Ezekiel 20:46

“Son of man, set thy force toward the south, &c.] The land of Judea, which lay south of Babylon, where the prophet now was, as Babylon lay north of that, (<240114>Jeremiah 1:14 4:6) to set his face was to speak freely and boldly, with courage and constancy, and without fear and dread, to the inhabitants of it; and as a token of the Lord’s face being set against them for their sins. The Targum is, “take a prophecy towards the way of the south.” And drop thy word toward the south; or prophesy, as the Targum; doctrine or prophecy being compared to rain, and the delivery of it to the dropping or distilling of rain; which falls gently, gradually, successively, and oftentimes with weight, and to…”

“south . . . south . . . south--three different Hebrew words, to express the certainty of the divine displeasure resting on the region specified. The third term is from a root meaning "dry," referring to the sun's heat in the south; representing the burning judgments of God on the southern parts of Judea, of which Jerusalem was the capital. set thy face--determinately. The prophets used to turn themselves towards those who were to be the subjects of their prophecies. drop--as the rain, which flows in a continuous stream, sometimes gently (Deu 32:2), sometimes violently (Amo 7:16; Mic 2:6, Margin), as here. forest--the densely populated country of Judea; trees representing people.”

“This paragraph is in the Hebrew text, Septuagint and Vulgate the beginning of Ezekiel 21:0 to which it belongs, as it contains a prophecy delivered in a form which is there explained. It may, however, be regarded as a link between the foregoing and following prophecies, being a general introduction to seven words of judgment about to be pronounced in development of that which has just been delivered. Ezekiel 20:46 In this verse occur three Hebrew synonyms for “south,” denoting: (1) the region on the right, Teman 1 Samuel 23:24; (2) the region of dryness, Negeb Joshua 15:4; (3) the region of brightness, Darom Deuteronomy 33:23. The variety of terms helps the force of the application. Chebar…”

“The south - Look toward Jerusalem, and the land of Canaan. Drop thy word - Let thy word distil, begin with softer words, before thou shower down with the vehemency of a storm. The forest - Jerusalem, which was become like a forest. Ezekiel 20:47”

“20:46 turn and face the south (literally turn toward Teman): Teman was a town in Edom, southeast of Judah. • The Negev was southwest of the Dead Sea.”

“set: Eze 4:7, Eze 6:2 toward: Towards Judea, which lay south of Mesopotamia, where the prophet now dwelt. and drop: Eze 21:2; Deu 32:2; Job 29:22; Amo 7:16; Mic 2:6 \*marg. the forest: The city of Jerusalem, as full of inhabitants as the forest is of trees. Jer 13:19, Jer 22:7; Zac 11:1, Zac 11:2 Ezekiel 20:47”