Ezekiel 19:2

and say: ‘What was your mother? A lioness among the lions! She lay down among the young lions; she reared her cubs.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The prophet Ezekiel initiates a formal lament for the princes of Israel, commanding the audience to address the royal lineage as a lioness. This directive opens a mourning song that traces the history and downfall of Judah’s kings.

The words — The Hebrew לְבִיָּא (lebiyya) translates literally to "a lioness," and רָבָצָה (ravatzah) means "she lay down" or "she crouched." These terms ground the passage in a concrete animal metaphor before any historical application is drawn.

The thread — The lioness imagery appears in Job 4:11 and Psalms 58:6 to describe predatory strength, while Isaiah 5:29 mirrors the roaring and seizing of prey. Ezekiel borrows this established prophetic vocabulary to structure a genealogical indictment.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to observe how the royal house's origins and methods mirror a wild predator's behavior. It demands a clear-eyed assessment of leadership that operates through consumption rather than protection, leaving no room for romanticized monarchy.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְאָמַרְתָּ֗ve./'a.mar.Taand/ you will say מָ֤הmahwhat?אִמְּךָ֙'i.me./Kha[was] mother/ your לְבִיָּ֔אle.vi.Ya'a lioness בֵּ֥יןbeinbetween אֲרָי֖וֹת'a.ra.Yotlions רָבָ֑צָהra.Va.tzahshe lay down בְּת֥וֹךְbe./Tokhin/ among כְּפִרִ֖יםke.fi.Rimyoung lions רִבְּתָ֥הri.be.Tahshe reared גוּרֶֽיהָ׃gu.Rei./hacubs/ her

King James Version

And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.

Cross-references

Job 4:11 The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
Psalms 58:6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.
Isaiah 5:29 Their roaring is like that of a lion; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they carry it away, and no one can rescue it.
Isaiah 11:6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them.
Nahum 2:11 Where is the lions’ lair or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs, with nothing to frighten them away?
Zephaniah 3:1 Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled!
Zechariah 11:3 Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is in ruins. Listen to the roaring of the young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.