Ezekiel 17

Ezekiel 17:1-24 . PARABLE OF THE TWO GREAT EAGLES, AND THE CROPPING OF THE CEDAR OF LEBANON. JUDAH IS TO BE JUDGED FOR REVOLTING FROM BABYLON, WHICH HAD SET UP ZEDEKIAH INSTEAD OF JEHOIACHIN, TO EGYPT; GOD HIMSELF, AS THE RIVAL OF THE BABYLONIAN KING, IS TO PLANT THE GOSPEL CEDAR OF MESSIAH.

The date of the prophecy is between the sixth month of Zedekiah's sixth year of reign and the fifth month of the seventh year after the carrying away of Jehoiachin, that is, five years before the destruction of Jerusalem [HENDERSON].

2. riddle--a continued allegory, expressed enigmatically, requiring more than common acumen and serious thought. The Hebrew is derived from a root, "sharp," that is, calculated to stimulate attention and whet the intellect. Distinct from "fable," in that it teaches not fiction, but fact. Not like the ordinary riddle, designed to puzzle, but to instruct. The "riddle" is here identical with the "parable," only that the former refers to the obscurity, the latter to the likeness of the figure to the thing compared.

3. eagle--the king of birds. The literal Hebrew is, "the great eagle." The symbol of the Assyrian supreme god, Nisroch; so applied to "the great king" of Babylon, his vicegerent on earth ( Jeremiah 48:40 , 49:22 ). His "wings" are his great forces. Such symbols were familiar to the Jews, who saw them portrayed on the great buildings of Babylon; such as are now seen in the Assyrian remains.
long-winged--implying the wide extent of his empire.
full of feathers--when they have been renewed after moulting; and so in the full freshness of renovated youth ( Psalms 103:5 , Isaiah 40:31 ). Answering to the many peoples which, as tributaries, constituted the strength of Babylon:
divers colours--the golden eagle, marked with star-like spots, supposed to be the largest of eagles [BOCHART]. Answering to the variety of languages, habits, and costumes of the peoples subject to Babylon.
came unto Lebanon--continuing the metaphor: as the eagle frequents mountains, not cities. The temple at Jerusalem was called "Lebanon" by the Jews [EUSEBIUS], because its woodwork was wholly of cedars of Lebanon. "The mountain of the Lord's house" ( Isaiah 2:2 ). Jerusalem, however, is chiefly meant, the chief seat of civil honor, as Lebanon was of external elevation.
took the highest branch--King Jeconiah, then but eighteen years old, and many of the chiefs and people with him ( 2 Kings 24:8 2 Kings 24:12-16 ). The Hebrew for "highest branch" is, properly, the fleece-like tuft at the top of the tree. (So in Ezekiel 31:3-14 ). The cedar, as a tall tree, is the symbol of kingly elevation (compare Daniel 4:10-12 ).

4. land of traffic . . . merchants--Babylon ( 2 Kings 24:15 2 Kings 24:16 ), famous for its transport traffic on the Tigris and Euphrates. Also, by its connection with the Persian Gulf, it carried on much commerce with India.

5. seed of the land--not a foreign production, but one native in the region; a son of the soil, not a foreigner: Zedekiah, uncle of Jehoiachin, of David's family.
in a fruitful field--literally, a "field of seed"; that is, fit for propagating and continuing the seed of the royal family.
as a willow--derived from a Hebrew root, "to overflow," from its fondness for water ( Isaiah 44:4 ). Judea was "a land of brooks of water and fountains" ( Deuteronomy 8:7-9 ; compare John 3:23 ).

6. vine of low stature--not now, as before, a stately "cedar"; the kingdom of Judah was to be prosperous, but not elevated.
branches turned toward him--expressing the fealty of Zedekiah as a vassal looking up to Nebuchadnezzar, to whom Judah owed its peace and very existence as a separate state. The "branches" mean his sons and the other princes and nobles.
The roots . . . under him--The stability of Judah depended on Babylon. The repetition "branches" and "springs" is in order to mark the ingratitude of Zedekiah, who, not content with moderate prosperity, revolted from him to whom he had sworn allegiance.