The Unveiled Judgment: Sequential Verbs, Feminine Pronouns, and Legal Metaphors in Ezekiel 23:10

Ezekiel 23:10

הֵמָּה֮ גִּלּ֣וּ עֶרְוָתָהּ֒ בָּנֶ֤יהָ וּבְנֹותֶ֨יהָ֙ לָקָ֔חוּ וְאֹותָ֖הּ בַּחֶ֣רֶב הָרָ֑גוּ וַתְּהִי־שֵׁם֙ לַנָּשִׁ֔ים וּשְׁפוּטִ֖ים עָ֥שׂוּ בָֽהּ׃

Exposure and Humiliation: הֵמָּה גִּלּוּ עֶרְוָתָהּ


הֵמָּה — “They,” a plural pronoun indicating the enemy nation (contextually Babylon).

גִּלּוּPiel perfect 3mp of ג־ל־ה, “to uncover, expose.”
Used in Piel for intensified or deliberate action: “They exposed…”

עֶרְוָתָהּ — “Her nakedness”

  • עֶרְוָה — “nakedness, shame”
  • ־הּ — 3fs suffix referring to the woman/nation (Samaria or Jerusalem)

This phrase expresses graphic shaming through violation, a frequent prophetic metaphor for national defeat and dishonor.

Seizing the Children: בָּנֶיהָ וּבְנֹותֶיהָ לָקָחוּ


בָּנֶיהָ — “Her sons,” and בְנֹותֶיהָ — “her daughters.” Both are plural nouns with 3fs suffixes.

לָקָחוּQal perfect 3mp of ל־ק־ח, “to take.”
The enemy has taken her children — indicating captivity or enslavement.

The Sword and Death: וְאֹותָהּ בַּחֶרֶב הָרָגוּ


וְאֹותָהּ — “And her,” a direct object with 3fs suffix.

בַּחֶרֶב — “with the sword” — instrumental prepositional phrase indicating the means of death.

הָרָגוּQal perfect 3mp of ה־ר־ג, “to kill.”
“They killed her with the sword” — a summary execution of the city or its symbolic queen.

Public Infamy: וַתְּהִי־שֵׁם לַנָּשִׁים


וַתְּהִיQal wayyiqtol 3fs of ה־י־ה, “she became.”
Used here to indicate a shift in status or reputation.

שֵׁם — “a name,” here implying notoriety.

לַנָּשִׁים — “among women” or “to women.” The idiom means she became a byword or warning to other nations (personified as women in prophetic literature).

Executed Judgments: וּשְׁפוּטִים עָשׂוּ בָהּ


שְׁפוּטִים — “Judgments” or “executions,” plural noun from ש־פ־ט, used here in a judicial and punitive sense.

עָשׂוּQal perfect 3mp of ע־שׂ־ה, “they did.”
“They carried out judgments upon her.”

בָהּ — “on her” — the object of the judgment.
This clause closes the judicial frame of the verse: the violence is not random but a legal verdict by divine will.

Parsing Table: Key Forms in Ezekiel 23:10


Hebrew Word Root Form Function
גִּלּוּ ג־ל־ה Piel perfect 3mp “They exposed” — intensified action of shame
לָקָחוּ ל־ק־ח Qal perfect 3mp “They took” — seizure of children
הָרָגוּ ה־ר־ג Qal perfect 3mp “They killed” — physical execution
וַתְּהִי ה־י־ה Qal wayyiqtol 3fs “She became” — resultative shift in status
עָשׂוּ ע־שׂ־ה Qal perfect 3mp “They performed” — judicial sentencing

The Judgment Made Visible


In Ezekiel 23:10, grammar functions like a courtroom transcript: exposed, taken, killed, judged. Each verb in the perfect tense underscores completed action — irreversible shame, loss, and destruction. The prophetic imagery is graphic, yet ordered. The syntax gives the violence a legal frame, presenting the fall not as random chaos but as a fulfillment of covenant justice. Even the object markers and suffixes serve to highlight her — the city, the woman, the nation — as the central focus of this public reckoning.

About Biblical Hebrew

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