’Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother;
verse value 2176
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "were" (הָיֽוּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·of·man" (בֶּן־אָדָ֑ם, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "mother·one" (אֵם־אַחַ֖ת). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "were" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "son·of·man" (root בין, 145x in Ezekiel); "mother·one" (root אחד, 104x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'son·of·man', dividing the verse into phrases of 1 and 5 words. Full calculation: בֶּן־אָדָ֑ם [son·of·man] (97) + שְׁתַּ֣יִם [two] (750) + נָשִׁ֔ים [women] (400) + בְּנ֥וֹת [daughters] (458) + אֵם־אַחַ֖ת [mother·one] (450) + הָיֽוּ [were] (21) = 2176.
Rashi
“Two women.” Two kingdoms, which are like two women:
The daughters of one mother: they were divided into two from one kingdom in the days of Rehoboam.
Radak
Son of man, two women, daughters of one mother, were. He compared the special portion to the mother, and when they were divided, they were like daughters, and in Egypt they were one congregation, and so it was until the kingdom of the House of David was divided. And Jonathan ben Uzziel translated: “Son of man, prophesy concerning two kingdoms that are like two women who are daughters of one mother.”
Metzudat David
“Two women.” This means that two kingdoms emerged from a single congregation, namely the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Ephraim.
Malbim
“Two women”—the Kingdom of Ephraim and the Kingdom of Judah are likened to two women. God portrays His relationship with Israel as that of a husband to his wife, for He entered into a covenant of intimacy with them. And when they rebel against Him to serve foreign worship, He portrays them as an adulterous woman under her husband. And He says that these two women, namely Ephraim and Judah, although they are currently divided, were daughters of one mother, for in their beginning they were always one nation.
and they committed harlotries in Egypt; they committed harlotries in their youth; there were their bosoms pressed, and there their virgin breasts were bruised.
verse value 3459
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 52 letters. Notable word values: "breasts" (דַּדֵּ֖י) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "they·commited·fornication" (זָנ֑וּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·their·youth" (בִּנְעוּרֵיהֶ֖ן, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·they·commited·fornication" (וַתִּזְנֶ֣ינָה), "in·their·youth" (בִּנְעוּרֵיהֶ֖ן), "they·commited·fornication" (זָנ֑וּ). The root זנה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·handled" (root עשה, 214x in Ezekiel); "name" (root שם, 67x in Ezekiel); "in·Egypt" (root מצרים, 39x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·commited·fornication', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַתִּזְנֶ֣ינָה [and·they·commited·fornication] (528) + בְמִצְרַ֔יִם [in·Egypt] (382) + בִּנְעוּרֵיהֶ֖ן [in·their·youth] (393) + זָנ֑וּ [they·commited·fornication] (63) + שָׁ֚מָּה [name] (345) + מֹעֲכ֣וּ [they·were·pressed] (136) + שְׁדֵיהֶ֔ן [their·breasts] (369) + וְשָׁ֣ם [and·there] (346) + עִשּׂ֔וּ [they·handled] (376) + דַּדֵּ֖י [breasts] (18) + בְּתוּלֵיהֶֽן [their·virginity] (503) = 3459.
Rashi
There, they were crushed. The children of Egypt [crushed] their breasts. The term "u-ma'uch" (and crushed), as in Leviticus 22:
"And there they did [it]." The Egyptians [called] their breasts "battulot," meaning they taught them their ways of abominations; "Esau" is "attiniri" in the foreign tongue.
Radak
And they played the harlot. We have already explained that every term of harlotry that appears in reference to the Congregation of Israel denotes idolatry. Even though the language is employed in the manner of the laws of harlotry, akin to the manner of sexual intercourse, the entire matter pertains to the metaphor, for He likened her to a harlot. But the metaphor refers to all types of idolatry. And so did Jonathan render it: "She erred in Egypt; after the worship of their errors she erred; there she served for error, and there was corruption in their deeds." And so did he translate the entire matter in this manner.
“There their breasts were crushed.” “Crushed” is a passive form whose agent is not mentioned, a doubled root on the pattern of “de'akhu” (they were extinguished), as in “like a fire of thorns,” and its meaning is from the sense of crushing, bruising, and grinding, and “his spear pressed into the ground,” and the crushing of the breasts is a manner of harlotry. And so it is in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory: “What did this Arab do to her? Because he pressed her between her breasts, he disqualified her from the priesthood.” And the matter is repeated in different words, and it says, “and there they handled the breasts of their virginity” — meaning, while they were still virgins, their breasts were handled. And “handled” is from the pa'al binyan, doubled, on the pattern of “when they finished.” And the meaning of “handled” is that the Egyptians handled them, having taught them the ways of their abominations. And the breasts are a metaphor for the commandments that they inherited from the fathers, generation after generation, until Abraham our father, upon whom be peace — these were the days of virginity — and they were nullified in Egypt. This is the meaning of “the handling of the breasts.”
Metzudat David
"and they played the harlot." During their youth, when they were in Egypt, they played the harlot with them.
There. When they were in Egypt, the adulterers pressed their breasts, and this is the matter of the beginning of prostitution. And our Sages of blessed memory said: “What did this Arab do to her? Was it because he pressed her between her breasts, etc.” (Ketubot 36a).
"They handled." The Egyptians handled and crushed [their] breasts while they were still virgins, and this is a repetition of what was already stated; that is to say, while they were still in Egypt, they began to serve the idolatry of Egypt, and because they did there only a small thing, therefore it says pressed and handled, which does not constitute actual prostitution.
Metzudat Zion
"Machoch." The matter of squeezing and crushing by means of manual handling, its like, and the words "machoch" and "katut" (Leviticus 22:24).
Their breasts. These are the breasts of a woman.
They squeezed. He too is a matter of squeezing and crushing with the touch of the hand, and similarly, “Behold, I am dealing with all your oppressors” (Zephaniah 3:19).
Malbim
“And they played the harlot.” Furthermore, it was in Egypt that they began to play the harlot after the Lord. At that time, they had three excuses: 1. From the perspective that they were in Egypt, a place of promiscuity; that is to say, they turned away from the Lord because Egypt was full of abominations. 2. Because of their youth they played the harlot, meaning that the harlotry was due to the boiling of desire and the lack of intellect characteristic of the days of youth; that is to say, at that time they had not yet received the Torah and faith properly. 3. “There their breasts were squeezed,” meaning matters that they did in Egypt to arouse the desire for intercourse; namely, that the Egyptians led them astray through their deeds and customs into idolatry.
And the names of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister; and they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem Oholibah.
verse value 5046
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 80 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִ֔י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Oholibah" (וְאׇהֳלִיבָ֣ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 802: and·their·names, and·their·names. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·Oholibah" (וְאׇהֳלִיבָ֣ה), "and·they·bore" (וַתֵּלַ֖דְנָה), "and·Jerusalem" (וִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם). The root שם appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·became" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "and·their·names" (root שם, 67x in Ezekiel); "son" (root בן, 54x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root אהלה ("Oholah") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root אהליבה ("and·Oholibah") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·daughters', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Rashi
And their names. By the epithets "Oholah" and "Oholibah":
"And their names." The first is Samaria, which I call "her tent," for it became a tent from the beginning for Jeroboam's calves and for Ahab's house of Baal. Even though Samaria was not built until the days of Omri, He refers to the kings of Israel by its name, because from the time it was built, it became the capital.
Oholibah. Named because My tent was in her, and My sanctuary.
Radak
“And their names.” This parable refers to the two daughters, whose names are now these: the greater one is Oholah. And he explains that Samaria is called Oholah, and Jerusalem is called Oholivah. He mentioned Samaria because it was the capital of the Kingdom of Israel from the time Omri built it, and Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah. And the meaning of Oholah is that her tent is her own — I have no share in it; that is, the calves that Jeroboam made.
"And Oholivah is Jerusalem." This means that My tent is in her, and there I dwell, for there is the Temple, which is the dwelling place of My glory. And the explanation of "they shall be to Me" is that from the beginning they were to Me as wives, so to speak, meaning that they heeded Me and performed My commandments.
“And they bore sons and daughters.” This means that they succeeded in their deeds when they were one united community, serving Me. And Jonathan [ben Uzziel] rendered in the Targum: “And she served before Me, and I prospered with sons and daughters.”
Metzudat David
"And their names." By way of appellation:
"Oholah, the greater." The greater of the two is called Oholah, and Oholibah was the name of her sister, who was attached to her, being the younger and lesser of the two.
And they were mine. I took them for myself as wives:
And their names. The intrinsic (names):
“Shomron, her tent.” This refers to the one whose nickname was “her tent,” while her proper name was Shomron; and she is called “her tent” because there was in it a tent for the golden calves, as if to say, “her tent,” implying that I have no share in it.
Ahaleivah. This is named after the fact that “Ahaleivah” (my tabernacle was) in it, and it refers to the Holy Temple. That is to say: “I took them for Myself as a people, and they multiplied and increased, grew, and prospered.”
Malbim
"And their names" — and then, already, they were divided by names, for there were tribes that were devoted to the Torah of the Fathers, such as the tribe of Levi, who did not serve idolatry in Egypt and did not abandon the covenant of circumcision; and so too Judah, of whom [Scripture says], "Judah became His sanctuary" (Psalms 114:2). And they were the minority, for the rest of the tribes were called "Oholah" [her tent], meaning they had a tent of their own, separate from the Lord — and she was "the great one," meaning that they were the majority. And "Oholibah" [My tent is in her] — that is, the tribe of Levi and Judah — for it was as though "My tent is in her," and they were righteous and the Lord dwelled among them, for they belonged to the Lord. And nonetheless she was "her sister," meaning they were not yet separated then and were one nation; and "they became Mine," meaning the Lord betrothed both of them to Himself as a people through the giving of the Torah.
And they bore sons and daughters, who were fruitful and multiplied in the Land of Israel. At that time, they divided into two kingdoms. The meaning is: although in Egypt they were divided by names, nevertheless afterwards both were Mine, engaged in My service, and both were called by one name. Only afterwards, when they bore sons and daughters, did they divide in the days of Jeroboam. Until in the days of Ahab they began to serve Baal, and then they divided a second time—both in name and in place of dwelling. For then, "and their names were Samaria, Oholah," for Samaria was established as the royal city of Ephraim and was called specifically by the name "her tent" [Oholah], for then they separated completely from the Lord. And Jerusalem was the royal city of Judah, and it was called "Oholibah" ["My tent is in her"], for there the Sanctuary of the Lord remained.
And Oholah played the harlot when she was Mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians, warriors,
verse value 2862
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 37 letters. Verse gematria: 2862 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "and·commited·fornication" (וַתִּ֥זֶן, 4 letters) and the longest is "on·her·lovers" (עַֽל־מְאַהֲבֶ֔יהָ, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·commited·fornication" (וַתִּ֥זֶן), "under·me" (תַּחְתָּ֑י), "on·her·lovers" (עַֽל־מְאַהֲבֶ֔יהָ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "under·me" (root תחת, 23x in Ezekiel); "and·commited·fornication" (root זנה, 22x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root עגב ("and·she·doted") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'under·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַתִּ֥זֶן [and·commited·fornication] (463) + אׇהֳלָ֖ה [Oholah] (41) + תַּחְתָּ֑י [under·me] (818) + וַתֶּעְגַּב֙ [and·she·doted] (481) + עַֽל־מְאַהֲבֶ֔יהָ [on·her·lovers] (163) + אֶל־אַשּׁ֖וּר [on·Assyria] (538) + קְרוֹבִֽים [near] (358) = 2862.
Rashi
“ותעגב” – And she lusted (ve-tit'aveh: and she desired). The Yiddish term is “אישויי”ר”; an alternative reading is “דיששירי”ר”.
“Close to Assyria.” This refers to those who were their neighbors and sent to them, to be their allies. This was Menachem, son of Gadi (2 Kings 15:19), who paid tribute to Pul, king of Assyria, so that his hand would be with him to strengthen the kingdom in his grasp. The prophet compares this matter to an adulterous woman: if they had served the Holy One, blessed be He, they would not have needed the kings of Assyria.
Radak
“And Oholah played the harlot while she was still under Me.” After she had been Oholah and had made the calves, she was still under Me, because Jeroboam originally made the calves for the sake of the Divine Name, and afterwards Ahab came and made Baal and served him. This is the harlotry that Oholah committed, in that she abandoned My service and served other gods.
“And she was enamored of her lovers.” The term denotes a sense of craving, like “They rejected you, the enamored ones” and its like in this passage. And my master and father, of blessed memory, wrote that every instance of this word in the language is in the sense of the craving of harlotry; therefore, the poets erred when they used this word in the sense of the craving of God, blessed be He.
“Close to Assyria.” The verse states, “They drew near to Assyria,” meaning that they made themselves close to Assyria. Alternatively, the term “close” is interpreted as if they were relatives to her, similar to how Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up to me and save me.” Then he took the pattern of the altar from Damascus, saying, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram has helped them, I will sacrifice to Him, and He will help me.” Likewise did the kings of Israel, who are Oholah, do. And if it had not been written [explicitly], [we would not have known this].
Metzudat David
And she was enamored. She was consumed by the lust of harlotry, driven by the desire of her lovers; and it goes on to explain: "she desired"—she desired the sons of Assyria, as if they were her close relatives.
Metzudat Zion
And she lusted. Thus is called the desire for harlotry, as it says: "Your lovers have rejected you" (Jeremiah 4:30).
Malbim
"And she went whoring" — From that time onward, she has been whoring after idolatry and by mingling with the nations of the lands, until finally, "and she shall be enamored of her lovers, to the sons of Ashur," meaning those who came close to her land. This occurred in the days of Menachem, who gave to Pul, king of Ashur, a thousand talents to strengthen the kingdom in his hand.
clothed with blue, governors and rulers, handsome young men all of them, horsemen riding upon horses.
verse value 3261
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "desire" (חֶ֖מֶד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·rulers" (וּסְגָנִ֔ים, 6 letters). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "all·of·them" (root כל, 129x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root תכלת ("blue") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root פחה ("governor") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all·of·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: לְבֻשֵׁ֤י [clothed-in] (342) + תְכֵ֙לֶת֙ [blue] (850) + פַּח֣וֹת [governor] (494) + וּסְגָנִ֔ים [and·rulers] (169) + בַּח֥וּרֵי [young·men·of] (226) + חֶ֖מֶד [desire] (52) + כֻּלָּ֑ם [all·of·them] (90) + פָּרָשִׁ֕ים [horsemen] (630) + רֹכְבֵ֖י [riders·of] (232) + סוּסִֽים [horses] (176) = 3261.
Radak
"Her garments were of blue." The officers who came with the king of Assyria, and when she saw the desirable youths in fine garments, riding on horses, she desired them and mingled with them, and learned from their deeds. This is what is said:
Metzudat David
"Garments of blue." This is because they were clothed in the color blue, and they included governors and prefects, and all of them were handsome young men and horsemen. And to add further clarification, it states "horsemen," and not those who go on foot.
Metzudat Zion
Techelet. The name of an important color:
Governors and prefects. The matter of authority:
Malbim
"לבשי" means that she became enamored with the Assyrians, either because of the beauty of their garments, which were blue-dyed garments, or because of their high rank, as they included governors and prefects, or because of their handsome and desirable youths, all of them, or because of their military might, as they were cavalrymen who rode horses.
And she bestowed her harlotries upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and on whomsoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself.
verse value 3718
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 56 letters. Verse gematria: 3718 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "all·of·them" (כֻּלָּ֑ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·all·their·idols" (בְּכׇל־גִּלּוּלֵיהֶ֖ם, 10 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "sons·of·Assyria" (בְּנֵֽי־אַשּׁ֖וּר), "that·she·doted" (אֲשֶׁר־עָגְבָ֛ה), "in·all·their·idols" (בְּכׇל־גִּלּוּלֵיהֶ֖ם). The root כל appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·she·doted" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "upon·them" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "and·gave" (root נתן, 207x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root מבחר ("choicest") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all·of·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַתִּתֵּ֤ן [and·gave] (856) + תַּזְנוּתֶ֙יהָ֙ [her·fornications] (878) + עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם [upon·them] (155) + מִבְחַ֥ר [choicest] (250) + בְּנֵֽי־אַשּׁ֖וּר [sons·of·Assyria] (569) + כֻּלָּ֑ם [all·of·them] (90) + וּבְכֹ֧ל [all] (58) + אֲשֶׁר־עָגְבָ֛ה [that·she·doted] (581) + בְּכׇל־גִּלּוּלֵיהֶ֖ם [in·all·their·idols] (176) + נִטְמָֽאָה [defiled·herself] (105) = 3718.
Rashi
"And she bestowed her wantonness upon them." She bestowed upon them a heart of harlotry and a spirit of prostitution, for she was desirous of them.
"And in all that she lusted..." – This teaches that among all the nations of the world with whom she associated, she learned their ways and became defiled by their idolatry.
