Ezekiel 8:3

3 And that likeness put forth his hand and took me by the locks of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between the heaven and the earth and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looks toward the north where the habitation of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy.

Ezekiel 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.

Ezekiel 8:3 In-Context

1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.

2 And I saw, and behold a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his loins downward was fire; and from his loins upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.

3 And that likeness put forth his hand and took me by the locks of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between the heaven and the earth and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looks toward the north where the habitation of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy.

4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there like the vision that I saw in the plain.

5 Then he said unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.