Ezekiel 4:7

7 And thou shalt turn thy face to the besieging of Jerusalem; and thine arm shall be stretched forth, and thou shalt prophesy against it.

Ezekiel 4:7 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 4:7

Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege at
Jerusalem
All the while he was lying either on the left side or the right, his face was to be directed to the siege of Jerusalem, portrayed upon the tile, and to all the preparations made for that purpose, to show that all had reference to that and that it wound certainly be; for, as the prophet represented the Chaldean army the directing and setting his face to the siege shows their resolution and inflexibleness, that they were determined upon taking the city, and nothing should divert them from it: and thine arm [shall be] uncovered;
which was usual in fighting in those times and countries; for, wearing long garments, they were obliged to turn them up on the arm, or lay them aside, that they might more expeditiously handle their weapons, and engage with the enemy: in this form the soldiers in Trajan's column are figured fighting; and it is related that the Africans used to fight with their arms uncovered {h}; thus Scanderbeg in later times used to fight the Turks. The design of the phrase is to show how ready, diligent, and expeditious, the Chaldeans would be in carrying on the siege. The Targum renders it,

``thou shalt strengthen thine arm;''

and so do the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions: and thou shall prophesy against it:
meaning not so much by words, if at all, but by these actions, gestures, and habit; for they all foretold what would certainly come to pass.

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 Vid. Lydium de Re Militari, l. 4. c. 3. p. 160.

Ezekiel 4:7 In-Context

5 Forsooth I gave to thee the years of the wickedness of them by (the) number of days, three hundred and ninety days; and thou shalt bear the wickedness of the house of Israel.

6 And when thou hast [ful]filled these things, thou shalt sleep the second time on thy right side. And thou shalt take the wickedness of the house of Judah by forty days; I gave to thee a day for a year, a day soothly for a year (And thou shalt bear the wickedness of the house of Judah for forty days; I shall give thee a day for a year, truly a day for a year).

7 And thou shalt turn thy face to the besieging of Jerusalem; and thine arm shall be stretched forth, and thou shalt prophesy against it.

8 Lo! I have (en)compassed thee with bonds, and thou shalt not turn thee from this side into the other side, till thou [ful]fill the days of thy besieging. (Lo! I have surrounded thee with bonds, and thou shalt not turn thyself from one side to the other side, until thou fulfill the days of thy besieging.)

9 And take thou to thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and fitches; and thou shalt put those into one vessel. And thou shalt make to thee loaves for the number of days, by which thou shalt sleep on thy side; by three hundred and ninety days thou shalt eat it. (And get thou for thyself some wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and vetches; and thou shalt put them into one pot. And thou shalt make loaves for thyself for the number of days by which thou shalt sleep on thy side; for three hundred and ninety days thou shalt eat it.)