The Meaning of Ezekiel 20:1 Explained

Ezekiel 20:1

KJV: And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me.

YLT: And it cometh to pass, in the seventh year, in the fifth month, in the tenth of the month, come in have certain of the elders of Israel to seek Jehovah, and they sit before me;

Darby: And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of Jehovah, and they sat before me.

ASV: And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month , the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of Jehovah, and sat before me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it came to pass in the seventh  year,  in the fifth  [month], the tenth  [day] of the month,  [that] certain  of the elders  of Israel  came  to enquire  of the LORD,  and sat  before  me. 

What does Ezekiel 20:1 Mean?

Study Notes

fifth month
i.e. August.

Verse Meaning

Certain elders of the Jewish exiles came to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord (cf. Ezekiel 14:1-11). Inquiring of the Lord meant securing a divine revelation concerning a particular event (cf. 1 Kings 14:5-18; 1 Kings 22:7-28; 2 Kings 8:8-15; 2 Kings 22:13-20; Jeremiah 21:2-14; Jeremiah 37:7-10). In view of the historical context of their request, the event that they wanted information about was probably King Zedekiah"s attempt to secure Egypt"s help in defeating the Babylonians.
"In the late summer of591 B.C, the news of Egypt"s victory in the Sudan reached the remnant of Judeans at Tel Abib. Rumors also indicated that [1] Psammetik II would make a triumphal conquest of Palestine. The exiles" expectations were most certainly heightened as they hoped that Egypt would prove to be the redeemer to free them from Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah had foolishly shared the same dream when he revolted from Babylonian rule and placed his confidence in Egypt"s strength somewhere between the end of591,589 B.C. Such a move was ill-timed; for the Pharaoh soon became ill, and the potential might of Egypt never materialized." [2]
These elders probably wanted to know if Zedekiah"s overtures to Egypt would be successful, if the Egyptians would help them defeat the Babylonians, and if the exiles could expect to return home soon.
This event happened in the seventh year of Jehoiachin"s captivity, namely, 591 B.C. The tenth day of the fifth month would have been August14. [3] Eleven months had passed since Ezekiel began the preceding series of messages (cf. Ezekiel 8:1). The dating of the prophecy indicates a new section of the book and a new series of messages.

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 20

1  God refuses to be consulted by the elders of Israel
4  He shows the story of their rebellions in Egypt
19  in the desert
27  and in the land
33  He promises to gather them by the Gospel
45  Under the name of a forest he shows the destruction of Jerusalem

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 20:1 mean?

And it came to pass in year the seventh in the fifth [month] on the tenth [day] of the month [that] came certain of the elders of Israel to inquire - of Yahweh and sat before me -
וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗ית בַּֽחֲמִשִׁי֙ בֶּעָשׂ֣וֹר לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ בָּ֧אוּ אֲנָשִׁ֛ים מִזִּקְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לִדְרֹ֣שׁ אֶת־ יְהוָ֑ה וַיֵּשְׁב֖וּ לְפָנָֽי ס

וַיְהִ֣י ׀  And  it  came  to  pass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה  in  year 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗ית  the  seventh 
Parse: Article, Number, ordinal feminine singular
Root: שְׁבִיעִי  
Sense: seventh.
בַּֽחֲמִשִׁי֙  in  the  fifth  [month] 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Number, ordinal masculine singular
Root: חֲמִישִׁי  
Sense: ordinal number, 5th.
בֶּעָשׂ֣וֹר  on  the  tenth  [day] 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָשֹׂור  
Sense: ten, decade.
לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ  of  the  month 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.
בָּ֧אוּ  [that]  came 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אֲנָשִׁ֛ים  certain 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱנׄושׁ 
Sense: man, mortal man, person, mankind.
מִזִּקְנֵ֥י  of  the  elders 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: זָקֵן  
Sense: old.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
לִדְרֹ֣שׁ  to  inquire 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: דַּרְיׄושׁ 
Sense: to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
יְהוָ֑ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
וַיֵּשְׁב֖וּ  and  sat 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
לְפָנָֽי  before  me 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation