‘Mortal’ ‘Child of Adam’, or perhaps just ‘Human’ is how Ezekiel describes the attribute used to address him - by The Voice of The Eternal Presence, imagined by Ezekiel as seated on something like an electric-neon-rainbow throne:
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֵלָ֑י בֶּן־אָדָם֙ עֲמֹ֣ד עַל־רַגְלֶ֔יךָ וַאֲדַבֵּ֖ר אֹתָֽךְ׃
And the voice said to me, “O mortal, stand up on your feet so that I may speak to you.”
Ezekiel 2:1
Mortal or Human — the original Hebrew words that open this chapter and signify the start of this prophet’s career are ‘Ben Adam’ - literally, Son of Adam .
But what does it actually mean? Almost unique to Ezekiel (appearing once more in the Book of Daniel as a direct approach to a human summoned by God) this expression shows up almost a hundred times through these chapters. It will eventually become a Hebrew idiom that does indeed mean ‘human’. Maybe the purpose of this Judean exiled prophet-poet is to echo his oldest roots and broader responsibilities beyond his tribal affinities — to speak not only to his persecuted people but to all human beings who are in dire need of reckoning - and hope? Perhaps. I may be projecting more universal sensibilities than this 6th century BCE mentality contains.
The instructions he receives are clear and quite dramatic. The people will refuse to hear him, sticking to their stubborn rebellion and resistance to what he has to tell them on behalf of God. But he must persevere, embody the message, and walk the talk -- no matter what.
Not just walk the talk -- he is instructed to consume it.
Ezekiel will be handed a scroll that contains his script - and told to eat it.
וְאַתָּ֣ה בֶן־אָדָ֗ם שְׁמַע֙ אֵ֤ת אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִי֙ מְדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלֶ֔יךָ אַל־תְּהִי־מֶ֖רִי כְּבֵ֣ית הַמֶּ֑רִי פְּצֵ֣ה פִ֔יךָ וֶאֱכֹ֕ל אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֖י נֹתֵ֥ן אֵלֶֽיךָ׃ וָאֶרְאֶ֕ה וְהִנֵּה־יָ֖ד שְׁלוּחָ֣ה אֵלָ֑י וְהִנֵּה־ב֖וֹ מְגִלַּת־סֵֽפֶר׃ וַיִּפְרֹ֤שׂ אוֹתָהּ֙ לְפָנַ֔י וְהִ֥יא כְתוּבָ֖ה פָּנִ֣ים וְאָח֑וֹר וְכָת֣וּב אֵלֶ֔יהָ קִנִ֥ים וָהֶ֖גֶה וָהִֽי
“And you, mortal, heed what I say to you: Do not be rebellious like that rebellious people.
Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.
As I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me, holding a written scroll.
God unrolled it before me, and it was inscribed on both the front and the back; on it were written lamentations, dirges, and woes.”
Ezekiel 2:8-10
What he’s told to receive and later eat is known by scholars as an opisthograph - a rare type of scroll or manuscript, used primarily in ancient times to economize and maximize the use of writing surfaces in dire situations.
What’s the story of this scroll and why is he instructed to eat it?
Josh and Leora Blechner, a father & daughter Bible study team offer this fascinating reflection on the 920 site, exploring the origin of this scroll:
“The book of Ezekiel contains many mystical visions starting with the fantastical "overture" description of the chariot of God. Easily lost in this initial grand display is the real beginning of the Book wherein God directs Ezekiel to eat a scroll presented to him by an outstretched hand.
Just a few chapters ago, we read about another scroll, the scroll that Jeremiah instructed Seriah to write down and then cast into the Euphrates river in the final chapters of Jeremiah, who instructs Seriah to cast the scroll in the river in the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign. From Chapter 52 in Jeremiah, we know that Zedekiah reigned for 11 years, so this trip to Babylonia happened well before the destruction of the Temple. Even though Jeremiah is not written in chronological order, the Seriah story is an odd way to end the book.
Perhaps this story is the last one mentioned in Jeremiah to link the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. It's possible that the scroll that Jeremiah instructs to be thrown into the Euphrates river at the end of his book, is the very one that God feeds to Ezekiel from the Chebar river at the start of his book. In this way, the prophecies of the land of Israel are transferred to the prophet Ezekiel in exile Babylonia.”
Whatever the origins of the scroll that Ezekiel is about to ingest, it’s about the power and the role of prophecy -- for prophets and for each of us to take to heart - to consume - the human, mortal messaging that will help each of us wake up. We usually think of ‘eating our words’ as an expression of regret and perhaps this is another way of understanding what it means to be responsible for all the way we use our words.
Rabbi Deena Cowans articulates this call beautifully:
“This is the call of prophecy: to stand up for a message of truth and justice, even when it is not easy. We can all be modern-day prophets, when we champion righteousness and integrity against a rising tide of apathy. Each one of us who strives to seek truth and advocate for our beliefs may someday feel that we want to “eat our words”, to recant our message in the face of opposition and pressure. Though the idea of “eating our words” may sound abhorrent, we may come to feel that it is better than standing up alone. When we feel alone, called to prophecy we know will be ignored, we can take comfort in our mission, knowing it is the same as Ezekiel’s.”
Scroll in hand, Ezekiel’s prepares to activate the instructions, swallow the scroll and ingest this sacred substance - coming up next.
Image: Ezekiel given scroll, woodcut, Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld, 1860
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How timely Ezekiel feels right now.
"3 He said to me, “Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation[b] of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5 Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them."
As we call and advocate for the release of hostages and an end to the bombing campaign in Gaza and witness the entrenchment and resistance to these calls by the governments of the world it's hard not to feel as though we are standing in the shoes of Ezekiel calling the world to remember that ours is the way and the path of Life, and that such a path cannot be achieved through war and death.
Just discovered your Substack and am enriched by it. I'm from a Christian upbringing but beginning to realize we can't preach or bring peace when we have condemned those with different beliefs to eternal damnation in the first place. Same goes for Islam. I'm right and you're wrong, and therefore my right and not yours, is at the core of our global support and the possible escalation of violence.