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Prophecies against the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites and Philistines From Chapter XXV the second (comforting and gratifying) part of the book of the prophet Ezekiel begins, part, the first section which concludes, following the example of the former prophets Isaiah, Amos, Jeremiah, speeches against foreign peoples (XXV-XXXII chapters). From these peoples, the prophet takes for his prophecies the closest neighbors of Israel, who, with their constant hostility towards Israel, so interfered with peaceful life and its correct development that, for the possibility of such life and development in the future, it was necessary to completely eliminate these peoples from the world stage. Hence the placement of these speeches before the prophecies about the future glorious Israel; hence the unconditional condemnation of these peoples (with the exception of the Egyptians) to destruction without the hope for a better future that Jeremiah gives to some peoples (Jeremiah 12:15, 46:26, 48:47, 49.6). Ezekiel makes a prophetic overview of the fate of the pagan peoples, whom the prophet takes in the symbolic number of seven (cf. Deut. 7.1; Am 1; Jer. 47.1, etc.), in geographical order, starting from the north-east. Judah and describing a circle around it: Ammonites (1–7), Moabites (8–11), Edomites (12–14), Philistines (15–17), Tire (Ezek.26.1 - Ezek.28.19), Sidon (Ezek.28.20-26) and the most distant neighbor of Judah - Egypt (Ezek. 29 - Ezek.32). The number 7, undoubtedly in its symbolism, perhaps signifies the entire totality of pagan peoples; To compile this number, Sidon is placed separately from Tire, although by the time of Ezekiel it had long been subordinated to Tire and had lost importance. Most of the space is given to Tire and Egypt due to their global significance at that time. The Prophet does not touch upon Babylon (in contrast to Jeremiah: L-LI ch.) perhaps because he looked at it as an instrument of God’s punishment for Israel, therefore, as innocent of the harm he caused to Israel (Ezek. 22.4–5) and because Babylon, due to its remoteness, could not significantly influence the future destinies of Israel. Ezek.25:1. And the word of the Lord came to me: There is no date, which here, at the beginning of a new series of speeches and a new part of the book, is expected - probably because this speech was written later than speech XXVI and further chapters (it was undoubtedly written after the fall of Jerusalem: vv. 3, 8, 12, 15, as Blessed Jerome somehow believed, therefore, not earlier than the 12th year of the captivity of Jehoiachin (Ezek. 33.21)), and was placed here according to the requirements of systematization, and its date would violate the strictly chronological order of those dates in the book (excluding, however, the date of Ezek. 29.17; cf. v. 1 and Ezek. 31.1). Ezek.25:2. son of man! turn your face towards the sons of Ammon and prophesy against them, The Ammonites, despite their kinship with Israel, were its constant enemies - from the beginning of its existence: during the time of the judges (Judges 11.1 et c.), and the kings - Saul (1 Sam. 11.1), David (2 Sam. 8:12, 10.1), until the end (1 Mac 5.6 et c.). Under Nebuchadnezzar, they first fight in alliance with him, against Judah (2 Kings 24.2), then incite Zedekiah against Babylon (Jer 27), perhaps being the culprits in separating Zedekiah from Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 21.2 etc.); after the fall of Judah, they annexed its region to themselves (Jer 49.1); their then king Baalis is also the main organizer in the murder of the Babylonian governor of Judah Gedaliah (Jer 40:14, 41:10, 15). But Ezekiel reproaches the Ammonites only for gloating over the destruction of the kingdom of Judah. This gloating is all the more unforgivable because they themselves barely escaped (Ezek. 21.19), and only so far (v. 28, etc.), the sword of Nebuchadnezzar. If Joseph (Antiqu. 