Ezechiele 8:3

3 Ed egli stese una sembianza di mano, e mi prese per la chioma della mia testa; e lo Spirito mi levò fra cielo e terra, e mi menò in Gerusalemme, in visioni di Dio, all’entrata della porta di dentro, che guarda verso il Settentrione, dove era la cappella dell’idolo di gelosia, che provoca a gelosia.

Ezechiele 8:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 8:3

And he put forth the form of an hand
That is, he that appeared in the likeness of a man, and with so much glory and splendour, out of the midst of the fire and brightness which were about him, put forth the form of a hand, that looked like a man's hand; for this appearance was not real, only visionary; and this seems to design the Spirit of God sent forth by Christ, sometimes called the finger of God, ( Luke 11:20 ) ; as appears by what follows: and took me by a lock of mine head;
without hurting him, showing his power over him; and by this means raising him from his seat, as it seemed to the prophet: and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and heaven;
took him off of his seat, and out of his house, lifted him up in the air, and carried him through it, as he thought; for this was not real and local; in like manner as the spirit caught away Philip, ( Acts 8:39 ) ; but in vision, as follows: and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem;
so it was represented to him in a true vision, which was of God, and not of Satan, that he was carried from Chaldea to Jerusalem; not that he really was, for he was still in Chaldea; and here in vision was he brought again, and found himself to be when that vision was over, ( Ezekiel 11:24 Ezekiel 11:25 ) ; but things so appeared to him, as if he was actually brought to Jerusalem by the power of the Spirit of God: to the door of the inner gate:
not of Jerusalem, but the temple, or rather the court, the inner court; see ( Ezekiel 10:3 ) ; and so it should be rendered "to the door of the gate of the inner court" ^F19; and thus it is explained by Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech: that looketh toward the north;
for there were gates on every side: where [was] the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to
jealousy;
some graven image, perhaps the image of Baal; so called, because it provoked the Lord to jealousy, ( Deuteronomy 32:21 ) . Gussetius ^F20 suggests, that (lmo) , "Semel", here may be the same with Semele; who, in the opinion of the Heathens, made Juno jealous.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 (tymynph rev xtp la) "ad ostium portae interioris, [sub.] atrii", Pagninus, Vatablus, Piscator.
F20 Ebr. Comment. p. 903.

Ezechiele 8:3 In-Context

1 POI avvenne, nell’anno sesto, nel quinto giorno del sesto mese, che sedendo io in casa mia, e sedendo gli anziani di Giuda in mia presenza, la mano del Signore Iddio cadde quivi sopra me.

2 Ed io riguardai, ed ecco la sembianza d’un uomo simile in vista al fuoco; dall’apparenza de’ lombi di esso in giù, vi era fuoco; e da’ lombi in su, vi era come l’apparenza d’un grande splendore, simile al colore di fin rame scintillante.

3 Ed egli stese una sembianza di mano, e mi prese per la chioma della mia testa; e lo Spirito mi levò fra cielo e terra, e mi menò in Gerusalemme, in visioni di Dio, all’entrata della porta di dentro, che guarda verso il Settentrione, dove era la cappella dell’idolo di gelosia, che provoca a gelosia.

4 Ed ecco, quivi era la gloria dell’Iddio d’Israele, simile alla visione che io avea veduta nella campagna.

5 Ed egli mi disse: Figliuol d’uomo, leva ora gli occhi tuoi verso il Settentrione. Ed io levai gli occhi miei verso il Settentrione; ed ecco, dal Settentrione, alla porta dell’altare, all’entrata, era quell’idolo di gelosia.