Bible Strands
Ezekiel 8:3
He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ezekiel receives this vision immediately after seeing a figure with a fiery lower body and amber-like upper body (Ezekiel 8:2). The Spirit physically transports him between earth and heaven to Jerusalem's inner court.
The words — תַּבְנִית (tavnit) means form or appearance, and יָד (yad) means hand, combining to describe the divine agent as "what looked like a hand." צִיצִת (tziqtsit) denotes the hair of the head, specifying the exact point of physical contact.
The thread — The phrase "idol that provokes jealousy" directly references Deuteronomy 5:9 and Deuteronomy 32:16, which define God's jealousy as a response to foreign worship. The Spirit's lifting action mirrors the transport recorded in Ezekiel 11:1.
Why it lands — The text records a forced physical relocation to a specific location where a known idolatrous object sits, demanding the reader acknowledge that divine intervention precedes prophetic exposure. It requires the reader to accept that God actively positions His messenger at the exact site of corruption before any judgment is delivered.
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
King James Version
And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:16 They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.
- Ezekiel 11:1 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. And there at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people.
- Deuteronomy 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- Ezekiel 5:11 Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon you with pity, nor will I spare you.
- Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
- Deuteronomy 6:15 For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.
- Deuteronomy 32:21 They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.
- Ezekiel 2:9 Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll,
- Ezekiel 11:24 And the Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to Chaldea, to the exiles in the vision given by the Spirit of God. After the vision had gone up from me,