“That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.”
My Notes
What Does Ezekiel 16:24 Mean?
"That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street." Jerusalem built elevated platforms — 'eminent places' (or brothel houses, as the margin note suggests) — in EVERY STREET. The idolatrous worship sites are not hidden in the countryside. They're on every street corner. The spiritual adultery is as public as a storefront. The corruption is in the most visible, most trafficked locations of daily life.
The phrase "built unto thee an eminent place" (vattibnilakh gav — you built yourself a mound/platform/brothel) uses the language of construction: Jerusalem BUILT these. They didn't appear naturally. The high places were construction projects — designed, funded, built with labor and intention. The spiritual adultery required effort. The idolatry was an infrastructure project.
The "in every street" (bekhol rechov — in every public square/broad place) makes the idolatry omnipresent: not in one location. In EVERY street. The high places are as common as shops. The pagan worship sites are as ordinary as street corners. The idolatry is woven into the fabric of daily urban life. You can't walk to the market without passing one.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'high places' have you built on every street of your daily routine?
- 2.How does idolatry being a construction project (built, funded, intentional) describe deliberate sin?
- 3.What does 'every street' teach about sin becoming woven into the fabric of ordinary life?
- 4.What elevated, visible, impossible-to-miss compromise exists in your daily commute?
Devotional
An eminent place — on EVERY street. Not hidden. Not remote. On every corner, in every public square, on every thoroughfare of the city. The idolatry isn't a secret vice practiced in private. It's a public institution built on every street corner. The spiritual adultery has storefronts.
The 'built unto thee' means this was a CONSTRUCTION PROJECT: Jerusalem didn't stumble into idolatry. She BUILT it. She planned the platforms. She funded the construction. She chose the locations. She built elevated places for pagan worship with the same intentionality that built the Temple for God's worship. The idolatry was engineered, not accidental.
The 'in every street' makes the idolatry INESCAPABLE: you can't walk through Jerusalem without encountering a high place. The pagan worship sites are as common as bread shops. They're on the routes you take to work, to the market, to the Temple itself. The spiritual adultery isn't in a red-light district. It's in EVERY district. The corruption is woven into the daily commute.
The 'eminent place' — literally an elevated mound, the margin note suggesting a brothel — makes the worship sites PROMINENT: they're not hidden or subtle. They're elevated. They stand above the street level. They're designed to be seen, to be noticed, to attract attention. The idolatry doesn't hide. It advertises. The platforms are built to be visible from everywhere.
What 'high places' have you built on every street of your daily life — elevated, visible, impossible to miss?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way,.... Where two or more ways, or two or more streets, met; and so…
That thou ... - Render it: after that thou didst build “unto thee an eminent place,” and didst make “thee an high place…
Thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place - גב gab, a stew or brothel; Vulg. lupanar; Septuag. οικημα πορνικον. So…
In these verses we have an account of the great wickedness of the people of Israel, especially in worshipping idols,…
an eminent place The term is used of the "back," the "boss" of a buckler, and the like, and means something elevated to…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture