Eze 4:2 | KD | STEP | Chap. iv. The Sign of the Siege op Jerusalem. — This sign, which Ezekiel is to perform in his own house before the eyes of the exiles who visit him, consists in three interconnected and mutually-supplementary symbolical acts, the first of which is described in vers. 1—3, the second in vers. 4—8, and the third in vers. 9-17. In the first place, he is symboli- cally to represent the impending siege of Jerusalem (vers. 1-3); in the second place, by lying upon one side, he is to announce the punishment of Israel's sin (vers. 4-8); in the third place, by the nature of his food, he is, while lying upon one side, to hold forth to view the terrible consequences of the siege to Israel. The close connection as to their subject-matter of these three actions appears clearly from this, that the prophet, accord to ver. 7, while lying upon one side, is to direct his look and his arm upon the picture of the besieged city before him; and, according to ver. 8, is to lie upon his side as long as the siege lasts, and during that time is to nourish himself in the manner prescribed in ver. 9 sqq. In harmony with this is the formal division of the chapter, inasmuch as the three acts, which the prophet is to perform for the purpose of portraying the impending siege of Jerusalem, are coordinated to each other by the repetition of the address וְאַתָּ֤ה in vers. 3, 4, and 8 and subordinated to the general injunction — to portray Jerusalem as a besieged city — introduced in ver. 1 with the words וְאַתָּ֤ה בֶן־אָדָם֙ Vers. 1-3. The first symbolical action. — Ver. 1. And thou, son of man, take to thyself a brickj and lay it before thee, and draw thereon a city, Jerusalem : Ver. 2. And direct a siege against it ; luild against it siege-towers, raise up a mound against it, erect camps against it, and place battering-rams against it roundabout. Ver. ,3. And thou, take to thyself an iron pan, and place it as an iron wall between thee and the city, and direct thy face towards it ; thus let it be in a state of siege, and besiege it. Let it be a sign to the house of Israel. The directions in vers. 1 and 2 contain the general basis for the symbolical siege of Jerusalem, which the prophet is to lay before Israel as a sign. Upon a brick he is to sketch a city (תֶקַק, to engrave with a writing instrument) which is to represent Jerusalem : around the city he is to erect siege-works — towers, walls, camps, and battering-rams ; i.e. he is to inscribe the representation of them, and place before himself the picture of the besieged city. The selection of a brick, i.e. of a tile- stone, not burnt in a kiln, but merely dried in the sun, is not, as Hävernick supposes, a reminiscence of Babylon and monumental inscriptions; in Palestine, also, such bricks were a common building material ( ), in consequence of which the selection of such a soft mass of clay, on which a picture might be easily inscribed, was readily suggested. מָצ֗וֹר וּבָנִ֤= מָצ֖וֹר שָׂ֣ם Mic 4:14, “to make a siege,”i.e. “to bring forward siege-works.” מָצ֖וֹר is therefore the general expression which is specialized in the following clauses by דָּיֵ֥ק, “siege-towers” (see on 2Ki 25:1) ; by סֹֽלְלָה֙, “mound” (see on ) ; מַחֲנ֛וֹת, “camps” in the plural, because the hostile army raises several camps around the city ; כָּרִ֖ים, “battering-rams,” “wall-breakers,” arietes ; according to Joseph Kimchi, “iron rams,” to break in the walls (and gates, ). They consisted of strong beams of hard wood, furnished at the end with a ram's head made of iron, which were suspended by a chain, and driven forcibly against the wall by the soldiers. Compare the description of them by Josephus, de bello Judaico iii. 7. 19. The suffix in עָלֶ֥יהָ , in ver. 2, refers to עָיר. The siege- works which are named were not probably to be placed by Ezekiel as little figures around the brick, so that the latter would represent the city, but to be engraved upon the brick around the city thereon portrayed. The expressions, “to make a siege,” “to build towers,” “to erect a mound,” etc., are selected because the drawing was to represent what is done when a city is besieged. In ver. 3, in reference to this, the inscribed picture of the city is at once termed “ city,” and in ver. 7 the picture of the besieged Jerusalem, “the siege of Jerusalem.” The meaning of the picture is clear. Everyone who saw it was to