Ezechiele 17:7

7 Or vi fu un’altra grande aquila, con grandi ali, e con molte penne; ed ecco, quella vite voltò le sue radici ad essa, e stese verso lei i suoi tralci, acciocchè la rigasse co’ rigagnoli delle sue piante.

Ezechiele 17:7 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 17:7

There was also another great eagle
Hophra king of Egypt, a very powerful prince, whom Herodotus ^F21 calls Apries; and says he was the most happy and fortunate, after Psammitichus, of all the kings that were before; though not so mighty as the king of Babylon; therefore all the same things are not said of the one as of the other: with great wings and many feathers:
had large dominions, but not go extensive as the former, and therefore is not said to be "longwinged" as he; and had "many feathers", but not "full" of them, nor had it such a variety; he had many people, and much wealth, and a large army, but not equal to the king of Babylon: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots towards him;
Zedekiah, and the people of the Jews under him; inclined to an alliance with the king of Egypt, and gave him some private intimations of it: and shot forth her branches towards him;
sent ambassadors to acquaint him with it, ( Ezekiel 17:15 ) ; that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation;
Nebuchadnezzar had planted this vine, and made furrows for the watering of it, and by his means it was become prosperous and flourishing; but Zedekiah, not content with the greatness and glory he had raised him to, sought to the king of Egypt to help him with horses and people, in order to free himself from subjection to the king of Babylon, and to increase his lustre and glory: the allusion is thought to be to the trenches and canals of the river Nile, by which the land of Egypt was watered: the words may be rendered, "out of the rivulets of her plantation" ^F23 which best agrees with watering.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 L. 2. sive Euterpe, c. 161.
F23 (hejm twgrem) "ex rivulis [loci in quo] plantata est", Gussetius, p. 642. such as run between beds in gardens, of which this word is sometimes used; hence some render it "ex areolis", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, so Ben Melech; or ditches and canals, such as were made out of the river Nile to water the land; "a fossa plantarii sui", Texelius, ut supra, p. 209.

Ezechiele 17:7 In-Context

5 E prese della stirpe del paese, e la pose in un campo da sementa; e la portò presso a grandi acque, e la pose a guisa di magliuolo.

6 E quella germogliò, e divenne vite prospera, bassa di pianta, avendo i suoi tralci rivolti verso l’aquila, e rimanendo le sue radici nel proprio luogo di essa; così divenne vite, e fece de’ tralci, e mise dei rami madornali.

7 Or vi fu un’altra grande aquila, con grandi ali, e con molte penne; ed ecco, quella vite voltò le sue radici ad essa, e stese verso lei i suoi tralci, acciocchè la rigasse co’ rigagnoli delle sue piante.

8 Quella era piantata in un buon terreno, presso a grandi acque, per metter pampani, e portar frutto, e divenire una vite magnifica.

9 Di’: Così ha detto il Signore Iddio: Prospererebbe ella? quell’acquila non divellerà ella le sue radici? e non riciderà ella il suo frutto, sì che si secchi? e non si seccheranno tutte le cime, ed i pampani ch’ella ha messi? e non farà ella ciò con grande sforzo, e con molto popolo, per torla via fin dalle radici?