Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Ezekiel 1:1
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, &c.] Either from the last jubilee, as R. Joseph Kimchif17, Jarchi, and Abendana; or from the time that the book of the law was found by Hilkiah the priestf18; so the Targum, which paraphrases the words thus, “and it was in the thirtieth year after Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law, in the house of the sanctuary, in the court under the porch, in the middle of the night, after the moon was down, in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah;” or, according to Jeromf19, from the time of the prophet’s birth, who was now thirty years of age, and was just entered into his priestly office; or rather it was the thirtieth year of Nabopolassar, or the father of Nebuchadnezzar: this was the twelfth year of the captivity, reckoning from the third of Jehoiakim, which was the first captivity, and from whence the seventy years are to be reckoned, and also the twelfth of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign; and if two years are taken, as Vitringaf20 observes, from the twenty one years, which are given to Nabopolassar in Ptolemy’s canon, in which Nebuchadnezzar his son reigned with him, there will be found thirty years from the beginning of Nabopolassar’s reign to the fifth of Jeconiah’s captivity, when Ezekiel began his prophecy, and which, as Bishop Usherf21, Mr. Bedfordf22, Mr. Whistonf23, and the authors of the Universal Historyf24, place in the year 593, before the birth of Christ: in the fourth [month]; the month Tammuz, as the Targum expresses it; which answers to part of June, and part of July: in the fifth [day] of the month; which some take to be on a sabbath day; because, seven days after, the word of the Lord came to him again (<260316>Ezekiel 3:16); just as John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, (<660110>Revelation 1:10); between one of whose visions and this there is a very great likeness, as will be seen hereafter: as I [was] among the captives by the river of Chebar; which is another agreement in circumstance between Ezekiel and John, when they had their visions: John was an exile in Patrons, and Ezekiel among the captives by the river Chebar in Chaldea. Some think this is the same river which is called by Ptolemyf25 Chaboras; and is said by him to pass through Mesopotamia: others say it was a river that was drawn off from the river Euphrates, by the order of one Cobaris, or Gobaris, a governor, from whence it had its name; that the river Euphrates might not, by its rapid course, hurt the city of Babylon; and by the Assyrians it was called Armalchar, or Narmalchaf26, the king’s river; though it seems to be no other than Euphrates itself; and Kimchi observes, that in some copies of the Targum on this place it is interpreted of the river Euphrates; and he says their Rabbins of blessed memory say, that Chebar is Euphrates; and so Abarbinel; see (<19D701>Psalm 137:1). Monsieur Thevenotf27 speaks of a river called Chabur, which is less than Alchabour, another mentioned by him; and has its source below Mosul, and on the left hand to those that go down the Tigris, and at Bagdad loses itself in the Tigris which he takes to be the same as here: that the heavens were opened; as at our Lord’s baptism, and at the stoning of Stephen; and so when John had his vision which corresponds with the following, a door was opened in heaven (<660401>Revelation 4:1); and I saw the visions of God; which God showed unto him, and which were great and excellent; as excellent things are called things of God, as mo…
This public page shows a contextual excerpt from the locally available source text.
How to use this source
This excerpt is attributed to its named commentary. It is included as a historical study resource and should be evaluated in light of Scripture and other relevant evidence.
