CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>Ezekiel 38 Benson Commentary</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/benson/ezekiel/381.htm" /><link href='//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Cardo&subset=greek-ext' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/ezekiel/38.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/ezekiel/38-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="/commentaries/">Commentary</a> > <a href="../">Benson</a> > <a href="../ezekiel/">Ezekiel</a></div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../ezekiel/37.htm" title="Ezekiel 37">◄</a> Ezekiel 38 <a href="../ezekiel/39.htm" title="Ezekiel 39">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Benson Commentary</div><div class="chap"> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-1.htm">Ezekiel 38:1</a></div><div class="verse">And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,</div><A name="2"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-2.htm">Ezekiel 38:2</a></div><div class="verse">Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,</div><span class="bld"><a href="/context/ezekiel/38-2.htm" title="Son of man, set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,...">Ezekiel 38:2-3</a></span>. <span class="ital">Set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog — </span>We find, <a href="/genesis/10-2.htm" title="The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.">Genesis 10:2</a>, that the second son of Japhet was called Magog, but Ezekiel uses the word here as the name of the country of which Gog was prince: and Michaelis thinks that it denotes those vast regions to the north of India and China, which the Greeks called <span class="ital">Scythia, </span>and which we term <span class="ital">Tartary. </span>Houbigant also thinks that the prophet here means the <span class="ital">Scythians, </span>who are the descendants of Magog, the son of Japhet, and whose neighbours were the people of <span class="ital">Rosh, Meshech, </span>and <span class="ital">Tubal; </span>that is, the <span class="ital">Russians, Muscovites, </span>and <span class="ital">Tibareni, </span>or <span class="ital">Cappadocians; </span>and thus Theodoret and Josephus understand it. The Turks are generally allowed to be of Scythian origin. Scythopolis and Hierapolis, which cities the Scythians took when they overcame Syria, were ever after by the Syrians called <span class="ital">Magog: </span>see Plin, 50. 5. c. 23. The Arabs call the Chinese wall <span class="ital">Sud Yagog et Magog, </span>that is, the mud wall, or rampart of Gog and Magog. Gog and Magog are mentioned in <a href="/revelation/20-8.htm" title="And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.">Revelation 20:8</a>; and these, says Bishop Newton, “seem to have been formerly the general name of the northern nations of Europe and Asia, as the Scythians have been since, and the Tartars are at present. The prophecy in the Revelation alludes to this of Ezekiel in many particulars; both the one and the other remain yet to be fulfilled, and therefore we cannot be absolutely certain that they may not both relate to the same event. But it seems more probable that they relate to different events: the one is expected to take effect before, but the other will not take effect till after the Millennium. Gog and Magog in Ezekiel are said expressly, <a href="/ezekiel/38-6.htm" title="Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with you.">Ezekiel 38:6</a>; <a href="/ezekiel/38-15.htm" title="And you shall come from your place out of the north parts, you, and many people with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company, and a mighty army:">Ezekiel 38:15</a>, and <a href="/ezekiel/39-2.htm" title="And I will turn you back, and leave but the sixth part of you, and will cause you to come up from the north parts, and will bring you on the mountains of Israel:">Ezekiel 39:2</a>, to come from the <span class="ital">north quarters, </span>and the <span class="ital">north parts; </span>but in St. John they come from <span class="ital">the four quarters, </span>or <span class="ital">corners of the earth. </span>Gog and Magog in Ezekiel bend their forces against the Jews re-settled in their own land; but in St. John they march up against <span class="ital">the saints </span>and church of God in general. Gog and Magog in Ezekiel are, with very good reason, supposed to be the Turks, but the Turks are the authors of <span class="ital">the second wo; and the second wo, </span><a href="/revelation/11-14.htm" title="The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe comes quickly.">Revelation 11:14</a>, <span class="ital">is past before the third wo; and the third wo </span>long precedes the time here treated of. It may therefore be concluded that Gog and Magog, as well as Sodom, and Egypt, and Babylon, are mystic names in the book of Revelation; and the last enemies of the Christian Church are so denominated, because Gog and Magog appear to be the last enemies of the Jewish nation. Who they shall be, we cannot pretend to say with the least degree of certainty.” <span class="ital">The chief prince of Meshech and Tubal — </span>The king or head of all those northern nations which lie upon the Euxine sea: see note on <a href="/ezekiel/27-13.htm" title="Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were your merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in your market.">Ezekiel 27:13</a>. The LXX. take the word <span class="ital">Rosh, </span>here translated <span class="ital">chief, </span>for a proper name, and render the clause, <span class="ital">The prince of Rosh, Meshech, </span>&c. So taken it may signify those inhabitants of Scythia from whom the <span class="ital">Russians </span>derive their name and original.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="3"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-3.htm">Ezekiel 38:3</a></div><div class="verse">And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I <i>am</i> against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:</div><A name="4"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-4.htm">Ezekiel 38:4</a></div><div class="verse">And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts <i>of armour, even</i> a great company <i>with</i> bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:</div><span class="bld"><a href="/context/ezekiel/38-4.htm" title="And I will turn you back, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:...">Ezekiel 38:4-6</a></span>. <span class="ital">I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws — </span>I will disappoint all thy designs, and turn thee about as easily as a fisherman masters a great fish, when he hath once fastened the hook into its jaws: see <a href="/ezekiel/29-4.htm" title="But I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales, and I will bring you up out of the middle of your rivers, and all the fish of your rivers shall stick to your scales.">Ezekiel 29:4</a>. <span class="ital">And I will bring thee forth — </span>Or, <span class="ital">after I have brought thee forth; </span>that is, after I have so disposed matters that thou hast been induced to come forth out of thine own country, to invade, spoil, and destroy other countries. <span class="ital">Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them — </span>As their allies. <span class="ital">Ethiopia </span>and <span class="ital">Libya </span>are called <span class="ital">Cush </span>and <span class="ital">Phut </span>in the Hebrew, and are joined together as allies, <a href="/ezekiel/30-5.htm" title="Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.">Ezekiel 30:5</a>, where see the note. The Persians are in like manner joined with Africans, <a href="/ezekiel/27-10.htm" title="They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in your army, your men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in you; they set forth your comeliness.">Ezekiel 27:10</a>. <span class="ital">All of them with shield and helmet — </span>So the Libyans, or people of <span class="ital">Phut, </span>are described, <a href="/jeremiah/46-9.htm" title="Come up, you horses; and rage, you chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.">Jeremiah 46:9</a>, as <span class="ital">handling the shield, </span>that is, being remarkable for their great and large shields, as Xenophon relates of them, <span class="ital">Cyropæd., </span>lib. 6. <span class="ital">Gomer and all his bands — </span>Gomer is joined with Magog, <a href="/genesis/10-2.htm" title="The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.">Genesis 10:2</a>, and probably here signifies Galatia, Phrygia, and Bithynia, which, with Cappadocia, denoted by Togarmah, comprehend all the northern parts of Asia Minor, which border upon the Euxine sea. Concerning <span class="ital">Togarmah,</span> see note on <a href="/ezekiel/27-14.htm" title="They of the house of Togarmah traded in your fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.">Ezekiel 27:14</a>. <span class="ital">And many people with thee — </span>Those of Cilicia, Pamphylia, and other nations inhabiting Asia Minor.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="5"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-5.htm">Ezekiel 38:5</a></div><div class="verse">Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:</div><A name="6"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-6.htm">Ezekiel 38:6</a></div><div class="verse">Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: <i>and</i> many people with thee.</div><A name="7"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-7.htm">Ezekiel 38:7</a></div><div class="verse">Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.</div><span class="bld"><a href="/ezekiel/38-7.htm" title="Be you prepared, and prepare for yourself, you, and all your company that are assembled to you, and be you a guard to them.">Ezekiel 38:7</a></span>. <span class="ital">Be thou prepared — </span>The prophet, speaking ironically, encourages Gog and his allies to make all warlike preparations, and muster all their forces together, that God might gain the greater honour by their signal defeat: see <a href="/ezekiel/38-16.htm" title="And you shall come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring you against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in you, O Gog, before their eyes.">Ezekiel 38:16</a>. <span class="ital">And be thou a guard unto them — </span>Let them rely upon thy prowess and conduct as their leader.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="8"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-8.htm">Ezekiel 38:8</a></div><div class="verse">After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land <i>that is</i> brought back from the sword, <i>and is</i> gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.</div><span class="bld"><a href="/context/ezekiel/38-8.htm" title="After many days you shall be visited: in the latter years you shall come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them....">Ezekiel 38:8-9</a></span>. <span class="ital">After many days thou shalt be visited </span>— In the latter days of the Messiah’s kingdom among men, or after a succession of many generations, shall the judgment here mentioned be inflicted by God upon thee. <span class="ital">In the latter years — </span>Or <span class="ital">days, </span>as in the former clause, and <a href="/ezekiel/38-16.htm" title="And you shall come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring you against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in you, O Gog, before their eyes.">Ezekiel 38:16</a>; that is, toward the end of the world: compare <a href="/daniel/8-26.htm" title="And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: why shut you up the vision; for it shall be for many days.">Daniel 8:26</a>. <span class="ital">Thou — </span>Gog, with all thy