The Meaning of Ezekiel 8:16 Explained

Ezekiel 8:16

KJV: And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

YLT: And He bringeth me in unto the inner court of the house of Jehovah, and lo, at the opening of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, about twenty-five men, their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces eastward, and they are bowing themselves eastward to the sun.

Darby: And he brought me into the inner court of Jehovah's house, and behold, at the entry of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

ASV: And he brought me into the inner court of Jehovah's house; and behold, at the door of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he brought  me into the inner  court  of the LORD'S  house,  and, behold, at the door  of the temple  of the LORD,  between the porch  and the altar,  [were] about five  and twenty  men,  with their backs  toward the temple  of the LORD,  and their faces  toward the east;  and they worshipped  the sun  toward the east. 

What does Ezekiel 8:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord next took Ezekiel to the main entrance into the temple, to a place between the altar of burnt offerings and the temple porch. There Ezekiel saw about25 men bowing down to the ground with their backs to the temple facing east worshipping the sun. The Mosaic Law forbade sun worship ( Deuteronomy 4:19), but King Manasseh had promoted it in Judah ( 2 Kings 21:5). [1] Many interpreters assume that these men were priests, perhaps the high priest and a representative of each of the24courses of priests ( 1 Chronicles 23), because of their number and where they were standing. Normally only priests went into the inner court of the temple ( 2 Chronicles 4:9; Joel 2:17). This seems likely.
"Worship of the sun was widespread in the ancient Near East and was deeply rooted in Canaan. In Israelite thought the sun was a member of the "host of heaven," which was viewed as the Lord"s heavenly assembly (compare Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 17:3; 2 Kings 23:5 with 1 Kings 22:19). This may explain why these men could worship the sun in the Lord"s temple." [2]
"The sun would thus have to be considered part of the host of heaven, subordinate to Yahweh. As such one might argue that the worship of the sun in Yahweh"s temple would have been seen by those who participated in it as, so to speak, all "part of the package", just as Catholics would regard veneration (not worship) of Mary as not being incompatible with worship of Christ." [3]

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 8:16 mean?

So He brought me into court of the house of Yahweh the inner and there at the door of the temple of Yahweh between the porch and the altar [were] about twenty and five men with their backs toward the temple of Yahweh and their faces toward the east and they were worshiping toward the east the sun
וַיָּבֵ֣א אֹתִ֗י אֶל־ חֲצַ֣ר בֵּית־ יְהוָה֮ הַפְּנִימִית֒ וְהִנֵּה־ פֶ֜תַח הֵיכַ֣ל יְהוָ֗ה בֵּ֤ין הָֽאוּלָם֙ וּבֵ֣ין הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ כְּעֶשְׂרִ֥ים וַחֲמִשָּׁ֖ה אִ֑ישׁ אֲחֹ֨רֵיהֶ֜ם אֶל־ הֵיכַ֤ל יְהוָה֙ וּפְנֵיהֶ֣ם קֵ֔דְמָה וְהֵ֛מָּה מִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶ֥ם קֵ֖דְמָה לַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ

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.
אֶל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
חֲצַ֣ר  court 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: חָצֵר 
Sense: court, enclosure.
בֵּית־  of  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יְהוָה֮  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
הַפְּנִימִית֒  the  inner 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: פְּנִימִי  
Sense: inner.
וְהִנֵּה־  and  there 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
פֶ֜תַח  at  the  door 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: פֶּתַח  
Sense: opening, doorway, entrance.
הֵיכַ֣ל  of  the  temple 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הֵיכָל  
Sense: palace, temple, nave, sanctuary.
יְהוָ֗ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
בֵּ֤ין  between 
Parse: Preposition
Root: בַּיִן 
Sense: between, among, in the midst of (with other preps), from between.
הָֽאוּלָם֙  the  porch 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אוּלָם  
Sense: porch.
הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ  the  altar  [were] 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִזְבֵּחַ  
Sense: altar.
כְּעֶשְׂרִ֥ים  about  twenty 
Parse: Preposition-k, Number, common plural
Root: עֶשְׂרִים  
Sense: twenty, twentieth.
וַחֲמִשָּׁ֖ה  and  five 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, masculine singular
Root: חָמֵשׁ  
Sense: five.
אִ֑ישׁ  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
אֲחֹ֨רֵיהֶ֜ם  with  their  backs 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אָחֹור  
Sense: the back side, the rear.
אֶל־  toward 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הֵיכַ֤ל  the  temple 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הֵיכָל  
Sense: palace, temple, nave, sanctuary.
יְהוָה֙  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
וּפְנֵיהֶ֣ם  and  their  faces 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
קֵ֔דְמָה  toward  the  east 
Parse: Adverb, third person feminine singular
Root: קֶדֶם 
Sense: east, antiquity, front, that which is before, aforetime.
וְהֵ֛מָּה  and  they 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
מִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶ֥ם  were  worshiping 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Participle, masculine plural
Root: שָׁחָה  
Sense: to bow down.
קֵ֖דְמָה  toward  the  east 
Parse: Adverb, third person feminine singular
Root: קֶדֶם 
Sense: east, antiquity, front, that which is before, aforetime.
לַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ  the  sun 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: שֶׁמֶשׁ  
Sense: sun.