The Meaning of Ezekiel 8:14 Explained

Ezekiel 8:14

KJV: Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

YLT: And He bringeth me in unto the opening of the gate of the house of Jehovah that is at the north, and lo, there the women are sitting weeping for Tammuz.

Darby: And he brought me to the entry of the gate of Jehovah's house that was toward the north; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

ASV: Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Jehovah's house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then he brought  me to the door  of the gate  of the LORD'S  house  which [was] toward the north;  and, behold, there sat  women  weeping  for Tammuz. 

What does Ezekiel 8:14 Mean?

Study Notes

Tammuz
i.e. the Greek Adonis.

Verse Meaning

The Lord then brought Ezekiel to the north entrance to the inner temple courtyard, in his vision (cf. Ezekiel 8:3; Ezekiel 8:5). There the prophet saw women weeping for Tammuz (cf. Isaiah 17:10-11). Tammuz was an ancient Sumerian and then Akkadian fertility deity, the husband and brother of Ishtar. The Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations preceded the Babylonian civilization in Mesopotamia. Tammuz had ties to the Canaanite Baal and the Greek Adonis and Aphrodite gods. [1] Since Ezekiel saw this vision in September ( Ezekiel 8:1), these women may have been weeping for Tammuz because he was thought to die at the end of the summer but to rise again each spring. [2] Another view is that "Tammuz" denotes a special genre of lament. [3]
"After the exile the Hebrew calendar included a month called Tammuz, the fourth month (June-July). This was the time for grapes to be harvested. The preservation of the name Tammuz in the calendar suggests the impact this form of pagan worship had on Jewish life and worship, both during and after the exile." [4]

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 8

1  Ezekiel, in a vision of God at Jerusalem
5  is shown the image of jealousy
7  the chambers of imagery
13  the mourners for Tammuz
16  the worshippers toward the sun
17  God's wrath for their idolatry

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 8:14 mean?

So He brought me to the door of the gate of the house of Yahweh that toward [was] north and to my dismay there women were sitting weeping for Tammuz -
וַיָּבֵ֣א אֹתִ֗י אֶל־ פֶּ֙תַח֙ שַׁ֣עַר בֵּית־ יְהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֶל־ הַצָּפ֑וֹנָה וְהִנֵּה־ שָׁם֙ הַנָּשִׁ֣ים יֹֽשְׁב֔וֹת מְבַכּ֖וֹת אֶת־ הַתַּמּֽוּז ס

וַיָּבֵ֣א  So  He  brought 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אֹתִ֗י  me 
Parse: Direct object marker, first person common singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
פֶּ֙תַח֙  the  door 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: פֶּתַח  
Sense: opening, doorway, entrance.
שַׁ֣עַר  of  the  gate 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שַׁעַר  
Sense: gate.
בֵּית־  of  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יְהוָ֔ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֲשֶׁ֖ר  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
אֶל־  toward  [was] 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַצָּפ֑וֹנָה  north 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: צָפֹון  
Sense: north (of direction), northward.
וְהִנֵּה־  and  to  my  dismay 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
הַנָּשִׁ֣ים  women 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine plural
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
יֹֽשְׁב֔וֹת  were  sitting 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine plural
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
מְבַכּ֖וֹת  weeping 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, feminine plural
Root: בָּכָה  
Sense: to weep, bewail, cry, shed tears.
הַתַּמּֽוּז  Tammuz 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: תַּמּוּז  
Sense: a Sumerian deity of food or vegetation.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation

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