Yehezkiel 24:1-2

The Boiling Pot

24:1 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month ¹ : 24:2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege ²  to Jerusalem ³  this very day.

Yehezkiel 24:15-18

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

24:15 The word of Lord came to me: 24:16 “Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, ⁴  but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. 24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, ⁵  but do not perform mourning rites. ⁶  Bind on your turban ⁷  and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip ⁸  and do not eat food brought by others.” ⁹ 

24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning ¹⁰  I acted just as I was commanded.

[24:1]  ¹ tn The date of this oracle was January 15, 588 b.c.

[24:2]  ² tn Heb “lean on, put pressure on.”

[24:2]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “a strike.”

[24:17]  ⁵ tn Or “Groan silently. As to the dead….” Cf. M. Greenberg’s suggestion that דֹּם מֵתִים (dom metim) be taken together and דֹּם be derived from ָדּמַם (damam, “to moan, murmur”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:508.

[24:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “(For) the dead mourning you shall not conduct.” In the Hebrew text the word translated “dead” is plural, indicating that mourning rites are in view. Such rites would involve outward demonstrations of one’s sorrow, including wailing and weeping.

[24:17]  ⁷ sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).

[24:17]  ⁸ sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.

[24:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “the bread of men.” The translation follows the suggestion accepted by M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 2:509) that this refers to a meal brought by comforters to the one mourning. Some repoint the consonantal text to read “the bread of despair” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:56), while others, with support from the Targum and Vulgate, emend the consonantal text to read “the bread of mourners” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:784).

[24:18]  ¹⁰ tn This may refer to the following morning. For a discussion of various interpretive options in understanding the chronology reflected in verse 18, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:790.