Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Gog’s soldiers will be buried for seven months, the birds will feast on the remains, and God will establish Israel in its land.
II. Photo
The birds will feast: “And you, O mortal, say to every winged bird and to all the wild beasts: Thus said the Lord God: Assemble, come and gather from all around for the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you — a great sacrificial feast — upon the mountains of Israel, and eat flesh and drink blood!” (v. 17)
III. Important Verses
3-5: I will strike your bow from your left hand and I will loosen the arrows from your right hand. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your battalions and the peoples who are with you; and I will give you as food to carrion birds of every sort and to the beasts of the field, as you lie in the open field. For I have spoken — declares the Lord GOD.
9-10: Then the inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out and make fires and feed them with the weapons — shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, clubs and spears; they shall use them as fuel for seven years. They will not gather firewood in the fields or cut any in the forests, but will use the weapons as fuel for their fires. They will despoil those who despoiled them and plunder those who plundered them — declares the Lord GOD.
11-12: On that day I will assign to Gog a burial site there in Israel — the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Sea. It shall block the path of travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It shall be called the Valley of Gog’s Multitude. The House of Israel shall spend seven months burying them, in order to cleanse the land.
17-20: And you, O mortal, say to every winged bird and to all the wild beasts: Thus said the Lord GOD: Assemble, come and gather from all around for the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you — a great sacrificial feast — upon the mountains of Israel, and eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth: rams, lambs, he-goats, and bulls — fatlings of Bashan all of them. You shall eat fat to satiety and drink your fill of blood from the sacrificial feast that I have prepared for you. And you shall sate yourselves at My table with horses, charioteers, warriors, and all fighting men — declares the Lord GOD.
IV. Outline
1a. Introduction
1b-5. Gog’s soldiers will die in the hills of Israel
6. Doom for Magog
7. Recognition of God formula
8-10. Israel will use Gog’s weapons as firewood
11-16. The people will bury Gog’s dead for seven months
17-20. The birds will feast on the dead soldiers
21-24. Recognition of God formula: the reason for God’s punishing Israel
25-29. God will restore Israel in its land
V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.
VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Allen, Leslie C. “Ezekiel 1-19” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 28 (Waco, Texas: Wordbook, 1994).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Hals, Ronald M. “Ezekiel” The forms of the Old Testament Literature vol. 19 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1989)
Photo taken from http://www.southafrica.to/transport/Airlines/cheapest-flight-survey/2008/Thabazimbi_vultures.jpg
