Bibliorum

 

Ezekiel 16:37

Study

       

37 behold, therefore I will bring·​·together all thy lovers, with whom thou art·​·agreeable, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even bring· them ·together against thee all around, and will reveal thy nakedness unto them, and they shall see all thy nakedness.


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

Commentarius

 

Road

  

These days we tend to think of "roads" as smooth swaths of pavement and judge them by how fast we can drive cars on them. A "path" is something different, suitable only for walking or maybe bicycles, and a "way" has more to do with giving directions than any physical reality. When we get "lost" it usually means we're in a car on an unfamiliar road -- a far cry from being in the middle of a trackless wilderness with no idea which direction to go. The ancient world was very different, with isolated towns and endless square miles of trackless wilderness. Then a "way" was a set of landmarks to follow to get from one place to another through the wilderness. A "path" was a way used enough to leave a visible trace on the ground, and a "road" was a heavily used path, easily followed and walkable. So it makes sense that when used in the Bible, all three terms represent guiding truth, ideas that lead us where we want to go. This is pictured in the modern use of "way" -- when we talk about the "way" to do something or the "way" to get somewhere. We're talking about the correct, best, most efficient method of doing something or getting somewhere. And it's good information -- truth -- that helps us find that best way.