Ezekiel 8:2
in Ezekiel 8Then I looked and saw a figure like that of a man. From His waist down His appearance was like fire, and from His waist up He was as bright as the gleam of amber.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then I beheld, and, lo, a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his loins and downward, fire; and from his loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal.
KJV
Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.
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This verse in Ezekiel 8
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Version 2.) And there fell upon me the hand of the Lord God there. And I saw, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of fire from the appearance of his loins, and downward fire: and from his loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the sight of lightning. LXX: And the hand of Adonai the Lord came upon me: and I saw and behold, a likeness as the form of a man from his loins, and downward fire, and from his loins, and upward as the sight of the aura, like the sight of lightning.
This site's exposition
the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me
on Ezekiel 8:1-2
A second dated vision opens the way the first did, fourteen months on from chapter 1, the elders of Judah sitting before the prophet in his own house when the hand of the Lord God fell there upon him. What he sees repeats the fire and brightness of the throne vision, a likeness as the appearance of fire from the loins down and brightness like amber from the loins up, the same glory that appeared at Chebar now appearing again before it moves. Keil reads the repeated imagery as the text's own signal that this is one continuous vision cycle rather than an unrelated new appearance.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He beheld a likeness, of a man we may suppose, for that was the likeness he saw before, but it was all brightness above the girdle and all fire below, fire and flame. This agrees with the description we had before of the apparition he saw, ch. i. It is probably that it was the same person, the man Christ Jesus.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The appearance of fire - In margin reference, seen as the appearance of a man enthroned upon the cherubim. Here He stands apart from the throne revealing Himself to His servant. Compare Dan 3:25 note. Amber - See the margin reference note.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶרְאֶ֗ה | vaereh | and I saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֤ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| דְמוּת֙ | demut | a likeness | H1823 → | 25 times |
| כְּמַרְאֵה־ | kemareh- | like [the] appearance of | H4758 → | 103 times |
| אֵ֔שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| מִמַּרְאֵ֥ה | mimareh | [was] from [the] appearance of | H4758 → | 103 times |
| מָתְנָ֛יו | matenav | hips his | H4975 → | 47 times |
| וּלְמַ֖טָּה | ulematah | and <to> downwards | H4295 → | |
| אֵ֑שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| וּמִמָּתְנָ֣יו | umimatenav | and [was] from hips his | H4975 → | 47 times |
| וּלְמַ֔עְלָה | ulema'lah | and <to> upwards <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
| כְּמַרְאֵה־ | kemareh- | like [the] appearance of | H4758 → | 103 times |
| זֹ֖הַר | zohar | brightness | H2096 → | |
| כְּעֵ֥ין | keein | like [the] appearance of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| הַחַשְׁמַֽלָה׃ | hachashmalah | <the> shining substance towards | H2830 → | 3 times |
וָאֶרְאֶ֗הand I saw
vaerehH7200 →1300 times
וְהִנֵּ֤הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
דְמוּת֙a likeness
demutH1823 →25 times
כְּמַרְאֵה־like [the] appearance of
kemareh-H4758 →103 times
אֵ֔שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
מִמַּרְאֵ֥ה[was] from [the] appearance of
mimarehH4758 →103 times
מָתְנָ֛יוhips his
matenavH4975 →47 times
וּלְמַ֖טָּהand <to> downwards
ulematahH4295 →
אֵ֑שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
וּמִמָּתְנָ֣יוand [was] from hips his
umimatenavH4975 →47 times
וּלְמַ֔עְלָהand <to> upwards <towards>
ulema'lahH4605 →140 times
כְּמַרְאֵה־like [the] appearance of
kemareh-H4758 →103 times
זֹ֖הַרbrightness
zoharH2096 →
כְּעֵ֥יןlike [the] appearance of
keeinH5869 →887 times
הַחַשְׁמַֽלָה׃<the> shining substance towards
hachashmalahH2830 →3 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 1:4I looked and saw a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire was a gleam…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 1:27
From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw…
- Jeremiah 23:19
Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.
- Jeremiah 25:32
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.”
- Exodus 19:16–18
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the…
- Jeremiah 1:13–14
Again the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “What do you see?” “I see a boiling pot,” I replied, “and it is tilting toward us from the north.”
- Ezekiel 1:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.