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Texts -- Ezekiel 4:1-13 (NET)

Context
Ominous Object Lessons
4:1 “And you , son of man , take a brick and set it in front of you. Inscribe a city on it– Jerusalem . 4:2 Lay siege to it! Build siege works against it. Erect a siege ramp against it! Post soldiers outside it and station battering rams around it. 4:3 Then for your part take an iron frying pan and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city . Set your face toward it. It is to be under siege ; you are to besiege it. This is a sign for the house of Israel . 4:4 “Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel on it. For the number of days you lie on your side you will bear their iniquity . 4:5 I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days for you– 390 days . So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel . 4:6 “When you have completed these days, then lie down a second time, but on your right side , and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days – I have assigned one day for each year . 4:7 You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it. 4:8 Look here, I will tie you up with ropes , so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you complete the days of your siege . 4:9 “As for you , take wheat , barley , beans , lentils , millet , and spelt , put them in a single container , and make food from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side – 390 days – you will eat it. 4:10 The food you eat will be eight ounces ounces a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed times . 4:11 And you must drink water by measure , a pint and a half ; you must drink it at fixed times . 4:12 And you must eat the food like you would a barley cake . You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement .” 4:13 And the Lord said , “This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations where I will banish them.”

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Instruction

    [nave] INSTRUCTION From nature, Prov. 24:30-34; Eccl. 1:13-18; 3; 4:1; Matt. 6:25-30. See: Parables. From the study of human nature, Eccl. 3-12. By Object Lessons: The pot of maa, Ex. 16:32. The pillar of twelve stones at the f...

  • Ezekiel

    [nave] EZEKIEL, a priest. Time of his prophecy, Ezek. 1:1-3. Persecution of, Ezek. 3:25. Visions of: of God's glory, Ezek. 1; 8; 10; 11:22; of Jews' abominations, Ezek. 8:5, 6; of their punishment, Ezek. 9:10; of the valley of dry...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Prophecy

    [nave] PROPHECY Concerning Jesus, See: Jesus. Concerning church, See: Church, Prophecies Concerning Prosperity of. Relating to various countries, nations, and cities, see under their respective titles. Respecting individuals, see...

  • Symbols and Similitudes

    [nave] SYMBOLS AND SIMILITUDES Trees of life and knowledge, Gen. 2:9, 17; 3:3, 24; Rev. 22:2. Rainbow, Gen. 9:12, 13. Circumcision, of the covenant of Abraham, Gen. 17:11; Rom. 4:11. Passover, of the sparing of the firstborn, an...

  • Pantomime

    [nave] PANTOMIME By Isaiah, Isa. 20:2, 3. By Ezekiel, Ezek. 4:1-8; 12:18. Agabus, Acts 21:11.

  • Ezekiel, Book of

    [ebd] consists mainly of three groups of prophecies. After an account of his call to the prophetical office (1-3:21), Ezekiel (1) utters words of denunciation against the Jews (3:22-24), warning them of the certain destruction of ...

  • Millet

    [ebd] (Heb. dohan; only in Ezek. 4:9), a small grain, the produce of the Panicum miliaceum of botanists. It is universally cultivated in the East as one of the smaller corn-grasses. This seed is the cenchros of the Greeks. It is c...
    [isbe] MILLET - mil'-et, mil'-it (dochan; kegchros): One of the ingredients of the prophet's bread (Ezek 4:9). The Arabic equivalent is dukhn, the common millet, Panicum miliaceum, an annual grass 3 or 4 ft. high with a much-branch...
    [smith] a kind of grain. A number os species are cultivated in the East. When green it is used as fodder, and for bread when ripe. (Ezekiel 4:9) It is probable that both the Sorghum vulgare and that Panicum miliaceum were used, and t...
    [nave] MILLET, Ezek. 4:9.

  • Dung

    [ebd] (1.) Used as manure (Luke 13:8); collected outside the city walls (Neh. 2:13). Of sacrifices, burned outside the camp (Ex. 29:14; Lev. 4:11; 8:17; Num. 19:5). To be "cast out as dung," a figurative expression (1 Kings 14:10;...
    [nave] DUNG Deut. 23:13; 1 Sam. 2:8; 1 Kin. 14:10; 2 Kin. 6:25; 18:27; Neh. 2:13; 3:13, 14; 12:31; Job 20:7; Psa. 113:7; Prov. 30:12; Isa. 4:4; 25:10; 28:8; 36:12; Lam. 4:5; Ezek. 4:12, 15; Nah. 3:6; Zeph. 1:17; Luke 13:8; Jas. 1:...

  • Rye

    [ebd] =Rie, (Heb. kussemeth), found in Ex. 9:32; Isa. 28:25, in all of which the margins of the Authorized and of the Revised Versions have "spelt." This Hebrew word also occurs in Ezek. 4:9, where the Authorized Version has "fitc...
    [smith] (Heb. cussemeth) occurs in (Exodus 9:32; Isaiah 28:25) in the latter the margin reads "spelt." In (Ezekiel 4:9) the text has "fitches" and the margin "rie." It is probable that by cussemeth "spelt" is intended. Spelt (Triticu...
    [nave] RYE A small grain grown in Egypt, Ex. 9:32. Cultivated in Canaan, Isa. 28:25. Used in bread, Ezek. 4:9.

  • FUEL

    [ebd] Almost every kind of combustible matter was used for fuel, such as the withered stalks of herbs (Matt. 6:30), thorns (Ps. 58:9; Eccl. 7:6), animal excrements (Ezek. 4:12-15; 15:4, 6; 21:32). Wood or charcoal is much used sti...
    [isbe] FUEL - fu'-el ('okhlah, or ma'akholeth, "food"): Is mentioned specifically only in the Old Testament, in Isa 9:5,19; Ezek 15:4,6; 21:32. Its general, literal meaning in these connections is "food for fire," and might include...

  • Iron

    [smith] is mentioned with brass as the earliest of known metals. (Genesis 4:22) The natural wealth in iron of the soil of Canaan is indicated by describing it as a land whose stones are iron." (8:9) (Recent explorations have shown th...
    [nave] IRON 1. First recorded use of, Gen. 4:22. Ore of, Deut. 8:9; Job 28:2. Melted, Ezek. 22:20. Used in the temple, 1 Chr. 22:3; 29:2, 7. Articles made of: Ax, 2 Kin. 6:6; 2 Chr. 18:10; Eccl. 10:10; Isa. 10:34; bedstead, Deu...

  • Water

    [isbe] WATER - wo'-ter (mayim; hudor): (1) The Greek philosophers believed water to be the original substance and that all things were made from it. The Koran states, "From water we have made all things." In the story of the creati...
    [nave] WATER Creation of, Psa. 148:4, 5. Covered the whole earth, Gen. 1:9. Daily allowance of, Ezek. 4:11. City waterworks, 2 Kin. 20:20. Vision of, by Ezekiel, Ezek. 47:1-5. Of separation, Num. 19:2-22. Libation of, 1 Sam. ...

  • Battering-ram

    [ebd] (Ezek. 4:2; 21:22), a military engine, consisting of a long beam of wood hung upon a frame, for making breaches in walls. The end of it which was brought against the wall was shaped like a ram's head.
    [nave] BATTERING-RAM, 2 Sam. 20:15; Ezek. 4:2; 21:22.

  • BEANS

    [isbe] BEANS - benz (pol; Arabic ful): A very common product of Palestine; a valuable and very ancient article of diet. The Bible references are probably to the Faba vulgaris (N.D. Leguminosae) or horsebean. This is sown in the aut...
    [smith] (2 Samuel 17:28; Ezekiel 4:9) Beans are cultivated in Palestine, which produces many of the leguminous order of plants, such, as lentils, kidney-beans, vetches, etc.

  • FITCHES

    [ebd] (Isa. 28:25, 27), the rendering of the Hebrew ketsah, "without doubt the Nigella sativa, a small annual of the order Ranunculacece, which grows wild in the Mediterranean countries, and is cultivated in Egypt and Syria for it...
    [isbe] FITCHES - fich'-iz (the English word "fitch" is the same as "vetch"): (1) qetsach (Isa 28:25,27; the Revised Version, margin has "black cummin" (Nigella sativa)). This is the "nutmeg flower," an annual herb (Natural Order, R...

  • Prayer

    [nave] PRAYER. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Answer to, Promised; Answered, Instances of Answered; Confession in; Importunity in, Instances of Importunity in; Intercessor...

  • PAN

    [ebd] a vessel of metal or earthenware used in culinary operations; a cooking-pan or frying-pan frequently referred to in the Old Testament (Lev. 2:5; 6:21; Num. 11:8; 1 Sam. 2:14, etc.). The "ash-pans" mentioned in Ex. 27:3 were ...
    [isbe] PAN - Name of a utensil used in the preparation or the serving of food, and representing several words in the original. Passing over the use of the word in connections like 1 Ch 9:31, "things baked in pans," where the Hebrew...

  • BARLEY

    [isbe] BARLEY - bar'-li (se`orah): (1) In the Bible, as in modern times, barley was a characteristic product of Palestine--"a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees," etc. (Dt 8:8), the failure of whose crop was a nation...

  • POT

    [smith] The term "pot" is applicable to so many sorts of vessels that it can scarcely be restricted to any one in particular. Asuc (2 Kings 4:2) the earthen jar, deep and narrow, without handles, probably like the Roman and Egypt...
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Arts

Questions

  • It is not merely an arbitrary period or a "round number," but is chosen to convey die sense of fullness. Some of its prominent Scriptural uses are: Moses was forty days on the mount (Ex. 24:18, etc.); Elijah, strengthened by ...
  • The following material from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia should be helpful here: III. Significant numbers Numbers are also used with a symbolical or theological significance. One is used to convey th...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The point of this section is the importance of maintaining purity in the marriage relationship to preserve God's blessing on Israel.In verses 11-15 the writer explained the first steps an Israelite man who suspected his wife ...
  • God had not forgotten Israel. Even though He would leave her for a time, He would regather all her children from all over the world to Himself. Therefore she should continue to trust in Him.49:14 Having heard the promises tha...
  • This is the first of several symbolic acts that Jeremiah performed to communicate divine messages (cf. 16:1-4; 18:1-12; 19:1-2, 10-11; 27:1-28:17; 32:1-15; 43:8-13; 51:59-64). Other prophets did the same thing (cf. Isa. 20:2-...
  • 43:8 The Lord continued to give prophetic messages to Jeremiah in Egypt.43:9 Yahweh instructed Jeremiah to perform another symbolic act (cf. 13:4-7; 19:1-13; 27:1-28:16; Ezek. 4:1-12; 5:1-4; 12:3-6, 18; 37:15-17). He was to h...
  • Ezekiel ministered to the Jews in exile. He probably wrote this book for the benefit of the exiles and the other Jewish communities of his day and beyond his day. In some of his visions (e.g. chs. 8 and 11) the Lord carried t...
  • There are two major structural peculiarities that set Ezekiel off as distinctive.First, the book is a collection of prophecies arranged in almost consistent chronological order. No other prophetical book is as consistently ch...
  • Ezekiel began prophesying when he was 30 years old, and he had gone into captivity five years before that. Thus Ezekiel was familiar with Jeremiah's preaching and ministry. Ezekiel shows quite a bit of similarity to Jeremiah ...
  • I. Ezekiel's calling and commission chs. 1-3A. The vision of God's glory ch. 11. The setting of the vision 1:1-32. The vision proper 1:4-28B. The Lord's charge to Ezekiel chs. 2-31. The recipients of Ezekiel's ministry 2:1-52...
  • This pericope contains 10 commands, and it is the center of the chiasm in chapters 1-3."The Lord's charge to Ezekiel emphasized the absolute necessity of hearing, understanding, and assimilating God's message prior to going f...
  • 3:22 While Ezekiel was among the exiles in Tel-abib, the Lord directed him to go out to the nearby plain where the Lord promised to speak with him (cf. ch. 1; Acts 9:6; Gal. 1:16-17).3:23 Ezekiel obeyed the Lord. While he was...
  • In this section, Ezekiel grouped several symbolic acts that pictured the destruction of Jerusalem (4:1-5:4) and several discourses that he delivered on the subject of Jerusalem's destruction (5:5-7:27). Most of the exiles bel...
  • 4:1-2 The Lord instructed Ezekiel to construct a model of Jerusalem under siege. He was to build a model of the city using a clay brick (Heb. lebenah) to represent Jerusalem. The Hebrew word for "brick"describes both clay tab...
  • 4:4-5 Then Ezekiel was to recline in public on his left side for 390 days. This was to represent the number of years that Israel would have to bear punishment for her sins. Evidently when Ezekiel lay on his left side he faced...
  • This second dramatization took place while Ezekiel was acting out the first 390 days of the siege of Jerusalem with the brick and the plate (vv. 1-8). Whereas the main drama pictured the siege as a judgment from God, this asp...
  • Ezekiel was also to do something else during the time he was dramatizing the siege of Jerusalem with his model (ch. 4)."After Ezekiel represented the factof the siege (first sign [4:1-3]), the lengthof the siege (second sign ...
  • 8:1 The following prophecy came to Ezekiel during September of 592 B.C. as he was sitting in his house with the elders of Israel.141This would have been during the time when he was lying on his right side for part of the day ...
  • "The exiles had not grasped the serious consequences of Ezekiel's warnings. They still hoped for an early return to Palestine, for they viewed the continued preservation of Jerusalem and Judah as signs of security. After all,...
  • 12:17-18 The Lord also instructed Ezekiel to eat his bread and drink his water while trembling and visibly anxious. The prophet appears to have been eating still the symbolic rations that God had prescribed for him earlier (4...
  • It is appropriate that this section appears at this point in Ezekiel, between the messages announcing judgment on Judah and Jerusalem for sin (chs. 4-24) and the messages announcing future blessings for Israel (chs. 33-48). I...
  • 29:1 This is another dated prophecy. It came to Ezekiel in the year before his first oracle against Tyre (26:1), namely, in 587 B.C.29:2 The Lord directed His prophet to turn his attention to the south, to Pharaoh king of Egy...
  • "This last major division of the book focuses on the restoration of Israel's blessing. Israel would be judged for her sin (chaps. 1-24) as would the surrounding nations (chaps. 25-32). But Israel will not remain under judgmen...
  • Since this message is undated, it may have come to Ezekiel about the same time as the previous two in chapter 32, namely, in the last month of 585 B.C. If so, Ezekiel received it about two months after God gave him the six me...
  • This part of Ezekiel's message of warning to the exiles is similar to 3:16-21. Yahweh recommissioned Ezekiel to his prophetic task (cf. chs. 2-3)."Now that Ezekiel's original ministry of judgment was completed, God appointed ...
  • 37:15-17 The Lord also commanded Ezekiel to take two sticks (cf. Zech. 11:7-14). He was to write on one of them "For Judah and for the sons of Israel, Judah's companions."He was to write on the other stick "For Joseph and for...
  • The Book of Ezekiel begins with a vision of God's glory (ch. 1), records the departure of God's glory (chs. 8-11), and ends with another vision of God's glory (chs. 40-48). This is the longest vision outside the Book of Revel...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1968.Alexander, Ralph H. Ezekiel. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976._____. "Ezekiel."In Isaiah-Ezekiel. Vol. 6 of The Expo...
  • Though we know nothing of Hosea's personal life before he began prophesying, we do know about a crisis that arose in his family while he ministered. This personal tragedy and its happy ending proved to be a lesson to the peop...
  • 9:1-2 The Lord told Israel not to rejoice like other nations at the prospect of an abundant harvest; that would not be her experience. He promised to remove her grain and wine. These were threatened curses for covenant unfait...
  • One of the events that would occur before the realization of these great promises of blessing was Israel's exile, but the burden of this pericope is also future restoration.4:9 Micah, speaking for the Lord, addressed the Jews...
  • Though God had not responded to the prophet's questions previously, He did eventually, and Habakkuk recorded His answer. The form of this revelation is an oracle.1:5 The Lord told Habakkuk and his people (plural "you"in Hebre...
  • 21:7 Ptolemais (Acco of the Old Testament and modern Acre located on the north side of the bay of Haifa) lay 20 miles south of Tyre. It was the southernmost Phoenician port. There Paul also met with the local Christians as st...
  • 10:8 God or Christ (v. 4) then commanded John to take the little book from the strong angel with authority over the whole planet.10:9 Evidently the little scroll symbolizes God's revelation that John was about to set forth. I...
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