numbers; <span class="ital">shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword — </span>The land of the Jews, a people recovered from the countries into which they had been dispersed by the sword of their enemies. The <span class="ital">land, </span>it must be observed, is here put for the people of the land, who are said to be <span class="ital">brought back from the sword, </span>in the same sense in which they are elsewhere styled a <span class="ital">remnant; </span>those being intended that should remain after the various judgments that had fallen upon the nation, and the hardships they had suffered in their several dispersions. <span class="ital">And is gathered out of many people — </span>Among whom they had been scattered: see note on <a href="/ezekiel/34-13.htm" title="And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them on the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.">Ezekiel 34:13</a>. <span class="ital">Against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste — </span>It is already two thousand five hundred years since the ten tribes were carried away out of their own land by Shalmaneser. Certainly the expression, <span class="ital">always, </span>or <span class="ital">perpetually waste, </span>denotes a much longer desolation of the country than that which it suffered during the Babylonish captivity. It seems, all the various desolations of Judea are here included, namely, those by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Antiochus Epiphanes, the Romans, and lastly, as at this time, by the Turks. <span class="ital">But it — </span>The land of Canaan, that is, the people of it, <span class="ital">is brought forth out of the nations — </span>This is a repetition of what was said just before, namely, that Israel had been wonderfully preserved, and restored to their own land, through the particular providence of God; to which is added, <span class="ital">And they shall dwell safely all of them — </span>That is, the same divine power that has delivered and restored them will still continue to protect them. <span class="ital">Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm — </span>Thou shalt come suddenly, and with a mighty and destructive force. <span class="ital">Thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land</span> — Thy forces shall be so very numerous as to overspread the land like a dark cloud, which makes every thing look melancholy and dismal: see <a href="/ezekiel/30-3.htm" title="For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.">Ezekiel 30:3</a>. The sense of the passage is, that after the return of the Jews and Israelites into their own country, and their having lived there for some time in peace and safety, this enemy will think to take advantage of their security, and fall upon them unexpectedly. “It seems to me,” says Bishop Newcome, “that the prophecy remains to be fulfilled after the future re-establishment of the converted Jews in their own land, when the Mahommedans and pagans will invade them. On this supposition, the subject matter of this and the following chapter is well connected with the promises of distant blessings made toward the close of chap. 37.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="9"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-9.htm">Ezekiel 38:9</a></div><div class="verse">Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.</div><A name="10"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-10.htm">Ezekiel 38:10</a></div><div class="verse">Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, <i>that</i> at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:</div><span class="bld"><a href="/context/ezekiel/38-10.htm" title="Thus said the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into your mind, and you shall think an evil thought:...">Ezekiel 38:10-13</a></span>. <span class="ital">It shall come to pass at the same time — </span>The time when my people are gathered together, settled in peace in their own land, and think themselves secure; <span class="ital">shall things come into thy mind </span>— Mischievous things; <span class="ital">and thou shalt think an evil thought — </span>Shalt entertain a malicious design for the destruction of my people. <span class="ital">And thou shalt say — </span>Wilt resolve in thyself; <span class="ital">I will go up — </span>I will invade with all my forces; <span class="ital">the land of unwalled villages — </span>A people weak, and destitute of any considerable defences. <span class="ital">To them that are at rest — </span>Who would willingly be quiet, and suspect as little evil from others as they intend against others, and who trust in the protection of their God, who hath promised they shall dwell safely. <span class="ital">Dwelling without walls, </span>&c. — That is, having no sufficient fortifications to defend them against the force of an enemy. <span class="ital">To take a spoil,</span> &c. — With the thoughts of taking a large spoil without any difficulty. <span class="ital">To turn thy hand upon the desolate places — </span>To go against, or fall upon, a country which had lain a long time desolate, but which has been peopled again, and come into a flourishing condition. Judea is very plainly marked out by this land, which Gog is here represented as designing to attack, because it lay open to be invaded. <span class="ital">That dwell in the midst of the land — </span>Hebrew, <span class="ital">in the navel of the land, </span>that is, in Jerusalem, which stood nearly in the middle of Judea, and was situate upon a rising ground, which the Hebrew metaphorically expresses by <span class="ital">the navel. Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish — </span>These were people that traded much, the two former dwelling in the east, and the merchants of Tarshish often sailing from the Spanish coasts into the eastern parts, as having commerce with Tyre, which bordered upon Judea. “These merchants, as soon as they heard of this intended invasion, came into Gog’s camp as to a market, to buy both persons and goods which should come into the conqueror’s power.