Radak
"And she cast her prostitution upon them." It is clear:
Metzudat David
“And she gave her harlotry over them.” This means: Therefore, the spirit of harlotry was given over them, and she desired all the chosen ones of the sons of Ashur.
"And in all that she lusted." And to every one whom she lusted after, they became defiled with all their detestable abominations, like the dung of cattle. For thus she played the harlot and committed adultery with them. This means that she turned away from Me and lusted after the idols of Ashur, when she saw the abundance of their success. And just as she lusted, so she acted, and she served their idols.
Malbim
“And she gave,” and afterward she bestowed her harlotry upon them in the days of Hoshea son of Elah, when he became a vassal to him [the king of Assyria]; and in all their idols she became defiled by doing according to their abominations.
Neither has she left her harlotries brought from Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised her virgin breasts; and they poured out their lust upon her.
verse value 5276
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 71 letters. Notable word values: "breasts" (דַּדֵּ֣י) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·her·harlotries" (וְאֶת־תַּזְנוּתֶ֤יהָ, 10 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "left" (עָזָ֔בָה), "in·her·youth" (בִנְעוּרֶ֔יהָ), "her·virginity" (בְתוּלֶ֑יהָ). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "on" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "they·handled" (root עשה, 214x in Ezekiel); "not" (root לא, 213x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'her·virginity', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 3 words.
Rashi
"And her whoredom from Egypt she did not forsake." This also applies to the kings of Egypt, as we find it stated (in 2 Kings 17:4) regarding Hoshea son of Elah, who sent messengers to So, king of Egypt.
"For that [is the one] with whom they lay..." And from then on, "they poured out their whoredom upon her," meaning that desires of harlotry entered into her from the days of her youth.
Radak
"And she did not leave her prostitution from Egypt." Even though she learned the deeds of the nations from Assyria, she did not abandon what she had also learned in her youth from the Egyptians—idolatry and sorcery—for they were the first to teach her. This is the meaning of the verse: "For she was lain with in her youth."
"And they poured out." This teaches us that they taught them abundantly, like the matter that is poured out in the words of soothsayers and sorcerers.
Metzudat David
“And her fornication from Egypt.” The lust for fornication that she had from Egypt she did not abandon, for the sons of Egypt lay with her in her youth out of affection, and they served and massaged her breasts while she was still a virgin; therefore, their love was fixed in her heart. Moreover, they poured out their lust for fornication upon her from that time on, and therefore she did not abandon them. That is to say, she did not abandon the idols of Egypt, due to all her habitual practice with them from that time on.
Malbim
And she did not forsake her harlotry from Egypt, meaning that afterward the King of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, for she had been lain with in her youth, and there was a covenant between them and Egypt from of old.
Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
verse value 2365
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "therefore" (לָכֵ֥ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "into·hand·of·her·lovers" (בְּיַד־מְאַהֲבֶ֑יהָ, 9 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "I·have·given·it" (נְתַתִּ֖יהָ), "into·hand·of·her·lovers" (בְּיַד־מְאַהֲבֶ֑יהָ). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "whom" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "upon·them" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "I·have·given·it" (root נתן, 207x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'into·hand·of·her·lovers', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: לָכֵ֥ן [therefore] (100) + נְתַתִּ֖יהָ [I·have·given·it] (865) + בְּיַד־מְאַהֲבֶ֑יהָ [into·hand·of·her·lovers] (79) + בְּיַד֙ [in·hand·of] (16) + בְּנֵ֣י [son] (62) + אַשּׁ֔וּר [Assyria] (507) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [whom] (501) + עָגְבָ֖ה [she·doted] (80) + עֲלֵיהֶֽם [upon·them] (155) = 2365.
Rashi
"Therefore I have given her..." — This refers to the time when Sennacherib came and exiled them.
Radak
"Therefore I have given her into their hand." Because she removed her trust from Me and abandoned My service, and trusted in the people of Assyria and learned their abominations and their idols, I have given them into their hand.
Metzudat David
"I have given her up." I delivered them into the hands of her lovers; and to add further clarification, He said, "into the hands of the Assyrians, for whom she had a passionate desire."
Malbim
Therefore, I have given them: This was the cause from the Lord, for which reason the King of Assyria considered them as rebels, after she had already lusted after them and they were under the dominion of Assyria; therefore he took vengeance upon them for desiring to rebel against him and to accept the yoke of the Kingdom of Egypt.
These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, and her they slew with the sword; and she became a byword among women, for judgments were executed upon her.
verse value 4329
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 62 letters. Verse gematria: 4329 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "on·her" (בָֽהּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·her·daughters" (וּבְנוֹתֶ֙יהָ֙, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "her·nakedness" (עֶרְוָתָהּ֒), "her·sons" (בָּנֶ֤יהָ), "they·killed" (הָרָ֑גוּ). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·became·a·name" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "they·did" (root עשה, 214x in Ezekiel); "abundance" (root הם, 166x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·killed', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: הֵ֘מָּה֮ [abundance] (50) + גִּלּ֣וּ [they·uncovered] (39) + עֶרְוָתָהּ֒ [her·nakedness] (681) + בָּנֶ֤יהָ [her·sons] (67) + וּבְנוֹתֶ֙יהָ֙ [and·her·daughters] (479) + לָקָ֔חוּ [they·took] (144) + וְאוֹתָ֖הּ [and·her] (418) + בַּחֶ֣רֶב [in·the·sword] (212) + הָרָ֑גוּ [they·killed] (214) + וַתְּהִי־שֵׁם֙ [and·she·became·a·name] (761) + לַנָּשִׁ֔ים [to·the·women] (430) + וּשְׁפוּטִ֖ים [and·judgments] (451) + עָ֥שׂוּ [they·did] (376) + בָֽהּ [on·her] (7) = 4329.
Rashi
"And she became a byword among the women." [This teaches that] one takes from them a curse for all adulteresses, so that they may be admonished by her. See what befell so-and-so because of her lewdness:
"ושפוטים" – like "שפטים" (judges). "Justises" (judgments) in the vernacular [Old French].
Radak
"They." First, they exiled the tribes of Gad and Reuben, and afterward they exiled the rest of the tribes, which constitute the kingdom of Ephraim.
"Took." The minors, who were not of military age, they took captive; and they killed the young men, the men of war, the king, his officers, and his nobles.
“And she became a byword among women.” She had a bad reputation among the other lustful women, for the one whom Oholah had lusted after held her cheap, disgraced her, and killed her. The parable compares the women to the other nations, as in its Targum: “And she became a byword among the provinces.”
And they executed judgments upon her. They executed judgments of vengeance upon her. The word "shoftim" (judgments) is on the pattern of the word zevul, and it comes with a cholam; it is the word "shoft" (judgment) and "cherev" (sword).
Metzudat David
"They." Although they were beloved, nevertheless they executed judgment upon her and exposed her nakedness; and this is the disgrace that is done to a harlot, that they strip her of her garments and lead her naked before the public.
They took. In captivity:
“And she was there for the women.” This matter was of benefit in that it served as a public disgrace for the women, so that they would not act like her deeds. Furthermore, it was of benefit to execute upon her the appropriate measure of retribution. And the Omnipresent delivered her into the hands of the Assyrians, who humiliated her and desecrated her honor. Initially, they took her sons and daughters—namely, the tribes of Gad and Reuben, who were exiled first—and the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, who were exiled after them. After this, they exiled Samaria, the capital of the monarchy, which was called by the name Oholah. This was done to her in order that Judah might be disciplined, and in order to complete the payment of the reward for her sin.
Malbim
"They uncovered her nakedness" — therefore the king of Assyria conquered the land and took her sons and daughters, meaning that he exiled them to Halah and Habor; and "her he killed with the sword," meaning that he killed most of them with the sword and abolished the monarchy; and "she became a byword among women," meaning that the nations whom he settled there would thereby see the Lord and His punishments, and take a lesson from Samaria.
And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet was she more corrupt in her doting than she, and in her harlotries more than her sister in her harlotries.
verse value 4677
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "and·saw" (וַתֵּ֙רֶא֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·her·harlotries" (וְאֶ֨ת־תַּזְנוּתֶ֔יהָ, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 420: her·sister, her·sister. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·she·was·corrupt" (וַתַּשְׁחֵ֥ת), "her·lustfulness" (עַגְבָתָ֖הּ), "than·adulteries·of" (מִזְּנוּנֵ֖י). The root אחות appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·saw" (root ראה, 74x in Ezekiel); "than·her" (root מן, 47x in Ezekiel); "her·sister" (root אחות, 25x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'than·her', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַתֵּ֙רֶא֙ [and·saw] (607) + אֲחוֹתָ֣הּ [her·sister] (420) + אׇהֳלִיבָ֔ה [Oholibah] (53) + וַתַּשְׁחֵ֥ת [and·she·was·corrupt] (1114) + עַגְבָתָ֖הּ [her·lustfulness] (480) + מִמֶּ֑נָּה [than·her] (135) + וְאֶ֨ת־תַּזְנוּתֶ֔יהָ [and·her·harlotries] (1285) + מִזְּנוּנֵ֖י [than·adulteries·of] (163) + אֲחוֹתָֽהּ [her·sister] (420) = 4677.
Rashi
"And her sister Oholibah saw" [This teaches that she saw] all the evil that had come upon her sister because of her promiscuity, and she did not look [at it with approval].
"And her lust was corrupted." Her desire. Zuta in the Aramaic:
Radak
“And her sister Oholibah saw.” “Her lust.” The word “agvah” (lust) is of the same pattern as “ahavah” (love). He says: although Oholibah saw the destruction and exile of Oholah her sister on account of her sins, she did not refrain because of this from trusting in the kings of the nations of the world and learning from their deeds; rather, her lust corrupted her more than her sister, as Jeremiah said: “Backsliding Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah” (Jeremiah 3:11).
“From the harlotry of her sister.” The ayin of the root is doubled in it, just as “haggini” is from “hagah,” so too “zanuni” is from “zanah.”
Metzudat David
“And she saw.” She saw all the evil that had befallen her sister, Aholah, yet she did not take warning; she corrupted herself in matters of sin, and she lusted even more than her sister. And she corrupted herself in matters of harlotry even more than the harlotry of her sister.
Malbim
“And her sister Oholibah saw” — although Jerusalem witnessed the fate of her sister’s Oholah, nevertheless she did not take a lesson, as it is stated (Jeremiah 3:8): “Her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid, and she also went and played the harlot.” And it says, “And her depravity became worse than that of her sister.” This occurred in the days of Ahaz, who gave bribes to the king of Assyria, and in the days of Manasseh, when the officers of the army of the king of Assyria came against him. And this is what is meant by “Her depravity became worse,” and it explains: “She lusted after the sons of Assyria,” even though they had seen what had been done to her sister.
She doted upon the Assyrians, governors and rulers, warriors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them handsome young men.
verse value 3569
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "desire" (חֶ֖מֶד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·rulers" (וּסְגָנִ֤ים, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "near" (קְרֹבִים֙). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·sons·of" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel); "all·of·them" (root כל, 129x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'horses', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֶל־בְּנֵי֩ [to·sons·of] (93) + אַשּׁ֨וּר [Assyria] (507) + עָגָ֜בָה [she·doted] (80) + פַּח֨וֹת [governor] (494) + וּסְגָנִ֤ים [and·rulers] (169) + קְרֹבִים֙ [near] (352) + לְבֻשֵׁ֣י [clothed-in] (342) + מִכְל֔וֹל [perfection] (126) + פָּרָשִׁ֖ים [horsemen] (630) + רֹכְבֵ֣י [riders·of] (232) + סוּסִ֑ים [horses] (176) + בַּח֥וּרֵי [young·men·of] (226) + חֶ֖מֶד [desire] (52) + כֻּלָּֽם [all·of·them] (90) = 3569.
Rashi
“She doted on the sons of Ashur.” This refers to Ahaz, who sent to the king of Ashur for assistance (ibid.).
Radak
“She lusted after the sons of Ashur.” We have already explained above the matter of what Ahaz did.
"Those who are near." We have explained it:
"Levush Mikhlol" – "garment, a totality." [This refers to] all kinds of fine garments, and it encompasses what was enumerated above: the blue, and many other things, such as purple, scarlet, and crimson.
Metzudat David
“Unto the sons of Ashur.” She was attached to the sons of Ashur, because they were governors and viceroys, and as if they were close to her.
“Her garments are a complete ensemble.” This implies that they were clad in garments that comprised every variety of beauty, and they were horsemen; and to add further clarification, it states “riding on horses,” and they were all desirable youths; therefore, she desired them.
Metzudat Zion
michlul. The word is from the root kol, and it means "included in all beauty." And similarly, "from the totality of beauty" (Psalms 50:2).
And I saw that she was defiled; they both took one way.
verse value 1375
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 23 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֖ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "that" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "for·the·two·of·them" (לִשְׁתֵּיהֶֽן, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "for·the·two·of·them" (לִשְׁתֵּיהֶֽן). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root כי, 114x in Ezekiel); "way" (root דרך, 105x in Ezekiel); "one" (root אחד, 104x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'defiled·herself', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וָאֵ֖רֶא [and·I·saw] (208) + כִּ֣י [that] (30) + נִטְמָ֑אָה [defiled·herself] (105) + דֶּ֥רֶךְ [way] (224) + אֶחָ֖ד [one] (13) + לִשְׁתֵּיהֶֽן [for·the·two·of·them] (795) = 1375.
Radak
And I saw. The meaning of “And I saw” is extended, and it comes to “and My soul turned away from her.”
Metzudat David
And I saw. I saw that just as she had lusted after them, so she actually played the harlot and became defiled, and the manner was the same for both: just as Oholah did, so did Oholibah; that is to say, she too lusted after the idols of Assyria because of the abundance of their success, and just as she lusted after them, so she served them.
Malbim
And I saw, and I saw that the cause of all this is because she became impure. Even though they did not act in public view like the Ten Tribes, as it is stated (Jeremiah 3:9), “And it came to pass from the harlotry of her whoredom that she defiled the land,” nevertheless, the Lord saw that the way of both is one, in that they turned away from following the Lord, just like the Ten Tribes.
And she increased her harlotries; for she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,
verse value 4985
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "and·saw" (וַתֵּ֗רֶא, 4 letters) and the longest is "to·her·harlotries" (אֶל־תַּזְנוּתֶ֑יהָ, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·she·added" (וַתּ֖וֹסֶף), "to·her·harlotries" (אֶל־תַּזְנוּתֶ֑יהָ), "Chaldeans" ((כשדיים)). The root כשדי appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·her·harlotries" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel); "man" (root איש, 84x in Ezekiel); "and·saw" (root ראה, 74x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root כשדי ("Chaldeans") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·her·harlotries', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 9 words. Full calculation: וַתּ֖וֹסֶף [and·she·added] (552) + אֶל־תַּזְנוּתֶ֑יהָ [to·her·harlotries] (909) + וַתֵּ֗רֶא [and·saw] (607) + אַנְשֵׁי֙ [man] (361) + מְחֻקֶּ֣ה [utterlied·destroy] (153) + עַל־הַקִּ֔יר [on·the·wall] (415) + צַלְמֵ֣י [images·of] (170) + (כשדיים) [Chaldeans] (384) + כַשְׂדִּ֔ים [Chaldeans] (374) + חֲקֻקִ֖ים [portrayed] (258) + בַּשָּׁשַֽׁר [with·the·red·colour] (802) = 4985.
Rashi
"And she added to her harlotries." [This refers] to her craving for the idols, whom she did not see in their actual form, but only their images.
"Carved on the wall, etc." - With such [images in] vermilion, her sister had not done [anything like this].
“The images of the Chaldeans.” The form of the men of the Chaldeans, who are distinctive in their dress.
Bashashar. Types of drawing:
Radak
“And she added to her harlotries.” [The word אל here functions] like על (“upon”); and furthermore, she added to the idols that she served.
“And she saw men portrayed.” This means that she saw [them] in order to imitate and depict men on the wall. They were images of the Chaldeans, and because of her great desire for them, their garments, and their deeds, she drew them on the wall so that she might see them constantly, for she said that she would mix with them in their idolatrous practices and their gods, for all their laws and deeds were right in her eyes. This is what the verse states: “And they mingled with the nations and learned their deeds.”
"Men." Like "men," and it comes as a sign of plurality, even though it is one. And similarly, "of the men who were searching," "latticed windows," and those similar to them. And this matter is what was said above in the prophecy of the sixth year: "And all the idols of the house of Israel portrayed on the wall all around," as I explained there.
Kasdim. It is written with two yods, like the Hebrews, and it is read as Kasdim with one yod, for the most part.
"Engravings in *shashar*." Their form is engraved upon the wall with the marks (*simanim*) with which they draw, and *shashar* is the general term for those marks. And so did Jonathan translate: "They draw with *simmanin*." Furthermore, he explains that *shashar* is the name of one of the marks that they call *minya* in the vernacular.
