IDIOMS IN THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL

Each language and culture has its own unique set of figurative idioms, which are sometimes incomprehensible to those outside that background. For example, it has been said that England and America are two countries divided by a common language. I have heard the English expression “sticky wicket” before but don't really know what it means other than the fact that it originally was a cricket term. On the other hand, just consider all the American expressions that came from baseball parlance but are often applied to entirely different situations: hit a home run, couldn't even get to first base, knocked it out of the park, threw him a curve ball, three strikes against her, home free, etc. Unless an Englishman was familiar with the Great American Pastime, he might be totally confused by these expressions.

The Hebrew language is no exception, and I thumbed through the first part of Ezekiel noting a number of expressions that I suspected might be idiomatic. However, after consulting commentaries on Ezekiel I was able to eliminate some from further consideration.

For example, Ezek. 27:10 talks about warriors hanging up their shields and helmets in Tyre. It turns out that this may or may not have been a literal event, but the gist of the meaning can be readily discerned by looking at the following phrase in that poetic verse. It gives the literal implication of the hanging of shields and helmets, i.e. to endow the city with splendor. This poetic construction is called emblematic parallelism. The same basic image appears in Song of Songs 4:4 as a symbol of beauty.

Another case was Ezek. 29:18, which talks about every head being made bald and every shoulder rubbed bare. The context for this verse was the conquest of Tyre by Babylon accomplished by the Babylonian soldiers building a causeway from the mainland to the island fortress of Tyre by carrying rocks and sand by hand. So there is no idiomatic expression at all here as I had suspected, only a case of slight hyperbole (exaggeration). While most commentators agree with this interpretation, the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery disagrees and feels that here “the shaving of the head is...evidence of God's judgment...on their enemies.” That certainly may be true elsewhere in Scripture, but probably not in this particular case.

In Ezekiel 24:22 one finds the command “You shall not cover your lips (or mustache).” I assumed that this was some obscure idiom, but what little that commentators had to say on the subject makes me think that this was in fact some actual Jewish practice, perhaps during times of mourning.

A final interesting case is that of Ezek. 22:7. Every translation besides KJV explains that the people had despised, dishonored, or treated with contempt their parents. But the King James Version says that “they set light by father and mother.” I thought that perhaps KJV was rendering an original Hebrew idiom in a literal manner. However, it turns out that those translators replaced the literal “despised” with their own English idiom in use in 1611. This is a good demonstration of the point I made at the start of this post: idioms differ from country to country and can also change with time.

You may note that in some cases below, the apparent surface meaning is the actually exact opposite of the intended one. And in other cases, even if the phrase's meaning is rather obscure, you can often deduce what it means by parallel expressions that follow it or by the context of the verse.

Ezekiel 3:7-9 – “a hard forehead”

Let's start out with an easy one. This one appears to present no problem in understanding since we have an equivalent phrase: “hard-headed,” meaning someone who is stubborn. But in fact, Greenberg explains it as describing one who is “brazen” and feels no shame.

Ezekiel 4:16; 5:16 – “break your staff of bread”

Interestingly, although all commentators agree that this basically means to cut off their food supply, most scholars appear to evade the question as to the origin of the idiom, which also appears in Leviticus 26:26. Block helpfully says, “The derivation of the idiom matteh lehem (lit. 'staff of bread') is not clear. Some derive the idiom from the practice of placing ring-shaped loaves around staves and suspending them to preserve them from mice.”

Ezekiel 6:11 – “clap your hands and stamp your feet”

My immediate thought on reading this was to think that it was the beginning of some sort of dance. I was surprised to learn that Block raised the same thought. But he adds that the truth is “These gestures are instead “nonverbal and verbal exclamation marks, respectively...The common interpretation of the present gesture as an expression of delight [as in Beasley-Murray's assessment] is unlikely for several reasons.” The first one he offers is that elsewhere in Ezekiel (21:14,17; 22:13) clapping the hands denotes an expression of anger. Secondly, in the very next verse is a reference to God's wrath.

F.F. Bruce basically agrees with Block when he states that “these actions express malicious joy in 25:6, but here they express confirmation of the divine oracles,like...the sword-brandishing, thigh-smiting and hand-clapping of 21:8-17.” Bruce's comments well illustrate that the same idiom can have quite different meanings depending on the context in which it is used.

Ezekiel 7:17 – “knees turn to water”

In fact, the literal translation of the Hebrew words reads “knees run with water.” So translators and commentators take one of two approaches to rendering this into understandable English. One approach is that above, in which case our modern equivalent would be something like “knees shake with fear” or knees buckle.” However, looking back at the literal meaning of the phrase, another possibility suggests itself, namely, “knees run with urine.” We would say “so scared that he wet his pants.” If this is the meaning of the idiom then it falls into the category of a euphemism – replacing a concept felt to be too crude or unacceptable to the intended audience with a more polite phrase. Both Block and Greenberg go with the second meaning. In either case, it definitely refers to a physiological reaction to a grave danger.

Ezekiel 11:3,7,11 – “This city is the pot and we/you are the meat.”

