The Meaning of Ezekiel 19:2 Explained

Ezekiel 19:2

KJV: And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.

YLT: and thou hast said: What is thy mother? -- a lioness, Among lions she hath crouched down, In the midst of young lions she hath multiplied her whelps.

Darby: and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps in the midst of the young lions.

ASV: and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her whelps.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And say,  What [is] thy mother?  A lioness:  she lay down  among lions,  she nourished  her whelps  among  young lions. 

What does Ezekiel 19:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The prophet compared the former Davidic kings of Judah to a lioness. This was a common symbol of rulers in the ancient Near East, and the Israelites used the figure for the Davidic kings ( Genesis 49:9; Numbers 23:24; 1 Kings 10:19-20; Micah 5:8; cf. Revelation 5:5). [1] This lioness was responsible for producing and nurturing young lion cubs, the kings that followed in the Davidic line.

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 19

1  A lamentation for the princes of Israel, by the parable of a lion whelping in a pit
10  and for Jerusalem, under the parable of a wasted vine

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 19:2 mean?

and say what [is] your mother a lioness among the lions she lay down Among the young lions she nourished her cubs
וְאָמַרְתָּ֗ מָ֤ה ؟ אִמְּךָ֙ לְבִיָּ֔א בֵּ֥ין אֲרָי֖וֹת רָבָ֑צָה בְּת֥וֹךְ כְּפִרִ֖ים רִבְּתָ֥ה גוּרֶֽיהָ

וְאָמַרְתָּ֗  and  say 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
מָ֤ה  what  [is] 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
؟ אִמְּךָ֙  your  mother 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֵם  
Sense: mother.
לְבִיָּ֔א  a  lioness 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: לֶבֶא 
Sense: lion.
אֲרָי֖וֹת  the  lions 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֲרִי 
Sense: lion.
רָבָ֑צָה  she  lay  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: רָבַץ  
Sense: to stretch oneself out, lie down, lie stretched out.
כְּפִרִ֖ים  the  young  lions 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: כְּפִיר 
Sense: young lion.
רִבְּתָ֥ה  she  nourished 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: הַרְבָּה 
Sense: be or become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous.
גוּרֶֽיהָ  her  cubs 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: גּוּר  
Sense: cub, whelp, young.