Ezekiel 22:18

בֶּן־אָדָ֕ם הָיוּ־לִ֥י בֵֽית־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְסוּג כֻּלָּ֡ם נְ֠חֹשֶׁת וּבְדִ֨יל וּבַרְזֶ֤ל וְעֹופֶ֨רֶת֙ בְּתֹ֣וךְ כּ֔וּר סִגִ֥ים כֶּ֖סֶף הָיֽוּ׃ ס

“Son of man, the house of Yisraʾel has become to me all of them as dross—bronze and tin and iron and lead in the midst of the furnace; dross of silver they have become.

Morphology

1. בֶּן־אָדָם (ben-ʾadam) – Root: בן (ben), אדם (ʾadam); Form: Construct noun + absolute noun masculine singular; Translation: “son of man”; Notes: Divine address to the prophet Yeḥezqel, highlighting his humanity.
2. הָיוּ (hayu) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person common plural; Translation: “they have become”; Notes: Refers to the transformation of the house of Yisraʾel.
3. לִי (li) – Root: ל; Form: Preposition לְ + first person singular suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Indicates YHWH as the one experiencing their corruption.
4. בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל (beit-Yisraʾel) – Root: בית (bayit), ישראל (Yisraʾel); Form: Construct chain; Translation: “the house of Yisraʾel”; Notes: Collective term for the people of Israel.
5. לְסוּג (le-sug) – Root: סוג (sug); Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “as dross”; Notes: Figurative for impurity, residue left from smelting.
6. כֻּלָּם (kullam) – Root: כל (kol); Form: Noun “all” with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “all of them”; Notes: Emphasizes totality of corruption.
7. נְחֹשֶׁת (neḥoshet) – Root: נחשׁת (neḥoshet); Form: Noun feminine singular absolute; Translation: “bronze”; Notes: Used metaphorically as base metal compared with pure silver.
8. וּבְדִיל (u-vedil) – Root: בדל (bedil); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “and tin”; Notes: Another base metal in the impurity list.
9. וּבַרְזֶל (u-varzel) – Root: ברזל (barzel); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “and iron”; Notes: Included among inferior metals compared to silver.
10. וְעֹופֶרֶת (ve-ʿofret) – Root: עפרת (ʿofret); Form: Conjunction + noun feminine singular absolute; Translation: “and lead”; Notes: Heavy, impure metal symbolizing corruption.
11. בְּתֹוךְ (be-tokh) – Root: תוך (tokh); Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “in the midst of”; Notes: Refers to being within the furnace.
12. כּוּר (kur) – Root: כור (kur); Form: Noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “furnace”; Notes: Smelting furnace imagery symbolizing testing or judgment.
13. סִגִים (sigim) – Root: סוג (sig); Form: Noun masculine plural absolute; Translation: “dross”; Notes: Refers to impurities separated in smelting, used metaphorically of Yisraʾel’s sins.
14. כֶּסֶף (kesef) – Root: כסף (kesef); Form: Noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “silver”; Notes: The desired pure metal, but here the people are described as its waste.
15. הָיוּ (hayu) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person common plural; Translation: “they have become”; Notes: Repetition for emphasis, underscoring their degraded state.
16. ס (samekh) – Form: Masoretic section marker; Translation: “(section break)”; Notes: Parashah setumah, indicating a closed paragraph division in the Masoretic Text.