This is a really strange comment and can have two diametrically opposed meanings. Block asks the same question that I had: “Is this a cooking pot containing choice cuts of meat, the newly emergent leaders? If so, it is difficult to see how the pot symbolizes the security that the city offers. Or is the pot a storage vessel, a crock, with a tightly fastened lid in which meat was stored securely...? The context supports the latter.”

In fact, this is another example of the flexibility in the meanings that the same idiom can have. Thus, Bruce comments here that the phrase probably means that “we are as safe as meat in a cooking pot. In another context, the proverb might mean 'we are in danger of being cooked alive', but that would not be appropriate here.”

Greenberg brings out another nuance to this expression. Those left in Jerusalem after the first Babylonian attack act as if they are the choice meat left after the gristle and bone has been discarded. Whereas in fact, they are the offal who will be cast out of the pot while the exiles are really the choice meat. The same figure of a cooking pot appears again in Ezekiel 24 in an even more ominous context.

Ezekiel 11:19 – “heart of stone”

This idiom really needs no explanation. “A heart of flesh, unlike a heart of stone, is responsive to the will of God.” (Bruce)

Ezekiel 13:17 – “set your/my face against”

Is this equivalent to dancing cheek to cheek? Probably not, according to all commentators. Block explains that this is actually a “hostile orientation formula...This idiom derives from the common gesture of turning toward the person whom one is addressing.”

Ezekiel 14:8 – “I will make him a sign and a proverb”

The NIV translates this as “an example and a byword.” This phrase reappears elsewhere in the Bible as well. Block expands on its meaning by explaining that “when used negatively, an ot ['sign'] serves as a warning to onlookers. In this instance Israel's fate will provide evidence of God's disposition toward idolaters, and motivate observers to recognize his presence and activity.” Concerning the word “proverb,” he remarks that “the name 'Israel' would become proverbial for divinely imposed disaster.”

Ezekiel 16:21 – “pass through the fire”

To us, this expression might convey the idea of escape from imminent danger, but nothing could be further from the truth. It refers to child immolation – sacrifice by burning. Beasley-Murray explains that though “Josiah stamped out this evil practice for a time, it is likely that it was revived in the desperate days of the siege.” Block says that it means “to submerge it completely in flames, causing it to be consumed.”

Ezekiel 18:6,11,15 – “he that has not eaten on the mountains”

This may sound like a criticism of those who go on outdoor picnics, but it is not. Block calls it “cryptic in nature, alluding to practices that are obviously idolatrous but whose precise natures are not specified.” Greenberg attempts to get more specific: “Mountains are mentioned in 6:13 as the site of idolatrous sacrifices from which meals were eaten.” Such pagan practices were forbidden in passages such as Deuteronomy 12:2-28.

Ezekiel 20:5-6 – God “lifted up his hand to Israel”

To today's audience this would be interpreted as a gesture of greeting. But there is one other context in which one raises a hand – to swear an oath in a court of law. Thus, Greenberg labels it “solemnly swearing.”

Ezekiel 20:37 – “I will cause you to pass under the staff/rod.”

This expression sounds rather ominous, especially after understanding the meaning of “pass through the fire.” But in fact, it is a more ambiguous idiom based on the practice of shepherds counting the sheep by touching them with the staff as they entered the fold. This has been interpreted in a purely positive way as indicating “comfort, protection and security.” (DBI) But Greenberg notes, “The phrase signifies not mere counting...but selection – in Leviticus [27:32f] for dedication, here for destruction.” Bruce also stresses this negative implication and says that the nation will be purged by God from its rebels.

Ezekiel 21:6 – “sigh with the breaking of your loins”

“This acted prophecy is intended to show the way the news of the prophecy will be received.” (Beasley-Murray) The translation above is a good representation of the literal meaning of the Hebrew. But what precisely does it indicate? Block translates it as “with trembling loins,” an indication of total physical collapse. And Greenberg concurs by explaining that the Hebrew word “denotes the the strong musculature that links the upper part of the body with the lower.”

Ezekiel 21:14,17 – “strike my/thy hands together”

We would probably interpret this as clapping with applause. Again, that is the exact opposite of the intent of the author. Block lists seven ways this idiomatic phrase has been interpreted, including such opposites as a gesture of victory after battle and a call for the battle to begin. Greenberg calls it “a

Ezekiel 23:29 – “they shall...take away all your labor”

This literal rendering of the Hebrew sound like a description of paradise in which no one has to work any longer. Again, the idiomatic meaning of the phrase, as all modern translators and commentators agree, is that they will take away all the fruit of your labor – not as pleasant a fate.

Ezekiel 26:20 – “those who descent into the pit”

Anyone who is at all familiar with the Scriptures would have no trouble distinguishing this phrase from a reference to miners. Equivalent phrases found in the Bible are to go down to the earth, to the dust, to the nether abyss, or to Sheol. All mean to die and go to the realm of the dead.

Ezekiel 28:2,17 – “your heart is lifted up”

This phrase certainly implies to us something like a feeling of joy and encouragement, but that is not at all what the Hebrew idiom means. Beasley-Murray explains that the king's “self-exaltation to the status of deity is typical of the pride of the people.” The Anchor Bible translation reads, “Your heart has grown haughty.”