Ezekiel 17:2

2 "Son of man, tell a riddle and quote a proverb to the house of Israel,

Ezekiel 17:2 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 17:2

Son of man, put forth a riddle
A dark saying, but a smart one: "whet a whetting" ^F11, as in the Hebrew; something at first sight difficult to be understood, yet amusing and entertaining; and, when solved, very useful and instructive: and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
or, "concerning the house of Israel" ^F12; as the Targum and Syriac version; something relating to them, and what would aptly describe and represent their case; for the prophet was bid to take such a method, not to hide things from them, but rather the more strongly to represent them to them; seeing hereby their attention would be excited, and things would be more fixed in their memories, and they would be put upon studying the meaning of them; and when explained to them, and understood, which was quickly done, they might be the more affected with them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 (hdyx dwx) , Heb. "acue acumen", Piscator.
F12 (larvy tyb la) "de domo Israelis", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus.

Ezekiel 17:2 In-Context

1 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

2 "Son of man, tell a riddle and quote a proverb to the house of Israel,

3 and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "{The great eagle with great wings and long feathers} [and] {full of variegated plumage} came to Lebanon and he took the treetop of the cedar.

4 He plucked the top of its new plant shoot, and he brought it to the land of Canaan [and] put it in a city of merchants,

5 and he took from the seed of the land and placed it in {fertile soil} on many waters; [like] a willow he planted it.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"