Ezekiel 23:17

(17) Her mind was alienated.—The original implies the disgust of satiety. Josiah had been the devoted friend of Babylon, and perished in his zeal on its behalf. Judah was then made a dependency of Egypt, and turned for aid to Babylon. Then receiving in turn the yoke of Babylon, she became impatient, and sought the aid of Egypt. This vacillating policy is described in Eze_23:17-19, and at either, turn was so entirely wanting in sole reliance upon God as to produce the effect of Eze_23:18 : “My mind was alienated from her.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eze 23:17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.

Ver. 17. Into the bed of love.] Or, Of breasts, which are the symbols of love and seats of delight, as naturalists note. See Pro 6:19; Pro 7:18.

And her mind was alienated from them.] Heb., Loosed or disjointed, to dote another while upon the Egyptians. Etiam vota post usum fastidia sunt.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eze 23:17-20. And the Babylonians came to her, &c. — The metaphor of representing idolatry by the inordinate lust of adultery is still carried on. And her mind was alienated from them — She quickly grew weary of these also, as lewd women are of their former gallants, and look out for new ones. She broke her league and covenant with them, as St. Jerome very well expresses the sense; meaning that covenant which Jehoiakim made with Nebuchadnezzar to be his tributary, and which was afterward renewed by Zedekiah. So she discovered, or, after she discovered, her whoredoms — The sense being still continued with the foregoing verse. The meaning is, She was open and notorious in her lewd practices, and in the highest degree shameless. Then my mind was alienated from her — As she, by her idolatries, had broken all the bonds of duty and allegiance whereby she was engaged to me, a sin often compared to a wife’s disloyalty toward her husband, so I withdrew my love and affection from her, and resolved to give her a bill of divorce, as the Prophet Jeremiah expresses it, and not own her any more as mine, as I had cast off her sister Samaria. Yet she multiplied, &c. — Though she was fond of new idolatries, she did not forget her old ones, even those which she had learned in Egypt. For she doted upon their paramours — Upon the idols of Egypt, and the impure rites which accompanied their idolatrous worship. This may relate to the time when Zedekiah entered into a new confederacy with Egypt, which made the people fond of admitting the Egyptian idolatries. Whose flesh, &c. — These expressions seem to be made use of, to signify the excess of the Egyptian idolatry. They may likewise metaphorically express the great power and riches of the Egyptians, which made the Jewish people fond of courting their friendship and alliance.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

alienated from them--namely, from the Chaldeans: turning again to the Egyptians (Eze 23:19), trying by their help to throw off her solemn engagements to Babylon (compare Jer 37:5, Jer 37:7; Kg2 24:7).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

17. alienated from them] The figure lies in the revulsion of sated passion; the thing in the weariness of the Babylonian alliance and yoke, cf. ch. 17.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the Babylonians came to her in the bed of love,.... Entered into alliance with the Jews, and worshipped together in the same idols' temple. Jarchi thinks this refers to the messengers of the king of Babylon to Hezekiah; who were gladly received by him, and to whom he showed all the treasures of his house:

and they defiled her with their whoredom; or with their idols, as the Targum; they drew them into their idolatrous practices; which were defiling them, and by which they were corrupted from the simplicity of the true worship of God:

and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them: or "plucked", or "disjoined from them" (y); the Chaldeans, broke league and covenant with them, hating them as much as before they doted upon them; this was done in the times of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, who rebelled against the king of Babylon, Kg2 24:1 as it often is the case with lewd women, when they have satisfied their lust with their gallants, loath and despise them, and cast them off.

(y) "avulsa est", Munster; "et luxata est anima ipsius ab eis", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

After Josiah’s death and the usurpation of dominion by the Egyptians, the Babylonians were no doubt welcomed as friends 2Ki 24:1. But the Jews were soon tired of their alliance and disgusted with their friends, and this led to the rebellion of Jehoiakim and the first captivity.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Love. Literally, "of breasts," as Hebrew also signifies. Here it denotes the temples. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The Babylonians came: the prophet prosecuteth the allegory; the adulteress sent, and invited, and here the Chaldeans comply with it, they came, ambassadors no doubt first to make a confederacy, and then free intercourse in trade, and religion too.

The bed of love; so the impudently lascivious call the polluted, forbidden bed, as the harlot, Pro 7:18. It is like with this commerce and confederacy the lustful Babylonians did spread that disease, the Jewish nation were too much inclined to corporal adulteries and fornications; but metaphorically it is a delightful communicating with them in their idolatry in their idol temples and feasts.

Defiled her; made her unclean and loathsome.

Whoredom; spiritual and corporal.

Polluted; greatly defiled, as the doubling the expression imports. Her mind was alienated from them; like an arrant adulteress, wearied, but not satisfied with her adulterers, she changeth mind and friendships, and seeks new ones. So did this people, weary of the Chaldeans, seek new confederates.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17. Her mind was alienated from them — This occurred after her passion was satisfied (compare 2Sa_13:15), and she began to feel the weight of the heavy hand of her Babylonian lovers and to long for release; but it was too late to return without bitter repentance to her true husband, for his mind had also become alienated from her (Eze_23:18).

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The words paint the intimate alliance, the political prostitution, as it were, involved in the alliance with Babylon. Her mind was alienated from them. Interpreted by the history, the words point to the fact that Judah soon found out how hollow was the help gained by the alliance with Babylon, and turned, after Josiah"s death, to Egypt as a counterpoise. As in the history of Amnon, (2Sa_13:15) lust, when it had wrought its will, passed into loathing and disgust. Jehoiakim and Zedekiah were examples of what we may well call this distracted policy. But, as it was, this alienation did but increase her guilt. As things were, it would have been better, as Jeremiah all along counseled, to accept the rule of the Chaldeans. The mind of Jehovah was alienated from Jerusalem as hers had been from the Chaldeans.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Alienated - She grew weary of the Chaldeans.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And the children of Babylon came to her for a bed of love They made a covenant together, and I say that this is said concerning Hezekiah, who rejoiced about the emissaries of Merodach-baladan (Isa. 39, II Kings 20), and he fed them at his table and showed them his entire treasure house. This resembles the prophet’s statement (verse 14), “men engraved on the wall,” because they came from a distant land, and the Chaldeans were not frequent visitors to them, as it is said (Isa. 39:3): “They have come to me from a distant country,” and from seeing their faces once, they became endeared to him. And the Holy One, blessed be He, became wroth with him because of this matter, as it is written (Isa. 36:6, II Kings 20:17): “Behold a time will come when everything in your palace...will be carried off, etc.,” and in (II) Chronicles (32:25): “But Hezekiah did not pay back according to the benefit they had done for him, but his heart became haughty; therefore, wrath came upon him and upon Judah, etc.”

her soul was disgusted with them [Heb. וַתֵּקַע.] That Jehoiakim and Zedekiah rebelled against them. וַתֵּקַע is esloched in Old French, dislocated. וַתֵּקַע is like (Gen. 32: 26): “and the upper joint of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated (וַתֵּקַע).” הוֹקָעָה is an expression of joining and inserting a pole into the earth, and also when it is withdrawn from the earth, is the expression קְעִיָה appropriate for it, just as you say (Ps. 80:10): “it took root (וַתַשְׁרֵשׁ),” as an expression of taking root, and (Job 31:12), “and it uproots (תְּשָׁרֵשׁ) all my grain,” as an expression of uprooting. Similarly (Isa. 17:6): “on its branches (בִּסְעִפֶיהָ) when it produces fruit,” is an expression of branches, and (ibid. 10:33), “lops off (מְסָעֵף) the branches,” is an expression of cutting off the branches of the tree and its boughs.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.