Ezekiel 17 Footnotes

17:11-21 A fifth reason that Judah fell was because of her trust in political alliances instead of the Lord (vv. 1-24). Commentators generally agree on the interpretation of this parable of the great eagle and the cedar (vv. 1-10). The weight of evidence suggests that the story was about Judah’s dependence upon alliances with Nebuchadnezzar, the great eagle. At the same time, in secret treaty with another great eagle—Pharaoh Hophra—Judah hoped to gain independence from Babylon’s control. But Hophra’s kingdom withered and was no longer a factor when Zedekiah was finally overthrown.

17:22-24 With the nation hopelessly gone, the prophet turned to a messianic theme, speaking of a “tender sprig” taken from the top of a tree and replanted in a prominent place. The Hebrew yoniq (“sprig” or “shoot”) is the same word used in the messianic figure of Is 53:2. Elsewhere, the same word is used for an infant or nursing child (Nm 11:12; Dt 32:25; 1Sm 15:3; 22:19; Jr 44:7). Synonyms such as choter (“shoot”), netser (“branch,” Is 11:1), and semach (“branch,” Is 4:2; Jr 23:5; Zch 3:8; 6:12) were used figuratively of the Messiah. Ezekiel’s word picture affirmed the certainty of the restoration of Judah and Jerusalem. While some interpreters see this prophecy fulfilled in Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, Ezekiel’s language went beyond these and looked to a time when the Messiah would reign over Israel and over all the earth.