THEOSISEphraem the Syrian
In their early years, they engaged in unfaithfulness in Egypt, where they were exposed and their purity was compromised, as they encountered idolatry and the worship of false deities in that land.
Ezekiel 23:3Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers
And they committed fornication in Egypt, in their youth they committed fornication: there were their breasts pressed down, and the teats of their virginity were bruised.
וַתִּזְנֶ֣ינָה בְמִצְרַ֔יִם בִּנְעוּרֵיהֶ֖ן זָנ֑וּ שָׁ֚מָּה מֹעֲכ֣וּ שְׁדֵיהֶ֔ן וְשָׁ֣ם עִשּׂ֔וּ דַּדֵּ֖י בְּתוּלֵיהֶֽן׃
The Church Fathers on this verse
3 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Theodoret of Cyrus
In the previous analysis, it was noted that God referred to all the people as one unfaithful partner, indicating that initially they were seen as a united group. However, during Rehoboam's reign, a division occurred, leading to different identities: some identified as Ephraim and Israel, while others identified as Judah. Following this split, the Lord aptly employed a metaphoric expression, using names derived from significant cities—the ten tribes from Samaria and Judah and Benjamin from Jerusalem—highlighting their shared origin. They were united not only through a common ancestry but also through their shared wrongdoing, represented figuratively as their mother, Egypt. Likewise, he described their mother as a Hittite and their father as an Amorite in a symbolic manner.
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Thus, they found themselves gathered in Egypt.
Additionally, God indicated the period of their youth, during which they strayed and lost their purity. It was in Egypt that they became corrupted, losing their innocence. While their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, exemplified righteousness, the descendants of Jacob initially distanced themselves from idolatry. However, those who emerged from them, due to their extended stay in Egypt, adopted immoral practices. The early phase of their growth is referred to as youth, whereas the influence of corrupt teachings signifies both their moral degradation and the loss of purity. Just as the loss of virginity corresponds with a decline in physical vitality, so too does turning away from God lead to a diminishment of that divine authority within. The nipples symbolically represent a protective covering for this authority. Therefore, in identifying them as wives, God assigns them names reminiscent of certain Egyptian spouses known for their impurity.
Theophan the Recluse
In the midst of the Gentiles, Israel began to deviate from the beliefs of their ancestors and consequently faltered in spirit. The Lord had warned them solemnly, declaring that all their disloyalty would be turned away, and that they ought not to contaminate themselves with the practices of Egypt. However, they disregarded Him and refused to heed His words. Therefore, the Lord resolved to unleash His wrath upon them and to bring His fury upon them in the land of Egypt (Ezekiel 20:7-8). Pharaoh sought to outsmart, embitter, and humble the descendants of Israel for his own agenda. As a result, the Egyptians loathed the Israelites and committed acts of violence against them due to their needs, inflicting harsh suffering through cruel actions (Ex. 1:12-14).
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The heavy hand of God struck deeply at Israel's heart, bringing them low. A soul that is innocent of wrongdoing finds strength and resilience in faith's shelter, while a soul that has turned away from God and forgotten the beliefs of their forefathers collapses at the first challenge. The conscience quietly directs the fierce judgment of God, stifling any inner desire for liberty and obscuring the very awareness of the right to attain it. Israel's spirit had declined, leading them into the grip of misfortune. What hope could there be for Israel under such circumstances? They risked becoming indistinguishable from the Egyptians in their service and customs, vanishing like a vast mound of earth swallowed by the sea. Yet, the One who had planned 400 years earlier to lead them into a foreign land to experience servitude, bitterness, and humiliation (Genesis 15:13) was watching over them. This decline in vitality was permitted by God so that He could breathe new life into them, resurrecting their spirits amidst this moral desolation, ultimately reshaping them with new purposes, laws, and vigor, much like a living being raised from the dead, filled with renewed strength and energy.
Cross references
Passages read together with this verse.
- Lev 17:7And they shall no more sacrifice their victims to devils, with whom they have committed fornication. It shall be an ordinance for ever to them and to their posterity.
- Josh 24:14Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him with a perfect and most sincere heart: and put away the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
- Ezek 16:22And after all thy abominations, and fornications, thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked, and full of confusion, trodden under foot in thy own blood.
- Hos 2:15And I will give her vinedressers out of the same place, and the valley of Achor for an opening of hope: and she shall sing there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt.
- Ezek 23:19For she multiplied her fornications, remembering the days of her youth, in which she played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
- Ezek 23:8Moreover also she did not forsake her fornications which she had committed in Egypt: for they also lay with her in her youth, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured out their fornication upon her.
- Ezek 20:8But they provoked me, and would not hearken to me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of his eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: and I said I would pour out my indignation upon them, and accomplish my wrath against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
- Ezek 23:21And thou hast renewed the wickedness of thy youth, when thy breasts were pressed in Egypt, and the paps of thy virginity broken.