Ezekiel 16:55

55 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, Do turn back to their former state, And Samaria and her daughters Do turn back to their former state, And thou and thy daughters do turn back to your former state.

Ezekiel 16:55 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 16:55

When thy sisters, Sodom, and her daughters, shall return to
their former estate
The Jews, as Jerom says, are of opinion, that in the days of their vainly expected Messiah Sodom will be restored to its ancient state, and be as the garden of God, and as the land of Egypt; and Jarchi interprets the bringing again the captivity of Sodom, in ( Ezekiel 16:53 ) ; by the Lord's healing the land of brimstone and salt, and placing inhabitants in it; and it is asserted by the Jews ^F6 that Sodom and Gomorrah shall be rebuilt in future times, in the times of the Messiah, according to the sense of this passage: but this is not to be understood in a literal sense, of the rebuilding of Sodom and cities adjacent, and of restoring them to their former fruitfulness and fertility, and of the inhabitants to their former prosperity, and much less to their former state of wickedness; but spiritually, of the conversion of Gentile sinners to their ancient and happy estate in Christ: and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate;
to the knowledge of the Messiah, and the pure worship of God: then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate;
the conversion of Judah, and of Israel or the ten tribes, here meant by Samaria, is frequently prophesied of, as what will be at the same time, ( Jeremiah 23:6 ) ( 50:4 ) ( Hosea 5:11 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Shemot Rabba, sect. 15. fol. 101. 3.

Ezekiel 16:55 In-Context

53 And I have turned back [to] their captivity, The captivity of Sodom and her daughters, And the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, And the captivity of thy captives in their midst,

54 So that thou dost bear thy shame, And hast been ashamed of all that thou hast done, In thy comforting them.

55 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, Do turn back to their former state, And Samaria and her daughters Do turn back to their former state, And thou and thy daughters do turn back to your former state.

56 And thy sister Sodom hath not been for a report in thy mouth, In the day of thine arrogancy,

57 Before thy wickedness is revealed, As [at] the time of the reproach of the daughters of Aram, And of all her neighbours, the daughters of the Philistines, Who are despising thee round about.