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Text -- Ezekiel 8:14 (NET)

Strongs On/Off
Context
8:14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house. I noticed women sitting there weeping for Tammuz.
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:
 · Tammuz a pagan deity


Dictionary Themes and Topics: Women | WOMAN | Vision | Tammuz | TEMPLE, A1 | PHOENICIA; PHOENICIANS | PALESTINE, 3 | JEHOIAKIM | Idolatry | IMAGES | HADADRIMMON | Ezekiel | ASIA MINOR, ARCHAEOLOGY OF | more
Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Defender , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Keil-Delitzsch , Constable

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Eze 8:14 - -- Of the outer court, or court of the women, so called, because they were allowed to come into it.

Of the outer court, or court of the women, so called, because they were allowed to come into it.

Wesley: Eze 8:14 - -- Performing all the lewd and beastly rites of that idol, called by the Greeks, Adonis.

Performing all the lewd and beastly rites of that idol, called by the Greeks, Adonis.

JFB: Eze 8:14 - -- From the secret abominations of the chambers of imagery, the prophet's eye is turned to the outer court at the north door; within the outer court wome...

From the secret abominations of the chambers of imagery, the prophet's eye is turned to the outer court at the north door; within the outer court women were not admitted, but only to the door.

JFB: Eze 8:14 - -- The attitude of mourners (Job 2:13; Isa 3:26).

The attitude of mourners (Job 2:13; Isa 3:26).

JFB: Eze 8:14 - -- From a Hebrew root, "to melt down." Instead of weeping for the national sins, they wept for the idol. Tammuz (the Syrian for Adonis), the paramour of ...

From a Hebrew root, "to melt down." Instead of weeping for the national sins, they wept for the idol. Tammuz (the Syrian for Adonis), the paramour of Venus, and of the same name as the river flowing from Lebanon; killed by a wild boar, and, according to the fable, permitted to spend half the year on earth, and obliged to spend the other half in the lower world. An annual feast was celebrated to him in June (hence called Tammuz in the Jewish calendar) at Byblos, when the Syrian women, in wild grief, tore off their hair and yielded their persons to prostitution, consecrating the hire of their infamy to Venus; next followed days of rejoicing for his return to the earth; the former feast being called "the disappearance of Adonis," the latter, "the finding of Adonis." This Phœnician feast answered to the similar Egyptian one in honor of Osiris. The idea thus fabled was that of the waters of the river and the beauties of spring destroyed by the summer during the half year when the sun is in the upper heat. Or else, the earth being clothed with beauty, hemisphere, and losing it when he departs to the lower. The name Adonis is not here used, as Adon is the appropriated title of Jehovah.

Clarke: Eze 8:14 - -- There sat women weeping for Tammuz - This was Adonis, as we have already seen; and so the Vulgate here translates. My old MS. Bible reads, There sat...

There sat women weeping for Tammuz - This was Adonis, as we have already seen; and so the Vulgate here translates. My old MS. Bible reads, There saten women, mornynge a mawmete of lecherye that is cleped Adonrdes. He is fabled to have been a beautiful youth beloved by Venus, and killed by a wild boar in Mount Lebanon, whence springs the river Adonis, which was fabled to run blood at his festival in August. The women of Phoenicia, Assyria, and Judea worshipped him as dead, with deep lamentation, wearing priapi and other obscene images all the while, and they prostituted themselves in honor of this idol. Having for some time mourned him as dead, they then supposed him revivified and broke out into the most extravagant rejoicings. Of the appearance of the river at this season, Mr. Maundrell thus speaks: "We had the good fortune to see what is the foundation of the opinion which Lucian relates, viz., that this stream at certain seasons of the year, especially about the feast of Adonis, is of a bloody color, proceeding from a kind of sympathy, as the heathens imagined, for the death of Adonis, who was killed by a wild boar in the mountain out of which this stream issues. Something like this we saw actually come to pass, for the water was stained to a surprising redness; and, as we observed in travelling, had stained the sea a great way into a reddish hue."This was no doubt occasioned by a red ochre, over which the river ran with violence at this time of its increase. Milton works all this up in these fine lines: -

"Thammuz came next behind

Whose annual wound in Lebanon allure

The Syrian damsels to lament his fate

In amorous ditties all a summer’ s day

While smooth Adonis, from his native rock

Ran purple to the sea, suffused with bloo

Of Thammuz, yearly wounded. The love tal

Infected Sion’ s daughters with like heat

Whose wanton passions in the sacred porc

Ezekiel saw, when by the vision led

His eye surveyed the dark idolatrie

Of alienated Judah.

Par. Lost, b. 1:446

Tammuz signifies hidden or obscure, and hence the worship of his image was in some secret place.

Defender: Eze 8:14 - -- Even Jewish women were participating in the phallic cult of Tammuz, a Babylonian nature god who supposedly died and rose again every year, correspondi...

Even Jewish women were participating in the phallic cult of Tammuz, a Babylonian nature god who supposedly died and rose again every year, corresponding to the emergence of spring out of winter."

TSK: Eze 8:14 - -- toward : Eze 44:4, Eze 46:9

toward : Eze 44:4, Eze 46:9

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Eze 8:14 - -- The seer is now brought back to the same gate as in Eze 8:3. It is not certain that this verse refers to any special act of Tammuz-worship. The mont...

The seer is now brought back to the same gate as in Eze 8:3.

It is not certain that this verse refers to any special act of Tammuz-worship. The month in which the vision was seen, the sixth month (September), was not the month of the Tammuz-rites. But that such rites had been performed in Jerusalem there can be little doubt. Women are mentioned as employed in the service of idols in Jer 7:18. There is some reason for believing that the weeping of women for Tammuz passed into Syria and Palestine from Babylonia, Tammuz being identified with Duv-zi, whose loss was lamented by the goddess Istar. The festival was identical with the Greek "Adoniacs."The worship of Adonis had its headquarters at Byblos, where at certain periods of the year the stream, becoming stained by mountain floods, was popularly said to be red with the blood of Adonis. From Byblos it spread widely over the east and was thence carried to Greece. The contact of Zedekiah with pagan nations Jer 32:3 may very well have led to the introduction of an idolatry which at this time was especially popular among the eastern nations.

This solemnity was of a twofold character, first, that of mourning, in which the death of Adonis was bewailed with extravagant sorrow; and then, after a few days, the mourning gave place to wild rejoicings for his restoration to life. This was a revival of nature-worship under another form - the death of Adonis symbolized the suspension of the productive powers of nature, which were in due time revived. Accordingly, the time of this festival was the summer solstice, when in the east nature seems to wither and die under the scorching heat of the sun, to burst forth again into life at the due season. At the same time there was a connection between this and the sun-worship, in that the decline of the sun and the decline of nature might be alike represented by the death of Adonis. The excitement attendant upon these extravagances of alternate wailing and exultation were in complete accordance with the character of nature-worship, which for this reason was so popular in the east, especially with women, and led by inevitable consequence to unbridled license and excess. Such was in Ezekiel’ s day one of the most detestable forms of idolatry.

Poole: Eze 8:14 - -- He brought me not by real and corporal change of place, but in vision and by representation. Of the gate of the outer court, or court of the women,...

He brought me not by real and corporal change of place, but in vision and by representation.

Of the gate of the outer court, or court of the women, so called because they were allowed to come into it, as were all the laity of the Jews: but it is more likely the gate of the inner court, the court of the priests, next to the house of God, whither none save priests might come; but in this very great corruption of the state others were admitted into it, which makes this sin the greater.

Towards the north he enters at first by the north gate, and so passeth on to what places were next to the temple on that side.

There sat women: contrary to the law were they come thither, led by their blindest, because the vilest and most impudent, superstition, and waiting (expressed by

sitting ) ready to commit most lewd wickednesses, as part of their obscene and beastly rites. Weeping: this is the only part which is specified of their irreligious religion, commemorating with tears an infamously lustful and unclean whoremonger, or votary of Venus, snatched from her by an unhappy wound of a boar, say some; this weeping implieth all the beastly rites of that idol.

Tammuz a magician, say some; a handsome young man, but notorious for love of women, say others; an adulterer (say some) slain by his brother, king of Egypt, and mangled in pieces, whose torn members were thrown into the river, but gathered up by the fond adulteresses, and rites of worship fitted to so lewd an idol; whose adulteries, lascivious practices, and immodest gestures these she priests acted over before the idol with men of like lewdness, of whom what they received, as rewards of their prostituting themselves, was offered to Venus. By this means God’ s temple was turned into a lewd stews.

Haydock: Eze 8:14 - -- Adonis, the favourite of Venus, slain by a wild boar, as feigned by the heathen poets, and which being here represented by an idol, is lamented by th...

Adonis, the favourite of Venus, slain by a wild boar, as feigned by the heathen poets, and which being here represented by an idol, is lamented by the female worshippers of that goddess. In Hebrew the name is Tammuz, (Challoner) which means "concealed," as Adonis signifies "my lord." This idol, which the Egyptians called Osiris, was placed in a coffin, and bewailed till it was pretended he was come to life, when rejoicings took place. Obscene pictures were carried about; and the more honest pagans were ashamed of these practices, which began in Egypt, and became almost general. Moses alludes to them, Leviticus xix. 27., and Deuteronomy xiv. 1. (Calmet) ---

David and Solomon say that the image was made of brass, with eyes of lead, which seemed to weep, melting when it was hot. (Worthington) ---

But this is destitute of proof.

Gill: Eze 8:14 - -- Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house, which was towards the north,.... By "the Lord's house" no doubt is meant the temple, ...

Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house, which was towards the north,.... By "the Lord's house" no doubt is meant the temple, which the Targum here calls the house of the sanctuary of the Lord; that gate of the temple (for the temple had several gates) which was to the north was the gate called Teri or Tedi, and was very little used y. In this part of the temple were the sacrifices offered; and therefore it was the greater abomination to commit idolatry where the Lord was more solemnly worshipped:

and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz: they were not in the court of the women, where they should have been; but at the northern gate, near the place of sacrifice; and they were sitting there, which none but the kings of the house of Judah, and of the family of David, were allowed in the temple z; but, what was the greatest abomination, they were weeping for Tammuz. Jarchi says this was an image, which they heated inwardly, and its eyes were of lead; and these being melted with the heat, it seemed to weep; wherefore (the women) said, it asks for an offering: but not the idol, but the women, wept. Kimchi relates various interpretations of it;

"some (he says) expound it by an antiphrasis, "making Tammuz glad"; in the month of Tammuz they made a feast to the idol, and the women came to make him glad: others say, that with great diligence they brought water to the eyes of the idol called Tammuz, and it wept; signifying that it desired they would worship it: others interpret the word Tammuz as signifying "burnt"; (from the words in Dan 3:19; למזא לאתונא, "to heat the furnace";) as if should say, they wept for him, because he was for they burnt their sons and daughters in the fire, and the women wept for them. He further observes, that Maimonides a writes, that he found written in one of the books of the ancient idolaters, that there was a man of the idolatrous prophets, whose name was Tammuz; who called to a certain king, and commanded him to worship the seven stars, and the twelve signs of the zodiac, for which the king put him to a violent death; and, the same night he died, all the images from the ends of the earth gathered together to the temple of Babylon, to a golden image which was the image of the sun; and this image was hanging between the heavens and the earth, and it fell into the midst of the temple, and so all the images round about it; and it declared unto them what had happened to Tammuz the prophet; and all the images wept and lamented all that night; and when it was morning, they all fled to their temples at the ends of the earth; and this became an everlasting statute to them, that at the beginning of the first day of the month Tammuz, every year, they lament and weeps for Tammuz; and there are others that expound Tammuz the name of a beast which they worship;''

but, leaving these interpretations, Tammuz was either the Adonis of the Grecians; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it Adonis; who was a young man beloved by Venus, and, being killed by a boar, his death was lamented by her; and, in respect to the goddess, an anniversary solemnity was kept by men and women lamenting his death, especially by women. So Pausanias, speaking of a certain place, there (says he) the women of the Argives (a people in Greece) mourn for Adonis b. Lucian c gives a particular account of this ceremony, as performed at Byblus, a city in Phoenicia, not far from Judea; from whence the Jews might have borrowed this custom.

"I have seen (says he), in Byblus, a large temple of Venus Byblia, where they performed the rites unto Adonis, and I was a spectator of them. The Byblians say the affair relating to Adonis (or his death) by a boar happened in their country; and, in memory of it, every year they beat themselves, lament and offer sacrifice, and great mourning goes through the whole country; and when they beat themselves and mourn, they sacrifice to Adonis as dead; but the day following they pretend he is alive; and they shave their heads, as the Egyptians do at the death of Apis;''

and indeed it is thought by some that this Tammuz is the Osiris of the Egyptians; the same with Mizraim, the first king of Egypt, who, being slain in battle, his wife his ordered that he should be worshipped as a god, and a yearly lamentation made for him; and indeed Osiris and Adonis seem to be one and the same, only in different nations called by different names. Mention is made in Plato d of Thamus, a king that reigned at Thebes over all Egypt, and was the god called Ammon; no doubt the same with this Tammuz; and who is here called, in the Syriac and Arabic versions, Thamuz or Tamuz; he seems to be the same with Ham; and Egypt was called, the land of Ham, Psa 105:27; and it is most probable the Jews borrowed this piece of idolatry from the Egyptians their neighbours; with whom they were now very familiar, and from whom they expected help against the Chaldeans; but as there were such shocking obscenities used in this idolatrous service, it is most amazing that the Jewish women, who had been instructed in the law and worship of God, should ever go into it. Gussetius e thinks that Bacchus, the god of wine, is meant; and gives several reasons for it; and among the rest observes, that in the fourth month, called Tammuz from him, the vine was forming in ripe grapes; near the beginning of a fifth month, it was pressed out, and tunned up; and by the next month, having done fermenting, it was stopped up, which represented him buried; and for which the weeping was in this month.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Eze 8:14 The worship of Tammuz included the observation of the annual death and descent into the netherworld of the god Dumuzi. The practice was observed by wo...

Geneva Bible: Eze 8:14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which [was] toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for ( o ) Tammuz. (...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Eze 8:1-18 - --1 Ezekiel, in a vision of God at Jerusalem,5 is shewn the image of jealousy;7 the chambers of imagery;13 the mourners for Tammuz;16 the worshippers to...

MHCC: Eze 8:13-18 - --The yearly lamenting for Tammuz was attended with infamous practices; and the worshippers of the sun here described, are supposed to have been priests...

Matthew Henry: Eze 8:13-18 - -- Here we have, I. More and greater abominations discovered to the prophet. He thought that what he had seen was bad enough and yet (Eze 8:13): Turn ...

Keil-Delitzsch: Eze 8:13-15 - -- Third Abomination: Worship of Thammuz Eze 8:13. And He said to me, Thou shalt yet again see still greater abominations which they do. Eze 8:14....

Constable: Eze 4:1--24:27 - --II. Oracles of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem for sin chs. 4-24 This section of the book contains prophecies th...

Constable: Eze 8:1--11:25 - --B. The vision of the departure of Yahweh's glory chs. 8-11 These chapters all concern one vision that Ez...

Constable: Eze 8:1-18 - --1. The idolatry of the house of Israel ch. 8 This chapter contrasts the glory of God with the id...

Constable: Eze 8:14-15 - --The idolatry of the women 8:14-15 8:14 The Lord then brought Ezekiel to the north entrance to the inner temple courtyard, in his vision (cf. vv. 3, 5)...

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Introduction / Outline

JFB: Ezekiel (Book Introduction) The name Ezekiel means "(whom) God will strengthen" [GESENIUS]; or, "God will prevail" [ROSENMULLER]. His father was Buzi (Eze 1:3), a priest, and he ...

JFB: Ezekiel (Outline) EZEKIEL'S VISION BY THE CHEBAR. FOUR CHERUBIM AND WHEELS. (Eze. 1:1-28) EZEKIEL'S COMMISSION. (Eze 2:1-10) EZEKIEL EATS THE ROLL. IS COMMISSIONED TO ...

TSK: Ezekiel (Book Introduction) The character of Ezekiel, as a Writer and Poet, is thus admirably drawn by the masterly hand of Bishop Lowth: " Ezekiel is much inferior to Jeremiah ...

TSK: Ezekiel 8 (Chapter Introduction) Overview Eze 8:1, Ezekiel, in a vision of God at Jerusalem, Eze 8:5, is shewn the image of jealousy; Eze 8:7, the chambers of imagery; Eze 8:13, t...

Poole: Ezekiel (Book Introduction) BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL THE ARGUMENT EZEKIEL was by descent a priest, and by commission a prophet, and received it from heaven, as will appea...

Poole: Ezekiel 8 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 8 Ezekiel is brought in a vision of God to Jerusalem, Eze 8:1-4 , and showed the image of jealousy set up in the temple, Eze 8:5,6 , the wo...

MHCC: Ezekiel (Book Introduction) Ezekiel was one of the priests; he was carried captive to Chaldea with Jehoiachin. All his prophecies appear to have been delivered in that country, a...

MHCC: Ezekiel 8 (Chapter Introduction) (Eze 8:1-6) The idolatries committed by the Jewish rulers. (Eze 8:7-12) The superstitions to which the Jews were then devoted, the Egyptian. (Eze 8:...

Matthew Henry: Ezekiel (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel When we entered upon the writings of the prophets, which speak of the ...

Matthew Henry: Ezekiel 8 (Chapter Introduction) God, having given the prophet a clear foresight of the people's miseries that were hastening on, here gives him a clear insight into the people's w...

Constable: Ezekiel (Book Introduction) Introduction Title and Writer The title of this book comes from its writer, Ezekiel, t...

Constable: Ezekiel (Outline) Outline I. Ezekiel's calling and commission chs. 1-3 A. The vision of God's glory ch. 1 ...

Constable: Ezekiel Ezekiel Bibliography Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1968. ...

Haydock: Ezekiel (Book Introduction) THE PROPHECY OF EZECHIEL. INTRODUCTION. Ezechiel, whose name signifies the strength of God, was of the priestly race, and of the number of t...

Gill: Ezekiel (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL This book is rightly placed after Jeremiah; since Ezekiel was among the captives in Chaldea, when prophesied; whereas Jerem...

Gill: Ezekiel 8 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 8 This chapter contains a vision the prophet had of the idolatry of the Jews, which was the cause of their destruction. The...

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