like manner as all nations?''
Jerom, on the place, relates a fable of the Jews, that when the city and temple were
opened, the Ammonites, Moobites, and Edomites, went into the temple, and saw the
cherubim over the mercy seat, and said, as all nations worship images, so Judah hath the
idols of their religion. Jarchi makes mention of such a Midrash, but with some
difference.
HENRY, "Three more of Israel's ill-natured neighbours are here arraigned,
39

convicted, and condemned to destruction, for contributing to and triumphing in
Jerusalem's fall.
I. The Moabites. Seir, which was the seat of the Edomites, is joined with them (Eze_
25:8), because they said the same as the Moabites; but they were afterwards reckoned
with by themselves, Eze_25:12. Now observe,
1. What was the sin of the Moabites; they said, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto
all the heathen. They triumphed, (1.) In the apostasies of Israel, were please to see them
forsake their God and worship idols, and hoped that in a while their religion would be
quite lost and forgotten and the house of Judah would be like all the heathen, perfect
idolaters. When those that profess religion walk unworthy of their profession they
encourage the enemies of religion to hope that it will in time sink, and be run down, and
quite abandoned; but let the Moabites know that, though there are those of the house of
Judah who have made themselves like the heathen, yet there is a remnant that retain
their integrity, the religion of the house of Judah shall recover itself, its peculiarities
shall be preserved, it shall not lose itself among the heathen, but distinguish itself from
them, till it deliver itself honourably into a better institution. (2.) In the calamities of
Israel. They said, “The house of Judah is like all the heathen, in as bad a state as they;
their God is no more able to deliver them from this overflowing scourge of these parts of
the world than the gods of the heathen are to deliver them. Where are the promises they
gloried in and all the wonders which they and their fathers told us of? What the better
are they for the covenant of peculiarity, upon which they so much valued themselves?
Those that looked with so much scorn upon all the heathen are now set upon a level with
them, or rather sunk below them.” Note, Those who judge only by outward appearance
are ready to conclude that the people of God have lost all their privileges when they have
lost their worldly prosperity, which does not follow, for good men, even in affliction, in
captivity among the heathen, have graces and comforts within sufficient to distinguish
them from all the heathen. Though the event seem one to the righteous and wicked, yet
indeed it is vastly different.
JAMISON, "Moab, Seir, and Ammon were contiguous countries, stretching in one
line from Gilead on the north to the Red Sea. They therefore naturally acted in concert,
and in joint hostility to Judea.
Judah is like ... all ... heathen — The Jews fare no better than others: it is of no
use to them to serve Jehovah, who, they say, is the only true God.
K&D 8-11, "Against the Moabites
Eze_25:8. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because Moab, like Seir, saith, Behold, like
all other nations is the house of Judah: Eze_25:9. Therefore, behold, I will open the
shoulder of Moab from the cities, from its cities even to the last, the ornament of the
land, Beth-hayeshimoth, Baal-meon, and as far as Kiryathaim, Eze_25:10. To the sons
of the east, together with the sons of Ammon, and will give it for a possession, that the
sons of Ammon may no more be remembered among the nations. Eze_25:11. Upon
Moab will I execute judgments; and they shall learn that I am Jehovah. - Moab has
become guilty of the same sin against Judah, the people of God, as Ammon, namely, of
misunderstanding and despising the divine election of Israel. Ammon gave expression to
40

