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).
גִּלּוּ — Piel 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.
לָקָחוּ — Qal 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.
הָרָגוּ — Qal 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
וַתְּהִי — Qal 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.
עָשׂוּ — Qal 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.