10:9, 7) talks about the subjugation of Moab and Ammon by Nebuchadnezzar in the 5th year after the destruction of Jerusalem, then probably both peoples suffered a little in this, since Ezekiel threatens them with “sons of the east” (v. 10). Amos (Amos 1.13 et c.), Zephaniah (Zeph 2.8 et c.), Jeremiah (Jer 49.1) and Ezekiel on a special occasion (Ezek. 21.28) also prophesied against Ammon. Ezek.25:3. and say to the children of Ammon, Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God: Because you say about My sanctuary: “Ah! a!", because it was reproached, - and about the land of Israel, because it was desolate, and about the house of Judah, because they went into captivity, - "O My Sanctuary". The mockery, of course, could easily take this direction: Ezek.35:13, 36.20; Jer 48:7, 49:3. - "A! A!" euro rear – interjection of gloating; in LXX there is a paraphrase: “before you rejoice over My saints,” but in Ezek.26.2 and Ezek.36.2 - ευγε - “better.” Ezek.25:4. Therefore, behold, I will give you as an inheritance to the children of the east, and they will build their sheepfolds with you, and pitch their tents with you, and will eat your fruit and drink your milk. “The sons of the east” are not the Babylonians (as some old interpreters thought), who are not called that anywhere, but the robber tribes of Arabs, Bedouins of the Syrian-Arab desert (Gen. 25.12-18; Jer. 49.28; Job 1.3), who even then made attacks on the outlying cultural lands in the same way as in the Judgment. Chapter 6 LXX has the transcription: “son of Kedemlim” (Heb. bene-kedem). The Ammonites themselves were previously such nomadic predators, and forever they remained only a semi-sedentary people. They will suffer the same fate that they themselves subjected to the aborigines of the Trans-Jordan region. “Sheepfolds” – translation according to the Vulgate (caulas) of Heb. shooting gallery personal “circle”, then “fence” (akin to the Syriac “dung”), which here rather means a round Bedouin camp surrounded by pieces of stones, in the middle of which their tents are pitched, but in which there are also stables. Slav. “and they will dwell in you with their substance.” - “And they will eat your fruit and drink your milk.” Hitherto the food of these nomads consisted of wild fruits and the milk of wild goats; but they will willingly exchange this food for the tender fruits of the gardens and the milk of livestock. Ezek.25:5. I will make Rabbah a stall for camels, and the sons of Ammon shepherds of sheep, and you will know that I am the Lord. The country's culture will return to the lowest level of nomadic culture. – “Rabba” - see explanation. Ezek.21.20. - "Camels", which the Arabs have in huge numbers, and, in particular, the Arabs living near the ruins of Rabbah, nowadays. Rabbit Ammon (Raumer Patestine, p. 268). After the defeat by Nebuchadnezzar, the Ammonite territory belonged to various rulers. The Egyptian kings also founded a city on the site of Rabba, named after Ptolemy Philadelphus Philadelphia, which existed under this name even during the blessed time. Jerome; in the ruins of this city, finally destroyed by the Muslims, the remains of theaters, churches, a forum, etc. are found; but all this arose when the Ammonites almost no longer existed. Desert and ruin are now the main character of this once rich country. “The sons of Ammon are shepherds of sheep”, lit. “a pasture for sheep” (glor.: “the sons of Ammon to feed the sheep”); “sons of Ammon” instead of “their country.” Strong expression. – “And you will know that I am the Lord” is an expression often used in speeches against pagan peoples, but it hardly means their turning to the Lord (which Ezekiel does not talk about at all), but only a recognition of the power of Jehovah. Ezek.25:6. For thus says the Lord God: Because you applauded and stamped your feet, and rejoiced with all your contempt for the land of Israel, Ezek.25:7. Therefore, behold, I will stretch out My hand against you, and will give you over to the nations to plunder, and I will destroy you from among the nations, and I will blot you out from among the lands; I will crush you, and you will know that I am the Lord. Whereas until now the speech was about the fate of the Ammonite country, now the prophet turns to its population - “He applauded and stamped his feet” with gloating; see Ezek.6.11. – “Spiritually” is an expression no longer found in the Old Testament. “I will stretch out my hand” - Ezek.6.14. – “For plunder” is a tentative translation of the incomprehensible Hebrew. απ. λεγ. - “And you will know that I am the Lord” - cf. Art. 5 and 11; refrain (see Ezek.1.17). Ezek.25:8. Thus says the Lord God: because Moab and Seir say, “Behold, the house of Judah is like all nations!” Balaam (Numbers 24.18–19), Amos (Amos 2.1), Isaiah (Isaiah 15:1, 16:1), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 48.1) prophesied against the Moabites. Moab's guilt against Israel, although the same in essence as his brother Ammon (2 Kings 24.2; Jer 27.3), but in Ezekiel's case seems lesser; therefore a) the threat against him in Art. 10 returns to Ammon; b) Seir is placed next to Moab, i.e. Edomite, who, perhaps, as a neighbor, lured Moab into sin against Israel; but LXX do not read “Seir” here (gloriously has): indeed, there is a