recognise that Jerusalem will be besieged. But the prophet is to do still more ; he is to take in hand the siege itself, and to carry it out. To that end, he is to place an iron pan as an iron wall between himself and the city sketched on the brick, and direct his countenance stedfastly towards the city ה בֶן־ and so besiege it. The iron pan, erected as a wall, is to represent neither the wall of the city (Ewald) nor the enemies' rampart, for this was already depicted on the brick ; while to represent it, i.e. the city wall, as “iron,” i.e. immoveably fast, would be contrary to the meaning of the prophecy. The iron wall represents, as Rosenmiiller, after the hints of Theodoret, Cornelius a Lapide, and others, has already observed, a firm, impregnable wall of partition, which the prophet as messenger and representative of God is to raise between himself and the beleaguered city, ut significaret, quasi ferveum munim interjectum esse cives inter et se, i.e. Deum Deique decretum et sententiam contra illos latam esse irrevocahilem, nee Deum. civium preces et querimonias auditurum aut iis ad misericordiam flectendum. Cf. ; Lam. 3:44. מַחֲבַ֣ת, “pan,” i.e. an iron plate for baking their loaves and slices of cakes; see on Lev 2:5. The selection of such an iron plate for the purpose mentioned is not to be explained, as Kliefoth thinks, from the circumstance that the pan is primarily to serve the prophet for preparing his food while he is occupied- in completing his sketch. The text says nothing of that. If he were to have employed the pan for such a purpose, he could not, at the same time, have placed it as a wall between himself and the city. The choice is to be explained simply from this, that such a plate was to be found in every household, and was quite fitted for the object intended. If any other symbolical element is contained in it, the hard ignoble metal might, perhaps, with Grotius, be taken to typify the hard, wicked heart of the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; cf. ; Jer. 15:12. The symbolical siege of Jerusalem is to be a sign for the house of Israel, i.e. a pre-announcement of its impending destiny. The house of Israel is the whole covenant people, not merely the ten tribes as in ver. 5, in contradistinction to the house of Judah (ver. 6).

‏ Ezekiel 4:2

Chap. iv. The Sign of the Siege op Jerusalem. — This sign, which Ezekiel is to perform in his own house before the eyes of the exiles who visit him, consists in three interconnected and mutually-supplementary symbolical acts, the first of which is described in vers. 1—3, the second in vers. 4—8, and the third in vers. 9-17. In the first place, he is symboli- cally to represent the impending siege of Jerusalem (vers. 1-3); in the second place, by lying upon one side, he is to announce the punishment of Israel's sin (vers. 4-8); in the third place, by the nature of his food, he is, while lying upon one side, to hold forth to view the terrible consequences of the siege to Israel. The close connection as to their subject-matter of these three actions appears clearly from this, that the prophet, accord to ver. 7, while lying upon one side, is to direct his look and his arm upon the picture of the besieged city before him; and, according to ver. 8, is to lie upon his side as long as the siege lasts, and during that time is to nourish himself in the manner prescribed in ver. 9 sqq. In harmony with this is the formal division of the chapter, inasmuch as the three acts, which the prophet is to perform for the purpose of portraying the impending siege of Jerusalem, are coordinated to each other by the repetition of the address וְאַתָּ֤ה in vers. 3, 4, and 8 and subordinated to the general injunction — to portray Jerusalem as a besieged city — introduced in ver. 1 with the words וְאַתָּ֤ה בֶן־אָדָם֙

Vers. 1-3. The first symbolical action. — Ver. 1. And thou, son of man, take to thyself a brickj and lay it before thee, and draw thereon a city, Jerusalem : Ver. 2. And direct a siege against it ; luild against it siege-towers, raise up a mound against it, erect camps against it, and place battering-rams against it roundabout. Ver. ,3. And thou, take to thyself an iron pan, and place it as an iron wall between thee and the city, and direct thy face towards it ; thus let it be in a state of siege, and besiege it. Let it be a sign to the house of Israel.

The directions in vers. 1 and 2 contain the general basis for the symbolical siege of Jerusalem, which the prophet is to lay before Israel as a sign. Upon a brick he is to sketch a city (תֶקַק, to engrave with a writing instrument) which is to represent Jerusalem : around the city he is to erect siege-works — towers, walls, camps, and battering-rams ; i.e. he is to inscribe the representation of them, and place before himself the picture of the besieged city. The selection of a brick, i.e. of a tile- stone, not burnt in a kiln, but merely dried in the sun, is not, as Hävernick supposes, a reminiscence of Babylon and monumental inscriptions; in Palestine, also, such bricks were a common building material (Isa 9:9), in consequence of which the selection of such a soft mass of clay, on which a picture might be easily inscribed, was readily suggested. מָצ֗וֹר וּבָנִ֤= מָצ֖וֹר שָׂ֣ם Mic 4:14, “to make a siege,”i.e. “to bring forward siege-works.” מָצ֖וֹר is therefore the general expression which is specialized in the following clauses by דָּיֵ֥ק, “siege-towers” (see on 2Ki 25:1) ; by סֹֽלְלָה֙, “mound” (see on 2Sa 20:15) ; מַחֲנ֛וֹת, “camps” in the plural, because the hostile army raises several camps around the city ; כָּרִ֖ים, “battering-rams,” “wall-breakers,” arietes; according to Joseph Kimchi, “iron rams,” to break in the walls (and gates, Eze 22:27). They consisted of strong beams of hard wood, furnished at the end with a ram's head made of iron, which were suspended by a chain, and driven forcibly against the wall by the soldiers. Compare the description of them by Josephus, de bello Judaico iii. 7. 19. The suffix in עָלֶ֥יהָ , in ver. 2, refers to עָיר. The siege- works which are named were not probably to be placed by Ezekiel as little figures around the brick, so that the latter would represent the city, but to be engraved upon the brick around the city thereon portrayed. The expressions, “to make a siege,” “to build towers,” “to erect a mound,” etc., are selected because the drawing was to represent what is done when a city is besieged. In ver. 3, in reference to this, the inscribed picture of the city is at once termed “ city,” and in ver. 7 the picture of the besieged Jerusalem, “the siege of Jerusalem.” The meaning of the picture is clear. Everyone who saw it was to recognise that Jerusalem will be besieged. But the prophet is to do still more ; he is to take in hand the siege itself, and to carry it out. To that end, he is to place an iron pan as an iron wall between himself and the city sketched on the brick, and direct his countenance stedfastly towards the city ה בֶן־ and so besiege it. The iron pan, erected as a wall, is to represent neither the wall of the city (Ewald) nor the enemies' rampart, for this was already depicted on the brick ; while to represent it, i.e. the city wall, as “iron,” i.e. immoveably fast, would be contrary to the meaning of the prophecy. The iron wall represents, as Rosenmiiller, after the hints of Theodoret, Cornelius a Lapide, and others, has already observed, a firm, impregnable wall of partition, which the prophet as messenger and representative of God is to raise between himself and the beleaguered city, ut significaret, quasi ferveum munim interjectum esse cives inter et se, i.e. Deum Deique decretum et sententiam contra illos latam esse irrevocahilem, nee Deum. civium preces et querimonias auditurum aut iis ad misericordiam flectendum. Cf. Isa 59:2 ; Lam. 3:44. מַחֲבַ֣ת, “pan,” i.e. an iron plate for baking their loaves and slices of cakes; see on Lev 2:5. The selection of such an iron plate for the purpose mentioned is not to be explained, as Kliefoth thinks, from the circumstance that the pan is primarily to serve the prophet for preparing his food while he is occupied- in completing his sketch. The text says nothing of that. If he were to have employed the pan for such a purpose, he could not, at the same time, have placed it as a wall between himself and the city. The choice is to be explained simply from this, that such a plate was to be found in every household, and was quite fitted for the object intended. If any other symbolical element is contained in it, the hard ignoble metal might, perhaps, with Grotius, be taken to typify the hard, wicked heart of the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; cf. Eze 22:18 ; Jer. 15:12. The symbolical siege of Jerusalem is to be a sign for the house of Israel, i.e. a pre-announcement of its impending destiny. The house of Israel is the whole covenant people, not merely the ten tribes as in ver. 5, in contradistinction to the house of Judah (ver. 6).