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Ezekiel 39:11

in Ezekiel 39

And on that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Sea. It will block those who travel through, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of them that pass through on the east of the sea; and it shall stop them that pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog.

KJV

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon–gog.

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This verse in Ezekiel 39

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
The prophet pictures to himself some imaginary valley (compare Zec 14:5) at the “east of the sea,” the Dead Sea, a place frightful in its physical character, and admonitory of past judgments. He calls it “the valley of the passengers” (or, passers-by), because they who there lie buried were but as a passing cloud. In Eze 39:11-15 there is a play upon words - there were “passengers” to be buried, “passengers” to walk over their graves, “passengers” to bury them; (or, a play upon the treble meaning of passing in (invading), passing by, and passing through.)

This site's exposition

a burial place in Israel

on Ezekiel 39:11-13

Gog is given “a burial place in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Sea,” renamed Hamon-gog for its buried multitude. Seven months of burying answers the corpse law of Numbers 19 and Deuteronomy 21, where a body left lying makes the land unclean.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

proposed

(Chapter 39, Verse 1 onwards) \"But you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you.'

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

There therefore where the greatest number lay slain shall the burying-place be appointed. In the place where the tree falls there let it lie. And it shall be called, The valley of Hamon-gog, that is, of the multitude of Gog; for that was the thing which was in a particular manner to be had in remembrance.
And it shall come to pass in that day,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The publicity of the road would cause many to observe God's judgments, as the stench (as English Version translates) or the multitude of graves (as HENDERSON translates, "it shall stop the passengers") would arrest the attention of passers-by.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The valley of the passengers on the east of the sea - That is, of Gennesareth, according to the Targum. The valley near this lake or sea is called the Valley of the Passengers, because it was a great road by which the merchants and traders from Syria and other eastern countries went into Egypt; see Gen 37:17, Gen 37:25. See Calmet here. There shall they bury Gog and all his multitude - Some read, “There shall they bury Gog, that is, all his multitude.” Not Gog, or Antiochus himself, for he was not in this battle; but his generals, captains, and soldiers, by whom he was represented. As to Hamon-gog, we know no valley of this name but here. But we may understand the words thus: the place where this great slaughter was, and where the multitudes of the slain were buried, might be better called Hamon-gog, the valley of the multitude of God, than the valley of passengers; for so great was the carnage there, that the way of the passengers shall be stopped by it. See the text.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

I will give Gog a place there as a grave A place where there will be a grave for them. Since he is of the seed of Japtheth, who covered his father’s nakedness, he therefore merited burial.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Ezekiel 39:11:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

28 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְהָיָ֣הand it will be

    vehayahH1961 →3559 times

  • בַיּ֣וֹםon the day

    vaiyomH3117 →2304 times

  • הַה֡וּא<the> that

    hahu'H1931 →1879 times

  • אֶתֵּ֣ןI will give

    ʾetenH5414 →2011 times

  • לְגוֹג֩׀to Gog

    legoygH1463 →10 times

  • מְקֽוֹם־a place

    mekom-H4725 →401 times

  • שָׁ֨ם<of> there

    shamH8033 →834 times

  • קֶ֜בֶרa burial site

    keverH6913 →67 times

  • בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֗לin Israel

    beyisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • גֵּ֤י[the] Valley of

    geiH1516 →59 times

  • הָעֹֽבְרִים֙the Travellers

    haoerimH5674 →556 times

  • קִדְמַ֣ת[the] east of

    kidmatH6926 →

  • הַיָּ֔םthe sea

    haiyamH3220 →396 times

  • וְחֹסֶ֥מֶתand [will] block [the] way of

    vechosemetH2629 →

  • הִ֖יאit

    hi'H1931 →1879 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הָעֹֽבְרִ֑יםthose [who] pass through

    haoerimH5674 →556 times

  • וְקָ֣בְרוּand people will bury

    vekaveruH6912 →133 times

  • שָׁ֗םthere

    shamH8033 →834 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • גּוֹג֙Gog

    goygH1463 →10 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הֲמוֹנ֔וֹmultitude his

    hamonoH1995 →83 times

  • וְקָ֣רְא֔וּand they will call [it]

    vekareuH7121 →733 times

  • גֵּ֖יא[the] valley of

    gei'H1516 →59 times

  • הֲמ֥וֹןHamon-

    hamonH1996 →4 times

  • גּֽוֹג׃Gog

    gogH1996 →4 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

12 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Joel 3:12Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side.3 worksJoel 3:2I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations as they divided up My land.3 worksNumbers 34:11then go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Chinnereth.2 worksJohn 6:1After this, Jesus crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias).2 worksNumbers 11:34So they called that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.2 worksEzekiel 47:18On the east side the border will run between Hauran and Damascus, along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel, to the Eastern Sea and as far as Tamar. This will be the eastern boundary.2 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
Luke 5:1On one occasion, while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God,2 worksEzekiel 38:2“Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him2 worksEsther 9:26Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter, and because of all they had seen and experienced,2 worksIsaiah 34:3Their slain will be left unburied, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood.2 worksIsaiah 2:11The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.2 worksExodus 8:14They were piled into countless heaps, and there was a terrible stench in the land.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Luke 5:1

    On one occasion, while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God,

    it leads to

    • Mark 1:16–20

      As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

    • Matthew 4:18–22

      As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

    • Mark 3:9

      Jesus asked His disciples to have a boat ready for Him so that the crowd would not crush Him.

    • Matthew 14:34

      When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.

  • Through

    John 6:1

    After this, Jesus crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias).

    it leads to

    • Luke 5:1

      On one occasion, while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God,

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Mark 6:31–44

      And He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time…

    • John 6:23

      However, some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

  • Through

    Numbers 34:11

    then go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Chinnereth.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 3:17

      The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.

Where this verse is studied

About Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 39 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.

Read on in Ezekiel 39 →