Metzudat David
"And she added." She further added to her lewdness by craving one whom she had not seen with her own eyes; only when she saw figures carved on the wall—images of Chaldean men painted in the color of shashar (vermilion)—did she desire them.
Metzudat Zion
Anshei. Like "anashim" (men):
Engraved. The word is from the root meaning carving and drawing:
The wall. The wall:
"Images." Likeness and form:
“Bashsher.” A name of a precious type of dye. And similarly, “and anointed with shsher” (Jeremiah 22).
Malbim
"And she added". Afterwards, the kingdom of Assyria was abolished, and Nebuchadnezzar, in the first year of his reign, conquered Nineveh and became the head of the Assyrian kingdom, and he established the throne of Assyria in Babylon. Yet she did not yet recognize the Chaldeans; rather, she saw their form on the wall, and it was a sign to her that it was their form: 1. From the aspect of the inscription, hence it says, "an inscription on the wall"; 2. From the aspect of the craftsmanship, that they were images of Chaldeans, which were made according to the craftsmanship customary among the Chaldeans; 3. From the aspect that they were inscribed in *shashar*, which is a color with which only the Chaldeans anointed themselves. And likewise, she recognized them from the form of the men, who were girded with belts at their loins, for the men of Babylon used to gird themselves tightly, as it is stated (Shabbat 10a): "Those companions, the Babylonians... since they have removed their belts, we do not trouble them." And they had *saruchin*—long caps—dipped [or wrapped] on their heads. And they appeared as third-rank officials and mighty men. And this was the image of the men of Babylon, who were Chaldeans by birthplace, for the foreigners who were in Babylon did not walk in such garments, only the men of Babylon who were born in the land of the Chaldeans.
girded with girdles upon their loins, with pendant turbans upon their heads, all of them captains to look upon, the likeness of the sons of Babylon, even of Chaldea, the land of their nativity.
verse value 4674
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 70 letters. The shortest word is "all·of·them" (כֻּלָּ֑ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·their·loins" (בְּמׇתְנֵיהֶ֗ם, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "clothed" (חֲגוֹרֵ֨י), "gird" (אֵז֜וֹר), "in·their·loins" (בְּמׇתְנֵיהֶ֗ם). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "land" (root ארץ, 176x in Ezekiel); "all·of·them" (root כל, 129x in Ezekiel); "sight" (root מראה, 40x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all·of·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: חֲגוֹרֵ֨י [clothed] (227) + אֵז֜וֹר [gird] (214) + בְּמׇתְנֵיהֶ֗ם [in·their·loins] (547) + סְרוּחֵ֤י [hanging] (284) + טְבוּלִים֙ [turbans] (97) + בְּרָ֣אשֵׁיהֶ֔ם [in·their·heads] (558) + מַרְאֵ֥ה [sight] (246) + שָׁלִשִׁ֖ים [captains] (680) + כֻּלָּ֑ם [all·of·them] (90) + דְּמ֤וּת [likeness] (450) + בְּנֵֽי־בָבֶל֙ [sons·of·Babylon] (96) + כַּשְׂדִּ֔ים [Chaldeans] (374) + אֶ֖רֶץ [land] (291) + מוֹלַדְתָּֽם [their·native·land] (520) = 4674.
Rashi
"Girded with a belt," Thus is the custom of the garments of the Chaldeans:
Saruḥei tevilim. The superfluous ones are large hats, and Menachem interpreted it like “and they dipped the coat in the blood” (Genesis 37:31). And the interpretation of seruchei tevulim accordingly is: the overhanging excess (serach ha-odef, Exodus 26:12) of the dyed turban; tevulim has no [biblical] parallel, and its interpretation is according to the context. And likewise the Targum: meḥatin qolisin.
The third: the mighty men.
Radak
“Gird your loins with a belt.” “Gird” is vocalized with a cholam, and it is a descriptive adjective characterizing their garments, which appeared beautiful in their eyes; namely, that they were girded at their loins, which is not done by the inhabitants of the Land of Israel. They praised their custom over their own. And so we find in the words of our Sages of blessed memory that the custom of the inhabitants of Babylonia was to gird a belt at their loins, as they said in the chapter Yetsi’ot ha-Shabbat: “From when does the commencement of the meal take place?” Rav said: “From when he washes his hands.” Rabbi Chanina said: “From when he loosens his belt.” And they do not dispute; this applies to us, and that to them. That is to say: for the inhabitants of Babylonia, it is from when he loosens his belt; for the inhabitants of the Land of Israel, it is from when he washes his hands. And furthermore, they said: “These Babylonian associates, for one who says that the evening prayer is optional, since he has permitted himself from it, we do not burden him.” This implies that the inhabitants of Babylonia were accustomed to gird a belt at their loins.
“Saruḥei” – those hanging down over their heads, dipped [in dye]. “Dipped” refers to turbans dyed with various dyes. “Dipped” means dipped in dye, like “and they dipped the tunic in the blood” (Genesis 37:31), and it comes with an ellipsis of the noun described, as in “as a flock of the shorn ewes” (Song of Songs 4:2) and “and its food is rich” (Habakkuk 1:16), and similar cases. He said that the Babylonians place dyed turbans on their heads, and those turbans hang down and dangle behind them, and this is not the custom of the inhabitants of the Land of Israel. And “saruḥei” means hanging down and superfluous, like “and the surplus” – the half of the curtain that is superfluous shall hang down (Exodus 26:12). And the word “saruḥei” applies to them, or perhaps they are called “saruḥei” because of the dipped turbans, which are “hanging” after the manner of “like a terebinth whose leaf fades,” which is called “novelet” because of its leaf that withers. And similarly: “those with torn garments,” “those with shaved beards,” and the like.
“Mera’ah shelishim kolam” – all of them have the appearance of princes. Just as it is written, “And princes were over all of them, great and honored,” meaning that all of them have the appearance of princes and honored men, in their pride in their garments and in their ways.
The form of the people of Babylonia. Thus is the form of the people of Babylonia, for they are the Chaldeans.
"the land of their birth." And this custom that they observe is the custom of the land of their birth from of old; they did not take this custom from another nation, as the Israelites do, who covet and find pleasing the customs of others more than their own.
Metzudat David
“Gird your loins.” It is as if they were girded at their waists with a belt, and as if on their heads they wore large, overflowing turbans that hung down behind them; and they were immersed and steeped in the waters of the dye-vats.
The appearance of officers, all of them. All the images of the Chaldeans had the appearance of princes and rulers.
“Image.” This was the image of the sons of Babylon, who dwelled in the land of the Chaldeans, their native land.
Metzudat Zion
Azor. A belt:
"Seruchi." This is an extra and superfluous matter, like "and the extra that hangs over" (Exodus 27:1).
“Those who are immersed.” The word is from the root of “immersion,” meaning: they are submerged.
Shelishim. Princes, as it is written: “and the choice of his captains” (ibid. 15):
And as soon as she saw them she doted upon them, and sent messengers to them into Chaldea.
verse value 2893
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 48 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "and·she·doted" ((ותעגב), 5 letters) and the longest is "and·she·doted" (וַתַּעְגְּבָ֥ה, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "to·sight·of" (לְמַרְאֵ֣ה), "her·eyes" (עֵינֶ֑יהָ). The root עגב appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·them" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "to·them" (root אל, 204x in Ezekiel); "her·eyes" (root עין, 73x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'her·eyes', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: (ותעגב) [and·she·doted] (481) + וַתַּעְגְּבָ֥ה [and·she·doted] (486) + עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם [upon·them] (155) + לְמַרְאֵ֣ה [to·sight·of] (276) + עֵינֶ֑יהָ [her·eyes] (145) + וַתִּשְׁלַ֧ח [and·sent] (744) + מַלְאָכִ֛ים [messengers] (141) + אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם [to·them] (86) + כַּשְׂדִּֽימָה [to·Chaldea] (379) = 2893.
Rashi
"למראה עיניה" – because she saw the likeness of their form.
Radak
And she lusted. It is written “vata'agvah” (and she lusted), but it is read with the addition of the letter heh. As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them. This is what is meant by “at the sight of her eyes.”
And she sent messengers to them, to the Chaldeans. She sent to them so that they would become accustomed to her, and indeed they did so.
Metzudat David
And she was enamored of them. She was drawn to them because of the sight of her eyes, which had seen the beauty of their forms and their garments.
"And she sent..." — [This implies that they would come] to commit harlotry with her.
Malbim
And she desired to see them, and she sent messengers—this is what is meant by their striving to cut a covenant with them.
And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their lust; and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them.
verse value 3600
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 59 letters. Verse gematria: 3600 = 60². The shortest word is "from·them" (מֵהֶֽם, 3 letters) and the longest is "with·their·fornication" (בְּתַזְנוּתָ֑ם, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "carnally" (לְמִשְׁכַּ֣ב), "with·their·fornication" (בְּתַזְנוּתָ֑ם), "and·she·was·defiled·with·them" (וַתִּ֨טְמָא־בָ֔ם). The root טמא appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·her" (root אל, 204x in Ezekiel); "and·they·came" (root בוא, 175x in Ezekiel); "from·them" (root הם, 166x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·their·fornication', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיָּבֹ֨אוּ [and·they·came] (25) + אֵלֶ֤יהָ [to·her] (46) + בְנֵֽי־בָבֶל֙ [sons·of·Babylon] (96) + לְמִשְׁכַּ֣ב [carnally] (392) + דֹּדִ֔ים [love] (58) + וַיְטַמְּא֥וּ [and·they·polluted] (72) + אוֹתָ֖הּ [her] (412) + בְּתַזְנוּתָ֑ם [with·their·fornication] (905) + וַתִּ֨טְמָא־בָ֔ם [and·she·was·defiled·with·them] (498) + וַתֵּ֥קַע [and·was·wrenched] (576) + נַפְשָׁ֖הּ [her·soul] (435) + מֵהֶֽם [from·them] (85) = 3600.
Rashi
And the men of Babylon came to her, to the bed of friends. They made a covenant together, and I say that this was said concerning Hezekiah, who rejoiced over the messengers of Merodach-baladan (Isaiah 39:1), and fed them at his table, and showed them all his treasury, and the example that the prophet said, "Men of mark on the wall," because they came from a distant land, and the Chaldeans were not accustomed to be with them, as it is said there, "They came to me from a distant land," and for the sake of seeing their faces once, they became beloved to him, and the Holy One, blessed be He, was strict about the matter, as it is said, "Behold, days are coming when all that is in your house..." (ibid.) (and in II Chronicles 32:25), "And Hezekiah did not return according to the benefit with which the Lord had benefited him, for his heart was lifted up, and there was great wrath upon him, etc."
"And He struck her soul from them." This refers to the fact that Jehoiakim and Zedekiah rebelled against them, “va-teka” — “esloquier” (to wrench out of joint) in the vernacular [Old French]. The word *vayiqqa* is similar to its usage in Genesis 32:26, “and He struck the socket of Jacob’s thigh,” meaning He dislocated it. The term denotes joining or fixing, as in driving a stake into the ground. Likewise, when it is torn out of the ground, the term *qayyah* (uprooting) applies, just as you say, “and Her roots were established” (Psalms 80:10), using the language of taking root; and “in all my harvests, let it be rooted out,” using the language of uprooting. Similarly, “in its branches, it bore fruit” (Isaiah 17:6) uses the language of branches, and “from its boughs, its glory” (ibid. 17:10) uses the language of cutting off the branches and boughs of the tree.
Radak
And they came to her, to the couch of lovers. To mingle with them in the service of their gods and in their practices, so that they would be united in a single custom:
"And they defiled her." They taught them their ways, the ways of the nations:
"And her soul was wrenched away from them" – just as it is said, "And He thrust the thigh of Jacob" (Genesis 32:26), which denotes the removal of something from its place; and its root is קעע, which conveys this meaning of rebellion, namely the rebellion of Jehoiakim against the king of Babylon, and likewise that of Zedekiah.
Metzudat David
“Upon the couch of lovers” – to lie with her in a manner of love and affection, and they defiled her through the couch of harlotry.
"And she became impure with them." And as she became impure with them, she followed after them, and her own will and desire departed from her on account of her love for them; that is to say, due to the magnitude of her love, no independent will remained in her, for she did everything according to their will.
Metzudat Zion
“Beloved ones.” The matter of love and affection:
And he struck. The meaning of "removal" is akin to "and he struck the socket of Jacob's thigh" (Genesis 32:26):
Her soul. The term denotes desire, as in: “If you have a desire” (ibid. 23:8).
Malbim
"And they came to her": they came first only for the purpose of marital relations, meaning that they came as a "those who make a covenant of love," and afterward they defiled her with their harlotry, subjugating her to the tribute of the Chaldeans, and she became defiled by them, meaning that they learned the abominations of the Chaldeans, and afterward she broke away from them, as they began to rebel against them in the days of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah.
So she uncovered her harlotries, and uncovered her nakedness; then My soul was alienated from her, like as My soul was alienated from her sister.
verse value 5755
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 55 letters. The shortest word is "from" (מֵעַ֥ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "her·fornications" (תַּזְנוּתֶ֔יהָ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 440: my·soul, my·soul. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "her·nakedness" (אֶת־עֶרְוָתָ֑הּ), "from·her" (מֵעָלֶ֔יהָ), "was·estranged" (נָקְעָ֥ה). The root גלה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "from·her" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "my·soul" (root נפש, 42x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'her·nakedness', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַתְּגַל֙ [and·she·uncovered] (439) + תַּזְנוּתֶ֔יהָ [her·fornications] (878) + וַתְּגַ֖ל [and·she·uncovered] (439) + אֶת־עֶרְוָתָ֑הּ [her·nakedness] (1082) + וַתֵּ֤קַע [and·was·wrenched] (576) + נַפְשִׁי֙ [my·soul] (440) + מֵעָלֶ֔יהָ [from·her] (155) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר [as] (521) + נָקְעָ֥ה [was·estranged] (225) + נַפְשִׁ֖י [my·soul] (440) + מֵעַ֥ל [from] (140) + אֲחוֹתָֽהּ [her·sister] (420) = 5755.
Radak
"And her harlotry was revealed." For it became known to all that she had committed harlotry after other gods.
"And she uncovered her nakedness." This is that Zedekiah despised the oath with which the king of Babylon had sworn him by God.
"And You have removed my soul from it." That is to say, I have withdrawn My Divine Presence from it, so that it would become ownerless, subject to the King of Babylon, its enemy, who would destroy the city and exile the people, as He did to Samaria.
Metzudat David
"And she revealed her lewdness." Just as her lewdness was revealed in that she acted publicly, and she exposed the flesh of her nakedness to arouse the desire of her adulterers.
And it was alienated. Then my soul and my desire departed from her, and she became detestable in my eyes, just as my soul had departed from her sister Ahlah, and I hated her. And our Sages of blessed memory explained: When she heard of the success of the Chaldeans and the abundance of their prosperity, she sent messengers to them to receive their idols as gods, and she was greatly drawn after them. And because of this, my soul departed from her, just as it had departed from Ahlah.
Metzudat Zion
And she rejoiced. The term is derived from the root meaning "revealed."
Malbim
"And she uncovered" — indeed, although her soul was weary of them, nevertheless she persisted in her harlotry, namely, idolatry, until she exposed her harlotries and served idols publicly. "And she uncovered her nakedness" — meaning that she committed all other transgressions publicly, without shame, as it is stated, "And you spread your legs to every passerby." And then, "My soul turned away from her in disgust" — I decreed upon her exile, just as upon the Ten Tribes.
Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
verse value 4587
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "when" (אֲשֶׁ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "her·harlotries" (אֶת־תַּזְנוּתֶ֑יהָ, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·be or become great" (וַתַּרְבֶּ֖ה), "her·harlotries" (אֶת־תַּזְנוּתֶ֑יהָ), "to·remember" (לִזְכֹּר֙). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "when" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "in·land·of" (root ארץ, 176x in Ezekiel); "the·days·of" (root יום, 112x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'her·harlotries', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַתַּרְבֶּ֖ה [and·be or become great] (613) + אֶת־תַּזְנוּתֶ֑יהָ [her·harlotries] (1279) + לִזְכֹּר֙ [to·remember] (257) + אֶת־יְמֵ֣י [the·days·of] (461) + נְעוּרֶ֔יהָ [her·youth] (341) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [when] (501) + זָנְתָ֖ה [has·played·the·harlot] (462) + בְּאֶ֥רֶץ [in·land·of] (293) + מִצְרָֽיִם [Egypt] (380) = 4587.
Rashi
"To remember the days of her youth." It came to her mind the desire for the sons of Egypt, whom Zedekiah had sent to her, as it is stated (above 17:3): "And he rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt."
Radak
"And she increased" – to remember the days of her youth. So greatly did she increase her harlotry that God, blessed be He, caused her to remember the evils she had done in the days of her youth in Egypt.
Metzudat David
And she multiplied. And she multiplied even more her harlotries, to remember that which was done in the days of her youth, wherein she played the harlot in the land of Egypt:
Malbim
And she increased her harlotry, and then she began to seek help from Egypt in the days of Zedekiah, and to do likewise the deeds of the land of Egypt.
And she doted upon concubinage with them, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
verse value 4419
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 46 letters. The shortest word is "upon" (עַ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "flesh·ass" (בְּשַׂר־חֲמוֹרִים֙, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "their·concubines" (פִּֽלַגְשֵׁיהֶ֑ם), "flesh·ass" (בְּשַׂר־חֲמוֹרִים֙), "their·flesh" (בְּשָׂרָ֔ם). The root זרמה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "whose" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "upon" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "their·flesh" (root בשר, 22x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root חמור ("flesh·ass") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'their·concubines', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַֽתַּעְגְּבָ֔ה [and·she·doted] (486) + עַ֖ל [upon] (100) + פִּֽלַגְשֵׁיהֶ֑ם [their·concubines] (468) + אֲשֶׁ֤ר [whose] (501) + בְּשַׂר־חֲמוֹרִים֙ [flesh·ass] (806) + בְּשָׂרָ֔ם [their·flesh] (542) + וְזִרְמַ֥ת [and·flow] (653) + סוּסִ֖ים [horses] (176) + זִרְמָתָֽם [their·flow] (687) = 4419.
Rashi
“And she lusted after their concubines.” “Their concubines”—to be a concubine for them.
"whose flesh is the flesh of donkeys": This refers to the organ of sexual intercourse.
"And the stream of horses." This is a term denoting abundance in sexual use, indicating that they engage in sexual intercourse more frequently than all other male animals among the beasts.
Zerem. The flow of seed is like a stream of water that passed, as it is stated (Habakkuk 3:10).
Radak
“And she lusted after their concubines.” The commentators explained that “concubines” refers to their slaves, for here “concubines” denotes men, not women. This is indicated by the phrase “the flesh of donkeys is their flesh,” which is a euphemism for the male organ, like “he mixed his flesh with his semen” or “he concealed his flesh from his semen,” which are also euphemisms. However, in my view, the correct interpretation is according to its plain meaning, and the word “upon” (al) is to be understood as “with,” similar to the verse “And the men came upon the women” and other like expressions. The sense is that their desire for them was so great that they seemed to them like their concubines, not like their wives. In this regard, the opinion of the Targum leans toward this interpretation, as it translates: “And they became jealous,” rendering it “to be lowered for them” (shmuta lehon) with a tav in some manuscripts, meaning “to be lowered for them,” and in other manuscripts “shmasa,” like a maidservant.
“Whose flesh is the flesh of donkeys.” Its meaning is regarding the concubines, for even the nakedness of a woman is termed in the language of “flesh,” as it is written, “blood shall flow from her flesh.” Alternatively, its meaning is regarding the Egyptians and the Chaldeans. And concerning this parable, it says, “and the issue of horses was their issue,” which is a euphemism for semen that issues forth like a stream of water that flows with force. And He likened their nakedness to donkeys, which are large in flesh, and He likened them to horses, which are immersed in lewdness more than the rest of the animals. And He mentioned this narrative for reproach, that the Egyptians were ugly in their deeds, and nevertheless she desired them and learned their deeds—the ugly and lowliest of their deeds. This is the parable of “their concubines.” And even though He mentioned the prostitution of Egypt at the beginning of the matter, He mentioned it again at the end of the matter, because it was the beginning of her prostitution, and it was the cause of their prostitution in all the times that they prostituted themselves. And this is what He said, “You have remembered the prostitution that you prostituted yourself in Egypt,” and you also loved them in your land to prostitute yourself after other gods.
Metzudat David
And she coveted. She desired their concubines, to be for them a concubine prepared for sexual intercourse.
"Which..." — On account of the fact that the organ of their sexual intercourse is large like that of a donkey, and the flow of their seed is abundant like the flow of the emission of seed of horses, and the way of a prostitute is exceedingly characterized by the utmost promiscuity to lust after these things.
Metzudat Zion
"Regarding their concubines." Just as it is written: "To their concubines."
"Flesh." So too is the organ of lust called "flesh," as it is stated: "When there is a discharge from his flesh" (Leviticus 15:2).
“And the stream thereof.” The flowing of water is called a “stream,” as it is said: “Like a stream of water” (Isaiah 28:2).
Malbim
"And she lusted," [meaning] until she was together with their concubines, and she lusted together with them, for she was to them like a concubine devoted to harlotry and to slaves. And this is because the flesh of donkeys is their flesh, and they require many concubines. That is to say, she submitted to Egypt along with the other nations that were enslaved to Egypt, whom He calls (below, chapter 30) "the supporters of Egypt," namely Cush, Put, and Lud.
Thus you did call to remembrance the lewdness of your youth, when they from Egypt bruised your breasts for the bosom of your youth.
verse value 3900
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 45 letters. Verse gematria: 3900 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "plan" (זִמַּ֣ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·you·remembered" (וַֽתִּפְקְדִ֔י, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 356: your·youth, your·youth. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·you·remembered" (וַֽתִּפְקְדִ֔י), "plan" (זִמַּ֣ת), "when·handled" (בַּעְשׂ֤וֹת). The root נעור appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "when·handled" (root עשה, 214x in Ezekiel); "from·Egypt" (root מצרים, 39x in Ezekiel); "for·the·sake·of" (root מען, 37x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·youth', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words.
Rashi
And you recalled. And you remembered:
"Be'asot." The language of treading:
Radak
"In doing [so] from Egypt." This alone is the lighter aspect regarding the matter of "doing," and this matter is explained above. Its interpretation is: "For the sake of the breasts of your youth"—because of the pressing of your breasts, which was pleasing to you then—you now remember to commit adultery and harlotry, and you too.
Metzudat David
"And you recalled." You recalled the immorality that you practiced in your youth, when your breasts were tender and bruised from the fondling of the hands of the Egyptians.
"For the breasts of thy youth." For the breasts that were pressed in their hands in the days of thy youth, therefore thou didst still desire them. And the matter is doubled in what is stated, and its meaning is that she also served the gods of Egypt, and recalled what she had been accustomed to do with them from of old.
Metzudat Zion
"And you recalled." The meaning of "remember" is like "after many days you shall be remembered" (below 38).
“Be’asot” – The matter of crushing and pounding [refers to] manual manipulation with the hand.
Malbim
"And you recalled:" Apart from this, you persisted in the corrupt deeds of Egypt and in the deep thoughts of heresy that were in you in your youth, before the Exodus from Egypt.
Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord Hashem: Behold, I will raise up your lovers against you, from whom your soul is alienated, and I will bring them against you on every side:
verse value 3924
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 74 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יֱהֹוִה֒) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 3924 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "therefore" (לָכֵ֣ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "your·lovers" (אֶת־מְאַהֲבַ֙יִךְ֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 130: against·you, against·you. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "raising-up" (מֵעִ֤יר), "your·lovers" (אֶת־מְאַהֲבַ֙יִךְ֙), "and·I·will·bring·them" (וַהֲבֵאתִ֥ים). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 427x in Ezekiel); "thus·says" (root אמר, 362x in Ezekiel); "that·is·estranged" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 3 words.
Rashi
“Those who love you.” This refers to the Chaldeans, who were pleasing to Hezekiah.
That which your soul has loathed them. That which Zedekiah returned and hated them and rebelled against them:
Radak
Therefore, I am stirring up your lovers against you. That is, your lovers from the beginning:
That which your soul has been estranged from among them. That you have rebelled against them; and “nika'ah” — its root is קעע, and it follows the pattern of “verachavah” and “venasabah”; or its root is נקע.
Metzudat David
"Behold, I will awaken..." I will awaken for you the hearts of your lovers, after whom you have drawn yourself, and your will has departed from you on account of your love for them, and no will remains in you, for you have done everything according to their will.
"And I will bring them." I will bring them upon you to fight against you from all around you.
Metzudat Zion
He will arouse. From the language of awakening:
She was estranged. She turned away:
Your soul. Your desire:
Malbim
Therefore, Oholibah, behold, I will rouse your lovers against you. This means that at the time that I rouse the Chaldeans to go against you in war, they will not go as enemies intent on destroying the land, but rather as lovers seeking love, and they will go only because your soul has become weary of them, so that thereby they will go to return you to their love. For initially, Nebuchadnezzar went to compel Zedekiah to make peace with him and not persist in his rebellion; and had Zedekiah made peace with him, he would not have destroyed the city and the Temple, as is explained in Jeremiah (chapter 21 and chapter 38). And in this manner, I will bring them against you from all sides.
the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, governors and rulers all of them, captains and councillors, all of them riding upon horses.
verse value 4918
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 84 letters. The shortest word is "son" (בְּנֵ֧י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·all·the·Chaldeans" (וְכׇל־כַּשְׂדִּ֗ים, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 90: all·of·them, all·of·them. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·all·the·Chaldeans" (וְכׇל־כַּשְׂדִּ֗ים), "Pekod" (פְּק֤וֹד), "and·Shoa" (וְשׁ֙וֹעַ֙). The root כל appears 3 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "all·sons·of" (root כל, 129x in Ezekiel); "son" (root בן, 54x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 10 words.
Rashi
Pekud, Shu‘a, and Ku‘a. The Targum translates them as “provinces,” and the scriptural verse supports this (Jeremiah 50:21): “Upon the land of the Merathim, ascend against her and against the inhabitants of Pekud.” And those who interpret [the word] say that it means “governors, princes, and rulers.”
And they are called. In the vernacular, they are called "shmonatz."
Radak
The sons of Babylonia and all the Chaldeans: from the other provinces of Babylonia.
“Pakod, Shua, and Koa.” These are descriptive titles for the officials mentioned by name in the book of Jeremiah: Nebuzaradan, Nebushazban, Sarezer, Rab-mag, and the others mentioned there. “Pakod” is like “pakid” (official), and likewise “Shua” is a name for a great nobleman, and likewise “Koa” is a descriptive title for a great official, even though we have not found its counterpart in Scripture. And Jonathan did not translate it in any other sense, but rather said: “Pakoday, Shuay, and Koay” (my officials, my nobles, and my commanders).
"All the men of Ashur, them." The explanation is: they came "otam," where "otam" means "with them" (itam); likewise "va-adabber otakh" means "with you" (itakh); and likewise "ve-gam heitev ein otam" (nor is it in them to do good), and "ulai H' oti" (perhaps the Lord will be with me), and similar cases.
"and they are called." Like "those who are called of the congregation," and Jonathan [the Aramaic translator] rendered it as "appointed times."
Metzudat David
The sons of Babylonia, etc. Now he will explain who are the ones coming:
"them." They will come with them:
Metzudat Zion
"Take a census," etc. The names of towns in Babylonia:
"Those." With them:
Governors and the deputies: a type of authority.
“Thirds.” Princes and rulers:
"And they are called." This means that they are called "great" in every matter of importance. Similarly, the leaders of the congregation are called "those who are called to the assembly" (Numbers 15).
Malbim
The people of Babylonia are Pukod, Shoa, and Koa; these are the nations that submitted to the discipline of Babylonia. And regarding “all the people of Asshur,” the explanation is: “I will rouse your lovers, and all the people of Asshur” (I will rouse them). This means that they too will recall your ancient love and will come to restore the love to its original firmness, as it was at first. And this is what is said: “Your beloved youths” etc., for they were her lovers.
And they shall come against you with hosts, chariots, and wheels, and with an assembly of peoples; they shall set themselves in array against you with buckler and shield and helmet round about; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.
verse value 4302
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 82 letters. Verse gematria: 4302 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "armour?" (הֹ֠צֶן, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·their·ordinances" (בְּמִשְׁפְּטֵיהֶֽם, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 145: armour?, buckler. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "armour?" (הֹ֠צֶן), "chariots" (רֶ֤כֶב), "and·helmet" (וְקוֹבַ֔ע). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "against·you" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "and·I·will·give" (root נתן, 207x in Ezekiel); "and·they·shall·come" (root בוא, 175x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root צנה ("buckler") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root מגן ("and·shield") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'around', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 5 words.
Rashi
“Hatzin.” Dunash interpreted this as one of the weapons of war, but I say it is a term for the encampments of camps, like “and for the thorns on your sides” (Numbers 33:55). And Menachem interpreted it like “a nest and its surrounding” (Psalms 91:4), meaning a surrounding. And Dunash does not agree with him. And the Targum, which translates “and they shall come upon you with weapons of war” supports Dunash. “Hatzin” is like “hotzin,” and there is an implication that “hotzin” is like “chutzin,” from “and your children shall be brought in the bosom (chotzen)” (Isaiah 49:22), whose meaning is “arm,” and so too “and they shall come upon you, hotzin” (here), and its meaning is “army,” like “and the armies of the south” (Daniel 11:15), whose meaning is “and the armies of the south.”
“And I will set judgment before them.” That which it is incumbent upon Me to judge, I will make them My agents to carry out the judgment.
"In their laws." A law that I did not write in My Torah, but it is from their customary laws. And which one is this? It is the blinding of the eyes, as they blinded the eyes of Zedekiah.
Radak
“And the chariots shall come upon you.” This is the name for one of the types of chariots, or for one of the weapons of war, and it has no companion in Scripture. It is possible that it is a name for the entire class of weapons of war, and so did Jonathan translate: “And they shall bring upon you weapons of war, with chariots and wheels.” And my master and father of blessed memory explained it as [derived from] *chutzen* with a *chet*, from the verse “And your sons shall bring them in a *chutzen*,” whose meaning is “arm.” And the army is called “arm,” like “the armies of the south,” whose meaning is *chayyilata* (armies).
"Shield and buckler, and a helmet they shall set upon you all around." As its Targum renders it: "Armed with earrings and diadems they shall crown you." And "kovea" is spelled with a qof and accented on the final syllable, and its meaning is known, that it is a piece of armor for the head.
And I will set My judgment before them. I will place the judgment before them, that they may judge You—meaning, My hand will be with them to destroy You.
"And they shall judge you according to their judgments." [This refers] to the love of their custom and their judgments; therefore, I will give you into their hands, that they may judge you as is their custom to judge the rebel and the transgressor. And the judgment was that they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also all the princes of Judah they slaughtered, and they put out the eyes of Zedekiah.
Metzudat David
“Hutzan.” In the word “hutzan,” which is a general term for all weapons of war:
“chariot and wheel.” In the chariot and in the wheel: these are the wheels of the chariot.
“ישימו עליך” – This means: They shall place these upon themselves, to come upon you from all sides.
"And I will give." I will place the judgment in their hands, and they will judge you according to their judgments, doing to you as if they were agents appointed to execute judgment.
Metzudat Zion
Hotzen. The Targum: "in weapons of war."
Tzena u'magen. The name of a weapon of war made to save and protect from the blow of a sword and spear.
"וקובע" – this is a helmet, a protective covering for the head, as it is written: "and he put a bronze helmet on his head" (1 Samuel 17:38).
Malbim
“And the hosts shall come upon you” etc., with various chariots and instruments of war; “and I will set My judgment before them,” but when they arrive, then I will arrange before them the judgment that I have against you, because you committed adultery under your husband, as it is stated (Jeremiah 1:15): “They shall come and set each man his throne at the gates of Jerusalem,” etc., “and I will plead My case against them for all their evil.” This depicts that the army of Babylon will be the judges, and the Lord will be the plaintiff who will present his arguments before them. From this perspective, two types of judgments will be executed upon her: 1. From the side of the plaintiff, who is God; from this aspect, they will execute the verdict and the punishment according to God’s judgments and His law. 2. From the side of the judges, who will punish her on their own according to their customs and laws. Regarding the first, He said, “and I will set My judgment before them”; and regarding the second, He said, “and they shall judge you according to their judgments.” Now He explains the two types of punishments. Corresponding to what was said, “and I will set My judgment before them,” which is the judgment that God will administer according to His laws and statutes, He says, “and I will set My jealousy against you,” meaning that I will stand against you like a man jealous for his wife because she committed adultery under him. And corresponding to what was said, “and they shall judge you according to their judgments,” He says, “and they shall deal with you in anger,” meaning that they will execute the judgment in a manner of anger and wrath. He explains further, corresponding to what was said, “and I will set My jealousy against you,” “your nose and your ears shall be cut off.” They will treat you as they would treat a woman who committed adultery under her husband, by cutting off her nose and ears so that she will become repulsive in the eyes of her lovers. This is because she was bold in her face, and because she inclined her ears to flattering words. “And your end shall fall by the sword.” Abarbanel explains that the custom was to disgrace the adulteress by cutting the hems of her garments with a sword. This is the greatest shame, leaving her buttocks exposed to perpetual disgrace. And corresponding to what was said, “and they shall deal with you in anger,” meaning that they themselves will execute another judgment on their own according to their wrath, He says, “they,” meaning the judgment that they themselves will execute independently, apart from My judgments, will be that your sons and your daughters shall be taken captive, and “your end shall be consumed by fire,” referring to what they burned, namely the House of God and the King’s House. The meaning is that according to God’s judgments, it would have sufficed to remove her glory and cut off the wicked with the sword, but they added the exile and the burning of the Holy Temple.
And I will set My jealousy against you, and they shall deal with you in fury; they shall take away your nose and your ears, and your residue shall fall by the sword; they shall take your sons and your daughters, and your residue shall be devoured by the fire.
verse value 6316
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 85 letters. The shortest word is "in·you" (בָּ֗ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·your·end" (וְאַחֲרִיתֵ֖ךְ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 645: and·your·end, and·your·end. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "your·nose" (אַפֵּ֤ךְ), "and·your·ears" (וְאׇזְנַ֙יִךְ֙), "they·shall·remove" (יָסִ֔ירוּ). The root אחרית appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·will·do" (root עשה, 214x in Ezekiel); "and·I·will·give" (root נתן, 207x in Ezekiel); "abundance" (root הם, 166x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root אחרית ("and·your·end") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'will·fall', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 7 words.
Rashi
“Your nose and your ears.” They are the glory of the countenance, and to them the priesthood and the monarchy are compared.
And your latter end. The remainder of the people:
And your latter end shall be consumed by fire. [The Targum:] "and the best of your fields," which are a surety to rely upon for livelihood.
Radak
"And I will set My jealousy against you." Through them I will bring My jealousy and My wrath against you.
“And they shall deal with you in wrath.” They will take vengeance upon you in wrath.
“Your nose and your ears shall be removed.” This judgment is to be carried out upon a woman who has committed adultery with another man while under her husband’s authority: they are to remove from her the ears and the nose—that is, the nostrils—which represent the dignity of the face. Likewise, for one whom they wish to judge in anger, they remove from him the nostrils, the ears, and the eyes. This is an allegory for the monarchy and the priesthood, which have been removed from her. “Your nose” is an allegory for the king, as in “Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,” which is an allegory for the king, for the king is lofty and exalted over all the people; so too, the nose is elevated above the face. “Your ears” refers to the priest, who causes the sound to be heard by the ears when he enters the Holy Place with the golden bells. And Jonathan the Targumist translated: “Your nose and your ears shall be removed” as “Your mighty one and your honored one shall be taken away.”
“And your end shall be by the sword.” Jonathan [ben Uzziel] translated: “And your people shall be slain by the sword.” It appears that his intention was to interpret “your end” as corresponding to the “head” mentioned earlier. For if the leaders are called the “head” of the people, then the “end,” which corresponds to the head, is termed as such, just as it is said, “The end of a matter is better than its beginning,” for the great one is the beginning and the start for the people, going out and coming in before them.
“They shall take your sons and your daughters.” They shall take them as slaves, and they shall hold them captive, as it is stated: “He gave his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity” (Numbers 21:29). Its interpretation is that they were survivors from the sword, for in most cases the enemy will not kill the young boys and young girls, but rather will hold them captive to raise them with him as male and female slaves.
"And your latter end shall be consumed by fire." The phrase "your latter end" refers to the houses that remain after a person's death. Similarly, it is written: "And all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the mighty, He burned with fire." And Jonathan's Targum translates: "And your latter end, and the beauty of your land."
Metzudat David
"And I will put My jealousy in you." I will place My anger within you, and they will execute judgment upon you in wrath, and they will remove from you your nose and your ears, in accordance with the manner of the judgment of harlots, in order to disgrace her.
And your end. The end of the face and its remnant shall fall by the sword:
They shall take. Into captivity:
And your latter end. This is said of the houses and fields that remain after a person’s death.
Metzudat Zion
"I was jealous." The matter is one of anger, as it says, "They provoked Me to jealousy with that which is no god" (Deuteronomy 32:21).
Apakh. It is the nose:
They shall also strip you of your clothes, and take away your fair jewels.
verse value 2187
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "vessels·of" (כְּלֵ֥י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·they·will·strip·you" (וְהִפְשִׁיט֖וּךְ, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·they·will·strip·you" (וְהִפְשִׁיט֖וּךְ), "your·clothes" (אֶת־בְּגָדָ֑יִךְ). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·shall·take" (root לקח, 65x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·clothes', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְהִפְשִׁיט֖וּךְ [and·they·will·strip·you] (436) + אֶת־בְּגָדָ֑יִךְ [your·clothes] (440) + וְלָקְח֖וּ [and·they·shall·take] (150) + כְּלֵ֥י [vessels·of] (60) + תִפְאַרְתֵּֽךְ [your·glory] (1101) = 2187.
Rashi
“Your garments.” The garments of the priesthood:
Radak
“And they stripped you of your garments, and took away your ornaments of beauty.” Is it possible that this was said with reference to the priestly vestments and the vessels of the Holy Temple? Or perhaps it was said with reference to all the spoils of the city, whether in the Holy Temple or in the other houses?
Metzudat David
"And they strip you naked, etc."—in the manner that they do to a harlot, to stand her naked in order to shame her.
Metzudat Zion
And they shall strip you. The meaning is the removal of clothing:
Malbim
"And they shall strip you": likewise, "they shall strip your beautiful garments and take your ornaments of glory," which are the vessels of the Sanctuary; and every thing that was precious to them because they were a people of God.
Thus will I make your lewdness to cease from you, and your harlotry brought from the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them, nor remember Egypt any more.
verse value 5019
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 63 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·your·harlotry" (וְאֶת־זְנוּתֵ֖ךְ, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·your·harlotry" (וְאֶת־זְנוּתֵ֖ךְ), "and·not·you·shall·lift" (וְלֹֽא־תִשְׂאִ֤י), "and·Egypt" (וּמִצְרַ֖יִם). The root מצרים appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 213x in Ezekiel); "to·them" (root אל, 204x in Ezekiel); "from·land·of" (root ארץ, 176x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root זנות ("and·your·harlotry") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Egypt', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְהִשְׁבַּתִּ֤י [and·I·will·banish] (723) + זִמָּתֵךְ֙ [your·depravity] (467) + מִמֵּ֔ךְ [from·you] (100) + וְאֶת־זְנוּתֵ֖ךְ [and·your·harlotry] (890) + מֵאֶ֣רֶץ [from·land·of] (331) + מִצְרָ֑יִם [Egypt] (380) + וְלֹֽא־תִשְׂאִ֤י [and·not·you·shall·lift] (748) + עֵינַ֙יִךְ֙ [your·eyes] (160) + אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם [to·them] (86) + וּמִצְרַ֖יִם [and·Egypt] (386) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + תִזְכְּרִי־עֽוֹד [you·shall·remember·again] (717) = 5019.
Radak
“And I will remove your idolatry from you.” For from the day they went into exile, they did not serve idolatry.
Metzudat David
"And I will remove them." Because of the multitude of troubles that are coming, you shall no longer be pursued after the lewdness and after the sexual immorality that became entrenched in your heart from the land of Egypt.
“And you shall not lift up...” The duplication of the matter is explained by what what is stated, that is to say: “They will come against her for war, and they will be the agents of judgment; they will slay the princes and rulers, and the rest of the people; from among them they will take captives; they will burn the Temple and the houses of the great ones; they will plunder the desirable wealth of their riches; and due to the magnitude of the distress, she will no longer turn to the idols, nor will she remember the gods of Egypt.”
Metzudat Zion
"And I will cause to cease." The matter is one of nullification and prevention.
Malbim
"And I will cause to cease" (ve-hisbatiti), and by this I will abolish your "zimmah" (licentiousness), which are the deep thoughts of fornication, namely, heresy and attachment to idolaters, for since the abolition of idol worship, and your fornication from the land of Egypt, for since then they no longer trusted in Egypt, and you shall not lift your eyes to them, to licentiousness and idolatry, and Egypt you shall remember no more, for Egypt too has fallen, and the children of Judah who went there were slain with them.
For thus says the Lord Hashem: Behold, I will deliver you into the hand of them whom you hate, into the hand of them from whom your soul is alienated;
verse value 3567
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 50 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יֱהֹוִ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·is·estranged" (אֲשֶׁר־נָקְעָ֥ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 16: in·hand·of, in·hand·of. The root יד appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 427x in Ezekiel); "said" (root אמר, 362x in Ezekiel); "whom" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·hated', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 4 words. Full calculation: כִּ֣י [for] (30) + כֹ֤ה [thus] (25) + אָמַר֙ [said] (241) + אֲדֹנָ֣י [my·lord] (65) + יֱהֹוִ֔ה [Hashem] (26) + הִנְנִי֙ [they] (115) + נֹֽתְנָ֔ךְ [giving·you] (520) + בְּיַ֖ד [in·hand·of] (16) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [whom] (501) + שָׂנֵ֑את [you·hated] (751) + בְּיַ֛ד [in·hand·of] (16) + אֲשֶׁר־נָקְעָ֥ה [that·is·estranged] (726) + נַפְשֵׁ֖ךְ [your·soul] (450) + מֵהֶֽם [from·them] (85) = 3567.
Rashi
"Whom you hated": The Chaldeans, against whom you rebelled.
Radak
For thus said the Lord: Behold, I give you. The nun is written with a qamats, which is for the feminine gender, and its grammatical rule requires a tsere; rather, it is as we have written, that when speaking in opposition to the ingathering, He speaks sometimes in the masculine form and sometimes in the feminine form, and He repeated this matter again to strengthen it.
Metzudat David
“With the hand which you hated.” They are the Chaldeans, against whom you rebelled.
"Which has been grievous to you." That your soul has turned away from them, to hate them. And this matter is repeated in what is stated:
Malbim
For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will give you into the hand of those whom you hate. This means that although initially it was said, “Behold, I will stir up your lovers,” implying that when they would be roused to go out against Jerusalem it would be out of love—desiring that Israel return to be in covenant with them—and it would not have been fitting for them to do all these things to her; yet, at the time when I will give you into their hands, at the time they conquer the city, then you will be in the hand of those whom you hate. It will be out of hatred, for then hatred will burn in their hearts, hatred that arose because your soul grew weary of them, and they will treat you as enemies and adversaries. Therefore, “and they will do to you with hatred”—not out of the previous love, but out of the hatred of the present time. And consequently, “and they will take all your labor and leave you naked and bare,” for they will destroy everything and leave nothing behind. And then it will be exposed; they will not cover you at all, but will expose the nakedness of your lewdness.
and they shall deal with you in hatred, and shall take away all your labour, and shall leave you naked and bare; and the nakedness of your harlotries shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotries.
verse value 4487
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 68 letters. The shortest word is "and·they·will·do" (וְעָשׂ֨וּ, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·your·fornications" (וְתַזְנוּתָֽיִךְ, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "in·hatred" (בְּשִׂנְאָ֗ה), "all·toil" (כׇּל־יְגִיעֵ֔ךְ), "and·they·will·leave·you" (וַעֲזָב֖וּךְ). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·will·do" (root עשה, 214x in Ezekiel); "and·they·shall·take" (root לקח, 65x in Ezekiel); "and·excitement" (root עיר, 62x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·excitement', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְעָשׂ֨וּ [and·they·will·do] (382) + אוֹתָ֜ךְ [you] (427) + בְּשִׂנְאָ֗ה [in·hatred] (358) + וְלָֽקְחוּ֙ [and·they·shall·take] (150) + כׇּל־יְגִיעֵ֔ךְ [all·toil] (163) + וַעֲזָב֖וּךְ [and·they·will·leave·you] (111) + עֵירֹ֣ם [naked] (320) + וְעֶרְיָ֑ה [and·excitement] (291) + וְנִגְלָה֙ [and·will·be·uncovered] (94) + עֶרְוַ֣ת [nakedness] (676) + זְנוּנַ֔יִךְ [your·adulteries] (143) + וְזִמָּתֵ֖ךְ [and·your·depravity] (473) + וְתַזְנוּתָֽיִךְ [and·your·fornications] (899) = 4487.
Radak
"And they shall make" – nakedness and bareness. In the context of "nakedness and bareness," as stated in the passage, we have written its interpretation: "Proclaim to Jerusalem."
"Your harlotries." And [the word] "zenun" is derived from the root z-n-h with a doubling of the second root letter (ayin ha-po'al), just as "higgayi" is derived from the root h-g-h.
Metzudat David
"And they shall make you." They will do things to you out of hatred, and they will take all your wealth that you toiled to gather, and they will leave you naked and stripped, without clothing.
And it shall be revealed. Then will be revealed the shame of your harlotry, for from the recompense of the deed the act of sin will be revealed and made known.
"And your harlotry and your prostitution." The doubling of the matter in the verse is according to the abundance of prostitution, and it refers to the idolaters who change [their deities].
Metzudat Zion
And her nakedness. "Exposed," just as "her source" (mikorah) [is derived from the same root], as it is stated: "her source is exposed" (Vayikra 20).
These things shall be done to you, for that you have gone astray after the nations, and because you are polluted with their idols.
verse value 2451
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 40 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֖לֶּה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·you" (לָ֑ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·you·are·polluted" (אֲשֶׁר־נִטְמֵ֖את, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "in·your·whoring" (בִּזְנוֹתֵךְ֙), "that·you·are·polluted" (אֲשֶׁר־נִטְמֵ֖את). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·you·are·polluted" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "because" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "surely" (root עשה, 214x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: עָשֹׂ֥ה [surely] (375) + אֵ֖לֶּה [these] (36) + לָ֑ךְ [to·you] (50) + בִּזְנוֹתֵךְ֙ [in·your·whoring] (485) + אַחֲרֵ֣י [after] (219) + גוֹיִ֔ם [nations] (59) + עַ֥ל [because] (100) + אֲשֶׁר־נִטְמֵ֖את [that·you·are·polluted] (1001) + בְּגִלּוּלֵיהֶֽם [with·their·idols] (126) = 2451.
Rashi
"These things were done." The term "Make" is in the passive voice; in the vernacular, it is "feyshen."
Radak
"These shall be done to you." It is an infinitive; that is, these are what will be done to you as punishment for your iniquity, for your harlotries. "Asoh" is with a cholam, an infinitive on the pattern of "bi-vnotayikh" (Ezekiel 16:31).
Metzudat David
"These things were done to you." These matters were done to you as a recompense for that you followed after idolatry. And He expounds His words to say: Because you defiled yourselves with their carved images by accepting them as deities.
Malbim
“These things were done to you” – the meaning is that this great punishment will be done to you because of three things: 1. In your harlotries after the nations, you went down to Egypt for help and did not trust in the Lord. 2. Because you defiled yourselves with their idols, serving foreign gods like them and doing according to their abominations.
In the way of your sister have you walked; therefore will I give her cup into your hand.
verse value 2109
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 26 letters. Notable word values: "in·your·hand" (בְּיָדֵֽךְ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "in·way·of" (בְּדֶ֥רֶךְ, 4 letters) and the longest is "your·sister" (אֲחוֹתֵ֖ךְ, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "in·way·of" (בְּדֶ֥רֶךְ), "her·cup" (כוֹסָ֖הּ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·I·will·give" (root נתן, 207x in Ezekiel); "in·way·of" (root דרך, 105x in Ezekiel); "in·your·hand" (root יד, 75x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root כוס ("her·cup") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·went', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: בְּדֶ֥רֶךְ [in·way·of] (226) + אֲחוֹתֵ֖ךְ [your·sister] (435) + הָלָ֑כְתְּ [you·went] (455) + וְנָתַתִּ֥י [and·I·will·give] (866) + כוֹסָ֖הּ [her·cup] (91) + בְּיָדֵֽךְ [in·your·hand] (36) = 2109.
Radak
On the road. It is clear:
Metzudat David
“On the way.” Because you walked on the way of your sister, Oholah, therefore I will give into your hand the cup of wrath to drink, just as she drank it. (The verse compares the wrath of the Lord to a cup full of intoxicating wine that confuses a person’s mind.)
Malbim
3. “You have walked in the way of your sister” – after you have walked in the way of your sister, even though you have already seen her punishment and yet did not take a lesson, therefore “I will put her cup in your hand”; it is fitting that you drink the cup of bitter waters that she drank.
Thus says the Lord Hashem: You shall drink of your sister’s cup, Which is deep and large; You shall be for a scorn and a derision; It is full to the uttermost.
verse value 3563
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 58 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יֱהֹוִ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "thus" (כֹּ֤ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·broad" (וְהָרְחָבָ֑ה, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "you·will·drink" (תִּשְׁתִּ֔י), "deep" (הָעֲמֻקָּ֖ה), "and·broad" (וְהָרְחָבָ֑ה). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 427x in Ezekiel); "said" (root אמר, 362x in Ezekiel); "it·will·be" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·broad', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: כֹּ֤ה [thus] (25) + אָמַר֙ [said] (241) + אֲדֹנָ֣י [my·lord] (65) + יֱהֹוִ֔ה [Hashem] (26) + כּ֤וֹס [cup] (86) + אֲחוֹתֵךְ֙ [your·sister] (435) + תִּשְׁתִּ֔י [you·will·drink] (1110) + הָעֲמֻקָּ֖ה [deep] (220) + וְהָרְחָבָ֑ה [and·broad] (226) + תִּהְיֶ֥ה [it·will·be] (420) + לִצְחֹ֛ק [for·laughter] (228) + וּלְלַ֖עַג [and·to·scorn] (139) + מִרְבָּ֥ה [be or become great] (247) + לְהָכִֽיל [to·hold] (95) = 3563.
Rashi
"One who is abundant in forbearance." It means more than merely "to contain," akin to "to endure."
Radak
“Thus said” – it shall be. Its meaning is: the cup shall be for mockery and derision; that is, the nations will mock and deride you because of the abundance of calamity that will come upon you.
“Who increases to contain.” This describes a cup that was large enough to contain and hold a great quantity of poisoned wine.
Metzudat David
“Your sister’s cup.” The cup that your sister drank from, you too shall drink from.
"The deep one." That which is deep and wide, and it strengthens greatly.
"Be a laughingstock." People will mock you and deride you to a great extent, until you become abundant enough to bear and endure all the mockery and derision.
Metzudat Zion
To bear. To endure, as it is said: “And who shall bear the day of His coming?” (Malachi 3:2).
Malbim
Thus says the Lord: “You shall drink your sister's cup.” This means that you shall be exiled like her. The phrase “deep and wide, to hold much drink” implies that although it contains much of the bitter waters, there is still enough remaining to quench your thirst as well. “She shall be an object of mockery” means that just as Samaria drank the cup three times—because the ten tribes were exiled three times by Sennacherib—so too shall Jerusalem drink the cup three times, having been exiled three times by Nebuchadnezzar, as stated in Isaiah: “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint” (Isaiah 1:5); see there. In the first instance, she shall be an object of mockery; in the second instance, an object of derision, for derision is more severe than mockery, since mockery can occur even in one’s absence, whereas derision occurs mostly in one’s presence. In the third instance, “it shall be large enough to hold,” meaning the derision shall be so great that you shall no longer be able to endure it, and then you shall be destroyed completely.
You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, With the cup of astonishment and appalment, With the cup of your sister Samaria.
verse value 3071
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 39 letters. Notable word values: "cup" (כּ֚וֹס) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "cup" (כּ֚וֹס, 3 letters) and the longest is "drunkenness" (שִׁכָּר֥וֹן, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 86: cup, cup. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "drunkenness" (שִׁכָּר֥וֹן), "and·grief" (וְיָג֖וֹן), "you·will·be·filled" (תִּמָּלֵ֑אִי). The root כוס appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "astonishment" (root שם, 67x in Ezekiel); "and·appalment" (root שמם, 46x in Ezekiel); "you·will·be·filled" (root מלא, 37x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·will·be·filled', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: שִׁכָּר֥וֹן [drunkenness] (576) + וְיָג֖וֹן [and·grief] (75) + תִּמָּלֵ֑אִי [you·will·be·filled] (481) + כּ֚וֹס [cup] (86) + שַׁמָּ֣ה [astonishment] (345) + וּשְׁמָמָ֔ה [and·appalment] (391) + כּ֖וֹס [cup] (86) + אֲחוֹתֵ֥ךְ [your·sister] (435) + שֹׁמְרֽוֹן [Samaria] (596) = 3071.
Rashi
And a desolation. Astonishment:
Radak
“Fill yourself with drunkenness and mourning.” That very drunkenness is the mourning with which you will fill yourself, for the cup and the wine are an allegory for troubles.
Metzudat David
"Intoxication and mourning." Not in the manner of those who drink a cup of wine, who become intoxicated and confused, yet they are joyful, for wine gladdens; but from the cup of wrath, one will be filled with both intoxication and mourning.
"Cup of horror and desolation." This cup will be a source of astonishment of heart and desolation, like the cup of your sister, Samaria.
Metzudat Zion
Shammah. The meaning of "tameh" (astonishment) is like "turn to Me and be amazed" (Job 21):
Malbim
“You shall be filled with intoxication and mourning”: in the first instance, you will be filled with intoxication. And not the intoxication of wine that brings joy, but rather that of a drink that intoxicates, causes loss of intellect, and fills one with additional mourning. In the second instance, you will drink from the cup called “Horror and Desolation,” which will lay waste to the entire land. In the third instance, you will drink from the cup of your sister, Samaria, which was the royal city.
You shall even drink it and drain it, And you shall craunch the sherds thereof, And shall tear your breasts; For I have spoken it, Says the Lord Hashem.
verse value 5846
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 58 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יֱהֹוִֽה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·its·sherds" (וְאֶת־חֲרָשֶׂ֛יהָ, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·you·shall·drink" (וְשָׁתִ֨ית), "and·you·will·drain" (וּמָצִ֗ית), "and·its·sherds" (וְאֶת־חֲרָשֶׂ֛יהָ). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 427x in Ezekiel); "my·lord" (root אדון, 222x in Ezekiel); "I" (root אני, 166x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·shall·tear', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְשָׁתִ֨ית [and·you·shall·drink] (1116) + אוֹתָ֜הּ [it] (412) + וּמָצִ֗ית [and·you·will·drain] (546) + וְאֶת־חֲרָשֶׂ֛יהָ [and·its·sherds] (930) + תְּגָרֵ֖מִי [you·shall·gnaw] (653) + וְשָׁדַ֣יִךְ [and·your·breasts] (340) + תְּנַתֵּ֑קִי [you·shall·tear] (960) + כִּ֚י [for] (30) + אֲנִ֣י [I] (61) + דִבַּ֔רְתִּי [I·have·spoken] (616) + נְאֻ֖ם [utterance] (91) + אֲדֹנָ֥י [my·lord] (65) + יֱהֹוִֽה [Hashem] (26) = 5846.
Rashi
"u-mitzit." The term denotes one who sucks out until the very essence (mitzit). The vernacular (Old French) equivalent is "ishutzrash," in the vernacular (Old French).
"And its workers." He compares the cup that brings calamity upon Israel to a clay vessel, which, once broken, has no remedy; so too, when their salvation comes, the cup is shattered, and it will not return to pour out for them again. And when Scripture speaks of the pouring out for the nations, it calls it gold, as it is stated: "The cup of gold of Babylon is in the hand of the Lord, who makes all the earth drunk" (Jeremiah 51:7).
"And you shall gnaw its shards." Just as it is said, "and their bones shall be gnawed" (Numbers 24:8), and "they did not gnaw in the morning" (Zephaniah 3:3). In the language of the gentiles, it is called "rongier," meaning to drag with one's teeth around the bone or the shard, to strip off the flesh adhering to it. And Menachem associates it with the term for breaking, and he likewise interpreted "and their bones shall be gnawed," and similarly "they did not gnaw in the morning."
Radak
“And you shall drink it, and drain it.” You shall drink the entire cup down to the dregs, so that you may derive [its full benefit].
“And you shall grind its shards.” Moreover, not only that, but you shall grind its shards: after you have extracted the wine, you shall break the cup with your teeth to extract its shards. The matter is compared to a clay cup, because the wine is absorbed within the clay. And “its shards” is in the plural form, because when it is broken, its pieces will be many.
Tigrmi. This is a borrowed term from “and their bones shall be crushed” (Numbers 24:8), which means the breaking of the bones; that is to say, he shall chew them. Just as tashresh means the uprooting of the root, so tigrmi means the crushing of the limbs, for the bone is also called a limb, as it is written, “breaks the bone” (Proverbs 25:15), and “his bones are like bars of iron” (Job 40:18). And likewise, the Targum translates “bone” as “grama.” And so it says regarding the breaking of the shards by chewing: tigrmi.
“And your breasts shall be torn away.” You shall uproot your breasts through the poison wine. And Jonathan [ben Uzziel] translated: “And in your breasts you shall be torn.” This parable is that troubles will be mingled for them until they are completely destroyed. The parable of “And your breasts shall be torn away” refers to the abolition of the Torahs in exile, for the breasts are a parable for the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, as we have written in the parashah of Hodu. And in the Babylonian exile, we saw that they forgot the Torah and abolished it, as we saw that they took foreign women, desecrated the Sabbath, and other matters that were not written, and even the halakhot they forgot.
Metzudat David
And you shall drain. You shall suck out what has been absorbed:
"And its shards." "Shatter the shards of the cup with your teeth to chew the shards, in order to suck out all that is absorbed [within them]."
“And your breasts shall be severed.” Due to excessive intoxication and confusion of mind, you will harm yourself, severing and uprooting your breasts.
"For I have spoken." And certainly it shall be so:
Metzudat Zion
"Vematzit." The word is from the root of sucking:
Kharshaiha. Like kharsaiha with a samekh:
"Targarmi." The bone is called "gerem," as in "geramav" (its bones), like one who casts iron (ibid. 40), and by way of metaphor he said it concerning the shards, that is to say, you shall break the shards, just as in "and in all its grain you shall uproot" (ibid. 31), that is to say, you shall uproot the root.
"Remove it." The matter of uprooting and transferring:
Malbim
"And you shall drink in the first instance, you shall drink the cup; and in the second instance, you shall suck out what remains at the bottom of the cup; and in the third instance, you shall gnaw its shards. There shall be no drink left on the rim of the cup, only what has been absorbed into the shards—that is, the vessel that holds the drink—and you shall break the shards into small pieces in order to suck out the drink absorbed in the shards. This is an allegory for the fact that all the people have already been consumed, only Jerusalem remains, which is the vessel that still contains drink; you shall shatter the city into pieces, and thereby you shall suck out the remaining bitter drink. That is to say, the city shall be burned and laid waste. 'And your breasts shall be broken off'—along with the shattered shards, your breasts shall be broken off from excessive grief. This is a wondrous rhetorical device: Jerusalem was like a mother to her children, who are the cities of the land of Judah, providing milk and sustenance, both material and spiritual, to all of them. Then the mother shall break off her breasts and shall no longer nurse her children. That is to say, the provision of sustenance, the priesthood, the Temple service, and prophecy—all of which emanated from Jerusalem to her daughters—shall be abolished."
Therefore thus says the Lord Hashem: Because you have forgotten Me, and cast Me behind your back, therefore bear you also your lewdness and your harlotries.’
verse value 5701
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 67 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יֱהֹוִ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "thus" (כֹּ֤ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·your·harlotries" (וְאֶת־תַּזְנוּתָֽיִךְ, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 417: me, me. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·you·cast" (וַתַּשְׁלִ֥יכִי), "your·back" (גַוֵּ֑ךְ), "and·your·harlotries" (וְאֶת־תַּזְנוּתָֽיִךְ). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 427x in Ezekiel); "said" (root אמר, 362x in Ezekiel); "my·lord" (root אדון, 222x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·back', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 4 words.
Rashi
"Bear your depravity." Accept the burden of the counsel of your sins.
Radak
Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behind your back. Like a person who throws something behind his back so that he will not see it and will not remember it.
"And also you, bear your wantonness." The punishment for your wantonness is: bear it and endure it.
Metzudat David
And you shall cast them away. Like a person who casts something behind his back, so that he will not see it and will not remember it.
"And also you." Just as you did against Me, so too you shall bear the recompense of your depravity and the payment of your harlotry.
Metzudat Zion
Gukh. "Gufcha" (your body) is like "guvit" (the corpse of) Saul (1 Samuel 31):
Bear. Endure:
Malbim
Therefore, thus says the Lord: Since you have forgotten Me, He concluded His words, that the cause which brought upon you all this was because they had forgotten the Lord entirely, like a harlot who has abandoned her husband entirely and forgotten him; therefore, you too shall bear your depravity: just as I bore disgrace on your account, so shall you also bear the punishment.
Hashem said moreover to me: ‘Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? then declare to them their abominations.
verse value 3576
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 56 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·me" (אֵלַ֔י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Oholibah" (וְאֶת־אׇהֳלִיבָ֑ה, 9 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "Oholah" (אֶֽת־אׇהֳלָ֖ה), "and·Oholibah" (וְאֶת־אׇהֳלִיבָ֑ה), "and·declare" (וְהַגֵּ֣ד). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 427x in Ezekiel); "and·said" (root אמר, 362x in Ezekiel); "to·me" (root אל, 204x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root נגד ("and·declare") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Oholibah', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words.
Rashi
“Will you judge?” – A term denoting debate:
Radak
And He said, "Will you judge Oholah and Oholibah?" After they were both on the same path, He revealed to them their abominations:
Metzudat David
“Will you judge?” Do you wish to argue with Oholah and Oholibah?
And tell. Then tell them, through argumentation, all their abominations:
Malbim
And he said: He added to say to him that if he himself would judge this judgment, he would see that the judgments of the Lord are all righteous, both in Oholah and in Oholibah, only that he should clearly declare all their abominations.
For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery; and their sons, whom they bore to Me, they have also set apart to them to be devoured.
verse value 2588
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 62 letters. Notable word values: "for·food" (לְאׇכְלָֽה) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·with·their·idols" (וְאֶת־גִּלּוּלֵיהֶ֖ן, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 137: they·have·committed·adultery, they·have·committed·adultery. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·with·their·idols" (וְאֶת־גִּלּוּלֵיהֶ֖ן), "their·sons" (אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶן֙), "they·bore·to·me" (יָֽלְדוּ־לִ֔י). The root נאף appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "whom" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "to·them" (root הם, 166x in Ezekiel); "for" (root כי, 114x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·have·committed·adultery', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: כִּ֣י [for] (30) + נִאֵ֗פוּ [they·have·committed·adultery] (137) + וְדָם֙ [and·blood] (50) + בִּֽידֵיהֶ֔ן [in·their·hands] (81) + וְאֶת־גִּלּוּלֵיהֶ֖ן [and·with·their·idols] (541) + נִאֵ֑פוּ [they·have·committed·adultery] (137) + וְגַ֤ם [and·also] (49) + אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶן֙ [their·sons] (518) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [whom] (501) + יָֽלְדוּ־לִ֔י [they·bore·to·me] (90) + הֶעֱבִ֥ירוּ [they·caused·to·pass] (293) + לָהֶ֖ם [to·them] (75) + לְאׇכְלָֽה [for·food] (86) = 2588.
Rashi
"And blood is in their hands." Because of their adulteries, they shed blood.
"And they played the harlot with their idols." Their harlotry was with their idols.
"And also their children, etc."—This refers to the bloodshed on their hands (meaning that they caused seed to be wasted through their actions and did not repent).
Radak
"Ki na'afu." This is not an allegory, but rather it is to be understood literally: they committed adultery with their neighbors' wives.
"And blood is in their hands." Just as the prophet Isaiah said, "Your hands are full of blood," and likewise Jerusalem is called "the city of blood," as it is written above.
“And they played the harlot with their images.” This is a metaphor for idolatry: just as an adulterous woman, while under her husband, takes strangers, so too Israel played the harlot under God, blessed be He, who was their Husband, by taking other gods to serve them.
“And also their sons, whom they begot for Me.” This means: for My service. For on the eighth day after their birth, they circumcised them and brought them into My covenant; and afterward, they passed them over to be eaten, namely, they passed them over to their idols by fire. This is what is meant by “eaten by fire.”
Metzudat David
"For they have committed adultery" – through the commission of forbidden sexual relations.
And blood is in their hands: They shed innocent blood.
"And with their idols they committed adultery." This is idolatry.
“Who have borne me.” This means those who are devoted to Me to study in the house of learning.
"העבירו" (They passed them over). They would pass them over and carry them to the idols, to serve as food for them.
Malbim
"For they have committed adultery" refers to illicit sexual relations; "and blood is on their hands" refers to murder; "and they have committed adultery with their carved images" refers to the worship of idols; and "even their children, whom they bore to Me"—the children they dedicated to Heaven and to the study of Torah—they transferred to Baal to be burned in fire.
Moreover this they have done to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned My sabbaths.
verse value 3489
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִ֑י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·my·sabbaths" (וְאֶת־שַׁבְּתוֹתַ֖י, 9 letters). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·did" (root עשה, 214x in Ezekiel); "in·the·day" (root יום, 112x in Ezekiel); "that" (root הוא, 86x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: ע֥וֹד [moreover] (80) + זֹ֖את [this] (408) + עָ֣שׂוּ [they·did] (376) + לִ֑י [to·me] (40) + טִמְּא֤וּ [they·defiled] (56) + אֶת־מִקְדָּשִׁי֙ [my·sanctuary] (855) + בַּיּ֣וֹם [in·the·day] (58) + הַה֔וּא [that] (17) + וְאֶת־שַׁבְּתוֹתַ֖י [and·my·sabbaths] (1525) + חִלֵּֽלוּ [they·have·profaned] (74) = 3489.
Rashi
"They defiled My sanctuary on that day." On the day that they slaughtered their children to the idols, they came before Me in My sanctuary to commit abomination therein, to provoke Me to anger.
"And they profaned My Sabbaths." This refers to the fact that they would slaughter their children on the Sabbath.
Radak
Furthermore, "on that day." This refers to the matter of the doubling of "they served their idols to provoke Me," and on that very same day they came to offer sacrifices in My Temple, as if I do not see their deeds, and their offerings are the defilement of My sanctuary.
Metzudat David
"They defiled, etc." On the very day that they passed their sons through to idols, they came to the Temple to offer sacrifices therein, and they defiled the Temple along with the sacrifices, since they were not acceptable to Me.
"And they profaned My Sabbaths." For even on the Sabbath they passed their children over to them, for them to eat.
Malbim
Furthermore, they did this for Me: on that day when they sacrificed their children to Molech, they went to the Temple to offer a sacrifice there in order to profane the Temple, and they intended that it be on the Sabbath in order to profane the Sabbath as well, so that the profanation touched that which is sanctified in the world, namely the Temple, and that which is sanctified in the year, namely the Sabbath, and that which is sanctified in the soul, namely the son who is dedicated to the Lord for the study of Torah, which is what they defiled in the world, the year, and the soul.
For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into My sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of My house.
verse value 3033
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "they·did" (עָשׂ֖וּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·their·idols" (לְגִלּ֣וּלֵיהֶ֔ם, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·when·they·slew" (וּֽבְשַׁחֲטָ֤ם), "their·children" (אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם֙), "to·their·idols" (לְגִלּ֣וּלֵיהֶ֔ם). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·did" (root עשה, 214x in Ezekiel); "and·they·came" (root בוא, 175x in Ezekiel); "my·house" (root בית, 159x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·profane·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּֽבְשַׁחֲטָ֤ם [and·when·they·slew] (365) + אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם֙ [their·children] (508) + לְגִלּ֣וּלֵיהֶ֔ם [to·their·idols] (154) + וַיָּבֹ֧אוּ [and·they·came] (25) + אֶל־מִקְדָּשִׁ֛י [to·my·sanctuary] (485) + בַּיּ֥וֹם [in·the·day] (58) + הַה֖וּא [that] (17) + לְחַלְּל֑וֹ [to·profane·it] (104) + וְהִנֵּה־כֹ֥ה [and·behold·thus] (91) + עָשׂ֖וּ [they·did] (376) + בְּת֥וֹךְ [in·midst·of] (428) + בֵּיתִֽי [my·house] (422) = 3033.
Radak
And when they slaughter them. The root is from the light root, and there are those who say it is from the geminate root. The matter is repeated in this verse with different words:
"And behold, they have done within My house."—That is, they have made this hollow place within My house. Alternatively, the phrase "they have done" also means that they made idols within My house, for they used to draw figures in the chambers of the Temple Court and offer incense to them, as we have written in the portion of the sixth year.
Metzudat David
And when they slaughtered. This means that they added yet another act of doing so at the time they slaughtered their children for the idol; then they came to My Sanctuary on that day in order to profane it, as if to say that the bringing [of the sacrifices] was with the specific intention to profane the Sanctuary and to desecrate it.
And behold, thus they did. Meaning: the matter that I recounted, they did within my house.
Malbim
And when they slaughtered: This means, behold, this last sin, which on the day that they slaughtered their children, they came into My sanctuary on that day. This indicates that it was as if they performed this act of slaughtering the children within My house. For after the place of the slaughter, they came to the Temple, where the Name of the Lord resides. I consider it as though they did so within My house, that they slaughtered the sons in the Temple of the Lord for idolatry. And this is the greatest sin possible. And here He compares it to a woman who commits adultery under her husband’s roof, in his house and in his presence, and she no longer guards herself from him, for this is what arouses the greatest jealousy.
And furthermore you have sent for men that come from far; to whom a messenger was sent, and, lo, they came; for whom you did wash thyself, paint your eyes, and deck thyself with ornaments;
verse value 5300
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 74 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶם֙) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 5300 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "that" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·behold·they·came" (וְהִנֵּה־בָ֔אוּ, 7 letters). 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·moreover" (וְאַ֗ף), "they·will·send" (תִשְׁלַ֙חְנָה֙), "to·husbands" (לַאֲנָשִׁ֔ים). The root שלח appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "who" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "to·them" (root אל, 204x in Ezekiel); "going·in" (root בוא, 175x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·afar', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 11 words.
Rashi
"And even if they send them." And all the more so, it is more severe than all [the other cases], that they send them to bring to them the princes of the nations, their enemies, and they see the profanation that they are profaning My sanctuary.
"Send to them, etc."—from Oholah and Oholibah, to come to them.
"And now they have come to the place where You washed them, like a bride adorned with her ornaments..." The word "to the place" (לאשר) Targum Jonathan renders as "la'atar"; "ellu'a" in the vernacular (Old French), meaning: to the place that You appointed for them, saying: "At such-and-such a place we shall go out to meet you, adorned with the bathhouse and with cosmetics."
khelelet. A type of dye, and its name is blue, and they dye their eyes with it; oculire in the vernacular.
Radak
“And even though they sent them forth.” All the more so did they commit a greater abomination, for which I must deliver them into the hands of their enemies, who sent men coming from afar, who came to them from a distance through their emissaries. And so is the interpretation of “whom I sent a messenger to them”: behold, they came: she sent to them to come to her, to lead them in their ways and their deeds.
"To whom you bathed, painted your eyes with kohl, and adorned yourself with ornaments." He said: This corresponds to Ahlibah. To whom did you send? To him for whose sake you have adorned yourself, like the way a harlot washes in the bathhouse, applies kohl to her eyes, and wears fine garments, so that she may be beautiful in the eyes of those who see her, and they will desire her. And the parable is that she sent to her letters speaking of noble matters and gifts, to bring their love upon her, and that she would mingle with them and learn their customs and their deeds. And the Targum: "You have prepared your legs and arranged your sandals."
Metzudat David
“And even though she sent for them, etc.” This means: all the more so did she commit an even greater abomination, in that she sent for men who would come to her from a distant land, from the place where they were.
“Which an angel...” – This means that the mission was carried out by an angel sent to them with a specific intent.
And behold, they came. And behold, they indeed did so and came to the place where you washed yourself there and filled your eyes with kohl, which is a type of dye, and adorned yourself with ornaments, and they saw with their eyes what you were beautifying yourself for, to find favor in the eyes of the adulterers who were coming.
Metzudat Zion
"And even though." Its meaning is like "all the more so" and "a fortiori," just as [we explained regarding] "even though fire consumed it" (above, 15).
A messenger. An emissary:
"Like blue." The name of the color is *kahl* (blue), and our Sages of blessed memory said: "Neither blue nor red" (Ketubot 17a).
"Ve'adit adi" — [meaning] "and I adorned [myself] with ornaments." The meaning is adornment and ornamentation, as in "and she decked herself with her ring" (Hosea 2).
Malbim
And even though she adds to demonstrate this promiscuity that she committed in the presence of her husband, appearing like a harlot who sends emissaries publicly to men coming from afar, through an angel sent to them to come, and she sends emissaries to receive their faces, and they came because she bathed, painted her eyes with kohl, and adorned herself with finery, to find favor in their eyes.
and sat upon a stately bed, with a table prepared before it, whereupon you did set Mine incense and Mine oil.
verse value 3760
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "name" (שַׂ֥מְתְּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·my·incense" (וּקְטׇרְתִּ֥י, 6 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·you·sat" (וְיָשַׁבְתְּ֙), "upon·a·bed" (עַל־מִטָּ֣ה), "glory" (כְבוּדָּ֔ה). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "on" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "to·her·face" (root פנים, 150x in Ezekiel); "name" (root שם, 67x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root שלחן ("and·table") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·her·face', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְיָשַׁבְתְּ֙ [and·you·sat] (718) + עַל־מִטָּ֣ה [upon·a·bed] (154) + כְבוּדָּ֔ה [glory] (37) + וְשֻׁלְחָ֥ן [and·table] (394) + עָר֖וּךְ [prepared] (296) + לְפָנֶ֑יהָ [to·her·face] (175) + וּקְטׇרְתִּ֥י [and·my·incense] (725) + וְשַׁמְנִ֖י [and·my·oil] (406) + שַׂ֥מְתְּ [name] (740) + עָלֶֽיהָ [on] (115) = 3760.
Rashi
"A glorious bed." It is covered with pleasant coverlets; *parade* in the vernacular (Old French):
Radak
"And you shall sit on a bed of her glory." The vav is with dagesh, and similarly, "The daughter of a king is within, in splendor," and "And the glory before them," and their like.
And a table set before it. Before the bed, for such was their custom to recline on beds at the time of eating, as we have found in the words of our Sages of blessed memory. And the meaning of "set" is that it was set with all kinds of good foods.
"And I will burn my oils that are upon it." With a chataf qamats under the tet in the word "chattati" (I have sinned/offered), according to the reading of Ben Asher and the reading of Ben Naphtali; and "v'chattarti" (and I will burn) with a patach under the tet.
"Upon the couch." Upon the bed, for such was their custom to conclude after the meal, as we have found in the words of our Sages of blessed memory, who would place spices upon the embers to raise their smoke to the nostrils for a pleasant fragrance, and likewise they would anoint themselves with good oil after the meal. And what he says, "and I burned incense, and my oils," with a yod as the pronoun of the speaker, means to say that I gave them to her, and she used them for idolatrous worship, as he said in the portion "Tell Jerusalem" (Ezekiel 16:2). "Couches." It is known in the words of our Sages of blessed memory, who said: What is a "dargesh"? It is a "bed of fortune," and it is a couch made for the honor of the constellations. "Makkin." The explanation is: mattresses. The Targum translates "I spread my bed" as "makkin," meaning "I prepared my resting place," and the Targum translates "bolsters" as "makkin."
Metzudat David
"And you sat." And after this, you sat on an honored and precious couch, and before you was a table set with various kinds of food (for such was their custom to recline on the couch at the time of eating). And the incense and the oil that I gave to you, you placed on the table to feed the adulterers, and to anoint them with oil, and to kindle the fragrance of the incense after the meal (for such was their custom to anoint with good oil after the meal, and to place spices on the coals to raise up the smoke for a good fragrance). This means that you sent to the gentiles to come to teach you their ways of abominations, and you did them honor, and showed them excessive affection, and gave them gifts from that which I bestowed upon you.
Metzudat Zion
Aruch. Arranged:
"And my incense." Smoke of spices:
Malbim
And you shall sit, and you shall sit upon a glorious bed to receive there those who come to the bed, and before the bed a table is set with all kinds of food, and upon it oil and incense to give fragrance, and these are the oil and the incense that the husband gave to her.
And the voice of a multitude being at ease was therein; and for the sake of men, they were so many, brought drunken from the wilderness, they put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
verse value 5136
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 85 letters. The shortest word is "in·her" (בָֿהּ֒, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·to·men" (וְאֶל־אֲנָשִׁים֙, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "quiet" (שָׁלֵ֣ו), "and·to·men" (וְאֶל־אֲנָשִׁים֙), "drunkards" ((סובאים)). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·their·hands" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel); "and·they·gave" (root נתן, 207x in Ezekiel); "being·brought" (root בוא, 175x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·wilderness', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 6 words.
Rashi
"And the voice of a multitude": There were many non-Jews in it, but not a multitude of war, rather the voice of a peaceful multitude.
"And to men." The multitude that was there was for the sake of men and belonging to men, and not for beasts.
“From the multitude of people.” This refers to those who were among them and were brought to commit adultery from the desert.
"Sivaim" – those who dwelled around it, its neighbors, the Ammonites and Moabites. And so the Targum translates "sivaim" as "surrounding on all sides."
And they gave. “Oholah and Oholibah”: bracelets upon their arms. To adorn themselves for harlotry; that is to say, Moab and Ammon: since they were numerous, she adorned herself and boasted before them; and since they were her neighbors, she boasted before their eyes with her ornaments. Therefore, “And they gave Oholah and Oholibah bracelets upon their arms,” so that they might appear pleasing in the eyes of the adulterers. The vav of “And they gave” is superfluous, like the vav of “My strength and song is the Lord, and He has become my salvation” (Exodus 15:2), and like the vav of “And he who did not set his heart upon the matter of YHWH, and he abandoned” (Exodus 9:21).
Radak
“And the voice of a multitude is in it.” The bet in “in it” is unaccented (rafé), and even though its vav is pronounced (mefakek), similar to which is “a line for chaos” (Ko t’ho) and “the Lord is in them” (H’ bam). It says, “The voice of a multitude is heard in it, in its tents.” And that multitude was at ease, meaning it came in peace, like “to her” (aleha) — not for war. For she sent to them to come to her, that they be at peace with her, for their deeds were upright in their eyes.
"And to men of great multitude of people." "Ve-el" here is like "ve-im" (and with); similarly, "a woman el her sister" (Leviticus 18:18) and "bury me el my fathers" (Genesis 49:29) mean "with," and similar cases. He means: those to whom she sent came with other men.
“From the multitude of people.” From the multitude of people who desired to bring along with them, in order that the crowd be large, they brought Sabeans from the desert. This is the meaning of “those who were brought”: they brought them, and they were brought.
“Sivaim.” The nation of Seba, and they are from the descendants of Cush, like him; and “Sivaim” are men of measure, except that the samekh here is written with a shva, whereas in the other instance it is written with a qamats.
"And they put bracelets on their hands." The word "al" (on) functions like "upon," and similarly there are many instances where it says "upon their hands" and "upon their heads," referring to both "ohelah" and "ohaleivah." And when speaking in the singular, it says "upon ohaleivah," because she is the latter one, and upon her rests the primary focus of the prophet's prophecy.
Metzudat David
"And the voice of a multitude." The sound of peaceful murmur was heard therein, not the sound of the clamor of war.
"And to men." This means: with the men who were coming, for since there were many people, even Sabeans, from those dwelling in the wilderness, were brought along with them. It is as if to say: nevertheless, she had much tranquility, even though these Sabeans were cruel men of wickedness.
"And they gave bracelets." For when they gave bracelets on their hands, etc., to adorn themselves greatly, she found favor in the eyes of all of them, and they did not do her evil. This means that she was beloved by all of them, to serve all the gods of the nations.
Metzudat Zion
The multitude. The word is derived from the root meaning “to murmur” (hamiyyah).
Shalu. The word is derived from the root sh-l-h, meaning "to be calm/peaceful":
"And to." Just as "and with," and similarly, "and a woman to her sister" (Leviticus 18:18).
Sabeans. The name of a nation is Seva.
Tzamidim: The name for the ornaments of the arm, as it is stated, “and two bracelets on her arms” (Genesis 24:22).
Malbim
“And the voice of a multitude is in her” means that in this bed there is found the voice of a multitude of men who are at ease and do not fear anything, unlike harlots who come in silence and are not at ease, for they fear their husbands. But these men make heard the voice of a multitude on the bed, and they are at ease, unafraid. “They are brought to men, to a multitude of men” means that they are brought by a multitude of men, for many men went to bring them. And who are these men? “Drunken men from the desert” are men who are drunk, who have drunk much wine, and they come from the desert; that is, drunken and wild desert men (whom a great multitude brought to you with great publicity). To these men, “they put bracelets on their hands,” meaning that those who brought them placed bracelets on their hands, “and a crown of glory on their heads,” so that they would appear to be great and honorable princes. This means that you brought to yourself despicable and lowly men, and you placed crowns on their heads and bracelets on their hands to honor them and to commit adultery with them, and all this you did with very great publicity.
Then said I of her that was worn out by adulteries: Still they commit harlotries with her, even her.
verse value 2481
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "time" ((עת), 2 letters) and the longest is "adulteries" (נִֽאוּפִ֑ים, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "of·the·worn·out" (לַבָּלָ֖ה), "adulteries" (נִֽאוּפִ֑ים), "will·commit·fornication" ((יזנה)). The root עתה appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·I·said" (root אמר, 362x in Ezekiel); "and·she" (root הוא, 86x in Ezekiel); "will·commit·fornication" (root זנה, 22x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'adulteries', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וָאֹמַ֕ר [and·I·said] (247) + לַבָּלָ֖ה [of·the·worn·out] (67) + נִֽאוּפִ֑ים [adulteries] (187) + (עת) [time] (470) + עַתָּ֛ה [now] (475) + (יזנה) [will·commit·fornication] (72) + יִזְנ֥וּ [they·will·commit·fornication] (73) + תַזְנוּתֶ֖הָ [her·fornications] (868) + וָהִֽיא [and·she] (22) = 2481.
Rashi
And it says, “To her that is old in adulteries.” Now, “they will commit harlotry,” etc. My heart said to me regarding this one who has grown old and aged in adultery: from now on, since she has aged, her lewdnesses will depart from her, and the desire for harlotry will leave her heart, and she will repent. Yet behold, she remains in her harlotry as she was at the beginning.
"They shall play the harlot." [Meaning] they shall go out, like any harlot. The Targum renders it "nafkat bara" (she goes out, outside). This is what I have heard, and so too does the Targum Yonatan.
“L’vahlah na’afim.” Just as “l’vahlah” in “na’afim” [is understood], so too when you say, “And she dwelt in the house of her father” (Genesis 35:8), it is like “in the house of her father”; “They shall wash with water” (Exodus 30:18), it is like “they shall wash with water”; and “And she shall go out free” (Exodus 21:11), it is like “she shall go out free.” And if it were “the house of her husband, she vowed” (Numbers 30:11), similarly, Dunash and his colleague Menachem interpreted “They made with Tavel” (Leviticus 20:10), but their words do not stand up to scrutiny.
Radak
"And I said, Let her be worn out by her adulteries." This means that God, blessed be He, said: When I saw her ways, I thought, "Is it possible that this old harlot has committed adultery?" "Worn out" means old, as in "after I have grown old" (Genesis 18:12). And He spoke in a parable: She grew old in idolatry for many years, yet she still did not take it to heart and return to Me.
"Now she shall commit her harlotry, and she." Now the nations shall lose her harlotry, and she with them, for in her exile all will be lost—the idols and those who worship them. And He said, "They shall commit harlotry," meaning they shall go forth from their dominion and their land, for the harlot goes forth from the dominion of her husband; likewise, "And her concubine committed harlotry against him." "Yizneh" is written with a heh, like "yadenu," and it is read with a vav, "yiznu."
Metzudat David
And He said, “To the one worn out with adulteries.” I said: Regarding the old woman who has grown old in adultery, now let her adulteries depart from her, since she has already been sated with harlotry. That is to say, I thought that after they served the gods of the nations for a long time and saw that there is no truth in them, they would separate from them.
And it is. But still, it remains in its state, just as from then on, and similar to it is "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" (2 Kings 2:14), meaning that He too remains in His state at all times and does not change.
Metzudat Zion
"To wear out." The meaning is old age, as in "after I am worn out" (ibid. 19).
"they played the harlot." This means that they turn aside. And regarding this, the adulteress is called a harlot, because you have departed from her husband to have relations with another.
And she. This means: when she was so, she was so.
Malbim
And it says, “And I, the Master, when I saw all this, said: Let the adulterers be consumed; now let her harlotry be her own destruction, and she herself.” I said: These adulterers, who now commit harlotry, shall be for consumption; this act of adultery shall consume the harlots, and they shall be for consumption, and her harlotry shall be her own destruction, and she herself. This means: both her harlotry and she herself, for even she, the harlot herself, shall be for consumption. (This refers to the disease and leprosy that clings to harlots, consuming their entire bodies and limbs.) I cursed them, that the consumption which clings to adulterers shall come upon them. Upon her harlotry and upon her, whatever harlotry they commit now, leprosy that consumes shall cling to them.
For every one went in to her, as men go in to a harlot; so went they in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women.
verse value 1504
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "so" (כֵּ֣ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·to·Oholibah" (וְאֶל־אׇ֣הֳלִיבָ֔ה, 9 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "as·going·in" (כְּב֖וֹא), "to·a·woman" (אֶל־אִשָּׁ֣ה), "to·Oholah" (אֶֽל־אׇהֳלָה֙). The root בוא appears 3 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·a·woman" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel); "to·her" (root אל, 204x in Ezekiel); "and·he·came" (root בוא, 175x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'harlot', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיָּב֣וֹא [and·he·came] (25) + אֵלֶ֔יהָ [to·her] (46) + כְּב֖וֹא [as·going·in] (29) + אֶל־אִשָּׁ֣ה [to·a·woman] (337) + זוֹנָ֑ה [harlot] (68) + כֵּ֣ן [so] (70) + בָּ֗אוּ [they·went·in] (9) + אֶֽל־אׇהֳלָה֙ [to·Oholah] (72) + וְאֶל־אׇ֣הֳלִיבָ֔ה [and·to·Oholibah] (90) + אִשֹּׁ֖ת [women·of] (701) + הַזִּמָּֽה [plan] (57) = 1504.
Rashi
And he came to her. Whatever filled his heart:
Wives of lewdness. The wives of lewdness:
Radak
“And he came.” This is the language of singularity, meaning that each nation and nation is one of eight instances of the language of “coming,” for they are accustomed to the plural form, yet here it is rendered in the singular.
“Ishot of lewdness.” This form alone derives from “ishah” a plural “ishot,” for one ordinarily says “nashim,” “neshei”; for derogation it comes thus.
Metzudat David
“And he came to her.” Anyone who desires her approaches her just as one approaches a well-known prostitute; so too, [the nations] approached her, meaning: she served every idol-worship in the world.
Wives of lewdness. Wives of lewdness:
Metzudat Zion
“Wives.” From the term “woman.”
Malbim
And it came upon her, and the curse was fulfilled, for the wasting disease came upon her and clung to her, as it comes to a harlot and clings to her in order to waste her away. Just as it constantly comes to a harlot and clings to her to waste her, so too it came upon Oholah and Oholibah. The “fires of whoredom” — this wasting disease, which wastes away the adulteress — is called “fires of whoredom.” It is the fire, and the burning heat that ignites through whoredom and excessive adultery; the “fires,” the heat of whoredom, and the leprosy, wasting, and decay that arise from this, came upon Oholah and Oholibah. And this disease is known even today as being like a burning fire, a malignant leprosy, and a decay that clings to adulterers to waste away and consume their bodies and bones.
But righteous men, they shall judge them as adulteresses are judged, and as women that shed blood are judged; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
verse value 4561
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "blood" (דָּ֑ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·men" (וַאֲנָשִׁ֣ים, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 50: abundance, and·blood. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·men" (וַאֲנָשִׁ֣ים), "just" (צַדִּיקִ֗ם), "may·they·judge" (יִשְׁפְּט֣וּ). The root משפט appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "abundance" (root הם, 166x in Ezekiel); "and·because" (root כי, 114x in Ezekiel); "and·men" (root איש, 84x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'blood', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Rashi
“And righteous men.” “Men” refers to judges, officers of the king of Babylon and the king of Assyria. And the Targum [states]: “They were righteous, receiving [reward] in accordance with the deeds of these harlots.” These [are] the righteous Gentiles mentioned above.
"The law of adulteresses and the law of those who shed blood." As is explained immediately afterwards:
Radak
"And righteous men." My master and father, of blessed memory, wrote: It does not mean "righteous" in the strict sense, but rather men who are skilled in legal argumentation and sharp in matters of law. They will judge you in two types of cases: the case of adulteresses and the case of those who shed innocent blood. For when it says "and those who shed blood," it implies "innocent blood," just as in the verse "and they pervert the words of the righteous."
"them." With a cholam on the aleph:
Metzudat David
"And righteous men" – these are the princes of the king of Babylon, who are considered righteous in comparison to them.
The judgment of adulteresses. The judgment due in recompense for adultery, and the judgment due in recompense for the shedding of innocent blood.
"And blood is in their hands." This refers to the fact that they slaughtered their sons for idol worship.
Malbim
And righteous men, and behold this harlot, upon whom this leprosy has clung, shall be judged as a shedder of blood, for whoever commits harlotry with her and draws near to her, this disease clings to him, and she kills souls through her harlotry. Therefore, righteous men shall decree the judgment of these harlots for two punishments: on account of adultery and on account of shedding blood, and they shall strive to eradicate them from the world. And this is what is said: “For they are adulteresses” from the aspect of adultery, and “blood is in their hands” because they murder all who cling to them with the poison of the snake, the disease of consumption, and the disease of the fires of lewdness.
For thus says the Lord Hashem: An assembly shall be brought up against them, and they shall be made a horror and a spoil.
verse value 1912
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 44 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יֱהֹוִ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֛י, 2 letters) and the longest is "against·them" (עֲלֵיהֶם֙, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "bring·up" (הַעֲלֵ֤ה), "to·horror" (לְזַעֲוָ֥ה). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 427x in Ezekiel); "said" (root אמר, 362x in Ezekiel); "against·them" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: כִּ֛י [for] (30) + כֹּ֥ה [thus] (25) + אָמַ֖ר [said] (241) + אֲדֹנָ֣י [my·lord] (65) + יֱהֹוִ֑ה [Hashem] (26) + הַעֲלֵ֤ה [bring·up] (110) + עֲלֵיהֶם֙ [against·them] (155) + קָהָ֔ל [assembly] (135) + וְנָתֹ֥ן [and·give] (506) + אֶתְהֶ֖ן [them] (456) + לְזַעֲוָ֥ה [to·horror] (118) + וְלָבַֽז [and·for·a·spoil] (45) = 1912.
Rashi
The word "ha'al" (he caused to go up), "ve-natan" (and He gave), and "ve-bera" (and He created)—all of these are in the sense of "asah" (He made) and "pe'al" (a passive form).
Radak
"For thus says the Lord: Assemble against them a multitude. 'Assemble' is from the root [meaning] to bring up, and similarly, 'and He will give them over to terror,' as if it said, 'I will bring up and I will give.'"
Metzudat David
"he brought up, etc." This means that it was stated in prophecy: "I will bring up against them a great multitude, and I will give them into trembling and plunder."
Metzudat Zion
Kahal. An assembly of the people:
liza'ah. The meaning of "fear" and "trembling" is like "and you shall be for a terror" (Deuteronomy 29):
And "to plunder." From the language of "despise" and "spoil."
Malbim
For thus said the Lord: "Bring against them a congregation that will gather to eradicate her evil from the world, and give them into distress on account of their affliction, and into plunder on account of the adultery."
And the assembly shall stone them with stones, and despatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
verse value 4159
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 64 letters. The shortest word is "stone" (אֶ֙בֶן֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·their·daughters" (וּבְנֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·they·shall·cut·down" (וּבָרֵ֥א), "them" (אוֹתְהֶ֖ן), "slay" (יַהֲרֹ֔גוּ). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·them" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "and·their·houses" (root בית, 159x in Ezekiel); "in·their·swords" (root חרב, 102x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·their·swords', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְרָגְמ֨וּ [and·they·shall·stone] (255) + עֲלֵיהֶ֥ן [upon·them] (165) + אֶ֙בֶן֙ [stone] (53) + קָהָ֔ל [assembly] (135) + וּבָרֵ֥א [and·they·shall·cut·down] (209) + אוֹתְהֶ֖ן [them] (462) + בְּחַרְבוֹתָ֑ם [in·their·swords] (658) + בְּנֵיהֶ֤ם [their·sons] (107) + וּבְנֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ [and·their·daughters] (519) + יַהֲרֹ֔גוּ [slay] (224) + וּבָתֵּיהֶ֖ן [and·their·houses] (473) + בָּאֵ֥שׁ [in·the·fire] (303) + יִשְׂרֹֽפוּ [they·will·burn] (596) = 4159.
Rashi
And they stoned them with a stone. The execution of their sons and daughters and the burning of their houses is the judgment of adulteresses:
“And He smote them with their swords.” This is the judgment of those who shed blood. And “smote” (ve-ra’ah) denotes the language of cutting down, as it is said, “And you shall cut it down, and it shall be a forest for you” (Joshua 17:17).
Radak
"And the congregation shall stone them with stones." The congregation of the nations shall stone them with stones, in accordance with the law of adulteresses; and the parable is the siege wall that they built against the city:
And they cut them off with their swords. The verb "vayivra" is a past-tense form derived from the simple root (kal) according to the conjugation pattern of "pa'al" with a tsere under the first letter and a patach under the second, following the pattern of "yira" (he feared), and it denotes the meaning of cutting off, just as in the verse "and you shall cut out for yourself a name," which is from the geminate root. That is to say, the nations will cut them off with their swords. And so did Jonathan translate: "And they will slaughter them with their swords." And it says "vayivra" in the singular form, following the principle of a general statement.
Metzudat David
And the congregation stoned them with a stone. The members of that congregation would cause stones to be brought upon them.
“And He created.” He will heal them together with their swords.
Metzudat Zion
"and they shall stone them." The meaning is the casting of stones, as it is stated: "they shall stone them with stones" (Leviticus 20:27).
"U'vara." The term implies the sense of cutting, as in: "For it is a forest, and you shall clear it" (Joshua 17:18).
In their swords. The word is derived from the root "cherev" (sword):
Malbim
And they stoned them, and they judged them with the four forms of execution by the court. And it enumerates: stoning, decapitation, and burning, and strangulation does not require counting, for it is the death penalty mentioned in the Torah in a general sense, and it is the mildest of all of them, and it is the known law for every married woman who committed adultery, and there is no need to inform [the reader of this].
Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
verse value 3358
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "plan" (זִמָּ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·the·women" (כׇּל־הַנָּשִׁ֔ים, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·shall·be·taught" (וְנִוַּסְּרוּ֙), "all·the·women" (כׇּל־הַנָּשִׁ֔ים), "they·will·do" (תַעֲשֶׂ֖ינָה). The root זמה appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·will·do" (root עשה, 214x in Ezekiel); "and·not" (root לא, 213x in Ezekiel); "from·the·land" (root ארץ, 176x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·the·land', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְהִשְׁבַּתִּ֥י [and·I·will·banish] (723) + זִמָּ֖ה [plan] (52) + מִן־הָאָ֑רֶץ [from·the·land] (386) + וְנִוַּסְּרוּ֙ [and·shall·be·taught] (328) + כׇּל־הַנָּשִׁ֔ים [all·the·women] (455) + וְלֹ֥א [and·not] (37) + תַעֲשֶׂ֖ינָה [they·will·do] (835) + כְּזִמַּתְכֶֽנָה [as·your·depravity] (542) = 3358.
Radak
“And I will cause lewdness to cease.” As soon as they go into exile, the lewdness and idols will cease.
“and they shall be disciplined.” The vav has a dagesh to indicate the omission of the tav in the hitpa’el conjugation, and the samekh has a dagesh as the marker of the binyan (verbal stem). The expected form would be “and they shall be disciplined” (v’nitassaru). The word is a compound of the nifal and hitpa’el conjugations. Similarly, “and their blood shall be atoned for” (v’nikaper lahem ha-dam) should have been “and it shall be atoned for them” (v’nitkaper). The meaning is that the other nations will take a lesson from you, seeing that you received punishment for your iniquity and for your guilt, which you committed.
"And they shall not do as your lewdness." Even if they do serve, they shall not serve as your lewdness, meaning they shall not exchange the service of their God for the service of other gods, nor shall they serve many gods, as you did.
Metzudat David
“And I will cause lewdness to cease.” With this judgment, I will abolish lewdness from the land, for all will be in awe of the fear of judgment.
And they shall be disciplined. They shall accept discipline and shall not act like the lewdness that you did, meaning that no one shall serve idolatry anymore.
Metzudat Zion
And I will cause to cease. The matter is one of nullification:
And they shall be disciplined. The word is from the term "mussar" (discipline/reproof).
Malbim
"And I will cause to cease" – this will be for a benefit, for thereby I will cause the cessation of lewdness in general, for all the women will be disciplined and will take a lesson, and they will not act according to their lewdness.
And your lewdness shall be recompensed upon you, and you shall bear the sins of your idols; and you shall know that I am the Lord Hashem.’
verse value 2875
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 53 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יֱהֹוִֽה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "that" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "your·idols" (גִלּוּלֵיכֶ֖ן, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "your·depravity" (זִמַּתְכֶ֙נָה֙), "upon·you" (עֲלֵיכֶ֔ן), "and·sins·of" (וַחֲטָאֵ֥י). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 427x in Ezekiel); "upon·you" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "my·lord" (root אדון, 222x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·will·lift', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְנָתְנ֤וּ [and·they·will·give] (512) + זִמַּתְכֶ֙נָה֙ [your·depravity] (522) + עֲלֵיכֶ֔ן [upon·you] (180) + וַחֲטָאֵ֥י [and·sins·of] (34) + גִלּוּלֵיכֶ֖ן [your·idols] (149) + תִּשֶּׂ֑אינָה [you·will·lift] (766) + וִידַעְתֶּ֕ם [and·you·shall·know] (530) + כִּ֥י [that] (30) + אֲנִ֖י [I] (61) + אֲדֹנָ֥י [my·lord] (65) + יֱהֹוִֽה [Hashem] (26) = 2875.
Rashi
"And they shall put your wickedness upon you. Your judges shall put the judgment of your wickedness upon your heads:"
Radak
"And they shall put your wickedness upon you." They shall bring into their words the punishment of your wickedness upon you, for they will say that it is just that the punishment of your wickedness come upon you.
"And the sins of your idols shall bear." Like "they shall bear their iniquity," "you shall bear their iniquity," and similar expressions, the matter is one of bearing and carrying. And the word "tashainah" is with a segol under the aleph and a yod to prolong the vowel.
Metzudat David
And they shall give. The congregation that goes up shall give upon you the recompense of your wickedness and the sins of your abominations, which are detestable like a heap of dung; behold, you shall bear the recompense.
"And you shall know." Then you will know that I am the Lord, faithful to recompense.
Metzudat Zion
Teshainah. From the words of "burden" and "load-bearing":
Malbim
“And they shall give”: Until now, the punishment of *zimah* (lewdness) applied to the collective, as this was done among them; but after they execute judgment upon you, the guilt and the punishment will remain solely upon you, whether from the lewdness or from the idolatry that they served.
Radak