Ezekiel 39:11

Eze 39:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the [noses] of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call [it] The valley of Hamongog.

Ver. 11. I will give unto Gog a place there of graves.] That is all the portion or possession he gets in the Holy Land.

On the east of the sea.] The Dead Sea, or the lake of Sodom - a fit place for antichrist to be buried in: he shall at last be cast alive into a worse lake. {Rev 19:20}

And it shall stop the noses of passengers.] By reason of stench, or the mouths of passengers from speaking evil of God’s people.

And they shall call it.] For a lasting monument of God’s great mercy, in ridding the country of such pests.

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.

The prophet pictures to himself some imaginary valley (compare Zec 14:5) at the “east of the sea,” the Dead Sea, a place frightful in its physical character, and admonitory of past judgments. He calls it “the valley of the passengers” (or, passers-by), because they who there lie buried were but as a passing cloud. In Eze 39:11-15 there is a play upon words - there were “passengers” to be buried, “passengers” to walk over their graves, “passengers” to bury them; (or, a play upon the treble meaning of passing in (invading), passing by, and passing through.)

Stop the noses - The word thus rendered occurs only once more in Scripture Deu 25:4 where it is rendered muzzle. See Isa 34:3.

Hamon-gog - See the margin, compare Eze 39:16.

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

Eze 39:11-16. I will give unto Gog a place there of graves — Houbigant translates this passage, An illustrious place for sepulture, the valley of passengers opposite to the sea; through which the travellers shall pass, stopping their noses — According to the Chaldee, the scene here spoken of was the lake of Gennesareth. In the Hebrew language, all lakes are called by the name of seas. The same is called the eastern sea, (Eze 47:18,) to distinguish it from the Mediterranean, called the great sea westward, Jos 23:4. The valley near this sea is called the valley of the passengers, because it was the great road by which the merchants and traders from Syria, and other eastern countries, went into Egypt: see Gen 37:17; Gen 37:25. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them — For a long time after the battle, the inhabitants shall be employed in burying the bones of the slain, that the land might not be polluted by them. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them — See the note on the following verse. And it shall be to them a renown, &c. —

Or, The day that I shall be glorified shall be to them a day of renown, or a remarkable day of joy and gladness. And they shall sever out men, &c. — To cleanse the land thoroughly, men shall be set apart, and be constantly employed in picking up the bones of the slain that are scattered about, and burying them with the dead bodies of travellers who had happened to die on the roads; and they shall continue to do this, and be in daily search after the bones, for the space of seven months. The length of time assigned to this employment denotes the vast number of the slain, and the great care taken to cleanse the land from pollution. And when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign — A stone, or some other mark, that men may avoid passing over the bones, and that the persons appointed to bury them may take them from thence, and carry them to the proper burying- place. Also the name of the city shall be called Hamonah — Some render this verse, Also the name of the city, assigned to them who shall cleanse the land, shall be called Hamonah, that is, a multitude. The meaning seems to be, that the city where these appointed buriers should reside during the time they were employed in this office, and near which they should bury the dead, should afterward, in memory thereof, be called Hamonah; which, signifying a multitude, thereby denoted the greatness of the victory.

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

39:11 The people would need to gather the plunder and bury the bodies of the slain soldiers. These corpses would otherwise defile the holy land, for contact with a corpse made a person ritually unclean. There were so many of these corpses that a vast graveyard would be required, big enough to fill an entire valley that would now be known as the Valley of Gog’s Hordes.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, the multitude of Gog.

Which declareth that the enemies shall have an horrible fall.

For the stink of the carcasses.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

place . . . of graves--Gog found only a grave where he had expected the spoils of conquest.

valley--So vast were to be the masses that nothing but a deep valley would suffice for their corpses.

the passengers on the east of the sea--those travelling on the high road, east of the Dead Sea, from Syria to Petra and Egypt. The publicity of the road would cause many to observe God's judgments, as the stench (as English Version translates) or the multitude of graves (as HENDERSON translates, "it shall stop the passengers") would arrest the attention of passers-by. Their grave would be close to that of their ancient prototypes, Sodom and Gomorrah in the Dead Sea, both alike being signal instances of God's judgments.

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

Verse 11. The valley of the passengers on the east of the sea] That is, of Gennesareth, according to the Targum. The valley near this lake or sea is called the Valley of the Passengers, because it was a great road by which the merchants and traders from Syria and other eastern countries went into Egypt; see Ge 37:17; Ge 37:25. See Calmet here.

There shall they bury Gog and all his multitude] Some read, "There shall they bury Gog, that is, all his multitude." Not Gog, or Antiochus himself, for he was not in this battle; but his generals, captains, and soldiers, by whom he was represented. As to Hamon-gog, we know no valley of this name but here. But we may understand the words thus: the place where this great slaughter was, and where the multitudes of the slain were buried, might be better called Hamon-gog, the valley of the multitude of God, than the valley of passengers; for so great was the carnage there, that the way of the passengers shall be stopped by it. See the text.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(11) The valley of the passengers.—The name cannot be derived from the Scythians, as if they were spoken of “as a cloud passing over and gone,” because the same word is used again in this verse, and also in Eze_39:14-15, evidently in a different sense. It simply denotes some (probably imaginary) thoroughfare, which is to be blocked up by the buried bodies of the slain. No definite locality is assigned to it, except that it is “on the east of the sea,” meaning the Dead Sea. It was to be, therefore, on the extreme south-eastern outskirts of the land. This is another of the features of the description which indicate some other than a literal interpretation; for how should such a host, invading the land from the north for purposes of plunder, be found in that locality, and how could such vast numbers of dead bodies be transported thither?

Stop the noses.—The word “noses” is not in the original, and should be omitted. The meaning is simply that the bodies of the host shall so fill up the valley as to stop the way of travellers.

The valley of Hamon-gog.—It is better to translate the word Hamon, as in the margin: The valley of the multitude of Gog. So also in Eze_39:15.

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

11. Gog’s burial—place shall be east of the Dead Sea.

a place there of graves] a place for a grave, lit. a place where a grave may be. For “there” LXX. reads name—a place of renown (name), a grave in Israel.

valley of the passengers] In Eze_39:14-15 the word is used of those appointed to go through the land in search of the scattered bones. The term cannot have that sense here. Ew. conjectured that it was a term applied to the hosts of Gog, the invaders, from their overflowing the country (Isa_8:8). The reading of Eze_39:14, however, which would be the strongest support of this view, is doubtful. The expression is probably a proper name; the “valley of the passers through” may have been so named as the usual route of communication between the east and west of the sea. Others by altering the points read “the (or, a) valley of Abarim” (Hitz. Corn.).

shall stop the noses] it shall stop them that pass through (or, the passengers). The valley shall be filled up with the graves of the innumerable hosts of Gog, so that the way of passers through shall be barred. A.V. has no probability. Neither LXX. nor Syr. read the words “those that pass through;” the former renders: and they shall build up the mouth of the valley round about.

Hamon-gog] i.e. Gog’s multitude.

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 it shall come to pass in that day,.... When this destruction of the army of Gog shall be made:

that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel; or, "a place there, a grave in Israel" (b); he that thought to have subdued the whole land, and taken possession of it, shall have no more of it than just a place for a grave, to be buried in; a place fit for a grave, as the Targum; and where that will be is next observed: "the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea"; a valley through which travellers used to pass from Syria, Babylon, and other places, to Egypt and Arabia Felix, which lay east of the sea; not the Mediterranean sea, which lies west of Judea; but either the Dead sea, the sea of Sodom, a sulphurous lake, to which there may be an allusion, Rev 19:20 or the sea of Chinnereth, or Genesareth, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi; the same with the sea or lake of Tiberias and Galilee, mentioned in the New Testament; which sense is approved of by Gussetius (c); where was a passage from the land of Canaan to the east of the same sea. Calmet (d) thinks it stands for the great road at the foot of Mount Carmel, to go from Judea, Egypt, and the country of the Philistines, into Phoenicia, which road was to the east of the Mediterranean sea.

And it shall stop the noses of the passengers; or the passengers shall stop their noses, because of the ill smell of the carcasses (e); or their mouths, the mouths of blasphemers, who shall no more blaspheme the God of Israel, when they shall observe this monument of his power, in the destruction of his and his people's enemies. It may be rendered, "it shall stop the passengers (f); from passing that way, because of the multitude of the carcasses that shall fall there", and which is the reason of their being buried out of the way; this sense Jarchi takes notice of. The Targum is,

"and it is near to two mountains;''

as if this clause described the situation of the valley.

And there shall they bury Gog, and all his multitude; all his army, such of it as the fowls and beasts had not devoured, and the bones they had left; not his army only, but himself also, the Sultan or Grand Seignior of the Turks, the general of his mighty army: this was not true of Antiochus; he died not, nor was he buried in the land of Israel.

And they shall call it the valley of Hamon-gog: Hamon signifies a multitude; and this name will be imposed upon the place of Gog's sepulchre, because of the multitude slain and buried here, and to perpetuate the memory of it: there never was yet a place of this name in the land of Israel, which shows that this event is yet future. Calmet takes it to be the valley of Jezreel, in which he thinks the army of Cambyses was defeated, after the death of that prince; wrongly taking Cambyses and his army for Gog and Magog.

(b) "locum ibi sepulchrum", Starckius; "locum ubi sit sepulchrum", Cocceius. (c) Ebr. Comment. p. 585. (d) Dictionary in the word "Vale" (e) So R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 66. 2. (f) "et erit illa obturans transeuntes", Starckius; "et erit illa frenans transeuntes", Cocceius.

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

East of the Mediterranean and of Carmel, the high road from Assyria to Egypt, (Genesis xxxvii. 2.; Calmet) where the Romans had a station at Legion. (Eusebius) --- Called, or shall be, Isaias vii. 14., and lx. 14. (Calmet) --- Valley. Septuagint, "Gai, the grave of Gog." Protestants, "the valley of Haman-Gog," ver. 16. (Haydock) --- Antichrist will not be burnt iwth material fire. But Catholics shall resist him zealously, and gain the victory. (Worthington)

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).

At that day; when God shall have destroyed this prince, and his formidable army.

Give unto Gog; and to many of those who were with him, for some were given to the birds and beasts to be devoured, Eze 39:4.

A place there of graves: beside many other reasons for burying these slaughtered multitudes, the humanity that religion is full of would guide the Jews to it, and God tells us that Gog shall have a grave in Israel. He came to take possession, and so he shall, but not as he purposed and hoped, but as God intended; Gog shall possess his house of darkness in that land which he invaded to make a prey of. He shall have one place there, a grave, as the Hebrew.

The valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: this valley hath here its name and situation; the name from the frequent travels of passengers through it from Egypt and Arabia Felix into the more northern parts, and from these again into Egypt and Arabia. By its situation it is on the east side of the Dead Sea, to distinguish it from the valley that is on this side Jordan westward, in which is Dothan. Now in this valley did the Jews discomfit the Ammonites, Moabites, Tyrians, and Sidonians, 1Ma 5. This might be a type, or firstfruits, and assurance of this great victory, but no more; for this was of a few against a few, and in this fight of some but few fell, &c.

It shall stop the noses; the stink of the putrefying carcasses should make travellers stop their noses, offended with the ill smells.

There shall they bury; partly in doing the office of humanity, though to dead enemies; and let their enemies live, who would not (for want of others) be so civil to them when dead; but chiefly to remove the nuisance of eye and nose, and to prevent diseases, that rise many times from such smells.

Gog: this prince, whoever it is, shall there fall, and be buried with

his multitude. They shall call it: this shall give name to the valley, which is to be called

The valley of Hamon-gog: which appellation I do not know to be given to any valley as yet, probably because this prophecy is not yet fully accomplished.

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

11. The R.V. reads, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of them that pass through on the cast of the sea: and it shall stop them that pass through.” Instead of “east of” the sea, Keil reads, “in front of.” Toy reads, “I will give Gog a place of renown, a grave in Israel.” Instead of “it shall stop them that pass through,” the copies from which the Greek and Syriac translations were taken read, “they shall stop [build up, wall in] the mouth of the valley.” The passage is extremely difficult, but the obvious meaning is that the number of the slain, or the impurity and uncleanness of the place (Driver), shall cause the traffic through this valley to cease. “Hamon-gog” merely means “the multitude of Gog,” and in no way assists in discovering the location of this valley. If, with Cornill, instead of “the valley of them that pass through,” we read, as we probably should, “the valley of Abarim” (compare Num_27:12; Num_33:47), we are led to the frontier mountain of Israel, over against Moab, with the great horrible sulphurous valley of the Dead Sea at its foot, through which ran the ancient road most traveled by invaders from the East. (See G.A. Smith, Historical Geography, pp. 13, 261-278.)

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

Verses 11-16 contain a second proof of the completeness of Gog"s destruction, viz. the length of time occupied in burying the slain and cleansing the land.

Gog, who should invade Israel in the hope of acquiring the entire mastery of her land, would obtain at Jehovah"s hands only a place there of graves, i.e. either, as Hitzig, Ewald, Keil, and Smend suggest, a place where a grave might be possible a place large enough to receive his slaughtered carcasses; or as Havernick proposes, "an altogether special grave as no other in Israel;" or as Schroder interprets, "a place where there is a grave for him and nothing else." Concerning both the designation and the site of this divinely provided sepulcher controversy has arisen.

(1) As to its site. The notion of Michaelis and Eiehhom, that the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea was in some way related to the mountains of Abarim mentioned in Num_27:12 and Deu_32:49, and that of Hitzig, that it signified "the valley of the opposite heights," as in 1Sa_17:3, and was to be sought for in the "very great valley" of Zec_14:4, may at once be dismissed the former as untenable, and the latter as far-fetched. The suggestion of Hengstenberg and Kliefoth, that by the burial-place of Gog was meant the valley of Megiddo, where Josiah fell in battle against Pharaoh-Necho, (2Ki_23:29) derives support from these considerations, that the very name of Megiddo points to battles, that in its vicinity are found such passes as are here described, and that its modern designation Lejun (Leqio), in all probability contains a reminiscence of the present passage. It is, however, open to the obvious objections that the place of Gog"s burial was not contiguous to the field of his overthrow, and that the clause locating it "on the east of the sea," by which on this hypothesis must be understood the Mediterranean, is rather descriptive of the entire land than of any particular spot therein. Hence the view of Havernick, Ewald, Keil, and Smoud, which finds the valley in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea, is to be preferred, though, even with agreement as to this, interpreters are not unanimous as to the spot intended. Ewald thinks of "the horrible, unwholesome valley over against the sea, i.e. (comp. Eze_47:8) the Dead Sea, that valley which covers the ancient overbearing ones (die Zerreisenden), the Sodomites, who resemble these;" Keil, translating kidmath as "in front of," holds by "the valley of the Jordan above the Dead Sea;" Havernick and Smend advocate "a place outside the Holy Land," though the clause, "a grave in Israel," seems against this. Dr. Currey, in the "Speaker"s Commentary," hints, net without reason, that the valley was "imaginary.

(2) As to its designation. That in the word "passengers" lies a paronomasia is apparent; but whether threefold or only twofold is uncertain.

In the present verse may signify either

(1) such travelers as were wont to pass through the valley (Keil), which is the obvious and natural interpretation; or

(2) the warriors of Gog (Ewald, Hitzig), who intended to pass through the land, but whose invasion had only proved a passing storm; or

(3) the commissioners who should be appointed to pass through the land in search of bones (ver. 15). The notion of Ewald, who derives from hr; b, and translates "haughty," "overbearing," meaning the Gogites, is countenanced by no ether expositor. If the first sense be taken, then the verse will read, "The valley of the passers through, and it (the valley, in consequence of having become the grave of Gog) stops (the way of) the passers through;" i.e. it becomes thereafter impassable for travelers (Rosenm Keil); or, it stops the noses, or breath, of such travelers by reason of its horrible stench (Ewald, Havernick). If the second meaning be selected, the valley must be understood to have afterwards received its name from the fact that Gog"s warriors lay entombed beneath its sod, and "the stopping of the passengers" to signify that whereas Gog purposed to overrun the land, his destructive career was there ignominiously arrested (Schroder). If the third rendering be preferred, then the valley will be held to have derived its designation, after the event, from the passing through it or through the land of the searchers, in which case the stepping of the passengers can only have alluded to the fact that, as the "buriers" proceeded with the work of interment, they were compelled to turn away their faces and stop their noses because of the noisome effluvium which arose from the corpses. The first interpretation is the best, though the first and second might be combined by making the first "passengers" stand for the travelers and the second for the invaders, whose career should there be stopped; and to this view a certain countenance is lent by the statements which follow, that there should Gog and all his multitude literally, all his noisy tumult be buried, and that the valley ever afterwards should bear the name of Hamon-gog, or, Gogs multitude.

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

Gog - And to many of those with him; but many were given to the birds and beasts to be devoured. Graves - Gog came to take possession; and so he shall, but not as he purposed and hoped. He shall possess his house of darkness in that land which he invaded. The valley of the passengers - So called from the frequent travels of passengers through it from Egypt and Arabia Felix, into the more northern parts, and from these again into Egypt and Arabia. The sea - The Dead Sea. Hamon Gog - That is, the multitude of Gog.

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

Gog

(See Scofield "Eze 38:2").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Connecting Statement:

Yahweh begins to tell Ezekiel what will happen to Gog.

it will happen on that day that

This signals an important event. If your language has a way for doing this, you could use it here.

to the east of the sea

A few modern versions interpret the Hebrew expression here as "to the east toward the sea."

It will block

Possible meanings are 1) "The grave will block" or 2) "The dead army will block."

There they

"There the house of Israel"

They will call it

"People will call it"

Valley of Hamon Gog

"Valley of the Great Army of Gog"

translationWords

grave

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

I will give Gog a place there as a grave A place where there will be a grave for them. Since he is of the seed of Japtheth, who covered his father’s nakedness, he therefore merited burial.

the valley of those who pass along The valley where people pass the Sea of Kinnereth to bring from there Genossar fruits regularly.

the east side of the sea Jonathan renders: on the east of the Sea of Gennasar.

and it will then stop those who pass along [Heb. וְחֹסֶמֶת.] It closes off those who pass, like (Deut. 25: 4): “You shall not muzzle (לֹא תַחְסוֹם).” Because of the many corpses that will fall there, travelers will be prevented from passing through. Therefore, they will pass by them and bury them. Menachem (p. 91) interprets it in his book (Machbereth) to mean that they will close their nose so as not to smell the odor of the corpses.

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.