Discovery BoxEzekiel 19:2-6 
Context19:2 and say:
“‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions!
She lay among young lions; 1 she reared her cubs.
19:3 She reared one of her cubs; he became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey; he devoured people. 2
19:4 The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit.
They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. 3
19:5 “‘When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope was lost.
She took another of her cubs 4 and made him a young lion.
19:6 He walked about among the lions; he became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.
1 sn Lions probably refer to Judahite royalty and/or nobility. The lioness appears to symbolize the Davidic dynasty, though some see the referent as Hamutal, the wife of Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah. Gen 49:9 seems to be the background for Judah being compared to lions.
2 tn Heb “a man.”
3 sn The description applies to king Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:31-34; Jer 22:10-12).
4 sn The identity of this second lion is unclear; the referent is probably Jehoiakim or Zedekiah. If the lioness is Hamutal, then Zedekiah is the lion described here.