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">With all the young lions thereof — </span>Their kings and princes, as the Targum understands it; or their chief merchants, who are described as so many princes, (<a href="/isaiah/23-8.htm" title="Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth?">Isaiah 23:8</a>,) and are called <span class="ital">lions </span>because of the injustice and oppression they too commonly practised in their commerce.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="11"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-11.htm">Ezekiel 38:11</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,</div><A name="12"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-12.htm">Ezekiel 38:12</a></div><div class="verse">To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places <i>that are now</i> inhabited, and upon the people <i>that are</i> gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.</div><A name="13"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-13.htm">Ezekiel 38:13</a></div><div class="verse">Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?</div><A name="14"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-14.htm">Ezekiel 38:14</a></div><div class="verse">Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know <i>it</i>?</div><span class="bld"><a href="/context/ezekiel/38-14.htm" title="Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, Thus said the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwells safely, shall you not know it?...">Ezekiel 38:14-16</a></span>. <span class="ital">In that day, </span>&c. — At that remarkable time, when I shall gather my people from their dispersions and bring them again to their own land, and they shall be established therein and <span class="ital">dwell safely, </span>without apprehension of danger from any enemy, and without any defence to prevent their being attacked; <span class="ital">shalt thou not know it? — </span>Will they not be pointed out to thee as a people thou mayest easily conquer, and with whose spoils thou mayest without difficulty enrich thyself? <span class="ital">And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts — </span>See on <a href="/ezekiel/38-6.htm" title="Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with you.">Ezekiel 38:6</a>; <span class="ital">thou and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, </span>&c. — The character here given of this people may properly be applied to the Turks or Tartars, the strength of whose armies consists principally in their cavalry. <span class="ital">As a cloud to cover the land </span>— See on <a href="/ezekiel/38-9.htm" title="You shall ascend and come like a storm, you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your bands, and many people with you.">Ezekiel 38:9</a>. <span class="ital">It shall be in the latter days — </span>This is repeated to prevent the application of the prophecy to any event that should take place before the days of the Messiah: see on <a href="/ezekiel/38-8.htm" title="After many days you shall be visited: in the latter years you shall come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.">Ezekiel 38:8</a>. <span class="ital">And I will bring thee against my land — </span>I will permit thee to come; <span class="ital">that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee — </span>Shall be confessed to be a great God over all, a gracious and faithful God to my people, and a dreadful enemy and avenger against the wicked. <span class="ital">Before their eyes — </span>In the sight of all the heathen that are with Gog, and much more in the sight of God’s own people. This signal victory over Gog and his associates shall be a means of bringing infidels to give glory to God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="15"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-15.htm">Ezekiel 38:15</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:</div><A name="16"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-16.htm">Ezekiel 38:16</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.</div><A name="17"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-17.htm">Ezekiel 38:17</a></div><div class="verse">Thus saith the Lord GOD; <i>Art</i> thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days <i>many</i> years that I would bring thee against them?</div><span class="bld"><a href="/ezekiel/38-17.htm" title="Thus said the Lord GOD; Are you he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring you against them?">Ezekiel 38:17</a></span>. <span class="ital">Art thou he? — </span>This would be better translated, <span class="ital">Art thou not he? </span>a sense which the Hebrew particle of interrogation often imports; <span class="ital">of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets — </span>“It is doubtful by what prophets God foretold the irruption of Gog; but though nothing of this kind be found in the prophets that remain, it is enough that Ezekiel did not first foretel these things. Many of the sacred pages are lost, which might probably be extant when Ezekiel delivered this prophecy.” — Houbigant. The expressions here used, <span class="ital">of old time, </span>and <span class="ital">which prophesied in those days, </span>many <span class="ital">years, </span>plainly imply that there was to be a succession of many ages between the publishing of these prophecies, and this event foretold by them.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="18"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-18.htm">Ezekiel 38:18</a></div><div class="verse">And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, <i>that</i> my fury shall come up in my face.</div><span class="bld"><a href="/context/ezekiel/38-18.htm" title="And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, said the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face....">Ezekiel 38:18-20</a></span>. <span class="ital">My fury shall come up in my face </span>— An expression taken from human passions, which cause the blood to fly up into the face. So Isaiah describes Almighty God as <span class="ital">burning with anger, his lips </span>being <span class="ital">full of indignation, </span>and <span class="ital">his tongue as a consuming fire, </span><a href="/context/ezekiel/22-31.htm" title="Therefore have I poured out my indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed on their heads, said the Lord GOD....">Ezekiel 22:31-31</a>, where see the note. <span class="ital">For in my jealousy — </span>My zeal for the salvation and happiness of my people, and for my own glory; <span class="ital">have I spoken — </span>Against my enemy Gog, and his herd. <span class="ital">Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking — </span>A <span class="ital">great commotion, </span>as Dr. Waterland renders the expression; or a great disturbance, tumult, and confusion. Great changes and alterations in kingdoms and governments are often expressed in Scripture by <span class="ital">shaking of heaven and earth, the sea and dry land: </span>see the margin. <span class="ital">So that the fishes of the sea, &c., shall shake at my presence — </span>Every part of the creation shall bear its share of this calamity, as if there were a convulsion of the whole frame of nature. The prophets often describe God’s judgments upon particular countries or persons, as if a dissolution of the whole world took place, because his particular judgments are an earnest of the general judgment: see note on <a href="/isaiah/13-10.htm" title="For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.">Isaiah 13:10</a>. <span class="ital">And the mountains shall be thrown down </span>— The strong holds situate on the mountains, and the walls, towers, and other fortifications, shall be beat down and demolished.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="19"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-19.htm">Ezekiel 38:19</a></div><div class="verse">For in my jealousy <i>and</i> in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;</div><A name="20"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-20.htm">Ezekiel 38:20</a></div><div class="verse">So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that <i>are</i> upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.</div><A name="21"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-21.htm">Ezekiel 38:21</a></div><div class="verse">And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.</div><span class="bld"><a href="/context/ezekiel/38-21.htm" title="And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, said the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother....">Ezekiel 38:21-22</a></span>. <span class="ital">And I will call — </span>Rather, <span class="ital">But I will call, for a sword against him — </span>That is, when he has carried all before him for some time, I will at length raise up those who shall withstand him. God’s doing a thing is often expressed in Scripture by his speaking the word, and giving out his command. Thus he is said Psalm (<a href="/psalms/105-16.htm" title="Moreover he called for a famine on the land: he broke the whole staff of bread.">Psalm 105:16</a>) <span class="ital">to call for a dearth upon the land of Canaan. Throughout all my mountains — </span>Throughout all the land of Judea; for, as has been observed before, Judea being very mountainous, it is often in Scripture denominated <span class="ital">the mountains of Israel, </span>or, <span class="ital">the mountains of the Lord. Every man’s sword shall be against his brother — </span>God often destroys his enemies by intestine quarrels among themselves, and making them executioners of his judgments upon each other: see the margin. <span class="ital">And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood — </span>Or, <span class="ital">I will plead with him. </span>God pleads with men by his judgments, which are a manifest token of the vengeance due to their sins. <span class="ital">And I will rain upon him, &c., an overflowing rain, </span>&c. — I will as plainly show myself in the destruction of these my enemies, as when I discomfited the armies of the Canaanites and Philistines by tempests of thunder and hail, or when I consumed Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimstone from heaven. “It is plain that the extraordinary circumstances mentioned in these verses remain to be accomplished on the future enemies of the Jews, when God’s people are reinstated in his favour.” — Bishop Newcome. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="22"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-22.htm">Ezekiel 38:22</a></div><div class="verse">And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that <i>are</i> with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.</div><A name="23"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezekiel/38-23.htm">Ezekiel 38:23</a></div><div class="verse">Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I <i>am</i> the LORD.</div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. Used by Permission. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../ezekiel/37.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Ezekiel 37"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Ezekiel 37" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../ezekiel/39.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Ezekiel 39"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Ezekiel 39" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/ezekiel/38-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="/commentaries/ellicott/sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><br /><br /><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchap.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></body></html>