The Meaning of Ezekiel 3:15 Explained

Ezekiel 3:15

KJV: Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

YLT: And I come in unto the Removed, at Tel-Ahib, who are dwelling at the river Chebar, and where they are dwelling I also dwell seven days, causing astonishment in their midst.

Darby: And I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river Chebar, and I sat where they sat; and I sat there astonied among them seven days.

ASV: Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river Chebar, and to where they dwelt; and I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then I came  to them of the captivity  at Telabib,  that dwelt  by the river  of Chebar,  and I sat  where they sat,  and remained  there astonished  among  them seven  days. 

What does Ezekiel 3:15 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Ezekiel physically traveled to the Jewish exiles who were living by the Chebar River at the Tel-abib settlement (lit. "hill of ears"). Since "Tel" can mean "ruined mound," it is possible that the Jewish exiles lived at the site of a destroyed or abandoned city. The Babylonians may have situated them there to rebuild and repopulate the site and to reclaim its land. [1]
When Ezekiel arrived, he sat for seven days among the exiles, and his presence disturbed them. Seven days was the length of time that the Jews usually mourned for their dead ( Genesis 50:10; Numbers 19:11; Job 2:13), and it was the time it took to consecrate a priest ( Leviticus 8:33).
"Ezekiel was being consecrated for the priesthood on his thirtieth birthday and commissioned to proclaim Judah"s funeral dirge." [2]
"For a week he struggles inwardly with Yahweh, with his calling, and with the message he is charged to proclaim. Whatever the prophet"s relationship to the rest of the exiles in the past, when he finally submits, he is a man set apart, under orders from God. Hereafter his people could expect no more idle or mundane chatter from him. His call to prophetic ministry was not only an invitation to be the spokesman for the glorious God of Israel; it also involved a sentence to a life of loneliness, alienation, and desolation. Physically he lived among his own people, but spiritually he would operate in another realm, a zone governed by divine realities." [3]

Context Summary

Ezekiel 3:12-27 - The Watchman's Responsibility
He was bitter because of his message, but hot because God's fire was burning within him. It is a blessed thing for preacher, leader, or Christian worker, when the hand of God is strong upon the soul. But whatever your inward condition, you will never be able to do your best work, unless you can sit where the people sit. In other words you must take their attitude, know by experience their circumstances, and share their lot. We must live very near to God, or we shall never hear the word of His mouth. There is no other way of obtaining messages that will effect His purpose. Ponder again Ezekiel 3:17. In Ezekiel 3:20 God is said to lay a stumbling-block only in the sense that He has constituted the world in that way. When the prophet went forth into the plain God revealed Himself. Whether He bids us go to the plain, or shut ourselves in the house, the place of obedience and duty will ever be the right one for the manifestation of His glory and the communication of His message. The secret of a successful ministry is to be absolutely yielded in thought and in speech to God. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 3

1  Ezekiel eats the scroll
4  God encourages him
15  God shows him the rule of prophecy
22  God shuts and opens the prophet's mouth

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 3:15 mean?

And I came to the captives - at Tel Abib who dwelt by the River Chebar - and I sat they sat where and remained there seven days astonished among them
וָאָב֨וֹא אֶל־ הַגּוֹלָ֜ה תֵּ֣ל אָ֠בִיב הַיֹּשְׁבִ֤ים אֶֽל־ נְהַר־ כְּבָר֙ [ואשר] (וָֽאֵשֵׁ֔ב) הֵ֖מָּה יוֹשְׁבִ֣ים שָׁ֑ם וָאֵשֵׁ֥ב שָׁ֛ם שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֖ים מַשְׁמִ֥ים בְּתוֹכָֽם

וָאָב֨וֹא  And  I  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
הַגּוֹלָ֜ה  the  captives 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: גֹּולָה  
Sense: exiles, exile, captivity.
תֵּ֣ל  - 
Parse:
אָ֠בִיב  at  Tel  Abib 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֵּל אָבִיב  
Sense: a city in Babylon, the home of the prophet Ezekiel, located on the river Chebar which was probably a branch of the Euphrates.
הַיֹּשְׁבִ֤ים  who  dwelt 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
נְהַר־  the  River 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נָהָר  
Sense: stream, river.
כְּבָר֙  Chebar 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: כְּבָר  
Sense: a Babylonian river near which many Israelite exiles settled; maybe the ‘Habor’ or the ‘Royal Canal’ of Nebuchadnezzar.
[ואשר]  - 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, relative
(וָֽאֵשֵׁ֔ב)  and  I  sat 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
יוֹשְׁבִ֣ים  sat 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
שָׁ֑ם  where 
Parse: Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
וָאֵשֵׁ֥ב  and  remained 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
שִׁבְעַ֥ת  seven 
Parse: Number, masculine singular construct
Root: שֶׁבַע  
Sense: seven (cardinal number).
יָמִ֖ים  days 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
מַשְׁמִ֥ים  astonished 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁמֵם  
Sense: to be desolate, be appalled, stun, stupefy.
בְּתוֹכָֽם  among  them 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.