Ezekiel 47:10

Eze 47:10 And it shall come to pass, [that] the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a [place] to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

Ver. 10. The fishers shall stand upon it.] Upon the Dead Sea, where formerly they had little enough to do. This sea is the wide world dead in sins and trespasses. {Eph 2:1} These fishers are Christ’s apostles and ministers, who are called fishers of men, {Mat 4:19} and their preaching compared to fishing. {Mat 13:47} They fish with various success, as did Peter; {Luk 5:5} but may enclose a great multitude, as he did; {Act 2:41} and as Farellus, who gained five cities to Christ, who brought them to hand by whole shoals. Histories tell us of five hundred and eighty Jews converted to the Christian faith at Axvernum by one Avitus, a bishop, and baptized. {a}

From Engedi.] Called also Hazazontamar; {2Ch 20:2} that is, the city of palms, where grew the best balsam in the world, though it were near to the Dead Sea. {b}

Even unto Eneglaim.] Which is likewise a place adjacent to the Dead Sea, where Jordan falleth into it, as Jerome testifieth.

They shall be a place to spread forth nets.] Dr Preston being asked why he preached so plainly, and did so much dilate his sermons, being of such abilities? answered, he was a fisherman. Now such, if they should wind up their net, and so cast it into the sea, they should catch nothing; but when they spread the net, they catch the fish. I spread my net, because I would catch souls, said he; and indeed he had a very happy hand at it. {c}

The fish shall be according to their kinds.] The sea, they say, hath as many kinds of living creatures as the earth hath. "There is that leviathan, and there are creeping things innumerable." {Psa 105:1-45}

{a} Pappi, Eccles. Hist. Epit., p. 214.

{b} Joseph., De Bel., lib. i. cap. 13.

{c} Mr Wall’s "None but Christ," p. 400.

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 47:10. Fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi unto En-eglaim — En- gedi was in the wilderness of Judah, Jos 15:61-62. De L’Isle places it toward the south-west point of the Dead sea; and En-eglaim is placed by the same writer at the north of the Dead sea, where Jordan runs into it. It is mentioned, Isa 15:8, as a place on the borders of Moab, which country lay on the east side of the Dead sea. Bishop Newcome, following the punctuation adopted by the Syriac, Vulgate, and Arabic, reads, From En-gedi even to En-eglaim there shall be a spreading forth of nets; by which is signified, that fishers should be employed along the whole coast of it, denoting the multitude of gospel preachers, all over the world, labouring to gain sinners to Christ. Their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea — That is, the Mediterranean; exceeding many — Great multitudes of sinners, of all descriptions, in a thousand diversified forms of guilt and wretchedness, shall be brought to God by the word of these preachers, these fishers of men. So that this is a further amplification of what is said in Eze 47:8, that the waters should be healed, and strongly illustrates the salutary effect of the gospel, and the multitude of converts that should be made in the Gentile countries, even in the most idolatrous, ignorant, and wicked.

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

47:10 From En-gedi, a town on the west side of the Dead Sea, to En-eglaim, a town on the east side, the Dead Sea would be brought from death to life. This water, so full of salt and other minerals that it is devoid of life, would teem with enough fish to support a major fishing industry.

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

Signifying, that when God bestoweth his mercies in such abundance, the ministers shall by their preaching win many.

Which were cities at the corners of the salt or dead sea.

They shall be here of all sorts, and in as great abundance as in the great Ocean where they are bred.

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

En-gedi . . . En-eglaim--En-gedi (meaning "fountain of the kid"), anciently, Hazazon-Tamar, now Ain-Jidy; west of the Dead Sea; David's place of refuge from Saul. En-eglaim means "fountain of two calves," on the confines of Moab, over against En-gedi, and near where Jordan enters the Dead Sea (Isa 15:8). These two limits are fixed on, to comprise between them the whole Dead Sea.

fish . . . according to their kinds--JEROME quotes an ancient theory that "there are a hundred fifty-three kinds of fishes," all of which were taken by the apostles (Joh 21:11), and not one remained uncaptured; signifying that both the noble and baseborn, the rich and the poor, and every class, are being drawn out of the sea of the world to salvation. Compare Mat 13:47, the gospel net; the apostles being fishermen, at first literally, afterwards spiritually (Mat 4:19).

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 10. The fishers shall stand upon it] On the above plan of interpretation these must mean -

1. The apostles of our Lord Jesus.

2. The preachers of the everlasting Gospel. See Mt 4:19.

From En-gedi] At the southern extremity of the Dead Sea.

Unto En-eglaim] At the northern extremity of the same.

Their fish shall be according to their kinds] Every kind of fish, and the fish all excellent of their kinds. All nations, and kindreds, and people shall be called by the Gospel; it shall not be an excluding system like that of Judaism, for its Author tasted death for every man.

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

(10) From En-gedi even unto En-eglaim.—En-gedi, “the fountain of the goat,” is a well-known copious spring about midway on the western coast of the Dead Sea. En-eglaim occurs only here, and has not been certainly identified. St. Jerome speaks of “Engallim” as at the junction of the Jordan with the sea, and near this point there is a fountain now known as Ain-el-Feshkhah. Others consider that the dual form of the name indicates “one of the double cities of Moab,” thus placing it on the eastern side of the sea, and this seems more probable, since the expression would then be equivalent to “the whole breadth of the sea.” Everywhere they shall stretch their nets, and the variety and abundance of the fish shall be as great as in “the great sea,” that is, the Mediterranean. This whole verse in regard to the fishermen is a striking illustration of Ezekiel’s way of carrying out the most ideal description into detail.

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

10. En-gedi, the modern Ain Jidy, kid’s well, situated about the middle of the west shore of the Dead Sea. En-eglaim has not been identified; it probably lay N. toward the mouth of the Jordan. It has been supposed to be Ain Feshkah, Robinson ii. 489. The word differs in spelling from Eglaim, Isa_15:8, which probably lay to the south of the sea.

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 Gospel times: what follows had a fulfilment in the first times of the Gospel, and will have a greater in the latter times of it:

that the fishers shall stand upon it; upon the brink of the river, or the shore of the sea, whose waters will be healed by this river running into them. These "fishers" are the apostles of Christ, who, of fishermen, were made fishers of men by him; to whom he gave a call, and a commission, and gifts qualifying them to preach the Gospel; whereby they caught men, and brought them to Christ; and so were the instruments of saving them, even of great numbers, both in Judea, and in the Gentile world; of which some instances of their fishing, after their call to the ministry, were emblematical; Mat 4:18, likewise all other ministers of the Gospel are here meant, especially those that will be in the latter day; compared to fishers for the meanness and contemptibleness of their employment in the eyes of the world; for their labouriousness in it, and for their patient waiting for success therein; and for the bad weather, storms, and tempests, they are exposed unto, the reproach and persecution of men; and their being the happy means of drawing souls out of the abyss of sin and misery unto Christ, for life and salvation: and their "standing" upon the brink of the waters to catch fish may denote their constancy their work; their strict attachment to the doctrines of the Gospel, and their waiting for success in it.

From Engedi even unto Eneglaim; two places, which, according to Jerom, lay, the latter one at the entrance of the Dead sea, and the former at the end of it; but Reland (k) observes that this could not be, if Josephus is to be credited, who makes Engedi to be about forty miles from Jerusalem (l); therefore could not be far from the beginning of the Dead sea, and not where it ended; since the Dead sea, or the lake of Asphaltites, was in length seventy three miles, and, consequently, Engedi must be more than seventy five or ninety miles from Jerusalem; but that it was at the beginning of it is still further manifest from the same writer making the lake to be just such a number of miles from Jerusalem (m) as he does Engedi; and whereas Engedi was on the western shore of the lake, as appears from Pliny (n), it is probable there was another city on the eastern shore, opposite to it, called Eneglaim; and there was a city on that side, the name of which was Agallim, which, according to Eusebius, was eight miles from Areopolis: and so it may signify the extent of the Gospel ministry, which, in the latter day, will be from one end of the earth to the other; and which took a large circuit in the times of the apostles, and particularly by the Apostle Paul, Rom 15:19.

They shall be a place to spread forth nets; that is, the above said places shall be made use of for that purpose; which design the Gospel, and the ministry of it, compared to a net, for its meanness in the esteem of the world; and yet is a piece of curious artifice and wisdom, even the manifold wisdom of God, and is contrived for the gathering in of sinners to Christ; and, though it may be like a net "per accidens", the means of troubling the world, and drawing out the corruptions of the men of it; yet its principal design, and the use that is made of it, is to draw souls out of the depths of sin unto the grace of Christ; see Mat 13:47, the spreading and casting of nets design the preaching of the Gospel, and the opening and explaining the doctrines of it, which are shut up and hidden to men; and to do which requires wisdom and skill, strength, diligence, and patience, and is done at a venture; and sometimes is cast where fish are, and sometimes not; but here, and at this time, with great success.

For their fish shall be according to their kind, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many: that is, there shall be fish of all sorts, small and great, and in large numbers, as in the great ocean, or as in the Mediterranean sea. These signify regenerated persons, who are born of water and the Spirit by the word of God, which is their element; they cannot live but in these waters of the sanctuary, and where the doctrines of grace are preached. Now many of all nations, and men of all ranks, will be called; kings, princes, nobles, as well as peasants; men high and low, rich and poor, and multitudes of them, like the fishes of the sea; which will be the case when the Jews will be converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles brought in.

(k) Palestina Illustrata, I. 2. p. 449. & l. 3. p. 763. (l) Antiqu. l. 9. c. 1. sect. 2. (m) Antiqu. l. 15. c. 6. sect 2. (n) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 17.

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

“En-gedi” (see 1Sa 23:29) was about the middle of the western shore of the Dead Sea.

En-eglaim does not occur elsewhere. Its form indicates that it was one of the double cities of Moab (see Eze 25:9 note). It has been identified with “Ain-el-Feshkah” to the north on the western bank of the Dead Sea. On this supposition, “from En-eglaim to En-gedi” would be the line of coast from the most northern fountain to the principal fountain southward.

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

Engallim, or "the fountain of Gallim," in the tribe of Benjamin, Isaias xxv. 44.

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 fishers; men whose trade is to fish for livelihood and profit.

Shall stand; shall dispose of themselves about these waters; either on the shore along the river-side, or in boats on the sea, to take the fish.

Upon it; the sea, whose waters healed become fruitful.

From En-gedi; which lay on the south-west of the lake of Sodom, so near, that it is reported there are the trees which bring forth fruit beautiful to the eye, but touched with the hand fall into ashes; yet on those parts more remote from this sea, En-gedi affords excellent vines, Son 1:14, or gardens of balsam trees.

Unto En-eglaim; a city on the north-east of the Dead Sea, near which place Jordan runs into it, and they say it is a boundary town of Moab. Others will have it no proper, but a common name, and signifying the confluence of waters in any place; if so, it will be likeliest to be understood of that part of the Red Sea where Jordan and two lesser rivers run into it, at the north and north-east end of this sea.

A place to spread forth nets, all along on the west side of this sea, to dry them and fit them again.

According to their kinds; of all sorts.

As the fish of the great sea; for number, growth, and goodness for use.

Exceeding many, or great, of exceeding great bigness in their several kinds. All this is mystical, and fulfilled since Christ hath made his ministers, as he made his apostles, fishers of men.

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

As another consequence of the inflowing of this river into the Dead Sea, it is stated that the fishers (rather, fishers, without the article) should stand upon its banks, from Engedi, even unto Englaim; there shall be a place to spread forth nets. The Revised Version more correctly renders, fishers shall stand by it; from Engedi even unto Eneglaim, shall be a place for the spreading of nets; or, more literally, a place of spreading, out for nets. (comp. Eze_26:5) Engedi, ydiG, ye, meaning "Fountain of the kid;" originally styled Hazezon-Tamar, (2Ch_20:2) now called Ain Jidy (Robinson," Bibl. Res.," 2:214), was situated in the middle of the west coast of the Dead Sea, and not at its southern extremity, as Jerome supposed. Englaim, ye, signifying "Fountain of two calves," was located by Jerome, who cars it En Gallim, at the northern extremity of the Dead Sea, and is usually identified with the modern Ain Feshkhah, or "Fountain of mist," at the northern end of the west coast, where the ruins of houses and a small tower have been discovered (Robinson, "Bibl. Res.," 2:220). Ewald cites Isa_15:8 toshow that Englaim was on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, which, Smend notes, was given up by the prophet to the sons of the East.

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

En-gedi - Which lay on the southwest of the lake of Sodom. En-eglaim - A city on the northeast of the Dead-sea. To spread forth nets - All along on the west-side of this sea to dry them.

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

And it will be [a place] beside which fishermen will stand etc., nets [Heb. לַחֲרָמִים,] for nets

their fish will be of many kinds לְמִינָה.] This does not have a “mappik hey,” and it means that its fish will be of many kinds of many kinds.

of many kinds [Heb. לְמִינָה,] a form of the word to denote a profusion of kinds, as in (Exod. 7:21): “And the fish וְהֲדָּגָה in the river”; (Isa. 21:2): “All sighs (אָנְחָתָה) have I brought to an end.”

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.