Ezekiel 4:13

13 And the Lord said: So shall the children of Israel eat their bread all filthy among the nations whither I will cast them out.

Ezekiel 4:13 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 4:13

And the Lord said, even thus shall the children of Israel,
&c.] Not the ten tribes only, or those who were among the other two, but all the Jews in captivity: eat the defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them;
so called, not because mixed, but baked in the above manner; which was a symbol of the defilements which they should contract upon various accounts, by dwelling among the Gentiles; so that this foretells their captivity; their pollution among the nations of the world; and that they should not be the holy people to the Lord they had been, and had boasted of. The Jews ^F11 cite this passage to prove that he that eats bread without drying his hands is as if he ate defiled bread.

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 T. Bab. Sota, fol, 4. 2.

Ezekiel 4:13 In-Context

11 And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin: from time to time thou shalt drink it,

12 And thou shalt eat it as barley bread baked under the ashes: and thou shalt cover it, in their sight, with the dung that cometh out of a man.

13 And the Lord said: So shall the children of Israel eat their bread all filthy among the nations whither I will cast them out.

14 And I said: Ah, ah, ah, O Lord God, behold my soul hath not been defiled, and from my infancy even till now, I have not eaten any thing that died of itself, or was torn by beasts, and no unclean flesh hath entered into my mouth.

15 And he said to me: Behold I have given thee neat’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt make thy bread therewith.