Ezekiel 34:31
And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men,.... This is observed, to show that all that had been said in this chapter concerning sheep, and a flock of sheep, was to be understood, not in a literal sense, but in a figurative one, of such as were rational and spiritual persons; a set of men whom the Lord had chosen, and separated from others, as his peculiar flock; and whom he took a special care of, and led them to, and fed them in, green pastures of his own providing; they are the souls of men that Christ is the Shepherd and Bishop of, 1 Peter 2:25. The Talmudists {u} frequently make use of this text, to prove that Israelites are only called men, and not the Gentiles; see
and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD; which is often repeated for the certainty of it, because a blessing of the greatest importance, and which includes all others in it; see Ezekiel 34:24.
{u} T. Bab. Yebamot, fol. 61. 1. Bava Metzia, fol. 114. 2. & Ceritot, fol. 6. 2.