whole speech against him further: Art. 12–14. “Behold the house of Judah (LXX: “the house of Israel and Judah”), like all nations.” Consequently, the favors that the Lord showered on Israel aroused the envy of their neighbors. Such talk is a necessary reaction to the claims made by Judas: he felt especially noble among all humanity from the time he possessed a tangible reality in the law and church, which others did not have in this form (Jer 7:4, 8:8). The mockery is calmer and gentler than that of Ammon (cf. v. 3). Ezek.25:9. Therefore, behold, starting from the cities, from all the border cities thereof, the beauty of the land, from Beth-Jeshimoth, Baalmeon and Kiriathaim, I will open the side of Moab “Border cities”, i.e. fortresses blocking the entrance to the country, three of which are listed below. - “Beauties of the Earth”. – The cities listed below were also the best in the country. But here there may be an indication of the beauty of the area where the 3 cities were located, about which even now the Arabs say: “you will not find a land like Belka” (Tristram). "Beth-Yeshimoth", Greek. οικον βεθασιμουθ, slav. “house of Jasimuth”, “house of the desert” - a city near the Jordan. (Numbers 33.49; according to Slav. already “Yesimoth”; Joshua 12, 3 – according to Slav. “Bethsimov” and Nav 13.20 Slav. “Bethsimuth”); according to Eusebius (Onomast. 233, 81) lay 10 Roman miles to the south, or rather to the south-east. from Jericho; Perhaps its ruins represent the present Suvem. Wed. Josephus Flavius ​​Debell. jud. 4:7, 6. “Baalmeon” (Numbers 32.38; 1 Chronicles 5.8), in a more complete form “Beth-Baalmeon” (Joshua 13.17), in a shorter form Beth-Maon (Jer 48.23) or even “Beon” (Num. 32.3), mentioned in the inscription of the Moabite king Mesha (pp. 9 and 30 in the first and second of indicated forms), according to Eusebius (238, 45) 9 miles from Heshbon, present-day Main near the wadi Tserka Main. LXX: “above the source”, read meal-mayan and considered the circumstance of the place to Beth-Yeshimoth; but in the book Numbers LXX "Beelmeon", in the book. Navin "houses of Beelmoni"; glory here too. in brackets "Vaelmon". “Kiriath” (Numbers 32.37; Joshua 13.19; Jer 48.23; cf. Gen. 14.5; Mesha’s inscription p. 10) according to Eusebius, 10 miles from Medeba; now Qureat (not Keriot). LXX: “city of the seaside”, reading Kiriyat Yama and considering it to be a definition of the place for Beth-Yeshimoth; but in other places LXX: Cariathem, Cariaphaim, as well as here Slav. in parentheses. All 3 cities belonged to the tribe of Reuben, from which they were taken by the Moabites, probably under the last kings of Israel; Mesha already owned the last two. The area they occupy is a strip of land north of Arnon. "I will open the side of Moab". The enemy will break through the chain of border fortresses. There may be an indication that the conquest of the country, and the favorable difference from the fate of the Ammonites, will be only partial. Beautiful expression. Slav.: “I will relax the muscle of Moab.” Ezek.25:10. for the children of the east, and I will give it as an inheritance to them, together with the children of Ammon, so that the children of Ammon will no longer be mentioned among the nations. Ezek.25:11. And I will bring judgment upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the Lord. The Bedouins, who usually limited themselves to robber raids and then went home, this time will take possession of not only the Ammonite territory, but in addition - (glorified “on”), at least part of the Moabite, i.e., it must be the indicated peoples or the region north of Arnon. The prophet's attention in this speech against Moab is so occupied by Ammon (a worse enemy of Israel than his brother) that he repeats the threat of Art. 7b against him (but there: “from among the lands”, and here: “peoples”). The addition: “I will also bring judgment on Moab” shows the greater lenience of the judgment on him compared to Ammon. After the captivity, the Ammonites and Moabites are mentioned only in 1Ezra 9.1; Nehemiah 13.1; Dan 11.41. Ezek.25:12. Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom took cruel vengeance on the house of Judah and sinned grievously by taking vengeance on them, There were many prophecies against the Edomites before: Numbers 24.18–19; Am 1.11; Isa 11:14, 34.5 and Joel 3.19; Obadiah - the whole book; Jer 49.7 et c.; Lamentations 4.21 etc.; Ps 82.7. While the Ammonites and Moabites only gloated at the destruction of Judah, the Edomites actively helped the Chaldeans in its destruction (Obd 1.10–14), taking revenge for old grievances (2 Kings 14:7, 22, 16.6), for which a significant part of the Judean region passed to them (Ezek.35.10). Therefore, the prophet returns to them in Chapter XXXV. “I sinned grievously.” Israel, as Jehovah's property, is inviolable (Jer 2:3, 50:7; Ezek.35.10); as for the Chaldeans, they acted against him on behalf of God. Ezek.25:13. Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will stretch out My hand against Edom, and will destroy its people and cattle, and make it desolate; from Teman to Dedan all will fall by the sword. By 13a Wed. Ezek.14.13. “I will make it a desert.” The punishment is more severe than that of Ammon (vv. 4–5), such as Ezek.6.14. "From Feman to Dedan". Teman is a city and region in the very north of Idumea, and Dedan is in the very south, although it actually no longer belonged to Edom, but it was a tribe living south of it (Jer 49.8); LXX, considering dedan a verb, translates “persecuted.” Ezek.25:14. And I will exact my vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel; and they will act in Edom in My anger and My indignation, and they will know My vengeance, says the Lord God. Such strong enmity against Israel on the part of the fraternal people requires that Jehovah’s vengeance on Edom be carried out by the hand of Israel, and not other nations, such as. by the hand of the “sons of the east” over Ammon and Moab. The prophecy was fulfilled during the conquest of Idumea in 128 by John Hyrcanus (2 Mac 10.15 et c., Josephus, Antiqu. 13:9, 1), who forced this people to accept circumcision. In Idumea one can also see the image of everything hostile to the kingdom of God, as more clearly in Am 9.12; Oba 1.18, where vengeance over Idumea refers to the time of the restoration of the tabernacle of David, which was going on, therefore, to the time of the Messiah; Wed Gen 25.23; Numbers 24.18; Isa 39.5–6; Ezek.35.1. "My People". Tenderness is rare in the first part of the book; Wed Chapter XIII prev. note "And they will know My vengeance." Replaces and strengthens the usual refrain in speeches against the pagans: “You will know that I am the Lord” (vv. 5, 7, 11); Wed Art. 17, where the present refrain is weakened. Ezek.25:15. Thus says the Lord God: because the Philistines acted vindictively and took revenge with contempt in their souls, to destruction, out of eternal hostility, There are prophecies against the Philistines in Am 1.6, 8; Isa 9:11, 11:14, 14:29–32; Joel 3.4; Soph 2.4–7; Avd 1.19; Jer 47.4; Zech 9.5–7. The Philistines probably also made some kind of acquisition about it during the destruction of the kingdom of Judah, although this is not known from anywhere. The tone of the prophet's speech against them can speak for this, as angry as against the Edomites, and more angry than against the Ammonites. But this tone can also be explained by the especially long, constant and fierce hostility of the Philistines against Israel. This everlasting enmity is also indicated by the expression: “to destruction through eternal hatred” (Vulg.: implentes inimicitias veterus), which, however, from Hebrew. allows for the translation: “at the final destruction,” i.e., the kingdom of Judah; Wed Ezek.35.5; glory “to consume even for an age” expresses the Philistine intentions regarding Judah. Ezek.25:16. Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and will destroy the Cretans, and destroy the remnant of them on the seashore; "I will destroy the Cretans." This was the name of the Philistines, as they came from Crete (1 Samuel 30.14), called Caphtor by Amos (Amos 9.7) and identified by old interpreters with the present island of Crete; now this identification is not accepted, and the Old Testament considers Caphtor or Crete to be a region in or near Egypt. - “And I will destroy the remnant of them on the seashore.” The Philistines had long existed only as a miserable remnant on the coastal strip: Jer 25:20, 47:7, 4; Isa 20.1; Am 1.8. The easier it is to destroy them. Such complete destruction is not predicted for the Edomites. Ezek.25:17. and I will exact great vengeance on them with fierce punishments; and they will know that I am the Lord when I bring My vengeance upon them. “Great vengeance with furious punishments.” Very strong indignation, stronger, it seems, than against Idumea; Wed Ezek.5.15. The perpetrators of the punishment are not indicated, unlike for the three former pagan peoples, which intensifies its horror. The fulfillment of the prophecy began with the Egyptian attack on Gaza and the devastation of the country by the Chaldeans, viciously and in detail described by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 47. You might be interested in: