Ezekiel 2

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. Ben adam appears here for the first time in Ezekiel. The phrase is distinct from its use in Daniel 7:13 (bar enash in Aramaic, a messianic figure 'coming with the clouds of heaven') and from Jesus's self-designation in the Gospels. In Ezekiel, ben adam consistently means 'mortal' — it humbles the prophet rather than exalting him.
2. The command 'stand on your feet' (amod al raglekha) requires Ezekiel to rise from his prostrate position. God does not converse with a face-down prophet — he demands Ezekiel stand upright to receive the commission. But Ezekiel cannot stand on his own; in the next verse, the Spirit must raise him.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. Ruach ('Spirit') here is capitalized because the context demands it — this is the divine Spirit acting on Ezekiel's body in response to God's command. The Spirit accomplishes what the human cannot: Ezekiel was told to stand but could not rise on his own after the theophany, so the ruach enters him and physically raises him. This establishes a pattern: throughout Ezekiel, the ruach will lift, transport, and empower the prophet (3:12, 3:14, 8:3, 11:1, 37:1, 43:5).
2. The phrase midabber elai ('the one speaking to me') uses the hitpael participle, which some scholars read as reflexive ('the one speaking to himself' — i.e., divine speech that Ezekiel overhears rather than speech directed at him). However, the context of direct commission makes the simpler reading ('the one speaking to me') more appropriate.

Translator Notes

1. The Ketiv (written text) reads goyim (plural, 'nations'), while the Qere (reading tradition) reads goy (singular, 'nation'). We follow the Qere because the singular fits the context — Israel is one nation, not many. However, the Ketiv plural may be an intentional provocation: calling Israel 'nations' (goyim) puts them in the category of the foreign peoples they were supposed to be distinct from.
2. The word moredim ('rebels') is from the root m-r-d, meaning to revolt against a sovereign — political rebellion language applied to the covenant relationship. The verb pash'u ('transgressed') comes from pasha ('to rebel, to transgress'), which in covenant contexts means deliberate, willful breach of sworn obligations. This is not accidental sin but calculated defiance, and it is presented as a multi-generational pattern ('they and their ancestors').

Translator Notes

1. Qeshei fanim ('hard of face') means brazen, shameless, unyielding in expression — they will not flinch or show submission. Chizqei lev ('strong/stubborn of heart') describes a will that has hardened into defiance. The combination paints a portrait of a people who are both outwardly defiant and inwardly resolute in their rebellion.
2. This verse contains the first occurrence of Ezekiel's signature prophetic formula: ko amar Adonai YHWH ('This is what the Lord GOD says'). The compound divine name Adonai YHWH distinguishes Ezekiel's formula from Jeremiah's and Isaiah's, who typically use YHWH alone. 'Lord GOD' renders Adonai ('Lord,' the spoken substitute for the divine name) plus YHWH ('GOD').

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. Bet meri ('rebellious house') becomes a recurring designation for Israel throughout Ezekiel (2:5, 2:6, 2:8, 3:9, 3:26-27, 12:2-3, 12:9, 12:25, 17:12, 24:3, 44:6). The word meri comes from the root m-r-h ('to be contentious, rebellious'). The construction 'whether they listen or refuse' establishes a principle central to biblical prophecy: the prophet's success is not measured by the audience's response. The purpose is not persuasion but witness — 'they will know that a prophet has been among them,' regardless of whether they obey.

Translator Notes

1. The threefold repetition of al tira ('do not be afraid') reveals the severity of the threat. God does not say 'there is nothing to fear' — he says 'do not fear,' which acknowledges the danger is real. The imagery of saravnim ('briers'), sallonim ('thorns'), and aqrabbim ('scorpions') can be read literally (the hostile environment) or metaphorically (the people themselves as piercing and stinging). The word saravnim is rare and its etymology debated — some connect it to a root meaning 'to rebel' rather than to thorny plants, which would make it 'rebels and resisters' rather than 'briers and thorns.' We follow the plant imagery based on the parallelism with scorpions.
2. The word techat ('be dismayed, be shattered') is stronger than simple fear — it suggests being broken or crushed by their opposition. God forbids not only fear but psychological collapse.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase devarai ('my words') is emphatic — Ezekiel must speak God's words, not his own. The prophet is a conduit, not a composer. The repeated formula 'whether they listen or refuse' (also in v. 5) reinforces that prophetic obedience is not contingent on audience receptivity. The final ki meri hemah ('for they are rebellious') is blunt — three Hebrew words that summarize Israel's fundamental character in this era.

Translator Notes

1. The command shifts from speaking to eating — Ezekiel must internalize God's message before he can deliver it. The warning 'do not be rebellious like that rebellious house' (al tehi meri ke-vet ha-meri) creates a wordplay on meri that is difficult to capture in English. The prophet is being told: the danger is not only external hostility but internal contamination — do not let their rebellion infect you. The imperative 'open your mouth and eat' (petseh pikha ve-ekhol) is startling: prophets receive words, but Ezekiel must eat them.

Translator Notes

1. The yad sheluchah ('outstretched hand') extends from the throne — a divine hand holding a scroll. Megillat sepher ('scroll of a document' or 'written scroll') is the physical medium of the prophetic message. In the ancient world, scrolls were the standard form of literary transmission — a rolled sheet of papyrus or leather. The hand holding the scroll is disembodied in the description; it emerges from the divine presence without Ezekiel attributing it to a specific figure.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The word qinim ('laments, dirges') is the plural of qinah, the formal lament genre used for mourning the dead — Ezekiel will deliver funeral songs over living nations. Hegeh ('mourning, moaning, sighing') captures the inarticulate grief that words cannot fully express. Hi ('woe') is an exclamation of anguish. Together they summarize the content of prophetic judgment: structured grief (laments), raw sorrow (mourning), and sharp cries of pain (woe).
2. The scroll written on both sides reappears in Revelation 5:1, where the scroll sealed with seven seals is written 'on the inside and on the back' — John's vision deliberately echoes Ezekiel's. The eating of the scroll continues in 3:1-3.