בֶּן־אָדָ֕ם ח֥וּד חִידָ֖ה וּמְשֹׁ֣ל מָשָׁ֑ל אֶל־בֵּ֖ית יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
“Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Yisraʾel.
Morphology
- בֶּן־ (ben) – Root: בן; Form: Noun, masculine singular construct; Translation: “son of”; Notes: Construct state binds to the following noun to form the idiom “son of man,” Ezekiel’s frequent self-address formula.
- אָדָם (ʾadam) – Root: אדם; Form: Noun, masculine singular absolute; Translation: “man / humanity”; Notes: Completes the construct chain “son of man,” highlighting the prophet’s human status before YHWH.
- חוּד (ḥud) – Root: חוד; Form: Qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “propound”; Notes: Command to pose a riddle; rare verb meaning “to propose a riddle,” suited to parabolic-prophetic discourse.
- חִידָה (ḥidah) – Root: חיד; Form: Noun, feminine singular absolute; Translation: “riddle”; Notes: Enigmatic saying requiring interpretation; pairs with prophetic pedagogy.
- וּמְשֹׁל (u-meshol) – Root: משׁל; Form: Conjunction וּ + Qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “and speak (a parable)”; Notes: Here מָשַׁל carries the sense “to utter a proverb/parable,” not “to rule.” The prefixed conjunction coordinates a second command.
- מָשָׁל (mashal) – Root: משׁל; Form: Noun, masculine singular absolute; Translation: “parable / proverb”; Notes: Technical term for figurative didactic speech; forms a hendiadys with “riddle” to frame the mode of revelation.
- אֶל־ (ʾel) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition; Translation: “to / toward”; Notes: Marks the target audience of the prophetic act that follows.
- בֵּית (beit) – Root: בית; Form: Noun, masculine singular construct; Translation: “house of”; Notes: Construct links with Yisraʾel to denote the national/community entity.
- יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʾel) – Root: ישראל; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yisraʾel”; Notes: Scholarly transliteration retained; designates the covenant people who are the addressees of the prophetic riddle and parable.