Ezekiel 37:17
in Ezekiel 37Then join them together into one stick, so that they become one in your hand.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they may become one in thy hand.
KJV
And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
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This verse in Ezekiel 37
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd join them one to another into one stick,.... Clap the sticks, planks, boards, or tables, to one another; glue them together, or set them so close to one another, that they may seem as one stick, plank, board, or table: and they shall become one in thine hand; they shall look as if they were one. R. Joseph Kimchi, the father of David, thinks they really became one, by means of a miracle wrought; but there is no need to suppose this; it is enough that they appeared to be so.
This site's exposition
the word of the LORD came to me
on Ezekiel 37:15-20
The chapter's second sign is in wood: one stick for Judah, another for Joseph, joined “so that they become one in your hand”. The schism that began when ten tribes followed Jeroboam is healed in the prophet's fist before it is promised, as Ezekiel's signs precede his sermons.
This site's exposition
one in your hand
The sign is acted before it is explained. John Gill describes the sticks pressed so close that they look like one piece. Matthew Henry extends the sign to the union of Jews and Gentiles in Christ, a reading that goes beyond the text's reference to the tribes.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 15 and following) \"And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: And you, son of man, take for yourself one piece of wood and write on it 'Judah' and the children of Israel, his companions, and take another piece of wood and write on it 'Joseph, the wood of Ephraim,' and all the house of Israel, his companions. And join them one to another for yourself into one piece of wood; and they will be in unity in your hand.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In this there was a type of the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, Jews and Samaritans, in Christ and his church. And so the prophet slides into a prediction of the kingdom of Christ, which should be set up in the world with God's tabernacle in it, and of the glories and graces of that kingdom,
It is a necessary question for grown people, as well as children, to ask, What mean you by this service, by this sign? The meaning was that Judah and Israel should become one in the hand of God,
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְקָרַ֨ב | vekarav | and bring near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| אֹתָ֜ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶחָ֧ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶחָ֛ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | <for> yourself | ||
| לְעֵ֣ץ | leetz | into a piece of wood | H6086 → | 328 times |
| אֶחָ֑ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| וְהָי֥וּ | vehayu | and they will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לַאֲחָדִ֖ים | laachadim | <into> one<s> | H259 → | 971 times |
| בְּיָדֶֽךָ׃ | beyadekha | in hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וְקָרַ֨בand bring near
vekaravH7126 →280 times
אֹתָ֜ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
אֶחָ֧דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֶחָ֛דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
לְךָ֖<for> yourself
lekha
לְעֵ֣ץinto a piece of wood
leetzH6086 →328 times
אֶחָ֑דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
וְהָי֥וּand they will become
vehayuH1961 →3559 times
לַאֲחָדִ֖ים<into> one<s>
laachadimH259 →971 times
בְּיָדֶֽךָ׃in hand your
beyadekhaH3027 →1618 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Hosea 1:11Then the people of Judah and of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one leader, and will go up out of the land. For great will be the day…
it leads to
- Hosea 3:5
Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 11:12–13
He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 3:5
Through
Jeremiah 50:4“In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the LORD their God.
it leads to
- Hosea 1:11
Then the people of Judah and of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one leader, and will go up out of the land. For great will be the day…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 1:11
Through
Zephaniah 3:9For then I will restore pure lips to the peoples, that all may call upon the name of the LORD and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
it leads to
- Genesis 11:1
Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech.
- Isaiah 19:18
In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of Hosts. One of them will be called the City of the…
- Psalms 22:27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
- Psalms 86:9–10
All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.
- Zechariah 2:11
“On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me…
- Genesis 11:1
Where this verse is studied
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.