Ezekiel 4:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Therefore, just as Ezekiel consumed bread made with dung, so too the people of Israel, or the whole assembly of the Jews, or, as some suggest, the ten tribes, will partake of unclean bread among the nations. This warning, however, does not pertain to those already in exile, but rather to those who will face exile from the promised land. When the prophet received this revelation, he, according to Akilah, objected three times: ah, ah, ah. But to Symmachus and the Seventy he responded with the phrase (μηδαμῶς, meaning by no means). Conversely, Theodotion interpreted his response as, oh Lord God. It should not be understood that he defies the Lord's command; rather, he presents reasons for his inability to comply or seeks exemption from it. Thus, he achieves his request, and the strict command is tempered by a more lenient interpretation. One might wonder why Ezekiel declined the simpler command, while Hosea immediately engaged with the harlot, without asserting that his body was pure and should not be defiled by association with her, reflecting the words of the Apostle, ‘He who is joined to the harlot is one body with her’ (1 Corinthians 6:16). It is clear that he symbolizes the synagogue or the Church, which is not merely understood in a literal sense, as we have elaborated in our interpretation of this prophet.

Dead meat signifies that which loses its vitality without the shedding of blood, where the soul departs, and what is torn by animals is conveyed in Greek by the term θηριάλωτον. The allowance of cow dung instead of human waste serves as a form of relief from calamities; for although it is commanded to consume bread baked over cow dung, the defilement from human excrement is removed. This principle remains observed among the Jewish people, who do not serve idols and avoid reverencing various malignant spirits, yet they eat bread cooked with cow dung because their actions are directed towards flesh, bodily desires, and earthly goods, reminiscent of the saying: he who creates these things will live in them (Leviticus 18:5). However, we disdain worldly matters and not only refuse to consume food made with human waste but regard earthly pleasures as trivial; instead, we partake of the bread that descends from heaven (John 6) and consume the sustenance of which the Psalmist sings, ‘The bread of angels is provision for mankind’ (Psalm 77:25), nourishing our lives not with Egyptian foods, but with the heavenly manna.