Ezekiel 20:8 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ezekiel 20:8
But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
to be (causatively · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
would
אָבוּ֙'a.Vu
H14
to breathe after · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
hearken
לִּשְׁמֹ֣עַlish.Mo.a'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
man
אִ֣ישׁ'ish
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
away
הִשְׁלִ֔יכוּhish.Li.khu
H7993
to throw out · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person common plural
abominations
שִׁקּוּצֵ֤יshi.ku.Tzei
H8251
disgusting · noun, common masculine plural construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
Ezekiel 5:13 Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the L…
Ezekiel 7:8 Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will re…
Ezekiel 20:7 Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD…
Ezekiel 20:21 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, h…
Exodus 32:4-6 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy go…
Deuteronomy 9:7 Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the la…
Ezekiel 20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a ma…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 20:5-9
The history of the ingratitude and rebellion of the people of Israel here begins as early as their beginning; so does the history of man's apostasy from his Maker. No sooner have we read the story of our first parents' creation than we immediately meet with that of their rebellion; so we see here it was with Israel, a people designed to represent the body of mankind both in their dealings with God and in his with them. Here is,
I. The gracious purposes of God's law concerning Israel in Egypt, where they were bond-slaves to Pharaoh. Be it spoken, be it written, to the immortal honour of free grace, that then and there, 1. He chose Israel to be a peculiar people to himself, though their condit…
then I said, I will . . . But, &c.--that is, (God speaking in condescension to human modes of conception) their spiritual degradation deserved I should destroy them, "but I wrought (namely, the deliverance 'out of . . . Egypt') for My name's sake"; not for their merits (a rebuke to their national pride). God's "name" means the sum-total of His perfections. To manifest these, His gratuitous mercy abounding above their sins, yet without wrong to His justice, and so to set forth His glory, was and is the ultimate end of His dealings (Eze 20:14, Eze 20:22; Sa2 7:23; Isa 63:12; Rom 9:17).
Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 20:8
They did not - cast away - They continued attached to the idolatry of Egypt; so that, had I consulted my justice only, I should have consumed them even in Egypt itself. This is a circumstance that Moses has not mentioned, namely, their provoking God by their idolatry, after he had sent Moses and Aaron to them in Egypt.
John Gill on Ezekiel 20:8
But they rebelled against me,.... All sin is rebellion against God, an act of hostility, especially idolatry; it is refusing homage and casting off allegiance to him:
and would not hearken unto me; to his word by his prophets; so the Targum,
"they rebelled against my word, and would not receive my prophets:''
they did not every man cast away the abominations of his eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of the Gentiles; whence it appears that there were some among them that did give in to the idolatry of the Egyptians; and could not be prevailed upon to relinquish it, notwithstanding the favours shown them, and the promises made unto them. The Jewish writers, Jarchi and Kimchi, say that…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 8) And they have provoked me. LXX: And they have departed from me. Or as Symmachus interpreted: They have not found rest with me. And immediately when called, they depart from God, so that there is no space between the calling and the departure. And it should be noted that no one departs from God unless they were with Him before. Hence, the dragon in the book of Job is called an apostate, a transgressor, and a deserter (Job XXXIV). And they did not want to listen to me. Each one did not cast away the abominations of their eyes, nor did they leave the idols of Egypt. LXX: And they did not want to listen to me. They did not cast away the abominations of their eyes, and they did not leave the inventions of Egypt. Therefore, they have provoked me, says the Lord, and they have turned away from me, because they did not want to listen to me while the free will of man is preserved; and they have done all the things that I commanded them not to do according to the law. Immediately, despairing of salvation, they murmur against Moses and distrust the promises of God. Unde sequitur: And I said that I would pour out my indignation upon them, and execute my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live. Because they had not yet gone out of Egypt. For it follows below: I have cast them out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the desert. From which it is shown that they had not yet gone out of Egypt, when he wanted to pour out his indignation, and fill his anger upon them, and strike them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Idol — (1.) Heb. aven, “nothingness;” “vanity” (Isa. 66:3; 41:29; Deut. 32:21; 1 Kings 16:13; Ps. 31:6; Jer. 8:19, etc.). (2.) ‘Elil, “a thing of naught” (Ps. 97:7; Isa. 19:3); a word of contempt, used of…
Egypt · .Idols of — .Idols of
Rebellion Against God · Exhibited in: Refusing to hearken to him — Exhibited in: Refusing to hearken to him
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
eyes
עֵֽינֵיהֶם֙'ei.nei.Hem
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
forsake
עָזָ֑בוּ'a.Za.vu
H5800
to loosen · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
idols
גִּלּוּלֵ֥יgi.lu.Lei
H1544
properly · noun, common masculine plural construct
Egypt
מִצְרַ֖יִםmitz.Ra.yim
H4714
Mitsrajim · proper noun, a place name
said
וָאֹמַ֞רva.'o.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular
out
לִשְׁפֹּ֧ךְlish.Pokh
H8210
to spill forth (blood · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
fury
חֲמָתִ֣יcha.ma.Ti
H2534
heat · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
accomplish
לְכַלּ֤וֹתle.kha.Lot
H3615
to end · preposition + verb, piel infinitive construct
anger
אַפִּי֙'a.Pi
H639
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
midst
בְּת֖וֹךְbe.Tokh
H8432
a bisection · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
land
אֶ֥רֶץ'E.retz
H776
the earth (at large · noun, common feminine singular construct
Ezekiel 20:5-8
5. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God;
5. Et dices illis, Sic dicit Dominator Iehovah, Die quo elegi Israelem, et sustuli manum meam ad semen domus Iacob, et cognitus fui illis in terrae ?gypti, et sustuli manum meam illis dicendo, Ego Iehovah Deus vester;
6. In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
6. D…
Election of Israel in Egypt. Its resistance to the commandments of God. - Eze 20:5. And say to them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, In the day that I chose Israel, and lifted my hand to the seed of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, and lifted my hand to them, saying, I am Jehovah, your God: Eze 20:6. In that day I lifted my hand to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into the land which I sought out for them, which floweth with milk and honey - it is an ornament of all lands: Eze 20:7. And said to them, Cast away every man the abominations of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am Jehovah, your God. Eze 20:8. But they were rebelli…
Each generation of Israelites rebelled against the Lord and refused to obey the commandments he gave them. Each time, the Lord threatened to pour out his fury upon them (20:8, 13, 21), but he relented for the honor of his name, lest the nations around them should think the Lord’s power insufficient to bring his people into the Promised Land.
Rashi on Ezekiel 20:8
But they rebelled against Me They are the wicked, the majority of Israel, who died in the three days of darkness, as it is said (Exod. 13:18): “and the children of Israel went out of Egypt, (חֲמֻשִּׁים)”one out of fifty, and some say, one out of five hundred.
