Ezekiel 15 Footnotes

15:2-8 The third cause of the fall of Judah was that the nation was a useless vine (see note on 12:1-7). Ezekiel’s portrayal of the nation as a vine was not unique. Hosea (Hs 10:1), Isaiah (Is 5:1-7), and Jeremiah (Jr 2:21) used the same figure, which is found in other passages (Gn 49:22; Dt 32:32; Ps 80:8-16). Ezekiel’s message is similar to Isaiah’s “Song of the Vineyard” (Is 5:1-30), a message of judgment against Israel. The grapevine has no value as wood for lumber (Ezk 15:2); its only use is its fruit. If a vine bears no fruit, its only other function is as firewood (vv. 3-5). Nebuchadnezzar’s invasions in 605 BC and 597 BC were precursors of Jerusalem’s destruction in 586 BC.