this, when Judah was overthrown, in the malicious assertion that the house of Judah
was like all the heathen nations, - that is to say, had no pre-eminence over them, and
shared the same fate as they. There is something remarkable in the allusion to Seir, i.e.,
Edom, in connection with Moab, inasmuch as no reference is made to it in the threat
contained in Eze_25:9-11; and in Eze_25:12-13, there follows a separate prediction
concerning Edom. Hitzig therefore proposes to follow the example of the lxx, and erase it
from the text as a gloss, but without being able in the smallest degree to show in what
way it is probable that such a gloss could have found admission into an obviously
unsuitable place. Seir is mentioned along with Moab to mark the feeling expressed in the
words of Moab as springing, like the enmity of Edom towards Israel, from hatred and
envy of the spiritual birthright of Israel, i.e., of its peculiar prerogatives in sacred history.
As a punishment for this, Moab was to be given up, like Ammon, to the Bedouins for
their possession, and the people of the Moabites were to disappear from the number of
the nations. Eze_25:9 and Eze_25:10 form one period, ‫ֵי‬‫נ‬ ְ‫ב‬ ִ‫ל‬ ‫ם‬ ֶ‫ד‬ ֶ‫ק‬ in Eze_25:10 being
governed by ַ‫ח‬ ֵ‫ת‬ֹ‫פּ‬ in Eze_25:9. The shoulder of Moab is the side of the Moabitish land. In
the application of the word ‫ף‬ ֵ‫ת‬ ָ‫כּ‬ to lands or provinces, regard is had to the position of
the shoulder in relation to the whole body, but without reference to the elevation of the
district. We find an analogy to this in the use of ‫ף‬ ֵ‫ת‬ ָ‫כּ‬ in connection with the sides of a
building. In ' ‫וגו‬ ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ָ‫ע‬ ֶ‫ה‬ ֵ‫מ‬' , the ‫ן‬ ִ‫מ‬ cannot be taken, in a privative sense, for ‫ת‬ ‫י‬ ְ‫ה‬ ִ‫;מ‬ for
neither the article ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ָ‫ע‬ ֶ‫,ה‬ nor the more emphatic ‫יו‬ ָ‫ר‬ָ‫ע‬ ֵ‫מ‬ ‫הוּ‬ֵ‫צ‬ ָ‫קּ‬ ִ‫,מ‬ allows this; but ‫ן‬ ִ‫מ‬
indicates the direction, “from the cities onwards,” “from its cities onwards, reckoning to
the very last,” - that is to say, in its whole extent. ‫הוּ‬ֵ‫צ‬ ָ‫קּ‬ ִ‫,מ‬ as in Isa_56:11; Gen_19:4, etc.
This tract of land is first of all designated as a glorious land, with reference to its worth
as a possession on account of the excellence of its soil for the rearing of cattle (see the
comm. on Num_32:4), and then defined with geographical minuteness by the
introduction of the names of some of its cities. Beth-Hayeshimoth, i.e., house of wastes
(see the comm. on Num_22:1), has probably been preserved in the ruins of Suaime,
which F. de Saulcy discovered on the north-eastern border of the Dead Sea, a little
farther inland (vid., Voyage en terre sainte, Paris 1865, t. i. p. 315). Baal-meon, - when
written fully, Beth-Baal-Meon (Jos_13:17) - contracted into Beth-Meon in Jer_48:23, is
to be sought for to the south-east of this, in the ruins of Myun, three-quarters of an
hour's journey to the south of Heshbon (see the comm. on Num_32:38). Kiryathaim
was still farther south, probably on the site of the ruins of El Teym (see the comm. on
Gen_14:5 and Num_32:37). The Chetib ‫קריתמה‬ is based upon the form ‫ם‬ ָ‫ָת‬‫י‬ ְ‫ר‬ ִ‫,ק‬ a
secondary form of ‫ם‬ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ָת‬‫י‬ ְ‫ר‬ ִ‫ק‬ , like ‫ן‬ ָ‫ת‬ֹ‫,דּ‬ a secondary form of ‫ן‬ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ת‬ֹ‫דּ‬, in 2Ki_6:13. The cities
named were situated to the north of the Arnon, in that portion of the Moabitish land
which had been taken from the Moabites by the Amorites before the entrance of the
Israelites into Canaan (Num_21:13, Num_21:26), and was given to the tribe of Reuben
for its inheritance after the defeat of the Amoritish kings by the Israelites; and then, still
later, when the tribes beyond the Jordan were carried into captivity by the Assyrians,
came into the possession of the Moabites again, as is evident from Isa_15:1-9 and Isa_
16:1-14, and Jer_48:1, Jer_48:23, where these cities are mentioned once more among
the cities of the Moabites. This will explain not only the naming of this particular district
of the Moabitish country, but the definition, “from its cities.” For the fact upon which
the stress is laid in the passage before us is, that the land in question rightfully belonged
to the Israelites, according to Num_32:37-38; Num_33:49; Jos_12:2-3; Jos_13:20-21,
and that it was therefore unlawfully usurped by the Moabites after the deportation of the
41

trans-Jordanic tribes; and the thought is this, that the judgment would burst upon Moab
from this land and these cities, and they would thereby be destroyed (Hävernick and
Kliefoth). ‫ל‬ַ‫,ע‬ not “over the sons of Ammon,” but “in addition to the sons of Ammon.”
They, that is to say, their land, had already been promised to the sons of the east (Eze_
25:4). In addition to this, they are now to receive Moab for their possession (Hitzig and
Kliefoth). Thus will the Lord execute judgments upon Moab. Eze_25:11 sums up what is
affirmed concerning Moab in Eze_25:9 and Eze_25:10, in the one idea of the judgments
of God upon this people.
The execution of these judgments commenced with the subjugation of the Ammonites
and Moabites by Nebuchadnezzar, five years after the destruction of Jerusalem (vid.,
Josephus, Antt. x. 9. 7, and M. von Niebuhr, Gesch. Assurs, etc., p. 215). Nevertheless
the Ammonites continued to exist as a nation for a long time after the captivity, so that
Judas the Maccabaean waged war against them (1 Macc. 5:6, 30-43); and even Justin
Martyr speaks of ̓Αμμανιτῶν νῦν πολὺ πληθος (Dial. Tryph. p. 272). - But Origen
includes their land in the general name of Arabia (lib. i. in Job). The name of the
Moabites appears to have become extinct at a much earlier period. After the captivity, it
is only in Ezr_9:1; Neh_13:1, and Dan_11:41, that we find any notice of them as a people.
Their land is mentioned by Josephus in the Antiq. xiii. 14. 2, and xv. 4, and in the Bell.
Jud. iii. 3. 3. - A further fulfilment by the Messianic judgment, which is referred to in
Zep_2:10, is not indicated in these words of Ezekiel; but judging from the prophecy
concerning the Edomites (see the comm. on Eze_25:14), it is not to be excluded.
COFFMAN, "Verse 8
"Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the
house of Judah is like unto all the nations; therefore, behold, I will open the side of
Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the
country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim, unto the children of the east, to
go against the children of Ammon; and I will give them for a possession, that the
children of Ammon may not be remembered among the nations: and I will execute
judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am Jehovah."
PROPHECY AGAINST MOAB
Some seem surprised that the prophecy against Ammon spills over into these words
regarding Moab; but, in view of the long association of the two wicked peoples, and
their common enmity against God and the children of Israel, it is not at all
inappropriate that their judgments should have occurred simultaneously. The long
42

hatred on the part of Moab came to a crisis in the later chapters of Numbers, where
the evil prophet Balaam cooperated with Balak, king of Moab, in their devices
against Israel. It was finally the "daughters of Moab" who seduced practically the
whole nation of Israel, including a thousand of its leaders in the shameful orgy of
Numbers 25 at Baal-Peor.
"Not long after Ezekiel wrote this, both Ammon and Moab were overran by
Nabatean tribesmen and ceased to have any independent existence as nations."[5]
Bruce, on the testimony of Josephus, fixed the date of Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of
Moab and Ammon in 583 B.C.[6]
As a further corroboration of the view expressed above that the heathen nations all
thought that the ruin of Israel was the end of Jehovah's power, we cite the
inscription on the Moabite Stone, "Which quotes the boast of the king of Moab that
his god Chemosh had vanquished Israel."[7] This was precisely the development
that called forth these prophecies from Jehovah and resulted in the execution of
God's wrath upon all the pagan nations of antiquity. Such actions alone could have
preserved and perpetuated the knowledge of God's integrity.
ELLICOTT, "(8) Moab and Seir.—The two nations, here mentioned together, are
afterwards treated separately—Moab, Ezekiel 25:8-11, and Edom, Ezekiel 25:12-14.
Moab, springing from the same source with Ammon, was closely associated with it
in its history and fortune, and is denounced in nearly the same prophecies. It was a
more settled and stronger people, and also contributed its quota to the armies of
Nebuchadnezzar. Additional prophecies in regard to it may be found in Numbers
24:17 and Isaiah 15, 16, besides those immediately connected with the prophecies
expressly against Ammon already cited. The Moabites, so far as they were separated
from the Ammonites, lay immediately to the south of them.
TRAPP, "Ezekiel 25:8 Thus saith the Lord GOD Because that Moab and Seir do
say, Behold, the house of Judah [is] like unto all the heathen;
43

Ezekiel 25 commentary

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Ezekiel 25 commentary