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Ezekiel 39:12

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 39:12 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land.
Ezekiel 39:12 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 39

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
9And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
10so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall make fires of the weapons; and they shall plunder those that plundered them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord Jehovah.
11And 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 east of the sea; and it shall stop them that pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog.
12And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land.
13Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown in the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord Jehovah.
14And they shall set apart men of continual employment, that shall pass through the land, and, with them that pass through, those that bury them that remain upon the face of the land, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15And they that pass through the land shall pass through; and when any seeth a man`s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog.
← Ezekiel 39:11Ezekiel 39:13 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, &c.] So long time will the burial of Gog’s army take up, because of the multitude of it, and by reason their bones will be scattered here and there; which will require time to gather them together, and bring them to one place: the reason of the burial of them will be, partly out of humanity, which the Christian religion, which will then be embraced by the Jews, teaches and encourages; and partly because of the disagreeable sight and ill smell of the carcasses of the slain, and to prevent the air being infected therewith, which might cause noxious diseases. Jarchi gives the reason of it, because Gog is of the seed of Japheth, who…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“39:12-16 The body count would be so large that everyone in Israel would be involved in the clean-up process for seven months. Even after that initial period, there would be a continuing need for teams of professional morticians to go through the land, tagging remains so that they could be properly disposed of.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“cleanse: Eze 39:14, Eze 39:16; Num 19:16; Deu 21:23 Ezekiel 39:13”
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Related study paths

Read Ezekiel 39 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification