Ezekiel 19:3

3 One of them was Jehoahaz. He became a strong lion. He learned to tear apart what he caught. And he ate men up.

Ezekiel 19:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 19:3

And she brought up one of her whelps
Or sons, as the Targum: or, "made him to ascend" ^F20, as the word signifies; to mount the throne; this was Jehoahaz, whom the people of the land took and anointed him, and made him king in the stead of Josiah his father, ( 2 Kings 23:30 ) ; it become a young lion;
that is, a king, as the same Targum explains it, and a tyrannical and arbitrary one: and it learned to catch the prey;
being instructed by evil counsellors, he soon learned to oppress his subjects, to get their substance from them, and do many evil things, as he is said to do, ( 2 Kings 23:32 ) ; it devoured men;
or a man, Adam, the people of Israel, so called, ( Ezekiel 34:31 ) ; as the Jews frequently observe; it ate up and destroyed their liberties, privileges, and property.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 (letw) "et ascendere fecit", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version.

Ezekiel 19:3 In-Context

1 "Sing a song of sadness about Israel's princes.

2 Say to Israel, " 'You were like a mother lion to your princes. She lay down among the young lions. She brought up her cubs.

3 One of them was Jehoahaz. He became a strong lion. He learned to tear apart what he caught. And he ate men up.

4 The nations heard about him. They trapped him in their pit. They put hooks in his face. And they led him away to Egypt.

5 " 'The mother lion looked and waited. But all of her hope was gone. So she got another one of her cubs. She made him into a strong lion.