“Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel
But I come to the words Son of man, set forth in enigma: the noun and the verb mutually answer to each other, hence any one may if he please render the Prophet’s words, by saying enigmatize an enigma: for the Prophet here speaks of allegorical language, חידה, chideh, signifies the same as “allegory,” where the words are different from the sense, that is, where...
We must take all these verses together, that we may have the parable and the explanation of it at one view before us, because they will illustrate one another. 1. The prophet is appointed to put forth a riddle to the house of Israel (Eze 17:2), not to puzzle them, as Samson's riddle was put forth to the Philistines, not to hide the mind of...
Commenting on Ezekiel 17:1-21
And say, thus saith the Lord God,.... The riddle is not the prophet's, nor the parable his, but the Lord God's; and exceeding beautiful and apt it is, to signify the things designed by it; the wisdom of God is greatly displayed in it: a great eagle; which is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, as it is explained, Eze 17:12; who is compared to an eagle...